jeremikarnell.com

My New iPhone

HELL YES!!!!! Picked up my iPhone yesterday at the Apple store in the CambridgeSide Galleria.  No waiting in any silly lines, no back orders, no ridiculous eBay price.  I just walked in, asked for the 8GB version...and whalaa....they immediately produce one  from behind the counter.  I took all of 5 minutes!  Good for Apple to learn from the mistakes of both Microsoft and Sony in their failed launched of XBox 360 and Sony Playstation 3.

The phone is fantastic.  The account setup process via iTunes was a piece of cake.  The user interface is ground breaking.  The applications are amazing.  I particularly like the iPod, Safari web browser and, the Map apps.

My only complaint at this time is there seems to be no solution to tie the phone into my works Exchange server (I knew that going into the purchase).  And, there seems to be no games!  :(  The on screen keyboard is also taking some time to get used too.  I do have faith that these issues will be over come in time.  Its still an amazing phone!

My MacBookPro

Last week I finally received my new work laptop.  I decided to go with the new MacBook Pro and so far I am very happy with the decision.  My IT set it up so that I may choose to boot to Windows XP or Mac OS X at start up.  I am using the XP boot for work and the OS X boot for personal computing (mainly photography).  Below are the laptop's detailed specs:

• 15.4-inch widescreen display
• 1440x900 resolution
• 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo
• 1GB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• 100GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 4x SuperDrive
• ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory
• One FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports

This is one of the most powerful and best performing laptops I have ever used.  My only one concern is the battery life.  I was pretty spoiled by the battery time provided to me on my past laptop, which was a Sony Viao (insert "Bad Fisher Price Toy" for "Sony" if you please....the battery was the only positive thing about that piece of junk).  I am sure  I will make do!

Spec Products: SkinTight

Many of you know that I recently got a 700w Treo.  Many of you also know that I pretty much despise the device.  That is, until now.   While in St. Maarten a couple of weeks ago, Carmen (who owns a Treo 650) introduced me to an elegant case manufactured by Spec Products called SkinTight.  Three features of this product make it a must have for any Treo owner!!!! 

First, the molded ergo grips and buttons make the device a hell of a lot easier to use  This is especially true with the middle navigation thumb buttons, which I always found impossible. 

Second, the case provides a hinged crystal clear plastic window that not only protects your screen, it also (and I would argue more importantly) disables the annoying touch screen.  Don't get me wrong....I love using the touch screen with my stylus while using the device as a PDA.  I hate it when you hold the devices up to your ear to use it as a phone and your ear changes the time from GMT-5 Eastern US  to GMT-4 Caracas, La Paz; inadvertently sends a txt message; and/or changes a calendar item.  (Note to Treo Engineers......in future models, please provide a hard button to turn off the touch screen). 

Finally, SkinTight's rubber molding acts as barrier for your SD Memory Expansion Card.  Without SkinTight, the SD card sits in a slot at the top of the device, locked in with nothing more then a spring loader that pops the card out if pressed.  This annoying feature caused me to lose my 2 GB card on Friday, resulting in about $150 worth of mobile applications (that I had stored on the card) to vanish.  This is guaranteed not to happen with a SkinTight case as the molding wraps around the entire device, exposing only the Qwerty keyboard.  Alas, I will step off of my soap box.  Please heed my advise, from one consumer to another, if you want a Treo you must pick up a SkinTight case.

An Xbox 360 | Finally!

I finally was able to get my hands on an XBox 360 Premium Game System last night.  My friend and work colleague, Joe Preston, and I drove to the Toys R' Us in Peabody, MA to pick them up.  Mind you, this was after a failed attempt to procure the rigs at the Best Buy right down the street.  This brought up a conversation that I have had several times since the release of the 360.....what the hell were the brainiacs at Microsoft thinking with this distribution strategy???

Regardless, I am happy to finally have one.  I was able to purchase it for $399.99.  However, KB Toys forced you to buy three additional games and/or accessories.  This ended up not being that big of deal since I was planning to buy an extra wireless controller and pick up three games anyways.  The games I bought were:

  Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™

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The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion™

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  Battlefield 2: Modern Combat™

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Now its time to get my geek on!

Treo 700w

  Last week I finally bit the bullet and dumped my old Nokia 6810 for a Treo 700W Smartphone with Windows Mobile 5.  This also meant that I had to switch from Cingular to Verizon (sort of bummed about that as I really enjoyed being able to have a phone that I could use Internationally).

Too date, I am pretty impressed with this device.   As Palm's first Smartphone to support EvDO, I am thrilled with the data speeds I am afforded via Verizon's High-Speed CDMA network.  This allows me to stream Live TV via SmartVideo, easily upload/download photos or video clips, and receive other large work documents like PowerPoint Presentations, etc.  I put a 2GB Secure Digital card in the memory expansion slot, so I have a ton of space to store large files and applications.  Also, the Bluetooth integrates the phone with my new car's audio system (For whatever reason my Nokia's Bluetooth would not pair) .

Things I am not so keen on. First, I am working through some dexterity issues associated with the touch screen and the QWERTY keyboard.  I find myself often hitting wrong hard and soft buttons.  I hope this changes over time as I get more acclimated to the phone.  I also am not happy about the fact that you cant use your expansion memory to as virtual memory.  With only 32MB (64MB is the standard these days) of available RAM, it runs out of juice pretty quickly if you have multiple apps open or are streaming large video files. Lastly, I think they should have put some type of protection over the SD slot so that your memory does not accidentally pop out.  This almost happend to me over the weekend---not a fun feeling. 

All in all, I am pyched with the upgrade.  Its a lot of phone and I know I am just scratching the surface regarding how I will end up using it for work and play.  If anyone is interested in a more thorough review, I would urge you to check out the one provided by MobileTechReview.

Picking up my BEEMER!

I am just about to head out to pick up my BMW X5.  I have been without an automobile for about 5 years and I finally decided that it was time to bite the bullet.  Here are some of its specs:

• 2006 BMW X5 Alpine White with Beige Leather Interior
• 4.4 liter DOHC, 32 valve V-8 engine with Valvetronic (Same engine that's in my brothers 7 Series)
• Premium, Sport, and Cold Weather Packages
• 18 x 8.5 Alloy Wheels
• Xennon Adaptive Headlights
• Bluetooth Enabled
• Nav System
• Premium Sound System
• DVD with TVs built into the Driver and Passenger Headrests (Pimp My Ride Style).  This was the feature I had put in for my little man Howie!  Now to by some Animal Planet DVDs.
• Premium Running Boards

New Home Theater

I plan to install my new home theater today, "come hell our high water" (note: that last phrase should be said in your best WWII patriotic soldier American slang voice).  I bought the system this past Saturday to replace my Sony HDTV/DVD and Bose CD/receiver & speakers.  Call  it a x-mas present for moi!  All of the components were delivered yesterday.  The only reason why things are not yet setup yet is because I was waiting on professional installers to show up.  They left me hanging yesterday.  I am supposed to hear from them this AM.   I am not holding my breath.  To that end, I am diving in head first.

All in all, I am pretty happy with my purchases.  They are detailed as follows:

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	Samsung 61" Widescreen DLP™ HDTV • 61" DLP™ TV • Widescreen (16:9) • PC compatible • Built-in HD tuner • HDMI input • 720p resolution
	Samsung HD-Conversion DVD Player • HD-conversion DVD p• Multi-format playback • EZ View
	Harman Kardon Surround Sound Receiver • 7.1-channel surround sound • DTS®-ES/Dolby® Digital EX • 75 watts per channel • Dolby® Pro Logic IIx • A-BUS Ready® system • Flash-memory capacity
	Velodyne 12" Subwoofer (VRP-1200) • 12" woofer • Front-firing design • 130-watt RMS amplifier • Speaker-level inputs • Line-level inputs
	2 Polk Floorstanding, 1 Center, & 2 Bookshelf  Speakers • 3-way design • 6 1/2" woofers • 6 1/2" mid-range drivers • 1" tweeter • Dynamic Balance drivers • Magnetic shielding

Note: This is the first system I have bought where I intentionally left out buying a CD player.  Almost all of my music played  to date has been via my Video iPod.  I figured I will continue seeing how that works out for me.

New Dell XPS 600

Happy birthday to me!  My Dell XPS 600 arrived last Tuesday, and I have been consumed with it since (this is the reason why I have not been posting for the last week).  After depending on my Voodoo m:855 Gamebook for the last three years as my primary gaming rig, I have upgraded to this very powerful desktop.  Specs include:

• Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition Dual Core Processor 630 (3.20GHz, 800FSB) with HT Technology and 2MB cache.
• 2GB Ram (DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz)
• Dual 256MB Nvidia GeForce Video Cards (7800GTX with SLI Technology)
• Dual 250GB ATA Hard Drives
• 24 inch UltraSharp Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor
• Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D), w/Dolby® Digital 5.1 Audio Card
• Logitech Z5500 500 Watt 5.1 Digital Surround Speakers w/control pod
• ZBoard Gaming Keyboard (with Battlefield 2 Limited Edition Interchangeable Keyset)

Two words......HOLY CRAP! I think Dell should offer nuclear missile silo's as an add on accessory.  The best thing about this rig, outside of its specs, was the price.  When I priced it out via Dell's website, It was $6,299.  However, I was able to purchase it through my firm and receive our corporate discount which brought the price down too $3,498.