Nokia E61i

For the last two years I've been using a HP iPaq HX2790 for my agenda, and contacts. At the time I was quite pleased, until I started adding functionality to the device. So the time was right to start looking for something else. Something else meant a device without any Windows Mobile Crap. Furthermore, it should combine a phone and an organizer, AND a small QWERTY keyboard. These criteria didn't leave that many options, so I went for the Nokia E61i. A nice all-in-one device with;

• Wireless (802.11b/g)
• Bluetooth
• InfraRed
• Multiple e-mail accounts via POP3 / IMAP (as well over SSL/TLS)
• Nokia PC-Soute for Synching the device with Outlook etc.
• And lot's more

So I'll be trying to figure this thing out the next couple of weeks. I just hope that this device is a little more user friendly than the Windows Mobile devices.

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Apple Files Future Touchscreen iPod Patent

AppleInsider found a filed patent by Apple that reveiles a possible future new iPod design. And again, I can't wait

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New Home Cinema Set

My new home cinema set arrived today. Earlier I mentioned that I'd probably get me the Philips 42 inch TFT, but after seeing lot's of those screens work, I decided to get a Sony Bravia KDL-40W2000 (1080p). With a new screen, I also needed a new Home Cinema Receiver. This became the Pioneer VSX-2016AV-S. Together with a nice KEF iQ7 speakerset, and an active Klipsch subwoofer. Oh my god, this setup rocks....

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Windows Mobile 5..... aaaaargh

Last year, I bought a HP iPaq hx2790. Partly because I'd been without a PDA for a couple of years, but mostly because I don't want to boot up my laptop to see my mail or calendar. The hx2790 comes with Windows Mobile 5 (WM5), wireless, bluetooth, fingerprint scanner, and built-in encryption. All very very nice.... Well, there is a downside to this nirvana;

• Wireless broke down after a couple of weeks (also see an old post on my old blog). The first time they fixed it... they didn't fix it at all. So it had to go back for repairs again.
• On the weirdest occasions all my synced e-mail bodies were complete gibberish or they were just empty. The only way to solve this was break the pairing with ActiveSync remove everything from the PDA, and sync it again. [SOLUTION: disable the HP Encryption Tools crap]
• 9 out of 10 times I had to reset the device when I powered it on. So most of the times it would be more time efficient to boot up my laptop. [SOLUTION: don't use the HP Encryption tools for securing your device. Just use the simple standard PIN code for logging on to the PDA]
• Applications would crash easily. Result: more resets. [SOLUTIONS: do not install third-party software]

As long as I stick to this everything works just fine. This makes me wonder why would I buy an PDA with a gazillion megabytes of free space, and lot's of SD/MMC/CF slots for adding even more bytes. Every program I add makes the device more unstable. During these periods of complete misery I also tried a PDA encryption suite of Utimaco. I just wanted some sort of encryption to protect the data on the device. Their latest software version includes support for the hx2790 fingerprint scanner, but after installing the software everything went berserk (again). Uninstalling didn't work, so the only solution to get back in control again was to reset the damn thing to factory defaults..... One more thing; why is it that EVERY older Windows Mobile version has an iPaq backup program for backing up SETTINGS, and the WM5 OS doesn't have this. Every time when I needed to reset the thing to factory defaults (about 8 to 10 times so far), I had to setup my mail accounts, etc manually. This feature isn't even available on ActiveSync for WM5. No more Windows Mobile devices for me in the future. I just hope that this crappy piece of software holds on till the end of the year when the iPhone is being released.

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New Honda Civic (lease)

Within the next couple of weeks, I need to pick a new lease car. It's probably gonna be the new Honda Civic 1.8 Executive (black). I just hope that they have some sort of iPod integration for this car. Anyone any info on that? It's got to be integrated or something, because the audio system is integrated into the dashboard, so it's not possible to place a 'stand-alone' car stereo in the car with iPod support (e.g. the Alpine car hifi components :-P).

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Apple iPhone

Well, Steve Jobs introduced the Apple iPhone at MacWorld 2007. The new phone features:

• Phone (duh)
• Internet
• 4GB or 8GB iPod with all the usual iPod features (and widescreen!!!)
• POP3 and IMAP mail support (free push-IMAP with premium Yahoo accounts)
• All touchscreen, no 'normal' keyboard or stylus.
• Runs on OSX
• Available in Europe 4th quarter 2007, and will probably cost around 500 euros

Well, I know what I want for X-mas this year :-D UPDATE: I just saw the actual keynote, and I must say that the iPhone is really impressive. Can't wait till x-mas...... must have.... NOW!!!!

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Multifunction/purpose Gadgets

Do I really need a multipurpose phone/mp3 player/camera? The talks about the upcoming iPhone from Apple made me think. Sure, a Apple iPhone would definitely be cool, but do I need a cell-phone/mp3 player. I already have a cell-phone (which has a radio, and mp3 player functionality), and I never used the radio, or the mp3 player. Somehow I like to separate functionality. This way I can buy a new mp3 player (read: iPod) without having to buy a new phone. Or, if my phone dies, I can still listen to my music. Or, I can listen to music while having boring conversations on the phone. So, this leaves the question; Would I buy an iPhone?.. Maybe, but only if it's innovating. Just a convergence of a phone and a mp3 player won't convince me. Please note that I 'own' a cell-phone since 1998, and I just got my third in a 8 year timespan. During this period I also got a iMode enabled phone for free, but never used it. Mainly because the menu on the phone sucked big time. So, the iPhone needs to be very special (and available in Europe). However, I'll definitely buy the rumored new full-(wide)screen iPod with touchscreen interface. Just for replacing my 'old' (and still working) iPod Photo.

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Apple Mac Tablet

After a couple of  Microsoft posts, a new Apple related post. According to MacRumors, we may get a Tablet Mac in 2007. Rumors or not, this would be very nice to have. That, and a Mac Pro, Mac Mini, etc. :). Well, I guess that my tax refunds for 2006 are already spoken for :). It's could become an expensive Apple year for me. iMac or a Mac Pro as the substitute for my Windows PC. Replacing my Windows based server for a Mac Mini, new iPod with touchscreen and bigger display (rumor), a Apple iPhone (rumor), and now a Apple Mac Tablet (another rumor). I almost forgot the new announced iTV thing that they showed a couple of weeks ago...... Oh man, so many new Apple wannahaves, and so 'little' money.

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iPod-killer hacked

The latest iPod killer from Microsoft (the Zune), has been 'hacked'. A pretty simple registry hack (on your PC) is all it takes to access the device as a mass storage device and copy stuff form it. Also, just rename any file extension to .jpg (image file extension) and 'share' them among other Zune users. A firmware upgrade will probably disable these features in the future. Another (unconfirmed) hack is to enable special features on the Zune, so that it can be used as a paper-weight :). I wonder if this really works, because I could use a good paper-weight.

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GPS unit

I'm looking for a (cheap) GPS unit for my holiday in Africa. The only thing it should do, is record coordinates and save waypoints (about 100-200). With these coordinates, place my photos on Google Earth, so everyone can see where those pictures were taken. I do have a iPaq handheld with GPS software and a separate GPS mouse, but this combination is a bit fragile, so I need something more solid. Minimum requirements:

• Lot's of batterylife (preferably an accu instead of loose batteries)
• Compass
• Altometer
• Waypoints
• Not too heavy
• PC interface (preferably USB and Mac compatible) for downloading the data.

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