shon

One year ago today, I stood in a line (albeit, short compared to others) to pick up the most anticipated super-gadget of all time.  I was unbelievably stoked.  I had waited nearly 7 months from the official Jobsnote announcement, and my wait was about to end.  Finally, at 6pm my local AT&T store was letting people in. I was 4th in line, and there were only 4 8GB iPhones they told us. Hot damn, I got lucky.  After about 45 minutes, I walked out of the store, my iPhone in the bag waiting to be unboxed (ah, that fresh Apple product smell).  But I would have to painstakingly wait longer.  A gadget freaks worst nightmare: My wife's birthday is today, and oh yes, we had to go out for dinner.  Dinner was at 7, and with the drive, I was already deemed late.  I made it to the restaurant, and of course had to explain what I had been doing.  I left my new toy in the car.  Like a siren, it beckoned me.  Sure enough the topic at a nearby table was the wonder gadget I had just purchased.  I hadn't even looked at it yet. It was still safely in the box.  Finally, our lovely dinner came to an end.  Next stop- my in-law's house for some cake with my parents.  Luckily, my wonderful wife knew she had to share her occasion with me that year, and as requested, she brought along our Macbook so I could start the activation process.  After some cake, and more chit chat, I made a break for it.  I headed to my father-in-law's office (closest to the wireless router, to ensure perfect signal), and began my unboxing.  I was finally holding it in my hands: the Apple iPhone. It was finally a reality. I proceeded to dock the phone, connect the USB cord to my computer and fire up iTunes for activation.... except there was something wrong.  The wireless router wasn't working.  The frickin thing wouldn't let me connect to the network.  So damn it all, I unplugged the D-Link POS, and plugged directly in to the cable modem.  Finally, after a few quick point-and-clicks, my iPhone was activated and Synced.   I had spent the previous week getting Address Book up to snuff, and sectioning off iPhoto for my iPhone.  I then re-emerged from my perceived anti-social activity to show off my new toy.  I already knew the thing inside and out, so it was easy to impress my family.

Today, a whole year later, the iPhone is still impressive.  Its improved sibling is on the way, and there have been a few modest attempts at stealing the iPhone's thunder.  Despite others meager attempts, the iPhone is pound-for-pound the best phone, DAP, and internet device out there.  Here are a few things that still impress me today:

• The Display.  This thing is gorgeous. Excellent vibrant colors, very bright (reads perfect in daylight), and practically HD quality, thanks to its 120 PPI.  I was worried about smudges- cant even see them when you're using the phone, and they wipe right off.
  
• The iPod.  Thanks to the display, browsing album art in coverflow, watching movies or TV shows is awesome.  I also love being able to browse my collection in coverflow, like i would with my CD collection.  Great sound, intuitive to navigate, it simply is the best DAP/Video device.
  
• Mobile Safari.  While I prefer reading the RSS feeds, displaying full sites, with the exception of flash, is nearly flawless.  I've purchased items from amazon, checked ebay auctions, posted comments on TUAW, Engadget and other Weblogs Inc., sites,  looked up cars on Edmunds, there is very little I cant access/do/read. Simply the best solution on the go.
  
• Google Maps.  I can't tell you how many times I've used this thing to get me from point A to point B. Be it in Seattle, or more recently Niagara Falls/Buffalo (I found The Anchor Bar faster on my iPhone than I could on the Navigation system in my grandparent's 2008 Cadillac CTS).  Not to mention it doubles as better than yellow pages.  Simply a Godsend.
  
• iTunes Store.  Wow, this was such an awesome addition (not to mention a brilliant revenue source).  Its so nice to be able to purchase new music from iTunes, and be able to instantly listen to it (not to mention preview it), wherever I can pick up a WiFi connection (though Apparently iPhone 3G users might be able to purchase over the cellular network in the future).  I've been at work several times, and heard something on Pandora or KEXP, and was able to buy it before i could forget.
  
• Touch screen.  The beautiful part of having a phone with limited physical buttons, is having a dynamic input system. With the App Store on its way, and finally some 3rd party development,  this gives developers the world.  No guessing if the phone has these buttons, or where they might be located.  As for typing, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it works wonderfully.  I type full emails, 2-thumbed every day.  I'm a big dude too.  People just need to resist that urge to correct their mistakes...about 85% of the time, the phone will assume the proper word.... just keep going!
  
• Reception.  I live in Wenatchee podunk-middle-of-the-state WA. We don't even have a Best Buy or an Olive Garden (though, if you can help Wenatchee out in those areas, I'm ready for both of them).  In a few months, we're finally get a a freakin' Jack-in-the-Box.  Seriously.  I rarely have any reception issues. Occasionally Target or Costco give me grief, but seriously, those places are built like bomb shelters, and don't you have some shopping to do? 
  
• Visual Voicemail.  I can finally pick which message to hear first, and see who its from, without having to listen to that archaic automated robot voice, and can delete just as easy.
  
• The other stuff. Notes, calendar, calculator, the camera; all that stuff has come in very handy at some point or another.

So as you can tell, I freakin love my iPhone.  Gone are the days of toting my iPod, and my cell phone, and still not having some of these features.  The sucker is slim, sexy, and intuitive.  There isn't any other cell phone on the market that comes close to doing all of the things as good as the iPhone does.  Its gadget convergence at its best. 1 year later, the iPhone is still the ultimate gadget.

Now i should probably get back to my wife-- it IS her birthday.

http://flickr.com/photos/gernot/2554181096 Apparently on the ground floor. Nothing too revealing.
Via Daring Fireball

image via Zagg.com

I got some good deals on my PSP accessories.  My local Fred Meyer has all video game accessories 20% (has been for over a month now).  Low and behold I found an officialy licensed PSP bag: pouch for PSP, pouch for ac adapter & headphones, and a pouch for UMDs and those fabled Memory Stick Duo Pros with Magic Gate technology.  Speaking of the devil, I was also able to get a pretty good deal on the MSDP:MG at a wonderful online electronics retailer you should be aware of.  Freddy M's also had some good under $20PS3 games like The Darkness and The Bigs.  Finally I ordered an Invisible Shield that covers the front and back of the PSP. I used an Invisible Shield for my iPhone, but wasn't happy with it for the phone, but I believe it will serve its purpose well for the PSP.  So, my dear readers, the first 2 people that comment on this post claiming what their favorite PSP game is gets a code for 20% off an Invisible Shield.  Post up!

My early relationships with the Wii and PSP got off to a rocky start. After some maturing (on their part, of course), I decided to give them that ubiquitous second chance.

The Nintendo Wii

I haven't seen much decent mature out of this console, with a few sparkling exceptions. The first would be the Virtual Console. Nostalgia holds quite a bit of weight in my book and the Wii makes it very easy to relive those (sometimes terrible) games. Mario, Contra, Street Fighter, Kid Chameleon, 1080 and with more being added every week. The second sparkler for the Wii is this new Wiiware thing. Simple original content. While I have yet to try any of these titles out, it definitely shows promise. I also like the idea that both big name publishers and indie coders alike can develop for Wiiware. The final sparkler that recently hooked me was Super Mario Galaxy. I've never been a huge Mario fan, and I've never beaten one, but as childish as Super Mario Galaxy looks, its really quite fun and addictive, yet not overly difficult. So thanks to Mario, and some help from the past, I now own another Wii. Now for the gripes I have. On my previous Wii I had a handful of games that I had downloaded from the VC. I was under the assumption that if i purchased a new Wii, that all i would have to do is link my account to my new Wii, and voila, I could re-download all of my purchases, especially since all those games show up on my 'My Nintendo' site. No dice. After an email and a phone call to Nintendo support, they tell me the VC games cannot be carried over to a new system and I would have to repurchase them. Apparently the Wii console itself has the license to the content, NOT the account. Looks like Nintendo needs to take a few courses from the school of Sony.

The God of War PSP Bundle

I have been waiting for this limited edition PSP bundle for a few months now, and it was finally released today. My previous PSP was an original, while my new one is a "PSP 2000". Slimmer, lighter, brighter screen, a bit of rearrangement of a few items like the speakers and ports plus video out, constitutes this new version. This bundle includes "God of War: Chains of Olympus", the Sony proprietary UMD of "Superbad", and a wall charger. I sold my last one because i just didn't play it enough, and there wasn't much content available. Since I have a PS3, the most enticing reason to get another PSP is "remote play". With remote play, I can access my PS3 anywhere I have a wifi connection with my PSP. The PSP will even wake my PS3 if it is turned off. I can access music, videos, the Playstation Store (yes, it saves content to the PSP!), and most of all games. Namely one game right now- Pixel Junk Monsters. Yup, I can now play PJ:M at Café Mela. Its pretty slick. So with the remote play feature, some great titles (GoW of course), a pretty good screen to watch videos on, and a plane trip to NY next week, the time was right. Then I discovered a major flaw with this bundle... real quick. No included memory stick. Thats right, the PSP has no on-board storage space, and in order to save a game, including the one that is included in the bundle, you need to purchase one more item. Lame. Why dont they just include the damn memory stick, and charge an extra $20? At least you a have a fully functioning system. My first bundle did. In fact, it came with headphones, a soft case, a cleaning cloth and the memory stick. Sure it was a paltry 32MB but it was SOMETHING. The only other thing I've noticed in comparison to the original PSP, is that the PSP 2000 seems a bit more chintzy. Since I don't have the original, my guess is the overall materials used feel different. Memory stick and chintzy issues aside, I'm glad I picked one up. Red is cool, and so is Kratos.

As rumored, a few of HBO's original programming seasons are now available on iTunes.  It looks like episodes will run you 2.99, however since it is HBO, shows run just under an hour. 

While I wouln't choose to buy them on iTunes, its awesome they are available. HBO deffinitely has some of my all time favorite shows.

• Oz
• Deadwood
• Rome 
• Carnivale
• Six Feet Under
• and of course, the Sopranos.

I prefer to get my HBO programming courtesy of Netflix, but hey, its iTunes is near-instant gratification.