Hopefully I can keep somewhat connected to see what we get at the Sept 9 Apple event. At any rate, keep stopping by for the latest while Sarah and I take a Rick Steves tour of Europe!

So if you haven't seen my tweets, I'm having quite a bit of fun with the iPhone software 2.0 update. The App store is amazing, and the updates to the existing feature set are very welcome. Earlier today I did discover a new feature I hadn't read yet on any of my favorite Apple blogs. I was listening to Pendulum's "In Silico" album that I purchased from iTunes. It came with 3 music videos. Normally, when I listened to the album, my iPhone would play the music videos, but only the music. It just displayed a video still while the music was playing. If I wanted to view the actual video, I would have to select "Videos" from my source list, and select the video there. Well I was pleasantly surprised to see the "Granite" music video playing as I was listening to the music. When the phone is in Portrait view, you can choose to fill the screen or view the proper aspect ratio. Yes, I also welcome the handy screen cap trick too! (hold down the home button for a few seconds, then press the sleep/power button)

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.

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!

The Nintendo Wii

The God of War PSP Bundle

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.

After about a 10 min. install I was off and running.  While at first the graphics aren't stunning, the sheer detail is amazing. Signs, trash, hot coffee mugs, ads, newspapers, magazines, not to mention all the textures, all contribute to the game's immense detail.  Like all the other GTA games, you play a hired gun/muscle/baseball bat; this time a Eastern Europe dude named Niko Bellic, who moved to the US to escape certian problems back home, as well as build that "American Dream".  The game mechanics are the same as passed GTAs, albiet with a bit more finesse, and smoother animation.  So far the most welcome additions for me are the cellphone, as opposed to finding a frickin payphone, and the GPS routing for navigating Liberty City. Apparently you can even buy new ringtones.

I only played the Multiplayer for a single round, as I've mostly been trying to play through the story.  My first impression of the Multiplayer was fun, but it didn't grab me.  In the game version I played, there were 6 of us, 1 car to find and deliver, and a lot of guns. Every man for himself. When you deliver a car, you get cash. When you kill a player, they drop some cash.  Apparently you can use the cash to "level up" but at this point I haven't explored that yet. This weekend perhaps.

Overall, I am really enjoying Grand Theft Auto IV, and absolutely gets my full support as one of the best games available.  I also highly reccommend the special edition if you can find one! Rockstar kicks ass. 

I had read a post on PS3fanboy about a weekend a few months back where players got double the XP, and immediately I discounted the game.  I figgured unless you got in on the ground floor, playing online would be a waste of time since so many people had been playing for so long, and now were going to get double the experience points for that weekend.  However, the multiplayer is set up so well that even if you're a 5 star general 3x over, you can still get your ass handed to you by a corpal newbie.  Sure the general has a bit more of an arsonal to choose from, and some bonus items, but none of them make an overwhelming difference when it comes to gameplay. Needless to say, I'm getting over my fear for console FPSs.  The variety of weapons is great, the online game mode types are fresh and the maps are very dynamic. Lots of fun.

My only gripe? No dedicated mic button.  If you have your mic on, its always on.  So i get to hear plenty of rap music, crying babies, cell phone calls and arguments with parent on top of the normal BS I would likely hear anyway.  Unfortunately the only solution I've found is to turn on my own mic, and stuff it in the seat cusion so the mic chatter comes only through the headset and I can play in peace.  Or maybe I should fire-up the single player campaigns.  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is worth your hard earned $60 for the Playstation 3. 

note: my iPhone is not jailbroken. 

Now granted, no one could call the format war back then, but Sony knew what they were doing.  Now that Blu-Ray has won the format war, and in my oppionion thanks to the PS3, we're going to see those people that were on the fence about which format to buy will finally purchase their Blu-Ray player.  Which player might you ask? According to Engadget HD's recent poll, an overwhelming 50%+ say its the Playstation 3, due to its price (oh yes. price.) and of course the games.  While some might say that the PS3 still doesn't have any "good games", I beg to differ. We should see some sharp sales numbers for the HD console that will convice developers to pull up their panties and quit complainging about how difficult devlopment is for the PS3.

Not only is the PS3 sharing major releases with 360, this year Sony whips out its big exclusive guns: Guns of the Patriots (apparently getting its own bundle) and Final Fantasy 13. Both are console sellers. But that not my point.

My point is that Blu-Ray will sell Playstation 3's. Simply because the PS3 is the most bang-for-buck, its NOT just a:

• Blu-Ray player
• Up-scaling DVD player
• HD game console
• Upscaled PS2 (20, 60 and 80GB models at this time)
• Audio/Video/Photo center
• internet browser
• Linux box

 It is all of these. The best part? Sony firmware updates for the life of the product which will only enable added functionality in the future.  There is talk of an agreement with Netflix for streaming movies, Europe is getting a DVR+slingbox-esque add on which we should see soon (hopefully), and as long as those BD standards get updated, so will the PS3.

The PS3 is simply the best, most powerful companion for a HDTV.