Gadgets double review

I've been thinking of actually doing something with my blog as opposed to just randomly ranting about traffic and defective Xbox 360's. I'll probably try a couple different formats in the next week or two but here's a shot at something new.

The past 2 weeks I've been looking for a way to ditch Verizon and considered the iPhone. Based on a few reviews and valuable advice from 2o2p members, I ended up ruling against it but I still wanted to use the non-phone related features. So I saved a hundred bucks by picking up....

The 8 GB iPod Touch

PROs: Ultra-accurate touch screen with multi-touch enabled; incredibly easy to use; integrated wireless internet adaptor; menu items for mobile-based versions of iTunes, Youtube, Safari, photo albums, and calendar; oh yeah, and it's also an MP3 and video player.

CONs: No stand-alone e-mail program; requires iTunes which can hog system resources; smudges easily; requires activation so you can't play with it on the way home from Best Buy.

THE SKINNY: If it looks like I was stretching for cons, it's because there are very few negatives. The iPhone fell short of expectations as a cell phone (lack of MMS and even some SMS features, poor call quality), but when you remove those expectations and look at the iPod Touch as a video/MP3 player, it's an incredible little device. In fact, it is so packed with other features that I use the MP3 player and video player the least. I've used multiple PDAs and smartphones in the past, but the web navigation on Safari is without a doubt the best I've seen. In fact most of the posting I've done in the 2o2p forums lately has been from the iPod. There is no instruction booklet but, PC fanboy as I am, I gotta give credit to Apple for creating a device with so many features that is so incredibly easy to figure out and use. At $300 for the 8 GB model and $400 for 16 GB, the iPod Touch is pricey; however there are so many features packed into it, I can easily see it re-defining the MP3 player just as the original iPod did years ago.

So the iPod Touch satisfied my craving for little techno-features but again, I wasn't looking for an MP3 player, I needed a new phone. So I found a deal on a free phone with 2-yr contract at Best Buy:

LG Rumor for Sprint

PROs: Full QWERTY keyboard without having to pick up a very pricey phone; sleek design; large, clear hi-res screen; packed with features................................

CONs: ......................no, wait, those aren't features - they're advertisements; excruciatingly complex interface; no flash, poor quality camera; it's a Sprint phone.

THE SKINNY: Maybe I'm just spoiled with smartphones and PDA's. But I don't remember any cell phone being as complex as this. Maybe I'm overreacting by saying it's "excruciatingly complex" but c'mon. There are two different sets of menus. One menu with basic features, and then another menu with about 8 pages of options. If you want to send a text message to somebody using the QWERTY keypad (arguably the best feature on the phone), you slide it open, exit out of the automatic menu that pops up, open your contacts, type the person's name (or at least the first few letters), click on the name, then the number, then "send message", then "text message". Now you can start typing your message. The camera and camcorder are decent under ideal lighting, but what's the point if navigating through the albums is almost as complex as text messaging? Not to mention, MMS messaging requires a data plan on top of your text messaging and calling plans - and therein lies the phone's downfall.

It's a Sprint phone. Sprint nickel-and-dimes their customers more than any other cellular provider. The Rumor is loaded with games and other applications. But every game is available only on a demo mode - I played Tetris, lined up my blocks to wipe out four lines at once, and as I'm dropping the straight block into place the game shuts off and tells me to connect to the web (requiring data charges) and download the game (for another fee). Even as you enter contacts into your phone book, you are inundated with pop-up advertisements for Sprint's web back-up service. All these little quirks are bearable, but what caused me to return the phone and cancel my family plan 5 days after I created the account, was the reception - or lack thereof. I was dropping calls left and right in Concord. Yes, the capital of New Hampshire. At my house, which is in a very rural but tourist-y area, the phone had zero to one bar but wouldn't make any calls or send or receive any text messages. If I stood outside or hung out the window, I could get a call but it would be dropped within about 60 seconds. Best thing about Sprint? 30 day evaluation period in which a contract can be canceled without penalty.

So I picked up a Samsung BlackJack through AT&T. And I love it. But this blog is too damn long so if anybody is interested I'll review it later.