Some of you might have noticed this word on my various statuses and wondered what the heck I'm talking about. Apparently Blackberry aficionados refer to their beloved smartphone as a Crackberry, possibly due to their addictive nature. Anyone that knows my passion for electronic devices has prolly heard me rant about the most esoteric things in the tech world, often citing specs that most users couldn't care less to remember.
For the longest time I've been looking a versatile device to consolidate the bulk of my technological experience.
I've resorted to the paper planner as I couldn't find a software that would be able to cater specifically to my needs.
I've compromised with various mp3 players because I refuse to buy into the ipod hype and lack the funds/time to hack an ipod into what I want out of a portable sound system. I strayed from getting a high end md player due to the fact that while the minidisc was immensely popular in Japan... it failed everywhere else in the world, possibly due to Sony's knack for making everything they ever invent proprietary and thus locking out the rest of world since we'd rather buy into apple or some other national brand (not necessarily American for the internationals that are reading this). I'll admit, the recording quality that people raved about was very tempting but the timing in which mp3s were finally incorporated into the technology (it wasn't until flash based mp3 players had already established a firm ground in the portable music market) and the sheer amount of time it took to record songs into an md kept me from buying into it. The Otaku in me was sorely disappointed time and time again--I researched md tech every time I got the hankering for a new portable. On the recording side of things, I settled with the Zoom H2, which is basically a portable recording studio and is pretty good. I reasoned that I could also use the H2 as a portable music player as well, but unfortunately the file management was so clunky/crude that I broke down and bought a Sansa Clip... which is an ipod shuffle killer in every respect except for looks. Unfortunately I got sent back to the market less than a year later when my Clip gave up for dead while I was stranded in Japan and all the electronics I brought over from the US were dying left and right. I figure the gods were punishing me for not making the most of my stay (I actually half-believe that they were...). Eventually I broke down and bought the Cowon D2 which, for what its worth, is a great mp3 player. But I hate the UI, all the gimmicks it comes with are mediocre at best, and much much worse... it makes me hate touch screen devices.
But I digress (into a very convoluted story about my portable mp3 player/recorder ambitions). And so I digress into my online computing issues:
Beyond those things, I wanted a more portable internet capable device as I was tired of having that aching shoulder from lugging a 3kg laptop around. I made do by making sure I was always near a computer. When I lost my laptop in Japan, I made do by visiting my lab more often, which supplied me with a computer. I've commuted an hour by foot just so I could get my computing done several times. When my second laptop died, I had broken free from Sendai and was travelling. I still got online by visiting net cafes, using friend's internet, and even the dorm computer (it was this awesome hostel in Kyoto). After getting home, I didn't quite need the portability anymore. There was one issue I had though: I needed an electronic dictionary (電子辞書). As luck would have it, my trip to Japan supplied me with a dictionary: my cellphone. Unfortunately, the phone is locked into AU's service and I have no intention of unlocking it for use on American networks. I had a hard enough time using the thing in Japan for Japanese services... I don't know how it'll operate in america if at all.
Enter the Blackberry 8900. To be honest, this was a luxury I didn't expect. My dad just suddenly came to me one day saying that we're going to change cellphone carriers. I had a few minutes to decide on a phone, and since I had done cellphone research before (I wanted to get the HTC Slide way back in the day but was weary of all the issues it came with) I found one that screamed... pick me!... which wasn't hard because I have a gripe with most cellphones anyways. It took awhile to get used to the interface but it's more or less consolidated all the aforementioned devices into a small, sexy body... just the way I like it ^.~ ::sweatdrop::
Its not the perfect solution to my needs (I still need to use my Zoom, and my planner has been split into digital and analog parts)... and I recognize a lot of the dangers of owning a pda, such as becoming overly reliant on electronic devices to get through my day to day life. Its one of the reasons why I refuse to get a GPS. But my phone comes with GPS so if I ever get stuck in a hard spot, I have more options. All in all, I'm happy. It's only been a few days, but the potential in my hands is mouth-watering.
Japanese:
Group 1: 24/28
Group 3: 28/32
Physical:
Air Alert III: Week 1 Monday
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