Archive for "Toys"
Posted on September 4, 2005 by Ching under Toys, Wishlist.
Here’s a review of my new phone from Engadget. I sold my old phone, the D415, to mom and dad for $60. I think I could’ve gotten more for it on eBay, considering that it’s still selling for around $345 new ($199 with a service plan/contract through T-Mobile), but hey it’s family so you can only ask for so much. The price on the old phone has dropped some, though, because I remember last year it was $299 with a plan/contract. I wasn’t dumb enough to pay that much, though. Although, I did fall prey to the fancy phone seduction because my new phone cost me quite a bit. However, since I didn’t pay the Expansys price (which incidentally has dropped to less than $500 since I first started shopping around for this phone), I still think I got a pretty good deal. Not as good of a deal as when I thought it was $700, though. Based on the price it is now, I only saved $150 or so. I need to work on my bargain-hunting skills. So anyway, this is supposed to be my birthday gift this year so I guess I need to make the most of out it and learn to love it. And I need to take care of it better than the last one because I may not be getting another phone for a few years. Unless, of course, T-Mobile releases an irressistible new camera phone.
Posted on September 3, 2005 by Ching under Toys.
It arrived yesterday. Been playing with it. Still can’t get regular email to work, however, I can upload pictures to Flickr the same way that I was doing it with my old D415 – just send it via MMS. It is annoying because I really want to be able to send regular email to people. I will just have to deal with it though because if I want regular pop email, I’ll have to sign up for T-Mobile Web. It’s pretty cheap actually at just $5.99 a month for the service. So it’s not the cost that is the obstacle. The problem is the necessary settings I need are not listed on the web. I cannot call T-Mobile for help because they don’t support this phone. Besides, most of the T-Mobile customer service reps are clueless anyway. I tried calling yesterday and was asking for POP settings and the girl on the other hand was so confused you’d think I was speaking a different language. So I’m kind of stuck. MMS it is, I guess.
Posted on August 27, 2005 by Ching under Toys, Wishlist.
I ended up getting my birthday present a couple of months early. For the last couple of months, I’ve been lurking around eBay in search of a good deal on the phone that I’ve been wanting.
For those of you who don’t know, I’ve had my eye on the Sony Ericsson s710a after some very careful consideration. Seriously! I did phone comparisons and read tons of reviews and did way more research than I normally do. Of course, me being my impressionable self, the fact that famous photographer Robert Clark uses this phone factored into the desicion making process quite heavily. Also, I like the fact that it looks more like a camera than any other phone I’ve ever seen. It will serve as a great conversation piece and ice breaker with strangers.
So anyway, the biggest hurdle has been the cost (upwards of $700 through Expansys). You all know I don’t have that kind of money because no one will friggin’ donate to my cause. What is the deal with everyone donating to sister and not to me, anyway?
But I digress.. Getting back to the phone situation..
I’m not going to sign up for Cingular phone service just so I can get my phone for cheap. I am actually quite satisfied with the service I’m receiving from T-Mobile so I’ve been looking for deals on eBay. I’ve bid on some of the s710a auctions, but since my birthday is not until the end of October (a hint to those who want to make my day and send me a surprise birthday gift) I really hadn’t been taking them seriously. I hadn’t really won any of the auctions so no big deal.
A couple of days ago I found an enticing offer for the phone on eBay. I sent an email to the seller to confirm that the phone is, in fact, “unlocked” as advertised in the description and I could, in fact, use it with my T-Mobile phone service. The seller replied, that the phone is indeed “unlocked” and all I would need to do is put my SIM card in to start enjoying my new phone.
I think the starting bid was pretty high ($299.99) because after a couple of days there were no other bidders still. These phones have been pretty popular so that struck me as a surprise. I decided to place a bid on it this morning because the auction was about to come to close. I fully expected to get out-bid by some jerk at the last ten seconds of the auction process as I have in the past with other items that I have bid on. But, much to my amazement, I found an email confirming that I had won the item when I arrived home after my waxing appointment this afternoon.
I didn’t really expect to win the auction because I didn’t really plan on buying the phone this early. However, so as not to get bad eBay karma and so as not to piss people off, I went ahead and paid. So there you have it. I should be sporting a new phone next week.
I’m excited to get my new phone and start playing with – the only downside is that since I’m getting it early, I’m not going to get anything to unwrap for my birthday. Oh, well. Maybe some nice blog reader will send me something and I will still have something to open (hint-hint). 😉
Posted on August 22, 2005 by Brian under Toys.
My new obsession is great. I was turned on to it by a co-worker. OGame was originally designed by some Swede and they have been playing it in Europe for years. It has just recently hit the main land and is great for those that like to plan, strategize and just over all conquer the world without having to sit in front of your TV or computer for hours. It’s mostly text based, no intensive graphics. You sign up, build your resources and let it go. Check back on a daily basis (unless you’re me. I check at least three times a day. I have a tendency to piss people off and they attack me). If you wish to play just click here and sign up for “Universe 4” that’s the one that my family and I are in. Then do a search for an Alliance Tag “killmall”. Trust me its fun and not very time demanding, perfect for those lazy gamers!
Posted on August 20, 2005 by Ching under Toys.
I’d been having problems with my computer for a while. However, I thought I would stick it out for a little bit because I don’t really have enough money to buy a new one. Computer problems aside, guess what actually gave out? My battery backup! I must have turned my computer on a dozen times yesterday. The minute I would turn around and walk away it would immediately shut off. So frustrating!
If you were wondering why the live webcam has been off a lot lately, it’s because of the stupid battery backup. It kept shutting my computer down and thus, no live feed. You know how much I love you all and even though no one really cares about me (as evidenced by the lack of donations), I still want to make sure that the webcam stays on so you can watch me.
This brings me to a quick decision to buy a new batter backup today after the NCCJ walk. It was a hasty decision, but I believe it was the right one.
Brian and I went to Best Buy as soon as I arrived home from the NCCJ walk. While there, we got to play with the new Roboraptor. Oh, and they had these new gaming chairs there also. Brian just had to try it out.
The funny part is that he thought it was like the rocker and so he leaned back on it – but as soon as he did, he flipped backwards and hit his head on the shelf behind him. I wish I could have taken a picture of it because it was totally hilarious! His legs were up in the air and everything! What’s worse is that a lady who was walking through the aisle saw the whole thing and started laughing, which made me laugh even harder!
So anyway, we got me an APC UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for like $110 (after taxes). Naturally we end up browsing the aisles and checking out other stuff. Somehow I got in my noggin that we needed a second printer. I think it’s because I’m tired of looking at the stupid broken one on my desk.
We ended up going to Office Depot and then CompUSA and getting an HP. Brian hates HP products, but their TV commercials have been pretty good lately so I’m hoping that means the product quality has improved also. Seriously, though, this wasn’t a bad price for an all-in-one. The damage came to about $130 for the printer after taxes. You might think that is frivolous considering we already have a printer and a scanner and I could just as well print my documents using Brian’s printer through the home network – that is true and I can’t argue that – and I could just as well ask Brian to scan my stuff for me – ah, but this one I can argue because whenever I do it always takes him like a half an hour to do it when it would take a normal person two seconds.
So, once again, we are back to having two printers. Just the way I like it.
P.S. We also had a nice lunch at Applebee’s today. The highlight was a frozen Bailey’s cappuccino, which is my all-time favorite beverage to drink at the resto.
P.P.S. The trend of not being carded continues and I am really starting to worry. I know I used to whine a lot about how annoying it is to keep getting carded at various establishments and even the movies, but now I’m very, very worried. I know I’ll be turning thirty in a couple of years, but do I really look that old?
« Older Entries « » Newer Entries »
