Sunday, June 20, 2010

Iphone, Blackberry or Android phones?

For all you smart phone lovers out there, this little blog is for you. Many people want the joy of having a cool new smartphone. Access to the web anywhere you want (if you have a data plan), having a camera, mp3 player, video player and phone all in one device. It's pretty sweet. However, many struggle to choose which of the big 3 you'll want. First, lets not forget about other great brands like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Palm and Windows Mobile devices, etc. I've had experience with most of those and love the quality (remember Android is an operating system on the phone and has been added to many different smartphones such as Motorola phones). Those should also be considered as choices, but to keep this blog a decent length, I'll just be talking about the big three phone choices in the smartphone arena.

Blackberry

Blackberry is still huge in the business sector. Also sleek and sexy, blackberries are very popular among almost any age group. If you want a physical keyboard for texting, typing emails, etc, a blackberry is likely for you. Iphones don't have a physical keyboard and most of the android phone's don't either. Some android phones do have physical keyboards but I still think blackberry's physical keyboard is its greatest asset. However, the OS on the phone isn't as great as the other two especially since its not as easy to install you're own custom applications and such like a jailbroken iphone or open source android. Furthermore, web surfing is severely reduced since it lacks a touch screen (not including the storm, which isnt that great anyway). It is much slower to navigate and browse the web. However, if browsing the web is not important, and texting and typing is, blackberries may be for you.

I recommend blackberries to professionals too busy to really need all the other uses a smartphone can do and don't want to get involved in installing custom software and roms. As well, people that need a physical keyboard will love a blackberry.

Iphone

Sleek designs and impressive interfaces with many features, an iphone is a popular choice for many. The OS is good, however, it is very closed off by Apple to make sure they make all the money. The biggest bonus of the iphone is probably the apps and the ability to do nearly anything on it. It's touch screen is amazing and Im sure the Iphone 4 will amaze most. However, if you want a physical keyboard, then the iphone is not for you. The on screen keyboard is good though, and having one personally, I know I can type just as fast as most physical keyboard users. The interface is very very simple, but to truly use your iphone you NEED to jailbreak it. A jailbroken iphone makes a regular iphone pretty worthless. I wont get into much detail on jailbreaking as you can easily look it up on google. If you're willing to jailbreak (which is phenomenally easy), love touch screens and love to surf the net, watch videos and listen to music, the iphone is likely for you. Also, because they are so popular, its really easy to get feedback and help on how to do things as well as solve problems. Furthermore, apple's warranty and replacement policy is amazing. You can literally walk into apple, and get your iphone replaced right on the spot.

Android

Android is an operating system that runs on many new smartphones. Some have physical keyboards and touch screens and some just have touchscreens. It is open source so you can easily install custom roms and many free apps that can make your smartphone device you're most valuable piece of technology. It's kind of in between the blackberry and iphone. Many new phones are coming out with android and I have heard nothing but good reviews. These include many of the new snapdragon processor smartphones (1 GHz speed) and will likely continue to grow. I personally have never really used an android phone but I would love to get one. They are just as sleek and sexy as both the iphone or blackberry. It might however take a little more skill to open up the android device versus the iphone as they still aren't as popular, but if you're willing to google a bit more, you can pretty much do anything you want with your android device that an iphone or blackberry can do.

I recommend android phones to users that want to maximize smartphone usability and aren't afraid to install custom roms and such. Also, if you need a physical keyboard, many android phones can provide this for you as well. Surfing on the web is phenomenal as well due to the touch screen interfaces.

Personally, I have an Iphone 3GS and I will likely upgrade to Iphone 4. However, I'd love to try out android phones but the best ones aren't yet on my provider rogers. But I do love all smartphones!!

Please comment!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010

So the FIFA World Cup of Soccer has been going on for a few days and I've had the pleasure of watching most of the games. Although some games have been spectacular like the Germany vs Australia game, many have seemed to be very cautiously played games with little to no chances and few goals. A good example of this was the match today between Portugal and the Ivory Coast. Both teams are filled with talent highlighted with such stars as Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba but finished in a 0-0 draw that was a disappointment in my eyes. Although there were clear attempts to attack the net, the defence stood strong and blocked many shots and cut down many runs.

It seems this world cup is a much more defensive game at least thus far. Perhaps teams are just nervous about giving up a goal on a potential counter attack. I truly hope this changes as the caliber of players is clear and beautiful goals can be created by them to give power to their nation. This was best shown by the many goals in the 4-0 beating of Australia by Germany. I loved Klosse's goal. The man alway's scores with his head.

Also, I feel like the new ball might be making a huge difference. The fact that it swerves so much may have been designed that way to fool goal keepers, but instead its making it harder for players to play their shots exactly where they want it to be. We can see this in the many free kick misses. I love free kick goals but have yet to see one!!

If you have any thoughts, leave a comment!

PS. Drogba playing with a broken arm..what a HERO!