Cool tech for the hot summer
I'm about ready to jump on the Samsung Q1U-EL, which had a recent price reduction (it's under $600). After having seen the Eee PC in-person, I am certainly not impressed with it's 800x600 screen and the 2 hour battery life attached to this weak device. Although the price is nice, I think the Samsung Q1U is certainly worth the few extra dollars.
If I had additional funding, I'd wait for the WillCom D4 / Sharp WSO16h, which looks to be truly remarkable. Assuming this has anywhere near 5 hours of battery life, it will certainly be worth the investment. The form factor is simply to die for.
The future of WiFi, WiMax, and 3G/4G is so uncertain. Who knows what's going to happen to the 700Mhz space or any of these wireless-enabled small form factor devices? We know that the next iPhone is going to suck. Even if it gets HSDPA, this means nothing to me. With the price of 1.33GHz CPU Vista-running devices falling below the $500 mark, I have no reason to invest any time or effort into any more 400Mhz CPU crippled-OS pda-phones. My current phone service costs $6/month with unlimited data and text. I will not settle for anything less than "free" from now on with regards to connectivity. Nokia seems to know what's up by being the only vendor to embrace WiMax with their N810.
By the time that I have a Samsung Q1U Premium, Sharp WSO16h, or equivalent - I would also really like to invest in a camera. At first, I thought a good Christmas-time investment might be a Canon EOS 450D (or even a 300D or Digital Rebel just to hack the firmware). I really like the viewers on the 20D/30D/40D better. I wouldn't mind a high-speed camera like the Casio EXILIM EX-F1 in addition to a DSLR. Or would I more prefer a smaller motion camera like a Sanyo xacti? I'll have to put more thought and research into this.
It seems that a lot of new technology is really just old technology that should have been available years ago. Nothing has really blew my mind away lately. For example, I got really excited about the SBG900 Surfboard Cable Modem which includes built-in 802.11g. However, this device comes at least 6 years too late (what took them so long??). I'll take these kind of small wins, as it will at least save me money if I move into a new place and need both a cable modem and WiFi AP. Unless WiMax is available...
If I had additional funding, I'd wait for the WillCom D4 / Sharp WSO16h, which looks to be truly remarkable. Assuming this has anywhere near 5 hours of battery life, it will certainly be worth the investment. The form factor is simply to die for.
The future of WiFi, WiMax, and 3G/4G is so uncertain. Who knows what's going to happen to the 700Mhz space or any of these wireless-enabled small form factor devices? We know that the next iPhone is going to suck. Even if it gets HSDPA, this means nothing to me. With the price of 1.33GHz CPU Vista-running devices falling below the $500 mark, I have no reason to invest any time or effort into any more 400Mhz CPU crippled-OS pda-phones. My current phone service costs $6/month with unlimited data and text. I will not settle for anything less than "free" from now on with regards to connectivity. Nokia seems to know what's up by being the only vendor to embrace WiMax with their N810.
By the time that I have a Samsung Q1U Premium, Sharp WSO16h, or equivalent - I would also really like to invest in a camera. At first, I thought a good Christmas-time investment might be a Canon EOS 450D (or even a 300D or Digital Rebel just to hack the firmware). I really like the viewers on the 20D/30D/40D better. I wouldn't mind a high-speed camera like the Casio EXILIM EX-F1 in addition to a DSLR. Or would I more prefer a smaller motion camera like a Sanyo xacti? I'll have to put more thought and research into this.
It seems that a lot of new technology is really just old technology that should have been available years ago. Nothing has really blew my mind away lately. For example, I got really excited about the SBG900 Surfboard Cable Modem which includes built-in 802.11g. However, this device comes at least 6 years too late (what took them so long??). I'll take these kind of small wins, as it will at least save me money if I move into a new place and need both a cable modem and WiFi AP. Unless WiMax is available...