It seems like a long time since I rambled about inane trivia. Midsummers Day 2009 has gone already, and the nights are starting to draw in.
It’s been so long, that my mobile contract had expired and my trusty W910i was up for replacement. Fortunately, I didn’t have to give much thought to its replacement as the HTC Magic had just been released, and it looked like the perfect geek phone to me. For those of you who still have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s the second phone to be released with Google Android as its operating system.
My contract was modified slightly to accommodate unlimited internet access, which also meant a lot more free minutes and texts, and I can see why. Without constant and unlimited internet access, the features of this phone would be quite noticeably curtailed! When you first switch it on, it asks for your Google account details and then proceeds to sync with your Google contacts, calendar and Gmail. From then on, when you make any modifications to any of the above, either through the web, or via the phone, the two are almost always in sync.
Is it a good phone? Let’s just say that, I’m still very happy with it and I’m still downloading apps for it. The only phone I’ve come across which could possibly be better would be Apple’s iPhone, but even then, it’s a close call thing. The user interface of the Magic is very straightforward, making very good use of the touch screen. I’m still not over the novelty of being able to access my email, Gmail, and calendar wherever I am. The ability to download lots of apps, both from Google and from third-parties is brilliant compared to the paltry offerings available to the W910i. (I guess the hardware difference might contribute somewhat to that – The Magic is pretty much a computer in your palm!)
It’s been quite cool to watch Wimbledon live using beebplayer, whilst sitting in Kwik-Fit waiting for them to recharge the aircon in the car, or see the fuel usage per week with Mileage. Its GPS and Andnav2 have been quite handy when I’m in the middle of nowhere and the old paper map doesn’t seem to make much sense. The GPS and Sportypal also comes into its own as a way to record my walks and calculate how far I’ve walked and see how many calories I’ve burned. Occassionally I’ve gone to a church service without a paper bible, and used CadreBible. The most used app is probably twidroid, which allows me to Twitter from almost anywhere I care to be!
Which brings me full circle… I guess the reason I haven’t blogged much on the inane front is that Twitter allows me to do that and restricts me to only inflicting 140 characters of banality on you!
Now, what shall I do with my old phone?
