iPhone iPhone iPhone.... Some might be glad, some might be meh.

So my obsession with the iPhone might slowly start coming to an end. I've wanted one since they were released but with the packages the networks offer (and i just got into a 2 year contract. one is enough, i actually have 2 :[ shit!) are a little bit on the pricey side. And for an unlocked device on ebay, you're looking at about 600 euros (some are a little less but that comes off in my books as sketchy. whats wrong with it?)

HOWEVER! iPhone beware because on December 2nd, nokia brought out its N97 with 32GB Storage capacity. Top that iPhone. The device looks pretty flashy, but doesnt really have all the flair the iPhone has...somehow. From what i've seen, the GUI is somewhat cluttered and not as clean as that of the iPhone. Price is about $700 and for now the phone looks to be SIM free (you can use it on any network. no packages, no hidden costs, no contract!). Pretty much, its a 32GB multimedia phone with 5mp camera, 3.5" touchscreen, kick out QWERTY keyoard (makes life a lot easier), supports up to 16GB microSD cards (a whopping 48GB altogether if you have one), and the usual HSDPA, 3G and WiFi. Oh and a GPS. Operating system is Symbian S60 now in its 5th Edition.
A second iPhone killer from Nokia (no news on that yet.) will be the 5800 XpressMusic. This one will be in black with a more iPhone-ish look and running on the same OS as the N97. I don't have specs on it now, but i'm sure i will have them by the end of tonight as i'm running short on time right now.

Back to the iPhone, modders have managed to get the Linux 2.6 kernal to load on it. But thats about as far as it goes. No GUI, no GNOME, no KDE, just the simple command prompt. Hey, its a start. The guy working also demostrated a BootCamp like utility that allows you to choose what you want to do when you turn on the phone. You can either load the normal iPhone interface, or choose a more advanced interface that allows you to get into the hardware and boot the linux kernal. Links will be posted later.


iPhone Linux Demonstration Video from planetbeing on Vimeo.

And last but not least, for the people in America. A $99 iPhone? Yes, apparently WalMart is set to start selling iPhones for $99. Whats the catch? Well, a 4GB capacity and....oh yeah....a 2 year contract (didn't see that one coming huh *sarcasm*).

Still want one? I think i might slowly change my mind. More iPhone competitors and updates coming soon.

Google gets festive, Logitek on a roll, and Apple thinks you're stupid?

For the people that are using Google Docs, they've stepped into the holiday season with a bunch of templates to get your presentations, spreadsheets and other documents looking more festive than ever. The templates range from Greeting Cards to festive Mailing Labels. I even came accross a Video Card template where you can upload a video and send it online with a pretty border around it.

Something else i stumbled on with my GMail was the introduction of new Themes to change the look of you page. I haven't really had much of a chance to go through them all (i'm using Thunderbird for that, but my Firefox has "Better Gmail 2" to change the look), but it does look promising for the people who are getting bored of the same look. My personal favourite is the Graffiti theme. From what i heard not everybody was so lucky with the themes option. Many people didn't have access to it, but i think its all been cleared up by now. More info on the two later.

Now for Logitek. The days of the mouse may be numbered due to touch screens on all sorts of hand held devices capable of carrying out most computer functions. However, that didn't stop Logitek from making their 1 billionth mouse. I say keep on keeping on cos i personally don't see the end of the mouse coming too soon. I quite like having a mouse. All this touching (hmmm :S....) and rubbing of surfaces (my touchpad) is giving me friction burn.

On the music side, A State Of Trance Collected Extended Versions Volume 3 is now on sale. With christmas just around the corner, all the techno freaks should be happy to find a copy wrapped up and laying under the tree (hint hint....guess what i want :P). I'm sure someone out there is already ripping it and uploading to Rapidshare. (If you are, and you are reading this, drop me a line please?)

Last on the list. Apple and you, the consumer. I'm not sure if any of you heard, but a man is suing Apple for false advertising. His problem? The iPhone 3G (i'm obsessed, sorry.) advert claims the phone is faster than it actually is on 3G networks. Apples response? "Our Ads don't lie, but you're a fool if you believe them." Okay maybe they didnt use those exact words (i think they might have but at least thats what it said on Wired.com, link here) but that is pretty much what they were getting at. Still.....i'm sad to say i WILL remain an Apple fanboy. Not legit of course, their gadgets are still a little pricey for me, but who knows. Maybe one of these days, right? Riiight.