I finally committed myself to a new phone last week and thus consign my trusty ol' PDA and tiny screen nokia to a dusty shelf. Had my eye on this, the HTC Desire HD, for a while after seeing it was finally a phone with a big fat screen running something other than the old Windows mobile. This phone replaces my nokia 1650 which was the cheapest one I could find at the time and which itself replaces a nokia 1110 that I bought in duty free when I arrived here and which, despite it's tiny green screen, was stolen on a bus last year! (this in a city where every last person seems to spend every second of travel looking at their expensive iPhones) After my brief stint in Japan I just couldn't bare to pay lots of money for a supposed top end phone in Ireland with a crap tiny colour screen, even if it was 3G, compared to the amazing phones I'd seen in Japan, and even the relatively modest one I'd bought there had email straight away and a vastly superior screen to anything back in Ireland. So instead of buying an expensive phone with a tiny screen, I went and got an Acer PDA, which let me watch videos (I think I must have watched most of season 2 of the Wire on it), one they were reduced in resolution and sound quality, browse the web with a stylus whenever some generous cafe had internet access. I even managed to use google maps to find my hotel and play old nintendo games when travelling. So despite not really having used it as a store for contacts or appointments it's been in my bag practically every day. And all the time I thought how if there was just a phone attachment or something it would be perfect. Now with this phone I have that device. It does everything the Acer did (I don't have to squeeze down the videos), the screen is as big (widescreen now), I can use the internet without a stylus, don't have to rely on the wireless in a cafe, and install tonnes of apps. It even has a camera! A camera in a phone! Genius. Sure the iPhone has been out for a few years now, but with its smaller screen I'd hate watching video on it. But there are downsides, oh yes. You have to recharge it almost every day. Every bleedin' day! My nokia goes a full week without charging and even my PDA would last a few days of constant use. And if I was to consider carrying this on my body instead of in a bag I'd be reduced to wearing cargo trousers from 1997 with huge pockers. So in my bag it'll stay.

I ordered one of these pda-type-yokes ages and ages ago, and it finally arrived at the weekend. Huzza!, now I can throw out all those postits and used receipts that I was keeping to organise my hectic lifestyle! I got this particular model just cos it was supposed to be really small, but I'd no idea how small it actually was! I'm also going skiing for the first time ever over St. Patricks Weekend in France. We're doing it on the cheap and I'm only going to get the chance to ski for two days, but it should be enough of a taste to get something out of it.Hopefully it'll be a bit of a laugh..

This time last year, during my days off I went to see a few atmospheric temples and and sipped green tea in front of gardens with leaves on knarled trees turning all shades of red. Today, I forgot my umbrella and paid for it big time. Its been pissing rain all day and its dark by 5pm and damn cold. My tv broke last week and without a car (still doing the driving lessons) I can't go and get it fixed. Kobe would be nice right now. Anyway.. as I said, I'm on the look out for a new gadget, specifically for a PDA type thing-im-ee-bob that I could browse the web with and watch the occasional video. So browsing a few sites I came across these two yokes, neither of which are actually in the shops yet, but both beat the pants off an ipod. Anybody out there in interweb land know anything about their relative merits? They do look pretty swish.. The Acer n311: The Nokia 7770:

I got it into my head that I wanted a new gadget. Seeing as my phone's crap, I've no computer, and well..I'm bored. The PSP still sounds good and has that "oohh, ahhh" factor thing, but I don't think I'd be arsed playing the games. And I know if I took it out on the train I'd just be asking for some scanger to come and borrow it permenantly. It would also be swish to use the internet and upload photos from my camera, so I've kinda come down on getting one of those PDA type things. So what are the chances that I can find a shop in the city centre the sells them, yet alone has one that I could turn on and fiddle with? - slim to none as it turns out. Theres absolutely nowhere you can pick one up and turn on..man I miss Yodobashi camera. And just when I was feeling cheery, I saw this in town at the weekend.. And also, as I was bored out of my skull and wandering around Irelands latest could-be-anywhere-in-the-world shopping centre, I happend across the country's first...wait for it.. Starbucks!. I for one welcome our new coffee overloads.. Found this story off FARK. The next Japanese astronaut (J-naut?), and former top brass in Livedoor (one of Japan's more famous/only internet companies), wants to go into space dressed as a character from Gundam. Lovely jubbly