It’s been a while since I’ve added anything to the blog. I’ve been busy with work and life in general so I haven’t had the time to do this. Anyways, it’s been interesting. Some recent happenings I’d like to cover are:

1. HTC Inspire 4G – Being an Apple purist(?) I’ve been using the iPhone since it came out and every model in between. I love my iPhone 4 but I got this wild hair to try out an Android-based device. AT&T allowed me to use my upgrade early so I got an HTC Inspire 4G. The phone itself is overall, excellent. There are some drawbacks to it but they’re few and far between. The screen size is one of the best features — at 4.3″ it seems like a big screen compared to the 3.5″ iPhone 4. The downsize is the resolution is 480×800 which shows obvious pixelization in some graphics/movies. The build quality is overall quite good except for the battery cover and sim/micro SD cover. They’re plastic and are quite easy to scratch/break/bend etc. The Android OS is also awesome as it is much more open source unlike iOS which is very limited in the modding community. The phone was delivered on a Thursday so I used it over the weekend. I decided to return the phone in the end as it was simply too difficult using my vast iTunes library on the Droid. Another thing to mention is that the Android market is not policed nearly as much as iTunes, so you get some real crap in there. The whole time I was using the Droid I was longing for my iPhone 4 again. I’m happy to say that my iPhone 4 is back and working and it’s great!

For more information on the HTC Inspire 4G, check it out at AT&T’s website here
.

2. Nook Color – My experience with the HTC Inspire 4G and the Android OS got me longing for a 2nd device to use as a companion to my iPhone. I could buy a contract-free Inspire 4G but I found a much better alternative… the Barnes & Noble Nook Color. It’s $250, has a nice sized screen and can be modded as it used Android as it’s base operating system. I have one on order from B&N and it should be here Friday. I bought the Nook Color, a silicon case and the 2 year protection plan. My intent is to run the Nook stock for a while to see what it has to offer. Once I decide to mod it, I’ll be going with the Cyanogen 7 mod. The installation seems to be a pain in the ass, but in the end, it’ll be worth it to give all the additional functionality. I downloaded Firefox 4 for the Droid when I had my HTC and I liked it, so I plan on loading it onto the Nook. I’ve played with the Nook before and I think it’s a great device. Being an Apple user, I actually prefer the size of the Nook Color’s screen over the iPad purely because to me, it’s just more portable. I love the iPad, but if I’m leaving the house, I’d most likely take the Nook over the iPad. Sorry Apple, but if you make a 7″ iPad, I’ll be all over it.

For more information on the Nook Color, visit Barnes & Noble’s Nook page here.

3. Firearm stuff – I have 2 interesting things to note on the firearms side of the house. 1 — I sent my Glock 26 slide to Glock so they can refinish it. They say it takes 6-8 weeks and so far, it seems like that time frame is accurate. The total cost for the refinish is around $68, $45 for the slide refinish and another $26 or so for a new night site. I hope it looks like it came from the factory when I get it back. The other thing to note is I’ve sent my recently purchased M&P 9C to Smith & Wesson for a defect in the polymer on the frame. I was starting to give up on S&W because it was almost a month before I sent the gun back, but the guns in the mail and we’ll see what S&W does to resolve the problem. This will be the decider as to whether or not I ever buy another S&W product again. I really hope it’s resolved because I truly want to get some more M&P models. They’re great guns.

4. Wine – I haven’t been drinking much wine lately. I’ve been so busy with everything I never get a change to open a new bottle. I’ve decided it’s time to start trying more varieties out so I’ll report back on that later on once I’ve had the opportunity to try some new wines.

5. Apple/Mac – I’ve recently purchase a new 11″ Macbook Air and have to say, for the size and specs, it’s a really quite fast considering. I love it. In most cases, I’d choose to use that over the iPad as it gives you a real keyboard and a full operating system. They’ve released the new Intel Sandy Bridge based iMacs however I’m in no need for an upgrade. Since I’m using Windows 7 64 Ultimate and a beefy PC along with my Mac stuff, I don’t feel the need to upgrade the iMac as often. In fact, I will most likely upgrade my iMac every 4-5 years or as long as it’s serviceable.

6. Photography – Last but not least is my interests in photography. I haven’t bought any new camera gear lately, however there’s quite a bit coming out I’m interested in purchasing. Some of those items include the 7D Mark II, the 16-35mm, 8-15mm fisheye, 24-70mm II, 70-200mm f2.8 II, and a few other lenses and items. My last photo trip was was back in March in Williamsburg. I take a lot of photos there as it’s close and normally there’s always something to take pictures of. My latest gallery can be seen here. Since the Tsunami has affected Japan, Canon has taken a bit of a hit on their product releases (understandably). Additionally, camera gear costs full MSRP or even more at this point due to shortages.