SillyDog701

[Mandrake]

Sorry for the crappy quality. It's 3AM and I'm in a lazy mood. My new phone, a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It's awesome. An absolutely massive upgrade from my two year old HTC Desire mobile phone, which has served me well.

The best thing is that I'm now paying $20/month less than before. I was paying $79/month, now it's $49/month + $10 handset repayments.

The only sad thing is that my phone is sitting on my desk until my case arrives. I ordered the excellent Otterbox Defender case for the Galaxy Nexus. I had the Invisible Shield on my HTC Desire for about a year, but I didn't like it much it all. It started to come off, in the end I had it stuck to my phone with masking tape. I heard about the Otterbox cases on one of Leo Laporte's podcasts and haven't looked back. The quality is just amazing, and I'm a huge fan now.

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[beanboy89]

Awesome phone. Congrats!

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[James]

Beautiful phone.

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[Antony]

Nice phone, which plan are you on?

I've been switching to BodyGuardz and Wrapsol. They are great and does not peel off that easily, and the films don't turn yellow (due to body oil).

For HD antiglare (Retina Display) films, I would highly recommend Power Support.

Somehow, keeping the device thin is important to me. I try to avoid bulky cases whenever possible.

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[Mandrake]

I'm on the $49 Freedom Connect plan, replacing the old $79 NextG Cap Plan. About the only caveat to that is that I now have 1GB of data each month, rather than 2GB. If I find myself needing more data though, I can add another 1GB browsing pack for $10.month.

This phone is really thin, noticeably thinner than the HTC Desire. It's not as if the Desire was a thick phone either. The phone has 16GB of storage built in, which is something I'm grateful for. On the Desire I only had very limited built in storage, though I had a 16GB micro SD card. Having to move applications to the SD card though, was a huge pain in the butt and a total waste of time. The Galaxy Nexus is a 'Google Phone' too, so the Android updates should be very prompt.

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[Antony]

I just had a quick look at Telstra's page, $49 Freedom Connect plan comes with 1.5GB of data, it seems like the included quota are getting better and better.

I found myself not using that much 3G data at all on my iPhone, since most of the time I am in Wi-Fi area, or using iPad's 3G when on the road.

I am still on my old 49 Cap Plan, started with my iPhone 4 back in 30 July 2010. When iPhone 4S was launching last October, they wanted to charge me $369.87 for early termination fee and sign up a new contract. I was too cheap to do that (Antony is poor). I bought iPhone 4S outright and continue with old plan.

As long as iPhone 5 releases after 30 May 2012, I will be fine without paying extra for terminating the contract.

BTW, congratulations on the Samsung phone. Samsung is the brand Don will endorse (since Don hates Apple so much).

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[Mandrake]

I just had a quick look at Telstra's page, $49 Freedom Connect plan comes with 1.5GB of data, it seems like the included quota are getting better and better.

I found myself not using that much 3G data at all on my iPhone, since most of the time I am in Wi-Fi area, or using iPad's 3G when on the road.

I am still on my old 49 Cap Plan, started with my iPhone 4 back in 30 July 2010. When iPhone 4S was launching last October, they wanted to charge me $369.87 for early termination fee and sign up a new contract. I was too cheap to do that (Antony is poor). I bought iPhone 4S outright and continue with old plan.

As long as iPhone 5 releases after 30 May 2012, I will be fine without paying extra for terminating the contract.

BTW, congratulations on the Samsung phone. Samsung is the brand Don will endorse (since Don hates Apple so much).

The plans are getting pretty competitive which is good. I'm the opposite of you in that I use quite a lot of 3G on my phone. If I'm in a WiFi area then that's great. If/when I get a tablet (I think I will...) I'll most likely just get the WiFi model and use the WiFi hotspot functionality on my phone to provide internet access.

Antony is very, very white and rich. No one else here could ever spend $899 on a smartphone!

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[Antony]

The plans are getting pretty competitive which is good. I'm the opposite of you in that I use quite a lot of 3G on my phone. If I'm in a WiFi area then that's great. If/when I get a tablet (I think I will...) I'll most likely just get the WiFi model and use the WiFi hotspot functionality on my phone to provide internet access.

Initially, I thought a Wi-Fi only iPad would do for me, but well, the trouble of turning on the tethering can be annoying each time you need the connection.

While I was deciding which iPad (1) model to get back in 2010, Laurent told me to go for the top end so I wouldn't regret later. That was a correct decision. Built-in 3G has proven to be extremely handy!

Which tablet are you eyeing at this moment?

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[Antony]

Unlike the rich Don who lives in picturesque Quincy near beautiful Boston gets the first priority treatment (on all the latest gadgets), for poor person like Antony, I waited for more than 2 months for one camera.

I made my order on 2nd January 2012, and I got a phone call today that my camera had finally arrived and ready for pickup.

Presenting Sony NEX-7 (with 18-55mm lens kit) and Sony LA-EA2 (E-Mount Adaptor):


Quick features of Sony NEX-7:

• compact and light weight: 291g (body only) or 350g (body + battery + memory card)
• Ultra-High 24.3MP Exmor™ APS HD CMOS sensor
• World's fastest release time lag of 0.02 second (as of August 2011)
• Full 1080p, H.264 video recording. Best of all, it works with iMovie.
• "Customizable and intuitive TRINAVI operation "
• High resolution XGA OLED Tru-Finder and built-in flash
• 10fps continuous shooting (Speed priority continuous mode)
• Tiltable 3" Xtra Fine LCD with TruBlack Technology

It's not just Full HD 1080p, but it also “Works with iMovie.”


The contents of Sony NEX-7KB (with 18-55mm lens kit):


Finally, in DSLR world, this Sony NEX-7 is remarkably compact. To complement this compact high power camera, a compact camera bag is needed:


I do apologise the poor image quality. As my Sony Alpha 350 is currently in repair (under insurance), I had to take those photos with my iPhone 4S or Laurent's Sony DSC-TX5 camera.

The timing can't be any better. I now have a good camera to take the super important delivery this Friday (hopefully). (can't tell you yet, but I guess you know)

As usual, Antony is poor.

(For more photos: http://ant.sillydog.org/blog/2012/003987.php )

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[James]

Wow. I'm really liking the look of your new camera, Antony. Very compact and portable. That's the kind of camera I'd like to eventually get (and get rid of my heavy dslr). I hope you have many great photog opportunities with it.

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[Antony]

Thank you.

The NEX-7 body and 18-55 lens is lighter than most other lens I have (Sony A-mount lenses). Like getting a portable computer, lightweight is the key. (Especially for those of us who do not own a BMW.)

I could've bought the NEX-5N model, which did not require the long waiting. But since I am upgrading and downsizing from my Sony Alpha 350, I decided to follow Don's principle - getting something for longevity.

Unfortunately, I don't think I would have Don's approval on this camera, for one reason - Sony.

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[beanboy89]

Looks like a nice camera. I really think that these compact-body DSLRs are picking up a lot of momentum among amateur photographers for their portability and price compared to traditional large-body DSLRs.

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[James]

Sony has a great history: Minolta. Several of my early slr's were Minoltas. My all-time favorite camera (and I've had Nikons, Canons, Pentaxes, Yashicas) was the Minolta XD-11. I hope you have many good years of service with your camera, Antony.

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[Antony]

Today is 16th March. An important day for either queuing up or waiting for the delivery. I chose the latter.

Got my latest gadget today. A small one.

Presenting iPad (3rd generation):


64GB, 4G, White model:




Although it is not my first experience with Retina Display (after iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S), the Retina Display on the new iPad really wow!

(to Don and Mandrake: Antony is poor.)

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[Antony]

I know I've been getting a few new gadgets recently.

A new tiny device arrived yesterday. The specifications of this new device would have Don's approval, but the brand would not.

The new Apple TV.


We all know that the brand Apple would have Don's thumb down, but it supports 1080p HD which is currently the highest quality in consumer TV and BluRay.


It is important to get the up-to-date specs to keep up with Don's purchasing principle.

(to Don and Mandrake: Antony is poor.)

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