End of the year

As we count down the end of the year, we get closer to a new exciting year. What will the new year bring? What can you expect? Well let's see, we know that Microsoft will release the Surface Pro shortly. We can bet that Apple will release a new ipad and new ipad mini (sorry if you bought one for the holidays). CES is coming soon, and that is where we will be watching to see what is coming in the pipeline.

This was a good year, we got lots of unique things and some things that came out of no-where. I am hoping that Nokia will release a new Lumia phone. I am hoping to see more 4d tvs that don't require glasses. I can't wait to find out more about the next generation of Xbox and Playstation (if one is announced). Well 2012 was a good year, it was a year of change. 2013 will be something new and exciting...

Tis the Season

So it is apon us. Here it is, and tomorrow it will be gone and past. Funny how that works. Spending months to get ready and it is over before we know it. So there has been some really interesting things that have been going on lately. Watch the news and you know. For me it is horrible to hear what people are doing these days. Not only is it scary, but people are acting more bizarre everyday. I do have to say though, I think we need to change. We need to dig in and help out more people. Sure times are tough. They have been for awhile. But we need to look around and help out just one person. Smile at someone new, do one thing for one person. If we all do that, then we will be a better society. We need to move forward, not only as a society, but as a group. We need to stand by eachother and help out. So it is almost end of year. I normally pick my game of the year for each system and will continue to do so. X360 - Forza Horizon and Halo 4 (it is a tie). Runner up - Syndicate (Was amazing, just try it out). PS3 - Uncharted 3 WiiU - New Super Mario Brothers U. Keep it real, help out, do something nice and do something nicely random to someone. Peace, --gsmguy

Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft!

It was interesting for Black Friday and the crazy prices that Microsoft was showing on their website for new games. I picked up Forza Horizon for $15. I do have to say that it is probably one of the best games that I have ever played. I have about 15 hours into it so far and enjoying every bit. It is so very well done. If you are looking for a great racer, please go out and get this game. Microsoft announced the price of their Pro tablets recently. It is interesting that people are complaining about the price. 899 for the entry level one, but that is something that is very interesting to me. I think that the value that you get with the larger storage 64 gig and i7 processor with full copy of Win8 is top. I think that I will be one of those that gets one, once it is released. I can't wait to see what else they announce as it gets closer.

Win Mobile

So it appears that Win Mobile is doing pretty well. I wonder what that is from Nokia, or if it has to do with the user experience with their devices. Like I have said before, Win Mobile is amazing. It is the best OS that I have used on a Mobile device. I can't wait for the long awaited 7.8 update. I want to give it a try before seeing how it functions before getting into 8. I guess that is coming out next year now. Which I am sure that it will be worth the wait. I can't get enough of the live tiles and can't wait to have the option to resize them. Everyone looking forward to the holiday season? Did you get everything that you wanted? Did you wait outside for hours to save $50 on a device that wasn't needed? It would be interesting to see how many phones were sold on Black Friday. Just a thought being that I really didn't see too many ads for new phones or sales. --gsmguy

Black Friday

It is almost that time, where people go nuts buying items all on one day. So what are you most excited for? For me, it is people watching. Sure I have my list, sure I'll go a couple of places, but for the most part it is more fun to watch people. People are so excited and don't pay any attention to what they're doing. If you want a great laugh, just watch. So does that mean that we should all race out? That is for you to decide. Can you really go some place just to save $50 on an item that you won't ever use? Well hopefully you have some luck with whatever you are looking for. I will be out and about, but not really making a lot of purchasing...that will come on Cyber Monday. Well good luck and godspeed.

Nokia Lumia 920

It is here on AT&T. It is something that should hopefully sell well and make Nokia a strong brand. I know a lot of people are not crazy about how Nokia is working directly with Microsoft on their new OS. But in reality, it couldn't have worked out any better. I know that sales of the first Lumia weren't that much, I think I read somewhere that it was around 4 million devices. Which is pretty cool thinking about how many phones that Apple has sold, think it is around 39 million. So what is good about this phone? Will it change everyone's thoughts on Microsoft? Is it considered a gateway to Windows 8? Wait...that last question. I think that it is to bridge the gape between Windows 8 and mobile. The device allows people to get a similar experience as they do on their home computers. I don't think that people realize that, as I haven't seen it on any blogs that I have read. So let's see what people thing. I will wait a bit to get my Lumia once it drops a little bit. I don't need a new one, since I have the 900 and it works flawlessly. I absolutely love the phone and think it is the best device that I have ever owned. So we will just have to wait and see what happens.

Releases?

It's weird to think about how far we have come. Knowing that something that we love now, will be totally out of date by this time next year. So I wen't out and bought an ipad. Not the new one, but number 3. I figured that it would be interesting to see how it relates to my android tablet. I got to say I'm not that impressed. There isn't really anything special that it can do that my andriod tablet can't do. I have the same apps, though on itunes they are about twice the amount that they are on android. The release of the new mini is interesting to ready about. I was thinking that would be the device that I wanted, but in reality, since it isn't anything high def, could care less. Today marks the release of Halo 4 for Xbox 360. I remember that I have been apart of launch day for every Halo release. I wake up super early to go to Target and be one of the first to get my hands on the release. I was reading that Microsoft is really going to do a lot with marketing of this game. I guess we will have to wait to see...oh and I will be getting my copy later today. Should be interesting not have Bungie making it. Hopefully it will be good as the reviews have been pretty decent. Nokia is releasing the next line of Lumia on ATT on Friday. For $100 you can get one of the new 920's. I don't know if I should go out and get one, since I am still liking the 900 that I currently have. I guess I'll wait and see if the price drops on ebay before getting one to test out Windows Mobile 8. Happy Tuesday. --gsmguy

Surface

So the Microsoft Surface comes out tomorrow (or if you are really excited in less than two hours). This is something that is very interesting. For one, I am really interested in this device, however at the same time, I don't know why people are paying for this one, the Pro version is just around the corner. I think that people need to realize that the Pro is the key device that is needed. Yes, I did say the word needed. It is something that everyone needs to own. I can say that I will be one that will get one of those. No matter what reviews say. Speaking of reviews, don't trust what you read. Remember that people are going to compare this to the iPad. Most people just compare it to something that is already out, not taking into account what is new with something that is released. Good luck Microsoft.

Good old days of mobile...

It is interesting to reflect on the past. Knowing of how things happened and how we have gained knowledge from the past. I'm taking a Marketing class for my MBA. It's cool, call me crazy. But anyways, one of assignments for the class is to create a marketing plan. It could be based on anything and everything that we want. For this, I decided to go back and discuss the N-Gage. For of those that don't remember the Nokia N-Gage was a pretty unique device. Not too many people realize that what Nokia was doing at the time was so far in the future it was crazy. They wanted to have one device that could accomplish many tasks. Anything that you could need a portable device for, the N-Gage was there. You wanted an MP3 player it was there. You wanted to get email on a portable device, it was there. You wanted high quality games, that was there as well. You wanted to play with people from all over the world, that was there as well. Funny how to think that most phones these days have the same features that Nokia did with the N-Gage. People complained when the device was first released for $299 (after the $100 price drop 17 days after launch), but do you realize that you easily pay around $200 for a device these days? Sure the technology has changed a lot. N-Gage had a 106 MHz processor. These days we have dual and quad core that are just over 1000 MHz. Crazy how fast technology changes. Not to mention that the release was in 2003...9 years ago... So you may be asking why I care so much about the N-Gage. Well I spent about a year and a half working on games for the N-Gage. I worked on 6 games and one that was never released, but had approval from Nokia. Crazy to think that. Believe me, seems like yesterday. Anyways, that was one of the highlights from my career. I don't know if I would be where I am today with out it. I will always have a special spot in my heart for the N-Gage. I wonder what would have happened if it caught on. I mean what would have happened? Would the iphone have been released? Would Google have entered the market? Would Microsoft have entered as well? I wonder if there is a parallel universe where those answers could be answered... Anyways, those were some good times. Valuable lessons were learned and experienced. I'm sure that there will be more posts about the N-Gage, more about Nokia as a whole. --gsmguy

Nokia

Was looking at Engadget tonight and realized that they posted an article about the Nokia Lumia 900 phone. A more of a thought about it, more like an opinion of the device. As I am sitting hear reading the various comments that were posted, I thought about my experience with the phone. I do have to say that I am a fan of Microsoft. I don't know if I am considered a fanboy or not...but I can say that I have a lot of their products and use them everyday. There is something that Microsoft does about their products that makes me like them more and more. I can link everything that I have together (from Zune, to Xbox, to Windows laptops, etc.). It is really something that is amazing...but enough about getting off course. So the Nokia Lumia 900... It is amazing. It is the best device that I have ever had. I love Windows Mobile. The transitions are incredible and smooth. I know that the device isn't a super high end device (processor speed, screen display, etc). But I can say that it really doesn't matter. It does what it is suppose to and does it well. Speaking of which, I think these days most people are forgetting that a phone is a device that you can communicate with people on. I see people that have all these phones and don't use them anymore for calling. Which is odd if you ask me. But I guess we are moving away from communication as a society. Sad...but possibly true. I guess Pink Floyd was right on Keep talking. Back to the phone, can't really say anything else negative about it. The apps that are out by Nokia and Microsoft are pretty incredible and make the phone function even better than before. Though it was incredible before. Thought of the day... I think that we are moving away from open communication that we've had in the past. I think it is holding us back as a society and not a means of a road that we should be heading down.

phones

Let's see I feel bad for all the new iphone users. I mean I think all of us were expecting something rather big and large, something totally different for the new iphone. I have to say I am not impressed. It is one of those things that I think expectations were set way to high. It's not that I don't like Apple and what they are doing, but I think for me this was more of a iphone 4s round two device. You may not agree with that, but the whole new charger is horrible. Oh well, maybe they will learn there lesson...well after the maps gets fixed in the iOS 6 update... Seems like these days, Nokia is getting back into the spotlight. It is something that I have been hoping for. I am a huge fan of Nokia devices. Always have been, and always will be. As I write this, I'm looking to my right and see my Lumia 900 next to me. The new 920 looks like it might be a good investment once it is released, but we will see what it costs. Hopefully they will do it for around $150.