In which I justify my recent purchases

A few months ago, I was researching on what to get as a replacement for my dinosaur of a phone that is a Nokia N97. I was leaning towards an Android device since the iPhone, specifically the iPhone 4S, is out of my budget's reach. That, and a new iPhone is set to debut sometime later this year. And since my budget's a big factor whenever I get a new gadget, I entered various online contests just to satisfy my GAS. That's Gadget Acquisition Syndrome for you noobs. Never have I felt so dirty in my life.

I already made up my mind about getting a Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo, or Neo V, if the former was unavailable. However, both online and offline shops are having trouble producing a unit with the color of my choice, which is blue since it doesn't come in black.

I also thought of getting a cheapo, yet decent, feature phone just to replace my old phone and just get an iPod Touch to make up for the lack of smartphone features of a, well, feature phone.

I was also thinking of getting a Symbian^3 device, particularly the Nokia 701 or the Nokia 500. OS notwithstanding, a Nokia device still packs more hardware features than anyone can handle. Unfortunately, even the OS can't handle the hardware Nokia manufactures. All Nokia really needs is a great user interface, and Windows Phone 7 or Mango is not the answer.

But it all boils down to budget and timing, and since the budget received a boost last month, the timing of the past holiday season's price reduction on a lot of stuff was good enough for me.

I basically ended up with two devices without resorting to getting a feature phone to replace my beloved-yet-beat-up N97: a white 8GB iPod Touch and a Nokia 500.

The iPod Touch is self-explanatory. It's an iOS device.

The Nokia 500 is quite unexpected as I was leaning toward the 701 if I ever chose another Symbian-powered Nokia device. It has most, if not all, features of my old N97. The only thing I miss from my N97 is the FM transmitter. Responsiveness is not at par with an Android device, but I'll soon be updating the software to Symbian Belle. It may or may not improve the phone's intuitiveness, but I'll take what I can get. If it sucked even more after the update, well, I can always wait for my wife's birthday gift. I just hope it's not a gift certificate to CD-R King.

The Nokia 500 is still a pretty solid device, despite the bad reviews it received from GSM Arena. It can basically do what my iPod Touch does, and more, since the Nokia 500 also has a GPS radio. Another big draw is the price point.

So, why did I get two devices that, although different, can basically, more or less, do the same thing? Part of the reason is to satisfy my curiosity, to experience the best of what Cupertino and Espoo has to offer. Another is to make sure I have something to use in case The Willspawn hijacks one of my devices. Brief intro: The Willspawn is a 5-year old little boy who has a knack for figuring out how to use gadgets and gizmos and play the apps installed without even knowing how to read, and who is also my son.

Anyway, I know the Nokia 500 is far from being the best of what Espoo has to offer. That crown belongs to the N9, which, if it wasn't for the price, I would've gotten that instead. And the iPod Touch isn't the best of what Cupertino has to offer, as the 17" Macbook Pro holds that title, I think. Still, these devices let me take a peek at what I'm missing out in the tech scene. Besides, it's still a way for me to reward myself for not being a completely useless idiot.

Not too shabby, if I say so myself.

The year 2011 has been a taxing year - emotionally, financially, and psychologically - on both professional and personal aspects.

Earlier this year, the universe saw it fit to take away, not one, but two, of my dearest friends, both of them younger than me, in a span of less than a couple of months. WHAT. THE. FUCK.

And when the year was about to close, I just learned that my friend's dad also died. That's another fuck given. Dammit.

There were also a lot of professional situations that I wouldn't want to be in, but I am, nonetheless. And it only proved to be something that defined who I am: someone who fixes things.

The homefront wasn't all peachy either. Ailments that almost ended up being confined in the hospital was the norm. Breaking the bank was almost always a consequence. Thankfully, it was all just that: ALMOST. Still, it was a nerve-wracking close call.

Petty issues should've been diffused or even prevented if only the right words were said. However, it weren't. And what was once petty was made worse. Pride had a lot to do with it, though. Yep. I'm blaming one of the seven deadly sins.

The weather's all fucked up and unstable with the colder season finishing earlier than usual (mid-February, I think) and the warmer season was interrupted regularly by tropical storms. Not complaining about the tropical storms, since it IS a tropical country. The flash flooding in major cities and various other areas were quite a different story, though. Ondoy (or Ketsana), the storm that hit Metro Manila last 2009, did not repeat itself, but unfortunately, Mindanao experienced the same thing just this December, no thanks to Sendong, which compared to Ondoy, was lightweight. However, the drainage system and topography of the area made Sendong as equally as, if not more, destructive as Ondoy. So yeah, fuck you, universe.

On a somewhat ligher note, there were some good things that happened this year. The deaths of my friends were opportunities for me and my other friends to see each other, catch up, or reacquaint with one another. Not the best situation to do so, but I'll take what I can get. It was also then that I realized how much I missed them.

The third Banana Gangbang Rock Festival also happened. It was pretty much the highlight of my year. That, and me finally being able to get my grubby hands on an iOS device, the iPod Touch.

There were a lot of situations that made me think of calling it quits, throwing in the towel, whatever. However, I always remembered that these situations are what people would call an opportunity to overcome the challenge of an obstacle hindering me from getting what I desired. Yep. That's a lot of fluff right there. Strunk and White, if they could, would yell at me "OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS!" So to rephrase that statement: I remembered these situations are opportunities for me to overcome challenges.

If it's broke, fix it.

Happy New Year, mofos.

I was coerced to create this.

Please don't kill me.

The question is not age-old, nor critical to the national economy, but the debate is still on.

I'm about to differentiate the two based on how I understand both professions. This, hopefully, serves as my disclaimer or notice that I am in no way an expert on both, and that I am simply expressing my opinion.

Journalists, as I understand it, are people who find something interesting, write about it, and then publish it in the form of online, print, or broadcast media. The material they produce, or the news, is supposed to be unbiased and the goal of the content is to present facts. It should not be opinionated in any way. Journalists let their readers decide how they feel or what their reaction is depending on the content the journalists provide. 

Bloggers are sometimes similar to journalists. They find something interesting, write about it, and then publish it, but in the form of online media. The similarities end there, however. The material bloggers produce, or the articles/posts/entries/whatever is almost always biased and, more often than not, express reactions or opinions. Bloggers present what they feel and are, most of the time, inconsiderate of what their readers might feel or how they would react. The content matters to the author, not the reader.

Journalists are held to a stricter standard, simply because they have a more defined sense of integrity, and their reputation translates directly to their credibility.  Are they even allowed to express their opinion? Of course, but not publicly. At least, that's how I understand it.

Bloggers don't actually do as they please, as they also need to blog for a living. However, having no overlord to guide them towards a set of morals is what is currently lacking in the blogosphere. And anyone who tries to act as one will get their ass handed to them, citing the blogosphere as a non-corporate entity. Lacking a guiding hand, bloggers have been identified, but not personally confirmed, as brand assassins or brand advocates, depending on how much, if at all, the brand is willing to pay for it. I've heard of stories about bloggers blackmailing establishments, which makes me think: fair play is no longer the norm, but something of an advisory to consider or not. Credibility, based on the number of pageviews and NOT reputation, is the currency.

Bloggers and journalists are like apples and oranges. There's no point in comparing the two. Wherever you get your news from, make sure the author's or publication's credibility is not based on "game-able" numbers but on the quality of the content they produce.

Anyway, we all live in a fucked up world. Let's just live and let live.

So I've been looking around the web for a smart phone to replace my dinosaur of a phone that is the N97 with something more future-friendly. The phones that I have been considering is something on the pricey side of things, and my financial status isn't that great, so I'm looking for the phone with the most bang-for-buck.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo / Neo V: This phone, in my opinion, is the best option I've found because, besides the stellar specs, the price range is quite affordable. Availability, however, is another story.

iPhone 4S: No doubt, one of the best smart phones out there. However, did I mention my financials aren't that great? Yeah.

Nokia 701: As usual, the bang-for-buck factor for this phone is, by far, the best smart phone. However, the current state of Symbian development is not the focus for Nokia, as it is pushing the Windows Phone 7 platform on its new Lumia series devices. I don't want to use a phone with its operating system's evolution put in the back-burner. And when they do consider releasing an OS update, the device is, by then, obsolete.

Blackberry: The Torch 9810 would be a great replacement for my phone. The price, however, is almost the same as the iPhone. The other models are definitely something to consider. Then I learned of this Blackberry promo from Globe. Now, I'm researching phone specs and computing for the monthly cost it would entail. For roughly P600 a month, you get a new smart phone with unlimited mobile surfing, which I really NEED. The Blackberry models they offer may not be the best or the latest, but hey, you can't beat the price of free, right? It simply makes sense.