Saturday, June 30, 2007
30 June 2007
Last day in New Bern, Raleigh/Charlotte tomorrow, then back to Birmingham on Monday.
Having a month off is awesome, I should do it a few times a year.
Want to see a great way to throw away $500 or $600? (and piss off tons of people)
Last day in New Bern, Raleigh/Charlotte tomorrow, then back to Birmingham on Monday.
Having a month off is awesome, I should do it a few times a year.
Want to see a great way to throw away $500 or $600? (and piss off tons of people)
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
27 June 2007
Lets take a break from the iPhone coverage for a minute.
Props Of The Day: my man Neal "The Mixtape Monster" Moody for putting up on to the free Little Brother concert last night at Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill.
First off let me say that the show was dope (and free! Thanks Scion, but I still ain't driving one of those shitboxes). When we got to the Cradle, the line was about 200 people deep, all the way down the front of the shopping center and AROUND THE CORNER. Luckily, after waiting in line for 45 minutes, we did get in. We got to hear the end of the opening band's set, and then LB came out and took over. The Durham based group rocked the stage and the mic for about an hour, with the band remaining on stage to provide live music instead of the dj back up you hear at a lot of hip-hop shows, and that was nice. The Cradle provided a great atmosphere, and I wish that this had not been my first time at the venue. LB played one track from the upcoming album "Get Back" and mostly songs from previous records "The Minstrel Show" and "The Listening". The show was great.
After the show, the dive bar around the corner where we (Showtime, MixtapeMonster, Bibbles) were 3 of the 5 people in the bar was pretty cool, with cheap drinks and free darts. But the best part of the post show period was the pita burger from Hector's which has relocated to a street level location and upgraded the decor since my last visit during my school years. The pita burger is still just as good.
Finally, let me say this: If you can't go to WFU, UNC would be a fantastic place to go to college. Chapel Hill is just plain cool, a good place to hang out.
(the tarheels still suck though)
Peep the Mixtape Monster's new blog: I Gotcha! for more concert coverage including videos and pics from your's truly, and check back daily for updates on a variety of subjects, mostly pertaining to hip-hop.
Lets take a break from the iPhone coverage for a minute.
Props Of The Day: my man Neal "The Mixtape Monster" Moody for putting up on to the free Little Brother concert last night at Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill.
First off let me say that the show was dope (and free! Thanks Scion, but I still ain't driving one of those shitboxes). When we got to the Cradle, the line was about 200 people deep, all the way down the front of the shopping center and AROUND THE CORNER. Luckily, after waiting in line for 45 minutes, we did get in. We got to hear the end of the opening band's set, and then LB came out and took over. The Durham based group rocked the stage and the mic for about an hour, with the band remaining on stage to provide live music instead of the dj back up you hear at a lot of hip-hop shows, and that was nice. The Cradle provided a great atmosphere, and I wish that this had not been my first time at the venue. LB played one track from the upcoming album "Get Back" and mostly songs from previous records "The Minstrel Show" and "The Listening". The show was great.
After the show, the dive bar around the corner where we (Showtime, MixtapeMonster, Bibbles) were 3 of the 5 people in the bar was pretty cool, with cheap drinks and free darts. But the best part of the post show period was the pita burger from Hector's which has relocated to a street level location and upgraded the decor since my last visit during my school years. The pita burger is still just as good.
Finally, let me say this: If you can't go to WFU, UNC would be a fantastic place to go to college. Chapel Hill is just plain cool, a good place to hang out.
(the tarheels still suck though)
Peep the Mixtape Monster's new blog: I Gotcha! for more concert coverage including videos and pics from your's truly, and check back daily for updates on a variety of subjects, mostly pertaining to hip-hop.
27 June 2007
Well, the iPhone is 2 days away. You've seen my "preview" and update to that, and now there are 4 official reviews out from the WSJ, USAtoday, Businessweek, and NYT. I have read alal 4 and they pretty much say the same things that my preview says. It looks like there is not going to be any new ground breaking feature coming on friday that we are unaware of. One cool thing is the activation process though. You buy it in the store, then come home and activate it through iTunes, on your own. While every review talkes about the sad omission of 3G service (which I noted in my preview), they also lament the quality of the AT&T network, and one sites a Consumer Reports study that found the AT&T network to have the lowest or second lowest signal in 19 of 20 cities tested. Being that I recently resigned from Cingular/AT&T, I find this to be a sad revolution, even as AT&T claims the fewest dropped calls. Personally, I'm a fan of their network, even before I worked there, and GSM is the way to go, although I've never used Verizon or Sprint.
You're probably tired of hearing about the iPhone, and i'm (almost) getting tired of talking/blogging about it, but if you want more info, check www.gizmodo.com for a link to all 4 reviews, or their review summary HERE
Well, the iPhone is 2 days away. You've seen my "preview" and update to that, and now there are 4 official reviews out from the WSJ, USAtoday, Businessweek, and NYT. I have read alal 4 and they pretty much say the same things that my preview says. It looks like there is not going to be any new ground breaking feature coming on friday that we are unaware of. One cool thing is the activation process though. You buy it in the store, then come home and activate it through iTunes, on your own. While every review talkes about the sad omission of 3G service (which I noted in my preview), they also lament the quality of the AT&T network, and one sites a Consumer Reports study that found the AT&T network to have the lowest or second lowest signal in 19 of 20 cities tested. Being that I recently resigned from Cingular/AT&T, I find this to be a sad revolution, even as AT&T claims the fewest dropped calls. Personally, I'm a fan of their network, even before I worked there, and GSM is the way to go, although I've never used Verizon or Sprint.
You're probably tired of hearing about the iPhone, and i'm (almost) getting tired of talking/blogging about it, but if you want more info, check www.gizmodo.com for a link to all 4 reviews, or their review summary HERE
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
26 June 2007
Apple and AT&T release iPhone rate plans.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html
as you can see, all of the plans include unlimited data/email/visual voicemail and 200 text messages.
Basically this means that a voice only plan is not avaliable (or at least not advertised) for the iPhone. I can't imagine anyone wanting an iPhone without data services unless they planned on only using data when in a wi-fi hotspot (probably why the data plan is built in to the iPhone plan).
Even with the required data, these plans are actually a good deal. An unlimited data and email plan for a blackberry costs 29.99 if you know what to ask for. The reps would try to sell you a 39.99 blackberry plan which also inc ludes 1500 text messages. The iPhone plan is only $20 more than the voice only plan w/ the same number of minutes. For that $20 you get not only unlimited email and Internet, but also 200 text messages. (you can, of course, add extra messages for additional cost)
So, while the iPhone has a very expensive up front costs, the cost for the services is actually quite a bit lower than those same services would be on a similar smart phone like a blackberry 8800, curve, or pearl, or a treo or windows mobile device.
The basic iPhone plan will be 59.99 and will include 450 anytime minutes (w/ rollover) unlimited m2m minutes, 5000 night and weekend minutes, unlimited internet and email and 200 text messages.
The same services on a black berry would be: 39.99 + 29.99 + 4.99 = 74.97.
So, the iPhone would save you roughly $15 a month over comparable services on a blackberry (with AT&T of course). over the course of your 2 year contract, that would be $360.
So, maybe the iPhone isnt such a bad deal after all. While I still think it should have (much) more storage and 3G connectivity, I think it will be a revolutionary device, mostly for the operating system and features even lacking the storage and high speed 3g. And, there is not yet a blackberry device with 3G, or any smartphone with the multimedia features of an iPhone or iPod. When you take into account the 2 year service/rate plan savings by having an iPhone over a blackberry or smart phone plus the ease of use and music/video features, it may turn out to really be a pretty good deal and great phone. Personally, I'm looking forward to reading some reviews of it next week, and seeing if Apple decides to update it with 3G and at least 15-30 GB of storage.
Until Next time, It's Showtime
Also, waiting on Graduation from Kanye in middle september.
Apple and AT&T release iPhone rate plans.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html
as you can see, all of the plans include unlimited data/email/visual voicemail and 200 text messages.
Basically this means that a voice only plan is not avaliable (or at least not advertised) for the iPhone. I can't imagine anyone wanting an iPhone without data services unless they planned on only using data when in a wi-fi hotspot (probably why the data plan is built in to the iPhone plan).
Even with the required data, these plans are actually a good deal. An unlimited data and email plan for a blackberry costs 29.99 if you know what to ask for. The reps would try to sell you a 39.99 blackberry plan which also inc ludes 1500 text messages. The iPhone plan is only $20 more than the voice only plan w/ the same number of minutes. For that $20 you get not only unlimited email and Internet, but also 200 text messages. (you can, of course, add extra messages for additional cost)
So, while the iPhone has a very expensive up front costs, the cost for the services is actually quite a bit lower than those same services would be on a similar smart phone like a blackberry 8800, curve, or pearl, or a treo or windows mobile device.
The basic iPhone plan will be 59.99 and will include 450 anytime minutes (w/ rollover) unlimited m2m minutes, 5000 night and weekend minutes, unlimited internet and email and 200 text messages.
The same services on a black berry would be: 39.99 + 29.99 + 4.99 = 74.97.
So, the iPhone would save you roughly $15 a month over comparable services on a blackberry (with AT&T of course). over the course of your 2 year contract, that would be $360.
So, maybe the iPhone isnt such a bad deal after all. While I still think it should have (much) more storage and 3G connectivity, I think it will be a revolutionary device, mostly for the operating system and features even lacking the storage and high speed 3g. And, there is not yet a blackberry device with 3G, or any smartphone with the multimedia features of an iPhone or iPod. When you take into account the 2 year service/rate plan savings by having an iPhone over a blackberry or smart phone plus the ease of use and music/video features, it may turn out to really be a pretty good deal and great phone. Personally, I'm looking forward to reading some reviews of it next week, and seeing if Apple decides to update it with 3G and at least 15-30 GB of storage.
Until Next time, It's Showtime
Also, waiting on Graduation from Kanye in middle september.
