Lenovo ThinkPad T43

Why I purchased it: I was ready to replace my old Sony VAIO and had decided that a new Sony VAIO would not work for me because I insist on having a standard 14.1" monitor and Sony only sells widescreen ones. I had seen a ThinkPad owned by a manager and thought I would try them out.

First impressions: While very simple looking it still took my breath away when I pulled it out of the box! I was immediately impressed at how thin this laptop is. Even at over two years old, today this laptop is still thinner than most.

Build Quality: ThinkPads are known to be the most durable laptops out there other than the specialized laptops that look like a briefcase and cost twice as much. After using this laptop for over two years I still have not had any part of it break or wear out. The only signs of use are the small areas on the Spacebar, Alt and Tab keys, and left mouse button, that have lost their texture due to frequent use, and the scratched up Windows sticker. The best thing about the ThinkPad is that the 802.11a/b/g WiFi antenna is up in the monitor and not buried down in the computer which helps me be able to connect wirelessly where most people can't. The only disappointment is that there are only two USB ports but this has been changed in the more recent models.

Features: The ThinkPad has a sensor that triggers when the laptop is falling or bouncing which stops the hard drive and lifts the head off of it to avoid damage. It also comes with an optional fingerprint reader that allows you to login to Windows with only the swipe of a finger. Another surprise is the tiny white LED at the top of the monitor that aims down towards the keyboard illuminating it when needed. This is not near as cool as Apple's illuminated keyboard but gets the job done well.

Accessories: The laptop came with three or four different Trackpoint pads all with a different shape and texture designed to be interchangeable to suit the owners desire. The Trackpoint is the little red pad inbetween the G, H, and B keys on the keyboard which can be used to maneuver the mouse if you prefer that over the provided Trackpad. It also comes with a charger.

Final Words: I love my ThinkPad and tell everyone that they are the best! As long as Lenovo continues to offer a standard screen I will continue to purchase ThinkPads exclusively.

eStarling WiFi Photo Frame

Why I purchased it: I wanted an easy way to share photos with my family members so I helped purchase a few of these frames for parents and grand-parents.

First impressions: It looks great!

Build Quality: The frame is built well. The screen is bright and large although the viewing angle is a little too narrow.

Features: Photos can be emailed or uploaded to a free account provided by Seeframe Live and the eStarling Photo Frame downloads them from the internet connecting through your existing wireless network. Once the photos have been downloaded and stored on the frame's internal memory they are displayed in a slide show. The frame also features various memory card inputs if you would like to display pictures stored there, requiring no internet connection.

Accessories: The frame comes with a USB cable required for the initial configuration of the frame and a power adapter.

Final Words: I absolutely love being able to share photos so quickly and so easily with all of my family members that have this frame in their home. I think everyone should have one!

LG Bluetooth Headset HBM-730

Why I purchased it: This headset was given to me as a Christmas gift. Had I made the purchase myself I would have gotten the one made by Plantronics that BlackBerry recommends.

First impressions: It isn't Plantronics which I have always heard is the best. I was however pleased to see that the LG HBM-730 is an in-ear headset and not an on-ear headset.

Build Quality: The LG HBM-730 is a very solid and light weight item. I am quite please with it. The power connector however is horrible. It is extremely hard to get the cable and the connector aligned properly and attempting to do so in the dark is a complete waste of time. The buttons are very easy to find while the unit is attached to your ear and are very easy to press. Because I don't like to wear my headset when I go into stores I often put it in my pocket. Because of this I sometimes find that the Talk/End button has been pressed turning on the Voice Dialing feature of my BlackBerry 8830 which could result in accidental phone calls (this has yet to happen).

Features: Using this headset is very simple. There isn't really anything to go wrong. You have Volume Up and Volume Down buttons and a Talk/End button. You hold down the Talk/End button for a few seconds to turn it on or off, or press it quickly to answer a call, disconnect a call, or turn on and off Voice Dialing.

Accessories: The headset came with a lanyard but I never even pulled it out of the bag. Who wants to have a headset hanging around their neck? It also came with the charger mentioned earlier.

Final Words: LG won me over despite my initial worries. Other than the annoying power connector this is a fantastic headset!

BlackBerry 8830 World Edition

Why I purchased it: I purchased my BlackBerry 8830 World Edition Cell Phone from Verizon Wireless in October of 2007 and have used it exclusively since. I chose the BlackBerry because I was switching service providers and was very pleased with the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Series I owned while using the T-Mobile service.

First impressions: After picking up my new 8830 for the first time I immediately felt that it was too wide. This idea quickly went away however and today I am glad that it is as wide as it is.

Build Quality: The 8830 feels very very solid and is just the right weight. No space was wasted and almost everything is well placed. My only complaint is the only button on the left side of the phone. This button is easily pressed by accident and I soon disabled it because of that. The screen is bright and colorful. The trackball is amazing! At first glance the keys on the full QWERTY Keyboard appear to be too small and too close together but as I began typing I immediately noticed that the upper inner corners of the keys are raised making them easier to press and greatly minimizing errors.

Features: The BlackBerry OS is very easy to navigate and I prefer it over any other phone I have ever owned (Nokia and Motorola). I use the email feature to receive email from three different email accounts; a personal IMAP server, a company owned IMAP server, and Google's Gmail. The calculator is very useful but a bit busy with too many features thus cluttering the screen. I found the calculator on my Pearl easier to use. The notes program is very useful. I would never take notes with it in a classroom environment but I do use it quite often to record small amounts of data for later reference. The address book is very extensive allowing you to save multiple numbers for one person and is very easy to use. My favorite feature about this phone (and any BlackBerry that I have used) is that you simply begin to type the name of a person in your contact list and the list is quickly filtered to show only those that match the text typed so far. You then press SEND and the call is placed. The web browser is very easy to use and remembers any recent URLs you have visited. The screen resolution is sufficient to browse just about any site without problems. One complaint about the phone is that there seems to be no indicator on the home screen as to which profile the phone is set to such as Loud, Vibrate, Quite, and Normal. There is also no shortcut key that I have found to change the phone to Vibrate. You must go through the menu to change it. One very neat feature about the BlackBerry is the BlackBerry Messanger. This instant messaging program is very easy to use and a very fast way to communicate with other BlackBerry owners. You can even invite multiple people to your conversation. The Calendar is nice to have but I almost never use it. I tried using the Tasks program but it was more work than it was help. I really don't look to my BlackBerry as a digital organizer and mainly use it for email and web access. The best thing about the BlackBerry is that Google has made a great effort to provide many services for it. I am always signed into Google Talk and Google Maps has proven to be quite helpful. Google also provides access to your Google Docs (although very limited), Gmail (although I just use the built-in email feature provided by BlackBerry), and a synchronizer for your Google Calendar. My major complaint about the BlackBerry (although it is the fault of Verizon) is that the built-in GPS Receiver is disabled! I did not know this when I purchased the device and did not find out until I started searching online when I found it wasn't working. I have read that Verizon has recently released a new firmware for the phone that will take care of this but I have not yet had the opportunity to try it out. The phone also has a media manager that can play music and videos and display pictures. I have only used this to store a few pictures of my wife and daughter to show other people but have been quite pleased with it. The pictures are transfered to my phone via USB cable and are stored on a 64MB TransFlash card made by SanDisk mounted inside the phone cover. They could also be stored on the internal memory of the phone.

Accessories: The phone came with a USB cable used for data transfer between the phone and a computer. I have since lost this cable but continue to use another one that goes to my SanDisk Card Reader. It also came with a holster that has a magnet inside allowing the screen to turn off and on when I put the phone in and take it out. This also allows me to set my profiles to behave differently depending on whether or not the phone is in the holster (a very cool feature).

Final Words: I love my BlackBerry 8830 and don't foresee leaving the BlackBerry family for any other phone for a long time.

About This Blog

My name is Skyler Call and I work in the IT Industry. With this blog I plan to share my thoughts (likes and dislikes) about different products that I own and use.