Gadget Freak

Ok, you all know that I'm a deep geek and I love my gadgets. Here's the newest one: the HTC Wizard from Cingular. Yes, it's a phone, but it also runs a mini version of Windows. (no blue screens tho--it just locks up when it gets pissed)

My main motivation was this: my task list (or "to-do" list) is where I spend much of my waking hours. When I think of something I need to look up, it goes on the task list. When I hear about a cool movie on the radio, it goes on the task list to see if it's playing nearby. The problem is, my task list was on my laptop. I seem to never have my laptop around when I think of something I need to do.

So, the 8125 takes care of this. It keeps my task list sync'd with my PC when it's in range (via Bluetooth), so I always have everything with me. It's handy when I'm out running around, and I can just stop in the grocery store on the way home because I've always got my shopping list. Or if I think of something I need when I'm sitting in traffic on the way to the office, it has that nifty built-in keyboard for me to punch it in.

Some of the other cool stuff it does:
- Wi-fi access : If I'm in range of a wireless network, I can hop on and surf the Internet
- Cellular Internet : If I'm not in range of a wireless network, I can still get on the Internet almost anywhere I get cell signal. For example, when I was in a grocery store in Scotland, I jumped on Froogle to verify that the price I was seeing on a bottle of really good whisky was as good of a deal as I thought. (it was)
- Can check any POP3 email account : It automatically checks my Gmail account. Like when you post comments on my blog, my phone gets that email about 5 minutes later. And it's a full email client--I can send/recieve email, compose email, etc... (and like when Amazon is sending a FedEx package, FedEx sends me an email when it's delivered, so my phone buzzes me if I'm at work and am not home to recieve it)
- It keeps my full contact list : Ever stuck somewhere and you need to call someone, but you don't have that # in your cell phone? Never a problem here.

Yeah, I can go on and on. It's a bit of a brick, but it's still small enough that I keep it in my pocket. I know it's not slim and sleek, but it's f'in handy when you are sitting at dinner with a friend and they tell you about this book you have to read, and you don't want to forget. Or like the other day when I was almost to someone's house for a party and got lost. I just pulled up his address in my contact list and then went to Mobile Google Maps to get directions.

And probably the coolest future feature is that since it's running Windows Mobile, I can write any software I want for that phone.