I have been on the look out for a new mobile device lately. I really do not feel like spending more than necessary in view of the poor economy but then it has been two years since my last purchase and it is high time I catch up with technology.

Since the last time I checked, there are more models of mobile devices to select from. Besides taking cost into account, nowadays, mobile devices could do so many things that I don’t even need!

I went to check the website of gadget1 for prices and specifications. They are a leading online retailer of new and unlocked mobile devices based in Australia.

After going through so many brands, Blackberry sure has caught my eye! On this site alone, there are nine Blackberry models to choose from and that would be a tough decision to make! Luckily, they are not too expensive. The high end Blackberry models are comparable to the Nokia that I am currently using but it sure looks sleeker and classier and I think, more suitable for female palm.

Besides new branded and unlocked mobile devices, Gadget Circle also carries the latest branded Ultra Mobile PCs from Sony, HTC, Above Net and Raon. I’d like to get one too.

Tosh! Time really flies, doesn’t it? Macintosh turned 25 years old on 24th January, 2009!

Who still remembers the old chunky Macintosh systems? The monochrome screens and best of all, the old Mac games. Boy, I LOVE those and was addicted to many of them though I can no longer remember the names of those games that I used to play. Perhaps I was too young then. I only used the Macintosh to play games. That was all I knew. That was how young I was.

Over the years, I became a Windows convert. I guess when I had to buy my own computers, Windows were more budget friendly. Some people may disagree, though.

And then I got my grubby hands on an iPhone and once again, became an Apple fan girl. If Apple would price their products more competitively, I would have no qualms switching again, especially Macbook Air. LOL

If you know me, you would know that I was a radio junkie. I fell in love with the radio when I was very young and have used many kinds of radios from transistor radios to walkman radios, from travel receivers to desktop transmitters. At one time, I had about five different radios all over my house. Yes, I spent quite a lot on my hobby as well but it took a back seat when I discovered the internet.

Now, I still tune into the radio occasionally and being able to receive shortwave radio stations from foreign cities still fascinates me, even though I could easily log in to their websites via the internet!

When my friend, who shared my hobby, asked me what brand of radio to go for, I had no problem suggesting Sirius. I remember my Starmate Replay radio, a Sirius which offered replay capabilities. That was advance technology back then! After so many years, it’s still working and I can’t say the same for many other brands of electronic products.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that I only had Sirius radios. Like I said, I was a radio enthusiast and I have used radios of many brands and models but Sirius remains one of my favorite brands.

My friend bought a netbook recently and although it was a mid-range unit and a tad expensive, he told me he has no regrets and absolutely loves it. Last week, he was travelling in the United States and he was able to hook up online on the go. It came in handy when he wanted to check out local places of interest while on the move.

He whipped out his netbook when he stopped by in Denver, Colorado overnight. He said he had some time to explore the city but didn’t know where to go but was able to check online for on-going activities in Denver and Denver Restaurants that would be suitable for a single person and not look out of place.

After having a try at his netbook, I am so tempted to purchase one as well but definitely will not buy one as expensive as his!

The US Army has just released an intelligence report which cited the danger that are caused by micro-blogging, particularly Twitter and the advance technologies like Global Positioning System (GPS) and voice changing software.

I am surprised that it took them quite a while to come out with this intelligence report. Twitter has taken the online world by storm and changing how we communicate with others on all parts of the world as long as we are connected to the web.

Since I registered with Twitter, I find that I even send less text messages. Twitter is free, after all, and I am connected to the web 24/7 due to work. Although I don’t indulge in the spreading of news, I do notice how people keep each other updated with “breaking news” and other updates, like the hurricane in the United States a few months ago and the US Presidential elections, which will be drawing to a close come November.

As for voice changing software, this seems like old technology. I remember when I was a kid, there was a small gadget that enables us to change our voice. Of course, I never used it before but I have read about it and I dreamt of owning the device.

Like in everything else in life, innovation is great but we must not misuse it.

A couple of days ago, I invited my friend from out of state to visit me at a religious festival that was held in my hometown. Although my friend is quite familiar with my city, he is not familiar with the area where the festival would be held.

Luckily my friend is very technology savvy. I provided him with the approximate satellite coordinates and prayed that he would not get lost. Actually, I felt kind of bad that I was only able to provide him with an APPROXIMATE reading but he keyed that into his Sat Nav and managed to find his way to me.

My friends over here were very surprised and complimented him on how smart he is! I think the smart one should be his Sat Nav! He took me out for a drive to show me the capabilities of his Sat Nav and I was totally impressed considering that my friend has never been here before. The Sat Nav was able to direct my friend to his intended destination with turn-by-turn instructions and even knows which roads are one-way streets. We were also able to locate a 7-11 along the way.

It’s a good thing that satellite navigation devices are very affordable now. I would buy one myself when I have my own car. You know how hopeless I am with directions. I even got lost once in my own city!

Three of my guy friends bought netbooks over the past few months ranging from RM1200 – RM4000. I had the opportunity to fiddle with them; one Acer Aspire One, one Fujitsu 2010 and one Asus EEE PC. I kind of like netbooks and think that the size would be perfect for me.

Even though I don’t get to travel as much as I would like to right now, I think that this would make a perfect companion even at home. You know, sometimes you just need to turn on the computer to check something, that’s when a netbook would come in handy.

I recently was been offered a pretty good deal. It’s HP and retailing at RM1999 but I was told that if I were to charge my credit card, I would only have to pay about RM150 per month for twelve months, totaling RM1899. This means that I would get to enjoy RM100 rebate.

I am really, really tempted to buy it but seriously, I am trying to spend as little as possible seeing how awful the economy is right now. Well, I don’t know. Maybe I will just wait a little bit more. SIGH.