I Won a Figure Print… AGAIN!
For those of you that do not know, a “Figure Print” (http://www.figureprints.com/Default.aspx) is a real world representation of your World of Warcraft (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com) character. The statues are created based on your current gear in the WoW Armory (http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com) and are available in a number of poses.
I won in the next to last drawing and gave it away to a guildie, but today, I received an e-mail saying that I won…. (again!) This time I am going to purchase one. I think it will be close to $150 USD delivered, and I should get it while I am in the states on vacation.
Pardon the actual links on the page… my IE at work is FUBARed right now. And sorry, I won’t disclose my WoW characters because an internet search may reveal exactly who I am 
Sony Xperia X1
I recently (3 days ago) bought myself the new Sony Xperia X1 mobile. It is a mixed bag for me so far. The good does outweigh the bad, but there are still some issues that I don’t like. Instead of a full review, I am just going to list the Pros and Cons. The internet is overflowing with pictures and reviews of this phone, but these are the opinions of a tech-savvy individual who likes to have the latest in cutting edge.
I will start off by saying I bought this phone for business use. This is not my iPod replacement!
Pros:
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Comfortable weight and size
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Keyboard has some space in between the keys, which helps minimize “oopsie” button presses
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Overall speed of the phone is impressive, for a WinMo device.
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Wireless and bluetooth work flawlessly
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Phone accepts up to 16GB memory stick, which is plenty of space
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Dual language support
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Screen is crystal clear and very bright. Resolution is amazing!
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Battery life is good. Music/Video playback, lots of calls and texting, and an insane amount of time management (PIM input), the phone retained a charge throughout my work day and well into the evening.
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Opera browser as well as IE. The “zoom” of the Opera browser is wonderful!
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Newly designed panel interface. I have 3 today screens. (business, personal, internet centered). Panels are upgradeable and you can add new panels as well, unlike the current Samsung “widget” phones.
Cons:
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Video playback is CHOPPY AS HELL! It looks like a 15fps video! Do not believe what you read online… paying for CorePlayer will NOT fix this issue. Maybe an update from Sony soon.
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“Conversation” style of SMS management does NOT work if the contacts are SIM contacts and not imported into the phone. (You will see the convo layout for outlook contacts, just not the SIM contacts)
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Phone can get bogged down if you are doing alot of panel switching. Still a neat effect!
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Unable to sync with Outlook 2007. Unable to resolve this issue. Had to downgrade to 2003 @ home. (Remember, I bought this for business purposes.)
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Random errors with certain .jar files that didn’t occur on other smartphones. (Gmail .jar file for example… lang error)
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Phone is prone to have cracks around the “joint” and where the stylus is inserted. (None yet for me thank God)
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Speaker volume is not very loud at all. If you want an “entertainment” phone, buy a phone for that. This is not an iPod killer when it comes to entertainment. Try the iPhone or Omnia. HTC Touch Diamond is an alternative as well.
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Unable to change the bluetooth display name of my phone. I’m sure the option is there, but (for me) it has not been easy to find.
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No screen protector/case included. Yes the screen is laminated, the the tab used for easy removal will eventually pull it off. Screen is very delicate and too beautiful to scratch!
That’s all I have for right now. Overall, I am very impressed with the phone. Personally, I would wait for the first price drop. Right now, $799USD (official Sony site) or 268KWD (roughly the going rate in Kuwait, give or take) is a little too steep. You may also want to consider holding off for the Nokia N97 which is about the same phone design, slightly larger screen, and 32GB of built-in storage. I haven’t looked at whether it runs Symbian or WinMo though… my preference is the latter.
