On T-mobile, I think it still goes to the HTC Sensation because of the large 4.3″ screen, solid camera performance, HSPA+ network speeds (although to be accurate, the most you’re going to get out of the Sensation is 14.4 Mbps) and the Snapdragon dual-core 1.2 GHz processor. However, the fairly new Samsung Galaxy S II and HTC Amaze look to be giving it solid competition.

The newly minted iPhone 4s makes the competition a little stiffer for the other 3 networks, but on Verizon, it’s going to have to go to an Android phone. Why? iPhone 4s simply doesn’t offer 4g speeds. That’s why I’ll have to go with Droid Bionic for Verizon’s winner, even though the 4.3″ screen doesn’t knock my socks off. (I’m super excited about the Samsung Note coming out on Big Red in Q1 2012, though.)

Even with the new iPhone, Sprint’s best phone still goes to an Android device, the Samsung Galazy S II. Snappy response time, graphics that pop and great speakerphone performance are just some of the reasons Samsung’s latest Galaxy model has been labeled an ‘iPhone killer.’

AT&T is the only carrier to give the new iPhone model 4g, or more accurately, faux g, love, and that is why I ‘m choosing it for the best phone on AT&T. The 8 megapixel camera delivers pretty stunning photos, it’s compatible with a huge array of accessories, and of course, there’s the Siri intelligent assistant that has everyone talking. (Get it? Talking? Ha! I kill myself!)

**If you’re in the market for a new phone, or simply want to research the latest mobile technology, PhoneScoop is a good way to get the information you need. http://bit.ly/ormu4F

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I am so, so glad to be back after a long absence. So many cool sites and new technologies have launched since I took what I thought would be a brief hiatus to find a house. After viewing more than 200 houses over a period of nine months, I am greatly relieved that we are finally moved in. We’re still living out of boxes, but we have Internet and our laptops are unpacked; what more do you need?

Since my last post over a year ago, I’ve discovered some great sites, software, and tech toys; today I’m going to post about some of my favorite, and most frequently used, discoveries. First up is the new IM client, Digsby. Digsby acts as my all-in-one communication hub. Not only does it combine all of my buddy lists from AIM, Google, MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, and Jabber, it updates me when I receive new email, and when my MySpace and Facebook accounts are updated.

IM conversations are tabbed for easier navigation (I HATE having twenty little boxes all over the screen) and logging can be enabled for those of us that need to refer back to conversations. (I use IM heavily at work and this beats taking notes. ) One of my favorite features (it’s the little things that count, y’all) is that buddies can be renamed with an alias. So if you have a friend whose entire internet pedigree is displayed, i.e. i.am.a.friend.who.needs.to.get.a.shorter.email@msn.com, you can rename it to something shorter, like “Friend.”

The feature I use the most, though – besides the IM of course, are the email notifications. In preferences, I chose to have an icon displayed in the system tray that lets me know how many new emails I have. (You can choose notifications for your Facebook and MySpace accounts, too.) Clicking the icon pops up a list of emails with choices to Mark as Read, Delete, Open, Archive, or Report as Spam. Incredibly easy and convenient! Digsby also displays update in unobtrusive pop-ups at the bottom of the screen. Bye-bye Gmail notifier!

Digsby is still in private beta and is still a bit rough around the edges, but this is an app to watch. The developers are uber-responsive to requests in their online forums; since I joined Digsby two days ago there have been three updates. (Updates are done automatically – everything about this app is easy.) Hopefully they’ll respond to my reqeust for Lotus Sametime support, and then this will be the perfect app. Digsby’s so good though, that I’ve kicked Trillian and Pidgin to the curb and just run Sametime seperately.

Other thoughts:

• Amazon’s Kindle: Are you serious? It has a monochrome display, DRM out the wazoo, and it’s $399! Use your cell phone and sites like EReader.com and Fictionwise.com for an experience that’s just as satisfying and much cheaper.
• Yahoo! Widgets: I have recently discovered Yahoo! Widgets and I can’t stop playing with them. They add so much usefulness to my desktop. So far, I’ve installed the SoftCode Analog Clock, TV Navigator, CallWave Visual Voicemail and Text Messaging, Yahoo! Maps, Daily Planner Calendar, Flickr, Generic Countdown Timer, Google Calendar, Informer, MicroPlayer, Mind Like a Sieve (a Remember the Milk plugin), Vonageer (interfaces with my Vonage account and makes call logs and voicemail easily accessible), a Twitter client, a thesaurus/dictionary, Zonal Clock (world time), and of course, Yahoo! Weather. Somebody stop me, please!
• Yahoo! Go 2.0 – Yahoo! has a winner here. This is simply the best all-in-one mobile app out there. It’s fast and responsive – unlike Microsoft’s offerings (I had to uninstall MSN Direct from my T-mobile Shadow because it kept hanging), the maps are far more accurate and easier to understand than Google’s, and the interface is slick and just plain pretty!
  Plus, I really love that it syncs with my online Yahoo! account so that my preferences are automatically added to my mobile app.
  • Note: Yahoo! Go 3.0 is out for Blackberry, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson phones and supports mobile widgets!

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But now there’s Mdog, a site that optimizes popular online destinations for mobile devices. I can check my Yahoo email, peruse Ebay auctions, read my friend Emma Sometime’s blog (and even update my own), catch up on the news, and my personal favorite, visit Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com, all using just my humble PDA. Bathroom breaks will never be the same again!

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I feel like I finally got something accomplished today! I finished my portfolio site, and at long last, started my workout regimen. The workout passed very quickly since I was listening to an audio book from Audible.com on my MDA. I love Audible! I’ve been a member for a few years and the service just keeps getting better and better. For $22.95 a month, I get to download two books, plus the daily (M-F) edition of the New York Times. (The Wall Street Journal is also available, if that’s more to your taste.) Moreover, each month members receive six featured audible books/interviews/short stories, etc. for free. Finally, if that weren’t enough, members also receive a free subscription to the digital edition of AudioFile, “The Magazine for People Who Love Audiobooks.” Another one of my favorite audiobook sites is LearnOutLoud. They specialize in educational audiobooks (and videos.)

When I’m not listening to a book on my MDA, I’m reading a book on my MDA. My favorite site to pick up great ebooks is Ereader.com, but Fictionwise is a close second. I’ve had a lot of people exclaim that the could never read a book on a screen that small, but you’d be surprised at how easy it is to get used to. One of the biggest benefits of reading digital books, aside from portability, is being able to read in the dark. Since my husband has a hard time falling asleep with the light on, ebooks make him happy, too. Other benefits include that it looks like you’re working when you’re actually reading, and of course, it eliminates the embarrassment of toting a book to the bathroom with you. (Pun intended.)

Another of my favorite “digital entertainment” sites is Zinio. Zinio provides digital editions of some of the most popular magazines for download. You can purchase individual issues or annual subscriptions, just like with print editions. Zinio provides a free, Adobe Acrobat-like, reading application that is easy to use and has neat features like searching, bookmarking and annotating. Generally the cost of the magazine/subscription is the same as it is in print. Now if they could just develop a way to get the mags on to my MDA, life would be good.

Sorry this post is so short (some of you may actually be happy about that) but I’ve given you some of the most digitally entertaining sites on the Internet, so shouldn’t you be moving along now? Shoo. Go read – or listen to – a book.

Tags: literature, audible books, Audible.com, Learn Out Loud, ebooks, Ereader, FictionWise, digital magazines, Zinio

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Since I would like ideally to be able to synchronize my recipes with my handheld, I started my search for recipe sites at Handango, hoping to find a recipe application that interfaces with a cool website. I immediately hit pay dirt by doing a search for “recipe.” There are two contenders, Pocket Cook and Big Oven. Both offer recipe synchronization between the Pocket PC and the website, and seem robust enough, but I’m really put off by the interface. (I’m a design snob. I freely admit it.) If I had to choose on of them based on the cursory examination I made, I’d choose Pocket Cook. In addition to syncing recipes from the website to the handheld, they both have shopping lists and menus, but Pocket Cook seems to be the only one that supports Windows Mobile 5.0.

Of course, I always have my long-time favorite sites like All Recipes and Meals.com. I don’t know how 2.0 either one would be considered – after all, neither of them is in beta. But heck, I know how to use the cut and paste functions, and they do have a huge selection of great recipes. I also found this huge list of recipe sites that I’ll check out later.

For now, though, I’m off to the races thanks to my third glass of water.

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