The HP Touchpad I wrote about previously (and forgot to post)  came loaded with WebOS.  After some work, and some swearing, I was able to load CyanogenMod 7 on it, with a dual boot feature.   It's not bad as an Android tablet, although it's quite a bit bigger than my Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.

HP TouchPad 32gb

(I found this listed a a draft)

I scored a new HP Touchpad during the fire sale - 99 bucks, plus about 40 more for a Touchstone charging stand. It ain't an iPad, but it's worth the $99, at least as a cool toy.

It came with some preloaded apps - Facebook, USA Today, Kindle, mail, and some other stuff. The best part is that there are quite a few free apps and tweaks available for download. It increases the usefulness of the device.

I'm back! (finally.....)

It's been awhile since I have posted anything here. Been busy (don't ask!)

I am going to try to be better at keeping this up to date.

Great deal site

This is one of my personal favorites: deals2buy . I've been using it for years - great selection of current deals, everything from computers to housewares to cameras, phones, perfumes, you name it!

My Blackberry 8830

This is a cool phone! I use it to get my Lotus Notes email in the go - in fact, email shows up in the phone before I see it in my laptop inbox! The web access is pretty quick - I have Gmail, ESPN, Yahoo!, Google Maps, and several other Google apps.

I used to use a Palm Treo 700W, and after having used Palm devices for years, I was really disappointed. The BlackBerry does not disappoint.

My new toy

Lately, I have been playing with this r/c helicopter I bought from buy.com. It's a fun toy; not much control beside up and down, but what do you want for $16 including free shipping? It terrorizes the cat, which is one of my goals.
Last year, I bought one from Brookstone for about $35, and it melted the second time I charged it. Luckily, I got my money back.

HOW 'BOUT THEM DOLPHINS!

I know this is a gadgets and toys blog, but I am still happy (and stunned) about the game yesterday. Miracles can happen!

My Garmin Nuvi 350

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS. This is one of my best toys. I had a Honda Odyssey with the Honda Nav system, but I got rid of that car, and couldn't see paying a fortune to the dealer to add a no-name GPS to my new SUV. After doing some research, I bought the Nuvi from Buy.com, and it was a great deal - I saved over $100 from the next lowest price I could find, got free shipping, and saved another $10 for using Google Checkout.

The Nuvi is amazing! It is small and light, and is fairly easy to program. You can bring it in the house and set your destinations, and if you leave the antenna down, it will simulate the drive for you. I'm not sure why you'd need that, but it's cool. It speaks the directions, and even reads off street names, something the Honda Nav system did not do. I set the Nuvi to a female voice, speaking Australian English, mate.

The screen is detailed and bright. The map display is pretty cool, too. It is a 3D display, which shows the upcoming turns, and ETA. There are alternate displays that show speed, distance, max speed (watch that one - I keep resetting it so my wife doesn't see), elapsed time, etc.

I can't say enough good things about the Nuvi. My only complaint, which is minor, is that I would like additional search categories, not just restaurants and lodging, and I would like to be able to input an intersection, instead of an address only. Since I didn't completely read the directions, that feature may indeed be there. If I find it, I'll update.

Highly recommended!

First post

I am a technology geek - I love my toys! I want to use this blog to brag, and complain about some of my new toys and gadgets, and some of the old ones as well.

Feel free to leave comments if you agree or disagree with me!