Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Sky way robbery

If you have traveled much by air, then you know that hold overs and delays are part of the experience. While you are waiting, especially if it is an extended wait, you are going to get hungry.

I am stuck at the Memphis International Airport. I just paid $8 for an order of chicken tenders, a biscuit and a coke. If I went to a restaurant I could have gotten the same thing for $5. They have bumped up the price for every thing that is served at eateries at airports. With modern security like it is, you are held virtually captive and at the mercy of the butchery that goes on.

It should be illegal for businesses to over charge for their products based on the fact that it's customers are stranded. But, it's at the airport. Businesses that serve airports jack up their prices too. A one day car rental from Enterprise normally is $150, more or less. If you call Enterprise in Memphis and tell that you need a car, you can pay up to $700!!

What is going on? They want us to travel, but they charge out the butt for stuff.

Monday, June 28, 2010

The Droid that got blown away by the Storm

I just didn't like my Droid. There were a couple of things that I didn't like. One was the lack of Outlook support. The other was the lack of a VZW tethering option. My next phone of choice was the Blackberry Storm2. I can do all the things I need to do with it.

I travel a lot and on occasion, I need to hook up my notebook to the internet. Without tethering, this is impossible. Oh, there are a few work arounds but they can void your warranty or void your contract. That is why the Droid was not a good match for me.

I use Outlook a lot. The Droid does not support Outlook without Microsoft Exchange. Android, or better Google, does not want you to use another application for contacts or calender than theirs. They allow Exchange use to get into the business market. This leaves the consumer OUT! BAD Google.

I have found that the Blackberry allows more customizations. You can add different ring tones for a contacts different phones and different email addresses. You can't do that with a Droid.

Oh well, I'm sure that VZW and Google will make enough money without me having a Droid. Well, for sure VZW will, cuz I still have service with VZW. I guess that it will be Google who will be a dollar short.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Motorola Droid

I picked up a phone from VZW yesterday. After much tinkering, I decided on a Droid by Motorola. On the outside, it's the best thing since the RAZR. It's sturdy and well built. The camera is good to boot.

But, like all things it has a negative. Actually, there are a few. Primarily, I hate the fact that you cannot connect to your computer to your Outlook. The quickest way is to pay $35 for an app. The second way is to upload your Outlook files up to your Gmail account contacts, then down to your phone. OH, you HAVE to have a Gmail account. I am not really comfortable with uploading all of my contacts on to a server somewhere to be hacked in to.

The second thing is the apps. You remember the iPhone commercials, "There's an app for that." Android is the same. There are lots of apps out there and hundreds (or more) are free. Some are poorly made and just don't work. Others have a free app, but you have to pay for the PC version to make it work properly.

Overall it is a great phone. I would be cautious about loading your information into a huge conglomerate like Google. I am reconsidering my purchase.