Patrick Says

Hey there, lady on the cover of People, how you doing?

Holy crap. Is that Kate Gosselin?

I think it is.

Huh…go figure.

If you use Google for searches, you may have noticed Google unveiling a new feature this week: Google Instant. What it does is pretty neat, although on the other side of the coin, it’s very distracting if you have something you’re searching for in mind. What it does is while you type in your Google search, it displays results below changing dynamically while you type.

You know what, it’s REALLY distracting. Your search for say, ‘eye wrinkle cream‘, could easily be diverted at the word ‘eye’. But still, cool.

And of course, someone found a way to have some fun with it. I heard this on ‘This Week in Tech’ with Leo Laporte and his gang. Someone took Google Instant and combined it with ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’
to very interesting effect. Check it out.

I don’t know a lot about over the counter diet pills that actually work, but I do know a bit about this Kyocera Loft phone from Virgin Mobile. And since everybody these days is on cell phones, why not do a review of this phone and let you know what I think?

Overview

The Loft is the lowest price phone (at the time of this writing) that Virgin Mobile offers for their ‘Beyond Talk’ plans. The ‘Beyond Talk’ plan itself is pretty awesome. At the base price, $25 will get you 300 anytime minutes and UNLIMITED data. That means all the text messages, web browsing, GPS with Google Maps and Twitter that you want without any additional cost. And for the most part, the service is top-notch. There have been a couple times where certain features were not working, but Virgin Mobile got it fixed as fast as they could.

Design & Software

Getting back to the phone, it’s a candy bar style, which I like. It has a full keyboard, which is crucial for serious texting. It has a four-direction navigation button that works okay. The screen itself is 2.2 inches. The color is vibrant. It comes with an email/IM program, Google Maps and the Opera Mini browser pre-installed. It also has a GPS program called Virgin Mobile Navigator. Don’t use it; Google Maps does the same thing and has no fees like the Navigator.

The Good

It’s zippy. You can move between apps pretty quickly. The phone isn’t too clunky when you hold it up to your head, but would probably be better suited to a Bluetooth headset. The built-in email program makes configuring your GMail, Yahoo, Windows Live, POP3 or AOL account a snap.

The Bad

The downloadable apps selection is awful. The phone is so locked down you can’t have a friend transfer you an mp3 via Bluetooth. The battery life is not great. I end up having to charge it every other day. There are three color themes and they get old quickly. Worse, you can’t download any other color themes and you can’t make up your own.

The Ugly

The camera is really low-quality. The keyboard is cramped. I’ve gotten used to it, but it’s cramped. Also, the keys require a pretty firm press and the FN key slows you down on symbols and punctuation.

Summary

It’s a great starter phone for this plan. But I’m already hoping to upgrade in the next month or so. But really, if you need something to get started, this is a good choice.

If you’re a parent, you know that kids’ magazines can be both fun and educational. In fact, it is the magazines that combine the fun with the knowledge that get the most information into the child’s brain. I want The Oldest to get into learning as much as possible while he’s young. Because experience has taught me that the older I get, the harder it is to get anything to stick in my noggin. I’d like to get him more magazines that teach him stuff.

Highlights is a prime example of a good magazine. It’s got stories, puzzles, Goofus and Gallant. There are others, but to be honest, I haven’t look into as much as I should. But I did stumble into Cricket Magazine, which seems to be the home of fourteen different kid magazines. So, all there in one place, how could that be better? How about throwing in some Cricket Magazine deals? Well, there you have it. I’m going to look for magazines. Let me know if you have a favorite in the comments.

This is why I love Lamebook.

Very profane language, so get the kids who can read out of the room.

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