I am always on the hunt for a great, feminine laptop bag- either for myself, or to at least to share with you, my readers! So, when I came across Juicy Couture’s line of laptop sleeves and cases, I thought I just had to share my favorite styles. I am not normally one who likes Juicy Couture’s line of clothing and accessories, however, I think there is something to be said for these tech bags. The bag above is a hot pink laptop sleeve that fits up to a 15″ laptop. I love the embossed logo and the big bow- and of course, the color! Below is a pink plaid laptop case (not sure the size laptop it fits) that I absolutely adore! I am a major fan of pink and black plaid and I think they have an alternate pattern of reverse black and pink, as well! Follow the link above to see all 9 styles of sleeves and bags available, their are a few styles to choose from and they are all feminine and very unique! Only down side to these bags is that like the rest of Juicy Couture’s line, they are pricey: $98 for the sleeve above and $120 for the case below.
Diary of a Mac Chick 09/22/09.
Why a Blackberry?
The other day a reader asked me why I purchased a Blackberry if I was such a fan of Apple products and I thought it was such a good question that I decided to formulate my answer in the form of a post. I know it was only a few weeks ago I was pining over the iPhone, wishing that it would finally be brought to Verizon so that I wouldn’t have to switch networks. Alas, it was shortly after that I bought my new phone, the Blackberry Tour. I know it might seem like I did a sudden 180 degree turn in my thinking, but really, my desire for an iPhone was what pushed me to get a Blackberry.
I had spent so much time thinking about why I loved and absolutely needed an iPhone, that I realized how much I would benefit from a smartphone in general. I wasn’t about to switch to AT&T over a phone, even if it was for the iPhone, because as much as I firmly believe that the iPhone is an amazing device, I know that the network is what makes the phone usable and, unfortunately, AT&T is doing a great job of stripping functionality away from the iPhone, not the other way around.
So, I did some thinking about why I wanted an iPhone to begin with and the features I liked most about it that made it different from the iPod Touch I already owned. I definitely wanted a smartphone for email, internet browsing and GPS applications on the road, which the iPod Touch can’t provide. On top of that, I wanted a phone with camera and video capabilities as well as both SMS and MMS text messaging. I also wanted to be able to tether my phone to my Mac while I am away from home so that I am never without an internet connection- that was a biggie! Now to think of elements of the iPhone I was less interested in. I definitely didn’t need another media player (I already own 3 iPods of various models), or a majority of the applications from the app store, which is really the crowning glory of the iPhone but also available on my iPod Touch. So when push came to shove, I didn’t actually need most of what made the iPhone the iPhone, especially since I already had an iPod Touch.
Eventually, I decided to look into Verizon smart phones with the specific functions I was looking for and of course I came across the Blackberry lineup. I was actually surprised at myself for entertaining the idea of a Blackberry to begin with, as the brand to me has always been synonymous with “PC”- like businessmen and a culture of overworking (i.e. does bringing your Blackberry on vacation actually constitute time away from the office?). I guess what really did it for me, however, was the fact that a Blackberry device would (a) be able to satisfy all my smart phone needs, and (b) would be backed by a name with tremendous brand loyalty and a cult following not so far off from the likes of the Apple community itself.
After taking a look at the popular models available, I leaped into the cult of Crackberry addicts with the Tour (9630) which has a great design, a great email client, a browser I actually fell comfortable using, and an application store that gives me everything I need to utilize the power of the Blackberry smart phone. Of course, the Blackberry device did have some shortcomings, namely the lack of connectivity to the Mac, which provided me with a few headaches that I have since soothed with great software I found through the internet that gives me the ability to tether, and now sync, the Blackberry to my computer. Overall, I am pleased with my choice of the Blackberry Tour and so far it has exceeded my smartphone expectations, but of course, like any good Apple fan girl, I am not ruling out the possibility of an iPhone in the future!
Weekly Tech Roundup 09/20/09
This weekly tech roundup I discuss my recent Snow Leopard install and the glitches I am having with the upgrade.
Vaja i-Volution for Blackberry Tour.
Today I took some great pictures of my new Vaja i-Volution for the Blackberry Tour. You can see the full set of images on my flickr but I put together this little montage for a nice overview of the case. As you can probably tell from observing the images above and below, the color of the case is not the same in both. The picture above is the accurate color of the case, unfortunately, the color shown below was the closest I could get due to the lighting conditions when I took the pictures, but they certainly show the case design perfectly!
Vaja i-Volution Top Holster for Blackberry Tour
Today I finally received my Vaja case in the mail!! It came out beautifully and I absolutely love the color! Here is an unboxing and short review of the product!
The Pink MacBerry Speed Test
One of my blog readers asked me to do a speed test to see the download and upload speeds I get when I am connected to my blackberry, so here are the results. They were rather low tonight, and I confess, I did test the speeds on my blackberry before and I got a 3 Mbps download and about .5 upload, so not as bad as today’s results. I think I will have to revisit this speed test another day to see if the numbers change. Enjoy!
Diary of a Mac Chick 09/14/09
A ‘lil music in my pocket
To be honest I don’t care for the new iPod Nano. I know it just received a video camera and FM radio built in now, but I could really care less. What good is video capability if you can’t take still pictures? Unless you’re talking about a device devoted to video capture, but that would mean higher video resolution and greater storage capacity, and if you are looking for that the Nano is certainly not the device for you. Okay, so what is the still picture-less video camera in the Nano good for then? Well, not much honestly. The quality is comparable to that of a video recorder you would find in a cell phone, and not even the iPhone for that matter as video testing has proven that the iPhone 3GS has better video quality than the Nano 5g. So, basically you most likely already have a device in your pocket with a similar low resolution video recorder that also multitasks as a phone and, depending on your cell phone, a gaming system, web browser and even music player.
So why the iPod Nano 5g? I can’t really answer that question, I guess only you can if you are interested in the new device. Personally, I prefer a simpler Nano like the 3g which to me is the perfect miniature iPod- truly tiny but also packed with useful components. All a Nano is really good for is (1) music, (2) video, and (3) games, due to it’s minimal storage capacity. Think about it, adding recorded video is just another way to eat up space on your device- space that you probably would prefer to use for capabilities the iPod Nano is actually good at like playing small but high resolution video movies and tv shows.
To me the addition of a video camera is pointless on a device that has no real use for it. At least if Apple had put the video recorder on the iPod touch you could perhaps upload video to YouTube or email said videos without having to upload the footage to a computer first, and then you would have a real vested interest in using up precious space on your iPod to make short, low resolution videos. The Nano has no wifi internet connection and therefore you are forced to download the video to your computer before you are able to share it, and again I am drawn to the comparison of a cell phone video camera, where at least you can do something with the video you have taken immediately, rather then once you sync to your iTunes. So, that is my opinion! Take it or leave it but I am not a fan of the iPod Nano 5g. What about you?
Weekly Tech Roundup 09/13/09.
This weekly tech roundup I discuss the Apple Rock and Roll Event, my preference in hard shell cases, and how I successfully played World of Warcraft on my laptop, in my car while driving (I was a passenger of course!), using Tetherberry!
XoXo
The Pink Mac
The Pink MacBerry: Wallpaper.
I thought I would share with you the link to the wallpaper I have on my Blackberry Tour, aka, the Pink MacBerry. I actually found a great site that provides wallpapers for a few different devices like iPods and PSPs. GelaSkins, the popular manufacturer of gel skins for gadgets provides a stock of wallpapers that match their skins free to the public. I think this is a great idea because after living with Graffiti Skyline for the last month, I might just go ahead and buy the skin to match. The Tour isn’t actually one of the Blackberry devices they list, however, the screen in the same size as the Blackberry Curve 8900, which is listed. Whichever model of iPod or Blackberry you have, I am sure you will find something you like! Here are just a few wallpapers that I like. Enjoy!
Apple to 8gb iPod Touch, "You Shall Get Nothing and Like it!"
After Apple’s Rock and Roll live event on Wednesday September 9th, I think many of us are feeling underwhelmed. Although the video camera added to the iPod Nano is pretty cool, and the refresh to the casings of the Nano and Shuffles are pretty, the other upgrades just fell short. “Wow! Another version of iTunes!” To that I say, meh! Faster iPod Touches! So what! And after calling the 8gb iPod Touch the cheapest way to experience the App Store, all they get is a little cheaper. Is that anyway to thank the little guy? I think no. With all these casing refreshes you think the iPod Touch could have at least got something. I mean, the poor 8gb model doesn’t even get a faster processor. I personally would have liked to see them incorporate the new colorful polished aluminum finish to the iPod Touch line. It couldn’t hurt for them to get a little color.
Well, as much as we all appreciate a price break, I think we all expected more from Apple when it came to the itouch, mainly a video camera, but then again if it had that, it would be an iPhone and we all know how much Apple prefers not to confuse the functions of their products.