ChristopherPrice.net

Gadgets I Rock, Summer 2013 Edition

A quick peek into what gizmos I’m driving right now on a daily basis.

Workhorses
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch – Haswell horsepower
Lenovo ThinkPad Twist – Android + Windows 8 + Ubuntu Mule for mobile app testing and builds
Lenovo IdeaPad Y560p – Quad-core i7 Sandy Bridge For when I need something I can wall out in terms of CPU, the Radeon HD 6570M isn’t too shabby still either — Hacked BIOS to enable features Lenovo was lame and left disabled, plus a CPU microcode update hacked in too
iConsole.tv Unit 00 – It’s my startup, so, yeah, duh.

Storage
CineRAID CR-H212 Pocket RAID Array + Twin Seagate Momentus XT 750s – Last of the breed, twin hybrid 7200 RPM HDDs running in RAID-0
Western Digital My Passport 2 TB – I barely tolerate this drive. It’s the only 2.5-inch 2TB, but it refuses to work with even powered USB 3.0 hubs… as in, all the ones I’ve thrown at it. I’m far from alone with this recall-able glitch.
FileVault 2 – Just put this here because it’s awesome, and unlike The Guardian, I don’t leave my passwords in my pocket… sheesh.

Phones
Samsung Galaxy Nexus LTE on Verizon – Nexus on Verizon, will keep updating the firmware until there’s another
Nexus 4 on T-Mobile $30/5GB Prepaid Plan – Yeah, I got it on the $199 deal…
Motorola RAZR i XT890 – On AT&T Prepaid for x86 app testing

Tablets
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 – x86 FTW
Kindle Fire OG – Running CM 10.1 so it isn’t lame

Netbooks
Gateway EC1803u / Acer Aspire 1410T – Still going, swapped drive to SSD and upgraded Wi-Fi with Intel 2230
HP Pavilion DM1-4310nr – This one I got for $240 on an eBay refurb deal, comes with 2 years of free T-Mobile 200 MB backup 4G HSPA data, so the free data pays for most of the netbook

Speaking of which, I think netbooks are due for a comeback. What made them fail was Windows 8, just like the rest of the PC market. They were selling like a champ on Windows 7 and even XP before that. Someone needs to do something about that…

Hotspots
Novatel MiFi 4510L – Verizon, SIM-swapping, unlimited data. Another duh moment.
FreedomPop iPod touch 4G Sleeve – Useless, crashes all the time… a FreedomPop Novatel 4082 is en route to replace it. It’s Novatel, so it should be a lot better.

Other Random Gadgets
BlueAnt Q10 – Review unit… was terrible, refused to review it until the firmware update that BluAnt promised to email me about but never did finally fixed it.
Sony Vaio Tap 20 – R&D project… shh, it’s a secret.
Dell Inspiron One 2230 – Mostly so I can watch Android-x86 break and whimper every now and then
MOGA Pro Gamepad
Pontiac G6 V6 – About to hack the OnStar to swap the VCIM and add Bluetooth – $20 widget and firmware, seriously GM!? I’m out $200 bucks to hack in a $20 widget that cost GM $10. At least they now don’t skimp on Bluetooth.
Mac Pro 2006 – With 2008 CPUs, trying to find some task to break it, leg’s busted so everyone thinks I bricked it… literally, people think I got fed up and threw a brick at it. Movers dropped it, that’s all.
KIN One – I usually leave this on my desk as a reminder that you can build a great gadget on paper, and in your hand, and still screw it up because you don’t make the whole picture fit for normal people.

All for now, have some work on Unit 00 to do before they ship out.

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