HBO Hits Your Portable Device

HBO Go has been available on your laptop and desktop computer for a little while now but A new app for your Apple iPhone/iPad and select Android devices (No Android tablets running on Honeycomb yet) has just been released that will now allow you to watch a variety of original HBO programming on your mobile device.

Currently the service is available only to HBO subscribers on a limited number of cable and satellite providers and based on the graphic below, South Dakotan's on DirecTV and Dish Network are the only ones that can take advantage of it at the moment.

With the new HBO GO App you can keep up with your favorite HBO movies, sports, comedies and every episode of the best HBO shows, including True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, etc and most importantly, all 3 season of Deadwood!

I have it running right now on the wife's iPad and my Thunderbolt and can say it looks to be a winner. Check out HBO's promotional video below.

Read This Before Buying Your Next HDMI Device

A long time pet peeve of mine deals with the accessory up-sell you often get pitched when purchasing a piece of technology. Did you forget your $300 full tilt/swivel wall mount kit for the $150 19" LCD set you just bought? How about that $10 a foot speaker wire for those $50 bookshelf speakers you picked up on sale? And with the advent of the HDMI standard and its adoption in high definition audio/video, the accessory vultures have been relentless.

Go down to Best Buy some day and pick up the latest and greatest high def TV and then try to find an HDMI cable to hook it up to your high definition source. Of course the salesman will be happy to show you to their cable aisle for a nice selection of $75 and up cables all while telling you that this one with the gold connectors or that one with the low loss cabling is needed to fully experience your new toy.

Don't believe them.

If you walk into your typical electronics store to buy an HDMI cable, you're likely to see prices upward of $50 with promises of better performance and faster speeds. Do you really need to spend that much money on a single HDMI cable?

Absolutely not--those cables are a rip-off. You should never pay more than $10 for a standard six-foot HDMI cable. And despite what salesmen and manufacturers might tell you, there's no meaningful difference between the $10 cable and the $50 cable. Unless you see something obvious, such as dropouts or a flashing screen, the digital information transmitted by both cables is exactly the same--no cable can make the picture any better or any worse. We've used cables from many different companies in the past--such as Belkin, Accell, Monoprice, Monster, and SimplayHD--and have not run into any consistent issues with any brand of cable. With working cables and solid connections, we've seen no dropouts and "sparklies"--just consistent, dependable, high-quality audio and video. It's that simple.

So what should you do as last I checked most big box stores don't carry these low priced cables? I would highly recommend that you go on over to Monoprice and pick up 2 or 3 now so that the next time you impulse buy that sweet 50" set you call tell the salesman no thank you when he points you to the cable section.

That $1000 high def beauty doesn't have to also mean a $100 cable.

Incredible 2 Available Tomorrow

Not a bad week if you are in the market for a cell phone. Today the illusive white iPhone goes on sale at your local Best Buy and tomorrow not only does Verizon's latest 4G phone the Samsung Droid Charge come out, word has hit that the sequel to the exceedingly popular Droid Incredible also goes on sale.

The HTC Incredible 2 ups the feature list from the original with a 4-inch Super LCD display, a 1GHZ Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and at $199 on contract it will be a full 100 bucks cheaper than the Droid Charge. Disappointingly though it will release with Android 2.2 not 2.3 and is missing a 4G radio which here in South Dakota would only be an issue for those of us near Sioux Falls.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF INCREDIBLE: DROID INCREDIBLE 2 BY HTC DELIVERS STYLE AND PERFORMANCE TO VERIZON WIRELESS

DROID Incredible 2 by HTC Available Beginning April 28

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless and HTC today announced that DROID Incredible 2 by HTC, exclusively from Verizon Wireless, will be available beginning April 28 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.

DROID Incredible 2 by HTC follows in the footsteps of the popular DROID Incredible by HTC and features the Android™ 2.2 platform, a crisp 4-inch super LCD display, next-generation 1 GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon® processor and 3G Mobile Hotspot that can connect up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Equipped with the hallmark HTC Sense™ experience, DROID Incredible 2 by HTC offers advanced personalization options, consolidated email capability and unique camera effects and filters. With its sleek, all-black design, DROID Incredible 2 by HTC combines functionality and speed into one stylish package. DROID Incredible 2 by HTC is a global-ready Android smartphone, allowing customers to enjoy wireless voice and data service in more than 200 countries, with more than 125 with 3G speeds.

Additional features include:
· 8.0-megapixel main camera with dual LED flash
· 1.3-megapixel front facing camera
· 720p HD video capture plus DLNA® to share multimedia content with a compatible TV
· Adobe® Flash® Player
· SRS WOWHD™ surround sound
· Automatic face detection for more accurate pictures
· Integrated noise-cancellation technology

Verizon Wireless customers that purchase DROID Incredible 2 by HTC will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a smartphone data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access and an unlimited smartphone data plan is $29.99 for monthly access. Verizon Wireless customers traveling outside of the United States should contact Verizon Wireless’ global customer support team at 1-800-922-0204 before embarking on their trip to ensure their phones have the right features for global usage.

For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

Playstation Network Still Down, Sony Clueless

Last week Sony's Playstation Network was the target of an external hacking attack and in response the company shut it down completely. Since then Sony has been tight lipped about not only the extent of the "intrusion" but also whether their customer's credit card information was accessed.

Sony has yet to determine the full scope of an attack on its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services that has left more than 75 million people without access for more than four days.

The company is conducting a "thorough investigation" into the outage, said Satoshi Fukuoka, a spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment in Tokyo. He declined to provide more information about the nature of the problem, which Sony has blamed on an "external intrusion" into the network.

He also said the company has not yet determined if the personal information or credit card numbers of users have been compromised, but that Sony would promptly inform users if it found that was the case.

You really got to love the security of companies you trust with your private information. First your bank's mailing list gets compromised and now your gaming network possibly gives away your credit card information and can't even tell you for sure if they did. You'd almost think that the US Government was handling their security...

Mythical White iPhone Rumored To Be Coming This Week

Being from South Dakota we had been insulated from most iPhone issues until recently leaving them to the majority of the US that AT&T chose to serve. One of those issues revolved around the mythical white iPhone 4 whose existence has been discussed and debated pretty much from the day that the latest phone from Apple was announced.

According to Apple Insider, that unicorn has finally been spotted in the wild and is on its way to retailers here and could be for sale as soon as Wednesday in both AT&T and Verizon flavors.

According to people familiar with the matter, Apple's U.S-based retail stores began receiving promotional information overnight that features the white iPhone 4, expected to launch for both Verizon and AT&T subscribers "within the next week."

In addition, several stores are said to have received shipment notifications for the various white iPhone 4 SKUs and have been instructed to hold those shipments in the back of the house until further notice. All indications point to an official announcement by Wednesday, April 27th.

So given that the iPhone 5 could be only months away and as we are already 9 month's into the iPhone 4's lifespan, is this too late or will you be in line this week to get yours?

UPDATE: It is confirmed, Best buy will be be selling the white iPhone starting on Wednesday for both Verizon and AT&T.

Twitter Going Hollywood With #Fringe and #DoctorWho Hashtags

Twitter has been around for 5 years or so now and for many of those 5 years it has been a place where geeks primarily hung out. Then the likes of Ashton Kutcher made it cool and from there the service hasn't looked back, now boasting millions of members.

Obviously business and Hollywood have noticed with many now having some presence on that hugely popular social medium often advertising their Twitter handles everywhere possible. What is new, at least I hadn't seen it before, is what I noticed last night on the Fox TV show Fringe and all day today on the BBC America show Doctor Who during their marathon leading up to the season premiere. Both had Twitter specific hashtags posted prominently on the screen near the now all too familiar station identification "bug".

For those unfamiliar with the hashtag concept on Twitter, a hashtag is a keyword or phrase (without spaces) beginning with the "#" symbol and is added to tweets so that others can easily search for and follow certain topics. For instance last night one searching using the #Fringe hashtag would have been taken to a page containing all the tweets using the tag specifically advertised during the Fringe broadcast allowing you to join in or watch others talk about the show while it was on. Social media at its finest.

The question I have though is this additional distraction so visibly displayed on our valuable TV real estate too much or is it the wave of the future that will become just another thing we ignore while watching our favorite shows? I'm leaning towards the latter but I guess we will see.

By the way speaking of Twitter, feel free to follow me @GreatPlainsTech

AT&T Transition Not The Smoothest So Far

It appears that the transition from AllTel to AT&T is not without its problems though the latest issue sounds more like a non-issue to me. Yesterday's news from Winner resident and South Dakota blogger Doug Wiken exposed equipment issues affecting the transition of AllTel customers in the Winner area apparently because of a malfunction at the local tower.

Now this morning I see that the Argus is reporting that a certain number of former AllTel customers have complained to the South Dakota PUC that their coverage with AT&T is worse than it was with AllTel. Obviously that is not good news and on the surface goes against what AT&T promised when their purchase of AllTel assets was approved.

Looking deeper though, those that the article quotes as having poor or no coverage at all appear to have not had Alltel coverage either and were in fact roaming on Verizon's network for their local cell phone usage.

Customers in remote areas who had relied on roaming off Verizon towers no longer will be able to do so because of incompatible technology and will have limited service.

Darrell Sullivan of Hill City got a text message recently warning him his service "may change or be limited." Several phone calls later, Sullivan learned that his new phone wouldn't work for him at his home.

"I found out that if we want to go to Rapid City to make our phone calls, we should have coverage there," he said.

So AllTel customers that didn't have access to the AllTel network before the merger are now mad that they don't have access to the AT&T network now?

The fact that Verizon is the only provider for these and many other folks in South Dakota is an issue in and of itself but the fact that a certain number of people were unwilling to use Verizon directly (and instead used AllTel and roamed) and now can't isn't AT&T's fault. All they are required to do is provide the same coverage as AllTel did (roaming not included) which I assume they are doing. In this case I would think all AT&T should be required to do is let these folks out of their contracts...and maybe point them towards the closest Verizon store.

Then maybe those same people complaining to the PUC should change their tact and instead start complaining about why South Dakotan's, especially those west river and in the more rural areas, have so few choices when it comes to providers in general.

South Dakota Ranks Near Bottom In Cell Phone Reliance

Not surprisingly considering our backwoods nature, South Dakota ranks near the bottom in cell phone reliance and in some areas like households getting most of their calls via cell phone, we rank last...by a lot.

The proportion of adults living in households with cellphones — including those that also have landlines — range from 92 percent in Iowa to 48 percent in South Dakota.

At 25 percent, South Dakota has the lowest proportion of adults living in households that get all or most of their phone calls on cellphones. This can include families that, for example, have a landline hooked into a computer. Texas has the highest proportion at 53 percent.

Blumberg said he was somewhat puzzled by the South Dakota figures, which differed significantly from nearby, similar states.

South Dakota’s 16 percent who rely solely on cellphones is about half North Dakota’s rate. In addition, 51 percent in South Dakota reported having only landlines and no cellphones — well above the 37 percent in the next highest state anywhere in the nation, Montana.

I guess in a state where getting a job as a Walmart greeter is considered high paying, cell phones, especially from up until now our only real option statewide, the ridiculously expensive Verizon, is considered too much of a luxury.

Skynet Becomes Self Aware

According to the short lived TV series Terminator, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Skynet, the vast network of computers built by Cyberdyne Systems will become self aware tonight April 19th, 2011 at 8:19 pm.

2 days from now on Thursday April 21st it will begin its work to systematically rid the planet of humans. So beware of anyone looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger and keep your dog close to you at all times.

Verizon 4G To Go Live Thursday In Sioux Falls?

Could Thunderbolt owners in Sioux Falls be seeing the 4G switch turned on this Thursday? Nothing official but a tweet this morning from Verizon Wireless could mean that us lucky few could see our 4G icon showing up before the end of the week. This would be in line with those locally who have seen the mythical 4G icon intermittently for a few weeks now.

Earlier we got the word that Sioux Falls was one of 100 or so cities targeted for the new LTE service this year and from what I was told when I picked up my Thunderbolt a few weeks ago, we were on track for this spring/summer. So if you are one of the few with a TBolt or 4G aircard in the Sioux Falls area feel free to cross your fingers and toes and we will see for sure on Thursday.

Either way some folks are going to have a good day.

UPDATE 4/19 - Verizon has announced the cities getting 4G this week and Sioux Falls isn't on the list. According to various press releases Columbia and Hilton Head, South Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and Lehigh Valley Airport in Pennsylvania; along with Cleveland and Clarksville, Tennessee go live on the 21st. Oh well...

First Impressions - HTC Thunderbolt

As I have stated before, I wasn't that impressed with the iPhone 4. Despite years of anticipation because because of Apple's exclusivity with AT&T, who until this month wasn't here, I was back at Best Buy returning mine less than a month after getting it. So what's a Verizon customer to do for a smartphone if they don't want an iPhone?

Right now, the latest and greatest is the Thunderbolt from HTC which as of this writing can be had for around $249 with a 2 year contract.

With the Thunderbolt, currently the most spendy Android phone on Verizon, your $250 gets you the following specs:

Networks: LTE 700, CDMA EvDO revA
Operating system: Android™ 2.2 + HTC Sense
Display: 4.3” WVGA TFT capacitive touch screen
Camera: 8MP with autofocus, LED Flash (2x LED), 1.3MP front facing camera
Memory: 8GB emmc + 768 RAM Memory card, preinstalled 32 GB microSD™
WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth: 2.1 with EDR (3.0 when available)
GPS: GPS/AGPS
Battery: 1400 mAh
Special features: Dual mics with noise cancellation, Surround sound, Compass sensor, G-Sensor, Proximity sensor, Light sensor, 3.5mm audio jack, MicroUSB, FM radio, LTE SIM slot , TI audio DSP
Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM8655, 1GHz, Qualcomm MDM9600

At first glance a couple of things catch your eye, first and most obvious is the LTE radio. The TBolt has the distinction of being Verizon's first 4G phone though your mileage on this will vary depending on where you live. Here in Sioux Falls, 4G is hopefully going live this summer but be prepared, surfing on 4G will likely make what little battery life you have, even worse.

On the negative side of the spec spectrum, the TBolt was released with Android 2.2 despite 2.3 being out in the wild for some time and a single core processor. The outdated version of Android will hopefully be rectified later this summer but neither issue should be acceptable for a high end phone.

And then there is the battery.

Whatever genius at HTC decided that this phone should be released with only a 1400 mAh battery should be flogged. Android is already notorious for having less than stellar battery life and when you mix HTC and Android it is even worse. (just ask anyone with an Incredible). The Thunderbolt's battery is so bad it has taken on a life of it's own with forums dedicated to the subject. Using the standard battery and light use in a 3G area I was lucky to get 4-6 hours before needing a recharge. Shame on you HTC!

Anyway, questionable specs and battery aside, the TBolt is a decent phone overall. The first thing I noticed is how heavy and well built it feels. The 4.3" screen dictates that this phone will take up a lot of room in your pocket and in my case, adding the 2750 mAh extended battery pretty much precludes the pocket idea altogether. Seidio has a belt holster that works with the extended battery so you do have other options.

The display is good but not great and can be hard to see in bright light, especially if you have your brightness adjusted lower to save your battery, and the touchscreen is responsive if not somewhat sensitive. Flipping thought the 7 screens doesn't exhibit any lag despite the added load from HTC's custom launcher, Sense. And speaking of Sense, don't expect the TBolt to get HTC's Sense 3.0 as the latest rumors have it being available only on phones with dual core processors.

The TBolt's 8mp camera is a definite plus. It includes a dual LED flash and initializes quickly taking pictures on par with what I experienced with the iPhone. With other Android phones I had issues with the phone lagging between photos often force closing but with the Thunderbolt I have yet to see anything similar.

Finally call quality, the TBolt is after all a phone, is excellent with little lag or echo noticeable and those I talk to say that they have no issues with quality on their end likely helped by the dual mics. I do have a slight issue with hearing the ringer and notification tones, even at the highest volumes I sometimes don't hear them when the phone is in my belt holster though I guess this could also be attributed to my advancing age.

I've had the TBolt for 3 weeks and in those 3 weeks I have noticed several ongoing and annoying issues. 2 days after getting the phone I returned it because it wouldn't stay connected to wifi. After extended periods on wifi it would say it was connected but would not access the internet requiring that I turn wifi off and back on it to re-connect. I have since found out that it was just not that unit because the replacement unit has the same issue. Further complicating the connectivity issues, I have also had problems with the phone losing 3G connectivity either going to 1X or losing data connectivity altogether. The only way I have found to fix this is by rebooting the phone, a ridiculously long process in its own right...very annoying and hopefully fixed by a software update soon.

In conclusion, the Thunderbolt is a workable phone with many nice features but is it worth shelling out $250? If you live in a 4G area I would say maybe if you just have to have a 4G phone right now. If not, Verizon has several other options including the soon to be released Samsung Droid Charge and the Motorola Droid Bionic scheduled to be released later this year. If 4G is not a concern, stick with any of the several fine 3G phones on Verizon. The Thunderbolt's connectivity issues and horrendous battery life make this a poor choice in my mind.

Skype For Android Exposing Your Personal Information

What a shame. It hasn't even been a week since I discovered that a version of Skype with video had been released into the wild for the HTC Thunderbolt and now we are learning that it along with the version available in the market is full of security holes.

Android Police has discovered that both the leaked and Android Market versions of Skype (apparently does not include the Version exclusive version) can expose everything from your name to your date of birth to rogue applications that know where to look all without the need for any special permissions or root access. Not a good thing by any means.

So what exactly should you do? If you stick to popular apps from well known developers you should be fine until Skype releases a patch for this but if you are the adventurous sort, uninstalling the app until the fix has been released might be your best option. Skype has been made aware of the problem so hopefully it won't be long before they take care of this.

For full details, check out Android Police's detailed post here and watch proof of concept below.

Droid Charge Details Released...$300 Dollars On Contract

Really Verizon, $300 for a single-core processor and outdated version of Android?

Details via a wayward Walmart price tag has given us an idea of what Verizon will be charging for their next 4G handset, the Droid Charge from Samsung. Droid Life has the picture that shows the 2 year contract price for the Android 2.2 powered device going for $298.88 or $700 out the door without a contract, a full $50 more than their first 4G device the Thunderbolt. All that for a handset from an OEM that rarely updates and apparently without any SD card (if the Walmart image can be believed), i.e. with only 2GB of internal memory.

Anyone looking forward to shelling out 3 hundred bones for this? If so April 28th appears to be the day you'll be able to if you are so inclined.

UPDATE: Verizon literature does show the Charge coming with a 32GB microSD which makes a bit more sense.

Get Skype Mobile For Your Thunderbird

Anyone waiting often impatiently for the HTC Thunderbolt to be released by Verizon probably remembers the hype surrounding the TBolt's front facing camera and integration with Skype. If so then you were probably just as disappointed when it was released not only without the much hyped Skype integration but without any working version of Skype.

Today that is changing. Droid Life has come across a Skype with Video .apk that works on the Thunderbolt and it can be downloaded here or here. Be advised it only seems to work with the Thunderbolt so those of you out there with other Android Handsets with front facing cameras will have to look elsewhere.

It loaded and runs just fine for me (haven't tried the video yet) so enjoy!

Related: Those with Thunderbirds will also likely enjoy the latest rumor that has us getting the Gingerbread ( Android 2.3) update before the end of June.

Get Your AT&T Phones Now

Haven't seen anything official on this yet but it appears South Dakotan's can finally purchase AT&T services. Many of the former Alltel stores now have AT&T branding and a trip to Best Buy yesterday revealed that they are selling and activating handsets from the provider.

On a related note, I am hearing rumors (absolutely no confirmation yet) that 4G will be available initially from AT&T making South Dakota one of the relatively few areas they serve that has the faster data network. Obviously this would make sense as they had to build their network in our state from scratch so why not do it now instead of having to come back and upgrade everything later. Anyone with an Atrix or Inspire that can confirm this?

I am also hearing that Verizon's 4G upgrade in Sioux Falls is coming along nicely as a few people have noticed the 4G icon on their Thunderbolts appearing from time to time. A drive through central Sioux Falls yesterday didn't result in me seeing any 4G coverage but it looks like it is coming soon.

Could lowly South Dakota actually have a choice on where to get the latest technology for once?

Tivo, US Bank and Others Have Email Lists Hacked

It has been a busy morning here so far going through my email as it appears that several well known companies that I have done business with have had their client email lists hacked. Epsilon, an email marketing firm with over 40 billion spam emails sent annually, has notified many of their customers including TiVo, JP Morgan Chase, Capital One Financial, US Bank, and others that their customer data was exposed by an unauthorized entry into Epsilon's email system on or about March 30th.

All companies involved including Epsilon are claiming that the breach involved only email addresses and possibly customer names so if you happen to be a customer of any of these companies be especially cautious when opening emails from unknown third parties.

Let the spamming begin.

AT&T Alive And Well In South Dakota...Finally

I actually started noticing this back in late February but it seems that AT&T is just about ready to turn off the Alltel switch and start selling plans here in South Dakota. I am sure most have seen the ads here mentioning that the switch to AT&T will be happening soon and during my travels across the state I have noticed that as the weeks have gone by the service on my AT&T work iPhone has gone from non-existent to not so bad.

During that time I have traveled through all major South Dakota cities from Aberdeen to Sioux Falls to Rapid City and have had decent coverage including 3G throughout. That even includes much of the no man's land outside of the few population centers along the I29 and I90 corridors. Maybe some former/current Alltel customers can chime in but from what I can tell AT&T's coverage seems to be almost on par with that of Verizon's.

With that being said I guess I should ask the question. Is anyone planning on making the jump from Verizon to AT&T once the changeover is complete? The few Alltel customers I have talked to haven't been that impressed with how the transition has been going which underscores AT&T's perceived customer service failings plus getting the iPhone is no longer and issue so what is the incentive at this point? Does AT&T have any must have handsets to lure you to them?

Competition is usually a good thing and now that we have some here maybe we can get Sprint to quit complaining about the proposed T-Mobile/AT&T merger long enough to build out their system to include somewhere outside I29 and give us a viable 3rd option.

Review: iPhone Didn't Live Up To My Preconceived Expectations

We will soon be marking the 2 month anniversary of the iPhone coming to both Verizon and South Dakota. With that in mind I felt it was time to share my experience with the device and discuss why after using it for less than a month I returned the long awaited handset.

Being the techo geek that I am, I was at Best Buy on February 10th to get the iPhone on the first day it was available. My first impression based on the lack of a line and the plentiful stock of phones at 4pm was that my excitement wasn't being shared by the rest of our technically challenged state. So with my trusty Droid Incredible de-activated (and now being enjoyed by the wife) and a new 16gb iPhone 4 in hand I proceeded into the world of Apple designed telephony.

Before getting too far into this I must admit that I have been using Android for well over a year so I had gotten quite familiar with the advantages/disadvantages and quirks of Google's now immensely popular operating system. With that said I immediately noticed and was immensely disappointed by what Apple's iOS didn't do nearly as well as Android in my opinion.

Android uses the status bar to let you know when you have email, texts, application messages etc. and these notifications can be viewed even without unlocking the phone. With the iPhone, other than a message box notifying you of a received text message, you must unlock the phone to see these notifications. Want to see if you have an email? Other than any audible notification you might have setup, you must unlock/login to find out.

Next on my list of shortcomings was the unavailability of widgets on iOS. With Android many apps include widgets that can be placed directly on your home screen. The functionality of these widgets varies and includes everything from consistently updated weather and sports scores to your Twitter stream all available without the need to open an app. To get anything even close to this on an iPhone, "jailbreaking" is your only option.

Then of course there is that whole Flash hubbub. Want to view websites that utilize Flash? Not going to happen. And to further compound things, if you've come to rely on any of the number of Google's free tools like Voice, Navigation, and Gmail like I did, the iPhone is not for you. All work to some extent but obviously no where near as nicely as they do on Android.

My last complaint is more of a pet peeve than anything else again tied to my familiarity to Android. I personally like to use my MP3's as ring tones usually assigning one as my main ringtone and using others assigned to certain people in my phone book. Assigning a song as a ringtone on Android is as simple as opening the music app, long pressing the song you want to use, and assigning it as your ringtone from the popup menu that appears. With Apple you either have to purchase the song as a ringtone from iTunes, or go through a long and convoluted procedure that involves an app, an email, importing into iTunes, and loading it back on to your phone. After all that you can finally assign the song as a ringtone.

Don't get me wrong, not everything was bad as there were many things I did like about the iPhone, first and foremost of those being the battery life. Coming from the Droid Incredible, the iPhone battery life was like going from a Pinto to a Cadillac. With the Incredible I had to almost be tethered to a charger getting though a full day of moderate use only on sunny Sundays while with the iPhone that same amount of usage had me still having plenty of juice left at the end of the day. Of course that is a good thing as unlike with most other phones where a spare battery is an option, the iPhone's one battery is not swappable leaving you looking for a charge somewhere.

Holding the iPhone one can hardly help being impressed by the design and feel of the phone. If Apple does one thing great, it is design beautiful tech and the iPhone is no exception. I did worry about the glass back on the phone to the point where I made sure to purchase a case before leaving the store. One drop from any height above 3 or 4 feet I feel could easily ruin your day. Otherwise design wise the iPhone certainly is a winner.

Finally the advantage also has to go to iOS on operating system fit and finish. Apple's operating system just seems nicer and for the technically challenged it is much easier to learn and use not to mention the interface between it and the most popular music program going, iTunes. Want to use and load your music and playlists from iTunes directly onto your Android phone? Forget it.

I had been looking forward to getting an iPhone since it was first released in 2007. 3 1/2 years later I got my wish and in less than 30 days I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. The Apple AT&T exclusivity deal that kept it out of South Dakota until now likely turned at least this guy into an Android fan and shortly before my 30 day trial period expired I was back at Best Buy returning my iPhone.

Now it is on to Verizon's first 4G phone, the Thunderbolt. More details to follow once I have had time to play.

Great Plains Tech

It's usually pretty easy to find out about and discuss technology and the internet in areas that offer all the so-called bells and whistles but what about those of us that live and work in a technological black hole? Great Plains Tech is a site that will discuss technology from the perspective of those that can't walk down (or even drive) to the nearest Apple Store because Steve Jobs likely doesn't even know our state exists.

I am not an expert by any means but I do work in the technology field and try very hard to keep up with all the new and cool toys so hopefully I will be able to provide some useful information for those looking to keep up with the ever changing world of tech despite having the limitations that exist by living in the middle of nowhere.