Site News

Deal of the Day: $49 DVD-Burning TiVo

WeaKnees (a ZNF sponsor) has acquired a bunch of refurb Humax DVD burning TiVo units (DRT400). They can be had with the stock hard drive for $49 after rebate. $100 more gets you up to 350 hours of SD recording (versus 40). We’ve been very happy with the larger-capacity DRT800 (now in the bedroom) for … Read more

Sprint Samsung UpStage Giveaway

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As promised, here’s your chance to win the schizophrenic multi-talented Samsung UpStage for use on the Sprint network. And if you end up feeling like I do about this phone… well, these things are moving for over $150 on ebay.

On the last two giveaways (Tendon, Monster) I had the distinct impression that some non-regulars stumbled in looking for freebies. Perhaps they compulsively search Technorati for blog contests? Who knows. While I obviously appreciate new folks checking out the site, I prefer to save the goodies for those who’ve invested a bit more in the success of ZNF. So…

Leave one comment saying you want in on the giveaway. The catch is that you must provide a link to a previous comment you’ve left here, other than prior contests. (The comment date stamp is your permalink.) And if you’ve never left a comment, now you’ll have some incentive going forward. Let’s see how this experiment works out…

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Get Connected Giveaway

I came away from the Monster blogger event with a few goodies. So Outlets to Go 6-port (I travel with the 3-port) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest on Blu-ray are up for grabs. Leave one comment telling me which you could use, and in a day or so I’ll randomly pick the … Read more

Meta-Blogging: Schmoozing in San Fran

I’m visiting our Bay Area office this week, which gives me a chance to get a healthy dose of schmoozing in. (Not much goes on in the DC area.) So Sunday night, I took a circuitous route from the Oakland airport to Foster City by way of downtown San Francisco and Davis Freeberg. I introduced … Read more

Chillin’ at the Apple Store

Blogging at the King-of-Prussia Mall Starbucks with Kevin Tofel of jkOnTheRun (right) was really just an excuse to get hands-on with an iPhone at the nearby Apple store. Sum-up of my impression: keyboard is difficult but gets easier to use; something I was doing on the touch screen kept kicking me out of applications; EDGE … Read more

Dave Does NYC (Phones)

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I spent the majority of the week in NYC meeting with a variety of good people. (That’s Kevin Tofel, Mari, Brad Linder, Dan Dorato, and I above.) On my journey, I came across several new and upcoming phones. Here’s my 60 second review:

HTC Touch
Nice form factor, though I’m still not sold on the idea of a phone without physical buttons. The fingertip touch-sensitive shell HTC has overlayed on Windows Mobile is attractive and efficient for basic tasks like calling contacts, but once you drill down to things like composing email you’re back to using the stylus.

LG PRADA
Also forgoing physical keypad, the touchscreen phone looks sharp both inside and out. Instead of a virtual QWERTY keyboard, the PRADA displays traditional phone keys and uses predictive text entry. Smart decision given portrait screen orientation and finger size. The PRADA name comes at a cost.

Blackberry Curve
Nice size and clearly delineated keys, unlike the 8800. This particular model didn’t show the sluggishness I experienced with another model a few weeks ago. I didn’t use the camera, though I like the idea of having one around for spontaneous moments. Too bad they couldn’t also squeeze in the 8800’s GPS.

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Analog Placeshifting Experiment Results

Those of you following along already know I failed in my attempts to remain disconnected while on vacation. The Marriott upgraded us to the Executive floor which included access to a lounge area with food, drink, and Internet. Though I may have checked out a few of my regular websites and verified touristy stuff, I … Read more