Gadgets

I love getting new gadgets. They're like toys for adults (not to be confused with adult toys...) - though to be honest, I'm still a kid at heart. So what gadgets am I proud to own? Let's look!

Music Player
80gb iPod Classic - I bought this my first year at UCLA, to replace my old one that had died. Of course, that was back when 80gb was enough to hold my music library... I'm over 100gb now. I was considering getting an iPod Touch for a while, but wasn't sure if I was willing to trade capacity for features. No longer have that dilemma, thanks to my newest gadget (at the bottom).

Video Game Systems
Xbox 360 Premium w/ 20gb Hard Drive - Bought this over summer before my second year, because I wanted to be able to play Halo 3 when it came out. In addition to playing games, it does a good job of playing DVDs and video files from my USB hard drive, allowing me to watch them on my TV instead of my computer screen.

Nintendo DS Lite - Gaming on the go! Great way to pass time between class, or just kill a couple hours with simpler games. I'll be honest - I bought this so I could play the new Pokemon games, but I'm glad I did. Have picked up a few other cool games as well, and it's a nice casual (and portable) alternative to my Xbox.

Digital Camera
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS - I absolutely love this camera. I had some really bad luck over the years with point-and-shoot cameras, mainly because I was sticking to the $100 range. My third Nikon died only a few weeks after my trip to San Diego, and I just returned it, spending the money on clothes instead. But after doing some research, I settled on the PowerShot, and couldn't be happier. It takes really crisp pictures, has lots of features, and has put up with more use than all my previous cameras put together. If you're getting a point-and-shoot camera, aim for a Canon, even if it'll put you closer to $200. Totally worth it.

TV
Olevia 32" LCD HDTV - I bought this for myself as a 20th birthday present, to replace the crappy CRT I had been using. I wanted something to let me use the HD output for my Xbox games, but I got an unexpected bonus with this purchase - a built-in HD tuner! So now I can pick up local channels in HD in Dykstra, which is great for watching Heroes, The Office, Glee, 30 Rock, and football. I'm a little spoiled by this HD though... coming home to our non-HD 42" TV is kind of disappointing.

Laptop
17" Toshiba Satellite - My old Toshiba was a good, reliable computer, but it was time for an upgrade. So I got this one for my 21st birthday, and I love it. It's a pretty good computer for $700. Super fast, and has cool little things like a built-in 10-key pad. One of my co-workers actually bought the same computer a week after me, and he loves it too. The only "problem" with it is that it's a pretty big computer, so not super-portable. But I rarely move my computer around (except to set up camp in a new location, like during finals), so it's not a huge deal. And now, it's a total non-factor, thanks to this:

Cell Phone
Motorola Droid - I finally got a smartphone, and I really don't know how I did without for so long. I LOVE my Droid. It's super fast, and can do so much. It does have a few quirks, but nothing a few free app downloads couldn't fix. It's so nice to know that even when I leave my computer, I can still do pretty much anything I'd want to. I imagine that it'd be like this with any smartphone, but I really like that it syncs with all my Google data. I love Google's services (like Blogger!), so this interconnectivity is pretty sweet in my book! Plus, the camera is pretty awesome - takes some good pictures/video, especially for a phone camera.

Of course, I still have a wish-list of gadgets to get. Most of these fill niches that aren't quite covered by my other gadgets, but some are just fun little things I'd like to have:

- Flip Video Camcorder (the Droid takes pretty good video on its own though, as does my camera)
- SanDisk Sansa Clip + MP3 Player (My iPod is kind of bulky to exercise with, so a small clip-on MP3 player would be great for that)
- 19"-22" Monitor for my computer
- Netbook (I really do treat my laptop as though it's a desktop computer, so having a super portable computer would be nice. But for now, my laptop & Droid combine to cover most bases)
- PS3 (has some good exclusive games, and it's a Blu-Ray player)
- Surround sound system
- New sound system for my car (tape deck is a little outdated...)