T-mobile G1 versus Blackberry Curve 8900

Lucky me, I won both a G1 and a Curve 8900 at work. When I first found out about winning the 8900, I was excited to upgrade from my 8320. When I next found out about winning the G1, I thought "eBay".

But after receiving the G1, I wanted to give it a try. I sell them everyday and people ask about them everyday, so I figured I should find out more about the phone.

Since I use Gmail as my primary email account, both the Curve and G1 were setup with my Gmail accounts. As soon as I logged into my G1, my Gmail contacts and calendar showed up on my phone. That was nice, to know that I wouldn't have to take ANY extra steps to synchronize all my affairs. The Curve 8900 can also sync with Gmail (email / contacts / calendars), but I had to first install Google Sync. Not a huge deal, but anytime I want to sync my calendar and contacts, I'll have to open up Google Sync and hit "Sync Now." The G1 does it automatically.

Then again, how many people out there have Gmail? From my experience in retail, not the majority. So it could be a pain to setup an entirely new email account, especially if you're not sure if you'll keep the G1 and you're just trying it out.

The Curve 8900 improves many things over the old 8320. And for just a difference of $50 between the old Curve and the new, the 8320 hasn't been selling much. The 8900 has twice the processor speed (512 mhz versus 256), a lot more free space for apps, emails and texts, a higher resolution screen, GPS, and a nicer trackball. The only downsides I can think of (which don't even bother me), no 3G and no touchscreen.

If you do end up getting a Curve 8900, you must download Google Maps, Slacker Radio, Shazam and Facebook. And another bonus? I only charge this thing every 3rd day. The battery life is great.

If you're getting a G1, just know that with GPS, wi-fi, 3G internet, and Bluetooth all turned on, the battery life is poor. Well, poor by cell phone standards. It's great by laptop, GPS, and MP3 standards. But you'll probably have to charge your phone daily. And if you talk a lot and use it for business, I would definitely get a car charger.

But I downloaded an app called Toggle Settings that lets you turn off certain features when you're not using them (for example, I leave 3G internet, GPS, wi-fi and Bluetooth off most of the time). It lets my battery last a day and a half.

The bottom line... if you're mostly texting and emailing, the Curve is a better phone. If you want to go on the internet and play with cool apps, the G1 is hands down more fun. It's funny to note, that even with both phones setup with my Gmail account, the Blackberry gets my Gmail emails first, then I get the notification about 5 seconds later on my G1.

That just reaffirms what they say, nobody does email better than a Blackberry.

Wireless Industry Musings

After being in many, many various industries, I have to say that the cell phone industry is the strangest. People get $250 discounts on phones, then complain about having to pay a $175-$200 termination fee. People sign 2-year agreements to get phones with only a 1-year warranty. Then complain about it a year and a half later. Well past their 1-year warranty.

Some people sign 2-year agreements on $50 phones, just to get them for free. Doesn't make much sense, does it?

Why would anyone pay $200 for an MP3 player, and then complain about having to pay $50 for a cell phone, which plays MP3s AND makes phone calls?

I would never go to Comcast (to whom I've been a customer for over 10 years) and tell them, "I've been with you guys for 10 years, can you give me a free high definition TV?" Yet, things like this happen everyday in wireless.

I don't know where the wireless industry is heading. Thankfully, we get choices in wireless. If coverage at my house sucks, I can try at least 3 other carriers to see if they offer better coverage, customer service and cell phones. And it's far from being a monopoly. With that said, it's a brutal industry that makes margins razor thin, and customers are suing about this and that... how phones are causing people to lose their hearing, how termination fees are unlawful, and so on.

If we do away with contracts in wireless (which is what it's looking like), then people will be paying $200 to $600 for phones without contracts, and will be complaining about how much they have to spend on the phones.

It's a lose-lose for cell phone companies.

Copy of my Post on Yelp - T-mobile

Hey to all of you Yelpers.

I am currently a T-mobile employee at this location, and although I may regret writing this review in the future (in case people try to come find me), just wanted to write a little bit about what our job is like...

Yes, "sometimes" the lines are long and I would dread coming into a cell phone store too. We can't control it. It would be ideal if our customers could spread out the times they come in so there's never any lines (because honestly, half the day we're just standing around). But we can't control that, and neither can our customers.

And Don, no offense to you, but EVERY one of our customers thinks they should have a star on our sidewalk. It's a tough business, because not only are we providing goods, but we're also providing a service. If all we did was sell the phones to you, then every customer would almost always leave happy. But since the coverage, monthly rate plan, customer service AND the device we sell you all have to be operating properly, it becomes a lot more complex than I can explain here. And after years of paying the same company, you start to feel like that company owes you something. I feel the same way towards Comcast and my cable service.

Because of everything mentioned in the previous paragraph, we MAY forget to do something we promised you.... I can't remember how many times I've forgotten to give a rebate form, or to credit a fee, or to look for an extra case... because while looking at a customer's monthly bill, fixing their phone, adding a feature... all in about 10 minutes, we all inevitably forget the smaller details. If this happens, please kindly remind us.

I think cell phone customers should be thankful for one thing... that the Cell Phone industry is one of the FEW industries that aren't monopolized (yet, anyway). Be thankful that you have choices. If you don't like our plans, customer service, phones, rates, and the coverage at your house sucks... then you're FREE to go elsewhere. And if you don't like your current service, think you're paying too much, and they treat you like crap constantly... then T-mobile will welcome you.

In my opinion, cell phone customers need to stop buying on impulse. Most are signing up for 2-year commitments, and they do it with a split-second decision. Unlimited T-mobile to T-mobile doesn't mean anything if all your family is on AT&T. And a lot of times, all you're saving is $100 to $150 on a phone... or roughly translated, about 2 or 3 months worth of service. But again, if you plan on sticking with the same company for years... then it's all a moot point. You know yourself better than I do.

We've heard "If you don't do THIS for us, I'm going to switch" SO many times, it doesn't affect us anymore. Because a lot of times, it's just a threat, and nothing more. And it's hard to gauge what's a threat, and what's real. If we gave free phones to everyone who made that threat, we would go out of business. If you're really upset with T-mobile (regardless of what you read on the blogs and Google), we'll happily give you the phone number to the corporate office.

And truth be told, a lot of times, customers are upset because of something they messed up on themselves. But because they don't want to own up to it, they start blaming their coverage provider. I can understand if we forgot to add the 400-text messaging bundle. And if we did, we'll credit the overages. But if you purchased the 400-text message bundle, and used 3,000 instead? That's not really the retail employees fault. But MAN, do people love taking it out on us.

It's a tough industry... because think of Comcast, and in another way, think of Honda. With Honda, you buy a car from Honda, and you're not required to pay Honda a monthly fee to use that car. Once you buy from Honda, you can get it serviced anywhere, drive it as much as you want, and go wherever you'd like.

And think of Comcast. You want cable TV at your house? You probably only have 1 option for wired cable. But you still have to pay them monthly for their service. Honestly, it sucks. Because I have no choices.

But with T-mobile, you can buy a phone from almost anywhere; Ebay, Craigslist, get another GSM phone unlocked... but you still need to pay monthly to use a service on it. You can't just buy a phone and use it straight out of the box. You have to contact AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-mobile or SOMEONE to get it working.

Hopefully, this gives most cell phone users a little bit of insight to the industry. And if you have questions, you know where to find me.

GarageBook - How To Show Your Car On Your Wall

If you don't already have GarageBook as an app on your Facebook page, you can install it here, http://apps.facebook.com/garagebook.

How to Post your Car on your Wall
(Just installing the GarageBook application and uploading a car will not display your car on your wall, you must first follow these steps)

Make sure you have installed the GarageBook application, entered your car information, and are logged into Facebook...
1. Click on "Home"
2. Look towards the right, where it says Applications. Click on "Edit" to the right of Applications.
3. Click on "Edit Settings" next to GarageBook.
4. Click on the "Profile" tab.
5. Next to Box, click "Add" to add GarageBook to your Profile.
6. Click on "Profile" to view your Facebook Profile.
7. Click on the "Boxes" tab (usually located next to the Wall & Photos tabs).
8. Scroll to the GarageBook box and click on the pen logo in the upper right corner of the box. Then select "Move to Wall".
9. Check your Profile to make sure GarageBook is there!

Sorry for all the steps involved. Facebook makes it tough on us developers. Contact us if you have any questions.

25 RANDOM things about me

I was tagged on Facebook, to offer 25 random facts about me. They're completely random, so enjoy!

1) I would snowboard for a living again if I could.

2) I regret the days when I was hanging out with my dad, and I kept worrying about other things I had to do that day.

3) I have a spending problem, a bad habit from when I used to make a LOT more money. But thankfully, I don't care a whole lot about electronics. I'd say it's just more from going out a whole lot.

4) They say the first million should be the hardest to make, after that it should all come easy. I just hope that's true.

5) I love Bichon Frises. No matter how gay they might make me look.

6) I think it's important to be able to laugh everyday. Because of that, I might make light of serious situations.

7) I get cranky when hungry.

8) When I think about buying a car, I think about more than the car itself. I think about what other people will think of that car. It's a terrible habit. One I should care less about (or not at all).

9) I've never had terrible luck with cars... so I tend to take cars for granted. I know that once I buy a $100K car, I'll regret it for the rest of my life (whether it's got mechanical problems, leaves me stranded, I'll lose 1/2 the value in 1-year, or is a lemon).

10) I feel like I have the perfect family, house, jobs, dog, girlfriend, friends, relationships... and can't complain about a thing.

11) I have too many pairs of shoes... not that I buy a whole lot... but I can never wear them out enough to be able to throw them away.

12) I have a motorcycle endorsement, but as I get older, I feel like I shouldn't be riding a motorcycle anymore.

13) I write down everything, from life goals and to-do lists, to gas receipts for my cars. I like telling things as-is, knowing the details, and don't like to hide anything from people.

14) I love that I have a diverse group of friends, and can go from being part of a Jewish wedding ceremony to a traditional Korean one from one day to the next.

15) I hate messes and spend a lot of time cleaning up. BUT, my mom is a lot worse, so she always makes me feel like a pig.

16) When I start to do something, I get obsessed with finishing it (for example, the odor in my car, or rearranging furniture in my room, and so on). If necessary, I'll stay up all night to complete it.

17) I eat til I'm way too full, which means I have to work out a lot more to burn off those calories.

18) I'm trying to cook at home more.

19) I love photography, but frankly, think it's crazy how many people with a Digital SLR think they're professional photographers all of a sudden. But with that said, I love a good photograph regardless of who took it.

20) I'll watch reruns ALL day long. I don't care how many times I've seen an episode of Frasier, Simpsons or Family Guy. It drives my girlfriend crazy.

21) I think empathy is a great characteristic to have. People are too selfish these days.

22) I used to get suspended from school at least once a year, until I got into high school.

23) If I could live anywhere in the world, I would still live in Issaquah, WA.

24) I'm a classic case of "you always want what you don't have." And think of getting nicer versions of things I already have. And when I talk about this with friends, they look at me like I'm crazy.

25) I'm always trying to find the next thing to be passionate about.

My First Impression of a G1

So if you haven't heard, and a lot of people haven't... T-mobile is coming out with this phone that's made by HTC (hardware) and Google (software). They're calling it the T-mobile G1. It's also been known as Android (which is actually the name of the operating system on it), Dream, Google Phone and many other things.

Here's my take on this thing...

T-mobile is a small company (relatively). So this seems like a HUGE deal. One of those times when people line up at the door hours before opening. Kinda like when the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and iPhone all came out. I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing these on eBay for way more than asking price.

A lot of people on the web think this thing looks ugly. And although I don't think it looks as good as an iPhone, it looks great in person. Although I can see what people mean, the pics on the websites aren't very flattering. No worries though, the phone feels solid when you hold it.

The screen. HTC thus far (and I know this because I work at T-mobile), has made crappy screens. Not in terms of brightness, color, size or anything... but they're weak and they crack easily. While I've never seen a cracked Blackberry screen in over 4 months there, I see a cracked Dash, Shadow, or Wing at least once a week.

Color. Everyone thinks this thing only comes in black. But it's also available in white and bronze. I'll take a black one though.

Ease of use. All my friends know that I used an iPhone for 6 months and hated it. I couldn't write an email or send a text with ease, and I'm often doing that from my phones. And when I switched to my Blackberry Curve, I missed the touch screen and missed having Youtube on my phone, but loved the ease of use with the trackball and full keyboard. Now, I can have everything!

When you first use this thing, you're like, "Wow, there's a keyboard AND a trackball... wait, I can touch the screen too?"

The things that'll annoy me about it (and this is getting realllllly picky);

1. I'm used to Blackberry's profiles, and how I can set it to "phone only" mode as I'm sleeping... so that every email and text won't wake me up. Only phone calls will. But there's no setting for that on a G1... yet.

2. I'll miss the tethering ability of Dash's and Curve's, where I can share my internet connection with my PC. But I rarely use that feature anyway.

3. No UMA calling. My Curve has the ability to make phone calls over a wi-fi internet connection. So if I'm in Ashford, Washington, where there's no cell service, I can log into my wireless network in order to make phone calls. And that feature has come in immensely handy during my trips out there.

4. No standard headphone jack. You need to use an adapter / dongle to connect to 3.5 mm headphones.

5. I've had bad luck with any phone that slides, pivots, rotates, flips. I like candybar phones with fewer moving parts.

6. This last one doesn't matter to me as much... but this phone ONLY works if you add the 3G internet feature to your account.

Anyway, I guess we'll have to wait and see how people respond to this phone! I know there are inevitably going to be those who think "It's just a phone, who cares? Mine works fine"... but if the goal of a phone is to make you more productive, and make it easier for you to stay in touch with your loved ones and even keep you entertained these days, then the G1 (at $179) is a great opportunity for T-mobile users to have an iPhone type phone.

Winter of 09... Bring it on!

I haven't looked forward to a snowboard season like this since 1999, when we had a record snowfall. But I may be even more excited this time around, because I'm a little older and wiser, but in a lot better shape. This is the first time I've ever worked out extensively and I'm hoping it will pay off on the mountain.

In addition, I'm also part of the Hump Sessions Crew, about 30 snowboarders who meet up at the park every Wednesday for some night boarding.

Which reminds me, though... my Acura with the summer tires is crap in the snow and on ice. And I sold my Audi earlier this year. So do I go get a cheap truck / SUV with 4 wheel drive and get nice winter tires on them? Or hope I can bum rides and pay for gas each time?

I definitely think Whistler and Mt Baker are destinations for me this winter. I'm already loading up my Zune!

R.I.P. Extremely Board

It's always weird, and a little sad, when something you're used to seeing goes away. Unfortunately, that's what happened with Extremely Board. They closed their doors this week after over 15 years in Issaquah.

For those of you who aren't familiar, Extremely Board was a small shop that carried snowboard, wakeboard and skateboarding gear. I think everyone I grew up with bought their snowboarding gear from E.B.

I can't count how much money I've spent there over the years. Boots, jackets, bindings... I remember they used to carry Switch Bindings, which I loved as a beginning snowboarder. And I would usually get my boards tuned up and waxed there.

Then again, with huge chains like Joes, Sports Authority and REI to compete with, it seems like the small shops are facing an uphill battle. And with REI finally opening in Issaquah, and Joes next door, the days for Extremely Board were definitely limited.

Hopefully we'll see them again, perhaps in online form. Until then, R.I.P.

Rest In Peace Dad

It breaks my heart to report that my father has passed away.

I saw so many similarities between him and myself, and felt that I had so much more to learn from him, and to talk to him about. But he went so quickly. I remember constantly thinking he would figure a way out of this. I mean, everyone seems to be recovering from cancer these days. Lance Armstrong beat cancer and then won a record number of Tour De France's.

But in less than a month, he is gone. He was admitted to St Francis Hospital in late May and was told he has cancer that has metastasized (spread) to other parts of his body. He was told there was no treatment for it. Not happy, we tried to get him admitted to UW Hospital and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. They told us there was a wait, until June 30th, for the next available appointment. So he went back home to Mt Rainier after spending a night in my bedroom. He was better for a few days while resting at his house. But then he started feeling worse and was admitted to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue about a week ago.

I never thought this would be the last time he left his house, left his car, and all his belongings.

At 11:42 AM on Thursday, 06.19.2008, he took his final breath next to my mom, sister and myself. No one else. I think he wanted it that way.

All that time when he was in the hospital, I remember going to work, and then to the hospital afterwards. No matter how sick dad looked, I thought things would get better. But I first knew things were bad when I saw my dad cry for the first time.

What sucks the most about this, is when I see something that would appeal to my dad, "Sale at REI? Oh, sweet, I gotta tell da..." and then I realize I can't. When I went to his place to start packing some of his belongings, I remember looking in his car and wanting to cry. I'm sure the last time he got out of that car, he had no idea he would never get back in. He had left it as anyone else would have, like he had planned on driving it everyday. His hat sitting on the passenger side, water / food and other emergency stuff... and he always had to have a garbage bag hanging somewhere.

And up until that point, I had always wondered why he decided to trade in a newer Civic with 20K miles (that was paid off) for a brand new Toyota Sienna in January of 2008. Gas prices were soaring, and he would have to get a loan for the new car. Plus, no guy wants a minivan, right?

But not with my dad. His dream car has ALWAYS been a Sienna minivan. He loves Toyota, and loves going camping. So he always felt the Sienna would be perfect for him. And at least now I know that he got to drive his dream car for 5 months before he passed away and had no regrets.

It pains me to do some of the things required of me. Sorting through his belongings, making funeral / casket arrangements, paying some of his bills, deciding whether to keep things, sell things, or throw them out. But even the things I hadn't thought about before. Like... do I keep his cell phone number? He's had his cell number for 10 years now. Since 1998. To me, it's part of his identity.

I'm sure I just need some time to heal. I still expect him to be there when I call... and for him to be happy to hear from me. His love for his children was deep, and is what kept him here in Washington when the rest of his family was still in Korea.

He would treasure the things my sister and I bought him. I see the Arc'Teryx outdoor gear he kept in pristine condition, even though I know he wore those items quite often. The high-end hiking boots I bought him from REI were still as good as new. I remember how he loved using my REI dividends when I received them. He never ran out of things to buy there.

He was so proud of everything my sister and I did. He wouldn't always say it but you could tell by his mannerisms. He was always extra difficult on me, hoping I would become better at everything and would never settle for anything (whether it was my driving, rock climbing ability, my Korean speaking ability or a million other things). I may not have liked this approach when I was in high school, but I've appreciated it ever since.

I remember how he would never let me buy cheap things. When I wanted to play tennis, he bought me a racket that I borrowed once from a coach and fell in love with. Except, I never thought I would get it, because it was a $200 racket that was only sold in Pro Shops. Then, one day I come home and it's sitting in the garage.

I remember my 3rd grade birthday, I had a bunch of friends over, like Tyler Miller and Zach Johns... and my dad said he was going somewhere. When he came back (from Toys R Us), he had a brand new Nintendo set with him and I remember Zach yelling at everyone, "Jin's dad got the new Nintendo!" Then we played on the PowerPad for hours.

I remember in 5th grade, my class was going on a field trip but we were one adult short. So I called home and dad said he would come along. I remember our group of friends would just run around all day at the zoo, because my dad was so laid back about keeping the group together.

He was always the 'cool' dad. The one who taught me how to ski, to golf, to roller blade (he was a speedskater in Korea)... He let me drive his Land Cruiser when I turned 16, so I felt pretty tough driving that around school and out to lunch. He was always well dressed and well groomed and would make comments when I wore baseball caps and sandals.

He lived a privileged, yet stressful existence. Life was unfair to him. And I still think (at 56), he left much too soon. I miss you pops, I love you, and I'll see you again one day. This Blog post does little justice to the influence you've had in my life... I will honor you through my actions and will make you even more proud.

It's About Time : Free Wi-Fi at Starbucks

But there's a catch!

You have to buy, maintain, use / reload (when it runs low) and continue to use one of those Starbucks cards in order to get the free wi-fi. And it's for 2 hours a day, so you can't be using it all day long.

But still, for most people, this should be more than enough time. And it'll give customers more incentive to go to Starbucks now, instead of the competitors likes Tullys and other mom and pop coffee shops that already offer free wi-fi.

I would say, however, that the only deterrent I see is that it takes a couple steps just to set up (I have to go buy a gift card, register it online, create a username and password, and then I have to use the card at least once a month and remember to carry that card around)... but once the initial setup is done, I'm sure all I'll have to do is remember the username and password for that account, since I already go to Starbucks about once a week anyway.

And you get other benefits too, like free soy and other beverage customizations, refills on certain drinks, and even free drinks on occasion.

Alright, so for more information, visit the Starbucks website.

Gadget Review - T-Mobile (HTC) Dash vs Blackberry Curve

So last summer, I compared the (new at the time) Apple iPhone to my T-Mobile Dash. I ended up keeping the Dash. I felt their uses were identical (both play video, music, navigate the internet on the EDGE network, and sync up with Outlook), but to me, the Dash was WAY easier to use. Even after 3 months of using the iPhone, I would get frustrated at attempting to type on the touch-keyboard.

So here I am now, comparing the Blackberry Curve to the Dash.

The verdict? They're pretty much the same phone! Now, you can say one is Windows-based, one has a trackball, one has Blackberry Messenger, and so on. But they're pretty much the same phones.

The Curve is a tiny bit thicker and wider. But it's a better looking phone. The Dash has a softer feel to it with a better grip, which is the reason I never dropped it. Both are equally easy to type on. And both sync up with Outlook, and can be used as 'tethered modems' connected to a PC (you would use this feature if you wanted to connect your laptop to the internet, but wasn't around a wi-fi internet connection... you could use either of these phones as 'modems' that are connected to the laptop).

My main gripe about both these phones is that they are like mini-computers. So you'll probably end up rebooting (taking out the battery and restarting the phone) about once a day. Both tend to crash if you're attempting to multi-task. I thought the Dash took a long time to reboot (about a minute), but the Curve can take up to 3 minutes to reboot. A little ridiculous if you ask me.

And the Dash has a 'task manager', much like your Windows XP PC does, so you can close programs you aren't using to free up memory. So far, I haven't been able to find that feature on the Curve.

The breakdown?

Looks : The Curve
Ease of use : It's a tie
The Interface : The Dash's is more familiar and intuitive, but the Curve's looks better
Battery Life : This is where the Dash still dominates. I can go 2 days without a charge, even with all the emailing, texting and talking that I do. I wouldn't feel comfortable going into a 2nd day without a charge on the Curve. But the good news is that the Curve charges up in no-time.
Value : The Curve is $450 + tax. The Dash is $250 + tax. For 2 phones with nearly identical uses, that seems like a huge difference. Of course, these days, you can get both for around $100-$150 with a 2-year contract.
Which One Will I Keep? : The Curve this time. Because it's a UMA phone. Which means that I can connect to wi-fi networks to make phone calls in areas where T-Mobile's signal isn't as strong. This is a great feature, and even in that little area on Front Street where I get NO cell signal, I can still connect using a wi-fi network.

T-Mobile

So this may be news to many of my friends, but I now work for T-Mobile, in addition to my career in Real Estate. It's no secret that the housing industry has been slow... but even in a weaker economy, people need to stay in touch, so I felt that the cell phone industry would be a strong one to be a part of. And so far, T-Mobile seems like a great company.

And in other news, Seattle finally saw 3 consecutive days with no rain. I think it was the first time that's happened in 2008. It's funny how Seattleites react to sunshine... all the nice sunglasses come out, as well as sunblock. And everyone washes their cars, gets out their convertibles and motorcycles, and spend a lot of time outside.

But the funniest thing to me, is that when the weather is overcast and dreary, traffic tends to be normal. But when it's either raining hard / snowing, or on any sunny day, traffic is TERRIBLE! It's like we can only drive when there are absolutely no distractions. No rain, no sun, nothing.

I'm happy though, I rode a bike for the first time in a long time, as well as played tennis for the first time in years. And I finally got some color on my skin (although not so much on my legs). As much as I miss winter, and snowboarding... I hope there are more weekends like this coming up.