I made a pretty crazy move in my phone technology the other day by switching to an android phone.  I went and picked up the Samsung Captivate for At&t.  The phone belongs to the Galaxy S series, so it’s running on android and has a similar design to the rest of the Galaxy S family.

The hardware on the phone is great, It has a huge screen and a very snappy processor and gpu. You can really see the speed of the unit when you launch applications and shift from one task to another.  The video display is very clear and even has auto-brightness.  The speakers on the phone are real good too. I can listen to music as if I had a small desk radio.

The software is the most interesting part, mainly because it runs android.  Upon switching the phone on you immediately get to take advantage of all of the google goodies provided. Such as , google search, voice google search, google chat,  full google account phone integration and many more.  The user interaction or navigation is very similar to that of most smart-phones now a days.  Theres the touch-screen and screen-tabs that you will find on most phones now.

I really am enjoying how android handles the picture galleries and widgets.  The picture galleries show up in a very interactive way and pick up on the motion of the phone to angle the picture collections.  The auto-organization is very nice also.  The widgets allow for updates and previews of live data such as flight-fares and twitter updates.  Most apps that work off live data come with a widget.  This widget can be placed on any screen also.

The Android Market place is very nice because of the availability and number of applications.  Alot of really good applications are even free.  One application that I really liked was the a file manager app called Astro File Manager.  This application allows you to use a nice ui to navigate through the directories on your phone and add or remove files. One great feature was the ability to transfer files through the network on-to my phone via the file manager.  All of this is possible because the phone is linux based.

I could talk about this phone forever because there is just so much potential and future for the type of phone, but I have to stop somewhere.  The phone is definitely a learning experience and great user experience.

Main Home Page





Time widget





A second page loaded with apps and widgets.





The music player.





The official twitter app for android.





Watching a perfume video on the phone.





Photos angle when you tilt the phone.





Photos & videos auto-organize.





Multi-Selecting Photos for sharing or other actions








Transferring files from the home computer to the phone.

Broadway is so awesum!  I’ve never been to real big-time play before and much less a broad way show, until now.  After hearing alot about it, I was determined to buy tickets to see Wicked here in Houston.  Wicked is a story and play that tells the story of the witches that appear in the story ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

They were on their second to last week of appearances at the Hobby Center  and I managed to score one of the last tickets.  Immediately afterward,  I prepared by reading the Wizard of Oz and also watching the movie.

From the beginning I knew it was going to be a good show, but  nothing could have prepared me on how good it actually was.   Everything about the show was magnificent.  The lights, sound, acting and singing were just as good as they could possibly have been.  The first-half of the play had such an outstanding ending that I almost thought it was the end of the show.  The main characters are so significant, that you find yourself relating with or really liking them.  The songs are so good and catchy that I had to buy the soundtrack afterwards.

Wicked is a traveling show and also has international showing, so If you ever get a chance, I advise you go.

Tip: From what I’ve understand there is a lottery for tickets 1 hour before the show.  If you are selected, the tickets will only cost you $25.00 and will be the best seats in the house.

The Hobby Center’s billboard for Wicked.

My seat, it was real close but almost too much at an angle.

A full house.

Houston Skyline during the Intermission.

Sign on Wall.

A very convincing advertisement.

Wicked loot.

Wicked 5 year anniversary CD (cover).

Wicked 5 year anniversary CD (inside).

Get Wicked ringtones offer.

Wicked Timeline

Picture of the two Witches.

Elphaba

Glinda

Just in case you don’t know, there is a gas station store chain named Buc-ee’s in Texas that you should visit at-least once.  Since I live in Houston, there is one very close by that I stop at when I am in the area.  It’s  really big in size for a gas station and has a real ‘feel-good’ environment.  There are plenty of Buc-ee’s snacks inside the store and also plenty of logos of the store’s mascot, a beaver with a hat.

I picked up some snacks and also picked up my first Buc-ee’s shirt.  I have always wanted one, and this time went for it. It’s real cool.  It just makes me smile/laugh when I look at the beaver on the shirt.

If you’d like to learn more about the store’s upbringing and history go here.

I picked up some Mentha Soap from Bath and Body Works the other day, and I must say … ‘I am exfoliating’.  The best things about this soap is that it smells super minty and really tingles your skin when you use it.  Before I used It, I couldn’t stop smelling the wrapped soap.  When using it, it really tingles your face which feels really good.  And then it combines with the smell.. it’s so great.

I really wish smelovision was out, because then you all could really get a whiff of what I’m describing. They also have the body wash and the shaving cream (which I bought also and will review later).   Highly recommend these products.

In the spirit of World Cup 2010 going on, I am totally into soccer right now! So much so, that I attended a Houston Dynamo game at UH’s Robertson Stadium.  This is my second time to attend a Major League Soccer Game (MLS), and I had so much fun!  The crowd was excellent and everyone was having a good time.  Also, yelling at real people is way better than yelling at a tv screen.

At this game they were playing the Colorado Rapids and ended up tying.  I am planning on attending more of their home games whenever I get a chance. Next time, I plan on getting there early so I can participate in the tail-gating.  Word is that it gets to be real fun.

Houston Skyline from the University of Houston parking

Robertson Stadium

It was a full moon night

The Dynamo fox/mascot running for his mini-truck. I think it broke down halfway though.