I am going after a new gadget, again. It is not iPad and certainly not iPhone. It is phone related and I am about to get myself a HTC Desire. It is not exactly a new phone now but it is considered one of the hottest smartphone at the moment. It has been compared to iPhone 4 and other similar models like Samsung Galaxy S. In case you do not know, I am currently using Samsung Omnia i900.

To clear some air here, iPhone is just too expensive to own. I do not really mind about the latest issue about the drop of signal but the price tag has really put me off. Even a contract with my current mobile service provider would cost at least £25 per month plus a phone price. Getting the handset on its own would cost around £700. HTC Desire costs just £350. I cannot justify why iPhone 4 would cost double.

I will probably be getting it within this week but I am still deciding whether or not to trade in my Samsung Omnia which will probably save me about £60 - £70 in exchange for a second hand £325 HTC Desire. As mentioned, a first hand HTC Desire costs £350 from Three Mobile which is my current Pay As You Go provider. Well, ultimately, it depends whether or not they have the stock or if they are still offering the phone for £350.

I still quite like my Samsung Omnia and I am not fussy about it running on Windows Mobile Professional 6.5.3. The TFT Resistive Touch Screen is one of the reasons to blame. It always requires hard pressing on the screen and sending a message sometimes takes ages. I said “sometimes” because occasionally, it works well. The speed is reasonable but I guess Windows products do not have a good reputation on speed. The internal storage is incredible at 8GB and it has a 16GB model. Even at 8GB, I find it hard to fill it up. I could have used it as my media player but the battery life is poor and it does not have a 3.5mm jack. By the way, it feels plasticky and creaky with typing a message. The camera flash is so “brilliant“ that it produces white photos most of the time.

HTC Desire is running on Android and it has an AMOLED Capacitive Touch Screen. AMOLED technology is said to be energy saving. According to some user reviews, HTC Desire battery life is not great either. I guess it will always be difficult not to charge your smartphone daily. The more powerful your smartphone is, the more you want to use it and the faster you drain the battery. In my opinion, Android is the only OS that could compete against iPhone OS. Windows Mobile 7 may be coming out soon but its marketplace is just not great. The applications and games are just bland. One small flaw which should be addressed in the next version of Android is that every application and game has to be installed on the phone memory. It will be tough because HTC Desire does not have 8GB internal storage like the Samsung Omnia. Anyway, it has been dubbed as fast and the flexibility of Android should make it fun. I just cannot wait to get my hands on HTC Desire!

Last Sunday, I went to the town centre. It was full of people because of the good weather. I did some window shopping as I have not done it in weeks. I could not find a reason to make a purchase as some of the items were still considered expensive even after discounts. Among the cheaper items were sweaters, cardigans and boots because they are not current season items. Anyway, I saw a pair of Nike shoes at a discounted price but I could not find my size. I still bought it because Mee should be able to wear it comfortably.

We had our first yoga class today. It was good but we thought pilates is harder. I believe it will get harder each time.

Tomorrow, I will be going to another college to attend a software user group meeting. This time, I will be going alone because my manager needs to do a presentation. It should be exciting and maybe a little bit boring for me. I guess I will just sit there and listen to them because, so far, we have had not much problems with the software. Next week is going to be very exciting for me and Mee.

England lost to Germany. It is almost as expected because England has been poor right from the start of the World Cup. They way they play are very English; on a good day, they can beat any team, on a bad day, they lose to the unnamed teams. Sadly, they have more bad days than good days. Their spirit never dies and that’s the truth. Arrogant or confident, you name it.

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The gym is ready. It looks fabulous. 95% of the equipment is new and most of the cardio machines have individual LCD TV at the front. The placement of the equipment makes the gym looks spacious yet it is disappointing that they did not do anything to the class-room. And the always-not-working-air-conditioning system is not being replaced. The good news is the classes resume this week and Mee and I are ready to assault our body by booking ourselves in a class a day start from today. Two classes were taken out; steps and body jam. Steps is replaced by Yoga while body jam is cancelled simply because the management is not paying for the licence fee anymore.