I must have talked about insurance umpteen times. I have been doing some data gathering very slowly but all I can find is the regular kind of insurance where you pay a certain amount of money every month. However, it will not be an investment which means you do not get a certain amount of money at the end of the policy. Well, my ideal policy would be some sort of savings. I have not asked me colleagues though. They probably know more than I do. I believe they will have home insurance, content insurance as well as personal insurance and not to mention car insurance.

One of the things that I do not like is talking to agent when buying an insurance policy. I always feel that they are trying to force you into buying an insurance policy without really thinking your real need of insurance. And that is the reason why I like to do things online. In US, the health insurance in nc offers the convenience in getting insurance quotes through the internet which I think is really good. If the quote is good, you can then decide whether or not to discuss with them further. It would be nice if most of the insurance company adopt online quotes.

These days, I have resorted to watching Top Gear for at least an hour a day. There simply not many programs worth watching. Maybe I am not interested in other programs. On some good days, you get lots of nice programs at the same time but different channels. Back in Malaysia, the programs get better towards weekend but here in UK, it is the opposite. I believe you know the reasons. Anyway, from the Top Gear show, I now know that there are nearly 1 million caravans owners in the UK and it is summer now. We could almost see one each time we are on the road. In USA, it may be better known as motorhomes or recreational vehicle.

Just last week, there were about 6 to 10 caravans parked at a nearby field where the residents use the field for footballs and other sports activities. I wonder if they were there illegally because there are no facilities for those caravaners to throw their rubbish, or electricity or even waste management system on the field. At the end of the day, they left a hill height of rubbish on site. I wonder if their motorhome insurance would cover any damages that might occur on an illegal caravanning site. But what is the fun of caravanning when you can just sit at home and doing the same thing. Most importantly, you are still in the UK!

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!