I've heard about it for a couple years now. Have contemplated registering for a couple years now. A friend has invited George and I to join him in the Warrior Dash this year. Below is the video from the Logan, Ohio dash. Looks intense and I wish I could do it this weekend instead of waiting until this summer!
I love Denny's. Especially now that they have my favorite breakfast of all time, biscuits & gravy with crunchy hashbrowns, for only $2! Your staff is always so friendly. You guys are doing a great job!
This topic is quite a debateful one because each opinion tends to challenge a parent's decision making skills. I'd love to hear the different opinions from folks out there that either have kids or have seen kids with cell phones. I don't typically write about these types of issues on this blog, but it is weighing heavily on my mind....
I personally love technology. My company created a system to specifically cater mobile audiences. My iPhone stays with me most of the day. In fact, it is my alarm clock. I use it to email, call, text, IM, Facebook, Twitter, take pictures and videos, blog, play games, learn, research, share info, record ideas that I don't want to forget, play music, and so many other things that I probably don't even realize. When I was in school, I didn't have a cell phone. I didn't have a computer, which meant that I didn't send emails and I didn't IM, send text messages, take pictures to MMS to my friends, flirt over chat, or anything of the sort. The media that I was exposed to wasn't nearly as provocative as it is today either.
If I wanted to talk to a friend, I would pick up the phone, walk or ride my bike to their house, wait til I got to school the next day, or write them a note to communicate with them. My words weren't abbreviated versions of the words that I was trying to say. I knew how to spell each and every one of the words that I spoke. I didn't send a message to my friend telling them that I'd "C thm at skool tmrw". Or that I was "LOL".. They knew that I was laughing out loud because the could see or hear me laughing out loud. And if I was ROTFL, that was even better!
Kids are bullying one another over text message, email, chat, and social networks. There is no accountability because they can stand behind the technology and say whatever they want to say, and they are completely desensitized to what their words may do to the recipient. There have been numerous cases of teen suicide this year specifically because of cyber-bullying. We have kids that can't spell, can't have a conversation, don't know how to answer the phone properly, know how to text, but don't know how to type... It is so disturbing to watch.
I won't say that I think that there are not any situations at all that a cell phone is applicable. For the teen that is active in sports, has a job, is involved in school or church activities that require them to be away from home and need to communicate with their parents or other means of transportation, I definitely see the need. For the teen that is dating and/or driving and may need someone to help them with a flat tire, or a date that has gone bad, I definitely see the need. But for the 8 year old that is always with an adult, has not yet learned to type, and is just learning to spell and read, I see cell phones as very detrimental to their development. Imagine if the world spoke in acronyms such as LOL, IDK, and OMG instead of using words.
Facebook has been through it's share of critique from the masses over the past year. One thing that I think is so great is that they do actually put a limit on the age before one can sign up. It gave my teen something to look forward to when she turned 13. I know of several parents, however, that are signing their kids up and lying about their ages just so that they can be a part of the social community and have an account of their own. What kind of example is this setting? A young cousin of mine told me over Thanksgiving break that he had a Facebook account. I reminded him that he was just 9 years old... He said "yeah, but I'm like 25 on Facebook"... Is this what we want to do with our kids? Age them faster than they should? What ever happened to kids being kids? Kids doing kid things like riding their bikes and playing outside with their friends, or playing video games? Now you rarely see a kid outside without having their face buried in their cell phone texting someone...
Maybe I'm just getting old, but I don't see the advantages of our kids being given cell phones and social networks until their communication, grammar, spelling, and etiquette skills are developed enough to shine through in their online or mobile activity. Curious about other opinions as well...
Very excited to receive my first assignment as an AT&T Ambassador, I was delighted to hear that the Blackberry Torch would be the first product that I would review. At first, I thought that I'd never get started because I couldn't find the SIM card, but it was located... In the bottom of the envelope the phone was shipped in. Talk about feeling like a total goofball!
Touchscreen
From first glance, the Torch is a wonderful device. The body has a very sleek design, and the option of touchscreen plus keyboard make it even more appealing. Before becoming an iPhone owner, I was skeptical about switching from having a physical keyboard to just having touchscreen capabilities. It wasn't long before typing on the touchscreen became second nature, and the keyboard wasn't missed terribly. Had the Torch been my first experience with a touchscreen, I would probably hate the technology. For the life of me, I can not get the typing down on the Torch.
One example of the touchscreen being either buggy, or just too sensitive is shown in this video. The task trying to be completed was just simply adding a contact to the address book. It didn't work out...
Camera
As an iPhone 3GS user, one of the biggest things that I miss is the flash that comes with the camera. I was really excited to see that the Torch had a flash! The pictures were pretty decent, and the ability to take a picture at night at an outdoor Halloween event was perfect. Here is one of them...
Apps
The Blackberry is definitely for the business user, and not for the general populus, in my opinion. The app store is severely lacking, as compared to Apple's app store. The number of free apps to install in the Blackberry store don't hold a candle to Apple's. I know that apps are the iPhone's claim to fame, but I thought the Blackberry store would at least be comparable. I did install a few apps that were pretty good:
Foursquare, Word Mole, QR Code Scanner Pro, Pandora, and Slacker Radio. They all functioned pretty well, although the phone has a tendency to freeze while running any apps, which is a huge pain.
Browser
Web browsing speeds are acceptable. I don't like that there is not a refresh button with the browser. Having to click on the address bar and click go again to refresh is not the optimal way to perform this function, in my opinion. The iPhone has a refresh button built-in, and it is very handy. The click and zoom features with the touchscreen are handy for websites that are not yet mobile optimized.
Battery
The battery life was far better than expected. Coming from the iPhone, it is actually one of the best features of the Torch.
Overall Usability
Trying to configure the phone was a pain. Between the settings not being in logical locations, and the touchscreen being buggy, it was difficult to get things set up how I wanted them. Because I receive a large number of updates from Facebook and Twitter, the Social Feeds alerts went off continuously, so I deleted my accounts from the phone. The keys on the keyboard could be just a tad bit larger, but they are okay to type with.
I would not choose this phone as my primary device. As a supplemental phone, it is great. I know several business friends that carry both an iPhone and a Blackberry, and now I understand why. The Torch isn't a phone that I would spend much time on. It's definitely a device to do what you need to do and put it down.
The commercials are wonderful, so I'd like to give huge kudos to the ad agency in charge of putting them together. They definitely make the phone look like a really awesome device.
Overall Score
I give the Torch a 2/5. If I had not been using the iPhone for a year now, I would probably score it a bit higher, but since I have been, this is how it ranks with me. If you are not looking for a device that will provide entertainment as well as functionality, then the Torch will be a good pick for you. If you are looking for something that provides all the functionality of the Blackberry and has multiple other features, including loads and loads of free and paid apps, I'd head to something like the iPhone or even an HTC Evo..
Also, on my way home from the gym this morning, I was able to witness nature's beauty at its finest. The sunrise at 7:30 a.m. was so beautiful.. Thought I'd share both images with you!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and to your family. Hugs!
You can't tell from my blog right now, but I have finally figured out how to come up with blog topics! Every day, you have conversations about something you are passionate about. Whether you are a business blogger, a mommy blogger, or just blog for the pleasure of getting your words out in the form of a blog, you talk about your passions daily.
I've been using our blog on My Mobi Manager lately to collect my thoughts and findings on the mobile web and how to add it to your business marketing collateral. While I don't always have the time to write a full post, I have gone in and started several posts by adding the title and just a few lines about the conversation that I was having that I thought had great perspective on the topic of mobile. Now, when it comes time for me to update our blog, I've got a few topics to expand upon, and my writer's block is less of a hindrance!
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