Archive for the ‘Shopping’ category

Apple iPad Case Review

September 6th, 2010

When I got my iPad a few days ago, I knew I needed to get a decent case to protect the iPad’s beautiful aluminum back and fragile glass screen. I began looking for the perfect case and found that most of them are either extremely bulky or simply ugly. Running out of options, I decided to give the official Apple iPad Case a try. Future Shop sells it for $45.99 and Apple itself sells it for $45. I didn’t want to go all the way to the Apple Store so I price matched it at the Lansdowne Future Shop instead. Hey, one dollar is one dollar!

The official Apple iPad case is very thin and lightweight. Unlike other bulky leather portfolio style cases, the Apple one has a slim but strong rubber material.

One thing I like about this case is that it is very functional. I can flip the cover to the back for normal usage. There is a clip at the back to hold the cover if I need to make the iPad standing up or leaning with an angle. With the iPad leaning with an angle, I can type on the onscreen keyhoard much easier and much faster. In fact, this can replace my laptop for taking notes in lectures so I no longer need to carry my laptop to school.

The Apple iPad Case is very functional and very lightweight. However, there is one major issue with this beautiful case. The rubber material provides a nonslip surface but it also attracts dusts like crazy. The bumpy surface makes it rather difficult to wipe off the dusts as well. If you are one of those people who like their stuff always looking clean, this case may not be for you.

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The Perfect Compact Digital Camera: Canon SD1400 IS

August 31st, 2010

I’ve finally found the perfect compact digital camera for daily use. I have a D-SLR but it is rather big for daily snapshots.
I have to say that it is quite tricky to find a camera that fits my tiny student budget and at the same time capable of capturing quality pictures.

My first attempt: Samsung EC-ES70. Bought it at Future Shop for around $120. To be honest, it was a horrible camera. The built quality is very cheap and comparable to a toy. Picture quality is awful. Images have a lot of noise even at the lowest ISO. I returned it the next day.

My second attempt: Sony DSC-W310. Bought it at Future Shop for around $120 as well. Built quality is decent. Feels a lot better than the Samsung ES70. Picture quality is also better than the ES70. The images do not have a lot of noise but the color and contract tend to create a “depressing” tone.

My third attempt: Canon SD1400 IS. Bought it at Black’s Photography at around $190 after a price match (Retail is around $250). It is a very compact camera. Smaller and thinner than the Samsung ES70 and Sony W310. Built quality is very solid. The 14.1 Megapixel sensor produces very sharp and clean images up to ISO 800. Thanks to its Optical Stabilization system, taking indoor pictures without using flash is possible. The other two cameras have digital image stabilization, which is rather useless. The SD1400 can also capture 720P HD video. Video quality is so-so but I don’t plan on taking a lot of videos anyway. Overall, it is very impressive camera for the price. If you want to get a decent compact digital camera with a reasonable price, this one is highly recommended.

Pictures I took with the Canon SD1400 IS:

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How To Get Special Deals From Fido Or Rogers

September 11th, 2009

So last time I’ve posted how frustrated I was with the Canadian cell phone industry. I decided to give Fido, the cell phone company I signed contract with, a call and see if they can lower my monthly fee. To my suprise, they offered me a special deal to keep me happy. Everyone can do this, you just need to learn a few tricks first.

I did some research first on RedFlagDeals, and I have noticed that Fido or Rogers will most likely offer the retention plan when someone calls to complain about expensive monthly bills.

They offered me this:
200 minutes day time, unlimited evenings starting 5 PM & weekends – $17.50
unlimited network calling between Fido and Rogers customers – $10
call display, voice mail, 2500 text messages – $10
6GB mobile internet data – $20
no system access fee and no 911 fee

The total per month now is $57.50. Very similar to what I was paying before. But now I have 6GB of data usage per month. Before I was paying the same price without any data. I have an iPhone 3G, so it was quite stupid not having a data plan. The $57.50 special retention plan with 6GB data is quite popular among Fido deal hunters on RedFlagDeals. I am very happy with this offer since I also got the new iPhone 3GS almost for free with my Fido Dollars. The only cons for this is I had to renew my contract and lock myself with Fido again for 3 more years.

Here is the trick. You don’t simply just call customer service and say your monthly bill is very high. They will try to convince you that it’s worth it. So the only way to do this is to make them think that you will break the contract and go with another company.

Regular customer service reps cannot offer you retention plans, only the retention program staff can. So you will need to tell your story atleast a few times. The shortcut to get to the retention program staff without saying a lot is to tell the regular cs rep that someone offered you a special $57.50 plan (or just make up a price) when you called earlier trying to cancel and you are calling back to confirm a few things. The rep will immediately transfer you to the retention program because he or she doesn’t want to deal with stuff like that. Once transfered, tell them the same thing. The retention staff may ask you why you wanted to cancel in the beginning. Tell them another company is having a promotion and you want to switch to save money in the long-run. They will most likely offer you a retention plan that is a good deal. Don’t accept it immediately, hesitate a little and pretent you are thinking. Lastly, accept the offer and start enjoying more minutes and features for less than what you paid before!

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Canada Needs Better Voice and Data Plans

September 8th, 2009

I am a Fido user and my 3 year contract is going to finish in a few months. Looking for current plans out there and none of them is really appealing. Almost all the cell phone carriers in Canada are selling the same plans with identical features. This proves the lack of competition in the industry. GSM network is still a Rogers and Fido monopoly. CDMA network has Telus and Bell. They are not really competing much. What I have noticed is that available plans now are worse than the plans offered a few years ago. I have the $30 150 day time minutes, unlimited evenings and weekends, unlimited incoming, and unlimited network calling between Fido and Rogers users. $30 now can only get you a bit more day time minutes and unlimited evenings and weekends. What about the unlimited incoming and network calling? I once thought that by the time my contract ends, plans will be more affordable and will have more features. But reality is things become more and more expensive and features get taken away.

Data is quite important to me since I like to check my email and look up stuff while I am away from home. But data options in Canada is really really expensive. Telus, Bell, Rogers, and Fido all offer 1GB of data for $30 per month. I know people can get 6GB for $30 if they are willing to sign another 3 year contract on data. But who needs 6GB of mobile data and another 3 year contract? People really need to shake things up in the cell phone industry in Canada or users like us will continue paying high prices for years to come.

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Local Outlet Shopping

July 21st, 2009

Recently figured out there are retail outlets in Greater Vancouver. Me and Janice went to the one located in New Westminster. It is called the Queensborough Landing Outlets. It has some good shops like CK Jeans and Aldo and some big box stores like Best Buy and Walmart. We have found some good deals in the CK Jeans store. Instead of going across the border to the Seattle Premium Outlets, we can now spend a short day shopping in local outlets. Well, local outlets are still nothing compared to the ones in the states.

queensborough landing outlets

queensborough landing outlets

queensborough landing outlets

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