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iDEN cell phone users rejoice! The first Android smartphone on the iDEN network will be out sometime this summer. Motorola recently announced that the i1 will released through Sprint/Nextel and that Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” host, Mike Rowe will be the spokesperson for the new phone. Besides the sleek touchscreen design and the Android powered apps, the phone meets 810F military specifications for ruggedness, hence the choice of Mr. Dirty Jobs Rowe. So, apparently, the marketing campaign will be geared toward construction workers, builders, and such. And I guess that makes sense since the push-to-talk feature is a favorite among that particular demographic. Other phone features include: 5-megapixel camera, Opera mini 5 browser, WIFI, microSD and a 3.1 inch touchscreen.

So essentially, the i1 is a super tough phone that runs on Android OS 1.5. I’m not sure why Motorola chose the older version of the OS but hopefully users will have the capability to upgrade to 2.1. The big limitation for iDEN users is that the network was never designed for high speed data. So, mobile web connections will be very slow on the iDEN i1. But still, I’m glad to see a sleek smartphone available for the aging network. No longer will iDEN subscribers have to be embarrassed by their old-school Motorola clamshells, heh. (yes, I still use an old Motorola i880 on my Boost mobile account). Now, if only Boost Mobile members can have their own version of the i1. Either that or simply be able to purchase the Nextel phone outright and use it on Boost (..but I can’t imagine the cost of the new phone WITHOUT a contract. OUCH!).
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I’m sure you all are waiting with baited breath to find out who is going to win these highly sought after Tony’s Pizza coupons!

Well thankfully the wait is finally over. I placed all entries in a spreadsheet and assigned a number to each of them. I also made sure to add extra entries for the kind folks that added me on twitter. I then used Random.org to generate a random number.

..and so the winner of the FIVE coupons for free Tony’s Pizzas is: Shirley! congrats! You should be receiving an email from me today.

Thanks again to all that participated in the drawing and hopefully I’ll have another fun giveaway coming up soon. stay tuned!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

Over the past year, Boost Mobile had a hugely successful ad campaign with their $50 monthly unlimited plan. Millions of savvy cell users flocked over to Boost where there are no long-term contracts and no hidden fees. It’s simply $50 bucks for unlimited calling, texting and web access with no additional fees and even tax is included. The hurdle that Boost was facing with all these additional customers was the strain put on the old Nextel iDEN network. The iDEN technology was never designed for multimedia and high speed internet access let alone the incredible demand from all the new customers wanting unlimited access. Well this month Boost unveiled a new line of phones utilizing Sprint’s CDMA network. Boost seems to realize the limitations of the iDEN network and is now offering an option for those users that want Boost’s unlimited plan WITH the power of Sprint’s 3G web access.

SANYO Incognito is one of the new phones available now through Boost. The Incognito™ SCP6760 features a full QWERTY keyboard, a 2MP camera, video/music capabilities, bluetooth and GPS. The phone is the perfect choice for those wanting to take advantage of the speed of the 3G network but not wanting to pay a premium for it. I’m glad to see Boost expanding their line of phones beyond those iDEN based Motorolas. I like the iDEN band for their ability to get their signal through thick office building walls better than other networks but I was never impressed by those cumbersome Motorola phones. With the new Sanyo Incognito™, you lose the iDEN signal advantage but you end up gaining a whole lot more with access to the 3G network.

The Boost version of the Incognito™ is priced at $129.99 which may seem more expensive than what it’s priced for with other providers but you have to remember that Boost doesn’t lock you into a two-year contract. And because there isn’t a contract, there isn’t much of a discount on the phones. But in my opinion, I’d rather pay for the phone upfront than get chained to a wireless phone company for two LONG years. Get smart and say so long to contract-based phone companies. Get Boost Unlimited today!

Boost Mobile Sanyo Incognito™ (SCP-6760) specs:
network: CDMA
main display: 320 x 240 pixels, 65536 colors, TFT
memory: microSD
size: 4.20 x 2.20 x 0.70 inches
other features:
Full QWERTY keyboard
2MP camera with VGA camcorder and digital zoom
Multimedia (picture & video), text & instant messaging
Stereo Bluetooth(R) capable
GPS enabled
Speakerphone with voice-activated dialing
600-entry phone book
Alarm clock, calendar, calculator, to-do list and voice-memo recorder

so, I’ve ended up with a membership to both CostCo AND BJ’s wholesale club. I initially signed up for a CostCo membership a few months ago since I’ve been finding that my growing boys are becoming *eating machines*. my kids have pushed us over the threshold where buying in bulk becomes cost-effective. anyway, after coming and going to CostCo a good number of times we noticed a few negatives, at least from our point of view.
- CostCo isn’t located conveniently for us. It takes approximately 20 minutes for us to get there and it’s always through heavy traffic.
- No matter what time of day or whatever day of the week, the place is ALWAYS crowded. I’m amazed there are so many people out and about purchasing large ticket items there at the store. aren’t we in a recession, people?
- CostCo doesn’t take Visa or Mastercard. only american express or a debit card. definitely a negative in my book. but I guess you can take it as a good thing where it sort of limits your spending.

And that’s when BJ’s came into the picture. Before the holiday season began, we received a two-month free membership coupon for BJ’s so we went ahead and gave them a try. BJ’s overall isn’t as impressive as CostCo in terms of the scope and variety of items offered but we DID encounter some advantages over CostCo.
- BJ’s takes visa/mastercard.
- the BJ’s in our area is closer to us than CostCo which definitely makes things more convenient.
- I’m not sure if it’s the location or what but the BJ’s near us is rarely crowded. and I’m the type of person that HATES crowds so this is definitely a plus in my book.
- Over the holidays, I noticed that BJ’s had a better variety of gift basket items. you know those gift packs of chocolates or perfumes that you purchase when you have absolutely no idea what to get your co-worker or distant relative.
- they also offer self-checkout lanes which helps when the regular checkout lanes are full. CostCo (at least the one in our area) doesn’t have self-checkout lanes which sucks b/c there are always long lines when checking out at CostCo.
- membership is cheaper at BJ’s. With the free trial coupon, we were offered a full year membership for only $35 which is more enticing than Costco’s $50 a year fee.

anyway, it’s a tough call either way especially when you factor in those unique “warehouse only” items CostCo has that are pretty good bargains. But the crowd situation is the kicker for me as well as the long drive to and from CostCo. So, BJ’s Wholesale Club wins in my opinion. But I have the rest of the year before I have to decide on renewals so I’ve got time for CostCo to change my mind.
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I’ve been thinking of purchasing a waterproof camera and came across this youtube video of some guy cooking/steaming/washing/microwaving his Olympus Stylus 1050 SW digital camera. I haven’t been impressed with the various user reviews posted on amazon about this particular camera but I thought the video was pretty cool. Either he hated this camera so much that he thought of torturing it or maybe it’s simply *that* tough and rugged.

I’m a bit wary since I’ve seen so many negative reviews online but I just I might take a chance on it if I can find one for cheap during the holidays. All I know is that a waterproof/shockproof digicam would come in handy on vacations and our trips to the water park.

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Well, after all this time desperately trying NOT to jump on the twitter bandwagon, I caved and finally signed up. Yeah, I know, it’s old hat for most people but back when the service first started up, I REALLY didn’t think “micro-blogging” would take-off like it did.

It’s interesting to see the evolution of the service. What was once thought of as a platform for the self-absorbed, it has become a useful tool to get late-breaking news, to give feedback to major corporations and even to promote your music blog. With such a large user-base, there’s no denying that twitter has become an indispensible online tool.

So, if you’re on twitter, you can follow me @retroblog. you can also follow me the “old-fashioned way” via my RSS feed.

as the old saying goes – it’s better late than never!

Here’s an interesting rock news item. According to this morning’s press release, guitarist extraordinaire Nuno Bettencourt has agreed to be part of Rihanna’s live band. Talk about a head scratcher. But I guess in this economy, even a “rock guitar god” has to seek out these types of opportunities in order to pay the bills. Evidently, playing in Rihanna’s band is more lucrative than doing another tour with his main band, Extreme. Ya can’t blame the guy for trying to earn some bank … but really, with Rihanna? I’m not hearing a lot of scorching guitar leads in her music, at least in my mind. who knows, maybe Nuno’s presence in her band will completely change her sound…

here’s the official announcement – November 16, 2009
Guitar virtuoso, Nuno Bettencourt, has joined forces with Rihanna and will be her 2010 world tour lead guitarist. The unexpected combination of Grammy Award winning R&B artist, Rihanna, and Rock guitarist, Nuno Bettencourt, has in fact become what Nuno says, “A great opportunity to blend our talents to create a high energy experience”.

It is clear Nuno has been one of the most influential rock guitarists of our time, and will continue to do what he does best, perform. As for the future of Extreme, Nuno explains, “NO… this is NOT the end of Extreme. We have a live DVD and CD coming out in early 2010 and we will be writing new material throughout the year. We had a great run across the globe on Saudades de Rock… and we’ll be back.”
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The Outfield recently updated their official website and unfortunately it seems that they went for a “retro 90′s” look & feel. You know, the outdated basic HTML/frontpage look. blech. Definitely unprofessional, in my opinion. but what do I know since my blog isn’t all that fancy either. but at least retroblog doesn’t look like something from the GeoCities days!! heh.

Luckily for fans, there’s another Outfield site that has a lot more to offer called OutfieldFanZone.com. The site looks a bit more pleasing to the eye and even features downloadable mp3s of the band’s live recordings absolutely free, including “Live in Brazil (the official bootleg)”! The live tracks are pretty nice collectables for fans but honestly, I prefer their studio work over their live performances. They’re more a studio band than a live act, if you ask me.

purchase music by The Outfield on CDUniverse.

Legendary guitarist/inventor Les Paul died at the age of 94 today. He revolutionized the music world by being the first to utilize multi-track recording as well as by creating the solid-body electric guitar. I can’t even imagine what popular music (especially rock music) would be like if it wasn’t for him. He is a true icon and will very much be missed. Rest in peace, Les.

Here’s a clip of Les Paul performing “I Can’t Get Started” in NYC back in 2006

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Since our kids are heading back to school this week, we took them back to the beach this past weekend for one last summer hurrah. Luckily the rain held off while we were at the beach but the visit was still cut short by the appearance of three sharks nearby. The lifeguards pulled everyone out of the water and we all stood on the shore to view a rather large one surface above the water a couple times. Even though the kids weren’t able to play in the water the rest of the afternoon, the shark sighting was still the highlight of the trip!!
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Anyway, for today’s song of the day, I thought I’d post a “summer-related” track by Neil and Tim Finn titled “Paradise (Wherever You Are)”. enjoy!

Endless travels, can’t remember where I’ve been
Lying in this hammock feeling tragic
Like the ones you hear so much about
Can’t wait to tell you what I’ve seen

Paradise wherever you are…
- written by Neil and Tim Finn

download the mp3 of Paradise by The Finn Brothers (for a limited time via mediafire)
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Purchase Finn Brothers music at CDUniverse