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There’s nothing revolutionary about the BlackBerry Bold 9700 (aka Bold 2). But it’s truly the pinnacle of BlackBerries today. RIM has put in literally all the best stuff they’ve got into this flagship handset. The display, the keyboard, the trackpad, the materials used… Every single thing about this phone screams quality. Business smartphones just don’t get much better than this. But hey RIM, while I absolutely love the BlackBerry OS for what it’s meant for, it’s really starting to show its age a little bit. I hope you guys are working on something even better right now, ‘cause things are starting to look pretty good at the Android camp!

Gray is obviously the new black in 2009. We’ve seen models like Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas Gray, Hublot’s Big Bang Earl Gray etc. being introduced at Baselworld earlier this year. Even Richard Mille has created an All Gray series for 2009.

I happened to stumble across this rather limited Bell & Ross BR 01-96 Commando the other day and thought I’d get me a timepiece in gray hue before the year’s out. Inspired by aircraft cockpit on-board instruments and designed with military aesthetic in mind, gotta say I’m pretty pleased with the result. Simple, discreet, and so understated.

Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS peeps!

Came across this album in Kaohsiung that shed a new light on my name. Artificial Animals Riding On Neverland. WTF?

I’ve upgraded my old Callaway Big Bertha to the new Titleist 710 AP1. Picture doesn’t justify how nice these irons look. They’re gorgeous and have a very nice blend of feel and forgiveness. Mid/high handicappers should check these out. I’m no expert at clubs but I think Titleist have got a winner here. Hit a few shots with these and you’ll see what I mean.

Apple’s new Magic Mouse is the world’s first multi-touch mouse. Featuring a white top and aluminium bottom, the design matches perfectly with the current Mac lineup. Clicking and scrolling work like a charm, but the two-finger swipe gesture is a bit awkward to perform. Overall I’d say it’s a worthy successor to the problematic Mighty Mouse, but it’s still not as ergonomic as you’d want in a key input device. If you do a fair bit of mousing, do yourself a favour and avoid this. But if you’re willing to sacrifice a little comfort for looks, I really haven’t seen a better-looking mouse!

Update: You must download MagicPrefs if you have a Magic Mouse. MUST. DOWNLOAD. NOW.

Been travelling with these guys for some time. And now I just can’t get on a plane without one of them - Bose QC3 and Klipsch X10. One’s perfect for long-haul flights and the other’s great for short domestic flights. Gotta tell you the earcup cushions on the QC3 get worn out pretty easily though. But there are replacement parts available. The much more portable X10 is one of the best sounding and most comfortable in-ear headphones out there. Trust me I’ve used Shure, Etymotic, Ultimate Ears, and even the much-hyped Monster Beats by Dr. Dre, which by the way is the worst headphone I’ve ever poked into my ears. None of them are as small and comfortable as the X10.

Just got me one of the hot new VAIO TT rocking Windows 7 Professional! I was gonna go for the ultra-light VAIO X, but after fiddling with it for a couple of minutes, I realised the machine’s just way too underpowered to get any serious work done. I should’ve known this as it has almost identical specs as my VAIO P. Both have sexy outfits, but essentially still are Atom-powered netbooks so you know they’re pretty much running dog slow.

Now the VAIO TT is in a whole different league. It may look like your average netbook given its minute size, but it’s actually a full-fledged laptop wrapped in an ultra-portable package. Powerful enough to handle all my daily computing, and light enough to warrant a place in my suitcase all the time. Frankly I still think Windows 7 is no Snow Leopard, but it’s no doubt a fantastic OS and I don’t mind using it as my daily work platform - if only all the great apps I use religiously are available on Windows too!

You’re looking at the world’s first digital compact camera with a built-in projector. Yes, it’s got a PROJECTOR built right in on the front! That means you no longer have to pass your camera around to share the photos or videos you’ve just taken. Just find a flat surface (in a dark environment of course) and shoot ‘em out for all to see.

Performance? Well I can’t say I’m entirely impressed with it. Having only 10 lumens of brightness, compared to several thousand for an average projector, or 50 for the latest generation of pico projector, the projected image from the COOLPIX S1000pj is less than satisfactory. But still, it’s a very capable point-and-shoot camera, and Nikon has definitely set a new standard for digital compact camera by which others will follow in the years to come.

Guess what, I had my iPhone 3GS snatched right from my hand while I was talking on it yesterday in downtown Kuala Lumpur. That prick just snuck up on me, grabbed the phone off my hand, jumped on a bike and sped off with his socius criminis. Is this becoming like a yearly thing now? Sure hope not. So long Athena… I barely knew you. Yes, I named all my gadgets after Greek mythological figures. Don’t ask why.

Anyway, thought BlackBerry would be a good replacement, now that they’ve finally released a desktop manager for Mac. I went with the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 that was released about two weeks ago. Only 2.5G so it’s pretty much useless in Korea or Japan. Guess I’ll have to make do until Bold 9700 comes to this part of the world. In case you’re wondering, her name is Antheia. Antheia, meet everybody.

Just spiced up my MacBook Air with the Snow’s Revenge vinyl decal by vinylville. Very clever.

I love maps. All kinds of maps - street maps, topographic maps, thematic maps, even transit maps! This one right here is one of the best pictorial maps I’ve ever seen. Better yet, it’s got all major jazz bars and clubs around Yokohama marked out for you! Jazz aficionados travelling to that part of the world, feel free to email me for a high-res version.

The Rolly may eventually go down as another commercially-failed Sony product. But I just luuurve watching this robotic egg flashing and dancing around to the rhythm!

Yokohama definitely has no shortage of live jazz venues. But one place you gotta go is the Windjammer Jazz Cocktail Lounge, located right on the edge of Chinatown. Live jazz performance daily. Good food, good cocktails, good decor!