Boost Mobile hyping the SANYO Incognito

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

I may have my eyes set on the Nexus One from Google, but what if you are looking for an alternative that comes with a pre-paid plane? The folks of Boost Mobile recently contacted me to help spread the word about their latest addition to their popular line-up. The SANYO Incognito (model number SCP-6760) is a device that Sprint hopes will carry the company through 2010.

Not having tried my hands on this phone personally I can only base my opinion off of what I have come across online. Here are some of the basic facts about the phone that I find to be important on any decision making process. Of course, be sure to consult your nearest retailer and ask them any questions before following through with any purchase.

• $129.99 (before taxes) for the phone. If you order online you will receive free shipping.
• Unlimited plan for $50/month with no contract required.

So to use this phone you would be looking at a price of about $190 for the first month, including the purchase of the phone. So is the phone worth the cost?

CNET and PC Magazine both liken the SANYO Incognito to the Pantech Impact available on AT&T's network., but when push comes to shove both reviews lean slightly to the Impact. The Incognito was rated Good (3 out of 5) by PC Magazine and Very Good (3.5 out of 5) by CNET last month so there does seem to be some promise here.

Some of the criticism on the phone is directed at the design. From what I can tell it looks to be slightly clunky, but I will admit that I have never used a phone with a pull out keyboard the way the Incognito uses. Perhaps it is just a matter of adjusting, as millions of texting teenagers and celebrities have already done. I still use a pretty standard flip phone.

The Incognito comes with a 2MP camera, which by today's standards seems weak. My wife's new HTC Eris has a 5 MP camera and my almost three year old phone has a 2MP resolution, so I would expect more from a phone being released today when it comes to the digital camera. But in addition to the camera the Incognito also has video recording capabilities (again at 2MP resolution though), music and video playback functionality, and has the ability to browse the web. Naturally it also sends and receives text messages and can make phone calls if you so wish. Syncing the Incognito up to your favorite social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter are no problem either. Just use the EVDO capabilities and the full QWERTY keyboard to get started quickly.

Here is a closer look at the SANYO Incognito from CNET...

So what do you think? Is the SANYO Incognito a good fit for you or a friend or family member? Feel free to discuss your experience with the phone in the comments below. Not being a true cell phone geek I will not likely be able to answer any questions you may have about this particular device, but I am confident that the customer service staff at Boost Mobile would love to help you out. Contact them through their customer support contact form, or check out their frequently asked questions.

If you have used this phone please let my readers (and me!) know what you think! To close, here is a slide show of photos of the SANYO Incognito.


Photos courtesy of Boost Mobile

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Tech Giveaway from Tony's Pizza

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Tony's Pizza. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was recently given an opportunity to take a trip down memory lane. The folks at Tony's Pizza came to me and asked if I would be interesting in some free pizza?

Stop right there. Free pizza? Yes please!

I responded to them that I would be a fool to pass on a chance to fill my tummy with free pizza, so they sent me some coupons that I could use at the grocery store to purchase some crispy pizza. Last night my wife and I split one, not expecting much form a pizza you can buy for less than $2.00. Boy were we surprised!

I picked up the pepperoni topping variety, but you can also get plain cheese if you care to. For full disclosure, we added a little bit of extra mozzarella cheese to the pizza before placing it in the oven. After opening the package it looked a little skimpy in the cheese department, but I did not have to add too much to it. While my wife did not add any extra toppings, I sprinkled on a dash of red pepper as well.

Just look at that picture to see what I was able to enjoy! Mouth watering, isn't it?

Before sinking my teeth in to this FREE pizza, I was expecting to eat something that tasted like cardboard, reminiscent of what I had eaten in elementary school or in college. Not the case. The pizza we had was very enjoyable and left me sort of wishing I had not shared this with my wife! Does that make me a bad husband? This all could have been avoided if I had just picked up more than one pizza on my latest grocery trip excursion!

In exchange for sampling some free pizza the Tony's Pizza people asked if I would share a coupon with a lucky reader, so here is where I follow up on my side of the deal. I am going to offer one coupon for a free pizza to the person who leaves a comment about the best pizza they have ever had. Where did you have it? What was the topping of choice? I will select one commenter at random to receive a free pizza coupon, which I will arrange to mail at a time to be determined.

In addition, Tony's Pizza is having a great contest to fulfill your tech needs, and readers of THIS SITE are eligible for a prize worth $500! I am excited to join some great sites in this contest and hope that the winner comes from my site. Here are two ways to enter!

1. Leave a comment below. To be eligible you will need to use your e-mail address (will not be viewable to anyone reading the site but me)
2. Use Twitter to tweet a message to your followers, containing a link to this post and use the hash-tag "#TonysPizza" - You could also just retweet my announcement about the contest.
   

I will be responsible for selecting one commenter at random, and I am excluding family members from being eligible. This contest ends February 16, 2010 at 11:59pm so do not delay! For detailed rules on this contest click here (I will soon be added to the blog roll in the rules).

Good luck!

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Gravy makes everything better

More gravy? Yes please!

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

Christmas is just days away and many of you may be helping to cook some of the big family dinner. What kind of dishes will you be preparing? Some families do a surf and turf with a rich steak and shrimp or crab cakes. Maybe you stuff your face with some lasagna or a Christmas ham.

But the more traditional Christmas dinner is probably still a turkey, even though Thanksgiving is associated with the poultry meal. One thing is for sure though, if you are going to have turkey you must make sure to have a good gravy to go with it. Really, nothing can mess up a Christmas dinner than gravy with the same thickness as tap water. You could make your gravy from scratch or you could go to the grocery store and pick up a jar of pre-made gravy and stick it in the microwave to heat up.

One way you could go is with Club House Gravy. I have actually taken some time to look up some reviews for gravy because I do not want my mom to mess up the most important ingredient our dinner will have. After doing my research it seems that Club House Gravy s a safe bet with its dependable and consistent way of delivering a delicious flavor that I know I will enjoy. Surely everyone else will too.

Don't believe me? then watch this gravy tips video and see just how simple it can be! When you are finished watching that video go ahead and check out the newsletter sign-up and contest entry for your chance to win a gravy gift pack (that's right - a gravy gift pack!) and start organizing your recipes online.

My mouth is watering just thinking about all that gravy and the feast I am set to enjoy on Christmas day.

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Get the most from your iPod

A portable music time line of sorts.

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

I imagine that my growing process in listening to portable music is much like your's. I started off in my young age by listening to a Walkman before moving on to my first portable CD player, commonly referred to as a disc man. Who knows, maybe most of you started off with a disc man.

Eventually I came to own an MP3 player. I was always kind of cheap so I actually went through two separate MP3 players before finally reaching the status of becoming an iPod user (I use the iPod Touch). But one thing has always run constant in my portable music listening experiences. Unless you invest in a decent set of headphones you are likely stuck with a pair of ear buds that have not advanced much in sound technology since the days of the old Game Boy headphones. Sometimes I still wish I had those old headphones.

But now I find myself listening to music and podcasts every day while I type up my latest posts. Usually I just open up iTunes and play music straight from that, but if only I had a set of portable speakers. If I had some speakers like the Yamaha PDX-60, I could set aside my iPod Touch and free up some usable memory on my computer.

There is no debate that listening to music on a pair of decent speakers is far superior to listening on standard speakers or headphones. As a fan of a wide range of music I highly recommend investing in a quality speaker system if you can. Portable speakers are best for most people so I would recommend checking out some reviews on some portable speakers and adding your favorite to your holiday wish list as soon as possible.

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Taste Testing Tofurky & Gravy Soda

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

The other day I was sent a free sample of Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda from Jones Soda Co. Who am I to pass up a free soda? Besides, I consider myself somewhat adventurous and willing to try new things from time to time.

But I fail to see the appeal of relieving your thirst by drinking something that is supposed to be flavored as something that traditionally makes you sleepy, but maybe Tofurky does not have the same effect? Regardless, I took the liberty of sharing my first sips with you. Watch the following video...

As you be able to tell by my facial reactions, this soda does not quite rank up high with Cherry 7-Up or Vanilla Coke. I am not saying I would go out and buy a six pack of this particular beverage, but if Uncle Sal is the kind of guy who will be excited about trying off the wall flavors or considers himself a collector of soda bottles, then this may be a must-have.

For me, I'll stick with the classics. Coca-Cola Classic that is. Let me know what you think of it if you happen to try it. Am I alone in my thoughts on this one? I sense that I am not, but I remain curious as to what people have to say about it this Thanksgiving season.

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DVD Ranger 2.8.1 could fulfill my DVD ripping needs

I do not normally have a need to rip my DVD's but if I did I might give a good look at
DVD-Ranger.

You can download the free three day trial from their website if you are a Windows user (sorry, no Mac versions). It is compatible with Windows xp, Windows Vista and of course Windows 7.

The basic features of DVD-Ranger allow a user to backup their DVD collection with backups of 1:1 to DVD9 or shrinking an entire DVD to a DVD5 if needed. Users can also transfer their DVD to a number of devices, such as an iPod, PSP, Zune or laptop. ISO creation is another method covered by DVD Ranger and the ability to backup just the movie form a DVD is available as well.

Want to transfer your DVD to a BluRay disc? No problem. You can fit up to ten DVD movies on one BluRay disc. The most notable feature though may be the HotFix Manager. Here is what the DVD Ranger website says about the HotFix Manager...

The HotFix Manager is a small utility that allows users to quickly and simply fix most DVD copy errors. The resulting HotFix database is also ideal for any processes developed with our DVD-Ranger. For example, you can use it for fixing the newest DVD releases that are not part of the current DVD-Ranger version!
The HotFix Manager is a brand new function that comes included with the DVD-Ranger software application. Take a minute to read the short manual; you’ll see the advantages of using the HotFix Manager for optimized DVD copies.

This technology would be nice to use. I can not tell you how many times I have attempted to burn a CD or DVD only to have something fail somewhere before completion, there by ruining the disc and rendering it useless. That disc always finds a new home in the trash can.

So without any further delay, head over to DVD-Ranger's website and click the download button for the three day trial and let me know what you think of it!

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Bummed about the Phillies? Maybe free cell phone cases will cheer you up!

I know how you feel Phillies fans because I am one of you. While I am holding my head high with high hopes for a successful 2010 I know some of you are taking the World Series loss a little harder than I am. Let me try to cheer you up.

A couple weeks ago I was selected to receive some free gear from the folks at foneGEAR. They asked me to pick a couple items of my choice and to post my thoughts on the entire order process from start to finish. Now I will tell you that my order process encountered a number of problems. It took me three attempts to make a successful order. Each of the first two times I placed my order I was promptly e-mailed by a customer service rep alerting me that one of my desired items was discontinued or currently out of stock. They allowed me to select another item though.

Currently I am still waiting for two items but below is a picture of the nice laptop case and cell phone case I picked up. The laptop case I chose came in North Carolina Tar Heel blue and is embroidered with the logo. The cell phone case came branded with the Stately Nittany Lion.


While these items are great and I am enjoying them, I am just waiting for my headphones and FM transmitter to arrive. I'll post about them whenever they do arrive, although the shipment process appears to be pretty quick.

But here is the kicker. One of YOU is guaranteed to win a prize package valued at $50 from foneGEAR. That's right! As a reward for reviewing their services foneGEAR is offering one lucky reader from nine separate blogs a prize package of select items containing the winner's favorite NFL or NCAA team. There are a number of cell phone cases for fans of the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs and more. You can also find cell phone cases for a number of the top college teams out there, although to be honest the selection for Penn State fans may be a tad limited. But as I have stated already, there is more to choose from than just cell phone cases. I ordered headphones for my iPod and an FM transmitter for the car. You can also check out their selection of GPS cases, phone chargers, Bluetooth headsets and more! Many of the items are currently 20% off right now too and you get free shipping on all orders over $35.

To be eligible for the $50 prize package is simple. Here is how to enter the contest:

1. Follow foneGEAR on Twitter @foneGEAR.
2. Tweet a message declaring your allegiance to your favorite NFL or NCAA team and include the hashtag "#foneGEAR" and a link back to this specific post.
   An example of a tweet to become eligible could be...
   "Eagles are going to crush the Cowboys on Sunday! #foneGEAR http://bit.ly/f9NYO"
   

It is imperative that you link back to this post as it will qualify you to win the prize designated for THIS blog. For more check out the official rules. The contest ends at 11:59 Pm on November 24, 2009 so get your tweets in! To link back to this site please use the following URL:

http://bit.ly/f9NYO

Good luck to my readers! Please let me know that you entered the contest by leaving me a comment here or sending me a tweet @krmcguire. As always, I hope to hear a good story about a winner from this site!

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Was your Toyota Recalled? Win a Camaro!

This morning Toyota announced a major recall affecting a large number of their usually high quality vehicles. Unfortunately my wife's Corolla was not in the mix. I say "unfortunately" because I really had my sights on winning a brand new 2010 Camaro 2SS.

Of course, I can still win, and so can you!

A couple weeks ago I shared with you a promotional contest giving away a free laptop each day by Charter. Now they are running a Camaro Sweepstakes, although there is only one grand prize as opposed to the recent laptop sweepstakes. Imagine winning a brand new Camaro though and pulling up to work in that sweet car. You may even want to think about avoiding the McDonald's drive through for a while so you do not spill some Coca-Cola on the seat and get french fries stuck beneath your feet. I know I would keep from eating in that car for a bit. I wouldn't even want that stench of fast food or pizza to pollute my new Camaro.

As usual, there are a number of consolation prizes in the form of gift cards to various retailers, although it appears a purchase may be necessary to qualify for those this time around.

So what do you need to do for your chance to win the Camaro?

You can start by visiting http://charter.com/camaro to register today and to view the complete rules, specifications on the Camaro and more. You can also check out Charter on Facebook. Also be sure to follow Charter on Twitter to keep up to date on the latest promotions and details.

I'll be honest and tell you that I am not exactly a "car guy", so I will let this car dealer do the selling on this car for you and give you the tour of the Camaro...


Sure sounds pretty sweet to me. I'm signed up to win. Are you?

The contest runs from now until November 26. If you win, instead of me, all I ask is tat you take for a ride sometime. Please?

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How would your life imrpove with better eye sight? $5,000 could do it too

Want to know why I hate my eyes?

Because they are perfect. My eyesight is perfect and little old ladies at McDonald's like to ogle me. My eyes are a great feature, form what I am told. But when it comes to some things my eyes are a detractor.

Case in point, the "You Gotta See This" video contest by held by Abbot, a world renown name in the laser vision correctness surgery industry. Right now those of you with less fortunate eyes as myself can record a video telling the judges how your life would be better with improved eye sight. When I first came across this contest I would have thought that the grand prize would be for free laser vision surgery.

Instead the winning video will be awarded $5,000, which I guess could go towards the surgery, but how many people will follow through with that? There are also three runner up prizes in the form of an HDTV package worth $2,5000. There are also three second prize winners which will receive a Flip UltraHD camcorder.

From all of the videos submitted a fan vote will contribute to a part of the final decision making on the winners. So submit your video and get your fans voting for you! If you submit a video leave a comment here. I'll vote for you! Who knows, if I like your video enough maybe I'll get my readers to vote for you too!

The good news for is that I will not be submitting a video in the iLASIK Video Contest, so that is one less person you will have to compete against!

Again, it stinks having such terrific eyes. I also do not have any cavities, but that's another story for another day...

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Back2School Laptop-a-Day Sweepstakes

For most students class is already back in session but that does not mean that it is too late to invest in a new laptop computer. I have been working almost exclusively on a laptop computer for the better part of the last two months and I honestly do not know how I got through my college days without one now.

There a few days left in the Laptop-a-Day Sweepstakes, sponsored by Charter, a company that recently gave way big HD screen televisions away on a daily basis through a similar contest. September 15 is the last day so be sure to enter yourself today! Winners will get an HP 550 Notebook 15-inch with Windows Vista and a NeoTec Compu Backpack. In addition there are a number of consolation prizes including a wide range of gift cards to clothing stores, restaurants, home stores and more.

Now is as good a time to pick up a free laptop as any, as if there was a bad time. The best part is that you do not need to be a student to be eligible to win so everybody should be entering this contest in the final days. Go ahead! I know I just did and I am working on a brand new MacBook Pro. So should I win this I will likely let my wife use it for her own laptop. Sure it will be a PC but I would think she would be ok with that since it is free.

Visit Charter.com/laptop to register today and to view the complete rules, a list of winners, details on the notebook computer and more. For more check out Charter on Facebook and Charter on Twitter.

Good luck! Let me know if you win! And feel free to spread the word about this contest. Remember, it ends on Tuesday!

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Contest giving away free iPod Touch and MacBooks!

Want to win a free iPod touch or MacBook? Sure you do! Trust me, you do. Here is your chance to do so, and it is really easy so why not give it a shot with this Netfirms contest?

You send a Direct Message to Netfirms via Twitter asking us to register a domain name for you. If the domain name is available we will register it for you and automatically add it to your existing Netfirms Control Panel and bill to your current billing profile. The only prerequisite is that you add your Twitter username to your Netfirms Control Panel. Please visit our tutorial with full details on setting yourself up for domain registration via Twitter. The instructions should be completed once only and you’re good to go after that.

1. Log in to your Twitter account (You can use any of the available Twitter apps)
2. Send a dm to @netfirms with the following: reg mynewdomain.com
3. We will confirm by replying to you via dm at which point the domain will be added to your Netfirms Control Panel. The domain is now ready to be used.

Good luck! Also you can enter their contest by retweeting this tweet from me. If you win, let me know! I'd love to hear a success story!

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You're invited to a hot party

Have you ever been to a party like this? I can honestly say that I have not and I do not regret it. Don't get me wrong, I have taken in a good party or two or three in my time, but nothing quite like truTV's Rehab, that's for darn sure.

I am no stranger to rehab television shows, as I have watched just about every episode of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew on VH1. Rehab on truTV (Tuesdays at 10pm EST) looks to be rehab on spring break, so I can not imagine how anyone could actually receive treatment in such an environment. First of all this "rehab" takes place at a Hard Rock Hotel, so what exactly do you think is going on there?

Here's a look at the show's description;

Go behind the scenes of Rehab, the hottest party in the world’s sexiest city. Get an inside look at how security and staff indulge big-spending customers but still keep the chaos under control. This season, the scene at the pool is even hotter with celebrity performances, more partiers and new Rehab staffers trying to learn the ropes. Plus, competition from neighboring hotel pool parties and the pressure to keep sales up during this troubled economy has everyone trying to keep Rehab the biggest and best party on the Vegas Strip.

Oh! Ok, now we are talking! Rehab in Las Vegas sounds like a lost cause to me, someone who has never been to Las Vegas, but it seems this is more of a behind the scenes look at the hotel management than it is a possibly misleading rehab show. Suddenly to me this show seems interesting as it is no longer a reality show, but a real life documentary type program...with loads of drunk people by a pool.

I would be interested in seeing how security deals with out of control party animals, especially some of the muscled out hotheads that I am sure are abundant at the most happening pool party.

Sadly (maybe not), I may never find myself with such a wild bunch. Oh the shame and humility I face not associating with these kind of people.

If anybody has seen this show yet I would be interested to hear what you have to say about it. Go ahead and leave a comment below. Also, feel free to answer this question; what is the hottest party you have ever been too?

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Black Gold defines rough necks

Has anyone come across this show yet? Black Gold, on truTV, was just brought to my attention and it peaked my interest slightly. But all I can think about while watching the above video is that there is no way I could fit in with a group like this.

For starters, I like being clean and I do not possess the mouth that spews the foul language these guys do.Gerald has been doing the job a lot longer than I could ever imagine. I also know for a fact that I would never want to upset Tank. You can spot these guys from a mile away.

These guys epitomize the term "rough neck." They are very vocal in their arguments and want to intimidate whoever crosses them, and are not afraid to threaten throwing a punch if called for. Me? I would find myself cowering in a corner if one these guys thought I was mad at them.

Black Gold is another in a collection of reality television shows that take the viewer behind the scenes of some under appreciated jobs. Much like Deadliest Catch takes you on fishing vessels in search of crabs or Whale Wars explores the perils of fighting off Japanese whalers in the Antarctic Ocean, Black Gold shows you what it is like to live life drilling for oil. Bruises all over are nothing new for these guys.

If you get a chance to check it out (Wednesdays at 10pm, truTV), let me know what you think truTV BLACK GOLD. I'm curious what people think about it, especially the truTV BLACK GOLD characters.

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