eNOISE

This past week had all the key components for an exciting and memorable week.  Then again, sometimes things don’t quite go as planned.  As with anything, you have your ups and owns, potential disasters…and disasters averted.  But most memorable is the case of the disappearing and re-appearing BlackBerry and the related trauma that goes with it.

Civic Holiday kicked things off, leaving us with a short 4-day week, coupled with a pair of vacation days Wednesday/Thursday, I was already excited to have two 1-day mini-weeks within the week.  Add to that a Tuesday night roadtrip to Kingston to see Tool in concert, followed by a one-man expedition to Toronto on Wednesday for their next show at the Molson Amphitheatre… needless to say, I was stoked.

Sometimes things don’t quite go as planned.

Believe me, I’m as big a fan of the random as anyone.  I tend to delight in most unexpected and strange happenings and occurrences, as they add so much spice to the most ordinary or extraordinary plans alike.

However, when en route to the airport Thursday morning, I reached into my pocket to grab my BlackBerry, when I came up with only pocket lint, delight was the furthest thing from my imagination.

Panic.

Outright panic.

I don’t know if the panic was wrought from the loss of what has become more of an appendage than a cell phone, or the thought of having to face my better half after having essentially “misplaced” $500… after only having splurged on the phone a very short two weeks ago.  I can only imagine how well it would go over having to shell out the $699.95 for the same device without the benefit of a hardware upgrade or 3-year contact rebates.  *groan*

I bolted back to the hotel.  By the time I was done with the room, it looked like crime scene from Law & Order (by no means is this an indictment on the state of the hotel and/or room itself… although it was by far one of the least “elegant”, “posh” or “clean” places I’ve had the fortune of staying).    I turned over everything, checking every last possible spot to no avail.  Called the taxi company frantically, who while being incredibly helpful and supportive, did not have my recently lost device.  Running out of time, I cut my losses and made my way to the airport.

The long walk to the airport seemed to clear my head.  But waiting in an airport lounge without a BlackBerry reminded me of why the smartphone has become an extension of my hand.

As an aside, Telus is doing a fantastic job in their recent campaigns playing to this angle, and branding accordingly.  With recent billboards squeezing words like “internet” and “email” into words like “queue” and “wait”, and the “Get a Jump on Life” campaign really hit home for me, as a huge personal fan of “web-to-go”.  Waiting for anything is a far less enjoyable and/or productive experience without it.  I don’t know how people survive without!

Anyhoo… back to the point, if you can call it that.

I resigned myself to the fact that I had lost my phone.  I wasn’t overly optimistic that the taxi company or Toronto Metro Police would come through in the short term.  I stopped at the Bell World store on my way home to share my tale of woe and to assess my options.

The tween in-store informed me that the extended warrantee that I had subscribed to when I purchased my phone two weeks ago, actually covers loss & theft.

I could’ve kissed him.

I’m usually not an extended-warrantee kind of guy.  For a lot of things I see it as a total cash-grab on the part of the retailers.  However, at the 13-15 month mark with my previous BlackBerry I started experiencing some issues with the trackball and charger that led me to enroll in Bell Mobility’s Smart/Phone Care Plan.  I half-expected it to be a complete wash, but as it turns out, the plan’s coverage for loss & theft turned my bout of carelessness and bad luck into a serious breath of fresh air.

Here are a few details from Bell on their Smart/Phone Care Plan

The Premium plan covers failure due to defects in parts and workmanship, normal wear and tear, accidental damage, power surge and loss or theft for $7 a month

The plan covers one phone or smartphone and allows for up to two out-of-warranty replacements.

A replacement fee of $50 for a mobile phone and $150 for a smartphone applies.  Our goal is to give you the same make and model that you purchased, but colour, features and accessory compatibility are not guaranteed.

These are month-to-month plans that can be cancelled at any time without penalty.

And so, after a very quick and painless call into customer service, my service was suspended and a claim filed to have a replacement device shipped to my office in 1-3 business days, with my account billed the $150 deductible.  Compared to the no-contract, no-loyalty credit $700 cost of replacing my Tour 9630 net-new, I was more than happy.

More to my surprise, the following day, after less than 24 hours, my replacement phone arrived on my desk.

Flabbergasted.

I’ve been so impressed with the quality and speed of service provided by Bell throughout what could have been a dramatically more painful experience.  At a point where the relatively little competition in the Canadian wireless space there’s much chagrin about the Big-Three Telco’s…. but this is one of those rare bright spots.  Thank you Bell.  Thank you thank you.

Now, back to my appendage.

I was shocked when I saw him. It had only been a few months since our last in-person meeting, but this time, he was a shadow of his former self. Wardrobe updated, energy to spare, and a solid 40-50 pounds went missing.

His secret? The Nintendo Wii.

I was floored.

"Wii Fit is simple to use, and simply the most fun way to keep you, your family and friends fit."

Since the Wii’s release I’ve heard and read stories about countless people dropping pounds and improving health by introducing a moderate amount of activity in the form of video games. With the inception of Wii Fit and EA Sports Active, video game workouts are becoming more formal…not to mention hugely popular.

I had always remained skeptic, thinking it more of a fad than anything else.

Seeing and meeting someone I know go through the motions and actually yield results is shifting my perspective a bit.

I suppose that it only makes sense that incrementally more activity could work over the long term. Replacing even a part of traditionally “couch potato” time spent gaming on other consoles can’t be a bad thing in terms of fitness.

It can’t be anywhere near as valuable as a significant shift in diet, routine, and more formal exercise regimes…but I suppose if you’re not willing to go the more tradional route, or have failed repeatedly that way, why not substitute “bad” gaming for some “good” gaming?

So I’m on a Wii kick. The first step is justifying the expense of the console and related accessories…and that’s becoming a challenge.

One of the biggest things holding me back right now from jumping on the WiiFit bandwagon is the aforementioned notion of “good” and “bad” games…but from more standard, non-fitnes-oriented terms.

From all I’ve seen there’s a bit of a shortage of solid Wii titles for a few key demographics I happen to be a part of. Namely I’m not really in the “under 12″ or “Nintendo FanBoy” groups. And while the console has been out for a couple years, the volume of titles isn’t where I’d hope it to be. It makes sense in that developpers need to custom code everything for the Wii and its unique controls…but it certainly limits available options…which may impact the longevity of the system itself — that is once the novelty wears off. This makes justifying the Wii a bit trickier for me - especially at a time when everyone needs to mind their dollars and cents with a bit more caution.

But on the flipside, there are a wealth of simple, child-oriented titles, with a focus on more activity than the standard couch-surfing fare, so it can’t be a bad platform to introduce to the kids to get accustomed to. (Again, ideally we could replace gaming outright - but in the context of making a moderate shift without introducing anarchy in the household, this might make the most sense). And if it actually gets me focused - even in part - on getting myself more fit (I won’t say altogether fit, but more than at present), it can’t be all that bad.

Xbox unveiled a pretty massive update to Xbox Live and the entire Xbox 360 console dashboard last Wednesday.  

While it’s been hyped a fair bit to Xbox Live subscribers via email, and bits and pieces across the news wire, I don’t think I was fully prepared for the “New Experience” as they dubbed it.  I was expecting the same old interface, with the option of creating full-blown avatars vs. the tried and true “gamer pics” of old.  

So, whether or not it’s a situation where I went in with low expectations is still to be determined… but at this point, I’m actually thoroughly blown away.  

After the 2-minute update and install, users are taken through a thoroughly well-done opening animated sequence, in vibrant and blistering HD.  From the opening sequence where the Xbox logo dissolves into a white screen, to wisps of colour becoming speedsters to blasts of artistic colour throughout… it’s a pretty solid way to welcome users to the new experience.  

Then on to your AVATAR!  

I spent a good 15 minutes tweaking, outfitting and playing with my avatar. While you pick out your outfits you’re welcome to use the controls to turn your dude around, make them look around, or change facial expressions using the controller. A rather pointless feature, it really adds to the notion that this thing you’re creating is meant to have a personality of its own.

To help bring your character to life, Xbox has unveiled a trio of downloadable games where you can play as your avatar, and a number of other games have been updated to incorporate the idea.

In my first ever round of Scene IT 2 on Saturday, I got to see my avatar’s excitement as I answered questions correctly, and his disgust when I erred (I still stick to my story about hitting the wrong button by accident). And if watching your avatar face off against other randomly generated characters isn’t enough, take the Scene IT 2 battle onto Xbox Live, where other players are represented by their avatars.  While the gameplay is pretty much the same as what you’d get playing at home with pals, putting “faces” to names against the online community adds a layer to the enjoyment.  I did enjoy it… although I did find myself defeated by a similar-looking and similarly styled avatar (who my wife and friends now lovingly refer to as my Nemesis). Fun!

While I don’t really see the avatars as a game changer, they can add a fresh new twist to your favourite games.  And as a whole, the sleek, stylish new design of the Xbox “experience” is most welcomed.