Picked up the new HTC EVO 4G last week and decided to test out the camera at the Minneapolis farmer’s market over the weekend. It’s an 8 megapixel camera, with autofocus, dual LED flash and a pretty good selection of manual controls (exposure comp, ISO, WB, metering modes, etc.) and surprisingly decent results.

I’m somewhat picky when it comes to cameras and usually carry either my Canon G10 or Canon 30D with some decent glass; I have never been too impressed with a camera phone camera. I would really love to have a decent camera on my phone, because the best camera is the one that you have with you. 

The EVO camera is, as I said, surprisingly decent. Colors are bright and saturated and images are sharp (almost too sharp). There are some definite jpeg artifacts when zoomed in and images look a little flat compared to a decent P&S. Overall not bad though. I would feel comfortable using it to capture important shots (in decent light). It won’t replace replace my G10 as my everyday “go-to” camera, but I can definitely see myself taking more photos now that I will always have a decent camera with me…

Judge for yourself:

From: Aaron Dalrymple & Associates, LLC

Well I took a leap and ended the reign that PCs and Windows have had on my home and office. I’ve been thinking about getting a new laptop for a while and have thought about getting some sort of Mac on and off for a few years. When the new Intel Macs came out I knew it would be a matter of time. When the MacBook came out a couple of days ago, I had to see it. I went to the Apple store and came home with a shiny white one, which now sits on my dinning room table waiting to be powered up for the first time. But alas – I have tons of work to do first. )-:

Not only is Apple a great brand (in the marketing sense), but Apples hold a special place in the hearts of many computer folks my age. PCs didn’t really come on the scene in any meaningful way (for me) until I was well into high school. I took a Lotus 123 class on a PC my junior or senior year (DOS version) and that was really the first PC I had ever spent time with. I have fond memories of the Apple, Apple II and IIe, the first Macs and hours of playing the Oregon Trail in school.

PCs just don’t bring me any warm fuzzies. I suppose warm fuzzies aren’t exactly a great reason to buy a computer, but there it sits… waiting for me…

I suppose that’s one big reason Apple IS such a great brand – they’ve never overlooked the user experience. That includes everything from styling to materials to reliable software. Oh, and putting them in front of millions of impressionable children…

I’m looking forward to playing and learning something new too. Plus, next time I go to a conference I’ll be one of the cool kids with a Mac looking down their nose at all those stuffy PC users. I might just buy some expensive jeans too. (-;

From: Aaron Dalrymple & Associates, LLC

Well, I’ve had my new Blackberry 8700g for just two weeks now and I love it. I moved up from a 7100t and I gotta say, it was a great move. The beauty of Blackberry is the user interface, both from a hardware and software standpoint. I’m just not geeky enough for a Treo I guess, I had one for a while and I could not get used to it. Palms are great devices on their own, the phone/communication functions seemed like a bad after-thought to me. I know they work for a lot of people though.

The BB does email great and has a decent web browser. The 8700 has EDGE speed (sufficient), beautiful screen (that can be viewed in any lighting condition), better integrated phone functions than previous BBs, good keyboard, instant messaging and PIM that sync with Outlook. It feels like a well integrated communications device worthy of 007. No camera you say? Who cares! I’ve never snapped a camera phone photo that was worth a darn. I’d much rather carry my Canon Digital Elph around and have decent pics if I want them. The novelty of camera phones wore off a long time ago in my book.

It’s rugged as hell too. The Treo seems “fragile” in comparison, but that may or may not be true in reality. My last BB was abused though and held up great. My main reason for the upgrade was to get the full keyboard and bigger screen.

From: Aaron Dalrymple & Associates, LLC