My Xbox 360 Elite

A few weeks ago I picked up an Xbox 360 Elite from a guy who was selling them on the 248am forum. The guy gave me a really sweet deal and it didn’t take me too long to convince Maliha that we couldn’t miss this.  😉

It came with everything in the box, including two extra white controllers in addition to the black one that it originally comes with. He even threw in a couple of games to get me started. The 120 GB storage is pretty useful and it means I can install and play games directly from the drive which has a positive impact on the loading times. The gaming console I had before this was the PS2 and that was pretty awesome. However, I wasn’t quite prepared for the amazing graphics once I fired it up after hooking it up to my plasma using the HDMI connection. The graphics, sharpness and brilliance of the colors pretty much blew me away.

The wireless aspect of the controller is another thing that I’m enjoying. It gives me more freedom and its somewhat nice not to have people tripping over the cables running from the console to the controller.

I’ve been playing a lot of Street Fighter 4 and Grid and I’m thinking about picking up the MS Wireless Racing Wheel for it and add a touch of realism and make it more fun.

Rohail has also been mashing the buttons to SF4 and Soul Calibur 4 any time he can get me to sit and play with him. I’m thinking I’ll get some games for him that are more suitable for his age group (though I wonder if they have anything for 2+ year olds!). In any case, he has already laid claim to the device and readily tells anyone that its his.

My iPod SwitchEasy RebelTouch cover

Last month I got the delivery of the SwitchEasy RebelTouch iPod cover I had ordered. Ever since I got my iPod Touch 2G, I’ve been on the search for a cover that would not only protect my iPod; but also make it look good. This cover fits the bill perfectly, IMO. It has a sleek hard plastic outer-shell that protects it and also lets it get in and out of your pockets with ease, while on the inside it has a softer silicone-type cover. They have given a lot of thought to the design of this cover as it offers the right feel for the buttons (which actually get hidden inside as well). I almost felt it made the tactile response even better.

The best thing is that they give you a ton of extras included in the already reasonable price. Below is a picture of the entire contents of the package – image courtesy of iLounge Review.

That’s basically two screen protectors (which is great, as I managed to ruin one while applying it), a screen cleaner, a squeegee to apply the cover, a port protector, a universal dock adaptor, a video stand and a headphone port extender (which is really useful if your regular headphones don’t fit easily).

Too bad they don’t have them here in Kuwait. Even if they did, I’m guessing it would be selling for rip-off prices.

Now in Lahore and some updates

Its time for an update. I’ve been very busy lately and have hardly had any time to write. Quite a bit has been going on that I’d like to share.

First of all, we’re on the move once again. Two weeks ago I had to go to Dhaka for two days for a couple of presentations after which I came to Lahore. Maliha and Rohail were supposed to join me from Kuwait in Dubai on my connecting flight from Dhaka to Lahore. However, due to some delays in my flight, we couldn’t make it together. Nevertheless, we got to spend a weekend in Karachi with my parents and sister which is always great; and we are now in Lahore.

On my request the company has given me a really nice accommodation since I’ll be staying for around a month. Hotels just don’t work over extended periods and if you’ve got a kid. Therefore, Rohail is no longer restricted to a hotel room and has plenty of space to run around. The place also has a huge garden a minute’s walk away and its a fairly peaceful and secure area. The bathrooms here are about the size of my bedrooms in Kuwait. Either I have tiny bedrooms there or people have huge bathrooms here!

They have some great restaurants in Lahore (hey, this is the city of the Food Street) and we’ve found a place called Readings that brings in used but in excellent condition books from the US and sells them at real cheap prices. We’ve raided that store twice already and picked up a lot of books for the three of us.

On another note, I finally got the iPod Touch 2G (that’s the new one). Its one hell of a slick gadget and I’m totally enjoying the slew of applications that are up for download at the iTunes Store. There’s tons of stuff there ranging from games based on the awesome orientation-sensor (or accelerometer, as they call it) to a copy of the Holy Quran along with multiple recitations. Though what sucks is that in Kuwait we can’t access the US store and therefore we’re deprived of the complete collection. I’ve heard there’s a way around it but so far I’m content with what is available. Along with its music capabilities, you can comfortably watch video content on it as well and this really helped the time tick away while I was stranded at the Dhaka airport for 5 hours on my way to Dubai and then another 5 hours in Dubai due to a missed flight for Karachi. I got a plastic cover from Virgin Megastore temporarily and have ordered the RebelTouch cover on-line which I really like.

I also picked up a Sony H-50 digital camera from Amazon a couple of months ago after my Kodak Z612 got ruined in Cox’s Bazar. Its pretty good and has 9.1 MP with 15x optical zoom. It also has a large vary-angle screen and has an interesting Night Shot mode that sort of works. Along with all the good reviews, what sealed the deal for me was the fact that it came with a lens-hood and a remote control in the box. Here’s what the folks at DigitalCameraReview have to say about it. I also picked up a 4GB memory stick with it that should hold a sufficient amount of content.

For the time being my gadget craving is satiated.

Apple Black Friday sale – Tomorrow!

The subject says it all. I’ve got my eyes on the new iPod Touch 2G and hope Apple gives a great discount so I can pick one up.

Detailed below is the respective price comparison of Apple vs Amazon prices on the new iPod Touch 2G:

8GB: $229 vs $210

16GB: $299 vs $270

32GB: $399 vs $360

Apple [Link]

Amazon [Link]

Update: Its not looking very encouraging with the discounts they have put up on their Australian site.

Nothing

I Want One Of Those was a site I often visited when in UK and sometimes I purchased stuff that I wanted but didn’t need. Anyhow, this time they’ve over done it and come up with the Nothing. Basically it is a packet filled with… yes, you got it!

Buy it here. Or not.

Lulu Hypermarket in Kuwait

Last week we decided to do our monthly groceries from the new Lulu Hypermarket since they’ve got a chain in the Middle East and it has recently opened up here in Kuwait. It turned out to be better than my expectations and seems like an interesting mix of Sultan Center and City Center.

They have the regular supermarket stuff on the ground floor and the first floor has all sorts of other items (decorative, clothes, furniture, electronics, etc.). The quality is comparable to what you would find at Max, Sana, etc. but they have a much better variety (especially on kids-wear) and even better prices.

They even have their own branded grocery items (e.g. salt, bread and some other stuff) and they have placed them such that you would run into them before you see the more well-known brands; or that is what I felt anyhow.

I still don’t see what makes it a hypermarket or for that matter; what exactly is a hypermarket in the first place.

I would probably go there again.

[Lulu Website]

My Hush Puppies

While in Lahore, I finally picked up a pair of Hush Puppies. I’ve been wanting to purchase these for a long while, but it always got delayed for one reason or another. Hush Puppies are basically extremely comfortable and light shoes.

Unfortunately, the particular store I visited in Lahore didn’t have a huge variety so I had to settle for whatever I liked from the available selection, which wasn’t all that bad by the way. Here’s the one I picked up.

 

Visited The Avenues

Yesterday we thought we’d go over and check out Kuwait’s latest mall; The Avenues. The architecture and design seem new and refreshing, however, I was kind of disappointed that there wasn’t a single electronics store there. This may be because all the shops still haven’t opened up and there may still be hope for me. Another odd thing I noted was that even though there were 5 Starbucks (!); the food court was still not operational.

Carrefour was also not ready and when you look at the mall from the outside it seems that there is still plenty of space left which may serve as extensions to the mall later. I still don’t see the whole point of having multiples of the same shop in one mall. 5 Starbucks, 2-3 H&Ms, a couple of Claire’s and probably some more which I didn’t notice.

Also by the location, something tells me that the whole Marina Mall crowd isn’t going to migrate in a hurry.

More pics here.

The Avenues – Kuwait’s largest mall now open!

Just read on Mark and Nat’s blog that The Avenues is finally open. It is Kuwait’s largest mall and other than the brands expected, it is also going to have some new and popular ones.

It is situated right before the new IKEA on the 5th Ring Road and from the outside it sure looks pretty big and I’m guessing you’ll need at-least a couple of hours to go through it all.

Hopefully we’ll be able to visit sometime this week and then I’ll put up some pictures.