Skype for Windows Mobile, TMC, SD and CF cards, and Digital Camera’s

I took the plunge! One of my mobile subscriptions is going to end in January. It will be sad to say goodbye to a subscription that only costs € 2,50 per month (incl. VAT) including 500 free calling minutes per month to mobile phones of the same provider and / or landlines within Holland.
I still have the same subscription running for another mobile though I never managed to talk 500 minutes per month lat alone 1000!

I will start a totally new subscription and this time for a PDA, the HTC Touch 3450. I could not resist the offer of Telfort NL and signed up for 180 free calling minutes per month, the phone for € 49 and unlimited mailing, surfing, chatting for € 25 per month.

I am going to enter a whole new world too, that of the Skype for Closed Windows Mobile Beta Tester. Not that I am going to tell you my experiences as one though!! But, as you can see, nobody is too old to learn.

I read many reviews about the HTC. I also had the choice for a Nokia 95 (although a more expensive subscription) but many Testers I know use the Nokia. I wanted something different.
Wise or not, I don’t know. The future will tell!

I will probably use one of my “lighter” Skype accounts (e.g. my business account as the phone will be used for business) for working with all the Multi Chats I daily participate in and over 500 contacts, any PDA would have difficulties loading. But you never know. The GPRS10 might do well. I can keep you informed about that.

Yes, the Nokia95 also has Navigator on board but for this I use my wonderful Navman F20. I bough it when I got lost in a nearby village with 1000 inhabitants.

Don’t laugh……….!! It is horrible to have no sense of directions at all. (Yes yes.. I know!! Women can’t read Maps. Actually, I am too practical for reading maps…) And it gets worse when it is a village (although just 1000 people) with 2 main roads with two churches with both a school opposite…..

I can assure you that ever since, the F20 saved me a lot of money ánd time. And we all know, for a business owner, time is money!

My F20 was one of the very first (great offer) with only the BeNeLux installed. Thanks to the excellent written directions to my brother and his family in Germany, I finally go there without a map, I know it by heart. But I do go elsewhere too and finally took the decision to buy a Western Europe SD card and, due to the increasing traffic jams in Holland, the TMC T1 module.
Being used to use my money carefully, I browsed the Internet for price differences and was surprised. Even though I bought genuine Navman products, I saved altogether € 75!! It helps to spend an hour browsing the Net.

This on the business side.

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Privately I am keen on products on Marktplaats, a bit similar to eBay. I learned over the years that you can buy beautiful kept 2nd hand products for a very low price. I am patient, I only buy what I need and like, not what I only fancy. One of the things I was looking for was an antique brass mirror. I found one not far from where I live and put my offer on.
Marktplaats offers the option to browse the other ads of the same person and there I found a Digital Camera, the Fuji FinePix S602Zoom. Not that I am looking for a camera with less or even the same Mega Pixels as my wonderful little Pentax Optio 50L which travelled with me to many places (and besides that the price of € 150 for a camera from 2002 was way too high in my opinion) but I got interested in reading more about the Fuji FinePix digitals.

I read reviews of different types, looked for photo’s on Picasa Web and ended up with a great interest in the Fuji FinePix S9500Zoom. I browsed Marktplaats and found them all (but one) way above my budget.
The very one that was close to my budget was put up for sale by a very nice couple who accepted my offer.
And tomorrow (Thursday) I am going to collect my “new” Digital Camera.

My wish was saving for a Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex, I still own and use an “old fashioned” one) but after reading several articles, I full hearted changed to the Digital Fixed Lens. An extra option of the FL is that you can also use it for Video. The S9500 does not need switching lenses which keeps the dust out of the camera.
I ordered a 4GB CF card because I am known to take loads and loads of pictures and choose the ones that go up in my Public Web Albums, from there.

I love photography and I am one of the many people at Skype who have photography as their hobby. Many of my colleagues are extremely well skilled.

For me it started many, many years ago but only since the late 80’s it became a hobby. Being at the other end of the camera (I dislike being on photo’s a lot) is definitely giving me joy! I still have some old camera’s I occasionally use and as mentioned before, the non Digital SLR.
For a long time frequently developing and printing photo's was not within my budget and you can imagine my joy when I received my first Digital Camera and later the Pentax for my birthday.

Although the Pentax takes wonderful pictures, I felt limited during my last holiday in Yorkshire, especially regarding super macro shots, zoom and telelens. But it was not until the Fuji came to my attention that I really decided to buy another one. And no, my Pentax is not for sale! It fits so well in the inner pocket of my “multi pocket photography / holiday coat”. And it has always been loyal: I find it difficult to abandon or replace loyal and useful products….

Thursday and Friday are two exiting days: the arrival of new “toys” for business and private use.

I will keep you updated!!