Touchpad

you must have heard about HP deciding to end the production of their webOS hardware about 3 weeks ago.  this resulted in the very significant price drop of the HP touchpad. From around $300+ for a 16gb and $400+ for a 32gb excluding tax to just $99 (16gb) and $149 (32gb) - some stores including tax already. insane, right?!

tantan read about it when the news first broke but it took him a full day to decide that he wanted one. the fire sale started in canada and spread like wild fire in the US (a few days later, it reached the UK, which sold for ₤89, 16gb and ₤115, 32gb). by the time he made his decision, most retailers have sold out their stock. fortunately, amazon(dot)com hasnt brought down their price yet when tantan checked. he phoned their customer service (yeah, he was that desperate!) and asked when they will reduce their price, if ever they will. they said they already heard the news but they're still waiting for the in-house memo. tantan then asked if he'll be refunded the diff if he buys at full retail price if and when they decide to slash their price. they said yes but they couldnt say when that will happen or if it will happen at all (the latter is a bit far fetched but on the safe side). tantan was told, however, that he can return it for free if the price drop doesnt happen. he took his chances. he was billed almost $500 for a 32gb version and prayed that the risk he took would pay off. and it did!

the next day, amazon brought their price down. no refund necessary as he was only charged the discounted rate. the touchpad sold out within minutes! good thing tantan was a step ahead. it's the same story for every store which brought their prices down. the touchpad would sell out within MINUTES!

hp touchpad (black)/ipad 2 (white)

so i guess the kids are lucky their dad was able to score a very cheap tablet for them to play (and hopefully, to learn) with. and developers are trying to make android work with the touchpad (yipee!). im lucky too because i know i would have to share my ipad with them had tantan not been able to get another tablet for them. and im sure i would have cringed every single time!

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visit:

Whatdyaknow!

if you were offered an ipad, would you refuse? i did! initially. i even twitted many moons ago about me being weirdly abnormal because i declined an offer for an ipad in return for NOT ironing our clothes. that should be a win-win situation for me but didnt grab it. i know, right?! lol.

i didnt want an ipad alright but i didnt say i didnt want a tablet. i love my macbook pro, but it's too heavy and big to carry around especially with two young kids waiting to pounce and have a go at the very inviting lit-keyboard. i do most of my net surfing on my mobile. i love my phone to bits. wait, i love ANDROID to bits. but my phone's too small and it's not doing my vision any good. i decided if im going to get a tablet, im going with android. so i told tantan i want the samsung galaxy tab 10.1, excellent reviews, btw. plus, my phone's a samsung galaxy s2. figures, right? =D. he discouraged me from getting an android tablet, saying it's still unstable. i dont really know what he meant by that but eventually, he got me changing my mind about it (but sometimes still wishing i hadnt, seeing all the positive reviews about the galaxy tab).

anyways, tantan went ahead and bought me an ipad 2 (surprise! surprise! my prize daw for being a super mom =D). he ordered it in the states, where it's cheaper *ahem*, before my mom came back here (she was there, on holiday, for a couple of months). convenient, right? =D

so, andito na nga, makakatanggi pa ba ako? lol! this is really not what i wanted but it's a handier version of my macbook pro, so pwede na (ingrate much?! =D). yeah, beggars cant be choosy lol! and by the way, i dont have to worry about the competition (the kids) because they have their own "play thing".

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visit:

Busted

a few days ago, tantan was looking for a usb cable. instead of finding the darn thing, he discovered my secret stash of "useless" stuff. okay, okay, i admit, i have a pathological addiction to online shopping. im pretty sure i have a need for everything that i buy. but according to him, i DONT lol

useless stuff #1

6th gen ipod nano

he said i dont need this because my phone can play music too.

my defence: my phone's too big but i admit, this is a little bit too small lol

useless stuff #2

govinci doodle display back pack for the kids

he said the kids have loads of bags already and they dont need another one

my defence: this one's for art supplies =D

useless stuff #3

kor delta water bottle**

he said: not another water bottle!

my defence: none. other than it's orange and i am into orange lately *oops*. oh wait, it's bpa free? =D

useless stuff #4 - Mango clothes and accessories
he said our loft is full of boxes of my clothes alone and i have loads of new, still with tags, clothes, i dont need to buy anymore FOREVER

my defence: i dont buy designer bags and shoes. mango is not even that expensive! a girl will never have enough clothes (i really have a weakness for mango clothes, sorry)

useless stuff #5 - Gap and RL clothes for the kids
he said the kids dont need that much clothes (im turning them into me - dont know what that means lol). my mom will be arriving tomorrow from the US and she'll be bringing in lots of new clothes/toys for the boys, things that i bought online and gifts from relatives

my defence: they were sale items. how can you resist that?

useless stuff #6

8gb 3rd gen flip mino hd**
pic fr google

i dont have this one with me yet because i ordered it in the states. i have wanted to buy one for ages but it's very expensive (at least to me). i always wonder why (almost) everything is so cheap in the US. my mom's trips to the US are both a blessing and a curse lol! i bought this for only 93$ (roughly 57₤) and it's retailing here for over 100₤. its price has now gone up to 109$. but you see, i only bought it because the price was ridiculously low!

he found out about this when he was looking for something on amazon(dot)com and unfortunately, i was still logged in =D

he said i can use my phone taking videos and we have a camcorder i can use
my defence: we cant find our camcorder's charger and my phone's camera, though it has been very useful, isnt really as good as this one. sayang ang memories!

**i should stop bloghopping because i always get tempted with all the products i see being advertised =D**

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to my defence, i never ask him for money. whatever i buy, i buy it with my own money. and i always remind myself that i deserve all those "useless" stuff because i worked hard for the money i buy them with. and we all deserve a little treat once in a while, dont we? (in my case, a little too often for the hubby's liking =D). besides, i dont shop just for myself. i shop for the kids too (i mostly shop for them na nga e)! i would have shopped for him too if only he'll let me! and the important bit is, i only spend what extra i have left, AFTER all the expenses and SAVINGS have been accounted for. so he cant really accost me. im still contributing my share and i have a fat savings to boot =D

sorry if i sound a little boastful. but i just want to reiterate, I.WORK.HARD. ok, maybe not that hard (LOL) but I WORK (period) so i can afford some of the things money can buy. nobody can take it against me. i dont owe anybody anything, bills are all paid in time and in full. sabi nga nila, reap the fruits of your labour. im doing just that.

BUT always remember, set your priorities first. if you still have something left, then there's no reason why you shouldnt splurge and give your ego a little boost.

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he found the usb cable eventually and im happy to say that he's gotten over my purchases, though he still teases me about them from time to time. but i should say, it feels soooo good to be out in the open =D

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visit:

Jumped In!

our friends bought an xbox with kinect. when we visited them at the end of january, we were able to play and sample the console. we're play station fans and since we already have the ps3, with most of its accessories (band set, move, etc), we said we dont need yet another console. but just a month after, we found ourselves buying our own. well, tantan was the one who really wanted one. i was against it (seriously!) as we dont need another gadget that will just gather dust in the end. we hardly play with our ps3 bec we dont have the time, how are we going to justify the costs of this xbox?! tantan said he wants to learn to dance and he enjoyed the dance central game immensely (seriously?)

says on the box, so we did!

anyways, tantan found a very good deal we couldnt resist. imagine, the xbox console + kinect, we only paid £159-ish. actually, when we ordered them online, they were priced at £190- ish. still a steal since rrp is £249+. he said a console alone would cost around £150. the next day, tantan found out that the store even lowered their price. he phoned up and was given a refund. then tantan found a brand new dance central game on ebay and only paid £22 including shipping.

truth be told, we only found the time to play 2 weeks after they were delivered! but boy oh boy was it fun! i didnt get to play much when we were at our friends' house bec i was still heavily pregnant and just days away from popping. so i only got to enjoy it when we bought ours. it's like working out but more fun! we're now looking at buying the zumba game (dance but latin) and the sports, which we got to sample at our friends' house. but we'll wait till the prices are more affordable (they are uber expensive!) and till we find more time to play =D