Month: April 2013

I preordered an HTC One on April 9th for $574.99 + $4.95 shipping + $50.31 tax = $630.25 total. It arrived yesterday and I spent a lot of time with it: unlocking the bootloader, rooting, restoring all my apps from my Nexus 4, and customizing it. So far, I’m loving it! I think this time I will actually keep it longer than 4 months (at least 2 years) before changing phones again. I wiped and reset my Nexus 4 and listed it on Craigslist. Anyway, here are the specs of the HTC One:

+ 32GB capacity
+ 4.7″ screen, Full HD 1080p, 468 PPI
+ Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 600, quad-core, 1.7GHz
+ 2 GB DDR2 RAM
+ HTC UltraPixel Camera (4MP)
+ Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n
+ Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers
+ NFC, Bluetooth, GPS, etc.

Also, I know this phone has MHL capabilities and that it can be connected to a TV with HDMI, but I didn’t have the MHL adapter. So, on Sunday I ordered one on eBay for $5.99 + $0.52 tax = $6.51 total. I thought it was going to be some cheap quality adapter that comes with no box. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I received it today. It came in a nice packaging that’s suitable to be sold in a retail store, and the quality of the adapter is pretty good. If anyone needs an MHL adapter, I would recommend buying it from the eBay seller: 360wireless.

I wasn’t sure if it would work with my HTC One, but when I plugged the phone to my TV using this adapter, a notification popped up that said video output detected and my phone’s screen promptly showed up on the plasma TV in 720p resolution. I don’t know if I can make it output in 1080p resolution… if I find out, I’ll update this post. One more thing I found out is that an external power source is not needed for the HTC One to output video to the TV! Usually power needs to be connected to the MHL adapter for it to work.

I ordered a pack of 50 HP DVD+R DL 8.5GB blank discs for $32.14 from Amazon. I actually just needed 1 disc to bring to the SFSU Academic Technology Media Distribution to get a copy of the 2013 Commencement Ceremony. I can make copies for anyone else who wants one since I have so many extras.

Today, I received my 2 items that I ordered from DealExtreme on March 23rd, 2013:

1. Mini Rectangle Shape USB 2.0 Hi-Speed 4-Port Hub (480Mbps) for $3.40
2. Quality USB 2.0 Extension Cable (1M) for $1.99

Took 21 days to get my package, but it’s well worth the wait for these items that cost only $5.39 total. The quality isn’t great, but it gets the job done. The reason I need this USB hub is because my MacBook Air only has 2 USB ports, which is not enough! My current Apple keyboard has 2 built-in USB ports, but if I ever decide to upgrade it to a nicer keyboard with no built-in USB ports (I’m thinking of the CM Storm QuickFire mechanical keyboard), then I will be okay to switch.

I ordered a Trumark Slingshots Folding Slingshot from Amazon for $8.94 and it arrived today! My uncle has this and it was a lot of fun playing with it, so I wanted my own.

I wanted a better stereo system in my Toyota RAV4 — one with an AUX input so I can easily plug and play music from my cellphone’s headphone jack. Luckily for me, Marco got a new stereo for his car and his old one was just sitting around collecting dust… so I asked him about it and he gave it to me! I now have a JVC KD-G140 stereo system. I didn’t really know how to hook it up to my car, so I searched YouTube and found this video that was very informative: How to wire / install a car stereo / deck (aftermarket head unit installation with butt connectors)

I had to buy two things before I could install my new stereo:

1. A wire harness, which is basically a plug with exposed wires for my car so I don’t have to cut my old stereo wires. I bought this on eBay from seller volaudio for $3.89 total.

 

2. A box of butt connectors, for connecting 2 wire ends together. I bought a box of 21 pieces at O’Reilly Auto Parts for $3.69 total. These fit 22-18 gauge wires. I didn’t have a pair of crimping pliers to use, but I did have a pair of Lineman’s pliers which worked well enough.

So what I had to do after I had gotten those 2 things was to just match the wire colors from the wire harness to the new stereo’s wires. I have taken progress pictures and placed them in a gallery below:

Overall, I am very pleased with the new stereo. I can now listen to my music on my phone without using an FM transmitter (which was pretty crappy). Learning how to replace a car stereo and getting my hands dirty was pretty fun. I have to thank Marco for giving me his old stereo system!