My friend Vince asked me to write a guide with the best gadget choices right now. I am packing together cellphones, smartphones and PDAs mostly because there are no major PDA-only devices coming out anymore. I also pack together mp3/video/gaming devices, under a generic “entertainment” category. So, here we are:

Best cellphone/pda:
1. Any HTC Hermes-based phone
While a hefty device, it has features, features, features… Only GPS is missing. Shame about the audio output jack though not being standard while their previous model was.
2. Treo 700p
Choose between 30,000 apps, get a 320×320 screen and a good overall phone size. It is not the best in terms of features, but the Treo is cute, robust and much loved. If it only supported WiFi…
3. Nokia E61
A bit buggy VoIP as of now, but overall the best all-around device Nokia ever released. If it only had a standard mini-USB jack, standard audio-jack and A2DP support…

HTC Hermes is sold under many names…

Most of the other good smartphone options are all coming from Nokia: N73, E70, N80, N93 etc. Sorry, no Sony Ericsson P990 in my list. Apparently it’s slow, runs out of memory all too easily, it runs clunky software and it asks for your arm and leg before you own it.
Regarding feature phones (not smartphones), the best choices are Nokia’s 6280, Sony Ericsson’s W810i & K800i and Samsung’s D840. I wouldn’t go near any Motorola RaZR-based phone.

Best entertainment device:
1. Sony PSP
It can do video and gaming better than most. Its only problem is that it only goes up to 4 GBs of storage for home-video or music. Best choice for gamers and commercial video.
2. iPod Video
Great music, mediocre video experience (small screen), no serious gaming but lots of storage, momentum and a gazillion of accessories. Best choice for music lovers.
3. Archos 604
Best video format support of all, good music, basic-to-no gaming. If you are looking for a true PMP with an amazing video experience, this is your best bet. Only A2DP is missing…

The iPod Nano 4 GB, Sandisk’s E260 4 GB mp3 players and the Creative ZEN Vision:M are also great options.

Yesterday I was at LinuxWorld and the press was getting a free meal. So, I went for it but that was 500-600 calories right there. That’s 80% of my daily diet intake, and I had it in a single meal (just some pasta salad and half a sandwitch). So, my diet was out of the window by mid-day. When I got back home though, I thought “hey, my diet is off for the day, I should just eat what I’ve been craving for so long”. And I had some chinese rice, milk, cheese and ice cream. Bam! I was at 2000 calories before the end of the day.

Fast forward to this morning: I gained 1 lb, my stomach was hurting me like hell (because it can’t digest all that fat anymore being in a fat-free diet for so long) and I feel guilty for not having followed the diet yesterday. You see, this is not “just one day that I endulged, not big deal”. This is 2 additional days that I threw off of my schedule, because I usually eat about 700 calories daily and I need to spend/burn 7,500 calories to lose 1 kg. So basically, by eating as much as I did in a single day, I have to wait 2 more days to get the weight-loss result that I would normally get today.

This is why diets that suggest that “every Saturday you are free to eat whatever you want in order to combat your cravings and as reward for your efforts“, do NOT make any (mathematical) sense. And yesterday, I fooled myself that it would be ok to do just that…