The art of blogging, or when your hobby becomes your job

Dear readers,

As most of you probably know by now, I’ve recently accepted a full-time position with Engadget as Senior Mobile Editor, this after spending almost a year freelancing for them in my spare time.

What does it mean for this blog, tnkgrl Mobile?

The blog: I’m going to continue writing here from time-to-time, focusing on any mobile tech content that’s not well suited for Engadget. Of course you’ll be able to read me over there to your heart’s content, and I’ll post links here to all my important Engadget features. Subscribe to my RSS feed† and my Twitter account to keep on top of what’s happening with me.

The videos and pictures: I’m planning to keep up the unboxing videos (time permitting). I won’t usually be posting them right away – after all, I can’t steal the show from Engadget :) Unboxing pictures and camera tests are more time-consuming to compile so I’m not making any promises. Instead, look for your fix of videos and pictures in my Engadget reviews.

The podcast: Talking with tnkgrl is dead in the water. As you likely remember, Matt Bennett decided to move on to other (two-wheeled) projects. Then Tony Peric and I struggled to coordinate our schedules and experienced some technical setbacks, essentially putting the podcast on hold. Instead, I suggest you listen to me weekly on the Engadget Mobile podcast.

Despite tnkgrl Mobile taking a back seat in my life this new job marks my successful transition from being a long-time video game developer to working as a journalist full-time.

It’s pretty amazing that something that started out as a hobby less than 5 years ago is now my career. I hope you stick around and come along for the ride. It’s going to be a blast!

xo

Myriam Joire (aka tnkgrl)

PS: I’ve still got a small backlog of content that I’ll be posting here over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

Review: Nokia N8 camera

After unboxing my Nokia N8 last weekend, I contributed the camera section to the N8 review on Engadget – read it!

I also attended Decompression with the N8, where took a bunch of pictures (slide show) and made a short video (after the break)…

Burning Man goodness, and more

So I’m back from 10 days in the desert, playing and working, and I snapped a whole bunch of pictures, as usual (slide show)…

I used phone cameras for all shots, including the Samsung Memoir, the Samsung Epic 4G, and the Apple iPhone 4, with no post-processing!

While I was away, Apple launched the new iPod nano, and I received Samsung Fascinate and Motorola Charm review units (videos).

In the next few weeks. I will be attending Mobilize and CTIA here in San Francisco, so ping me if you also plan to go :)

Samsung Epic 4G camera, and more

So you’re probably wondering what happened to my regular camera reviews. Well fear not, I’m still working on them :)

I’m off to Burning Man as usual (look for me at Center Camp Cafe most evenings), and I’ll be taking lots of pictures!

I’d hoped to test a Nokia N8 prototype this year, but that fell through, so I’ll be using the wonderful Samsung T929 (Memoir) again…

I’m also bringing my Nexus One, my iPhone 4, the Samsung Epic 4G, and my Motorola F3 (aka. the “zombie apocalypse” phone).

Follow me on Twitter, and check out my Epic 4G sample pictures (slide show) and sample video (after the break).

Cameraphones have come a long way

I’ve been back from my yearly time on the playa for a few days now, and as I’m looking at my pictures, one thing is becoming abundantly clear: cameraphones have come a long way.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m still impressed with the ongoing improvements. I took 150 pictures, 34 with the Nokia N97, and the remainder with my Samsung T929 (Memoir)…

While the N97′s Zeiss optics clearly reign superior, the Memoir’s sensor wins hands down, especially in low light. I even shot using the digital zoom with great results!

Speaking of Zeiss optics and top notch sensors, there’s a Nokia N86 review unit coming my way, which I’m definitely going to compare with the Samsung Memoir – so stay tuned :)

One last thing. Despite taking my iPhone 3GS on the trip, I ended not doing any videos. However, one of my coworkers made this awesome time-lapse video.

It’s playa time

Tomorrow I’m leaving for my yearly 10-day vacation in Black Rock City…

I’m going to miss Nokia World and the live reports on the super awesome Nokia N900, but it’s OK – I’ll be back just in time for Mobilize (my readers get a 15% discount).

If you’re also going to the desert, look for me at Center Camp Cafe, where I’ll be volunteering most evenings. If you’re not going, follow me on Twitter, where I’ll try posting when possible :)

Beyond satellite service, and the occasional flaky WiFi, there’s extremely minimal mobile service at Burning Man for the first time this year.

I’ll be using my Samsung Memoir & the Nokia N97 for pictures, and my iPhone 3GS for videos.

It’s playa time – catch you later!

Road trip recap

As expected, I created a lot of content (some of it live) on my recent road trip to New Orleans using several Nokia devices + various online services, and proving once again, that the best camera is the one you have with you.

Here are all my posts, pictures and videos:
- Here (articles)
- On Twitter (updates)
- On Flickr (pictures)
- On Qik (live videos)
- On YouTube (videos)

Enjoy :)

Road trip, part 4

We left New Orleans on Monday, and after a brief stop in Houston., we spent Tuesday with friends in Austin.

There, I took pictures and made videos of the Resolution Clock and the Cathedral of Junk using the Nokia N85, N96 and 5800.

We then continued on to Tucson on Wednesday, just in time for the countdown to 2009!

Tonight we’re in Joshua Tree, nearing the end of the road trip…

I’ll have more content up soon – until then, happy new year :)

Road trip, part 3

We’re leaving New Orleans tomorrow morning, after a lovely few days! The road trip resumes as we’re heading back to San Francisco…

I’ve been taking pictures with the Nokia N85 and making widescreen videos with the Nokia 5800. I’ve also been using the Nokia N96 on and off – I even uploaded a set of geo-tagged pictures to Nokia viNe.

Stay tuned for more :)

Road trip, part 2

The road trip continues…

After visiting the UFO museum Monday morning in Roswell, we drove to Austin where we spent the night with friends. Then, Tuesday evening we arrived on to our final destination, New Orleans!

I’ve been creating quite a bit content with my Nokia devices, especially pictures on Flickr and videos on Qik. I’ve also posted updates on Twitter, but I’ve not yet uploaded my additional videos to YouTube.

Keep an eye here for more content – in the meantime, happy holidays :)