Posted by ubernerkle | Posted in Gadgets | Posted on 26-07-2010
Two years ago I launched Temporal Consumer alongside of Ubernerkle. TC was focused only on the topics of using media rental services such as Netflix, Gamefly and Bookswim. I had transitioned from my consumer habits of buying several DVD’s, video games and a plethora of books a month and as a result had saved myself a considerable chunk of change, almost $2000 in two years, without having to give up my consumption habits.
Bookswim
About a year ago I stopped using the Bookswim service primarily because they had run out of the titles that I was interested in reading. I had begun eyeing traditional print media again but was not willing to go back to the old habits. I downloaded the Amazon Kindle application for my Blackberry and took a stab at e-books.
I told myself it was just an experiment, a toe dip to see if it was plausible to read an entire novel on a smart phone. Three books later and I had become sold on the ease of purchase, no waiting for shipping, sample chapters and cheaper prices than traditional media; something I will cover in a separate post.
There is a selection of e-readers on the market now and I had been holding out for a dual screen device that offered both a touch screen tablet and an e-ink screen. I poked at the iPad when it launched thinking it would be the device of choice but after an extended reading period of about fifteen minutes both my eyes and my forearms were strained from using it. The Nook dropped in price to $149 recently and Amazon responded by dropping the Kindle to $189. Technically the Nook had the most appeal but when it came down title availability the Kindle still had more to offer so I picked one up at the local Target.
Since getting the Kindle I am reading more than I have in a long time, I consistently have two or three titles on the go at any one time. Current count 93 titles comprising of paid, free and sample materials.
GameFly
GameFly was the next to bite the dust for a very simple reason. In September mrsUbernerkle will be giving birth to a new addition in our family. It makes no sense to pay for a game rental service when the opportunity to sleep let alone game will be a rare thing.
Netflix
Netflix is still holding strong with both streaming and DVD rentals, the occasional Amazon on Demand still slips through to our Tivo. We now have Netflix streaming to Tivo, two Xbox 360′s and a BluRay player.
With the reduction of books, games and time it made sense to pack up TemporalConsumer and use Ubernerkle to share some of the things I would have there.