The Chronic Consumer

I was reading through the Forbes.com archive earlier today when I came across an article highlighting the world’s 10 biggest shopping malls. I figured a good portion of them would be right here in the United States, but that’s not the case at all. Most of the largest malls in the world are located in Asia, and have been built in the past four years. So that means if I want to hit these places, I better start checking into an affordable jet charter company or something like that!

Anyway, here are the World’s 10 Largest Shopping Malls according to Forbes:

1. South China Mall — Donnguan, China (7.1 million sq. ft.)
2. Golden Resources Shopping Mall — Beijing, China (6 million)
3. SM Mall of Asia — Pasay City, Philippines (4.2 million)
4. Cevahir, Istanbul — Istanbul, Turkey (3.8 million)
5. West Edmonton Mall — Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (3.8 million)
6. SM Megamall — Mandaluyong City, Philippines (3.6 million)
7. Berjaya Times Square — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (3.4 million)
8. Beijing Mall — Beijing, China (3.4 million)
9. Zhengjia PLaza — Guangzhou, China (3 million)
10. SM City North Edsa — Quezon City, Philippines (3 million)

As you can see, there’s only one mall in all of North America on this list, and it’s in Edmonton, of all places. What about the Mall of America? Where does that one fit in? Well, according to Wikipedia, the Mall of America has 2.5 million square feet of retail space available, so that gives us some idea of how it stacks up against these megamalls from the rest of the world.

Boy, how I’d love to spend a few days shopping in these places! Just a pipe dream, though, I’m sure….

As many of you already know, I purchased an HP rx1955 PDA quite a while ago. I love my device and have use it on a daily basis. Up until recently, however, I didn’t have a proper case or cover for it. I was just using the rather cheesy one that HP included in the box. But I really want to take care of my PDA, so I decided to buy a good protective case for it.

After doing some research, I thought the Krusell Leather PDA Case would be my best bet. I was initially attracted by two things: the case came in soft black leather, which is what I wanted, and the case was specifically made to fit HP products. I went ahead and bought it, and here’s what I think about it.

Pros:

• The cover fits perfectly, leaving easy access to the buttons and stylus.
• It looks nice and sleek.
• There’s extra padding on the front, which of course covers the screen.
• The cover has a very secure snap closure.
• The swivel clip is handier than I ever expected it to be, and can also be removed quickly if I find it to be too bulky for the situation.
• There are handy memory card storage slots inside the cover.
• The price was very, very reasonable.

Cons:

• It’s rather difficult to close the case and snap it shut. I really have to stretch the cover in order to get it closed. Plus, the fit is so tight that sometimes the power button gets pushed on, which is obviously something I don’t want.

As you can see, the pros heavily outweigh the cons for this product. I am extremely pleased with the quality and functionality of the Krusell Leather PDA Case, and would definitely recommend this product to all of you. You can’t go wrong here!