Announcing new talent at AndroidNZ

This post marks exciting developments for AndroidNZ; the announcement of the first batch of new contributors to the blog. 

First up is Nick Monrad (Lokhor), a Lower Hutt born and bred geek, and now Associate Editor-in-Chief for AndroidNZ. He works at IRD as a Business Analyst [no doubt hoping that blogging can replace his day job -Ed]. He lives with his fiancee who gracefully puts up with his geeky hobbies. He loves gadgets; playing with them, hacking them, breaking and fixing them - he loves it all. Ever since he was young he enjoyed building computers and over clocking them. His first real Smartphone was the i9000 Galaxy S which he has thoroughly enjoyed despite any apparent flaws. He now uses an HTC Sensation phone and an Asus Transformer tablet. Nick also enjoys gaming on PC, console and Android device. You can follow Nick via his twitter account @lokhor

Next up is Editor Anita Paling (Neets). She didn't trust me to write about her, and instead offered the following about herself: I'm keen to learn and keen to share what I've learnt. I've been working for a NZ Software company since March 2000. I'm not afraid of technology and love to try new things. I really like Android development and happy to tinker with my smartphones and tablet. Open development suits me. I'm not a conformist. I like to test boundaries. Aside from my love of Android, I'm a keen outdoors person and enjoy both running and cycling. I'm more an endurance sportsperson. Longer distances means I have an excuse for being slow.

Editor Gianpy Belaunde (Gianpy) is the American connection at AndroidNZ - he was born in Miami, Florida but now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada - where he is currently studying at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His love affair for gadgets began early in 2003, with the release of the first iPod mini. An average consumer for the larger part of 5 years, his inner geek was reborn with the announcement of the iPhone 3G, his first smartphone. Throughout the following years he slowly turned into a so called 'fanboy' of Apple products, but it wasn't until late 2010 when he thought about breaking the barrier and taking a leap into the world of android, with the purchase of a Nexus S. Now an owner of a Galaxy S II and iPhone 4 - Gianpy no longer chooses sides in the never-ending smartphone argument, but rather embraces both sides for what they bring to the table. You can also find him reviewing cases and accessories on his YouTube page and on FIFA 12 for the Xbox 360. 

Finally the team is lucky enough to also have Andy Carruthers (ArtooDetoo) onboard as an Editor. Like Murray, Nick, and Anita, Andy is a kiwi (via Scotland) and longtime member of Geekzone (one of the nicest tech communities to be found anywhere on the net). Unfortunately everyone's favourite droid has a fairly heavy workload this week, so couldn't provide any witty self-commentary for the introductions piece. He'll be along next week and letting some content do the talking for himself.

So that's the team. 

I'm stoked to be working with such a great group of people, and really look forward to what we'll produce together going forward. 

...of course there are still a few spots available for talented and literate enthusiasts - if you think you've got what it takes drop us a line on Twitter @Android_NZ