Test test with Droid-Blogger

Saw this a couple of days ago and I tried to snap a picture. Using Retro Camera on my HTC Desire, turned out alright.

Uploading this post with Droid-Blogger app. Not bad so far. Not bad.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

The wait begins...

Finally, its coming. Pity the leaks and photos of it prior to the official announcement spoilt it for everyone. Conspiracy or marketing genius strategy, we'll never know.

All I know is, I want one. It will be a good upgrade to Ol'faithful 3GS.

Sure it'll take time to reach us here in Asia, but at least Apple will soon release the IOS4 software first.

2010

Wow, its been a while old friend....

I'm back everyone. Thats if anyone's been reading still.

2010 is a year of refocusing for me. Think its time to narrow my focus down. Instead of being the jack of all trades (or phones), perhaps better to be a master of one (or two).

My current iPhone 3GS is still going strong!

The Force is strong

It has truly been a while since I've last updated my blog. I have been tweaking and customizing my iPhone 3GS to perfection. Since I've last used the previous iPhone 3G here, this 3GS is something else.

Just working on a proper review to post here, but till then, here's a little collection I have.

Loving my Storm Trooper....

Ok here it is! My Storm Trooper Bobble Head. (What did you think it was, a new mobile??). I was in Singapore over the weekend, browsing around with my mate TGIF for a conference. During our free time, we stumbled across this toy shop at Suntec City Mall. Having a secret passion for toys & such (esp star wars and such...), I was thrilled when the shop had all the bits and bobs of all things Star Wars (and tons of other stuff)... but I jumped when I saw this. Hmm, this could be a start of a new collection...

Oh yeah, the pics above were taken with my other Storm Trooper, the iPhone 3G S WHITE. Its finally here too.

Storm Trooper invasion

Finally, my Storm Trooper has arrived. And I love it.

More details soon!

Darth N97: Build quality and physical aspects

Its been about 10 days of using Darth N97 now.

For this post, I'll highlight some of the physical aspects and build quality of the N97. In short, this is perhaps one of Nokia's best efforts in creating a solid all rounder flagship. Many people who have played with the N97 (under my very watchful eye needless to say) always comment about the solid slide feature, which opens and closes with a nice "snap". (Unless of course, you do it in s-l-o-w....m-o-t-i-o-n).

When I took these photos, it just so happened to be in the evening, very close to sun set. So the photos turned out almost very sephia-anituque looking. Not on purpose, but hey, I like how it turned out. Almost as if Darth N97 was born in the 1950's!

N97 Box

1. As you can see, the box is very simple. Totally unlike boxes of (nokia) old, where a photo of the model is splashed out on the front.
2. INSIDE, you will find the full-on accessories that accompany Darth N97; a USB wall charger (great move Nokia!), a USB cable for your PC (also charges!), a little adapter (in case you still refuse to part ways with your old Nokia chargers), a Nokia earpiece, a flat-ish sort of stylus (You probably wouldn't need it), a beautiful leather case and of course, Nokia N97 assorted manuals (Note: with the 3.5mm jack, you can now use ANY of your favourite ear buds in case you rather not use the standard Nokia ones)

1. From the many reviews I've read: Here are the main complaints:

• A TV cable not included? I personally am not fussed about this missing from my set. Even when I had my previous N95 / N95 8Gb, I don't recall even taking it out of the box... ever.
  
• How lousy is that leather case? Again, I personally don't think that this is a worthwhile niggle that should stop anyone from buying the powerful N97. As for the leather case, its fantastic. I bet people would complain even more if a case WASN'T included! Anyway, look at this picture below. 'Nuff said.
• A stylus? That's so 90's. Ok, maybe this applies to those who like to poke their screens, or maybe fancy a bit of writing here and there. The majority of people probably won't use it. I sure haven't, since taking Darth out of the box. But the stylus is sure nice and "stylish" (pun intended), so if you don't like it, don't use it. Simple.
  

Physical aspects

The N97 is very comfortable to hold in hand, big or small. The weight is even spread out and doesn't feel heavier on any side (like some older Nokia models).
Very quickly, to walk you through what you'd find with the N97 (I've not included any pictures here because you can find so many galleries elsewhere):

• On the top, you'll find the power button and a 3.5mm jack.
• On the right, you'll find the volume rocker keys and the dedicated camera button
• On the left, the USB slot (for charging and PC connectivity) and the "lock switch" (which Nokia 5800 users would recognise)
• On the front screen, the BEAUTIFUL 3.5" screen I must add, there are no physical buttons other than the "menu" button at the lower left of the screen. The green "call" and red "end call" buttons are touch sensitive are located next to the (only) menu button. (All three light up when you switch on the N97)
  
• At the back, you'll find the camera slide, which, when opened, reveals the double LED flash and of course, the 5 mp camera. Many have complained about Nokia's choice on the mega pixelcount, considering many competitors are sporting more poweful cameras these days. Its not ALL bad, given Nokia's experience with the N95 and N82. And, its still way better than any smartphone offering from competitors, Sony Ericsson or even with Apple's soon-to-be-released iPhone 3GS. Check out my previous post for the photo quality here. Its not all bad right?
  
• The keyboard. I could spend a whole post on this one feature alone. This is perhaps the deal breaker with many potential N97 buyers out there. Firstly, with only 3 rows of alphabet keys, so fully incorporated with numbers and symbols, the general feedback has been why not include another row? Secondly, why has the location of the spacebar being pushed to the right, instead of the standard centre location? Thirdly, the placement of the navi-pad on the left side. Why? Lastly, why is the "full-stop" not given its own button?? (You have to press the symbol shift key and press the "comma" key to get the "full-stop"). In short, in all this time using Darth N97, I've purposely made it a conscious choice to use the keyboard whenever and wherever I can, just to test the daily capabilities of the keyboard. Safe to say, it was very easy to familiarise with and took me only about a day or two just to be up to the typing speeds as my previous E71. I'm now blistering away on my SMS's and emails and (still) love snapping open good ol'Darth. So if you're an E71 or E90 user, or even a QWERTY device user, the N97 shouldn't be a problem for you to learn.
  
• Ok, finally, there's the ribbon-like component found between the slide which you can read about at allaboutsymbian here, I don't think it should stop you from owning one, unless you plan to (foolishly) shove a pencil in there to test how strong the ribbon is. Remember, the N97 is a powerful multimedia device that can probably replace your notebook, its not a shock/water proof construction site accessory.
  

Size comparison with the Nokia E71

• Size wise, as you can see, its not THAT much bigger than the E71. (Unfortunately, I didn't have an iPhone handy to compare with)
  
• There's definitely a thickness issue, but hey, the N97 slides up, the E71 doesn't.
• Someone's asked me once, whether the N97's "shirt-pocketable"? If I wanted to be generic about it, I'd say aren't all phones shirt-pocketable? But to be honest, with Darth in my shirt pocket, its a bit difficult to forget that there's a device weighing down your shirt. You won't forget its there basically! Not a big problem I'd say.
  

So, in conclusion, if I had to rate Darth N97 on the physical aspect on a 5 star scale, I'd give it 5 out of 5. Yes, I love it. Its well built, well designed and though I've not personally experienced how well it would hold up on a drop test (I don't plan to find out!), I'm sure Darth will hold up. Its Darth remember! (Ok, that was lame....)

In my next review, I'll possibly touch on some of the experiences of using Darth on a daily basis, and how my life has been taken over by this Nokia flagship. The Force is indeed strong....

My day out with Darth N97

Its been over a week spent with me Darth N97. Most of the time was spent tweaking it to perfection (to me at least) with widgets and apps testing.

I did manage to snap a few pics to test out the quality of the 5 mp camera though. Here are a few from a drive out to town, and one by the water village.

Then on Sunday, 28Jun09, as I had signed up for the charity cycleton for Heart of Borneo, I decided to take Darth out with me for the ride, all 110km of it. Here are some shots taken from our world renowned Empire Hotel & Country Club , one of the checkpoints for the ride. (Obviously, you won't expect me to shoot pics WHILE cycling... I doubt Darth would appreciate that sort of adventure). There were almost 400 cyclists taking part in the event.

This is a shot from the car

Resting at Empire. Scorching 40 degree Celsius heat

And we're off! Last leg back to the finish line.

This isn't my bike. Just thought I'd snap it.

My personal challenge for the ride was to bust the 100km mark, which I had never done before during training from months before. In the end, I was sun burnt, had a swollen behind, sweat drenched and faced extreme energy depletion. But it was all worth it. Its for charity afterall.

And what better way to reward myself? A quick carb load at my favourite Japanese shop, Kaizen Sushi.

Pretty good flash shot at night I'd say.

And that ends a day with good ol'Darth. Next challenge, take a video while riding? Nah, I don't think so....

PS: None of the shots have been edited. Pity the lighting was a bit "overbearing", having been taken at noon day mostly.

Sneak preview: My Darth N97

Thoroughly enjoying the N97 since I got it.... More to come....

The Dark Side: Nokia N97

This is just a sneak preview...

For days, I have been pondering on whether to I should go with the masses and be a Storm Trooper, because as you know, Storm Troopers are just so uber cool... but the force was always strong within.

But then, as a friend said, there are many Storm Troopers, but only one Darth Vader...

So behold, my newly arrived Nokia N97 Black....

Over the next few days, I will be posting my thoughts and experiences with the N97. I absolutely love what I see so far... with the exception of a minor setback earlier... but, more on that later....

I'll be back, after the commercials.....

Nokia N97 finally starts shipping.... (Yes, I'm alive)

Image courtesy of www.symbian-guru.com

Its official. The Nokia N97 has begun shipping today. To 75 countries worldwide, uncommon of Nokia given that they usually release new products in spurts to selected countries. Hopefully, Brunei is one of those 75 lucky countries.

There are so many good (p)reviews of the N97 already flying around the world wide web. Many claim that this is THE Nokia flagship to wait for. Reading so many, I can only say the only way to know is to try it.

But dang, it looks good.

I've been so held up with my daytime job lately, that I have not been able to post a decent phone review. I just realised, I haven't done one since my last Nokia E63 review. This sucks.

Thing is, I still can't see the light at the end of the tunnel just yet....

Dilbert nails it on the head...

I've always been a fan of Dilbert, somehow for those of us who work in a daytime "9 to 5" job, you'd totally relate to the things that he goes through. I bumped into this strip courtesy of this site here and I knew I had to share it. It says it all, doesn't it?

Its only April...

Yes, its been a month of sheer silence. Like a month of April Fool's day everyday. It almost seems as if nothing much was happening in the market. Nothing great to look forward to, nothing worth selling everything you own for... uninspiring you could say.

From the looks of things, everyone's just waiting for mid-2009, for more news on the Palm Pre or the now-rumoured new iPhone form factor. Either way, its still a good 3 months away, at least, especially for us here in Asia.

For one thing, it will be a great battle. And there can only be ONE winner. But a new iPhone though? Who really knows? Apple sure has a great knack for keeping things hushed. We can only wait. One thing's for sure, Apple had better make sure it does everything and more!

But, for me, I think I know what my next purchase will be, the new Nokia E75. Allabout symbian has reported that today, the E75's have started shipping! FINALLY! From the many (excellent) reviews I've read here and here and here, I think it will suit my needs very well. Time to replace my E71 and E66 soon anyway ;) If none of you have ever heard of FP2, read here at mobile-review for a good write up about it. If anything, personally, its reason enough to upgrade!

Now the question begs, what colours (black? bronze? red? all?) will arrive here in Brunei? And then... what colour should I get?! Decisions decisions....

Nokia E63: Better to go economy or business class?

First of all, a very happy holiday to all Brunei readers, being our 25th Silver Jubilee National Day today.

I have received many queries from readers and friends on what its like to use the most recent and latest messaging device from Nokia, the Nokia E63. I've actually had the opportunity to use one for a good many weeks now, and of course, while I'm back to my trusty ol'Nokia E71, I do miss the E63 at times.... why you ask? Read on...

(Unlike my other reviews, I'm attempting to make this one slightly different basing my conclusion by doing more of a comparison between a E63 and her classier sibling, the E71)

We all know and love the E71 don't we? HSDPA, front facing video camera, 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus, wifi, email client support and a gorgeous QWERTY keyboard all enclosed in a very slim and metal clad body. Initially just launching the Grey steel and White steel variants, Nokia's thrown another curve ball at us with the new Black and Silver/Red editions. Even MORE of a reason to love it.

And then, almost out of nowhere, a reserved and quiet E63 appears, seemingly with the same looks, similar features, but also very different.

The Unboxing - the hardware

After opening up the box of the E63 (my unit was Ultramarine Blue)(Ruby Red being the other only colour so far), I half expected to pull out the same contents as the E71. To my surprise, there were no leather pouches or no wrist lanyards! All that it contained were the E63 unit, a battery, a travel charger and assorted manuals. Oh yes, there was a 1Gb microSD card thrown in too, fortunately. (Some other sites have reported that their E63's do NOT come with any memory cards).

Well, I guess we get what we pay for. The E63 is significantly cheaper than an E71 anyway. And from its weight (very light), this also give you an indication of the quality of materials used. There were plastics and rubber galore. It is noticably wider too, with the usual array of QWERTY buttons like the E71. Until I realised, upon closer inspection, that there are differences between the two. The E63 sports different characters and symbols at some different places, and, the space bar is smaller too (with a tiny flashlight symbol on it). A very neat and useful feature I have to add.


Moving on, taking the E63 out and switching it on (press and hold the Call End button), there wasn't a button at the top to switch on. There certainly wasn't a red button sticking out anywhere. Why was this an issue on the E71 I have no clue. I never did understand why people made such a fuss over a little red button. I always thought it provided some element of colour to a grey or white steel clad body.



Display / Call features / Connectivity - Software
I won't dwell too much into these areas as both the E63 and E71 are very similar. Both have the same landscape 2.36" 16M QVGA resolution screens, the same menu layout, the same call feature performances but, in the connectivity department however, the E63 does lack two main things which is present in the E71; HSDPA and a front facing camera for video calls. For the average person though, this might not be such a big deal. Besides, the E63 does have 3G at least, so you can still surf on the Web, chat on Fring or even download new apps from Nokia's Catalogue etc.
The E63 also has themes which the E71 does not curently own (the themes correspond to the matching Ultramarine Blue or Ruby Red editions). But otherwise, if you were just shown the menus for both the E63 and E71 without being told which was which, you'd probably not notice the difference anyway.

Camera performance / Multimedia
In a word, the camera performance for the E63 is "mediocre". Being a 2 megapixel (non-auto focus) camera, the E63 will simply do what you want it to do; take simple snaps. Forget about indoor shots though even though there is a flash to light up your shots. The E71's 3.2 megapixel snapper already has its own problems, in other words, it isn't quite a role model either, so in this department, there's not much to comment for both. I included a sample of the E63's outdoor shot, in an overcast day.

What I liked about the E63

• I actually enjoyed using it for a good number of weeks. It was surprising to me too. It was lighter, and its size was just nice for my big hands.
  
• The E63 could match everything my E71 could do too (minus any video calls of course). The Calendar's the same, the Contact's the same, the Messaging's the same...
  
• The QWERTY keyboard experience was different to use, compared to the E71's. Maybe because it was wider, it felt a bit better to use too. Don't get me wrong, the E71's keyboard is still one of the better ones out there.
  
• The battery life is commendable. Keeping in mind, both use the same battery, but minus a few features on the E63, this means that the battery life is longer than the lifespan of the E71. Any objections here?
  
• The 3.5mm jack. Many have argued that if the E71 had this in the first place, it would probably be THE best smartphone out there today (of course, personally it'd be even better if it was a touchscreen too). I'm not much of a music buff myself, but knowing I can use my own earphones was a good option to have.
  

What I didn't like about the E63
(Note: I have to be subjective here. Remember, there is a significant price difference between the E63 and the E71, so I approched this with a "you-get-what-you-pay-for" mindset)

• No front facing camera. I video call every so often, so missing this feature was a big deal to me.
• The camera qualities were disappointing. But then, if you want to just snap photos (not for printing obviously), then it should satisfy you.
  
• There's this little rubber cover protecting the 3.5mm jack at the top. Let's just say that if you ever lost this, just be prepared to have an exposed little jack hole. Its just not connected to the body in any way.
  

Overall, I really like the E63. I think its more of a successor to the E61i than the E71 is. I even contemplated owning my own unit, if it wasn't for the lack of the front facing camera. Sure the camera performance is lacking, sure its made of plastic and feels almost like a toy, sure it doesn't have 3.5G HSDPA but at the end of the day, it is still one serious business device very befitting of the Eseries range. If you currently own a E61i, and not too sure about upgrading to the more expensive E71, then give the E63 a consideration. You won't be disappointed.

I'd rate this 4 stars (out of 5).

Available at all Incomm branches throughout the country, its going for BND428-00.
Remember to use your DST privilege card for better discounts.

Sexier E71's and a Pre.

For those of you who loved the white edition of the hugely popular Nokia E71 and thought nothing could ever be sexier.... hold on to your breath.... Nokia's just made it EVEN more sexier, releasing new colours, in BLACK and RED. Click here to view them on Nokia's site.

There's no news (yet) on the release, but you can be sure I'm trying to find out! Especially on release for Brunei. More updates once I hear about it.

And then, there's the Palm Pre. More and more reviews are surfacing on the web and more and more of them reveal that Palm is now giving Apple a fight. (Finally). Anyway, read here at treonauts for lowdown on "Top 10 reasons to love the Palm Pre". Well, I certainly don't need convincing.

A busy new year, and then, there's the new Palm Pre...

Since the new year has kicked in, its almost hard to believe its already the 8th of Jan! Its been somewhat of a busy start for me, workwise... but thats a good thing isn't it?

Close to a year and a bit now of running my blog, I have to say its been amazing. So many opportunities have arisen from it, and all I can say is, its going to be a great year of mobiles, mobiles and more mobiles..... oh yeah, more reviews too for d3xlabs.blogspot.com. Thanks to all my readers and friends for always "dropping by". Its really just my simple blog about Everything mobile.

What I have been looking forward to since the start has been the CES event in Las Vegas on 09Jan09. Its meant to be one of THE tech events to watch out for on a calendar. And boy did this year's launch prove to be worth the wait! Its no secret that the longest ever mobile that I've used so far is the Palm Treo 680. Love the Palm OS, always have, always will. But their OS has been showing signs of ageing lately, with the likes of iPhone taking the world by storm (and now, everyone else seems to have followed their footsteps). Treos didn't even have wifi or 3G! So sadly, it was time to move on...

Until now...

The newly announced PALM PRE. I've been watching hands-on videos on it all over the web. It looks very very intriguing. Of course, patience is the key as the time it will take to reach this side of the world would be around 6-8 months. That already feels like forever... Anyway, here are some teaser pictures and specs:
Specs:

• High speed wireless (HSDPA)
• Wifi
• 3.1 inch 24 bit colour 480 x 320 display
• slide out portrait QWERTY keyboard
  
• Bluetooth 2.1
• 3 mp camera with LED flash and extended depth of field
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• 8Gb of internal memory
• Palm trademark - Ringer mute switch

Just look at that! Ladies and Gentlemen, Palm is back in the building....
(now, the wait...)