I’ve always been waiting for the successor of the iPhone 3Gs, apparently June 28 may not be the day the phone be announced due to a leak of a confidential unit so as claim by Gizmodo, which they had the chance to get their hands on for a review of the dud unit. Apparently, the phone was found running iPhone OS 4.0 before it was remotely killed. And before Gizmodo could actually see it. It has a much blockier design which looks real sleek and more modern than the iPhone 3Gs. It does make it’s predecessor look old!

The big question whether the phone is a geninue item is still open for debate. Gizmodo even dissected the phone to find quality Apple-labeled boards and circuity inside, typical that of apple products and reaffirming that it is not some China clone or rip off. Most of the parts are minitureized, including the introduction of a micro-sim card, all to make way for a larger internal, non-removable battery. Not only does it show up in iTunes, Xcode, and System Profiler, but it has different product identifiers than the 3G or 3GS.

Unfortunately, the phone was wiped and they couldn’t get it to boot out of recovery mode, but a number of new features and changes are evident just by holding it. Obviously, it’s thinner than the 3GS, with smaller internal components and a larger battery inside the metal frame.

Here is a list of the observable features in the new 4th generation iPhone:

I had been considering the 4G iPhone as my next phone, with Android as a very suitable contender. I’ve always had my eye on Android phones even before I’ve got my 3Gs, the 3Gs failed in many ways to make my expectations of a modern smartphone, I mean I was real fad up that I could not even use the phone as a mass storage device, nor even put PDF files into it locally to read e-book (I have to email them to myself to get them on the phone). It does not support Bluetooth stereo controls, (something even my 5 year old phones can do), not to mention unable to change message ringtones as well. The iPhone was just rubbish. However, it does make up for it for it’s style, substance, usability and shitloads of fun and crazy apps, maybe that is just the reason why I am still using it today.

Hello Android!
Android is really catching up on the race with Apple, with almost 50%-50% smartphone share in the US. Even when seeking opinions for my next phone, almost everyone recommends me an Android without a doubt- Strangely.

On the Android area, I did have the HTC Incredible in sight. This phone can be what I call a worthy upgrade from my Nokia N95 8GB and iPhone 3Gs (which was not much of an upgrade in anyway). It sports a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 8GB of internal storage, 748MB of ROM, a microSD slot (with support for up to 32GB cards), an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and autofocus, 480×800 AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, and most importantly, Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI on-board. It records video up to 800×480 resolution at 30fps with that 8MP sensor.

One of the key area where Android phones shine is the price, the operating system, provided by google is open source, which cuts down the price of the phone by a considerable bit, a lower version of the HTC incredible, the HTC desire goes at about £350 without a contract here in the UK, the same can be said for the Incredible when it releases end this month too. The cheapest iPhone costs £450, with the 32GB 3GS going at £550, expensive!

It is true that Andriod do not have as many established apps as Apple has and I did mention that apps are what I really like about the iPhone. But what you get on the apple app store is severely regulated, which can be like a double edged sword. The Andriod marketplace may be smaller, but it’s operated on a more free-rein basis and is speedily growing larger everyday!

Remote wipe? A possible anti-jailbreaking measure?
The thing which strikes me the most on the iPhone is the need to Jailbreak it to make the phone is anyway useful beyond the scope of the common idiot it was designed for. Apple had long been fighting the battle against jailbreaking phones, whether it’s the harsh warranty voiding of jailbroken phones, or bricking phones with updates. The ability to wipe this new iPhone NAND memory remotely does paint some interesting speculations of what Apple have in store for potential jailbreakers. Maybe jailbreaking could even be hardware prevented in this new phone, just like the newer generation 3Gs phones. I mean when I spend almost a fortune on a phone, I want it to work how I want it to me and not use it as if I am a criminal or something. That’s another tick for me in the Android department.

This new iPhone does look real good and sleek, but based on these preliminary specs, the HTC incredible trashes it completely. Currently I am leaning and maybe might go Android afterall, impress me Apple.

There is always so much controversy with regards to the inflexible regulations notorious in Singapore- govern this govern that they say. This one in particular with respect to the rules against the use of Segways in commuting. No wonder it never took off, or even heard of to many in Singapore.

However, with the ongoing encouragement of public transport use over private cars, isn’t that a conflict of interests? I mean we can picture ourselves able to commute by bus and train using these transporters on board, these are efficient little tools which can completely replace the car. Furthermore these will all go in hand with all wheelchair friendly facilities around as well.

But no, LTA don’t think likewise:

So with that there goes Segway golf, Segway polo and Segway trekking, just to name afew and maybe forgoing few new possible sports in the Youth Olympics as well. With the exception of a pathetic park in Biopolis and for staff in the airport, we can’t even use them from Orchard to East Coast park (where they will most probably refer you to NEA which will also get you nowhere).

Moreover, how inflexible of the authorities to put the Segway under a motorised vehicle which also comes under the same category as petrol-powered scooters/bicycles, or mainly because they do not really know what it is? After my past experiences them, I won’t be amused if any related government agencies don’t even know what a “Segway” is. But oh yes we are Singaporeans and these things are not taught in school, so it’s ok not to know about it.

In fact, the Segway is proven to be an effective human transporter for more almost 10 years, only that it is not given the proper recognition here and torn between 2 worlds as a “human powered unicycle” and a gasoline powered bike/vehicle.

I guess it will be a long time we get to use these legally on the streets, I guess I can only look forward into using it during my time in UK- where WOW it’s not even legal to use in public parks, but even utilized by civil servants such as postmen and police officers themselves, now thats evolution… there!

Something funny about ipods and questions about their unreliability. Say if you “broke” your iPhone, “get a new one” said jobs. So that will very much go in line as the iPod as well as shown in this video. I think the thing which sets the stereotypical iPod and PC user is the difference in the buy and throw away style, while “PC’s” will opt for more practical devices based on spec-wised (like to the refresh rate and the number of horizontal pixel on their LCD screen) or repair them when they are spoilt, on the contrary. In short, pure nerdy.

“Don’t you all have songs uploaded to your brain?” “No we all have ipods, lots of em!”

Ok folks, here are some official words from Nokia Singapore with regards to the Nokia N96.

Quote from Nokia Singapore:

Yea hurray to vagueness! At least this time they know that there is actually an N96!

Expect the phone to start retailing at $1200 without contract on the initial launch week. Soft launches and purchase of the phone starts about 1 week before ads are all placed on the papers. So technically you can start getting leaked reviews say around, May and Technically see the phone in around National Day or late September. So in the meantime, the N95 8GB will still be Nokia’s flagship phone.

You won’t totally experience the N82 after using it for a few days and putting it through the “real world” tasks. Overall my reactions are mixed, but I felt that Nokia could have made the N82 a better phone.

The main thing which shines in this phone is the camera, throughout this blog posts are some photos taken with the N82 today.

Battery
To me, battery life is a great concern for gadget the road warrior. Battery life is actually descent, but still about the same as the N95 8GB for my regular usage, despite being smaller. It needs charging almost every 2 other days. Even without using Wi-fi, the most I can bring it up to is 3 days on a quad band network, UTMS will be even worst hardly reaching 2 days. Battery drain is generally the same as the N95 8GB with wi-fi on- hardly with 4 hours of usage, it’s almost the same drain as talking on the phone for the same period.

Cavenagh bridge

Merchants Statues

Reflections on the bench

A good camera needs good fuel, but the performance is just acceptable- A full battery charge can last you (to black out) about 200 shots without flash at 5 Megapixels, use the flash and see the battery bar fall exponentially with every shot. The xenon flash have its good and bad points. The good obviously having a large flash area to light in the dark (see sample shot below).

Flyer

Without flash

With xenon flash

The bad is that it drains battery by ALOT and frankly speaking, you are better off with a digital camera which can last you much or even twice more the shots. The phone may be feature packed, but not exactly practical as a dedicated main device.

Furthermore, you cannot use the N82 as a torchlight (with third party apps) with a xenon flash lamp or have a “constant-on” video light at night, so thats a few plus for the N95 8GB LED lamp. Frankly speaking, the LED flash of the N95 is not as bad as it is- it still gets night shots decently done most of the time, it’s only the exceptional darker shots where the N82 really show it’s ommph with Xenon.

Build and Quality
Though a solid piece, the N82 feels much cheaper than the N95 8GB mainly because of the full slippery plastic casing. The worst thing is that the front face is made out of a coated chrome plastic made to go with the rest of the front face of the phone.

This is the same material they use to make the opening windows for the secondary camera, screen and light sensor, (unlike the N95 with dedicated plastic housing). This means that over time this chrome firm can be chipped or be rubbed off the bottom transparent plastic and you won’t want that right on the face of your phone! I can see to that being accelerated if you leave it with keys or coins in your pocket or even scratching/dropping it. You really need a front face protector for this phone.

It’s actually quite practical
On a brighter side, the thing I really like about the N82 is the lens cover which actually allows faster startup of the camera rather than unlocking the keypad and holding the shutter key to start, this is particularly useful to capture quick pictures on the streets when you least expect it as a moblogger. Pictures on my old N95 8GB sometimes turn up misty due to particles sticking to the lens.

Furthermore the audio 3.5mm jack at the top is a right position, whether in your pocket or in a slip/ exercise arm pouch while running, the headphone jack is best placed at the top so as I come to realize, practically on the design part.

Indoors

Merlion

Landscape views

Interface
The interface of the N82 is faster than my N95 (stock) out of the box, especially viewing GPS maps. I believe this is mainly due to updated firmware. But this is a minor plus point considering that firmware can always be updated for either phone.

Conclusion
Overall, the N82 compared to the N95 8GB is either on par in most areas, despite being worse in a few. That can still justify the standard retail price of the N82 being $988 and cheaper compared to the N95 8GB’s $1188. So it just boils down to what form factor you want and whether you want a bigger screen/battery or need to take better night shots.

In all, frankly speaking for photography I can’t name or deny that there isn’t any other Nseries phone other than the N82 which can be better for the job. It is not perfect, but what cameraphone is?

Got the N82 today. Nicknamed, “the imaging king”, the Nokia N82 is a Candybar form factor phone which is the latest crown jewel in line of the N series line of phones. On paper the specifications seem impressive, feature-wise, the N82 is in not much in any very much different from the flagship N95 8GB and very very way ahead above the N81, so why the lower model number of 82?

Has Nokia tech or marketing team forgotten something in the phone which do not entitle it to be called the N94 or N96? The obvious overlapping features with the N95 means that this is the prefect contender to the N95 now, so how will it stack up to it? Well we will find out in a moment.

N82 Box exterior

Inside the Box

Full contents of the Box

Open the Box and be greeted by an array of accessories and eye candy, otherwise what you get is rather basic for the fat-free operation of the phone. Here are a list of of items you will get:

• N82 set
• BP-6MT Battery
• TV out Cable
• Compact Mini-Charger
• Micro-USB Sync Cable
• 2GB Micro SD + Adapter
• 3.5mm PTT headset
• Generic 3.5mm headphones + Ear Sponges
• Manual + Quickstart, GPS instructions
• Nokia PC Suite DVD

External Looks & Ergonomics
Spec-wise, the closest contenter to the N82 will be the N95 8GB, and in case if you wondering which to get, size-wise first, obviously the N82 wins with thinner depth but only a few millimeters shorter in it’s width. Height-wise, the N95 wins with it’s slider layout. However, the N82 will fit nicer into the long pockets with it’s relatively more slender profile.

The N82 is only available in Silver at the moment, until Nokia decides to launch a new “i”, music or 8GB edition, sleek black will be out. I can safely say that is phone is the successor to the N73. Strangely is the lack of colour options in the N82, considering how Nokia was so pimpy about exotic “Sand” and “Plum” colours of the N95. Dominating the front fo the device is a 2.4″ color 16-bit (16M Colours) TFT main display at 240×320 of pixel real estate. Though not exactly big, it fits the profile and phone size real well in a small compact body.

N95 8GB top, N82, HP rw6828

Size Comparison

N95 and N82 screen differences

I simply love phones these days with standard 3.5mm audio plugs, gone are the days of having to put up with third party adapters and proprietary ports just to use your own headphones with them. The N82 have it’s audio out situated right at the top of the phone which I say is where ALL audio plugs should be, it’s not only grasp friendly, but pocket, sock, pouch and attachment friendly as well. It’s a pity the N95 have it by the side.

Music wise, you don’t get any dedicated audio control keys in the N82. Twin stereo speakers dominate the whole right side of the phone, personally I prefer them side-by-side just like the N95 as the bottom speaker will tend to be covered with your hands holding it. Otherwise, the volume is a little low even when maxed, otherwise with descent sampling music played shown no noticeable distortion when maxed. In comparison, the N95 have a louder volume.

Top and 3G Camera

Powerbutton & 3.5mm Jack

White Lit Numeric Keypad

The N82 is targeted at youths and generally younger people, therefore the more cheery facade and full shiny chrome front finish. The plastic is matt smooth but otherwise, not as nice to grip as compared to the tactile N95 with it’s rubberised plastic coating. It can get rather slippery to hold as well, otherwise, the I see the front face prone to stratches and catches, but does not show fingerprints as well as the N95 8GB.

The lack of infrared is a lowdown, but not much of an issue either, considering most people including me always use bluetooth over it, except that you cannot remote command appliances with your N82 with IR remote software.

My biggest issue is the tiny keypad and the layout of the direction and menu buttons. The D-pad is not segmented as it looks, but infact rather a big single button pad for all 4 directions and enter, it needs getting used too and sometimes you can accidentally press select when scrolling. Moreover the softkeys, though tactile do not offer some form of segmentation here again so it’s quite difficult to do “touch navigation” without looking. The needle numeric keys are quite of a nightmare to use at first, especially with the buttons so near the edges, it quite difficult to type single handedly if you have big hands or fat fingers. But a good thing is that the buttons, though small are raised considerably higher, so you actually do not need to depress each key by alot of type, glad Nokia saw this.

Connectivity
The N82 is a Quad band and UTMS phone supporting networks EDGE, GPRS, GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 Bands), HSDPA (3G), UMTS (3G). On top of that, we get the array of wireless protocols typical to that of most modern N series phones now. Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP is standard together with Wi-Fi (WLAN a/b/g).

The phone uses the new micro-USB port (At USB 2.0) for sync, so technically you are quite out of luck if you intend your old mini-USB sync cables. Personally this feels just like the stone ages with proprietary ports, but I see this as a transition problem, just like how we go from full sized SD to mini and microSD cards presently, the miniaturization is so for the port as well. But things like that will become norm it is used over future phones.

Memory
You get 100MB of internal memory standard for applications and such, otherwise you can bump it up with Micro SD. The slot a SDHC capable, so technically you can use the current 8GB SDHC microSD and beyond.

Software and Menus
The N82 runs on the symbian Series 60 3rd edition software with preloaded chinese-english dictionary together with panoman and snakes. Theres preinstalled Ngage games as well which I think won’t be as nice to play with compared to the N95 with the dedicated music buttons doubling up as game action buttons.

Contrary to the N95 (which requires 3rd party apps), the N82 ultilises it’s accelerometer auto-screen rotate feature out of the box for rotating menus and music players based on the orientation of the phone itself.

Camera
The 5 megapixels camera is similar to that of the N95, with a maximum photo resolution of 2592×1944 pixels over 5 different size settings. The main difference is the LED flash being replaced with a more powerful Xenon flash, which sadly, drains the battery by alot more per shot. But Xenon does a very good job in capturing night shots in dimly or totally dark area and have a larger lumination “throw” range than LED, so you can catch subjects sitting further in the background. The presence of a lens cover comes very much of welcome compared to the N95 8GB which always collects dust and fingerprints on the delicate multi-coated Lens.

Back of the N82

5MP Camera with Carl Zeiss optics

Battery Cover and SIM slot

Like most camera, the camera button is a 2nd stage button, with the first for auto focus and fully depressing will take the picture. You get 20x digital zoom in the device with the absence of optical zoom found in the N93 given it’s camera orientation. Video recording bumps in at the similar 640×480 at 30fps and you can also take pictures with the secondary front VGA camera activated when the lens cover is closed or manually activated in the camera program.

Battery
Juicing the N82 is a lithium ion 1050 mAh battery which though is 150mah smaller than the N95’s behemoth BL-6F 1200mah capacity, it does a pretty good job at powering the relatively smaller smaller screen yet feeding the hungy Xenon flash. Standby and Talk time are rated at 225 hours & 4 hours respectively by nokia but expect real life hours to be shorter. I will confirm his with more tests to come.

N82 VS N95 The Low down- as practical as a Lamborghini built by Audi
Frankly speaking I love the N82, namely for it’s size, weigh and being so much more practical than the N95. However, I am not simply just ending this review on the obvious fact the it’s just an “N95 with the IR thrown out in place of a Xenon flash”.

The thing I find lacking in the N82 is not so much on the features (which handsdown it wins), but much on the style and soul, it’s not something which I love to hate but I something rather I personally think it based on a rather common footprint. It’s just like Lamborghini losing it’s flamboyant and “simply mad” nature when the captain sensibles of Audi owned took over part of them. The N82 not much a device which sets it’s own trend or paints it’s own path for more phones to come, it’s more like a trend follower, simply an upgrade of a previous model based off a previous model, infact it’s almost a direct copy of the N95!

Which brings me to the point of the “show factor”. You can use an N82 in the streets and no one will notice your v12 under the hood. Bring up the N95 with the dual slider and it will turning heads on the streets.

Personally I find the N95 a more professional device which paints sophistications and though older and despite it’s flaws, is definitely the trend setter phone of today and many more to come.

Apparently from this leaked picture from Nokia, it seems that the successor to the N93i wouldn’t be too far off in the 2008, spotting a similar form factor with the camera mounted perpendicularly to the phone face. The N96? Figures.

This sideway mounting position is typical for phones which feature optical zooms (yup no pixelated digital zooms for this baby) hopefully it can spot at least a 5x optical zoom to stay decently competitive with dedicated digital cameras out there with 10x optical zoom the norm. As you can see in the picture, the camera will spot a 6MP naive capture resolution.

Going away is the pistol grip clam shell form factor for a hybrid slider system. It seems that both parts of the slider pieces are almost of equal bulk and size (contrary to the ultra thin top bezel of the N95 8GB, with the bulk of the phone at the base). Only time will tell with more details released from Nokia themselves.

Had been testing the camera out lately, and I am say I am quite impressed by the N95 8GB camera, the starting up takes a modest 3 seconds which is so much better than my previous HP rw6828 which can easily take 10 seconds. While the HP rw6828 takes 2 minutes to save a 2 Megapixel image, the N95 8GB takes, processes and saves 5 Megapixel images in hardly over 2-3 seconds, ok mind me if I had my standard really low or nothing better else to compare too, but I am actually blown by the Zeiss Camera, it’s very markable indeed!

Indoor without flash

Sunny outdoors

Shaded outdoors

I personally had not tested the burst function, but I think that’s not something I might actually use unless catching formula one maybe later this year.
The photos provided for here are resized and slightly compressed for web, but otherwise the contrast, brightness etc are all the same to allow you to gauge the rough quality of the photos. Though the phone is nothing compared to a dedicated Digital Camera, the quality for the N95 8GB is exceptional for an all-in-one device and something which I can easily substitute with carrying a digital camera for casual outings and gatherings with friends. In fact I might not even bother to bring a digital camera out now!

Cloudy outdoors

Skyline detailstext

Night dark

After using my N95 8GB for a few days, finally got the hang of numeric pad SMSing again, it had been almost 5 over years since I used a phone with a proper numeric keypad… no more funny side keypads with my old SX1 or having the need to use a stylus with my HP rw6828. I can actually SMS with one hand now! LoL, but WOW! Ok go ahead and laugh….

The 2.8″ screen is very big and nice, even bigger than my HP pocket pc. The rotating menus are very cool, too bad they are not part of the main IU navigation. The thing which really shines in this phone is the camera, the pictures are really nice and clear, not to mention the video at 30fps as well, too bad the camera settings cannot be saved and the you can change the camera shutter to 4 different capture sounds except OFF, weird…

Strangely, I can get my phone one-touch paired to my A2DP Motorola bluetooth head stereo headset, but the played music always simply skips whenever I play it, dang. Good thing I can use the 3.5mm jack with my own headphones without the need for an adapter. My biggest complain is with the N95 is particularly that of nature of series 60 3rd edition phones as well- Unlike the old s60 phones I’ve previously owned- you need to go through some redundantly dumb certificate signing, which serves no other purpose but just a barrier to install 3rd party applications. Sure extra security you can call it, but I can just simply sign all the software myself using my developer’s account at symbiansigned.com, anyone can do that and once you get the hang of it, you can practically install most compatible software. I simply see what’s the need for the signing feature.

After spending the whole of yesterday installing countless number of applications, it’s disappointing I can’t install all my old s60 applications I brought for old SX1 previously- they all simply cannot be used with the new Symbian OS at all, just great. Now I have to get a new irRemote control software (for coffee shop TV channel changes and school air-con adjustment), Bluetooth presenter and the CORE video player to play Dixv, Xvid, WMV files as the phone is unable to do so out of the box. Wonder are there any freeware alternatives I can use.

Maybe I could have excited the phone alittle more than usual the last few days, but the battery life is kinda short, I had to charge almost everyday, with some music, Wi-fi for emails, MSN, some SMSing, short chatting and few photos for my blog, the most it can last is one day+. I doubt the phone can last a full day photo-hunt marathon on the streets.

Got my spanking new N95 8GB today! Would be setting my newest phone addition to charge overnight, in the meantime, I can post of what you can expect in the box in the traditional “unboxing ritual”. Will get to play more of it tomorrow.

Its all over the box!

Greeting upon opening lid

Thats all in the box

As you can see, the included package is rather basic, just the program/software DVD, AV/sync cable, headset, the new mini Nokia charger, the BL-6F 1200Mah battery and quite many booklet/manuals (six) to go through inside a cardboard envelope.

There is no slip case or leather case in the package as seen with the classic N95. Notably even for the classic N95, the slip case only came with units sold in Singapore and not anywhere else in the world (to the dismay of many N95 around the rest of the world). My phone is the Singapore variant of the N95 8GB, which means it’s not a parallel imported model, etc, you can check the country codes here.

Being a fan of all-in-one devices, this phone will be replacing most of my gadgets I have, namely my old 4MP A80 Powershot digital camera + video recorder, and will supplement my existing HP rw6828 pocket PC phone.

N95 8GB overview

Phone back

Camera Lens

Singtel Xmas fair at Ngee Ann City
Yup, that’s where I got my phone today, if you don’t notice the big white tent with 2 bobbing balloons by the side at Ngee Ann City civic plaza, you definitely can’t miss out on the Ads in today’s Straits Times, not to mention those the day before in the new paper, today, etc as well. All these means something rather special, indeed. The N95 8GB I’ve been eyeing and price monitoring have it’s contract prices down to $638 with a 21 month contract- $160 lower than their rates last week and $410 lower than getting it without contract from external handphone shops.

Wanted to trade in an old but fully working Motorola V3 phone which had always been lying around the house as a spare phone, which fetches a $60 trade-in value (CO2 Corp does the trade in and dishes ST discount vouchers for your handset purchase), but was put down $10 due an old end-of-life battery, that’s including charger, box everything (yea I brought the whole package). I must be a retard to sell all of those for only $10, so I turned down the ridiculous trade-in offer.

The thing I found crazy there was the queues, I got a queue number at 4.30pm and was only able to be served about 4 hours later at 8.30pm+ despite being on the Singtel Priority express customer line (wonder how the rest on the normal lines are doing).

But there was an SMS alert system though, so you can literally run all around Singapore in the meantime when the queue runs and be alerted when its approaching yours- which what I did and missed my queue number by the time I returned. Despite that, I was quickly tended in less than 5mins to upon approaching the staff, I guess I have mainly the friendly and very helpful staff (consisting of mostly Singtel staff from all over Singapore and few part time helper students) who helped me not only but several separate occasions and breezed through the crowds with ease.

“So based on the crowds here you are working till midnight?” we asked “No I think 2am!” said the staff! – The roadshow response was so great, the event doors are closed from 8pm onwards (requiring your queue number to enter), reassuring customers inside that once you’ve taken you queue number, we will tend to you by today no matter what. I guess gross the takings for Singtel today can easily exceed the $2 million range, despite Starhub’s bleak attempt to station a small kiosk near the event itself.

The day was quite busy today, it started off in school with lots of planning and tying down of the final design, in which we will send out for external fabrication. Being a Wednesday, the day ended early at 3pm following a planned Track and Field meeting to attend for oh-my-gosh 10mins only before having to rush down to SGH for my Medical Appointment followup (As mentioned in my previous blog entry).

Things raised in the track meeting were mainly on the required need to print the IVP jackets and polo tee-shirts, tailoring training programs for the juniors and lastly a track and field gathering at Sentosa this Saturday. Headed down to Funan to check out the computer hardware prices for my FYP in comparison to that I’ve on record from SimLim Square.

Apparently, it seems given the exception of a few singled out product, almost all the other items in Funan are easily 5%-10% more expensive than what you get in Simlim Square- reliterating the obvious place for cheaper computer parts. Well, unless you are a tourist, simply like shopping in posh boutiques or simply can’t DIY a PC for nuts.

Theres a Nokia booth at the ground floor and what the least I can do but enquire on the upcoming Nokia N95 8GB. However, as expected the sales people there know nuts about the upcoming phone and can only give non-concrete predictions of release dates and prices based from previous model launch rates – “definitely more than $1000″- the?

This scenario is typical to that of Singapore PC exhibition shows as well, where the sales people there know as much of the product as the product information flyer they hand over to you, anything else our Singa trademark: “I dunno”.

At least I can give them a consolation that they even know that a Nokia N95 8GB exist, contrary to the N95 US version (launched this week) which they all simply just went “huh?”.

Sales people do your homework!

Had sometime, so I guess I got kinda carried away typing up a “short post” on technology changes I would expect in years to come, the end result is this post.

Looking back, technology had really progressed amazingly fast over the years, not to mention price downs as well. I still remembered having paid $75 for a 4MB memory stick back in 2000, the equivilant for that price now is a 4GB SD card or 1000 times the storage capacity. Man! technology now, tomorrow’s old. With that I here is my predictions for technology in Singapore in about 5 years time:

Lifestyle Changes, Trends & Gadgetery specifics

• Infra-red protocol will replaced mainstream by wireless Bluetooth protocols hitting at least 1Mbps
• USB charging will be the mainstream format for consumer gadgets
• Most households can have the option for additonal 2 USB ports per power socket for charging purposes
• 10 Megapixel camera phones will be the norm, on top of 20MP Digital cameras with HD Video recording norm
• The fine line between MP3 Players, PDAs & Ultra-portable PCs (UMPCs) will fade. In preference for All-In-One computing ultraportables
• Petrol Kiosks will have Hybrid car replaceable batteries as standard & so are selected LPG topup hotspots
• People will start being arrested for trying to use their Stove LPGs to power their Natural Gas Cars
• Your air-conditional, stove, blender or even toaster may come Wi-fi “ready/enabled” and able to be remote controlled globally
• LCD screens will be so cheap to produce, its cheaper than their CRT counterparts (as presently) & will be used in many structural aspects from static, bus to taxi advertising
• OLED/OLCD & Hi-Colour 64-bit LCDS will take the new luxury center stage as Plasmas/LCDs today.
• >200″ LCD screen manufactured (100″ Current) used in low power immersive billboards/projector alternative
• Digital Wi-Fi radio will start forming its root on the Wi-Max network, with radio stations named after their ip address (e.g Power Radio 202.14.168) instead of the frequencies (e.g 91.3FM)
• Car radios, Hi-Fi sets and radios will have media card slots as norm.

Mobile Devices

• Your phone can have 1 ringtone for GSM calls, 1 for SMS, 1 for VoIP, 1 for Email, 1 for MSN & 1 for Bluetooth device discovery
• Fixed Line phones & GSM will be phased out in cities using Wi-Max in favour of VoIP (2010 islandwide Wi-fi)
• VoIP is preferred over GSM, with more multimedia capabilities and lower subscription costs.
• You handphone will have as much processing power than your PC now
• Handphones have subwoofers built-in
• Bluetooth stereo headphones, mics hits mainstream

Storage

• Record companies start selling CDs and DVD in smaller flash media (e.g SD cards) with copyright hardware protection
• Classic Full Size Memory Formats (e.g full sized SD, MS stick, etc) will be phased in preference for the smaller format which is the norm.
• Mainstream consumer flash memory cards hits at least 32-64GB regions for CF (first) & SDHC ranges
• Tape & DVD based video camcorders will suffer the same fate as film based ones, in favour for onboard harddisks/flash memory/removable memory, etc
• Harddisks reach 2TB in size with 32MB Cache
• 500GB SolidState harddrives released

Computer hardware

• 1st 100% Flash based mainstream laptop launched with 128GB flash harddrive offering instant on/boot.
• You can power your portable devices using water
• Standalone Laptop battery life hits the 24hour mark
• There will be a new DIY market for notebooks (barebooks) as notebook becomes more modular.
• Desktop single card Quad/Oct GPUs will be favoured over physical Dual/Quad SLI graphics solutions.
• Graphics Memory capacity Hits 4GB as standard with 64-bit processors mainstream
• 8-16 core CPUs will be mainstream with memory speeds hitting at least 2Ghz – 3Ghz, processors at least 5Ghz with more thermal & calculative efficiencies per watt & gigahertz.
• Mice will have as much optical/laser resolution & tracking accuracy as a 10 Megapixel DSLR Today.
• Multifunction scan/copy/print printers will take the norm stage, standalone scanners faced out.
• The standard household printer can print photographs as fine as any high-quality photo lab currently.
• “Backlight Kits” will be offered mainstream to consumers who wants to replace their LCD backlights >50,000hrs
• 64-bit computing is the norm accepted standard

Woot that’s alot of technology for one day, hold it cowboy!

Just like what Dick Tracy had with that funky watch, only better! Qiao Xing Mobile Communication, one of China’s leading domestic manufacturers of mobile handsets which operates its business primarily through its subsidiary, CEC Telecom Co. Ltd. announced the launch of one of the Company’s most innovative products to date, the W100 Wrist Watch phone.

Mobile Phone Watch with Camera
The Xing Mobile W100 Believed to be First wrist watch phone with build-in digital camera in China. The Wrist Watch Mobile Phone will appear in stores in mid-September. The Company plans to introduce TV infomercials to help market and sell the product. The W100 Wrist watch mobile phone with build-in 2MP digital camera comes in 7 colors that will allow it to fit the tastes of a wide variety of users.

According to Mr. Wu Zhi Yang, Chairman of QXM, “We are extremely excited by this product, which represents the culmination of many months of hard work and the close and successful collaboration among our marketing, sales and product development teams. Given the truly unique features of this phone, we think it will not only see favorable reception in the market, but we also believe that it could help enhance the overall recognition of our brand in China.”

W100 Wrist Watch Mobile Phone features

• 65k TFT-LCD touch screen
• 1GB T-flash extendable memory
• Multi-media and connectivity features, including MP3, MPEG4
• Instant messaging
• Surround sound
• Bluetooth
• FM radio
• 2.0 megapixel digital camera
• 7 Colorful designs

It will be available for order in few months time, I doubt we can get our hands on this in Singapore though.

Here are some heads up and it’s official on the new revised N95, primarily made for the US market it’s still called the N95 aka N95 US (and not the N95i nor the N95 music edition). There is no telling how Nokia will rebrand it here in Asia, but for identification stakes I will call it the “i” version and man do the specs look convincing.

Nokia N95 US Edition (aka N95i)
Nokia really listened to users this time addressing the battery issue head on with a new improved high capacity 1200mAh battery in the same compact phone size & dimensions. There is confirmed 8GB SDHC support tested with Sandisk 8GB SDHC (which should largely compatible with most other major SDHC brands too).

Moreover, besides firmware and miscellaneous cosmetic improvements to improve usablity the internal RAM had also been doubled to 128MB. For those often giving your phone the “spins” the lens and cover switch does not protrude out of the body now and sits flushed inside the phone’s body. In summary, here are the following improvements we have:

• New redesigned body with bigger battery compartment (internal)
• 128MB RAM (From 64MB)
• 2.6″ screen to brighter 2.8″ screen at the same 320×240 resolution
• 1200 mAh Nokia BL-6F Battery (from 950mAh)
• New weight ~ 125g (5g more than old N95)
• Available in Black-graphite (back plate only)
• Camera lens now flushed (sunken) inside body
• Manual camera slide lenscover removed
• Repostioned glass flash at center
• Music keys are now padded

*Note these are the only listed changes, specs not mentioned are left the same (i.e 5MP camera, SiFR Star III GPS, etc).

There is still word on whether the screen is bigger or spot a higher resolution, but frankly, thats the least the N95 needs in terms of an upgrade- a larger screen with more pixels means a larger battery drain and it defeats the purpose of the larger capacity battery if battery life is already a concern for many.

Revised N95i Music Keys

Revised N95i Camera

Revised N95i Battery Compartment

The phone will still come bundled with a 1GB MicroSD in the box (which I believe you will be junking for a higher cap anyway). For those who currently own the N95, nope you cannot use the new high capacity battery as it’s thicker and won’t fit the old N95 (see above picture with the new N95 on the left and old on the right). Expect the old N95 prices to tumble the moment this baby comes out year end before Christmas and this new baby will take the pole position as Nokia’s Flagship phone.

Nokia N95 8GB Edition (aka Black Music Edition)
It’s official, there is actually (believe or not) another 8GB version of the N95 coming out, so shown by FFC reports with real pictures to brag. So apparently the old rumors were actually true.

N95 8GB Edition Black

N95 8GB Edition Black Insides

N95 8GB Edition Black Music Keys

The N95 8GB edition will be available in black and is a successor to the N91 8GB music phone. Though running on 8GB flash memory, the only drawback is that there is NO MicroSD expansion slot in this edition of the N95.

Nokia N95 8GB Open

Nokia N95 8GB Landscape

Nokia N95 8GB Menus

In place will be Nokia’s large data management application. The camera will be similar to that of the N95 US (as shown above) with the same 5MP carl zeiss optics but flash repositioned to the center with the sunken lens. The 8GB music edition will also spot the new larger battery cover (and larger battery as well). Best of all, it’s available all in Black! It looks simply stunning with the blue LEDs lighting.

N95 8GB Source – FFC. Credit going to Darla Mack for the N95US heads up.

It seems that Nokia is not quite contented with the N95 crown jewel dominating the limelight at the moment (and trashing the iphone too). As we all know, Nokia always upgrades current handsets by making them black and installing firmware and hardware upgrades besides slapping a distictive ‘i’ a the end of every such model. The N95i is no exception either.

The N95i is said to be (as sourced from Nokia’s official RSS feeds) to spot an in-built 8GB internal flash memory together with what already on-board, let be GPS, wifi, bluetooth, 5Mp shooter, etc. The interesting thing is that this rumor bare very close coincidence to the N81/N82 specifications (due to be out Q3-Q4 2007), which will ALSO spot 8GB of internal storage. The increased internal storage will not only hit the spot on for holding not only music but making the phone more capable to store the 640×480 30fps video it notoriously clogs microSDs with ease.

The n95i branded music edition could also mean that it could be in all black, a favorite sleek colour to the limited options available now.

Aug 2007 Update!
There are official news I’ve posted on another blog entry
Apparently it’s still called the N95 not N95i nor N95 music edition.

You can view the post on site here

Announced early January this year and showcased in Cebit, The Toshiba G900 is official out for sale in all glory the main feature being a wide 800 pixel width screen making web browsing a breeze, here are some shots of the beauty:

G900 Box

QWERTY Keyboard

Box contents

Official specifications of Toshiba G900 from the user manual:

Expected Retail price will start from about $1200SGD w/o mobile contract
Official Product Website

Well steve, seems that there are quite a few laughs out there.

shhh they are listening, pretend to talk!

For those who wanna know more bout the iphone, read more below:

The thing with almost all PDA device manufacturers out there, they just do not seem to get the recipe right or simply just do not listen to consumers. For me, the perfect phone is very hard to come by it’s always either this or that in terms of features. Never have there been a single phone with all the features I need. So what can I do but sit down and start thinking: what defines the phone I need. After some consideration, planning and evaluation, this is my interpretation of the “perfect phone” given the current technological limitations we have. This phone is also part of a new addition into my product design portfolio under my Design house DESIGNO SHINGJI. Here is a run through:

Can’t decide? Have them both!
The Xavier prototype is a clamshell/ candybar dual-form factor Pocket PC phone running Windows Mobile 6.0 crossbow. It supports Quad Band (GSM 800/900/ 1800/1900), UTMS 2100 & 3.5G HSDPA. The Xavier features an upper rotating screen, allowing it to be rotated and used like a PDA. In PDA form factor, 4 application keys still accessible above it’s internal screen.

Productivity at it’s finest
Running on an 520Mhz Xscale processor backed by 128MB RAM & 256MB onboard flash ROM (expandable with external MicroSD Cards including SDHC cards up to 32GB), the Xavier is your ultimate mobile warrior.

3.2MP Rotating Camera	Flip mode with large screen adn comfortable keypad	PDA form.

Intuitive functions
A 320×240 main screen flaunts it’s main screen and all functions can be accessed with the side Jogdial on it’s left, followed by the locking switch & MicroSD Slot. The right side features dedicated Camera and Voice command buttons. Besides the 3 programmeable buttons above the internal keypad, there are 4 more above the main screen accessible in both modes. Below the Wireless/Phone/GPS indicator LEDs which both are viewable when the phone is open or closed.

One Camera, all functions
The phone also features a 3.2 Megapixel rotating camera with 4x digital zoom integrated into it’s central hinge. It records VGA (640×480) video at 30fps & can be rotated facing the user for video conferencing. Software marco-mode allow closeups & nightshots are luminated by a Mini Xeon flash mounted on the rotating lens body.

Never get lost
An onboard SPIR STAR III GPS chip and receiver integrated into the upper portion of the phone gives you direction anytime, anywhere. Perfect for traveling, driving or commuting.

3.5mm Jack, LED indicators & SD slot	Landscape mode	External OLED display with Music Controls

Extensive Connectivity
The phone supports dual-mode VOIP internet hotspot calling and internet surfing with in-built wi-fi a/b/g, allowing you to save on outgoing phone bills by calling out using VOIP, yet recieve incoming calls through GSM as well. Internet hotspot auto sniffing can be turn-on/off at a press of a button to conserve battery, continuous off or only when you are making a call.

Multimedia powerhouse
Supporting Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity with A2DP, the Xavier allows you to listen to music without bounded by wires, beside standard Bluetooth profiles and sync, Bluetooth Remote profile is also supported. Use your current external wired headphones with the Xavier’s 3.5mm audio external connector, which allows activation and use of the in-built FM radio. The flushed and discreet external OLED screen displays vital information such as Caller-id info, Music/Song Information or Time/Date in Standby. Music playback can be controlled through the external dedicated play buttons.

Long Battery Life
The Xavier is powered by a 1440mah removable Li-ion battery giving the best balance of battery life with it’s features without extensive power drain. The Xavier supports USB charging, host/client & sync through mini-USB.

Feature List:

• Clamshell and PDA form factor
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz (GPRS), UMTS 2100MHz & 3.5G HSDPA
• Windows Mobile 6.0 Crossbow
• 520Mhz Xscale Processor
• Memory 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM
• MicroSD SDHC expansion (Up to 32GB cards)
• 105mm x 58mm x 21mm
• Weight: 170g
• 9 days standby time (GSM 4 hours talk time, UMTS 3 hours)
• 2.8″ 16M color TFT, 240×320 res
• MMS/EMS/SMS
• POP/IMAP4/SMTP Email
• 3.2 Megapixel Rotating Lens with Xeon Flash
• Video Capture 640×480 @ 30fps
• Bluetooth with A2DP
• Wi-fi a/b/g
• VOIP (Dual mode) Calling
• SPIR STAR III GPS
• Polyphonics & stereo speakers
• MP3/OGG/AAC/W4A/WMA Music player
• Dedicated Music buttons
• Secondary External Music Player Controls
• External OLED Display
• Hardware FM radio
• Dual Speakerphone
• 3.5mm Audio Jack Output
• 1440mah Li-ion Battery
• USB Charging & Sync

Now to put it to production…

As part of the new phones announced at 3GSM in Barcelona, here are few of the few interesting phones which should be coming out within 1 or 2 quarters time. HTC and Nokia didn’t really steal the show though, as most the products on show are actually announced products ages ago. But Toshiba also came out with a heart-stopper with their 800×400 screen resolution Pocket PC called the G900 with almost everything the HTC Hermes (Aka Dopod 838Pro) has plus a larger screen and an integrated finger print reader (Video on fingerprint scrolling). Motorola is reliving up with the traditional 90s banana sliders with the Motorola RIZR Z8 in a hip trim of green as opposed to their age old MOTOROKR E6 which I was considering getting last month. Glad I didn’t purchase it then. With that I guess the stars of the show have to be from the Samsung booth with these 2 phones:

Samsung F520 HSDPA, EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz + 2.1GHz 3 Megapixel Camera with Flash 262k TFT (3”, 480×272) Full Touch Screen Dual Axis Slider MPEG4/H.263/H.264/Real MP3/AAC(+)/eAAC+/Real Hot Launching Key (TV, Internet, Music) MMS/E-mail/JAVA/WAP 2.0 Bluetooth® / USB Flash UI, Document Viewer Full HTML Browser Offline Mode, BGM microSD™ Expansion 104.8 x 53.7 x 17.4 mm	Samsung F700 HSDPA 1.8Mbps/UMTS, EDGE/GPRS 900/1800/1900 MHz + 2.1GHz 5 Megapixel Camera w/Auto-Focus & Flash 262k TFT (2.78”, 440×240) screen Non-Stylus Full Touch Screen MPEG4/H.263/H.264/Real MP3/AAC(+)/eAAC+/Real Slideout QWERTY Keypad MMS/E-mail/JAVA/WAP 2.0 Bluetooth® / USB Flash UI / Document Viewer Full HTML Browsing Offline Mode, BGM microSD™ Expansion 104 x 50 x 16.4 mm

Do note that both phones are Windows powered, but running Samsung’s Unique GUI Theme and Animated Menus (possibly their answer to Nokia’s 3rd Gen S60 and Nvidia phone interface?) instead of the chunky Standard Pocket PC interface, but you can still be able to run all your old Pocket PC software with it. Noticeably the specifications left out are the onboard RAM and ROM which is native for Windows Mobile based devices and there is no confirmed spec of Wi-Fi being included in both phones, besides the all standard bluetooth. Product specifications are subject to change without notice though, so expect alot of updates and news to come.

I-mate Ultimate WM6.0 : 5150, 6150, 7150, 8150 and 9150
With i-Mate dunking HTC as an ODM manufacturer (with HTC strangely stating the desire for a merger with SE), i-Mate had came out with a new range of non-HTC devices for the 2007 lineup, dubbed the “Ultimate Series”, the specs raises eyebrows considerably too, with 262k VGA screens and Windows Mobile 6 “Crossbow” across the board for instance.

The higher end 7150 tablet comes with a 3.6″ LCD touch screen with the most compact 8150 candybar going at a mere 11.5mm. Even the 9150 flip phone variant has a touch screen, (which could be quite difficult to use as a clamshell). Otherwise last is a choice between a slider or a front integrated keypad for the 5150, 6150 and 8150. Here are the basic specifications across the board, with the exception of both the 8150 and 9150 spotting external sleek OLED screens.

• Intel Bulverde 520MHz
• Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, Tri-Band UMTS/HSDPA
• WiFi 802.11B/G/E/I
• 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM
• Micro SD card slot
• VGA 262K Colour LCD Touch Screen
• Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR – up t 1.3 Mbps
• Mini USB high speed – 480 Mbps
• Direct Video Out XGA
• Micro SD card slot
• 2.0 mega pixel camera
• FM Stereo Radio
• Microsoft Direct Push email directly from MS Exchange 2003 SP2

Lastly, besides downing DRM, undoubtedly Jobs is planning an upgrade of the iPhone labeled the iPhone 2.0 mainly as it will be largely outdated by the time it’s released mid this year.

Though this might not be the latest of news, but hey had been researching on this phone for a few weeks now and it would actually be out mid-end this month in Singapore as said by an ETEN carrier here. Yes though it won’t have a 5MP camera with VGA 30fps video, a keypad and funky looks but, I think I found my dream phone – The Eten glofiish M700 have the best blend of of features as an entertainment and navigation phone, all coupled with a decent camera (especially more than enough for moblogging on site) and what’s more, windows WM 5.0 OS. The specs are as follows:

Eten M700 Keyboard	Eten M700 Perspective	Eten M700 Front

• 400MHz Samsung processor
• 128 MB ROM
• 64 MB SDRAM
• 117.5 x 59 x 19.8 mm
• Weight 165 g
• Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 3.2
• 2.8″ 65K QVGA display
• Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE (No 3G)
• Sliding hardware QWERTY keyboard (with funky backlighting)
• FM radio
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g
• 2 megapixel camera
• GPS receiver (SiRF Star III chipset)
• MiniUSB Charging and sync
• 3.5mm audio port (YES!)
• MicroSD expansion

Press Release: It will be coming out by December 2006 in time for christmas.

I think I found the phone I am finally looking for, the O2 XDA Zinc (aka Asus Mars II). Not a far cry as a downgrade from my current Dell Axim with a VGA (640×480 screen, 624Mhz Processor & 16MB Dedicated 3D accelerator). This one has all the stuffs I currently need without having to carry around 2-3 devices everyday, seemingly having to have them banded in rubber bands to keep them in place and preventing from misplacing them.

Whats more, it’s made by Asus and surprisingly not HTC. It will be rebranded as usual by your local telecom carriers (launch prices for UTMS based phones ~ $1300 w/o Contract). As it’s recently FCC approved, we can see this baby coming around Q4 2006 to Q1 2007 in Asia Pacific as the O2 XDA Zinc, which is kinda cheesy for a name, now if only this were named the “XDA Stealth” instead. And now behold pics of the Dopod 838Pro Killer:

Slide Out Keyboard	Front w/Stylus	Removed showing Keyboard Connector

O2 XDA Zinc, aka Asus Mars II Specs:

• Intel PXA270 520Mhz Processor
• Windows 5.0 OS Phone Edition
• 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM
• Volume 109 x 58 x 22.6mm
• 165g with Battery
• 2.8″ 65K 240×320 TFT LCD Screen
• GSM (900/1800/1900Mhz) WCDMA2100, UTMS version avaliable (No HSDPA 3.5G)
• 3G Video Calling (Depending on carrier)
• Slide out QWERTY keyboard
• 1300mah Battery
• Mini-SD format (Hotswap) (+Point)
• 3 banded 2.5mm Audio & Mic Port (+Point)
• 2MP Autofocus Camera w/1x-2.5x DZoom w/o Marco
• Camera Resolutions (80×60, 160×120, 320×240, 640×480, 1280×960, 1600×1200)
• Video Resolutions (80×60, 160×120, 320×240)
• Video capture framerate at Framerate unspecified ATM (Shoud be around 15-20fps MAX, based off current 2MP generation phones of equal specs)
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Infrared: SIR
• Wireless-g/a/b Networks
• USB, IrDA, Bluetooth Sync
• USB Charging
• USB Client function

From what I see, besides the all already standard functions like USB client (Sadly no USB Host though), USB sync and charging form the same port, what really sets this device from the current HTC Hermes (aka Dopod 838Pro) is not only the beefier 520Mhz Intel Xscale processor, but the very conventional 3 banded 2.5mm Audio jack, which can be easily converted to a standard (3 banded w/mic or 2 banded only stereo sound) 3.5mm jack output by means of a simple small wired adaptor you can purchase from your local audio/hi-fi/handphone store. This means you can use all your current headphones on this device right out of the box without the need of any specialised device-specific plug/adaptor or so.

1300Mah Battery	Layout Specs 1/2	Layout Specs 1/2

Item 8 on the diagram will be the seondary 3G video call camera which is missed from the layout mapping. The 1300mah battery is of decent capacity. Moreover, MircoSD costs a simply a fraction of that of MicroSDs, not to mention being a more preferred mainstream media like full sized SDs, contrary to the irritating MircoSD format. At least Asus practises some form of standard here, unlike HTC.

Depending on your mobile carrier/shop, the following are standard and are included in the Box:

Package Contents

• Asus Mars II Unit x 1
• Battery x 1
• AC – Mini USB Adapter x 1
• Mini USB Cable x 1
• Stylus x 1
• Protection Case x 1
• Headset x1 (Wired 2.5mm stereo with PTT MIC)
• Companion CD x 1, Bonus CD x 1
• User Manual x 1
• Quick Start Guide x 1

If you are looking for an upgrade without having to go through a culture shock the Dopod 838Pro offers by having to junk all your current wired headphones & MiniSD cards as they don’t seem to fit anywhere, this is for you. Both sensible and practical… so as Asus seemingly came to realise.

It seems that Nokia is quite aggressive on the phone launch lately, sticking to the N80 form, comes the lighter yet (more loaded) N95. It simply just give me second thoughts of continuing to wait to purchase the super outdated and overdue Benq-Siemens P51 (which still spots a 1.3MP camera, but runs WM OS and had GPS) given the rapid specs race in the mobile phone industry. Luckily I didn’t go for the Dopod 838 Pro or the Sony Ericsson P990i Nokia N95 last month as there are so many interesting options now, esp with 5MP shooters starting with the LG KG920.

I believe I must make a stand now: my next phone must be able to record video at 640×480 @ 30fps minimum (so that will bring about a 3.2MP camera at least and reducing the need to get a dedicated video camera) have FM radio, Bluetooth, Wifi, GPS, WM OS and a hardware keyboard preferred (or a form similar to the P990i) if not I would be downgrading! Seems that the fine line between phones, still & video cameras are indeed fading now. You will meet the N95 only on the planned release date of Q1 2007 in Asia. Expected retails prices should loom around at least $900SGD without contract for initial release.

Nokia N95	Nokia N95 Open	Nokia N95 Media Buttons

• Slider Keypad form factor
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, UMTS 2100MHz
• GPRS/WCDMA/HSDPA/WiFi
• Symbian OS
• 99mm x 53mm x 19mm
• 120g
• 8.75 days standby time (2.5/3.5 hours talk time, GSM/UMTS)
• 2.6″ 16M color TFT, 240×320 res
• MMS/EMS/SMS
• POP/IMAP4/SMTP Email
• 5 megapixel with Carl Zeiss Tessar Lens
• Video Capture 640×480 @ 30fps
• Secondary QVGA Video Call Camera
• Memory 160MB ROM, microSD expansion (Up to 2GB cards currently)
• Bluetooth with A2DP
• Infrared
• Wi-fi a/b/g
• GPS
• Java Installable Apps/Games
• Polyphonics & stereo speakers
• MP3/AAC/W4A/WMA Music player
• Dedicated reverse slide up Music buttons
• Hardware FM radio
• Dual Speakerphone

Here is an update from Allsymbian.com, updates in BOLD:

Nokia will announce the Nokia N95 its newest S60 3rd Edition multimedia computer or as Nokia say ‘it is what computers have become’. The N95 features an innovative double slide design with multimedia controls and a keypad on opposite end of the phones.

The N95 is Nokia’s first HSDPA (3.5G) device, but also boasts WiFi, WCDMA, quad-band GSM, Bluetooth, IrDA and USB 2.0 connectivity (via mini USB connector). Other hardware features include a 5 megapixel camera, a built in GPS, TV-Out, 3.5mm audio jack, a MicroSD memory card slot and 150MB of internal memory. At 99mm x 20mm x 53mm (90cc) the N95 packs an impressively amount into a small space. Read on for more details and pictures.

HSPDA is the next generation in cellular connectivity. The N95 is a category 6 HSPDA device which means it is up to 10 times faster that WCDMA or 3G (This is largely network dependant, check with your operator for such offered services. HSPDA is currently not available in Singapore)

The 5.0 megapixel camera uses Carl Zeiss Optics with autofocus and digital zoom with a dedicated 2 stage capture button on the side of the phone. Video capture at near DVD quality is also supported.

A GPS is integrated into the device with anticipated accuracy of around 10m (satellite signal permitting). The devices will ship with an application called Maps which has global overview maps built in. More detailed maps (with coverage over more than 100 different countries available) can be downloaded for free from an online server.

The N95 uses S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 and as such includes version 2.0 of the opensource Nokia web browser (supports WML, XHTML and HTML in one browser), Flash Lite 2.0, FOTA (firmware over the air updates) and more.

New Images

N95 Keypad	N95 Media Keys

woot!

When I brought my first Siemens handphone more than 6 years ago, I’ve never turned away from that brand ever since & went on with my SX1 till now. Then things started looking bleak when BenQ acquired them. As I never really like BenQ phones. I never thought I would see myself owning another Siemens. Till I almost forgot of the Fujitsu-Siemens brand of phones. In the mist of searching for my next “purrrfect phone”, presenting the Fujitsu-Siemens T830. (Pictured on left, beside the HTC Hermes aka O2 XDA Trion aka Dopod 838 Pro on the right)
Specifications:

• Windows Mobile 5.0 OS
• 240×240 Touchscreen
• 2MP Primary Autofocus Camera
• Video Call Secondary VGA Cam
• GSM/UTMS 3G
• Side JogDial
• Wi-Fi 802.11b and 802.11g
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Built in GPS Chip & Reciever
• Hardware Qwerty Keyboard
• Full Sized SD/SDIO/MMC slot
• 3.5mm Audio Jack
• 128MB ROM & 64MB RAM

Maybe just make the keyboard more compact (like the blackberry/p990i or slider KB) to accomodate a full 2.7″ VGA 640×480 Screen (65k colours at least, 262k preferred), slap in HSPDA3.5G support & FM radio & it will just hit it right on the sweet spot.

One Fujitsu Siemens T830 review by solopalmari & another from mobinaute.com (with babelfish translation from french).

The greatest welcome for the T830 is the use of the standard full sized SD cards (over adaptor format nightmares with miniSD or the horrific microSD cards) with its SDIO/SD/MMC slot & the presence of a 3.5mm Audio Jack with mini USB sync as standard.

The biggest reason pulling me back in the T830 is the 240×240 1:1 aspect screen. Though being a WM5.0-specific supported feature, it will the product’s main downfall – it WILL HAVE problems with most PPC programs designed for the QVGA 4:3 aspect screens, together with older WM2003 programs (either it won’t run or will have the bottom chopped off). Hopefully Fujitsu Siemens will release a succesor to the already promising T830 with these such recommended changes I will cover next.

In summary, the dream phone most people would want at the moment is non-existent. Currently its only a bit here & there, so maybe da manufacturers can get back on the drawing board with these features AT LEAST:

• Windows Mobile 5.0 OS (Phone Ed)
• 400Mhz Processor (XScale 624Mhz preferred)
• QVGA Touchscreen (VGA 640×480 preferred)
• 2MP Primary Autofocus Camera
• 0.3MP Secondary Video Cam
• Quad-Band GSM/UTMS 3G/HSDPA
• Side JogDial
• Wi-Fi 802.11b & 802.11g
• Bluetooth 2.0
• FM Radio w/built-in Antenna
• IrDA (Optional)
• Mini-USB sync/charging port with USB Host
• Built in GPS Chip & Reciever
• Hardware Qwerty Keyboard (Slideout prefered to maintain form)
• Full Sized SD/SDIO/MMC slot - IMPORTANT!
• Full sized 3.5mm Audio Jack - IMPORTANT!
• 128MB ROM & 64MB RAM
• 1350mah primary battery

Some features compliment another, like the full sized SD/MMC slots to go for loading in large maps for the GPS function, the 3.5mm jack acting as an antenna for the FM radio & a universal Mini-USB port for everything IO. Moreover, so it won’t be considered a downgrade (or upgrade) when I get a replacement for my current 624Mhz VGA Dell Axim x50v. If only my Dell had a slide out keyboard & phone functionality… Hope I find my puurrfect phone soon, da current replacement 7250i is simply killing me.

Other than that, theres the HTC Artemis & the AnexTEK SP310 smartphone, here & here.

Been researching quite abit on the close battle between the 2 powerhouse phones, the Sony Ericsson P990i & the Dopod 838 Pro (HTC Hermes aka O2 XDA Trion aka Qtek 9600 whatever the rebranding). Both costing at least $1000 & representing the motherload of current consumer technology. I am still on the deciding stage so do drop down any comments/recomendations if any.

Here are the dissected advantages & disadvantages to consider:

P990i Advantages: FM Radio Friendlier User Interface More in-box accessories (like desktop charger, etc) Has all the possible ways to input text (KB, VKV, KP, Handwrite) Allows Touch Typing via Numeric keypad Seemingly better Camera (Cybershot Similar) Interface (Samples) Autofocus Camera with Marco & Semi-Pro Functions Looks, feels & uses more like a phone Lighter in weight 150g MS Duos Up to 8GB (4GB Max in market currently) More solid, have Sony Ericsson reknowned quality build, class & feel Has Cool removable Flip (Review) Revised new Symbian UIQ3.0 OS 262k Colour screen Very cool full Backlighting for KB & Numeric Keys Known better & reputable after sales & city repair service (SG side dependant) P990i Disadvantages: Larger volume 114×57x26mm dimensions Shorter battery Life Symbian OS UIQ3.0 don’t have much good expandable 3rd party software Incompatible with older Symbian UIQ applications Not the most user-friendly to install SIS/Jar Applications PC Sync is not one of the best & convenient Wi-fi up to Wireless-B (11Mps) Networks Smaller screen at same res Non-universal external media (MS Duo format mostly for Sony products only) Slightly more expensive (about $100-$200 more than the Dopod) No EDGE support Records video with a QVGA 320×240 pixels resolution at 15FPS MAX No 3.5mm audio Jack Need adaptor for PC-sync, Music & no direct Mini-USB port charging Stylus placed on left side? Limited onboard games & software (what you get out of box is more or less what you have)

Dopod 838 Pro Advantages: More familar Windows 5.0 OS Useful & discreet slide out keyboard Smaller volume 113×58x22mm dimensions Longer & Bigger battery (1350mah to 1120mah) Better contacts/email sync via ActiveSync & Outlook Extremely software expandable (plenty MP3 Players/Games in market) MicroSD format more compatible with more common SD slot devices with adaptor (than MS Duo) Higher Video capture framerate (QVGA 30FPS, Samples) Photos are sharper than the p990i Camera Marco Mode Faster 400Mhz Samsung Processor (to the P990i ARM9) Bigger, more comfortable QWERTY keyboard Quad-Band for various US/Europe Networks HSDPA 3.5G Networks Up to Wireless-G (54Mbps) Networks Larger screen at same res Relatively Cheaper Plug & play through any Mini-USB port Dopod 838 Pro Disadvantages: No Radio! Dumb MicroSD card format instead of fullsized SD (Adaptor Nightmare) MicroSD only up to 1GB capacity mainstream (with 2GB anounced only recently) Heavier (176g) Wasted space at keyboard Sides Not all front hardware buttons are backlighted (only softkeys, answer, hangup lighted) Talking is like holding an “N-gage” to your head Longer (2second+) shutter lag between shots Camera No Autofocus 65k Colour screen No 3.5mm Audio Jack Longtime OEM, HTC, has to establish its Dopod Housebrand, mostly unheard or new to the average consumer/layman. Not much of a Wow! factor compared to SE phones (& quality too) Not very spectacular & remote after sales & repair service center (SG side dependant)

More me, though it seems that the SE P990i seems to have the more cool factors & hardware functions, I am tending to lean more towards the Dopod side now, mainly because than I am a current Pocket PC user on a Dell Axim X50v, thus being more familar with the OS & able to run my favorite exisiting games, file explorers, notetakers & MP3 Players on it, futhermore SD cards are one of my most commonly used medias, & a MicroSD card can easily be compatible with all my full sized SD slot deviced with the adaptor, unlike MS Duo.

I didn’t touch on common features like Bluetooth (with A2DP & Audio Remote support), IrDA, Wifi, 128MB ROM/64MB RAM, Jogdial keys , no-software filesize limit, top flashing indictor lights, LED flash, being a “USB-mass-storage device” when PC-plugged & the 2MegaPixel camera as they are all common features. But I guess it’s the flexiblity built into the Windows OS which currently won me over. That is important as I can ultilise more features of the device with new upgraded software or registry changes given the nature of the Win Mobile OS, something the Symbian side can’t really do without risky flashing or hacking.

The lowdown is generally: Get the P990i if you want a phone with PDA functions OR Get the Dopod 838 Pro if you want a PDA with phone functions.

Whoa, Ten megapixels as announced at CeBIT with the SCH-B600. Just when you thought you digital camera has all the opmhh & off! this baby spots a 3x optical zoom, with flash, S-DMB support, Bluetooth, not to mention a possible helfy price tag. Whats more it even had EV-DO & TV-out so you can enjoy all your 10 Megapixels in full glory on your 42″ HDTV screen at home. No word on its release date though, but I guess this is what technology will soon become the norm.

I guess it will be no time when we see a merger of the video camcorder, digital still camera, handphone & PDA into one device, say lets give it 5 more years? Now all what we need is a market for lenses, teleconverters, tripods & specialised equipment & accessories for such upcoming gadgets.

Read more at Samsung HQ

In am in the mood for a long entry, hey so what word processors and spellcheck for right? they just invite you to spew out “text” so easily… This is gonna be quite a long entry, mind my blabbering…

And so there was me, pretty much cracked yesterday whether onto getting the Garmin 12XL GPS ($330 ouch!) to “illegally aid” my outfield topo exercise next week, or close one eye and turn the other to a Gameboy Advanced SP (GBA SP). The lowest priced GBA SP unit retailing in Simlim Square for $160SGD without games (and I wonder how can other stores sell them at $180 in other stores in the same shopping center, makes me super paranoid esp towards the cheaper versions). In the end, whew, just walked off the stores with just Need for Speed Underground ($49.90) trying to ignore and not regret my buying impulses later on…

Opinion- NFS Underground
Need for speed underground is not a bad game altogether, and I believe this is not the best EA can push the gameplay and car modification ablities to- would be looking forward to that in the next successor of NFS. Visual-wise, I can say its either me or my Ti4600, but the track details, lighting and reflections are indeed the best we can see in racing games presently- with high polygonal worlds, authentic signboards and advertisments, all finished with real time rendered reflections to the car and surroundings. Though the reflection-update rate can be faster (even when if the settings are maxed) for a more fluid feel. The interface is definatey more crappy than the previous NFS series, partly being a multi-platform game (supporting xbox, ps2, GBA), therefore getting around menus require more of cursor movements on PC than mouse. But of course the game’s different gameplays (circuit, sprint, drag, timetrail, drop(lap)out, drift) do offer (and cover) the various aspects one would desire of street racing, not to mention the rockin ingame music (which is kinda repetitous with a small collection though) and extreme customisation (with real manufacturer names) I say, its a game recommended for NFS fans, anyone itching for the underground feel or still riding on the fever of the fast and furious.
Verdict (Good, 3.5/5) Test Machine P4 2.5GHz, 1GB DDR333, GF4 Ti4600, MSI sis648 Max Mobo, 2×80GB IBM 120GXP, SB AudigyDE, all settings maxed @ 1024×768x32.

Back to blog
Ok now to Incamp stuffs, one of my bunkmates, CG brought a DVD player last week with tons of anime DVDs (Full metal panic, Slayers, etc…) Anime mecha… I like.

This pretty much woken me up from my “inventive freak sleep” few years ago after several failled attempts to create a mech (don’t laugh). I just feel that given the freedom, a reasonable budget and building space here in sunny Singapore, I would try building a mech in my backyard. Its no joke and I am no fanboy either, just feel that how neat it would be to have mechs roaming around it would be just something the world could do with. (even when if T3 skynet bots or matrix “creatures” were to come after me) Considering all my “day-dream design”, experiments with mechcanial locomotion and programming with lego mindstorms robotics, than maybe a few parts from a dumped segway for gyroscopes, scrap metal, decent engine and a hydraulic pump and pistons from maybe, an excavator, then we can see things start coming together. Minus the tedious need to write an operating system for it later… *crapload grin*

Physical training-wise, succesfully completed 2×6km runs within 31mins during the week (so thats about 5mins for 1km). Just wondering that since I had been training for long distance runs these few weeks, I have yet to test my short burst runs for 2.4km nafa tests, hope I can get at least 9m30s during the next run.

And yea, not to forget the boring car driving theory lesson I attended yesterday.. ZZzzzz. highway code lessons had never been so boring ever since I took the test for my bike license. I think I would be jumping straight in evaluation and BT Test sometime next week. On the practicals, lucky for me, my dad knows an old friend who heads a private driving school by the name of Boon (thats his name btw) he guarantees a faster route, at the same time saving more $ by not learning thru BBDC’s own instructors. That I have yet to see for myself. However, since all my elder cousins who were recommended to Boon for lessons and all passed on their first driving test, we will see, we will see….

Oh well, outfield glory and nitemare coming up next mon… argh!

Currently Listening: Linkin Park – PaperCut (3:05)

And now a phone to end my search, and too, a potential succesor of my old Siemens SL45i Mp3 phone, the SX1. Expected to be released in Aug this year, its one phone I would drool for, (though expecting a high price for it) being a Siemens fan myself (*gone are nokia phones man!*)

This one is as small as a Nokia 8250 at 110g, but stuffed inside are tons of features, here are some of them: Bluetooth, MMS, SMS, Video/Still pic camera (24bit at 640×480 res max) with 4x digital zoom, FM Tuner, MP3 Player, Video player/recorder, Voice recorder, Natural loud speaker, High res (176×220) 16-bit colour screen, Office/PDA functions (able to open MS office files, POP3 email), 24MB built in mem + MMC expansion card slot, all running on Symbian OS…. jus to name afew. woot!

Feel free to drop your comments on it!
Currently Listening: Perfect 10, 98.7FM

Dropped by Orchard today… again! this time quite late after dinner to purchase a new Nikon 35mm film camera, all in time for next week’s Passing Out Parade (POP). My older Canon camera had been giving problems with night shots and blurry pictures, and yea.. its time I’ve got a new film camera though, enough of digital ones for the time being too!

After making my purchase at Plaza Singapura, Best Denki (They had a good bundle too, the Litetouch 110SQD with a free tripod and Nikon dry camera storage box all for $218), I cannot imagine the amount of renovation works going on there now- though Liberty supermarket had been closed sometime early this year, yet the basement is still undergoing major works, so are the 3rd and 4th floors. Hereen had already given me so much renovation blues, now its PS’s turn.. grrr! On a lighter note, there are some new stores around, & though its around closing time.. yea, many are sadly of course, closed. Kopitiam food court had also undergone a recent facelift.. good though I like the new bright & cleaner look, better than the previous “dark adventure land theming”

Oh well, I guess thats all for now, heard from one of my NS friends (aka 2nd T-shirt IC) that the platoon T-shirt would be out tomorrow.. whee.. my design’s on it!..Moreover, will be bringing in lots of tibits and food for our “happy hour” this week, courtesy of our sgts… Party Time Dudes! BMT is coming to an end!

Currently Listening: Girls Aloud- No Good Advice