"Look, for the last time..."

I'm sick of reading about how ppl are saying that the Nexus One isn't an iPhone killer etc etc. I'll say this for the last time:

ITS NOT.

Was never meant to be. So Apple, get over yourself. I ain't a iPhone hater, I just don't think its the best tool for me.

I'm also so sick of supposed "tech editors" who write reviews and lament the:

1) lack of Pinch Zoom
2) spotty 3G/troubles with 3G
3) cramped keyboard
4) lack of flash support

Well, here on my blog I address these now:

1) There IS. I got the update as soon as I powered it on and it took less than a minute and was seamless. Plus, how practical is Pinch Zoom anyways?! (okay, subjective)

2) Either U.S. have crappy or spotty 3G or I have an exceptionally good handset for I don't have any issues with it. And I was ROAMING in Oz.

3) Go get a replacement keyboard. I recommend the HTC Touch Input which has a traditional Phone Keypad. (No other phone OS I know allows you to swap keyboards to your liking, iPhone included)

4) Its coming soon. Unlike on the Apple products which shun it.

So see, I say again, if you have a problem with the Nexus or its other Android ilk, the problem is most likely YOU.

"A bad workman always blames his tools"

Yes I agree its not pick-up-and-use friendly, but like anything worth investing in, the more you use it the more it rewards you with little features which amaze you. And this translates into lasting appeal. Just like how most men worth their salt go for women who are more than skin deep. You talk to brains, not boobs. FACT.

And if anyone wants to tout the App Store vs Android Market as a veritable argument. I say to you sir, keep arguing. All of the popular apps created for the iPhone have now also been created for the Android.

And here's the killer blow: the App Store has 200,000++ apps vs the Android Market's now 50,000++. However, ponder this, more than 60% of the apps are FREE (http://www.gsmarena.com/android_market_total_app_count_passes_the_50k_milestone_-news-1603.php). That's right. FREE.

The Nexus One is not meant to kill the iPhone. It's meant to kill the ways of old.

Fear is a great motivator

Wow..have you checked out the news lately? If you have, you've undoubtedly heard or read about the on going lawsuit against HTC and thus Google's Android. Apple's alleging that HTC had violated several iPhone patents. I'm sure these include the gimmicky pinch-zoom gesture and the iconic tablet like look of the current gen smartphones among other things.

This particular spat has awakened the curiosity in me: why now, Apple? Make no mistake, its their right of course to pursue the lawsuit if they think that's really what's happening. I for one though, don't think its gonna fly. I mean, all other mobile makers have been using touch and the like on their phones since the iPhone and the iPod Touch made their debut. And why not? The iPhone et al have been selling like hotcakes. Its only natural everyone wants a piece of that cake. The Koreans, notably, LG and Samsung have embraced the touch technology with open arms. Nokia has ported its beloved Symbian equipped phones to the touch model and have even used a new more touch-friendly OS called Maemo. But is Apple suing them? No. Why?

I have a hunch that its because Apple's afraid for the first time. Yes, the behemoth that is Apple Corp, is afraid that its baby is gonna be eclipsed. The Android has been getting better with each iteration and Apple's taking pre-emptive action, HTC being an example (if it falls through).

If you ask me the Android and iPhone OS caters to different types of people. Yes, they're both conceptually very similar and are natural competitors, but spend at least a day with either, you'll realise what I mean.

The iPhone is an excellent multimedia device. Its tightly integrated iPod player takes very good care of the music department. Better than the Android's crude music player. Its also extremely user-friendly being one of the more idiot-proof devices. And then there's the App Store which is loaded to the max with cool apps, but which whom are we kidding, cater more to games and music more than anything else.

The Android is first and foremost great at multitasking and thus, more apt at social networking and push emailing which should cater very well to the work-on-the-go types. As mentioned before, its multimedia capabilities aren't up to par with the iPhone. Admittedly though this varies depending on which phone its deployed on. However, where it really shines is its embracing of the Open Source nature. Which means its codes are free to anyone who's decent with some programming knowledge. Not to mention if you're a heavy Google apps user (gtalk, gmail, maps).

There you go. iPhone vs Android in a nutshell. Why is Apple really getting riled up? Well an article I read recently kinda confirmed my suspicions. Its no secret Google and Apple were great business partners, maybe still are. But the fact is Apple's CEO is getting personal, thinking that with the Android, Google has stabbed it in the back. Afterall, Apple's iPhone did use a fair bit of Google's applications. I say b*ll*cks to that.

Google has always been about power-to-the-people. And if Google knew that the iPhone would be revolutionary (and it is), why wouldn't it be promoted on it? Apple should really really stop getting emo and just get on with doing what it does best: marketing and innovating expensive, easy-to-use devices. Yes, I said expensive. I guess there's a price to pay if you want user-friendliness.

Well if you really want a direct comparison, then how bout personal tastes? Me, I'm just glad that there's an alternative and a really good one to the iPhone. It was getting a bit ubiquitous and thus, boring. Androids though, come in all shapes and sizes. Can you say that about the iPhone? Well maybe that fat one called the iPad...but nah..don't think so.

I like substance more than style.

Thank you, Lord

Only a few more hours till the love of my life arrives in Malaysia. And its gonna be these few weeks having her physically around me that's gonna be the highlight of the entire year.

Alot of people around me seem to think I'm doing fine and its like I'm fine with doing a long-distance. Truth is they don't see the long sleepless nights, the meals alone, the difficulty of getting up from bed because there's just not much to look forward to.

I really really thank God that He found me. Because, eventhough I said there's not much to look forward to, I'm really glad He's put lots of great people around me. My church buddies, my colleagues and my two childhood friends who've grown with through the years.

Its really amazing what God can do in one's life. I just came off this really enjoyable trip with the latter two mates of mine. It was just so fun. Hanging out in Kelantan, seeing the cutest baby girl and her baby gibberish. You could melt right there :)

And now, Phoebe is coming home to me. Just want to dedicate this post to God the Father for sustaining me all through out this trying time. Thank you Father.

P/S Joony just bought a XM5530. Watch for review soon!

Cell dillema

2nd post tonight. Oooh I must be bursting at the seams that hold my head together. Yeah, just coming off surfing www.gsmarena.com. Its this website that I think is pretty comprehensive in their mobile device reviews.

As most of you have probably know I'm using a C905. I really really like this phone. Its stuffed to the brim with features for a non-smart OS phone. Its got HSDPA (3.5G), UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, GPS, Wi-Fi. Quite an eyeful innit? I could go on. And I will. Bear with me, I'm going somewhere with this I promise. Its got a pedometer (a pace counter that calculates your walk/run pace), a superb game, music and video player plus YouTube. And its crown jewel the 8.1 megapixel camera.

So that's the connectivity, fitness, entertainment and imaging taken care of. In short, it does everything one could possibly want from a gadget stopping short of unzipping your fly for you when you want to take a leak. It even looks good.

So why this post? You see, the C905, lovely though it is has one major shortcoming. Its miserable battery life. I absolutely cannot leave it overnight without charging it. On a full charge alone it won't make it through to the evening let alone overnight. Let me put it in to perspective for those of you who are thinking "So what? Normal ma" I say, yes its normal. Yet, that's what's so stupid about the whole concept of cramming every known feature into a phone. You CAN'T bloody use everything it has to offer with out worrying about it running out of juice!

Scenario: Typical workday, taking calls on the mobile and its already lost 2/10s of its battery. Lunch break, want to use Wi-Fi to surf on Facebook or news. However, afraid that its gonna eat into the battery life even more. Switch to mobile networks. However, using HSDPA isn't much better either. So I turn it off, using only GPRS which is the best for battery consumption but absolute rubbish in terms of speed. On the way home, stuck in a jam, I'd predictably plump for video. After watching it, the battery's probably in the red-zone now. And I have a girlfriend which lives several thousand miles away and phone calls are our only means of keeping sane. And its dead.

So there I have all these great features on my phone but i can't use them. And I haven't even factored in taking pictures with geo-tagging (via GPS) or even GPSing my way out of the said traffic jam.

Frustrating. However, there's light at the end of the tunnel. There are two very interesting mobiles on the market right now. They aren't as fully loaded as the SE C905, but they're better in the area which the C905 isn't. They boast over two days of battery life in typical usage. In fact, they're good for 5 days on a single charge. And they're both full touchscreens (suck on that iPhone). Its the HTC Magic and the Nokia Music Xpress 5530. So keep watching this space. I might just plump for either (sadly not both).

Oh and by the way, the C905 the lovely thing that it is, is charging as I type this. *sigh*

"Home"

A blog I would say is like your diet. It has to be well balanced in-my-oh-so-humble-opinion. Some blogs I've come across have been very focused (for better or for worse), some are a repository for one's emotions and some are so dry, you're just dying to grab a 100Plus after reading. But I digress. Blogs are after all an expression of freedom. An exercise in democracy. The free-will to say anything you like. Which brings me to my ramblings for the day. I've been feeling a little...melancholic. And why not? I am, after all, a blood and flesh human being, even though I've been told I can be of the mechanical and emotionless disposition.

And back to my analogy of a blog akin to diet. I've decided to let a little bit of my more, human-side out today.

I'm not a big fan of Michael Buble, but I am a fan of tasteful music. To my (pleasant) surprise he has this song, called "Home". I thought he was just another cover artiste, you know, a guy who sings songs done by others. This if I'm not mistaken is original and not a golden oldie as is usually his type of music. Listening to its lyrics it really does sum up how I've been feeling under the many many layers of my personality. For your convenience I've posted the lyrics of the song below. Yes nothing profound today, just a well-balanced emotional post today. Enjoy it.

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home

Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
'Cause this was not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight

I'm coming back home

"hmmm.."

Funny how blog worthy stuff turns up in wee hours of the night/morning. Was just coming off a xfactor-on-youtube marathon and decided to check my girlfriend's blog.

Its amazing how she blogs, I'd be happy just being able to blog half as well as she does. Check out her latest post. Oh, and I have to agree that we are just the craziest couple yet. I mean how many couples actually compare themselves to poo and fart?

I still remember the first flatulence I let out in her presence. My proficiencies in farting were nothing new to my best mates Chooks and Joonie, but I had just gone out with this girl whom i found to be rather awesome, to be frank. So, you could understand if i was feeling a little apprehensive.

Quite vividly I remember, we were all at the mamak and I had this big one coming. She had her foot resting against the leg of my chair. I was like, "Ahh crap, its a big one mate". Next thing I know, she's rummaging through her handbag for her phone. That's when she realised, "Heyyyy, that isn't my phone vibratingggg!!". And the rest as we know is history.

Indeed, people associate farting and the like to be an embarrassing thing. Yet, it's one of the best known ice-breakers to man (atleast, this man). My advice to you budding couples who want to bring your relationship closer. Instead of doing the typical kisses and hugs, try this:

FART

life=shirt size??

Its been on my mind for quite sometime now, but i think a way to summarize one's life journey is like shirt sizes. Okay, a bit far fetched, but hear me out.

Remember when you were younger, your mum (or dad) most probably came up to you with a shirt for you to try on? You'd also remember it was probably a size or two too big..and cue mum saying "Aiya, you'll grow into it one la". You'll also remember that by the time you did, more often than not, said shirt is either too old or out of fashion. Innit?

Coming back to my comparison to real-life, a lot of times we go about life like this, big milestone, feeling small and hopeless, situation seemingly too big to handle. Correct? For example, the leap from high school to college/uni. Daunting wasn't it? How bout from college/uni to work life? Insane. However, once we get past them, they don't seem so big now do they? In fact they're old hat.



So life and its challenges, much like our shirt sizes, at times seem like they're two sizes too big for our current state. We're either not strong enough or not experienced enough. And once we get past them, its like growing into our shirts. We feel like its old and past it.

Unfortunately, life is one shirt that will always be a size or two too big. Its one shirt we will never grow into fully. But is that such a bad thing? I personally don't think so. It simply means we keep growing as well. It means we get wiser and stronger (though not always physically). It also means it'll never get boring. Life will always be fashionable. Life will never get old.

So I hope those of you who are reading this right now and asking the much pondered upon question: what is life? Well, my friend, life is like a t-shirt that's always gonna be too big for you.