OK. It's been close to 3 weeks that I'm on the blackberry Z3 and have gotten used to it so much so that when I tried switching back to my Note 3, I began swiping up, down, left, right just to get around the apps. So I guess I'll start going into details now.
Ok. So earlier this year, as I was trying to back up my hard disk to my NAS which is of course the Seagate Goflex Home. And while halfway trying to access the NAS, my file explorer refused to respond and the next thing I knew. Everything was gone. Tried accessing from the website stated there was no device being connected. And you could imagine the horror I've gone through where I almost fell into absolute shock because all the pictures and videos of my baby girl gone just like that! I did what everyone would have done, reboot the device hope that all will be well. That didn't worked. Turn off maybe a few days for the hard disk to rest and hopefully when it's back on it will magically appear once again. But that didn't work too.
So I decided not to do anything about it. 7 months after the incident had happened and I totally forgotten about it (probably trying to deny the fact that I didn't want to tell Deluxe that Esther's photos were gone). After installing Ubuntu 14.04 onto my old desktop, I decided to try accessing the hard disk once more. Lo and behold, I was finally able to see that it's actually connected in a sense where there is the 4 folders which by default it has. One for backup, external storage, personal folder and public folder. I got so excited that I tried to access it but still failed. Whereby suddenly I had the inspiration in doing this.
Flipping the hard disk this way instead of standing vertical
Instead of letting it stand vertically, I made it lie flat on like the picture above. Initially when I flipped the wrong side, the hard disk wouldn't run. But after flipping this side round. Once I turn on the NAS sweet sound of hard disk spinning and everything was back to normal. I tried accessing it one more time, finally after 7 long months all my files are still intact! So I quickly transferred all the videos and photos out from the NAS onto my desktop. So now, I'll most likely get a replacement hard disk for this NAS. And probably pop the current hard disk into my desktop and see how it goes. Never the less I'm glad that I can get back the files and once I replaced the hard disk I'll probably go and format my laptop to run Ubuntu instead :)
Ok. 3 months ago I went and MNP over from Digi to Maxis due to the fact they were providing free basic internet. And I was wondering how much I actually saved on my phone bill eventually. Within the past 3 months I have managed to reload 3 times and used up max RM40 for these past 3 months. Never the less, after hearing that LTE has finally arrived here in Kuching. Only few days ago I went and subscribe for RM30 where they gave me 1.5GB quota. And boy am I spoiled by the speed. Of course I had to change my sim card as well in order for me to enjoy the max speed which gave me about 10mbps upload and download.
But that is totally beside the point on how much I actually saved using Hotlink prepaid. Well for starters, after 3 months using Hotlink. Total cost I used was RM70 (RM40 for calls and SMS, while another RM30 was for the 4G Subscription). Where I actually managed to slash my phone bills in half in a sense because previously I would be paying RM60++/month on contract. While outside contract would had cost me close to RM90.
One main reason why I managed to save a lot which I believe is due to the Data subscription. Because most of the time I'm always situated where I have wifi connection, and of course the Basic Free Internet that Hotlink offer is just good enough for receiving Text from Whatsapp, Viber, BBM, Telegram and etc. Plus I don't really need the speed whenever I'm out because I will be out for at most 1-2 hours, but still be able to receive messages through those social networking apps.
Never the less, will definitely MNP Deluxe number once she uses up her credits to Maxis, because Maxis also now gives you Activ10, where their call rates would be at 0.06/30 secs and 0.01/sms (which I hardly use). And you pretty much can save more from there.
Anyway, only problem I had previously was when I went down to Plaza Merdeka Lower Ground, I was not able to receive any signals. But after upgrading my sim card to 4G, seems like it managed to resolve that issue. Not too sure yet, but will try it out again within these few days.
So, being a cheapskate that I am. I think RM30/month for phone bills is not that bad. And another thing is taht I hardly call or sms people because most of the time you either skype on wifi or message through whatsapp. No doubt that I won't be able to surf outside wifi vicinity, but hey at least it gives me chance to actually talk to people who are in front of me instead of looking at my phone the whole time. It's all good.
So I went and purchased a domain name thisahpek.my from Ichoose.my before the 31st December 2013, and apparently I got their promotion for RM50 for 2 years which I thought was a steal. As the normal price would be RM120/year. They also provide domain mapping service for free. What actually happen is that they just mask your whatever domain name you have, to the one you registered. For my case is thisahpek.my, will pretty bring you thisahpek.blogspot.com. So if you don't really need anything apart from forwarding your domain to your long blog url, you can use this service for free. Apparently they can map anything from anything.blogspot.com, anything.wordpress.com or a .com domain.
Anyway, if you don't want your account to be mapped using their services, you need to change your mynic technical contact to your own first in order for you to change nameserver. I've managed to change it already, now currently just wait for it to regenerate the dns first before I can actually map my domain name to the new blog. Never the less, will wait and see how it goes within the next few hours. Hopefully by then, I will be able to use the domain name later. Will keep you guys posted on this.
2 days ago, I went and port my number from Digi to #Hotlink latest plan which gives out Free Basic Internet. After reading a few sites that gave it's review I decided to jump ship to Hotlink. So I went to the Maxis Center at Kenyalang Park, where I was able to process my application in order to port my number from Digi to Hotlink. (The one in Saberkas was not able to do it for me, so don't bother going there).
Anyway, the whole process took less about 10 minutes, where I needed to give a photocopy of my IC as well as pay them RM10 for the so called processing fees. But the person told me that, this RM10 will be credited back once the porting is successful. After that they gave me a new sim card, and told me it will take about 1 day for me to switched over to Hotlink. But before that, I had to double check with them that I'm going to port to the new #hotlink plan that comes with the Free Basic Internet.
You can now install CM10.2 aka Jelly Bean 4.3 onto our phones. It's still currently in alpha testing stage, but so far everything seems to be working well. Installation is similar, you can download the rom here CM10.2 Rom. For more details you can check out the link here :- {Mini/MiniPro/Active/Live}[DEV][JB 4.3][CM10.2] LegacyXperia
Ok. So after going through so many post as it was all over the place, I was finally able to flash my spare phone Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman to Jelly Bean using Legacy Xperia Rom. Due to the fact that Sony decided to dropped the idea of upgrading the 2011 series to Jelly Bean so it got stuck with Ice Cream Sandwich instead. Anyway, I do not mind the fact where the phone is not on the list of upgrade but never the less, having Jelly Bean would be kinda cool actually. Do take note that this rom also supports Sony Xperia Active, Xpria Arc S, Xperia Mini, Xperia Mini Pro, Xperia Neo, Xperia Neo V, Xpreia Pro and Xperia Ray. So without further adieu, let's get straight to it.
A friend of mine introduced Ad Hit Profits program to me a few days ago, where you actually make money through revenue sharing. Each share cost $45, and will mature at $56.25. Coming from a background where I used to sort of "invest" in HYIP programs, where at the end of the day was pretty much like a ponzi scheme. So here I was being a little bit skeptical on how this would be different from others. So I began to look at how the whole system work, and how they generate revenue, which are listed below.
Ok, as you all have known from my previous post I was looking for a keyboard for my tab. After looking through a few selection, this one was probably the cheapest I've seen being sold here in Malaysia. As there was another "Aluminium Like" Bluetooth Keyboard, no doubt it may look cool but some of the comments I saw whereby the tab actually fell off the dock. So I ended up getting this instead. Typing on this may need getting used to as the keyboard is not as easy as I thought it would be like on a regular keyboard. Plus certain keys are not where they are supposed to be. But never the less, I'll do a video review on this soon.
Apart from that, everything is good, and it wasn't too difficult to pair. And maybe the design was not as nice as another model, but I'm quite satisfied with this model. I'm currently using this keyboard to blog now, which I think it's ok. Anyway, really need to do a video on this as it is easier to explain in terms of the pros and cons. Till then, have a nice day.
So finally the thing I ordered last month has finally arrived. This is the USB Microscope 50-500x which I got. There were a few selection ranges from 20x-200x, and one to 800x, but after reading the reviews I went and got the mid range one instead hoping that I would get a good deal. Never the less, I got it pretty cheap, so I'm not complaining about the quality. First and foremost, as I suspected from all the reviews I read. This is only a 240x320 camera, so practically it's a 0.3MP camera. Not so much emphasized on the 2MP as promoted. I was hoping that I could use the Veho software for this camera, but unfortunately it was NOT able to detect the camera at all. Never the less, it's still a fun thing to play with.
Reason why I went this one instead of the 20x-800x was because most of the reviews or comments that I've seen stated it's only a 0.3MP camera instead of a real 2MP camera. And the reason how they can actually get up to 2MP resolution is software interpolated. Which pretty much defeat the purpose of it. Again not complaining, as I'm still having fun with it along with Esther. Anyway, here are a few shots that I actually took with them, and it's ok. But never the less, will indeed make full use of it as I intend to use this to magnify some of the antiques that I got. At least I can see it from my monitor instead of the magnifying glass. Here's a few things that I caught with this camera.
Ok. Probably this one of the post I get to talk nonsense about. Seriously, this game was introduced to me by none other than Deluxe. She has been playing this game for months now, and apparently her coverage area is way more than mine. Not only she cover quite a huge chunk of land, she has a lot of ships and homes as well. In short, she's making more money compare to me. The problem with this sort of game is that they are indeed fun to play with, but takes a long time to play as well. Well for starters, the first few building and I mean 2-3 buildings are really fast. Especially when exploring as well. Notice the little island on the bottom right, you can explore finish in less than 30 mins. But once I head over to the bigger chunk there, it takes about first 2 hours to explore and gradually increased to now about 6 hours. Chopping down trees also takes a lot of energy, plus I don't know how to gain experience points apart from chopping trees. Hence only level 6.
You can speed up the game of course, if you want to use up your rubies. Which is not worth it as it is extremely hard to come by. Coins are at least better for me now since I have merchants which does boost up my economy side. Never the less it's still a fun game to play with, whereby you only need to manage it 2-3 times a day. Depending on how long you set your voyage, or build new buildings. It's all about strategy, in using up your economy and have a lot of patience.
One holan moment was that, I went and fought a pirate to pretty much chase it away. I only took one hit, and it cost 16 gold for the cost of repairs. But the time of repair took at least 4 hours, which is seriously crazy. Never the less, it's still a good game so it prevents you to stick to it throughout the whole day. So normally after managing it for 5 mins, I will put it down and check back 4-6 hours again. And no, I will not spend any money on this as Deluxe managed to get by as well after months of playing it. So I will do the same. I tried hacking it, but unfortunately it syncs with the server so you can't cheat. LOL. Oh well it's all good.
Ok so I've been using the Galaxy Tab 7.0 for the past 5 days. And I must say, apart from the buldge that shows from my pants that has been grabbing a lot of unnecessary attention. This "Phablet" is ok! Sure it may look weird answering phone calls and talking out loud like that to grab people's attention, but I still think its cool.
Typing on this phone has never been easier especially the large keyboard in landscape mode. But I had a few problems, with the space bar, sometimes I accidentally hit the menu button. But it takes a while to get used to it. I'm currently updating my blog using this device at the moment, as i felt that with the large screen and I'm really loving what I see. Sure the 7.7 may he a better device, but I still don't understand why people would sell it off so quickly. I won't be going into spec details which I felt that there's a lot of review out there already.
At first I wanted to get a bluetooth keyboard, but since typing on this thing is easy, I guess I wouldn't need it after all. I may get an OTG cable for this to pretty much connect to a pen drive or even usb keyboard. But never the less, I think getting that cable is a must. I haven't really fully utilize this tab yet, as I'm still trying to sort out the email where I couldn't get it to sync via exchange mail. As I read somewhere, there are 3rd party apps that works better compared to the stock app.
Also I've went and ordered those capacitive pen that pretty works much like the galaxy note s pen. But of course the S Pen doesn't work on this tablet. So far the only thing Ihave been playing on this tablet is picsart. I went and used a micro sd converter to put into my point and shoot camera. I forgotten that this tab only play 720p videos, when I tried to play the video from the camera it wouldn't process. Haven't tryout with the 720p quality yet, which I think I will within the next few days.
I haven't tried any presentation on this yet, but I think I will. Hopefully that would addnsome extra points to this tab. Another thing I was disappointed with this tab that it doesn't have a RCA converter yet. Unlike the P1000. Currently it only have a hdmi converter which I doubt I will be using that anytime soon. At least having this tab could easily kill time, like now. But I guess Deluxe may not be too happy, as I'm already on my laptop early of the day. :-)
Another thing about having this tablet is you need a proper casing for it that can be flexible when using the tab. Thanks to T.T.E. Tech, I've managed to get a very reasonable and sturdy casing that folds either in portrait or landscape mode. Anyway, therebis still more things to explore on this tab which I still hv the time to do so yet. Anyway, I think that's all for now as I'm seriously getting sleepy as I'm currently down with the flu. Not a very fun thing to have.
This is a continuation of part 1, after using the phone for the past week. And of course, it has been a fun one week without any problems so far. Apart from the minor issue which I will elaborate later here.
Battery life on this phone is quite similar to most of the smart phones that I previously used in the past. Of course for heavy usage such as playing games, sending messages, 3G connection all the time and making phone calls. From a fully charged battery, it would pretty much end by the end of the day. So may need to charge it again, for about 1.5-2 hours which I think it's quite all right. But when I switched to 2G mode, and was pretty much on standby mode. I managed to get about 3 days without charging. So I think it's quite a decent result.
Application wise, there is a minor issue whereby it actually tilted the display to portrait mode. As the current display is being in landscape mode, you may need to tilt your phone 90 degrees for you to view the application properly. Which I don't really find it a problem, but something which is needed to mention. You can view more from the video that will be shown later.
Well, as for the camera quality, all I can say is that as long as you have enough lighting. This phone can take a decent picture. But don't expect to do wonders in low light settings. Despite being able to sort of take HD quality videos, it didn't really turned out the way I thought it would be. As I'm currently uploading the video right now, you can see it for yourself on how the quality is like.
Another issue is that, when installing applications it will automatically install it to the phone rather than to the SD card. So I had low memory issues, for the first few days. As I thought the apps will be automatically installed to the SD Card. You may need to move the applications to the SD Card manually, to prevent low space on your phone. When your phone has low disk space, you won't be able to receive any more text messages until you free up the space. So after moving the apps to the SD card, and trying not to install too many apps on the phone (as some apps does not support moving to SD Cards). The phone turns out as good as it was suppose to be. Installing a task manager is also a bonus, as it will hep clear up memory on the phone to prevent any lag issues.
Web browsing again, may be a pain for those who may not like small letters. And it doesn't support pinch and zoom. You may find yourself having a hard time trying to read the website. But good thing about this phone is that, it would be able to do word wrap so you can see the text clearly which will also be shown in the video. Again it doesn't support flash, but once it detects a video it will either open up the default video player or youtube application to view the video.
But at the end of the day, it's still a decent phone. And so far I didn't have any problems with phone calls, and no line drop. As the receiver could also hear me clearly without any problems. So if you're looking for a phone that requires you to message a lot that is using Android. This would be just nice for you, and you can play some decent games on it. But again, with 600mhz processing power you can't really expect much from it. But as for me, I think it's the perfect answer for my tablet problem whereby it doesn't have 3G module on it. So all I need to do is just turn this phone into a wireless hotspot and I am able to surf the internet or do stuff on my tab easier.
So I do hope with these 2 review on the phone, it will help you to decide if you would like to get this phone or not. So don't put too much high expectation on it as I did. And I'm pretty amazed, on how this phone really made a lot of difference compared to my previous phone which was running on 400mhz. But if you have extra budget and want a keyboard android phone, again the Desire Z would be the next perfect solution for you.
Just did part 2 of the review on this phone after using this for a week. Found new problems on it, but it doesn't really matters if you're not too fussy.
Announcing the arrival of the Acer Betouch E210, a blackberry phone running on Android 2.2. When I first heard about this phone, I've pretty much had mix feelings about it due to the fact that Acer was the one that brought this phone first plus Phone Arena Review on it wasn't a rather disappointing one. But never the less, after having long discussion with Dennis and he successfully managed to coax me in getting this phone. Ok before we go on, here's a brief specification on this phone.
OS Platform : Android Froyo Display : 2.6” 256k Colors TFT Touch Screen Input : QWERTY keyboard and Optical Trackpad Camera : 3.2MP with Auto Focus Processor : Qualcomm MSM 7227-1 (600MHz) ROM/RAM : 512/256MB Battery : Li-poly 1300 mAh Talk Time : Up to 300 Minutes Color : Black Stand By Time : Up to 400 Hours Connectivity : Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / GPS & AGPS / Micro-SD Slot/ Mini-USB Sensor : G-Sensor / E-Compass Size : 115(L) x 62.5(D) x 11.5(T) mm Weight : 109g
Phone Design
The first thing that actually caught my attention when I got the phone was impress on how amazingly light this phone really is. It only weighs less than 110g, plus the phone is kinda slim. So it feels as if I'm not carrying any phone now, when I'm moving around. So now I won't have to worry about my shorts actually fall to the ground when I'm carrying this phone. Plus the design of the Acer Betouch E210 seems pretty, and gives a more professional look to it. Hence that also contributed one of the factor why I ended up getting this phone. The build on this phone may feel bit solid despite most of the back part which is made out of plastic, that can be easily mistaken as metal. But never the less, overall the handling of this phone is good.
As you can see that we were comparing the Acer Betouch E210 with the Blackberry 9300. The E210 is actually more longer and wider compared to the Blackberry 9300, but in terms of thickness the E210 is more slimmer compared to the 9300. Plus the LCD display is much more larger by 0.2 inches. But in terms of weight, the Blackberry 9300 is lighter by 5 grams. So that pretty much says a lot about the design on this phone.
Camera Quality
Despite being a 3.2 MP camera, one should not really expect much from this camera. As the quality on this is pretty much like any normal camera phone I would say. But quite disappointed that they didn't include flash on this phone or it would have been the perfect solutions for taking shots at night. But still, it's still acceptable during for outdoor shots where you have enough light. The pictures I took on Esther is based on 4 different iso indoors, and one under the table lamp at ISO 100.
So hopefully this will give you an rough idea on what type of camera will you be getting. Again, most likely indoor shots you may not get good quality, but you shouldn't have problems with outdoor pictures especially when you have sufficient light around you.
Multimedia
The sound on this thing is kinda loud, and supports stereo sound. Youtube works real good on it, but again don't expect too much on video playbacks you downloaded from the internet. Here's an excerpt on what Phone Arena say about this the music player.
As with other handsets from the Acer beTouch series, you get nemoPlayer, which plays both movies and music, as well as the stock Android music player. The music capabilities of this phone are somehow limited, which is understandable, and the headphones you receive out of the box get the job done, but don't expect some really loud music or really deep tones.
The Acer beTouch E210 doesn't support certain formats (Xvid, H.264 and DivX), but at least plays smoothly MPEG4 videos with a 480 x 800 resolution. Funny enough, it also plays MOV videos with the same resolution, but for some reason sound is off.
Browsing Experience
Despite having a 320 x 240 screen, you may find difficult reading the text on certain website. Plus being a resistive screen there is no pinch and zoom feature. So most likely you may need to double tap to zoom in or out for each area. It doesn't support flash, considering it's android 2.2. For those who have been used to larger screens, you may not like what you see. But if you don't really mind, it's still readable considering the price for this phone. But overall you may need to swipe left and right and probably zoom the correct size to read certain website that doesn't support mobile version. But overall it's still usable.
Calling Experience
I did a few test calls with people, but didn't had any problems as stated by Phone Arena. And the person on the receiving end seems fine and was able to hear what I was talking despite being in a crowded place. I've also managed to install Skype onto the Acer Betouch E210, and did a test call via 3G to a friend of mine who is in Canada. The line was good, and didn't had any problems with the sound as we could hear each other clearly. So I guess it's still usable :)
Conclusion
In conclusion, this phone is worth getting considering being priced at RM799. But if you have an extra budget, I would recommend that you go for the HTC Desire Z instead. But if you're someone who is just like me who wouldn't want to fork out more than RM1,000 for a phone. I think this would do just fine. It's good enough for you to pretty much do almost your daily necessities such as calling, sms, email as well as going through social network. Plus if you're a blogger like me, you can easily blog with the QWERTY keyboard.
This phone would have been perfect if the camera support flash, and also vibration may be slightly stronger. Apart from that, I don't really have any problems with this phone. It's a good upgrade from the TYTN II that I was previously using. I was able to play Angry Birds on it, so I think it's kinda meet my expectation.
So if you're looking for a budget Android Phone, this would be just nice for you. As for me, I'm quite satisfied with the product considering the price range. And just meet my daily needs of going through facebook, blogging, whatsapp and skype. Feel free to comment or if you have any question on this phone. Hope this will help you in making your decision to get or not to get this phone.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="Android Tablet + Leather Case Keyboard"][/caption]
Today I'll be talking about the 7" Android Tablet Review. For those of you may have wondered what is this tablet all about. Basically, you can pretty much do quite a number of things with it. Well, for starters you can browse the net, check emails, do some work, play games, and basically as a form of communication as well. Armed with thousands of Apps which you can download free from the market, you could say that this would pretty much replace your bulky laptop especially when you're traveling.
The actual size of the pad is at 11.5cm wide, 19cm long, 1.3cm thick, weighs about approx 500g, but with the additional of the leather keyboard it probably weighs in at about 800g. In terms of size this 7" would fit just nicely in your back pack or carry it around like your own personal planner and people won't even know you are carrying a tablet!
From the video above, which was being compared to a Via Processor WM8505 you could see that the Telechip processor is faster. Running at 720 mhz, it's speed runs twice as fast compared to the Via Processor. From the very first tablet that I got which was the Via Processor, and this telechip I was extremely satisfied in terms of it's performance. At least I can bring this pad around without having to wait a long time for it to boot up or do anything else with it. So what am I going to do with my current Via Processor tablet? Probably will just turn it into a multimedia device in my car or something. :) So what can I actually do with this pad you may wonder?
Work
Word Documents, Spreadsheets & Powerpoint Presentations One good thing about this tablet is that it is portable. And again people won't know what are you carrying until you open it up and start doing something with it. What sort of work can I actually do with it? Well, for starters it does come along with Documents To Go where you can do word processing, or excel worksheet. And of course there is also Powerpoint viewer where I can actually do presentation to someone maybe in a coffee shop or just anywhere without having to bring a laptop just for that specific purpose. And if I was able to connect to the internet, I would be able to access my documents inside Google Docs and update my files from there. You can view the video I've made using Documents To Go.
Email Being able to check my eMails is probably one of the major things that I need to do wherever I go. Especially when I travel, to be honest I felt that carrying a laptop around is not really a good solution for me. Despite of having a data plan with my phone provider, checking emails on my phone at first it was all right. But as time goes by, I find it a little bit straining on the eyes. But not with this 7" tablet, armed with a USB keyboard. Replying mails has never been the same. Plus I can add all my email to my android email client, and give them different color codings to know which email are they coming from. So you can pretty much separate your work emails with your personal emails.
Daily Planner Well, let's just say with this tablet I pretty much save at least RM3/year for a daily planner book. By saving a book, I'll be saving a tree as well. All I need to do is just add all my appointments to google and it will sync it whenever it gets connected to the Internet. Not only that, if let say I were to meet a client and probably may need to schedule another meeting, I would be able to check the date to see if I'm available or not. Plus once I update on my tablet, again it will sync it with my google calendar online. In one of my work, I actually post up my google calendar where people can actually sort of make appointments with me. So this would be a great help especially whereby I would sort of get a friendly reminder 24 hours before the appointment. So I will never miss an appointment, ever again. LOL.
Writing Notes & Memo I'm not a type of person who will go around carrying pen and paper. But at least with this thing, probably that would sort of change my mind. By lugging this thing around with me each time I go out, I will have no excuse not to write notes with the facility of having the keyboard. Plus, if there's a sudden rush of ideas (especially when song writings comes in), I could just use the sound recorder that comes with this tablet and then play it back again on my laptop once I reach back to my work place.
Working with my webstore I'm currently in the midst of adding an application to my tablet where I can actually check and see if I have any orders as well as how much stock I have left. So far there's one that seems to do the job, but may need to upgrade it to a full version just to get rid of the ads. By using my phone as a wireless hotspot, I would be able to check the amount of remaining stock that I have and of course if there were any new sales at the same time. Either that, I would just need to sign into my website via the browser can also be done. But never the less, it's going to save me a lot of weight especially with budget airlines who seems to charge anything and everything.
And everything else that I need to work with Inside the market, there are thousands of apps which can be downloaded to suit your needs. There are even apps for checking stock market, exchange rates, rss reader (for those who love to read the news), and much more. Plus the numerous of apps that are currently being develop, which expected to over take Apple apps by 2012. All you need to do is find the right app for the type of work you are using.
Leisure
Gaming All work and no play makes Alex a dull boy, as they say. Well probably this would be one of the activity that I would use for passing time if I was waiting for someone and don't really feel like getting any work done for the moments. Here are a few games that I actually installed on the tablet itself.
Social Networking For those of you who can't get enough of facebook, there's an app which enables you take pictures as and share them on facebook. Plus you can update your status or check what's happening to your friends & family as well. Not only that, there are apps such as FourSquare where you can actually "check in", and who knows get special rates for certain areas. Or if you're a tweeter, you can be sure you won't be left behind as well.
Casual Browsing Being portable, and sometimes Starbucks table are not as huge as it is suppose to be. This would be a perfect for normal browsing to websites you normally visits. Unfortunately for this tablet is currently running on Android 2.1 (whereby we heard that they may be developing an upgrade) that does not support flash. There are browsers such as Skyfire which actually solves that issue. But if you don't visit heavy flash sites, you won't need to worry about it as this would get the job done as well.
Communication You can actually install applications such as eBuddy or Nimbuzz which actually enables you to add multiple chat clients on to them so that you can stay connected wherever you go. Not only that, you are able to install WhatsApp as well and send SMS or picture / videos for free (provided if you're connected to the internet). Unfortunately I was not able to install Skype onto this tablet due to a lot of bugs that Skype probably need to sort out. Plus they are only focusing on a few certain models for the time being. But never the less, there's a 3rd party application which does the job just nice as well.
Book Reader There are thousands of ebooks which can be downloaded and read using the book reader. I personally use Aldiko as it's more easy to use and less hassle as well to set up. Not only that, as I normally play piano in the church I would put all the songs in it for easier and faster page turning. Plus I no longer need to print out papers just to play a song, and I can easily store them in the library. And there are also quite a number of bible applications (in different translation as well) found on the market that helps.
Entertainment
Youtube Like the IOS, since it does not support flash. Youtube has an app for android users as well. Where you won't have any problems viewing them. Especially when there are links being added on facebook. Sound playback works great too!
Mp3 PlayerThis tablet is able to Mp3s or other audio formats. Since you have 3 gb of space, imagine the amount of songs you can put inside there. But if you don't have enough, there's always the SD Card!
Movie Player If you intend to go for a 2-3 hours flight, you can entertain yourself with your own in flight entertainment. Plus with the headsets you should be able to get a good 3-4 hours of video playback. Plus did I mention that you can play up to 1080p?
Digital Photo Album Gone were the days when printing photos and carrying around hundreds of photos just to show your friends and family where you've been and what you've did. With this you can actually load thousands of photos (if each picture is about 3mb, 1GB could hold about 333,333 photos) and imagine the amount of money you can save on developing those photos. Plus with a 7" lcd screen, you can be sure you won't need to strain your eyes to look at those photos.
HDMI Output & Streaming Over The Air With this tablet, there's actually a HDMI out that can be connected to your HDTV. Imagine watching movies downloaded onto your tablets to be played on the HDTV. And if you recall the about being a digital photo album, your photos will also be output onto the HDTV.
Plus another great thing I love about this tablet being android, you can actually stream your music or videos off your computer via wifi that is currently in your LAN. Imagine the number of things you can do with this tablet in terms of entertainment.
In Conclusion
In terms of work wise, it's great for writing out draft work. And probably you may still need a PC after that to do some final touch up on your work. Gaming wise on this thing is not bad, as certain games may require higher requirements so sometimes it helps without playing any sound on them. But those are for higher end games.
As for the entertainment side, I think it would work out just fairly good. The speaker is louder compared to an Iphone 4, and believe me I did make that comparison. Plus with a larger screen, I think it would fit just nice in front of your lap especially on long haul flights. But never the less, it's a great way to pass time with it.
As for the battery life, I've managed to get it to about close to 6 hours max. By decreasing the brightness of the screen, as well as turning off the wifi when I'm not using it. As for the charging time, it varies from 1 hour to 1 and half hours. Probably the best way to charge the pad if you are not using it, just make sure the switch is on the off position instead of on. That actually helped speed up on the charging time.
Camera on this thing, well don't expect too much for a 0.3MP front camera. Plus we've not yet try to figure out how to get the front camera to work as a web cam. Hopefully when they upgrade it to the next version of android that issue will be solved.
Touch screen on this thing is quite responsive compared to the one when I was using the Via processor tablet. Probably the higher processing speed as well as bigger ram does play a major influence. Well being resistant touch screen instead of capacitive, I would say that it works just fine. For the price of course, where you can't really complain much. But my mom commented that her hands were slippery, so she uses the + and - button instead on the screen.
Well, for those who probably have not used an Android OS before may need to take some time adjusting oneself to get used to it. It may seem more complicated compared to the IOS which I must agree, but once you get the hang or feel of it. You can do a lot of wonders with this tablet.
OK, I'll be showing a video first for this. Having problems uploading photos. Could be due to the line or something. I'll update this page again before I do another post tomorrow.
Ok after trying it out, I noticed the auto night shot wasn't as good as I thought it would turn out to be. Either that, it could be the settings that I used as mostly were set in auto mode. But all the pictures taken was hand held, so I'm not complaining. Anyway I still think it's a good camera, and it helps a lot especially in indoor shootings. So if you want to get a compact camera, this would be just nice. And it does the jobs well.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="Optical Zoom at 3.8"][/caption]
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="Digital Zoom at 15x "][/caption]
My friend Edward apparently got his article published on BaikBike.Com. You might want to look at it as, he went and design a parking lot for the bike to be placed in his campus. Apparently from what he told me, his campus is the first campus that has a proper parking place for cyclist. Check out his article : A Cool Bike Rack Design.
As you all pretty much guessed it right now, yes I just purchased a Canon Ixy 30s. I haven't really played with it much yet as after I took 3 shot I passed the camera to Deluxe to try. I have been thinking of replacing my old Canon Powershot A70 for long time already. This baby has served me well for over 7 years already, and it's still alive and kicking.
The reason why I wanted to get another compact camera is because I find it difficult to carry a dslr around especially with Esther. As Deluxe and myself have only 2 hands, and it's a bit troublesome to carry the camera as well as Esther at the same time. Not to mention whenever we go out, plus not wanting to draw any attention to us. And the worst case scenario if either one of us have to go to the toilet, and basically everything else stays behind with the person who's not going to the toilet. Eventually I started using back the Canon A70, but as you all know Esther is a hyperactive girl so taking photos is not easy.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="Swap Accent. Not too sure how it works though"][/caption]
So I thought it's about time that I got myself a present, hence I thought of getting the Ixus 300 HS. At first I was looking at Canon Ixus 130 IS, then I saw an ad on TV which was promoting the 300 HS as well as 1000 HS. So I did a little research with 2 cameras, and the major concern that Deluxe seems to have is taking pictures of Esther in low light condition. So apparently the 300 HS was the clear winner. As for zooming wasn't our priority, so I guess that's how I ended up getting the 300 HS instead.
Plus I got it from this seller miyamondo, and it was really a bargain. It came with a free case, 8GB SD Card and a screen protector. Apart from the screen protector being too small which I don't find it a problem. One more thing, because this camera is not from Malaysia, so the warranty you only have 1 year and you can just send it back to him to claim FOC. After 1 year you can send it to your local Canon Dealer.
Well, Deluxe is really happy with it so I guess it's a good sign. Especially after taking the pictures it was so much easier compared to the A70 and her phone camera. So you'll be sure to see more pictures of Esther really soon! As I told her that, since she has the camera now she should use it more often to take more pictures of Esther activity. Hahaha. Plus right now at least we can bring it around whenever we go out with Esther. But when she showed me the pictures that she took, I was really amazed with the quality. Anyway, here's an unboxing video that I made for it. Will do more tomorrow night. You guys have a good weekend!
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