Tag Archives: iphone

Nokia E7 Review

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I got a chance to take a look at Nokia’s E7 and I had a blast doing so. It was cool getting stares and having people ask what type of phone it was. I have the lowdown on what it was like to actually use the phone. Though my relationship was short-lived, about two weeks, I had some ups and downs. Read on to find out what they were.

Likes:

Form

So did I mention this phone is sexy? I got the Austin Martin Grey (ok I made that up). The phone just looks and feels nice in the hand. It has gentle angular curves on both ends of the device much like the N8 which no other device really has. It’s not the thinnest device, but it doesn’t feel flimsy at all like the Nexus S or the Galaxy S. In fact, it’s sturdy enough to hang out in the pocket all day and come out unscathed without the aid of conventional phone armor. I’m still not a fan of the slidy-nob to unlock but at least the center button serves that function as well. There is also another slidy-nob on the top right of the device that serves as a zoom in/out or volume control which I found clever. I also loved the slide-out sim-card trey. It keeps you from having to open the phone for switching sims if your into that kinda thing.

 

The Extras

Again, I love the fact that it comes with a mini HDMI slot and adapter for Hi Definition output. Dual LED lights for a nice bright flash instead of the commoner’s one LED light source. Really spacious and well thought out keyboard that slides into a provocative pose. Though it takes a little getting used to at first, the sliding mechanism is quite sturdy and unique. Most people I showed the phone to were pleasantly surprised with the hidden keyboard. These are the little things that make the phone pleasant to use. The 4″ AMOLED screen certainly doesn’t hurt either. The display is quite bright and is makes video playback look great.

Staying Connected

You can stay connected through your OVI password. I liked being able to stay logged into my facebook and twitter and get updates via the widget on one of my homescreens. You also get updates from your different email accounts as well as messages from contacts.

Dislikes:

Audio

On more than one occasion, I did notice the phone quality seriously depreciate. The audio would sort of pop, almost like an old vinyl record would. Not sure what that was about, but it wasn’t often. However, I did notice it and thought it worth a mention. Other than that the audio quality was on par with my other phone experiences.

Browser

I’m not clear on what the vision is for the Symbian browser, but I wasn’t too impressed with the browsing experience. It was fairly fast on my T-mobile “3.5g” connection, however, I found it cumbersome to navigate. It would give me a list of sites to navigate, but it always felt like I was doing too much work to get from one place to another. The phone never really supplied me with possible sites I was trying to type out, nor was it visually engaging. Of course you can bookmark, the surfing with more than one window open wasn’t very elegant and was definitely difficult to do while on the go. You had to stop what you were doing in order to navigate and that can be a little annoying in a city like NY where I need my info ASAP while I’m on the street.

Data Input

The keyboard definitely helped with text input but I am still unsure of why Nokia doesn’t just break down and add a full digital keyboard for both portrait and landscape modes. Why do I have a number pad in portrait mode? It’s useful when talking with the drone on the other end of the phone when trying to pay a bill or turn the cable back on, but that’s about it. Wish there was at least an option to switch between keyboards. I also didn’t like being taken to a text area when typing up an email or response to a text. I think it would look better if I would see the text right there next to the original received message without first going into that text box. It feels like an extra step which ads to the time it takes to get simple things like that done.

Camera

Why oh why did you skinch on the camera for the E7? Give it the bulgy eye like you did with the N8. I don’t care if you guys were concerned about the slimness. I like my phones with curves in all the right places! I thought 8 Megapixels was good, but no true focus killed it for me. All of the pieces for a great shooting experience and no control over focus ruins the fun. It’s like going to the mall on a shopping spree and only having a dollar to spend. Ok I’m being a bit dramatic, but it did feel funky. I ended up wanting to wait till I got my true camera for picture taking.

 

Overall:

Overall I enjoyed the device and I can’t sing enough praises about how well made and beautiful the device looked and felt in hand. Other than a few funky sounding calls, and camera disappointments, I enjoyed using the phone and wouldn’t mind owning the device. However, I must say that Symbian is beginning to feel a bit aged, especially when I compare it to iOS or Android. It’s a shame because the phone itself is a true beauty.

You can find the specs here

 

Haven’t Found Ms.Right? Perhaps She Was on Her iPod and didn’t Notice

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Was riding the train the other day and noticed something very interesting. Almost all of us were pre-occupied with our electronic devices. Blackberry’s, iPods, iPhones, etc… None of us wanted to talk to one another. Granted, it’s a little weird striking up random conversations with people you don’t know, but I have to say, that used to be one of the things I loved most about New York. Yeah, New Yorkers have a bad rap for being busy all the time, but so what? We got stuff to do. Besides, any tourist will tell you, we love conversation. Just keep it short and simple. No one will be rude to you.  Those are usually the hipsters that move in from Nebraska, or Kansas somewhere and want to act like a real-life New Yorker just  like they saw on Sex in the City or CSI. I digress.

At any rate, my point is we are starting a disturbing trend, which is to want to be alone while in the company of others. I have done it countless times. At the moment the lull in the conversation appears,  I’m checking my trusty G1 for new messages or twitter updates. I know someone has just updated their status to something stupid like Jets suck, but I just have to see. I wonder what this will do to society at large? We are changing the way we interact with people. I won’t go so far as to say today’s technological advances will have a positive or negative effect. However, I will say it will definitely change the way we date and socialize. Sure, I suppose we can always meet one another at the bar or club, but for those of us who don’t really do the whole drinking and clubbing thing, there aren’t a huge amount of options left. I used to feel comfortable approaching a young lady during a commute or while at a cafe etc. Now, everyone is so into their music or video game that I now feel uncomfortable interacting with someone outside of my network of friends for fear of  annoying them.

I honestly wish I could peer into the future to see what things will be like in ten years. What will happen to the casual conversation? Will it disappear or will it be held online in a chat room while playing some game? Will it become the norm to be on the phone while at the dinner table or restaurant or will restaurants begin outlawing cellphone usage inside? Will cases of ADD shoot up, or will it level off? Have I passed my soul-mate while she was adjusting her volume to tune out the annoying guy trying to ask her for her name?

See also: From Sorry Ms.Jackson to Hello Ms. Right

Nexusone Google “Superphone”

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If you have T-mobile and have been a loyal customer for years…than you can’t upgrade for a discount on this phone. Sorry – suck it up. Its available at 179.00 for people who are starting a new line and there is only one type of plan you can get if you are buying at discount. For ballers, you can get the phone unlocked at 529.00 and just add a simcard with whatever plan you want and be done with it all.

Here is the phone break down:

Hardware:

1Ghz Snapdragon processor with 3.7 inch capacitive display. It has 512 MB of Flash Memory and 512 MB of RAM. It comes with 4GB Micro SD card which you can upgrade to 32 GB when you get the urge. Camera is 5 Mega-pixels with LED Flash and 2x zoom. Its got Blue-tooth/Stereo Blue-tooth and Wifi as well. With all of that it only comes out to be about 11.5 mm thick!

Software: Runs Android 2.1 (Eclair). Google’s newest iteration. With such a fast processor, I’m guessing this phone will most likely see its fair share of upgrades.

Distinctions: What makes this phone different from say…the iPhone? It can multitask. Also, it doesn’t have multi-touch capabilities. It has voice recognition and dictation elements native only to this device. Not a whole lot else. What this means is that you can’t pinch to zoom in on web pages or photos, but you can say “Navigate to McDonald’s” and it will give you turn by turn directions to the nearest McDonald’s which I think is pretty sweet. You can also dictate a note or a text message which can come in handy for those who just can’t seem to stay away while driving.

Interface seems clean and snappy from what I can tell. Really like the moving wallpaper. They even respond to interactions! You can check the video below to see for yourself:

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

Summary:

So all in all a pretty solid phone. Good-looking, but not terribly sexy in my opinion. Great functionality, but not quite ground-breaking or game changing. Smart phone? Yes. Superphone? Nah, not quite.

Update:

Eligible users with data plans can now upgrade to the Nexus One on T-mobile for $279. Those who paid $379 will get 100 bucks in a rebate check from Google. Sounds good to me!

Underwear in a Bunch over iPhone App

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Was sent an article from the NYDailyNews.com about adult apps that feature Asian Women. Not having an iPhone myself, I can’t really say that I’ve played around with some of the applications mentioned in the article, however, the author makes a good point that a lot of men miss.

I’m not going to go into the usual humdrum of how men treat women as sexual objects as their are extensive articles on that subject. I just think its really interesting how we as a society are are taking our sexism to new levels with technology!

We are at the point were we snack on information like Doritos. Stick with me I’m going somewhere.  Our appetite for bite sized packets of information that we can digest in a few minutes or less is beginning to grow, while our attention spans are waning. I am beginning to think this is having an effect on how we perceive information. For example, the title “Asian Boobs” would reek of sexism as well as racism in a society that took a longer time to process information. However, in this society where I can read 5 newspapers on my cell phone in the 45 minute commute to work, I don’t really have time to process the information as good or bad. It just exists. I either like it or I don’t. That is a real title for an iPhone App by the way,  and its got the writer of this article really mad. Can’t say that I blame her. I wished she were a little more broad in her topic, and I felt it was a little too one-sided, (so I shouldn’t date Asians cause that shows I have Asian Fever?)  but a good read none-the-less.

Now to my male readers – it would seem that we should be more enlightened than our great-grandparents and even our parents in matters of racism and sexism, but are we living up to the hype? Because such apps are accepted as normal and because they take up so little of our time, do we gloss over glaring forms of prejudice simply because it doesn’t take up more than 5 minutes of our day? Coming back to the Doritos analogy, can “snack apps” and or “snack pieces of information” be detrimental to our 21st Century enlightenment if we aren’t careful in much the same way as junk food can be to our health without moderation?

Projector on…the iPhone???

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You always have the latest toy. Everyone is always impressed with you…that’s why you are visiting The Manly Man Site. We try to keep you ahead of the curve in accessible technology so that you can continue to be superior to everyone around you (or at least think so anyway), which brings us to the MiLi Pro iPhone Projector. You can check the screens below:

Projector Screen Size: Approx 5-70″ with 640×480 resolution

Brightness: 10 Lumens

Battery Life: ???

Compatibility:  iPhone 3GS, 3G, 2G and iPod Touch, Classic

So two things off hand that I’m a little worried about. First, I’m not seeing a headphone jack. Second, I’m worried about battery life, since it has its on power source. They haven’t posted price just yet, and it should be coming out this fall.