Wow, I've been seriously remiss in my duties here. So much I could have been blogging about but haven't. Why don't we start with Nokia. Why!??!! If you've read my blog, you know that my love of cell phones, and gadgets in general, goes back to my love for my first Nokia phone. I still maintain that, of all the phones I've had, including my current Android phone, it really was on of the best I've ever used. No dropped calls, crystal clear, etc. I realize the first phones weren't expected to do as much, but I had other Nokia phones after that and they kept that level of quality in their phones all the way up until the past year or two when I gave up on them because, well... they dropped the ball.

 Nokia has gone the way of  BETA and (brain froze there but I'm sure there are many other examples of superior quality being squeezed out by inferior products.) The same way that Britney Spears took over pop music while I heard subway performers in New York with more talent than she had. Perhaps that's a bit unfair to Britney. No doubt she worked hard but so did Nokia... or did they? What were they thinking toying around with the likes of Maemo while Apple and Android were changing and captivating the market? Now they're stuck with Windows as a platform.

I once had a Windows phone. A Motorola Q. I actually really liked it. At the time it was a great little multi tasker with a decent enough phone and a great speakerphone. I used it for a full year so I know that a Windows phone can keep a girl like me happy. But not now. Not after I've had Android. I couldn't go back to Windows now. I love the Android platform and I love my current cell phone (the Desire Z - more on that another time). Truth is, if I could get Android on a Nokia phone (like the Nokia E7-00, except they need to work on screen size) that would be my gadget girl fantasy! (If anyone knows how to jailbreak a Nokia E7 and root it, please email me.)

I think others would agree that a phone like that might make Apple nervous. But no... Nokia got desperate and got Windows. They will attract people who haven't known the iPhone or Android and maybe they're a bit gullible and/or old and don't-need-fancy-gadgets or perhaps they're just slo-o-o-w. While there is a large demographic of people who fit into these categories, they still cannot turn a profit on this population alone. I'm not sure how they will stay alive. But I hope they manage to stay afloat long enough to come up with a rival because, at some point, it would be nice to have a Smartphone with great software AND great hardware. I know, I know...those of you with iPhones think it already exists. I will admit the iPhone is pretty close to that ideal but I think if anyone had the potential to show you up, it was Nokia... when they were still trying. Sigh.

FB Statuses

This has nothing to do with gadgets. I have a headache and I'm in a crap mood so I'm blogging about something that's been gnawing at me for some time. I know that we are socialized to "put on a happy face", to be "positive". But what if you're not feeling that way? Why is it wrong to have honest statuses on Facebook. I want to be able to post the following statuses and have people click the "Like" button like it's a normal response to life being crap!

In no particular order:

is thinking, "Why doesn't everybody just fuck off?"
hates everyone today.
was just fantasizing about killing every fucking body.
needs some valium, who's got some?
considered kicking Rich out of bed for snoring last night.

I'm sure there are many more sour and socially unbecoming statuses ruminating in my brain, but I can't get to them right now because my head is pounding and I'm going to bed. I'd love to change my status to: "headed to bed - everyone is safe from me till morning... well, not Rich."

Dear Nokia...

I haven't blogged here in a while. Today I'm back because I've spent weeks researching, what else? Cell phones... again.

I spent over a year with my Nokia E75. And it was okay. Except the screen was really small and I wanted apps. Everyone around me had apps. I wanted them too. But I didn't want an iPhone because I really think it's a lot of hype and I hate a virtual keyboard. I decided to give Android a shot. I went on Ebay and ordered a used Android phone (the HTC Magic) that I THOUGHT had a slider keyboard only to receive it and realize I was wrong about that. I had confused it with another similar HTC phone. Oh well. Once I had it I figured I would use it to see if I could get used to a virtual keyboard and to try the Android platform on for size.

My phone came rooted with Android 2.2 (Froyo). I've now had it about 2 months. I have to say that I'm glad I bought a used phone to play with because it's allowed me to come up with a new wishlist for my dream phone. If someone made a great Android phone with a slide out keyboard I might be willing to run up some of my credit for it.

Android is a dream. I love all the apps. I love the versatility and customizability of the features. I highly recommend it. The HTC Magic, is not such a great phone and it doesn't play nice with AT&T but I'm not here to talk about that phone. If you aren't a fan of the iPhone, try to find an Android phone you do like. You'll be happy. However, that's where my current problem comes in.

Too many cell phone companies are trying to make their phones just like the iPhone. That means the sleek screen and no tactile keyboard. I hate the virtual keyboard. For some reason T-Mobile is the only company that understands that people actually want a keyboard and they have more sliders and bar phones than the other carriers. They also have inferior service. I wouldn't switch to them from AT&T (though my feelings for ATT have seriously deteriorated in recent years as well).

Before ordering my HTC Magic I had ordered a Nokia N900, precisely because I thought I might be getting the best of both worlds. A nice touch screen, a real keyboard and all the power and reliability I've come to trust from Nokia. Plus I like a smartphone that actually IS a smartphone. I want a mini computer at my fingertips. I thought it would take care of all my phone woes. Sadly, I had to send it back the day after I got it. What an incredible disappointment. It is so behind the times, I don't even want to spend time going over the details. It's embarrassing. What's worse is that Nokia is hellbent on developing their own OS. This phone came with Maemo. I couldn't find any apps for Maemo on day 1 and after contacting their customer service, it became clear that the platform was experimental and unsupported. The minute that became clear I shipped it back. I wasn't going to be stuck with a phone that had a dead OS.

So back to the present dilemma. Thanks to Nokia's short-sightedness, I am now thoroughly enchanted with the Android platform. My new dream phone wishlist would start with Nokia's vision of mini phone computers, add their crystalline call quality, durable phone parts, loud speakerphone technology and incredible camera incorporation. Then, instead of filling it with their crappy attempts at platform development, it would come loaded with Android and a sweet slide out keyboard. I would happily buy such a phone. And, judging from the posts on forums all over the internet, so would a lot of other people.

So, hoping that the cell phone Gods are scouring the Net, here is my plea:


Dear Nokia,

Make me the perfect Android phone. I promise not to call you a sell out. You can still keep trying to write a better platform. Maybe you'll even succeed. But in the meantime, just don't experiment with me and then hang me out to dry.

Make a killer Android phone already. Your stock prices are dropping.

Thank you.

--Seel

iPhone Parody

This is precious. I thank my Jen's for sending it. :)

The Asus 1000 HE User Comparison

My take on the Asus 1000HE...

Preview picture:

Left: Dell Inspiron 1520
Middle: Asus 1000HE
Right: Asus 701







My main computer for the past 2 years had been the 15 inch Dell Inspiron 1520. I am a returning student and part-time writer and web designer so I bought it because it's a good, solid machine. Powerful and useful. I can do everything I need on it. However, it’s portability became questionable and the battery life went from what was originally 4 hours to a pitiful 2 hours, 10 minutes of that spent booting up (although it runs really well after the crawl to life). I tried taking it to class a couple of times but decided that I’d sooner lug a stone tablet. My husband took pity on me and bought me a used Asus 701 off of a friend.

The Asus 701 is a nice little computer but it’s just lacking way too much for real productivity. Suddenly I had this tiny little featherweight laptop that I could stick in most of my medium size purses (which was really nice) but still I was disappointed. The screen was small and awkward to view and the keys were cramped to type on. I got used to it and managed to type up notes for a year but it was annoying as hell. The last straw was when Flash refused to work on my browsers and no matter how I tried, Linux just wasn’t cooperating. I asked Linux geeks and they explained what to do to install it. It should have worked but that didn’t (that sucked). Since that greatly limited my browsability and sharply diminished my enjoyment of surfing, that pretty much cinched it. It was time to replace it. And I did NOT want Linux. I needed an OS I can relate to.

That's when I read about the Asus 1000HE. “9 hours and 10 inches!!” I cried. (My husband loves me running around screaming this when people don’t know it’s about a computer.) But yes, it touted a 9 hour battery life and a 10” computer with Windows XP. Sounded mighty fine to me. So I ran out and ordered me one. It is beautiful. It’s only slightly bigger than the 750 but that’s a good thing. It’s still small enough to fit in most medium sized bags and it’s light. And the keyboard is oooooooh soooooo much easier to type on! That tiny little bit of wiggle room made all the difference. The speed is really fantastic, the screen is clear and most things you do on it look fine and fit in the screen. It can still get a tiny little bit annoying with certain websites that don’t quite fit inside the window, but it’s quite livable. The best thing is I can load programs I want and update things without needing a degree in jar or tar or whatever-the-hell-that-other-program is talking about. I'm happy to report it does about 7 hours unplugged. I guess 9 hours is if you turn it on and just stare at it.

Will it ever replace my Dell as my main powerhouse? Nope. When it comes to graphics and website design and any other presentation stuff - heck, even just writing papers - the bigger screen and more comfortable keyboard still wins out if you plan to sit for hours. But if you’re away and have to finish that big paper, proposal, presentation, make adjustments to a site… it’s all very comfortably doable on the Asus 1000HE and it could, in theory, be your main machine. I just don’t prefer it for the big jobs. For school and comfortable note writing, it’s really a great, great machine.

The Nokia E75

A month ago Nokia held a 3 hour online sale. Most of their top of the line phones were on sale at 50% off. I just couldn't help it. I've been eyeing that E75 for so long. I ordered one. I received it on June 25th. On June 29th I called them. "I want to send it back." The sales person then explained how if I kept it for 30 days I could exchange it for something else and besides, there was a 15% restocking fee. Damn it! I sighed heavily and decided I'd keep it for at least the next week or so but if I still hated it I would send it back and maybe give the Nokia E71 a shot.

So what were my initial problems with it? For starters, the much touted slide out keyboard might as well be an Apple virtual keyboard. The keys are so flat that your fingers have little or no tactile feedback, which is the whole point! I was mistyping just as much with this keyboard as I would have with the iPhone. Grrrrrrr.

Then, aside from that I didn't realize it wasn't a Windows based phone. It's Symbian. Not that I love all things Window, but I a) understand them and b) can find loads of free software that is Windows based. When I went looking for my beloved Google Sync to sync my calendar from phone to Google Calendar I was livid!! Because I now have a Symbian platform phone, there is no free calendar sync available. The one trial of GooSync I used wouldn't probably sync both ways. It would transfer Google Calendar events to the phone but not the other way around. When I had my Windows' based Motorola Q9h, I did this all the time and loved knowing that my life was organized. This glitch with the new phone is really upsetting me. I can go online and just check my calendar the old fashioned way, but if it would sync properly I'd be much happier.

Once I was done being annoyed that the two functions I use most on my phone didn't work, I decided to explore the phone further. It has loads of customizability, a plus for sure. The browser is a little clunky feeling sometimes and the screen doesn't always fully load so that you have to scroll left and right. (Another thing my Motorola did well.) However, the resolution is fantastic and it's pretty fast most of the time. The FM radio is a very nice addition and I've used it on train rides. The groups function is great and I already have profiles that exclude certain groups of people when I just don't want to be bothered (my husband probably thinks he's in that group but he isn't). The GPS works pretty well and Google Earth works just fine on the phone, which was a pleasant surprise. However, beware of using this feature too much. It will eat the battery in no time flat. At first the battery life annoyed me as well but I realized that so long as you're not Google Earthing or playing the Sims 3 you should be fine. (I downloaded Sims 3 immediately because my husband was taunting me about it on the iPhone. For the record, it's okay if you're killing a little time but don't expect it to be nearly as good as the power versions available for game systems or your computer.)

Now that I'm used to it, the keyboard isn't all that bad but I'm still mildly annoyed that Nokia was soooo close to my perfect phone and botched in on something as basic as the keyboard design. All in all it's a good phone, lots of bells and whistles. I like that it has WiFi but so do most other phones. Mostly what's good about it is the large scale customizability and it's functionality. It really can function as a mini computer in a pinch. The Office program is compatible with MS Office files and it works well, including very good coping and pasting functionality. You can edit a file on your phone will listening to WQXR. Keyboard notwithstanding, it's one of the better phones out there at this time.

OH.... and the bonus feature is that it has 2 cameras! One takes really good, clear photos at higher resolution and the other takes smaller pics which are more appropriate for sending as MMS to others without crashing their phones. Very thoughtful of the Nokia designers.

On a scale of 1 to 5 I give it a 3.75.

The WIGO Europe Ion Hot Air Brush

After much excitement and enthusiasm about this gizmo, I am now having to report that I've been let down. It's not that it's bad. It is an extremely well built item. A lot of thought went into it's design. It has a cool blast button, an ion button, a very slick barrel release so you don't get your hair caught (which I did a lot with my Conair). It has many good points.

However, from the viewpoint of those of us who really need power tools and heat to tame our locks, it's been a let down. It dries okay but the brush doesn't grip well enough to really pull out the hair enough to straighten. Added to that is the lack of heat. It just doesn't get hot enough. Thick hair needs heat for texturizing and straightening. I thought at 1000W it would do it. The other problem is the way the heat is being released from the barrel. It's diffusing through the slots which are too large and too spread apart. The reason the Conair brush did a good job at applying heat is that it used small holes rather than large slots, which delievered more direct heat to the hair. This was a disappointing discovery since it seems like a good tool. If they developed a new barrel/brush attachment which delivered more direct heat, I would buy it and try it. As it is, I'll use it but I will need back up from my more powerful blow dryer (which I hate using... it's the whole point of having a good hot air brush) or I'll use my flat iron.

On a scale of 1 to 5 for us power users, I give it a 3.