Is this your future?

Forget about the cliche of picture and thousand words, here is the real deal from the brilliant street photographer Bob Kurt:

You can click it to enlarge


and have you noticed what he's wearing?
There is so much one could say about this picture. funny, yet really sad.
What do you feel after seeing this picture? what titles come to your mind?


Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal/

Text Messaging still No.1

In a recent survey by Access Systems, 73% users indicated text messaging to be the most important feature in a phone, 61% for Internet access and 63% for emailing. This totally trumpets the music features with only 34% preference and video capability at 34%.

Well its really comes as no surprise obviously, even though some people do get blind sighted by flashes of glitzy gizmos. But a phone is all about communication first and foremost. Adding an mp3 player to it is secondary, or didnt you already know? And while Apple has in fact managed to come away with just the right mix with iPhone, right look and right interface for its device... it does however, let you down in the main function: communication. Primarily text or email, basically anywhere you need to have more keystrokes than just dialing a number, you'll have a bit of a struggle with the iPhone, unless you have fingers that look like knitting needles. Or you text like this guy does on his ancient phone, using a pencil!

Though it may be hard for some users to admit it because their iPhone so cool and er... they've already spent a real good sum of money on it. The novelty does wear off for some, specially those who actually do need a serious phone, particularly smartphone users.
Bottom line: a phone HAS to be good for "communication"
I've never had any problems communicating with people, and I think its cuz my phone does the job for me quite well:

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal/

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Why So Serious?

Ok forget about GPS, I'm getting the first phone that comes with sonar! :) pretty cool huh? if you dont know what I am talking about, you gotta watch The Dark Knight. Dont let the comic book theme fool you, even from the trailor. This is no ordinary blockbuster.



I think its very appropriate they didnt title this movie as "Batman...", because this is actually a great crime thriller riddled with twists and turns all through the movie and would stand on its own as an awesome movie without any superhero and super psychotic villains. Twice during the movie I thought the movie had reached its "conclusion" and each time Nolan throws in a new twist, each one more interesting than the previous.

The friend I dragged along with me, actually didnt want to watch it because he thought its a "comic book movie" and he never watches silly comic book movies. But when the movie was over he didnt even realize it was two and half hours long!

There is much to talk say about this great piece of work, but I'm not even going to say anything about Heath Ledger's acting here, because you'll hear about it for years to come. And I have to admit, I thought it was all hype, but no it isnt! ReelViews sums it up just right: "...The Dark Knight, a film so impressive in every significant facet that it makes one wonder why it took so long for the genre to reach this high level."

The action sequences are awesome! Particularly towards the end of the movie. I wont mention what happens to the batmobile (a transformation all its own!), but they actually destroy TWO, not one, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640.

Gotta watch it again!

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

iPhone 3G Complaints Start Early

Apple claims more than a million units got sold within three days of its launch. But this time it seems that iPhone has some serious quality issues, literally end-to-end.

Much lower battery life (roughly 3 hours less than its predecessor), mostly attributed to being 3G and its push mail feature. Some users suggest turning it off. Some sources have tried to brush aside this problem, claiming that its battery life is still better than other mobile phones. But its quite interesting to note that they compare it only with Windows Mobile phones. Ok why is that a surprise? Secondly, I don't believe its accurate to call iPhone a "smartphone". Its a mobile infotainment device, and yes has the capability of becoming a smartphone, once it has the right software available. But its not a smartphone *yet*, and would not be fair to compare its efficiency and battery life with other smartphones, even Windows Mobile phones.

Problems with its Safari browser freezing up or frequently taking back to home screen.
Even the beautiful display didn't escape quality issues. Many users have been complaining their 480 x 320 has a dead pixel or two.
Many of the expensive third party iPhone accessories cant be used with the new iPhone 3G.
Even MobileMe (iPhone equivalent of Exchange) has had its own issues.
So much so that Apple has decided to drop the word "push" from MobileMe's description.

Worse of all, even reports of iPhones being bricked! so be very careful when doing any firmware updates on it.

I am sure Apple will sort these issues out over time, and these problems would not deter most users. But then again, what sort of users are we talking about? Face it, majority of the users are not getting the iPhone because of its capabilities. Those who do get caught up in the hype and buy it for its capabilities as a "smartphone" end up selling it off pretty quickly. I've seen such examples among my friends.

One of my really cute friends, Valerie (i'll post her shots another time), once asked me "is iPhone a good phone?" I promptly replied "its a cool phone". That just about sums it up. Sure I love the beautiful sleek design, the nifty user-interface. All very nice, I love it. But when I wanna communicate or do something useful where you need an actual "smartphone", I would quickly put it aside on the desk and pick up my trusty old E61 in a heartbeat or would get the newer N71. When I need a feature rich smartphone with massive multimedia capabilities, I don't have to think twice before getting the powerhouse N96 or even N95 8GB. No comparison.


Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal/

Watch your step!

Yes I am back from the dead... well from illness, and back breaking work. So whats brought me back to blog life from my long hiatus? a bizarre and unfortunate death.
A recently released report describes a young Canadian woman died after stepping onto a few caterpillars. Thats right, not spiders or scorpions, but just caterpillars. Two simple and obvious, yet often neglected things could have spared her the unfortunate fate:

• Do not walk barefoot out in the open! Specially when exploring nature, you've got to wear proper footwear.
  
• Seek medical attention ASAP when you know something is not right, *even* if you think you are feeling better.

To reduce the affects of encounter with any venomous/hairy caterpillars the immediate treatment is nearly the same for all types and does help reduce the affect of their venom:

"Place Scotch tape (or any adhesive tape) over the affected area and strip off repeatedly to remove spines. Apply ice packs to reduce the stinging sensation, and follow with a paste of baking soda and water. If the victim has a history of hay fever, asthma or allergy, or if allergic reactions develop, contact a physician immediately." - Poison Information Center, Tampa

Sometimes it may help to remember the warning colors: any combinations of black, yellow, red and brown. These colors often indicate that a certain bug is venomous and best to keep your distance. A bug with red and yellow or combo of it, is not trying to say "I am pretty, come pick me up". Most likely it wont kill you, but can really hurt like hell. And not all venomous bugs will have these warning colors though. Trust me, i've been there many times hehe mostly painful stings from wasps and hornets of all size and shapes. The most painful and lasting one of all came from the tiniest one of them. Was also lucky enough to avoid scorpion and centipede stings many times as a kid.

The caterpillars this unfortunate woman encountered is most likely Lonomia (found in South America). Their venom is the most potent of all known land animals! Of this group of caterpillars, the most venomous is Lonomia Obliqua. Check this, the fatality rate from Lonomia is 1.7% compared to that of rattle snakes which is 1.8%

Lonomia Obliqua

This is despite the fact that the amount of venom dispatched by their "bristles" is less than one thousandth of what you could get from a snake bite. Hmmm sounds like a good candidate for the next CSI episode.

Could someone get me a crate of these critters for my petting zoo?

Bilal
http://www.elanist.com/bilal

The Handheld Media Powerhouse - N96

if you've glanced through my blogs you know I love the N95, no other phone comes close to it in features and capabilities (go ahead and argue with me about it) and the only fair comparison would be with the iPhone. while iPhones has its strengths, based on a prototype of iPod with a phone, beautiful design and interface (never expected less from Apple), it is still very underutilised and very limited in available software and utilities and easily beaten by the good old N95 in that. Obviously Apple will be working hard to make up for in the subsequent models and will be learning from its mistakes as the newcomer in the smartphone world.

Well... if you still haven't bought either one of them, then dont! iPod I am sure will mature in those areas in due course of time like all new products. As for N95, the long awaited successor N96 is here and lives up to the expections! its a real media powerhouse of a phone with an endless feature list.

I am sure we'll be getting a lot of buzz around this baby with reviews and comparisons, for now just check out this video here:



5MP high quality camera with Carl Zeis lense, dual flash and really bright video light (check the video clip at the bottom), 30fps VGA video recording with video stablisation, 2.8" screen with the sound through stereo "3D" speakers for gaming and music, built-in digital TV reciever (its actually got a little stand so you can put it down and watch videos or TV, check the video clip above). GPS with assisted GPS support and automatic insertion of capture location (for pictures), 16GB memory (which can be beefed up to 24GB with a microSDHC card and of course, HSPDA (3.5 G) and WiFi... *phant phant* please excuse my while I wipe off my drool!

and obviously its running on the Symbian S60 - OS 9.2 Feature Pack 2.0

you gotta see to believe how bright its video light really is:



Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

Android prototypes

well guys, the first Android prototypes are finally out. no more speculation about their looks.
actually they look pretty plain like most other smartphones, so no surprises there.

The devices are based on the ARM9 processor, which is actually used on lower-end phones and already it is being touted as a leaner, efficient OS than Windows Mobile (ok thats really no surprise at all, which OS isn't?), but... its framework allows for much easier implementation with a lot less work for developers and manufacturers.
there's a quite a few things to write about now, so watch this space today and tomorrow!

bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

Why I wouldnt want to live so long

Here's just one good reason why (amongst countless others):


having a look at that, does it still remind you that inner beauty is more important? I suppose it does. Some one please pass me a jar of inner beauty cream.

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

with 3D TV, suddenly all other TVs look so boring

I just had an experience on Friday. Not a life changing experience, but one of those experiences where you never look at something significant, the same way again. In my case it was the TV. I had gone down to our Philips staff shop to check some monitors. Along the way, inadvertently I glanced at the demo TV in the lobby which is always running some boring corporate propaganda crap (sorry corp. comm guys :P ). But this time I literally could not draw my eyes away from it. I could see things "deep" into the TV, and there were objects coming right at me straight out of the TV!

I could not move myself from there for the next 10 mins. Some of my friends had told me how they saw 3D images coming at them after they've had some opium, but I could swear this TV was not running on opium! (anti-narcotics folks if you guys are reading this blog, those friends are not from Singapore, one is german and the other is his american wife and the opium they had was somewhere in Indonesia I believe, at an undisclosed location).

I've seen 3D movies before, with those ancient plastic color glasses. This was totally different. I wore no glasses and whichever angle I looked at it from it was bright and with dramatic depth perception. It looked like any ordinary big flat LCD TV just that everything looked as though its right in front of me, I could just walk into the TV (not advisable) or I could practically reach forward and grab objects or errr... people (ahem!).
I had heard of technology demos of 3D TV based on polarized filters even as far back as 15 years ago. So this did not catch me as much of a shocker, but its just the experience of watching it myself for the first time and its really not an experience to get over easily. Every TV that I looked at after this suddenly looked so boring like there is really something missing. Kinda like when you have to watch TV without sound or without color, the difference is more significant than that. I wish I could post some of the 3D clips here but errm... your monitor does not support stereoscopic viewing does it? Sadly mine doesnt either. Right now these TVs are only available for "Institutional" clients and not quite a consumer product yet (philips.com/3d).

How the thing works is that it's producing 9 different images of each frame (I guess in future this would be much higher number of images as the refresh rates get better), and your brain merges those images to perceive depth i.e. make them look like real life objects. Just like your two eyes are looking at two different images at every moment and your brain merges them both to show things in 3D. Although my brother claims he sees everything in 3D even when he closes one eye. Yea I hope either I can get his 3D eye (in case I lose one of mine), or he gets to have my brain (he's obviously lost his).

I hope I dont have to wait another 15 years to watch Battle Star Galactica in high definition 3D! Woohoo! hmm and if David Hasselhoff is reading this blog I am sure everyone know whats going to be on his mind "Babewatch 3D" coming right at ya! Maybe we should have a poll: "who would you like to watch running in slow motion in a swimsuit in full 3D?"

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

iPhone lubbers beware

If you use an iPhone you want to be aware that the first iPhone trojan is has been floating around on the net for couple of weeks in the guise of an update called "iPhone firmware 1.1.3 prep". Its not a very malicious trojen but it does overwrite some of iPhone's utilities and caution is advised.

Its been suggested that "...the first rule of caution with the iPhone is, if a piece of software doesn't come from Apple, be sure it's from a trusted source."


Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

the Killer is back!

Last year there was quite a bit of hype gathering around rumours of the iPhone killer from Google. When in October it was revealed by an insider at the International Herald Tribune that it was actually a mobile OS, it was pupoted to be Windows Mobile killer. People really seem to love the killer term, or they really wish some things to be killed (I know I do too).

But iDoubt that iPhone would be killed and iHope it isn't. Thanks to Apple, this toy finally made smartphones come out of the dull boardrooms and made them fashionable! Remember the saying "All work and no play makes a phone a BlackBerry"? As for Windows Mobile being killed, while it has amounted to little outside the limited US market, Symbian totally dominating the rest of the world, given WM's weak market position (and its built) it really wont matter if it gets killed or not. Just when the smartphone market has started to heat up a little, already some of the big names supporting Windows Mobile, like Motorolla is doing pretty bad, and Plam, the new Windows Mobile player, is closing shop.

And now... they say the iPhone killer is back. Thats right, the Android is back. This time its rumoured that Dell and Google are partnering to build the first "Gphone" running on Android. Like I had said before, this is not good news for the already shaky Windows Mobile. Android is open source. Developers take note.

There are couple of fake pics of the Gphone circulating on the net, but still interesting concepts.



Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

N96 leaked info

i've always loved the N95 (as you can tell from my previous posts), specially the 8GB, certainly the coolest phone in its class, better than iPhone in fact.
and now there's leak photos and info of N96 ! based on Symbian S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. total coolness.


bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal/

Windows Mobile latest vapour

Well a startup is giving a to go to tactics that are made famous by Microsoft itself; cheap vapourware tactics. As in touting software that doesn't exist. Their latest attempt for Windows Mobile: Skyfire... err... note to Microsoft and its affiliates: if you can't stop copying everyone else's products, can you try being original in at least naming the copied products? you know... just to differentiate yourself from software pirates.

ok so what is Skyfire? well its a browser for Windows Mobile, akin to one Microsoft had promised in December it will kick iPhone's butt (laughing already? waite, there's more to come). Ok so couple of questions:

Q: Why does Windows Mobile need Skyfire?
A: cuz its current browser sux.

Q: So what makes it so cool?
A: well it can browse the web that will support features which... umm... well some of the other smartphone browsers already support and have been in the market for a while. (check S60 based smartphones for instance)

Q: So its like a normal web browser?
A: Not really, normal browsers download webpages direct to your phone as opposed to Skyfire's approach which uses a proxy-server to send out web content to your Windows Mobile phone. Meaning, another computer does the browsing then sends out supposedly cached content to your Windows Mobile based smartphone (Ahem! does anyone else hear several alarm bells ringing?)

Q: So if the actual processing is done on some other server not my phone, they can see what I am browsing?
A: Interesting question, and here is some really interesting read from Skyfire's private info:

""When you use the Browser, Skyfire has access to, and in many cases will monitor, your Browser Usage."

"Browser Usage Information includes such information as which websites and programs you access or download on your Device, how long you visit such websites and use such programs, your activities (such as products purchased or advertisements viewed) on such websites, which specific areas of a website or webpage you use and for how long, websites you bookmark, search terms you use, referring/exit pages, browser and platform types, the geographic location in which your Device is being used and information you provide on third party websites."

Whoa.... like are you serious? Sounds to me if the US government had gifted Osama with a Windows Mobile phone running Skyfire, he would be long caught and dead by now, they could have monitored his every move! With this kind of browser, who needs spyware or viruses??

But wait, there is one more question...

Q: Where is Skyfire?
A: At the moment, nowhere actually. Like no one has seen it or used it, or download it or allowed to test it or know if it really exists. OK of all the people, even the staff of msmobiles.com, which provides daily news and information to help Windows Mobile users make better use of their devices, has to say this "...we must conclude that it is just another vaporware product ... that in reality may never materialize as a commercial product." - 28 Jan 2008.

not laughing yet? well neither are the Windows Mobile users. So what about the one that Microsoft had promised in December? Here is some interesting buzz their announcement is creating like from electronista.com:

• Pfft. More like, "Microsoft copying iPhone Safari in next WinMobile."
• Always, MS is saying their next version of vapor/crapware will attempt to copy what [already] works now, except to add 10 steps and requires help from IT department.
• more vaporware from Micro$oft..... Promising tomorrow what already exists on the market today.
• Ha Ha Ha... "Microsoft has not issued a schedule for when it expects any of the updates to appear", oh that brings tears to my eyes .. good luck with that Microsoft..

Umm... what can I say.... they've already said it all.

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

the real Chicken Run

this video was nominated as the best animated gif at Cans film festival and it fits just nicely in mobile phones. There was a rumour at the festival that this short video was vaguely inspired by the vietnam war (metamorphically speaking of course)

(2 MB)

Bruce Lee would have been proud of this kid.
As such, the video could be given titles like Chicken Of Fury, Way of the Chicken or Enter the Chicken. We are not certain if its actually a chicken or is it a cock, so you may choose either one for the title, but please let me remind you this a PG13 blog.

As many titles as you can give it, there can be only one moral of this clip:
"Dont make threats to a chicken if you can't even run faster than it."

The boy is now all grown up and serving in the "Security Forces" in iraq, and the chicken... is served at the KFC outlet near you.

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

Who chooses Windows Mobile?

I know i'm going to ruffle a few feathers with this one, but what the heck, I actually HOPE I ruffle more than a few! Windows Mobile is now in its 6th version and what is it biggest draw back? its still "Windows".

OS being one of the most important factors when getting a smartphone, there are still a number of OS options in the market for smartphones. However, Symbian is the most prolific and mature OS for these devices by far. So for the most users this choice is made easier compared to other factors when looking for a smartphone. Though there is a small faction of users, who still feel Windows Mobile might be the right choice when getting their first (and possibly second) smartphone. A little puzzling as it might be, lets consider what type of users might fall under this category:

a. American users:
Obviously not the smartest of the smartphone users on the planet. Many of the American mobile phone users are still learning to SMS. No wonder its the only place on earth where Symbian users are still a minority. The cave dwelling Taliban are rumoured to be more mobile savvy than the average american citizen.


b. First time smartphone users:
Many smartphone users are still first timers and coming from a PC background so they feel a Windows Mobile based phone might be easier to use than a Symbian one. An unfortunate assumption which often leads such users to a lengthy cycle of frustration from one WM phone to another till they finally make the jump to a better OS (google on it a bit).

c. Mislead by the name "Windows" Mobile:
Some new users are under the impression that having Windows Mobile means the smartphone would have better support for MS Office files, and sync better with their PC windows. This might be an unfortunate assumption and they cant be blamed for it. One would expect a Microsoft OS to work better Microsoft's own products. New users somehow believe that a Windows Mobile phone would give better usage of MS Office files or online services from MSN, and better synchronization with their Windows based PC. But then again... what a silly assumption. How can someone not be aware of the unreliability and sluggishness that is synonymous with Windows name. Ironically Windows Mobile is probably the worst OS in this regard (arguably right? so go on and argue).

d. Little hand-held PC:
There are still people who think having a smartphone is like having a hand held PC that can make phone calls. Such users might feel that "rebooting" the phone now and then, just like the PC, is normal. That it is normal for their smartphone to keep getting sluggish if not rebooted now and then (google on it, will ya?), it is normal for the OS to suck the life (battery life) out of the phone. They have just learned to live with the frustration and take it as the norm. So with such low expectations, they can kinda cope with the frustrations of Windows Mobile.

You're not getting the picture yet? let me share one of the postings on Gizmodo. This message was posted as a response to an article about frustrations with Windows Mobile 6 on the Moto Q9m:

"Maybe using a touchscreen Pocket PC makes me immune to these frustrations. I dont see how a non-touchscreen Q should be compared to a touchscreen Iphone for usability".

Fortunately, users tend to change our phone (even smartphones) far quicker than they change their PC or any of their other electronic devices for that matter. So its still not a big loss if their first smartphone is not the right one.

And by the way... if any of you got any issues with this post, let me give you some idea what kind of mobile phones I use:



Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

smartphones hot in Japan!

its official: 30 million smartphones sold in Japan based on Symbian OS in 2007.
Thats a ridiculously high number, considering those are 30 million smartphones not just regular mainstream mobile phones.

This goes totally against some speculations last year that Symbian market share in Japan may start to reduce because NTT DoCoMo had started to show some interest in other mobile phone OSs as well. But looks like NTT DoCoMo is way too comfortable with Symbian to show any real interest in any other smartphone OS, due to "The robustness, security and ease of customisation of Symbian OS...".

Certainly cant be good news for other smartphone OSs like Windows Mobile that are still trying to catch up(far from being a real competitor judging from the market share graph below), not because Japan is such a big market for smartphones, but it is has long been the most advanced market for mobile phones by far. Whats interesting to see is Linux has had a much bigger market share than Windows Mobile.

Nov 2007
• Symbian • Windows Mobile • Linux

Bilal

http://elanist.com/bilal/

Be nice to America!

dont you just love politics?

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal