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Archive for the ‘Computer’ Category

First impression on Ice Cream Sandwich Beta

December 9th, 2011, posted in Computer, Phone review

Those who followed me on twitter would know that I am having my
examinations right now and is supperrrrr busy. LOL. Despite the fact that im studying, I manage to spent some time flashing a beta version of Google Android’s latest OS, Ice Cream Sandwich hehhee (:

Ok la, to be honest, the reason I flashed this OS because MIUI ROM has been acting up lately and the frequent hangs I get especially when I wake up in the morning with tons of messages and notifications annoys me. So….. yea.

Ice Cream Sandwich will never be available officially on the Samsung Galaxy S BUT the huge community support on Xda-Developers forum enabled Galaxy S to be one of the very few phone to have a taste on this yummylicious dessert! The link is here

So here’s some first impression on this sleek new OS.

The UI is polished and fast due to its new hardware accelerated feature that allows the graphic processor to accelerate the user interface. By doing so, everything is super smooth babeh. For the first time, scrolling contacts on an Android phone is as smooth as iOS.

The camera is also superbly quick. The zero shutter lag promised on Galaxy Nexus seems to be available on Galaxy S too! I mean, seriously, it is on par with IPhone 4s. (Even beats it to a certain extent)

I also notice that my 3G and WIFI signal seems to increased as compared to the MIUI ROM. It might be phone specific (cuz well yea, Galaxy S has lotsa problem) but it is definitely a plus point. I am able to use WIFI in my room without problem while using the MIUI ROM, it struggles to even get a decent connection

Another thing to note GPS, has also improved in the Ice Cream Sandwich. I use to struggle to even get a proper lock on the satellite but ICS allows the troubled Galaxy S to have lock in 30sec max!

The RAM management in ICS is nothing like I have seen before. Ive opened tons and tons of apps, but my memory remained at 80MB and above. We have this to thank to the new process manager. It will always free up RAM for new processes to take place and leaving some extra RAM to ensure smooth operation.

Another notable feature is the USB Storage Mode. When I hook up my phone to the laptop and mount the memory to it, I can still access the memory card from the phone and at the computer at the same time. That’s a nifty feature that deserves a mentioned. (:

Oh, this is my favorite, the Recent App feature. The recent app allows you to switch between application quickly and doubled as a task manager, when swiped left or right, will close selected application. Now, there have been doubts and debates on this task manager and many said that it IS NOT a task manager. It is. I have a video to prove. (ill update this space with the video soon) (:

One more feature that I love the most is the ability to have folders on application docks. You can just drag and drop any apps on the dock and it will be grouped into folders.

Web browsing seems to be quicker than other OS too. One thing to note, my Galaxy S is a single core processor thus it is STILL slow even with ICS.

Last but not least, the Auto Correct on ICS is as BITCHY as iOS. haha. Undeniably. (: It always DYAC (Damn You Auto Correct) for me. ICS calls this ‘Improved Spell Checking” haha. I called it DYAC!

Oh yea, I forgot to mention the most hyped about feature, Face Unlock or in Windows term Face Recognition. It sucks. The algorithm used to detect my face is not mature enough. Even if I move my face a little, it fails to recognize. Oh wells.

So here are the few features that deserves to be pointed out. It’s just a quick glance. I will have a better look at it after my exam and update this space with more notable features of ICS. This OS definitely live up to its hype unlike the announcement of iOS 5.

p.s: For those of you who’s been wondering, where are the software home,back and recent app button on the screen, well Galaxy S has hardware buttons, so the developers don’t see a reason to include that in the Galaxy S version, which is a good call. At least, we will have more usable real estate.

Lenovo Ideapad K1 tablet sneak peak + Topshop Vouchers giveaway!

September 25th, 2011, posted in Advertorials, Computer, Events, Phone review, Random rants, Review, Shennanigans

Along with Smashpop, Bryanlyt and a few other tech bloggers, we were invited by Lenovo to have a sneak peak of whats in store for their new range of laptops. Not only that, they are also here to showcase their upcoming tablet which obviously will run Android Honeycomb.

The back portion of the Lenovo K1 tablet.

The tablet of course runs Nvidia Tegra 1Ghz processor, 1GB RAM, customized Gingerbread UI as well as other standard tablet features such as GPS and etc. It has a choice of 16gb and 64gb. Right now only 64GB is available and yep, its only Rm1499. Quite cheap compared to others.

I also did the usual benchmark test, and yea the result is pretty predictable. Nothing to shout about as its all the same for every NVidia Tegra tablet.

Lenovo has even their own appstore for apps that are optimized for their tablet. (: They even throw in RM200 worth of paid application for you. Or we can also call that, bloatware. LOL!.. Wait, bloatwares are trial programs, but this is full version! So there’s a difference.

Samurai Vengeance HD. Optimized for Nvidia Tegra processor.

Haha, yes, this is their camera’s performance with flash. Sucky eh? Smile with tongue out Anyway that is the new ThinkPad laptop by Lenovo. It spots a whole new design. It has a rather round edge and now squarish like how all ThinkPad laptop is.

So… who wants 2 TopShop voucher? Its applicable for TopMan, Karren Millen, Dorothy Perkins, Pumpkin Patch and Miss Selfridge!

As part of Lenovo’s ongoing efforts to educate and highlight its Enhanced Experience 2.0 for Windows 7 technology, Lenovo organised the global EExtraordinary 10-Seconds Hero Contest on August 3 to find ‘DOers’ from 17 countries to share their good deeds that can just done in 10 seconds. The submission period for the contest is over and voting has begin.

To get this voucher, just vote for Malaysia at http://lenovo.promo.eprize.com/hero/ and if he wins he will be able to donate US$50,000 to a charity of his choice and realize his dreams! So vote for him, leave a comment below and I will put your names in Random.org to be selected! (:

Once selected, I will email you for collection. As simple as that! (: So quickly leave a vote and leave a comment and you can go on a shopping spreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

#Maxis10 HTC HD7 : Will it get my SIM card?

December 10th, 2010, posted in Computer, Phone review, Random rants, Shennanigans

After 2 weeks of reviewing this beast, today would be the last day of the #Maxis10 reviewers programme for HTC HD7 and man…. I cant believe ill be apart from this wicked beast.

Its only 2 weeks but i can really feel that the phone is part of my life. All my calendars, MS Doc and Excel documents, One note, pictures and etc are all synchronized to the cloud server and can be accessed on the PC. Its been such a breeze especially for work as i don’t need to bring a pen drive and lunge on external hard disk for my stuff. x

Not only that, my contacts are always updated, saved and sync and in events such as my phone ran out of juice, all i have to do was to go to Windows Live portal and i can browse all my contacts there and then.

My online social life? Its been nothing more than hell of an experience. Facebook integration, Awesome twitter application and full featured Flickr account allows me to stay updated and interact with my homies out there yo.

These are some examples of how this phone really made an impact in my life. The phone is an all rounder and did as what it was advertised. But of course like every phone out there, it still falls short of glory. No, not because the phone sucks but because its a new Operating System, not mature yet and still picking up.

Several unique features that got the crowd go wild and made my life easier is THE plus point on why you should get the phone.

- Unique UI. I am pretty sure the interface will make your Fruit phone peeps and others alike just go gaga over it. Its not something useful but it surely is something to hit the next chick at your local club joint!

- Integration – Almost everything you can think off that needs backup are integrated to the cloud portal : Windows Live. You name it, its there.

- Xbox Live – Gamers behold. Here’s your future gaming platform = CrossPlatform Gaming system. With this, you can sync all your gameplays, scores and interact with other gamers either from your PC, XBox 360 or even on your WINDOWS PHONE 7.

- SLEEK AND FAST. How many of you Android users wanted to make a quick call for something urgent and flip out your phone only to realize your phone has exceed the RAM limit and wallahhhh… you cant press a single button at all… oh wait.. Windows Phone 7? IT NEVER HAPPENS!

- Find my phone! What?! Yes, Windows Phone 7 has the ability to track your phone down and provide you with its location regardless of what SIM card you use. Normal aint it? The best part is, it allows you to lock the phone and send a “Please Return” message with a speical ringtone to alert people around it. Oh yeah, you can even erase all your data in case you are going to say Goodbye to it. All can be done via Windows Live. Now this is what i call… SECURITY!

I have to admit, despite awesome features like this, the phone still falls short of glory in certain aspect. Maybe the saying is true : There’s nothing perfect in this world.

In terms of functionality, heavy task users like me would expect to load a website in the background, listening to music and play some games all at once. Unfortunately, Multitasking is missing in WP7. To me this feature is important but i still do see some light in the absence of it. Android has this feature and overdoing it results in RAM Overkill thus rendering the phone ‘paralyzed’ making me unable to make or receive any calls!

The second problem of course does not lie on Windows Phone 7, but the phone itself HTC. The most common problem people face with HTC is the camera and in this case, PINK HINGE. Its quite serious especially in low light, the whole frame will turn to pink and if you use flash, your photos will be very feminine! Other than that, the camera still take good 5MP pictures. More details here : http://tinyurl.com/2esf6ms

Low Light w/ Flash

Good Lighting w/o flash.

Other than that, are just small flaws that are ALL correctable by firmware updates. For example copy-paste, Internet tethering, more settings and options.. These features are all correctable and assuming Microsoft is really serious in making WP7 into a WONDER PHONE, then really, with software UPDATES, this will beat Android and Iphone in no time.

Considering Android appeals to me at the moment because of the availability of features like Multitask, Internet tethering and copy paste, I am sure, i will soon move to Microsoft because i still have some soft spot for it.

So the golden question is : Will HTC HD7 gets my sim card in the end?

YES!

Ill keep the phone alongside my Android. Android maybe good in terms of multitasking, but once you fill your RAM out, i just wanna cry. I cant make or receive calls and everything is basically …… NOT RESPONDING. And that’s just where HD7 steps in.. It never fails to make or receive any calls. Oh no please.. don’t get me started on Iphone.

Although Windows Phone 7 has a long way to go, but for Microsoft to be able to pull something that’s a strong contender to Iphone and what more Android, I think its worth the buy. Microsoft will continue to roll out updates that will address issues like copy paste and it will be a bang for the bucks. Seriously, not even Iphone can beat this anymore. My 2 favorite OS ?

Android and WINDOWS PHONE 7

p.s : Here are more pictures to let you guys see the pros and cons of the camera. The camera actually performs really well but i think the programmer suck in programming the algorithm for White Balance settings.