The Akashic Field Chronicle

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Okay, so I’m having trouble maintaining a regular posting schedule for this blog. What with all the work that being a teacher entails, and even more importantly, how much time doing a masteral thesis actually eats up. All the same, I will try a bit harder to put in a post once in a while. Starting now!

I recently replaced my cellphone, a Motorola Razr v3i, with a Nokia 6500 Slide. The Razr has served me well all throughout college (undergrad) and I thought it was time to finally get a new one. So for my Pick-of-the-Week I give you, the Nokia 6500 Slide. Tadaa!

The Nokia 6500 Slide

Why I bought it

I was basically on the look out for a replacement for my flip phone (Razr v3i). Slider phones have been quite in fashion right now (don’t you just love those ultra-thin Samsung sliders?), so I decided to narrow down my search and look for a good slider. Here are the key features I was looking for before I bought:

• Slider – of course
• Compactness – something that would comfortably fit in my pocket. After the Razr, it’s really hard to go back to big and bulky phones
• 3G – the local service providers in the Philippines are all 3G (Highspeed) enabled so this is definitely a must for a new phone, in my opinion. However, it’s quite hard to find a compact handset that has 3G too.
• Not that new - gadgets are just so exorbitantly priced when they’ve just been introduced in the market and I really don’t have money to spare for a shiny new phone.
• User-friendly - the Motorola interface (for the v3i) is just plain crappy so I wanted something a little more geared towards usability. Because at the end of the day, looks are just looks. They wear out and you’re left with an unusable piece of bling.

A Comparison

So how does it stack up? Well, for one thing it’s quite stylish. I wouldn’t call it “sexy” as I would the Razr, but it definitely has a stylish masculine appeal. It’s even more pronounced when you consider its very sleek exterior and minimalist design.

As for usability, I really didn’t have any doubt it would beat the Razr in every aspect. Nokia phones are just so darn user-friendly. They stick to their tried and tested functionality and make very small incremental changes. I’m all for this kind of development. Just small changes to polish up an already good system.

Ok, so it’s not a smartphone (symbian, etc.) but I wouldn’t call it stupid either. It’s just a decent balance of features without the speed overhead very common to a lot of smartphones I’ve seen. If you’re not really into the extra PDA-like functionality, this phone will do the job.

The Bad

All in all, it’s a great phone, but it wouldn’t be a fair review if all I said were good things. Here are some minor issues:

1. Battery life – could have been better. 2 days on the average. 1 day if you’re using all the features (music, 3g surfing, games).
2. Slider – not the slider per se, but the way the keys are scratched a little bit everytime you slide it open. It’s only been a week and I can see lines on the keypad. It’s even more obvious with the black version.
3. No HSDPA - as I’ve said before, it’s 3G, not 3.5G. So the maximum speed you’ll get is 300+ kbps I think.
4. Start-up - there seems to be a bug in the software so that when it’s turned on, it seems like a very fast boot-up, but if you try to do anything right away, it kinda stalls for a few seconds and without any indication that it hasn’t hanged yet. It does eventually work after waiting a bit.

Linuxability

I don’t think that’s a real word though. Since I do all my work in Ubuntu, linux compatibility is definitely a big plus for me. Good thing Nokia decided to include Mass Storage support (similar to flash disks). This way, I don’t really need their software to get pictures, files, and programs to and from the PC.

I was also able to surf the net over the 3G connection of Globe telecom by following the instructions from the Globe website and this tutorial. Just a warning though, the default settings from Globe don’t work for prepaid users straight away. You have to change the APN from internet.globe.com.ph to html.globe.com.ph. It will allow you to surf using the built-in browser but it won’t allow your installed programs (Opera, Gmail, Yahoo Go) to connect using 3G. I think this also applies for all 3G handsets under the Globe prepaid service.

At 5 pesos / 15 mins, it’s quite a good offer. You just have to find a strong 3G signal. It isn’t much of a problem in the metro but becomes quite irritating in the provinces. If you don’t have a laptop with you though, I recommend browsing using Opera Mini in your cellphone.

The uber-funny manual

Here’s an excerpt from the manual that came with the phone (no editing was done):

Hello

Hindi halata ngunit sa kaakit-akit sa mata, ang iyong bagong Nokia 6500 ay makabago ng estilo at pagiging makabago. Sa pamamagitan ng isang nakaka-engganyong disenyo at isang eleganteng kaha na yari sa stainless steel at protektado sa gasgas ay nagsasanib ang salat at hitsura sa isang paraang talagang nagbibigay-pagkilanlan…

–used without permission

Ummm… Good thing there’s an english version. If you understand Filipino, then you’re probably laughing out loud right about now. I think the folks at Nokia translated the english manual word-for-word and probably didn’t even hire a decent translator. Funny!

Nokia Tagalog Manual —-> FAIL!

Click here to read other Pick-of-the-Week (POW) entries

Click here to read other Pick-of-the-Week (POW) entries

For my 2nd Pick-of-the-Week post, I’m picking the Creative Zen (Portable Media Player)

My Creative Zen (4gb)

Ok, so maybe everyone who has an iPod (in any of its various flavors), or at least anyone who has tried them out a bit, would say that it’s the best portable media player out in the market. Well I have to agree. There’s no doubt that in terms of sound-quality, user-friendliness, and overall fashion-sense, it’s clearly the best right now and probably for a long time to come.

There are however some other players out there that have something to offer those brave enough (broke enough), willing to have a go at anything but an iPod.

Why I bought it

I did have an iPod Video (80gb) which I bought about a year ago. Unfortunately, I don’t have it anymore, due to a very unfortunate jeepney accident. Ok, maybe stupid jeepney accident would describe it better. I fell asleep after an all-nighter for some gradschool project. Crap. Never ever sleep alone in a jeep! That was a long time ago of course, and its just a funny story now (hmmm… maybe still not so funny).

Last semester, I had a classmate in one of my graduate classes (digital communications) who always carried a digital voice recorder. He recorded all the lectures he attended so he could listen to them when reviewing. I thought it was a brilliant idea, seeing as I always seem to space-out during night classes. This way, even if I miss something important, I could always listen to it again. Mass storage is so cheap nowadays that there really isn’t any reason not to record everything. Except for laziness maybe.

So during summer vacation, I started looking for a decent voice recorder. I was initially looking for one of those really cheap 1gb models, but I always found myself attracted more to the full-pledged mp3 players (maybe because I listen to music a lot). To make a long story short, I ended up buying the Creative Zen. It’s a great player and voice recorder, perfect! But wait, there’s more! On top of all that, it also plays crystal clear video.

Creative Zen Features

The Zen is jam-packed with features at a price comparable to the iPod nano. It plays music, video, pictures, and of course has a very good built-in voice recorder. I actually thought of buying an iPod at first, but remembered that there wasn’t any built-in voice recorder. You have to pay a lot to add that simple feature.

I don’t regret the choice though. The Zen can do everything the iPod can do (except be fashionable I guess). Plus, at a similar price to the iPod nano, it packs a screen as big as an iPod Classic.

Screen size is similar to iPod Classic

This means you can watch video and not worry about having an uber-tiny picture. I guess we owe all of these features to the competition presented by the iPod. Other manufacturers just have trouble competing with the iPod that they have to price very low and still pack more features to attract buyers.

Some of my most favorite features include:

• SD Card Expansion Slot – Tired of 4gb internal flash? How ’bout another 4gb, just by adding an SD card.
• Built-in Voice Recorder – This is of course very welcome since my original plan was to use it as a recorder.
• Standard MiniUSB port – similar to the ones used in most digicams, so there’s no need to worry about replacing your cable
• Themes + Customizability - you can tweak the look of the interface a lot and even put in your own wallpaper
• Very Compact - always good for any portable device. I think it’s as large as a standard credit card.

Stuff I hate:

• Glossy Screen – not very scratch-resistant, so you should definitely find a case or screen protector. It’s not an easy feat though, since everyone’s making accessories for the iPod.
• SD and Internal Memory aren’t integrated – the two memories can not be used from a single interface. What I do is to just put all the video in the SD card.
• Buttons - what can I say, nothing beats the touch-sensitive wheel of the iPod

If you’re looking for a cheap alternative to the iPod, with good sound quality and a boatload of features, the Creative Zen is definitely worth checking out.

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