Here I am getting fat…..really fat….I noticed Adino has been writing about weight loss and I’m trying to follow and be as successful as he did in losing weight but I can’t seem to control my hunger panks. Sighs…..

Then I received a gift. Something I have been wishing for! Can you believe it? I got something that will probably cause me to be even more lazy to do the little exercise I have left. Housework!

Presenting to you. My latest gadget. Hehe the iRobot! A robot vacumm that will revolutionize the way my life is and the circumfrance of my waist hahahahaha.

Opening ceremony...the time has come

Perhaps I’ll do a review of the iRobot later to tell you if this thing really works or not. I will also be measuring my waist line in the process as to discourage you ladies from insisting that your husband get you one.

One a serious note, I want to thank the person who gave this to us as a early wedding gift! We are truly touched. Regina was asking is the person is encouraging her to be a ‘Tai Tai’. Oh no, I’m not sure am marrying the right person now. Hahaah…..ok ok no no I’ll love her no matter what but I also know she’ll never be a Tai Tai. Hehe

The 'Tai Tai' wannabe hehehe

So now…..I can’t wait to try it, but I’ll be away for the next few days….sadly, trying this new gizmo of mine will have to wait. Sobss. Until then, have a great and lazy weekend. Hehe

9 months ago I was in need of a guitar and God provided me with my dream guitar…a Taylor 514 ce

Then I wanted a phone that would have all the functions I needed and God provided the Samsung Omnia

I needed a pair of shades and I got a dream pair or Rudy Projects

Not too long later, I was given a notebook for work! – HP 6510

Then I sold off my notebooks (except the one at work) and got myself a workstation PC at home the Imac 24 inch.

Thinking I had like the most amazing  array of gifts, I was given an Iphone for Christmas. Yes dear readers, I was blessed with an Iphone 16GB. I wrapped it up and it looks like this:

Now just a few days ago. It arrived. Something I never dreamed I would have. Many times this dream vanished into thin air. Yet it fell right into my hands. The Macbook Air. Oh it is so beautiful. I’m going to be able to do so much more now!

Doesn’t it look great?

Looking back, I don’t know why I am so melancholic and not see that God has truly blessed me beyond my wildest dreams with things that a person in my position would normally not have. It is only by God’s grace this can happen. I could never afford it all on my own and to think it all happened in a blink of an eye. Some people may think I am rich. The fact is, I’m not rich but my Father in heaven is truly rich and generous.

I was going to put up loads of pics of the choir and me cause so much has been happening. I must say I thought¬† I’d kill two birds with one stone again. I will give you a brief history on how I started singing and end with this moment¬† also as a conductor of choir. Interested to know? Read on. I promise you loads of pics and juicy, tasty info hahahaha…..

Well it all started long ago before I was born, God had a plan……ok ok I won’t go that far back……..

I was a little shy kid. I’m still a big shy erm…..young old man…..:)

So I didn’t like to sing. I never did have any interest. Singing was just part of my life. It was filled with singing since I was a child. It was a norm, a routine. Oh well one day I decided to sing for the youth talentime when I was about 17? I think….Well I did that at that time because I wanted to sing with ermmmm the girl I had a crush on since I was 12……she agreed to sing with me and my good friend then so we as a trio sang as I played the guitar. I remember the song because until this day it is still one of my favorite songs. ‘One more Time’ by the Katinas. Little did I know that day the principle of a music college was present there, who was my church member.

Well to cut the long story about how from a science student I chose to do music, ermmmm well. God led me there somehow. I was not outstanding in music at all then . I’m dead serious. I loved music only as a hobby. My mom had to nag me to practice and I was a borderline pass student hehehe.

So when I decided to do music, I ended up in that music college which the head of the faculty was a church member. It was then I suddenly felt and overwhelming peace that music was what I was supposed to do.

We had to choose two instruments. One as our major, the other as our minor. We were poor so I could only afford to have learnt one instrument all my life. So piano as my major. Then what can I do? My member Miss Eliz said “Why don’t you take up vocals? I heard you sing before and you sang very well.”¬† Hmmm something in my heart nudged me that day that I had the responsibility to use my gifts for God. I certainly didn’t think I had the gift to sing. In fact I had always prayed that God take away my voice…..

Well I was assigned to be tutored by Mr. Ian Lim and well he too said that I can sing. So well I just thrusted myself forward and before I knew it I was singing as the lead character in the college’s musical. I was in the choir and I was doing loads of stuff with regards to singing. I probably sang more often and performed more often as a singer than as a pianist.

In those three years of studies. I finished my Grade 8 in singing and well was feeling pretty good about my own voice. Some of you have heard this part before. Then on the last year when everything was going fine and I was at a camp. I lost my voice. The first service I was singing proudly and by the next I couldn’t sing. I could speak normally but I couldn’t sing. Then it struck me at that moment how I prayed that my singing voice be taken away. I felt no pain. I just couldn’t sing.

By the last day, I was desperately seeking God and was deeply sorry for being so irresponsible with the gift God had given me. My voice is not my own. It is for me to praise God. I repented, asked for forgiveness and God granted me back my voice.

Little did I know all the experiences in singing, learning to sing, performing in A Capella and choirs, conducting, teaching singing and all would lead me to a point where I would be here in Singapore leading the choir here.

Last Sunday they performed. I only led the adults but there were the youth and kids choir too. A total of 110 of us. We belted our hearts out because we all knew the reason we were doing this for. Proclaiming the goodness of God to the world that Jesus Christ came as a little baby boy to bring us all hope.

Why am I sharing this? I hope one day, that this post will encourage you to sing whether you think you can or not. I certainly thought I couldn’t and look where God brought me. You never know when you submit your gift to God how things will never be the same.

I also write this to remind everyone who sang that day. Remember why you sing. Do not ever forget that. We have the privilege to sing and the responsibility to be the best we can be. It is a challenge to my fellow choir members too because I believe you guys can and have so much potential. I pray that God will use our voices in an even more spectacular way as we submit it to Him.

Well nothing ever comes into being without hard work right? Don’t forget that too haha. Here they are rehearsing their hearts out!

Looks good hor a hundred of them

Trying to be the conductor

Even though we rehearsed with all our might, we need God’s strength

Our coordinator and MC too recognise our finiteness in the midst of an infinite God

Desperate for God’s strength

The show is about to begin but remember. Warm up is important!! Everybody sing ah ah ah ah ah!

The show begins!! Now open those mouths wide!

OOOOOOOOOOO——KKKKKKK!

Sing now with all your hearts! The world is listening!

Higher now!!  Come on! You can do it!

Let it fly!!!!

The mighty lady that made it all happen with the youth and children!

Choir on Christmas Day! Sing! Sing!

Thank You Lord for the wonderful weather and Your protection and Your grace!

Ps: Caleb and Aimin. Thanks for the wonderful pics! Now I must get a SLR hahahaha

Today that word brought about again a deeper meaning. To know that a terrible man like me deserved to be loved by a God that has so much grace. I do not deserve it but He has lavished blessings upon blessings upon my life.

I woke up with much anticipation as I would be handed keys to this:

It has been bestowed upon me the rights to use this bike. Thinking back. Just slightly over three months and I have been blessed with amazing things again and again. Now I’m speechless. Just awed by the grace shown to me.

What do you think? I never thought I’d be riding a purple colored bike haha. Still it is just amazing. Now bikerz adventures will resume hahaha on my Daelim motorcycle, which has been loaned unto me indefinately.

Some of you would be really glad to know that this bike can’t go fast at all. Haha. So I’ll¬† be cruising my way across the island. Still its good to have the wind in my face again….I better wash it more if not pimples will be a problem hahaha.

I must say it is a good bike and will certainly help me cut tonnes of time travelling and fuel costs too. Still all that fills my head is just the word GRACE. Thank you all for loving me so much too. Am I a blessed man or what? What should I name her?

A screen shot of my lovely desktop

For those of you out there who don’t like tech stuff, I know these things seem like a bore to read but please read this plus the the Omnia post ok? You will need to know these things if you want to function effectively in the post-modern world. It also saved people like me the heartache of fixing your computers for hours which I have done so for many over these years. It’s rather painstaking hahaha. Serious wan. You can start with these things I’ve been posting. They are just basic knowledge I tell you. I also only know so little. But I try to learn. You can always ask me anytime and I will try to help if I can. See I’m so nice. hahahah.

Behold my new notebook!!!

My first thought was, its so beautiful! I’m wondering how they ever designed such works of art!! I mean seriously they really do good jobs in making you feel all weak when you see their products nowadays don’t they. I was on the verge of getting an HP 2133 and do a review on it which again is one of the latest products out there and would again probably be as popular as the Samsung Omnia post, but in the end I got the HP tx2080au which is part of HP’s tx2000 series.

Why you may ask? It was offered as an upgrade from the HP 2133 at an irresistible price!

But isn’t this an older model? Yeah it came out in January but again, I’m all about functionality and then design rather than design then functionality. In the past I was riding a motorcycle and subnotebooks were honestly the way to go as they were light. They lack the processing power that is needed for my audio work and therefore wouldn’t be fit for such purposes and so I had my huge Dell 6400.

I didn’t need two notebooks anymore so I was thinking I needed something that will help me in my job and lifestlye here. So when this offer was made I couldn’t resist. Here is what I got:

• AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual Core processor TL-60 2.0GHz
• Up to 4GB DDR2 RAM (my unit has 2GB soon to be 4GB hehehe)
• Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 graphics with shared RAM of up to 128MB
• 160GB 5400 RPM HDD
• 12.1″ WXGA touchscreen display with built in digitizer (1280×800 resolution)
• 1.3 megapixel webcam and built in stereo microphone.
• LightScribe Super Multi or Super Multi 8X DVD+/-R/RW
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
• 802.11a/b/g with Bluetooth
• ExpressCard 34 Slot
• 3 x USB ports
• 2 x headphone out and one microphone-in
• VGA-15 pin
• TV-Out S-video
• RJ-11 and RJ-45
• Notebook Expansion port 3
• 2 x Consumer Infared
• Battery: 4-cell and 8-cell Lithium-Ion
• Weight: 4.3 pounds with weight saver and 4-cell battery
• Dimensions: 8.82″(L) x 12.05″(W) x 1.23″(H)
• 3 years on site warranty

Design and Looks

Firstly I was very very excited to hold it in my hands and I was like….whoa this is much heavier than I had expected and so much more heavier than my EEEPC. Yet it was way way lighter than my Dell so that is great. Carrying my Dell around has been painful. I have walked with this notebook in my backpack for more than 10 kilometers and well I must say it didn’t feel like a burden. But I think for girls it may be less of a pleasure.

The moment I set my eyes on it in my hands, I fell in love with its design. There are intricate things I didn’t notice about its design until I had it with me. Its not just black and silver as you see from afar. There are designs that are embedded on the cover and even on the inside. I like that a lot!

Can you see the designs?

Tablet Function and Screen

I think most of you should know what a normal functional notebook is like. Therefore I will not go into that detail. What I would love to do is to tell you about a Tablet PC. If you don’t know there are many divisions to the notebook category. Tablet PCs are touch screen PCs that can convert into a tablet form as seen below and also be used like a conventional PC. Some do not however have this dual function but that is rare for now.

Touch Screen PC? You may ask. Cool. Yes this technology has been out for some time now. But it hasn’t been very well done if I may say until Vista promised that it would change the Tablet PCs into something people would want. And guess what? It did for me!

Here it is in tablet mode

I tried some in the past and they were far from impressive, but I must say that the Tablet PC is much better now than I expected. Firstly because of HP’s active digitizer. What’s that? Like a pocket PC, there is the stylus right? There….the pen like thing….Ahhhh you get it now. In the past it was like that. Just a piece of plastic for you to touch the screen. Now, you can use it like a mouse. It has a clicking mechanism and even better when you move it around the screen, the pointer follows you so you can see where you are going to tap!

This is how the stylus goes into the notebook!

I mean for me that is wonderful! I can do notation for my music and I won’t miss the line. It is so hard to try to hit a fine line on the screen by just one tap and that is just a wonderful function that did not exist in the past. Even better, the pen when turn the other way around functions as an eraser for what you wrote. So cool!

The writing recognition has improved! It detects my ugly writing perfectly. You just write like usual. There is no need for special method or anything. That makes things sooooo easy…..for me at least hahaha.

The screen honestly is beautiful. Other than the fact it is hard to see under sun light……seems to be a problem with all touchscreen windows stuff even my Omnia….The resolution is wonderful as it is a 12.1 inch screen but has the same resolution as my Dell 15.4 inch last time. So images are sharp and clear. Colors on the screen are nice but cannot be compared to a real monitor. I noticed this only when I put it beside my Dell monitor. Otherwise on its own it actually looks impressive.

The web cam is just of normal quality and so therefore nothing to shout about.

Speed and Multimedia

This is how the screen can turn along with the speakers to change into the tablet form

I don’t know why there are so many anti AMD processors people out there but I actually prefer AMD to Intel. Performance wise I find AMD better but the downside is that it does consume more battery juice. So I was rather worried about that until I realised they offered two batteries! Yes I heard it was normal in their packages. The 4 cell lasts about 2 and a half hours on full blast usage. the 8 cell lasts slightly over 4 hours. Good enough for me

Using it was fun as there were no issues with speed with all my applications. Multi tasking is no problem too as I often run many things as well because I hook this up to my Dell 22 inch monitor to work. Still startup of the computer is slow as in all Vista systems. Very disappointing thing done by Microsoft.

Still this Tablet is not meant for gaming but plays multimedia wonderfully with its sharp screen so videos and pictures look GREAT and I must say they packed in some impressive speakers. Other tablets I come across don’t have speakers that sound so sweet. What i mean by that is that it is loud enough and not distorted or harsh sounding. They are Altec Lansing speakers that are mounted to the screen so that you can hear them even as you change into a tablet or normal notebook style.

The notebook comes with TWO line outs. I was like that is something I need so much!!! Cool!!! And one of them can function as a SPDIF out that gives you digital quality sound if you have the proper equipment to connect it to. I can even control the volume of each output individually. There is also a mic in if you are not satisfied with the in built mic . All these are located in the front of the notebook for easy access and that is really nice.

Sound quality of the sound card is good but as expected will never outperform a dedicated audio interface.

OS and Software

This Tablet comes with Vista which is so much better with its tablet functions compared to XP. I’m not sure about XP service pack 3 if it is as good as this, but I’m sure XP can’t do what it does as good. Vista’s outlook and interface is very beautiful too.

I’m not a fan of Vista because it really eats a lot of resources and is really slow in starting up. I love XP because its been more stable when it comes to audio recording. I hope this improves in time. I would not advice anyone to use Vista unless they have a minimum of 2 GB RAM and even so I would suggest getting 4GB that is the maximum for a 32bit system and makes Vista slightly more of a pleasure to use.

The notebook comes bundled with Cyberlink’s DVD suite instead of the usual Roxio or Nero somehow. It works fine just without all the other fancy stuff that the others have. Good enough for me. They also come with the lightscribe feature which is so nice to use to burn images onto the top of the cd. You must however have the right cd media that supports lightscribe.

Keyboard, Mouse and Fingerprint Reader

A picture of the pen and Tablet from another website

The keyboard was sooooo nice to type on. I don’t even know why. Its just the design and the touch. I like it sooooo much. I mean I am a pianist so touch is something I’m sensitive to and really fussy about. This is the nicest keyboard I’ve used in my life. The size and design is just nice to work with.

The trackpad is sooo nice to use too. My brother has a HP too and the trackpad looked similar and I didn’t like his. I was like I’m so not going to use that pad, but when I used it now….wow….it felt good. Because of the texture on the pad, I can actually feel when I want to move the mouse and when I wanted to scroll up or down just at the right hand side without looking. The buttons are nice to click too. I was expecting that this would be the feature I would hate the most on this notebook only to be proven sooooo wrong!

I never had a notebook with a fingerprint reader, so I was like coming with zero expectations. Then when I realised how it functions and how easy it was to setup, I was so happy. I mean logging on to windows was such a hassle in that past but now all I do is swipe my finger on the reader and ‘TA DA’ I’m in. Still I can choose to type in the password the conventional way but who wants to anymore hahaha.

A view of the keyboard and trackpad

Wireless

The notebook comes with the standard wifi capabilities though I wished they added wireless N on mine. There are different models that have that. Wireless N is the latest specification for wifi which transmits further and faster. But that is not necessary in most scenarios. A need not a want.

It also comes installed with bluetooth which again helps connect many things to the computer such as the handphone, pocket pc, other PCS and so much more. There are so many possibilities with the bluetooth functions nowadays. One of which I love is by connecting it to my bluetooth headphones. The range and reception is good on this notebook. Nothing outstanding about it.

It also helps me connect to my Motorola V6 handphone to access internet over HSPDA (3.5G) when I travel on the train or practically anywhere. So I’m so satisfied with this function. So far there is no drop of signal, no compatibility issues…..wonderful.

Other things

I think I should mention about whether the notebook is noisy or not as that counts nowadays. I loved my EEEPC because its practically almost noiseless. So nice! This however not close to that. Even my Dell performs quieter. The hard disk ‘whirlish’ sound is loud, the fan noise it audible but tolerable.

The notebook also gets rather warm at the fan outlet alone. I must stress this. I am surprised that the rest of the notebook is not as hot as I expected. I left it on for 24 hours without the air cond and still the keyboard was not hot. the back was only warm. It is farrrrr cooler than my EEEPC. Very well done by HP I must say because you don’t want a hot tablet in your hand as you give presentations. I mean if its too hot it will defeat the purpose of getting something you want to be able to conveniently hold in your hand right?

Also last thing I would love to add is that the buttons all over the notebook and the remote control that comes along with the notebook makes it so nice as a multimedia player. This remote control slots right into the express card slot at the side which makes it convenient to carry around. When I prefer, I just can control the multimedia functions like play, pause, volume and more while I’m lying comfortably on my bed. Nice.

The only downside to this notebook in the end for me is that they did not provide a screen protector. I mean with all my heavy usage, I scratch my pocket pc like mad! This notebook I do not want to scatch. So I managed to find NUshield screen protectors online and I’m waiting for them to arrive. They only cost USD15. Well worth it considering repairing the original screen will cost you more. It is very easy to leave fingerprint marks on the cover as well.

I also sourced for the price of the digitizer pen/stylus because that is the thing people lose the most and its only SGD25 from HP, phew. I’m told that the price of this tablet is also very reasonable. USD 1299. I think that is well worth it for this notebook. Thank God for providing me such a wonderful tool!!

Conclusion

Multiview of the Tablet

I hope this little review will help you choose a notebook or maybe a tablet PC too next time. There are so many choices out there but let me give some advice. Always get one that suits your needs. There is always a notebook out there that will seem tailored for your needs!!! and sometimes wants hahaha. In the end, it’s always worth to pay more for something that works for you. I mean really suits your need. Yes the price will drop eventually and you’ll always lose money. But for me it’s worth the investment if you really fully utilise its functions. You buy something that doesn’t function the way you want, you’ll regret and end up spending more because you’ll have to get a replacement in time. Also a lot of people end up spending more than necessary when all they need is to type and surf. So please use your money wisely.

Don’t say I don’t need this la, save la, and end up buying something lousy and don’t say aiyo I need this la but end up not using it. I mean if you use that function once a month only, you don’t need it! Ok? So I’m glad I got this. I hope it lasts me hahahha. Cheers!!

At last behold it is within my grasp!!! Muahahaha

Since even only a few requested I do a review, I believe in the minority vote a lot of times too so therefore I am attempting to write a review that will suite my readers. There are ample techie reviews out there but I want to help you guys see why phone choices are important and how a phone can compliment the user in a very unique way.

Warning! This review is awfully detailed and has a long explanatory of everything. Please proceed if you can read without falling asleep

When I got this phone, in the box we are given a charger, screen protector, the handset, headphones, sync cable, stylus, manual, cd for sync program, and warranty card. The headphones have rubber inserts in which they also provided replacements should it get dirty.

First Impressions

When I first picked up the handset, I was very happy to feel how solid it was. No shaking or moving parts and felt really sturdy. The weight though would be rather heavy compared to a standard phone. But I like it as I’m a guy and when it is too light it just doesn’t feel quite right. Also feeling it in my pocket helps me remember it is there and I like it that way so I won’t lose it. It does not feel heavy though in the pocket, just right (but you may not have children as Warwick says). I think it will not fit into ladies pockets that easily though but you all like to put it in the bag anyway. Oh and its lighter than the I-phone so if you can tolerate the I-phone because it’s beautiful and nice. Then this is easy since is lighter and beautiful also.

The looks are astonishing to me as I am a minimalist in most areas and like designs to be simple but elegant. The whole phone is astonishing in its design and it doesn’t leave fingerprints on as badly as I thought it would.

The Omnia sitting pretty…

It is sad that the phone does not have a hotswappable memory card slot (swappable port that is easy to access outside the phone) and you’ll have to take the phone apart before you can change the card. That being said so I changed the card after installing some stuff then took out the battery then I panicked! In some past windows mobile devices, you lose all your data if you do that! I took hours to set it up to the way I liked and ah!!!! I don’t want to do it again. But I didn’t lose my data hahaha, it works fine just like my Dopod. Although I would still not recommend that you take out the battery for a long period of time. I think 1-2minutes will be safe if you don’t want to lose anything. If in any case you lose all the data, you will be back to factory settings which means that it will be exactly as you got it out of the box.

Specifications

Now I would like to introduce the specs of this phone (specifications). I will give some tips on how to read specifications as the first step. Which is important to know and which isn’t.

Bands and Size

I think you don’t need to read the Bands and so on unless you are a frequent flyer to other countries. The phones you buy from Malaysia or Singapore can be used definitely. Size and dimensions are for those who are really particular about size. I think the more important part is weight as you buy your phones, remember their weights, you will find a range of weight that you prefer to hold in your hand and use to carry around. Generally phones today are made lighter and lighter and I don’t particularly like it that way. This weight is just nice for me.

The Omnia in the middle compared to the Iphone and HTC Diamond (I don’t have all 3 so have to borrow pictures haha)

Screen

Now you got to know what kind of screen the phone has. This is important. TFT screens are generally for touch screens and now you must take not about the screen colors. There are 3….65k, 256k and 16M (million). The higher the better and nicer to look at but still 65k is not bad and is the best a Windows Mobile Based PDA phone can handle at the moment or the phone gets laggy most of the time. As you see in these specs, the screen may support more colors but effectively the phone only projects 65k. So no matter what you do. You will only get 65k of colors. The more colors, the more processing power is needed and therefore it is generally slower and sucks more energy. Technology advancements are revolutionizing this though. This goes the same for LCD monitors for computers.

Now resolution of the screen again is important. On advertisements you always see them showing you the screen is 2.8 inches or 3 inches. But the bigger doesn’t really mean its better. For example the HTC Diamond has a 2.8 inch screen but has 480 X 640 resolution. The Samsung Omnia on the other hand has a 3.2 inch screen but a 240 X 400 resolution. That means there are more pixels on the HTC Diamond than The Samsung Omnia therefore making the HTC having much clearer and sharper images. The down side is that it takes much more processing and memory power therefore they have a 64 MB video card on the HTC to make it smooth. More processing power and more parts means more energy means less battery life. The main issue is that you would try to look for the better screen if you want to see movies and have better picture views. I must say I did both on the Omnia and it still look good to me. I can notice the difference but its barely noticeable to the common user.

The Omnia is Samsung’s attempt to fight with Apple’s I-phone therefore it has modified the user interface (UI) of this machine to handle most of its operations just on touch. Now the problem is that to be honest, it doesn’t impress me. In fact I think it is far from being close to what the I-Phone functions in terms of touch has been. They were so confident that they could get you to use their touch screen alone that the stylus given is an external pen like thing that has to be hung or brought along with you. I was disappointed that they not intergrate the stylus into the PDA itself but after some major tweaks. I got it to work nicely without the use of a stylus. I’m loving it now.

The original home screen After My Tweaking with SPB Pocket Plus

Menu Screen before Menu Screen after SPB Mobile Shell

Some other Screen Shots

I must commend that their text entry keyboard on the screen that is wonderful therefore making it possible to enter data without the use of a stylus.

Also noteworthy is their accelerometer that actually makes the screen change from portrait to landscape just by the turn of the PDA. Very nice! I found that this function is practically useless for those who like to lie on the bed to do work like me because the screen turns when I lie on my back. To get it back into the position I want lying down is rather tough.

What I like about the screen most that no other brands have done is the touch feel on the screen. Each time you touch the screen it vibrates with your touch. It makes the typing and touching feeling so realistic and nice. That is why I was so determined to make the PDA just function with touch. You can even adjust the intensity of the vibrations and off it if it is not your taste. I just like the feel of the touch. This is by far such a cool feature.

Shows you how I type a sms

Sometimes even like that

Memory

This is an important factor now in today’s usage. In getting a normal phone you will be looking at the storage space. That would mean the bigger the better. The Omnia comes with a whopping 16 GB!!! That is more than what I have on my EEEPC in total. Wonderful If you want to store loads of music and videos. I mean it even lets you expand with a memory card to a maximum of 8GB. You can hardly even find a memory card that size at the moment. That is 24GB of storage space. Its like heaven. This permits me to use it even as a HD to bring about to transfer files. Coolness!!

Besides that though one must look at the amount of RAM given because a pocket pc runs on RAM just like in a real full fledged computer. In this case, they gave 128MB which is good but not the most that is given out there in the market. It also provides 256MB in ROM that helps in having some programs that don’t run on storage card. Overall after tweaking everything and adding most of the best programs out there, I still have lots of space. Lack of RAM will make the PDA slow and unresponsive but in this case it didn’t seem laggy but nice. I think it also has to do with the fast 624MHZ processor that comes with it.

I had many problems with pocket PCs hanging and being totally unstable because of the lack of RAM and processor power but I must commend that the Omnia is both fast and responsive. I do not believe that it is the fastest out there but it sure is fast and benchmark tests have proved it to be a very good performer.

Data

Now this is a part in which most people don’t have much knowledge about and actually use. The geeky ones like me who want internet on the go tend to buy a phone based a lot on this section. As you see this phone supports data transfer of GPRS Class 12 which is equivalent to Dial-up modem speed. This is second generation(2G) mobile data speed. Then there is EDGE Class 12 which is 2.5G which is slightly below broadbands lowest speeds found today. The there is WCDMA/UMTS which is the 3G or third generation mobile phones that alow video conferencing and internet broadband speeds. But there are a 3.5G data transfer speeds now. Which is also known as HSPDA that can potentially go up to speeds of 14Mbps that is 7-14 times the speed of what common streamyx users have in the home. This phone however has speed of up to 7.2Mbps which is the fastest speeds that exist in the mainstream now. Even Malaysia cannot support such speeds and only Singapore has such speeds.

So I tried surfing the net just on my PDA and I must say it is a pleasure. The speed is amazing. The problem is that with all current PDA phones even the I-phone, surfing on the PDA is still not able to give users the same experience as in a real computer. It has though made improvements that are quite pleasant and I could see my blog on it quite well.

The Omnia also offers users the option of using WIFI and Bluetooth alternatively for networking and data transfer. What it lacked was an infared port which is quite obsolete nowadays just that I was kind of hoping to use my PDA phone as a remote control for the air-con like my Dopod. Oh well. That is something I can live without perhaps. Haha. I had no problems connecting with my V6 and my Dell through Bluetooth to sync and WIFI works like a charm too.

OS

I am not going in to the OS (Operating System) because there is too much to write about, but I will just say briefly that Windows Mobile is currently the PDA OS that has the most third party softwares. That means it has the most softwares written for it by other companies other than Microsoft. I would like to recommend certain MUST get softwares that are essential into making the Windows Mobile experience wonderful.

SPB Mobile Shell – Enhancing software for visual and extra plugins

SPB Pocket Plus - Helps improve the basic functions to a more usable level

Opera Browser – A better browser than the Internet Explorer in the PDA

Bejewelled 2 – An addictive game that entertains you when you are bored

SPB Finance – To manage all your accounts and money

E Wallet – To Remember all your Passwords and Important Information

E – Sword – The best free bible software with commentaries and bible dictionaries

Lexigoo – Dictionary and Thesaurus

Phone Tuner – A Chromatic Tuner I use to tune my guitar

There are loads of programs out there that can do so much more. Together with the Omnia is very good programs already like Microsoft Office Mobile, A video editor, unit converter, and so much more. These are those that really help me day to day.

I must remind you that this is a whole entirely different interface than just a normal phone therefore will take a huge amount of time to adjust to.

Imaging

I’m trying to improve my photography skills which is not really good at the moment

Now lets go on to an important feature in todays mobile phones. The camera! Problem is that I think most people fall into the gimmick of buying a camera based on the advertised megapixels. Let me tell you that more megapixels does not ensure the quality of your pictures. So unless the phone is tested and pictures are taken from it to be viewed and checked for quality, do not ever simply assume that your pictures will come out nice just because it has high megapixels. The more pixels you have the bigger the picture can be printed out therefore takes more memory as well.

This is by far one of the best PDA phone cameras around. The pictures are clear though grainy if really zoomed in as this is a problem with mobile phone cameras. But the quality of the picture is on par with the top picture phones out there like the Sony K850i, LG KU990 and the N95. What it lacks though is a real flash and that could be rather disappointing but the LED flash does help in taking pictures from short distances. Until now mobile phones are far away from being able to compete with the quality or real digital cameras but then this phone proves that they are getting closer to that. I took some pictures with the camera, you judge for yourself. Click on it for full size view.

This is a picture of my new office desk that I got a few days ago! Planning to decorate it. Any suggestions?

My artistic view of my lovely keyboard

There are even many real camera functions such as the latest smile detection photos that detects your smile and automatically takes the picture for you. It is not much of a use for me as I don’t smile much hahaha. But those who want to take pictures with friends and self portraits but do not have a photographer could use this function to have loads of fun.

I must say the camera on this phone supercedes my mental expectations. I hope to be taking more photos soon for blogging with this phone.

GPS

Now it’s time to talk about a feature I really wanted in my phone. GPS (Global Positioning Satellite). This was extremely difficult to use on this phone because somehow I needed an intermediate software to function the GPS. Mapking, Garmin MXT, and AGIS software’s just couldn’t detect the GPS until I used GPS Gate to detect the port. Then I could run all three softwares at one time. As soon as I set everything the GPS worked like a charm. It took a long time to get a lock on my position though. So I decided to use the A-GPS to help. Now for everyone to know, there is a huge difference between GPS and A-GPS. The 3G I-phone uses A-GPS which uses triangulation with the mobile phone towers to fix your position. This is extremely costly as you have to use you data/internet to constantly download your position. An authentic GPS receiver won’t cost you anything to get your position except the software and maps are costly for both haha.

As you can see in the specs, Omnia has both therefore because it was taking so long for it to fix my position, I downloaded my position one time with the A-GPS then used my GPS to continue streaming data. It worked like a charm. Within 3 seconds it locked my position and everything was perfect!

Sound quality

The ringtones are loud and therefore good for a person like me who has trouble hearing. Music sounds wonderful too on this unit. One thing I cannot rectify though is when I receive a call, for 2 secs the ringtone will be soft. Then after that it is ok‚Ķ..still puzzled. But that doesn’t affect anything much.

Battery

Battery life is the foundation of getting a phone. You do not want to get one that needs you to charge it everyday. Here always look at talk time not standby time. Talk time is the most essential. Measure that with your daily usage then you will generally see how often you have to charge. This phone’s battery lasted me 2 days before I need to charge and that is good. In fact other reviews mention the Diamond only perform to half the battery life. So if you don’t mind charging everyday, any phone will do. This phone sometimes last me 3 days depending on how busy I am.

Overall Conclusion

I am deeply satisfied with this phone and all its functions. I will not be able to get this with the I-phone I dreamed about. So this is better that I dreamt. The phone has not hanged at all although I constantly abuse it with too much work. That is very delightful as Pocket PCs always hang somehow. This one doesn’t which must be because Samsung did a great job in ensuring the phones compatibility with Windows Mobile. Would I recommend this phone to everyone? No, if you’re looking for just a phone I think it is not worth getting this because a full fledge phone would probably suite you more with all the hardware buttons. This requires you to entirely depend on software which is difficult for many.

If you are looking for a Windows Mobile device for work and organizing and fun, this is definitely the best out there. The HTC Diamond is the only competition the Omnia has and I think this one beats the HTC because the HTC camera is crappy. HTC has a nicer screen but seriously this is not bad. The touch screen to me is more important than the nice beautiful flashy 3D interface the Diamond has but again its up to a users priority.

This phone I must say is perfect for me and I hope by writing this review, you will get to know more about me. How I think, and choose and make decisions and you can probably see my priorities too. I hope this post will also help you look into technical stuff with more understanding and knowledge as you choose the right phone for yourself. I always believe in spending wisely and therefore choosing a phone to help enhanced your day to day is essential in modern living. If you just need to call and sms, please spend less money. Don’t buy phones that are above RM300. It is not necessary. Remember, needs first then only want but in this case I gratified both hahahaha.

Have fun with your choices!

UPDATE!:

There is a firmware update for the Omnia here. Using it sucessfully and it solves the GPS problem we previously had. It also makes the phone battery last much much longer somehow in my case. But the vibration for the screen is no longer present and only available on the phonepad screen.

I have not noticed any significant speed changes as some have mentioned. There are added widgets and functionality has improved slightly. Overall I thought the improvements were insignificant for my case. I should have used my previous setup as it was more stable. I have also encoutered certain programs that don’t anymore. Just two programs. I have no idea why they don’t work now yet.

Please know that this ROM update will wipe out your data on the main memory alone so please backup. This is also only available for Singapore at the moment. I would advice from using it in other countries.

I mean how to have bikerz adventurez when I don’t have a bike anymore. More painful still I’m reading about others enjoying my bike….sob sob so sorry to my dear readers…

I’m praying hard that somehow this bike below will be cheap and I will be able to get it over here.

Also I think I am going to fail on keeping to my earlier decision. I will be getting this phone on monday. they made an offer I couldn’t resist…..its everything I wish for in a phone!!

Samsung Omnia 16GB

Oh Leon how blessed you are to be able to dream of such things!

Mike please do take care of my bike…pleassssssssssssssseeeeeeeee

I am a little too much ain’t I?

No No I’m writing not because of the song but because I have decided at last which phone I will get this Monday. The process of making the wisest decision possible has led me through hours of agonizing brain storming. At last I can just forget it.

I have decided to get this!

You may ask why I made such a decision after all the agony of posting about the other phones. Well I had decided to get the N82 after being convinced by my readers that it was a better choice. All ready to go for it I checked once again and they were out of stock! To my dismay then I would just have to go for the LG KS20. Looking at the specs though I couldn’t find it in my heart to buy something just because it looks good. Practically it has all the same functions as the one above but the one above is free. Since I am in a very tight financial state I opted to save money. I hear people cheering! Thank You! Thank You!

So the official announcement is now made. I am going to get the HTC Touch Dual this Monday (unless they have no stock…sigh). For those of you interested you can check the specs out by clicking on the link.

I will be posting their specs page and also their reviews. I can’t decide honestly. Help me choose. Please Vote, Please! These reviews are very detailed and good.

Nokia N82 – specs or review

LG KS20 – specs or review

I’ve been crazily trying to say my goodbyes and also packing that I didn’t have time to write anything. Even this is coughed out of thin air.

I realise I think too much at the moment. I’m so worried about this and that. What will happen if this don’t work out well? What if they don’t like me there? What if? What if? What if?

I also have been constantly dreaming about what phone I will get if I am there when I apply for my mobile phone line….. so why don’t you all help me choose ok?

Should I get a:

Motorola V9 – I love the form factor and it is so cooollll

HTC S730 – Windows Mobile which gives me lots of needed tools

Sony Ericson K850i – Stable phone with nice pictures and music functions

LG KU990 – This has super cool and great functions too

Motorola Q9h – Functionally great!

I am so so torn…..I want something that can replace my Dopod 810 that I gave to my dad but nothing that fits in my budget comes close to having its functions. Mainly I want GPS!! But none of these have it…Sigh. Oh well……with so many choices, I’m spoilt for choice. I have went through this many times and these are the only ones that fit my budget. Which one shall I choose?

I actually this really has all the functions I need:

Asus P750 – but they don’t offer this and it is above my budget

What I love to get is this:

3G Iphone – This is almost lust but only arrives in a months time

I am leaning towards getting the LG and I linked the phones so you can check out the specs and reviews. Please Please share your opinion….. I need to decide soon