Last February 2010, I upgraded my mobile phone to N97 mini.  Back then, my 5800 XM was fully functional, had the latest firmware (kinetic scrolling, automatic qwerty in landscape, etc.), no defects. In other words I loved that phone and had no ramblings about it whatsoever.

However, I just felt the urge to upgrade to a N97 as the specs of the phone fits my version of “ultimate” mobile phone – same specs with 5800 plus the physical qwerty keypad and customizable homescreen.  It was the phone that at that time, I think worthy of replacing my 5800 XM.

Since I didn’t plan to maintain two mobile phones at the same time, I posted my 5800 XM in eBay and sold it for PhP 11,000 (about $255) in 2 weeks.  I guess it was that popular at that time.  I had not anticipated that it would be sold that quickly so I end up borrowing a spare 3210 from my office-mate – haha, major downgrade, I know, but I survived.

The following week, I purchased through eBay, again, an N97 mini with high hopes for it.  Two days later I got the package and I was so excited while unwrapping it.  Who wouldn’t be, right?

To my frustration and disappointment, the build quality of the N97 mini was not what I expected.  I felt that it was a cheap phone despite of the fact that I purchased it for PhP 20,000 (about $465).  The backlighting was a little uneven, the screen was not smooth (is this because it has resistive touch screen?), had this creaky noise when pressed in few parts, seeping LED backlighting in the keyboard, etc. Call me meticulous but after having to pay with my hard-earned money, I have the right to be. 

It came with Nokia Warranty but it would be difficult to justify a replacement because the phone was fully functional, software- and hardware-wise.  I also could not return it to the seller because I received the unit brand new and sealed.

Then and there, I was ready to sell it and buy a new 5800 XM (kinda foolish, huh?).  I later found out that new 5800 XM releases have poor build quality, at least in my own opinion.  So, I decided to give the N97 Mini a chance.  I could not find anything else to replace it with, anyway.

Then in August (it was announced in April but I just found out in August) came the good news that I’ve been waiting for – the Nokia N8.  The specs are through the roof! Imagine this – HDMI port, 720p recording, upgraded processor to 680MHz (finally!), built-in graphics processor, USB 3.0, Wifi b/g/n, 12 Megapixel Camera with Xenon Flash, Symbian^3, Capacitive Touch Screen with Multi-touch and last but definitely not the least USB on-the-go. Wow!

Still, I held back assuming that with that specs come a hefty price tag.  It was still due for release so no price yet.

Then in October, it was launched and to my suprise it only costs PhP 23,600 (about $548)!

But then, Nokia E7 was also launched which comes with a physical qwerty and a 4-inch screen with same specs as N8.  I had a short dilemma there, but N8 still wins for me and a 4-inch screen with a resolution of 640 x 320? Not good.

Anyway, at the time of writing, N8 costs PhP 22,000 at eBay (about $511) which is definitely within my budget.  Of course, I would have to sell my N97 Mini.  Bye bye N97 Mini!

After publishing this, I will transact with the seller.  Good luck for me.  I sure hope I will not be disappointed or else I will ramble here on my blog again.

If you could do away with n97 mini’s build quality as I mentioned above, I’m selling mine for Php 14,000 (plus shipping cost).  If you’re interested, just post a comment below.

Well, that’s it for now.  I will post a review on the Nokia N8 when I receive the unit.

‘Til then.  Thanks for reading!

Good news! Nokia beta labs released a beta version of Swype compatible with the following Nokia S60 v5 phones:

1. 5800
2. N97
3. N97 Mini
4. X6
5. 5230
6. 5530

For those of you who don’t know what it is, Swype is an alternative way to input text on handheld devices. It also also utilizes a virtual keyboard but the big difference is tapping or touching the keys, you make a continuous stroke or a swipe across the virtual keyboard and the words will be typed in by the application. It sounds difficult but actually it isn’t. It’s similar to typing but you just don’t lift your finger.

This patented technology has already been used by phones using Android OS – Samsung Galaxy S, for example. Nokia seems to be planning on integrating this technology on their phones in the future.

How fast can you type with it? Well, that depends on how responsive your cellphone is and how fast you can swipe. I’ve installed it on my N97 Mini and all I can say is that my cellphone struggles in coping up when swiping long words. Well, it’s still a beta version so I am still having my hopes up that Nokia will improve this later on.

The debate on which text input is faster still goes on but it all comes down to the user’s preference. Here is how I rank the speed of the different text input methods:

1. QWERTY Keypad
2. T9
3. Swype
4. Virtual Keyboard
5. Multi-Tap (no predictive text)

On accuracy, at first I was very skeptic about Swype. I was thinking that it would be so difficult and meticulous to hit all those letters as you type but to my surprise it was really easy to swipe!

As it turned out, you do not need to be that accurate when you swipe. The application can predict accurately the word you intend to type similar to T9 but not quite.

If the application predicts multiple words based on your swipe, it displays eight of those words and lets you choose among the results. If the word you intend to type is not in the list, just press backspace and swipe again.

Based on my experience, I only got errors when I “mis-swipe” words. Most of the time, words that the application types are accurate. I even tested long hard words (i.e., indistinguishable, superposition, presidency, etc.) and it gets them accurately but it takes longer for it to display the result.

I observed that the longer your words are, the more accurate Swype is but it still depends on whether your swipe is done correctly.

Unfortunately it inly supports English language but now worries there because the application is also intelligent enough to learn words. You only need to type it in letter-by-letter and it will store it in its database. What’s more, it even includes your contacts’ names which is cool and convenient.

The virtual keyboard of Swype can be in mini-qwerty (portrait) or full-qwerty (landscape) mode and it responds to the phone’s accelerometer although there were times when it doesn’t.

Please be reminded that the application is still under development and bugs are expected. There were times when it even crashed and my phone went back to the Home Screen.

Although very usable and accurate, Swype has few disadvantages. First, you will need two hands when swiping to maximize speed and accuracy. Second, you will also find it difficult to swipe when you are in a moving vehicle or while walking – hardware QWERTY, T9 and multi-tap will be preferable in these situations.

Here are the Key Features of Swype by Nokia Beta Labs:

• Standard QWERTY keyboard layout makes Swype easy to learn
• Use a stylus or finger – Swype’s amazing input path analyzer allows you to go fast and sloppy. Just make a reasonable effort to trace through the word and Swype will do the rest
• Double Tap Editing – Make a mistake? Double tap on a word to bring up a list of other possible matches.
• Auto-Spacing
• Auto-Capitalization
• Auto Spelling Correction
• Automatic Help – Swype detects when you may be having trouble or might benefit from a particular feature and prompts you with helpful tips and instructions
• Instant access to Symbols, Numbers and Editing functions
• 65,000-word Learning Dictionary – Chances are the word you are typing is already in the Swype dictionary. If it isn’t, just tap it out once followed by a space and Swype will remember it for future use.

To install Swype on your phone, you need to download the sisx file here and install the application through Ovi Suite.

Be sure to restart your phone after installation.

Happy Swyping!

Source: http://forum.dailymobile.se/index.php?topic=29147.0

Sounds familiar? It’s like those you hear from infomercials of home shopping networks like HSN or Value Vision, right?. I made it sound that way because I consider this “invention” as a breakthrough because even though it’s simple, it really makes doing laundry easier and the best part is that it doesn’t cost you anything.

I know, I know, my blog’s entitled “Technomashup” and most of you may wonder why I included this post. Hey, it’s my blog, I can post whatever I want. Gimme a break! (Just kidding)

Seriously, even this “Zigzag Hanger” that I am talking about does not have microchips in it, it is still something that is worth sharing to everyone who does their own laundry.

What is the “Zigzag Hanger”?

When hanging clothes you normally do this:

But most of the time, no matter how neatly you hang your clothes they always wind up like this:

Zigzag Hanger is a  tool which will neatly hang your clothes and no matter how sagged your clothesline is, your clothes will remain piled up neatly.

The result: your clothes will dry up faster and you can even prevent colored clothes from staining the light-colored ones.

How to make the “Zigzag Hanger”:

What you need:

1.   2 or more meters of Wire (preferably made of aluminum so you can bend it easily )
2.   Wire cutter
3.   Pliers
4.   Ruler
5.   Pencil or any marker
6.   Pair of hands
7.  Patience
8.   Time – about 15 minutes

How to do it:

For those who don’t have item no. 7:

1.   Get a length of wire.
2.   Estimate a length of 3″ and ply the wire with your hands or using a pair of pliers.
3.  Repeat procedure 2 until you use up all the length of the wire.
4.  Install securely on your clothesline.
5.  That’s it! You’re done!

For those who have item no. 7:

1. Cut a length of wire as you prefer and measure equal lengths (recommended: 3″) and mark each segment. Cut off any excess segments.
2. Ply each segment at your marked points alternating up and down motion while gradually creating a zigzag shape. You may use your hands only or a pair of pliers if you find it difficult.  Refer to the following illustration:

3. Make the span of each zig and zag uniform. Preferably 3 to 4 inches.
4. Install securely on your clothesline.
5. That’s it! You’re done!

Finished Product:

Actual photo:

Very simple yet clever, eh?  Now why didn’t I/you think of that?

Credit goes to Ms. Rose (don’t know the last name.. sorry) who introduced this to my mom.

Good news!!! Smart Communications (Philippines) offers UNLIMITED mobile surfing for PhP 50.00 (about $1 for 1 day) and PhP 300.00 (about $7 for 7 days).  Their regular rate for mobile surfing is PhP 10.00/30-minute block which is a little bit expensive when compared to those offered by internet cafes which can go for as low as PhP 8.00/hr.

It has been a clamor of mobile surfers to have unlimited internet access since with most network providers, you have to be aware of your time or the data you sent/received or else you will drain your prepaid funds or blow your monthly bill sky high.

Just be informed that in order for you to get the best deal out of your bucks, you need to be in an area with 3G or 3.5G (HSDPA). Otherwise, you will have to bear with the slow dial-up like internet connection (GPRS/EDGE).  Also your mobile should be 3G/3.5G-capable (duh..).

To register, you just need to open your phone browser to the home page of Smart Communications and the link is located under promos.  Just click the link of your preferred promo and accept the terms and conditions and you’re good to go.

For prepaid SMART Bro subscribers,  sorry to inform you that registration can only be made through a mobile phone and I don’t think the SIM of SMART Bro is supported on mobile phones.

For prepaid SMART Bro subscribers, just insert your SMART Bro SIM  card to your mobile phone and register via http://wap.smart.com.ph.

What’s more? If you prefer to surf using your desktop or laptop, you may do so by using the PC Suite that came with your mobile (i.e., Nokia/Ovi PC Suite, SE PC Suite, etc.).  The unlimited surfing still applies.  I have tested and proven this and in fact, I am using it right now.

For those living in other countries, I posted this news so you may have some idea that unlimited mobile surfing is offered in other parts of the world so you can demand that your respective network providers provide the same service/promo to you.

Happy surfing!

It’s true that Nokia 5800 XM, although the flagship unit for the series of touch screen phones, was always left behind when compared to the features inherent to newer phones like the 5530… but not anymore!

Personally, I was thinking of upgrading my phone to N97 Mini but after upgrading, now I’m not so sure whether it’s worth it since FW v40 already included neat features.  Here is an unofficial changelog courtesy of ww w.tube5800.com (with annonations by me):

Changelog for Firmware V40.0.005:

Kinetic Scrolling (except: main menu, application menu, browser)
- the most awaited feature; definitely an a**-kicker!

New Home-Screen (like 5530)
- only when you set your home screen theme to Contacts Bar, otherwise you’ll get the same old standby screen
- it can support up to 20 contacts.
- the contacts bar also features kinetic scrolling but was laggy, erratic and sometimes unresponsive so I ended reverting to the shortcuts bar. I’m not fond of the contacts bar anyway. It looks a lot better, though.

Auto rotation on text input
- very convenient feature, too!  I had been hoping this would be implemented.  This is what made me think twice of upgrading to N97 mini.  This feature automatically switched to full qwerty keyboard when you tilt your phone in horizontal mode and switches back to alphanumeric keypad when in vertical position.  In v40, however, you anymore cannot force 5800 to switch to full qwerty keyboard since it was removed from the selection.  But who needs it now that the phone does it for you.

Fixes minor bugs
- it was not elaborated in the web site.  I guess, we’ll have to see this for ourselves.

Performance improvements
- haven’t noticed any difference, really… Maybe I need to reformat or something… or NOT 

New screen alarm, but only when the screen is locked
- cool feature, I hope they will implement this even when the screen is unlocked.  v40 just added new animated buttons for snooze and stop.  Unfortunately during trials, the buttons won’t respond and I had to tilt my phone face down to snooze it.  I sure hope they will fix this one.

New screen incoming call, only when the screen is locked
- UI similar to the screen alarm.

NOT HACKABLE!!
- just when thing are getting better, this major disadvantage comes through
- this will be something that may make some 5800 users think twice about upgrading to v40.  I personally tried HelloOx2 and it doesn’t work anymore but I’m sure our genius hackers can definitely find a way to hack this one although we might have to wait for a while…  So as of now, you have to decide Kinetic Scrolling or Hacked Phone…
- but fear not because all of the software (signed or unsigned) that you  have installed prior to upgrading will still be functional unless of course you performed a phone reset.

Other changes/improvements:
Ovi Contacts installed
Removed Download! (Ovi Store still available)
Replaced “Update Application” with “SW Update” as on the Nokia N97
The application “Data transfer” was also implemented in “Settings”
Real Player Updated to 12 October 2009
Touch more responsive
Improved stability
Slide to Unlock during call

If you want screenshots and videos, just click here for the direct link to www.tube5800.com post. 

All credits go to the one who posted this information on www.tube5800.com.

Anyway, for your convenience, I am posting 6 themes that I personally tested on Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.  I bundled them so that you can download it in one go.

If you have problems installing them, you need to hack your phone.  Just try googling HelloOX2 and you find forums with instructions on how to to it. 

Here is the link:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OT606SEL

Edifier E3300 is an elegant-looking speaker system that is totally distinct from other speakers of its class.  I had the opportunity to have one of these speakers and here is my personal review.  

THE SUB-WOOFER  

The E3300 comes with a downward-firing sub-woofer which and totally deviates from how a sub-woofer looks like.

With other speaker systems, you would expect a box-type sub but E3300 comes with an odd-looking curved tetrahedron, trilobite-like shaped sub woofer with a red glow at its top. The truth is I can’t really find one word to describe it shape. Okay, the way I describe it, its looks horrible but actually it’s quite the opposite.  

While most subs are put under the table or somewhere else just to hide its bulk, with E3300 you may want to flaunt it on top of your table because aside from its small footprint, it will really make your desktop area stylistic and add a more techie feel to it.  

The power button is located at the top of the sub-woofer and is backlit by a red LED (light-emitting diode), which adds to its overall aesthetics.  

With regards to performance, E3300 sounds really great When playing hip hop, jazz and R and B songs since the bass of these types of songs are really very distinct. You will really hear and feel the “thoom”, “thud”, “boom”, “dm”, etc. Okay, okay, enough of the sound effects, but you get what I mean, right?   

If you are into pop, rock, alternative and accoustic music, you may need to adjust the equalizer settings of your media player to get the proper bass response of the sub-woofer. But, hey, this is no biggie, right?  

Should the sub-woofer be over responsive, you can adjust the bass volume through a control which is located at the bottom right of it. You might find the location of the bass volume be inconvenient at first but you’ll get used to it.  

THE SATELLITE SPEAKERS  

The set also comes with a two 4-ohm satellite speakers which ALSO does not look like a conventional satellite speaker. Edifier calls this the “slim hourglass” design and is accented by what seems to be a red belt around the waist of the hour glass.

These two satellite speakers are powered by a tweeter and a oval-shaped mid-range speaker. Although not that powerful, they do get the job done of outputting the treble out of your audio. You just might hear the sound to be a little tinny – just a little – for some songs. These may be due to the form factor of the speakers which can only fit a 50 x 90 mm mid-range speakers. But again, these minor flaws can be fixed through a properly set equalizer. 

OTHER FEATURES  
What’s the best about this speaker system is that it includes a circular wired remote that conveniently allows you to adjust the main volume. It even comes with a headset jack for private listening and a 3.5 mm audio input where you can plug your mp3 player, iPod, cellphone, etc. Edifier may not be the only company that have this feature integrated into their speaker systems (Altec Lansing VS 2421 also has one) but you can only find a handful of speakers with a wired remote.

What blew me away is the red-halo design of the wired remote. It’s not just made of red plastic, it is really backlit by a red LED, which goes pretty well with the backlit power switch of the sub-woofer.  The volume control knob is also dampened so it does not have a cheap-feeling to it when you adjusting the volume.  

OVERALL BUILD QUALITY  

E3300 is mostly made of lightweight plastic but the build quality is really really good. Even the a very meticulous person will never find them cheaply made.

PRICE AND VALUE  

I got this on sale at more or less $60.

CONCLUSION  

All in all, most users will find this speaker great – not only by its appearance but also by the quality of the sound it produces. Audio enthusiasts and meticulous users may find this underpowered, though.

But in my opinion, for its price tag, you get the best deal out of your money. 

MY RATING 
BUILD QUALITY – 9/10
PERFORMANCE – 7/10
PRICE – 9/10
CONVENIENCE – 8/10
OVERALL – 8/10

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:  

Power Output: RMS 32W + 9Wx2 (THD=10%)
Signal to Noise Ratio: >=85dBA
Input Impedance: 10K Ohm
Input Sensitivity: L/R: 550mV +/- 50mV SW: 200mV +/- 30mV
Frequency Rsponse:40Hz ~ 20KHz
Bass unit: 5 inch driver, magnetically shielded, 5 Ohm
Satellite unit : 50 x 90 mm oval shaped mid-range driver and 3/4 inch PV dome twteer driver, magnetically shielded
Dimension: Subwoofer— 248 x 199 x 294 mm ( WxHxD )
Satellites— 74 x 282 x 89mm ( WxHxD )
Gross Weight: approximately 4.5 kg
Power Requirement: 100V-120V ~, 50/60Hz