Overall specs?

- 2.2″ screen

- 8GB built in memory.

- Flip phone.

- 3.2mp non-af camera.

That’s about the specs I needed when considering the phone. PLus it looked REALLY cool with them shiny surface and all.

The entire front is glass like. It looks very cool. But you would have to constantly wipe it as it attracts fingerprints like spilled ribena to ants. It also scratches rather easily. And I mean REALLY easily. I have only use this phone for about 2 weeks and I was careful not to put the phone into the pocket with stuff. It’s always in the pocket by itself, and yet there are scratches. If you are getting this phone, do get a nice little pouch for it. Good thing is that it doubles as your mirror. I use it to check for anything in my teeth, or eye shit when i wake up just in time for tea in the office.

The tip of the flip is transparent plastic from which tiny LEDs lights it up with white light when a call comes in, or blinks orange to the beat of the music in walkman mode. Quite cool.

Comes with 8GB of built in memory. More than enough to satisfy the hard of the hardest core music on the go fan. For me, I have uploaded about 3GB worth of songs. But have yet to plug in the headset. So why I got this phone? because it looks cool. And it has been a while since my last flip phone

the 3.2mp camera, without AF. Nothing to shout about. It’s great for outdoor photos under bright light, but low light situations like in doors, the images it takes are rather bland. Plus, since it’s fixed focus, detailed shots like food photos are horrible as it cannot focus on near objects.

Photos taken further away seems to be better.

But still nothing to shout about. It’s good for the occassional snap shot.

When I first saw this phone on the internet, it did not appeal to me much. It was when I held it in my hand at one of the handphone shops here, only did i realised how small it is.

It’s small and nice when closed. BUt when you open it up, it can get rather big. But that’s ok, you ain’t gonna put it in your pocket while it is open right?

But it fits my hands just nice.

And the thing i hate most about Sony Ericsson phones, the multi-port thingy. It’s your charging port as well as your data port. After a while it gets loose.

So how is the phone?

It’s nice. I got it mainly because of its form factor. The stuff that I do not like about is the software. It’s slow. Not slow slow like Nokia’s N73 slow, but it’s still slow. But that’s ok. Just that at times when you are in a hurry, it gets pretty irritating. Other stuff I do not like is the keypad.

The spacing it too big for texting. You have to stretch your fingers to reach the keys. Not a very good key pad for someone who text a lot.

Other than that, this is not a bad phone. WIth it’s features and 8gb built in memory, its a bargain at below RM900.

It’s quite an entertaining movie. From the start till the end, it’s action non-stop. The story and plot is also quite refreshing, although stories of similar plots have been done many times over. But it’s still an OK movie. It would have been a fantastic movie if:

1) Different cast

2) Different shooting technique

Firstly, it would have been great if they casted Jason Statham or even Nic Cage to be Danny Fischer. Cena was a little too big to fit the role. At times his movements were ackward. Some probably would not notice but, if you pay a little attention to his hands while he’s holding his mobile phone, you can see that he is way too big. But this is still OK. Cena scrapped through as Danny Fischer.

The worse was how the movie was shot. My goodness. My 1 year old niece can hold a camera steadier. OK. It’s ok if during the action scenes that you bob the camera up and down, side to side with the action. But, do they REALLY have to bob it up and down, side to side while they were standing still and talking? Let me show you an example of how the ENTIRE movie was shot.

The movie is still very nice, with all the action and stuff. I could still take it. But any of you out there who has trouble playing first person shooter, please do give this movie a miss if you to keep your lunch/dinner in your stomach.

The 24-70mm range at a constant f2.8.

There are two lens makers offering this range, Sigma and Nikon. The following two photos are taken with a used Sigma at a camera shop.

24mm @ f2.8

And…

70mm @ f2.8

Not too bad actually. But these two have gone through some post processing to bring out the best in the photo. It would be tough chore if I need to post process 1,000 plus photos from a wedding or event to get the photos right. Originally it is not as sharp nor is it so contrasty.

Did not get the chance to try out Nikon’s 24-70 f2.8, but from my short test sometime back with a friend’s Nikon 24-70, it was VERY nice. Almost no post processing needed. Sharp and colourful straight out from the camera. Unfortunately, it costs 3 times more @ RM5.6k

Darn!!

So, get the Sigma now… and then later trade it in for the 24-70? or, save more more and get the 24-70 later? Hmmm… decisions….

I finally know how to use the Screen Shots application which was loaded into the phone by the guys from Samsung. Great thinking loading them apps for us. Or is it a standard application which comes with the phone? No matter, I finally got help from Jun Yan on how to go about using the application.

You see, by default the key to do a screen shot is the camera button. When I tried it, it launches the camera application. I kept on trying and trying and trying and it keeps on launching the camera application. Then Jun Yan showed me the way.. fuhyor!! I then how a load of screen captures.

As mentioned, the Samsung i450 runs on Symbian OS9.2, the same OS which powers Nokia phones.. with just a little cosmetic differences here and there.

Slide the phone downwards and it automatically launches the music application. Very nice if you ask me. There are some cool background animation, either that or you can choose to switch it off completely. Why would one wanna switch it off I would not know, it looks so cool!!

It looks so much cooler with the animation going instead of just static.

You can also choose between a red theme or a blue theme.

There is also a host of equaliser settings for you to choose from.

Too bad there is no manual setting. I would love to play around with them frequencies to see the outcome.

When you slide the phone back to it’s ’standy’ position from the music player mode, the screen will remain in landscape mode. Quite interesting for a while, then you get tired of it, especially when it does not stay that way when you slide the phone back up to use the numeric keypad.

The other thing which I only found out recently is that you can actually set multiple alarms. One of the reasons why I stayed away from the other Symbian-powered phone is because I thought it can only do one alarm. You see, I am not a morning person, so I need several alarms to ensure that I wake up on time in the morning.

All I had to do was to go to the Alarm Tab and select a New Alarm

Woo hoo!!! Multiple alarms!!

Alrights, now back to the first day I got the phone.

I was thrilled to find the GPS option in the phone.

Navigator woh!!! …Excited!!

However, to my dismay, it did not have GPS built it. OK lar, I knew it before hand, but I could still hope right?

It would be cool to have these applications, which will come in handy when travelling outstation.

Oh.. and another discovery earlier today. VOICE CONTROL!!! FUHYOR!!!!! Sungguh canggih!!

You press and hold down the ‘0′ key and the voice control application launches. Then I called out to the phone…

“Call Jason Cheng“

The application recognises my speech, but was not too sure.. so it asked… Wah.. not bad leh. That fella not sure, and can ask to confirm wan woh.

And then… it recognises that Jason Cheng in my phonebook has got two numbers, so it asked to confirm again which number I would like to make that call.

Then finally it made the call.

Fuah.. quite refreshing. Ok lar. I know lar.. I quite Sua Ku Voice control also never played before. Wahaha.

I plugged it in and low and behold, a whole new world opens up as previously the limited phone memory was insufficient to sustain my insatiable hunger for multimedia stuff like taking photos. So off I went happily snapping away and transferring my music and photos into the phone memory.

Not too long later, came my first encounter with the notorious S60 application hang symptom. But the phone did not hang altogether, it seems that only the application hung, the operating system itself did not hang as I could still revert to the stand by screen by pressing the ‘hang up’ key. After a while, I noticed that it is due to the microSD card. Somehow it is not compatible with the phone. I suspect the memory is not of certain quality although it came under a very famous and reputable ‘brand name’. Anyhow, I went around it by only using the memory for taking photos. I am not much of a music phone fellow. Probably I would be much happier with the i550. But hey.. fate dealt me a card and it was 4 of spades.

The Samsung i450 fits into the palm of my hands pretty nicely. Grip was good but it’s large screen (all 2.4 inches) and the reflective back cover it a magnet for finger prints. The slider feels robust and has a reassuring feel that you will not be able to flick the top slider off the main body.

Even when fully extended, it still feels small in my hands.

On its side, it is not the thinnest of them all, especially when compared to Samsung’s other offering which resembles The Olsen twins from the side. But it is still acceptable to me, someone who particularly likes slim phones.

The i450 has a dual slider mechanism. Slide up and you get the standard numerical keypad as seen in the photo previously. Slide the slider down, and you get…

.. the music phone!!!!

I have not gotten around fiddling around with the music part yet. But I shall very soon.

Now here is a very interesting thing about the phone. I do not know if it is a bug, or if Samsung designed it that way, but, when you are in the music phone, the the slider down and the music application running, you slide the slider back to normal position, the display is horizontal or landscape. And it stays that way until you slide the slide up. It then returns to portrait mode. Maybe there is a way to reset the display back to normal. I have yet to find out how.

The main and navigation buttons plus the 2.4″ screen dominates the facia of the phone. The buttons are huge!

Even the numerical keypad is huge, something people with big fingers like me would appreciate. It is a joy to sms with this phone. The keypad has a very nice tactile feel to it.

Just above the screen are the speaker and forward facing camera for video calls. Ooo… can I use this to camwhore? Wait wait.. Oh. you cannot switch to the secondary camera to camwhore.

Behind is the glossy back cover which attracts finger prints. And to side track a little, the back cover is extremely difficult to remove and replace. This can be a blessing in disguise as the phone feels very solid. No creaks or anything like that. Ok, back to to the back, the 2mp camera with LED flash naturally sits here. Speaking of camera, it is one of those non-autofocus type which gives so-so results. During the day with ample light, the camera is ok and yields acceptable results. Just do not try taking pictures at night where light is low.

At the top is an outlet for the speaker, the power button as well as the 3.5mm audio jack.

Not too fond of the jack cover but it is essential to keep the innards of the phone clean and dust free. I am, however, very fond of the 3.5mm jack where I can plug in my own earphones for maximum hearing pleasure. Seriously I have not taken the standard earphones which came with the phone out of its plastic housing yet. I rarely do anyways.

On one side of the phone is the volume rocker…

.. and microSD card slot.

On the other side is the multi-functional connector (power, data and handfree)…

.. and the camera button.

And here’s what I think is the phone’s killer feature…

The.. erm.. ‘Touch Ring’.

To me, it is more of a novelty. I find it more comfortable using the directional keypad to navigate myself around the music application. Maybe that is because I only have about 25 songs in my playlist. Probably I should try uploading everything I can find and fill up the 2GB card just for kicks.

Oh.. My favourite while sitting on the throne…

Okies… that is all for today folks.

The weekend is here again. So many things to do, so little time.

My eyes lids are darn heavy!!

But the movie was GREAT!!

The great anticipation since Christmas 06.. or was it Chinese New Year 07.. is over. I finally got to watch Transformers The Movie. Now I have read a couple of reviews saying that it was kind of crappy. To me, it was simply awesome!!

So what if Bumble Bee is a Mustang when originally he is a Beetle? At least they kept true to his yellow color. So what if the Autobots and Decepticons were so far from the original? They were still cool!

There were a number of technically incorrect stuff in the movie, but hey!! If a man can clear a tall building with a single bound and is faster than a speeding bullet, you people still go watch it right? It is a movie. Enjoy it.

Anyways, Transformer is a darn good watch. There were quite a number of funny scenes thrown in too. Especially when the whole lot went back to search for the ‘map’.

So go watch it on the big screen.

Anyways, we went to the Toyota showroom to have a look at the new Camry. They served ice-cream potong, coffee and some kuihs!! How nice. And the showroom’s air cond was a welcome treat from the heat of the mid day sun, and the horrendous offering from our dear old neighbour.. the haze.

The latest offering from Toyota is a welcome treat compared to the previous model. And priced about the same as well. Nice leather seats, comfortble ergonomics, backlit meter, electric seats and such. On the outside, the streamlined shell is about 20mm shorter than the previous model. Mind you, this is  not a face lift, it is a completely new model. The new Camry now has a more aggressive stance. It’s complex (read : dual) headlights is a refreshing treat. Some do not like it, prefering a more slim and sleek look, but the dual lights behind the one piece cover is refreshing. The low headlight for both the 2.0G and 2.4V version comes standard with HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights while the entry level 2.0E features the standard Halogen project  lamps. Rear combination lights are LEDs. Something which a lot of car manufacturers are swearing by, claiming a brighter and faster light up response.

On the  inside, the dash improved by leaps and bounds. While the previous model is a little dated, although features the same backlit meter, the latest Camry is much more functional. It is easy to read and yet futuristic and very nice to behold. Fit and finish are of top quality, something we’d all expect from a Toyota.

From the little I saw, because there was no test drive units available yet, and also because we were a little short of time, these are the only few observations I got. Maybe next week or the next, if time permits, i shall take it for a test drive and be back for a more indepth test report.

Stay tune as I upload pics from today on Monday.