Optimus Prime sighted… in China?!

Remember that huge-ass statue of Gundam in Japan? You know, this one:

Well China isn’t gonna have any of that, and decides to one-up their geeky neighbors with one of their own. They made a life-sized replica of Optimus Prime!! Oh we’re not talking about THIS statue:

I’m talking about THIS bad-ass motherfucker:

China just got a notch higher in the coolness department in my book. Although the Transformers and Optimus Prime didn’t really originate in China since the original Transformer toys were made by Takara a JAPANESE company, so its kinda ironic trying to one-up your rival with something THEY created. But regardless, its still effing cool to me.

It’s not the first time they made Transformer like statues. In fact, China already made their own Transformer hero in the likeness of those old chinese kung-fu characters/warriors. Like this one:

But then again, who gives a fuck about a crappy unknown Transformer right? So they went ahead and made the most iconic and beloved character in the Transformer universe; Optimus Fucking Prime. Oh and you know what makes this particular statue even more awesome? The damn thing is recycled out of busted cars and trash. You gotta hand it to the Chinese, they sure know how to recycle trash…. in style.

How to make Maemo OS better

First off, I would like to thank the people at WOMWorld (a Nokia™ sponsored resource site) for posting my blog entry about the Nokia N900. Thanks alot guys, much appreciated!!

My post yesterday about Nokia N900’s Maemo OS apparently caused a particularly old topic about the N900; “Is Nokia N900 mainstream or not?” Apparently my observation about the new OS’ initial learning curve, as well as my GF finding the N900 “too techie” for her tastes, sparked that topic once more. Well for the most part, I would have to agree… the Nokia N900 is definitely not for everybody. It’s definitely aimed for those who love and are into technology; namely guys like me.

Now considering that’s the case, wouldn’t it be nice if the Nokia N900 would be a universally accepted phone? Not just for hardcore tech-junkies and geeks, but for everyone. The Maemo has alot of potential only IF it is developed right. Considering that the N900 has just been released a few months ago, I’m still optimistic that Nokia will consider updating N900’s Maemo OS to make it much more better, streamlined and more importantly; user-friendly.

Without further ado, here are my Top 3 suggestions:

• The “X” button
• Remember in my recent post about the Maemo OS where I presented you this?
  Isn’t it quite confusing where to find the simple “exit” button? Hell even my GF got confused the first time she tried it and took her awhile to understand how the menu works. Now this is where the “X” button comes in. Here’s my sample mock-up:
   
  Adding the “X” button, atleast solves some of the nagging quirks of the N900 namely; whenever you click anywhere outside the app icons, you wont exit the screen and with the inclusion of the “X” button, its easier to find how to get out of menus. Less stylish? Maybe. User-friendly? Absolutely.
• Add “Portrait View” function
• Need I say more? Not only does this make sense, its really a must. It’s been on most of Nokia Symbian-powered smartphones, why can’t the Maemo do the same?
• Add Flash 10 support, and ability to update Flash
• If the Nokia N900 is marketed to be a netbook replacement, then it better act like one. I’m glad that the Maemo supports Flash, but it doesn’t go beyond that. Considering most web-content nowadays are switching over to Adobe 10, it would only be a matter of time before most sites won’t be rendered properly in N900’s web browser.

I know this is a long-shot, but I do believe in the potential of Maemo, as well as Nokia N900. I hope Nokia sees this as well and puts more effort into the OS.

Gamer goes ape-shit when someone tries to rob his Nintendo DS

Yep, gamers certainly leveled-up.

I read an article in Kotaku, about a game shop in Kaneohe, Hawaii that got robbed. A couple to dirt-bag retards tried to rob this particular game shop due to the fact that there’s alot of fat-ass rich gamers inside. Everything was going as planned, and the robbers are getting their way when suddenly one of those retards tried to take one of the customer’s Nintendo DS. Bad idea.

Here’s the news video:

You know what’s even more sad? Is the fact that the 3 douche bags who tried to rob the shop were released due to “pending investigation.” WTF?

Nokia N900 – The Maemo OS Experience

As I said in my previous post, I will be reviewing in detail each part of the Nokia N900. And I’ll start off with its brand new OS; the Maemo 5.

As you can see, the interface doesn’t look like any of Nokia’s previous interfaces at all. It has a different look and feel and those who are used to Nokia’s old Symbian OS will be in for a real surprise once they open the N900 for the very first time.

Remember what I told you before about having a sort of learning curve when you use the Maemo OS for the first time? Here’s one good reason why.

Considering there is no physical buttons on the N900’s front (aside ofcourse from the slide QWERTY keypad), can you honestly tell how to exit the menu just by looking at it? Didn’t think so. It’s these nuances that makes the Maemo OS a little bit daunting to use at first. Compare that to Nokia’s Symbian OS that has a clear Exit button:

I certainly wished that Nokia took a cue from its simple and easy to navigate Symbian OS, and adapted it to the Maemo OS. Instead they created a brand new interface that can rather be daunting specially for first time users, since it does take some time to get used to. Another difference is the desktop screen of Maemo. Here’s a quick comparison with the Symbian OS.

I like the fact that you can customize the look and feel of your desktop in the new Maemo 5 OS. Add the fact that it has 4 multiple views, its definitely an upgrade over the Symbian OS. However, getting used to it can take awhile, as I do miss the easy to find menu buttons from Symbian. One thing that needs to be noted though, is that portrait mode is NOT SUPPORTED in Maemo 5. The only time the fone ever goes to potrait is whenever someone makes a call, but that’s it. Unlike the Symbian which allows for both portrait AND landscape views.

One thing they did manage to add to improve the experience is an improved kinetic scrolling (similar to the ones used in iTouch/iPhone) and it works just as great. It is integrated into almost all of the menus and makes going from one app to another a breeze.

Multitasking is definitely one of Maemo’s strong points and its very easy to switch back and forth from one app to another. However, running too many programs can definitely chug down thefone and that’s expected. Atleast its great that Nokia included the ability to mutitask nonetheless.

All in all, the Maemo OS delivers a fresh take to Nokia’s interface. It’s fresh, sleek and very stylish, however it does have some issues with being user-friendly specially for first-time users coming off the Symbian OS. I know there’s a tutorial built-in the N900, but Nokia is known for its simple and easy-to-use interfaces on their fones and they should have kept that tradition in building the Maemo OS for their N900.

My First Impression with Nokia N900

First off I would like to thank my GF; Kate Navasero for lending me her trial unit of the N900. She asked me to do a much more in-depth review of the unit as she says I’m much more techie than she is. Honestly, I have been eyeing on this fone for quite awhile, and let’s just say I’m really happy to give the fone a spin. So how does Nokia’s first Maemo fone stack up? Read on.

Considering that Nokia is promoting this fone as a mobile device that’s as capable as a PC, I will be breaking down my experience with the fone, with a specific feature in mind. As of now I plan on breaking down my experience into the following categories (which will be one post per category):

• Maemo OS
• Multimedia Capabilities
• Camera & Video
• Internet & Connectivity
• Messaging & E-mail
• Apps & Ovi Store Features
• Contacts Feature & Communication
• Custom Themes & Personalization

Since this is my first impressions with the unit, I’ll just briefly tackle some of the features of the fone.

The Nokia N900 is Nokia’s first Maemo powered fone. They didn’t use their tried and tested Symbian OS, and went instead with a completely different OS. As such, the fone has a completely different feel to it. It doesn’t feel and work like a typical Nokia fone at all, and if you’re like me who is used to their old Nokia Symbian OS (my fone is a Nokia 5130 XpressMusic) there’s definitely going to be some learning curve involved.

The build of the unit itself is quite sturdy and durable, although it comes at a much more heavier body. The slider also feels solid and very compact, although I’m pretty worried that overtime it may become loose due to wear and tear.

The QWERTY keypad, although it does look small, is very comfortable to type on. I’ve only had a few mistakes using it but ive been typing at a much faster speed compared to my old 5130 XpressMusic fone.

One of the much touted feature of the Nokia N900 is the internet browser that’s apparently powered by Mozilla, and I’m pleased to say that in my brief initial test with it, it doesn’t disappoint. It’s quick and very capable of rendering full HTML sites, although there are some quirks when it comes to flash-enabled websites, but its as close as it can get to a standard setup PC.

Aside from the very capable web-browser, the N900 also has a robust multimedia player, which is also as powerful as its PC counterpart. Not only can it play music files, it can also play standard DivX files with no conversion needed at all. This is very nice and convenient specially for people who love watching movies on the go.

However, all these features come at a price. The battery life on the N900 is definitely short, and would roughly last atleast a day. The battery life is definitely better than most netbooks or laptops out there, but not really great as a mobile fone.

All in all I’m loving N900, although I do have some rants about it, but that’s to be discussed on my next post which will give a full detailed review on each feature of the fone.

 

 

Nokia - Every message brings us closer

As I was scouring the net for video reviews of both Nokia C3 and C6, I stumbled upon this snazzy Nokia ad on youtube. They are ads for both Nokia C3 & E5 phones. Here’s the videos:

As an artist myself, I can’t help but admire Nokia’s effort to make really cool and snazzy ads. I for one love the Nokia C3 ad, as its very lighthearted and very fun to watch. The music is quite catchy too!! Neways good job Nokia!! Keep it up!! ^__^

Leaked Thor trailer from SDCC 2010!!

I finally got a copy of the leaked Thor trailer from SDCC 2010 from an officemate. Here’s the trailer:

All in all, I’m quite surprised the trailed looked this good. I was beginning to be worried as to how this movie will turn out. I’m really excited to see it in the big screen and I’m looking forward to seeing it soon!!

UPDATE:

Damn Marvel is fast and got the YouTube link blocked ASAP!! Well here’s another link I found online. Enjoy!!