It has been a pretty eventful week, first off, Maxis was awfully gracious and generous, and so now I get to keep the Samsung Galaxy S forever and ever (that is, until the next gadget or girl-toy falls into my lap and makes me go ga-ga).
I messed up my timing at the weekend (with baby, and husband, and maid, you know, your time is forever off the mark. Seriously). Amazing of Ed to make up his mind and took over my site upgrading progress all together and hey now I'm running on WordPress 3.0 – actually I don't quite know what it means, nowadays I just log on, write a post, put up some videos or photos and then off they go direct-to-press.
Long-gone are the days when I used to sit down for hours in front of the comp and tinker around with Photoshop to make up some really cool website design. Hrrmmpph… I don't want to blame love, marriage and motherhood, because they're such awesome reasons for life!
But I'll tell you how bad the time-keeping is now. See we had planned to go to Sg Klah, Sungkai, to get a taste-feel of the Hotsprings they have in good old Perak. We took leave on Monday specially for this – beat the weekend crowd and all. And then the plan was to leave KL at 8.30 am.
Kill us but by the time we got on the North South Highway, it was … zheng zheng zheng… 10 am.
But Baby! He pooped before we left, so we had to shower him twice, and then I forgot to close the freezer so we rushed back to check the house, and then baby had to change again, and then we decided to check his bag again, and then he was so cute we decided to let him play at bit at home again … yada yada yada…
I could make up a lot of reasons that sound valid for being late all the time.
Alas.
Dear friends, the next time I make an appointment with you on a weekend or a holiday, please be prepared for last minute changes and for my family to be fashionably late. For example, we have even missed church 2 – 3 weeks in a row since the kid arrived: kid not feeling well – let him sleep, kid only got home at 11.30 last night from that wedding dinner – let him sleep; kid having the sniffles – let him sleep… the list goes on.
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Even Paul grumbles about the new, unfashionable me. See how he grumbles!!
Sunday marks my last official day of toying around with the Samsung Galaxy S. Did I like it? Did I not?
In all honesty, the phone is a nice phone to carry around in my handbag. It's light, thin enough to be inconspicuous, and it's iPhone-lookalike factor guarantees an interested 'oooh what's that?', resulting in lots of opportunities to start conversations and then keep them going (with a healthy dose of iPhone vs the Android market). During the two-week-stint I got to finally say it for myself, 'With the iPhone, Apple has finally become the new Microsoft…' and answered the question that everyone who saw me using this phone asked:
'So did you prefer it over the iPhone?'
I didn't quite expect this to be an iPhone vs the Samsung Galaxy S conversation here, but inevitably it had to happen. And inevitably, I have to say, well, 'Yes, and then no.'
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I'll tell you what I love about the iPhone, shallow old me – I love the apps market, I love the games they have available in the iTunes store and I spend many nights draining my hubba's iPhone batt dry trying to beat my previous high score on those addictive games they have on the iPhone. I find the colour schemes provided by iPhone engaging and highly readable, and I suppose, Apple being so big on design has definitely has a step ahead in that area (of ensuring the user's attention).
And then we have the Super AMOLED Screen of the Samsung Galaxy and everyone who saw this phone had the same opinion.
OH WOW.
Clarity really enhances the beauty of anything, and that is definitely true in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S.
And then I both love and hate the camera. Of course I love the fact that the camera's got so many functions already built into it, and that photos taken with the camera are intensely clear with great colours. That with this phone in my bag, I possibly do not have to lunge around a second point-and-shoot digital camera.
Alas. It's just a 'possibly'. The shutter is slow to react and that's not-forgivable especially if you're me and trying to freeze moments in time. It's okay of course if Paul stays still all the time but Paul cannot wait 3 seconds for the shutter to finally function after I tap the camera icon. And then of course, there's the problem of 'no flash', making the camera only functional and usable in places with properly lighting.
I'm not complaining all that much however. The Samsung Galaxy S undeniably owns the distinction of having the best camera to ever be installed on a phone. That's a double thumbs up for Samsung's efforts.
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Battery usage can be a bitch though, and if you're anal about being connected all the time, it's going to cost you a lot of swearing because the battery drains really quickly, weather you're going on 3G or trying to utilize a wifi connection instead. I have never gone beyond 8 hours without charging the phone, and that's because I'm one of those 'anal' I just have to be connected all the time kind of person, which is a fair requirement for someone who buys an Android phone (if not for the connectivity convenience, then why else?) . Otherwise, shut off 3G and minimize your online usage, and you'll find that the battery hours are quite decent.
But alas. Well… you're getting the Android for connectivity, right?
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Of course there's this issue of Apps force-closing (or 'hanging' and jamming up on you) and that lag that tends to occur each time I try to turn on popular apps like, say, Facebook for Android, or Touiteur (my Twitter app on the Android). I think I must have chosen to Force-close Touiteur at least 3 times EACH day – that's how bad it is, but then again, this issue of lagging and force-closing is largely dependent on apps. Most apps are generally stable, and the Google built ones, like Gtalk and Gmail, generally run like a dream. No problems at all with them.
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And so with closing time just in hours, I leave my finally decision on the Samsung Galaxy with a good 7/10 ratings… the negative three generally going to the problems with the battery, the lagging problems when you're switching on the apps and… well… its oh-too-familiar-iPhone lookalike tendencies. Otherwise it is a great phone to have, one that is guaranteed to make heads turn, good enough for that business person on the run (provided you always carry with you a spare battery pack or a phone charger) and the flexibility it offers its users.
A big thank you to Maxis for making this possible.
I've got people asking me how to do the add widget thing, and at first I wanted to do this via a screen=shot step by step tutorial… then it got too confusing for me to do the cutting and pasting.
So lazy old me decided to do a video explanation instead. *hic*
Ok, so I got carried away and there's also me going on about how to change to live wallpapers, and how I didn't like the stock photos that came with the Galaxy S. However, I still stick to this: the thing I love the most about the Galaxy S is its flexibility and customizable opportunities. The good part is you don't have to rely on just phone covers and protectors to define your phone; I'd think that no two Samsung Galaxy Ss are ever the same because every owner would definitely dress up his home screen in a different way.
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Oh oh!!! Galvin Tan was nice enough to help me test out the Video Function, and it works pretty well. Coupled with a pretty steady Maxis 3G coverage, I thought the video call was really nifty… of course there's a certain lag in the conversations and Galvin looks pixelated in the video, but otherwise, I can only imagine that with the constant upgrading of mobile networks by Maxis, things can only get better. BTW, Galvin's one of the #Maxis10 reviewers for the phone, and you should really check outhis blog, he's got a series of Hokkien Ah Long The Reviewer videos available there and they are SUPERB!!!
Anyway, here's the video that we did. *Notice my hubby manning the camera in the background wheee, Eric so sayang me*.
I thought I'll show you what the Android Market looks like, and give a bit of tuppence about what I think of it today. Err, and also show you one or two apps, and then let you see the phone dialling and sms pages.
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OK, how shall I describe the Android Market? Look to trusty Wikipedia!
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android devices. An application program ("app") called "Market" is preinstalled on some Android devices and allows users to browse and download apps published by third-party developers, hosted on Android Market. The website, rather than the Market app itself, provides details of some of the available apps, in particular those that are termed "Featured", "Top Paid" and "Top Free".
The Samsung Galaxy S being an Android phone allows users their selection of apps purchasing from this market, shown in the screenshots below:
The apps are qualified by their related categories, allowing easy shopping. Here are some of them (viewed from the Top Free hierarchy).
Here's what an apps description page looks like. There's a special app for Twitter, with a simple description page, user reviews, and screenshots of what the app looks like on your phone. If you like it? Tap install, and the phone will download and install it automatically.
Here's the games page on the Android Market. Ini aku tak berapa satisfied… the games selection is rather pitiful in comparison to what you can get from the iTunes store, but here's hoping that there'll be more for-Android customized games in the near future.
Hoping…
Scrolled down and here's a game that I might download. Finger Bowling, err I know it doesn't sound very nice.
You know with the iPhone you get to play games like ANGRY BIRDS! KNIGHT QUEST! Very good mobile-games! Ok, so some people say you can play Quake 2 and Asphalt 5 on this phone, but like… games like that are meant for the PS3 or Xbox games consoles… we need good quality time-filler games that're currently being offered by iTunes apps store, like iShoot Turkey! Stuff that I can play while waiting for my turn to see the doctor or to renew my passport.
Android, buck up buck up!
Instead I installed something called Abduction! Some screenshots:
Errr… it's a tilt-the-phone kinda game. Apparently one of the top games on the Android Markets woh… -.-" I am not impressed, sorry.
Thankfully, there is an Epicurious for Android. Yay. I have this on my hubby's iPhone too and it is a MUST HAVE for all family peeps and aspiring cooks. Can pick and choose from an awesome array of recipes (by keying in what you have in your fridge or in your pantry…) and then decide on your recipes based on readily available reviews!
Oh yah, for lack of a good apps selection, I also installed Wikidroid, which gets me Wikipedia content directly on my phone.
I think Gmail looks good on the phone though, but could this be because Google develops the Android market, therefore? (I am no techie so sorry if my logic sounds a little shallow to the experts yah…)
(Dear bosh please ignore the 'JobsDB alert that you see in my gmail inbox hehe).
Oh btw, what the dial-pad looks like. Do you like it? For me it took a bit of getting used to, and well, in terms of usability, I'll give him a mediocre 6/10. A bit hard la the option buttons at the top showing keypad/call-log / favorites and contacts. HARD.TO.SCROLL.
And the dialling page. Whum… you see that button that says Headset there? Okay I haven't been able to figure out how to use it, (and I haven't looked through the user manual) – btw, nowadays, if a phone is damn good, you can just chuck away the user manual, but I think I'm going to give it a flip to see how to have the headphones connected and in working order. Shush, which means I've been unable to use the phone with the headsets… or may its just me, and not the phone.
Still.
Oh SMS. SWYPE. Hello Swype (actually my hubby thinks its a bit of a novelty… and honestly it works better with this shrunk keyboard on the vertical screen).
Here's what the SMS chat window looks like. Selamat datang ke satu lagi alam ala-iPhone. Haiyah, originality thumbs down. And oh btw, now you know Eric's number, but never mind lah… he gives out his namecard everywhere anyway. Tee hee…
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Oh btw, I WANNA SHOW YOU PAUL ROLLING AROUND (mummy moment can or not?) As mentioned, Baby Paul turned exactly six months yesterday and we arrived at my mother's place after work to see him on his usual rolling-round-the-floor antics. Now (insert advertisement-like line here:) this is where having a mobile phone that comes with a very good video camera function is so awesome because we managed to capture this great moment here of Paul rolling around my mom's living room!
Itu Video HD ok, don't play play… itulah kecanggihan Samsung Galaxy S, don't play play.
OK I gotta run.. Tomorrow I show you how to customize the phone lagi… on VIDEO!!! Catch that ya!!!
