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Saturday, June 30, 2012

So my Lumias Won't get Wp8; I Don't Care, You Shouldn't Either

 
 So the news has been out for a while now that the current range of WPs won't be getting the next major Overhaul AKA WP8 or WP Apollo; guess what? It doesn't matter since my Lumias are "Content". No, Not content as in "The things that are held or included in something." but the other more peaceful definition:

con·tent/kənˈtent/

Adjective:

In a state of peaceful happiness

Noun:

  1. A state of satisfaction: "the greater part of the century was a time of content".
Allow me to explain why, first of all we need to delve into the age-old question, "Are updates a Right or are they a gifted privilege??", Keep in mind when I say updates I mean MAJOR Updates adding NEW features and not just bug fixes. Personally I can't see a clear black or white answer to this issue, there are countless factors that affect the answer but let's take some examples.

Caution! Personal views below; if you're incapable of carrying a civilized conversation this would be your moment to exit.

Case A: If the Update was promised BEFORE/WITH the launch of the device,  the best example I can think of for this case is the Sony Xperia S, the 12mp shooter from Sony released early this year; although the phone did not launch with ICS (Android 4.0) early adopters and all future adopters were promised the update; in this case it is the companies DUTY to deliver on this update as it's a major decision factor; i.e. choosing between One X vs Xperia S the OS would be removed from the comparison as it's a promised upgrade. In this case the ONLY excuse for a device NOT to receive this update is complete bankruptcy; even if Sony had decided to stop producing Android phones and move to WP it would still be their duty to deliver the update to their users.

Case B: If the Update was not promised before the product launch but is crucial for the phone to be taken seriously (More important in Flagship devices); clear example is the N8 launching with the crappiest half-baked OS in the world, without a proper keyboard or split screen typing. I've said it before, even though I purchased an N8 in release week for a CRAZY amount of money releasing the Stock S^3 as it was on the N8, C7 and E7 is a crime against both the phone and the user. in this position I would consider the Anna update which brought some crucial fixes and updates a RIGHT to all the users, Belle is a nice touch but it wouldn't qualify as a "rightful update" as it was mostly UI changes and didn't do much to enhance the actual core functions of the phone.

Case C: The update was never mentioned or promised and the phone itself works fine. This is obviously where all the Lumias land in regards to WP8; never did any Nokia official go on record stating that they would get them, nor is there a gaping flaw in the Usability of the OS itself that would deserve similar treatment (this is where the "you shouldn't buy a phone you're not COMPLETELY satisfied with at the moment of purchase" argument might come in,  the reason I'm not demanding Bluetooth transfer or file manager on my Lumais is because WP is a closed OS; asking for this feature would be requesting a change in an integral part of the OS which is definitely not your right). For this group of phone users any update received should be considered a "gift" as the phone is not crippled by a software defect, if any change does occur that requires a bug support/fix then it would be considered their duty to provide the customer with this simple fix (example: if facebook changed its APIs stopping notifications from loading in the people hub; you would have the right to ask for a fix).

As you should have surmised from above my Lumias would fall into category C; meaning that users should be Content (see definition above) with what they've gotten (as well what's to come= Tango + WP 7.8 which qualify as Case A). I personally have yet to see a single Lumia (or any WP owner) who thinks they've gotten a sour deal with the WP 7.8 update, besides the fact that the Lumia 900 has the highest satisfaction rating of any phone on the internet (which usually means users aren't in need of an update) Nokia has promised a slew of awesome apps that nobody knew was coming (I'm really looking forward to the data counter app).

In a nutshell I love my stormtrooper I still smile everytime I pick it up; sure I'd love WP8 but I don't demand it nor did I expect it, a new start screen is nice to keep the spice in things though; in short if you think your phone deserves an upgrade then chances are an update won't make you feel much better since you're "settling"; don't settle- find true love, for me it was the stormtrooper who knows what yours is?

Lost My Lumia 800 to My Dad- Awkward.








So this is a tad bit awkward, a couple weeks ago when I was in Chicago (around the time I got my stormtrooper) my dad came and asked for a spare phone to use his T-Mobile sim on (he carries an S2 and an iPhone 4) so i gave him my Cyan Lumia 800 that was sitting in my bag ignored after I had gotten my Stormtrooper.

After setting it up and showing him how simple the tiles were and pinning myself and all our family to the start screen he went on his way... I never saw the phone again. I'm no really sure where it is as he's not using it (that was only temporary) and I feel it would be bad taste to ask him for it, so I'm basically back to one WP. #FirstWorldProblems

Also if anyone in Chicago finds a Lumia 800 forgotten in a hotel room somewhere let me know please.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Umniah Launched 3.75G in Jordan... Starts Lying

Basically Umniah in Jordan have FINALLLLLLLYYYY stopped using Edge for their mobile data (for the record they're the last mobile provider in Jordan to do so), now they've come up with 3.75g or Umniah EVO; what is it? Basically a big bucket of lies.

3.75G gives you THE SAME exact browsing/download speeds that you get on 3.5G (which is HSDPA+ by Zain); and that's only attainable when your sitting inside the Umniah/Zain labs- now ehre in jordan will you ever get the full speeds so the minimal difference is pointless; it's just a branding to trick people who don't know what's going on- for those who would like to know here's some numbers about the lack of difference between 3.5G & 3.75G:

3.5G

HSUPA upgrades the uplink for higher
data transfer speed and
capacity of 1.4 ,1.9 ,5.8
Mbps. 

HSUPA name is given by Nokia and used in its phones only
but 3GPP does not
support this name.
HSDPA High-Speed
Downlink Packet Access
having faster speed from 1.8 ,3.6 ,7.2 to 14
Mbps. 

3.75G

HSPA High Speed Packet Access is a
combination of HSUPA
and HSDPA that
improves the
performance of W-
CDMA and can attain speed 21Mbps to
28Mbps. HSDPA High-Speed Downlink Packet Access
having faster speed
from 1.8 ,3.6 ,7.2 to 14
Mbps.

So yeah Basically almost NO difference, unless your in china and need a CDMA which last I checked Jordan does not belong to China. a

Monday, June 18, 2012

Lumia 900 Macro Mode test


The other day I took my new stormtrooper to the museum of science and industry in downtown Chicago; there was a nice little minature/Model city of Chicago on display there so I decided to test out the Macro Mode filming on the Stormtrooper; your thoughts?

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

My new Stormtrooper is HERE!!!!



Yes the time has come! My new beautiful love has reached, and I are so happy!.

Oh an unboxing video you say? sure here you go:



Still not satisfied? Wanting for something more? perhaps a gallery?













Sunday, June 3, 2012

DANGER! Nokia promoting Unofficial Wazapp in stores (spells Name wrong)

Ok, this is a bit awkward; according to the following tweet the Nokia Store in UAE is using Wazapp (spelled wrong in the ad) to promote sales of the N9; claiming
"the wait is over go to Wazapp.im"
@EverythingN9 @tgalal this was at nokia store, in Bahrain. Glad to see wazapp being used to sell #N9 pic.twitter.com/IlAiypzK
I have no problem with Nokia trying to push the N9 sales; however promoting an unofficial client that's not even available in the marketplace seems a bit "weird"; first off I doubt the whatsapp people are happy about their services being reverse coded to get access to the servers and what not, second Nokia has a VERY tight relationship with Whatsapp; first constantly promoting whatsapp over BBM with the "Drop the Pink Campaign"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxTu4yIx_zI
Then preloading whatsapp on all S40 devices giving them cross platform chat out of the box, Personally I don't know the extent of their relation nor do I know if there have been other moves to promote Wazapp through official Nokia channels but I think this is some murky water to be treading in. 



Friday, June 1, 2012

Microsoft Touch Mouse: Unboxing and First Thoughts

 So today my Microsoft touch mouse finally arrived, before I get into the nitty details, just a couple of points about Amazon; I know it was a 3rd party reseller through Amazon who provided this; but it was still a large company and not a single person; meaning they must have some sort of record (reviews were good).

However I was extremely dissapointed with the services this time; first off the mouse took 7 days to reach, not the promised 5; second and most importantly the mouse WAS NOT NEW! regardless of a sticker on it that claimed it was (written by  hand)- the Mouse had some stains on it (easily removed with Acetone/nail polish remover) but that still is unacceptable, the package itself had been opened and resealed with normal packing tape. Ugly packing tape.

The included USB cable was also missing (of no real use to me since it's only for unsupported computers/drivers)

Amazon issues aside the device itself is utterly drop-dead gorgeous; the pure matte white finish along with the "Cheque" swirl design is breathtaking.
  The mouse itself appears buttonless, but in fact the whole front half is one big button (acting like macbooks trackpad where different halves have different functions). 

Setting up the mouse was extremely simple as the drivers where automatically downloaded as well as a short tutorial video of the compatible touch gestures. 
 
The compatible gestures include, single finger scrolling & panning , two finger movements to minimize/maximize, Three finger gestures bring up a running apps screen similar to that of MacOS, flicking with your thumb can be used to move forward/backward (previous/Next) when browsing online. (I'll try and make a second post detailing these gestures).

Overall so far I'm in love except for two issues
  1. The mouse IS NOT rechargeable, meaning it's back to the good old duracells
  2. Lack of middle mouse button/wheel basically means that this is DEFINITELY not a gamers mouse