the smart thing to do ... netphone

I finally caught the bug and jumped on the Android bandwagon.

Good thing Smart has offered a very affordable handset in the Smart Netphone, a Qualcomm-powered, Android 2.2 Froyo-running smartphone. Applied this morning and got the unit the same day at the Smart Wireless Center along Ayala Avenue.

This rather drastic purchase of smartphone now dashes my initial dreams of buying a Samsung Galaxy. The promo for the Netphone was simply irresistible -- at Datalite Plan 800 (yes, I'm back in the world of post-paid after more than 5 years), the unit is yours free although you do have to shell out Php 1,500.00 (so it isn't free at all, I guess). What makes getting the phone attractive is Smart's free-of-charge internet bundle of social networking until December 31, 2011. FB and Twitter to sawa until December.

The advertised features of the Netphone aren't bad and the SmartNet capabilities show some promise albeit it's still in its infancy. Probably when more and more subscribers come onboard, Smart will roll out more apps and programs. Wi-fi -- check! Camera -- check although there's no flash so night-pics might be problematic. FM radio -- check! The Netphone comes packed with a 2GB micro-SD card but if you're a sucker for space, you can upgrade it up to 16GB.

One of the best features of the phone is that it runs on Android. And that means Android Market with gazillions of apps available (okay, I'm exaggerating). Haven't tested installing apps yet.

Unfortunately, my line isn't working yet so I cannot yet enjoy the promised free internet features but I already tested the wi-fi capability of my Netphone and I'm contented.

Late review on the Smart Netphone coming soon.

tuesday tidbits: resurrecting the 6680, abe lincoln is a vampire hunter, freakangels, the bibliophile bug itch

There is this post that I've done last week before I left for Kidapawan about my frustrations here at the Desk. I've debated about posting it for public consumption and finally sealed it as "DEFERRED". My feelings about the issue remain to this day (I am still very much frustrated) but I'm keeping the post in reserve for when I finally have had enough of the stupidity and absurdity of things.

On now to other stuff ...

* * * *

Since it will be some time before I get hold off an Android-powered phone (unless some good soul gifts me with one), I'm resurrecting my Nokia 6680. The main reason why I decided to forego it a whiles back was because of the fast battery drain. Over lunch, I got myself a new battery for it along with a spanking black housing. It still worked! However, after just an hour of use, the battery was already draining and it's supposed to last three days on standby mode.

Remembering how the old battery became discharged and bloated, I did a quick search online with a query of "6680 battery draining fast" on Yahoo Search and I was rewarded with an answer -- battery is draining fast most likely because the phone is "shorting" it. This would be the likely case, says the forum answerer, if your battery looked bloated. Which was exactly what my last battery looked out. The solution was to have the phone checked and the short-circuiting fixed. Otherwise, I'll just end up buying battery after battery.

Hopefully, the local repairmasters here in the P.I. would be able to fix this dilemma so that I can get back to using my trusty 6680. And then I'll likely hand over the SE T303 I'm currently using to my sis-in-law so that she can replace her old 3100.

* * * *

I surprised myself recently by finishing a book in less than a week, more specifically just under five days. This is such a rare feat by yours truly as the last time I've finished a book that quick was in 2005 when I was out of work and staying at home all day long.

The book I'm talking about is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith, a mash-up (new term for me too, folks) which I bought last June 29 and finished reading last Saturday afternoon, July 2.

I've seen the book before on previous trips to bookstores I frequently haunt and was always curious what this was all about since the front cover had the portrait of old Abe Lincoln standing all regal and elegant but the back cover had him holding an ax and a severed head of a vampire. I finally bought the book last week because I wanted to satiate my curiousity and that this could be a good reference of sorts for a new personal project I'm working on. I didn't count on the book being a mash-up though.

Have to admit that I'm a sucker for history stuff, even fictional ones (like the chronological listing of events following the War of the Ring that can be found on the back of The Return of the King), thus I guess that's the reason I finished this book in record time. Add to that, Abe Lincoln was probably one of my earliest historic heroes -- I was exposed to the American president's exploits before I even heard of Jose Rizal (unfortunately true, honest). And this is my first vampire book, ever. I've never been fond of vampires and stories about them even though Twilight and Ms Stephanie Meyer made vamps sexy. But the way how the book was written -- ala diary entries of Abe Lincoln about his vampire-hunting days on his "secret journals" -- saved the book for me and I found myself enjoying it.

Will try and do a review of the book soon while the story is still fresh on my mind. Imagine the wickedness of the author to mash up a historic figure such as Abe Lincoln with something extra-ordinary such as vampires and vampire hunting. That's cross-genre, indeed.

* * * *

Like I said earlier, I went to Kidapawan for Desk work.

Didn't get to go around the city as much as there wasn't really much to go around to in the first place. While Kidapawan is categorized as a city, don't expect to find the comforts of city life here. Local shops abound but the only branded establishment that one would recognize would be Jollibee. When people wanted to shop for branded stuff, they took the trip to Davao (4 hours via public commute, 2 hours by private vehicle).

However, the idea that Kidapawan is a dangerous place is, in my opinion, a bit exaggerated. While I didn't stay long (only one night), the city was generally peaceful during my stay. There was a bombing incident that took place earlier last week but our branch personnel said that the incident happened some ways out of the city proper and that the bombers just abandoned their getaway vehicle within the city limits. Nevertheless, our branch personnel weren't taking any chances and they insisted on bringing me to the doors of my hotel when we finished our pre-event meeting at 8pm.

Well, better safe than sorry, I guess.

* * * *

As mentioned on the upper right corner of this blog, I'm currently reading FreakAngels, a free, weekly web-comic written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Paul Duffield.

The web comic follows the lives of the FreakAngels, 11 individuals with telekinetic, teleportation, and psychic powers who caused armaggedon to happen and what happens to them thereafter. According to reports, Ellis got the idea from John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned).

I'm a fan. If you're not, head on over to FreakAngels.

* * * *

The bibliophile bug is itching.

After finishing Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I found myself at Fully Booked Rockwell last Saturday purchasing a copy of Kevin J. Anderson's The Edge of the World, the first volume in his Terra Incognita series. I had to restrain myself from also buying the sequel.

I think before the week is out, I might end up buying another book or two. And just to satisfy the craving while keeping within means, I think a trip to Booksale is in order.

late review: samsung wave 525

Forgive me for the spelling errors in the last post.

I was writing that using a Samsung Wave 525 and still had trouble hitting the touchscreen keys with my not-so-dainty fingers. It's rather hard to hit the right keys on the virtual keypad with when your fingers are callused and a bit flat on the edges (blaming too much guitar-playing recently).

But lest you get any idea, let me mention that the Samsung Wave isn't my phone. I was just borrowing it and taking it for a test drive.

And like I've mentioned, it packs a powerful punch with its Bada OS and useful apps. I've learned online that Bada is a homebrew of Samsung and was developed with the aim of being able to market smartphones to the masa. Of course, I've checked what apps where possible with Bada and discovered that there's a whole slew of games and related apps online (both for free and for purchase) but sadly there's no dependable e-reader app yet. There is one that allows you to read Vietnamese and English e-books but based on comments from previous people who've downloaded and used the app, this e-reader is still a work in progress.

But the Samsung Wave 525 by itself is a great smartphone. Upgradeable to 16GB memory card and packing a 3.2 mega pixel cam, that means lots and lots of photos. The video recorder is also nice. Not perfect but nice enough for those quick instances when you just need to video-record something or someone.

The Wave 525 allows for two ways for you to type -- vertical or horizontal. When you turn the phone on its side, it automatically changes orientation and the landscape view allows for bigger virtual keys which is helpful for people like me with not-so-dainty fingers. A stylus pen could also be helpful but then again, maybe one just needs to practice typing more on the screen to get the hang of things.

The touchscreen is wide, 3.2" -- you can check the tech-specs at the Wave site here -- and you won't be squinting to see the text on the web pages you call up using the phone's built-in wifi capability. Sadly, the screen is only TFT, not Samsung's acclaimed AMOLED technology that allows for crispier images. Then again, you can read what's on the screen of a Wave 525 clearly so it's ok.

On the entertainment side, the best asset of the Wave 525 is its wifi connectivity. With it's wifi finder turned on, it easily detects wireless devices and notifies you if such devices are nearby. If no wifi is available, you can opt for either blue tooth connection or the standard GPRS/HSDPA connection which will sadly take off pesos off your credit or load whatever the case may be. I've yet to try both blue tooth and GPRS/HSDPA connections as I find the idea of chunking off precious call minutes from my load absurd when there's a wifi spot at just about every corner.

The Wave 525 also has an FM radio receiver, music player, video recorder and some games. But sadly, except for the dice game, all the other games stored on the phone are demo games. But at Php 50 pesos per game, it won't be long before we'll be downloading probably one or two of the games (my wife is eyeing the Bejewelled-like game while I'm interested in the mobile version of popular realty boardgame Monopoly). Plus, like I mentioned earlier, there tons of free games that can be downloaded and loaded onto the phone via the Bada site so there won't be a shortage of games, at least.

Being a first-time user of a touch-phone, using the Wave 525 for what it is -- a phone to make phone calls with -- was tricky. To answer incoming calls and to dial numbers, you had to press-hold the green phone icon. To end the call or cancel dialling, you also had to make sure you're press-holding the red phone icon otherwise the phone call won't disengage. Those used to using the Nokia keypad will need getting used to when texting or punching in numbers using the virtual QWERTY keypad. Since I've had practice before in using a QWERTY phone, I had little trouble adjusting to the virtual keypad. Like I said, the only trouble I had was hitting the right keys with my flat and fat fingers.

I also found myself dialling and texting and writing on the Wave 525 on its horizontal orientation ostensibly because the keypads were bigger that way. Reading web pages were also easier on the landscape orientation because the screen was larger. No point in striving to determine the text on the phone's vertical orientation when it's easier the other way around. This feature tells you that Samsung has taken great pains to understand the user and added features that made the Wave 525 easier to use and handle.

And oh, the Samsung Wave 525 fitted perfectly in my palm. Just like the phone I'm planning to purchase, the Samsung Galaxy Mini, the Wave 525 was palmable. And the retail price isn't bad at all. Like I said, Samsung developed this particular smartphone with the masa in mind so it's no wonder if this model becomes a hit with a lot of people.

If you're on a lookout for a great enough smartphone but don't have the budget for an iPhone or the Xperia, then head on over to a Samsung corner and check out the Wave 525. It packs a power package for less the buck.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

blogging via email: a test post

This is a test post only to see if blogging via email works. Since the desk has blocked access to anything remotely related to social networking including FB, Foursquare, Twitter, DevianArt, Multiply, MySpace, and most free blogging sites like Blogger, blogging via email makes the most perfect sense to be able to reach out. Curiously though, Wordpress.com isn't blocked. This post will be erased in the future. This post doesn't mean much and I reco you read the next post below which is more relevant reading. Good morning everyone!

online and foursquared

Wow! Over a month of not doing any update on this here blog and here I thought I was just a couple of weeks offline.

And now, it's already June :)

Well, almost offline as I am almost always online in one way or another -- on Facebook (recently under fire again for privacy controls) and a new social media site that centers on your location -- FourSquare. The latter works more brilliantly if you're surfing on the go and as stated on their site, FourSquare works well with an iPhone, a Blackberry, a Palm or a phone that runs the Android OS. Or if you have a smartphone with mobile connection (that doesn't suck you clean of internet-access moolah), that also works well.

As for me, I'm accessing the site through the computer and I do cheat with the check-ins -- I update my check-ins even before I reach my destination :P I'm heading that way anyway, I justify to myself.

Hopefully in several months' time I'll be engaging in the total FourSquare experience when I upgrade my mobile phone. The iPhone is an option but being the don't-go-for-what-everyone-has type of nerd, I'm looking at Samsung and Sony-Ericsson phones that are running Android. Specifically, am looking at the SE Xperia10a (note there's a space between E and X, perverts!). But as I've mentioned to the FB world a couple of weeks back, the cost of the unit is astronomical. My trusty N6680 (which is now being used by my sis-in-law) only cost me a few thousand bucks. The Xperia will set me back some 30++ thousands! The iPhone is slightly lower but still cost-prohibitive. I'd much rather buy a small netbook ha ha ha.

Oh, what phone am I using now? Curious, you. I'm using a E71 Pro rip-off, made in China, bought for me by my sister in Dubai. Its casing and look is similar to the Nokia E71 Pro but has a built-in TV and radio (with the eye-sore pull-out antenna) -- much like what MyPhone is hawking in cellphone stores. But its unreliable and lacks the features one would look for a smartphone (my 6680 was a better phone thanks to its Symbian OS). I couldn't even load ebooks in my current phone because there's simply no program / software that would allow me to do so.

But one thing I've developed by using this rip-off is the use of QWERTY keys -- I like :) So, the next phone, aside from running on Android, most likely be a QWERTY phone (so that knocks of the iPhone from the options, I guess).

online musings

In two hours time, I will have successfully stayed away from Facebook for one entire day. Apologies to all who may have sent messages or posted stuff that needed my attention but I was in experiment mode when I woke up this morning and asked myself -- "Can I survive without Facebook for a day?"

So, challenging myself as I got myself ready for work, I did stay away from FB for the entire duration at the Desk.

And to be honest, I did not miss FB at all.

* * * *

And while FB was out of today's online menu, I was still very much active online today on Twitter. I think, today was the first time I tweeted more than two tweets in a day. With my tweet an hour ago, that made it five tweets today and the bigger number is that that was my 500th tweet!

* * * *

Foursquare.com looks interesting. However, I just don't know if it will be worth my while as I am no user of an iPhone, a Google Android, a Blackberry, nor a Palm. The alternative, according to Foursquare is to access their mobile site but to do so might be cost-prohibitive what with the rate of mobile internet usage.

blogging around the clock

Nifty little gadget added to my posts -- social networking stuff! Now you can directly share the relevants posts that I write to others via Twitter, Reddit, Del.i.cious, and Digg.

* * * *

I've recently updated the look of my daughter's blogsite (wherein I ghost-write, of course) with a little girl's theme courtesy of ThemeCraft. ThemeCraft is a "sister" site of FalconHive and although they only have a few templates available right now, those that are already ready for download are quite awesome. They had creativity in mind (not advertisements) when they designed those skins for Blogger-hosted blogs.

* * * *

After just one night of using the Magasin Tres template for my income-generating blog, I again changed it because I was unhappy with the "Featured Content" feature and the change-color-when-you-hover second navigation bar wasn't working properly.

So, right after I did office work and still had a couple of hours to spare this afternoon, I tweaked the blog's look again and fortunately found a simple yet awesome template called Mad Magazine from the template site Bloganol. With a couple of great ad spaces, this newspaper-styled theme is IT!

* * * *

The other blog I was talking about last night is PropertyforSalePhilippines and is meant to be (as is obvious from the title) a property / realty / house-for-sale website. It's aimed to be a classified ads for those looking for homes and property for sale as well as to be a source of information for housing loans.

And why did I start this business blog? That's because I have access now to precisely those products plus I'm looking at targetting potential advertisers to have pity on me and advertise on my blog.

Unfortunately, there are problems with the current look and functionality. So, it looks like I still have to hunt for a better template and I'm hoping to get one a little later ... after this update :)

yehey!!! the darn blog is working at last

After weeks of tweaking and tweaking and further tweaking, my supposed-to-be-income-generating blog (which I will transfer from Wordpress) is now ready. All that's left to do is cosmetics -- meaning the bells and whistles -- and that includes creating some online banners for temporary use to attract potential advertisers.

I also need to generate static content -- I've already created two pages -- About and Events -- but I don't feel satisfied with what I've written so far. So, I'll work on revising the content tomorrow. Plus, I need to up a page that will detail how advertisers can -- advertise, of course :)

Other elements that were in my previous newsblog such as links, a blog visitor counter, Twitter app and web metrics need to be setup as well. However, for the web metrics, I think Google Analytics would be enough.

I will also have to arrange the blog's domain so that although it's hosted on Blogger, it will still have an honest-to-goodness URL. Now, just need to renew the domain before it expires :)

And, of course, I need to start generating content which will hopefully translate into traffic. That means I will be trying to find time to do the actual posts. It will be difficult to sneak that in during the day-job so that means I need to probably put in a couple of hours work before or after office to make this thing work.

And then, I need to give myself time for this venture to bear fruit. I'm not expecting any income real soon but if I were to base it on experience from my previous venture, I was only online for about three months before an inquiry re advertising came through.

And oh, I just finished tweaking the other business blog of mine as well. So, that means I'll need to promote and push two blogs (to two different industries, at that). Good thing the second one won't need a daily looking-after. Just a plug once or twice a week would be ok for that.

I also did some repairs on this personal blog of mine. After Luz pointed out that she wasn't able to post comment yesterday, I switched the comments feature to pop-up rather than the comment-below-post feature. The latter feature is already fixed thanks to an update done by the creator of the Dilectio template I used but will probably stick to the pop-up-comment-box feature for the meantime. I'll also be adding more bells and whistles to this blog including a top navigation which has been absent since I've switched to this template.

Neat stuff, as my former British expat colleagues used to say.

the switch - blogwise

In terms of personal blogging, 2009 is bound to be the weakest year in terms of number of posts done.

This post you're reading is so far only #29 (when it gets pasted) whereas last year I managed 86 posts and in 2007 I did 45. In 2006, when I first wrote on this blog, I registered 54 posts. While I can blame work for the rather anemic blogging, it certainly isn't just the reason.

2009 kept me busy blogging away on my supposedly income-generating blog (which unfortunately didn't generate any income at all) writing a total of 105 news posts to date. In 2008 when I first started writing that blog - I whipped up 153 news posts and an inquiry on advertising. Sadly, being run on Wordpress.com, it wasn't advertising friendly so the ad deal fell through. It again elicited interest from a potential advertiser but then again, that didn't materialize as well.

So, rather than waste my time on that blog, my options are a) transfer it to Blogger.com (which is more friendlier to advertisements, banners, and the like) or, b) create an actual website for that.

After the walk home yesterday, I've decided on Option A which I think is more cost-effective. Option B can be considered once that blog of mine starts generating income (as the blog is supposed to be doing when I first conceptualized it). Option A is also a more amiable solution given that I already have an existing Blogger blog of the same nature (so it's basically re-activating the Blogger account and redirecting old viewers to the new) and Blogger allows you to use your own domain for your blog (which is great because I also have already bought the same domain sans the ".blogspot") thereby making life easier as I am no web designer and totally idiotic when it comes to coding.

Next steps right now are to find the right design and start writing and generating visitors. The latter is actually the easier of the two next steps. Last night, I've been ogling Blogger template sites and by trial and error trying on templates with the blog. The problem arises in that there doesn't seem to be that many Blogger templates around as compared to Wordpress templates.

Nevertheless, I might be settling on either this, or this, or this (thanks to eblogtemplates and Falcon Hive) largely because I want to adopt a magazine-newspaper style for my blog and the ability to host ads (which is a big consideration why I'm switching from WP to Blogger in the first place).

I hope to launch the new blog site by early next week and then move on to two other online blog sites that I hope will also be causes for financial joy. Until then, I've got to work on the bells and whistles.