Nokia 5250, in Touch with Music

Nokia officially launched the Nokia 5250, a touchscreen, music-centric multipurpose mobile device that offers great value for money.

The device comes with a music player on the home screen, 51MB internal memory (expandable to 16GB microSD memory card), FM radio and a free copy of the acclaimed Guitar Hero 5 Mobile. The Nokia 5250 will ship with unlimited music offering, Ovi Music Unlimited, in selected territories.It also has social network and email connectivity via Nokia Messaging for Ovi Mail, Gmail as well as instant messenger.

The 5250 runs the Symbian^1 operating system and offers GSM/EDGE communications over four bands and GPRS for data. It has a 2.8-inch TFT screen with a 16:9 apect ratio and a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels. On the back, there’s a 2-megapixel camera, with Ovi Share installed.

Device measures 104mm x 49mm x 14mm. with a battery that will last up to 18 days in standby or seven hours talktime.

Before taxes and operator subsidies, the Nokia 5250 will cost just €115 and is expected to ship in the fourth quarter.

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I should get a ticket to Nokia World 2010 because..

I’m desperate! I believe I have joined every competition that Nokia have thrown just to be part of the momentous event.

Remember this?
The Makemyapp contest that gives a Nokia N8 and trip Nokia World 2010 as prize? Well I joined the competition and campaign wholeheartedly for my application idea so it could make it through the shortlist; barging my friends, asking my Billboard_Music, _NokiaN97, Nokia N82 and Scratchepad followers on Twitter, Friendster and Facebook to vote, etc. It was an intense campaign because not only that I will get a chance to participate in the Nokia World 2010 and won a Nokia N8 but rather a chance also to make a difference. The application was about Green Shopping with a purpose of giving people information/guide/help in buying/choosing products that are environment friendly. But unfortunately it didn’t make it to the final cut thus denying it’s opportunity to be created as an application, but my dream cannot be shattered by just a mere competition because I will to building a website about it and perhaps a mobile application in the future. It’s all about making a difference!

and this?

The video that I created as an entry to the #Nokiaworld competition of Ovi Blog. It took me a day and a half to create the video having a very few knowledge on video making/editing/recording. It was more of learning the basics when I created it that is why I’m very proud that I manage to come up with one. It only proves that there is no harm in trying and doing your best to attain want you want. Anyways, Congratulations to the winners!

This is my very last chance that’s why I am not hoping for anything anymore. I just want everyone to know that if there’s somebody who's gone to hell and back just to be part of Nokia World 2010… That would be me!

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HTC Tattoo vs Nokia C6, Price Fight

A very interesting match up here, a far different devices verging only one common denominator, PRICE, as they are currently offered in the same selling point, PhP14,600 for the HTC Tattoo in any Globe Telecom Business Centers and Nokia C6 in any Nokia Flagship Stores around the country. Though I have to mention here that the Nokia C6 costs at around PhP13,400 outside Nokia Stores and Tattoo being exclusively sold by Globe Telecom and nowhere else.

Caution! My opinion is based only on the company’s given hardware, technical specifications, features and sample videos that can be seen in the web or in any video sharing sites. I have no hands on experience whatsoever on booth phones but I’m familiar with the Nokia C6’s UI having tried a Nokia N97 Mini device before.

Advantages against the disadvantage in every criterion mentioned and I will site winner in each. The most number of votes win!

Operating System: Android 1.6 Cup Cake vs Symbian Series 60 rel. 5 version 9.4

The HTC has a Sense UI (User Interface) on top of the Android 1.6 Cup Cake, meaning it has all the usable effects on top of the Android operating system. The 6 window active customizable homescreen with eye candy graphics brought about by the widgets on board, a single tap mechanism among other features giving a unique and satisfying experience.

The browser is very much part of this criteria having used proprietor web browsers from the Operating Systems. HTC tattoo uses an Android web browser supporting HTML and like any other Android phones, the phone has the ability to automatically adjust characters to fit the screen during zooming or changes in the screen dimension, which I very much like. But also tagged along was the rather clunky and slow interface which becomes unresponsive at times. Writing SMS is a nightmare on the tattoo especially on portrait mode, the virtual QWERTY keyboard is too small to use effectively.

The Nokia C6 on the other hand has the typical Nokia UI, the less customizable, two grid active homescreen mechanism with no 3D effects and double tap mechanism all throughout giving a bit less satisfying user experience. The browser was rather feature rich having WAP2.0x/HTML, HTML and RSS Feed support with Flash Lite 3.1 that allows youTube video watching directly from the website. It doesn’t support character adjustment unlike the Android but browsing is better on C6.

Overall, HTC offers a good impression but the Nokia C6 is more fluent and faster that’s why I choose it as the winner. I just could not stand with the lag of Tattoo in opening applications specially in writing text or SMS. Symbian is speed efficient giving a more holistic experience.

Cover

The HTC Tattoo has a compact design wrap around a solid plastic and very much customizable. Users can change the casing all they want having a removable case sled. The Nokia C6 on the other hand has a plastic outer cover but at the same time metal support giving it a more solid foundation and that is why I’m giving Nokia C6 the winning point in these criteria.

Size and Dimension

HTC Tattoo is wider having a 55.2mm width compared to the 53mm of the Nokia C6 but the later is longer with 113mm, thicker with 16.8mm against 14mm and heavier by 40 grams. The HTC Tattoo takes an easy win in these criteria.

Display

Both phones have a resistive touchscreen and an accelerator sensor for auto-rotate but they differ in screen size with Nokia C6’s 3.2 inches screen edging the 2.8 inches of the Tattoo and a 16million color display with 360x640 pixel over the 65Thou with 240x320 pixel of Tattoo citing C6 as the champ. The difference is very much noticeable especially in screen sharpness.

Memory

The HTC offers a 250MB with 516 ROM internal memory which means the phone is very much capable in handling multitasking while the C6 have 240MB to spare yet the later could handle multitasking more efficiently than the other. Both could support microSD card but C6 has a free 2GB memory on board while the Tattoo has none. With this info, the Nokia C6 wins having a UI that utilized less memory in all its applications.

Connectivity

The Nokia C6 is quad band in both GSM and HSDPA while HTC only offers 900/2100 band frequency for HSPDA. HTC Tattoo is faster on 3G connection which could reach up to 7.2Mbps against 3.6Mbps of C6 but on the GPRS and EDGE, C6 takes up a faster connection. Booth phones have WIFI b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP. Given all this info, the C6 takes up the win.

Camera

No question here, with C6 having a 5MP camera with autofocus and LED flash with the capability to take 30fps video against the 3.2MP camera with 15fps video capability of the Tattoo, Nokia C6 is on for another swift and easy win.

Entertainment

Both phones have merely the same feature except that the C6 has Flashlite 3.0 which could play youTube flawlessly directly from the website. HTC Tattoo has no flash player so it won’t play youTube videos. Lame! Nokia C6 wins, again!

CPU

The HTC Tattoo has a Qualcomm MSM 7225 528MHz processor against the ARM 11 434MHz of the C6 but the later reacts faster. It might be because the processor of the Tattoo is not enough to power an Android processor compared to the work efficient Symbian OS. Nokia C6 wins!

Features

The Nokia C6 have a social networking integration, have push email via Nokia Messaging, Maps with unlimited voice guidance support, Java support, Document viewer, mechanical QWERTY keyboard among others while the HTC Tattoo has Screen quick profile switcher and Voice Memo to boast, nothing much to be topple the competition so C6 wins handily.

Battery Life

HTC Tattoo has an 1100mAh Li-Po battery, 340hours of standby time and 6.5 hours of Talk time while the Nokia C6 have 1200mHz Li-Po power source, 384hours of standby time and 7 hours of Talk time. The C6 has bigger screen that takes up more power but the Tattoo also have a bigger processor that consumes power as well. Safest choice, the Nokia C6 with a clear difference on talk time and standby time.

Customer Support (Care Centers)

Nokia have strategic Care Centers all over the country so I am assured that if anything happen to my device, I have somewhere near to bump into. Nokia also have ready to use accessories, parts and supplies to purge so Nokia C6 wins.

The Scores:

HTC Tattoo = 2 point
Nokia C6 = 10 points

And the winner under a not very obvious victory swift… Nokia C6? Yes! via landslide. I just couldn’t understand why the HTC Tattoo is being priced same to that of the Nokia C6. It’s a mismatched, the phone is nothing more than a rag compared to C6. Calling Globe Telecom or HTC Philippines, I think it would be best if the Tattoo will be sold below PhP10,00 marked, more likely as a direct competitor to the 5530 XpressMusic. It might take a change of defeating it hands down.

Then again, a reminder to my readers, buying a phone must not only include a super savvy OS or a high pixel camera; it has to be everything, the after sales support, the price, usability among others. Go for the best value device that is worthy of your hard earned money, or rather enroll to a mental hospital. No Fuss!

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'Touch and Type' on the latest Nokia X3

Innovation continues for Nokia as they introduce the super slim X3 Touch and Type, there very first phone that combines touch screen and traditional 12 button phone keypad into one. As Nokia's first 'Touch and Type' phone, the Nokia X3 allows people to tap quickly on the bright color touch screen, as well as enjoy the familiarity of the full keypad for quick fire text messages and phone calls. Expected to be on sale in the third quarter, the Nokia X3 is expected to retail for approximately EUR 125, excluding taxes and subsidies.

"Innovation is not just a high-end game. The Nokia X3 is a great example of bringing new consumer value to lower price points," said Mary McDowell, Executive Vice President of Mobile Phones at Nokia.

"With the Nokia X3 we are giving consumers the best of both worlds by combining a touch screen and a keypad in an affordable device. We have given people a larger screen with clear icons and menus plus kept critical keys such as the send and end keys. We've also added dedicated function keys for important links like music and text messaging," she said.

"We have designed the Nokia X3 to be a touch and type device because typing is ideal for SMS and social networking where fast and frequent input is needed, while touch is ideal for functions such as setting alarms, smooth browsing and controlling applications like music and games.

"Our research tells us consumers who have invested years in becoming fast one-handed, one-thumb texters want to maintain their speedy edge for SMS, chat and instant messaging - yet enjoy the benefits of touch as well," continued McDowell.

With its sleek and modern design coming in at a very thin 9.6mm - making it one of the slimmest Nokia phones ever - the Nokia X3 slips easily into the purse or the pocket, and looks the part with its brushed aluminum back cover which will come in five vibrant colors designed to suit any mood or wardrobe.

Despite its size, the Nokia X3 is jam-packed with features including 3G, WLAN, a music player and an FM radio.

Lovers of the snapshot and social networks will enjoy a great 5 megapixel camera with 4X digital zoom that can take both still and video images.

The Nokia X3 also features dedicated music and messaging keys allowing fast access to important Ovi services including social and entertainment applications. In addition to Ovi Mail, people's favorite consumer email and chat accounts can be pushed direct to the phone via Nokia Messaging.

With a gentle glide over the touch screen people can go online and get access to many services including thousands of apps from Ovi Store. In certain markets, the new phone will also be available with Ovi Music Unlimited, enabling the owner to access a virtually limitless range of the latest hit music that can be stored on the available 16GB memory card.

The Nokia X3 - affordable and accessible touch and type which is simple-to-use and beautifully designed. The Nokia X3 Touch and Type sits alongside the Nokia X3-00, a slider with strong music functionality, which was launched in September 2009.

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Activate and Celebrate with Nokia and Smart

If you happened to be a Mr. or Ms. Congeniality with tons of friends around, this is your very chance to get load rich! Entice your Nokia phone using friends or have them buy a Nokia phone of they have none, to activate their Nokia Messaging account via Smart and get a 50 peso load, FREE! If you have 100,000 friends on the list, then you vied to become 5million richer, no fuss! c”,

This is still in line with the massive campaign of Smart and Nokia to promote its push email service, an excellent messaging feature that can be found on almost every device currently being sold.

Here are the Mechanics:

1. The promo is open to all Smart subscribers using any of the Nokia Messaging-compatible phones: Nokia 5230, Nokia 5320, Nokia 5530, Nokia 5630, Nokia 5730, Nokia 5800, Nokia 6120, Nokia 6210, Nokia 6220, Nokia 6700 slide, Nokia 6710, Nokia 6720, Nokia 6730, Nokia 6760 slide, Nokia C3, Nokia C5, Nokia C6, Nokia E5, Nokia E51, Nokia E52, Nokia E61, Nokia E61i, Nokia E63, Nokia E66, Nokia E71, Nokia E72, Nokia E75, Nokia E90, Nokia N73, Nokia N78, Nokia N79, Nokia N82, Nokia N85, Nokia N86 MP, Nokia N900, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N96, Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6.

2. The customer should visit participating Nokia Store Nationwide. (For the complete list of Nokia stores, please visit www.nokia.com.ph/referafriend/)

3. The customer must inform the Nokia personnel of his interest to join by showing his Nokia Messaging compatible device and providing his mobile number at the time of visit.

4. The Nokia personnel checks with the system if the customer has previously joined the promo. Customers may only register once.

5. If it is the customer’s first time to join the promo, he may activate Nokia Messaging on his Nokia phone in the store by sending an SMS – NOKIADAY to 6677 for only P20 to get unlimited access for one day.

6. The customer shows the acknowledgment text message (“You’re now registered to a 1 day package of Nokia Messaging that will expire on .”) to the Nokia personnel and P50 worth of Smart load will be sent to that customer’s mobile number.

7. The customer may invite more people to activate Nokia Messaging in their Nokia phones. For every three referrals for the customer who activates Nokia Messaging, that customer will an get additional P50 Smart load, as well as the referred friends who activated.

Note: If the customer is a postpaid subscriber, he can nominate a prepaid number that he wishes to send the free P50 load to.

8. The customer’s referrals may activate Nokia Messaging at any participating Nokia store.
Customer referrals should inform the Nokia personnel of the mobile number of their referrer.

9. Referrals may avail of the promo in any participating Nokia store.

10. The customer can only register once per mobile number and may refer as many valid Smart mobile numbers for the duration of the promo.

11. The promo runs from July 23, 2010 to August 22, 2010.

Disclaimer:
To avail of the promo, the customer should be at the participating Nokia store, with the Nokia personnel, when he activates Nokia Messaging on his Nokia phone.

Customers who have joined the promo at a Nokia Store are disqualified from activating Nokia Messaging and joining the promo in a different store.

In order to activate Nokia Messaging, the customer should have a credit balance of not less than P20.

The free P50 load will be credited within 48 hours after activation of Nokia Messaging.

*NOTE FOR NOKIA C3 USERS:
To avoid additional data charges after your Nokia Messaging trial or paid subscription expires, please do the following:

COMMUNITIES app (Facebook and Twitter)
1. Go to your phone's home screen and select the middle zone for Communities.
2. Select Close or Cancel > Close to go to your Accounts menu.
3. Select an account (you may have to repeat Steps 3 and 4 for each account).
4. Select Options > Disconnect account > Disconnect.
5. Select Exit.
Disconnect all accounts and exit the Communities app when you are no longer subscribed to a Nokia Messaging Data Plan to avoid additional data charges.

CHAT app
1. Go to your phone's home screen and select the right softkey for Chat.
2. Select Options > Exit > Sign out all and close.
Sign out from all your accounts and exit the Chat app when you are no longer subscribed to a Nokia Messaging Plan to avoid additional data charges.

EMAIL app
1. Go to your phone's home screen and select the "@" icon on the lower zone for Email.
2. Select an email service (you may have to repeat Steps 2 to 6 for each email service).
3. Select Options > More > Settings.
4. Change "Alert me for new mails" to "Off", or keep this selected as "On" and then specify a time interval under "Alert me only during" that's covered within your Nokia Messaging Plan.
5. Select Options > Save.
6. Select Back > Exit.
7. Select Exit.
Exit the Email app when you are no longer subscribed to a Nokia Messaging Plan to avoid additional data charges.

Manual Data Network Disconnection
Your phone may not automatically disconnect from the data network. You will find a "G" or "E" icon on the upper portion of the home screen when connected to the data network. To avoid unnecessary data charges, manually disconnect the phone from it.

To disconnect the Nokia C3 from the network (no calls, no SMS, no GPRS/EDGE, no WLAN):
1. Select Menu > Settings > Profiles > Flight > Activate.
2. Select Yes.

To switch back to network connected mode:
1. Press Ctrl key for 2 seconds.
2. Select Yes.
3. Press Ctrl key for 2 seconds again. (This will change Profile from Silent to General.)

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Metrobank Card and the McDonalds Treats

MMM MMM Good! To celebrate its 25 years of success, Metrobank Credit Card is offering another mouth watering treat to all its valued customers, FREE McDonalds Metro meals for every PhP2,000 and PhP4,000 single charge purchased!

FREE One (1) McDonald’s Cheeseburger plus FREE One (1) regular fries, or FREE One (1) McDonald’s 1-piece Chicken McDo with Rice (a la carte) for a single charge slip with minimum spent of at least PhP2,000.

FREE Two (2) McDonald’s Cheeseburger plus FREE One (1) medium fries, or FREE One (1) McDonald’s 2-piece Chicken McDo with Rice (a la carte) for a single charge slip with minimum spent of at least Ph4,000.

The perks just won’t stop when you’re with M! Lucky to own one!

Here are the Mechanics:

1. Promotion is open to Metrobank MasterCard, Metrobank Visa, Go! MasterCard, and PSBank MasterCard cardholders.

2. Card holder must surrender his/her original customer copy of the approved charged slip and present their card to any participating McDonald’s restaurant to get FREE Metro Treat. Transaction date of the charge slip must be within the promo period and must be readable. Unreadable charge slips are not valid for redemption.

3. Valid spent includes all retail transactions such as, but not limited to, purchases at groceries, department stores, gasoline stations, restaurants, etc.; and merchant installment transactions such as but not limited to installment purchase of appliances, Nokia mobilephones, jewelry, etc. On-line or internet credit card transactions and telephone credit card transactions are excluded from the promotion.

4. Cardholders can only redeem a maximum of one McDonald’s Metro Treat per visit to a McDonald’s restaurant.

5. Should it be proven that a cardholder was able to redeem McDonald’s Metro Treat without adhering to the above mechanics, the cost of the McDonald’s Metro Treat will be charge to the cardholder’s credit card account.

6. Promotion period is from August 5 to October 31, 2010.

7. McDonalds Metro Treats must be redeemed to participating McDonald’s restaurants from August 5 to December 31, 2010.

For inquiries, call the Customer Service Hotline at 8-700-700 (Metro Manila) or 1-800-1-888-5775 (Domestic Toll-Free)

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Nokia Messaging and Smart Syncing Perfectly

If there is a single reason why I can’t totally chide away from Smart, it is because they are the most Nokia friendly telecom company in the country. They are exclusively offering the Nokia Messaging, a top notched push email service that allows on time delivery of email directly to a messaging capable Nokia phones.
I have just learned via email that Nokia and Smart has an on-going promotion that gives unlimited push email service for a month by just creating and activating a Nokia Messaging account. I supposed this is different from the promotion that I featured yesterday because that covers unlimited push email for only a week. Yup, confusing I know! c”,

For the past two days that I’m using the service, so far my phones Messaging and Smart have been singing good tune together, I have not encounter any problem with syncing or load reduction thus confirming that it is indeed FREE. My emails arrived on time without a hitched, though I found out that my erase messages on the phone was not reflected on the Ovi Mail site.

Syncing also takes up battery life as the service access the internet to search for new mails. The 3G/GPRS connect sign is always indicated all throughout. The service is only good for one email account only which means that if you have several registered email on your Nokia Messaging account, only the main email will enjoy the push service while the rest will be updated manually. Manual update would use a data service thus reducing your current load. Please be guided in here. It would be best to update manually via WIFI and just leave the push email service to one email account.

Anyways, this is a great service no less, I know I will enjoy this being a blogger who constantly check emails for the latest stuffs going on, this is the future of connectivity, the best no less so grab the opportunity and be in the zone!

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Chat, Email, Twitter, Facebook Unlimited and Easy on your Nokia Device

Nokia Philippines is offering a 7 Day trial for Nokia Messaging service to Smart Communications subscribers with Nokia Messaging capable handsets.

The promo could let you access your Email, IM, Twitter and Facebook free!

Here are the mechanics:

1. Nokia Messaging Free 7-Day trial is exclusive to SMART subscribers with Nokia Messaging capable handsets who register to the free trial service from June 8 to September 12, 2010.

2. To register to the free 7-day trial, just text NOKIA TRIAL to 6677 for free.

3. To check if the phone is capable of Nokia Messaging, text NOKIA to 6677 for free.

4. Subscribers shall receive a notification message upon successful registration

"You're now registered to 7-day Free Trial of Nokia Messaging that will expire on mm/dd/yy xx:xx Is your handset supported? Text NOKIA to 6677 for free (Eg NOKIA E63). For S60 devices, click on http://messaging.nokia.com to download the latest Email, Chat and/or Communities clients Terms and conditions: http://m.smart.com.ph/nokiamessaging"

5. Subscribers must maintain at least P1 load within the 7-day trial to enjoy the free trial.

6. Subscribers shall receive a notification message upon expiration of the free trial

"Your FREE Trial of Nokia Messaging has expired. Avail a package to cont using Nokia Messaging. If not, sign out and exit your Email, Chat and/or Communities clients to avoid additional data charges. To avail of the service, text NOKIA to 6677. Eg. NOKIA DAY Packages available: P20/DAY, P140/WEEK and P299/MONTH"

7. Subscribers who wish to continue using Nokia Messaging after the 7-day trial should subscribe to any of the Nokia Messaging packages below, otherwise they will be charged Php 10 for every 30 minutes of use.
8. Promo Duration: July 5 to September 12, 2010.

9. The promo is open to all Smart subscribers using any of the Nokia Messaging-compatible phones:

Nokia 5230, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, Nokia 5630 XpressMusic, Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia 6120 classic, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 6220, Nokia 6700 slide, Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia 6720 classic, Nokia 6730 classic, Nokia 6760 slide, Nokia C3, Nokia C5, Nokia C6, Nokia E5, Nokia E51, Nokia E52, Nokia E61, Nokia E61i, Nokia E63, Nokia E66, Nokia E71, Nokia E72, Nokia E75, Nokia E90, Nokia N73, Nokia N78, Nokia N79, Nokia N82, Nokia N85, Nokia N86 8MP, Nokia N900, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N96, Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6

*NOTE FOR NOKIA C3 USERS:
To avoid additional data charges after your Nokia Messaging trial or paid subscription expires, please do the following:

COMMUNITIES app (Facebook and Twitter)
1. Go to your phone's home screen and select the middle zone for Communities.
2. Select Close or Cancel > Close to go to your Accounts menu.
3. Select an account (you may have to repeat Steps 3 and 4 for each account).
4. Select Options > Disconnect account > Disconnect.
5. Select Exit.

Disconnect all accounts and exit the Communities app when you are no longer subscribed to a Nokia Messaging Data Plan to avoid additional data charges.

CHAT app
1. Go to your phone's home screen and select the right softkey for Chat.
2. Select Options > Exit > Sign out all and close.

Sign out from all your accounts and exit the Chat app when you are no longer subscribed to a Nokia Messaging Plan to avoid additional data charges.

EMAIL app
1. Go to your phone's home screen and select the "@" icon on the lower zone for Email.
2. Select an email service (you may have to repeat Steps 2 to 6 for each email service).
3. Select Options > More > Settings.
4. Change "Alert me for new mails" to "Off", or keep this selected as "On" and then specify a time interval under "Alert me only during" that's covered within your Nokia Messaging Plan.
5. Select Options > Save.
6. Select Back > Exit.
7. Select Exit.

Exit the Email app when you are no longer subscribed to a Nokia Messaging Plan to avoid additional data charges.

Manual Data Network Disconnection
Your phone may not automatically disconnect from the data network. You will find a "G" or "E" icon on the upper portion of the home screen when connected to the data network. To avoid unnecessary data charges, manually disconnect the phone from it.

To disconnect the Nokia C3 from the network (no calls, no SMS, no GPRS/EDGE, no WLAN):
1. Select Menu > Settings > Profiles > Flight > Activate.
2. Select Yes.

To switch back to network connected mode:
1. Press Ctrl key for 2 seconds.
2. Select Yes.
3. Press Ctrl key for 2 seconds again. (This will change Profile from Silent to General.)

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HTC Desire vs Motorola Droid X vs Nokia N8 vs Samsung Galaxy S

Red Alert! The following opinion is based only on the company given hardware and technical specifications, features and sample videos that can be seen in the web or in any video sharing sites. The writer has no hands on experience whatsoever on all of the aforementioned devices so I have the choice to compare them blindly.. just deal with it!

Then again, I will only be citing advantages of the phone with a bit of disadvantages as I have a code of professional point of view/ethics to follow which is… “Don’t Panic!”, so prepare your best argument if you disagree. Anyways, here are the results.

Operating System: Android 2.1 Éclair on HTC Desire. As I mentioned yesterday, Android was the better OS so no need to fret here. I choose HTC Desire specifically because of its graphics riched and eye candy Sense UI (User Interface) above the Android OS. The weather app was outstanding showing graphic effects depending on the day’s weather.

Outer Case: Nokia N8. The anodized aluminum casing is just too awesome compared to the rest. The scratch resistant, super durable case implies longetivity which I badly need being reckless as hell. Though I have to mention the sliding USB cover of Samsung Galaxy S, it’s a genius mechanism no less eliminating the rubber plug that was used by other manufacturers to cover connectors.

Size and Dimension: HTC Desire and Nokia N8. I just cannot stand with the wide dimension of the Samsung Galaxy S and Motorola Droid X. I have a small hand/fingers being a regular Asian dude so the wide dimension matters a lot. I don’t want to reach my thumb all the time when using a device, never!

Display: Nokia N8. The 3.5 inches of the Nokia N8 counts a lot here, again I have a small hand and not to long fingers so the 4 inches screen of the Galaxy S and the 4.3 inches on Droid X doesn’t suite me even if the Galaxy S has a Super AMOLED screen. It’s very important for me to use a phone in one hand recognizing outdoor scenario like walking on the street or clubbing while holding a chick's hand on the other, it must be a comfortable experience of not having to use both hands during the process. The N8 have an AMOLED screen as well so it wouldn’t be much of a difference.

Memory: HTC Desire, Motorola Droid X and Samsung Galaxy S. The 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM internal memory matters a lot to me being a power user that opens a lot of applications at a time on my device. I have problem with this one on my Nokia 5530 XpressMusic touch device before crashing the phone a lot of times during heavy use because of its limited RAM. I don’t want this to happen as much as possible on my new phone.

Connectivity: Nokia N8. The phone is the only Penta band among aforementioned. The N8 also have the WIFI b/g/n like the rest of the phones, Bluetooth 3.0 like the Galaxy S among the latest connectivity options. Best feature of the phone in these criteria are the HDMI and USB OTG connection which allows the phone to play videos flawlessly in an HDMI television with Dolby Surround sound and connect to any USB memory devices such as Flash Drives or any external hard drives.

Camera: Nokia N8. The phone only carries a 12MP Carl Ziess camera, no less than the best to date and Xenon Flash. The phone also is capable of capturing an HD video with a 30 fps speed, also the best among mobilephones. Droid X has an 8MP camera while the rest have 5MP unbranded lens. HTC Desire and Droid X have no second camera and Desire has no flash, shame!

Entertainment: Nokia N8 and Samsung Galaxy S. Both phones can play anything thrown under the hood. The DivX/Xvid support cuts them from the rest, I’m fun of watching movies on my phone so this is as important as the rest of the criteria! Latest Flash support can also be found on both phones though the Droid X topples them both with its 10.1 version. Music app is there, Radio among others. FYI, did you know that the HTC Desire has no Radio app, very lame!

CPU: HTC Desire, Motorola Droid X and Samsung Galaxy S. This is given since the N8 only have an ARM Cortex with 600Mhz while the rest have 1Ghz to boast. This is the main reason why there OS were faster and sleeker.

Features: Samsung Galaxy S. The only phone among the three that has a ready to used Document Editor and Swipe input. The rest of the features among the 4 phones were the generally the same. They all have Games, GPS, Maps, Digital Compass, Voice Memo (except N8) among others.

Battery Life: Samsung Galaxy S. The phone has a 1500mAh Li-Po battery with up to 750 hours of standby time in 2G and 360 hours in 3G. Talk time of 6.30 hours in 3G and 13.30 hours in 2G. Huge battery source in here same to that of the others except Nokia N8 which is the least power capable. The Samsung Galaxy S also have a removable battery which I prefer being a travel freak. The Nokia N8's suffers an ill-fated non-removable battery, lame!

Price: Nokia N8. The phone was announced to cost around 340Euro, meaning it will be within PhP22-23,000 here in the Philippines, far out from the HTC Desire which cost at around PhP29,000-30,000 and Samsung Galaxy S that cost PhP32,000-33,000 at the moment. The Motorola Droid X is currently not sold here in the country so it’s good as none.

Customer Support (Care Centers): Nokia N8 and Samsung Galaxy S. Both phones have strategic Care Centers all over the country so I am assured that if anything happen to my device, I have somewhere near to bump into. Both also have ready to use accessories, parts and supplies to purge.

The Scores:
HTC Desire = 3 points
Motorola Droid X = 2 points
Nokia N8 = 8 points
Samsung Galaxy S = 6 points

And the winner is… (Drum Roll!) Nokia N8! Cheers! This is not an easy win for N8 having been pitted to the best devices in the Android arena. Buying a phone for me doesn’t only include a super savvy OS or a high pixel camera; it has to be everything, the after sales support, the price, usability among others. I also tend to go for the best value device being a smart buyer.

So to my reader who challenges me to discover Android over Nokia N8, the answer is No! Nokia N8 will still be my utmost choice no less at the moment. December would be the perfect time for me to buy one having to go against the initial release price hike scenario and an ample time to save money, it’s inevitable. ;)

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Pre-Symbian^3 vs Android 2.1 Éclair Operating System

Warning! The following opinion is based on sample videos only that can be seen in any video sharing sites. The writer has no hands on experience whatsoever on both Operating Systems (OS) so I have no right to compare the two.. I think!? not sure.. so just drink moderately!
Serious isn’t it? For the past week, I’ve been watching and researching about the two OS and comparing them as an answer to the challenge thrown to me by one of my readers (good to have one!) and I quote “You’re missing the train to the future gregg003, try Android, Hug and Kisses! Steve Jobs”. This lead me to a rigid and vomitous investigation giving me sleepless nights and as always brain twisting scenario depleting my gray matters even more, told you this is serious!

And I will only be citing advantages of both OS folks as I have my code of professional point of view to follow which is… “Think Positive!”, so bare with me on this. Anyways, here are the results.

Pre-Symbian^3

- Sleek, cool and a breath of fresh air for Symbianoids (Symbian users)
- Intuitive, more user friendly
- Contacts, Calendars, Messaging are top notch
- DivX support, Video Editor
- More service integration like Maps, Ovi, Music, File syncing and back up among others
- Solid support system

Android 2.1 Éclair

- Very sleek, fast and smooth user interface
- Eye candy crazy with the 3D effect’s everywhere! (Awesome!)
- Standby window is more customizable
- Web browser prowess, fast download of web pages
- Voice activated Google/web search (Futuristic!)
- Better text/message input, supports voice to text conversion, Swipe input is crazy
- Have a very good social networking app integration
- More applications via Android Market

Well, it seemed like a close fight here but it would also be obvious to site Android 2.1 Éclair as a “winner” having to offer “more” but given the fact that the Symbian^3 is still in the pre-production, there are still elements of surprise left to be uncovered, it might catch up and impressed. Question now is, can the final version of Symbian^3 outdo the Android Éclair?

With the result on hand and doubt casts, I think it will it be best to compare devices full hand from hardware, specs, services among others to gauge everything up. Will I still be going for the Nokia N8, the upcoming Symbian^3 or an Android 2.1 Éclair (Upgradable to a more better Android 2.2 Froyo) running devices like Samsung Galaxy S, HTC Desire or Motorola Droid X to mention some? Exxciting isn’t it? Stay tuned for the verdict, tomorrow!

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Nokia C7-00 Prudes Its Final Appearance!

The mobilephone world takes another hit with the appearance of the soon to be the most practical superphone to date, the Symbian^3 operated Nokia C7-00. The leak was published in a Chinese magazine bearing some of its mouth watering specs.

This is another huge reason for the mass market mobilephone freaks to celebrate, owning the most exciting and talk about touch sleek operating system will soon be a reality with Nokia C7-00 being estimated to be released late 4th Quarter this year. If Nokia C6 was a blessing to people who cannot afford Nokia N97’s 7 months after its release, C7-00 will be a holiday gift to people who cannot afford the Camera Flagship Nokia N8, 3 months after it’s released, a huge time difference.

Hmmm!? This is getting exciting for Nokia among the midrange phones. I predict a very positive response for this phone as it will become the upgrade of most 5800 XpressMusic users. It will become the 5800 XpressMusic of Symbian^3, the highest selling S60v5 in the Nokia portfolio.

Among the unveiled specs includes the 3.3inches capacitative touchscreen , multitouch gestures, 8MP camera with autofocus and 720p HD video recording, 3.5mm audio jack and microUSB card slot.

I believe the phone will play within PhP15,000-17,000 price bracket when its release, the N8 will then be beyond the PhP20,000.00 by then.

The phone might be announced in Nokia World this September together with a Symbian^3 E Series, a Meego internet tablet or NSeries flagship, X Series among others. Who’s with me on this?

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Nokia Story Winners for July, Declared!

The second batch of The Nokia Story winners where finally selected from more than 100 entries submitted for July earning them the Slide Styler Nokia 2220 Slide! Congratulations! c",

The winners where Janice G. Ubaldo with his masterpiece entitled "Manager on the phone" and Cathrine Mae T. Faustino with her heartwarming story "Soiled and Scratched". Both stories were inspiring and unique gaining them an edge among the rest.

The Nokia Story is a competition launched by Nokia Philippines encouraging its users to share their greatest, funniest or most interesting experiences with a Nokia mobile phone.

Contest ends by August 30 so you still have more than 3 weeks to submit your entries. Click here to join!

Anyways, here are the July winning pieces.

soiled and scratched
Catherine Mae T. Faustino

A lot of people fear having their prized gadgets soiled, scratched or dipped in water. Unlikely for me, I found my Nokia 7210 Supernova the most useful during a very gruesome event in my family's life – the tragedy brought about by Typhoon Ondoy in September 2009.

My Ate's townhouse was one of the typhoon casualties in Provident Village, Marikina – one of the areas, if not the most, heavily damaged by Ondoy. Their 3- storey house was submerged in flood water up to the second floor, leaving their house help trapped in the attic overnight all by herself and all their belongings destroyed.

Because the rest of us were saved from the tragedy, my siblings and I did everything we can to help her out throughout that week – from rescuing the yaya from the attic and taking her home, walking from Ateneo to Provident daily through knee-high floodwater and mud with our bare feet, cleaning and disinfecting the whole house, disposing what was destroyed and restoring those that we can keep. My Nokia 7210 Supernova was a witness to all these, as I used it to document every challenge that we've been through.

After each day's work, I'd upload the photos from my Nokia to my computer and start writing about our experiences and realizations. Those who have seen my pictures online were moved and inspired by our strength in overcoming the trials. We easily had friends, family and unfamiliar people who extended help physically and financially. Most of all, these made me and my sister appreciate the value of family in a whole new level. I couldn't offer her any financial help during those times, and all I could do was stay with her every day and document our daily achievements that would somehow make her feel better and assured that everything's going to be fine. And I knew I was successful in that goal, as she once commented on my last entry, “Paano na lang ako kung wala ka? (What would I be without you?)”.

Yes, we may have been soiled, scratched and thrown into deep water – my Nokia and I – but this once in a lifetime experience indeed connected people, especially us, from one heart to another.

Manager on the phone
Janice G. Ubaldo

This is another story - actually another face of my life in which my phones are my best partners - my being a manager of a retail company.
Since i became the manager of more than 30 branches of a retail store i have never live a single moment in my life with out my phones with me.
Retail management is a 24/7 job, anything can happen not only during its operation hours but also before and after - for i am concerned not only on our stores well being but on my staffs' as well.

That is the reason why i have three Nokia phones, so that in cases of emergencies, all of them, including our office staffs can have three ways to contact me, specially when am out of town. I have tried other cellphone brand once but it did not last more than 3 months due to my extreme phone usage and large phone memory requirement.

How extreme? Well, i receive more than 200 messages and send an average of 200 messages also in a day, not including the numerous incoming and outgoing calls i do to respond to all our store and staff needs.

And my phones have already helped me respond to a lot of problems - from a simple customer complaint up to road accidents and crime incidents in my more than 3 years of management.

People sometimes tease me that i seem to be a cellphone vendor because of having 3 (and one time 4 cellphones), and my friends keep on nagging me to rest and keep my phones away when am sick,on a get away (like in my uploaded pic) or sleeping, but i believe they just don't know the feeling of uneasiness when you know that something might happen and i just have to be always on call - because i am a manager.

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Warning! #NokiaDATE is Dangerous to your State of Mind!

I may have only been given two opportunities by WOMWorldNokia to trial a device but I can share a story about my dose of the so called DATE, (Despair After Trial Experience) that they genius-ly created as a malign mockery of their vicious intent to make this world a difficult place to live. Anyways here is my dramatic story ala Jersey Shores!

It was November 2009 when I got an email from the legendary Phat^Trance of DailyMobile.se informing me that a Nokia N97 Mini trial device is on my way from WOMWorldNokia as a prize for having written the craziest reason why I should be trialing the device. It was totally unexpected giving me a thrill of a lifetime since it will be my first and that the phone is no less than my dream phone. After the hysteria brought about by the email comes anticipation out of excitement, then sleepless nights as a result of anxiety having to prove WOMWorldNokia and other people that I deserve the prize, and then the weird day/night dreams as an effect of my subconscious lust like Jersey Shores writers!

Then came the day that I have been waiting for, a call from DHL asking me to pick up a package from the UK because they cannot locate my address, good for them! A mad dash to DHL office followed and the historic meet and great. The phone was so beautiful and shiny that I want everyone to know that I am holding one by showing it intentionally to every possible human being I meet. It wasn’t love and first site that I felt that time, but happiness and contentment, as if I was living a wonderful and meaningful life, as if I own the world!

Then came an email from WOMWorldNokia 4 days after reminding me that my trial ends in 2 days and that the DHL dude would pick it up the day after. Yes, it was preposterous because WOMWorldNokia folks doesn’t know basic Math ala Jersey Shores casts! How did the 14-days trial as stipulated in the Contract became 6 days? This lead me to seek legal counsel from my lawyers then send WOMWorldNokia a reply refuting it to the highest intent, that I still have 10 days to go before they could send the DHL Terminator dude and destroy my world.

Even if they rescheduled the pickup date, it was like a major blow on my part since I have to prepare myself for the inevitable. What’s so sad about it was the reality that once the phone was returned, I would never be able to use it again since I cannot afford to buy one. This would mean goodbye to owning the world, goodbye to happy days and goodbye to meaningful life. I even wished that it didn’t happen so I wouldn’t be subjected again to the pain of parting ways, please don’t ask why!

Anyways, the day did come as well as the doom. It was like part of me died again, it’s definitely not my heart because it already died a year ago (maybe my brain?), that I don’t want to go to work that day and just cursed my low paying job and Nokia for tagging the phone too expensively and out of reached. I even beg Nokia to lower the phones price down that time so it can compete aggressively but nothing happened. Told you my brain died!

“Denial Phase” followed after the separation and so I’m still telling everyone on twitter that I’m using the N97 Mini. The typical “I love twitting on the N97 Mini!” message still flies around a week after, no frills. The imaginary playing with the non-existing phone also propped up, sliding and swiping every stuffs I got hold into, nothing much of a difference from people going nuts in Jersey Shores!

Then came “Acceptance” basking on hope and prayer that one day Nokia will drop the price to half from the original. Visiting mobilephone shops and asking about its price even became my passion and obsession, yet after 7 months of countless shop visits, the phone is still too expensive to own, the agonizing, unforgiving and unfortunate truth. I am still far-fetched to relieving my dream life.

So how much longer do I have to suffer to be able to live a happy and meaningful life again? I leave that up for WOMWorldNokia to answer…

(P.S. I don’t unboxed stuffs and post it on youTube but I boxed stuffs and give it to people so it will be posted in their hearts. It’s how I make a difference in this cruel world!)

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