the successor to the dopod 900

recently got into the groove of scaling down the tech that "need" and so i dumbed down my dopod 900 for a spanking new Samsung i320N. after reading so much about going back to analog, i came to the conclusion that it would probably never work with me.

being in the profession i'm in, there are advantages to having all 1600+ of my contacts with me and i could not find a phone that could contain this number of contacts (plus show the addresses). thus, i decided on a smartphone, the i320N.

this lil fella is just 11.5mm thick and weighs in at a mere 95g. it's probably anorexic compared to my dopod 900. true that it doesn't have wifi, 3G, VGA screen, etc. but i guess there is a kinda liberation when you are a lil less "in touch".

so i'm currently back to "tricking" my device out but then again, there's not much you can do with a smartphone and i guess that's a good thing considering that there will less fiddling and "optimization". just adding a PIM that's a lil more functional than the inbuilt one and also an actual note taking program (which i'm still shocked that it's missing outta the box!!)

otherwise.. i'm pretty happy with this phone that doesn't create an unsightly bulge in my pants/jeans whatever! the QWERTY keyboard is also a joy to use. all in all, a fully functional (at least to my standard) phone in a really small package!

Who Says Macs Don't Play Nice with Pocket PCs?

i recently purchased a treo 750 for a friend who uses a Mac for most of his work. At first, it seemed like a daunting task. Getting a Windows-Powered Device to work with it's biggest competitor, but i must say that the peeps at Mark/Space have done a pretty good job with their 3rd party syncronisation software for PPCs.

after installing the software, the treo 750 just did it's thing! almost as well if not better than activesync. for those that are afraid to take the USD$39.95 jump, i'd say that it would be pretty much worth your buck!

also, boot camp also allows those who are a lil more frugal to be able to syncronize in the familiar windows environment.

Who Says Macs Don't Play Nice???

Going Back to Paper?

i recently sold my Dopod 900 as i found it too heavy and cumbersome for it to be effectively used as a tool. as i was looking around for my next device, i chanced upon this article PDA 24/7's Shaun McGill Goes Back to Paper and it suddenly struck me.. i AM the person in the article, the one who checks his device when he doesn't really have a need to, the one who feels a burning need to install new programs and make the device more efficient..

The question is.. Has the use of a device made me a better, more efficient person? Or has it just made me reliant on something that actually consumes my time more than i save it?

Multiplying my Social Network?

bumped into one problem and found another social network (thanks to daniel for pointing this out!) i'm snooping around to see what if this is really as good as it claims but i guess as the wise always say..

"when it's too good to be true, it usually is."

Of Bags & Wants..

recently i've been snooping around yahoo auctions and ebay looking for this particular bag. a lotta people have been saying i'm a lil nuts about it. firstly it costs an arm and a leg! secondly, no one sells it in SG.

i've finally found some peeps selling it on ebay but the shipping is more than the price of the bag itself!

it's difficult to explain it all.. but it's a crazily cool bag!! look at it!!

more over at this site ---> Japanese Boblbee Site

Viral Marketing At It's Best..

Here's a Mountain Dew Viral Marketing Ad that one of my colleagues pointed out! It's super cool and funny at the same time, capturing every aspect of a good ad.

Blame it On the Newcomers!!

Put my Universal and Wizard for sale to see which one would be taken up first but to my dismay, the answer is NONE. it is a sad day, as the inevitable might occur, that i might be stuck with both.. it's all the TyTn's fault..

Recently stumbled upon a new ROM for the Universal which seems to have turbo-charged the device and it doesn't seem to be much of a drag to use anymore too.. Made the best of the situation and passed the Wizard over to my wife who has wanted to try out a PDA phone for some time..

Well.. As the never-ending search for the perfect device continues.. I'll be taking a break and cutting my losses..

To my dearest sister and my new bro-in-law,

Congratulations on finally tying the knot! It must have felt like it took forever then disappeared in one quick weekend..

i remember my sister.. for always being there to nag me in the right direction.. for giving me the disapproving stares/looks when i left the house in the middle of the night.. for protecting me when i got the worst punishment i can remember during my childhood.. all these are fond memories i have and will always keep close to my heart.. i love you..

i remember my bro-in-law.. for all the interesting things he does.. for the nerd that he is.. for all the care he showers on my sister.. although i might disagree at times, i know you'll treat my sister well.. take good care of her or else..

as they all say, the wedding is for one day.. but marriage is for a lifetime.. take care of one another.. continue to serve and seek God..

A few pics from that special day... find them here ---> chunghow33's Flickr Stream

To Wizard, Or Universal?
That Is the Question..

I've been faced with a very interesting problem as of the past week. My Qtek 9100 (aka the Wizard) was passed back to me and there it was.. the question which I had pondered before. To Wizard, Or Universal. Here I am in a dilema again of which device to keep, because as much as I would like to have both, that is really not very possible.

Then there has been another option, which I am even afraid to entertain..

"How bout just sell both the Universal and the Wizard, and just buy a TyTn??"

National Day Group Pic

National Day Group Pic
Originally uploaded by chunghow33.

had a little gathering over at Daniel & Joann's place over National Day.. this was the group pic taken just to get everyone in red and white.. guess you could say that we are a patriotic lot!

had pictures of the fireworks too which were pretty much a disaster due to my lack of skill so you guys won't be seeing any soon..

A weekend with the Sony Ericsson M600i..



Figured i got a lil bored.. so i borrowed myself a so-called business phone for the weekend.. weird huh? anyway.. i'm gonna run it through it's paces and see what it's really made of..

Initial impressions.. nice size.. pretty interesting keyboard and button layout.. lack of "up" and "down" keys.. touch screen (always cool!).. UIQ3..

Syncronisation with Outlook: This works really well, easy to install and easy to use interface which allows for most stuff to be configured with regards to getting outlook information on the M600i. No problems with my a lil over 1000 contacts plus all the events and appointments. Passes the test for those outlook junkies out there!

I've been using the Dopod 900 for the past 2 weeks and what i really appreciate about the M600i is the lil package in which it comes in. the guys over at SE managed to pack a full qwerty keyboard and a touch screen in a 15"/16" thick phone. Kudous to the guys!!

Handwriting recognition.. It's really usable! the last time i was fiddling with the p900 and the p900i, i had a tough time getting the system to recognize what i was writing but this is greatly reduced in the M600i.

Business Features for the weekend.. Or NOT!! the phone comes with the ability to be blackberry compatible, not that i need that over the weekend. but for the blackberry junkies this would be a good device to consider with the inclusion of the touchscreen (which i always felt was severely lacking in a PDA-ish device) and the pretty looks do help! the lack of wifi is a weird exclusion for me for the business users whom i feel would be looking for all sorts of connectivity.

Fun Features on a Business Phone? in the SMS screen, there is a multimedia logo which allows you to include lil gifs and soundclips that other SE users can see in a normal SMS without the use of MMS. although cool, it seems like SE might have been in two minds about which market they wanted to phone for because i do not see the PMEBs raving about this one!

Lack of software for the UIQ3 platform might deter those that are on the never ending quest for the most customized and "useful" device for themselves.. but this should be solved as the platform is used more widely.

Overall, a very cool phone for the business users wuth tight pants. Has all the makings of a winner for those that require a functional phone without the frills of a fully functional PDA.

i've been on a rampage lately about a more effecient way to get things done.. in my endeavours to find the perfect method to organize my life and work.. i've met with some interesting discoveries which i will continue to discuss.. here are a few of them..

1. Getting Things Done (GTD) - seems like this David Allen person is THE guru
2. Moleskines - uber cool notebook that people use and also scribble, doodle, watever on..
3. 43 Folders
4. PDAs - still can't give them up! the ongoing arugment about digital VS analog..
5. Hipster PDAs - when i first saw this i thought it was a cool PDA that i never knew about..

these are just some of the stuff which i have come across.. the topic is an in depth one and i guess it's just interesting to know what people out there are doing to organize themselves..

DS Lite Couple Pic

DS Lite Couple Pic
Originally uploaded by chunghow33.

A Couple should have some fun as a couple.. We're having great fun on the multiplayer capabilities of the DS Lites.. Meteos for now..

been some time since i posted on blogger. been looking around the various blog sites wondering which is better, but using is better than observing i guess so i'll go into this hardcore and see how it turns out.. watch this space as i attempt to make it mine!

Claire..

Claire..
Originally uploaded by chunghow3.

A few photos from the May Day Outing..