Contrary to its futuristic looks, the O2 Cocoon phone is coming our way, and hopefully soon. Visit the O2 Cocoon site and see this eye-candy in motion.
May I please palpitate and pass out now? Thanks.
posted by Fritz @ 11:31 PM
Here's a video I cooked up for my gadget review article at Man-Blog.com. To tag the article as a rehash of an old post would be an understatement. I have infused more items on this one to keep it up to date.
Labels: Gadgets, Review, Video
posted by Fritz @ 2:12 AM
Labels: Gadgets
posted by Fritz @ 7:49 PM
So I'm still waiting for a jeep along Ayala. Story of my life. I had my earphones on, acting all busy, shuffling my song listing for a soundtrack-of-the-moment that could at least make the waiting more interesting. Panic! At The Disco. I pushed on the track and the right ear piece stayed blank. The left goes off in full stereo and the right had nothing. F*ck. This is so nostalgic of what happened to my XDA's earphones. Same side. The right.
I tagged on the wire from the ear piece down to the mic receiver hoping for at least a glimmer of hope in the persona of a static. Nothing. Double f*ck.
Since there's plenty more time to spare until the mall closes, I might still get a new pair at Glorietta from the stall beside CDR King. That is, if they currently have stocks.
Off I went. On foot. That's at least four blocks. With quality, hard-leather soled shoes, I made my way to the mall. Pretending to hear music on both ears. Walking. It might be that I'm one of them walkers from the Books of Magic. One of Tim Hunter's companions was from a tribe of walkers. It was said that for some pilgrimages to some other realm, a traveler could only walk his way to the destination. No shortcuts. I could walk on and on at times. Not in the mornings, though. I'm a late-afternoon-to-night person. I barely have time to get to work on time in the mornings.
My feet took me to the Motorola store instead of the pirated-albeit-class-A route. Stinking feet thinking on their own. My callous must've manifested their disgust for my lack of compassion in making them experience a nice, quality foot spa. Not in this lifetime, mates! By this time, they should have already realized my disconnect to anything that involves a touchy-feeling contact that does not end with me taking the touchy-feeling contact initiator to bed. Naive losers.
Back to the story.
While scanning the show cases inside the Moto store, lo and behold, to the sound of nothing less than a 102-piece orchestra, my eyes were transfixed to a vision of matte-black. Lit by a majestic 10-watt halogen lamp was my heart's desire for the past 4 months. The would-be other half for my A2DP and AVRCP feature packed clam shell phone. Its long absent soulmate. The Motorola S805 Bluetooth DJ Headphone.
I motioned at a sales person for assistance and pointed at the my dream possession, where he might have noticed the almost-permanent glimmer in my then brimmed-with-tears-from-excitement-and-anticipation, naturally-almond-brown-since-birth-colored eyes. I asked how much and, without even hearing a reply yet, told them to get me one. Pronto.
Much as I was eager to give the unit a test run, an out of the box factory item has zero battery charge. Sorry, no test unit either but I could return the unit should it be defective. I was told to initially give it a continuous 24-hour power boost before using. So much for excitement.
Fast-forward to 24 hours later.
I tried pairing my V3x to his destined, star-crossed, and till-death-do-them-part-sort-of-connection soulmate. Unable to connect, said the V3x in annoying white font. I tried again and still got the same response. F*ck. I'm dying with anticipation here, bitch! I tried for what seemed like an eternity, trying out various means and formulating my own methods by reading the hard copy manuals and the write-ups and reviews on these interwebs. All failed.
The two are on their honeymoon now. Playing loud, blaring, and bass drowned music. In stereo. Thanks to the assistance I got from the same kindly Motorola personnel who sold me my S805, two full-days later.
I'm smiling. I'm happy. I'm contented.
My personal review up next. Stay tuned.
Labels: Gadgets
posted by Fritz @ 6:30 AM
Ok, so the Motofone started my interest juices flowing and my curiosity did not end from just reading the specs and reviews from the web. I just had to learn more. From my readings, there are going to be 2 versions for this phone, one for each of the GSM (F3) and CDMA markets (F3c). That covers everyone unlike KDDI's Infobar phones which bums out my childlike id that wanted to own an ichimatsu badly for the longest time.
Labels: Gadgets, Practical Stuff
posted by Fritz @ 7:02 PM
There was a time, not too long ago yet so distant in technological aspects, when owning a 5110 makes you lord above those who own a Panasonic or Motorola's Microtac. When downloading ring tunes were unheard of and changing face-plates to suit your personality was the only thing there is for aesthetics. When there was nothing else to do. The need was simple and so was the identified and available solution: mobility in telecommunications. Marking an end to our bepper-slash-pager days.
In the advent of a raging war among manufacturers of feature-packed handhelds, when everyone dreams for the fabled iPhone to come to each of our shores, Motorola develops something for an untapped segment of the market. Along with their portfolio of state of the art clam-shell and candybar phones is something which may not be for me and you but which I would definitely get for the heck of owning one. Don't get me wrong. It's not a purchase that's compulsive nor impulsive. Seeing the display model at Avant made me want to get one right there and then if only it was already available. I'm talking about the MOTOFONE. And, if the sales person's pitch holds true, this would cost you well under PHP 1,500. Ok, I jacked the pricing up a bit because I would not like to get my hopes high. The sales person actually claimed for the phone to only cost PHP 990. Yes. That's a measly PHP 990! And that's not all... (trying desperately to sound like the As Seen On TV voice over).
The target market for the MOTOFONE are actually those who may not have used a mobile phone unit, ever. These are those who are in the remote suburbs, either living in bare subsistence or in relatively poor and under developed countries. It is the so-called answer to ultimately connecting our underprivileged brothers with the rest of us via telecoms.
The unit boasts to have a very long talk and standby time, owing to its screen display which looks like that of your trusty calculator. It doesn't have a menu but, in its stead, it has dedicated keys to access the phone's basic features. The matte-finish and robust construction is made to withstand rugged and harsh environmental elements. Color ranges from black to red and blue, says the official Motorola website for the MOTOFONE.
The MOTOFONE will be made available in February of 2007, again, if the sales pitch holds true.
posted by Fritz @ 8:48 PM
Do not let the quality of these photos persuade you on buying a V3X if you are planning on getting one on this basis alone. It may just be that I am a very talented image composer and you may be shell shocked that you could not, for the life of you, get your phone to function as well as mine. There are, after all, things that money can't buy.
All images in this post are proprietary to the author. Copyright 2006 by Fritz Tentativa.
Labels: Gadgets, Photography
posted by Fritz @ 1:45 PM
Would the brains behind the concept of an anime series even go through a small detail like the design of a mobile phone used by one of its main characters to suit the series' fashion forward central theme? I was watching Paradise Kiss over at Animax when the thought hit me. They must have gotten the design from an already existing phone unit that may never reach our shores because Japan telcos use CDMA vis-a-vis our GSM. It is unthinkable, and therefore marginally impossible, for something as eye-catching to never see reality.
Them getting riduculously intricate isn't that far-fetching, actually. The Gankutsuou series did something similarly ambitious by getting Anna Sui to design its characters' costumes. Probably, making a concept phone and actually using the series as a marketing vessel might have done it for the mobile manufacturer and Paradise Kiss. Mutual benefit.
I was all speculation. No facts. Not even a single solid evidence to prove the mobile phone's actual existence.
I had to find out. I told myself that even if this thing is devoid of sophisticated features, I would have to get one for myself. Eventually. If it actually exists on our plane. Well maybe never, but I have a sibling in Korea who, after reading this, might have made a mental note for future gift-reference.
OK, so, what's so special about this phone that Paradise Kiss spawned, anyway, that got me all thinking? I did a few searches and came across the site via the link with the picture below. The mobile phone actually exists---with a color scheme for male users. And, it does not only make calls and send text messages. Browse the site and see what other cool features this 11mm thick candy bar has in store. Note that the white base attached to the phones are cradles which are detachable and would therefore not lag around with you when you are mobile.
Now I can stop speculating. I want one. The black and white tiled one called Ichimatsu. Y'all may take your pick from the other three: IF the antennae does not turn you off, that is.
posted by Fritz @ 10:43 PM
Like clockwork, I always make it a point to drop by the Levi's store at the Glorietta whenever their show window sports a new ad. This time, it's the Redwire DLX, hyped to be the first ever iPod compatible jeans in the market. It has a control mechanism poised over the watch pocket area that can easily connect to an any-sized iPod. The watch pocket comes off and snaps on easily via buttons and velcro and with it comes all non-washable electronic-related parts. It also comes with a pair of customary-designed earphones. The denim has dark blue hue and is accented a prominently thicker white stitch detail that sets it apart from other current Levi's articles.
As only 540 units are available locally, you may only pre-order this baby via select Levi's outlets/stores. I have seen, first-hand, the engineering detail on one demo unit and I must say I must have been drooling with I-want-this-and-that-means-I-bloody-want-this reflected from my eyes when Eds, the most friendly sales person I have ever met and known, approached me and snapped me off my reverie. I asked her more on the details of the product. Eds said that for a very limited time, those who'd actually get a pair gets a free shirt and belt, like the ones worn by the model on the show-window. You don't only get cool jeans, you also get to look like the rockin' model! And they are so not kidding!
The jeans come in fits for both men and women. I asked Eds if she'd recommend for me to get one to which she replied I may not like the cut as they only come in Comfort Fit. She knew by heart, God bless her sweet soul, that I only get slim or narrow-leg jeans so I don't get to look shorter than I already am. Now THAT, my friends, is the essence of the pinnacle of customer service orientation!
The jeans may not suit my common purchases, but heck, I'd get a pair of this baby if only I have an iPod. Bummer. Visit your nearest Levi's stores to marvel at the Redwire DLX's beauty. You may also check out the Redwire DLX site via the links I provided on this post. They have FAQs there that might address all your "but... how... um, ok... but... but..." concerns.
Labels: Gadgets, Lifestyle, Plugs
posted by Fritz @ 10:15 PM
It has been said that I would not last a day without my trusty XDA phone. Like there has been too much going on in that nifty piece of equipment that just stretches its presupposed use beyond its original design and capacity. That nothing could wedge it out of my vice-like grip. Well, flash news everyone. My phone got stolen last Friday. But, like most who have lost a thing dear to them, I had already mourned its death and moved on .
The moving on was easy since I got that unit for free, anyway. It's replacing it that's a major pain in the butt. It's either I shell out an unbudgeted sum on a similar gadget or I change the lifestyle I had easily molded to revolve around the PDA phone. I chose to downgrade to a clam-shell with a 3G trade-off to functionality. It's fashionably savvy and svelte. It's smaller. It's a limited edition, silver colored V3X from Motorola.
Right now, I'm generally loving the stereo surround sound from the unit's speakers and headset. Its silver color lend it an executive's-phone look, unlike its rubber-coated and colored variants. Power packed with a 4G-speed browser, dual-cam for video conferencing, and an expandable external TransFlash memory of up to 1Gb, the V3X is a tech junkie's manna from heaven.
I'm now loving my new toy.
To the thieves who stole my ex-unit, you won't be able to ever use it, I'm sorry. It has a 128-bit encrypted alphanumeric security code and another sensor that will send me SMS-es every 180 seconds when the SIM is changed. I had also gone through normal wear and tear, evident on its heavily tarnished housing and the faulty charger jack. It also hard-resets every day due to its early-version and bug-ridden OS. Let's just say that my unit has the defects only its parent-slash-original-owner could love. So, good luck, fools!
posted by Fritz @ 6:44 PM
People process thoughts at a pace: one after another. They could either be simple or complex, oftentimes formless. Some with hyper metabolic rates have a thought process pace that is faster than others. Crazies have random thoughts that do not go through normal processing and the pace could overlap giving it no sense at all. Pluck a single thought, give it form through words, mesh it with other related thoughts, and you get a blog.
I want to be lots of things, mostly fictional. Sometimes I space out thinking I'm cool and smart and witty, and I think I'm doing a great job having others think that way, too. And I know you think all these are just crap! I'll drink to that! Cheers!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
