BlackBerry Priv initial thoughts

Hot. Big. Lag. But thoughtful.

Just around 24 hours with the Priv, so hopefully some issues will have workarounds or solutions.

The Priv runs quite hot at times , reaching beyond 45C. My set is a AT&T device, bought via dailysteals.com. Currently on Lollipop , hopefully Marshmallow will help in this regard.

The device is quite big, especially coming from a 5-inch device (HTC Butterfly 2). Sliding up the screen to use the physical keyboard needs getting used to.

Priv lags, even though it runs on a Snapdragon 808, and 3gb of ram. Again, a software update may help in this area. 

Keyboard is ok. Not as good as the Q5, but am getting the hang of swiping up to choose word predictions.

Being able to scroll up & down a webpage or app using the touch sensitive physical keyboard is great.

Positioning the volume up key directly opposite the power key, not a great idea. Tends to press both by mistake. Have to learn to reposition fingers.

The software keyboard swiping up to complete words is really useful.

The BlackBerry Launcher has many useful features. For example, typing on the home screen immediately starts a device search, for apps, files, settings, etc.

Tried the android version of the Blackberry Hub, and disabled it after a few tries. Not as integrated as the original BlackBerry Hub in BlackBerry 10 OS.

More thoughts to follow. P.S. this was typed entirely on the Priv physical keyboard, using the Blogger android app. Photo uploaded later via desktop browser, as photo upload within Blogger app caused blog post upload to fail.

Samsung Galaxy S7 - initial thoughts on camera

Test shots from Samsung Galaxy S7; initial thoughts on camera

1. fast camera startup [double-press home button]
2. fast auto-focus
3. zero shutter lag
4. motion photo feature is useful [shoots 3 seconds of video before you press shutter]
5. high default shutter speed in auto mode [a good thing, as it results in less blurry shots]
6. manual behaviour in Pro mode a little strange [doesn't seem to allow shutter speed adjustment only; once i start adjusting shutter speed, sensitivity becomes ISO50 and exposure compensation kicks in]

Auto mode, HDR off, f/1.7, ISO100, 1/100s

Auto mode, HDR off, f/1.7, ISO80, 1/100s

Auto mode, HDR off, f/1.7, ISO125, 1/100s

Kurio Smart - first thoughts

The 2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrid finally arrived, via comgateway. Collected from a Cheers store.

First thoughts

1. 19.5GB free of 23.3GB out of the box
2. magnetic locking mechanism quite sturdy; 
3. mousepad sensitivity ok; Windows 8 gestures working without issues
4. keyboard travel ok, not too mushy
5. switched display to 150% magnification 
6. device runs ok on Chrome with 5-6 tabs

At the end of Day 1...

1. speakers surprisingly not bad; front facing layout helps; headphone out ok also
2. installed KeyTweak; converted
1. Right Shift into Page Up
2. Right Alt into Page Down
3. Windows key into Search
4. made using the device even more efficient
3. as expected, IE runs smoother than resource-intensive Chrome

HTC Re camera - 1st day

Finally arrived after a long delay, let's jump right in.

Pairing with the android app was easy. One quirk though; when the Re camera is connected to my phone (Redmi Note 4G), the phone's connection to my home wifi is disconnected.

Photo quality is so-so, test shots were taken at night though.

Aperture: F3.0, Shutter Speed: 1/15, Sensitivity: ISO1600

Aperture: F3.0, Shutter Speed: 1/15, Sensitivity: ISO2500

Need to test further, but initial impressions are not too promising for street photography, as shutter speeds are too slow, which may lead to blurry photos :(

BlackBerry Passport review – after 30 minutes hands-on

Background: currently use a BlackBerry Q5 (phone), Nokia 808 (camera), and Samsung Galaxy Tab (tablet) on a daily basis. I also lug around a Asus Vivotab Note 8.

Keyboard 
The new hybrid keyboard is softly sprung (yeah, less stiff than Q5), good amount of travel (more than Q10); but as expected, the bottom row of keys is difficult to reach with your thumb, as it is too close to the bottom edge of the device.

The Passport is so wide that one-handed typing is difficult; this is compounded by the usual security attachment behind handphones when placed as demo units inside a telco shop.

VivoTab Note 8, and a new journey

Just purchased the Asus VivoTab Note 8, 64GB version (8 Aug 2014); was on offer for S$399 [free VersaSleeve, Wedge keyboard].

To be honest, it's not been a bed of roses.

It's my first experience of Windows 8, and it seems the curse of alternating good and bad Windows OS continues.

• Windows XP [good]
• Windows Vista [bad]
• Windows 7 [good]
• Windows 8 [bad]

Anyway, back to the VivoTab first; some of the issues I had to deal with; hopefully this is helpful for those considering a VivoTab Note 8.

GOJIRA - L'Enfant Sauvage (Official Video HD)

1966 Singapore Grand Prix

The Science of Procrastination - And How To Manage It

New kid on the block

Dynamism - Tainell U-Touch 500
UMPCs have been virtually extinct ever since Apple's iPad appeared.

As usual, I was moaning about this on UMPC Portal. One comment recently pointed out a new UMPC.

Haven't heard of Tainell before, but the specs look respectable. Price is quite expensive though. The highest spec version is selling at US$1,199.

Didn't manage to find a review online.

Muse - The Making of Exogenesis

Pomodoro (Italian for tomatoes) Technique

Most Popular Productivity Method: The Pomodoro Technique

Been using this tool recently. Working quite well for me, although I am still refining my workflow to incorporate this process.

More info at the official website below.

http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/

Modern Family

ABC.com
Am hooked on Modern Family; now catching up from Season 1 onwards... Finding it difficult to find streams that work. Just remembered a trick that my brother discovered. English shows found on Chinese video sites. Chinese shows found on English video sites.

Prime example here.

BBC Formula 1 2012 - 06 Monaco GP - McLaren duo Hamilton and Button swap...

An example of why BBC is still better than Sky in its coverage of F1. Great segment, with the sporting Mclaren drivers trying out presenting and producing respectively.

Great video shot with the Nex-5N, and the detailed setup provided by Johnnie Behiri is great. It does show that a consumer camera can achieve great things, but quite a lot of additional gear is needed. Just look at notes under the video.

• Lenses: the kit 16mm f/2.8 and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lenses (my decision using those lenses was based on their "off the shelf availability").
• Creative style: "Sunset". Settings: contrast -3, saturation -1, sharpness -3.
• Format: AVCHD 1080/25
• Tripod: Sachtler DV8 SB
• Rig: Vocas
• Camera bag: Kata FlyBy 76
• Audio: Tascam DR-100 recorder, Sennheiser G2 EW100 wireless system, Sanken Lav mic, Cos 11D
• Electronic VF: Cineroid Metal HDMI version
• Light: Cineroid mini LED light L2C
• Editing: Adobe Premiere CS2 with Cineform Neo4k
• Color correction: Cineform “FirstLight”

Subaru BRZ- First Drive Roadtrip

Useful tips on how to shoot a car review video. Maybe it's weird to talk about that, but that's what came to my mind while watching it.

• piece to camera
• shots of non-car stuff to act as fillers (e.g. paying toll, filling up at petrol stations)
• shots of the scenery
• wide shot of both cameraman and driver from back
• music and actual audio fade in and out  

Camera comparison - HTC One X, iPhone 4S, Xperia S, Galaxy SII, Lumia 800

Camera phones on test: HTC One X, iPhone 4S, Xperia S, Galaxy SII, Lumia 800 - Pocket-lint
I like how they stitched sections from the different handphones together into a hybrid photo, like the photo below. Readily shows the differences.

Unplugging from the Net

I'm leaving the internet for a year | The Verge
Am happy that the writer is trying out this experiment of staying offline, but I suspect most of us would not be able to do it.

Not because we're addicted, although this is one factor, but because our work requires us to use the Internet, e.g. to be contactable via email.

I would like to try a lite-version of this experiment though. Deleted my Facebook account once, but had to restart it for work purposes. Perhaps I can start with rationing usage.

Transformers Prime

The cartoon graphics may look quite kiddy, but the plotline and action are not. Great storytelling, and quite a bit of severed metal. Worth a watch in my view. Am on to Episode 5 already.

Text is the easy part

The Verge at work: sync your text everywhere, never lose an idea again | The Verge
Of the solutions mentioned, I use Simplenote and Dropbox regularly.

As highlighted in this blog post title, syncing text is relatively easy compared to syncing all kinds of information, from office documents to PDF files, and finding them using a good search function.

Am trying to use Evernote more often, especially as a quick way to save webpages. Google Docs (now incorporated into Drive) does provide a good search within PDF feature.