HTC ChaCha - My fight against full-touchscreen phones

Long story short, I bought a 2nd hand ChaCha recently.

Initial comments

1. Memory for installing apps is insufficient, but after 2 factory data resets and deleting some apps, I have 26MB of internal storage left 
2. Camera is not fantastic, but high auto ISO results in less blurry shots
3. QWERTY keyboard is great, but needs a gentle touch compared with the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro
4. Sense UI is great. Used in conjunction with Launcher Pro, typing on the homescreen immediately starts a Google search for apps, settings, and other info. Also,  shortcuts at unlock screen mean one can quickly go to a app from the lock screen
5. Battery life is not great, as expected from feedback seen in reviews

Fei Comodo - The Air Is Cold Tonight

Bemoaning the disappearance of tactile controls in handphones

How can we get manufacturers to start making handphones with proper buttons again?

With the onslaught of touchscreen-only devices, buttons have been disappearing. Directional pads (D-pads), QWERTY keypads, dedicated function keys (e.g. camera shutter), even the most basic Home/Back/Menu and Call/End keys have gone away, to be replaced by touchscreen versions which are a pale shadow of their peers.

Landmark 1st Drupal Camp in Singapore

DrupalCamp Singapore 2012

Attended the 1st ever local Drupal Camp today. It was a great experience.

What is Drupal? It's a software that allows you to run a website. It's similar to Wordpress, but with more customisable options.

Even though I only downloaded a copy of Drupal to try out on my laptop a day earlier, the sessions were understandable and not too techy.

Attendees were friendly and I had several thoughtful discussions (both tech and non-tech topics). The speakers and topics were of sufficient variety, and the organisers (who were all volunteers) did a great job.

Will definitely encourage more people to try out Drupal :)

• Drupal overview
• How to install on a local computer for testing

Nokia e6 - Full Review - Part 1 of 2

Only Android experts need apply (not me)

HTC ChaCha - Rooted to Life (Part 2)
The amount of work, just to make the Chacha usable. Too 'cheem' for me, I'm afraid.

The next evolution for the X100 & G12

Preview: Fujifilm X-Pro1

OMG, Fujifilm just made a Leica M9. Just look at the size similarity. (photo from dpreview.com)

Coming in February. Estimated body price US$1,700 [S$2,200]; lens at US$650 [S$840].

Canon also just announced its G1 X, estimated price US$800 [S$1,000].

Xperia Pro keyboard

I finally managed to find a retail shop to try out the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro.

First impressions are not encouraging. The key edges are straight instead of being domed, which enable one's thumbs to move around the keyboard.

Also, the keys are slightly softly sprung. They don't provide the positive clicky feeling I have with my Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro.

The sales assistant was hovering around constantly, asking questions, so I didn't have a lot of time to really test the keyboard and camera.

Guess I'll have to find another shop to try it again. Now tempted to reconsider the HTC ChaCha even with its inherent problems of insufficient memory, short battery life, and slow processor. The keyboard on the ChaCha is that good.

Xperia Pro finally lands in Singapore

After what seems to be an eternity, the Xperia Pro has finally landed in Singapore. Currently selling at $598 (without contract), it belongs to a rare breed of QWERTY Android handphones.

I need to try out the keyboard before I can decide on whether this handphone is a suitable replacement for my aging X10 Mini Pro.

This is further complicated by a desire for a QWERTY candybar form factor (aka HTC ChaCha), and a super camera phone (Nokia N8).

I already have 2 mobile devices (X10 Mini Pro & Galaxy Tab), so adding another device just sounds extravagant and wasteful.

Has it arrived too late to the game?

Trying out the Xperia pro — Sony Ericsson Product Blog
After almost one year of delays, we finally see the Xperia Pro becoming available.

With an ample screen, QWERTY keyboard, and a potentially good camera, perhaps the only stumbling block is the form factor.

A horizontal slider means plenty of switching between portrait and landscape formats. Also, the fact that I had to replace the connector between the 2 sliding pieces on my X10 Mini Pro means question marks regarding reliability.
I suppose I'm still tempted by the HTC ChaCha, even it has quite a few bugs.