Disqus - Latest Comments for yitwave

Re: McLaren and BMW had a baby together

yitwave — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 20:43:27 -0000

this is hideous combination. At the minimum put the i8 face

Re: New firmware updates for camera and lenses: 56mm compatibility + improved OIS and AF speed

yitwave — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 12:09:53 -0000

Yes that's why when Iphone 5S came out, it was clear Jobs was a fool to come up with the original Iphone coz its so imperfect.
How do you guys come up with this CRAP?

Re: China's one child policy may make too much money to get rid of

yitwave — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 21:43:48 -0000

Sadly the people of US will not wake up because they don't even know where Iraq and Afghanistan or even China is!

Re: Is Microsoft Planting Windows 8 Comments?

yitwave — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:59:40 -0000

woops

Re: Is Microsoft Planting Windows 8 Comments?

yitwave — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 20:39:20 -0000

Dovrak - I am a long-term follower of your blog and i've really enjoyed your opinions and insights. I will not be reading your articles anymore. This is a new low, showing your biased opinions and lack of insights. If you don't like windows thats fine, voice your opinion but don't assume poeple are "munchkins". I don't work for MSFT and I suggest you retire soon.

Re: Is Microsoft Planting Windows 8 Comments?

yitwave — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 20:35:59 -0000

Dovrak - i used to be a long-time follower of your blog. Loved your opinions and insights. I will no longer read your posts because it your opinion is clearly biased and has no insight at all. Maybe its time to retire!

Re: Official Galaxy Nexus Specs Revealed

yitwave — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:22:55 -0000

Yes, the only genuine weakness for the original Galaxy S (apart from GPS bugs) comes back to haunt us... but lets wait for the final product to confirm if this is that bad as the res is much higher this time...

Re: Official Galaxy Nexus Specs Revealed

yitwave — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:46:15 -0000

Ghz, MP are LESS of a factor considering this is not a Super Amoled PLUS... the PLUS is crucial, would be dissapointing if they go back to pentapixel

Re: Five things Nokia are doing wrong in their smartphones - and could put right in 2011

yitwave — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 02:38:46 -0000

Hi Steve,

With the exception of the battery comment of which i completely agree, I think the positioning above is of circumstance and misunderstanding.

C7: Mid-level consumer product - don't need the best multimedia features

E7: High-level business phone for users expecting the best keyboard experience, good quality screen and good connectivity. Things they don't "typically need" is high quality cameras or multimedia features.

N8: Best in class multimedia device & camera excl keyboard

N9: Best in class all in 1 powerhouse, expecting the best from everything excl office applications.

Because all the devices were delayed by atleast a few months, at Nokia World 2010 they pitched the E7 as the "top of the line flagship all in 1 device". With only the C6 C7, E7 to be announced in Nokia World 2010, their only option was to market the E7 as the "killer device". They just did a great job at marketing a business device, but this has also led to expectations above E7's design and positioning intent.

I would expect the N9 will deliver on all the "issues" you have ranted about.

Re: Review: Robodef

yitwave — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 23:16:18 -0000

I don't know if its an issue with Ovi search but its been changed back to a paid game. Its well worth the price though, with upgrading, selling towers etc. I've coped and pasted the details below:

Mega Tower Assault
Strategy
by: Gameloft SA

The shores are being invaded and the base must be protected. Various towers and units are at the player ’s disposal as they repel the invaders. The invaders are not without their own technology, however, as they will be sending the best they have to offer in the form of bombers, tanks and soldiers. Experience intense fun with this streamlined tower defense game that brings impressive innovations to the genre with neutral units, touch controls, leaderboards and interactive maps.

Re: Review: Robodef

yitwave — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:37:47 -0000

Hi David,

I suggest you to review Mega Tower instead, its a much better tower defence game for Symbian and I think its available free in the OVI store.

Re: Nokia N8 full spec sheet leaks

yitwave — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:41:30 -0000

Mainly concerned with:
- 1200mah battery is a dissapointment
- pinch zoom seems like its only in 3 apps, which means its more of a bandaid approach as opposed to firmware framework implementation…
- No autofocus / touch to focus in video..

Re: If they only knew then what we know now: Back in time with the N97

yitwave — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:04:09 -0000

Hi all, I kinda feel like the whole N97 debacle was about the widget Symbian ^2 UI. The hardware for the N97 is out of date (vs competition) because they had it all ready before Dec 2008. If we didn't have a widget UI on top (like 5800) i'm sure the device would run fine... but once they put the UI on top... and hence the requirement for more ram / power drain / etc... shit hits the fan

I still believe the Widget Homescreen is the biggest downfall and with the crappy coders at Nokia they had no intent on getting things "right" before launch. Its an attitude issue, like... N97 buyers are power users, so they'd figure it out or understand... (like the resource HOG OVI Sync App).

On the hardware design, there was no camera glass issue (i bought it in June as 1st batch) so maybe there was as sourcing issue for some, but the GPS on the outside almost seemed like a last resort option, Other than the GPS problem and the poorly constructed plastic back, i felt the device was good all round.

I too am a N97 fanatic and there are some things I really like about the N97 like the Iconic tilt design. It's given me a LOT of frustration, but now, even still at F/W 12... I still can't imagine using any other device, with the closest competitor Droid still some ways behind on the Camera quality / PC Sync / battery life / weight / pocket friendlier / less Mass memory despite it being faster w/ more ram.

Re: Official N97 Firmware 2.0 Information From Nokia Employee, Available In Coming Weeks

yitwave — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:11:08 -0000

I'm actually satisfied with my N97 on V12. I think this is what the phone should have launched with. The instability of v10 (shocker) and v11 (still full of bugs) pissed so many people off.

When I bought the N97, i wanted its good multimedia features, i wanted the 32gb space, i wanted the keyboard and i wanted a mature (hence stable) O/S with multi-tasking and i wanted OVI maps.

Most things were fine, but I feel very let down by the stability of the device, and the multi-tasking has also been a let down on V12. I understand V20 will improve both measures so this is to be honest should fufill my expectations for this device.

Those who bought the phone expecting kinetic scrolling from the beginning, or a flashy iphone like device was asking too much in the first place. Hopefully V20 will live up to the expectations i had set above and V30 will bring the transitions and power i wanted.

Re: Nokia N97 v20 Firmware: A Hands-On Experience

yitwave — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:22:46 -0000

My camera glass isn't scratched so they're not willing to fix that (obviously because there really isn't a proven problem) but they're checking on the GPS and apparently they will have it fixed by replacing the "main board" of the phone.

Obviously, if your GPS is fine (some are) then there's nothing to fix, but my N97 hardly locks at all, so i'm sure there's a problem.

Tell them your problem and if it warrants a fix i'm sure you'd get it fixed.

Re: Nokia N97 v20 Firmware: A Hands-On Experience

yitwave — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:01:54 -0000

I was at Nokia Care yesterday (to get the GPS fixed, which apparently will take 3 days) and enquired about the V20 firmware for the N97. Apparently, the original unbranded english version has been completed and distributed for localization. The localized versions however are not yet available.

It completely makes sense for Nokia to launch the V20 firmware for the whole world (and all the different localizations) at the same time, and there's no real benefit to have this available before the Mini officially becomes available.

I'm afraid it would probably be closer to the end of the month and a few weeks later for the branded phones.

Re: Nokia N97 v20 Firmware: A Hands-On Experience

yitwave — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:01:27 -0000

I think given the processor is 600mhz, and Nokia has devices running at this speed already, Nokia is obviously able to clock the device to 600mhz. Whether they will or will they leave this for the next device (N98)..

I still however believe they will upgrade the N97 + mini to 600 mhz to lengthen the product cycle and it can be percieved as a "new feature". Probably on v30 when they also launch new transitions.

Re: Nokia N97 v20 Firmware: A Hands-On Experience

yitwave — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:25:09 -0000

Thank a lot for the hands on - this is extremely useful but also causes me to feel extremely impatient... few more questions:
1) When you say its much more stable, how much time did you have to use this and were you really pushing the device? Did it freeze / require battery pull in your tests?
2) When you say that there's more ram approx 30mb even after photos, music player, gravity browser.. does the system "Target" to have 30 mb, i.e opening ovi store afterwards would close photos etc... or theoretically you can have 8 - 9+ apps open due to the better use of RAM
5) When you say the N97 is much faster, i've always been irritated at the time required go to the "apps" folder, because of the # of apps, it takes ages to load (a few secs). I've needed to reorganize the folders to ensure each one doesn't have more than 20 apps. Is this still a problem?
4) Any idea what's in store for v30?
5) Do you know if they may overclock the n97 to 600mhz, similar to how the 5800 was overclocked to 434mhz?

Re: Nokia N97 v20 Firmware: A Hands-On Experience

yitwave — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:58:28 -0000

The Green send button is only activated if your phone is engaged (screen is unlocked). If your N97 is not in use (screen locked), the touch screen is off and the green send button as a result is also deactivated.

When screen locked, answering the call would then require swiping of the screen in the answer call screen, which is irratating as you pick up the phone the screen may take 1 or 2 secs to auto rotate and you will need to repeat the action again (and possibly miss the call).

They should tweak the side swipe, so its the same position whether the phone is in portrait or landscape to avoid the rotating issue.

Re: Opera Mini 5 BETA: This is a Java app?!?

yitwave — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:25:21 -0000

This is a great app, note you can turn OFF the onscreen keyboard (having the onscreen keyboard somehow totally misconfigures my physical keyboard) and you can select where to save the cache on E:\ (i.e different from standard S60 browser)

Opera Mini 5 Beta is my default browser, agree with many of the above comments.

Re: Did you know?

yitwave — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:08:37 -0000

Long Hold green call key initializes the Voice command program

Long hold Red end call key closes call connections

Thx for the tips!

Re: Nokia N97 Mini Targeted For Fashionistas

yitwave — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:04:49 -0000

I think the size and weight improvements allow this product to be better marketed to women. Without trying to be sexist, anecdotally i've found that a lot of women find the N97 too heavy and large, whereas the N97 mini would be just acceptable to their taste. This also assumes women are less likely to use up the 32GB, plays as many games (gaming keys) and hence require less battery life as well (smaller screen, potentially less power draining activites). The mini's size and weight are also more comparable to the Iphone.

Re: Nokia N97 vs iPhone 3GS Night Photos

yitwave — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:28:51 -0000

Thanks appreciate the feedback. I'm a big Canon user so great to inspire you taking out your DSLR again.

Just read a blog that said 97 things I did with N97 (which admittedly was quite rubbish), maybe you can put a list of the "97" features of N97? There are so many things with Symbian OS that people only find out after they've played with it after a long time. It's also the fact that there ARE practical parts of using it too!

Like...
1) Filmed my friend's wedding on 30fps 640x 480 w/ my N97, it was a great event and I knew some of my friends couldn't make it!
2) On the way back in the plane I spent an hr editing the wedding video adding text etc, background music using some classic bossa nova I store in my phone
3) Uploaded the wedding video on Facebook via Shozu
4) Friend really appreciated the quick turnaround and shared it with all who weren't there!

Also glad to share w/ you the video so you can see it can do a "acceptable" job.

Re: Nokia N97 vs iPhone 3GS Night Photos

yitwave — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:28:11 -0000

Mike, thanks a lot for your pictures, here’s my comments

White Balance: N97 is substantially more accurate
- You can clearly see the red vs white colours in the “Brooklyn Bridge”. While I wasn’t there to see the actual scene, I’m pretty sure the night sky wasn’t red, unless we’re living in Mars. This is not a big deal as you can post-process the photo to correct the white balance, and can be tweaked by firmware updates, but the white balance for the 3GS is well off.

Noise & Noise Reduction: N97 … Hands down! There is absolutely no comparison here.
- In “Red lights” and referring to the wall on the bottom right, notice the large red and black noise, that’s splattered all over for the 3GS. While both are camera phones, and one would not expect much from either, both the N97 and 3GS exhibit extreme use of noise reduction technologies, but the difference is that for the N97, colors are relatively preserved and details are preserved somewhat. For the 3GS, the photo are simply terrible as it reflects a problem with the hardware, that is it’s got a terrible sensor and no noise reduction technology can fix that.

Details & Dynamic Range: N97 wins hands down again, here you can see how the bright and dark details a much better preserved in the N97.
- Just looking at the “Brookyln Brige” and notice the bright light on the bottom right. Notice how the light is a lot bigger in the 3GS than the N97? Even though the field of view is wider in the N97, trust me the light isn’t bigger. This means that the bright light had bled and obscured all details.
- Also, in “Red lights’ notice the red signs and the light bleeding in the picture. Both the N97 and 3GS have shown unacceptable levels of light bleeding here, but the 3GS is about 10x worse, in that you can’t even see what the sign says anymore.
- Finally, try reading the black sign in the bottom right of “red lights” in the 3GS. I say try because in the N97 photo you can actually read “Paradise Under the stars.” Note this is NOT a resolution issue.

Exposure: N97 with a slight advantage.
- Interestingly, last time when we looked at the bright daylight photos, the 3GS had always used the wrong exposures and frequently under exposed photos. Here, we’ve seen the exposures to be brighter in the 3GS than the N97. The differences aren’t too significant and therefore the weak exposure algorithm of the 3GS as mentioned before is less apparent here.
- It’s useful to see Mike has captured the exposure details as well, i.e ISO, shutter speed etc here as well. Note in dark scenes, the 3GS’ minimum shutter speed is 1/10 while for the N97 it is 1/15. Both are too long a shutter speed to take photos on a hand held and will very likely result in motion blur of the photos. Furthermore, with the 3GS’ slightly narrower field of view (kinda like its zoomed in a little more) it would be harder to get a sharp shot with the 3GS.
- Also don’t get me started with the ergonomics with the 3GS not having a dedicated camera button this makes taking a sharp night photo to be very difficult indeed

Overall, the N97 wins without question, but please note the quality presented here is still inferior to dedicated cameras so take a real camera with you if you need to take important pictures. Otherwise the N97 will do for online postings and remember to take a few shots, otherwise you'd be dissapointed many of yours are very blurry due to your hands shaking.

Re: Nokia N97 vs iPhone 3GS Photos Comparison at the Park

yitwave — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:00:55 -0000

Hi great post!

I'm quite keen on still photography so I have a lot to say about these pictures. The pictures show that on a resized basis, (it would be much much more interesting to see the originals) that... N97 is a substantially better shooter than Iphone 3gs although its not all 1 way. Reasons as follows:

N97 (3): 3GS (1)
1) N97 adopts proper camera exposures: If you notice most of the pictures show that N97 is brighter than the Iphone. The reason it seems this way is that the N97 calculates the exposure with a heavier weighting on the central portion of the photo (which normal cameras do). The iphone seems to take a more equal weighted approach which results in pictures that are blatantly incorrect in exposures except for very evenly bright / dim pictures.
2) N97 has much better dynamic range: Dynamic range is the ability to interpret colours and details at different levels of brightness. This is significantly driven by the sensor so is much less likely to be tweaked. In Rocks & Pebbles, and particularly in Come to mama, the details in the bright parts, like the water reflections or even just the pebbles are gone with the 3GS. Furthermore, you can see the colour is also completely lost in the 3GS and the water becomes white (incorrectly).
3) N97 is significantly sharper & more detailed: As all the pictures are scaled to the same size, the level of detail you see should be the same. This is unfortunately not the case, in virtually all the pictures, if you look at the finer details, there is more information / detail presented for N97. Just look at the surface of rocks, or the leaves, look at the low contrast areas, notice there are much clearer details on the N97, like the big rock on the left in the Rocks & Pebbles.
4) 3GS there isn’t haze: In Empty road, you can see the bright light top right in 3GS which accurately shows the bright white sky whereas the N97 is hazy either due to a dirty lens or due to a bit of smearing as the light seems to create a haze by leaking across the trees. The haze creates a much less realistic picture and can ruin a photo.

Other comments where there are no obvious pros / cons:
1) N97 has wider angle lens - notice you see more in the image than the Iphone 3gs comparatively on a field of view. This is up to personal taste what you prefer.
2) N97 has better background blur – In by the stairs, the background is blurred to a greater degree. This implies a few things, either the sensor is larger, or the lens is faster (lets in more light) especially given that we've established that the N97 has a wider angle lens. This implies that the N97 should have much better low light photos (with a bigger sensor / faster lens), but as these photos are all taken in the best conditions (bright, contrasty colors) we can’t talk much about noise, or low light capability.

Overall, the 3GS is a significantly worse shooter (just from these photos) as compared to N97 for day to day use.