Oh wow, it’s certainly been quite some time since I posted here, since any one of us did, eh, EM? Anyhow, just to start off with, here’s a quick selection of some of the more interesting links that have popped up in my twitter feed. Here’s to more frequent posting on RG!
The Nexus One is finally out, and predictably, the Android 2.1 SDK follows.
I wonder how long it takes the AP and their affiliated sites to realize that they need Google more than Google needs them?
After a no-show at CES 2010, seems like we won’t be seeing Windows Mobile 7 till much, much later. Wonder if the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona will be an Android-only affair.
CES was quite fun this year, and having the internet also meant that you didn’t really need to be there to see what went down on the show floors. Scoble pretty much covers all the bases here, from 3D TVs to e-readers and so on.
It’s very interesting how something as decidedly low-tech as fonts could have so many issues when translated to supposedly cutting-edge platforms. Makes you want to rethink just how you use fonts on your machine.
So Nokia’s all-you-can-eat Comes with Music service finally comes to Malaysia.
Like, finally. Singapore had CWM since last year while we had to settle for the problematic Bimbit service with its limited and decidedly awful selection.
Nokia had two preview sessions for the X6/CWM bundle 6 Jan – one for media and one for bloggers.
Nokia's X6 next to Apple's latest iPod Touch
Playing around with the phone for a few days, I’d say that as a standalone phone, the X6 is still buggy and a challenging proposition.
Bundled with CWM, it’s a steal.
When you buy an X6, you get a year’s subscription of CWM. Think unlimited downloads and songs that you get to keep once the year is up.
Only catch, though, is the files are in WMA format and DRM-locked. The license is limited to one mobile device and one computer, though every 3 months you can transfer said license to a new PC.
CWM is probably the best alternative to Apple’s iTunes music store which is not available to Malaysians. It has a fairly impressive catalogue that covers a wide range of genres from Iron Maiden, Barry White to Rihanna.
There’s also a respectable selection of indie bands represented as well which should be a relief to those not as keen on current radio hits.
Though I like the catalogue, I wish I could say the same about Nokia’s software for the PC. The newest version of Ovi Player still doesn’t play nice with Windows 7, is slow, a resource-hungry monster and is decidedly inelegant when compared to Apple’s slicker iTunes.
I can still download music straight to my phone but the process is slow and a battery sapper.
If Nokia wants to stay relevant in the upper segment of the mobile phone market, it needs to do something about its software.
Now on to the phone: I admit to being biased because I loved my XpressMusic 5800. It was a poor man’s touchscreen phone but it did a lot for very little money.
Compared to Apple’s iPod Touch, the X6 is far less responsive despite the new capacitative instead of resistive touchscreen.
I’ve had the phone crash on me once or twice already and trying to play music in the background while surfing or texting can be taxing on the phone.
But if you loved the 5800, the X6 is a major though pricier upgrade. I like the new Contacts bar for the Home screen which feels a whole lot zippier.
As a music player, I did miss how much easier listening to music was on my Touch. The X6 makes you jump through far too many hoops and I’m so annoyed by having to wait for my phone to verify the license of my CWM songs. It shouldn’t need to do it everytime I play a song, Nokia.
Sound quality is decent and the speakers’ loudness is fair competition for the 5800.
I just think that as a music phone, it could have been better. Sony’s Walkman series is probably the benchmark for MP3-friendly phones while Nokia’s XpressMusic series have always seemed bulky and less responsive in comparison.
For apps, Ovi has yet to impress me with its selection and the Ovi Store app is such a pain to browse through. If you have to purchase an app from Ovi, I would recommend the awesome Twitter-client Gravity which is worth its less than US$8 price. Kinetic scrolling, lovely interface and great ease-of-use.
But the X6 has grown on me the past few days and is certainly a very able replacement for my 5800. The bundled Facebook app is very good and makes taking pictures with my X6 and uploading them to FB near effortless.
I admit that my X6 is primarily a communications device for me – perfect on long commutes or when I need to quickly send out Twitter updates.
Its battery life is also fairly decent, lasting a good 4-6 hours with heavy Net surfing, Tweeting, chatting and some music playing.
All-in-all, neither the X6 nor CWM are perfect. But together, they’re a great combination which somewhat makes up for their individual failings.
If you loved the 5800, you’ll adore the X6.
If you’re a heavy music or social networking client user you might appreciate the X6’s hardiness.
If you fancy unlimited downloads of music on CWM, guilt-free and don’t mind DRM, the X6 package is a bargain.
My wishlist for the bundle:
1. Fix Ovi Suite and Ovi Player, as well as create Mac versions.
2. Roll out an X6 firmware update ASAP
Verdict: If CWM appeals to you, the X6 bundle isn’t a bad proposition at all. Otherwise, power users might want to wait for the Maemo-powered N900.
Happy New Year, folks!
Amazingly we are not dead. Our fearless leader is going to CES and hopefully will bring back much news and shiny pictures!
I will be getting my filthy fat mitts on the Nokia X6 soon, soon my lovelies! Watch out for that as well as reviews of Nokia’s Comes with Music since it is coming to Malaysia.
F-ing finally I know.
Secretly I lust to have a torrid affair with Google’s Nexus One. My fling with the iPhone 3Gs was brief but hardly memorable. Yawn.
So yes, we’re back and due to annoy you muchly.
