The Alien World

HTC Legend

Recently changed my phone, wanted to try Android platform. Google’s Nexus One is not available in India, though you can still find it in grey market without any warranty. I wanted to by HTC Desire, which is said to be next version of Nexus One, but a month back it was still not launched in India. The next few options were to go for Sony Xperia X10 and HTC Legend.

Few key differentiators:

1. Price – X10 is Rs. 8000 costlier then Legend
2. Platform – X10 has Android 1.6, whereas Legend has Android 2.1
3. Size – X10 is big with 4” LCD screen, where as Legend has 3.2” Two things which go in favor of Legend are low price & newer platform.

I have been using Legend for a month now, and here are my experiences:

Good

1. OLED screen is bright & responsive, shows well under sunlight also
2. Highly responsive touch screen, (I do not miss my N97 at all). 
3. 7 home screens, give the power to add widgets, programs, & shortcuts on the these 7 screens
4. Sync contact from Exchange, Gmail, Facebook, twitter, & phone in one repository
5. Contact list has indicators to see updates from your friends across the above mentioned social sites
6. From contact list, you can also see all your communication with that person from one place
7. Android application market is not as big as itunes, but it has all the required applications, and its growing fast
8. Some of the really handy apps that I installed are 
9. Google gesture search 
10. Evernote – Notes synced with your online account
11. Google Shopper – image search, barcode search
12. Friend Stream – Updates twitter & Facebook messages

Not so good

1. Camera is of low resolutions but pictures quality is good. Lacks a dedicated camera button.
2. No front camera, (but who needs it anyway)
3. Keyboard is good and easy to use. Guys with big fingers or girls with long nails may find it difficult.
4. Battery drains very fast, which is not its best selling point. In my first few days it only lasted for 8 hours only, had to charge it twice. Now it last for a day, so I only have to change once a day.
5. In-built speakers are of low quality. Ringtone are not loud enough even at full volume. I keep missing my wife’s call. 
6. Futuristic optical track-ball, which is not much in use. I sometimes think that space could be used to increase the screen size.
7. Single USB wire for charging and data transfer. Problem in ergonomics of charging dongle.
8. No PC software to take backups.

Over all, a good phone. Value for money. Highly social people are going to like this phone. My rating 4/5.

The impulsive buyer I am, a month back I bought a new Nokia N97. I am not going to talk about its features, because the list is long and you can as well find them here. So let’s keep straight go to its pros-n-cons.

Pros

This is really well loaded with lots of cool applications. With OVI store, you can download many of them for free. It has a huge 32GB storage with 5MP camera. Camera results are good. QUERTY keyboard is handy, and I have stopped hating sending SMSs. Many messenger are available for free, which allows you to remain connected to your friends round the clock. Widgets are good on the home screen.

Cons

1. It is very slow – couple of reasons
   1. Low RAM
   2. Low processor

   With so many powerful features, the phone is as good as a mini computer. But the processor and RAM does not keep pace with it rich features.

2. Low battery life

   Again this is a serious problem. With a WLAN or GPRS & bluetooth running, the battery lasts for not more than a day. Add to this, if you play music, than it drains like anything.

3. Frequent Crashes & Hangs –

   Many times the problem is due to less RAM

My rating is 6/10. It would have been best, only if it was faster and had more battery life.

Well I have not heard Jethro Tull before, and this was the first time.  I went there more because of Anouska Shankar.

The show started with performance of Anoushka and her group which also had Tanmay Bose on tabla. She performed for around 40 minutes based on two ragas one from south & another from north India. Her music was too enchanting and relaxing.  

Second performance was by Jethro Tull classical rock band, which was mind blowing -Ian Anderson, the lead singer and flute player is truly a Piper. It was amazing to see his energy levels even at the age of 62. He is multi-instrumentalist and can play guitar, harmonica, & saxophone.

The third part was the fusion of both Anoushka & JT. This was the best part… I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Total paisa vasool!!!

I recorded few last minutes of jugalbandi, which is not of good quality… but below are few videos from their Banaglore concert which are of fairly decent quality.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTxXBNe70dw]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llvKJGkPtCw]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rm0FTzFu4U]

Many times interval in a movie is a boon, because you can get out of a theater but not in movies like Rock On. It is one of the best movies ever made in India. The movie connects with your heart, with rock solid performance by all the 4 lead actors. The theme of the movie may seem to be similar as Dil Chahta Hai - friendship broken due to some misunderstanding but reunites in the end. This movie will remind you of “That thing you do” directed by Tom Hanks.

Music of the movie is amazing, may not be typical Bollywood music, but anyone above 25-28 will be able to connect with the movie. Wonderful lyrics and equally amazing music shankar-ehasan-loy will make you carve for more.. It will remind you of your school & college life, rock bands, jamming sessions, late night rock parties at a friend’s room with free flow of liquor and smoke!!

Well the life is good now, but it was better in college…

It is a must watch movie. My rating is 4/5.

ROCK ON!!

In my earlier posts I mentioned about the problem with Skoda Fabia. Today, morning a Friend of mine who knew about the problem with my car, called and told me to go thru the news on Times-of-India. This proves that were some serious problems with the car.

Anyway, I m not emphasizing on the problem. What I do want to emphasize is that Skoda is professional & bold enough to accept the problem. In fact, when I first raised the concern, which was few month back, with the dealer they actually went ahead and replaced the car with the Fabia Diesel. The best part of this was that they only gave the option of changing the car.

Replacing a car may be a new phenomenon in India, but across Europe and US, that has happened in past. The good thing is that the manufacturer is accepting the fault and is ready for fix it.

I have been driving Fabia Diesel since last 1 month without any problem. In fact, it is a really nice car meant for city driving, with an excellent millage. I am getting 16 kmpl in city conditions. So no regrets on buying it… Its the best in this segment!

http://alienworld.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/skodas-promise/
http://alienworld.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/letter-to-skoda/