Xperia Sola

The last time I bought a new phone was in late 2007, I traded-in my Nokia N72, a nice phone that takes decent pictures and had great sound but it's slow operation drove me crazy so I got an N82.

The N82 has a 5 Megapixel camera with Xenon flash, it takes great photos and I've been more than satisfied with it until I discovered whatsapp, the messaging app that wants to run all the time on Symbian devices. My battery usage took a hit once I started using this app so I recently got a new battery for the N82 to help me get through the day. The sound quality is also above average especially with nice headphones. I've told myself I don't need a smartphone, my phone is smart enough but alas I have succumbed to my fleshly desires.

These days having a smartphone has become a necessity, it makes life so much easier especially now that most of the airlines prefer their customers to use their respective apps to check-in and stuff, not that I'm a frequent flier but the time has come to bit the bullet.

I chose Android, after looking at Windows Phone. I'm a big fan of the OS and I think it has potential to be great but it's not ready for prime time and as a Symbian user for so many years, there are things that I have gotten used to and have come to expect from my device that Windows Phone has not offered yet. I'm optimistic that they will get there someday. I didn't an iPhone because you its expensive, and to play in Apple's ecosystem, you have to be willing to spend more than the average amount for everything. Maybe someday when I'm earning enough money it will make sense but not right now. I never liked Blackberrys so I didn't even consider it.

Android is also the cheapest option available to me. My N82 cost me MYR 1200 which is a little under USD 400. I didn't want to spend that kind of money on a phone again. I bought a Sony Xperia Sola today for MYR 750 670 at a phone shop in Imperial Mall Miri. It comes after weeks, maybe months of comparing phones and specs, watching reviews and weighing the pros and cons. Sony makes decent mid to low end phones though historically they have been reluctant to push out Android updates to their older models. The Sola runs on Gingerbread but will be upgradable to Ice Cream Sandwich or Android 4.0, the latest version of Android is at 4.2 as of the time of writing.

I don't have much to say about the phone, there are reviews on youtube so I'll leave you with some pictures.


I got the white one. Its also available in Red and Black


Power button on the top left side


volume rocker and camera button on the right side


three capacitive touch buttons on the bottom


Micro usb put on the top right side


the sola next to my old sony ericsson w810i

-ONWARD!

its not turkey day

In the spirit of thanksgiving, even though I'm not American, you don't have to be to give thanks. It's not enough to be thankful in general. It's important to know who you are ascribing thanks to.

All things considered I'm very blessed. I was just thinking today while a friend picked me up at the bus stop that I'm surrounded by people who have been such a blessing in my life. People I didn't even know existed a few years ago.

I don't say this to brag but to give thanks to God for good health. Besides flu and headaches I don't get sick. It's amazing. I used to get sick during exam periods but not any more.

I've been blessed by an awesome family that supports me, they're really the best. I've been blessed by my church where I receive encouragement every week to be the best I can be. I've been so blessed and I am so grateful, but is it enough to be grateful? Is more required from me?

One of the reasons I still keep writing here after so many failed attempts to quit is because it's kind of my outlet. I'm not a good Christian, if such a thing exists, but I hope that I can do this small thing to help anyone who wonders around these parts seeking for hope or comfort or encouragement. Is that enough? Absolutely not but it is something I can do.

Teach us dear Lord to be grateful and to give you thanks for all that you do every day in our lives.

-ONWARD!

holding a grudge

My Pastor always says unforgiveness is like drinking poison and wishing the other person die. It's silly. God knows how to speak to each one of us in a specific way, a way we can understand. Today two things happened that made me realise that I've been holding a grudge for a long time. I thought I had taken the high road but I guess not.

We're good at masking our true feelings towards people and its easy to keep faking it but thank God for that little voice of truth inside. If things are unresolved, no matter how small, I never truly forget. I might put it out of my mind for a while but it will bubble up again so here I am facing this unresolved grudge.

Words truly are powerful, be careful how you use them.

-ONWARD!

pardon me while I pray

Pardon me.

I look to you the author and finisher of my faith, I look to you the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the maker of the universe. You rule over the affairs of men, there is nothing you cannot do. I look to you the God of my salvation. Who shall I fear, of who shall I be afraid? I look to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. I look to you Jesus the Lord of all creation. You have the whole world in your hands, there is nothing you cannot do.

I pray to you Lord for all that is in my heart. For the things I don't know how to say, I pray that you have mercy on us, have mercy on us, Jesus son of David, have mercy on us. Turn a new chapter, open a door no one can shut and let you face shine upon us. Restore the years the locusts and the canker worms have stolen, as you have promised. Break every chain, break every yoke and set your people free. You say Lord I shall be save with my household, I pray for you salvation to come, I pray for a change, I pray that you will remove, uproot every tree that the father has not planted. Break every heart of stone and give us hearts of flesh that tremble at your word. Do it quickly Lord for your glory, your name is at stake here. Come to our salvation, it is you we look to, no one else.

We pray that your light will shine in our lives, we pray for and we receive your grace to live after your example, we pray for patience, we pray for perseverance, for when we want to give up, give us the strength to carry on one more day. I pray that your love will fill our hearts and that we can show your love to those who really need it. We pray that our light will shine as the darkness grows deeper, let our light shine and extinguish the works of darkness. We pray that your will be done in our lives, that we will love, like you have loved us and we will give sacrificially just as you have given.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. We ask for a breakthrough in Jesus name, we ask that you make a way where there is no way, we ask for a miracle, rivers in the desert, we know, we are hopeful that one day we will sing songs of victory and thanks to the Lord who keeps his promises. We will give thanks to the Lord for he is faithful and his love endures forever. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus. We are your people and you are our God, we know that salvation comes not from the east or the west but comes from the Lord. We are hopeful, and as we work, we wait for your restoration. Thank you Lord.

-ONWARD!

The Amazing Spiderman

This post includes a lot of spoilers so if you have not watched the movie yet and you don't like spoilers then you probably don't want to read on.

I finally got to watch the Amazing Spiderman today. It does not follow the previous series starring Toby Maguire, its kind of a reset or a new series if you like. A few things bugged me about this movie. I enjoyed it, no doubt, I thought it was very fun almost like a Disney movie but I was not drawn into the story, I was just puzzled most of the time.

The first thing I noticed right from the start is how long it took for the movie to get started. They went into more details about Peter's life as a boy when his parents were still alive. It was nice to get to know his parents, I don't think the previous series concentrated on that part of the story but I feel like it was unnecessary to go into so much detail. Pretty much the first hour of the movie was all this pre-story before he became Spiderman. I felt quite impatient with this approach, I think with the Toby Maguire series we kind of know the Spiderman story so it didn't require a whole hour to reharsh the story we already know.

I felt this Spiderman is a little too reckless, he took off his mask so many times revealing his identity too early. I'm surprised they allowed that. The part where he saved the kid was fine and when he was cornered towards the end, I guess can't be helped but the other times I thought it was uncalled for. I guess the directors wanted to show the juvenile Spiderman but I thought it was too reckless.

In the animated series I watched while I was a kid, Spiderman relied on his spidey senses and Its nice to see them bring a bit of that out in this movie. I thought it was a nice touch. He's spidey senses have clearly not matured yet and that could be an area to develop in any subsequent movie.

Finally the thing that I didn't quite think about until this movie was those darn webs. Are they bio-degradable? Or do they stick around after they have been spun? And another thing, why didn't anyone from OSCORP recognise what is effectively their research being used in such a public way. Someone must have seen those webs and thought, hmm, that looks familiar.

All these aside though, I thought it was a nice movie. I get the feeling that its geared towards the younger generation. There might be more movies in this series since we haven't met Maryjane yet. The Spiderman story is not complete yet without her, forget Gwen.

-ONWARD!