Nokia Lumia 520

The other day, I was talking about Lumia 1520 arriving in Malaysia...I guess most people won't even consider a Lumia or Windows Phone given the price (even though it's much cheaper than Note 3) as more people are into Android and Samsung. 

Anyway, while I was looking at some of the Lumia collection, I saw one at an extremely affordable price range: RM499. That's the Lumia 520. 

DESIGN

While most entry level phones feel cheap and less stylish than the higher-end phones, Lumia 520 has no such issue.

It uses a plastic battery cover like virtually all cheap phones, but the backplate cleverly covers the whole phone apart from the screen. 


This gives the phone a similar unibody look to the high-end Lumia phones, even though this is absolutely not a unibody mobile. To ensure a sturdy feel the cover is reasonably thick, and it has a matt, textured finish to avoid the tacky glossy plastic that plagues many budget mobiles. 

For the price, the Lumia 520 looks and feels like a classy product. Even though the plastic is basic opaque stuff, its ergonomics are pretty good, though. The textured finish offers a bit of extra grip and the carefully curved rear sits comfily in your hand. 

There are even a few neat style touches, such as how the Lumia-staple trio of physical buttons on the right edge of the phone are stark black to contrast punchily with the phone’s hue. 

WINDOWS PHONE 8 stands out GREAT even on low end phones

The great thing about the capability of Windows Phone 8 OS. It’s this consistent level of performance in Windows Phone 8 that makes the Lumia 520 such a top device. It may be cheap, but it is as quick and slick as you like. 

Day-to-day performance is great. And it glitched out fewer times than most Windows phones. This grade of overall experience is better than we’d expect from a low-end Android phone – especially from a company that aggressively goes for the entry-level market like Huawei or ZTE.

Of course, we have the same issue each time we talk about Windows Phone OS....the lack of apps is still an issue but it is definitely improving. And if you get this device, you have the Office Apps: Excel, Word, PowerPoint...probably if you need these apps more than the rest, at RM499, this device is a bargain and a must buy.

Social network feels at ease partly, thanks to the deeply integrated Facebook and Twitter feature on the Windows Phone. 

CAMERA 5MP

The Lumia 520 might cost RM499 but it comes with a 5MP camera. The photos taken with it is pretty cool as well. The disadvantage is the lack of a front camera, thus making the Skype feature pretty useless.

CONCLUSION

Nevertheless, at RM499, Nokia Lumia 520 might just be the right smartphone for you. And if you buy it now, there is a year end promotion by Nokia....you stand a chance to win a trip to Legoland or Grand Prize Disneyland.

Phonebloks, a fascinating idea!

I was browsing through the web as I couldn't really sleep....the usual symptom for people of this generation. Anyway, I came across an interesting video posted by a colleague of mine, Susan...it's about Phonebloks. 

If you have not heard of it, you may wanna look at this video...

Well, I honestly find the concept is amazing. Something entirely fresh and new. We all know the latest announcement of the iPhone 5S and none of that excites me as much as this...

It's not the features on the camera or the HD screen or the futuristic idea of hologram or even the Touch ID ring from Apple. The concept of Phonebloks goes about the importance of recycling. The problem with the development of the mobile and gadget industry is wastage. We have seen new iPhones coming out every year. Then, we have the Samsung Galaxy family, followed by a bunch of Droid phones in the market every year....because people changes their phones almost on a yearly basis. The problem with this is wastage...most people change their phone because of certain issues like storage, or the HD screen, or their spoiled camera lens...issues like that. Most of the time, the devices are still in good condition...only parts of it have problems. It could be the speaker, battery, screen, storage, etc....but because of one problem, the entire device is dispose....which is why wastage on devices and gadgets are one of the highest. 

Phonebloks introduced the idea of a platforms that connect to all these separate parts...the camera, the battery, the storage, the HD Screen, the WiFi compartment and many others...the idea is such that when one of these parts malfunctioned, one could easily replace it. Should there be a need for an update for a better HD screen, or if you love a higher resolution camera, you could just change the lens to a better one. The idea is simple, yet amazing. That's innovation. 

I totally love the idea!! If you support this idea, please go to www.phonebloks.com and support!! For me, this is even better than the iPhone 5S, or the Galaxy family...maybe even better Nokia. Turning phones into something like a "Lego"...I think this is a fascinating idea!!

"Touch ID Sensor" on iPhone 5S??

Well, it's been a while since I follow any gadgets' news and it was a rather surprise that it's the time of the year again....a new iPhone coming out..

But what surprise me is that apparently, not one iPhone will be announced....it's 2 of them...the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. Apparently, the 5C is a budget version while the iPhone 5S is on the high-end side. 

There are a lot of news of what's coming to the new iPhone such as the iOS7 and many other things....

Well, there seems to be a suggestion of more than just the black and white iPhone...apparently, Apple's iPhone will have color this time around...

I am not sure how the color is going to brighten up my day but it seems that Apple is convinced this announcement will brighten everyone's day. 

Apparently, one of the key feature is the Touch ID Sensor. I mean it sounds cool and futuristic but there seems to lack a cutting edge feature on this coming announcement. I guess the usual upgrade will be seen....faster speed, lighter than the previous one, a whole lot of talks about the improved battery lifespan, better camera etc. 

Honestly, it doesn't really bring out the WOW factor...of course, the Touch ID Sensor might just be attractive enough if more apps will make use of the functionality. 

Anyway, it's not long before the announcement...we'll just wait and see....