Interesting Mobile Developments
by isaac on Feb.18, 2010, under Mobile, Thoughts
Some interesting developments have popped up in the mobile world recently that raised my curiosity flag. First is the official announcement of Symbian ^3, with the OS feature complete by end of Q1 2010, in devices by Q3 2010. Now I know some people HATE Symbian with a passion, even though they are still using a phone running it, but as I’ve always clarified, Symbian as a phone OS that fits phones from low to medium end is actually a great OS. Just that, it’s UI is way too outdated & it’s dated codebase is also getting long in the tooth. So with Symbian now fully open sourced, fully rewritten from ground up, this should clear most of the nagging issues people have with it now. The new OS shows very little of the old Symbian & seems to have finally caught up to the current level & quality expected of current generation touch screen OS. It seems to have all the usual stuff covered now like multiple homescreens, single tap UI manipulation, multitouch (pinch to zoom) & a very nice visual multitasking switcher, no doubt Maemo inspired. Looks great too! See for yourself below.
Next up is Windows Phone 7 Series. Yes that is what it’s going to be called now. It’s no longer Windows Mobile. In fact, that’s a good thing since this new OS have nothing to do with the old Windows Mobile we have all come to love & hate. It’s a completely new OS, based on the OS & UI that runs on the Zune HD. It’s also a brave departure from how normal phone UI seems to be done, a rethink so to speak. Will this work out better or worse? We’ll have to wait till end of the year for any devices to use this interesting OS before passing any kind of judgement. Though I have to say, I’m actually interested! This coming from a guy that hates Microsoft. 
Check it out below.
Finally, an interesting merger of different mobile OS into a more formidable OS, coming from Intel & Nokia. The merging of Moblin (Intel) & Maemo (Nokia) to become MeeGo. Yes, funny name + funny name = MORE weird funny name. But nonetheless, this could prove interesting. This is an OS meant to power devices ranging from smartphones to tablets & netbooks. So it’s not just a phone OS, it is still completely open sourced like it’s predecessors it’s being merged from. Honestly, I’m not very sure where to put this but Maemo on Nokia N900 has impressed me enough that I’m sure when this thing is up & running, it will kick some major butt as well. No devices has been announced using this OS but the OS is due out in Q2 2010 with devices to follow very soon after. Guess for this, we’ll just have to wait & see as well. No video demo of the new upcoming OS, but I’ll leave you with what Maemo looks like on a Nokia N900.
Transformers! Final Part
by isaac on Feb.03, 2010, under Figures
Final part, at least for my current collection. This post will be on the few latest additions to my collection. There’s a funny story to it as I wasn’t planning on getting these figures, though one of it was on my ’Maybe will get‘ list. All depended on my budget & currently my budget is non existent. 
Alternators Wheeljack
The Alternators series was launched way back in 2003 as a line which features 1:24 scale & accurate real-world vehicle modes officially licensed from car manufacturers. This is more of a figures series & doesn’t really have a story or cartoon to go with it. Though the Japan version, called Binaltech did have it’s own back story but that’s not really important. I remember seeing these figures back in 2004 & thought how amazing the car modes looked. They looked so good they could pass for those replica models you see selling of those officially licensed cars. The car modes also features working doors, hood, trunk as well as a detailed car interior! Well, detailed to a certain point but it looked great. Unfortunately poor sales resulted in the series being pulled in 2006. Though Takara (the original makers of Transformers toys in Japan) did revive the idea with a new series called Alternity featuring current cars such as Nissan GT-R & Suzuki Swift. Alternators are now rare collectible figures that fetch ridiculous prices for certain rare & very nice looking figures such as Smokescreen & Hound.
Wheeljack is a classic character from the G1 which most of you would know if you watched the cartoon. An inventor & skilled driver, he has a knack for building all kinds of stuff that most of the time unfortunately blows up in his face, or worse, blows him up. But once in a while when his inventions work, he’s a gem to have on your side.
Bludgeon
This figure is based on the character from the G1 Marvel Comics. I myself have no idea about this character. But the character has been updated for the ROTF figure line & looks kick ass! There are actually two figures in the ROTF line, which you can check out here. The voyager version is supposed to be the robot he becomes after he was defeated by an Autobot & he reformats himself. Don’t really care about that, what matters more is how much cooler he looks now. Can you beat a samurai robot with a skull head wielding a dagger & katana? Oh! This is the figure that was in my ‘Maybe will get‘ list. Fortunately, I got it for my birthday from my best bud. Thanks again Nick!
Extras
The extras are from the Takara version of Legends class. The difference? They come packed in boxes that gives no clue as to what figure is inside. Wonder why the Japanese like this kind of idea, I just find it annoying. So it was a gamble on who I got, though Ironhide was an exchange with Nick for Legends Optimus(Damage Version). He actually found a way to peak through the side of the box but this method would only work if there was some distinguishing feature to notice on the figure, like the silver smokestacks of Optimus. 
Finally, a nice ‘family’ pic of all the figures in my current collection. Never thought I could fit it all in the small table I use to take all my pics. Enjoy!
P/S: Try to spot Sam, Mikaela & Arcee in the ‘family’ pic. 
Transformers! Part 3
by isaac on Jan.25, 2010, under Figures
Optimus Prime
The highlight of my collection. This figure is by far the most accurate representation of any of the robots from the movie. Also featuring one of the most complicated transformation. I quote from Transformers Wiki: “Transforming him back into a truck is probably more complicated than the movie and can only be considered torture.” For the first few times transforming him, I have to agree it’s really a torture but once I got used to it, it became less of a chore. Still, the plastics are a tight fit & you’ll be spending a bit of time adjusting bits & pieces so that they can clip & snap together. But at least it’s worth it.
Human Alliance Sidekicks
Ok finally, some pics of what the Human Alliance line is all about. So I’ll just let the pics do the talking.
Oh ya, the red bike in the first pic is Arcee. She has a VERY ugly robot mode so I decided not to take any pics of her in robot form.
Lastly, a teaser pic of a new figure I have. It’s not from the movie line, an altogether different line. Anyone can recognise this figure?
P/S: Nick Wong, you are FORBIDDEN to mention who this figure is. Hehe.
Cool Alternator
