Camera shoot-out: Sony Xperia S vs. Sony Xperia Z

As I've recently acquired the latest and greatest Sony Xperia Z as an upgrade from the Xperia S, I thought to share few comparison camera shots between both handsets. Not being an imaging expert my feeling is that the Z generally produces better quality pictures, however I have noticed on few occasions that it does fairly heavy post-processing and fine details are sometimes blurred a little. Yet still, the noise seems to be much reduced in the Xperia Z shooter, which was major concern with Xperia S camera.

Few sample shots below - just click on each for high-res version. All photos were taken using fully automatic mode on both devices.

Nokia Lumia 920 and the tale of déjà vu

Exactly a year ago, thanks to the lovely team at Nokia Connects I've had an opportunity to trial the Nokia Lumia 800 - the first Nokia-designed smartphone running the Windows Phone operating system. Putting all ramblings whether Nokia's sudden strategy switch was right or not, the Lumia 800 impressed me, however not to the point where I'd be ready to ditch Android in favour of WP7 just yet.

Fast-forward 12 months and I find myself with the latest top dog from Nokia's Windows Phone range in my hands, the Lumia 920. Again, kudos to Nokia Connects for letting me have it.

Impressions from MWC 2012 a.k.a. "This Is My Next"

Although I'm self-proclaimed mobile gadgets maniac, somehow I don't usually follow major events in the industry as closely as someone could think. However, since I consider getting a new smartphone to replace my current HTC Desire Z sometime soon'ish, I was keeping an extra eye on the recent happenings in Barcelona where Mobile World Congress took place.

Running SSH daemon in Windows 7

Despite being Linux (fan)boy generally and running Fedora on all in-house laptops, I've decided to keep Windows 7 on my newly acquired Acer Revo RL100 media centre PC. I am fairly happy with it and don't feel the need to switch to Linux distro on such PC anyway. However, since my (ir)regular backup policy heavily relies on rsync which pushes data from my laptop over ssh to external USB drive attached to media centre PC, I was looking for a solution that works in Windows 7. Surprisingly, there is one and works pretty well. Phew!

Updating nVidia driver in Acer Revo RL100

Upgrading video driver for nVidia ION2 adapter in Acer Revo RL100 downloaded directly from nvidia website surprisingly leads to the installer failing with "This graphics driver could not find compatible graphics hardware" error. Funny, right? Turns out that video adapter can only be upgraded by the driver update downloaded from Acer website. However, driver provided by Acer is quite old compared to the latest version sourced from nvidia directly, and we all love to always have the latest and greatest drivers installed, right?

Acer Revo RL100 media centre PC review

For the past year or so my over-5-year-old Dell Latitude D620 laptop has been working 24/7 as a home media centre PC. Hooked up to the LCD TV with VGA lead for video and standard 3.5mm jacks for audio, combined with wireless keyboard+trackball combo it was mostly used to watch TV/VoD streaming over the internet (thankfully Xilo has truly unlimited broadband). However, I've been thinking to upgrade this rather archaic setup and replace the dated laptop with dedicated HTPC machine. I wasn't in the hurry tough, so over the course of few months I've ran through few options which included Zotac Z-BOX, Xtreamer Ultra and Acer Revo RL3700 among others. But one day I came across a very good deal on Acer Revo RL100 which I've never heard about earlier, nonetheless given its specification and bargain price I have decided to get one straight away.

HTC Flyer vs. Archos 80 G9 - thoughts and impressions

I didn't really consider changing my tablet anytime soon, as I was quite happy with Archos 80 G9 which I've got around October. But there was that ridiculous Christmas clearance of the HTC Flyer tablet at DSG stores (PCWorld, Dixons and Currys) here in the UK recently and you know... it just happened by itself. ;) When the clearance was pretty much over everywhere, I've somehow managed to bag (in fact, my wife did) a WiFi-only unit, the very last one from the display in Dixons nearby. Phew!

Sony Ericsson Xperia pro - thoughts and review

My recent involvement as an author in Coolsmartphone technology blog has opened an opportunity to get my hands dirty with mobile gadgets I'd probably never had chance to play with. One of the latest example was Sony Ericsson Xperia pro - a full-sized hardware qwerty handset, powered by Android Gingerbread due to receive Ice Cream Sandwich soon.

Judging by nowadays standards Xperia pro perhaps isn't the most compelling handset out there, yet it is still very good looking, reasonably specced and reliable handset, sporting fantastic hardware qwerty keyboard too. Official upgrade to ICS just behind the corner is surely a huge plus too. Considering that combination doesn't really occur often in Android world, Xperia pro is definitely worth a shot, especially with very attractive £272 price tag at Handtec.

I've written up a full review at Coolsmartphone, so read on if interested.

Writing for Coolsmartphone

Anyone who is at least vaguely following my blog can surely tell that my interest and passion in closely revolving around mobile phones and devices of various kinds. I write reviews of virtually every device I've got in my hands and I really enjoy it. I am hoping that whoever ends up on this blog reads and enjoys them too. I am not an industry journalist or a professional reviewer by any mean, I just like to use and play with latest mobile gadgets and then write my thoughts about it. Simple as that.

However, my recent review of Archos 80 G9 tablet has been picked up by James Pearce, a member of Coolsmartphone blog team, who asked if I'd agree to publish my review on their website. I knew that blog very well, as I've been following it in my RSS feed reader for years, so I had no objections against James' proposal whatsoever. That way, my Archos review has been republished and out of the sudden I became a fully fledged Coolsmartphone team member. 

Being a member of high-profile UK technology blog opened the opportunity to reach out for a wider range of mobile gadgets to play with and review, including the Motorola Pro+ recently and Sony Ericsson Xperia pro which I currently have at hand and will review soon. It's like little boy's dream came true - getting gadgets to play with for free and then just blog about them. How cool is that?! :) And, as it turns out, there are people who actually like my reviews, which is a nice bonus.

Having said that, I'd like to say huge thank you not only to Coolsmartphone guys who discovered me and kindly invited to their team, but lots of credit also goes to the great Nokia Connects guys (formerly WOMWorld/Nokia) who were always keen to lend me Nokia stuff to play with, which I'm hoping made this blog a little bit more interesting for past few months.

Nokia Lumia 800 review

So here it is, the Nokia Lumia 800 - the first real Windows Phone phone made by Nokia. I've had virtually no experience with Windows Phone 7 before and was looking very much forward to receive Lumia 800 from Nokia Connects (as usual, thanks!) to find out whether WP7 is able to impress me as much as Nokia N9 and MeeGo Harmattan did recently. Frankly, I actually doubted WP7 could stand up to expectations set so high by Harmattan but having solid hands-on experience with both now, I might revise my stance a little bit after all. Let's see...

Nokia N9 - review of the disruptive device

Nokia N9 is very weird kind of beast. It is running MeeGo Harmattan OS and has been released after so-called elopocalypse when Nokia's new CEO Stephen Elop has announced quite sudden and controversial turn towards Windows Phone platform, ditching both homegrown smartphone platforms - Symbian and Maemo/MeeGo - into gloom. Nonetheless, Nokia N9 has received positive reviews from mobile technology blogosphere around the world, which posed the question whether pivotal turn in Nokia's strategy was actually right move? As a former user and fan of Maemo-powered devices, including the latest N900, and also being quite sceptical about Microsoft partnership, I was particularly interested to see N9 myself. Once again, thanks to Nokia Connects I've had a chance to use N9 for past couple of weeks and see how it performs in real life.

Archos 80 G9 review

Despite being declared gadget maniac, somehow I never really got into tablets. When the first iPad came out and whole hype began, I regarded it as overly-expensive gadget having virtually no practical use to me. Yet quite recently I've started changing my mind towards tablets. I thought they could be good use not only for general web browsing but also for reading articles or e-books more comfortably than on 3-inch-odd display of my phone, playing YouTube videos to my one-and-a-half-year-old daughter (excellent WAF bumper, btw) or just checking various stuff on the web quickly without getting a laptop out. Still, I regarded tablets too expensive for my needs and looked for a budget solution. Thankfully, my search for tablet coincided with release of Archos 80 G9 which promised Android Honeycomb on top of fairly good specification within £200 budget. Seemed like perfect match, so I decided to get one straight away.

I switched to giffgaff after ~5 years with T-Mobile - here's why

I am generally quite loyal chap when it comes to my technology choices. When I stick to one thing (or brand, for that matter), I hesitate a lot before even considering switch to direct competitor, even if it seems better at first glance. So that was the case with the relationship I've had with T-Mobile UK for over 5 years. There were ups and downs, complaints sent, goodwill gestures received and so on but generally once I settled in with satisfying deal I was quite happy with them and never considered switch. Until one day when I learned about that new giffgaff network which gradually attracted me to the point where my usual hesitation broke completely and I ended up switching all my numbers (2x pay monthly + 2x prepaid) from T-Mobile. This tale is to tell you why.

Nokia X7 review

This is no secret that Nokia is currently undergoing the toughest times in their recent history. Stephen Elop announced sudden switch in strategy which essentially converts Nokia into mere hardware manufacturer for Windows Phone based smartphones. However unpopular that decision was, and no matter how upset people (and stocks) became, we all just need to deal with it. Period.

Nonetheless, since that announcement was made, things at Espoo are getting just worse. Shipments of WP-powered mobiles won't happen immediately, so Nokia has to fill the gap somehow to remain relevant, and that emergency plumbing is done with help of ill-fated Symbian smartphones.

The most recent launches in Symbian territory which were supposed to keep Nokia on track are business-oriented E6 and multimedia-powerhorse X7. I have had a chance to review E6 already and my feelings were quite positive, despite the fact Symbian is no longer attracting me enough to dump Android altogether. Now, once again thanks to WOMWorld/Nokia people I've got X7 in my hands to play with for couple of weeks.

Fixing Picasa for Linux segmentation fault, part 2

In addition to my previous take on this subject 3 years ago, here's a note to self what to do when Google Picasa for Linux spits out nasty segfaults instead of actually launching.

Nokia E6 review, part 2

Having already reviewed Nokia E6 from visual and hardware perspective, I could compare it to the beautiful woman walking down the street and passing you by. She's absolute stunner and you can't resist to turn head around and take extra peek at her. Yet, you wonder how is she like personally? Is she really worthwhile? Or maybe she's just looking good?

Second part of my review is to see whether good-looking and having certain hardware virtues Nokia E6 will be also able to impress from inside. Is Anna - an inspiring name of the latest iteration of Symbian - really worthwhile? Does it have strengths, what are the weaknesses? Or perhaps she's just having a nice name? Let's dive in and see.

Nokia E6 review, part 1

About two-three years ago I was a happy user of Nokia's one of the most successful business smartphones in recent years and that was Nokia E71. In fact, I regarded E71 as my truly perfect device at the time - compact, lightweight, feature-packed yet still sporting full qwerty keyboard in my favourite form-factor. However, time was passing by, various different mobile phones have been landing in my hands since then and I've recently settled down with Android-based HTC Desire Z as my default phone. Yet still Nokia E71 will always be the kind of device I will keep the greatest sentiments about.

So despite making different mobile phone choices recently, once I've learned about the latest Nokia E6 smartphone back in April this year, I've got quite excited again. And now, just before Nokia E6 hits the shelves in the UK, thanks to WOMWorld/Nokia I've got a chance to try it out for couple of weeks. Having said that, the main question today is whether Nokia E6 will live up to expectations of Nokia E71/72 owners/fans and keep up with successful business smartphone series from Nokia? Let's see.

Nokia X7, E6 and Symbian Anna - first impressions

Thanks to the great people at WOMWorld/Nokia (as usual lately ;), I have been lucky enough to get my hands on the latest and greatest Nokia offerings in Symbian world - the new Nokia X7 and E6 which were officially unveiled to the world yesterday morning.

Demonstration was carried out in WOMWorld's headquarters in London by Nokia product managers. They brought few prototype devices to show off and give us to play with. So what are the first impressions?

Changing Android's UI default font

I've been recently tipped by haerwu about Font Changer app for rooted Android devices that lets you change Android's user interface default font. I gave it a try and I must say different font makes huge impact on UI "sexiness". See yourself below.

Nokia BH-905i headphones review

For the past couple of weeks, thanks to great folks at WOMWorldNokia I've had chance to use Nokia BH-905i headphones. That was utterly interesting experience and there's one thing I can say straight away - these are one of the best gadgets I've had in my hands recently! Read on to find out why.