LG Quantum C900 -- My Windows QWERTY Phone wonder

Introduction

As you have probably learned from the couple of posts here or at Twitter, etc. I LOVE NOKIA!!! I have owned a Nokia since College, in fact, Nokia has been in my family since I was a young'un. After all these years we have seen the prominence of different makers giving us great phone offerings but what really changed the landscape was software. Symbian had been long used by Nokia and others, there was of course, the BB environment, Palm, Windows but it wasn't until those fuckers at Apple let loose the iPhone with their iOS that people really started to not only buy phones because of their looks or quality but because of their functionality.

After a few years supporting Nokia and Symbian I noticed that I was really left behind. The emergence of the Android platform and Apple selling a gazillion phones and updating their iOS with better features every time prompt me to try and go into other ventures.

Of course, I was/am planning to stay loyal to Nokia but:

1) They are still on Symbian whether is 'Anna' or 'Belle' or any other update with a new nickname
2) Their Windows phones and other flagships (such as the N9 with its MeeGo) are not here yet or they are extremely expensive so I decided, since I'm pretty sure I'm going to be back to Nokia, to try one Windows phone. I chose the LG Quantum C900 from AT&T (unlocked of course!)




Specifications:

So quickly a couple of specs for this phone:

Display: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 480 x 800 pixels, 3.5 inches (~267 ppi pixel density)
(No super AMOLED or any of those fancy screens, but it's Ok.)

It also features:

- QWERTY keyboard
- Gorilla glass display
- Multi-touch input method
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- 16GB storage, 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM NO SD CARD slot
- 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
- 1 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm QSD8650 Snapdragon chipset

and of course the assortment of GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.





One of the most important things I was looking for was a QWERTY phone. I'm just used to them and using the E71 for over 2 years just spoiled me! The LG Quantum has a GREAT keyboard (this is compared to the Samsung T-Mobile Sidekick and the Sony
Ericsson Xperia Pro) and it feels great. I really love text messaging and status updates in Facebook and Twitter. With this phone I feel like I can write better and more comfortable.

Phone calls are quite clear. The volume of the headset is perfect and although the quality is not super great, it does the job. Up till now, no dropped phone calls and can take GPS, 3G signals very quickly.

Tried Wifi at home and phone is awesome.

Overall, A grade on the hardware!



What's in ther Box:

1) LG Quantum C900 phone with Battery
2) USB data cable / phone charger
3) Cheapo headphones
4) and that's it (bought this on eBay lol!!)


Software:

Now, the reason for me buying this phone was basically for this. I wanted to experience a phone with Windows and Android. After much looking, I decided on this one. First thing I did once I got it? Updated it to Windows Mango. Now, what are the differences between the stock software and Mango? I don't even have a clue but since Mango/7.5 was a big update I guess a lot of good things came with it.

Anyway, coming from the lacking Symbian OS (lacking in the sense of accessibility, looks, etc.), Windows was a kick in the ass. First thing you see is the Live Tiles. It's really something! Got any text message notifications? The "Messaging" tile will tell you without you looking. Have any hotmail messages? Gmail? Facebook notifications? ALL of them show up in the tiles. Pretty nifty. In order to do the same with my Nokia E71, I had to actually navigate menus and select what I wanted to see. Not on this. In fact, the best feature I find with this phone is the INTEGRATION
of everything. Have calendar entries in Gmail or hotmail? They will synchronize with the phone. Have any calendar/event entries in Facebook? They will syncrhonize with the phone. Want to post a status update? You can do hotmail and Facebook at the same time, etc. etc. It really does integration well (not sure about iOS but at least is better than what I have experienced with Android)



Apart from that, the marketplace looks Ok and I have downloaded a couple of apps and games to fully test the phone. Of course I downloaded Twitter and Facebook apps but I also downloaded the ever essential "Weather" app, IMDB, a Turn by Turn Navigation to fully test the GPS (although the "Maps" application seems to work a-Ok!), QR reader, YouTube and all of the Office apps work great. Especially love "Notes"... just a basic app like a "sticky note" that is also available online and sincronizes
automatically.

Everything seems organized, easy to access unlike Symbian and Android, it really seems like an easy to approach OS.

I'm really pleasantly surprised!!


Performance:

What can I say? As of now I really have not experienced slowdowns or anything of that nature. No applications closing by themselves (Hello Android 'Force Closes'...), no jerkiness in games or when using most apps. The only thing I noticed was when visiting really "loaded" web pages, the internet browser (IE) seemed to slow a little... the same with the Seesmic Twitter app. Other than that it has been
great (definitely better than Symbian on the E71).

Now to one of my quirks... battery life.
My Nokia E71 could go on for at least 2 or 3 days without recharging... but these days it seems that trying to have everything accessible takes a toll on battery life. For example, all of the tiles that need updating, connect via 3G or Wifi in order to be updated. Add to that the big display, the processor and normal usage
for the phone has been more or less 15 to 20 hours. This is of course with just:

- Light internet surfing
- A couple of calls (I don't talk much)
- Facebook/Twitter updates and news reading
- Engadget App
- E-mail viewing/sending

That means that I have to go into the settings and change the sincronizing to "Manual". If I do that, I can have the phone lasting much more than 24 hours. But lets be real, if we have an updated phone be it iOS, Android or Windows, we want them to be performing with all those things active! ;-)

I guess it's a trade-off, you decide whether it's worth it ;-)


Camera:

Now, this is supposed to be a 5MP camera that records video at 720p, etc. etc. but I haven't had much time with it yet so I wont judge it. It SHOULD be better than the 3.2 one on my Nokia but I'll try to do a direct compare with the 8MP Exmor sensor of my Android headset (Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro, review soon)





Conclusion:

What do I think of the LG Quantum C900? I believe it's a great phone. The QWERTY keyboard works perfect, it's snappy, the Windows 7.5 OS behaves well and offers the best profile integration I've experienced yet. Now that I've experienced Windows, I'm really thinking of selling my Android phone... is that good!
But who knows... maybe I'll stick with both for a bit.

Pros:

+ Great social integration, you feel like you can really communicate
+ Good call quality, Great QWERTY keyboard feel
+ Not sluggish (at least for what I use it for)
+ Office Notes is awesome

Cons:

- Plastic all around (I was spoiled by Nokia!)
- Sometimes in Landscape mode some apps don't rotate (to properly use QWERTY)
- Battery life is not the greatest
- Small font for "Messages" app

All in all I give it:

3.5 out of 5!

;-)


See ya!


P.S. I'll post some more updates after I keep playing with it! ... with the phone guys... the phone!! :-p

LG Optimus C900 with Windows or Sony Xperia Pro with Android? Or both?!?

So finally, after all of these years staying true to Nokia and Symbian, I'm ready to "jump ship" (FOR A BIT!!!). Question is... should I go Android? Or should I go Windows?

Since I didn't know the answer to this question, I decided to try both at the same time. Being the compulsive buyer that I am, I began the search. Let me get this straight though, I AM PARTIAL TO NOKIA! There I said it! Why? Because they make reliable phones, built like Tonkas and they perform well for the use I give the handsets but the thing is, they are way behind. MeeGo was supposed to change all that but that ASS of a CEO Stephen Elop messed it up for everybody because EVERY ONE IN THE INDUSTRY know that he is just an MS whore... so now Nokia is going with Windows OS too.

Anyway, my experience with the green robot has been limited to my time with a cheap Archos 70 tablet which I already sold.



It performed well enough, and did most of what I wanted it too so my guess is that the phone should perform AT LEAST as good as my ex-tablet. The search for a phone was a particular one. Why? Because:

1) It needed to be an "unlocked" handset
2) It needed to have "Ok" Specifications (Android OS likes power...)
3) It needed to provide hardware QWERTY

That last option narrowed down the selection at least but still it was difficult choosing! Should I go with an Unlocked Motorola Droid? A Milestone? A Droid Pro? Should I try HTC with their Desire Z? Should I go Samsung Epic? But then I started seeing their prices... ufff... mighty expensive for most of them! Since I know I wanted 2 phones, I didn't want to exceed myself... you see, I'm a compulsive buyer with a conscience... or maybe I'm just not that dumb! ;-)

So first I tried: Samsung Sidekick 4G



Let me tell you, the QWERTY keyboard was AWESOME.
Buttons felt great and the unit was quite responsive and felt "zippy". Specifications were not that hot (i.e. middle of the pack) but for $200 unlocked I wasn't complaining... when I did started to complain was when I was seeing the icon for "EDGE" instead of 3G and then it hit me... THIS IS A PHONE BUILT FOR T-MOBILE!!! What does that mean? That my current cellphone provider (Claro Puerto Rico) operates on a different 3G band than T-Mobile! (Claro is similar to AT&T and uses 850/1900/2100 whereas T-Mobile uses 1700/2100).

A big FAIL for me.
So I decided to resell the phone on eBay (let's see how it goes! But it should sell easy!! ;-)) and started looking for more options.

I had in mind a Motorola Droid Pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro (the new version, not the X10 one) and a few others. Weighing things out I eliminated most of them and was ready to select the Xperia Mini Pro due to the form factor, Android 2.3, and good reviews.



Beautiful looking, good construction and from the reviews, good performance and great all-rounder. Price was right too (about $250 maybe even less unlocked on eBay). Then I kept reading and found this:

http://talk.sonyericsson.com/thread/22121

Remember when I said I'm not an "eyes-closed" compulsive buyer? Yep. When I decide to get something I start to look everywhere for issues, problems, praises, etc. I thought this was a big issue for me so... back to square one. Since I didn't want to go through the whole ordeal of looking for phones, I remembered I had read about this phone's big brother, the Xperia Pro!

Up I went then to amazon, eBay, different distributors looking for the cheapest way to get one and eBay was the one that in the end had it for the better price... I still ended up paying upwards to $300 (in which I could have probably gotten a Milestone from Moto, or the HTC Desire Z, etc.) but I decided to go different because less face it, most people have the same type of phone... you know, the rectangular black one, nothing different, etc. I went against the current and got this beauty:




Plastic, but... oh well...

Looking in GSMArena for the specifications I found that this phone, apart from being good-looking, had Ok specs (i.e. no dual core CPU here), and a great camera. So killed two birds with one stone. The QWERTY looked more spaced out than on the Mini Pro and I liked the form-factor. The couple of reviews I looked at gave it good remarks so I guess I'll know once I receive it. The bad thing is that since this phone was just released on October, there are no cases or accessories. :-(

Still, I want to see how it performs and I will probably review it in the coming weeks!!! This will satisfy my phone needs for now but...

WHAT ABOUT WINDOWS?!?!

Well, fully knowing that Nokia will indeed focus on this OS, I decided to try it and see what Nokia might have seen... the potential.

Looking for a Windows phone is easier as really, there aren't many and a WinPhone with QWERTY is an easier assignment. So after little search I decided to get: LG Optimus C900




Since selection was not that great (the only one on my radar was the Dell Venue Pro but like with the Xperia Mini Pro, it seems to have A LOT of bugs and hardware related issues so out of the picture it went...) I got this generic black/gray-colored looking thing! ;-) It's not the sexiest looking thing ever but it will do I guess.

This one also has run-of-the-mill specifications but I guess it's typical in the Winphone realm. The best thing about this one is that I bought an unlocked "Open Box" one for like $130 or less! w00t!!!!

Now, for both of them I bought some screen protectors and for the LG I bought a case to see if at least I can give it some fucking color (mostly all of my phones haven't been generic-looking... I hate that shit!).

I'll see if one or both of them come this week and start testing changing between phones whenever their batteries run out and see what is my experience with both!

Will Android have random applications Force Closing?
Will Windows crash all the time?
Will both offer great communication features and I'll be happy?

Still don't know the answer to this question and a couple more but I do have to say that I'll be saying Good-Bye to Nokia this week...



ok ok ok... It's probably going to be more of a "see you soon" instead of a goodbye but Nokia, I do have to say that you will always be my friend. GET YOUR SHIT STRAIGHT!!!!

In the meantime I'll be enjoying some Windows/Android cooking and see what all the fuzz is about. And to fully say goodbye to Nokia, I will definitely sell for cheap my Nokia E71!!! Someone has to keep on enjoying it as I did! Great little phone!


Bye.
Thanks for reading.


P.S. I'm not the owner of these pictures... taken from the web :-p. I guess I'll put mine up sometime this week.

#HorrOctober ...

was a failure!!! LOL!!!

I did not list more movies because I didn't watch the stipulated 31 movies I was supposed to see! WHY DO I HAVE TO GO TO WORK AND DO OTHER THINGS?!? WHY?!?!

Anyway, partial list of what I did see:

1) Final Destination
2) A Blade in the dark
3) The Mist (new version)
4) The Stand
5) The Exorcism of Emily Rose
6) Dawn of the Dead (remake)
7) Jeepers Creepers
8) Bruiser
9) Audition
10) Hostel part II
11) Black Sheep
12) The Rite

and... that's it!
I have to get better organized next year!!

Anyway... check it!

Mima: El Pozo --> Mini review/reseña ...

Hace un tiempo atrás estaba “janguiando” con un pana del trabajo en su apartment ready pa quema.... erm... una sesión de Rock Band y PS3 "geekyness" y me dice: "Mano, tengo música nueva en ese Pen Drive... a lo mejor te gusten par..."

So, me lleve el pen drive, lo puse en la “compu” y veo que un Folder se llama "Mima"... Por un momento pensé que era un folder que contenía "porno" (hehehe) pero cuando vi y le di play (aparte de la decepción de que NO era porno ;-)) fui totalmente transportado a otros mundos y así fue como descubrí a Yarimir Caban o simplemente Mima.



Su primer CD es sencillamente una de las mejores producciones que yo he escuchado de artistas del patio en cuanto a calidad musical, interpretación, ambientación, etc. Aunque sus letras son un poco "artsy" y poéticas (yo soy muy cafre para seguir muchas de ellas... :-p) todas las canciones del disco se sentían originales y brindaban (al menos a mí) una sonrisa al escucharlas. Fui "fan" automáticamente.

Como todo un "fan", fui a varias de sus presentaciones a cantar como "loquita" y veía que a la gente, aunque no eran muchos, gozaban de sus canciones y de las interpretaciones con su grupo musical. Así que cuando escuche que iba a tirar una producción nueva me puse mas feliz que un cisne con dos lagos!



Hace varias semanas, gracias a Puerto Rico Indie, me entere que en la UPR Mima presentaría/vendería su CD nuevo. Entre a su pagina, le envié un e-mail por medio de "la tiendita Mima" a cualquiera que estaba encargado (quizás hasta el mismo Mark Underwood... chequeare mi email...) y le pedí un invoice para el CD nuevo Y el viejo también. A los varios días, el CD era mío!!!

Del primer "playthrough" lo único que me dije fue:

"QUE CARAJO ES ESTO?!?!?!?!?!"

Que le paso a mi Mima juguetona?!
Que le paso a mi Mima brasilera?!?
Que le paso a las canciones pegajosas como Santo Camino Furtivo y Menos mal que no?
Por que hostia hizo otra versión de mi canción favorita, Ojo Avizor?

AARRRGHHHHH!!!!
He estado esperando anos para esto?!?!

Pero yo me conozco... me pasa lo mismo con muchos artistas y discos. Lo mismo me pasó con Taking Back Sunday, Armor for Sleep, Mew, etc. y después de varios "listens" como que yo mismo caía en tiempo, prestaba mas atención y terminaban gustándome.



Asi que tranquilo en mi casa, puse el CD en la compu, prendí mi Nuforce Icon HDP, connecté mis Sennheisers HD600 y le di "Play". Sinceramente en cuanto a la instrumentación e ingenuidad, las canciones son un A+!!! No se como puedan hacer todo en vivo pero la grabación esta súper completa. Me encanto la percusión en sus canciones y los efectos "lo-fi". Fui canción por canción primero analizando y después
escuchando y aquí me di cuenta de varias cosas. Pero primero,


En la Carretera: Comienza con un corito "eerie" q por poco hace que me cagara encima! hehehe Una guitarrita con un poco de "Wah" y medio psicodélica con la percusión perfecta. El mood en la canción es totalmente diferente al primer CD! Creo que es una canción excelente para comenzar el disco por que básicamente te dice: "Sip, así es el CD completo... totalmente experimental, un poco "Worldly" en cuanto a tiempo para que los músicos se luzcan en la instrumentación, con efectos por todos lados y lento con cojones!"

Así que si no les gusta esta canción, no les va a gustar el CD (mi opinión por supuesto!)

Seguimos con:

El Pozo o la Tumba: Definitivamente una de las canciones favoritas para mi. Seguimos con el sonido "dark" e "eerie". No se que acordes están tocando con la guitarra acústica (los buscaría pero.. meeeh!) pero me encanta la progresión! Nuevamente, efectos medio psicodélicos, percusión diferente a la canción inicial, un poco "sparce" pero igual de efectivo. Me encanta como Mima canta: "Yo estoy cavando este hoyo, si no me sirve de tumba. Llegara el día de mí
suerte y encontrare el agua profunda...". Para mi la canción es súper efectiva pero nuevamente el mood es totalmente diferente al CD original.

Como en un anuncio: De todo el CD esto debe ser la canción más "comercial" (ni tanto... pero vamos!). Es un punk/garage/lo-fi rock anthem. El que escuche el CD y no se pompee, le doy un puno en la cara!!!! Esta buena la canción... y ya puse una línea como estatus de Facebook: "Es que hay demasiadas cervezas por beber, demasiados negocios que atender para yo ponerme a componer..." En realidad no estoy componiendo por vago!!! Pero ven! Siempre hay excusas! HAHAHAHA

Damen: Aquí se pone buena la cosa. A sonido de buena percusión quizás un estilito medio Hip Hop, sonidos de vientos, efectos (nuevamente) y la tremenda interpretación de Mima, esta canción esta muy buena (otra de mis favoritas). CREO que como que había escuchado una versión de esta canción antes pero no recuerdo. Anyway, no hay mucho que decir. Si hay que escuchar otra canción que "define" al Caribe rítmicamente, debería ser esta.

La Parusía: Regresamos al ritmo monótono con un "corito que nunca termina", diferentes efectos de percusión y... mas nada... Canción mega aburrida y viajera. Quizás si me arrebato, me gusta...

Oigo Voces: El ritmo vuelve a adquirir velocidad al ritmo de aplausos con un bajo bien decente. Esta canción es como un hibrido de hip-hop con funk/soul. Otra de las mejores del CD y es la única canción que yo diría q tiene un coro súper pegajoso... bueno, la canción completa es MEGA pegajosa. Considero que del CD esta es el "Santo Camino Furtivo"... totalmente "likeable".

La princesa: Este tema es bien "vocally-driven" y en este Mima sabe bien lo que hace. A mí al menos me encanta su voz y la manipula súper en esta canción la cual es otra experimentación con géneros incluyendo el funk/soul de nuevo. No me pompeo mucho...

La Ducati: Meeeehh... Otra "vocally-driven" song, bien minimalista en cuanto a instrumentación y de hecho, el ritmito es como que algo juguetón. Me recuerda como que una canción que uno canta cuando se esta mofando de alguien o cuando es chiquito o algo así. Creo que ese fue el propósito de la canción para ir con la letra medio psycho. Otra canción viajera-aburrida... NEXT!

Agua Fría: Otra canción que es para "lucirse" en vivo con su banda. Bien world music / caribeña / jazz contemporáneo experimental. Pero súper aburrida... Ya la había escuchado en sus presentaciones. Esta cool tenerla con buena calidad pero al fin, es una que le puedo dar "skip" sin pensarlo.

Ojo Avizor Remix:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Mi canción favorita de su primer CD ha recibido un mega cambio! Y en mi opinión, para mal. Es como medio "soul" también con mucho efecto, guitarra con el "wah" como que con un poquito de "chorus" metío a la vez (q mucho usaron "wah" en el CD!?!) aarrgh!! Cuando salieron los "vientos" violando mis oídos (ambos) a 55 grados en el stage (más o menos!) por poco me cago encima!!!

:-(

Yo quiero Andar: Sigue nuevamente un ritmo monótono bien wordly pero tiene cierto "charm". Hay algo de la canción que me llama. Quizás es que los vientos finalizando la canción me recuerdan a un track de Final Fantasy (sip.. la serie de videojuegos!) Ahora, eso no significa que me encanta, pero SI considero que es buena.

P.S. La ultima canción tiene una “napita” a los 12 minutos y pico…

Para estar seguro de lo que escuchaba, le metí tiempo al CD en mi trabajo con mi portable set-up (Shure 940s with JDSLabs Cmoy) y aparte de las diferencias entre los Senns y los Shure's no escuche nada diferente.



En conclusión, PARA MI... as in… MI OPINION, el CD es súper aburrido! Entiendo que Mima quizo algo diferente pero quizás la influencia de DJ Nature y de la misma Rita Indiana (Los Misterios) llevaron al CD por este camino. Que conste, ESO NO ES MALO! El disco demuestra el nivel al cual están estos individuos. Bien caco-style, esta gente esta "BIEN POR ENCIMA"!! Se ve que a todos les gusta bregar con sonidos, con estilos, con musicalidad, con texturas, etc. pero esto no siempre hace que la música sea del disfrute de las masas. Es como un CD de Robi Draco. Todo el mundo sabe que el tipo es un “mostro” y le “mete” pero al final del día prefieres poner un cabrón CD de Pitbull!!! HEHEHEHE Ok... quizás no tanto pero ustedes entienden... (espero...)

Ahora, esto no significa que he quedado defraudado… al menos NO DEL TODO ;-).

Quisiera ver/escuchar “El Pozo” en vivo. La próxima vez que Mima ofrezca una
presentación, definitivo que voy a verla. Quizás es que yo decidí “dormir” (quedarme con el sonido, estilo del CD viejo pero efectivo) y ella simplemente se puso a “andar”…

Rating: 3 chocolates de 5

Ahora voy a escuchar el "re-release" del primer CD y gozármelo completito! Dudo mucho que le de rotación a "El Pozo" como le di al primero pero quien sabe, quizás hago una asignación con el… (i.e. arrebatarme en algo full y volverlo a escuchar en los “loudspeakers” de casa…)

Check it! :-p

HORROR FEST!!! October Horror movie challenge..

Hola!

So... I decided to indirectly participate in DVD Talk's 7th Annual "October Horror Movie Challenge". What is that? Basically the goal is to watch 100 movies in 31 days. Of course, not everyone is able to achieve that so in my case (as a lot of people) I plan to watch 1 each day so at least 31 in total. My list is quite weird, but it's mostly made up of movies I have in my collection.





I already started so I will keep updating the blog with mini reviews for the movies I see each day...

October 1: Final Destination --> So where the hell is Devon Sawa!?!? Is he alive? Anyway, decided to watch the first Final Destination on the first day of this challenge because:

1) It's an entertaining movie
2) It's fast paced
3) it's the first one I picked randomly from my collection! :-p

I still think that this is the best of the series, maybe not the best "death" scenes but at least they were more believable (take that word lightly though...) Loved the acting of Devon (I also liked him in Idle Hands... which is more of "horror-comedy") and a few others. And of course, the cameo by Mr. Candyman himself.

Anyway, I enjoyed it yesterday like I enjoyed it the first time so that must be good right?!

October 2: A Blade in the Dark --> Now, here's a movie about another Italian director trying to be bloody and artsy at the same time. Like most of their "thrillers", almost no story, slow paced and the acting is terrible. Voice dubbing almost killed it too! (It better be dubbing because it was atrocious!). The ending you could see it coming a mile away and it shows that director Lamberto Bava will never live up to his dad's work!!! This is an hour and forty eight minutes that could really be cut to an hour and make the movie more effective (i.e. pick up the pace a bit!).

Maybe I'm being too critical due to seeing work from other Italian directors in the 70s and 80s but good God, I did not like this one too much. If I was to rate it I would give it a 1.5 out of 5 (because I liked the Villa atmosphere and the main "song"... gotta love those synths sounds!!!)


And that's it for now... I'll probably create new posts or just keep on editing this one! :-p

Check

eBay is my savior!!!

Yes you read it correctly... eBay is a gift!
But as our pal from the T.V. series "MONK" would say, it's also a curse.

Why my savior?

It's being known that I buy a lot of stuff that usually stays picking up
dirt in a closet or a room. I'm kind of a hoarder for technology, games and all that stuff. And although I had used eBay before, lately I've been wanting to "clean up" the house and this auction site has been a great help!

What have I sold?

As of today, these past few months have basically been tech stuff and games.

1) Kodak Pocket Zi8 HD Camcorder
2) Super Nintendo Games Bundle (including Super Metroid, Actraiser 2 and bonus)
3) GameBoy Advanced RPG bundle (Golden Sun series, Final Fantasy series)
4) Michael Jordan Basketball Cards with RARE BUNDLE!

etc.

Why is it a curse?

Come on... simple... I'm a compulsive buyer and eBay is the perfect place to lure people like me in! ;-) I have sold all that stuff but I have also bought a couple of things. Thing is that I'm being more careful and I'm only buying stuff that I KNOW I WILL USE!!!! It seems I'm learning right?!? Right?!? Better late than never!

What I'm currently selling?

Couple of things:

Sony Handycam DCR-TRV460 Camcorder with EXTRAS



I bought this camera to transfer old 8mm tapes and once I did, I didn't used it anymore... maybe a couple of times but not enough to warrant staying with me... so.. IT NEEDS TO GO!

Miscellaneous PC parts --> Hard Disk Drive



This "pull" was from an old Dell Precision that was sold from work. I used it a lot actually but once the Power Supply from those big ass machines went out, I didn't wanted to spend in PSUs (proprietary PSUs BTW)... so out the PC parts go!!! :-p

Sony Playstation 1 Games



Sold a couple of games locally but still have a couple lying around so.. THEY NEED TO GO. Final Fantasy VIII was good but not great (I actually enjoyed Final Fantasy IX more than this one) and Crash Bandicoot was entertaining enough...

Old PC Game LOT



Who didn't use to play PC games?
All geeks did (do!).

Here I put up for auction a bunch of old games including favorites like: Entomorph, Full Throttle, etc.

Anyway, as you can see, I have stuff I wasn't using and was not going to use so, eBay, I LOVE YOU!!!!!


;-)

Bye

Monoprice MHP-839/Kicker HP541 DECALS!!!

Hello...

Remember my review from a long time ago (like 10 minutes ago!?!) where I talk about how the Monoprice headphones are really CLONES of Kicker headphones? Well, since they are so similar, there are decals that go right with it and I did buy one of those just to test them.

Decalgirl offers a bunch of decals for kicker headphones. I decided on a weird looking one:



If you remember long ago (a couple of years), I did buy decals from this very same company for my Playstation 3. I liked it a lot so I went with the same company and I can safely say that the quality is still top-notch, easy to use and looks great.



Pretty straight-forward to "install" on the cups... and the end result.



Gave it a bit more life than a boring "Monoprice" or "Kicker" logo would have.
Quite satisfied.!

:-p


See ya!

A bit more active...

Yeah I know...

I'll try to post a bit more, I just need to find the time to do so.
Hopefully with all the movies I have lying around and all the things I've been buying and selling, I can probably have content to keep on talking/writing shit!

Talk to youse later!

Monoprice MHP-839 Pro Headphones == Kicker HP541 ?!?

STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!

If you are thinking of buying Kicker HP541 headphones, DON'T DO IT! Why? Because, why waste $50 bucks if you can spend $21 and get the same cans!?

Yes, that seems to be the conclusion over at head-fi's! So I decided to give these budget cans a try.



As you've probably seen from my other mini reviews, I love mid-centric headphones. The Shure sound seems to be something I crave whenever I listen to ANY headphones but that also limits me because some genres just don't sound as great. The Shure 940s are my main headphones now and general conclusion is that those are bass-shy/light cans. I concur of course. So I needed something with a bit of punch, with a warmer signature, so I decided on these (Ed. Note: I just ordered another pair of cans which are much "bassier" so I'll probably sell/give these). Also, those will be connected to my work laptop and my Shure's to my MP3 player.

Anyway, let's continue.

Specifications:

Driver Unit 50 mm
Impedance 40 ohms
Sensitivity 100 +/- 3 dB / 1mW (S.P. L at 1 k Hz)
Frequency Response 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Wire Length 3500 mm (11.4')



What's in the box?

Pretty bare box. Contains:

* 1x MEP-839 Pro Headphones
* 1x 11.5 ft long 3.5 mm M/M audio cable
* 1x 50 inch long 3.5 mm M/M audio cable
* 1x 3.5 mm F to 1/4" M adapter plug

and that's it. Oh yes... you noticed that right?
DETACHABLE CABLES!!!! (for $20 cans, this is a great addition!!)

Sound and my views.

First of all, I don't find these all that comfortable. Pads are too little (and NO GUYS, I don't have GIANT ears!! LOL :-p), headband cushioning is not that good, and it's a bit flimsy. Of course, these are $20 headphones so I wasn't expecting the feel of my beloved Shure's nor the most comfortable headphones ever the Audio Technica's AD700.



Sound-wise though I was REALLY surprised.
These $20 cans actually comes close to the sound reproduction of the Shure 440s.
Ok ok before you bite my head off, the clarity is not at great NOR are the highs and mids, but these budget cans are good. What's best than my 440s though is BASS RESPONSE and ATTACK. These Monoprice headphones are really bassy but they don't drown out the mids nor highs. I've been listening everything from acoustic to DnB and they perform well! They WONT take the place of the Shure 440s at home, but for something you can carry everywhere without worrying of breakage, etc. these are awesome.



If they were a bit more comfortable, it would be hard to suggest headphones like the Shure 440s and even the Audio Technica's M50s! (which I know for a fact have more recessed mids than the monoprice cans!).

The main thing here though is... VALUE!

Kickers HP541 == $50
Shure 440 == $70
A-T M50s == $120

You might be questioning my sanity when I say these $20 headphones do a better job than higher priced cans but I can safely say that... I'M NOT INSANE!!! (I think! :-p). Yep, they sound quite good but...

Are they for me?

If you:

1) Are looking for closed-cans with Ok isolation...
2) Looking for cans with detachable cables
3) Looking for bassy/warm sound reproduction without sacrificing mids/highs

then definitely $20 will go a long way.

Now, if you:

1) Value a more balanced sound
2) NEED comfortable headphones
3) Don't care to spend more than $50

then definitely look for different cans.

I tell you, what KILLS it for me is the feel of the headphones and the lack of pad! If they were bigger and more comfortable, I would be selling my 440s... but they are not so they are relegated to budget-abuse status.


Hope you enjoyed the mini-review!




You can buy these from monoprice.com at: Monoprice

PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset -- Short Impressions/Mini Review

Hello.

It seems I just like to spend money... but I SPEND IT WISELY... I think... lol
Anyway, amazon.com had a MEGA deal not long ago with these "cans". Now, I had my eyes on them but when I saw the price on the deal I HAD to jump on them.

Suggested price: $99
Amazon Deal: $65

Yep, I bit!
And I'm glad I DID!



Introduction:

I have to confess, I don't play too much online. Although I have an Ok amount of online-enabled games, I rarely play them, not because I don't like it, I sometimes don't feel the need to do so (plus I usually suck! LOL!) Still I've always had a thing for having a cool headset. Not any type of headset, but wireless. As everyone knows, there's a few companies out there that have their offerings, in fact, I have tried Turtle Beach X41 cans long ago and found that:

1) They popped and clicked like crazy (even though my router is on another room and I had fresh rechargeable batteries!)
2) They sounded "tiny" EVEN with the bass boost
3) They weren't all that comfortable
4) Movie watching with them wasn't too much fun
5) Mic didn't work with PS3 (it did with Xbox)

So I definitely looked to other brands but dismissed all of them due to price! But Sony has just stepped up!



Specifications:

Sony SUCKS!!! I don't know why they didn't provide any specifications OTHER than functions/features.

* 7.1 digital surround sound (wireless).

* Built-in rechargeable battery delivers seven hours usage on a single charge.

* On-screen headset status updates.

* Easily access headset volume and microphone mute controls.

* Retractable microphone for use only when you need it.

* Enjoy your wireless stereo headset on your PC or Mac®.

COME ON!!!!
Where are the driver sizes? Where are the frequency responses? WTF?!?!
Disappointed!



What's in the box:

Pretty simple:

1) Headset with attached mic
2) USB dongle
3) Small instruction booklet

and that's it! This headset is rechargeable via USB and they didn't include a USB cable.



Functionality:

I do have to say, this headset is pretty much complete! Although, it's a "budget" stereo headset, it includes a couple of functions that are included in more expensive sets, not only that, they are extremely accessible and within reach.

I'm not going to list all of them but as you can see on the pictures below, you get an idea of what it offers...









There's no sound customization though (i.e. if it had some type of equalizer settings or even PRESETS, these would have KILLED!)

Also, be prepared to be frustrated a bit: YOU CANNOT LISTEN TO YOURSELF OVER THE HEADPHONES!!!! Mic sound is not routed to the earpads!!! Or is there a setting hidden somewhere?!?!?

Feel and Sound Reproduction:

Based on my short time with these, I can surely say that MUSIC reproduction SUCKS ASS! Too boomy, not enough details, I don't even know how a frequency graph would look like. It doesn't matter if surround is off or on, I can't enjoy the sound coming out from them. Maybe I'm spoiled! I mean, I have "real" headphones which cost hundreds of dollars and greatly reproduce details from all over the spectrum but when I say that my MONOPRICE DJ HI-FI CANS SOUND BETTER (their cost is $20) that's saying something!

Headband is flimsy but it's comfortable and so are the pads. They are big and cover up your whole ears. Although they look like monsters, they don't weight that much. The fit is great and it looks good too!



Gaming sound reproduction though it's another story. The boomyness is not as palpable, you can actually hear the details (highs seem to be the emphasis but bass response is quite alright.), speech is crystal clear, etc. I haven't played any first person games or things of that nature so I'm not sure if the simulated "surround sound" actually works but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Have not tested it with movies yet... (maybe I'll update this post once I do so!).

Conclusion:

Though it sounds like these are a waste of money from my views, actually they are quite alright... FOR GAMING. You get good sound reproduction (gaming), you get a mic, all wireless, integrates great with the PS3 and as a bonus you can use them on your PC and the cost is less than $100. It's a good bargain but I wanted these to be all-around headsets. I wanted to enjoy them with music also!

Should you get it?

If you are looking for:

1) Wireless cans, no fuss, no setups
2) Integrated microphone, good functionality (i.e. control the music/chat volume, don't have to deal with external batteries, etc.)
3) PS3 integration, easy to use
4) Ok sound reproduction (best for gaming)

Then I say you will be pretty much set with these.!
If you can find a good deal on them ($80 or less) I'd say JUMP ON THEM QUICK!



At $100 I still think they are good but I wouldn't buy them.
If you already have a good set of headphones, you might want to look into the Astra Mixamp. Though, you will lack microphone, if you are looking for great sound reproduction, that would be the way to go!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Bye.

"I Saw the Devil" --> Mini Review

I will just flat out say it... THIS IS THE BEST REVENGE MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN!!!!

Simple!



Notes about myself:

1) Love horror and black comedy movies
2) Like gory/bloody movies
3) Lately loving Korean cinema

Plot

So there's a psychopath on the loose (played BRILLIANTLY by Min-sik Choi -- Oldboy) taking women, raping and killing them. The police don't have a fucking clue until one day this serial killing machine spots a woman stranded on a snowy road. This woman is the wife of our main star, a police detective. The killer takes the girl, kills her for his own pleasure and throws the body in a creek. The body is found, police are called in and you learn that not only was this the wife of the detective but that her father was chief of police.

Now, this first death is graphic as heck but expertly executed. Is not gore or blood for gore or blood's sake! Director Ji-woon Kim is really a master when dealing with these scenes!



Back to the plot, the husband in his grief vows (to himself and his father in law) to look for the killer and this is where it gets interesting! He doesn't want to bring in the killer, HE WANTS TO PUNISH HIM! So the hunter becomes the hunted!!!

Without getting into any spoilers, this movie is full of fun. You get to see how the "good guy" catches up to the "bad guy", inflicts some pain and lets him go only to catch onto him again, inflict more pain, etc. Why did I use quotes? Because you really can't believe that this detective is doing what he is doing! It really blurs the line between good and evil!

The second act of the movie is EVEN WEIRDER!
Serial killer goes up the mountains to a cabin to seek shelter with ANOTHER serial killing friend which, on top of being a serial killer, HE'S A FUCKING CANNIBAL! (and no, it's not really a spoiler... or maybe it is... OOOPPSS).

Intense scene after intense scene, this is what the movie is about!

Will you like it?

Ask the following questions:

1) Do you like blood?
2) Do you like derange psychopaths?
3) Do you like suspense?
4) Do you like being on the edge of your seat for 2+ hours?

If you answered yes to all of these, then yes, this is definitely a movie to watch! I actually did find it kind of excruciating due to not only the violence but the way the director shot it. Sometimes it feels so intimate that you feel "trapped" with the victim and want to get out!




DVD Contents

It's alright. Nothing too fancy.
Some interviews and a Making Of.

Conclusion

This is already an INSTANT CLASSIC for me! I didn't think I would be able to watch such a great thriller, a great ride coming from Korea, but those guys keep impressing me with every movie they make. Hollywood should take notice and start doing some creative thinking! I heard they are "remaking" Oldboy!! COME ON U.S.A!!!! START BEING CREATIVE!!!

Anyway, 5 stars out of 5!
Highly recommended!

Yep... I have more headphones! :-p

Hello...

So like I mentioned on the previous article (Shure SRH940 Review), I have gotten a few headphones or cans these past few years. I haven't written anything on those (not sure if I will), but I'm going to post a couple of pics of the equipment I have here right now.

Audio Technica ATH-AD700



Mini Overview: Open Headphones, big soundstage, extremely comfortable. Sound is kind of lacking for music as it really lacks in the low-end spectrum. At least treble is not harsh and mids are Ok. A bit "airy". For the price is not bad but you can get the Shures 440s at a similar price! (I have a review of these here as well... Shure 440 review

Sennheiser HD600







Mini Overview: Open cans, soundstage is good (AD700s I find it to be bigger), but sound makes a difference. They excel mostly on everything. Goes low enough, treble is smooth but I find that mids are a BIT recessed... not sure if they will sound better with "burn-in" (or if my ears will get used to them) or if it's my headphone amp! (Icon HDP at the moment). We'll see. These are barely new.

JDSLabs CmoyBB amp









Mini Overview: THESE ARE AWESOME! I haven't really used them a lot (less than 20 hours) but they actually made a WHOLE lot of difference alongside my Shure's 940! The 940s are known to be bright (I mentioned this on my review below!) but the Cmoy actually adds warmth and the bass is more present now! Haven't tested it with other cans but this will definitely be my 940s amp! Got this with the "charging module" so I'm actually waiting for the wall plug to arrive and keep on using it! Love the synergy of this with my 940s (not so much with my Icon HDP which is way expensive... go figure!)

And I still have another set of cans arriving plus a couple of other things. Maybe I'll post these later.

Also, I plan to post a couple of movie reviews soon to see if I can keep this page active!

Anyway, see you soon!