Why I dont like iPhone

okay, go out there and show off you iPhone (not around tech geeks please.... you'll get slammed to the ground) and who wouldn't say "WOWWWWW!!!! iPHONE!!!" heck, you might even get 2-syllables damn with that... at that time you might feel cloud 9, nothing makes you happier than people admiring your iPhone... and for that purpose, I'd say Steve Jobs really do his jobs... the iPhone have become a cult... it's like to coolest thing ever exist in the world and become one of the things to own at least once in life...

But what if I'd say, iPhone is actually overrated????

So, what makes me dont really like the thing that deemed to be the coolest thing in the world??? let's not talk about that first... why not we give some praise and compliment first...

The positive of iPhone:-

1. The display is pretty sharp... though I think Samsung Galaxy S running android isn't that bad either... however I do think Apple's iPhone is a little bit better in this area... but really, when running games and apps I can't see any different between iPhone and Galaxy S.... Perhaps I haven't encounter games and apps optimized for Retinal Display yet???
2. The sensitivity of the touchscreen... I had to say it's supersensitive... a little touch is good enough for it to register with minimal mis-register...
3. The effect... I had to say iOS has the best beautiful transition effects... changing menu, opening apps, all have its own effect...
4. The look and reputation... like I said earlier, ppl will "WOW" and it looks so expensive...
5. Touch Focus!!! OMG, this is something new... I dont know if any Android have this, but it's very cool... to let your camera focus on the object, touch it... fuuuuuuuuuuu.....
   

The so-so:-

1. Battery life... I dont think the battery life is something amazing... but good enough... full charge can last me till night... around 12hrs.... for a new battery, I will be mad if it's less than that with my usage (facebook, twitter, sms... mainly internet)
2. The function... for a mere phone, it's as good as other phones... can sms, mms, make calls, receive calls... download apps for some additional features to improve your experience like games, multimedia... while Apps Store has large chunk of apps to download, Android Market does this too...
3. The charging time... I had a feeling it's not any faster compare to other phones... well, i'm charging on USB anyway, of course it is... 500mA isn't gonna do much... though the 1A power adapter is pretty fast... but if charging for 3 - 4 hours gonna last you next 12 hours, i have no grudge about it...

The negative about iPhone:-

1. One serious thing, why the heck we can't choose the network we want to be on??? I mean, it's ok you only want to put us on Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Maxis, DiGi, Celcom.... heck, I dont care anymore... back and forth they're almost the same (at least Maxis, DiGi and Celcom) but when you dont give us a chance to choose to be on UMTS or GSM, that hurts me you know... the bad thing about phones/mobile broadband modem is, they dont have enough intelligence when not to prefer higher bandwidth signal...
• Like when you had one bar of 3G signal and comparing to 4 bar of EDGE, you should always prefer EDGE compare to 3G but most device will still prefer 3G and end up sucky connection, this is the thing that happening to iPhone 4
  
• Some device might even always prefer to slower EDGE connection even 3G signal is good in the area just because EDGE has stronger signal while 3G signal will provide better bandwidth... however this wasn't the case with iPhone...
• With other phone like Nokia that I used before (heck even mobile broadband modems too) will let us choose to use between UMTS or GSM or just let the phone choose... because of device auto preference is always stupid, I choose UMTS for the whole time unless I'm traveling far away...
• Somehow in iPhone this thing is missing and it's killing me when it keeps on switching between UMTS and GSM. Ok, Jailbraking will solve the problem but that's not my option... my old Nokia dont even have to be hacked for me to have this options...
  
2. The OS... while it's one of the most beautiful aesthetically, it's one of the inefficient way of implementation... especially the multi-tasking (but I really prefer to call it fast app switching instead...)
• Apple somehow have high confidence that their phone won't crash even when the memory overloaded like what happened to Nokia's Symbian... the thing is, you can't quit your apps... you have to terminate it... it's like when you running Microsoft Office on your computer, you dont have the "X" button on your top right, but instead you only have minimize button... to close the apps, please open the task manager and select the apps you want to close, click End Process.... very tedious... I still dont know what magical approach they did, but hey, I opened all my apps and never quit them, the phone is still not lagging... I got to give them compliment on that anyway... but the way they manage the task is not really good I think... I never had tested the Android's multitasking... so I can't really comment on it... But I do think iOS implementation is slightly worse than Symbians, solely because Symbian allows us to quit the apps properly rather than leaving it suspended...
3. The standardization
• You can't use MP3 as ringtones, you can't change your text tones (unless jailbroken), you can't do this, you can't do that... seriously, this "no-choice-on-user" policy is getting more and more annoying...
  

So, as conclusion... iPhone might be good if you dont even use all of the options you have in your previous phones... but for me who will go and change every single possible options and settings (of course, without hacking) will cry over the lacking of options... yes, less options might be better for those who don't like to choose over choices they dont understand but it will annoy certain users who loves customization, personalization and certain critical options like network signal selection...

Who should own an iPhone:-

1. The person who don't even care about the hardware of the device (CPU, RAM, ROM etc)
2. The person who don't care about all those options he have and don't like to make decision on his own... always depends on others decision...
3. The person who think he is sophisticated, cool, and great by owning an overrated, expensive device that will not let you make decision...

I'm sorry iPhone cultist and fanboys... it's just not for me... though the fact that I already own it with 2 years contract, I had to live with it and make something good out of it... I'm pretty sure there's a lot more thing that can be done with this device, but for me it's more like "iPhone is iPod Touch + phone" rather than "iPod touch is iPhone without phone"...

yes, i see iPhone as the extension of iPod Touch... not the other way around like before anymore....

This review is done with iPhone 4 updated to iOS4.3 in hand....

What's the difference in wheel size???

Last week my baby is glad to receive it's new wheel and new pair of shoes too... the OEM 15" wheels is swapped with 16" OEM from Neo CPS (a recplica of Advanti's Medusa from JRD???)

The front pair is wrapped with new Continental SportContact-1 195/50/16 while the other rear pair is wrapped with used Silverstone Synergy M5 205/45/16 transferred from our family's old Wira... based on my hand lifting, the Neo CPS wheel is definitely lighter than Gen2's OEM 15" which actually surprised me a lot considering it is OEM wheels rather than some super lightweight aftermarket wheels...

So, many might have been wondering... Does changing to a bigger wheel really do have impacts on handling performance of a car??? Well, to answer that questions let's watch the video below....




I experienced the same thing... even though I'm just changing from 15" to 16" instead of 18" to 19", but the feeling is more or less the same...

my recent drives with the wheels pretty interesting. Some of my expectations were met, and some of them are not...

So, what did I expect???

1. Lesser body roll
2. harsher ride/less comfort
3. better handling
4. lacking in acceleration
5. lacking in top speed
6. worse FC
7. inaccurate speedometer
8. Doesn't look that good as I have never liked a car with dark rims anyway...

so, the results???

1. to some extent, I did sense a little less body roll... but it is very very very minimal... I'd say if you're looking for body roll reduction, go for front+rear ARB plus adjustable suspension setup. though I dont know if we go for really really low aspect ratio tyres will it improve significantly at the cost of comfort...

2. harsher ride/less comfort indeed... since the OEM 195/55/15 is pretty high on the aspect ratio, the sidewall helps in absorbing the road harshness too... So, with lower profile dont expect the comfort going to improve... It won't... though I'd say the harshness excites me; except when I met a pothole... It's a pain when thinking about what torture the wheels received...

3. better handling performance... I'd say to some extend is true, though I'd sense it's a little hard to control the steering after the change... it seems to be like whatever harshness on the road can change the direction of the wheels... steering wheel get pretty sensitive and somehow become a little lighter/easier to turn the wheels... though I can feel the car hold on to the road better than before... I've tried one night pushing to the limit (that after I did I scare the shit of myself XP) i though I'm gonna understeer straight into the bushes, but i didn't... the tyre actually screaming but the car going as the steering directed it... pretty impressive i'd say... could be my tyre combo too preventing the understeer... :P

4. i dont know if this is true especially after almost everyone complaining about this, but I dont feel it... I just dont feel the loss of power here until I hit the top speed... I still feel the same acceleration as I felt before the change... it's either there are really no changes or my right legs just become heavier compensating the power loss... but, for the sake of being positive and optimistic about myself, I'd say there are really no changes...

5. Lacking in top speed... this one definitely is.... before changes I manage to hit 185km/h as claimed by Proton... but with this wheel, I can only hit 175km/h and that's it... the speed stay there....

6. Fuel consumption... I was a little worried when I was in the highway... but yeah, I drive pretty hard to push the car to its limit to test the handling so thinking back it's not really weird to have a very bad FC up there... but until today, I'd say there's only very minimal difference or there's no difference at all... it's almost the same with 15"...

7. I was concerned with this too... but because of my choice of tyre, the difference is minimal... based on the calculation I am supposed to be faster 1% compare to the speedometer... however, my GPS shows the same speed as speedometer... though I'd say that 1% is well within GPS tolerance so it might not shows up on the GPS anyway...

8. aesthetic wise, heck it's even better... once the set of wheels is fitted to my car, I dont want to take it off anymore... it just looks too good compare to 15" OEM XD

9. the unexpected side effect is, it seems to be the problems of weird brake sounds with old 15" OEM having less occurrence with new wheels... I was suspecting the weird brake sounds before is due to the brakes heating up coupled with problematic pads... but right now it seems to be the wheels have cooling effect on the brakes???

all in all, after driving with stock wheels for like 1.5years I had to change my driving styles a little bit to accommodate new handling characteristics of new wheels... even changing to bigger wheels does improve a little bit on the handling but I think it is minimal and not very significant... I would say spending the money to fit in all those Ultra Racing bars have a lot more significant improvement on handling and lucky me to get this set of wheels for free and only pay for RM120 for rubbers... XD

plus, considering the price of the rubbers also will make you have headache... and thinking about those potholes on the road of Malaysia, seriously it can make you cry...

I Need A Girl~~~

Scamming???

A phone conversation...

Promoter: Hi, saya dari bla bla bla sdn bhd, saya call nih nk menerangkan la tentang satu polisi kami bla bla bla... Sblm tu boleh saya tau apa nama encik

Me: MRL...

Promoter: Ok, en mrl. kami ade polisi yg baru dilancarkan semlm... Hanya org terpilih je yg boleh join polisi ni... benefit die byk ye en mrl... antaranya bla bla bla... So, boleh saya tau alamat surat menyurat en mrl?

Me: "no rumah", "nama jalan" "poskod" "bandaraya" "negeri"... b.... <-- (cuba bertanya soalan tapi dipotong terus, kecewa)

Promoter: Ok ye en mrl... premium polisi ni hanya RM52 sahaja, dijamin xkan bertambah sehingga 20tahun seterusnya bla bla bla bla bla... ok, boleh saya tau kad debit en mrl valid sampai bila? ada tertulis dkt dpn kad encik...

Me: 01/15... s... <--(cubaan bertanya gagal lagi)

Promoter: no yang tertera dpn kad tu? Me: xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx <-- (how stupid of me... again, tidak diberi peluang utk bertanya lagi)

Promoter: ok, dlm masa 14 hari dari sekarang en mrl akn terima satu black and white document dari kami tentang polisi ni. hari ini saya akn daftarkan nama en mrl terus kedalam sistem dan kad debit en mrl akan dicharge dlm next statement... setkt itu saj....

Me: tunggu dulu... tunggu dulu... saya ada soalan nih

Promoter: ye en mrl?

Me: maksudnya skang nih, nama saya terus didaftarkan, and saya akn dicharge RM52 kemudian baru saya dpt black and white utk decide sama ada nk teruskan atau x?

Promoter: kita ada satu tempoh untuk membatalkan polisi ini sekiranya en mrl x bersetuju slps baca black and white policy kami. kami x galakkan en berbuat demikian tapi en sebagai customer ada hak utk membatalkan polisi tersebut dan kami tak boleh berbuat apa2.

Me: Ok, kalo camtu saya xnk didaftarkan hari ni.

Promoter: Kenapa en mrl???? polisi kami bla bla bla bla bla...

Me: saya xperlukan polisi tersebut

Promoter: sekejap ye en mrl, saya pass en mrl dkt supervisor saya

Supervisor: Hi en mrl, polisi kami ni bla bla bla bla <-- (terang blk benda yg da terang lagi bersuluh)

Me: tapi saya xnk register hari ni

Supervisor: Kenapa en mrl xnk register?

Me: You guys dont even give me a chance to talk... You guys come and barge me with info and take my particulars like wanna scam me you know...

Supervisor: oh, so you're anger with our staff just now... it's ok... cmni en mrl, polisi kami bla bla bla bla...

Me: it's ok, I dont think it's necessary for me to take this policy.

Supervisor: so, en mrl xnk daftar? Me: yup... saya xnk daftar...

Supervisor: kalo mcm tu xpe la en mrl. *hang up*



ok, the conversation above maybe has been spiced up a little bit and person plus company involved are not disclosed.

the point is:-

1. this kind of business is allowed????????? I'm surprised.

2. they just take my particulars without me agreeing whether they should charge me or not, and then wanna charge me... yes, stupid of me also didn't ask first when I was asked about my particulars. But I can see this as a way of twisting words with unknowing people...

3. Not that I'm denying health/life insurance policy is good for you, especially what they offered me. I am actually about to accept the offer after listening to the explained benefit. But when you act suspiciously, I will seriously back off from the deal. The thing is, when it's too good to be true, It might have been a fantasy after all.

4. Seeing that, I am actually felt pretty stupid with me giving them some particulars, but the truth is I had no money in the said bank account. go on, charge if you can.

5. what makes me sad, this kind of business is conducted by an established group (as per claimed by the promoter)... kinda lost my trust with them now...

ehem.... New Year 2011!!!!

*fuhhhh* *fuhhhhh* *fuhhhhh*

*dusty* *dusty*

As per usual, when it comes to new year, everybody started to talk about new year resolution... But how many of us actually do achieve what we have resolved??? hmmm... let's take a look at mine...

1. Secure a better job... this one's great... but not enough salary... to tell the truth, I miss Penang... hahaha...
   
2. To be a better man... less angry, less temper... is it possible???
3. Last year's resolution, to enjoy life more...
4. To be more secure financially...
5. To have some savings (although seems to be quite impossible...)

#1 is achieved... better job... heck, I'm back in Penang!!!!
#2 hmmm... i dont know... i can claim that I've been a better man... but did I???
#3 enjoy life more, I guess I enjoyed my life more than any other year before...
#4 secured financially... well, i'm not really secured actually... since I've been moving here and there and keep on using my savings in the mean time... so, nayyyy... i dont think this has been accomplished... let's carry it forward XD
#5 have some savings, well... i keep on using them... XD

so, what will be my new year 2011 resolution??

1. Want to have some big savings... (oh please, sikit2 lama2 jadi bukit ok...)
2. I want to be a better man than last year... better and better... of course we can't be worse right...
3. Hmmm... as I have enjoyed my life, why not enjoy my work also??
4. carried forward of secured financially... haha...
5. and carried forward savings....