This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

So if you’re reading this and you’re thinking “who the heck is Wall-E?”… then TADA!

You see, in the cartoon, Wall-E meets a friend who frantically cleans after him / her / it after it enters the massive ship called the “AXIOM” where all the humans live after planet earth is filled with garbage. This robot friend of his is called M-O a.k.a microbe obliterator…

I think I’ve found a real life one in Malaysia!

Behold… the Mint robot cleaner and mopper!

Okay, it might not look as cute as the M-O, doesn’t really have yellow glowing eyes but this fella is as tough as M-O and would mop, sweep, clean till its battery goes flat.

I’ve reviewed Samsung’s Navibot Robotic vacuum cleaner in the past. It vacuums well, is intelligent and cleans room to room but what it doesn’t do is give you that squeaky clean after-mop feel – this is something the Mint robot does incredibly well.

How does it size up?
The first time I saw Mint – I didn’t think much of it but my wife thought of it as a pet. She named it Minty. That aside…

This fella is SMALL. Mint is about the thickness of half a brick, probably 1/3 the dimensions of a 10 inch tablet and is around the weight of a 1-litre bottle of soft drink. You get this idea
Comes with a convenient handle so you can lug it around…

3 simple buttons, power, sweep and mop

Autosensing bumpers so it doesn’t hit your pet hamster

Anti-fall sensors

It’s doesn’t come with a charging dock so you’d have to manually plug it in

Unlike other robotic vacuum cleaners that use the camera or just bumps around endlessly, Mint comes with some form of a Navigator called the NorthStar – that beams dots invisible to the naked eye onto the ceiling to guide Mint around.

How does it clean?
For cleaning, It doesn’t use brushes nor a bin to store the dust – instead, you attached one of the bundled cleaner cloths with a magnetic pad.

Want a quick sweep? – attach the cleaner cloth, hit sweep and it goes for 3 whole hours!

Want a quick mop? – wet the cleaner cloth, attach it, hit mop and it does the job continuously for 2 hours!

How do you clean Mint?
This is probably the simplest thing to clean. Simply pull the magnetically attached pad, pull out the cleaning cloth, run it over water, dry and you’re done! AMAZING!

If you found that difficult – you’re probably a very very VERY lazy giraffe.

Refills?
Don’t the cloths wear out over time? Yes of course but thank goodness for my very wife’s very kiasu-mind, she found an alternative which does the job just as well instead of buying refills from the manufacturer… TADA!

The 100 Yen shop’s disposable all-purpose cloth cleaner @ only 5 ringgit!

Some things to consider…
Not for super large, dusty rooms – As it doesn’t come with built-in bin, Mint is only as effective as the amount of dust its cleaning cloth can capture. For very dusty places, you may need to replace the cloth at least once during cleaning

Cleans only 1 room – Unlike some robotic cleaners out there, Mint only cleans 1 room or as far as the NorthStar rays can reach – which is about 800 square feet

Doesn’t auto-recharge – It doesn’t come with a dock because the manufacturer expects you to remove the cleaning cloth after every cleaning session – it’d still be nice to see it return to a dock for auto-charging

Doesn’t allow auto-scheduling – Again, since it doesn’t auto charge and you’d be required to give it fresh clean cloth for every cleaning session, the manufacturer left this feature

Should you still buy it?
Well, I’ve got another robot at home which vacuums and cleans but Mint I must say is one we use really often because it’s whisper quiet & does the mopping job REALLY well. It doesn’t disturb my pets and it has reached places I never thought existed. My toilets, bedrooms, study have never been this clean before!

At a price tag of about RM 1,200 – I think it beats employing someone to do the job for ya. Great for lazy people like me

So would you pick up the closest thing we’ve got to Wall-E’s cleaner friend M-O?

Leave your comments below and I’ll do my best to reply to all!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

A shaver – we hardly look at it as a gadget. Some twirl your moustache and pluck it right off your lips / chin, some scrape, some suck it right off your face. I’ve not tried the sucking one but it’d be interesting.

So the last time I bought a shaver was during my university days. That was wow – 8-9 years ago? It was a small portable one, cost me around RM 249 and I’ve been using it all these while until recently when it looked a little ‘tired’ & didn’t shave that well no more so I decided it’s time to pickup something new…

Behold the Lamdash 5 Series – ES-LV90 by Panasonic!

The ES-LV90 is Panasonic’s top of the line Lamdash range of shavers that comes with a whole load of features like…

• Not 1 but 5 Arc blades – unlike other shavers, the blades are arced so that it fits perfectly on the skin – doesn’t matter if you’ve got smooth or flabby chin
• Flexible head – You glide the shaver across your face and the shaver’s head readjusts automatically to follow the contour of your face! I can imagine shaving other parts – my elbow for instance… what you thinking?
• LCD display – Nice! Tells you how much battery is left, how long you’ve shaved, when to replace blades, clean the blades – it’s like having a secretary in your shaver
• Completely washable – Dip in water and tada!
• Comes with a super awesome dock – Just shave, drop the fella into the dock – set mode and it’ll do everything from charging to washing, drying it up with a heater to even oiling the gadget to make sure it gives you that perfect shave the next time!

The unboxing & quick shave test…

First impression
The Panasonic ES-LV90 gives a really nice grip. It might look big in the pictures but it fits my hand perfectly (don’t think I’ve got large hands). Most people I’ve shown it to expect it to be heavy due to the size but most go ‘wow’ it’s light! I’d say it’s got a good weight that feels just right.

The overall built quality – like you’d expect from a premium top of the range shaver – very solid. The levers are nice, buttons have a good feel but the chrome-like surface can be a bit of a fingerprint magnet so expect to rub it against your shirt to keep it beautiful.

Shaving experience
I’ve got really sensitive skin. My old shaver would make me look like a human Dalmatian with pink polka dots at the end of every shave. Sometimes it’s due to cleanliness of the head but it’s mostly because I pass the same spot to get rid of a particular patch of hair. Yes, I’m hairy.

As you can see from the vid above, the ES-LV90 comes with a patented one-pass only technology that only needed to pass my hairy chin just once to get rid of the hair!

For the first time, I’m proud to say after shaving half my face, I didn’t have pink polkadots! YAY!

Before

After

It was possibly one of the fastest shave I’ve ever experienced with zero discomfort as the flexible head rides on the contours of my face. If you’re a man, or a woman with a lot of hair – you’d appreciate this feeling ALOT.

Cleaning
I’ve got to make sure my shaver is clean all the time otherwise I’d end up looking like a Dalmatian again. There are 2 options.

With the dock – it’s a matter of dropping it into the dock, wack the clean button and in 10 minutes, it’s completely washed. Drying will take another 80 minutes with the built-in fan and heater – literally sanitizing it. While it’s doing all that, it charges & oils as well. Nice.

Without dock – When you’re travelling or you don’t have the dock around (you can buy it without the dock – cheaper), just put a bit of hand soap on the shaver, put it under running water then press & hold to activate sonic vibration mode to quickly clean the shaver.

So is it worth it?
Well, the Panasonic ES-LV90 is not for everybody. Certainly not for your pet hamster BUT if you shave often, have sensitive skin, need that perfect shave every time , in the shortest amount of time or simply want to spoil yourself – this is one gadget you’d want for yourself or that special someone.

BUT it’s 1,400 ringgit!?
My logic is that we live in a world where we spend thousands on mobile phones, tablets and other gadgets. Some of us would eat peas for dinner just to buy them but we hardly think about shavers – the very thing that touches your face every day, the very thing that might just last 8-9 years like my last shaver.

So if you ask me, it’s well worth the investment. No more pink polkadots, no skin irritation, have a secretary in your shaver and a robot to do the sanitizing + washing + drying + charging?

Yes. I’d eat peas for a few months to buy it. Oh, there’s also the same model without the dock at around 900 ringgit. Can’t wait to shave tomorrow

So will you buy one? Leave your comments below & I’ll do my best to reply to all!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

I’m a big fan of small things. Not that I’m saying I have a small thing if you know what I mean. My dog is small, I have owned a number of really really small 2 seater cars, small phones – you get the idea.

So when someone asked if I’d like to torture a small phone that was launched earlier this month – I said YES! Behold…

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Active!

So this is Sony Ericsson’s first (I think) super durable mobile device that runs on Android Gingerbread – designed for the super active or super careless people. There’s a reason why…

First, some quick specs

• 3” Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA engine
• Android Gingerbread 2.3
• 5 megapixel camera with flash
• HD video recording
• 3D panorama recording to be viewed later on compatible devices
• ANT+ Wireless Networking technology – allows you to monitor heart rate with compatible chest bands and devices on the go!
• GPS, Digital Compass
• 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth
• Wet Finger Tracking – unlike regular touch screen phones, this works with wet fingers

The main highlight – It’s dust & water resistant!
The Xperia Active can withstand being submerged in 1 meter of water for a full 30 mins. So let the torture begin!

Overall feel of the device
As you can see from the vid I must say this fella is one of those phones you can own and not worry too much about damaging it – Water, dust, soap – no problem. I can imagine the phone being thrown & dragged around and it’d still work.

The back is made of some rubbery material – which gives the phone a pretty good grip and if you put some soap on it, it’d make a fantastic face scrub. Aesthetically, I especially like the aluminium ring on the device which gives it some sexiness – almost like lip gloss on a slightly plump model.

It’s probably not the slimmest mobile device in market – about the thickness of half a bar of soap but considering this device is made to be durable, water & dust resistant – some padding had to be done…

Layer 1 – Primary seal – back cover

Layer 2 – Secondary seal before you reach the electronics

Camera
The 5 megapixel cam is packed with the regular Sony Ericsson camera phone features…

Quality is pretty alright but I think the highlight would be its ability to capture sweep panoramas. (click on any of the following images to enlarge)

And if you’ve got a 3D TV at home, this fella can snap 3D panoramas as well! Only problem is, you can’t view the 3D images on the phone itself.
Some shots taken with the camera…

Accessories galore
If you love accessories, this fella is bundled with a whole lot of them at no extra charge!

So you’ve got…

• The arm band to wrap around your arms or neck if you prefer
• A strap to hook up to the sexy looking aluminium loop
• USB sync cable
• Universal USB Charger
• Noise insulating Sony earphones
• Ear hooks for the earphones
• And… an extra white back cover

The price
Officially retails at RM 1,159 and while stocks last, it’s bundled with the super cool Sony Ericsson LiveView which acts like a watch and gives you phone updates on your wrist without looking at the phone!

Should you buy it?
It’s not the highest end of mobile phones, neither is it the slimmest BUT if you’re looking for a phone which you can party with, swim, go dust diving, throw around, not worry about ‘baby-ing’ it all the time but have a pretty good camera coupled with all the mandatory features of a mobile device of today – the Xperia Active is that phone.

Oh and with that price tag – all the bundled accessories plus the LiveView? I’m drooling already

What do you think of it? Leave your comments below & I’ll do my best to reply to all!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

This was probably 15 years ago – the year was 1996 and everyone who went online was raving about this new kind of e-mail which you can check using a web browser… WOAH… it was state-of-the-art and they’d give you 2 FREAKING MEGABYTES of space – I was speechless, I had to get HOTMAIL.

Being a kiasu boy since I was young ; naturally, I dialled up using my 14.4kbps modem – thank goodness the line wasn’t engaged, logged on and quickly created my first ever Hotmail account!

@hotmail.com
That e-mail address is what I have till today, I was instantly cool – or so I thought.

Then the internet grew, more free e-mail providers came along, I even had a Disney-land.com e-mail address!! Go Mickey! Yahoo came strong with sleek interfaces, Gmail came with 1 GB of storage and soon, Hotmail was no longer cool – almost forgotten.

Fast forward into 2011
The day came… a few weeks back, I was invited with some bloggers to checkout something the world has not seen – it’s the latest, revitalized, cooler Windows Live Hotmail.
Honestly, I was sceptical at first and then BOOM!

Looks like the people who bought over Hotmail, Microsoft hasn’t been quietly sitting down. They’ve been hard at work to make BIG changes for their over 364 million users – the biggest webmail provider in the world.

First, more secure login – now with Single Use Codes

Apart from the usual login interface, you now have Single Use Codes. It’s a little bit like the TAC code we have for banking.
Especially useful if you’re using a friend’s computer and you don’t want to key in your e-mail password and risk him/her hacking into your account changing your surname & gender preference in profile.

Just key in your Windows Live ID – that’s your e-mail address, select “Get one here” and an SMS with the code is sent to your phone. Key in that single use code and voila – you’re in your e-mail account!

It’s gone ‘IN’!
Hotmail is not only e-mail because it’s now socially connected to your Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn. Once hooked up, you can see your social network timeline, chat with friends on the various networks (ie. Facebook) send “status updates” – all within Hotmail!

Great for the fickle minded like me
Sometimes, I can’t seem to decide what I like so it’s good to have options. Don’t like this view?

Just hit “options” and change it!

TADA!

Easier ways to sort e-mail
Sometimes we go crazy subscribing for all sorts of newsletters, forums, deals etc that we start missing e-mails because it’s all clogged up. This is where the beauty of Hotmail’s built-in sorting begins!

• All – shows all e-mails – duh!
• Unread – duh duh!
• From contacts – only shows e-mails from people that are in your address book – which is great in case you miss this super important mail from your grandma or boss
• Social updates – How many million facebook, twitter, linkedin etc. notifications do you get? I get millions. It’s annoying but yet we want it because we feel loved – click this only shows social update mails yay!
• From groups – Like social updates – but shows forum updates
• and it doesn’t end there, those were just the default, you can create more!

Quick views – another cool sorting feature

Allows you to show only e-mails that are flagged, has photos or has documents. No more searching for e-mails with ‘attachments’ just click and you’re done. Nice.

Sweep – like a broom – literally!

Allows you to sweep through your entire mailbox for certain e-mails and categorize them or delete them.

So if you want to delete all e-mails from an ex, it’s simple – right click on one of his / her e-mails and select “delete all from…” done Of course, if you’re the nostalgic type you can always choose “move all from…” and store it in a secret folder for future reference.

Super awesome photo mailing feature!
This is by far my favourite feature in the new Windows Live Hotmail. Say you want to e-mail a whole tonne of photos.

If you notice above the thumbnails, there’s an option to turn it into an online album!

So imagine you’re sending 100 megabytes super high quality pics to your boss, you might clog up his / her e-mail and end up getting fired. So not worth it for a bunch of photos.

Instead, opt for the “online album” and TADA!

All 100 megabytes get uploaded to a built-in Microsoft Sky Drive account and all your boss gets is this super lightweight beautiful e-mail (as viewed on Gmail)!

Clicking on “view slide show” brings him / her to…

And from there, he / she can pick and choose which photo to be downloaded in full resolution. Simply BRILLIANT!

There are tonnes to explore…
For instance, you’ve got the calendar which now looks really good – it even tells you the weather outlook for the next few days in case you’re planning a picnic on the tarmac of Jalan Bukit Bintang.

There’s also SkyDrive which gives you 5GB of FREE storage to store anything you like and be made accessible anywhere in the world

the Android app that gives push e-mails plus syncs your contacts, calendar between your mobile device & your hotmail account

And so much more…

Oh & there’s one more thing…
Do you know that Hotmail has upgraded it’s original 2 megabytes of storage to a bigger number? Here’s the number – UNLIMITED – Hotmail now gives all its 364 million and growing users unlimited space! * cue * mouth wide open.

I think Hotmail has returned. Welcome back to the cool world. I’m glad I kept my hotmail account all these years.

So, would you give Hotmail a try? How do you like it? Leave your replies below and I’ll do my best to reply to all!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

So if you recall about a month back I sounded like a lost lamb and was completely depressed after my iPad 2 had a tragic crash in a parking lot rendering it completely unusable…

It felt like a girlfriend…
I never knew how attached I was to my iPad 2 – I started having dreams about it and recalled the great times I had with it – be it at a lonely dining table, while waiting for my wife in a parking lot, late night reads, my intimate times in the loo… it was like a girlfriend.

The search began
Would I own another iPad 2 and risk bringing back even more ‘intimate’ moments we shared? Perhaps not.

I decided to be adventurous and try something I’ve never laid my hands on –Android’s tablet operating system – Honeycomb. Right after deciding, I instantly got confused.

You see, in the Apple world; you’ve got the grand total of ONE choice. In the Android Honeycomb world, WOW is the word!

It’s like picking a chicken from the market – fat, thin, tall, filled with feather, featherless – all sorts. So after weeks and weeks of going through feathers… I’ve come down to this…

Behold the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1!
I’ve heard so much about this tablet on twitter & facebook and honestly, I’ve never touched one or seen one in real life till the day I had it in my hands.

First impression
I must say, it’s by far one of the most beautiful tablet devices I’ve seen – even when compared to the iPad 2. Sure the iPad 2 has an aluminium back and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a plastic back but I assure you, it’s not just any plastic – it’s good quality hard plastic that has a premium and solid feel to it.

Oh, did I mention this 1ghz dual core baby is also lighter & slimmer when compared to the iPad 2?

It’s got the regular 3.5mm earphone jack

SIM card slot – we don’t need to use a strange pin or needle to pull out the tray, YAY!
2 megapixel front & 3 megapixel rear camera with flash – iPad really can’t fight this

Stereo speakers – one on each side – iPads only have speakers on one side

Uses some form of a dock connector – bleh… more on this later

The screen

Samsung being one of the biggest manufacturers of displays and screens in the world (they manufacture many Apple screens as well), it’s not surprising to see the Tab 10.1 equipped with a very high quality capacitive touch screen.

• 1280 x 800 pixels when compared to iPad 2’s 1024 x 768 pixels – in layman terms, you see more on the tab
• Comes with Gorilla Glass – super tough glass that’s highly scratch & damage resistant, something the iPads don’t have
• It’s BRIGHT – really bright. I’ve tried using the device under direct sunlight and had no problems

The camera
One of my biggest gripes about the iPad 2 was the camera quality. Not only did it not have flash, according to Wired’s Gadget Lab, they found that both front and back cameras of the iPad 2 aren’t capable of taking more than 1 megapixel pictures.

So clearly, the Tab 10.1 with it’s 2 megapixel front and 3 megapixel rear camera with flash reigns. It’s no professional camera replacement but it’s decent. Check out the pictures & judge for yourself (click on the images to enlarge).

Macro shot in low light

Shot with flash

Random shots

The operating system – Android Honeycomb This to me is unchartered territory. I’ve never tried Google’s made-for-tablet operating system. So here’s what I’ve explored so far…

Widgets – this is quite a refreshing feeling after being shown nothing but icons of apps icons in iOS

Then of course the app screen which is filled with all the loaded apps

One of my favourite features, mini widgets! – I don’t know what they’re really called but the idea is you can start a selection of mini apps like the calendar, world clock, pen memo, calculator, music player and leave them running on top of whatever app you’ve got opened.

For instance, you’re a writing a mail and you need a calculator – just load it up and voila!

And if you return to the home screen, the calculator app mini widget stays open…

App compatibility – many people worry that there aren’t many made-for-honeycomb apps around. Somehow, Android managed to fix this and enabled most apps in the Android market to run full screen without a problem!

Like Twitter for Android

Androidify

Skype

Even games like my favourite – Robo Defense

Then of course, there are the made for Honeycomb apps that look amazing…

Tweetcomb – another twitter app

YouTube

CNN

The super fast browser which feels strangely like Google Chrome (oh yes, it plays Flash )

And so much more…

Drag, Drop, Play!
Since it runs on Android, there is no iTunes – just connect the Tab to your computer, drag and drop video / audio files and it’ll play!

Battery life
I don’t believe in manufacturer numbers, I do real life tests. Here’s my typical use:

• Take occasional snapshots with the camera
• Sync 4 e-mail accounts – all on “push” which sucks up the most battery
• Reply a number of mails
• Surf the net like WILD on 3G
• Play 1 – 2 games a day
• Go on Google Chat

So I unplugged it from the charger at 9am this morning, its 11:26pm and I still have 65% battery life left. Pretty good eh?

What don’t I like? Come on, you knew this was coming right?

Accessories – There are a host of Samsung accessories like charging dock, some fancy sleeves, a card reader that comes with a USB port for thumb drives & cameras, a keyboard and others but this still pales in comparison with what the iPad has. Sometimes I wish there was a smart cover for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. They have a slim cover that’s very versitle & does the job, but it’s just not smart.

No standard USB port – On many Android devices today there is almost always a USB port for charging and synching. Sure they have a dock connector that does the job (something that looks like the iOS connector for accessories) but that just means I must use the proprietary Samsung sync cable.

Not as smooth as iOS – I must admit, the device may seem a little laggy when you load up too many apps & widgets. To bring it back to speed, try not to load too many widgets, close some apps and clear memory with the built-in task manager.

So should you buy it?
If you’re looking for an Android tablet, you’d be spoilt with tonnes of choices. For me, it was simple.

I wanted something that has a dual core processor, light, slim, has a great screen, good camera, great battery life and looks good (yes I’m kiasu like that ) – the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is certainly one of the best Android tablet options out there that’s got all the check marks ticked.

If you’re comparing between the Tab 10.1 and an iPad 2 – hardware wise, I think the Tab 10.1 is a clear winner. Then of course, it’s down to the preference of the operating system. You want something safe, perfect, clean but to some can be a little boring – like a dolphin, go for iOS. If you want customizability, excitement but may not be perfect all the time – like a shark, go for Android Honeycomb.

So would you get the iPad 2 or Tab 10.1? Leave your comments below and I’ll try my best to reply to all!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

I will never forget the first time I saw the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc prototype, I was in joy… in tears and jumping like a baboon on heat.

A few months later, it was finally launched to the world. I made sure I got a unit and cradled it like a new born baby. It was one phone that I’ve used for a long long time outlasting most if not all of my other phones.

It’s time to rest…
Today, it’s time to put my Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc to rest and brave myself for something new, something that’ll change my mobile world once again…

The unboxing…

Hello HTC EVO 3D – my first ever 3D phone!
Thanks to my awesome friends from Cubic Platforms, the official sales & training centre for HTC and HTC themselves, they hooked me up with my brand new baby!

First thoughts…
This thing weights like the iPhone 4 which is nice but some might find it too heavy especially if you’ve got jelly hands – if you can heck an iPhone 4, you’ll be fine with this.

The EVO 3D feels like you can throw that at a thief and expect to hear a GROWL rather than a screech – thanks to it’s semi-metal frame. The front of it is all metal and glass while the back is hard plastic that is somehow moulded and bound with a rubbery feel to give you a pretty good overall grip – anti-slip-like.

The rest would be the industry standard USB jack for charging & synching, regular 3.5mm jack…

touch sensitive controls for interface navigation at the bottom of the screen, volume up / down and…

the dual lens camera…

along with a dedicated shutter control for taking dirty pictures of your hamster making love.

So here’s a quick overview of the specs that matter…

• 1.2 Ghz Dual Core processor – it’s FAST baby!
• 4.3 inch 3D capacitive touch screen with Gorilla Glass – super tough screen!
• 2x 5 Megapixel camera lenses – for 3D vids and pics
• 1.3 megapixel front camera
• Comes with not 1 but 2 LED flash lights – BRIGHT!
• Stereo mic for video recording
• 720p HD video recording
• expandable microSD memory card slot – comes with 8GB!
• industry standard USB 2.0 5-pin port for charging, synching and HDMI output to TV!
• FM Radio
• DLNA supported – streams videos, music & photos via WiFi to supported TVs, computers, PDAs, tablets, notebooks and more
• The latest communication stuff – Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and 3.5G
• Operating System – Android Gingerbread
• Interface – HTC Sense

Setting it up…
You plonk in your SIM card, battery pack, caress the power button – the phone jiggles and it comes alive with a HTC jingle.

Like most Android devices, your network operator’s settings are loaded in the factory – all you need is confirm that you want it enabled on your phone and data is setup instantly.

It’s nice to have Google

Next, you’d be greeted by a Setup wizard – once you’ve trusted your Gmail username and password to your new baby, your e-mail account, calendar, contacts, picasa photos and everything else is synched. After a couple more steps to configure additional accounts, twitter & facebook – which shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes, your phone is setup and ready to roll!

Welcome to the world of HTC Sense!
Just imagine Android as a woman without make up. I appreciate au naturale but a bit of make up can turn a hot chick into a supermodel. You get what I mean (threading VERY carefully here ).

So every manufacturer has come up with some make up / interface for their Android devices – so you get different buttons, different navigation menus, colours etc.

HTC calls theirs HTC Sense. I’ve used many Android devices in the past and I must admit, the best interface still comes from HTC Sense. It’s one of the most polished, aesthetically appealing, 3D-like and most importantly user friendly. If you’ve used an iPhone before – HTC Sense has the closest interface to the iPhone – well, somewhat.

Some widgets available only on the HTC Sense

HTC Sense – Scenes

This is something I quite like, ability to switch modes – a little like Profiles in Nokia phones. So if you’re working, you’d like a plain boring background with nothing but work apps laid all over the main screen, widgets on stock markets, news and such BUT the moment 5pm hits – you switch to the “Sexy” scene and show beautiful pictures of your forehead & bookmarks to your favourite sexy sites on the main screen… you dig? It’s awesome.

There’s just so much to talk about Sense – you’ll have to try the interface for yourself for the full experience.

The 3D experience
So how does it work? I have no clue. Do you need 3D Glasses? No.

I’m really quite amazed by how the technology works. Once pictures are taken in the 3D mode, everything seems to have a ‘perspective’ – there is a sudden depth in pictures and videos. People and objects closer to you seem to be floating above the screen while further objects seem ‘buried’.

You need to relax your eyes…
The key to viewing a 3D picture on the EVO 3D is to relax your eyes. After awhile, your eyes will adjust and the photos will come to life. For some reason, you don’t need to relax your eyes when watching a 3D movie.

For a limited time only all HTC EVO 3D phones are preloaded with Green Hornet 3D and trust me, it will blow your mind.

Almost everyone I’ve shown the video to goes WOW. To demonstrate this, I did a video review of the 3D movie viewing experience on the EVO 3D in Episode 8 of Techduology.

It’s backward compatible
So if you’ve shot a video or photo in 3D – does it mean you can only view it on a 3D compatible device? No, that’d be really dumb and the people at HTC aren’t dumb.

All 3D video and photos show like normal 2D footages on non supported devices – absolutely genius.

How is the camera?
First, thanks to the 1.2 Ghz dual core processor – the EVO 3D is really fast. There’s hardly any lag noticeable in any app and this translates in the camera app. I was told it has one of the fastest camera startup & photo taking times compared to many Android devices. The pictures? I’ll let you decide for yourself…

Daylight panoramic (click image to enlarge)

Macro shot with no flash (click image to enlarge)

Low light (click images to enlarge)

Any negatives about the phone?
As always, I’ll stay neutral and give my two cents although I’m still REALLY excited about the phone… so here goes…

Battery life – Maybe I’m a hardcore user – 5 e-mail accounts running on push all the time, tweeting, facebooking, taking photos, games, WiFi, showing off 3D videos – it’ll last me from 8am to 9pm. For a regular user, I’d expect it to last easily a day but I still hope it has longer battery life.

Speakers - The speakers are placed at the back of the device. Due to the position, the audio might not be loud enough in noisy environments and the best way to counter it is to place the phone on a hard surface to reflect the sound making it seem louder. Note to HTC – front speakers would be nice

In short…
Loads to like but as always there are always the few negative points to consider.

It’s a solid phone on the overall – solid built, runs on Android’s very latest, comes with the ability to take screenshots OH MAI GASH (was never possible in my other Android devices), has a great camera, gives you first hand experience on watching 3D without glasses ON a mobile device and comes with HTC Sense – one of the best Android interfaces in the market.

So if you love new technologies or if you’re looking for a solid Android experience with 3D thrown in – this is one phone you have to put on your check list.

What next?
There are tonnes more features to explore and talk about like watching YouTube in 3D! Did you know that? I didn’t! Just found out a few days ago. Standby for more updates.

So what do you think of the EVO 3D? Leave your comments below!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

So I’ve encountered more than 1person saying that they hate the latest Facebook timeline interface by facebook. Like a dunggu, I jumped on the bandwagon saying I hate it too but I was SO WRONG. Problem is, most people think this is the timeline..

A dunggu leading a dunggu = super dunggu
So I’ve admitted that I’m a dunggu. That thing up there? That’s not timeline – that’s just one of Facebook’s latest change to the profile page. So let’s get out of the dunggu world and see for ourselves what the SUPER AWESOME Facebook timeline feature non-dunggus are raving about.

It converts something like this…

to this…

Isn’t it gorgeous? No, I’m not talking about my face. It’s the layout. Everything just seems so much cleaner, so much more beautiful and one of the coolest bits is how Facebook builds your life line – showing the things that happened the year you were born all the way to where you are today… and that’s how the word timeline came about.

Checkout this video and you’ll understand it better.

How do you get it?
Facebook Timeline at the moment is only open to developers and isn’t exactly ready for public yet BUT there’s always a way around it

Thanks to a friend of mine SmashPop a.k.a Jason Goh who also co-hosts the Techduology video blog with me, he undunggunized me and showed me the hookup…

Step 1 – Login to your facebook account

Step 2 – Search for “developer” & select the “developer app”

Step 3 – Click “Create New App”, key in any name and a name space (could be anything without space & special characters) & click continue

You might be asked to key in some letters for security verification, just follow and click “submit”

Step 4 – Click on “Open Graph” followed by “Dashboard” on the left

Fill up the following 2 fields…

Click “Get Started”

Step 5 – Almost there! You’ll see this page..

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “Save changes & next”

For the next few pages, do the same until you see TADA!

And you’re DONE!

Final STEP! – Enabling Timeline

Goto Facebook.com on the same window and visit your own profile by clicking your picture…

and you’d notice something that says “Introducing Timeline – a New Kind of Profile”. Click “Get It Now” and POOF!

Enjoy your Facebook Timeline!

Important Note
Never delete the apps you created in the developer page earlier as it’ll automatically disable your Facebook Timeline. Also, for others to see your Facebook Timeline, they’ll need to enable their Timeline as well.

Have fun!

Have you or will you activate yours? Leave your comments below and I’ll try to reply all!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

I love my gadgets – I’d dare say all my gadgets regardless if it’s GIGANTOUS, BIG or small. You get the idea.

So you can imagine the kind of excitement I got when I picked up my iPad 2 about 4 months ago. I caressed every inch of it and did all sorts of almost impossible acrobatic moves including recording a video of my face…

10:10am – 14th September 2011…
I will never forget this day… at around 10:10am, I arrived at work and headed to the car park.

Due to Hari Raya Open House celebrations at the main entrance, many lots in the car park were cordoned off for guests so the already limited parking space got everyone going in circles hoping for some innocent soul to leave; opening a lot.

I circled at least 5 times when I decided to leave my car to the valet service…

I got out of the car, took everything I needed to bring with me including my iPad…

And then it began…

Just as I was closing the car door, the valet dude screamed :

I quickly brought the items I took out back into the car, started the engine and hit reverse…

Kiasuness hit me…
The moment I hit reverse, I saw another car at the corner of my eye heading towards the lane where the empty lot was on. Kiasuness a.k.a ‘cannot-lose-attitude’ hit me, I stepped on the accelerator and then I heard a loud ‘KLUNK’!

At first I thought my exhaust pipe or bumper fell off… then I looked around my car and to my horror… I couldn’t find my iPad…

I got out of my car and saw this…

10:25am – my hair stood…

Then my heart felt like it popped out of my chest and rolled back in. It was a mixture of emotions… I didn’t know if I should cry or slap myself silly for leaving it on the roof… BUT… I still had a goal, the parking spot!

I grabbed the my iPad, took the cover and plonked it on the driver’s seat and headed towards my prized possession – the parking lot and there he was Phat Fabes a.k.a my other half on radio parked nicely my lot… so that car was HIM!

I returned to the valet, dropped off the car, headed to the office and examined my beloved iPad.

Post mortem

• The iPad 2 hit the concrete floor at such force that it damaged 2 ends of the aluminium chassis subsequently cracking the glorious screen from all corners.
• Touch screen still works but there are glass splinters all over the screen making it dangerous to use
• There is no way to replace the screen as the chassis is damaged unless both screen and chassis is replaced
• Cost is estimated to be above 1,200 ringgit

The culprit
So there you go, the full story of what happened. The culprit? Who else? The man who got my kiasu-juices running wild – Phat Fabes!

Just look at that smile… eeeee…

If it was you, would you repair it? Buy a new one? Blame it on Phat Fabes even more because of his smile? Leave your comments below, I’ll try to reply to every single one!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

I hardly do accessory reviews but this time around, this gadget has made so much impact on my life that I’ve got to talk about it – behold, possibly one of the most insignificant gadgets on the face of this planet – the Capdase Dock Connector Card Reader for the iPad.

The Capdase Dock Connector Card Reader for the iPad
Not only is this gadget insignificant, it’s also got one of the longest names on earth. For the sake of keeping things simple, I’ll call it the ‘thing’.

iHate iTunes
The iPad is a GREAT photo viewer. Possibly one of the best digital photo frames to carry around. If you own one of Steve Job’s devices, you’d know that iTunes is a pain in the behind to use. Transfer songs? contacts? files? pictures? – can only be done through iTunes.

Surely there’s a better way to transfer pictures at the very least?
That’s when the ‘thing’ comes in. One easily pocketable gadget that once stabbed into your iPad’s behind, it’ll start roaring and be instantly ready to extract any videos or photos from many types of memory cards like…

• Memory Stick
• Memory Stick Duo
• SD card
• MMC card
• XD card
• Micro SD

It’s literally PLUG & PLAY
Once plugged into the iPads bum and making it roar, simply insert any of the acceptable memory card formats and the Photos app immediately launches and goes into “import” mode!

Select your photos or videos, hit import & you’re done. Simple.

There’s even an option to delete or keep the files imported from the card. I like.

Price tag?
150 ringgit. This ‘thing’ is not cheap especially considering Apple’s very own Apple Camera Connection Kit for the iPad (another stupidly long name) is sold at 89 ringgit.

Bear in mind though that Apple’s version supports only SD and USB cables which can be limiting.

Should you buy it?
Getting a card reader for your iPad really does open up many possibilities…

• turn your iPad into a portable drive to store images from your memory card incase it gets full during a holiday
• view your recorded videos and pictures from your camera on the iPad instead of the tiny screen on your camera
• allows you to immediately take pictures on your camera and exported to iMovie on the iPad to create your next masterpiece!
• Extract high quality photos & videos from your camera – allowing you to tweet, facebook it via the iPad
• and more!

Just one more thing though…
There’s always Apple’s bla bla bla connection kit which costs about 1/2 the price of the ‘thing’, so if you’ve got a camera that uses a memory card format that’s other than SD or if you’d like to be future proof and be 100% compatible with majority of memory cards out there – this is for ya.

Will you get one? Leave your comments below & I’ll do my best to reply to all!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

Some cars nowadays come with Bluetooth integration. I’ve got such a car which is great but not so when it’s so poorly integrated that you’d have to yell as thought you’re on top of a giraffe to get people at the bottom to hear you. It’s really sad.

Sissy business…
I talk too softly, they call me a sissy, I speak too loudly, they say I’m yelling so I finally gave up and went on a search for the ultimate Bluetooth kit for my car. Some have said why not get the regular bluetooth kit that makes you look like you’re wearing a gigantic pair of earrings? Truth is, I don’t want to wear earrings… In fact, I despise having one on my ear because I’d look like a sissy.

And so the search began…
It took all but 15 minutes. I dropped by a reputable gadget store, sniffed around, poked around and there it was… 500 over ringgit of glory that would get rid of this month’s paycheck…

Behold… The Jabra Freeway
Jabra has been around for sometime ever since the world of Bluetooth came around allowing us to talk without using wires. I remember them because they were also one of the first premium Bluetooth manufacturers in the world screaming about their noise cancellation technology.

After so many years, they are still around and this is their award winning Bluetooth handsfree made for cars – yay! No more dangling ear pieces that make you look sissy.

First impression
The box it came in was HUGE which scared me – but with the packaging removed, it’s actually a pretty slim device; which makes sense considering it’s meant to be clipped to your visor / sun shades.

It feels premium! Everything part of the gadget you caress feels good – from the cloth mesh that covers the 3 speakers (more on this later) to the physical buttons you press feels like the buttons you’d get in luxury cars – very nice.

Some highlights…

• Speakers - Has not 1 but 3 high quality speakers & comes with surround sound
• Reads names – Tells you who is calling by extracting phonebook information from your device & reads it to you
• You talk, it listens – Battery status? Redial? Callback? Pair new device? Access phone’s voice command feature? Just hit the “voice” button & that sweet lady or sweet man (the voice changes sometimes) will await your next command
• Answer calls without lifting a finger – Just say “answer” or “reject” during an incoming call – enough said
• Wireless audio streaming – Using a device that has A2DP streaming? In layman terms, stereo Bluetooth streaming – or in even more regular human terms playing music on your device through the speakers on the Jabra without wires in high quality? This fella does it.
• Transmit it to your radio – Instead of using the inbuilt speakers, you can opt to broadcast your call / music to your car’s radio via FM!
• You can talk till you drool – 14 hours talk time & 40 days standby
• And more… keep reading

I was set-up in 2 mins!
I’m like a baby whenever I get a new toy; eager to play with it and get everything started…

I turned it on for the first time (without charging) and immediately she spoke “ready for pairing…” and reads out this long message instructing you to look for the device on your phone. Once found, all I had to do was connect & she screamed with joy – “CONNECTED!”. At that point, I was screaming too, the fastest, hassle free Bluetooth pairing ever and I was ready to make calls!

“One of the best I’ve used”
I’ve used many Bluetooth devices before from the ear ring style to ones that make you scream – the Jabra Freeway was by far one of the best I’ve used.

3 speakers?
The 3 speakers (I was told 2 for regular audio and the center one for bass) produces super crisp audio for both music streaming & voice calls.

This thing sounds like a mini stereo box – it’s SUPER loud for its size & the output is really quite good. I’m no audiophile but I’d personally rate the audio quality as 7.5/10.

Call quality
This was the ultimate test, I called my wife & she screamed after hearing that I bought another gadget. For the first time, her screams were clear with no distortion & every word I said to justify my purchase was heard – finally, thanks to their noise cancellation technology – the Noise Black-out Extreme, a crystal clear call – not yell or talk too softly & sound like a mouse with asthma.

In more extreme tests, with the windows wound down, callers have had no problems hearing me! Yay, I can finally talk with my windows open and bake in the car!

It’s great for lazy people…
Like me. Yes, I hate turning off my devices. If possible, I’d leave them on forever. Why? I’m lazy. I believe this is the only car Bluetooth handsfree in the world that is smart enough to detect that you’re no longer in the car then disconnects your phone from it and switches itself to some form of a hibernation mode.

Once it detects movement in the car, the blue light glows, it wakes up and screams in ecstasy – “CONNECTED!”

This way, you never ever have to turn off the device and your battery life stays longer. I can vouch for this. Mine was turned on almost 2 weeks ago with lots of calls (I talk A LOT) and it still has 6 hours remaining talk time!

It’s also great for people with more than 1 phone…
The freeway also allows you to connect up to 8 bluetooth devices but only 2 can be active at any one time.

Say you’ve got an iPad that’s streaming audio to your freeway & you get an incoming call on your mobile – Freeway automatically brings down the volume of the iPad and connects you to the call automatically. Nice.

With so many greats, what are the not so greats?

Price tag
At about 500+ (varies from dealer to dealer – just nego a bit) is rather steep for a bluetooth handsfree but if you want the ultimate, I suppose you’ve got to pay the ultimate price.

Clip system
Since this gadget clips to your precious visor, after a prolonged period of time, you may see minor dimples which could disappear over time…

I’m not sure if it’s a deal breaker but I can live with 2 dimples – I’ll call them Pimply & Doodah

Voice command
The basic voice commands like redial, callback, battery status etc. are built-in but the more advance voice command features like dialing by number or dialing by name are not controlled by the device. Instead, it uses your phone’s built-in voice command. In such cases, Freeway simply transfers the command to your phone to do the job – if your phone has a sucky voice command feature – get ready to suck a lollipop.

Summary
In short, I think this is one of the best Bluetooth handsfree devices for the car. It’s packed with features, has great speakers, amazing call quality & noise cancellation – but ultimately, do you need it? Especially at that premium price tag?

Yes if you are have 500 bucks to spare, make lots of calls in the car and hate wearing those Bluetooth earrings. I’d take it as a mini investment.

No if you love wearing Bluetooth earrings in and out of the car

Maybe If you’re looking to give your car a voice

Perhaps if you’re filthy rich and looking for something to buy

Would you get it? Leave your comments below