In Defense of Instagram

St. Paul's from Bankside

This is a blog post I never thought I would ever write. Funny how a few months can make...

See, six months ago I was that guy on Twitter who did not get Instagram, even writing it off as a fad - a mistake that dear Mark Zuck would regret ever making. But after signing up a few months ago out of curiosity, it is now the second most used social network after Twitter. In fact, it will probably soon usurp Twitter as my favourite social network, what with Twitter clamping down on clients and other minor irritations. Proof, if you will, that one should never write things off completely or be closed minded.

Giant robots

It is actually not difficult to see how Instagram, once I had the guts to try it, easily won me over. Once I got over the initial urge to use the default and, more importantly, optional image filters, I've come to realised that if you approach Instagram as a social platform, it really isn't any different to Twitter. In fact Instagram is more or less Twitter for pictures. While Facebook and Twitter continues to grow bloated with features we never wanted, Instagram simply wins because of its ease of use and focus on visual communications.

Fcuk the Olympix

Why I Chose Windows Phone

I was chatting with several people from the IT and phone industry at a meetup yesterday and someone, asked me what I found so appealing about Windows Phone. Many people I meet, like some of my friends who work in the tech mobile industry, seems flabbergasted whenever it is revealed I currently use a Windows Phone device, like I am some kind of weirdo, especially when they know I switched from a powerful Samsung Galaxy S II to a Nokia Lumia 800. It was a fascinating question because it just seems like yesterday when similar questions were asked about Android and iPhone and before that PalmOS and Pocket PC.

I pointed out how similar Android is to the old Windows Mobile, and before that PalmOS and how dated the OS felt. There is no doubt that the tweak-able nature of Android is great, but perhaps that is its only redeemable quality. I am a geek at heart. I just can't help customising. So when I had the SGS2 I would spent hours a week simply customising, experimenting with widgets, resizing pictures, moving icons etc. Each time I settled on a theme, I would get bored and start tweaking again. It was a never ending cycle. In fact, as I told my friend yesterday, I was spending more time tweaking my Android device than actually using it.

When I switched to Windows Phone 7, the lack of full customisation did not bother me one bit. This was simply because of the fact that it an already beautiful OS. Animated Live Tiles enriched with information, not only looks amazing, but are also useful proving that Windows Phone isn't just form over function. And because of how Metro homescreen works, any tiles pinned to the homescreen looks like they belong there. There is always a consistency no matter what I do. On the other hand, with Android, different widgets by different developers don't often mesh well together and I was always on the look out for one that fits.

Design Matters

A few days ago someone retweeted a tweet into my timeline during the press event. Unfortunately due to network congestion and the fact that I was so swamped, the tweet has long gone. But I still remember the gist of the tweet. The tweet basically complained about the Samsung Galaxy S III's design and how the trend towards touchscreen devices is making it impossible for manufacturers to differentiate on design.

That was just plain wrong. Time after time, Nokia and Apple has proven that it is possible to make phones with good hardware design, and before that, companies like Sony and Palm has demonstrated that there are more than just slates when it came to touchscreen dominated PDAs (which were basically smartphones that can't make phone calls). A good designer will always find a way.

Palm V: Stylish and functional. Instantly recognisable. (image source)

The issue with most Android OEMs (and also certain new WP7 OEMs as well) is the commodification of their devices. Phones are now designed to be mass produced cheaply with nary a care about design because at the end of the day, they just want large numbers. It irritates me because I know they can do better. Why? Because in Japan, one company is doing exactly just that by bucking the me-too trend.

Metro and the future of mobile UI

Having grown up with computers for most of my life and witnessing the growing evolution of desktops and then mobile devices, I notice that there is an overemphasis on the details. I don't mean little details like functionality and design language, but on aesthetic of icons and applications. People seem to genuinely believe that a better looking icon meant that their gadgets were quicker and better. Thing is, a detailed icon does not make Photoshop better, nor does it make a browser render quicker. Similarly, having a flip animation doesn't make a book better either.

It is a problem that other industry has eventually grown out of, but the reverse trend is only currently making head ways in the consumer electronics industry. Apple knew that, which was why their iPods were so popular. The black and white text based UI was simple to use and navigate. Competitors like Creative and Archos countered by creating devices featuring colourful but complicated UI, and failed for good reasons. With the iPhone, Apple ditched that core UI philosophy but they got away with it, because their competitors at Nokia, Microsoft and Google did things far worst. While iOS was revolutionary in 2007, it is starting to look extremely dated now.

Phone manufacturers, you are doing it wrong

In a survey conducted by HTC last year, the Taiwanese manufacturer asked customers whether they prefer their phones with great battery life or are willing to sacrifice that for thinness. Apparently the majority of customers prefer a thin phone with awful battery life. Armed with this result, HTC decided to cancel the production of phones with 3000mAh batteries to make the HTC One series, like the HTC One X, which I am currently reviewing.

The very thought that HTC shelved plans for a smartphone with 3000mAh battery greatly depress me. I am sure I am not the only one who isn't fond on the direction the mobile industry is heading towards. As much as I love the One X, its mediocre battery life isn't one of them. Thin 'superphones' like the One X needs large batteries. With a 4.7" display and quad core processor, you would think that a bigger battery would make sense. These days I always carry a wall charger with me whenever I am out, in case I have to make a pit stop at Starbucks to top up, as well as my Motorola emergency charger. I would rather not, but I have little choice in this.

Motorola, the only manufacturer that gets it

Now if you think I am singling out HTC for this, you are wrong. It just happened they admitted to using a survey to justify this awful decision that lead me to write this post. My current main phone, the Nokia Lumia 800, has a battery that wouldn't last a full day on power use (it isn't even thin!), as was my previous Samsung Galaxy S II. In fact the only device I ever owned that was capable of lasting a full day, and then a couple more, was my old Nokia E51. What a wunderphone that was.

So dear HTC, Nokia, Samsung and Sony, you are doing it wrong. We do not care if a phone shaves an extra 1mm in thickness, and we certainly do not care if it holds the title for world's thinnest whatever phone. We want phones with large batteries, and we want them now. Hell, if Motorola can even give us a slim phone with awesome battery life, why can't you?

Source: GSMArena

Nokia's Big Mistakes

Nokia is in trouble, so the media has been telling us. Well, we all know that. In fact many of us knew that things will only get much worse before it gets better. Cue shock faces.

Nokia is in trouble because they failed to adapt and continued to make mistakes. They believe they were a software company when they were only ever good as a hardware one. People bought Nokia phones because of the great design, not the silly OS it runs on. But behind the large pile of money and rose-tinted glasses, Nokia failed to see that and that is why they are in this pickle. Mistakes were made by all, from the old deposed regime to the new, from the management down to the grass roots.