2010 in lists!

It's the end of another year. Rather than bore you with yet another lengthy essay detailing my life in 2010, I present you yet another list!

Albums of the year:

Surfer Blood's Astro Surf
The XX's XX
Hot Chip's One Life Stand
Broken Social Scene's Feel Good Lost
Beach Fossil's Beach Fossils
Arcade Fire's Suburbs

Films of the year:

The Social Network
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Games of the year:
Heavy Rain
God of War III
Assassin's Creed II (because I played it this year)
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Valkyria Chronicles 2

Highlights of the year:
Conspiracy for Good by Tim Kring and Nokia
Nokia World
Angry Birds flashmob

Most impressive product:
Windows Phone 7 - I love it. It isn't for me, yet. But give it a year and it is going to rock!

Happy New Year dear readers

If you are in the Shoreditch area tonight, DM me @jonchoo if you want to join us for a quiet social celebration.

Have a Happy New Year!

Angry Birds Day London event

Last weekend was the first anniversary of the hit mobile puzzle game. To celebrate, Rovio Mobile, the Finnish based developer behind the game urges the fans of the game to celebrate by organising flashmobs around the world dubbed 'Angry Birds Day'.

We at #LeStudio52 has been thinking for a while on organising an Angry Birds competition using large screen, so when Rovio suggested this we immediately ceased the opportunity to turn the London event into the most memorable. We had the backing of Nokia as the main partner. Rovio also sent toys to be distributed to people attending the flashmob. Other partners includes Chillingo (the publisher of Angry Birds on iOS), Powermat and Spreadshirt.

We were divided into three groups, and we instructed to meet at 1pm at the respective meeting point. The idea was to meet up at different pubs, and have the participants of the flashmob meet up by 'finding the bird'. I was leading the group (that includes Chillingo) at The Nags Head on St James Street near Covent Garden tube station. Everyone who spotted me and my Angry Bird, got an Angry Birds plush toy.

The flashmob began at 2pm sharp on Covent Garden. After walking around the parameter of the famous market, we were stopped by security who insisted we leaved the borough, but we were allowed to continue our 'protest' on the bordering neighbour of Westminster Borough. The flashmob grew bigger as people started following us, and others caught up. We stopped outside the Zimbabwe Embassy and had a brief chat with the protesters outside. Eventually we arrived at Trafalgar Square, despite being previously warned by the authorities not to 'protest' there.

The flashmob was coming to an end, but then I shouted that we should head down to Parliament Square. Well we didn't quite make it to the former now none-Democracy Village, but we did stop outside the Horse Guards Parade and were allowed by security outside Downing Street for a quick photo stop.

The post flashmob event was held at the Northumberland a short walk from Trafalgar Square. There we held competitions, the top prize being a Nokia N8 generously donated by Nokia. Other prizes includes capacitive gloves, Powermat wireless charger and Angry Birds t-shirts.

The final consisted of a face off between Richard who won the 'most points' in Angry Birds level-5 competition and Ollie, who bested everyone by getting through six levels in the trial Angry Birds quickest (1.32 minutes). Ollie won the big prize (the Nokia N8) by hitting Richard three times using the Angry Birds plush toy.

Big thanks to Julien, the main brain behind the event, the people at Rovio and Nokia for supporting the event, 1000heads and WOMWorldNokia, Jenni and Abul from #LeStudio52, Lee for helping out with me in judging the competition and all the volunteers who made it happen (Alexa, Scott, Gareth - apologies if I forgot anybody else).

Angry Birds is available on iOS, Android, Symbian, Maemo 5 and WebOS, and soon to be available on PSP, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.

More pictures here

Three UK unlimited data on The One Plan

Some exciting news from the mobile industry this morning just for you data hungry mobile peeps. Three UK has announced that The One Plan tariff now comes with unlimited all you can eat data with no hidden fair usage nonsense. That's right - real unlimited data with tethering allowed and no fair usage limits. During a time when all other networks are scaling back instead of offering more to their customers, and it is nice to see Three UK bucking the trend. Well done Three!

The plan will take effect starting today and all customers on The One Plan, new and old will immediately be able to enjoy unlimited data right away.

Next, bring me unlimited MiFi with no fair usage and I can kiss our landline broadband goodbye forever!

Motorola Defy is lifeproof!

Yesterday evening I was invited to a Motorola party in London. They call it the Defy the Cold party, and surprise surprise - it had something to do with their recently launched Defy smartphone. Also seen at the party was the new Motorola Milestone 2. Released in the US as Droid 2, the Milestone 2 is pretty old news now. Still it was pretty exciting to play with it, and I hope to get one soon to review.

Anyway back to the Defy... the Defy is a new Android budget smartphone. It runs on Android 2.1 (Eclair), which is an even older news now that Android Gingerbread 2.3 is out. Motorola reckons that the Defy will be blessed with Froyo 2.2 update on Q1 2011. At this rate, lord knows when if ever it will ever get Android 2.3 update.



Still for around £260 sim-free, the Defy nets you plenty of good specs - 800Mhz ARM Cortex A8, 512MB RAM, 2GB built-in storage with microSDHC slot, 1540mAh battery, WiFi, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, aGPS receiver, 5MP camera, 3.7" LCD with 480x854 pixels resolution etc. Oh and it happens to be dust proof and water resistant as well. Motorola calls the Defy the 'Lifeproof' phone. I call it a friggin awesome phone.

I can personally confirm its water resistance. It had no problems under the tap or when dunked under water. As long as the micro USB, headphone jack and battery door is firmly closed, water will not get in. The only issue I've encountered is due to the nature of capacitive screen, it is almost impossible to use the semi rugged Defy when there is water on the screen, much less under water.

Update: I wrote a slightly more extensive preview on Fonearena.com. Check it out.

Skype now compatible with Nokia N8 and other Symbian^3 devices

They sure took their time, but hei, at least it is here and before Christmas too. Skype is now compatible with Symbian^3 - that means it will work on the Nokia N8, C6-01, C7 and E7 devices. As yet, I've not encountered any issues with the app but it's barely been a day. Now, give us video calling and I'll be happy.

To download and enjoy free calls on your phone, point your mobile browser to m.skype.com

The Three Blog Awards

Well it is December 2010 and so it must be awards season time. First up is the Three blog awards.

Unlike most awards with hundreds of categories (like the one I sometimes have on this blog), Three Mobile UK has narrowed down the categories to just four: mobile device of the year, guest blogger of the year, best app of the year and social media high of the year. Whoever you voted is up to you, but I personally went for:

Mobile device of the year: Mifi
Guest blogger of the year: Abul Hussain
Best app of the year: Angry Birds
Social media high of the year: Rage Against the Machine Vs. The X-Factor (Facebook)

Why? Well the MiFi, as you can tell from my positive review of the product, is an excellent mobile wireless hotspot that makes connecting multiple devices easily. It is cheap too and I predict that there would be a surge in similar products next year when mass market tablets starts hitting the market.

Abul is a great friend of mine and is one of the most experienced mobile blogger I know. His experience with mobile tech is immense! For best app of the year, this is easy. While Spotify may have gotten my vote, the fact that it requires a premium account works against it. Angry Birds on the other hand is a video game (and I like video games), works on multiple platforms and is dirt cheap. It also happens to be fun.

Games for your Nokia N8

All of these games are compatible with Nokia's Symbian^3 phones (N8, C6-01, C7, E7). If some of them aren't showing on your mobile's Ovi Store, well good for you. Go buy a PSP instead.

Angry Birds by Rovio

This delightful hit iPhone game is now on Symbian^3 (as well as every gaming platform on earth). Though it costs more, has less levels (more are promised with free updates) and lacks achievements, it is still a fun puzzle game that deserves your attention. It didn't sell millions for nothing. For the uninitiated (all seven of you), Angry Birds's gameplay revolves around using a catapult to fire birds (of different abilities) at evil green pigs in their fortresses. Fun? Yes it is.

8/10

Real Football 2010 HD by Gameloft

If there ever was a game that highlights the disadvantages of touchscreen only devices for gaming, this is it. Controls are unwieldy, it's like trying to drive a Formula One car fitted with a tractor engine. Visuals are ugly, and the commentary gets annoying after the first few seconds. Even the original FIFA was better, and that was released 17 years ago. Dear developers (not you Gameloft): for goodness sake, just give me Sensible Soccer!

2/10

Hero of Sparta HD by Gameloft

Gameloft is on a roll here with bad games (is it surprising? they've been making bad games since I can remember). Sticking a HD suffix on it doesn't help. This God of War rip-off is so bad, it is probably what Kratos dreams of when he has a nightmare. Sorry, but it is shit. I don't care if it costs only £3, it is still money wasted on something that is an insult to modern gaming,

2/10

Need for Speed: Shift HD by EA

This is one of the better games on Symbian^3. The visuals are pretty good (though no where near PSP level), though I do wish for higher framerate for smoother gameplay. Unfortunately as with all touchscreen games, NFS:Shift HD (stop it with the HD suffix - it isn't HD, none of these games are!) suffers from the lack of physical keys, but it isn't too bad either. With assisted braking turned on, it is far from atrocious. Not that I would recommend playing this despiteit being free on the N8's Ovi Store.

5/10

Bounce Boing Battle by Rovio

Boune Boing Battle is a Symbian^1 game, but that shouldn't put you off. It is one of the few games that the developers has designed the game around a phone and its features rather than trying to shoehorn a traditional game into a mobile touchscreen device. It is a two player affair, so you must have a second player with another touchscreen Bluetooth phone to play with. Basically you try to bounce the ball back at them by drawing a wall on the screen for it to bounce off. Simples. It doesn't offer much else (hei it is a tech demo). But then again it is free and I've no complaints about that.

7/10

Angry Birds Day in London

Hit mobile puzzle game Angry Birds is almost a years old. To celebrate, we at #LeStudio52 and Rovio Mobile are organising the biggest meetup in London. Flashmob, a large event and an after party at a swanky club - we've got it covered. We've even got coverage on Metro already and now. We are currently targetting about 1000 people for the flashmob so make sure you sign up today. Perhaps we can even unlock some very special Foursquare badges. ;)

Follow us on twitter @lestudio52 for the latest updates on Angry Birds day in London.

Vienna Now or Never Night 3D film in London

Yesterday evening me and some friends from #LeStudio52 braved the winter cold to watch the "Vienna: Now or Never Night" six minutes short film in Central London. The 3D film was composed of waltz dancers, an orchestra conductor guiding musical notes in and out of the building, fairy cakes, people dancing at a club and Christmas tree with snow. It was beamed entirely onto the Edwardian-era Imagination building on Store Street, via six video projectors.

Nokia N8 USB On-The-Go

The Nokia N8 features a unique feature (to Symbian at least) called USB On-The-Go. USB OTG basically allows users to plug USB devices such as flash drives and, with enough power, portable hard drives into their mobile device, in this case the N8.

What this means is that owners of the N8 have easy access to their files on other external drives without the need to use a PC. Users can also use the N8 to charge any devices that accepts USB charging, although I don't see any reason for doing so. Unfortunately the N8's USB OTG function does not seem to recognise any of my mouse (a VAIO wired and Logitech wireless).

My lovely VOIP Sony VAIO mouse isn't supported

A storage device like this thumb drive will work just fine

The N8 had no issue recognising my four year old Samsung YP-U1Q DAP

I honestly thought this would work, but the N8 refuses to play nice with the PSP :(

Similarly it threw a hissy fit when connected to a M2 card reader

Not surprising - a portable hard drive like this will need to be connected to an external power supply first

Samsung Omnia 7 review

The Samsung Omnia 7 is one of the most exciting new phones I've handled in recent months. It runs on Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 operating system. This still running on a Windows CE kernel, Windows Phone 7 represents a complete break from Windows Mobile and Pocket PC (it isn't binary compatible), not only in UI paradigm and also philosophy. While previous Windows Mobile was aimed at business and power users, Windows Phone 7 has its sight aimed at casual and first time smartphone users (I say that in a loose sense as Windows Phone 7 is anything but smart - but let's not go there yet).

Now let me begin by saying that the Omnia 7 is gorgeous. For one it does not look like a curvy Samsung phone, but a HTC designed one - what with its sharp edges and boxy design. The brushed aluminium back gives it a professional look. Like a well made ThinkPad, it is conservative yet stylish - something James Bond would use if he weren't tied to Sony. It feels solid and heavy, certainly well made. It thin profile makes it easy to slip inside a jeans pocket, though its large width may make it holding it for long uncomfortable. Best to invest in a Bluetooth headset I say.

Omnia 7 (bottom) against the Nokia X6, N8 and E55

The front is almost covered in glass from edge to edge. Dominating it is the 4" Super AMOLED screen, a plastic Windows start key and back and search (Bing) touch sensitive shortcuts. Due to the capacitive nature of the keys, I've found myself accidentally toggling Bing unintentionally a couple of times, so that is one area I hope Samsung can improve on with the next version of the Omnia 7. On the top by the earpiece are the ambient light sensor and proximity sensor.

The volume rocker keys are on the left side and can be used to bring up the music control app when in used. Sitting on the right side of the Omnia 7 are the power button and camera shutter. The 3.5mm headphone slot and micro USB port (with a lid) sits on the top. The bottom is bare bar from the microphone.

On the backside you will find the 5MP camera lens and LED flash, a loud speaker and battery door. The SIM card slot is behind the door and the battery has to be removed to access it. In an age of powerful smartphones it is nice to see a large 1500mAh battery there, something HTC has continuously failed to realise is needed (just have a look at the Desire HD's battery spec). What you won't find is an external card slot. It may be buried underneath the case, but it wasn't something I was willing to test. A huge bummer as the Omnia 7 only comes in two versions - 8GB and 16GB. In a age of multimedia and HD video recording, 16GB is nothing, much less 8GB. Microsoft does provide 25GB of storage on the cloud, but seriously, you will need a data plan with a massive bandwidth allowance to even make that useful.

The specs reads like the typical 2010 smartphone, and conforms with Microsoft's strict Chassis One requirements for running Windows Phone 7. The Omnia 7 ticks all of this but doesn't go beyond them. It has the same gorgeous 4" Super AMOLED screen from the Galaxy S, 1Ghz Snapdragon QSD8250 processor, 5MP camera with autofocus and LED flash with 720p with 25fps video recording, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, Accelerometer, GPS receiver with digital compass, 1500mAh battery and 7.2 Mbps HSDPA support.

The 4" Super AMOLED screen is rather lovely. Colours are saturated. In fact, perhaps too over saturated. Pictures looks awesome on it, but aren't accurate. On the other hand the use of PenTile subpixel matrix technology meant that small texts looks blurry as though ClearType is turned on by default. For a screen that supposedly have 480x800 resolution, it is rather unusual that I can actually see dots on it.

The Omnia 7 runs on the first version of Windows Phone 7. Turning it on it is apparent that Microsoft has done a good job in making Metro UI the most gorgeous mobile UI currently available. There is no longer any Today screen. Instead live tiles (or widgets) dominates the homescreen. These tiles can be anything from mere shortcuts or 'live' in a way that is possible to display quick infos (eg. missed calls, messages etc.). Unfortunately not all of the tiles are currently 'live' and certainly almost none of the third party applications I've installed are. It is a cool concept, but one that needs developers support if it is to take off.

Metro UI is slick, quick, uncluttered, easy to use and designed to operate with fingers. Most of the built-in apps is engineered using a design called hubs. Hubs are basically large panoramic apps. Here you can swipe left and right or tap to go through the different pages within the hub. It is fast, easy to use and is very quick.

Check out the video below as I demonstrate the UI of Windows Phone 7:



The social integration is another thing that Microsoft got right. Once I managed to get my contacts on it, the OS integrates my contacts with those of my Facebook contacts providing easy visual updates on my friends. In comparison, Nokia's Social Network app integrates contacts with both Facebook and Twitter, but is cumbersome and slow to use (you have to link each individuals social network manually!) and to be frank, utterly useless. So good job to Microsoft here. Now if they only provide integration with Twitter - that would be insane!

The Facebook integration actually does deeper than just the People hub. Any photo galleries in the user'sFacebook is sync'ed to the Pictures hub. It doesn't actually reside there as it is merely a shortcut, but it is quick and easy to use. It takes less than a couple of seconds to download all the thumbnails to make the experience smooth. There is little need to fire up the official Facebook application in order to show off your Facebook pictures.

Friends can be pinned onto the homescreen as live tiles and updates such as their latest pictures will be shown. This provides a quick and easy way to call or message a particular friend. Speaking of calls, the phone bit of Windows Phone 7 disappoints somewhat. While it looks pretty, the dialer does not support smart dialling. Curiously absent are also the ability to use music as ring tones. The contact's picture will appear full screen during a phone call and you will have to swipe up to reveal the answer/call reject icons. I found the call quality to be decent. There is no support for 3G video calls with Windows Phone 7 and I've found no third party apps that supports the use of the front camera.

Like most modern smartphones, text messages on Windows Phone 7 are sorted via a threaded view. First pioneered by Palm, threaded messaging is a useful way of quickly viewing conversations on text messages. Here they appear in the form of speech bubbles. The text message app also supports multiple recipients, and unlike the first iPhone, MMS is available out of the box.

The Omnia 7 does not disappoint as a music player. Audio quality is clear and decent, but unfortunately suffers from bass cut off. It is decent enough to be able to be used as an everyday music player in lieu of a high end DAP like the Walkman X-series, but audiophile is best off looking elsewhere. Music is accessed via the Music & Videos hub, is quick and easy to access. Albums and tracks (as well as videos) can be pinned to the homescreen as live tiles. Music control is accessible from any applications via the hardware volume keys. Unfortunately there is no equaliser available.

The battery life is pretty good, and it isn't surprising as the Omnia 7 is blessed with a 1500mAh battery. I found it very much capable of lasting a day of moderate to heavy use and a couple of days of light use. Charging is via the micro USB port.

I found the 5MP camera to be decent when there is good enough lighting. The LED flash is barely adequeute, and no matter how steady I hold the phone, it always produce some form of blur. Still with decent and natural lighting, the Omnia 7 managed to produce excellent quality images. Deep inside the menu, you will find plenty of options to satisfy photography geeks including options for AF mode, white balance, image effect (black & white, sepia tone etc.), contrast, saturation, sharpness, EV exposure compensation, ISO (50-800), metering, quality, dynamic range toggle, resolution (5MP, 3MP, 2MP and VGA) and anti-shaking. Images are captured in 4:3 aspect ratio, the standard aspect ratio of most digital compacts rather than 3:2 enjoyed by 35mm and DSLR.

A couple of untouched samples resized to 1024x768 (blogspot limitation):

The camera also supports 720p at 25fps video recording with continuous auto focus. In reality it barely reached 25fps, but is still smooth enough. Panning would produce jerky results, but with a steady scene I found the Omnia 7 capable of producing excellent video quality. Options includes 720p or VGA resolution (it defaults to VGA each time the camera starts up - much to my irritation), contrast, saturation, sharpness, exposure compensation and white balance.

Videos are recorded in MP4 format. I am not certain what bitrate is used, but I suspect it is variable. A three and a half minute 720p video footage like the one below came up at 158MB. Audio is encoded in AAC.

Here's a sample I recorded about a week ago:



Marketplace, Microsoft's answer to Apple's App Store is welcoming, with plenty of nice free apps like the Huffington Post (which isn't merely a glorified RSS reader/bookmark like BBC News app) and Snow+Rock (an amazing free application for walkers with free guides and trails). It is dead easy to use too. I downloaded 20 apps in 10 minutes. Most of the paid games I've seen include trial versions, so there is little harm in downloading and trying out before deciding. The Xbox integration includes Gamerscore and Achievements. I do not own a 360, so I am clueless as to how well the integration is - but a friend of mine is, and he thinks it is brilliant.

Getting contacts on it was a pain, but do-able. Windows Phone 7 does not sync with Outlook, at least not directly. This is a major fail to me, and I do not understand how and why Microsoft would not support syncing with their own product. Still I managed to get them on, but not without first downloading Outlook Connector, syncing my contacts to a Hotmail account and then finally syncing from there to the phone. This is one of the first clues that Microsoft has decided that business users are not their priority with Windows Phone 7. But dear Microsoft, not everyone wants to use the 'Cloud', especially when there's a perfectly good USB cable in front of us.

Input is via a virtual QWERTY keyboard. There is no haptic feedback, though feedback is provided through audible feedback. Each key presses is different from the last as Windows Phone 7 has eight variations of key press samples played in a loop. It isn't a massive different, but subtle. I find the audible feedback irritating, but have no choice but to leave it on because the keyboard does not support haptic feedback.

Auto correction and suggestions can be turned off if needed. My biggest issue with portrait QWERTY keyboard is I do not want it. I want T9 or even better yet, a virtual mini QWERTY. This is because I want to type one handed. Nothing irritates me more than trying to peck at small alphabets using with a single thumb.

Internet Explorer is a massive improvement over the older versions found on Windows Mobile. Rendering is accurate but slow. Panning and scrolling is supported, as is pinch zooming and multiple tabs. In addition to saving a site as favourite, it can also be pin to the home screen. The lack of Silverlight isn't a concern to me (who uses them?), but no Flash means that accessing online videos becomes an almost impossibility except via the YouTube app. There is also no text reflow. It's a great browser, but with no Flash I would prefer to be using Opera Mini - which incidentally isn't available on Windows Phone 7.

Bing Maps is fast and easy to use. Maps can be toggled between vector mapping and aerial (satellite) view. It supports pinch zooming, as well as step by step directions. Unfortunately there isn't any voice guided navigation. It is a good effort, but still lacking far behind Google Maps on Android and Nokia's all you can eat voice navigation Ovi Maps.

The lack of multi-tasking really hurts and is the single biggest reason I can not recommend Windows Phone 7 and the Omnia 7 yet. Yes, there is some form of multi-tasking, but really, no more than what you would find in any typical feature phone from the past couple of years. You can listen to music while messaging - nothing new with that - even dumb Sony Ericsson and Nokia Series 40 phones can do that. Casual users migrating from feature phones may be able to put up with that, but I can't imagine plenty of power users will like the idea of a dumbed down experience.

Something else irks me about Windows Phone 7 and you can guess it, it's the lack of copy and paste. There is no excuse here not to have copy and paste, absolutely none -especially for a 2010 OS. Microsoft has promised that copy and paste will arrive in 2011, but until then there is none. There are also plenty of other dislikes with Microsoft's new mobile OS - the lack of tethering, Bluetooth file exchange, video call, file manager, USB mass storage and support for own ringtones, for example.

All in all, there is plenty to like with the Omnia 7. Save for the camera and capacitive softkeys, the Omnia 7's hardware is downright appealing. It runs on Windows Phone 7 which has the most refreshing mobile UI. Unfortunately whatever Samsung did right here was quickly undone by the lack of features on Windows Phone 7. My experience with Windows Phone 7 is like stepping in a time machine and revisiting the first iPhone - gorgeous UI, but not much else. First time smartphone users who are just graduating from their featurephones wouldn't mind it, but I do recommend that power users to hold out until Windows Phone 7 catches up with its rivals in terms of functionality.

Thanks to Three Mobile for providing the Omnia 7 for review.

Stella Artois World Draught Master

About a week ago I was invited to the Stella Artois World Draught Master at Old Billingsgate in London. The event was the 14th edition of the competition, with 25 bartenders from across the world competing for the title of World Draught Master. It was hosted by none other than Mark Dolan of Channel 4's Balls of Steel, previously seen hosting the Mobile Choice Consumers Award the week before!

There is a nine step ritual in pouring a Stella Artois beer, and the competition is based on whoever can pour the best pint based on those ritual. I've previously blogged about it at another event where I was given in a schooling in such rituals. A video of the contestants doing what they do best is available here. I will try to upload more later on.

After three elimination of un'X-Factor'ish rounds, the judges decided that Chris Myers of the USA was best at making your beer tastes good. He won an undisclosed cash prize and will serve as an ambassador for Stella Artois in a world tour.

Some pictures below:

Nokia N8

So here it is. A Nokia N8 - the best camera phone available in a Western country. You've probably read or heard too much about it already so I will spare you an unboxing and details (you can read my first impressions here). Instead why not just ogle at some pictures of the device instead. Apologies that I was only able to get hold of the boring but stylish black version.

Next to the Omnia 7, which I will be reviewing soon

The micro USB port

This here is the menu button

HDMI out for Angry Birds action on the big screen

Here it is stacked up against the E55, X6 and Omnia 7

Phone Switch makes it easy to transfer personal info between phones, if it works...

Below all this lies a 12 Megapixel sensor

I am growing a moustache!

That is right, as part of the Movember challenge, I've stopped shaving and is attempting to grow my first moustache in support of The Prostate Cancer charity. Really, is there a better way to welcoming oneself into the 30s than growing a mustache? I think not!

If you want to sponsor either me and/or team #LeStudio52 (who I am part of), you can do so here. Thank you for your support!

Samsung Omnia 7 uses a PenTile AMOLED display

A reader recently asked if the Samsung Omnia 7's Super AMOLED screen is a PenTile Matrix one. I've always suspected it was (I said so in my impressions), as all of Samsung's 480x800 4" AMOLED screen in existence uses PenTile technology (correct me if I am wrong).

PenTile Matrix is subpixel technology and apparently allows Samsung to increase the production yield of OLED displays (blue OLED pixels are difficult to produce). This is because PenTile has two subpixels per pixel where as a traditional RGB stripe has three subpixels per pixel, allowing for 33% less subpixels. Fewer pixels to make = higher yield.

Samsung claims that PenTile does not affect the screen quality but I disagree. Texts looks blurry, especially if viewed with small fonts, due to the unusual subpixel arrangement. Individual pixels are also visible despite the high pixel density of the screen. Dithering is also a common issue I found with viewing AMOLED devices with PenTile subpixels.

Below is a close up of the Samsung Omnia 7's screen. You can clearly see the pixel arrangement and how it may affect the display's legibility.

Medium size font

Small font

If you want high contrast and colour saturation, there is nothing wrong with an AMOLED display. However if your priority is sharpness and colour accuracy, get one with a traditonal LCD (or Super LCD) with RGB stripe. Unfortunately I do not know if there are any 480x800 AMOLED display in production with a traditional RGB stripe.

Angry Birds plush toy review

Rovio Mobile's Angry Birds has been taking the mobile gaming world by storm. The recently released Android version saw over 2 million downloads in its first weekend. As of October 2010, over 10 million Apple iOS version were sold. The game is also available on the Symbian^3, Maemo and WebOS platforms. There are also plans to release it to the PlayStation Portable/PS3 platform as a PSP Mini game. It is quite literally one of the best selling games of 2010.

In Angry Birds, players attempts to retrieve eggs that have been stolen by evil pigs, using a slingshot to launch birds at structures that are imprisoning the eggs. There are a variety of birds available in the game. Each has their own abilities, for example the blue birds can separate into three smaller birds while white birds can drop bombs.

Rovio Mobile, the Finnish developer behind Angry Birds, has today revealed that five Angry Birds plush toys will be made available this Christmas. These are based on the red, blue, yellow, white and black varieties. Each of the bird will cost US$14.99 not including international shipment. Already some of them has sold out, so better be quick if you want one of these cute 8" plush toys for Christmas.

But... these are not the birds I am reviewing today! The version I have is significantly smaller, and in my opinion looks better. I only got it because my good friend Julien Fourgeaud managed to snag a couple from Nokia and Rovio whilst he was in Finland earlier this month for #LeStudio52 members. I've had it for two weeks, but decided it was time to finally remove it from its plastic prison.

All I can say for now are that these are freaking awesome. Each of the birds have a built-in slingshot/catapult. They also make noise when flung around. They are in essence, real life versions of their video game counterpart. As far as I know, these are not on sale yet. But keep an eye peeled because when they do, they will sell like hotcakes.