The Ideapad Y series notebooks are branded by Lenovo as for “Family Entertainment”. The Y series notebooks focus on multimedia features to be able to deliver superb home entertainment. Let’s take a look at how the Lenovo Ideapad Y330 fares.

I’ve seen two kinds of Lenovo Y330 laptops available at stores. Both have the same specs but with differences on the processor, video card, and hard disk capacity. The more common Lenovo Y330 (since I see it more often), has a Core 2 Duo T5900 processor (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), 320GB hard disk, and has no dedicated video – equipped only with the onboard Intel GMA x4500.

The less common Lenovo Y330 is equipped with a slightly slower processor – a Core 2 Duo T5800 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), a smaller hard disk capacity with 250GB, but has a dedicated video card – an ATI Radeon HD3450 with 256MB memory.

The Lenovo website has listed the Lenovo Y330 as having a Core 2 Duo P7350 processor (2.0GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB) and still no dedicated video. But I’ve yet to see it being sold in actual computer shops.

A quick look at the specs of the Lenovo Y330:

Processor: Core 2 Duo T5900 / Core 2 Duo T5800 / Core 2 Duo P7350
Chipset: Intel P965 Express
Memory: 2GB DDR2 667MHz (upgradeable to 4GB DDR2 800MHz)
Display: 13.3 WXGA VibrantView
Graphics: ATI Radeon 3450 with 256MB / Intel GMA x4500
Hard Drive: 250GB (320GB for variants with no dedicated video)
Optical Device: Dual Layer DVD writer
Audio: 2×1.5W Stereo Speakers, Dolby® Home Theater™ Surround Sound
Networking: Wi-Fi b/g/n (some have Wireless b/g only) and 10/100 integrated LAN
Others: 1.3 MP WebCam, VGA port, HDMI, 56k modem, 6-in-1 card reader, 2x USB 2.0, Microphone, Audio jacks, Firewire, Bluetooth 2.0, PCI Express Card slot, 6-Cell Battery
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium

Let’s now take a closer look at the Y330 beyond its specifications.

Performance of the Lenovo Y330

For the Y330 with dedicated video card (ATI Radeon 3450 with 256MB RAM), performance is not an issue. Because of the dedicated graphics processor and video RAM that the ATI Radeon 3450 provides, you would be able to play average games smoothly with good details and resolution. The latest graphics intensive games are still playable, but had to be put it in very low details and resolution. This is expected as the ATI Radeon 3450 is just a low end graphics card for notebooks.

With Windows Vista Home Premium and all the drivers installed, boot-up was pretty quick. The usual applications opened fast – Firefox, Internet Explorer, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, Skype, etc. Kaspersky Internet Security and the free Avira Antivirus don’t seem to slow down the system at all. The performance of the Y330 was pretty good if not impressive.

If you want to upgrade the memory it can easily be upgraded as it has 2 slots for RAM. The initial 2.0GB 667MHz can be upgraded to an 800MHz and the 2.0GB can be upgraded to 4.0GB.

For the Y330 with no video card, it is packed with a better Core 2 Duo processor with the T5900 (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, and 800MHz FSB) or P7350 (2.0GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, and 1066 MHz FSB). However, since it has no dedicated video card, average games are run most of the time in low details and resolution. Applications still opened fast, and performance was also good.

Ergonomics of the Lenovo Y330

The Lenovo Y330 has a 13.3-inch widescreen display which isn’t big but not small as well. In its 1280×800 resolution, everything is displayed properly in the screen. The display is not too bright and can be adjusted if the user wishes to.

The keyboard keys or buttons are average in size and easy to press. The keyboard as a whole is also average in size and has the same layout as other Ideapad Series. The keys feel solid and typing for long hours won’t be a problem. There is also a small amount of transparent protective coating on the keys’ letters or imprints to prevent fading.

It would have been better though if the location of the Fn key and left Ctrl key were interchanged. It’s more natural for the hand to have the left Ctrl key located at the leftmost bottom.

The trackpad is nicely situated just below the keyboard and is very responsive. It includes a scroll feature at the right and the standard left and right buttons located at the bottom. The power, battery and WiFi indicators are located just below the trackpad buttons.

All the slots like USB, DVD drive, Firewire, LAN, card reader, etc. are conveniently located at the side and at the front (nothing but the battery at the back).

The weight of the Y330 is listed at 2.15kg but it feels heavier than that (like 2.5 kg). It’s understandable as its jammed pack with features.

Features of the Lenovo Y330

As mentioned earlier, the front panel of the laptop houses the indicator lights of the power, battery, and Wi-Fi. Beside the indicators are the memory card reader, Audio jacks (headphone and microphone), and Wi-Fi switch.

The right side panel is where the 2 USB ports, PCI express card slot, DVD drive, AC power adaptor jack, and security hole are located. The PCI express card slot is located just below the USB ports.

The DVD drive is already a DVD writer (dual layer) so it can burn CDs and DVDs (incuding dual layer DVDs). If you notice, the DVD drive is already slot load so only the CD or DVD comes out when the eject button is pressed. You also insert the CD or DVD the same way – you just insert it and the drive would get the CD/DVD by itself.

The left side panel houses the modem, firewire port, VGA port, LAN port, and HDMI connector. There is a rubber cover on the modem and Firewire ports.

At the top of the keboard is where the power button, one key rescue system button, and multimedia touch panel is located. When the one key rescue button is pressed, it would open the recovery system software for easy full system backup or recovery. The multimedia touch panel is great feature where you can easily access multimedia controls like audio and media player controls.

At the top of the multimedia touch panel you’ll find the Y330 speakers and a sticker that boasts Dolby Home Theater sounds. However, the speakers’ volume, even at maximum, is a little weak and easily drowned by outside noise. Audio quality though is still good and solid.

The 1.3 megapixel camera is located at the top of the screen. Beside it are two small holes where the built-in microphone is located. The microphones are already equipped with noise reduction.

The Y330 also has Bluetooth if in case you need to connect Bluetooth enabled devices like printers and mobile phones.

Battery Life

The Lenovo Y330 has a 6-cell battery located at the back which would last about 2 hours of use in balanced power mode – this is with WiFi and one USB port being used. You can choose from 4 power modes – balanced, power saver, super energy saver, and high performance.

Design

The Lenovo Y330 is in glossy black which makes it a fingerprint magnet. There are faint swirl designs on the laptop which ensures that the laptop doesn’t look dull or cheap black. For those who like black laptops, I’m pretty sure the Y330’s design won’t disappoint.

It comes with an all black power adaptor and power cord which compliments the design of the laptop.

Verdict

The Lenovo Y330 performs great regardless of the version you get – the one with a video card (ATI Radeon 3450), or the one without (onboard Intel GMA x4500). The only difference is the Y330 with a dedicated graphics card is able to run games more efficiently.

The Y330 also has a ton of features like slot load DVD drive, HDMI, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Firewire, Dolby Home Theater speakers, camera, multimedia touch panel, One Touch recovery button, etc. It’s easy to type, display is superb, and the trackpad works great. Battery life is a little on the low side as it can only hold up to 2 – 2.5 hours of use depending on use and power mode.

With the price of the Lenovo Y330 (about $800 or less – depending on country) and with the kind of specs and features it has, it’s hard to say no to the laptop. If you’re looking for a 13-inch laptop, you should definitely consider the Lenovo Y330.

Related posts:

1. How to Prolong your Notebook / Laptop Battery’s Life

Avira Antivir Personal Edition is one of the best (if not the best) free anti-virus software available today. It was my top pick for 2008 as the best anti-virus software.

Now Avira Antivir Personal Edition has upgraded to version 9, Avira has really proved that they are more than willing to give. They have now included an anti-spyware feature, which was only available to paid users before.

The Antivir 9 Personal Edition also looks a little different from the previous version. Even with the great addition of anti-spyware and the changed look, it still has great detection capabilities, regular updates, and is still light on system resources.

You can download the new version at the official website of Avira Antivir.

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External DVD and CD writers have been here quite a while now. However, I haven’t really been taking notice of them as I saw no reason why to get them. Although some of them were quite small already (most of them were big), they really weren’t portable as you had to lug around an AC adaptor which was sometimes, heavier than the gadget itself.

The only time I took notice, was when I saw the LG GP08-LU10 Slim External Super Multi DVD Rewriter. It attracted my attention as it claimed to be AC Adapter-less. It can run by just using the USB cable!

Let’s take a look first at its specs.

Specifications

1. Read and Write Speed

It has a generic read/write speed of 8X, which is what LG advertises. It reads DVDs at a maximum speed of 8X with the exception of DVD-Video which is at 4X. I initially thought that the 4X speed would affect my watching of DVD-Video, but when I tested it, the video was still seamless.

The read speed for CDs are much faster which is at 24X.

The write speed for DVD is 8X. It would change to 6X for Dual layer DVDs, and 6X for DVD-RW. Its maximum write speed for CD is the same with its read speed – 24X.

2. Dimensions and Weight

It has dimensions of 156 x 21 x 165 millimeters and a net weight of about 380 grams. I guess LG wasn’t joking when it indicated that it was slim and portable.

3. Host Interface / Connection

The connection used is of course USB 2.0, but if you look at the back of the LG DVD writer, why are there two connection ports with one looking like it’s for an AC adaptor?

The answer is: you usually only need the USB 2.0 connection port. But if your computer’s USB port somehow doesn’t supply enough power, you can use the USB Power Cable (DC-jack type), and connect it to another USB port. You now connect the DVD writer to two USB ports – still no AC-Adaptor.

4. Lightscribe

It also comes with LightScribe label printing at a pixel resolution of 600DPI.

Design

The design of the LG GP08 can be summed up into two words, simple and elegant. Why? Its black plastic design is glossy and not cheap to the touch. I think the reason it was made as plastic is to make the gadget lighter. The black finish is not slippery and blends nicely with the white color. When you open up the Disc tray, the inside is black as well.

Performance

I’m just an average user so to test the LG GP08, I played DVD-Videos, burned 3 DVDs, burned 3 CDs, and read 10 CDs and 10 DVDs – all in one day. I did this routine for 2 straight days and the LG GP08 performed great. I sometimes had to plug-in the USB Power Cable especially when burning DVDs and CDs, but it didn’t bother me at all.

In a Nutshell

The LG GP08-LU10 Slim 8X External DVD Writer is worth considering because of its sleek design, great portability (slim and AC adaptor-less functionality), and good price ($90 or P4,000 in our country). Sure, Blu-Ray would have been great but I’m sure it wouldn’t have helped its price tag.

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My mother’s birthday was last October but I’m writing this article/review on the gift I bought for her only now as I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t just justifying my purchase. I bought her an Olympus FE-320 Camera and she’s been using it for more than a month now. If you and I look at its specs/highlights:

8.0 Megapixel
3x Optical Zoom
2.7 inch LCD Display
Digital Image Stabilization
Face Detection
Can Record Videos with Sound
Proprietary Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery
Weighs only 96g
Expandable Memory through Olympus xD-Picture Card

Now mind you I only bought this for $150 USD (7,500 Pesos in our country).

So Why is This the Perfect Gift for Mom?

I have 4 reasons for you:

1. It’s easy to use.

Let me repeat that again – It’s easy to use.

My mom just turns it on, sets it at “Auto” mode (providing it’s not set), targets the subject using the large 2.7-inch LCD display at the back of the camera and then presses the shutter button. Voila! A picture is taken! It’s that easy!

2. Its features are easy to learn.

It has a ton of features and shooting modes. Just to name a few of the shooting modes besides “auto” are, Candlelight, Auction, Cuisine, Sport, Night Scene, Portrait, Behind Glass, Sunset, Night Portrait, and many others. All of which can be accessible via the Scene Select. Each shooting mode has a description so you can easily understand what each one is for.

3. The 2.7 Inch LCD Screen

She may deny it now but my mom never liked taking pictures back in the day. Besides the hassle of developing the film, she had to look at a tiny hole to be able to take pictures. She had glasses as well so it was extra hard for her to peek in the small glass hole.

So a large LCD screen to be able to see your subjects before taking a shot was a very welcome idea. More than that, she would be able to see and review easily the pictures she had taken. She no longer had to put on her reading glasses.

4. The Battery

Who would have thought a proprietary battery and charger would be for my mom (or for yours)?

Imagine this, if the camera your mother has, have the normal rechargeable AA or AAA batteries, she would just charge them once, put them inside the camera and expect that these batteries never run out if they are not used. Well that was what my mother would have done. Come to think of it, that’s what she does!

She would never expect that these rechargeable batteries hold a charge only after some time. They are even most likely to run out of charge if they are put inside the camera. Worst case would be is that the batteries would stay there for a long time until it even leaks. If you tell them that they should not put the batteries inside the camera if they are not using it, or just buy from the store if they need one, they would think it was such a hassle and would think the camera as unreliable.

With the proprietary battery and charger included in the camera, your mom (and mine), can just charge it, put it inside the camera, and be confident that when they want to use it for later, they would be able to.

5. Picture Quality

The Olympus FE-320 camera’s output pictures are more than good enough for my scrutinizing mom. Period. Enough said.

Sample Pictures:

Just click on the pics to view it in a larger size. I’m sorry if there are no faces on the pictures. My mother only permitted those pictures without faces. And I found only two!

The Olympus FE-320 Camera was the perfect gift for my mom. I‘m pretty sure it would be for yours too.

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1. How to Prolong your Notebook / Laptop Battery’s Life

I haven’t really been much of a fan of laptops as they were still hard to carry. I have a laptop but I still go by the train and ride the bus every so often and the weight of the laptop still bothers me.

With the release of the recent Netbooks and UMPCs (with the first release by ASUS), I was really excited as they beat what traditional laptops were trying to boast since their existence – portability. However, the UMPC’s capacity was still small and their performance was still not very good.

With the arrival of the Asus Eee PC 1000h, it has become a reality to see the power of a laptop, and the portability of a Netbook. Or has it really?

Design

If you notice above, the Asus Eee PC 1000h is pure white. I haven’t seen any netbook or laptop, other than the Mac, which can boast this kind of design. It’s like having a mini-Macbook which is really appealing. Everything is white, including the keyboard. The “Eee” logo is even hardly noticeable.

This is also the case with the black version.

The cords and adaptor were part of the designing plans of Asus as well. If you have the white version, you get a pure white adaptor and power cord. If you have the black version, you get a pure black adaptor and power cord as well. Very cool!

It would have been cooler though if Asus shipped a free Asus mouse which is purely white or black as well. But I guess that’s asking too much.

Ergonomics

There are three things that spring into mind when we mention ergonomics in this Asus Eee PC 1000h review – Keyboard, Display, and Portability.

As the 1000h is slightly bigger than the other netbooks, it enjoys an advantage over the Keyboard size and Display size.

The Keyboard layout is very easy to use. In contrast with the other UMPCs in the market, you won’t have to worry about the keyboard size of the Asus 1000h. It’s easy to type with and you can surely type long hours with it.

The trackpad below the keyboard is easy to use as well. It’s bigger and the trackpad buttons are located at the bottom of the trackpad (some netbooks put the buttons on the sides of the trackpad).

When it comes to the display, you now have a bigger screen with its 10-inch wide LCD. Sure it’s still small but you’ll get the hang of it after a few hours of use unlike smaller netbooks.

As the Asus 1000h is bigger, we expected to have portability problems. But it turns out it’s weight and slightly bigger size wasn’t a problem at all. It was still very portable. I guess the smaller netbooks were really too small.

Battery Life

A 6-cell battery for the 1000h is a great plus. It brings more battery life to an already very portable device. Previous Eee PC versions only had 3-cell batteries.

For the purpose of this Asus Eee PC 1000h review, I tried draining the battery and it lasted me 5 hours before it ran out – and this is with WiFi turned on.

The combination of the 6-cell battery and the new Intel Atom 1.6Ghz processor (which is desgned for UMPCs or netbooks) has really given the Asus 1000h more battery life.

Performance

The Asus 1000h is packed with a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor, 80GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, and a pre-installed Windows XP operating system.

For a true Netbook or UMPC user, this is a big step forward. The Intel Atom processor was really designed for the UMPC which is paired with a larger than the usual UMPC capacity and a bigger RAM.

I do recommend though that you upgrade the usual 1GB of RAM to a 2GB as the performance difference is noticeable already.

Side Panels

Since the back panel is already occupied by the battery, the slots for power, USB, sound, etc. can be found at the sides. I liked this specifically as connecting your USB or power is easier when you just look at the sides as compared when it is located at the back. The slots are well-placed, giving it a clean and organized look.

The right panel consists of (from left to right), the 2-in-1 card slot, 2 USB ports, VGA port, and power slot where you plug in your power cord.

The left panel consists of the lock, LAN, USB slot, microphone slot and earphone slot. It’s also where the speaker is located.

Extras

I have to mention in this Asus Eee PC 1000h review how it includes the Dolby 5.1 Surround audio. I have to point out that it really gives far better sound quality than all the other netbooks and some of the laptops in the market today.

It also offers a built in Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n for wireless internet connectivity. Unlike the usual offering of only 802.11b/g it has 802.11n which offers much faster speeds.

It also includes a 1.3 MP camera. Together with it’s built in microphone, you can use the pre-installed Skype software (for video calls) when you have a readily available internet connection.

Verdict

The introduction of the Intel Atom processor confirmed that UMPCs or Netbooks are here to stay. The Asus Eee PC 1000h only gives us more to reason own one. Although UMPCs lack CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives, it’s other features more than make up for it. It’s lower price than the traditional laptop is also making it more appealing.

Another 10-inch Netbook, the MSI Wind NB, is cheaper but the design and overall performance of the Asus 1000h gives you more satisfaction. For one, the 1000h is given a 2-year international warranty. The design of the 1000h is also much better. It feels nicer to the touch and doesn’t seem to scratch easily.

The Asus Eee PC 1000h is a very good buy and is worth your consideration when you shop for a PC. It has more than lived up to it’s price tag for the portability, ease of use, and performance it offers.

Related posts:

1. How to Prolong your Notebook / Laptop Battery’s Life

My Kodak DX7590

A digital camera is a phenomenal gadget that’s a must have nowadays to us explorers, wannabe photographers, trendsetters, businessmen, students, etc.

I started to love photography when I started traveling with friends to various amazing places. I felt the need for a handy digital camera and felt guilty not being able to take a shot of never before seen beauty of nature (at least for me). Although my cell phone helped me capture photos, it sadly wasn’t up to the task and couldn’t give me a perfect still shot.

So I decided to browse online & purchase a camera that I would just need. I was so lucky as a very gentle guy was ready to give up his Kodak DX7590.

I can still recall how he turned it over to me and said,

"I hope you’d love the camera and capture your most cherished moments with it as my wife did.”

I didn’t hesitate to buy it instantly.

The packaging was so well preserved, that you can almost mistake it for a brand new one. It was neatly tuck inside the box and well kept.

After using the camera for a month, these are the following things I like about it:

- It’s not heavy; portability is no issue
- The color of the pictures are vibrant and consistent to its true appearance
- Capable of getting wide angles
- Battery power is a winner
- Can directly dock to a printer
- has internal & expandable memory
- Its optical zoom of up to 10x
- Has a very cool design

If you think this semi-SLR is the heavy type of camera like the ones used by professionals, you’re mistaken. It’s sleek design and portability is just right.

Kodak DX7590 was awarded as Innovations 2005 Design and Engineering award at the Consumer Electronics Show. Reading the professional reviews, it is no doubt a good buy for anyone.

If you happen to have the Kodak DX7590, check if it’s not updated to the latest firmware. I’ve recently upgraded to the 1.01 firmware and have noticed crisper pictures in low-light levels.

Kodak DX7590 Quick Features

5.0 Megapixel resolution
10x optical zoom/3x digital zoom
Autofocus capability
Program and manual exposure
JPEG file format
ISO range 80-800
Lithium-Ion battery
Movie mode with sound

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I recently just found out about Google Chrome three days ago. I saw it advertised in one of Google’s pages and it immediately caught my eye. A new browser made by Google? I had to check it out.

After viewing the videos and reading the comics interpretation on the technology behind Google Chrome in the official Google Chrome homepage, I immediately downloaded it and gave it a try. I was excited on the many claims and features of the Google Chrome.

After three days of using the browser (where I didn’t use any other browser), here are my takes on the new browser by Google.

1.  Google’s Homepage approach.

Whenever you open up Google Chrome, you aren’t given a static homepage. You’re given a page showing your most visited sites, recent bookmarks, a search bar, and recently closed tabs. This is the same when you open up a new tab within the window. So Google Chrome now offers a somewhat dynamic homepage. (You can still set the homepage to a static webpage if you want)

For me, this is a good thing. Whenever I browse the net, I have a handful of sites I always visit. It was really helpful that it was presented to me right away and I didn’t have to type in the address/URL or click in my bookmarks tab.

The recently bookmarked sites being outside and shown immediately is also convenient for me. I bookmarked those sites as they contain useful information that I know I would need in the future. Making them immediately available serves as a reminder for me that I don’t need to search anymore as I’ve already found one which I’ve bookmarked.

If you however have old bookmarks that you would always like to access (like sign-in or log-in pages) but do not show up in the most visited sites, you can put them in the category bar just below the address bar. That way, you can have an easy way of accessing them.

You also have a quick way of accessing those tabs that you’ve closed already.

What I missed about the Chrome’s dynamic homepage is the search bar. Don’t be fooled by this search bar though as it only searches your history.

What Google did was incorporate the search in the address bar. When you type in a search term (in my case Google Chrome), you get a suggestion to search Google for “Google Chrome” or only “Chrome”.

I would have liked that instead of the search bar in the right searching only for your history, it would already search in Google. I like it separate as I want it clean and not have all those suggestions from the address bar when I type in something.

2.  Google’s Technology behind the Tabs

As Google pointed out, their browser has a multi process design. They pointed out that browsers today are still single threaded. Meaning, once the browser executes a command like javascript, its not going to do another command unless javascript is finished. So if one of your tabs gets locked up, your other tabs or your whole browser would get locked up too.

Their multi-process design is supposed to eliminate whole browser lock-ups. If one tab gets locked up – you lose just one tab.

Google was also transparent on the drawback of this kind of design. Multi-processes also mean that it would need more memory as tabs need a separate independent memory.

But having a separate independent memory for each tab also means that when you close a tab, you’re ending the whole process and releasing all of the memory it used up. In the long run, (or as you browse longer) its more beneficial for us.

This again for me is a good thing. I’ve had my share of experiences that I had to close my whole browser to release the memory it had used up as closing tabs didn’t release memory.

Oh and try dragging one of the tabs in Google Chrome outside the browser window. You’ll see their multi-process design in action – it goes into a separate window.

3.  The Incognito mode

Simply put, it’s a privacy mode. If you want to surf and you don’t want the browser to record any of your activity, you can use the incognito mode.

This is useful if you don’t want other people to suspect that you’re hiding something. Surely you can just clear your private data so they won’t be able to see what you surfed about. But that doesn’t mean they won’t suspect.

4.  Web Safety

The Google Chrome has what it calls the “Sandbox”. Its primary purpose is to prevent Malware from spreading to your computer whenever you visit webpages.

I wouldn’t go into detail on this one but when I visited various malicious sites, my computer wasn’t infected when I used Google Chrome. These were the same sites I visited to test the safety of Firefox and IE.

I would say that Google Chrome is on par with Firefox’s safety standards – but that’s just with my 3 days experience with it.

As Google Chrome is open source like Firefox is, I hope that Google would be as quick as Mozilla Firefox is with fixing security issues. That’s why I really like Firefox – the community is there to quickly fix things.

5.  “Control the Current Page” and “Customize Chrome” Button

What I tried to search for in Google Chrome was – where was the menu bar (File, Edit, View, etc.)? Google apparently didn’t see the need to incorporate it with their new browser and decided to just put two buttons.

The “Control Page” button is exactly what it is – for controlling the current page. If you want a new tab, an incognito window, cut, copy, paste, zoom, etc., it can be found there.

The Customize Button includes the history, clear history, help, downloads, options and other functions on customizing the Chrome browser as a whole.

These two buttons are supposed to reduce the clutter in web browsers and I think they did well in terms of that. They can easily be found, and contained most of the functions we use in browsers .

Is it better than the other browsers? Is it worth the switch?

After my three days with the browser, I think I’ll keep it and use it. I’ve had a good experience with it. I won’t be using it as my main browser – yet. I’ll still use Firefox as my primary browser and use Google as my alternative browser.

What most people are worried about in Google Chrome is that they’re thinking that Google is trying to take over the internet. Most of the things now involving the internet, Google is also there. Some even say that Chrome is Google’s application spying on your browsing behaviour (like it was some kind of spyware). I’d like to think otherwise.

As long as it’s a great product, I know I’ll use it. And with regards to Google spying with our browsing behaviour, Google made their code open source. Everybody can scrutinize their code. If it is malicious in some way, we’ll know.

What I was worried about is that I was relying in Firefox too much. If something goes wrong with Firefox, or there’s a security issue with Firefox that it has trouble fixing, I’d be forced to go back to Internet Explorer. With the arrival of Google Chrome, at least my Firefox now has a sidekick.

Firefox rocks but there can be no denying that Google Chrome is also one solid web browser.

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The first mobile phone I had was a Maxxon 3204. It’s funny that I was only six counts from having the “in” phone in 3210 then.

I remember having to imagine then MP3 capabilities of mobile phones. I thought it would be something we can only imagine. But just two years hence, Siemens released phones capable of playing MP3s. Today, mobile phones play full-length movies and are capable of video calling. Only Biomen (the japanese show during the 80’s and 90’s) were capable of doing video calls then.

With the vast number of features available now in mobile phones, people become more and more demanding with the specifications they would want for their new device. They want phones with camera, MP3, big storage, and the list goes on. I would honestly want those features too. The problem though is that with great capabilities comes great price as well. I recently sold my Motorola phone (which has camera and mp3) to buy a Nokia 1200. Nokia 1200 is not even a colored-screen phone. I have been using it for a month now and I must say that I am completely satisfied. What is with this phone? The answer is, “just what you need.”

Image Credit: retrotelefon by aslakr

My aim in this article is to showcase the features of what I thought a modern version of the Nokia 5110. I once had that phone. But this modern version copes up with the demands for technology, and it lives up to my expectations. It is not that I look only for functionality. With the other articles I have written, in fact, you may think of me as a tech savvy. The thing is that I know something about technology. I am confident that this 1200 is really a steal having not to compromise the features.

What does this baby have? Apart from the expected SMS and call capabilities with long battery life (and I really mean long), this device actually has catchy ring tunes. Something people sure want with their phone is that it has personalized and good-sounding ringers. The ring tunes of 1200 are not monotones. Some of the default tunes even sound like MP3s. I have not downloaded tunes yet since I am quite happy with what I hear whenever someone calls or texts me.

This phone is an organizer. I have tried organizers in PDAs before but nothing as simple and sweet as the “to-do”, calendar, and alarm of this device. The fonts are big enough too for me to see upon waking up (the display is apparently two-liner). The alarm is loud enough for me to be informed of my dues by the minute.

Among other interesting features of the 1200 are the flashlight, stopwatch, some games, and the right selection shortcut. I find the flashlight very handy. The light it provides is bright enough to show your missing pair of socks below your bed. The games are nice time killers too. The graphics is old school but the concept is even better than colorful games we have in some colored-screen phones. I also find the right selection key shortcut very handy. There are applications we always use and the shortcut saves me time in giving me what I need promptly.

What about the MP3s? What about the camera? You might not be convinced still because of these valid questions. The answer is simple. I do not want my cell phone to be my digital camera because the quality is not really good. You would need to shell out big bucks to have really fine camera in a cellular phone. I do not have such amount. In fact, I sold my L6 because I was so broke. I sold it though for the better since I found what I need in Nokia 1200. Mp3 playing sure drains battery, so I do not bother with the lack of this feature of my new baby. It took three days before the meter said battery is not full anymore. My old phone is surely drained already in three days.

I needed extra cash. Selling my colored phone and getting this Nokia 1200 provided me. I still wanted features and I was not denied. If you are looking for a mobile phone, the Nokia 1200 is just what you need. This is not to convince you. This is plain telling you that the 1200 is just what you need.

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