Mobile Phone History

Always remember where you’ve come from…history is always important…helps us reminisce, improve on past mistakes, know where you are know and also know where you’re headed. In tech it helps us appreciate where we are at now, note what we are changing to and to see where we are failing.
So, This is my History:

Sagem MW3020 (’03)
It was announced in 2001, weighing in at a solid 112g, and had a feature list that a kabambe can confidently laugh at.

•Phonebook – 50 Call records + 10 short messages
•Messaging – SMS
•Browser – WAP
•Clock – Yes
•Alarm – Yes
•Games – Yes

Clock & alarm were FEATURES…but I loved this phone non the less

Sagem MW3020

Nokia 3410 (’04)
I didn’t have the privilege of owning a 3310 so I had the next best (+ improved) thing. I don’t even know what had improved…maybe the shape?? Anyway this was phone number 2…weighing in at 114g. Maybe mass texting was the improvement + the support of more stored texts.

Nokia 3410

Sony Ericsson k700 (’05) – my forever love.
Finally we walk into a real & majestic device. This phone ushered the future… it was the 1st AIO (all in one) device. What didn’t it have… maybe just a bigger screen cause 1.7′ doesn’t cut it any more, + 65k colours will be frowned upon today. It strengths were a good VGA camera, flash Bluetooth, Infrared, FM radio, 40MB inbuilt storage, 500 contacts storage, solid build, good software. This was an EPIC phone.

Sony Ericsson k700i

Samsung D500 (’06)
This was a temporary phone I had… honestly not much of an upgrade from the k700 maybe the slide build not a mono block… it also had a 1.3 MP camera… multitasking was not possible with this one…either you read a text or listened to music. The screen was good….bigger & brighter standing at 1.9′ + memory now stood at 90MB.

Samsung D500

Sony Ericsson k750 (’06) – my Baybe…
This was it… the k700 perfected… multitasking was introduced, the best 2.0MP camera…had no worthy competitor. It was the best in it league. Had 40MB internal storage + upgradeable to 2GB using a Mem Stick Pro Duo. Upgraded to Bluetooth 2.0 + 1.8′ 256k screen. This phone is still one of my all time favourites. 900mAh battery… with all kinds of connectivity besides Wi-Fi & GPS. This phone went for KSh 26,000 in the local shops in ’06…imagine what you can get for that now…

Sony Ericsson k750i

Sony Ericsson k770 (’08)
I wasn’t financially stable then but needed a new phone. The k770 again an upgrade from the k750 was my best low cost fit. Costing me KSh 12,000. Had the best 3.2MP camera + a bigger 2′ screen. The build was metallic… a truly solid phone.

Sony Ericsson k770i

Samsung Galaxy S (’10)
I decided to rejoin the big league & got myself my 1st DROID. Have never been an Apple fan from the start so I was happy I had choice, & then it was this vs the 1st Xperia. My love for Sony Ericsson was beaten by the fact sheet Sammy pulled out…this was the best phone of 2010 by a mile (in my opinion).

Samsung Galaxy S

Samsung Galaxy S2 (’12)
My former phone got stolen (my 1st loss) so had to get another…made the mistake of buying this phone…model no# i9100g that ‘g’ is what I hated the most. The g was/is a substandard model of the phone only sold to 3rd world countries. They had changed the internals which led to poor support amongst the tech community as most had & were developing for the original (i9100). So lesson learnt is that model numbers ni muhimu (are important). Plus it was white…white is such a hard colour to maintain.

Sansung Galaxy S2

Samsung Galaxy S3 (’12)
My gem… this phone is a BEAST. As I do this article on it I can’t help but marvel at its abilities & strength… only flaw is its plastic build which honestly you can live with… Oh! + its FRAGILE….this ain’t the 3310…a drop can shatter it.

Samsung Galaxy S3

Other game changers must be acknowledged…..

Nokia 3310 (2000)
This was it…the indestructible behemoth of a phone. We shall never forget you. To date has sold over 136 million units.

THE Nokia 3310

Creative jokes have been made about this harder/tougher than life phone.

Nokia 6230 (2003)
Nokia’s equivalent of the k700. I prefered the k700 though but this was a worthy competitor and a game changing device.

Nokia 6230

Nokia Nseries
The Not-affordable series that just oozed class. The Nokia Nseries is aimed at users looking to pack as many features as possible into one device. They were top of the range having the best in every field, from multimedia, camera (Carl Zeiss Optics), screen size etc. They were the ‘it’ phones.

Nokia Nseries

Nokia E63 (2008)
“No fancy spoils, the Nokia E63 means business and brings connectivity and messaging together in a sharp and reliable package. Certainly a no-thrills mobile, the E63 does its jobs with no fuss and at a fair wage. Well, who would frown at that?” This is what GSM Arena had to say about this classic phone that ushered the many (affordable) QWERTY Nokia phones we see today…they all get their roots from the E63. The E63 also borrowed its roots from the not so recognized E71 & E61.

Nokia E63

Original iPhone (2007)
What more can I say about this…all touch phones hail from here…forever indebted to Jobs the visionary of our generation.

THE iPhone

What I’ve noted is that phones are rapidly encroaching on laptop/computer territory & that multimedia is the key area of growth. We seem to be failing in battery life…and durability of our devices. The screen sizes seem to be increasing exponentially.
What makes me happy is that 12 years from now the Galaxy S3 will be a relic like the 3310, a true pioneer.

So, where have you come from? What’s your history & what do you like/love/hate about your history? Hit us up on the comment section below.

The Apple-Samsung War Breakdown

It’s been a tough war, one that isn’t over yet. The Apple Samsung court war began just after the launch of the Galaxy S1 and has therefore dragged on for years. We know that it’s all because of Samsung infringing on Apple’s patents mostly with regard to design. Most people will argue that the Galaxy S1 looks like the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 looks like the iPad. Also, the icons used by Samsung in their apps resemble those from Apple and so on. But what does the court wars mean for both companies? It goes beyond the actual design. It’s probably all about competition.

Apple have a history of making simple and user friendly products and selling them at a fortune since most other companies can’t make their products user friendly. Most people will tell you how easy it is to use an iPhone and that it just feels right. The same goes for the iPad. That experience is worth the money you pay at least according to Apple and it’s loyal fans. Then came Samsung which is now making products that, while not offering the same user experience, comes close and in so doing offers much more functionality. So what they sell is functionality and they make their products cheaper.
Technology is quickly starting to rule over and people realize that they not only want a phone or tablet that just works but they want to do more with these devices. They want to access their mass storage and use their phones as flash drives or quickly load media without the need to sync with a software (iTunes). In this regard Apple sees Samsung as a threat that must be dealt with. Apple know that their customers will be confused by the “iPhone” that has a high processing power. It is said that some customers could not tell the difference between the iPhone and the Galaxy S and ended up picking the Galaxy S because it was cheaper. Apple has it’s loyal fans including the old and want to maintain this fan base since it’s a huge number of customers.
In the point of view of Samsung, they were probably going with the trend. Apple has been known to set the trend (arguably) and the rest follow but Samsung have been trying to trend setters while taking inspiration from Apple. It explains why the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is thinner than the iPad. They want to take what Apple does and do it better. It is probably why Touchwiz had the same icons as iOS. They only wanted to compete but Apple took it “personally”.

Some of the patent wars have been outragious and it only goes to show the fear of competition. Apple may have gone to far and this shows how much of a threat Samsung is. Samsung have been raking in billions from Smartphone and tablet sales. And in all fairness Samsung seems to have learnt it’s lesson. Only the first generation Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab are being sued. Samsung already replaced the Galaxy S with the Galaxy S2 and now the Galaxy S3. It however took them a long time to replace the Galaxy Tab 10.1 but the Galaxy Note 10.1 is already making waves. Samsung can now discontinue the affected phones and tablets or bring them to third world nations and sell them for cheap and avoid the European and the American markets where the court wars have been concentrated.
Whichever side you are on, it’s good to first consider the consumers. The Apple monopoly wasn’t going to be good for consumers and the same applies for Samsung copying Apple. I sit on the fence on this one but my next phone/tablet is probably from Samsung. This is because as a tech geek I prefer functionality over user friendliness.

~Eddy

Choosing the Right Smartphone

This is a follow up to the previous post on how to choose the tablet that suits you. While when dealing with tablets, things are a bit straight forward, here things are more difficult. It is really hard to define the user categories. As for tablets I first defined user categories then sort of distributed the different tablets into these categories. For the phones I will do the opposite, define the phone categories and see how different users occupy these categories.

There are broadly 3 categories, low-end, mid range and high-end smartphones. The low end smartphones include the famous Huawei Ideos, the Galaxy Mini, Galaxy Pocket, ZTE Blade (Orange San Francisco). Unfortunately there are no Nokia low end smartphones. What you will find are feature phones such as the Asha series. Low end smartphones are generally cheap and prices range from KShs. 8000 to about KShs. 14000. These low end smartphones have also been well reviewed by our friends at techweez.com.

ZTE Blade

Mid range smartphones handle more processing and light gaming. They are good for “busy” use and multitasking. Examples are the Huawei Ideos X5, Samsung Galaxy Ace, Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus and the original Galaxy S (This was in the high end category 2 years ago). The Nokia 630, Nokia 701, all first generation windows phone 7 smartphones such as the HTC HD7 also make it to the list. I may add the Lumia 710 to this category but I am not sure of its availability. Mid range smartphones are obviously more expensive and prices range from KShs. 20000 to about KShs. 30000. Most dual core smartphones are transitioning between high end and mid range so I will play it safe by not including them in any category.

The Nokia 603

High end phones have dual core or quad core processors with 1GB Ram though phones with 2GB ram are starting to come out with LG and Samsung leading the way. Most of these phones have big screens with 4.5 inches on the Galaxy Nexus, 4.7 inches on the HTC One X and 4.8 inches on the Samsung Galaxy S 3. If you consider the Galaxy Note a Smartphone then it would be in this category with the biggest screen of 5.3 inches.

So where do you fit? Users who are into social networks should be OK with low end phones. Light browsing and checking of mails is also fine. Music lovers should feel at home here though they will have to expand the memory via SD cards since most low end phones have insufficient internal memory.

HTC HD7

Those who love watching videos on their phones will be disappointed since most of these phones may not be able to handle heavy and high resolution videos. They struggle at 720p and video size of more than 1GB. Gaming is out of the question unless it’s very light gaming. Angry birds stutters on the Huawei Ideos. Camera is also mediocre and serious shots cannot be taken. Usually the megapixel count is 3.2 MP with either no or single LED flash. Those interested in photography should shy away from this category.

Mid range is sufficient for almost all the users. In fact most users will not exhaust all the features in a midrange Smartphone. Photographers are well catered for here with the phones having 5MP and 8MP cameras. Those who love playing games will also do with good HD games. This category is for those who want more from their phones, be it intense browsing and social networking, productivity or simply just having fun. Developers also love messing around with these phones. They are generally easier to hack than low end Smartphones.

High end Smartphones are usually thought to be for the elite. That’s true but they are also for those people who are crazy about Smartphones. Dan, the Co founder of this site is one of those crazy Smartphone fanatics. High end devices handle intense processing and just about anything is a breeze, applications load faster, video watching is a pleasure, well rounded connectivity and crazy designs.

My advice is that you should find the device that suits you and go for it. If price is an issue then we can help you find cheaper alternatives. Also, go for that expensive phone if you are really sure about it. I know people who get disappointed after purchasing an expensive phone, do a proper research first and as mentioned above we are always ready to help. Also, notice that I have avoided the operating system topic. There is no right operating system, what defines the operating system is how you intend to use the phone. But anyway that is something we will discuss in a different post.

Huawei Ideos X5

Happy shopping guys and don’t be victims of cheap bad deals.

 

~Eddy

Choosing the Right Tablet

The Kenyan market may still be dry of tablets but that doesn’t mean you can just go out and pick any of the few. You still have to be wise and choose the one which suites you best. The right tablet will depend on the user. Therefore we need to classify the users and see how they fit into the different tablet categories. Operating systems will also come into play.

As for the users I will broadly categorize them into light users, medium users and heavy users. The light users will only need to check their mails, maybe browse the web a bit and check on news either via the web or through RSS feeds. They may also need to type a few documents.

Medium users also happen to be media consumers. These users will browse the web, check email, log in to social sites, play music and also watch movies. Heavy users will play games and multitask thereby stretching the RAM, processor and the battery.

Light users can use any tablet though it has to be user friendly. The Blackberry playbook should do the job. The first iPad is user friendly and much cheaper now. There are also cheap android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 which runs ICS. I am not sure about its availability though, but I don’t see any reason Samsung should not bring it to the Kenyan market following the success of cheap smartphones like the Galaxy mini, Galaxy Y and Galaxy Pocket. Windows 8 haven’t landed yet but would have been appropriate for this category especially with the full Microsoft office experience.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0

Media consumers really make use of the tablet but in a non exhaustive way as compared to power users. Any first generation (Tegra 2) tablet would do just fine. These include the original Motorola Xoom, the original Asus Transformer, Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. The original iPad fits in well also. Those into social networks will probably require physical keyboards. They may therefore need to purchase Bluetooth keyboards or just buy the Asus Transformer which comes with the keyboard dock. Its keyboard dock has an additional battery for more up time. Windows 8 tablets would also fit here perfectly and same is the case with second generation android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1.

Heavy users will need quad core tablets such as the Asus Transformer Prime and Acer Iconia Tab A510. Both the iPad 2 and iPad 3 are in this category with the difference being your budget. As for the dedicated gamers you will probably need to use a gamepad just on an Xbox or PlayStation. It is possible to use gamepads on tablets provided they run android and have USB host capability. You cannot use game controllers on the iPad. Windows 8 tablets should be able to support game controllers but I am yet to find out. Some tablets such as most Acer tablets have dedicated full size USB 2.0 ports. With the Asus Transformer you will need the keyboard dock while with other tablets you will need a separate cable.

Acer Iconia Tab A200

I thought about classifying the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 in the media consumer category since it still runs Honeycomb but its 1.4GHz processor puts it way above the Tegra 2 tablets and also an ICS update is coming soon.

Galaxy Tab 7.7

Almost all tablets are categorized into Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G. I recommend the Wi-Fi + 3G slates since Kenya is still not a Wi-Fi country and creating your own Wi-Fi network maybe stressful.

So, know your category and find the tablet that suites you. Oh, and I haven’t delved into the screen size debate since that’s a personal choice. Personally 10.1 inch tablets do it for me as I consider 7 inches too small. If, however you want portability then find a 7 inch or maybe a 7.7 inch slate.

 

~Eddy

Online Tech Shopping

In general phones, computers and tablets are expensive locally as compared to other countries mostly developed ones. The major companies always try and bridge the gap but in some cases the companies have no “base” within the country. Companies like Samsung, Nokia and HP have set up shops or are directly collaborating with local shops. When this happens prices become favourable or comparable to other countries. But what can we do if that’s not the case? Well, I will look at the available options.

Locally we have individuals or companies that import devices and these tend to be cheaper. Of course the main problem with this is scams. So never give out money first and make sure the device is genuine. Also make sure the individual or the company is trustworthy.

Another option is the local online market such as dealfish, Google Trader Kenya, Uzanunua etc. These are still coming up but so far I am quite impressed. But again in the end you are still dealing with an individual and you must make sure you avoid scams. Scams are minimal though in the above sites and they are worth checking out.

Finally, we the option where you can directly import the device on your own terms. This tends to be safer and you will get the best deals. So far I have only looked at eBay and the Amazon store. You will get unbelievable deals including shipping charges. For about KShs 35000 you can find yourself a quad core Tegra 3 tablet and that’s quite impressive. Just stick to the trusted online sites and you will be OK.

However online shopping seems difficult to carry out due to the payment options. Shopping on eBay entails having a PayPal account first which you then link to your card (visa, MasterCard etc). Creating a PayPal account isn’t hard though, the only problem is having a card that is enabled for online shopping. I know most local banks don’t permit online shopping. So you have to check with your bank first. Some online shopping sites online require you pay with your card so that’s simple enough.

Online shopping is probably the way to go but additional shipping charges and bank restrictions are the only disadvantages. Shipping charges can be countered if you have a relative or a friend abroad. Just buy the product and send to their address. Free shipping is also offered in countries such as USA and the UK such that you won’t incur any shipping cost.

Just a thought, how about if we could do online shopping via mpesa?

Written by Eddy

Galaxy Pocket vs. Ideos

Samsung Galaxy Pocket:  Pros & Cons

Since Kenya was swept away with Ideos wave, selling well over 100,000 units to date, we were yet to see another low cost competitor until now. Samsung recently released the Galaxy Pocket at an impressive cost of Ksh 9,999 with the following Key features:

• Quad-Band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 2.8″ 256K-color QVGA TFT touchscreen
• 832MHz ARMv6 processor, 289MB of RAM
• Android OS v2.3.6 (Gingerbread) with TouchWiz UI
• 3 GB of internal storage, hot-swappable MicroSD slot (up to 32 GB)
• 2 MP fixed-focus camera with geotagging
• GPS receiver with A-GPS
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Swype text input
• MicroUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth 3.0
• Social network integration

And the following Main disadvantages

• Low screen resolution
• Fixed focus camera
• 2 MP fixed-focus camera with geotagging
• QVGA video recording @15fps
• No Adobe Flash support

Truly Samsung have been busy at all ends this year (high & low end markets), but the question I raise is, how is this device better than the Ideos (U8150)?

In comparison to the Ideos the Samsung Pocket has larger internal memory, better/faster processor & is bundled with Samsung software/apps for Social networking.

The ideos in its corner has a better camera (3MP), and higher HSDPA speeds (7.2 Mbps).

Samsung is yet to improve in some sectors where the Ideos failed such as screen pixelation & visibility, lack of flash support & poor battery life.

All in all….I believe the Samsung Galaxy Pocket is a buy and a worthy competitor to the reigning king, the Ideos.

~DGM

Time to Embrace Tablets

They first came out as a rebel community in the phone world. The iPad for instance ran the same iOS that was running on iPhones. It only had a bigger screen and a few apps meant for the larger screen. It was the same case with Android slates and they did flood the market. Indeed tablets were inventions of the future and it’s only now that the future has arrived. We have three main choices, Android tablets, Windows 8 tablets and the iPads. But of course the main issue is whether they are available for the local market.

Windows 8 tablets were just announced recently so we still have to wait until the end of the year. Android slates have matured from Honeycomb which provided a real tablet experience though it was laggy and now they run ICS. ICS provides the ultimate tablet experience. The iOS tablets simply work and have tonnes of apps and games. The iPad is always a safe alternative and flawless due to the simple operating system or firmware. The only problem is usually the cost.

The list of affordable decent tablets is overwhelming. The Acer Iconia tab is $300, Asus Eee Pad transformer TF101 as cheap as $250, the new Samsung Galaxy tab 2 7.0 is also $250, while first generation tablets like the Motorola xoom are way cheaper. Notice I’ve given the prices in dollars and not in shillings. This is because those tablets are hard to find locally despite being that cheap. The dealers that have them sell them expensively. I came across the Asus transformer TF101 selling for KShs. 45,000 yet the figure given above is about KShs. 21000.

Don’t frown, we still have good deals. The second generation Galaxy tablets like the Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1, Galaxy tab 8.9 are available on shops such as Safaricom. The more advanced Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is also available for around KShs. 40,000. The blackberry playbook is not the coolest tablet but good enough and is also available.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 plus

If you need to save on cost then second hand deals are also good since I’ve come across a number. The Galaxy Tab 7.0 plus can be found at around KShs. 30,000 which is a good deal. For the same price you can also get the first iPad. I’ve also seen the iPad 2 selling for around KShs. 40,000. Just make use of sites like dealfish but be careful of scams. And also if you could, buy them abroad.

The New iPad or just iPad 3

It’s only a matter of time and soon tablets will hit the KShs. 20,000 mark. Tablets may never get to replace our computers but they will always have a special place. Already they are replacing books and being used in flight control checks.