Thoughts of a Cyber-LOONATic - Cellular

Tablet Take-up

nospam@example.com (Junaid Loonat) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:42:00 +0200

I've fallen victim to the tablet PC craze and recently acquired a Sansui LifePad (ETAB) 700.
In all honesty, it wasn't completely my fault. I just happened to be casually browsing an Incredible Connection store that happened to be giving the on-sale device away for a measly R999.
Like my previous Acer Aspire One netbook, I categorised the tablet as one of my impulsive purchases of throw-away hardware. "Throw-away" in the sense that I'm willing to give the technology a bash/try, but am not prepared to part with an insane amount of money (for something that I am unsure if I'll ever use much).

Specifications:

ARM1176 720Mhz
256MB DDR II RAM
7" WVGA LCD (800x480)
802.11 b/g wireless
Android 2.3.3
4GB Internal Flash (but only 3.1GB available for use)
microSD card slot
Mini HDMI (type C)
Front-facing 0.3MP camera
Built-in microphone and stereo speakers
USB 2.0

At the time of writing, online information for the Sansui LifePad device was extremely limited with Google results only leading to websites that used silly SEO tricks to get traffic for free.

My assumption that Sansui was simply rebranding another company's device turned out to be correct when I stumbled across the Coby Kyros MID7125. Hardware-wise, the MID7125 has a slightly faster CPU (1Ghz). In terms of looks however, the two devices are identical.

It's interesting that the LifePad identifies itself as a model MID7120 - a model that, at time of writing, does not exist within the Coby catalogue.

As you'd expect of me, my pet project will be pimping this tablet up. The first order of business being to theme-up and make the LifePad's interface look a bit seksier!

Mobile History: Nokia E51

nospam@example.com (Junaid Loonat) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:34:00 +0200

While Nokia had always been a popular brand, there was always that "little something" that kept me away from their products.
The D500 had done well to protect me from myself, but this was only accomplished by restricting everything I did.

There use to be some really wierd restrictions that the D500 imposed upon me.
If I remember correctly, I attempted to use the D500's file storage as a USB flash drive to transfer files from one pc to the other... however, I soon realised that the D500 firmware was preventing me from storing executable files (*.exe) on its file storage.
Furthermore, I'm sure that the phone actively checked to ensure that uploaded image files were in fact valid.
While the D500 effectively followed the golden rule of "Never trust user-supplied data", I must admit that I wasn't expecting it. Not at least from Samsung.

These wierd restrictions as well as the missing MIDP libraries made me realise that I needed a phone that ran an operating system which understood the word "extendible".
Hating Windows Mobile with a passion, I was left with the (then closed-source) symbian range of phones.

(and just then, she walked into my life)

Nokia E51 @ GSMArena.com

Nokia E51
Finally, a phone that had complete MIDP libraries!
The E51 was a mix of business and pleasure... all rolled up into a single neat little package.
In addition to all the functionality I had on my D500, I now had wifi!

Truth be told, I always wanted wifi on my phone so that I wouldn't have to pull out my laptop in order to break into a wireless network.
My dream came true while at a client who informed me that they have "absolutely no wireless infrastructure".
I whipped out my E51 and did a quick scan.
Unfortunately for the client, their wireless printer provided me with instant access to their internal network.
#FAIL

Symbian gave me much joy not only in terms of application development, but also as a solid platform to perform application assessments on phone applications.
Like the D500, this little treasure served me for roughly three years.
My primary breaking point was reached when @singe asked me if I could SSH into my phone, just like he could with his new iPhone.

While I was unsure if there existed a SSH server for symbian, I already knew that a shell on a symbian phone would be utterly pointless for the most part... simply because it isn't unix!

This lightbulb moment helped me realise what I needed in life... besides sleep of course!

Mobile History: The Samsung D500

nospam@example.com (Junaid Loonat) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:34:00 +0200

Like many of my other possessions, I have always tried my best to preserve my mobile phones in proper condition ... at very least until I am willing to replace them.
As such, it's not surprising to me when I look back and recall how each of my phones had lasted me a good few years of service.

(and so starts my recollection of past phones, as I explain my way to my latest purchase)

Samsung D500 @ GSMArena.com

Samsung D500
The D500 was my first phone that was bought with the intention of "doing great things".
Back in the days, the D500 was known for its extensive list of features and functionality.
I remember clearly how I was exhilarated by the thought of 96MB of shared memory.
Although it lacked wifi, the D500 still came with bluetooth (v1.1) and infrared.
Samsung, known for their quality cameras, left D500 competitors in the dust by shipping the D500 with a 1.3MP camera! drool
Finally, the D500 supported MIDP 2.0 ... which ultimately convinced me that this was my (cellular) destiny.

Like in any relationship, there were a few ups-and-downs:

The MIDP 2.0 implementation was half-baked and seemed to miss some crucial libraries required to do cool things
I think I managed to find almost every GUI-related bug in the D500 which caused it to reboot (I also enjoyed the way the D500 would reboot and bypass the SIM PIN-entry screen, such that it would appear as if nothing had occured)
I had to search for the D500E firmware (released in another country) in order to flash my phone and be able to achieve EDGE speeds. While the speed improvement was not really noticeable, the functionality should have been included in the default firmware on my phone

All in all, the D500 did seem to be virtually bullet-proof since it had survived numerous incidents where other phones would probably snap into pieces.
The durable D500 lasted 3 years before I let her free to continue her journey with someone else.