Merry Christmas!!! The word Christmas comes from “Cristes Maesse”, an early English phrase that means “Mass of Christ.” It is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ (not the birth day itself which could be any one of the 365.25 days of the year). Jesus is about peace, love, and understanding (what’s so funny about that?). It’s the time of the year when we set grudges and ill feelings aside that we may have accumulated for the past year (or the past years!). Such things are sometimes unavoidable but if we clean the slate even just once a year then it make for a better world. Unfortunately, two millenniums later, it’s still far off.
We made the mistake of dropping by the PhilEquity office to create an account for Michelle and Jeanne. We ended up getting delayed and got to the airport terminal late. And then we found the overnight parking brimming FULL!!! The only recourse was to head over to Park ‘N Fly. After fighting through heavy traffic, hastily parking the car at Park ‘N Fly, and fighting through traffic (this time on a chauffeured shuttle) back to the airport terminal, we found the check-in counter already closed. We were directed to the service counter where we found out that all flights were booked. We asked about being chance passengers and luckily we would be the first ones. There was a hefty change in the fare (almost four times) but we had no choice. Michelle (with Jeanne on her lap), and I were able to on the next flight and James, who was travelling with us, got on the flight after that. Talk about being lucky!
As I was putting on my trail shoes for trip to the airport when I felt something inside one shoe. I pulled it out and what do I find? My long (almost a year) lost Oakley Unknown! I haven’t the faintest idea how it got there but Christmas is suddenly a wee bit brighter :P
The latest Google Android reference phone is out. This is going to be a three way fight between the current top Android phone and the latest iPhone. The tale of the tape:
| Samsung Google Nexus S | Samsung Galaxy S | Apple iPhone 4 | |
| Size | 123.9 x 63 x 10.9 mm | 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm | 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm |
| Weight | 129 g | 119 g | 137 g |
| Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| HSDPA 1700 / 2100 /900 | HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 | |
| Display | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
| 480X800 pixels, 4 inches | 480X800 pixels, 4 inches | 640 x 960 pixels, 3.5 inches | |
| Processor | ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor | ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor | 1 GHz Apple A4 processor |
| RAM | 512 MB RAM | 512 MB RAM | 512 MB RAM |
| Internal Storage | 16GB | 8/16GB | 16/32 GB |
| External Storage | No External Memory | Up to 32GB | No External Memory |
| Data | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP | Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP | Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP |
| Near Field Communications | Yes | none | none |
| Video | 720p@30fps | 720p@30fps, LED video light | 720p@30fps, LED video light, geo-tagging |
| Operating System | Android OS, v2.3 Gingerbread | Android OS, v2.1 Eclair w/ TouchWiz 3.0 | iOS 4 |
| Camera | 5 MP, 2560 x 1920 pixels, autofocus, LED flash | 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus | 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash |
| Apps | About 100K from Android Market + access to non-market apps | About 100K from Android Market + access to non-market apps | About 300K from Apple app store |
| Battery | Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh | Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh | Standard battery, Li-Po 1420mAh |
| Standby | Up to 713 h (2G) / Up to 428 h (3G) | Up to 750 h (2G) / Up to 576 h (3G) | Up to 300 h (2G) / Up to 300 h (3G) |
| Talk-time | Up to 14 h(2G) / Up to 7 h (3G) | Up to 14 h(2G) / Up to 7 h (3G) | Up to 14 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G) |
Based on the specifications, the winner is the iPhone 4 though not overwhelmingly. And it seems the Nexus S in not at all too different from the Galaxy S. Understandable since it’s made by Samsung but not expected since it is newer and Google is involved. So there’s no real reason to get the Nexus S unless you’re developing NFC applications. Just as well since it’s probably going to be priced higher than the Galaxy S which is already overpriced as it is.
I walked into the office this morning and found my desk littered with cables and wire strippings. It seems the contractor has been working overnight on the incomplete cabling. It’s not something I cannot live with or clean up myself but I believe they should do a proper job and not be leaving such a mess.