I know! Already!?

Don’t get me wrong; Tumblr is great! The reason it’s so popular is because it is simple and easy to use. The lack of features is a feature itself, right?

My new URL is
nerdyuki.blogspot.com

This tumblog will still always be available, because I never throw anything away. (A parent’s worst nightmare: a child packrat.) One day, I’ll look back on this and think, “This was my first blog.”

I’m getting all teary just thinking about it :( ! Enough enough. This is a happy occasion. I thought I’d better move to Blogger, since my blog is so young, and roots are still growing.

Bye bye, Tumblr. I’ll visit again when I make it!

Sincerely,
Yuki

P.S. All posts that are already made here were transferred to Blogger. If you’re a new reader, there’s no need to read the posts here, except this post.

Hey everyone! -crickets chirping.-

Although I don’t have many readers, I just want you guys to know that I’ve added a comment system to this blog. To comment, simply click on the name of the post you want to comment, or where is says, “# comments,” on the bottom of a post. Thanks, DisqUs.com, for providing a comment system for major blog hosting sites.

Also, I will try to update as often as possible. Like I said in the description, I come across little phones to review. I mostly update with news articles, though not every day has breaking news. Apologies~ for inactiveness.

Thanks,
Yuki

Cupcake! Donut! Now, there are Eclair and Flan. Welcome to the family, guys.

Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google, spoke at an event in San Francisco. He clarified the difference between the company’s new Chrome OS for netbooks, and the Android OS for mobile phones. Rubins announced that more versions of Android (Donut, Eclair, and Flan) are coming up, being more social-centric with improved integration of social networking services. Of course, more features are to be expected with each software update.

The Donut is to be the upgrade to Cupcake, as Android 2.0

The G2 Touch, or the HTC Hero, will be lauching on T-Mobile UK. It will be launching July 17th, in Europe.

Does this mean that T-Mobile USA will be offering it soon, too? It was earlier announced that any “with Google” branded phones will not be featuring the Sense UI (HTC’s super customizable user interface, already found on the Hero). Google had also announced that such phones will also not support Microsoft Exchange. However, the myTouch 3G for T-Mobile supports Microsoft Exchange, and is Google-branded. Who knows, maybe Google will change their minds once again?


T-Mobile branded G2 Touch, AKA Hero.

The T-Mobile G2 Touch will be free on an 18-month contract, at £40 (about $65) per month.

Orange will be offering the phone free of charge, on a two-year contract.

EDIT: CTO Cole Brodman, at the launch of the myTouch 3G, has confirmed the Hero will not be offered by T-Mobile USA. It doesn’t hurt to be hopeful, nevertheless.

VZW LG enV2
Being one of the most popular messaging phones of 2008, the enV2 is equipped with a spacious keyboard. This device is a slide clamshell, with a full QWERTY keyboard inside. On the front, you have a rather large and awkward 12-key keypad. Some reviews have said it resembles a calculator. If I had a complaint about this phone’s hardware, it would be that it has no D-pad. For navigation, there are up and down keys, with an “OK” key in between; there is no left and right. So when you’re composing a text using the front, you cannot go back and correct a mistake. You have to repeatedly click “CLR” to cancel what you’ve typed. The internal keyboard is of solid build. There’s a row of keys dedicated to numbers, a D-pad, soft keys, send and end keys, and et cetera. The flush keys give good feedback when you press down. There’s a lot of space between each key, so your thumbs would travel a lot. So if you’re used to composing long texts or emails, you should go to a Verizon store to try this phone out before you buy.
Price: $49.99 on a two-year contract, after online discounts, via VerizonWireless.com.
FREE on a two-year contract, after MIR and LetsTalk discount, via WalMart.LetsTalk.com.



VZW Motorola Rival
The first thing I thought about this phone was: ugly. The first thing I thought about this phone when I held it and opened it was: heavy. The sliding mechanism is very strong. It makes a distinct metallic sound when it slides open. The full QWERTY keyboard is arranged in a grid format. When typing on it, my thumbs often hit the sliding part of the phone. The keys themselves seem a little stiff. There isn’t a whole lot of press down. Same goes for the D-pad and the keys around it.
Price: $49.99 on a two-year contract, after online discounts, via VerizonWireless.com.
- $25.00 on a two-year contract, after MIR and LetsTalk discount, via WalMart.LetsTalk.com. (You make $25.00)



T-Mobile Samsung Gravity
The Gravity is an entry-level messaging phone. It has a three row full QWERTY keyboard. Again, I find myself hitting the sliding part of the phone too much when trying to use the top row of the keyboard. On both sides of the keys are two soft keys. When the phone is closed, the keys on the front are rather cramped. The numeric keypad is hard to press down on, and I often misdialed (Another friend has this phone). The keys are bubbled up and separated. The D-pad is small and hard to navagate with. On the back is a 1.3 megapixel camera with a self-portrait mirror.
Price: $29.99 on a two-year contract, after mail-in rebate and online discounts, via T-Mobile.com.
FREE on a two-year contract, after MIR and LetsTalk discount, via WalMart.LetsTalk.com.

LG Vu
Since the store model was pretty much just an empty shell, there’s nothing I can tell you from playing with it. Luckily, a friend of mine has this phone, and I’ve used it a few times. The Vu has a resistive touchscreen, that you have to press down on moderately hard to register a touch (I was surprised on how hard you had to press). It has NO accelerometer. When texting, there’s an icon you have to press to switch between the 12-key touchpad and the full QWERTY board. Texting on the full QWERTY is hard to do with your fingers, since the keys are so small. Here is where the resistive touchscreen comes in to save the day: it’s easier and more accurate to press the keys with fingernails or a stylus.
Price: $49.99 on a two-year contract, after mail-in rebates, via AT&T.
-$50.00 on a two-year contract, after MIR and LetsTalk discount, via WalMart.LetsTalk.com. (You make $50.00)



BlackBerry Curve 8310
This phone is SMALL. I was surprised, since many people complain about the bulkiness of BlackBerries. Honestly? This phone is 4.21 by 2.36 by 0.61 inches. I suspect it to be fairly light. The keys are very small and would be hard to read for the near-sighted (like me) from a distance. Nevertheless, I like the keyboard. It gives a sufficient click when you press down on any key. The keys are raised and separated, to better distinguish one key from another. This Curve has a 2 megapixel camera.
Price: $99.99 on a two-year contract, after mail-in rebates, via AT&T.
FREE on a two-year contract, after MIR and LetsTalk discount, via WalMart.LetsTalk.com.



LG Shine
Another friend of mine has this phone, so I can give a more in-depth review. The Shine is a sleek slider phone, with a 2 megapixel camera on the back, with an LED flash and a self-portrait mirror. On the front, there are two softkeys, and a five-way joystick for navigation. On the keypad, you have the send and end keys, with a cancel/back key in between, and the numeric keys. The keypad is very flat, to keep the phone’s profile thin. The feedback is similar to that of a Razr. (If you’ve never had a Razr, the feedback is surprisingly adequate for a keypad so flat.) Call quality is mediocre; there is always static, be it five or two bars of signal. It’s very frustrating, having to repeat every five sentences. The camera takes exceptionally good pictures for a cell phone.


Taken under insufficient lighting, with exposure turned all the way up.
Colors turned out true, and edges slightly blurred.
Click on thumbnail to view image in full size.

Price: FREE on a two-year contract, after mail-in rebate, via AT&T.
-$25.00 on a two-year contract, after MIR and LetsTalk discount, via WalMart.LetsTalk.com. (You make $25.00)



LG Xenon
The first thing I tested was the keyboard, which was excellent. The keys are arranged in a grid form. There’s a space between the top row of the keys and the sliding part of the phone, so your fingers and nails won’t bump into it and slow down your texting. The keys are slightly domed, so you know when you’re hitting two keys at once.
Price: $99.99 on a two-year contract, after mail-in rebates, via AT&T.
-$25.00 on a two-year contract, after MIR and LetsTalk discount, via WalMart.LetsTalk.com. (You make $25.00)



Samsung Eternity
Surprisingly, another friend of mine has this phone. The touchscreen on this phone is resistive. The only hardware keys on the front are the send and end keys, with a back key in between. I asked to borrow this phone to call home, and I kept misdialing due to the screen’s innaccuracy. Call quality was fine during the brief 30-second call with five bar.
Price: $79.99 on a two-year contract, after mail-in rebates, via AT&T.
-$25.00 on a two-year contract, after MIR and LetsTalk discount, via WalMart.LetsTalk.com. (You make $25.00)



Motorola Razr2 V9x
This phone is slighty smaller in size than the original Razr. It’s made of shiny black plastic, as opposed to its predecessor’s metal build. The keypad is still very flat, but with similar feedback of the Razr. This model has a 2 megapixel camera on the front. Underneath the camera, you have a very large external screen, with a touch-sensitive bar on the bottom. You can control your music with the phone closed. On the sticker taped onto the external screen, it appears that you can control AT&T’s GPS navigation with the phone closed also.
Price: FREE on a two-year contract, after MIR and LetsTalk discount, via WalMart.LetsTalk.com.