Le Portal Pacher

Fuji Real 3D W3 Camera Test

Phi — 2011-04-03T18:30:20Z

I am currently happy with my Fuji F70 EXR, even with its many shortcomings. The new Fuji F550 EXR looked interesting with long zoom range and GPS, but ISO quality doesn't seem to improve. For the same price range I could buy the Fuji Real 3D W3 Camera which included 3D, surely it is more innovative than the F550 EXR ?

TO BE COMPLETED

Battery Life

Battery	Fuji Real 3D W3	Fuji F70EXR	Fuji F200EXR	Fuji F30
2 bars	84	197	176	280
1 bar	114	260	182	520
Empty	124	273	213	572

is pretty bad. At most it gives around 120 photos and this is without reviewing the pictures on the 3D screen and with LCD brightness down one notch.

That's around half the number from my previous Fuji: F70EXR and F200EXR which is completely logical as it's the same battery Fuji NP-50, rated 940 mAh only, as the Fuji Real 3D W3 is basically two cameras in one.

In most situations you need at least another battery, and this is without reviewing the pictures on the Fuji Real 3D screen, I emptied a full battery only by reviewing the pictures on the screen without taking any photos ! (around 1 to 2 hours of reviewing).

The Fuji Real 3D W1 had a far better battery with at least double capacity, that's one of the reasons where the W1 is better than the W3.

To show around pictures without having a battery problem it's better to buy the new Nintendo 3DS ...

Side by Side Fuji W3 vs F70 EXR

Hall: Above Fuji W3 (ISO 800, flash, 1/60 s), below F70 (ISO 800, flash, 1/60 s)

Note: all outdoors pictures are taken with cloudy balance and standard film on both cameras

Building: Above Fuji W3 (ISO 100, 1/210 s), below F70 (ISO 100, 1/280 s)

Place: Above Fuji W3 (ISO 100, 1/240 s), below F70 (ISO 100, 1/350 s)

Wall: Above Fuji W3 (ISO 100, 1/125 s), below F70 (ISO 100, 1/400 s)

Restaurant: Above Fuji W3 (ISO 100, 1/20 s), below F70 (ISO 100, 1/20 s)

My opinion on the better pictures:
– the pictures on both cameras are below average, the weather was rainy and it didn't help
– the F70 EXR seems to have an edge however as it can always shoot faster due to its lower aperture at F3.2 versus F3.7 for Fuji Real 3D W3 - quality when zoomed is better too (1/2 inches versus 1/2.3 inches CCD)
– Of course the F70 EXR has the benefit of wide-angle (27 mm versus 35 mm) and long zoom (270 mm versus 105 mm)
– the pictures of both cameras look similar: I think it overexposes by 1/3 to 2/3 stops

When choosing between the Fuji Real 3D W3 and the F70 EXR, the "quality" is not a problem when there is enough light.

Without enough light, the Real 3D W3 will show its limits versus lower aperture, larger CCD, image stabilisation of the F70 EXR which will allow the latter to use lower ISO and have a cleaner image.

Film Mode

Fuji W3 standard film mode

Fuji W3 chrome film mode

F70 EXR standard film mode

F70 EXR astia film mode

F70 EXR velvia film mode

On the Fuji Real 3D W3, the standard color mode is fixed and fine (same as astia film mode on F70 EXR). The chrome mode which is similar to the velvia mode of the F70 EXR is a bit too much.

Conclusion

As regular camera

As 3D camera

Yes the 3D is a gimmick, quality is bad, and you cannot look at the 3D pictures for very long before your eyes are strained. But if you are shooting people - children moving around - I think it is a must. I cannot explain it but it is as if the person is really near you even with the bad picture quality. You won't ever be able to have theses type of pictures if you don't take them now (your children will grow up) - so buy the Fuji Real 3D W3 if you can see the 3D effect.

TO BE COMPLETED

Useful links

Fuji F70 EXR Review

Archos 5 IT Test

Phi — 2010-12-12T10:41:37Z

I have just bought a second hand Archos 5 IT to replace my larger Archos 7 Home Tablet. So despite the smaller screen, and prior release date is it better ?

Archos 5 IT

My Archos 7 Home Tablet was pretty good for the price but a pain to use mostly because of the very bad resistive touchscreen (with part of it shifted), and perhaps because of low horsepower and available ram compared to the requirements of Android.

I bought a second hand 8 Gb version for 112 euros on Ebay, including postage and packing. This is rather cheap as the 8 Go is still 199 euros on Archos website although you can find it in France for 129 euros at Boulanger website

In its box

It's the 8 Go version, the cheapest

Android, Internet, GPS, even digital TV with the right add-on

Archos 5IT manual, micro-USB cable, plastic stand, headphones, DVD with GPS software

High resolution resistive touchscreen at 800 x 480 for 5 inches

Micro-sd card on the left

Headphones and Micro-USB port on the side

Back in stainless steel

Includes vertical stand in steel

In the Archos pouch

Firmware Android 1.6 Donut installation

Android 1.6 Donut is a huge improvement compared to the previous 1.5 Cupcake version.

First you need to download the .aos file on Archos site.

Drag and drop in root directory

Automatic detection when you remove the USB cable

Pretty clever, requires USB charging in case of power supply problems

Already done

First boot

Touchscreen calibration (here with DS stylus)

Accelerometer calibration

Android 1.6 Donut, new firmware 2.0.58

Google Marketplace and Google Apps installation

Download Google Marketplace 4 Archos 5IT from this link

Drag Market4Archos.apk for example in Data folder

And launch from Files browser program

Accept installation

Select install Google Applications

Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk in addition of Marketplace

And you can update latest version on Marketplace (ex: Googlemaps with turn and turn navigation)

Accessories

Bluetooth Keyboard

Let's try my ThinkOutside Azerty Bluetooth Keyboard

Detection is OK

But connection fails

I tried 10 times and it didn't work.

It doesn't say it but you must choose a pairing code on the Archos 5IT and quickly enter the same code on the ThinkOutside ! After you do this blindly it can work.

Compare this to its competitor, the iPhone choose the code and ask you to enter it on the ThinkOutside clearly.

Unfortunately whatever your locale setting, Android only recognizes keyboards as QWERTY

This is the rule whatever the keyboard connection - bluetooth or USB even if you root the tablet.

Two failures on Android here: bad keyboard pairing and recognizes only QWERTY US keyboards and just ignores 4 or 5 billion people on earth. Apple is far better on this: either it don't work or work perfectly.

Software

Note: for all the alternative software source used below, you might need a file explorer to launch the .apk installation file.

Think Office 2.0

Source: Archos default installation

All applications installed with firmware 1.6, including Think Office 2.0

Think Office 2.0 is a Word, Excel, Powerpoint viewer and editor supplied with Archos 5 IT.

Which needs activation by internet

It works pretty well and is free with the tablet.

Navigator

Source: Archos default installation

Internet browser on Android 1.6 Donut

Stock browser works pretty well and is quicker than iPhone 3G. Doesn't work with flash (need Android 2.2 Froyo for this).

ADW Launcher

Source: Android Market

Alternative desktop

Archos stock desktop: notice the specific Archos applications on the bottom

You lose all the specific Archos applications with the alternative desktop: all multimedia music, pictures, videos but also other stuff like Archos Media Store or RDS FM Radio.

ADW Launcher works on portrait

So why make the switch ? ADW Launcher is marginally faster but mostly more configurable.

It works under portrait too. I use it mainly to have only one desktop and remove options to simplify the interface.

You can choose by pressing the Home icon the default desktop program

But after you will really not have access anymore to Archos programs.

To restore access you can change ADW Launcher settings in Applications and remove Launch settings

OI File Manager

Source: Android Market

Great file manager

Easy navigation which display clickable path a bit like Pathfinder under Mac OSX

You can use it to install .apk files.

Pulse

Source: Android Market

It's a great RSS feed reader

It's the same as iPad version which can display as RSS text or web pages

Works under portrait too

Angry Birds

Source: Android Freeware

Works great

Very precise on Archos 5IT with a stylus

And Archos soft buttons are a bonus as it hides advertising !

Vietnamese Keyboard Input

First try with Vietnamese IME (source: Google Marketplace)

Latest version 1.9.3.7 crashes the tablet

Ok let's try the previous versions on Google Code

It says the version has expired

All the dozen versions says they are expired except 1.0.1G which crashes and 1.0.1H which works but with a low resolution keyboard.

Many failures on Android here:
– first new versions on Google Marketplace which don't work and crashes previous version which worked fine
– second no possibility to go back to the previous version on Google Marketplace (on iPhone it's possible if you kept the .ipa, and on some alternative Android marketplace it's possible, see below)
– third no firm guidelines which allows a software developer to do anything to make previous version expire (forbidden under Apple Store rules) and even disable the keyboard altogether, sort of hold user hostage.

In this case, you're cornered, the new software don't work, the old one don't work anymore and it's only a freeware, not a copy protected paid software.

Thankfully I found an alternative keyboard solution:

There is a humble freeware FPT Viet Input tool which works OK

It's also under Google Code, this time with full source, very few download counts.

Archos AppsLib

I got my initial working version of Vietnamese IME from Archos AppsLib (I think it was 1.0.1.H.

It crashes

Now it always crashes even after reinstallation.

Another Android failure: bad software design. It crashes, and I think it's because the server is down. I cannot even use other functions like uninstall when there is no Archos server up either. And it doesn't crashes gracefully with a nice warning, but two times out of three it's a genuine crash.

Google Marketplace

French subtitles with english

Another Android failure: 99% of marketplace content are in English with english comments. I don't have anything against english, but compared to Apple Store where 90% of the content of the french store is in french, you have an unusable store for 4 to 5 billion people on earth. That might be linked to the relaxed guidelines of the Google Marketplace compared to Apple Store strict Guidelines.

Additional failure: I think the content is already filtered to be compatible with your device - but it doesn't work (see Vietnamese IME) so you have all the cons without the pros (in case one program listed not to work just because the developer doesn't have the device, would work)

Add to that one last failure already reported: no possibility to download previous version of the program.

Caveat: I have an hacked Google marketplace on my Archos 5 IT. Perhaps on a supported platform it is better.

Android Freeware

I really hate AppsLib and Google Marketplace. I'll explain why: to find one program that work I have to try at least 15 to 20 which crashes or are junk, with no reliable description (pictures ?) or comments. And most of time I don't find any.

There are alternative Android stores which reduce all that hassle by providing a simple .apk file which is easy to install and which you can keep in case of problems.

I like Android Freeware best.

And it has the good taste to keep previous versions for download

Mac OSX and Archos 5 IT

Mac OSX doesn't recognize the Archos 5 IT. It is pretty simple to make Archos 5 IT appears as an external USB drive.

Go to parameters, internal file system

And select Windows Compatibility Mode FAT32 system

The system will reformat the internal drive (you will lose your data).

Go to USB connection mode

And select MSC (Mass storage connection) mode.

Now when you select Mount after plugging the USB cable

It will show as a flash drive

Other alternative: Xnjb

Most internet sites gives another method which is using XNJB under Mac OSX program which was made for Creative media players. It works but is less convenient than mass storage.

Note: You must update Archos and/or Android library if you want to display new media using Archos and/or Google default applications.

In Preferences USB settings

Multimedia Library: update all libraries

Archos 5 IT versus Archos 7 HT

Archos 5 IT box next to Archos 7 HT box

Archos 5 IT really looks tiny with two inches less but almost half of the screen surface

Next to iPad

Test	Type	iPad	Archos 7HT	Archos 5IT	Ratio	Comments
Boot	Hardware	22.8 s	50.4 s	45.5	1.11x	Almost same boot time for the two Archos
Shutdown	Hardware	2.3 s	1s	6.8 s	x0.13	Shutdown more than 7x slower on 5IT but still less than 7 seconds
Processor	Hardware	Cortex A9 1 Ghz	Arm 9 600 Mhz	Cortex A8 800 Mhz	3x	3x faster than Archos 7 Home Tablet, faster than Iphone 3G but slower than iPad
Memory	Hardware	256 Mo	128 Mo	256 Mo		Double memory for the Archos 5 IT
Battery	Hardware	10h	10h+		1x	Perhaps slightly better on Archos
Battery Charge	Hardware	5h	?	?	?
Web browser - Tomshardware	Web	9.9 s	26.4 s	15.6 s	1.7x	Archos 5 IT is 70% faster, but 7 HT is still acceptable
Web browser - Toucharcade	Web	15.5 s	44 s	26.6 s	1.7x	same
Photos thumbnails	Photo	instant	slow	slow	1x	Archos 5 IT is around the same speed with Google Gallery from 7 HT but twice slower with integrated Archos 5 IT photo display program
167 Mo USB file transfer - write	Hardware	8.4 s	58.1 s	25 s	x2.3	Flash memory on Archos 5IT 2.3 times faster than Archos 7 HT
167 Mo USB file transfer - read	Hardware	16.5 s	24.5 s	12.6 s	x1.95	For read operations, Archos 5IT is even faster than iPad !
Crashes	Hardware	same	same	same		Donut 1.6 doesn't seem more stable but with added Archos 5 IT horsepower it crashes at least faster
Wifi	Hardware	same	same	worse	0.5x	Wifi is worse on Archos 5 IT when the Wifi signal strength is low. Perhaps it's because the smaller size means shorter Wifi antennas ?

Usage

The 5 IT has exactly the same resolution as the 7 HT

If you have good eyesight, web browsing is the same with the added benefit of far more portability. It is also far more confortable than the iPhone 4 which has increased resolution (960 x 640 versus 800 x 480), but with a screen too small (3.5 inches versus 4.8 inches).

Most web sites still readable compared to iPad

Tintin on Archos 7 HT and 5 IT

Reading comics with Droid Comic Viewer was fine on 7 HT and even better on 5 IT because it is faster.

Archos 5 IT can't play 1080p HD videos

That's fair enough, but more annoying is some regular AVI which plays perfectly on the 7 HT aren't recognized by Archos 5 IT either.

Archos 5 IT Cinema Plug-in

To try to solve the problem of regular AVI taken from a digital camera not working and following some leads on internet forums, I purchased Archos 5 IT Cinema Plug-in.

The AVI is according to Quicktime in Apple Open DML JPEG, but I think it is just Apple term for MJPEG format, very common on most digital cameras.

Purchase in the Archos Store, not AppsLib

Two plug-in are purchasable: Cinema and GPS

The cost is 15 euros, which is not cheap or too expensive.

GPS Plug-in is not really worth it because the GPS in the Archos 5 IT has a rather slow fix although the software seems fine.

After confirmation, payment by credit card

It's already installed

Don't know what happen if I upgrade firmware or reformat the device though.

Still doesn't work

So I lost 15 euros, the plug-in didn't work for my purpose.

Conclusion

Compared to my Archos 7 Home Tablet, the Archos 5 IT has lots of pros:
– far more portable and pocketable. It is easier to hold too.
– Android 1.6 Donut which allows far more software compatibility
– Far more powerful, 256 Mo of ram versus 128 Mo, Cortex A8 at 800 Mhz which is around 1600 DMIPS compared with 600 DMIPS for 7 HT 600 Mhz Arm9. It is around 3 to 6 times faster, and it has a huge impact: far less interface lagging.
– no need to kill tasks anymore because of added ram and power
– GPS
– Accelerometer (automatic switch from Portrait to Landscape mode)
– Bluetooth. 3G tethering via Bluetooth.
– Open GL which allows 3D games
– RDS FM Radio

RDS FM Radio, works well but only with headphones, can crash without them

– USB charging
– better color display (Archos 7 HT screen is fine but you clearly see that the display has a limited color palette)

But most of all a good resistive tactile screen, on part with Nintendo DS, very consistent unlike the Archos 7 HT (where part of the screen is good and others are not). Combined with the strong horsepower it is a completely different machine, a pleasure to use whereas the Archos 7 Home Tablet was a pain to use.

Some cons compared to the Archos Home Tablet:
– smaller screen (perhaps half the surface). For showing photos or for old people with eyesight problems it could be an issue.
– less compatible with video formats
– no mains charger supplied (must use USB charging, or for example an iPod USB charger)

All in one a slam dunk, I'm very happy to have swapped my Archos 7 Home Tablet for an Archos 5 IT, I sold my Archos 7 Home Tablet for 106 euros including P&P, so it was only a net cost of around 25 euros after eBay fees.

It can beat my iPad too, the iPad is so heavy I have to rest it somewhere if I use it more than 5 minutes (that means I must rest myself too). Not convenient outside of home (your home or friends home). This is not the case for the Archos 5 IT which is less than 200 grams which you can use everywhere in most situations for internet browsing, and with a screen size more confortable than a typical smartphone like the iPhone 4.

Why I think Android is a failure

I'm pretty happy with the hardware of my Archos 5 IT, and even with the right software I installed on it, so why I think Android is a failure ?

Because I think the design is bad from the start from a software point of view, perhaps even more than Windows / MSDOS combination.

As you can see above there were lots of software related problems:
– keyboard not recognized except as US QWERTY
– marketplace software not working, crashing, without clear pictures or description, not in the right local language, updates not working with your device and no way to fall back to previous version, software with very bad design or expiry dates possible

The result is you lose lot of time to find the right software (even with pretty basic needs), and all the google infrastructure is a hindrance rather than a help - I'd almost rather configure my Archos 5IT on a command line.

I have thought about it and I think it is related to the relative freedom for Android developer. It is not intuitive because somehow in western countries freedom is linked to good things.

It's very simple: Android freedom is mostly freedom to do stupid things. So that means lots of software will have stupid problems or inconsistent interface.

Whereas AppleStore rules are mostly very intelligent rules for 99% of them and forces developer to be intelligent (or not waste lots of time reinventing the wheel), the result is a far more satisfying experience for the end user.

Think about this software could be like a car, Apple would force all manufacturers to have round wheels. Google says you can use any wheel so many developers would use square or triangles wheels. Yes you have freedom but to do stupid things when there is a solution (round wheel) which would be better than at least 90% of other wheel shapes.

So Apple cars would be better than at least 90% of Google cars ! That's what happening right now.

And it's too late for Google to turn back on this as there are already 100 000 software out on its marketplace with these anarchic rules. Of course Google might still win just by the strength of its numbers, but that means a majority of the people will just end up with inferior products and experience because they don't know better, not because Google is better. 1-2% of Google might be better because you would have picked software made by better developers which chose better rules than Apple ones, but you would lose a lifetime before finding them, like under Windows so I think it is not really worth it.

Useful Links

Mon Amazon Kindle 3 In French

My Archos 7 Home Tablet Test In English

My Apple iPad In French

ZTE F160 Phone test It is known as ATT F160 in the US. Includes working tethering with the Archos 5 IT (in french)

Newy

New

Archos 5 IT versus Dell Streak versus Nexus One Archos faster than all of them and far cheaper too (but without 3G / phone)

New Archos 5IT at 129 euros Very low price at Boulanger.fr website, a steal for the price !

Software

Archos 5 IT latest firmware Upgrade to Android 1.6 Donut if your tablet is not upgraded yet

Google Marketplace 4 Archos 5IT

Marketplace installation tutorial In French

Archos AppsLib marketplace

Archos 5 IT Froyo alpha It is an open port which is very buggy for now with lots of hardware not working. And it's very difficult to install for now.

It is incredible that the less powerful Archos 7 HT has a better port of Android 2.2 Froyo available made by a single man.

XNJB MacOSX program for Archos 5 IT connection out of the box (better follow my guide to have it recognized as mass storage)

Free Android marketplaces It's not the free part which interests me but the simple part with .apk files

Android Freeware Best .apk Android software site

Viet Input Tool Just simple and great

Vietnamese IME Avoid if it doesn't work on your device

Other

Archos 5 IT video format compatibility thread In french

Archos 5 IT Cinema plug-in thread In french

Archos 7 Home Tablet Test

Phi — 2010-06-16T18:07:46Z

After buying my Apple iPad, I purchased an Archos 7 Home Tablet - 8 Go version, at the low price of 179 euros for father and mother day. So how does it compares to the far pricier Apple iPad ?

Introduction and unpacking

A new parcel

What is in it ?

It's the new Archos 7 Home Tablet, just released in France

8 Go version

Smaller but comparable package to the Apple iPad's

Opening: it's beautiful

Very sleek

Plenty of accessories

International power supply with 3 different power plugs, manuals, USB cable, headphones

Plenty more than Apple iPad's package

Above: start / shutdown - lock - mini-SD - power led

Left: Headphones - power supply - micro USB

Very beautiful back in metal

It's square so it stands upright

Power supply with 3 international plugs

Euro plug plugged

Installation

First start

Calibrate resistive touch screen

First installation

Very few settings

Done

First boot screen

Parameters / Wifi Settings

And it's on the internet - the browser display is very good

Default brightness was pretty low at 20%

Screen looks beautiful playing HD movies

But obviously has limited color palette

Benchmark versus Apple iPad

Test	Type	iPad	Archos 7HT	Ratio	Comments
Boot	Hardware	22.8 s	50.4 s	0.45x	Almost double boot time, not that it really matters as it is still less than a minute
Shutdown	Hardware	2.3 s	0.5s	x4.6	Shutdown instant on Archos
Memory	Hardware	?	?
Battery	Hardware	10h	10h+	1x	Perhaps slightly better on Archos
Battery Charge	Hardware	5h	?	?
Web browser - Tomshardware	Web	8.4 s	19.9 s	0.42x	Archos slower but pretty fast, near iPhone 3G speed
Web browser - Blogeee	Web	6.8 s	18.1 s	0.37x	same
167 Mo USB file transfer - write	Hardware	8.4 s	58.1 s	x0.15	Flash memory of Archos 7HT far slower on write operations but bearable
167 Mo USB file transfer - read	Hardware	16.5 s	24.5 s	x0.67	For read operations, Archos 7HT is almost as fast as iPad
Crashes	Hardware	same	same	1x	Same number of applications crashes but OS crashes happens on Archos 7HT, never on iPad
Wifi	Hardware	idem	idem		Perhaps slightly better on Archos 7HT

So what does it means when you use the devices ? Which one is better ?

Usage	iPad	Archos 7 HT
Price		X
Form factor		X
Weight		X
Build	X	X
Stability		X
Connection options		X
File transfer		X
Interface	X
Software	X
Photo	X	X
Video		X
Music	X
Books	X
Web browsing	X
Mail	X
Customization		X

Stability

First Application crash

Software

AppLibs gives access to limited Archos Application Library

I really hate Android. Installation of new software on the Archos 7HT is fairly easy, just drag and drop an .apk by USB on the 7HT then click on it under file browser application.

But as the Archos 7HT doesn't have access to marketplace it's almost impossible to find the .apk - it's very hard to navigate in the Android community where 80% of web pages real estate seems to be adverts and there are lots of dead ends in forums and web sites.

To save some frustration here are some useful apk:

Archos7HT_Apps.zip

My software package for Archos 7HT: battery level widget, advanced task manager 1.6, youtube and Opera Mini 5 beta

Photos

To show photos, Archos is perhaps better than iPad ! Main reasons are the following:
– the iPad with it's pouch system is very unstable compared to the integrated vertical stand of the Archos
– the Archos is very light at 350 grams and can be tossed around like real photos. The iPad with its pouch is almost 3 times heavier.
– the very responsive iPad interface can panic new users (what's happening here ?), whereas the unresponsive Archos interface, at least for photos is not that much a problem (let's slide again !)

Video

And playing SD AVI from the net

Subtitles files don't seem to work however.

Video	NOT OK	OK	Comments
SD .AVI Series		X	No subtitles
720P .MKV Series		X	Slightly choppy
720P .MKV clip	X		No sound, no picture
1080P .MP4 trailer	X		Sound but no picture, consistent with 720P limit
.MP4 Clip 1		X
.MP4 Clip 2		X
.MKV Clip 1	X		Excellent picture but no sound
.MKV Clip 2		X	No problem this one
.AVI Clip 1		X
.AVI Clip 2		X
.FLV Clip		X
.AVI digital camera	X		Don't work, from Fuji camera

In short this is an excellent video player, without conversion needed.

Music

No problem with playing MP3

Books

Included program to read books

Perfect size for reading in portrait

Web

Web navigation: Good rendering

Even compared to the iPad in horizontal position (Archos can only do horizontal web browsing)

Very readable compared to iPad on overview mode

No flash support on both devices

Mail

Email: Very dark interface compared to iPad

Email: missing pictures display on many emails, must click to see

Customization

Archos interface has Widgets like clock and weather, nothing for iPad

The Archos 7HT is almost as thin as the iPad.

Summary

So it looks pretty even whereas iPad is 3 or 4 times more expensive than Archos 7HT ?

No because there is a huge problem with Archos 7HT, which is the tactile interface, which seems to have both hardware and software (Android) issues - and which can make the whole experience very frustrating when you interact with the device:
– touchscreen doesn't always respond even after many recalibrations, I don't know if it's part an Android / CPU power problem - or part a hardware problem (touchscreen seems as good as Nintendo DS, but part of the screen seems less responsive). And most important, it is not uniform, so you have to keep in your mind a map of the screen (here on the left I have to press lower, on above I have to press firmly with my thumb etc). Using a stylus doesn't help.
– lag in everything you do compared to iPhone / iPad. The display don't "follow" your fingers like on the iPhone, when you slide the photo it doesn't hang following your fingers position. You sort of take it for granted on iPhone / iPad but it must consumes lots of CPU power just displaying all these intermediate steps.
– very bad virtual keyboard. If you enable sound feedback, it seems to add more lag. Moreover that stupid keyboard sound is different every keypress (like an old typewriter) which is very annoying.
– bad feedback - some operations take time, but the tablet seems to hang so you don't know if it's an input problem or processing (no hourglass or grey screen like the iPhone)
– keypresses backlog, which means if you press twice, Android will use your second keypress after it processes the first, perhaps 1 mn later on a wholly different screen, which can lead to catastrophes
– inconsistent interface. Sometimes menu or home keys don't work, and you really don't know why.

Conclusion

The Archos 7 Home Tablet is a frustrating piece of electronics.

The hardware is very good considering the price:
– sleek design, sturdy, included stand which makes it a workable digital photo display
– very light at 350 grams versus 700 grams for my Apple iPad
– plenty of connectivity options (USB, mini SD, headphones, bluetooth) and accessories (headphones or international power supply) which are not included in the far pricier Apple iPad
– very good display of web sites on par with iPhone, capable of downloading files
– plays most or all video or audio formats without conversion unlike Apple iPad / iPhone
– simple drag and drop operation instead of iTunes stuff and locked drives
– multitasking

but the "problem" is the interface responsiveness and inaccuracy as seen above, which will make you want to throw the device out of the window sometimes (so it's not just a minus compared to iPad).

Most or all of the problems are related to Android which is only version 1.5 whereas the latest is Frodo 2.2.

But even if all interface issues and feedback are corrected, perhaps there is simply not enough power to do the sort of immediate feedback of the iPhone / iPad - this would be fair for the price.

Anyway the tablet meets its objectives, it's a great photo / video media player (if you don't fiddle too much with the controls), and it's a fair internet and mail tablet as long as you don't go on too complex websites.

But in everyday usage, the iPad is going to win without contest because of interface responsiveness even if it is not that clearly better in end results (rendering or compatibility), and far worse on weight (almost triple if you count the iPad pouch which is a must buy).

Just sold it for an Archos 5 IT tablet which is far better in almost every way except the screen size, for a similar price.

Useful Links

Mon Amazon Kindle 3 In French

My Archos 5 IT Test In English

My Apple iPad In French

Archos 7HT Hardware Wiki

Archos 7HT list of applications Not much yet

Archos / Android Stability

Blogeee Archos 7HT thread In french

Software

Archos7HT_Apps.zip

My software package for Archos 7HT: battery level widget, advanced task manager 1.6, youtube and Opera Mini 5 beta

Android freeware Some apk to download directly

Youtube.apk

Howto access marketplace .apk In french, never tried it as it seems very complex with using Android SDK on a desktop

MacOSX Snow Leopard on Packard Bell iMax C2600 / Aspire Revo R3600

Phi — 2010-02-03T15:09:26Z

I have bought a Packard Bell iMax C2600 nettop at bargain prices. It includes an Atom processor, Nvidia ION chipset, 2 Go ram and 160 Go hard disk. As usual I tried my favorite hobby which is installing MacOSX on this computer.

Context and hardware

About Aspire Revo 3600 / Packard Bell iMax C2600

The Packard Bell Imax C2600 is the same as the Acer Aspire Revo 3600 (Packard Bell is an european brand from Acer, as Gateway is one for the US).

It was available for a bargain price of 149 euros in a french store (Surcouf), but Acer policy of refunding Vista Premium for 40 euros (shipping is paid by Acer) means it costs only 109 euros, really a rock bottom price.

The computer is also open to upgrade to Windows Seven Premium for the low price of 15 euros from Acer too (this company is bound to go broke one of these days by being so generous 8-) ).

Its main specifications are the following :
– Atom N230 at 1.6 Ghz : includes 64 bit, Hyperthreading and execute disable bit but is single core unlike its bigger brother Aspire Revo R3610 dual core Atom N330
– 2 Go ram
– 160 Go hard disk
– Nvidia IO chipset
– OS Vista Premium

Aspire Revo 3600 : supplied with keyboard and logitech optical mouse

Left to right : Power supply, VGA, HDMI, Ethernet, 4 USB

In addition : two USB (total 6 USB) on the top, and SD Reader, eSATA connector, headphones and microphone jacks on front - the connections are very complete for such a bargain computer as only thing missing would be bluetooth.

So I sent my new purchase to Acer for my Vista refund then set out to install MacOSX on it when I received it back.

About MacOSX installation

Installation of MacOSX on the iMax C2600 is challenging, as with most of the ATOM based computers because of the BIOS which crashes most installation disks (Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard) following faulty DSDT tables. That was the same on my EEEPC 900HA.

From what I found in Insanely Mac ION thread most often the path is to flash a modified bios, or to remove the hard drive physically from the computer and install from another computer.

I couldn't find the modified bios for the iMax C2600 or Acer Aspire Revo R3600 - and I don't like the idea of depending on another computer to install one - so the methods presented here don't take either approach and a standalone Revo with an external DVD reader is all you need.

Moreover, my favorite distribution is iAtkos 1.0ir2 as it is extremely stable (months using it on several laptops with no kernel panic ever - or booting / shutdown problems) which is based on Leopard 10.5.1. However the Nvidia MCP790 ION chipset is only supported since 10.5.6, so that's why I picked Snow Leopard this time.

Preparation

Bios Settings

Basically keep default settings ie :

You can keep Hyperthreading Enabled

And SATA mode AHCI, enable Legacy USB support

Change Wifi card

You save a lot of trouble by replacing the Wifi card with a Broadcom Mini PCI BCM94311 card which is often also labelled as Dell Mini 1390 wireless card. It must be around 10 $ on Ebay.

Just one screw

Carefully pry open the clips - note : don't damage stupidly the serial number sticker (warranty) as I did, it doesn't prevent opening as it is on the other side

Wifi card is on the lower left

Replaced by the classic Broadcom BCM94311 Mini-PCI card

It's already done ! If you have trouble see the Aspire Revo disassembly video here

The easy method : Empire EFI and standard Snow Leopard DVD

Required
– Empire EFI 1085
– Snow Leopard standard DVD

Main steps

1) Boot : Boot on Empire EFI 1085, replace with standard Snow Leopard DVD

Empire EFI video is messed up if you have more than 2 partitions on your hard drive - and won't work. Delete extras partitions if needed.

With 2 partitions you can already notice some garbage

Original Snow Leopard DVD boots up, awesome 8-)

2) Hard disk partition : Launch disk utility, erase hard disk and create an GUID hard drive with one partition. Format the Macintosh HD under HFS.

GUID partition table necessary with original Snow Leopard DVD - that means you lose everything on the hard drive

One partition, Macintosh HFS file system

That also means no XP, Vista or Seven installation on the same hard drive

3) Install Snow Leopard : on the new Macintosh partition

Target drive recognized

It takes up to one hour, be patient.

Installation is ok but fails on reboot - this is OK

4) MacOSX hard disk boot : Boot with Empire EFI, choose the new Snow Leopard partition installed

That's it, you have Macintosh Snow Leopard 10.6 installed but it still needs the boot CD.

Open Empire EFI CD, folder Post-Install and launch MyHack.

MyHack launched

Choose the following settings under customize (and disable others) :

Com.apple.boot.plist - GraphicsEnabler - AHCIPortInjector

IOAHCIBlockStorageInjector - LegacyAppleRTC - NullCPUPowerManagement - OpenHaltRestart - PlatformUUID - SleepEnabler

and install. It will take a very long time to finish all the installation including the scripts and so on. If there is a problem in the end, just launch Chameleon RC3 install on Empire EFI CD.

Reboot on hard disk this time, you should be able to boot to MacOSX without CD or DVD.

5) Additional drivers : Sound

No sound yet

Put the following kext drivers in the package in Extra/Extensions :
– AsusK50IN.kext, HDEnabler.kext for sound

SL_Imax_C2600.zip

You will need to authentify.

Then download and launch kextutility to update Snow Leopard kext caches (it takes a while).

If you have a french PC keyboard, use the following customized keylayout

FrenchPC2.zip

by putting it in Users/Library/Keyboard Layouts and choosing the keyboard map under Language and Texts / Input Methods.

Note : PC keyboard have a slighty different layout as Mac keyboards - so you need a customized keylayout if you want 100% correct layout

Results

Main results are the following :

Hardware	Works	Don't work	Comments
Video native resolutions	X		On both HDMI and VGA
QE, Core Image, Open GL	X	X	Seems to work, except for OpenGL (black screen)
Sound	X		But no sound output under HDMI
USB	X		Including hot plugging
Ethernet	X		Including hot plugging
Wifi		X	Don't work, for best MacOSX experience it is easier to replace it with a Broadcomm Mini-PCI card
Sleep	X	?	After a few reboots works OK
Deep sleep		X	First step works but reboot don't. I think it is a chameleon / bios / dsdt.aml issue on memory recognition
Stability	?	?	See below

Boot crashes ...

Stability is very good (never had a crash under Snow Leopard, or a shutdown problem) BUT the initial boot would crash one time out of three, and would take sometimes a long time. Not entirely clear why - root device or High definition audio.

The installation itself seems somewhat picky, I crashed it once without being able to recover by messing with the boot files.

The optimal method : customized Snow Leopard MBR DVD

This optimal method gives the following benefits over the previous one :
– dual boot with Windows Seven or other operating system thanks to MBR
– OpenGL compatibility for games (Warcraft III for example)
– seems more stable especially on the boot process

Required
– Snow Leopard customized MBR DVD
– Snow Leopard Boot 132 MBR CD
– Empire EFI 1085

Optional
– Snow Leopard standard DVD (for missing items on Snow Leopard customized MBR install)

Bios settings

Main Steps

1) Boot : Boot on Snow Leopard Boot 132 MBR CD, replace with Snow Leopard customized MBR DVD

CD_Boot_Snow_Leopard

Note : Snow Leopard customized MBR DVD would only boot with the supplied Boot 132 CD on my Aspire Revo 3600

Lost lots of time today reinstalling on my 900HA EEE PC. To scan the drives when you replace the Snow Leopard Boot 132 MBR CD with Snow Leopard customized MBR DVD you must press the F10 key (F5 froze my EEEPC). And if you don't have an USB mouse (most integrated laptop trackpads are PS2 ...) booting on the DVD will also crash the PC.

2) Hard disk partition : Launch disk utility, erase hard disk and create an MBR hard drive with two partitions (one for Windows 7 and one for Macintosh). Format the Macintosh HD under HFS.

Two partitions, one for Windows 7 and one for Snow Leopard

3) Install Snow Leopard : on the new Macintosh partition

New Macintosh HD target drive

This custom DVD doesn't include everything - that's OK, just use your standard Snow Leopard DVD after if you miss something

It says 30 min but on this hackintosh it's more one hour

Installation is ok but fails on reboot - this is OK

4) MacOSX hard disk boot : Boot with Empire EFI (or Snow Leopard Boot 132 MBR CD), choose the new Snow Leopard partition installed

Boot 132 shows new Snow Leopard install

Willkommen video

That's it, you have Macintosh Snow Leopard installed but it still needs the boot CD.

Open Empire EFI CD, folder Post-Install and launch MyHack

Choose the following settings under customize (and disable others) :

Com.apple.boot.plist

NullCPUPowerManagement - OpenHaltRestart - PlatformUUID - SleepEnabler

and install. It will take a very long time to finish all the installation including the scripts and so on. If there is a problem in the end, just launch Chameleon RC3 install on Empire EFI CD.

Snow Leopard dual boot with Windows Seven

Reboot on hard disk this time, you should be able to boot to MacOSX without CD or DVD.

5) Additional drivers : Sound and video

Put the kext drivers in the package in Extra/Extensions

SL_Imax_C2600.zip

The package includes
– AsusK50IN.kext, HDEnabler.kext for sound
– NVEnabler 64.kext for video including OpenGL

You will need to authentify.

Not many Extras/Extensions - including MyHack ones

Then download and launch kextutility to update Snow Leopard kext caches (it takes a while).

If you have a french PC keyboard, use the following customized keylayout

FrenchPC2.zip

by putting it in Users/Library/Keyboard Layouts and choosing the keyboard map under Language and Texts / Input Methods.

Note : PC keyboard have a slighty different layout as Mac keyboards - so you need a customized keylayout if you want 100% correct layout

If you need additional packages, insert your original Snow Leopard DVD and launch additional packages (for example : Rosetta, X11, Quicktime 7 and additional languages)

Hibernation fix

Just install the following specific Chameleon RC5 package with memory configuration recognition :

Chameleon_RC5.zip

it will display an error but it should work OK, now if you hibernate (or deep sleep), your state will be restored back correctly.

Results

Main results are the following :

Hardware	Works	Don't work	Comments
Video native resolutions	X		On both HDMI and VGA
QE, Core Image, Open GL	X		Seems to work, but still have trouble with 720p AVI under VLC
Sound	X		But no sound output under HDMI
USB	X		Including hot plugging
Ethernet	X		Including hot plugging
Wifi		X	Don't work, for best MacOSX experience it is easier to replace it with a Broadcomm Mini-PCI card
eSATA port	X		Works OK (tested with external Blu-Ray recorder)
SD reader	X
Sleep	X
Deep sleep	X		Works OK with hibernate fix
Stability	?	?	See below

Unrecognized NVIDIA graphics card - but it's not a problem

High Definition audio with several input and outputs

As you can see it is a very good results. Almost everything works fine after you change the Wifi card for a broadcom :
– HDMI sound output doesn't, this is not surprising due to HDCP. It is not that much of a problem as you can use headphone jack output with VGA, or with HDMI if your TV allows it.

It seems sound over HDMI is not supported under OSX so this is unlikely to be fixed soon

– Deep sleep doesn't work, I think it is very close - but anyway deep sleep is not essential on a nettop which is unlike a laptop and has no battery

Deep sleep crash : not enough memory

Deep sleep works now with hibernation fix - see above

Stability is very good (never had a crash under Snow Leopard, or a shutdown problem) BUT one time out of 4 the initial boot would crash. Not entirely clear why - root device or High definition audio.

Without that issue, it would almost be perfect.

Conclusion

A Snow Leopard Mac mini for 109 euros (after Vista refund) how can you go wrong ?

Alizee Video OK but this is not high definition

It is almost perfect, a pity that most 720P videos are choppy under MacOSX on my iMax.

It appears only Quicktime X uses hardware acceleration - VLC use hardware acceleration for displaying (Open GL) but not for decoding. It is true that Quicktime native movies (1080P Apple trailers) are almost fluid at 720P display resolution and are far more choppy under VLC.

One user on InsanelyMac forum says that quicktime acceleration works only if you don't install Perian, in my case I don't see any difference in speed when I disable Perian.

Useful links

Hardware

Blogeee iMax C2600 thread In french - 149 euros less 40 euros from Vista refund at Surcouf store, that is only 109 euros !

Aspire Revo disassembly So simple you don't need a video I guess

Software

Empire EFI I used version 1.085

Custom Mac OSX Snow Leopard MBR DVD Torrent file including both install DVD and Boot 132 CD - Only part of original Snow Leopard DVD (French and English languages)

CD_Boot_Snow_Leopard

Custom Boot 132 Snow Leopard MBR CD

SL_Imax_C2600.zip

Snow Leopard video and sound drivers

FrenchPC2.zip

French PC keyboard layout for Packard Bell iMax C2600

Chameleon_RC5.zip

Specific Chameleon RC5 package with memory configuration recognition

Insanelymac Kextutility thread Necessary to update Snow Leopard drivers

InfiniteMac thread on ALC662 sound driver

Axionic Labs Snow Leopard Deep Sleep Widget Deep Sleep don't work on my hackintosh - but this helps the testing

Information

Insanely Mac ION thread

How to detect Quartz Extreme and Core Image under Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard OpenCL benches Haven't tried them yet

Nokia N900 versus iPhone 3G quick test

Phi — 2009-12-13T21:08:50Z

Following my article documenting the migration from Nokia E90 to iPhone 3G, I had a very time limited opportunity to play with a Nokia N900 next to my iPhone 3G. Will I buy the Nokia N900 to replace my new iPhone 3G ?

Context

I have always been with Psion and Nokia for a very long time: Psion Siena, Psion 3mx (I think it was the best), Psion Series 5, Psion Revo, Nokia 9210, Nokia 9300, Nokia E90.

I was set to buy the next Nokia, which is the Nokia N900, almost preordered it at 600 euros on Nokia Store, but I held on for a handful of reasons mainly because its release was postponed and because I was not sure of the touchscreen interface.

As I was tired of waiting I bought an iPhone 3G (old model), first only in addition to my Nokia E90 for web, mail and iPod functions - but finally it replaced all my Nokia E90 functions pretty well - even if it required jailbreak.

I documented my migration on my from Nokia E90 to Apple iPhone 3G article.

But then, one friend bought a Nokia N900, one of the first available in France (I think there was only a 600 first batch for France). He bought it at Phone House under Bouygues Telecom, it costed around 250 euros with 40 euros per month subscription, but Nokia and Bouygues is going to refund him 150 euros so I guess he'll have the N900 for around 100 euros only.

I'm very surprised he did, as he works more in media and music I always assumed he was an iPhone type - not at all a Nokia N900 type.

I could invite him for a coffee - and test quickly his new N900 - but please note that we had only around half an hour so this is only a quick test compared to my iPhone 3G.

Lastly I have an iPhone 3G, not the latest model 3GS, which is mostly faster, conclusions could be different with the 3GS.

Ok, I think I have not forgotten anything, so let's start.

Nokia N900 versus iPhone 3G

Form factor

As you see the iPhone 3G and the Nokia N900 have comparable size but the N900 is twice thicker - the Nokia E90 is more bulky than both

Nokia E90 open - screen estates are similar with E90 thinner - Nokia E90 looks huge

N900 with keyboard open next to iPhone 3G - not that much larger

I actually like the N900 shape, it's somehow more easy to hold it than the iPhone which is too thin - but I'm used to bulky phones starting with my old Nokia 9210

iPhone 3G wins - but Nokia N900 is OK too

Keyboard

Next to Nokia E90 keyboard - which is significantly bigger

Actually I find the N900 one to be BETTER than the Nokia E90 because the keys are slightly curved and have more tactile feedback

Even jailbreaked custom iPhone keyboard is no competition whereas it was versus the Nokia E90: I could type only twice slower on iPhone 3G

But I can type twice faster on Nokia N900 keyboard compared to Nokia E90 one, so there is still a 4x difference on favor of the N900. And the shifted up and down arrows on the french N900 keyboard, even if annoying are still way better than virtual keypad on the second page of my jailbreaked iPhone keyboard.

It could be one compelling reason for me to switch to N900.

Nokia N900 wins

Interface

Nokia interface

With exposÃ© style switching

The surprise is the Nokia N900 interface is actually faster than my iPhone 3G - not S - interface, whereas it has far more data on screen.

But there is a big but - with finger because of the resistive versus capacitive screen of the Nokia N900, I find it more difficult to drive the interface as you have to apply pressure - or use fingernail (which somehow apply pressure) unlike the Apple iPhone capacitive screen. I already struggle with touch interface so it's harder for me.

Oops, I lost notes widget, the cross and widgets are really too small for fingers to make a difference between dragging and closing

Another minor thing is the Nokia N900 interface is perhaps too customizable and has too many options accessible - which means that when you have already trouble with the touch screen you do unintended things with your fingers.

With stylus I prefer the Nokia N900 interface as it is far more precise - I have always 100% accuracy with the stylus and I think the N900 interface was meant to be used with it.

iPhone 3G wins by a slight margin

Customization

Customization for me is like Today View on other phones. Far more options on N900 versus non-jailbreak iPhone (virtually none) so it's no contest here.

Nokia N900 wins

Phone and Sound

The keypads really look alike

On Nokia N900, Phone application is fast and clear, slightly better than the iPhone 3G which is a little slugglish and GSM reception seems better than iPhone.

Good history on Nokia N900 like iPhone

Sound is loud and clear on the Nokia N900, on the iPhone it was always somehow not loud enough for ringtones and phone calls (I don't test headphones maximum volume here) so that in a noisy environnment (street, tube) you wouldn't hear the ringing or the voice at the other end of the line.

No problem on the Nokia N900 here.

Nokia N900 wins there

SMS / MMS

Pleasant SMS interface like iPhone on Nokia N900 - the keyboard is a killer feature

There is no MMS on the N900 for now - I can't have a phone without MMS as more technically challenged family and friends only use MMS.

iPhone wins because of MMS

Web

Nokia N900 is far faster, perhaps 5X to render lemonde web site

Rendering of the web page are really similar - but of course the resolution of the N900 is higher, which means it's easier for your eyesight

The zoom with the keys are very pleasant, perhaps even better than the finger gesture on the iPhone. I don't like the rounding gesture with the Nokia N900 because of resistive touch screen except of course with the stylus.

The stylus is far more precise than fingers (zooming before clicking is not a prerequisite with the stylus unlike fingers) on iPhone or N900.

I had some troubles with the N900 browsing history features though - perhaps because I cancelled some web pages loading.

At double tap zoom which works the same on both - there is no advantage in resolution as it is almost too much even for the iPhone lower resolution. Note that the iPhone somehow displays more with the default tapping

Of course N900 is a full web browser with flash and video - couldn't properly test it because somehow there is a bandwidth problem which makes it pretty slow

It's a surprise for me - I didn't think the N900 navigation could be better than iPhone - it is better because it's faster and you use the stylus.

Nokia N900 wins

Video playback

It's not what you think - it's a preview from the Proposal movie with Sandra Bullock - not an R-rated film ;-)

Another surprise here. I didn't think it video could be better than with iPhone and iTunes synchro but it is - it reads DivX directly without needing reencoding, the screen is gorgeous and you actually see a difference in quality with the increased resolution, the sound is loud and clear, and there is even a little bar behind to keep the N900 upright so you are not tired of holding the Nokia N900 ...

Nokia N900 wins

Digital Camera

5 Mpixel with flash versus 2 Mpixel without autofocus (I have a 3G not 3GS), N900 far better.

On operation it's not that much better thought, shutter lag are both fast - and processing takes time on both cameras.

Nokia N900 wins

Mail

Couldn't test it properly as the owner hadn't configured mail yet - we tried quickly but time was running out.

I guess iPhone still wins though - because it's the same as Mac OSX mail with great synchronization.

The Nokia N900 seems to download all mail and attachments which can take forever (or cost forever) if you have an EDGE connection / are roaming. This is inferior to the iPhone which scales the download to your download bandwidth (headlines first, no attachements - or even only part of the message and click to further download) so you can have immediately a quick view of your emails whatever the connection.

iPhone wins

Sync

The owner has a Mac - and couldn't sync much compared to the iPhone (which synchros bookmarks, calendar, address book, iTunes music, iTunes videos, mail, applications and music purchased etc).

No contest here - except if Nokia hack iTunes like Palm for their PRE

iPhone wins

Calendar

At least the Nokia N900 has a week view even if it's not the best

Better options versus a non-jailbreaked iPhone 3G - except if you use Google Calendar and Saisuke on iPhone (and lose iTunes calendar sync)

Why can't they have a nice week view like MyWeek on jailbreaked iPhone or Handy Calendar on Nokia E90 ?

Nokia N900 wins versus iPhone without jailbreak

Games

Bounce on Nokia N900

I tried Bounce game: it definitively loaded quicker than on my iPhone 3G, the graphics were at least as good as well as the accelerometer controls.

Fieldrunner on the iPhone 3G, no better graphics

And I think the stylus could give way to more Nintendo DS games with far more precise controls than the Apple finger ones - but the virtual pad would not work as well because of the multipoint pressure which would be tiring very quickly compared to capacitive screen.

But of course the sheer catalog of iPhone games just now trumps everything else (I even play more on iPhone than my NDS, not because all games are great on iPhone - on the contrary on average the iPhone games are far worse than the average NDS game - but there are enough very good games on iPhone).

iPhone wins

Productivity

Almost no productivity software available on N900 (Word, Excel, Banking), didn't have time to test the DTG viewer (needed registration).

Documents To Go Excel on iPhone 3G

But the keyboard could lead to far better N900 productivity software (for a start half of the screen won't be hidden by virtual keyboard).

iPhone 3G wins for now

Navigation / GPS

Nokia Ovimaps, worse than Googlemaps on iPhone

Not much software yet on N900. But I guess it could eventually be better on the N900 as the iPhone 3G GPS is far worse than the internal Nokia E90 one (so I assume it will be the same compared to the N900 - it's certainly cannot be worse).

iPhone wins

Openness

You can really do everything with your iPhone, but it requires jailbreak, and lots of software tweaks to do even the slightest things like having a Today view, themes, or download files.

iPhone jailbreak

Seriously it's a pain - and it means your iPhone is instable (not the OS which almost never crashes but the software). I reinstalled everything from scratch (and only what is needed) and the iPhone is rock stable now - but I counted at least 20 to 30 hacks !

Nokia N900 wins

Battery Life

On average I have 4 hours of usage of my iPhone - which means one or two charging each day which is a lot. That means in 6 months you do the 400 charge cycles of the iPhone battery.

The owner of the N900 didn't have the Phone for long yet (3 days), but N900 battery life reported on the net is more 10 hours which is far better than iPhone.

Nokia N900 wins

Conclusion

Let's summarize Nokia N900 versus iPhone 3G quick test:

Nokia N900 pros:
– Screen resolution

(forgot this 8-) )
– Keyboard
– Customization
– Phone and Sound
– Web
– Video playback
– Digital Camera
– Calendar
– Openness
– Battery Life

iPhone 3G pros:
– Form factor
– Interface
– SMS/MMS
– Mail
– Sync
– Games
– Productivity
– Navigation GPS

Other minor things:
– iPhone doesn't multitask with third party applications - but it can with jailbreak and most software are well written so it's not that much a problem. Of course, Ipod music can multitask, most games support your own music
– Most N900 software don't work in portrait. Not that much a problem either because Phone application does (which allows one handed operation), and most of the time you want to use the stylus anyway which means both hands.

More important is that the N900 seems fast and reliable compared to my iPhone 3G which is slow (didn't feel slow before the test ...), and jailbreak customizing of the iPhone is not for the fainthearted whereas it is not needed to the same extent for the N900.

Please note however that I have a 3G and not a 3GS, I guess the 3GS will be generally faster (application launching, interface, internet) as it is rated up to 50% faster than 3G - however the N900 will still be faster I think.

So will I buy a Nokia N900 to replace my iPhone 3G ? Honestly not now because of SMS/MMS and the clear current advantages of the iPhone on software (Games, Productivity, Sync) - there are lots of things I wouldn't be able to do now with the N900 which I can't do without anymore (spoiled by Apple and jailbreak software).

But it is clear that the N900 has the potential to better than the 3G on almost all counts - if only good software could follow. I certainly would buy a N900 if I didn't have already an iPhone, and I might buy one if only for the keyboard once good productivity software are available for the N900 - perhaps I could really write these web pages on the N900 whereas it's not feasible on my iPhone because of the virtual keyboard and resolution.

For your information, the owner of the N900 is delighted with his new phone - and he is not a geek at all. It allows him to link and update to all his social internet life (twitter, facebook, web pages), with the full browser, widgets and keyboard - and to take good quality pictures to document it.

Lots of people assume Nokia N900 with its Linux roots are for geeks, but it might not be at all the case - it might instead be the best solution for the internet connected youth because of the above - you can see many of them with blackberries nowadays for example

Useful links

From Nokia E90 to Apple iPhone 3G Original article on my migration to iPhone

My Nokia E90 review Includes software migration from 9300 to E90

Apple iPhone 3GS versus iPhone 3G Results of my benchmarks (in french)

My-symbian N900 vs Iphone 3GS thread

Maemo France Great videos and review of N900 (in French)

Nokia N900 preview Great preview at My-Symbian

Nokia N900 first look

Windows Seven on an 2005 AMD Sempron 3000+

Phi — 2009-11-18T20:54:28Z

After my pre-release Windows Seven purchase, I had some extra Windows Seven Premium boxes. Why not try to install on my five year old Packard Bell Easynote B3600 ?

Packard Bell Easynote B3600

The Packard Bell Easynote B3600 was released circa 2005 and I bought it at 649 euros. Its main specifications are the following:
– AMD Sempron 3000+ (actually at 1.8 Ghz)
– VIA K8N800 chipset
– Chipset video S3 Unichrome (up to 64 mo shared memory)
– 512 Mo de ram DDR (on two so-dimm modules)
– 50 Go hard disk (I think it's 4200 rpm)
– 1024x768 15 inches TFT screen
– Modem 56K, Ethernet 100 Mbps, Wifi G
– Graveur DVD Dual

As you can see it's not the fastest computer in the world and is almost already 5 years old. Benchmarking gives the following:
– 3D Mark 2001: 1407, only 89 on 3D Mark 2003 - my 3 years old iMac 24 does 12731 at 3D Mark 2003 ...
– CPU Mark 99 at 190 (not too shabby 5 years ago)
– Disk read rate at 28.1 mo / s, 11.5 ms access time - a modern 2.5 inches drive like the WD Scorpio 500 Go does 69 mo/s but not too bad for a 4200 rpm drive

Under Packard Bell Windows XP, it was very slow (on day one of purchase), because of bloatware.

Under standard Windows XP, it was ok or even fast, but has slowed significantly with the additional Service Pack: boot time was very long, and it was sometimes unresponsive (because of hard disk ? internet access), while being fast enough for Internet or Wordpad without those slowing down.

A lot of older computers have the same specs in many families and were supplied with Windows XP. So how would they fare under Windows Seven ?

Only 448 Mo available because 64 mo is taken by S3 graphics chipset

Of course, 448 mo available isn't going to cut it for Windows Seven (minimum is 1 Go for 32 bit version, 2 Go for 64 bit version), so I purchased a quite cheap upgrade at 20 euros from US (eBay).

A little ram package from the US: two 512 mo 200 pins so-dimm DDR PC2700

Shiny stickers on the ram modules

Original two 256 Mo SO-DIMM modules

Replaced by the new 512 mo modules

Now 960 Mo available: that's better even if it's not 1 Go yet

The ram was sent quickly, it worked perfectly. I should have made a shot at 2 Go ram for 40 euros, but the risk is high (even Packard Bell site says the maximum is 1 Go, but some laptop with the same chipset go as far as 2 Go - guess I'll never know).

Windows 7 Premium 32 bit installation

32 bit and 64 bit DVD supplied: AMD Sempron is 32 bit processor

Boot from the DVD and ... it crashes

Ok first try very disappointing, the DVD boots but crashes after and I can't change anything significant in the BIOS.

I was planning for desperate measure like flashing the BIOS with older version just in case but then ...

It might be an ACPI bios problem, this forum says the answer is update the bios but what if it's already the latest version ?

Fortunately the DVD is readable under installed XP

I checked the Windows Seven compatibility program

Seven ! upgrade problems detected - but it should work

If you are curious the seven upgrade problems were the following:
– No update possible, have to manually save program and files (well it's from XP)
– Graphics card isn't compatible with Aero
– Outlook Express isn't included anymore
– Realtek AC'97 audio for VIA: perhaps won't work under Windows Seven
– Messenger perhaps won't work under Seven
– MyDVD perhaps won't work under Seven
– RecordNow perhaps won't work under Seven

Ok nothing drastic, nothing about a DVD which doesn't load and it confirms that the minimum requirements: 1 Ghz processor, 1 Go of ram (even if I was missing 64 Mo), and 16 Go of available space on hard drive is ok

Launch installation from XP

It installs files from the DVD and internet without rebooting

And it reboots successfully

And finishes the installation

So in summary to do the cleanest installation possible, I had to reinstall Windows XP on another partition, then launch Windows Seven installation from Windows XP as my Windows Seven DVD wouldn't boot directly. I reformatted my Windows XP partition after - just some extra XP files left in Windows Seven hard drive which is bearable.

Beautiful and simple Windows Seven desktop

434 Mo available out of 960 Mo, not that bad

Around 10 Go taken by the OS

Of course I didn't activate it yet in case of problems

Performance index: 1.0, can't be lower

Because of the graphics and game graphics subsystem: 1.0 only

My mobile Sempron at 1800 Mhz is rated a whooping 1.6, and I have 3.4 for my 1 Go of ram and 4.6 for my 33 Gb hard disk available.

What did you expect with a Direct X 7 chip instead of Direct X 11 ?

Installing Norton 2009

Even with Norton 2009 it's still fast enough.

My old hibernation penguin program works well on this computer

All programs seem to work OK.

Conclusion

So the installation worked, but how is it versus Windows XP SP3, which was not that slow on this computer ?

Well it's faster and more important it is far more responsive:
– For example it boots in 1 minute and 15 seconds, and you have control after 1 minute and 15 seconds even if it can load up extensions until 3 minutes or more.
– Under XP, the computer was frozen until the 3 minutes mark.
– And the interface is far more responsive, you can have 1 or 2 seconds delay whereas it was 10 or 20 under XP

And it has all the benefits of Vista / Seven: more security and functionality integrated in base OS, quick networking and printer installation.

It completely changes the computer, I wonder if I should have boosted it to 2 Go after all. In one word, Windows Seven is better than Windows XP even on old computers.

Of course in my case my Windows Seven Premium costed only 50 euros, with ram it's 70 euros, it is still acceptable if borderline to update an old computer. But if you had to buy Windows Seven Premium at full 199 euros it wouldn't make sense.

I think if Microsoft would be so kind to release Windows Seven Starter for a low price that it could have a market, I wonder how it would perform on my old Thinkpad 240 (Celeron 300 with 320 megs of ram).

Some update after about one month usage:

– Compared to Windows XP SP3, you have control after 1 min instead of 3 as other services are launched in background BUT if you do too much during the 3 minutes Windows Seven can crash (no bluescreen but unresponding processes which must be killed). It's very strange to have Wordpad not responding and crashing because I launched it when other services were launching in the background. I guess there was a reason why you didn't have control immediately under Windows XP ... so the benefit of a more responsive interface must be weighted against the possibility of crashing the application.

Windows Seven updates which takes ages and lock down your computer - I really hate them

– Windows Seven is far more like Vista than XP for the updates, which means very frequent updates which completely locks up your computer for 1 hour or more (it's even worse as the computer is slow) when you install them. It's a major con compared to Windows XP. MacOSX has also frequent updates but they will never tie your computer more than 5 to 10 minutes at most - and many will not even need a reboot.

The second con is more significant than the first, as it is real drawback compared to XP SP3.

Useful Links

Windows Seven 64 bit sur un iMac 24 pouces In French

PrÃ©-commandes Windows Seven In French, my original discounted Windows Seven Premium boxes

Test Packard Bell Easynote B3600 Original test of Packard Bell Easynote B3600 (in French)

MacOSX on Packard Bell B3600 In French, this notebook has seen lots of OS

Full Packard Bell B3600 specifications

Ram upgrade for B3600 Packard Bell site, maximum listed is 1 Go

Windows Seven forum On old computers thread

Windows 7 comment on P4HT 1 Ghz (in French) They say it's slow, on my Packard Bell it's fast, faster and more responsive than Windows XP.

From Nokia E90 to Apple iPhone 3G 16 Go

Phi — 2009-11-11T13:25:13Z

I was waiting for the Nokia N900 to replace my Nokia E90 under Symbian, but as it was delayed, and rather costly, I went to the dark side bought a used iPhone 3G 16 Go officially unlocked. How to migrate from Nokia to iPhone and how it compares ?

Context

I have always been with Psion and Nokia for a very long time: Psion Siena, Psion 3mx (I think it was the best), Psion Series 5, Psion Revo, Nokia 9210, Nokia 9300, Nokia E90.

And you can see they have always been clamshell formats with keyboard and screen - somehow my dream is still to have my childhood ZX Spectrum in the palm of my hand.

You can see in my Nokia E90 Review, (never completed), that I was very happy with it compared to 9300.

But in time there were the following drawbacks:
– very bad browser, it has flash and lots of other stuff, but cannot handle simple site like forums, banking, or even connect to Web authentication based Wifi network as Neuf Wifi in France (handled Mac Donalds Wifi OK though). Everything must be loaded before rendering, and even a simple back is a new reload and 30 seconds lost.
– bad video, somehow I couldn't encode well for the real player which was the best performing one with accelerated mp4, it was a hit or a miss. PC Suite always returned unrecognized video format.
– music part wasn't great at the start, I always used a Philips MP3 and bluetooth headset (which is great BTW)
– great cameras pictures, but bad camera lag and button which made me miss half of the pictures
– not great gaming, the keyboard should have been a plus, but the little keys and approximate keypad means action games were difficult to control
– with time it did hang and crash sometimes as much as once a day, perhaps because it has fallen numerous times and travelled a lot - I bought one of the first one available in France
– a little bulky (although it was better when I did away with the leather case and used Invisible Shield)

I was set to buy the next Nokia, which is the Nokia N900, almost preordered it at 600 euros on Nokia Store, but I held on for a handful of reasons:
– first its release was postponed, hopefully for a few weeks only
– second it didn't have my beloved clamshell format, and the sliding french keyboard had only two directional keys out of four. The videos on internet showed its interface was mostly stylus or finger driven. Moreover, videos at Maemo France showed lots of unresponsiveness (since then the video man said it was because the recording camera was between him and the screen, but I didn't knew it at the time)
– and last I receive and send a fair amount of MMS which is not supported yet by the N900, and I'm not ready to cut communication with the more technically challenged friends and family yet

I have a problem with touch interface, even with Series 5 most often I used keyboard shortcuts and not the stylus. Moreover I tried a Samsung recently and it was a disaster. The only touch interface I could sort of use was the iPhone one of a friend, and even then it wasn't great but I could do what I wanted to do at least.

Then I had an opportunity to buy a black iPhone 3G with 16 Go (old 3G model not 3GS), with original bill and accessories (not stolen), and officially unlocked by Orange (no way I was going to lose my current phone number or pay monthly double the amount I do now for the same cell phone service), it means it can also work abroad with another SIM card.

The amount paid was 330 euros, the iPhone is in great condition, the owner just wanted to buy the new 3GS 32 Gb, like a lot of others (perhaps the best second hand deals there).

In case you wonder, the iPhone works perfectly without a SIM card

So I jumped the boat, at least it would make a great iPod touch for music and video, internet browsing and perhaps games - which I can't really do now with my E90 - and if it's not a great phone or impossible to use with productivity software without a keyboard, I'll just keep it extra along side the Nokia E90, tethered by Wifi thanks to JoikuSpot on the E90.

Games on iPhone, graphics quality is very high

Before carrying on I want to be very clear on the following: I don't have any interest in convincing you to go for the iPhone instead of Nokia or whatever. Only you can decide according to your needs and preferences. This is only an account of how to migrate from Nokia to Apple iPhone for someone who has roughly my needs and seek the equivalent Symbian software

The Nokia E90 is a S60 3rd edition device, so migration steps and software should apply for most of other Nokia smartphone devices.

iPhone 3G versus iPhone 3GS

3GS has some important pluses for me:
– 256 megs of ram instead of 128 megs. As most often you only have 60 megs of ram available with firmware 3.1.2 that means you triple your available memory and perhaps reduce crashes due to memory starving programs
– twice as fast with CPU + 3D, not that much a problem except for emulation and perhaps complex PDF rendering where the 3G could really get a boost.
– better battery life, which is very useful on the 3G which is really at the lower limit for a cell phone

I don' t have an use for other pluses like voice dialling, camera (Cycorder does it), compass or up to 32 Go. Of course in the end a new unlocked iPhone 3GS 32 Go is 779 euros in France, more than twice the amount paid for my 3G, and I'll really cry if it was stolen 8-).

And the iPhone 3GS made from week 40 year 2009 onwards have a boot rom which causes jailbreak problems.

If no processes are run on my iPhone 3G (except system and phone and some jailbreak services) I have around 59 mb free that means 68 is taken by the OS which is confortable for 3 apps (for example Mail + Safari + game). The 3GS has double the ram which means it would have 180 mb free 3x as much available ram which is more confortable. I think it is the only genuine plus for the 3GS hardware.

Iphone 3G versus Nokia E90: hardware

Form factor

iPhone shorter

iPhone far slimmer

In fact iPhone has the same height and width as the opened Nokia E90, and is about half as large

So what's the winner ?

No winner here, iPhone is not small, slightly larger, and of course is more elegant being slimmer, but it is also more fragile - for example I cannot sit on my iPhone whereas I do on my Nokia E90 without problems, I have to think where I put it.

And the closed Nokia E90 was thief proof, most of them took pity on you because they thought it was a last century phone due to its bulk whereas the iPhone is a thief magnet. When you open the Nokia E90 however lots of people look at it because they have never seen something like it.

So in everyday life in my case iPhone form factor is different but not that obvious advantage over Nokia E90

Screen

Around the same surface but E90 resolution is far higher 800x352 versus 480x320

The E90 screen has the potential to be far more useful for productivity or internet than the iPhone, unfortunately software, although adequate, has not fulfilled all the potential.

Phone

The iPhone is an adequate phone but there are several annoying cons:
– the maximum ringtone volume is too low for busy places like streets or tube, you often don't hear the ringtone - thanks god there is a vibrating alert. In France after 20 seconds, the mobile caller is switched to voice mail which means you can easily miss a call (I really don't understand how autorities can allow this - obviously the cell phones companies does it on purpose so the caller must pay the call - but that means all people are slaves to their phones, having to answer in the 20 seconds, it's better than any dictator in history could dream ...)
– there are no profiles or profile management except silent

Keyboard

With jailbroken 5 rows keyboard, it has almost the same height than the Nokia keyboard, although key width is only 75%

In my case, forget about typing with two thumbs in portrait or landscape mode - I know it's what most videos show but:
– the iPhone is not secure, and the more you push your fingers strongly (if you're used to mechanical keyboard) the more you risk dropping it
– the virtual keyboard goes up to the edge, so you have the option of surgically shortening your thumbs for iPhone typing (which was an hoax by the way), or loosen more your grip on iPhone and risk dropping it
– the fact that the iPhone is very slim add risk on losing it

In short, I had unacceptable number of typing errors that way, and editing is pretty hard on iPhone to position cursor on the edited item and edit it properly - it is very high on time cost.

I gave up, now I hold securely the iPhone with my left hand in portrait or landscape mode and use only one finger to type (middle finger). As it is far more precise I can afford to have a 5 row keyboard and still have perfect 100% typing.

You see how I hold my precious securely 8-) ?

One tip though, as for all iPhone touch interface you have to touch on the letter (or on the icon). That means the letter or icon must be hidden by your finger if you push it correctly, but which is counter-intuitive (mouse or stylus allows you to see what you are pointing at, not your finger).

With 5rows keyboard and one touch typing I can type 2 to 4 times slower than on my Nokia E90, which is not that bad as you will see later that because of bad Nokia software, the effective difference can be 2 times slower only or even lower on Notes, Word or Database:
– I have an habit of working with very long Notes, Word or Database files. With these, kinetic scrolling of iPhone beats easily pressing 100 times page up or page down
– that damn E90 french keyboard means shift everytime to enter a number, and I couldn't do specific keyboard on E90 unlike the 9300 with Kylom FCF (literally Damn French Keyboard!). It means faster number entries with my customized iPhone keyboard and faster Excel operation
– Active Notes (notes is better), and Quickword on my E90 has slowing problems when I type. It seems to depend on where I am in the word document, but it can slow to a crawl with missed entries as soon as you enter a foreign char which is not buffered - whereas on iPhone whatever the file there is never any slowdown under Notes, Word or Excel.

So in the end I edit documents at a comparable pace on my iPhone - and it's more a software problem on my Nokia than hardware problem - that's a total surprise for me.

Battery Life

To be short:

– for internet under Wifi, Word / Excel, Ipod audio or video, battery life is pretty good, can last a day

– for phone calls, internet under 3G, or gaming, battery life is pretty bad, at 4 hours of combined usage the battery is out, so it last only half a day and power supply is required

Nokia E90 battery is far better, perhaps twice better for phone part for example

The iPhone battery however charges very quickly, something like 1h30 maximum on mains or USB. I guess low capacity means quick charging but even then it's very quick.

You can change dramatically battery life however by turning off stuff.

Battery Life is definitively bad, the 4 hours usage rule is correct but that means you often have to charge your iPhone twice per day! Or use it on mains when you're at home and only untethered at work which would be better for battery life (the internal battery is rated to lose 20% after 400 charges ... which is pretty quick with 2 charges a day, half a year and it's done).

Of course the integrated battery not user replaceable doesn't help.

MacAlly Powerlink

The first alternative I considered was the MacAlly Powerlink.

It is three in one: USB synchro and charge cable, 270 mAh battery (around 20% of iPhone battery) and 2 Go flash drive !

That seems great even if it is enough only to enable you to make some calls but it's rather expensive at 49 euros if you don't need the 3 functions, and more importantly it doesn't charge the internal battery so you have to leave it tethered!

Sort of stick out

Needless to say, you can't use it while waiting for a phone call and leave it in your pocket, it's not useless (you could use it when battery is at 20% so you have extra internal battery), but it requires some planning.

Yes the Morphie Air is there

The next one is the Morphie Juice Pack Air. It's great design completely integrated to the iPhone but remaining thin enough (68 g) unlike its competitors, you can keep it on the iPhone and at 1200 mAh it doubles the iPhone battery life.

Great integration

Unfortunately 3 drawbacks: high price at 79 euros, proprietary USB cable (couldn't they at least use a standard connector ?), and seems not to enable synchronisation. And some people report low GSM connection problems too.

However it's certainly one of the best contenders if you want to leave it on your iPhone.

Cheap eBay battery at around 8 euros

In the end I chose a cheap one on eBay, I'll tell you how it works when I receive it.

Camera

Sample photo from iPhone, unfocused, very average quality, but took it quickly enough to capture the mood and colors

Another sample, same unfocused, but nice

In short: iPhone camera, bad quality, unfocused but quick and operationally fool proof - more importantly good colors, so the mood is right.

Nokia E90 camera, very good quality - as good as some dedicated cameras, even xenon flash, but slow (1-2 seconds delay when you must not move your phone), and with a dedicated key which doesn't work 2/3 of the time.

In the end, I enjoy taking photos with my iPhone far more - for serious photography I have my Fujifilm F70EXR anyway.

Files access

It can be seen as incredible, but there is no file access on the iPhone unlike the iPod: at most you and the programs have access to the photo library but that's all.

All programs have only access to their private pocket of files.

The implication are huge, that means you cannot edit attachements you receive by email (fortunately mail allows to preview them), that you cannot download files from the internet, to keep or edit them (only photos), that bluetooth don't work for file transfer!

And that means a mess because each private program has to have a way of transferring files which means as many ways and private drives as programs (most of them use a Wifi internet type drive). Fortunately the iPhone automatically backup the private drives.

It's a huge step back from Nokia, even if part of Nokia software was problematic, like the gallery which even displayed the icons and graphics of all the programs and not only the photos.

Jailbreaking and using the iFiles application allow you to bypass all these limitations with some work but it is still a pain though (see below)

Bluetooth

Bluetooth on iPhone is brain dead: no support for file or business card transfert - and more importantly no support for HID devices.

That means you cannot use a bluetooth mouse or a bluetooth keyboard (like my great iGo keyboard, or PS3 joypad). This is also unbelievable as HID devices drivers are pretty easy to program.

However, for linking to audio it performs well perhaps even better than the Nokia E90 and the connection is stable. I understand it recognizes external GPS too.

With more usage (basically iPod streaming to my bluetooth car audio), the bluetooth connection is reliable but there are sound drops in the connection, perhaps when the iPhone is working. Not that great but it's bearable as it inserts silences and not static noise.

Again a huge step back from Nokia - with my iGo keyboard I was able to type 10 times faster than on the Nokia E90 keyboard

With iBluetooth program you can do file transfert or business card transfert but it requires jailbreaking.

Accessories

Phone Protection

I was very happy with InvisibleShield for my Nokia E90 (although it has never fallen with it on), as it reduces the bulk of Phone + protection - So I wanted the same for my iPhone.

InvisibleShield kit for iPhone - made an error, had to buy front and back separately

Contents with rubber item and sprayer

Front: it adds a pleasant look and feel to the iPhone

Back: it is more sticky too without being unpleasant like silicone so the iPhone is less likely to slide

Back was hell to set up: the back was quick but the corners took 2 hours millimeter by millimeter and even then it's not 100% perfect

In the end it's pretty effective, iPhone has already fallen from my desk (damn power cable), not a scratch.

iPhone is solid enough, but I think I can't put it in my rear jean pocket like the E90, after sitting on it, it would look like this.

I was ripped off by Expansys: 45 euros for the double Invisible Shield kit whereas at Access2B it's only 14,90 euros !

Cables

The power adapter is very small

The USB cable is very short so you have to buy an extender.

a USB cable extender

it's female and pretty rare, has to buy it on eBay as standard USB cables have another type of plug for printer

The USB / charger connector is very strong on the phone side, that means if you trip on the wire, the iPhone will certainly fall to the floor.

Jailbreak: why it is a must for me ?

In the following tables, you'll see all the software which needs jailbreaking, but honestly most of them are not essential.

The essential upgrades which are brought by jailbreaking in my case are the following:

Battery Life monitoring

Battery life can runs very quickly with the iPhone (like 1% per minute), of course when you are doing gaming with vibrate and 3D graphics, but also when you turn on all the networking features (bluetooth, 3G, Wifi, SSH).

It's unlikely it will last long if you are more than 4 hours on Usage

If you turn everything off, instead it can last a very long time (like low % per hour!).

The default battery monitor of the Iphone is not detailed enough, you see battery life with a rounding error of 20%.

Read the % clearly on top left - see the iPhone is officially unlocked, here under SFR instead of Orange

With SBSettings, you can have the % displayed in the menu bar, which helps a lot to manage your work and turn off non-essential stuff before the battery runs out. The official apps in iTunes Stores can display the % too but you have to run them to see the %, not practical enough.

Customized keyboard

Jailbreaking allows you 5 rows customized keyboards, and the keyboard can includes arrows or other keys which are a huge time saver when the application works with it.

Keyboard with additional row with numbers - a must

Moreover that extra row means you can put accented characters (if your home language is not english), numbers, and punctuation characters (like , : ? etc), which means most of the time you won't have to switch keyboard.

Numpad version - all arithmetics signs are there

In short in my case, I can type easily 3x faster than with the default keyboard.

Multitasking of chosen apps with Backgrounder

It's hard to believe, but if you receive a phone call or something like that, you lose your current game, or work if you were using Word, Excel or database - unless the application is really well written to shutdown and save very quickly.

If you want to check something (like an email just arrived, a contact number), that's the same you have to quit and save the current application. It's really painful when you want to copy paste between applications for example.

Backgrounder is great because it allows you by pressing home key for two seconds to put only the current application as multitasking. This application stays multitasked until you press the home key 2 seconds more. It's better than a general multitasking iPhone because I think the resource will be drained very quickly if that was the case - most often you need only ONE application, your current one to multitask and not crash in case you have a phone call or need to check quickly an email.

Most of the iPhone apps have a clean save state so you won't lose your game / work if you have a phone call or have to check something - but it depends on how well the app was programmed (I understand that for complex games - not having a save state means your application is rejected from Apple store, but in practice save states don't always work: depend from the programmer and how well he programs as CPU / time for saving state is limited obviously).

That means having multitasking is not as important as I thought on the iPhone if you choose the right apps, it's more for convenience. Of course if you really want to do two things at once and the other thing is not music or mail, you're stuck as even if the other app resume very quickly at the same point, it is not running in background.

If I didn't need these, I think I could do without jailbreaking.

Jailbreaking

In summary:
– go to BlackRain Jailbreak home page
– backup your iphone by iTunes
– run BlackRain program

Geohot Blackrain

Already done

– install Cydia

Cydia on jailbroken phone

Can add sources

Even pirate ones, which really is morally borderline when most apps are below 2 or 3 euros

– restore iPhone backup from iTunes

Often has to "respring" to install software

Sad Mac booting ...

The dark side of jailbreaking: sad Mac booting and crashes - last time I saw these it was on my iPod 30 Go

Please note that iPhone 3GS made from week 40 year 2009 onwards have a boot rom which causes jailbreak problems. Basically, you can't reboot the phone (or you can - but only with a computer with the jailbreak program nearby, and the USB cable).

Don't have to say it's a no - not because the iPhone OS can crash and reboot (programs can - but I witnessed only one complete crash of the iPhone OS so far in 3 weeks - it is rock solid), but that means you can't turn off your phone - or that if your battery is out you're out of luck (and that will definitively happen to you).

The week the iPhone 3GS is made are the 4th and 5th digit of the iPhone serial number (on the box).

Jailbreak and desimlocking

Jailbreak is NOT the same as desimlocking which allows you to use other operator SIM cards (or international ones abroad), I understand it involves another chip and dark magic stuff like baseband.

Last Geohot Snow can desimlock 3.1.2. firmware, and perhaps also new iPhone 3GS with boot loader protection, in my case the iPhone was officially desimlocked.

Understand that unofficial desimlock is twice as dangerous as jailbreak, because if jailbreak fails at most I lose all jailbreak applications and restore original firmware whereas if desimlock fails or the iPhone crashes one day, you won't be able to phone with your phone anymore with your new operator, and perhaps not be able to activate your iPhone either because it needs original operator SIM card to activate.

In France, you must wait 6 months for official desimlock, best bet is to wait for it (or if you buy it second hand, to pay for official desimlock, the snag is it can be as high as 220 euros before 6 months period ...).

IPhone crash recovery

How to recover when the iPhone has crashed and you can't even remove the battery which is built-in ?

You have to hold both Power and Home button for 15 seconds and it will reboot (which could allow a restore if you iPhone OS is completely messed up). Took some time to remember it, it was the same to reboot my old Ipod 30 Go.

I had to do it only twice in one month of heavy tests, even if the applications can and do crashes, the OS is rock solid and seems to be very aggressive in killing apps and reclaiming memory, so I'm not sure of any benefit of regular reboots for example.

Iphone 3G versus Nokia E90: software

Migrate Contacts, Calendar and Messages

The best way to migrate these is to synchronise with a PC then to synchronise back to the iPhone:
– On a PC you will use Outloook and PC Suite
– On a Mac your best bet is to use iSync and Nokia Plug-in

Migrate Photos, Videos, MP3, Ringtones

Your best bet is to copy them manually to your PC, and then back to iTunes for synchronisation to iPhone.

See below ringtones as some specific work is needed for them to be recognized by the iPhone.

Other data

I have not found a solution for SMS/MMS, but anyway, iPhone keeps only 200 last messages or so - you need a third party solution so why not PC Suite for those old Nokia messages and PhoneView (see below) for iPhone SMS/MMS archiving ?

means that it requires Iphone jailbreaking

means you have to pay for iPhone software - please note that it was often the case too for Nokia E90 software

means not available

Type	Nokia E90	IPhone 3G	Comments
Office Word	Quick Office Premium 6.2	Dataviz Documents To Go	(a)
Office Excel	Quick Office Premium 6.2	Dataviz Documents To Go	(a)
Office Powerpoint	Quick Office Premium 6.2		No software available to edit Powerpoint files to date
Banking	Jabp Lite	iCompta	Good replacement if slower (b)
Jotter	Notes	Notes	iPhone Notes is quicker for long files thanks to kinetic scrolling, and sync with Snow Leopard Mail means edition is very easy
Datas	SplashID	StoreIT	Better replacement (c)
Agenda	Handy Calendar	Calendar + My Week	Just a bandaid (d)
Contacts	Contacts	Contacts + Address Book + Cyntact	OK (e)
Email	Messages	Mail/Attachement Savers	Apple Mail is better as it includes HTML viewing unlike E90 Messages - but no attachments savings (f)
Location Aware	Nokia Maps / Google Maps	Google Maps/AroundMe	Around me is great and quick to have POI nearby. Google Maps interface is far better on iPhone
GPS	Garmin	Navigon	Great software, but GPS hardware is not that good (g)
Phone Call Manager	Best Black List	iBlacklist	Adequate replacement (h)
Underground Tube	MetrO	RATP Premium	Very good, original MetrO is available too (i)
MP3 Player	Internal	Ipod internal	Ipod is better of course with sync with iTunes library and store
Video Player	Real Player	Ipod internal	Ipod miles better, almost all formats can be converted very easily to Ipod and managed by Itunes - not the case for Real Player very fussy player
Recorder	Total Recall		No solution on iPhone (j)
Stop Watch / Timer	Best Timer	internal	iPhone internal software great
PDF Files	PDF Plus	Good Reader	Better (k)
Web Browser/Internet Download	Internal + Opera Mini	Safari internal/Good Reader	Miles better (l)
Wifi Spot	JoikuSpot Premium	MyWi	Better (m)
ZX Spectrum Emulator	Speccy		Not available for iPhone
C64 Emulator	Frodo + Bilbo		Not available, Apps Store version didn't allow custom roms and is removed at this date anyway
Gameboy Emulator	vBoy	Gameboy4iPhone	Better software but no physical keys(n)
Gameboy Advance Emulator	vBag	gpSPhone	Same as above (n)
Megadrive Emulator	Picodrive	Genesis4iPhone	Same as above - Picodrive doesn't have sound (n)
SNES Emulator		Snes4iPhone	Great emulator (n)
VNC	?	Mocha VNC Lite	Good VNC
Music	?	Shazam	Great app to identify a tune on TV or in a store

This additional table are for functions which are sort of standard for all other smartphones - except the iPhone.

Type	Nokia E90	IPhone 3G	Comments
PC Connection	PC Suite	iTunes + PhoneView	A necessary evil for both softwares (o)
Backup	PC Suite + Manual	iTunes + Phone View + Manual	Not easy for both softwares (o)
USB Drive / File Manager	Internal or PC Suite	Good Reader / iFiles	Kludgy but works (p)
Today view	N/A	Notifier + Lock Calendar + Five Icon Docks	Just a bandaid (q)
Keyboard	N/A	5rows-QWERTY+iKeyEx	Great (r)
Multitasking	N/A	Backgrounder and Kirikae	Great (s)
Video	N/A	Cycorder	Cannot record video on 3G without this app!
Battery	N/A	SBSettings	Cannot do without it (t)
Ringtones	N/A	Jailbreak	Working solution (u)
Themes	N/A	Winterboard	Use customized themes (v)
Command Line	N/A	Terminal	Secure it! (w)

(a) Office Word and Excel

First there are two contenders: QuickOffice (same as Nokia) or Dataviz Documents to Go (same as S80 software).

I chose very quickly the Dataviz solution, I didn't like the Quickoffice interface with lots of menus and which don't even show on landscape mode. Please note however that QuickOffice gives access to mail attachments and is easier for files sharing (don't need a specific program).

The screen gives a good view of the document

Screen real estate is dramatically reduced though when it comes to inputting data - it's even worse with Word as there is an additional palette

Basically it works pretty well and loads quickly the Word and Excel documents (quicker than QuickOffice on Nokia E90). Excel DTG doesn't have freeze panes which could however be a problem.

Editing is OK when you get the hang of it, but with two important caveats:
– the first is because of the touch keyboard you don't see much when you type, it's a huge difference with Nokia E90 800x350 pixel screen always available. It's not a problem for me because it's more raw data or notes input than formatting, but it could be depending on your needs.
– the second is that it crashes often!

It crashes pretty often, even if not jailbroken and on simple documents - but you don't lose anything (or a word or two at most), so it's not a big deal

It is a very good program because even if it is interrupted (by a call, or by pushing home button) it will save current work and you will resume right where you were stopped both for Word and Excel. So you don't need backgrounder and associated jailbreaking for this program.

All in one, it is a working solution for my needs, and with customized virtual keyboard - and the problems I had on the Nokia (see Keyboard above) - it's almost as usable as on my Nokia E90.

Since latest update 2.1, it has not crashed once yet - it's an even better program

(b) Banking

iCompta is a nice program, pretty complete

Already spent 3 000 euros to date this year on electronic stuff, that is not reasonable

It has lots of additional features compared to JabpLite: for example nice pie charts. And has a desktop Mac client which allows very easy synchronizing. It has also advanced features like account downloading from your bank site.

But it has the following drawbacks:
– you have to pay for it (4.99 €)
– it is pretty slow, mostly on loading (50 seconds for 8 000 transactions which is around 4 years of complete data) - the data file is 2.3 megs versus 250 ko for JabpLite, wonder why, and a little slow on editing - kind of JabpLite E90 before all the optimizations

Exporting JabpLite and importing on iCompta was easy.

Export to the only Jabp Lite format with 4 digits dates

And import to iCompta desktop client ASCII

Everything was OK even the french accents.

In short a good JabpLite replacement, only wish it was faster on loading / saving.

(c) Database

I use SplashID on Nokia E90, and now StoreIT on iPhone like the jotter program of my old Psion - just to take down notes with title and date.

StoreIT main list with a working searching field

StoreIT is only 1.59 € whereas SplashID on iPhone would have been very costly: 10 $ on Apps Store + 20 $ for specific desktop client - too greedy.

Note part is far better than on Nokia E90 SplashID which was only tiny and could only be read by editing

Data transfert was easy: export to CSV, only had to switch to US for both Nokia and Mac before to avoid problems with numbers and date format, then reformat under Excel to have the same date format for export.

StoreIT is far better, very cheap, quick, good search, good Note editing, and a rolling date selector on default date to boot

(d) Agenda

There is no week view on Apple Calendar. That was the case also on Nokia E90 but at least I had the option of buying Handy Calendar.

MyWeek brings the week view calendar

And even an annual view with every week

Unfortunately MyWeek needs jailbreak, cost 1.99 € and doesn't allow to edit the entry (and don't even jump to calendar when you click on them).

That said I want only the week view for a week view, so the essential functionality is there.

Note that you can purchase Soisuke on Apps Store for a good calendar apps, unfortunately you will lose connection with Apple Calendar (it will be synchronised with Google Calendar), and it costs 7.99 € too.

(e) Contacts

Another brain dead offering from Apple: you cannot define groups on the iPhone.

Fortunately you can create them under Address Book (MacOSX) or Outlook and it will sync OK

Cyntact for 0.79 € will add the picture on the contact list too.

In the end you can have what you need with additional software

(f) Mail

It's exactly like Mail on MacOSX, great interface, seems very quick unlike Nokia E90 messages but don't allow attachments saving, only viewing.

That doesn't seem a great deal, but that means you cannot edit them with Docs To Go for example and then send back an edited version.

Save option in Mail

Attachement Saver gives that option, combined with iFile it means you can do just that, but both application require a jailbroken iPhone.

(g) Navigation

There are many navigation offerings for iPhone. I have a soft spot for Copilot as it is the cheapest, but Navigon is by far the best.

Navigator: very good voice navigation, but the iPhone without a holder is not stable when driving when you put it in a drawer like this

It is not as good as Tom tom or Garmin on Nokia E90 for the routing but it has a killer feature which is the speech for street names.

The real problem is that the iPhone GPS has more trouble with keeping GPS signal than the Nokia E90. Perhaps it was because it was low on battery, or perhaps more than the Nokia E90 it needs to be higher on the windscreen (I put my E90 in the same drawer and it worked fine).

I'll tell you when I get my car kit - I could try with my external Sirf Star III bluetooth GPS too.

In short, I switched to Tomtom.

Navigon has a key feature which is far better than Tomtom: its GPS positioning whereas Tomtom is often late (around 20 - 30 meters), and completely lost in round about BUT compared to Tomtom:
– Navigon crashes often on my 3G (3 times in a 20 mn simple drive - and it doesn't save anything when it crashes - even newly saved bookmarks are lost)
– Navigon interface is very slow and buggy, you wait 20 seconds between each keystroke for address input
– Navigon navigation is not optimal - and sometimes completely lost, and slow
– Navigon is frozen when it loses the GPS signal

In short, compared to the speed and reliability of Tomtom, Navigon is dangerous, almost had 10 accidents while trying to relaunch it or input the address.

So I prefer Tomtom which has none of the above drawbacks (never crashes, very quick, just B&W when loses GPS signal but continue computation), you understand how Tomtom works every time, and you can depend on it. Its GPS positioning is not very accurate but that only means you have to anticipate, which I can do - with the new text to speech functions it's easier.

That's a shame for Navigon, as its interface design, instructions, text to speech and GPS tracking are superior, perhaps with 1.4 it will be better - but now I'm afraid to use Navigon and crash my car while fiddling with the interface responsiveness ...

(h) Phone Call manager

iBlacklist interface

Another one which needs jailbreaking. I wanted to buy MCleaner as the interface was far simpler than iBlacklist, but iBlacklist has a feature MCleaner don't have: the ability to import groups in blacklist or whitelist.

It seems to work but I have to test it more thoroughly.

It works, but if it stops the phone ringing, the phone sometimes vibrate a split second before stopping.

(i) Underground Tube

RATP Premium interface: click on a station and you'll have Google Maps maps area

I have always used MetrO for a long time, but RATP Premium is better, as it gives very detailed information on the french transport system.

MetrO is still available though on iPhone, and I guess is still useful for all underground systems for other cities of the world.

(j) Recorder

Call recording is the only thing I really don't have a solution for yet. It was possible on Nokia E90 and more generally Symbian devices with Ultimate Voice Recorder - if there is a solution one day it will certainly involve jailbreaking. If I paid 25 euros additional per month I could have iPhone visual voice mail and record my voicemail with PhoneView - but it still won't record calls.

Please note that I don't want to record for proof or other which is illegal and not receivable in court anyway, it's just that I'm often on the move and it's more practical than to take out paper and pen and take notes, questions or directions - it is more efficient too as the caller don't have to repeat I can sort it out after if I missed something. I never listen to them again after a few days.

It's the only thing for which I don't have a solution on my iPhone compared to the Nokia E90

(k) PDF Files Viewing

What to say except Good Reader (or even Apple default PDF reader) is better than PDF Plus on Nokia E90, at least for Retro Gamer issues reading: it renders better, and quicker (perhaps thanks to the more powerful iPhone processor).

Viewing Retro Gamer issue 33, a 25 megs file

Apple default viewer is a little slower than Good Reader, but has the benefit of loading continuously additional pages.

But in the end, I prefer to use Good Reader, because it has a great fixed rotation mode (good for reading in bed), and that it is very consistent (you have to wait between pages, but at least it doesn't overrun all the memory with your pdf file).

It is one of the few applications which could benefit from Apple 3GS more powerful processor if you have complex PDF files.

(l) Web browser

The page start zoomed out and unreadable, but most often you know the layout of the page - and it's better to be in portrait to have an A4 type of view

Double tap to zoom to the area of interest - iPhone directly adjust to column width

It's easier after to read it in landscape, just turn the device and iPhone adjust automatically

Against Nokia Webkit it is not a contest, all common websites work on iPhone with great ergonomics, whereas even simple javascript or SSL encryption defeated the Nokia E90 browser. I can at last post in forums, do internet banking and even edit my web pages here - not ergonomically easy but no compatibility problem.

Moreover, it couldn't even connect to secured internet login type of Wifi like Neuf Wifi, and operations were really terrible, even basic one like back or zooming means rendering and downloading again (20 or 30 seconds between instant on iPhone), and always that stupid question about clearing cache each time you exit. What's the use of flash or video flash if the basics are not even covered ?

Here I think is the real genius of Apple, you have to try it to understand it - how to make browsing the internet possible when the screen is very small - it's not touch interface, it's the ergonomics.

It is the primary reason I switched to iPhone.

Internet download

Safari cannot download any file except photos (directly in the photo library by touching the photo 1 or 2 seconds).

I have researched alternatives in the jailbreak world as Safari Download Manager (2 $) and Safari Download Plug-in. Sadly in addition to require a jailbreak, they don't work very well when there is a MIME or extension problem (why couldn't they just add an item to the press menu is beyond me).

The best download manager: Good Reader, again

The greatest downloader is Good Reader: it downloads most of the links with a clear interface in its own browser window. It works for example with Neuf Giga internet drives, or my webmail interface at 1and1, which defeated both jailbroken plug-ins.

Good Reader is in three categories!, it's certainly a must buy for 1$.

(m) Wifi Spot

This one not only requires jailbreaking and paying, but also to install a new app manager.

Welcome to Rock your Phone Apps

Its interface and speed is better than Cydia

I must admit I didn't like it at all at first, and considered going to PDA Net instead of MyWi. In the end I tried it and to be honest Rock interface is far quicker (more money for servers ?), more pretty, with better information (clear comments and review). Cydia should copy their interface.

Wifi spot complete options with WEP security and a real wifi spot instead of Adhoc infrastructure like JoikuSpot

MyWi unlock the iPhone tethering menus, without the operator ipcc files which are scary

Well MyWi is better than JoikuSpot, it gives a real Wifi Spot but also USB and bluetooth connection through iTunes standard 3.1.2. firmware option.

And connection was rock solid too - I think iPhone Wifi interface is stronger than Nokia E90.

(n) Emulators

Almost perfect emulators, sound is a little laggy but should be OK under 3GS, no compatibility problem

The snag is touchscreen is not great at all for action games

The emulators are more compatible and better than what is available for Nokia E90 or even Nintendo DS - all my old roms were OK.

However, sound has often a problem (perhaps with 3GS additional processing it will be OK), and mostly all those games are not suited to a touchpad.

That being said, on my Nokia E90 it was the same, for action games, the keyboard or keypad was not large enough for precision control, and I had to use my external iGo bluetooth keyboard which was perfect.

(o) PC connection / Backup

PhoneView

A good program to purchase is PhoneView especially if you iPhone has become desynchronized with your PC (I prefer to not purchase music or apps on the iPhone just in case).

iPhoneView default view

It gives you direct access on the left to: Contacts, Notes, Call Log, Messages, Web, Voicemail and your entire disk if your device is jailbroken.

It gives you also access to your media: music, videos, audiobooks, podcasts, ringtones, photos, voice memos.

With a jailbroken device and the disk option, you can read/copy/write directly the applications files in /var/mobile/Applications and more importantly the private pocket files of all applications (ie their data saves, their local files) - the only snag being the horrible hexadecimal names given by iPhone so you have to find where which application is.

You can also access other folders for emulators ROMs or manual installation or configuration for example - it's really exactly like Mac OSX.

Note: it's better to disable launch with iPhone connection as it can interfere with iTunes backup

It reads MMS alright

It saves automatically Call Log, SMS and MMS messages and Voicemail even if you have deleted them on the iPhone

Whereas your iPhone deletes them after 200 messages. You can browse them without the iPhone, and still delete the items by pressing del button or using the File/Edit option.

PhoneView is a great program, and I don't know but I'm more confortable with my data on my iPhone being accessible by USB cable, rather than by Wifi Appletalk drive (Netatalk) or by SSH. It's only available for Mac unfortunately

Backup is sort of complicated with the iPhone, not that different process from Nokia PC Suite - the main difference being you had directly access to Nokia files.

Backup - non-jailbroken iPhone

This is straightforward, just plug your iPhone to your computer, it is automatically backed up each time by iTunes.

The backup is also complete too - even the files of your software (like QuickOffice), or saved games - everything will be backed up and restored perfectly - after a jailbreak for example.

The snag is if you lose your iPhone, the only access to your data would be to restore to another iPhone. Of course this will not be problematic for all contents which is synced (video, music, calendar, mail, notes, bookmarks) but only additional data which are often your main data anyway.

Moreover, if you want to move that data back to a Nokia or another mobile you have to keep it in a readable format.

Backup - non-jailbroken iPhone - additional data

As you don't have a standard access to files on your iPhone (no access in fact) it depends from installed iTunes software. For example for my setup it would be:
– iCompta backup with the Wifi Webserver in a file, or by sync with iCompta desktop
– Good Reader backup with the Wifi Webserver
– Dataviz Documents To Go Backup with their Documents To Go application and making sure all your documents are in a synced folder and not on local iPhone
– StoreIT backup with the Wifi StoreIT Webserver
– MMS/SMS/Voicemail with PhoneView program

Please note that Phoneview data is in the User/Library/Application Support/Phoneview (in case you want to backup the backup program)

Backup - jailbroken iPhone

There are two things there. First are data most of the time data is in var/mobile/Media which you can access with PhoneView for example:
– Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, SNES, Megadrive roms and saves are in ROMs folder
– Cycoder videos are in Video folder
– Ringtones which are more than 40 seconds long in /private/var/stash/Ringtones

Second are apps and library. Here you are out of luck I think, because most of the time you have installed them or purchased them with Rock or Cydia front end, including updates and identification (Cydia works with Facebook or Google, Rock with email). If when you restore your phone, these don't exist anymore, or the packages, you're out of luck.

A better way would be to install packages by hand with terminal and dpkg command, and keep the .deb files, it's really a pain thought, I think it's worth it only for the package you think you won't be able to do without.

(p) USB Drive / File manager

Drive interface under Good Reader

Basically you don't have access to files on your iPhone, one way will be to use the Wifi web interface of a program like Good Reader.

For a free alternative, you can use iFiles Lite which is however limited to 200 megs.

iFile give you access to all your disk - see the hexa names above ?

To access all the files you can use iFile which is a shareware apps and needs a jailbroken iPhone (it's not the same as iFiles from Apps Store).

It does hexa names translation unlike PhoneView which helps a lot going around your applications folders. It has also integrated 7zip decompresssion.

And it allows bookmarks too, it's safer than browsing around your full iPhone Disk as any file delete or moved could brick your phone.

Local Docs to Go folder

You can now go to the private file pocket from Docs To Go and copy some files there for editing with that application. Please note that short of jailbreaking the Docs To Go app and rewriting it it will be the only way because Applications have only access to their private place, even Mail or Safari.

With iFile, Good Reader, and Attachements Saver you can at last do the following:
– Download an attachement with Attachements Saver, move it in Docs To Go with iFile, edit it and then send it back !
– Download a file from internet with Good Reader (for example a word template), move it in Docs To Go, and then use it for a new document

Do everything you can do with a productivity app on your computer (or with the Nokia E90 - it's strange that when it's taken for granted you don't see it missing).

iFile is a must have application if you want to do away with your computer - which was always my dream with my different Psion and Nokias

(q) Today View

Almost no customisation on the iPhone, that's a huge step back compared to almost any other phone.

Jailbreak and install Notifier and Lock Calendar at least.

Notice the two icons notifier above with missed calls and SMS, and lock calendar entries in front. iPhone displays missed calls and SMS too on window below (you see only the edge here)

Five icons dock: it depends on the size of your fingers but five is still confortable for me

Intelliscreen should have covered everything but crashed my iPhone.

(r) Keyboard

So what's the default keyboard of the iPhone ?

Original: keyboard, fine enough for the first page

I have the numbers but not + =

Here they are but no numbers - and why the third line the same as the previous

It has no logic, the first page is fine if you have 4 rows but after you have a page with numbers but not all arithmetic functions (for example for Excel), and other signs but not all punctuation signs (for example for writing word documents).

And moreover you have direct access to french accents, that means losing 2 to 3 seconds on a character to make it appear each time you want to type one (and it happens A LOT when you write French).

So just get 5rows-QWERTY which will also install iKeyEX 3 - please note that only the BETA version worked on my 3.1.2. firmware (on repo.beyouriphone.com I think).

Customization is possible for 5rows-QWERTY

I propose to do the following customization for French Keyboards:

5 rows keyboard with numbers on the top

Unshifted - I added common french accents and ponctuation chars

My keypad, it has all the arithmetic signs for Excel and the most useful ponctuation chars

Last useful chars, it has the arrows and special characters like page up / page down, a pity they don't work under Dataviz Documents To Go Word

But arrows work on Messaging, Notes, and Excel (left right when editing only).

(s) Multitasking

Just hold 2 seconds and the application is backgrounded with a clear notice

A little icon can be displayed to remind you of backgrounded applications (change in settings

(t) Battery

In addition to battery % SBSettings allows many other switchs

You can switch on and off easily all the main source of power consumption: 3G, Wifi, Bluetooth, SSH, and can even kill processes (yay!) and free memory.

(u) Ringtones

Custom Ringtones

I like my Nokia ringtones (which comes from my 9210 or 9300 - don't exactly remember) and I have some specific alarms I'd like to keep too.

Unfortunately the iPhone seems to be locked here with no easy way to add custom ringtones as it use the M4r format.

My default ringtone on my Nokia is tinkle.aac, not very original but it has the advantage to be strong enough to be heard even if you are in the tube.

To convert it I had to use VLC which was the only program which seems to be able to read it (it is in mp4a format), then use "Assistant de diffusion/transcodage" (why couldn't they call it simply as Save As / Broadcasting ?), and then choose Uncompressed integer and the Microsoft WAV format.

Then reopen the new file in iTunes, right click on the file to convert it to AAC, find the new .m4a file, change extension to .m4r, double click on it and you're done.

40 seconds or longer Ringtones

For my alarm I use the Missing Perspective music from Playstation Parasite Eve which is strong enough to wake me up in the morning. The catch is that the song is 3 minutes long, longer than the 40 seconds maximum ringtone time allowed by Apple.

The only choice you have here is jailbreak your phone, and then add the ringtone to the directory /private/var/stash/Ringtones and it will be added to the regular iPhone ringtones list.

(v) Themes

(w) Command Line

One thing is very important on Command Line - you must change your root password. Just enter the following:

Added mobile user password change

sudo root
passwd
alpine
[enter new password]
[repeat new password]
sudo mobile
passwd
alpine
[enter new password]
[repeat new password]

Or your iPhone is open to any hacker when you join a Wifi network.

How much did it cost ?

One warning first: if you buy you can't have a refund on iTunes Apps Store, but it is not that bad:
– first most of the time you have free Lite version, so you can try them before you buy
– second there are lots of comments and a rating system from the buyers. It is not rare to have one hundred or more. So you can see the overall rating, and if you are thorough, read all comments to see if there are no cons which are more important to you than others even if the app has a very good rating
– third most of them are cheap, 1, 2 or 3 euros for the great majority of them

Type	Application	Price in €
Office	Dataviz Documents to Go	7.99 €
Banking	iCompta	4.99 €
Database	StoreIT	1.59 €
Underground Tube	RATP Premium	0.79 €
PDF Files / USB Drive	Good Reader	0.79 €
PC Connection / Backup	PhoneView	13.91 €
File browser	iFile	1.55 €
Mail Attachment Saver	AttachmentSaver	1.55 €
Agenda	MyWeek	1.99 €
Contacts	Cyntact	0.86 €
Phone Call Manager	iBlacklist	8.24 €
Wifi Spot	MyWi	6.97 €
Gameboy Advance Emulator	gpSPhone	3.59 €
	Total	54.81 €

I didn't add Navigon Europe at 79.99 € as it would have tipped the scales unfairly 8-)

Other good purchases were the following:

Application	Price in €	Comments
Lux Touch Lite	0.00 €	Risk clone - LITE version is fine
Solitaire!	0.00 €	Freecell game - free
UGC Resa Lite	0.00 €	Great to find local films on UGC Cinemas
Ebay Mobile	0.00 €	I prefer it to their messy website which has always been inferior iBazar french site which they purchased
Fields Runner	2.39 €	Tower Defense game
Space Invaders Infinity Gene	3.99 €	Great game, great control, a work of art
Photogene	0.79 €	iPhoto image manipulation program
ColorSplash	1.59 €	Another one specifically for color
iNeufWifi	0.79 €	Quick login to french Neuf Wifi networks
Rise of Lost Empires	1.59 €	Good Warcraft RTS clone
GeoDefense	1.59 €	Tower Defense game
Alive4ever	2.39 €	Shoot game
Zenonia	2.39 €	RPG game
Civilization Revolution	5.49 €	Great game, crashes however and only available on US store for now Available at last on European store
Cerebral Challenge	3.99 €	Great NDS Big Brain Academy clone
Blades of Fury	0.79 €	Great Soulcalibur clone
Shrek Karting	0.79 €	Good Mario Kart clone, adequate controls
Need for Speed Underground	2.39 €	Excellent controls, same as PS3/XBOX version
Total	30.96 €

I spent at least and additional 10 - 20 euros more on apps I shouldn't have spent on - not bad apps but which I don't really use.

But I don't blame App Store for these buys, it's because of me because:
– the low prices means you're open to impulse buying
– good ratings from other people don't mean you personally will like the game / apps
– as an old timer, you're open to old stuff (like Archon, Monkey Island, Pinball Dreams) - but if technically these are very good, the control system of the iPhone means it's in the end not satisfying (so it's better to buy specific iPhone games - only exception so far is Civilization Revolution in my case - always loved it and like the iPhone version very much)

Civilization Revolution: Catherine

Since european version 1.5, the game crashes less often and even if it crashes or there is a call you never lose your current game - it's even better. It's one of the game which could benefit from 3GS however as at Divinity level in the latter stage it can be slow (still faster than NDS version).

Picture - more contrast with Photogen which added the comic blob, then only bear colored with ColorSplash - ready to be sent by MMS or email

And you can see that except for Alive4ever which has a great interface and Space Invaders Infinity Gene which is more a work of art, all the other games are slow or low precision games - traditional action console games are not enjoyable on the iPhone due to the low precision and feedback of the touchscreen.

Conclusion

As you know in the end, I completely migrated to Apple iPhone 3G now.

Of course it's not as good as Nokia E90 for a lot of things, but the point is it is bearable - with jailbreaking - for uses like light office, banking, database, navigation, gaming, customization while being far better for internet, mail, music, videos, photos and synchronisation. The only missing feature for me being call recording.

So yes it's possible to move from Nokia, even keyboard based Nokia to Apple iPhone and meet most of your basic needs.

And yes I like my Apple iPhone, even if it's not the last model, and even if it isn't the computer in the palm of my hand I always dreamed to have with my Siena, 3mx, Series 5, Revo, 9210, 9300 and E90.

With the combination of iFile, Good Reader and AttachmentSavers, and document editing programs like DocsToGo you can download and edit files exactly like on a desktop.

The jailbroken iPhone 3G with the right software can do all phone functions, iPod and media, internet and mail and also productivity stuff (office, banking or image editing). Note that I said can do, not that it's confortable to do all these things.

So what's left ?

The only thing really missing would be bittorrent and eMule - and that type of media playing, but it would be crazy to do it on a Phone connection and kill your battery, storage space and up to 159 000 euros phone bill. Perhaps on private Wifi plus mains power - but it can't be a serious alternative to a laptop or desktop computer then.

On my case, I can now turn off my computer, all my productivity was already on my Nokia for ages, but now internet and mail can too so no reason to have my computer running all the time anymore.

What about Nokia N900 versus iPhone ?

It's tricky as N900 isn't widely available yet, and obviously the software needs a lot of ironing (MMS, Java MIDP, portrait mode).

But as of now:

– the hardware of the N900 is obviously far better, more than twice resolution, great camera, better GPS, integrated keyboard, can be stylus driven (greater precision without blocking the screen)
– but the iPhone will be very hard to beat on the software, not necessarily because it is better, but because the additional N900 features won't be enough to tip the scales (or even be irrelevant for lots of users compared to other key "Apple" features).
– For example, I really don't see how N900 browsing experience could be significantly better than iPhone despite far better resolution (that was the case too on E90, screen was 800x352 versus 320x480 on iPhone, but browsing on E90 was hell, whereas it's heaven on iPhone because of interface and responsiveness - not hardware)
– I don't see how it can break the iTunes Music / Video / Mail / Calendar / Bookmarks / Apps integration either.
– And the low price of software, I know lots of software is free on Maemo, as it was the case on Symbian, but the thing it is not uncommon to pay 15-20 euros for a single software on Symbian, or 40 to 50 euros for an Office package when it's 8 euros on iPhone. Lots of the software on iPhone looks gorgeous, and I'm sure it's because of the Apple developer libraries and API behind, not because all iPhone developers are genius.
– And it's still don't have basics like MMS (I know the iPhone didn't have it for a long time and I would have NEVER considered or purchased an iPhone without MMS)
– I really don't know what to think of Maemo, I think Symbian S60 is a great OS (or could be a great one with some changes), I never wanted to go back to S80 like others. It's not because it's Unix (iPhone OS is also completely BSD Unix), it's because it's a clunky port of a linux system without sufficient work from Nokia for integration and phone interface (somehow they didn't go all the way unlike Apple, or Google, keep lots of open standards or library, but not suited to a phone). Either Nokia streamline its offering to be able to offer software for lots of their terminals (and not need thousands of version between Maemo, S60 3rd, S60 5th, MIDP, N-Gage), or they'll die because the same app will cost 10 euros instead of 1 euro at the competitor or not even exist because of a fragmented market (which is really stupid as Nokia sells 1 billion of phones).
– Whereas S60 is good even versus Apple - raw performance is better, phone customization and telephony is far better, there is real IP unique to Nokia unlike Unix and it has at least a significant user base - it's Nokia failure if Ovi Store wasn't up to much so far

So no N900 for now, perhaps in one year time when it will have ironed out.

Useful Links

Apple iPhone 3GS versus iPhone 3G Results of my benchmarks (in french)

Nokia N900 versus iPhone 3G quick test I had a N900 for limited time and could compare it quickly to my iPhone 3G

My Nokia E90 review Includes software migration from 9300 to E90

Note: lots of links are in french sorry, nowadays google is more and more localized and the information needed is already available in french so I didn't have to search farther ...

General iPhone information and Hardware

Infoworld 21 apps Apple don't want on your iPhone Great list of jailbreak applications - from a serious publication (or so it seems)

iPhonix French Web site on iPhone

Iphon.fr Another French Web site on iPhone

Pocketgamer French site on iPhone games

French list on best Cydia apps

ZodTTD site The writer of most of the iPhone emulators

iControlPad

No iPhone / Touch bluetooth keyboard

Cnet Replace iPhone battery Most of the time the 6$ battery will be far worse than your used battery, unfortunately they seem to have priced out everyone on the internet

Nokia N900 preview Great preview at My-Symbian

Nokia N900 first look

Maemo France Great videos and review of N900 (in French)

My-symbian N900 vs Iphone 3GS thread

Droid versus iPhone video test

Hardware

InvisibleShield for iPhone 3G In French

Invisible Shield at Access2B Only 14,90 euros !

Macally Powerlink 3 in one battery, USB synchro cable, 2 Go flash drive combo at 49 euros

Morphie Air Juice Pack Battery for 79 euros

Software

BlackRain Jailbreak home page

Jailbreak 3.1.2. tutorial In French

Jailbreak 3.1.2 questions in French

Change SSH default root password In French

Nokia iSync

ZDNet Documents to Go review

Documents to Go versus QuickOffice by AppleBlog

PhoneView Homepage

PhoneView MacWorld Review

MyWeek

French Page on Lock Calendar

Unicode Charset To customize your iKeyEx keyboard

iKeyEx thread on xSellize

Create a layout for iKeyEx But won't work for special characters like arrows which need additional code

Softpedia article on 5-RowQWERTY

Article on ringtones In french

Page on activating tethering without ipcc and without purchasing MyWi In French

Standard tethering for iPhone In French

Test of Navigation software on iPhone In French

GBA bios For gpSPhone emulator

Other software

List of emulators on iPhone In French

Page on intelliscreen Great today lock screen, but crashes on my iPhone

MCleaner versus iBlacklist comparison

Netatalk To access your iPhone as Apple AFP drive (too many libraries installed for me)

Skype on 3G In French, Skype normally works for VOIP but only on Wifi

PC World QuickOffice Files Review It's a wifi USB disk type of program

Appsync installation In French - useful if the application is not available in your local store

Fuji F70EXR Review

Phi — 2009-10-19T17:22:32Z

My F200EXR was unfortunately stolen - it was a great camera - but as I had to buy another camera I tried the new F70EXR.

Context

I was very happy with my F200EXR, but somehow I was not happy to buy again the same camera so soon after my first purchase.

This time I bought an european one (unfortunately I still need an adapter for mains), hope it will work with european firmware update unlike my japanese F200EXR.

TO BE COMPLETED

Side by Side F70 EXR vs F30

Well, obviously I cannot compare to the F200EXR anymore, but I still have my trusty Fuji F30. This time I try to do all my tests before I lose my new camera.

Normal pictures test

All the following were shot on Astia mode on the F70EXR (because it looks intermediate between Normal and Velvia mode to my eyes), and at 5 Mpix to have the benefit of pixel binning.

Sorry but it was raining in Paris today, and the sky was really bland, so the usual pictures are not very beautiful

Hall: Above F70 (ISO 800, flash, 1/60 s), below F30 (ISO 800, flash, 1/60 s)

Note: all the outside pictures were taken with Cloudy balance on both cameras, and with Astia film on F70 EXR

Building: Above F70 (ISO 100, 1/220 s), below F30 (ISO 100, 1/300 s)

Place: Above F70 (ISO 100, 1/180 s), below F30 (ISO 100, 1/240 s)

Wall: Above F70 (ISO 100, 1/280 s), below F30 (ISO 100, 1/280 s)

Restaurant: Above F70 (ISO 100, flash, 1/60 s), below F30 (ISO 100, flash, 1/60 s)

My opinion on the better pictures:
– if you look at 100% originals, the F30 ones will always be a tad better - better lens resolution at wide-angle and perhaps because JPEG compression at 3 Megs at 6 Mpix is better than 2.3 Megs at 5Mpix
– but overall all the pictures are very similar, and of course the F70 EXR has the benefit of wider angle

Default exposition of the two cameras are very similar (bearing in mind that F70 EXR is F3.3 whereas F30 is F2.8), but I think both overexposes compared to F200EXR, perhaps 1/3 to 2/3 at most.

Night Scene ISO Test

Entire Night Scene

Note on methodology:
– the standard F70 5 Mpix picture at 100% is the benchmark, so that comparison is easier I have resized the F30 picture (at 65 %, because of 6 Mpix resolution and wide-angle at 35 mm instead of 27 mm) so the detail is exactly the same.
– Of course, it was basic resizing without using the additional information so that there won't be a bias with the resizing algorithm, let's say that F30 pictures could have been better by using a good resizing algorithm.

F70 ISO 100 SN mode 4 s

F30 ISO 100 3 s

F70 ISO 200 SN mode 2 s

F30 ISO 200 2 s

F70 ISO 400 SN mode 1 s

F30 ISO 400 1 s

F70 ISO 800 SN mode 1/2 s

F30 ISO 800 1/2 s

F70 ISO 1600 SN mode 1/4 s

F30 ISO 1600 1/4 s

F70 ISO 1600 Pro Low Light mode 1/4 s - 83%

F70 ISO 3200 SN mode 1/8 s

F30 ISO 3200 1/8 s

F70 ISO 6400 SN mode 1/15 s

F70 ISO 12800 SN mode 1/30 s

According to my tests:
– ISO 400 quality of the Fuji F70EXR is worse than ISO 800 of the F30 but somewhat better than ISO 1600 of the F30 ie like ISO 1200 on F30. ISO 800 quality of the Fuji F70EXR is worse than ISO 1600 of the F30 but somewhat better than ISO 3200 of the F30 ie like ISO 2400 of the F30
– In short you around lose 1.5 stops in ISO quality with the F70 EXR compared to F30, and pratically you never want to go higher than ISO 800 whatever happens, except if the scene is very well lit.
– F70 PRO Low Light mode 1600 ISO is comparable to F70 400 ISO, ie you win almost two stops with this mode
– F30 lens has more flare problems than F70 lens (and about the same purple fringing / chromatic aberrations)

Well lit ISO test

The well lit scene is the following:

Entire test scene

Note on methodology:
– the standard F70 5 Mpix picture at 100% is the benchmark, so that comparison is easier I have resized the HR picture (at 71%), and F30 picture (at 65 %, because of 6 Mpix resolution and wide-angle at 35 mm instead of 27 mm) so the detail is exactly the same.
– Of course, it was basic resizing without using the additional information so that there won't be a bias with the resizing algorithm, let's say that HR and F30 pictures could have been better by using a good resizing algorithm.

F70 ISO 100 SN mode 1/7 s

F70 ISO 100 HR mode 1/6.5 s

F30 ISO 100 1/6.5 s

F70 ISO 200 SN mode 1/13 s

F70 ISO 200 HR mode 1/12 s

F30 ISO 200 1/10 s

F70 ISO 400 SN mode 1/26 s

F70 ISO 400 HR mode 1/25 s

F30 ISO 400 1/20 s 1/20 s

F70 ISO 800 SN mode 1/52 s

F70 ISO 800 HR mode 1/45 s

F30 ISO 800 1/50 s

F70 ISO 1600 SN mode 1/105 s

F70 ISO 1600 HR mode 1/90 s

F70 ISO 1600 Pro Low Light mode 1/120 s - resizing at 86% needed

F30 ISO 1600 1/90 s

F70 ISO 3200 SN mode 1/200 s

F30 ISO 3200 1/80 s

F70 ISO 6400 SN mode 1/400 s

F70 ISO 12800 SN mode 1/210 s - but F jumped from 3.3 to 6.4

On well lit ISO test:
– the Fuji F30 was truly extraordinary: F30 ISO 400 is comparable to F70 ISO 100, F30 ISO 1600 is comparable to F70 ISO 400 and F30 ISO 3200 is comparable to F70 ISO 800: you almost win two stops with the F30 (or lose two stops with the F70 ...)
– in this test not only the F70 HR don't show more noise than the F70 SN modes but in some case it's even better: I think SN mode is not useful at all in well lit scenes
– F70 ISO 1600 Pro low light mode can allow you to win up to two stops (comparable quality as F70 ISO 400 or F30 ISO 1600), but of course the subject must not be moving and you must be very stable
– You really don't want to go over ISO 1600 on the F70, ISO modes 3200, 6400 and 12800 are not useful

Others F70 EXR topics

Film mode

Standard film mode

Astia film mode

Velvia film mode

As for the F200EXR, Astia (soft mode) looks more saturated than normal mode to me, so I leave the setting at Astia film mode (which works also for auto mode).

I prefer Astia (which is officially Soft) versus Standard as the colors are more saturated and the picture has more contrast than Standard. But looking at the Disney cover picture it is true that Astia seems a little softer than Standard, but honestly the difference is very slight and unlikely to really make a difference on sharpness. I have uploaded the full pictures so you can decide yourself (look at the 100 pages de BD! bumper).

White balance

As with all Fujis I had to date, I prefer to set the WB to Cloudy outside instead of auto so I can have warmer pictures (it was less necessary for the F200EXR after the latest firmware update).

Overexposure

As the F30, the F70R overexposes somewhat between 1/3 to 2/3. It's a pity they didn't keep the F200EXR exposure which was perfect.

Either you put -1/3 to -2/3 permanently or you put metering to average, but unfortunately this setting is not used on auto, natural light and special settings, and it breaks my ISO wheel exposure (see later on).

Battery

Here are the results with my official Fujifilm NP-50 battery:

#	2 bars	1 bar	Empty	Comments
1st try	261	309	330	Standard LCD brightness, 5 Mpix SN, continuous IS
2nd try	215	302	342	Minus 1 LCD brightness, 5 Mpix SN, continuous IS
3rd try	419	489	523	Minus 1 LCD brightness, all full 10 MPix, spot IS
4th try	514	544	605	Same as above
5th try	491	543	585	Same as above
6th try	402	451	488	Same as above

Note that most of the pictures taken are without flash, and I switched to 10 MPix for all pictures after my tests which showed no improvement on ISO quality for 5 Mpix SN mode over full resolution.

You can see that I achieve a very high figure (605 pictures taken !), perhaps because HR native resolution takes less processing power than SN mode, spot IS uses less battery and that because on the third or fourth charge the Fuji NP-50 battery always give its full potential.

As on F200EXR, you have almost no reserve when battery reaches 1 bar.

Anyway, can't complain on Fuji F70EXR battery life at all as it is officially rated for only 230 pictures - it is significantly better than F200EXR (but I never tried only full HR with my F200EXR).

My first tests with no-name batteries gives only 160-170 photos - around the same on F200EXR and F70EXR - not worth it over regular Fuji ones unless you need them for emergencies.

Note: I have tested with my "bad" Kodak klick battery first because I charged it before receiving the camera - no way I was going to wait for 2h30 for the new Fuji NP-50 battery to charge before playing with it 8-)

Operation tips

This time auto mode is less brain dead than on the F200 EXR or others Fuji - at least it allows the film and ISO setting (unfortunately it doesn't keep the exposure correction which can be needed).

If I set P at Auto ISO 400, EXR at Auto ISO 800, Auto at Auto ISO 1600 I magically have a sort of ISO control with the wheel ! (although due to image quality at ISO 1600 it might be better to set ISO 200 / P, Auto ISO 400 / EXR, Auto ISO 800 / Auto, and SP mode PRO Low Light for ISO 1600).

Is there a difference between EXR SN mode and selecting M image format instead of L ?

If there is one it is very subtle, basically no difference.

Is SN picture mode significantly better than L image format / HR on image noise ?

I did a test at night, taking at the same shutter speed pictures at 5 Mpix SN and 10 Mpix:

5 Mpix SN mode ISO 800 1/4 s

10 Mpix HR mode ISO 800 1/4 s

5 Mpix SN mode ISO 1600 1/4 s

10 Mpix HR mode ISO 1600 1/4 s

Honestly I don't see much difference, perhaps 10 Mpix L pictures have somewhat less details than 5 Mpix EXR SN picture which are more grainy.

Of course at 100% 10 Mpix pictures are somewhat more noisy, but when resized at the same size I find 10 Mpix pictures is as good or even better than 5 Mpix ones. I have included the full pictures, just look for yourselves and decide if it's better or worse.

The well lit ISO test above includes HR mode besides F30 pictures that show that HR is even better on noise than SN mode on that scene.

That might mean it's better to always shoot at high resolution whenever possible.

What about Pro Low Light mode ?

Here is a ISO 1600 SN picture:

5 Mpix SN ISO 1600 1/4 s

The same picture in Pro Low Light Mode:

5 Mpix Pro Low Light ISO 1600 1/4 s

The quality is very good, basically it allows ISO 1600 pictures to be around the same quality as ISO 400 ones:

5 Mpix SN ISO 400 1 s

You can win 2 stops for night scenes with Pro Low Light mode. The drawback is that the subject must not be moving and that you should hold the camera very still.

For a better lit scene what are the results ?

Note: you can click on the picture to view the original picture

5 Mpix SN ISO 1600 1/105 s

The same picture in Pro Low Light Mode:

5 Mpix Pro Low Light ISO 1600 1/120 s - don't know why it zooms slightly, must be the processing

The quality is good, but the gain is lesser than with night scenes, it allows ISO 1600 pictures to be around the same quality as ISO 800 ones in this case:

5 Mpix SN ISO 800 1/52 s

The 400 ISO pictures is significantly better:

5 Mpix SN ISO 400 1/26 s

So one or two stop advantage with the pro low light mode depending on the available light.

Conclusion

F70EXR is a good all rounder camera with good image quality, colors, and a great 27-270 mm zoom range. Just a pity it overexposes by default, and that high ISO is not that good anymore.

TO BE COMPLETED

Compared to the F200EXR

Pros:
– 27 mm instead of 28 mm. Wide-angle distorsion don't seem worse than F200EXR to my eyes.
– Tele at 270 mm instead of 140 mm. I thought I didn't care but it is really impressive. With digital zoom it goes up to 1080 mm !
– IS is better, 1/6 s is possible instead of 1/13 s with F200EXR
– Far better zoom control, very smooth and not drunken like F200EXR
– New Pro Low Light mode which gives really a very significant difference for non moving subjects - ISO 1600 pictures are same quality as ISO 400 pictures
– Faster focus, I use the camera a lot to take pictures of items at near range (for my web pages), unlike the F200EXR, it focuses on them at a tele where there are less lens distorsion. As good as my old F30.
– LCD screen is better, more resolution (same but smaller), seems brighter with better viewing angles
– Ergonomics is better, with the wheel on an edge, an extended braille area, and buttons further apart.
– The camera is more beautiful like a sleek piece of metal with rounded corners
– Zoom can be used during video (with a slight zap sound recorded)
– Instead of a bulky Video + USB cable we have two separate cables (unfortunately USB cable is still not standard)

Cons:
– Pretty bad purple fringing and chromatic aberrations whereas it all but disappeared on the F200EXR
– Somewhat overexposes - could do with -1/3 to -2/3 permanent exposure correction - fortunately the camera keeps the correction even after switching off (but it does not apply for auto mode)
– White balance has moved back in Menu page 2 instead of F Menu which is less convenient for me as well as DR mode and JPEG quality
– Slightly slower operation (moving between menus items, more keypresses to change settings with the dedicated buttons)
–

SN mode for high ISO is overrated, seems to bring no benefit compared to HR or 10 Mpix mode. Seems to lose about 1/2 stop quality compared to F200EXR which translates to 1.5 stop quality loss compared to F30.
– Video sound seems worse than F200EXR, always some background noise
– Video is as bad or even worse at low-light than F200EXR (F30 low light video is far better)

other cons which are not a problem for me:

– LCD is slightly smaller (2.7 inches versus 3 inches)
– 5 Mpix instead of 6 Mpix (or 10 Mpix instead of 12 Mpix)
– No XD-Card support anymore

To be tested:
– Image quality
– LCD in bright light

If my new F70EXR was stolen, will I buy a F200EXR or a F70EXR ?

I think I'll buy an F70EXR, after all the pros and cons, the real con which bothers me in the end being the overexposure of 1/3 to 2/3 which gives me additional work (I'm more point and shoot) - the 1/2 stop ISO quality I lose is more than compensated by 1 stop I win thanks to better IS and 27 - 270 mm zoom range.

Compared to F30

Pros:
– Wide angle and long zoom from 27 mm to 270 mm
– Very good image quality with correct high ISO quality
– Good color and useful film modes
– 10 Mpixels mode even with high ISO
– effective IS, you win around 2 stops
– Pro Low light mode, you win around 1.5 stops (but the subject must be still)
– Menus are in improvement from F30 (keep settings in different modes, better auto mode with ISO and film settings, more AUTO ISO modes)
– DR modes
– SD Card up to 16 Go for more than 5000 pictures!
– Better slimmer design

Cons:
– high ISO is more noisy than F30, you lose about 1.5 stops
– very average battery life compared to F30
– horrible video modes
– lens has distorsion at wide angle, it is better to zoom a little, for example for portraits
– a slighty worse LCD than F30

The F30 is still extraordinay, the ISO test shows how far above other cameras it is for high ISO, almost two stops from the F70EXR.

Unfortunately I don't now if such a pocket camera will ever be made again, so I'll keep my F30. It's the first time I keep the previous camera when upgrading to a new one, most of the time I sell the old one or give it to family

Useful Links

My Fuji Finepix Real 3D W3 Camera review 3D digital camera with two lenses and 3D screen !

My Fuji Finepix F200EXR Review

My Fuji Finepix F30 Review

My Fuji Finepix F11 Review

Fuji F70 EXR Owner's manual

Dpreview Fujitalk forum

DCResource Fuji F70EXR Review DCResource has always been my favorite digital camera review site - and he has reached the same conclusion on the absence of benefit of SN mode

Electronista F70 review

Digicam Review F70 review

Yet another MacOSX EEEPC installation

Phi — 2009-08-11T14:01:20Z

I bought an Asus EEEPC 900HA and tried to install MacOSX Leopard on it (one of my favorite computer hobby).

TO BE COMPLETED

Web Camera

The webcam shipped with my EEEPC 900HA doesn't work under MacOSX (Genesys model).

Only solution was to salvage an EMPIA 0.3 mpix webcam from a EEEPC 701 and replace the original Webcam.

Other 0.3 mpix or 1.3 mpix from other laptops might fit but they are from so different shapes and sizes that's it's really a bet if you cannot try before buying (ex: buying spare parts from Ebay).

Original Wifi Card

Couldn't make it work even with Kismet method (at least found some networks).

Had to replace it with a Dell Broadcom 1394 one, and void the warranty as you must dissassemble the whole laptop to do this.

I tried a Dell 9324 Wifi n card also, didn't work under MacOSX or Windows (before I put some tape on it to avoid shortcut the 900HA would not even start).

VGA Mirror

VGA output works under MacOSX but not under mirror mode.

Don't check System Preferences/Display/Arrangements Mirror Displays checkbox or both screens will become garbled when you plug-in an external monitor.

I did it by mistake, and the only way I could correct it is blindly uncheck back Mirror Displays which means:
– unplug external monitor and open System Preferences / Display
– plug and unplug the external monitor, display will be garbled but you'll have a peek of the position of Arrangement tab on which you have to blindly click
– move cursor to Arrangement tab, then click with external monitor plugged in, if it's ok display should sort of change
– click blindly at the area where the Mirror Displays checkbox should be, if you click on it the screen will restore automatically (phew!)

When you use an external display, it might not show anything because the selected resolution is too high for the GMA950 (ex: 1920x1080). Just click on Gather Windows or add Monitors on task bar and choose another resolution for the second screen.

It is possible to use an applescript to uncheck the Mirror Display, unfortunately, the Arrangement tab only appears when the VGA output is plugged - you need to run the program without seeing anything.

Low battery

The problem on my hackintosh is that it would turn off, after low battery warning and not go into sleep (not enough power left).

I used a sleep program to shut the computer to sleep at 4% of battery which gives you a maximum of 4 hours to find a power supply (battery loses around 1% per hour under sleep versus 1% per two minutes under normal usage).

Sound output

Even with VoodooHDA, I couldn't get automatic sound output switching when I plugged headphones.

AppleScript is very powerful and with the following script you can toggle the sound output:

tell application "System Preferences"
activate
set current pane to pane id "com.apple.preference.sound"
tell application "System Events"
tell process "System Preferences"
tell window 1
tell tab group 1
click radio button "Output"
if (selected of row 1 of table 1 of scroll area 1)
then
set selected of row 2 of table 1 of scroll area 1 to true
else
set selected of row 1 of table 1 of scroll area 1 to true
end if
end tell
end tell
end tell
end tell
quit
end tell

Unfortunately, AppleScript is language dependent so you must change the paramaters to your language translation if it's not english.

The AppleScript can be saved after as an Application (check only Run Only) and then run with a keyboard shortcut with Spark (for example Alt F6).

3 3G internet dongle

I was in London and rented a 3G internet dongle from 3 internet provider. The drivers supplied with the dongle didn't work on my hackintosh: the device was not detected.

It was a Huawei E220 dongle so I used the drivers at their site.

How did I get the drivers on the internet when my dongle for connection on internet didn't work ? Well, I just booted under Windows XP which I kept, the Windows XP drivers were already embedded on the dongle. To add insult to injury, I couldn't download the drivers with Firefox as some side panel hid precisely the download links - I had to use internet explorer.

The right drivers are E220 Client Software MACHOSTB023D01SP00C03, on iso format, you have to double click on them to open the CD and install the drivers.

After that configuration was easy, just launch MobileConnect and put 3internet as Access Point Name and *99# as phone number. The driver is nice because it gives you information on total traffic (3 internet offers have a ceiling of 1 Gb or 15 Gb). Each time it connects it will ask you for administrative password, even modifying the applications rights and ownerships won't change it.

DSDT

I had a hard time cracking DSDT on my Asus EEEPC 900HA. I couldn't do it in all my trial installation, and had pretty much given up on it.

More specifically: the windows utility which extracts dsdt.aml from bios had lots of errors, even on the modded bios. And dsdt.aml made from the Mac side never worked, and of course none of the dsdt.aml files downloadables from the internet, mostly for other EEEPC models.

I learned so much on dsdt:
– the dsdt file is specific on the model and won't work on another
– moreover, the dsdt file is specific on the version of the bios, a dsdt file made under 0803 bios would only work under 0803 bios, not on another version. Lastly, it is specific to your machine, as same EEEPC can have different manufacturer parts, especially true for Asus computers.

So what I did is:
– use the modded bios 0803 from OSX cores
– boot under MacOSX, use DSDT GUI Patcher to produce a dsdt.aml (I checked the new HPET option, but I think it's not necessary)
– reboot with dsdt.aml on root partition (I use PCI V9 Chameleon 1.0.12 with DSDT patch). You should have roughly the same machine (brightness buttons work).
– reflash with non modded 0803 bios.

Now your computer should work OK under MacOSX with the added benefit of not crashing under sleep under Windows XP or Windows Seven if you have changed your Wifi card.

I provide here my dsdt.aml, but it will only work if you have a 900HA with 0803 bios built with the same parts as my 900HA ...

Pack DSDT 900HA

Syslogd running amok

On my 900HA, shortly after I fixed the DSDT, the CPU usage shot to 100%. At first I thought it was something related to ACPI, and VoodooPower.kext, but it was still 100% after going back to the old modded bios.

Somehow syslogd was running amok and console was very slow because of it, the 900HA was slow and more importantly was eating the battery very quickly.

After many trials and errors, I managed to fix it. First turn syslogd off with:

sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.syslogd.plist

(killing it under System monitor and it will just respawn)

Then delete the asl.db and system.log which have become very large

sudo rm -R /var/log/asl.db
sudo rm -R /var/log/system.log

Optimal Distribution

Optimal distribution is iAtkos 1.0ir2 Intel only which is based on 10.5.1.

Conclusion

What works:
– video with Quartz Extreme and Core Image and brightness shortcut control
– ethernet
– sleep
– full keyboard including foreign keylayout
– trackpad with multitouch
– USB
– wifi with installation of a new Broadcom Wifi card (Dell 1394)
– camera with installation of a new EMPIA camera (from EEE PC 701)
– power button
– SDHC card reader
– extremely stable (never has a kernel panic)

What doesn't work:
– disabling of touchpad when typing (disabling click only would be a huge improvement)*
– deep sleep (except under 10.5.6)*
– 10.5.6 or later with sufficient stability (prevents using Safari 4 or iLife 09)
– third button mouse configuration for right click instead of second button
– automatic switch of audio when headphones are plugged
– VGA mirror mode

I only really miss the two first *.

TO BE COMPLETED

Useful links

Macosxhints thread on Syslogd

AppleScript Audio Output Switcher from Oreilly

Fuji Finepix F200EXR Review: first impressions

Phi — 2009-04-12T19:00:46Z

For a long period I have been happy with my Fuji Finepix F30 camera and no new camera caught my interest which was quite unusual because I have always been somehow unhappy wih my previous cameras. Here comes the Fuji F200EXR, how does it compares ?

THIS REVIEW IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION - ONLY FIRST IMPRESSIONS FOR NOW

Context

Fuji Finepix F30

The Fuji Finepix F30 was almost perfect. The picture quality was really extraordinary, both for low ISO outdoors pictures or high ISO indoors pictures. I think my best photos have been taken with my F30, very good colors and details, but still natural (unlike Kodak cameras or Sony).

For me, the main drawbacks of the Fuji F30 were the following:
– wide angle at 36 mm was not wide enough
– you have to set manual settings to have good photos with this camera. And it's not always easy (for example no AUTO ISO (800) setting with the F30 unlike the F31fd)
– good photos with flash are difficult with this camera, whereas photos without flash are not always possible as there is no IS system on the F30

Where to buy Fuji Finepix F200EXR ?

So I was interested when I learned about the new F200EXR, which includes a high iso and low noise 6 MP SN mode which might match the quality of the F30 or F31fd.

As of today, April 12th 2009, the Fuji F200EXR is still not available in France, and was listed at about 330 - 350 euros and only the black one seems to be available for pre-order.

Since March I have been holding out waiting for its availability, but in the end of March I couldn't wait any longer and ordered my silver F200EXR from Japan for around 275 euros, which was more expensive than other offerings in Hong Kong for example (as low as 230 euros), as silver F200EXRs seem only available from Japan ebay sellers for now.

A small parcel from Japan

What's inside ?

I received it around 10 days later which was average, (had to sent several emails to the seller to speed up the process, Hong Kong sellers are shipping it faster with bonuses). I expect French import duties will follow in addition to the 275 euros paid.

F200EXR box is small

The box received was very small, I was surprised about how small it was.

The main contents of the box are the following:
– the Fuji Finepix F200EXR camera
– 1000 mAh NP-50 battery
– wristband
– battery charger
– USB and video cable (proprietary F200EXR connector)
– software and small manual

Contents

Fortunately I could set the camera to english instead of Japanese, and the F200EXR manual is available in French or English on the internet.

The important things are the following:
– there is no memory card provided with the camera
– the USB cable is proprietary and is less practical as the F30 one because it includes video which means it's quite bulky
– the battery is of far smaller capacity than the F30 one: 1000 mAh versus 1800 mAh

F200EXR and its older brother

On the camera build:
– I prefer silver one because the black one has silver barrel as well as silver plating so it is not uniform black. In theory, silver cameras could make better photos as black cameras are more prone to heating (and associated hot pixels).

It fits in my old Concord Eye-Q bluetooth camera pouch

– It is around the same size and shape as the F30, a little slimmer but larger, but I really think it's more uglier as its design is less balanced than the F30.

I was desperate to charge it, I didn't have an adaptator for Japan mains to Euro mains - I just put it in direct contact to the mains outlet

At last an euro mains adaptator, I had to find it on internet for 2,49 euros because I needed one without a rim for it to fit

Battery

Battery life is pretty bad:
– 2 bars out of 3 after 176 photos
– 1 bar out of 3 after 182 photos
– empty after 213 photos

My F30 managed 572 photos, which was boosted to 693 photos when I lowered the LCD brightness by one notch.

In summary when you have 2 bar out of 3 you can count only on around 30 more photos as it goes down very quickly after that.

Battery charging seems to take 3 hours which is quite a lot for that small battery.

On the second run, with LCD brightness lowered by one notch, I managed to take 238 photos, an 11% improvement. I think it is worth it as LCD is not that great to start with anyway.

Third run: 241 photos, I guess it's the best we can have with the standard battery.

I have bought a long life battery on Ebay: 1400 mAh versus 940 mAh.

It is a Kodak Klick K7004 replacement battery

It's written 1400 mAh on the battery

Unfortunately, it only goes up to 215 photos with LCD brightness lowered by one notch which means it is 10% less efficient than the standard one when it should have been 48% more efficient and yield 350+ photos. It is consistent with the charging time which is less than 2 hours.

I have another, perhaps this one would be better but I don't bet on that, that's ebay for you.

For the second battery, only goes up to 173 photos, 26% less efficient.

Memory Card

Start-up time with a 1 Gb type M XD Card are similar to my F30, around 2 seconds which is OK.

Start-up time with a SanDisk Ultra II 16 Gb SDHC card is still around 2 seconds, moreover image reviewing seems to be up to twice faster than XD Card - so switching to SDHC is recommended. The Sandisk card speed is 15 Mbps read, 9 Mbps write.

First pictures

All pictures are at 6 Mpixels unless stated otherwise.

Sephora Get Nude french advert (ISO 400 1/450s)

H&M french advert (ISO 400 1/300s shade WB and Velvia film)

French restaurant starter: croustillant de chÃ¨vre et ricotta, tomates confites basilic et mesclun dâ€™hiver, sorbet fraÃ®cheur au poivron rouge et piment dâ€™Espelette (ISO 400 1/7 s, it was delicious 8-))

Painting, beautiful paintings in this shop but very expensive (ISO 400 1/420s shade WB and Velvia film)

Statue at Church (12 Mpixels ISO 400 1/420s)

Angel, the IS of the F200EXR really works (ISO 1600 1/8s)

Inside Church, some purple fringing, IS (ISO 400 1/6s)

Place, impressive on details (12 Mpixels ISO 200 1/350s)

Marriage store, nice reflections of Saint Augustin church on the window (ISO 100 1/280s)

All around, not bad results, but you have to use manual settings to get good pictures from this camera.

Operating the F200EXR

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Auto ISO

Tube picture (ISO 1600, 1/120s)

The camera picked ISO 1600 and shutter speed of 1/120s, wholly unnecessary.

Tube picture, manual settings (ISO 400, 1/20s)

At ISO 400 and 1/20s the picture is good enough, I believe I could have lowered shutter speed to 1/10s with no problem thanks to the IS.

The F200EXR boosts ISO unnecessarily and to have the best pictures you must manually set ISO or maximum ISO.

I believe that the ISO can be set to Auto ISO (400) for most pictures, inside or outside, as long as the subject is not moving.

Is there a difference between 6Mpix Program and EXR SN mode ?

I was disappointed on F200EXR ISO 800 performance compared to the F30 (see next paragraph), so I hoped at first that it was because I used 6 Mpix Program mode instead of EXR SN mode.

Kitchen ISO 800 EXR SN mode

Kitchen ISO 800 6Mpix program mode

Unfortunately I don't see any significant difference between the two modes, I don't even know anymore if I didn't mix the two pictures. In doubt you can still use EXR SN mode and hope it is somewhat better but I really can't tell the difference

I have taken other pictures in the two modes, and the ones taken with EXR SN mode have the SN logo when reviewed in the camera whereas the ones at Program 6Mpix mode don't. So for the camera it's not the same so perhaps one should stick to EXR SN mode in case it's better.

White balance

I find the white balance somehow better than the F30 (less cold). However, as for the F30 you can set the white balance to shade for a warmer picture, which might be better than Velvia film setting which is a bit too much.

Film Mode

Standard film mode

Astia film mode: supposed to be softer but the colors are actually more saturated than standard

Velvia film mode: a bit too much

There is a program error in the camera: the Astia soft film mode is actually more saturated than standard, they must have switched Astia and Standard film mode. Because of this, the best setting for my tastes is Astia film mode which should be selected by default.

Flash

There is a major problem with flash pictures:

Reddish shadows around Vittel bottle, Ducros garlic, salt and coffee cups

I think it is more obvious in this crop: around the arm, the Coca Cola bottle, the glass and the tropicana orange juice

All flash pictures have a red shadow around items which looks unnatural. It is far worse around people: it means that flash is basically unusable with the F200EXR.

I hope that my F200EXR is a lemon and that it is not a problem with the position of the flash and the color of the flash. Unfortunately, as I have bought it in Japan with no international warranty, that means I won't be able to exchange it for another camera.

According to Noam Daguerre on dpreview forum:

No lemon. When using flash, camera defaults to color balance for xenon light which is very blue like daylight. Shadows (areas not lit by the flash) are reddish because lit by warn artificial light. Bet it doesn't happen when the ambient light is from a window rather than a light fixture. An easy fix when it does happen? Sorry, can't think of one.

Flash and artificial light

Flash, no artificial light: black shadows

The answer must be correct: without artificial light, the shadows are black and looks natural.

Slow flash and artificial light: reduced effect

I guess the effect is so strong because the F200EXR flash is somewhat stronger than average and/or the default white balance is too blue (which I have already noticed on outdoors pictures). The only way to soften a little the effect is to use slow flash which weaken a bit the flash - for me it's simple: no flash indoors, as with the F30.

TO BE COMPLETED

How it compares against the F30 ?

Obviously, I just bought it to replace my Fuji F30, so what interests me is the simple following question: can I replace my F30 or the new F200EXR ?

On image quality:

F200EXR Kitchen ISO 800 EXR SN mode 1/70s

F30 Kitchen ISO 800 1/80s

– sorry, no contest here, my opinion is the F30 ISO 800 setting is around the same quality of the F200EXR 6 Mpix high ISO setting of 400. Please note however that the F30 is different from the F31fd where noise is less smoothed out, so perhaps the overall quality is the same, but as I prefer the picture to be smoothed at the expense of details. In my mind F30 ISO 800 = F200 EXR ISO 400.
– more bad news: the aperture for the F200EXR is 3.3 whereas the aperture of the F30 2.8. For me it seems almost as I lose another stop because of this (ie I could take a picture in 1/15 s at ISO 400 with F30 whereas with the F200EXR I should take it at 1/15 s at ISO 800 or at 1/8 s at ISO 400)
– so somehow with the F200EXR I almost lose two stops compared to the F30

but

thanks to the F200EXR IS, I find I could easily win back the two stops loss: ie I can take a picture at 1/8 s or 1/4 s whereas it would have been blurred at 1/30s or 1/20s with the F30.

So all in one I can have the same picture quality as my F30 with my F200EXR as long as my subject is not moving too fast (great for adults, still life or landscape), that's not too bad.

I have found I can even do indoors pictures without flash if the subject is still enough, which I could not do with the F30 in some cases.

From 2.8 to 3.3 the loss is one third to one half stop, not one full stop, however more often than not it means going from ISO 400 to ISO 800.

Other cons:
– video with the F200EXR is horrible (really horrible). I don't care about HD or stuff like that, but the video doesn't seem to use the high ISO capability of the F200EXR unlike the F30, so for the same video: F30 seems to use F30 ISO 800 which is silky smooth, F200EXR seems to use bad mobile phone ISO which gives *lots* of noise (I guess that's the two stops loss I told you about on image quality). On bright daylight outside it might not be so noticeable, but indoors I think it's unusable.
– LCD quality is worse: the resolution is supposed to be the same, but it looks higher on the F30, moreover visible angles are really narrower on the F200EXR which means on bright daylight you don't see much.
– the USB dongle is bulkier because it includes the video cable
– battery life is far lower (see contents)
– I don't like the external battery charger which is bigger than the camera, I prefer the camera charger which would have been even more necessary due to the short battery life (ie need to wait for the battery to recharge to download photos for example)
– the camera is prone to accidental start-ups
– the camera is uglier (see contents)

Some pros:
– image quality can be equivalent to F30 thanks to IS
– Wide angle at 28 mm is great and is a very significant advantage to F30, even if barrel distorsion at the wide angle is noticeable
– 12 mega pixels pictures are great when you can shoot at low ISO
– EXR setting basically gives me an additional customized setting in addition to P mode and Auto mode. Moreover coming from F30 gives me an additional AUTO ISO (800) mode which is useful
– Face detection which was not included in the F30 (however it seems to miss around half of the faces on average)
– SD card can be used (no more waiting for the ultimate 4 GB XD Card!).

Conclusion

Pros:
– Wide angle
– Very good image quality with fair high ISO quality
– Good color and useful film modes
– 12 Mpixels mode useful at low ISO
– DR modes
– IS
– Menus are in improvement from F30 (white balance in F menu, keep settings in different modes)
– SD Card up to 16 Go for 5280 pictures!

Cons:
– very average battery life
– lens has distorsion at wide angle, it is better to zoom a little, for example for portraits
– bad LCD, worse than F30, almost unusable under sunlight
– high ISO is more noisy than F30
– horrible video modes
– flash balance is a little too blue (which means shadows are red with indoors light)

TO BE COMPLETED