WhatsApp on Symbian - Beta

Woohoo! WhatsApp is now open for public beta for Symbian phones running Nokia S60 3rd or 5th edition. The App (no pun intended) is available free for 90 days, after which US$1.99 per year applies.

Eh, what's WhatsApp?

In a nutshell, it is an application originally developed for Blackberry to allow users to send messages to their peers with the same app via data platform without incurring SMS charges. The application soon developed for iPhone, and just this morning, the Symbian version is released for public beta. Android platform should follow suit pretty soon.

Although WhatsApp appears to be another instant messaging (IM) replacement, the app is exclusive to mobile devices and you use your mobile phone number (MSISDN) as the login identifier, so it's not possible to create multiple login accounts or login using a computer. In other words, you must already know your friend's mobile number before you can communicate with them via WhatsApp. For that, WhatsApp is more like a replacement to your regular SMS than an IM.

This review comes about in less than an hour of installation. Yes, I'm fond of giving instant reviews instead of spending days doing comprehensive tests and write a "formal" review. To me, it's always the first impressions that matters the most.

My review is based on my usage experience on Nokia E72 with v31.023 firmware.

WhatsApp is nicely integrated into my Symbian S60 3rd Edition phone. Upon installation, it will search your contacts and add those with WhatsApp to a "favourite" list. Whenever a message comes in, the phone will ring with the same notification tone as your phone message setting. A notification pop-up will appear at the same time, and if you missed all these notifications, a small icon will also appear at the notification bar.

Already, I have uncovered a bug, but since it's beta, I shall not bug on it.

What I wish for at this moment is that I could change the notification tone for WhatsApp instead of following the same tone I set for the phone messaging, so that I can distinguish between normal SMS and WhatsApp message. It can get rather irritating if friends send WhatsApp messages as if it was IM, then you could get multiple incoming replies and your phone would ring non-stop.

As of now, several advanced WhatsApp features are not ready for the Symbian platform:
- sharing of location
- images
- audio notes
- business cards

Visit www.whatsapp.com/download/ from your phone browser to install the app directly.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice: A Post Before I Catch the Movie

The first thing that came to my mind when I hear "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is the old cartoon where Mickey was the apprentice.

Next thing is I wondered if Disney Pictures is going to remake that cartoon scene-by-scene into an action movie.

I guess they are just using back the title and made it into a completely unrelated story.

And that is why I am blogging about it right now - so that I can win free tickets from Nuffnang to catch this movie and find out what it's all about!!

Everyone loves to create magic, to conjure something special, making impossible dreams become reality. That is what magic is all about, isn't it? If it was something that can be easily achieved, it wouldn't be magical.

So, if I were a sorcerer’s apprentice, I would use my powers to

1. Create content - music, novels, photos, paintings, web sites, whatever - just by thinking, and then the stuff would magically appear in front of me. Saves me time and effort to materialise the ideas in my head.

2. Make my loved ones and myself healthy and free from any physical deficiencies (especially someone I know who can't fulfill her dream because of that)

3. Travel from point A to B without the use of vehicles - save time, save money, save environment.

OK, I'm keeping to 3 items. That's how the laws of magic goes, ya. Everything is in threes.





Catch The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Movie starting from 22nd July 2010 and join the Walt Disney Studios Singapore official Facebook and Twitter page!

Iron Man Mark 3 Battle Damage 12-inch collector's figure

I recently added another item to my collection of toys and figures. When I buy a toy, an important criterion is that it must fully resemble the character on-screen. Most of the small Iron Man figures have terrible paint jobs and awful details that make the character look, well, disgusting. That explains the awe when I came across this Iron Man 12-inch figure at a hobby shop. I didn't know Iron Man figures of such details exist!!!

Iron Man Mark III is the "first" armour that Tony Stark wore for his battle against the villains (Mark 1 was the primitive bulky suit that led to Tony's escape from the terrorist. Mark 2 was the silver unpainted armour that Tony wore for his first test flight).

The one that I bought is called "Battle Damage", which reflects the state at the end of the movie while fighting Iron Monger. As such, this figure, unlike the other Iron Man variants (also produced by Hot Toys), has the following additional accessories:

- interchangeable chest armour
- interchangeable heads: one allowing the eyes to light up, the other allowing the front mask to be removed, revealing Tony's face
- an additional naked hand (Tony removed his armour glove during the movie when he thought he had defeated Iron Monger)
- a display stand modeled after the rooftop of the Arc Reactor building in the final battle scene, including cracked glasses
- details of scratches all around the armour figure (good thing, so I don't have to take extreme good care of the paint work)

(in some exclusive editions, the package even cos with a crushed helmet. Iron Monger crushed it at the final scene, leaving Tony's head exposed. I didn't get that because it was about $150 more expensive than this edition, not worth it)

What's amazing about this collector's figure is that it comes with numerous articulations and features in the armour that are faithful to the movie.

- light-up eyes, chest and palms
- removing the chest armour reveals internal details
- the face armour reveals internal details
- expendable wrist gauntlet as shield, as portrayed in the final battle scene
- micro munitions pod on both shoulders. He used it during his first battle scene when the terrorists held civilians hostage, the ammo locks only at the terrorists and fires with accuracy.
- countermeasure dispenser at the hips. He deployed it when fired upon by the 2 US planes chasing after him, and also at the final battle scene to temporarily blind Iron Monger.
- air flaps at the back of armour, as detailed as the movie.
- airbrake deployment system at the legs

The figure is built with plastic, metal and rubber, to allow flexibility of posing and still maintain faithfulness to the joint details.

I was actually contemplating between this figure and the Mark 4 version, worn by Tony in Iron Man 2. I like the movie look and toy design of Mark 4, which comes improved with torso articulation and movable fingers. But I like the playability of Mark 3 Battle Damage with more interchangeable accessories. Besides, Mark 4 is still in pre-order phase while Mark 3 Battle Damage is only made publicly available recently. If I were to wait a few more months, this version might be either out of stock or the value might have increased.

We can't blame the makers, Hot Toys, for the delay. It takes months to properly sculpt and develop such detailed figures, and more months to create the mould to mass produce. As of current, the Mark 5 (briefcase version) and Mark 6 (with the new triangular arc reactor chest) is still under development, and probably will reach mass production in 1-2 years. Hot Toys is also the licensee of several other movie collectible figures like Prince of Persia, Terminator, so they have a plate full of projects (and fans) to satisfy.

With much thought and procrastination, I decided to get this Mark 3 Battle Damage before it becomes unavailable.

Generally, I like the quality of the product. My few nitpicks:
- the chest armour colour is slightly darker than the rest of the body.
- the arm articulation is rather restrictive, so there are many poses that I cannot achieve.
- I cannot deploy the shoulder munitions pod unless I remove the armour.
- limited articulation at the hips.
- limited articulation at the neck. I would like the head to be able to tilt even higher so that I can do a pose of Iron Man flying.
- Tony looks "dead" with his eye levels permanently raised.
- naked hand is longer than the armour hand.
- I would love to have the feet soles to be lit up too.

My favourite parts of the figure would have to be the legs and the back. Apart from the details of the airbrake systems, the legs are designed such that the joints are movable and yet there are armour details to cover the ball joints. The back of the armour unfolds to reveal all the intricate mechanical details of the air flaps.

Analysing the design of this figure arouses my curiosity about how a real Iron Man suit could have allowed the wearer to move flexibly. Hot Toys have really made an effort to include all the armour details and yet giving room to allow articulation. And I am proud to own a piece of comic and movie history.

Understanding Lens Focal Length and Aperture for New DSLR and Hybrid Camera Users

New Digital SLR and Hybrid Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera owners take note: you are possessing a precision-engineered optical imaging device that gives you sharp focus on any object that you so choose. To master the use of these optical devices, you need to understand what the numbers on the lenses stand for and what they mean to you. After all, the purpose of owning these cameras is to be able to change lenses, but if you don't know what kind of lenses do what, then you wouldn't know what lenses you need to buy.

This article will not go into the technical details, but it should allow the novice to have a flavour of lenses. And if that triggers your curiosity, you can do more detailed research over the Internet or attend photography courses.

The 2 important attributes that make a lens are focal length and maximum aperture.

1. Focal Length
If you are a point-and-shoot compact camera user, you would probably just be concerned about the zoom factor (3x/5x/10x zoom). More camera makers also try to market the wide-angle lens feature like 24mm. With a wider-angle lens, you are able to see wider view without having to move too far back.

On the other extreme, when the focal length is very long, like 200mm, you can zoom-in to the subject without having to go too close-in. Great for shooting wildlife, or become a paparazzi. A handful of compact cameras have powerful zooms, to like 400mm. That would cost thousands of dollars on an equivalent DSLR lens.

The below is a table to describe the common uses for lenses of different focal lengths.

Do take note that the focal length described in all interchangeable lenses are the 35mm full-frame equivalent. On a Four-thirds system, you need to multiply by 2. On cameras using APS-C sensor, you need to multiply by 1.5. Therefore, an Olympus or Lumix lens with 20mm focal length will give you 40mm field of view, while the Samsung lens with 30mm focal length will give you 45mm field of view.

2. Aperture
Aperture determines the "brightness" of the lens, or commonly used to refer to the "speed" of the lens. The smaller the f-number, the brighter the lens. Here's a diagram to explain it all.

To determine what the biggest aperture size, look for the value next to "F" (e.g. F2.8), or next to "1:" (e.g. 1:2.8). If there are 2 values separated by a dash (e.g. 1:3.5-5.6), it means the aperture varies from the minimum focal length to the maximum focal length for zoom lenses. This varying aperture characteristic happens to most low-end lenses and compact cameras, simply because when the lens zooms in, the lens barrel extends and less light reaches the sensor.

From a price point, a large aperture size (i.e. small f-number) instantly translates to an expensive lens, with the exception of 50mm f/1.8, easily the cheapest lens for the aperture size. Even so, prices may vary for the same lens type among brands due to the lens quality.

Here's a simplified table showing the common aperture sizes you might find in different types of lenses.

Other lens information that are just as important:

- lens diamater (front): denoted by a letter o with a stroke  (⌀) followed by the number. This information is useful when you want to purchase lens filters. Buy the correct size so that you can screw the filter to the lens.

- lens mount (back): each lens is built with a lens mount for a specific camera brand or range of models. If in doubt, ask before buying. Third-party lens brands like Tokina or Tamron often manufactures different lens mounts for the same lens model (e.g. 28-70mm f/2.8), so be sure to buy the correct lens mount. Some mounts are specified by the type instead of the brand because the mount is used by several brands. For instance, Four-thirds, Micro Four-thirds, K-mount.

- choosing and testing lens (quality control during production): even with the same lens model, the sharpness may vary during factory assembly. As I mentioned, lens is a precision optic, so any misalignment will result in a less-than-stellar outcome. Some customers would test several lenses to select the sharpest. If you want to do the same, please go to those popular camera shops that lets you do that without qualms.

- lens care: you are recommended to at least buy a neutral filter (e.g. UV filter) to protect the front lens element so that the special lens coating would not get scratched by abrasions. Do not drop the lens, especially if the lens has a built-in image-stabilizer function, because the mechanism is highly sensitive. Do not get so uptight when you spot dust inside the lens, and there is no way to prevent this from happening over time, because the lens is not sealed (unless you never remove the lens from the camera body, which then defeats the purpose of an interchangeable lens system). Dust will NOT affect overall image quality.

Take heart that while you may upgrade your camera body to higher megapixels or improved high ISO quality, the function of the lens remains unchanged. Getting great lenses will last your for decades (and may even cost more than the camera body), so treat your lenses well. A word of caution: hybrid camera lenses are generally less durable than DSLR lenses, cost less, and are made of lighter plastic materials, so try not to man-handle them during shooting.


I hope this write-up provides you some useful info when determining what lenses you should get for what purpose (generally), why there are price differences among lenses, and how to take care of your lenses.

2 Japanese Buffet Restaurants

Last week I went to 2 Japanese buffet restaurants for a meal.

Kiseki, located at The Heeren, is priced only at $19.80++ on weekday lunches. It's kindda like a marketplace: the food is so-so. If you want to try Japanese food and is a big eater, make your way there and eat your fill, but bear in mind that it does not represent the ultimate taste and quality of true Japanese cuisine.

Above: my first round. Tempura is rather bland, the omelette is a little salty, the takoyaki (sotong balls) are edible if only it's pipping hot. And wow they have rosti  - eh, not Japanese ley, remnants of Marche?

Above: my colleague's plateful of sashimi and sushi. No comments, but certainly edible.

The following evening, my NS buddies met up at Kuishin Bo at Great World City. My, what a contrast! The spread is definitely more up-class. Well, at $39.90, the price certainly is too. I must say there are more authentic Japanese cuisine there, apart from the usual sashimi and sushi and tempura. There are even grilled food at the outdoor area. The layout is more restaurant-like, compared to the market-like setting at Kiseki. It's been a long time since I stuffed myself so hard over a meal,but it's worth it.

If you have a bigger budget and appetite, go for Kuishin Bo. If you just wanna wallop some Japanese-styled food for a fantastic value, Kiseki will not disappoint.

It's Timmy Time for Mayenne

Timmy Time is a spin off from the Shaun the Sheep animation which introduced the Timmy character, Shaun the Sheep itself a spin off from the Aardman Animation series Wallace & Gromit, which introduced the Shaun character.

Since the animation was broadcast on Playhouse Disney, Mayenne is hooked. There is no dialogue, just animal sounds, and that's the beauty of it. Even my mother-in-law can understand and would explain to Mayenne about the good and bad things that each character did during the 10-minute episode.

(Mayenne also likes "Special Agent Oso". Too bad, Disney did not manage to get any official merchandise produced to earn money off parents like me worldwide)

Personally, I have always been fascinated by the stop-motion animation technique perfected by Aardman since Wallace and Gromit. Like many less-popular cartoons, local retailers do not carry this toy, but it didn't take me long to find the toys to brighten my daughter's days over eBay. Fortunately, this cartoon was a hit in UK, the country of origin, so there are quite a few official products for me to choose, albeit limited variety. Within a week of order, they arrived safely in my mailbox.

I bought this set of posable figures from the animation (strange why only this 3 out of the 12 animals are available), which costs less than S$30 including shipment. Made of quality plastic. they look absolutely identical to the cartoon, something that pleases me a lot as a collector. The size is good for a 3-year-old, although I wonder if Timmy and Ruffy's ears can withstand Mayenne's rough hands. All the heads, limbs and tails are posable, but not the ears.

Mayenne couldn't keep her eyes and hands off the figures.

Did I also mention that she can sing the theme song already? Let's sing along!



Catch Timmy Time on StarHub Cable Channel 311 Playhouse Disney every weekday at 9am and 8pm.

Nokia E72 firmware update does not wipe your phone

Nokia's E72 firmware v31.023 is already out for months, but I did not do an update because past experience tells me the update will wipe everything off the phone and reset everything to factory defaults. But on a fateful day, I decided to go with the trend of all iPhone users as the new iOS4 is released.

Surprise, surprise. This latest update did not reset my phone. The firmware download of 130+MB took about 10 minutes, but the installation took just a couple of minutes. Initially I feared the update was aborted: after the phone was restarted, my phone looked the same: themes, shortcuts, contacts, messages, everything was intact. After exploring and some verification, I concluded that the firmware had indeed been updated, and a few new apps were added as part of the update. There were no discernible improvements on performance, although officially the update is supposed to fix known bugs and improve stability. I do find new minor bugs, but I can live with that.

Not sure if this update behaviour is consistent for all E72 users, so please backup your phone before doing the update. It would be a big bonus if your phone settings and apps remain intact. It's certainly a time saver.

With all the hype about new iPhone 4 and the numerous brands running on Android, plus the announcement of the new Nokia E5, I somehow rekindled my appreciation for my current E72 phone. It may not be as fancy or trendy or eye-catching or powerful like the competition, but it's a phone that works for me. And that's all that matters. iPhone does not work for me. iPad does. And I'm getting it when it's out in Singapore stores.