Finally got the chance to go out and shoot some portraits with the Sony 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G SSM out that Chung Hom Kok today. Weather a bit overcast but still managed to take some decent pics. Click the following pics for a larger pic.
1/400sec, F5.6, ISO 800, Lens Focal Length 300mm
1/320sec, F5.6, ISO 800, Lens Focal Length 300mm
Some test pics I took with the Sony 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G SSM. Click pic for full picture view. They are not the best test pics, but hope it can give you some insights as to how the lens perform.
@ 300mm, 1/60 sec at F5.6
@70mm, 1/100 sec at F4.5
Woot, the long-awaited SONY 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G SSM lens finally arrived here in Hong Kong last night and I got mine this morning. Initial feeling, light, way lighter than I anticipated. Price is HK$5,480 (US$703)(cash price, EPS would incur additional 1% service charge) at Citicall. For now, let’s look at some pics (included measurement comparisons), enjoy.
Posted some test pics up, link here.
In my previous post, ASUS Eee PC 900 Launch Imminent, I linked up some pics from an unboxed article (dated 12 April) from XEPC.org where they showed that the battery capacity of the ASUS Eee PC 900 was at 5,200mAh.
In an even earlier article from one of the top local computer magazine (dated 15 April), PCMarket, it showed a higher capacity battery at 5,800mAh (PCMarket clarified on the 19 April that ASUS will be shipping the 4,400mAh battery instead, strange it showed a 7.2V output, seems like it’s from the Eee PC 701 instead)).
But in fact, this is what you’ll be getting out of the first batch of the ASUS Eee PC 900 launched in Hong Kong on the 19 April, a 4,400mAh battery.
Wow, what a trip to Singapore, will do a wrap up on that later tonight. While I was gone, ASUS Hong Kong launched the ASUS Eee PC 900 (Linus version) and the first batch was on sale yesterday. As I got back late last night (around 3:00am), I got a message that mine was ready for pick up today.
Okay, some pics for now and I’ll follow up with a more detail review in a few hours. If you have any questions, just post it up here and I’ll include them in the review.
[26 March] My iPod been running out of juice a lot lately as I’ve been watching quite a bit of video podcast on it and it really drains the battery fast. That was pretty frustrating until my sister got me the PowerMonkey mobile charger from PowerTraveller on her way back from San Francisco (at the airport). This charger comes with -
1 x PowerMonkey Unit
1 x Universal Mains adaptor
Adaptor for Nokia and Mini Nokia, Motorola V66, Samsung E900, Siemens C25 and Sony Ericsson wide connector
1 x Mini USB for Motorola Razr V series, Blackberry and Bluetooth headsets
1 x Direct iPod adaptor
1 x USB smart phones, PDA and other devices
1 x Connector for Sony PSP and most digital cameras
1 x Black travel pouch
The capacity of the PowerMonkey is 2200mAh, although less than the Tekkeon myPower Go MP1500 I have, the included iPod connector sure comes in handy (never order the iPod connector from Tekkeon). Another great thing about the charger is that it could hold its charge without leakage for up to 6 months. The PowerMonkey is available on ExpanSys, link here.
[Updated: 3 April] Turned out that the iPhone/iPod charger that came with the PowerMonkey did not work with my iPod Touch. Sent a email to the manufacturer (info@powertraveller.com) last week and they replied that Apple had recently changed their charging connections and because of that, a new connector tip with a new chip was developed and they promised to send me one for free.
Finally got the new tip today and Voila, it works. Just in time for my Singapore trip in 2 weeks. Read more »
Major overhaul over at the Phooey Tech Hole is underway and posts will be slow the coming few days. Elements adding to the current My Gears line -
Will post some before and after pics on the Tech Hole later.
Got the all new HTC Touch Cruise for almost week and instead of doing yet another unboxing piece on the phone, I want to look at the phone in another perspective, one from a power user.
As you all remember, I lost my iPhone on Christmas Eve and the one great thing I missed about the iPhone is the ultra-fast user interface and the iPod functions on it as podcasts takes up a big chunk of my daily life. For the month without the iPhone, I have to go back to my HTC Touch, which I found to be sluggish in terms of speed and even with the TouchFlo interface. One thing that I appreciates is having the instant sync capabilities with my Microsoft Exchange account and that is the thing that I truly missed while using the iPhone.
Okay, on to the HTC Touch Cruise. For HK$5,580 (US$715), I bought the HTC Touch Cruise the second day after it was launched. The outlook is sweet, the mirror finish on the surface is stylish and elegant (unlike the HTC Touch’s cheap plastic feel).
The buttons and the jog wheel are very sensitive and gives a good feel when pressing or scrolling. Onto the processor, in terms of speed or movie playback, one can feel the lag, not much, but enough for one to wonder why HTC can’t offer a better processor for this top-notch phone. However, when compare with the HTC Touch, the HTC Touch Cruise is considered much faster and it is acceptable. The second generation TouchFLO is a bit smoother and faster than the previous version and the incorporation of the technology to the picture album is just awesome, I just love how the pictures can be zoomed in and out and rotates.
The phone comes with a FM radio and the headphone, which function also as an antenna, would be needed in order for it to work. However, the radio reception and sound quality of the headphones that came with the phone are just purely unacceptable. Couple posts on the local forums indicated that previous HTC headphones of older phone models (those with the mini-usb jack) gives better radio reception and produce much better sound quality. Another solution is to look for those generic headphones with a mini-usb jack, chances are, they’re still better than the one that came with the phone.
As for the battery, well, disappointing is all I have to say. I can easily half drain the battery (1,350 mAh) within a 24-hour period with no Bluetooth and no WiFi on, 20+ short phone calls, 40+ incoming mail and messages, and without accessing any other programs. Can’t imagine what it would be like if I start listening to music on it or reading my RSS feeds off it.
The 3.0 mega pixels camera is weak, don’t expect to take any great pics off it. However, the VGA CMOS camera on the front gives very crisp picture during the video calls. I tested it with my Motorola and LG video phones and the video quality off the HTC Touch Cruise is very good, not much lag at all.
All in all, the HTC Touch Cruise is a decent upgrade to the HTC Touch (much along the same line as the HTC Touch Dual), but in terms of value for money, I would say not. For almost US$100 more than the HTC Touch Dual, I don’t see much extras the HTC Touch Cruise really had to offer. Of course WiFi, FM radio and video call capabilities are cool to have but only if deemed necessary. If I get to choose again, I might just go for the HTC Touch Dual (that one have a pretty nice keypad).
Check out the following pics for more.
When it comes to router, used to think it’s just a router box with some indicator lights up front and couple antennas sticking out in the back. Not until I got the Beikin N1 Vision router back in October that I realized that a router could be that sleek and sexy. The N1 Vision have that awesome black piano finish and the LED display provides you with useful information such as
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On Chinese New Year Day, 7 February 2008, The Police will be performing live for one show at The Venetian in Macao. Tickets starts from MOP$600 to MOP$1,200 (equivalent to HK$). For ticketing information, click here for the link.
Further to my last post, Plantronics Voyager 855AIQ iPod Limited Edition (works for iPhone too), I finally got hold of the Plantronics Voyager 855AIQ Bluetooth headset. Will be showing some unboxing pics and share with you all some of my insights after using it for 36 hours.
The specification
Weight: 15 grams with stereo cable
Pairing: QuickPair™ technology for one-touch initial pairing
Controls: Volume, microphone mute, call answer /end, voice-activated dialing, last number redial1, track forward/back, pause/play
Range: Up to 33 feet (10 meters)
Wireless Compatibility: Bluetooth (v2.0) + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) Compatible with most Bluetooth enabled phones from LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and others.
Profiles: A2DP, AVRCP Headset (HSP v1.1) and Hands-free (HFP v1.5)
Power: Lithium Polymer rechargeable battery
Battery life: Up to 7 hours talk time /6 hours stereo listening/160 hours standby time from a single charge
Read more »
Following my last post, My Take, iPhone vs HTC Touch, I’ve been switching back and forth on both phones. While I really like iPhone’s user interface, watching video podcast and the SMS thread, I can’t really deal with its size and the fact that I have to use the headphones that came with it (hate dangling wires). Most importantly, I missed (or need) the ability to sync with my Outlook Exchange constantly. That’s the main reason why I’m switching back to my HTC Touch albeit its slow speed (will probably check out the HTC Dual). My iPhone meanwhile is turning into an iPod Touch.
While on the subject, check out the following related posts -
HTC Touch vs iPhone, Part 1 (from WMExperts); and
HTC Touch vs. iPhone, Part 2: Video Smackdown (from WMExperts) (25 minutes video included)
Will be moving next month to the new apartment (hopefully, the renovation project is already 3 weeks behind). In the midst of packing, I have decided to sell off some of my gears, gears which I treasured and are all in great condition. First off, I’m selling my SONY UX27GN which I obtained back in May this year. I figured I will offer it to my readers first before posting it on eBay. The UMPC is still under warranty for another six months from Sony Hong Kong. Email me at gadget@hkphooey.hk if you are interested (I do have a reserve price, but please don’t ask, just offer me whatever you can afford or think is reasonable). Click here to see the specs.
Well, been playing around with the iPhone for a couple days and I believed I’ve covered most of the applications on-board pretty well. Following is my take between the iPhone and the HTC Touch. Bear in mind I’m not going to delve into the music and PDA elements in terms of the two phones as it would do both phones unjust. The HTC Touch IS a PDA Phone and the iPhone is more of a quasi-iPod with phone capabilities.
HTC Touch
Size - OK, to start of with, the HTC Touch been with me since June and I love its small-size form factor so much that I gave up the Dopod 838 pro.
Speed - The on-board CPU is slow but I over-clocked it up to 247 MHz and it’s way better, speed-wise.
Interface - TouchFlo interface on accessing pics, music, videos / speed-dial and other useful applications. Swift in terms of the TouchFlo.
Push-mail - The one application that I use intensively is the Push-mail function, one which I cannot live without especially with the amount of mail coming in from my three other mail accounts. HTC Touch won here thumbs up.
Speed-dial - The speed-dial function via the TouchFlo can quickly access your nine frequent contacts. You can call, SMS, email any one of them in ONE go.
Notes and Inking - You can scribble just any notes in the Notes application or on the OneNote mobile application. Easy to use and no hassle whatsoever.
Calls - Easy access to speed dial or accessing others via the phonebook, again have the options to call, SMS or email in one go.
Today Screen - Fully customizable for one’s different tastes and needs.
Connectivity - Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and WiFi access. Unless you use a Bluetooth stereo headset, dangling the handsfree headphones could be a real pain. Worst thing is that the handsfree headphones have to use a mini USB jack.
Screen - Acceptable readability under direct sunlight but bright and crisp in indoors.
Camera - Hmm…the weak link. If you have a few applications opened, you’ll get that message that in order for the camera to work, you have to force-close all other applications. Quality-wise, mediocre.
Other pluses - Light indicators, orange for mail/message, blue for Bluetooth, green for normal.
