Mon 3 Nov 2008
mach-zehnderThe TTC would do well to learn from Hong Kong's MTR. Snapped this pic as I walked home past a MTR booth they setup at Tai Koo station.
99% train punctuality and escalator reliability. World class indeed. You'd be lucky in Toronto to have escalators working 50% of the time.
Wed 22 Oct 2008
I recently bought myself a Nokia N85 in Hong Kong as I need a 3G device that I can use globally. First impressions and a quick review below 
Nokia N85 Review
No responsibility is taken for any errors that maybe present in the review below. The information below is to the best of my knowledge only.
Introduction
The Nokia N85 is the latest phone in Nokia’s N Series lineup, and one that has been touted to be even better than its flagship sibling – the Nokia N96. My Nokia N85 arrived today and I’m having a hard time putting down this phone. It’s my first time writing a review, so excuse me if I’m not too clear in some areas.
Like the N95 and the N96, the N85 features a dual slide design. The screen is a 2.6” 16M OLED display, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. The phone ships with an 8GB microSD card, and mine came preloaded with the maps for Hong Kong. Additional maps are also available for download on from Nokia.
So, without further delay, let’s take a look at the N85.
Unboxing the N85
The box looks pretty standard – apologies for the poor pics taken with a Treo 680. The Nokia N85 comes with the standard stuff: CD, user guides, charger, as well as a USB cable and a video out cable. My version is a legit Hong Kong one. If you’re in Hong Kong, Broadway and Fortress should have it out by Monday for around $4780.
Build Quality
The N85 feels pretty good in your hand, and the dual slider feels firm and solid – much better than the N95, which felt more flimsy. It slides very smoothly and with just the right degree of resistance. No complaints in this area.
Features
The N85 runs the standard Symbian S60 operating system that you find on modern Nokia phones. The specs are fairly standard: 5 megapixel camera, accelerometer, WiFi, GPS, 3G, front facing camera for video calls, etc.
If you’re looking for internet calling, it uses a newer release of S60 (just like the N96) and thus does not come with the Nokia VoIP Internet Calling client. For me, this poses a lot of problems as I was originally planning to use this as my VoIP phone. An alternative would be to install an app like fring, but it is nowhere near as nice as the internal client. Nokia may or may not release an updated internet calling client in the future…who knows.
However, this phone has a lot of good features that’s well worth mentioning. The N85 is currently the only Nokia N Series phone with tri-band 3G 900/1900/2100, meaning that the 3G will work pretty much globally. For me, this is an important feature as I frequently travel between Toronto and Hong Kong. Hopefully Nokia will make more world 3G handsets in the future, but for now, this is your only choice if you want one.
Additionally, the screen on the phone is fantastic. It’s the biggest OLED screen on a phone to date, and is a pleasure to look at. With 16 million colours, it’s has a much better screen than the other N Series phones.
The music player on the phone is the standard S60 player, so not much to review here. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack instead, which is great for those who want to use their standard earphones or headphones without an adapter. The built in speaker is fairly good, but nothing too amazing.
Battery life I haven’t tested yet, so no comments in this area for now.
Conclusion
Nokia has a winning phone on their hands. The Nokia N85 is definitely a welcome improvement to the N95, and a much better value for money than the N96 (which is retailing for around $6500 HKD). Between the N85 and the N96, there’s not much more to the N96 that the N85 doesn’t have; thus, there’s pretty much no reason to go for its more expensive sibling unless you really need a DVB-H tuner that doesn’t work where I am or if you want a slightly bigger screen (I think it’s more bulky). Functionality wise, everything else is pretty much the same.
The most disappointing thing for me was the lack of the Nokia VoIP client. It said on the spec sheet that it had VoIP, but I was unable to find it in the phone. If I am wrong, please point me in the right direction for it as there’s nothing on the phone that indicates it has the Nokia client.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions about this handset, and I’ll do my best to answer.
Mon 17 Dec 2007
Glancing out the window this morning, it was snowing. Not just light snow, but heavy snow….very heavy snow. The newspapers say it's the worst snowstorm in 60 years and I think they're right. The roads were a mess as well - saw a bunch of cars that were stuck or broken down.
Tuning on Channel 2 news (that's NBC), they announced that virtually everything was shutdown in Buffalo - churches, schools, community centres, etc. Wonder how bad it will be to get to work tomorrow. We'll see…
Mon 17 Dec 2007
I activated a new line with TELUS Mobility a short while ago on a HTC P400 (aka HTC 6800) - a powerful Windows Mobile 6 device which works amazingly well so far. Pretty impressed with the service. Since I was an existing customer, TELUS threw in a few perks for me to activate.
Here are the details of my plan:
EPP 17.30 + $15 unlimited data
Some people got more, like unlimited text or unlimited incoming, but I'm impressed already by the offers they have presented me with. No way I'm switching out of this plan anytime soon! TELUS actually works hard to earn business from customers. I have yet to see this sort of initiative from competing carriers. They even threw in $50 credit for me because I referred a friend to TELUS. This is how you build customer loyalty. And for that, I'll probably stick with them for a long long time to come.
Sat 17 Nov 2007
This chart best reflects the changes in data pricing in Canada across the three major carriers (Bell, TELUS, Rogers). Rogers still has a long way to go to making data affordable. But then again, if businesses are willing to pay for it, then why would they make it cheaper?
Source: http://www.seaboardgroup.com/main/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=705&Itemid=171
Sat 17 Nov 2007
So..here's the scoop on data in Canada, just in case you missed it:
Bell is being very aggressive with their mobile offerings lately, which is a good sign for consumers. I'm waiting for TELUS to match it (hopefully they do!) so I can hop on the unlimited data bandwagon. If they don't, I'll grudgingly go to Bell. Rogers Wireless is the sore loser in this, trying to maintain their stranglehold on GSM data rates. No doubt they have to, otherwise people would just take the SIMs and stick them into PC cards and get cheap PC card data. It's ironic, but it seems like the restrictions on CDMA is what allows for these inexpensive data offers in Canada. So..for those GSM fanboys out there, you can have your $65/1GB..while I will soon use $7/unlimited 
Sat 17 Nov 2007
As those using data services no doubt know, the pricing for data in Canada was outrageously expensive not so long ago. Then came along Bell Mobility and their $75 unlimited data for PC cards. Granted, it wasn’t available for PDAs (which still at $100 for 1GB) at all, but at least the pricing was coming down.
Just yesterday, Bell launched their highly awaited HTC Touch. The phone itself wasn’t special, other than the fact it was a PDA device. No, what was special was the plan that came with it: a $7 addon that enabled you to have email and internet - basically covers you for internet on the device (no tethering). This was the first time they ever brought such a feature out to market (their cellphones have had this before).
None of the other carriers have come out with plans anywhere close….yet. We’ll see…the mobile data market in Canada is about to be revolutionalized.
Wed 19 Sep 2007
I’m sure I’m not the only one complaining about the service I receive on the Toronto subway, the TTC. Having used the system for a a few years now, I have come to realize the significant flaws of the system. For those who have never taken it, here’s what’s wrong.
For one thing, the fares increase - constantly. Since the days I first used the TTC (which isn’t that long ago - 4 years?), the fares have increased countless times. Most recently, they approved another fare increase. So fares are increasing - fair enough, but how about service?
Actually, for those that ride the TTC frequently, I’m sure I don’t even need to mention about the service. Frequent delays, outages, and what not constantly plague the system. Station staff and train personnel are often rude and unhelpful. So, as a consumer, you face rising fares and the same garbage service. Yet another reason to take the car.
Toronto often dreams of or pretends to be a world class city. The fact is, it will never be a world class city, and the TTC is one of the reasons why. So, here’s my proposal:
What I’m proposing is a radical change to how the TTC is operating. And that is really the only way the system is going to get back on its feet. Now really, I doubt this will be implemented at all, the biggest stumbling block to its implementation being the union. Bus drivers, fare collectors, etc. are overpaid - there’s no argument about that. I’d drive a bus for $60K a year. So, the answer to this is to get rid of them all, and rehire. Not likely to happen, but it’s a start. Maybe then we can think of being a world class city. Until then, dream on.
Wed 29 Aug 2007
I must say, my experience speaking English in Hong Kong has been horrific to say the least. Just today, I was introduced to a group of exchange students from all over the world studying at Hong Kong University. As they are going to be in Hong Kong for an extended period of time, getting a cellphone is pretty much a given.
After shopping around, I went over to New World Mobility with one of them to get a phone activated. The young lady that assisted us could not speak fluent English, so I had to act as a translator. As I was translating, I couldn’t help but think what is wrong with the education system here these days. English is taught in schools over here, so I expect people to have a certain degree of competence in English. I’m not expecting a very high degree, but they should at least be able to tell a customer which phones have cameras and which don’t.
The employees at Circle K and 7-Eleven have similar English ability as well. Broadway is better (still employee dependent) - as tourists often buy electronics from them, they need to have more or less proficient English skills. The staff working in the street markets rarely speak English, but that’s to be expected - they’re often less educated people hawking overpriced goods for foreigners.
Perhaps they all should go to Modern Education and get taught English by Ken Sir. At the very least it should improve their English ability.
Sun 19 Aug 2007
One must appreciate the desperate sales techniques employed by almost every salesperson in Hong Kong - from those selling broadband to those selling fitness club memberships. If you have ever approached one of them, you know what I mean. More on that some other time.
Here's a snapshot of an ad frequently seen in the subway and on the back of buses. It's for a tutorial school in Hong Kong (I guess as parents are most concerned about their children's education) - in this case, it's for English tutoring. Those people on the ad are the English teachers - they're presented more like celebrities than actual teachers. You decide for yourself.
And there's even a YouTube video of Ken Sir and some girl teaching English. Wow: It makes me want to attend the class just for entertainment. Jokes.
And let’s be honest. Would you really trust someone to teach you English if he can’t even spell English properly?
