Musings of a (Formerly) Displaced Chinese RooBoy

The Motorola RAZR V3 was a phone that everyone wanted in the mid 2000s when launched. Heck, it looks good even now in 2013 in the era of rectangular slab smartphones. Here a good article looking into the history of it on The Verge  http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/10/3/4798828/status-symbol-motorola-razr

Ever since Google's 'The Playground is now open' Android event in October 29, the Android community was buzzing with the Nexus 4, available outright from AU$349 for the 8GB model. The hardware on this device (quad core  Snapdragon S4 Pro clocked to 1.5GHz, 2GB RAM,  4.7-inch, 1280 x 768 LCD), coupled with the new version (4.2) of Jellybean  and insane price made this a much sought after device.

It was announced yesterday that Microsoft will buy out Nokia's phone division so its the end of the line for Nokia as a mobile phone/device manufacturer. It's a bit sad as my first mobile phones were Nokias (2110, 5110) but they have been largely irrelevant in the marketplace since the original iPhone was released in 2007. It is interesting that so many tech companies that were once market leaders become irrelevant some quickly - think Atari, HP, Compaq, Motorola, RIM (Blackberry), etc. Goes to show that innovation is key to remaining competitive. Nokia was stuck on the outdated Symbian OS for far too long, and RIM didn't adjust to the rapidly evolving smartphone market after the release of the iPhone, thinking that its dominance in the corporate smartphone market (with secured messaging and emails) would be enough to keep its dominant market position.

Missed out on ordering the Nexus 4 when it was sold out in less than 20 minutes on Australia' Google Play Store last November. Thanks to checking AndroidPolice and AusDroid on a regular basis, I found out that it would be available for purchase again at 9AM on 31 January 2013. To prepare for the purchase, I made sure the online purchase page was loaded, payment details were up-to-date, and I was logged in to my Google account in advance. Started constantly hitting F5 at 8:55AM and sure enough, at exactly 9AM, the status changed from 'Temporarily Unavailable to "Add to Cart". Placed the order straight away and FedEx's shipping notification indicates it will arrive tomorrow. I'm EXCITED!

Wendy's online babies and kids clothing business has been operating since late 2010 and its time to give it a plug. Check out Mickey House Kids for all your babies and kids' designer clothing needs at great prices. Tell your friends and workmates too.

I thought it might be fun to look back at the list of mobile phones I've ever owned, starting with the classic Nokia 2110 back in 1996 for the purpose of receiving calls for job interviews during my final year at college. Nokia 2110 - classic and chunky Nokia 5110 - nearly everyone had one of these ubiquitous phones Siemens SL45 - advanced for its time, with built-in MP3 player and expandable memory card. Sleek looking phone. Sony Ericsson T68 - my first mobile with color screen. Navigating through the phone's menu was on the slow side. It had Bluetooth which I didn't realize at the time. According to Wikipedia, this was Sony Ericsson's first color screen phone Vodafone/Sharp GX10i - this was dubbed the "Beckham" phone as he was heavily featured in TV ads. My first flip phone as well as first camera phone. With polyphonic ring tones! Motorola V360 - first mobile when working in the US. Nothing fancy. Good solid phone. M

Here's a map showing the places visited by Wendy and I. Create your own travel map or travel blog Find the best vacation rentals at TripAdvisor