After writing this blog for the past week, I noticed that my phone is really out of date. It doesn't have as much features as the newer phones and whatever function it has cannot compete with newer phones as well. First of all, I think it is necessary for a flip phone to have an external screen so that I don't have to open it everytime I need to check the time or incoming calls. Secondly, the volume is a bit on the low side. If only the volume can be set higher, then my talking experience will greatly improve.
Other than the flaws mentioned, there are some nice features that I like. First of all, the flip button. Eventhough, it's mechanism is just a spring, I find it very convinent to flip my phone open in such a way. Another thing is the phone's customization ability, I really like the fact that this phone can change its look by simply printing out photos and use as the covers. No need to pay any money for someone to encrypt graphic on your phone or buying expensive customization stickers. All the work can be done by yourself with a few simple steps. Last but not least, the overall design. I think this phone is very well design, it looks sleek and simple. There is only one slot which incorporate all the accessaries, like battery charger, headphone and usb. The camera and volume button on the side don't stick out like most phone does which would ruin the whole shape of the phone. The keypad layout is very clean and simple. The buttons are flat (but easy to press) which give the whole design its sleek and simple feel.
Overall, I am very pleased with this phone.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Panasonic VS3 : Day 05
3:30am_Home
It's 3:30am and I couldn't sleep, so I might as well play around with my phone and write in this blog. Changing the wallpaper of a cellphone isn't a new and unique thing. All phones can do that without much trouble, just upload the picture to your phone and apply it. There are many wallpapers and theme out there online where you can download and apply to your cellphone, espeacially for big name brands like Sony Ericsson and Nokia. Unfortunately there are no themes on the internet for my VS3, so I am stuck with the 3 themes that come with the phone. There are leaf green, aqua blue and piano black. However, one thing that I find speacial about this phone is the fact that I can make my own menu backdrop. I can apply any picture to the menu screen and make my own menu icon. I think this feature can help make up for the lack of themes for this particular phone.
It's 3:30am and I couldn't sleep, so I might as well play around with my phone and write in this blog. Changing the wallpaper of a cellphone isn't a new and unique thing. All phones can do that without much trouble, just upload the picture to your phone and apply it. There are many wallpapers and theme out there online where you can download and apply to your cellphone, espeacially for big name brands like Sony Ericsson and Nokia. Unfortunately there are no themes on the internet for my VS3, so I am stuck with the 3 themes that come with the phone. There are leaf green, aqua blue and piano black. However, one thing that I find speacial about this phone is the fact that I can make my own menu backdrop. I can apply any picture to the menu screen and make my own menu icon. I think this feature can help make up for the lack of themes for this particular phone.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Panasonic VS3 : Day 04
8:32pm_OCAD in class
During the lecture in class, my cellphone vibrate in my pocket. I turned it to vibrate mode so that it won't make any noise during class. I took out my phone and took it under the table. It was dark in the room, luckily the key pad glow in green light so I can see what I am pressing. I flipped open my phone and a msg window pops out, telling me I got a message. After that a bar at the bottom of the screen shows up, just like missed calls, the number of total message were shown in the bar. When I press the key pad it brings me to the message. By pressing the option button, a menu pops in front letting me choose to reply. One thing to mention about writing SMS is that it allows me to pick different input language including Chinese and Melay. As for English there is a thing call T9 input method where I can just press the first few letters of the words and it automatically give me a list of different words to choose from. This method really speeds up the process of writting text messages, moreover, I don't have to press as much buttons. After I finish writing I press option again and choose "Send", then I close my phone and turn back to the lecture.
During the lecture in class, my cellphone vibrate in my pocket. I turned it to vibrate mode so that it won't make any noise during class. I took out my phone and took it under the table. It was dark in the room, luckily the key pad glow in green light so I can see what I am pressing. I flipped open my phone and a msg window pops out, telling me I got a message. After that a bar at the bottom of the screen shows up, just like missed calls, the number of total message were shown in the bar. When I press the key pad it brings me to the message. By pressing the option button, a menu pops in front letting me choose to reply. One thing to mention about writing SMS is that it allows me to pick different input language including Chinese and Melay. As for English there is a thing call T9 input method where I can just press the first few letters of the words and it automatically give me a list of different words to choose from. This method really speeds up the process of writting text messages, moreover, I don't have to press as much buttons. After I finish writing I press option again and choose "Send", then I close my phone and turn back to the lecture.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Panasonic VS3 : Day 03
7:30am_In Bed
This morning I woke up to the alarm from my cellphone. The alarm was loud and I, as a very deep sleeper, have no problem waking up to it. But I was reluctant to get out of bed, since I only have a few hours of sleep, I reach out of my sheets and grab the phone. By just pressing the side button, which by the way is also the camera button, I can easily set the alarm to snooze. The snooze will be at an interval of 5 min and last for, I think, 6 times. Anyway, I dozed off immediately after I press the snooze button, with the cellphone still in my hand. Everytime the alarm rings, I would just press the snooze button and go back to sleep. This last for quite a few times before the alarm actually stops, yet I am still in bed, fast asleep.
4:30pm_In Bed
I got woken up once again by my phone, but this time it's not the alarm, it's a phone call. I have my ringtone set to my favorite mp3. Well, this feature is pretty much a standard for cellphone nowadays so nothing speacial to talk about here. Anyway, I wasn't able to get the call in time so when I flip open my phone there is a "missed call" bar popped out at the bottom of the screen. I really like how this phone shows any missed call because within the bar the number of missed calls were shown, the simplicity of the icon and the layout of the bar is pleasing to my eye. When I press any button from the keypad, it brings me to the missed call numbers right away so I know who has called me.
This morning I woke up to the alarm from my cellphone. The alarm was loud and I, as a very deep sleeper, have no problem waking up to it. But I was reluctant to get out of bed, since I only have a few hours of sleep, I reach out of my sheets and grab the phone. By just pressing the side button, which by the way is also the camera button, I can easily set the alarm to snooze. The snooze will be at an interval of 5 min and last for, I think, 6 times. Anyway, I dozed off immediately after I press the snooze button, with the cellphone still in my hand. Everytime the alarm rings, I would just press the snooze button and go back to sleep. This last for quite a few times before the alarm actually stops, yet I am still in bed, fast asleep.
4:30pm_In Bed
I got woken up once again by my phone, but this time it's not the alarm, it's a phone call. I have my ringtone set to my favorite mp3. Well, this feature is pretty much a standard for cellphone nowadays so nothing speacial to talk about here. Anyway, I wasn't able to get the call in time so when I flip open my phone there is a "missed call" bar popped out at the bottom of the screen. I really like how this phone shows any missed call because within the bar the number of missed calls were shown, the simplicity of the icon and the layout of the bar is pleasing to my eye. When I press any button from the keypad, it brings me to the missed call numbers right away so I know who has called me.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Panasonic VS3 : Day 02
11:19am_Finch Subway Station
I am sitting in the subway waiting for it to start, I am going downtown for a class. While I was waiting, I took out my cellphone to check the time. Oh, just so you know, I don't wear a watch, I depend on my cellphone to tell time. Everytime I need to know what time it is, I would take out my cellphone, open it by pressing the side button. By the way, I think this feature is pretty nice for a flip phone because I don't have to flip it open with two hands, just press the button on the side, easy and convinent. But I have one complaint here, if only there is a small screen on the front cover then I don't have to flip open my cell everytime I want to know the time. Anyway, I am late for my class, it would take me an hour to get down to school and now there is only 11min left. Oh well, it's just gonna be a boring lecture anyway.
While I am riding the rockets (boring as hell), I start to play with my phone which is in my hand and started to wonder why can't people talk on their cell while they are in the subway? I know, I know, its underground and reception is bad, but can't they put like a reception booster or something on the subway so that people can use their cellphone while they take the subway? At least it's better than starring at the person across from you and forced to overheard some stupid conversation about a dog that won't get along with a cat.
5:30pm_In my car
There are many calls through out the day, I am not sure if I have to record every single one of them because the process of talking a call is basically the same, so i decide to pick one conversation as an example to write about. Anyway, I was in my car in front of an office building waiting for my friend to come out. I was suppose to pick her up at 5:30pm, so I waited in the car with nothing to do. Then my phone rings, the light on the cover is blinking red. Well you see, I can set the colors of the light to different color inorder to show whether I have an incoming call or sms. I think this is because this phone is lacking a front screen on the cover, so it uses the light to replace it. Anyway, red light means a call but there is no way to tell who is calling unless I flip open the phone. It's my friend, she said she is gonna be a bit late. So I decide to go to a convenient store near by to grap a pack of cigarette while I wait for her. There is one thing though about this phone that bothers me alot, it's the fact that when I am outdoor or in a noisy area, even if I set the call volume to the max, it's still not loud enough to get a clear conversation. I don't know if it's just my ear, but the volume problem really bother the hell out of me.
4:30am_House
I am getting ready to go to bed. Got a class in the morning at 8:30am, only got 3 hour to sleep. I better set my alarm clock so I can wake up in time. Well, I have already set up a a short cut key to the alarm function so I only have to press the left button on the navigation key which brings me to the alarm clock menu. There are 5 different alarms I can use. I set one at 7:30am, another one at 7:45am, just incase I couldn't get up to the first one. I choose a ringtone for each of the alarm and crank up the volume to the max. I am a deep sleeper, sometimes even the firealarm won't wake me up. Anyway, after I have save my settings, I can go to sleep.
I am sitting in the subway waiting for it to start, I am going downtown for a class. While I was waiting, I took out my cellphone to check the time. Oh, just so you know, I don't wear a watch, I depend on my cellphone to tell time. Everytime I need to know what time it is, I would take out my cellphone, open it by pressing the side button. By the way, I think this feature is pretty nice for a flip phone because I don't have to flip it open with two hands, just press the button on the side, easy and convinent. But I have one complaint here, if only there is a small screen on the front cover then I don't have to flip open my cell everytime I want to know the time. Anyway, I am late for my class, it would take me an hour to get down to school and now there is only 11min left. Oh well, it's just gonna be a boring lecture anyway.
While I am riding the rockets (boring as hell), I start to play with my phone which is in my hand and started to wonder why can't people talk on their cell while they are in the subway? I know, I know, its underground and reception is bad, but can't they put like a reception booster or something on the subway so that people can use their cellphone while they take the subway? At least it's better than starring at the person across from you and forced to overheard some stupid conversation about a dog that won't get along with a cat.
5:30pm_In my car
There are many calls through out the day, I am not sure if I have to record every single one of them because the process of talking a call is basically the same, so i decide to pick one conversation as an example to write about. Anyway, I was in my car in front of an office building waiting for my friend to come out. I was suppose to pick her up at 5:30pm, so I waited in the car with nothing to do. Then my phone rings, the light on the cover is blinking red. Well you see, I can set the colors of the light to different color inorder to show whether I have an incoming call or sms. I think this is because this phone is lacking a front screen on the cover, so it uses the light to replace it. Anyway, red light means a call but there is no way to tell who is calling unless I flip open the phone. It's my friend, she said she is gonna be a bit late. So I decide to go to a convenient store near by to grap a pack of cigarette while I wait for her. There is one thing though about this phone that bothers me alot, it's the fact that when I am outdoor or in a noisy area, even if I set the call volume to the max, it's still not loud enough to get a clear conversation. I don't know if it's just my ear, but the volume problem really bother the hell out of me.
4:30am_House
I am getting ready to go to bed. Got a class in the morning at 8:30am, only got 3 hour to sleep. I better set my alarm clock so I can wake up in time. Well, I have already set up a a short cut key to the alarm function so I only have to press the left button on the navigation key which brings me to the alarm clock menu. There are 5 different alarms I can use. I set one at 7:30am, another one at 7:45am, just incase I couldn't get up to the first one. I choose a ringtone for each of the alarm and crank up the volume to the max. I am a deep sleeper, sometimes even the firealarm won't wake me up. Anyway, after I have save my settings, I can go to sleep.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Panasonic VS3 : Day 01
07:35pm_Home
This phone is not the slimmest one out there, it is not the newest model and it doesn't have the most advance function. But the fact that I like this phone because it can give me freshness whenever I want it to. What so different with this phone is that it can actually allow you to change the shell of the phone. When I first got this phone, it already came with 3 different casing so I can change it's look according to my likings. But thats not all, while I was online looking for programs and software for this phone, I stumble across this website where it teaches you how to modify the casing of the phone. First you scrap off the paint from one of the original casing, so that it becomes a clear casing, then use photoshop to place any picture / photos on a template and print it out. Just place the photo underneath the clear casing and you will have your own customized VS3.
Customizing cellphone is not a new thing, but I really like the fact that this cell phone can be customzied with just a few simple steps where you can do it yourself. And you can change it as often as you want without having to pay anything, so I think it is a very unique idea for a cellphone to take this approach.
This phone is not the slimmest one out there, it is not the newest model and it doesn't have the most advance function. But the fact that I like this phone because it can give me freshness whenever I want it to. What so different with this phone is that it can actually allow you to change the shell of the phone. When I first got this phone, it already came with 3 different casing so I can change it's look according to my likings. But thats not all, while I was online looking for programs and software for this phone, I stumble across this website where it teaches you how to modify the casing of the phone. First you scrap off the paint from one of the original casing, so that it becomes a clear casing, then use photoshop to place any picture / photos on a template and print it out. Just place the photo underneath the clear casing and you will have your own customized VS3.
Customizing cellphone is not a new thing, but I really like the fact that this cell phone can be customzied with just a few simple steps where you can do it yourself. And you can change it as often as you want without having to pay anything, so I think it is a very unique idea for a cellphone to take this approach.
The 2 Objects
1_Panasonic Cellphone: I carry it everywhere, everyday. I will always have it in my pockets no matter where I go. This cellphone replaces my home phone, because I find that there is no use for one, since I will have my cellphone on 24/7 365 days a yr, so I might as well save some money and ditch the home phone entirely. So basically this cellphone is like my arms and legs, it's a part of me.
2_Cool Hunting website: I check out this website everyday to look for new, interesting gadgets news and products. It introduces all kinds of things, like games, exhibition, design related stuff, kitchen ware, food...etc. I think it would be interesting to document because its like an online magazine for innovative stuff, where i can access everyday, anytime and its free. Sometimes i get my ideas for projects here as well.
2_Cool Hunting website: I check out this website everyday to look for new, interesting gadgets news and products. It introduces all kinds of things, like games, exhibition, design related stuff, kitchen ware, food...etc. I think it would be interesting to document because its like an online magazine for innovative stuff, where i can access everyday, anytime and its free. Sometimes i get my ideas for projects here as well.
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