Skv012a Limited

Bustin Out New Bustin Maestro Mini

2011-05-01T03:36:00.009-04:00

So after boarding for 2 weeks, I figured where I actually want to begin- medium sized cruiser board, but with some downhill flavor. My solution? Bustin Maestro Mini to replace my Kracked Skulls M1 deck for the time being. Funny enough, Bustin sent me the regular Maestro by accident, thus I got a chance to take comparison pictures before shipping it back:

And so I was bustin out some tools since new deck nor old trucks came with proper hardware (riser pads, washers to protect the board from truck bolts' lugnuts). Ended up cutting up a few riser pad sets to lower the deck as much as bolts allowed and cushion it from the hardware.

I cut 4 pieces for the top of the deck per truck to lower it as much as possible, and then 2 per truck for the bottom to be used as washers for the bolts. Final result was quite pleasing and clean.

From snow to tarmac..

2011-03-28T00:33:00.003-04:00

Figured I'd try longboarding since aggressive doesn't exactly transfer too well from snowboarding and of all of these sports, that's definitely my top one. So here we go:

Got a Kracked Skulls M1 40" board w/ Randall 180 trucks and pink Powerballs 72mm wheels. Skipped bearings since I have plenty from my blades. Ended up messing up a shield on 1 of my Royal 7s, so I used my generic ceramic-ball abec 7s instead. Rolls real smooth, nothing to complain about whatsoever.

After some Xacto magic, viola!

HPI RS32 Has Landed!

2011-03-04T15:12:00.006-05:00

So at long last I got my hands on one of these and for a mere 90$ + shipping. Box is quite appealing as is the hard plastic, model-quality Calsonic R32 body.

Everything is packaged fairly well, nothing to complain about.

Now this is where RS car differs from the Kyosho Mini-Z- not only does it sport modular electronics seen in other scale R/Cs, but it also comes disassembled. Nothing is tricky in this car save being super-bite sized, but so are kyosho dNanos.

The car handles well, but could DEFINITELY use a little more speed and battery life. My guess is to use a Losi motor and/or lithium battery packs, perhaps from R/C helicopters.

Note that because these will go hand-in-hand with the new HPI slot car line, the details may surpass that of Mini-Zs, like rear view mirrors, for example.

New Mini-Z Atomic 90mm MidMount and DPS

2011-02-22T01:32:00.002-05:00

Just got these in the past weekend, AR-265 and AR-265-BKDPS. Looks like Atomic only recently caught up to PN's idea of last year, the 90mm Mid Mount with a custom Damper Plate System.

Overall much more simple than the PN unit, not much heavier nor lighter, but it does have quite a few new elements. The DPS post only uses one spring now and does not attach to a bottom holder plate of any sort, but rather to the motor mount's DPS arm itself. The plastic plate gets pressed against the metal one, and it even has a little trough to hold a little bit of dampening oil better than the old, completely flat plates (maybe atomic always had this though, this is my first Atomic DPS/disks). Lastly there is an optional, bolt-on rear diffuser.

Narrow Focus

2011-01-13T05:11:00.004-05:00

So this coming late Feb. the DMV area will have another, BIG, Z race that's sure to attract all the prominent racers from up and down the coast. The interesting part will be a compact car race with rules I haven't seen done before- only narrow wheels/tires allowed. Oddly enough, there will be no motor restrictions, but narrow tires are bound to force racers to limit their options to slower and more controllable powerhouses.

That said, an immediate idea that came to mind was to try the MA chassis once again considering that it may have an advantage running all narrow tires and not losing much of its performance like the MR brotheren (yet to test this thought, however).

And what better body than a Rally classic, Ford Focus that was driven by Colin McRae himself back in the days!

Setup is as aggressive and low as possible, starting out with hardest springs up front and 2nd hardest in the rear, kyosho 30* tires all around for balance, all key parts in aluminum to ensure finishing the race.

*Post testing on RCP- wow! What a car when used with the right tires. Also the only hatchback that allows more than +1 wheel offset for that extra wide stance.

At Long Last Nokia E72

2010-01-11T15:57:00.006-05:00

Side-by-side with E71.

Released on October 22, 2009, E72 became a direct successor of E71 and an extremely solid addition to the E Series handsets. Boasting the same compact size (115 x 58 x 10 mm), layout, and plethora of features E72 remains the thinnest and the longest-lasting smartphone on the market. Unlike the recent additions to the family (E75, E52, E55), E72 sports the most optimal layout and hardware specs- 250MB internal memory, 5MP camera, full qwerty keyboard, 600mHz ARM 11 processor.

So why upgrade from E71? If you like to squeeze the most out of your phone, then you will love the faster processor, more on-board memory, better camera (better drivers besides the raw megapixel upgrade for much better day and night shots), 3.5mm headphone jack instead of the useless 2.5mm, and ability to charge through the USB port. The list of upgrades may appear rather minuscule, but it opens up major conveniences such as not having to carry a data cable AND a charger, using 2.5mm jack headphones or an adapter to use your own pair, and having an actually decent mobile camera whose shots aren't shameful to look at on your PC.

Onto the review then. Physical appearance and general feel: E72 sports matte black/silver/brown plastic that makes it very comfortable to hold unlike the glossy finish E71 had. The keypad is easier to work with thanks to the new plastic as well. The keyboard itself got 2 more keys on the bottom row at the expense of space bar width. New character layout is much more convenient with the addition of "(" ")" symbols as well as several shortcuts for phone's features like a quick bluetooth switch, quick silent mode, ability to use camera's LED as a flashlight. The soft keys under the screen have a better layout and a partial wooden-finish appearance. Lastly, the directional pad has the option of optical navigation. The external speaker has been moved to the left of the camera and seems to be more quiet than that of E71, but not enough to impair the overall performance.

The software side: we have the same old goodies like a solid GPS function through Nokia Maps or any other alternative program, microsoft office w/ full ability to edit documents, pdf reader, media player with a very wide support of formats (WMV/RV/MP4/3GP video, MP3/WMA/WAV/RA/AAC/M4A audio), now FM radio receiver is back, digital compass, and virtually anything else that the community has written programs for. I'll mention that business phones in fact make better entertainment phones since entertainment is a mere matter of software, and business phones pack productive hardware that's actually able to support your entertainment far better and longer than any entertainment-centered, "fun phones," on the market. Another dear piece of information is that E72 is already hackable and thus you get complete control of your phone plus additional software costs can be reduced to zero (better media players, IM clients, GPS software and maps, etc).

Lastly, the hardware side of E72: that I'll begin with the GPS receiver and its performance using the included (but myself-"upgraded" via full USA map) Nokia Maps. To provide an ultimate test, I did not use a-gps aka network assistance and made E72's chip work all by its lonesome in providing me with accurate step-by-step directions and distances. This experience was wonderful and receiver locked onto satellites quickly and worked accurately. Approximately 2 hours of GPS navigation did not deplete even 1/7 power bars which reassured the godlike life of the device just like E71. The radio receiver works like a charm, but requires headphones to act as an antenna. The camera is a real beauty considering it's one of the last areas of focus on a business device. Previous E Series models all suffered from poor camera drivers (namely poor control of the LED flash) that made 3 megapixel quality fairly useless regardless of lighting conditions and other factors. E72 and perhaps E75/52/55 finally cure poor drivers and images come out very well.

E71 via E72 camera in dark lighting, testing out the flash capability

The battery life and power saving management is still phenomenal and allows at least 2-3 days of moderate usage (texting, camera, music, GPS every few hours). Thanks to USB charge, you won't have to lug charger and USB cables with you to be able to connect E72 to a computer and charge it.

All in all, this is a solid all-around electronic device at a very affordable tag (roughly 380 USD right now) that can easily replace your standalone cellphone, GPS, media player, and perhaps a point-and-shoot digital camera. Why settle for less and buy ipods or garmins when you can have all of it in one slick candy bar?

Flowlights- The REAL Photoshop At Your Disposal

2009-12-11T10:20:00.009-05:00

So after getting into raving a few months ago I've been looking for weapons of choice and ended up on the path that probably half the community ends up taking- flowlights.

What are they? 3-LED, 10 light mode plastic sticks that run on a simple AAA battery.

Come in all sorts of flavors and with a little soldering, nothing is stopping one from making a custom rig. Also, at the very least the soft cases shown above are HIGHLY recommended for beginners and experts alike.

And what can be done with these? Thats purely in the hands of your dancing and artistic senses.

These can be purchased from number of sites such as the home site www.flowtoys.com or www.liquidemotions.com

Hybrid rechargeable batteries are highly recommended- pre-charged duracells in plastic blister, sanyo eneloop, rayovac hybrid. 2 sets per pair of flows will allow safe charging of one set while the other is in use. With proper care, the AAAs should last 2-3 years so avoid cheap 15 minute chargers and anything with radio shack logo on it.

Kyosho Mini-Z MR-03 w/ Makers RX-7 Unboxing and Setup

2009-12-03T17:52:00.004-05:00

Finally got my hands on this lovely piece, so here we go:

Now for the first setup and the reason I got 03 in the first place- Skyline GT-R 1970

Mini-Z Are Going Offroad

2009-10-14T18:18:00.004-04:00

Thought I'd share my recent collection additions with an appropriate setting. Ford, Subaru, and Mitsubishi duking it out.

Mini-Z Painting & Detailing Hints and Tips

2009-09-10T22:21:00.008-04:00

After doing miniatures, model kits, and various other paint jobs I've concluded that the RC bodies are the most demanding, but the right tools will yield a superb and durable finish. I'll make this brief and cut straight to the chase.

Tamiya acrylics tend to get rubbed and beat off of the Z bodies quite easily and will require frequent touch-ups, but are fairly easy to work with. Testors enamels surpass the oversea brother, but can end up too thick when sprayed on if the painter is a little careless or trigger happy. Both of these can be removed with simple acrylic or enamel thinners and some rubbing. Now, Testors Pactra Polycarbonate Coating sprays on in thin layers, yields very even and consistent finish, can withstand quite a beating and cannot be removed with some simple thinner. Furthermore, the ideal finish can be achieved with only 1 to 1.5 coats and up to 3 coats of paint will retain all of the details beneath them. If you mess up you have room for a primer and a recolor coat without endangering the finish.

Pactra Candy Purple and Testors Gold Enamel details

Whats the next step to completing your masterpiece? The details and trims. The weapons of choice now are:

Testors Enamel Paint Markers with user-trimmed tips prior to use that will ensure precision and control;

Micron archival ink pens because not only do they come in 0.2mm tip variety, but can withstand a glosscoat laquer easily unlike their competitors.

I've tested(from bottom to top) Micron, Sharpie, and Gundam Marker on top of white Pactra layer and topped with Testors Glosscoat with the following result-

So there you have it folks, for a clean, durable and professional RC body finish your friends are Pactra spray cans, Micron markers, and Testors enamel paint markers. Happy painting!

Monster Hunter Freedom Motion Revive Series action figures

2009-07-28T16:36:00.015-04:00

I would've never guessed that another superb video game would get proper set of action figures, but Bandai made it happen once again! Despite the fact that MRS figure are considered "trading" in Japan, sold by cases with same inner packaging to hide the identity of the figure you buy, they easily surpass all domestic 3.75" lines like Star Wars, GI Joe, etc.

The articulation of MRS figures is superb even though the male figures sport some very fancy and clunky armor. Even the finer lines like Mobile Suit in Action suffered from waist armor limiting the hip movement, but MRS do surprisingly well for having full tassets instead of just small skirt armor. Knees and elbows sport double-hinge joints allowing for human range of movement; wrists, upper arms, and thighs all come with a swivel joint to further the degrees of motion; and last but not least- head, hips, feet have ball joints and shoulder fancy double-ball joints for an extreme range of movement for a 8-10$ figure.

The base looks good, but what about accessories and weapons? Depending on how anal you are about matching your game gear to figures, MRS may impress or slightly disappoint you. Weapons range from mediocre to highest end, but end up as an overall impressive set. 2 long swords, 2 great swords, 1 sword and shield, 2 dual swords, 1 hammer, 1 hunting horn, 1 lance, 1 gunlance, 1 bow with a quiver, 1 light and 1 heavy bowguns. Some of the joke accessories include barrels (1 with a felyne), well-done (or "burnt" in my case) steak, a felyne mask, and a hunting horn. Very decent selection indeed down to the extra accessories. Some weapons come with little pegs to help the figures hold them thus each figure comes with sloted and non-slotted pairs of hands.

Considering the general lack of good game figures and rather disappointing 3.75" US lines, Motion Revive Series should definitely hit the spot despite the importing costs. Mine came out to be 75 shipped for a case of 8 (a full set of these figures) which isn't too bad on all accounts. There are 2 available sets today and the only differences are figure recolors and weapon colors or lack there of(in my case).

More images here:
http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/skv0124/MiscFigs/MHF_MR_Rathalos1.jpg #1-9
http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/skv0124/MiscFigs/MHF_MR_Velprey1.jpg #1-9
http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/skv0124/MiscFigs/MHF_MR_Kirin1.jpg #1-3

THE set of upgrades for Xmod Evo to steer it clear of trashcan.

2009-05-23T12:24:00.003-04:00

Yes, 2.4 ghz radio thats in most cordless home phones and routers. Why? Any xmod owner should know how junky they are out of the box even for some home fun, but this upgrades makes it a semi-hobby grade RC.

Is JUST the radio enough? No because the chassis itself is far from flawless, so #2 on the list are GPM Adjustable Knuckles vs GPM's regular junky looking and working, 3-screw knuckles:

Now we have 0 wheel wobble and car is actually drivable on RCP track or anywhere else at high speeds, but is this enough? Not just yet.

Last upgrade- shaving the wheel pegs to fit Kyosho Mini-Z MA-010 rims.

And now the Xmod is complete. Drives very similar to a Mini-Z or any other quality RC. Can have different offset wheels to accommodate different bodies without looking funky. Has actually round, quality wheels and doesn't have to use xmod tires that are getting harder to come by. Lastly, can easily accept a drift tire kit for some slipping and sliding without buying an xmod-specific 15$ kit.

Airbrush Celebration- Universal 1/28 RC Body Rotating Stand

2009-04-30T18:24:00.003-04:00

Using nothing other than Legos. Stand rotates via rod that doesn't interfere with painting process. Holds any Mini-Z, Xmod, or even 1/24 model kit bodies without any additional modifications or alterations. For Mini-Z bodies, stand accommodates for glued-in side clips.

Armored Kore Nissan Skyline GT-R (KPGC10) Race Body

2009-04-28T15:46:00.002-04:00

Pun intended. I felt like my racing KPG was lacking, well, everything and my previous idea for Armored Core deco was overshadowed by Mirror's Edge on the RX-7, so here we are.

I love all Armored Core games, but the real pleasure was the fact that PSP received its own version and to glorify that I dressed up one of my favorite race bodies using some Formula Front wallpapers.

PN Racing 90-98 milimeter Mid Mount for MR-015/02

2009-04-23T18:49:00.005-04:00

At long last my beloved short wheelbases 90 and 94mm got a midship motor mount! Problem of the past was that the only available MM configuration was at the shortest 94mm while to use the 90mm base one needed a Rear Mount(motor behind rear axle). Changing a whole motor mount just to try a shorter body is too tedious, but the performance of the midship chassis was far superior than that of rear mounts. Another problem was a complete lack of 90mm mid mounts, so the quick, short cars were stuck with RM config and horrible weight distribution.

Now this is a thing of the past and this mount looks very promising. I managed to keep this Cobra MR-015 at 166 grams which rivals custom-built chassis, let alone stock MR-015s or even 02s. I'm very curious to see whether this mount will help cure the notorious body roll of the narrow bodies I love as well as 15 chassis. Lastly, this will drastically increase the effectiveness of my front end lead ballast(held on by 2 screws at the very front of the car seen in the last picture) which will in turn help the body roll by keeping the front end planted during accelerating turns.

Note that the white damper plates, the springs in between, and the blue post are from my 3Racing Disk Damper System since PN does NOT supply these with the new mount. I'm still glad that they supplied the carbon fiber plates instead of making a separate 20$ set.

Last addition is my custom rewiring using thinner conducting wires that hold their shape when bent to free up the motor area. I also flipped the motor to give the mount that 1mm of clearance from the body, and new wires allowed me to steer clear from the rear axle.

New paint, new project.

2009-04-19T02:29:00.004-04:00

Stumbled upon Testors Pactra Racing Finish lexan body paint today and after asking clerks whether it would work with ABS, decided to give it a shot. Picked up True Blue Pearl that looked like regular metallic paint and boy was I surprised with the finish!

(http://s452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/skv0124/MiniZ/?action=view¤t=Cobra-Z-V1_1.jpg 1-16)

As you can see, finish is fantastic! Colors play with light and look far beyond even what Kyosho Auto Scale series are.

Hooks were not glued in because I will race this thing and they'll bust in first 10 seconds.

I plan on adding 2 lime green stripes to mimic the original look to my liking. I also plan on spraying enamel clear coat when all is said and done to preserve it as best I can(and hopefully not fk up the paintjob that way).

Mini-Z MA-010 RWD Conversion with 1970 Skyline (KPGC10) in Spirit of MR-015

2009-04-14T12:53:00.004-04:00

This is my attempt at a RWD MA-010 that may become a great MR-xx killer car. My goal is to utilize MA's even weight distribution(after weighing the motor side down for horizontal balance) and ease of maintenence to its fullest advantage and compete in RWD with RWD opposition(maybe even awd as well).

This thing handles like a true mix of two platforms: steering response and sharp radius like that of awd MA and acceleration like that of MR-02 (when both have wide rears). I'm hoping that independent suspension would help this guy triumph over MRs' rear disk dampers and hplates.

Another thing I like is ease of changing rims if I have to. Since MA doesn't have its bearings in the rims, swapping is a real matter of seconds that also saves the bearings themselves(I imagine poking MR bearings out of the wheels each time takes some kind of toll down the road).

In terms of weight this guy is 185.6 grams with the horizontal balancing lead pieces (5-7 grams in total), so without those it can probably match a stock MR02's 180 grams. Its 7-10 grams lighter than a stock MA10 with exclusion of the front diff and driveshafts halves/alum driveshafts, so its at a slight weight advantage over MA10.

How did I achieve RWD?

Very simple and effective. I might look into an even better center shaft shield out of a tougher material to help keep everything together when changing rear gears. Right now, if you pull the shaft out the back too far and put it back in, the front shaft bearing tends to pop out and hang between the chassis and the styrene shield while the shaft rattles. The MR bushing may prevent that from happening, but I'm not 100% sure yet.

Kyosho Mini-Z Racer 2.4 GHZ Auto-Select Frequency in the house!

2009-01-07T18:53:00.007-05:00

After recycling some more money and hitting the track with my AM radio MR-015 Z I decided to upgrade to the 2.4 ghz radio seeing how convenient this option really is. There's no antenna; greater range; absolutely no glitching or jitter; up to 40 frequencies that the car and controller automatically find when powered on; no need for frequency crystals so one controller can be used with infinite number of 2.4 chassis.

Here are my new chassis sets with a baggie of PN Racing ball bearings for the All-Wheel Drive MA-010 chassis. Total of $272 shipped. Managed a used controller from a friend for $20.

Since my AM car was a MR-015 configuration(basicly a Rear-wheel Drive), I decided to get the same 2.4 chassis to build onto my brief racing experience rather than start clean with a MR-02(15 has battery trays on the sides while 02 has batteries on the belly, so there's a different feel and weight transfer between the 2 setups; 15 can use more narrow bodies than the 02).

Since I had a boost of cash, I went ahead and got a hold of the cheap MA-010 chassis from TinyRC.com. Beauty of this besides the obvious gripping power is the wheel-independent suspension and quicker wheel installs than the MR chassis. The bearings on MA are in the wheel knuckles rather than in the wheels themselves, so swapping different sets only requires removing the lugnut. So why did I really get MA? Drifting! Unlike the MR chassis, MA can actually handle the plastic drifting tires just fine due to all wheels pulling the car. MR can be drifted, but requires hard rubber tires and much quicker, more precise, and speedy turns. MA can go sideways almost anywhere and at a fraction of the MR's required speed.

Here are 2 videos of each chassis in action, 2nd day of owning them both, and 2nd day of running the MA-010 in my life:

So why Mini-Z over say, a Xmod? Much higher control precision, very smooth feeling, VERY durable(for once a high price = superb quality), much more durabile and detailed bodies and 5x the selection and growing, and lastly ready availability of all replacement parts no matter how big or small at about $10 or less per part(s). Zs are a pleasure to drive out of the box and can defenetly race without any upgrades. Upgrades are made by Kyosho and other aftermarket companies like Atomic, PN Racing, 3Racing, GPM, and some others. Very well worth the money you'd spend on one unless you don't have space to run it, a club with a track to visit, or lastly money to buy a small track yourself.

To wrap this entry up, let me post my current custom bodies made from unpainted, unassembled kyosho sets:

Faith FD3S Mazdaspeed RX7

NFS Prostreet inspired Race Queen Nissan Fairlady Z33

Xmods Are Back!

2008-11-17T20:16:00.005-05:00

Radioshack's fully-customizable RCs are back after a few year break in pretty decent flavors- Mustang Boss, Corvette, and Skyline GT-R.

http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2032407&sr=1&origkw=xmods

For the most part same as the previous Evolution series with few exceptions listed in the wiki including built-in crystals(huge flaw since you'll be stuck with the frequency you buy) and supposed wheel stability improvement that the series suffered from since day one. I'll do a more in-depth look once I open and tune this sucker with all the $1 clerance parts from last year :D

And lastly my own new GT-R:

More unboxed shots and a mini preview:

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/skv0124/Xmods/GTRhandson1.jpg
1-5

Looks like there are no more body kits seeing how the GTR's body is solid. I see this as a somewhat of a good change since the cars will keep their authentic looks and only have internal mods- the ways it should be. Showmanship through performance rather than looks.

Dir En Gray: The Rose Trims Again (11/10/08 Baltimore, MD)

2008-11-11T11:10:00.005-05:00

Of course my first or so concert and a new phone = bootleg vids :D

(copy paste)
http://www.dailymotion.com/Skv012a/video/x7d9nn_dir-en-gray-baltimore-111008-pt1_music
http://www.dailymotion.com/Skv012a/video/x7d9oz_dir-en-gray-baltimore-111008-pt2_music
http://www.dailymotion.com/Skv012a/video/x7d9pg_dir-en-gray-baltimore-111008-pt3_music
http://www.dailymotion.com/Skv012a/video/x7d9qe_dir-en-gray-baltimore-111008-pt4_music

Gundam 00 S2 Episode 6 out and subbed!

2008-11-10T09:16:00.009-05:00

(Will up this myself on Dailymotion and embed here. Screw "licences" of a season that won't hit US for 2 years, screw.)

And for that matter, check get-anime.net every sunday evening or monday for new episodes (unless fansub groups run into difficulties).

Nokia E71-2 White Steel hands-on.

2008-11-09T20:20:00.009-05:00

Well, its almost been a week since I got this bad boy as a replacement for my Motorola Q9h, and I have to say that E71 blows alot of smartphones today right out of water (a quick side note, ATT recently updated the housing of the Q9h to a much better looking silver with black stripe pattern which I loved, but N71 still looks alot better). Now, where to begin...

The #1 thing any phone and especially smartphone should have- battery life. Q9 averaged a day or two(on standard, BT60 Li-Ion 1100 mAh battery) of some bluetooth music, IMing, maybe a little web browsing. This isn't that shabby, but nowhere near what E71 managed to accomplish. I've personally tested stereo BT and IMing via gprs edge and each one averaged 4 hours straight per 2/7 power bars. That means constant net and backlight or bluetooth activity which is very impressive for a powerful and supposedly power-hungry device like this. My initial "test" lasted 3 days since monday night's charge ending up with 2/7 bars. I played with most features in moderation including the infamous GPS chip that eats juice like an animal. All and all, this is quite impressive and stands up to Q9's extended 1800 mAh BT90 battery.

Now lets look at the Symbian 9.3 OS and its features.

First thing I'd like to mention is the auto-lock setting and the clock that stays on the screen inside a bar and moves down a little every minute, then resets to the top, and trickles down again. If you can't see that clock, then press and hold any of the Dpad buttons and the clock will appear across the whole screen with backlight for exactly as long as you hold any of dpad's buttons. A great power-saving feature that won't keep your screen lit longer than you need it. To add onto this feature, the backlight and screen light settings can be as low as 5 seconds each and conserve the power extremely well. So far so good.

Office tools include calculator; QuickOffice for viewing and editing MS office word, excel, and power point documents; calendar with scheduling options; file managing application to explore the content of the phone and memory card; the clock with alarm feature(even tells you time remaining until the alarm you set when you activate it!); unit and currency converter; dictionary with english included and other languages up for download; and other misc apps. Overall, pretty decent for a business communicator device. Here's the fun part about software, you can install just about every cracked software via very nice and each hack so E71 can ride for free and arm itself with plethora of great "commercial" applications.

Now for the 2nd essential element of this phone- the design, weight, and dimentions. One of the few phones these days to sport 70% metal housing: whole face plate and the battery door that takes up 80% of the back area. This guy is about as thin if not thinner than the iphone, as wide/tall as Blackberry Pearl, and outclasses them both in every category. It does feel unusually heavy, but this weight gives E71 a solid feel of an expensive devise as opposed to a cheap plastic feel of N95 and most other phones on the market. Keys, though small, work quite well and save width thus separating E71 yet again from competitor's and Nokia's own qwerty candybar phones. Only real flaw I see is the fact that the camera area is raised as opposed to be hidden away for safety. Nothing a screenguard can't fix ( and you SHOULD use these on anything above $100 in my opinion). The white plastic is semi-glossy and sparkly- nice touch for phone's overall stylish looks.

Finishing notes: plenty of housings on ebay right now, so if you mess this guy up (well, if you get a black one since I haven't seen any white replacement battery doors yet. They have a different pattern than the black ones) its pretty easy to give its guts a new home. Also the stock leather sleeves are in great abundance for 10$ or about and they work very well. As mentioned above, please buy and apply screenguards, self-cut or pre-made. It'll make you smile to see a few months old device with mint-out-of-box screen.

If you like a powerful communicator for a reasonable price and a higher class, you can't go wrong with this Nokia. They finally made something few people, regardless how picky, can resist.

Of all things I've wasted my time on...

2008-11-07T00:52:00.000-05:00

Blogging seemed like the last thing I'd want to do, but at the same time probably the only thing I haven't done. That said, I'll post entries with various reviews and thoughts regarding my neverending hobbies. Hopefully I'll be able to find some comrades this way and it may prove to be better than the usual forum crawls.