summercomfort (
summercomfort) wrote2011-05-30 06:22 pm
Smart Phone redux
So last year around this time I got myself a "Smart Phone". Specifically, an HTC Tattoo. I've enjoyed using it, but during ACen 2 weeks ago, the phone decided to throw a hissy fit: my sim card could not connect to the T-mobile network. When I put Jono's sim card in the phone, it works fine. When I put my sim card in Jono's phone, it works fine. But when I put my sim card in my phone, it's "Network not detected". D:
After a futile search on the internet for solutions, I decided it's time to get a new phone. Now that I've had the Tattoo for a year, I had a better idea what I was looking for in a smart phone:
-> Not Apple. I like my current no-hassle $10/month data plan, and I have been persuaded by Jono's arguments against the Apple app store.
-> Physical keyboard. The on-screen keyboard makes typing quite difficult, especially when I'm trying to do something else at the same time.
-> Small. I liked the Tattoo's size -- it fits in regular phone-sized pockets
-> Decent camera. The Tattoo's camera was really mediocre, which meant I ended up carrying my camera with me all the time anyway.
So I found that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro fit my bill. Plus, it's about half the price of the tattoo, which means if I keep it for 6 months I would have made my money back in data fees. The app interface is quite different from the Tattoo, but the camera is pretty sweet. I took it for a trial run today, and here are some results:


As you can see, not amazing, but decent for normal photo taking. It has flash and up to 5 megapixels. No zoom, but that's expected.
After a futile search on the internet for solutions, I decided it's time to get a new phone. Now that I've had the Tattoo for a year, I had a better idea what I was looking for in a smart phone:
-> Not Apple. I like my current no-hassle $10/month data plan, and I have been persuaded by Jono's arguments against the Apple app store.
-> Physical keyboard. The on-screen keyboard makes typing quite difficult, especially when I'm trying to do something else at the same time.
-> Small. I liked the Tattoo's size -- it fits in regular phone-sized pockets
-> Decent camera. The Tattoo's camera was really mediocre, which meant I ended up carrying my camera with me all the time anyway.
So I found that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro fit my bill. Plus, it's about half the price of the tattoo, which means if I keep it for 6 months I would have made my money back in data fees. The app interface is quite different from the Tattoo, but the camera is pretty sweet. I took it for a trial run today, and here are some results:


As you can see, not amazing, but decent for normal photo taking. It has flash and up to 5 megapixels. No zoom, but that's expected.

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