iPhone or HTC diamond?

As some may have known, I recently traded in my nokia e65 for a htc diamond.

It was with some apprehension that I bid the e65 goodbye, as it had served me well as one of my better phones even though it was a rushed purchase, someone having knicked my N70 earlier... bloody ass.

Especially the switch over to a non-keyboard phone. I'd heard stories from friends about how their phones would magically drop calls or send tons of blank smses as their phone screens reacted to being placed against their ears.

But still, I went ahead with the htc diamond. Who wouldn't, after looking at what it looks like?

Before all the apple fanboys come crawling out of the woodwork and say "WHY YOU NEHBER WAIT FOR THE IPHONE. SO GOOD SO CHEAP I'M GOING TO GET A FREAKING ORGASAAAAAARRRGHHHHHHHHH"

Let me just say I considered. And rejected. Why?

#1. Size. The htc diamond manages to squeeze everything into such a small form factor, slim enough to fit into a guy's pocket. Note that this is a very important criteria for guys. There should only be ONE bulge in your pants =p

#2. Video calling. Eat your heart out, iPhone. Last I checked, the iPhone version 1.0 couldn't even accept contact cards. This might have changed by now. By the way in that small size the htc diamond squeezes in both a 3.2mp camera (vs iPhone 2mp) AND a vga camera in front.

#3. Bluetooth. Now this is freaking important. Apple fanboys will say "for what! You can always email the file!". Eh ello. Not everyone has UNLIMITED access to internet what. Even if you do, others may not. Besides bluetooth transfers are free.

#4. Software. "Huh?" I can almost hear you say. Isn't Apple software more user friendly? Well... MAYBE. HTC's done a pretty darn good job of making the WM interface easy to use. seriously. But also, WM's been around longer so there's more software to find.

#5. Research available online. Try googling for "Apple" and "snob".

And yeah yeah I know whatever I say isn't going to convince the Apple Brigade that their phone isn't the best thing since sliced bread. But I'll say it anyway. I'm not saying that the iPhone sucks. I'm just pointing out why I chose the htc diamond over the iPhone.

But anyway the htc diamond has to be one of the best smartphones out there at the moment.

Other than the reasons above, I was also rather impressed with the demos available on youtube about not only the interface but also the durability of the phone.

Of course things are not always a bed of roses.
Here's the cons of the phone, in no particular order.

#1. Interface can lag slightly. Tweakable in registry, but I'm ok with the current settings and I don't wish to deplete my batteries any quicker.

#2. Short battery life. Let's face it. You can't eat your cake and have it too. I do wish they'd provided a more powderful battery though.

#3. No camera flash (neither does the iPhone). But a powerful flash like the Xenon brands only serve to kil your battery quicker. Between having a camera and a phone I'll choose the phone any day.

#4. No expandable memory. If you're like me, then 4GB of internal storage is plenty. However 4GB isn't quite enough for a whole ton of games, music, videos AND pictures.

#5. Earpiece port is not the standard 3.5mm jack, meaning you'l have to use the earphones provided.

Think that's all I can think off now, am bloody tired after a super long week..

So.. goodnight!

AGVA Bag Review

*Disclaimer: Author has received a complimentary laptop carrier from said company.
Something like this:

Just that you replace the red with green instead. Not too bad actually
*End Disclaimer

Background
AGVA is a company which aims to deliver the bag that people want, rather than make a bag which they think people will want and then sell it to them.

Review
So I've been using this Agva bag for some time, and its been extremely useful. Spacious enough to put 2x Schweser textbooks AND an official cfa text comfortable, without being too heavy due to the "cushioning" part on the strap. At least I didn't really feel the weight for some time.

Although I haven't exactly been carrying a laptop around (my laptop is almost a permanent part of my home desk nowsadays), I can see how the padding around the bag helps keep any laptop safe. Waterproofing is a serious plus as well, unless you're one of those types who like to keep leaky water bottles in the same place that you put sensitive electrical equipment. In that case you should probably return your laptop to the dealer and tell them you're too dumb to own a computer. Try carrying an abacus around instead. On a related note perhaps a water bottle compartment or additional "add-on" to the sling might be a good idea here. hmmm.

The removable flap is another interesting feature. Normally when there's a zip on the back of the bag you expect another compartment, but in this case unzipping it removes the entire flap from the bag, supposedly this is so you can "swap around" for a new look to your bag without having to buy a completely new bag. You can have any colour you want for your bag, as long as its brown. I don't quite "get" why brown is the be-all and end-all colour. Personally I'd have preferred something a little closer to black or grey, but then again maybe its just me.

Of course, things are not all "great". One of the gripes I have is with the rather thin and poorly designed strap. The metal buckles kinda remind me of SBOs (shudder) and when slinging it over one shoulder the less than perfectly rounded edges of the strap tend to chafe the forearm. The design is also not optimal for cross-body slinging.

Another thing is that... I. F87KING. HATE. VELCRO mechanisms. Not only do they get all sorts of stuff sticking to them, there's a VERY. VERY. IRRITATING. *ZZZZZZT* whenever you open the bag. If there's anyone who knows a "quiet" way of opening velcro mechanisms let me know please. For the record, opening it slowly so the sound becomes more like *zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt* does NOT qualify.
The main flap operates on velcro, and I've taken to leaving my bag open for long periods of time if parked at one spot. Sometimes I find myself semi-detaching the flap from the zip side and rummaging around inside my bag like a Doraemon wannabe. Would have much preferred a clasp-kind of mechanism. What can I say. I'm a silent, quiet and low profile kinda guy.

The Lowdown
All in all quite a decent bag. Looks-wise ok and function wise is fine too. Main thing is that the company hasn't gone all the way with its idea of "giving people what they say they want". Rather its more along the line of "giving people the pattern on the bag which we mass-produce". End of the day I'm able to put my design on the flap, but that's a far cry from actually getting the bag that I want. You'll probably see me carrying this bag around for some time, especially if I have more stuff to carry than my other "casual" bag will allow. As a laptop bag, it'll be the one I use if I have to lug my laptop around.

Bag Rating: 7/10, would have been closer to 8.5-9 if not for the velcro and strap, but those might be down to personal preferences.

P.S. tks to mnstr for walking to TP to collect the bag with me!