Nexus One, R.I.P

Google has announced last Friday (the same day as Apples conference on the Antennagate) that it will discontinue the Nexus One smartphone once the current shipment is completed. That means after this, it will be forever gone from Google's list of products. You can see from this official Blog regarding this announcement.

This probably does not come as a surprise because since its launch, the sales of the Nexus One has been dismally pale in comparison to Apple's iPhone or even other Android powered phones. Despite having superior tech specs compared to other Android phones in the market (be it from Samsung, Sony Ericsson or Motorola) and also favorable initial reviews, the Nexus One did not really take off with the bang they wished it would.

We have seen two giants taken products off the market in this short 2 months; Microsoft's Kin and now the Google Nexus One. So far the only software company which succeeded in the mobile/smart phone foray is Apple with its iPhone. What does that tell us?

What does the Jabulani & iPhone 4 have in common?

The South African 2010 World Cup has concluded and the Espanols have claimed their first world champions title in their history. During the course of the World Cup, there has been heartbreaks and delight. The fans of the world most famous sport will probably remember this World Cup for many years and that is many years not without the mention of all the controversies. Most talk-about would likely be the controversial Adidas' brainchild, the "Jabulani" ball. Being the scapegoat of all the matches whenever there are weird goals, this ball has earned its name in the history books of World Cup sports.

And during this same month where World Cup 2010 was happening, we have the launch of one of techs most controversial gadget too. Released on the 24th of June 2010 this year, this gadget is probably one of the most anticipated gadget in 2010. We're talking about Apple's new iPhone 4. Of course the suspense of its technology was not too great thanks to an earlier debacle with it being found in the wild and exposed by a certain tech website, but its release nevertheless brings the competition yet again to their knees. However, every new gadget is not without its own controversy as well.... it makes good (free) publicity as well (like Apple will ever need it.). The controversy which has since emerge after the launch of iPhone 4 is the antennae/signal problem (the internet has since name this the antennagate)

Here are some common things that the Jabulani and the iPhone 4 share (IMHO):

1. Both were released in the month of June 2010.
2. Their brand both starts with the letter "A" (Apple & Adidas).
3. Both are a product of advancement in technology.
4. Adidas has refused to admit the Jabulani's shortcomings and have instead protected its design and say its best for the competition.
   Apple has also refused to admit iPhone 4's antennae design fault and also protected its design.
5. Both were not being withdrawn from the market and has continued to be used.
6. Both has been featured on various popular world news website frontpages for their respective controversies.
7. Both makers have been branded arrogant for their ignorance to dissatisfaction from players and users alike. 
8. The Jabulani was used mostly with the presence of the noisy Vuvuzelas.
   iPhone 4 has a Vuvuzela app available for download :)

If you can think of any other similarities in these two, please do let me know so I can append this list.

The End... my favorite TV series'

And why do they all have to end in about the same week?? "24" is Series Finale is coming to an end next week and so is Lost. Other season endings are, CSI, CSI:NY and CSI: Miami. Can't they all end in different months instead. Then at least I have something to watch every month. Not to mention Heroes that has abruptly ended with no new season seen in the horizon (its not announced yet from what I know).

Hopefully the new seasons of Trueblood and Dexter will start sooner rather than later. But Lost and 24, totally my two most favorites and going out forever! Series finale.... Its rather more of bitter and sweet. Sweet because at least it has a beginning and end (unlike shows like 4400 or Knight Rider 2008 which got abruptly discontinued). Bitter because life will never be the same again without these shows on TV. I hope Heroes will not end up like 4400 or Knight Rider.

Here is a list of TV Series I like that are (suppose to) starting in Q3 or Q4 of 2010:

• Trueblood - 13th June 2010
• Dexter - 26th September 2010

1112 & 1112 Ep.2 Game walkthrough

I have recently played these two games (one game actually, but 2 episodes) on my iPhone and find it intriguing. Its one of the better games IMHO available on the iPhone. Very good graphics and great sounds. If you like adventure games + mystery, then I would strongly recommend. And if you are like me, getting stuck and clueless on what to do next, I go searching for hints on how to solve the puzzles/mysteries. However, I do discourage following any complete walkthroughs as it would completely defeats the purpose of playing the game in the first place... Anyhow, if you are playing or interested in playing this game, here are two sites for each episodes in case you get stuck in the game. I know solving it yourself will be much more fulfilling, but sometimes it can be too frustrating....

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1112 Episode 1 Walkthrough

1112 Episode 2 Walkthrough

Credit goes to the respective website's author. I wouldn't write it again since someone else has already done it. But many thanks for their hard work.

Opera Mini Browser for iPhone

Opera has finally released their Opera Mini Browser for iPhone. Although the last time I checked on my US iTunes account, it stills says it is not available yet for the U.S of A.

First look of this browser looks very much like any other browser. The tab browsing was very effective and unlike iPhone's Safari, you can load a page on one tab while you browse on another tab. Another thing I notice was that any Flash on a website will be presented as a static image of the Flash! This leaves me to think, Opera actually captures the image of the Flash and presents it on the browser. This ought to be a good thing for us iPhone users. No more xxx in place of the unsupported Flash.

Javascript does not seem to work so well though. I could not "mouseover" a drop down menu to show the menus. Still, I will be using this browser more extensively now because of the background loading of tabs. That alone is kick ass and warrant enough for me to switch to Opera. Now if I can find a tool or someway to import my bookmarks from Safari, that will be awesome...

Go get your Opera! (iTunes Link)