The layering of our city is amazing.

I have been living here for almost 10 years and shots like this still make me wonder at how things connect.

Look at how cute and curvy Zahran street is :)

I love the t-shirt I bought today from Jo Bedu.

I have a confession to make.

I have never owned a phone not manufactured by Nokia. Imagine that.

In fact, I’ve always been a Nokia cheerleader; a cultist, if you may. Get a Nokia. Nokia is awesome. Nokia is so damn durable. Nokia has great user experience.

But the Nokia cult is dead. One of the most engaging brands of the first decade of the 2000′s is now just a shell. Soon with Microsoft technology.

Ouch.

The Nokia E7

The Nokia E7 was first announced at Nokia World 2010; a highly-publicized Symbian smartphone (of the Communicator line) with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard aimed at professional users.

The first Communicator of the new decade! I was too young during the line’s heyday in the late 90′s, but I remember really wanting to own one, and feeling impressed with the smartly-dressed businessmen who were typing away on its QWERTY keyboard.

So, when Nokia’s PR agency asked me to use the Nokia E7 for a month for reviewing purposes, I, of course, said yes.

Review: Nokia E7

My first impression of the Nokia E7 was the simple blue packaging, reminiscent of their older models. It’s not as gorgeous as the packaging of the N8, but it’s definitely a huge improvement from the 9800.

The E7 package:


The N8 package:

The 9800 package:

E7 Design:
[X][X][X][_][_]
I personally do not like the design of the handset, although the Internet generally thinks it’s handsome. The weird bottom curves seem incomplete, and the largeness of the handset makes it feel clunky. It’s also heavy for a phone.

E7 Hardware:
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Like everything Nokia, the phone is really sturdy. I’m a strong believer in the fact that Nokia has the best hardware. Their handsets stay in great shape for years and years, beautifully weathering water disasters, gravity, violence, and all other kinds of unfortunate incidents.

The only issue I faced was that it took me a good 10 minutes to figure out how to slide the QWERTY keyboard open. Nokia also stole a
page from Apple’s book by integrating the battery into the device. I really don’t like that.

To make up for that, Nokia are amazing with all the cables they provide in the package. In the box are cables for just about everything: a AC charger, in-ear headphones with covers in 2 sizes, a USB to micro USB cable, a USB receptacle to micro USB cable and a HDMI to mini-HDMI cable. In fact, the “USB on the go” functionality is awesome; you can just plug in any USB device and watch music and movies. More interestingly, you can combine this with the HDMI cable included in the package to have a full blown gadget in your hand that could connect to almost anything.

E7 Camera:
[X][X][X][X][X]
In typical Nokia fashion, the camera is as good as it gets for a phone. It’s 8 megapixel with a dual-LED flash. The video recording is also excellent, as the E7 captures 720p HD content at 25fps. Audio is recorded on stereo and is very clear.

E7 Software:
[X][X][_][_][_]
Setting up the phone is a breeze. The slots for the SIM card and memory card are accessible from the sides. Copying contacts, data, and preferences from my 9800 into the E7 was really easy and only took minutes. The data copied perfectly.

When you power on the device, the first thing you notice is the Android-like multi-homepage layout. Unfortunately, that’s when you discover how unresponsive the touchscreen is. It is a hundred times more frustrating than that of my 9800, and incomparable to Apple’s capacitive touch. I had to do lots of prodding.

The software itself still has the outdated Symbian look and feel. Their user-experience worked well 10 years ago, but it just doesn’t cut it for me anymore. It is confusing, hesitant, and not well thought-out. I had a hard time figuring simple tasks like changing a contacts phone number, although I’ve been a Symbian user my entire life.

The Ovi App Store is still crappy, and the applications still don’t work. I can’t for the life of me get FourSquare or Twitter to ever work on Nokia.

Overall, this phone, unfortunately, is not very smart. Sure, the hardware is kick-ass and definitely beats the hell out of competition, but it’s 2011. Software is what matters today.

If you want a sturdy phone with beyond basic capabilities that will still be in excellent condition in four years, the E7 is for you. If you want a smartphone that can become your best friend, it’s probably a better idea to look at Samsung or Apple.

Dear Nokia, I have loved you with all my heart and soul for the past 20 years. But I’m afraid my next phone won’t be a Nokia.

It really breaks my heart.

You know what drives me nuts? Idiots who drive between two lanes, screwing the street completely.

Let’s play a game. If you tell 5 people and ask each to tell another 5 people to hold on to their damn lanes, we might have better streets next month.

I think I figured out Jordan’s problem. Our society has way too many douches.

BBC Human Planet takes an in-depth look at The Douche, observing them in their natural habitat.

For a few weeks, the BBC film crew had the opportunity to follow a unique specimen, they were able to observe and record its mannerisms, rituals and way of life. The result of this is BBC Human Planet: The Douche.

via Random at Best & The High Definate