Something new...

So, I got a new phone. Knowing my luck ( or not) with phones, I am looking at any instant for something to happen to it. Its just so difficult that I do not know how I am going to make peace with this new gadget in my hand. I worry too much, but with my history of phones, I think I have all the right to be super worried!

An with a new phone, I am trying my hand at some fitness regimes. Gone are the gaming days, so now all I need on my phone is the Flipboard, some social media and some trackers. The latest trackers that I am looking for is a fitness one. I started to use Nexercise, but I do not like it, prmarily because, it does not have the simple floor exercises to log, and it expects me to be doing some complicated like Aqua jogging, Ballet, Burpees, Disc Golf and what not. This is one of the top downloaded apps on Play Store, but doesn't seem to work for me. Or maybe I should try it out a little more, I do not know.

Image Source: http://kansan.com/media/2012/10/apps_alee.jpg

I am going to be using a few fitness apps and going to compare what I am using, liking and which one I am going to stick to eventually.

1. MyFitnessPal Calorie Counter
2. Lose It
3. Sworkit
4. Nexercise

Sworkit is a circuit training app and it syncs to MyFitnessPal, which makes it all the more a perfect combination. So, I shall be using these and coming back with what I like and also what is the kind of exercises which I like to do.

I started with the Calorie Counter, and I decided I do not want to do it. I have done my fair share of counting and I thought that in my head if I know that I am not eating junk, and I am eating good food on a regular basis, I am allowed to eat whatever I want in between, maybe just on the weekends. That should help in my counting in the very passive sense.

Lose It again being on the Calorie counting route, I decided I did not want to do this either. But, I must add that Lose It was a far more beautiful and user friendly app as compared to Calorie Counter. But for me, maybe some other day.

Sworkit and Nerxercise I have been using regularly for the past 2 weeks and the ease of logging workouts id very high in Nexercise, and the range of exercise options seems very nice in Sworkit. I still have not figured how to use them in conjunction though. With this added responsibility of logging workouts, now I have started aiming to exercise more regularly as I need to input the data. This might be a new app fad, which might wear out, but nevertheless till it lasts, I am getting some workout done!

Review: Sony Xperia Go

I have always been a Sony mobile phone fan, and in between I did move to a Samsung Galaxy Pocket, only to run back at the earliest possible chance that I got.  The last Sony phone which I used was the Mini Pro, and now I have moved to the Xperia Go.

The Xperia Go also was procured after weeks of research and finally I came down to the HTC One V and the Xperia Go. I was inclined towards the Go because of Timescape, which I was more comfortable with, apart from the choice of a cherry yellow colour!

Anyhow, here we go into the details which I thought were relevant when I was comparing HTC One V and Sony Xperia Go.

The responsiveness of Xperia Go was better than the HTC, and moving from a mini pro which had just a 600MHz processor to something which has a dual core 1Ghz processor, there was certainly a big difference.

The HTC sports a bigger screen hence for me, it was simpler to type out messages etc.But, on saying that I felt the layout of the HTC keyboard was different from the usual qwerty and hence that made things difficult for me. The main difference was in the alignment of the special characters, and that made it difficult for me to write messages and mails.

The camera quality was the same in the first few test shots which I took, and the camera was quite quick too in both cases.

The overall size of the Xperia Go was better for me. My main constraint has been that I need to be able to put this mobile phone into my pocket at any point of time. I can not be holding it all the time, and another plus with this phone was that it is dust and water proof. Knowing me and my tendency to keep dropping the phone and leaving it just about anywhere, this was a great plus.

So if you ask me, I am always in for Sony, I believe they have amazing sound and camera features. I am not a user of business phones, but rather great personal devices, and till date Sony has never let me down. 

Review: Samsung Galaxy Pocket

My trusted Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro had some issues following continuous assault by Tee. It had to visit the doc and in replacement for a short duration I took up the Samsung Galaxy Pocket. The Xperia returned but today I decided to move back to it. I wanted to do a short review based on the short period of use I had of the Galaxy Pocket.

Firstly what I liked about the Pocket was that it was thin and light. Xperia was slightly more heavy and definitely more bulky. But, I like my phones to be such that I know I am holding onto something solid, not something too delicate. I tend to drop my phone and maybe jab it at corners too.

Secondly, I liked that the touch keys on the top panel were very receptive and one need not have to repeatedly touch to achieve a task. But, I must also add that as the RAM seems to be a little less, the response of the OS is slightly slow, and especially if you have more than 2 apps running simultaneously.

One of my main quirks with the Pocket was the time it took to get the screen active from idle mode. One can either press the home key on the top panel, or the side button which is also used to lock the screen. There have been times when I have had to press one , then the other and then the first one, all in vain, as I desperately try to make a call quickly. I do not know whether there is something wrong in the way I was going about it, I doubt that, but nevertheless, it was a PAIN.

Another one was the touchscreen. I am not a touchscreen fan, on phones. I love the iPad and can type out an entire mail there, but I need the space for the keyboard to allow me to do so, which clearly a touchscreen phone does not manage to do so. I would be totally frustrated with the typing of messages and mails. If its a smartphone where I can check mails, then I do expect to be able to reply to them too. This was one of the main reasons I wanted the Xperia Mini pro, which had the qwerty keyboard in place when required.

So, all in all, I think the Pocket is a great option if you just wish to browse the web, read some messages and make calls, but this is not the option I would use if I want to use it to the full ability of the Smartphone. 

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini pro

After quite a bit of research, I finally zeroed in on the Sony Xperia X10 mini pro as my new cellphone of choice. I bought it in November and been a month I have been using this phone now. I must say, I have been very impressed with the ease of use, the sensitivity of the touch screen, and also the ease with which one can navigate and customize the menu.

The photos, many which I clicked using its 5.0 mp camera, is also nothing to complain about. Without a flash, your hand does need to be real steady, but with the flash on, things are very smooth.

I love the notes and navigation application, very useful while traveling, where one can make notes on what all places to visit, save it as the main screen and then use the navigation tool to get directions and all. These two have been the most used applications on my phone apart from the sms, Facebook and email. I also like the one button access to the camera, which makes quick photos a breeze.

Another aspect which I adore about this phone is, unless I wish to type a message or a mail, I do not need to open out the qwerty keyboard. I can use the screen for all my daily uses, but at the same time, I do not need to struggle without he on-screen keyboard to type out messages and mails. I did have a tough choice in front of me when I had to decide between the mini and the mini pro. The main detail which factored in for me was the option to type using a simple qwerty keyboard, which I was just not ready to give up.

I think those are the great things which I can think of with regard to this phone, and having the android OS also helps with regard to apps and games. :) I am yet to upgrade to the new Android version, but since this one has given me no issues, I have yet not gotten down to it.