Recent Updates RSS Hide threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Nokia 5800 Review 

    jaapwillem 10:07 pm on June 30, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: nokia, 5800, nokia 5800, review, Nokia Ovi, Ovi

    My Nokia 5800 review

    Just would like to write a short review of the Nokia 5800 mobile phone, since I’ve been using it for the last 2 weeks.

    Let me first explain a little bit my background and my experience with Nokia mobile phones.
    I started using Nokia mobile phones more then 10 years ago and have been always switching back and forth between Nokia and Sony Ericsson for 8 years, while the last 3 years I stayed firmly with the N-Series of Nokia.
    Started with the N73, then moved to the N82 and now I thought it was time to move to the 5800, as well because of the Touch Screen, Ovi Store and the Ovi services in general.

    I’ve been very happy with the N82 and have been using it extensively for the last year and a bit, but now I’ve passed it to my wife.

    So when I obtained the 5800 I was really happy, the design is nice and as well the screen is a big advantage.
    Furthermore I was really interested in the new menu system, as it has many more optimisations in comparison with my N82.

    Sync
    So the first day I was all happy to try out and to sync the new bad boy. But until now I haven’t found a way to sync my calendar from the Nokia Ovi service on the Internet. The Address book I could sync very nicely but the calendar isn’t a go for me.

    The screen and the Keyboards,
    I love the screen, got me all happy with all the Real estate, and the colours are really nice for me. That’s the great thing of having such a nice screen. For on a mobile phone.
    But that is the beauty part of the phone, the Beast and the ugly and I don’t know is the keyboard.
    It’s really nice to have 4 options for input, but let we just start with one which is working fine, shall we.
    First the hand writing version isn’t working at all for me, it doesn’t surprise me since I have one of the worst handwritings, so no worries.
    But then are coming the standard input ways for touch screens. The normal ABC way, with the numbers, is working fine in the beginning but sometimes it’s missing out presses. Specially if you want to type a bit faster.
    Then the small Qwerty version I thought I would like it a lot, since I’m using it all the time on my iPod touch. But no, not in this version, the screen and the keys are not collaborating the way they should be collaborating and so missed and wrong typed keys are normal events. It takes me longer to write a message to a friend in this way than on a standard mobile phone.
    The wide screen Qwerty is the best input method in this way, but still it becomes very frustrating to write more then 5 lines of text.

    GPS
    I started to love the GPS system of Nokia Maps on my N82 and thought I would love the bigger version in here. I thought wrong. Definably it looks better, but there is one major problem, it doesn’t rotate.
    For me that’s a deal breaker because I don’t have a fixed car, so I don’t have a Carkit. This means that I have to put the phone horizontal, what is normally resulting in that the screen auto rotates into the correct way. Not with the 5800, it just keeps the same way.

    The Menu system
    A lot have been written about it, I think it would really excel in non touch phones with this version, in touch it’s a bit more cumber-stone.
    I could really well get used to it and it looks very nice but with the combination with the horrid integration of the screen, I can’t say that I’m happy with it.. Far from that.

    Design
    The design of the phone is nice, it’s not to big and quite a good shape for me. It’s maybe a bit chubby but it’s ok, I could get used to it.

    Other points.
    Furthermore the camera is quiet fine, not up to N82 standards but I would say about n73 quality. The video is in the middle. Then the mp3 player is fine, it takes only a long time to load for 4 GB on music songs the first time, but that’s once and it’s fine.. I’m happy with the occasional use of music for that, but I will keep on using my iPods for primary mp3 players.

    My conclusions.
    It’s a capable phone but rendered worthless by the screen input ways. That is the main reason why this phone for me will be collecting dust and I gonna save money for the N86 or the new iPhone

     

  • Back in Europe 

    jaapwillem 12:18 am on June 30, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    During my Blog pause, I’ve been traveling a lot, and now I’m back in Europe, to be more exact in the Netherlands.

    Please visit  http://www.jaapwillem.com for more information.

    Expect soon the normal blog posts..

     

  • Tizapan, Jalisco - Mexico 

    jaapwillem 10:58 pm on April 14, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: altos de, chapala, island, , lake chapala, , tizapan,

    Boat in the chapala Lake

    Boat in the chapala Lake

    Trip to Tizapan, Jalisco

    This is on my ongoing blogs about my trips here in Jalisco and Mexico.

    Last weekend for Easter we went to Tizapan, in the south of Jalisco.
    It is very well located on the south side of the Chapala lake and surrounded by fields very usable for
    Agriculture.

    The city is a fairly large village with more then 60.000 inhabitants and all ages well represented.
    This is normally a problem in the smaller villages here in Mexico, where the young men in general go up
    north to find a job. Up north means to the United States.

    The village is living from agriculture and fishing. There is a little bit of development of tourism and so
    the people are looking at you if you are a western, like: what are you doing here???
    So when we arrived in Tizapan with the Bus service Jalisco del sur, we went in the evening to the small
    square, what makes up the heart of the village.

    There was a buzzing crowd present where they where enjoying their social talks, eating and watching
    people scroll by.
    Furthermore all types of people from the city where present and strolling around..
    Then when the night got later, we went back home, because the next we would go to a Swimming pool.

    A Swimming pool over here is more that the kids can play in the swimming pool while the parents are preparing
    their food, what they’ve taken with them. Often as well there a place where you can put the meat on the
    barbecue or fish and have some nice grilled meat and or fish.
    As well along there where 3 pools, just to chill and do nothing. Furthermore we where very lucky that
    there where just a few people in the pool, because normally during Easter there are many people
    everywhere.

    Of course I took the opportunity to actually get some tan, but not getting burned during our siesta,
    what is always necessary.
    In the evening we went back to the small square, as well to try the local ice cream, which is delicious
    and take some more pictures.

    The next day we went to Chapala.
    I unfortunately think that the city is overrated for it’s popularity. It is a nice city with a nice lake front
    and boulevard, but nothing to spectacular. Maybe it was that they are still busy constructing all kind of
    things, but it didn’t impress.

    Furthermore it’s almost impossible to get a breakfast and if you get into a restaurant, the service is very
    lame. Hint, it’s next to the main church.

    As well, the smaller island in the lake, where you can get a boat, is nothing to special. The
    problem is that it have been touched by men, and that results in a very dirty, destroyed island. The
    nature once was beautiful probably, but at the moment you can find more coke bottles and cans then
    stones. And this is a shame, because they could make it a really nice island.

    On the way back we passed a few very nice little villages where the people are really open and nice.
    This was the final trip for our holiday and we took the bus back into Guadalajara. We were very lucky
    with the traffic, because the Easter holiday traffic was getting on its way but it was still manageable.

    In the end, it was a really nice holiday trip, short but interesting. As well interesting to see another part
    of the Jalisco and moreover spent some time at the lake with the water.

    For the pic’s, I would like to refer to my web site http://www.jaapwillem.com where you can find the media
    and so on from this trip.

     

  • iTouch as gaming machine 

    jaapwillem 5:57 pm on April 4, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: iTouch, social, social gaming,

    Hello there,

    I’m just experiencing a very interesting shift in the use for my iTouch.

    Basically it’s becoming a more social place, and then not on the Internet, but in our home.

    The moments when there’s nothing on the telly and we are not busy with organizing, planning or talking, are quite often shared on the iTouch.

    With the games which are present on the Apple store, we have the games which are great for everyone and we also share the games. Even to play both at the same time it’s great and funny.

    Then the other day we were on the road and a few little kids where travelling as well with us, so we gave them the iTouch with like 8 games on it, and they got the feeling directly. Although it was the first time that they’ve seen an iTouch or something similar, there learning curve was like 5 seconds.. I think that is the real power behind it, that everyone can use it directly and enjoy it.

    Many people don’t want anymore to have to delve into 300 pages manual to get through the first level but it’s about instant gratification. I have tossed my PS2 a while ago, because I didn’t use it anymore. First the DVD player I was never using and second I got bored by almost every game.. it takes to long and just wanna have fun when I’m playing..

    Just thinking, maybe it’s time to actually try out the Wii ….

    I’ll let you know what else…

     

  • jaapwillem 6:38 pm on March 28, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: HDR, HDR photography, night, Photography

    HDR Guadalajara, originally uploaded by Jaap Willem.

    Hello there,
    Just a quick note and blog about night HDR photography..
    Last week went here in Guadalajara, Mexico for some try out photography and took some pics for HDR.
    What I’ve seen was that the lights for night HDR came out really yellowish.. that’s the reason as well why I turned this one into Black and White.. hahaha..
    But I was wondering if anyone know about how I can avoid that problem, do I need to change something within the camera or??
    Anyway if some of you could help me, it would be great.
    Drop me a line here or on my friendfeed.

    Cheers

     

  • Mobile programs and iphone os3 

    jaapwillem 12:45 am on March 20, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , mail, , symbian

    This is another update on mobile applications and as well a my thoughts on the preview off the iphone os3.

    Mobile applications.
    Which programs do I still use and which ones don’t I use anymore?
    The other day there was an article going over the Internet that most apps on the iPhone only will get used once. The second time is very rare and very few are getting used everyday.

    For me, the most used programs are still the Music program and the Mail program on my iTouch. More programs I’m using on a daily basis is The Remember the Milk program and the Twitterfon.

    Furthermore as well the Flick mobile page and the Friendfeed page. These are the 6 most used programs by me by far.

    Then I do have the regular social media programs like Facebook, Linkedin and Hyves. Furthermore as well some games and so on. The other day I’ve been downloading a program from Oackley what is definitely interesting for Surfers and Fishermen.

    The organisation from my home-screens are made simple, the first one is filled with the programs I use every day or very regularly. The second one is for Social Media, the 3rd are tools I’m using once in a while and the fourth for games and leisure.

    How is your Home Screen organisation?

    iPhone 3.0 software.
    I think with the iPhone 3 software, finally the iPhone will become quiet interesting for me. For once the software is technically on the same level as for example Symbian software. Only the background apps won’t be running, but I’m not a big fan of the background anyway.

    Furthermore one of the most interesting parts will be the Notifications and the Copy and paste.

    What are your thought of these?? What are your favorite new options?

    Cheers Jaap Willem

     

  • Traditional Dancing Zapopan, Jalisco 

    jaapwillem 7:58 pm on March 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: dance, folkore, indian, , pre-hispanic, zapopan

    Last weekend we went to Zapopan, Jalisco and we saw some groups performing local traditional dances.

    I’ve inserted the video from that on the top, but the main question actually stayed in our minds: Is it still traditional dancing?

    Definitely it is not a dance of the modern times, but neither it is a type of dance what they used to do before the Spanish invaded Mexico.

    They say it is a dance from before the Spanish invasion here, but a few things don’t match:

    The Dance are performed in front of an Cathedral or temple how they would like to call it.
    This is definitely not a normal place to perform the dance from before the times that the Spanish invaded. Normally they would do it on a marketplace, but now it is performed on the small square in front of a catholic place.

    Second is related to the first, how is it possible that the dances are supervised by a saint, since the catholic religion have been introduced in Latin America by the Spanish.

    These are the two main parts, what I think is that the dances are not any more like they used to be performed, but they are sponsored by the Catholic and Local authorities to keep the tourists happy and the local people.

    That is like everything, if you put a image that it’s from the older days, are humans more receptive to that idea, even when it’s not even like it used to be?

    Anyway those are a few thoughts about this thing and about how you could analyse certain things what are happening around here.

    Soon I’ll publish a few more thoughts, as well on the local things what are happening here and one of the main reasons we´ll soon be heading to Europe.

     

  • Colotlan, jalisco (mexico) 

    jaapwillem 6:11 pm on March 7, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: colotlan, , ,

    So at the end I’ll not be staying for much longer here in Guadalajara.

    I like the city but on the other hand I’m quite happy as well to return to Europe.

    But before I’m heading back I’ll write down a few things in several blog posts about my experiences here in Mexico and guadalajara in special.

    The first blog post will be about my experience outside guadalajara, actually during my trip to colotlan, in north Jalisco.

    It is a relative large city what does serve as well as the center of the region.
    It is best known for their leather horse riding products. Furthermore there is a large campus of the guadalajara university. As well the reason why I’m here.

    So while my fiancée is teaching I came along to discover a bit of the city.
    One of my first impresions was that’s it have a small city center with roughly 2 main squares. Of course on one main square there is the principle cathedral located. On the main square you can find the city councel and the police etc.
    It have a well a cute little open air theatre dome with small benches around it.

    Around here you have small shops where you can find almost everything what is necesary for the region.
    Clothing shops, butchers, bakeries, shoe shops, restaurants, banks and even small Internet shops.

    On Saturdays you can find as well a small market on the streets while there is as well a larger indoor market just a few squares to the north side.
    In this open air market the most important products are clothing and food products.
    In the indoor market you can find some good food shops, although you might have some issues with your stomach later on.

    As well throughout the city you can find leather shops the city is renowned for. The quality from the leather saddles and other horse riding products are high, with many of them hand made. The prices varies by products but expect to pay a good price for the high quality products.

     

    • Robert Jackson 3:33 pm on March 29, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Mr. willems. great pictures of colotlan..weve got a beautiful family home there. you probably went past it on your way back in from university of guadalajara..If you happen to return to colotlan, inform me and can possibly arrange a stay…..cheers….Robert

      • jaapwillem 5:59 pm on April 4, 2009 Permalink | Reply

        Thank you Mr Jackson for your generous offer.
        I won’t be returning to it in the near future but I’ll keep it in mind..
        Have a great day,

        Jaap Willem

  • Hotel Intercontinental Guadalajara 

    jaapwillem 7:13 pm on February 23, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Fashion Show Andres Badi, originally uploaded by Jaap Willem.

    Below standards
    That is the only way of describing my experience at this hotel.
    I was there for a Fashion show last week and dinner was included.

    The entrance was quite well organized and the tables where nicely made, only maybe slightly small.
    But then the service, what was far below the expected 4 star level what you should expect from a Intercontinental hotel. The waiters where rude and absolutely not motivated to do the work.
    When there was a problem on a table, there was absolutely no initiative to solve it.
    Furthermore the drinks where not onto the normal level while the food was absolutely not very fine.
    The portions where very small while the chicken we had for Main course was more processed then KFC chicken.

    So I would like to not recommend this hotel for any seminars or something similar due to the bad image you will be obtaining from them.

     

    • Steven Roll 8:28 pm on March 3, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Can you recommend a good place to stay in GDA? I’ll be there for a few days in mid-June with my wife and two kids. Right now I’m deciding between Hotel Morales and Hotel De Mendoza.

      Among other things, we’d like to see the Mexican rodeo on Sunday. Have you done that?

  • Back into the Blogging mood 

    jaapwillem 4:34 pm on February 20, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: guadalajara, , ,

    Guadalajara Minerva Statue

    Guadalajara Minerva Statue

    Hello there,
    Finally I’m back on my blog, i do apologize that it took such a long time.
    Since the last blog post about my stay in goes, the Netherlands many things have changed.
    At the moment I’m living in guadalajara mexico together with my girlfriend and we are enjoying it very much.

    We have been travelling already to various places here in Mexico, to the north of Jalisco (the region we are living ) and Zacatecas, a wonderful little city a bit more up north. This city is a sure colonial city with many beautiful houses and landscape views.

    For working im at the moment working on some projects to introduce online marketing and social web marketing into the marketing plans here, from companies to politicians.
    I’ll be blogging more about this work and as well some travels if we decide to make some.

    Furthermore i would like to invite you to visit http://www.jaapwillem.es to keep updated with the latest points on twitter and pics.

    Have a great day.

     

Older Posts →

c
compose new post
j
next post/next comment
k
previous post/previous comment
r
reply
e
edit
o
show/hide comments
t
go to top
esc
cancel