SlyCat's Journal

Yup, I bought the phone I've been after for some time now, the Nokia N93.  I had toyed with the idea of getting one from Expansys as they had the phone in on the 31st July and had the cost of the phone subsidised with Vodafone contracts but as the phone seemed to be perpetually waiting for stock I figured they were selling out quicker than they could get hold of them and chose to forget about it until O2 had them in stock.  However, today I was in town and happened to call by the Nokia shop.  I saw there was a space for the N93 and enquired when they'd be getting them in stock expecting them to say in a few weeks or something.  However, I was informed that they had received their shipment (of 3) today!  However, as with Expansys, it seemed I could only get it if I moved to Vodafone.  The phone would be £150 with a £40/mo contract which gave 350 free cross-network minutes, 500 free texts and "stop the clock", which means you only pay for the first 3 minutes during weekends and evenings (as long as you don't stay on the phone for more than 60 minutes).  I said I'd think about it and left the shop... I was umming and ahhing for all of a minute before I went back for the store and did the deal :).

I'm currently using my O2 sim in the phone as it's a totally unbranded and unlcoked phone until I can port the number across to Vodafone so no-one needs to change their numbers for me.  The phone itself is very impressive.  After reports of the N80 having crashing issues, I was a little weary but so far, the only problem I've found is that the gallery program can sometimes run out of memory when viewing the highest quality video recordings.  The phone is a bit on the large size, especially when folded out vertically but it's not a big problem.  The main reason for it's size is the 3x optical zoom mechanism which is a first for a mobile phone.  The mechanism isn't very smooth and is rather noisy but it does the job and is certainly good for still photography.  The selling aspect of the phone is video where it can capture video in 640x480 at 30fps meaning it's almost DVD quality.  I thought this would be handy for EF as my existing digicam can only capture 10mins on a 512mb card at the same quality (the phone uses MP4).  There's lots of nifty features in the phone which are too many to list, but being a gadget fan, it's certainly catered to all of my requirements.

Now, you're probably wondering why I took a photo of the Black DS too, considering I got that some time ago now.  Well look carefully at the photo at the GBA slot.  In there is a Super Card Lite which is basically a Micro SD card reader.  I've a 1gb Sandisk Ultra in there (see the tiny black thing in the white card) which can hold many games.  This, combined with the Superpass which goes in the regular DS slot means that I can put games on the memory card and play them on the console.  So far it's been very good, I've discovered many games which I otherwise probably wouldn't have played like Phoenix Wright, Kirby's Power Paintbrush or Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time (pictured).  Certainly a worthwhile purchase.

I just gotta watch what I pay out for the rest of the month now as I've not a lot of cash to spare with all these purchases.  Fortunately I've already bought E135 for Germany later this month so that won't be a problem.

I've not posted here for a while, but then I've not done much worth recording.  I did go to Thorpe Park again on the 13th with arakinuk and yagfox, but otherwise not done much.

What I have been thinking about is what mobile phone I want to get next.  I'm pretty much sold on the Nokia brand for my next phone as I am so used to the interface but there's 2 phones out there I want to get.  When it comes to phones, I have to be honest, I don't use them much for their primary use of talking to people.  I don't generally speak with many people on the phone with a few exceptions, I'm more likely to text people.  Anyway, where I don't use a phone much for calls, I do love my gadgest, and so there's 2 new smartphones from Nokia which I've got my eye on.  I need to decide which I want though.

Firstly there's the N80 which has just come out which literally does everything you would ever expect a phone to do with the added bonus of a 3mp camera and wi-fi.  It's got a gorgeous screen and is a slide style of phone (which I've liked since the old Nokia 7110).  The other option is the N93 which is supposedly out sometime in July.  It's got all the features of the N80, but has a larger screen (with a lower resolution), 3x optical zoom in the camera as well as autofocus, can play awesome games and can record DVD quality 30fps 640x480 video.  The downsides are that it's pretty large, not out yet and is a clamshell.  Personally I'm fairly adverse to clamshells as they generally seem girly to me.  Realistically though I don't need the camera, as nice as it would be.  If I really need to use a quality digital camera, my digital camera can do the same but with a better lense and resolution.  I also don't need a phone that can play graphically amazing games, as I have PSP (and shortly a DS Lite, read below for that) for that.  No doubt the N93 will cost more too, so with all things considered I'm undecided.  The sensible side of me says get the N80, but the irrational side of me says get the N93.  Ah, I'll probably give it a month and reconsider I think, my problem is that I always want to have the latest and greatest thing.

Which nicely leads me on to the fact that the Nintendo DS Lite had a European release date announced today.  It's going to cost £99 (€149), will come out on 23rd June and will be available in iPod White and PSP Black.  As it seems we're the only region to get the Black, I've preordered that.  It'll go nicely with the PSP and personally, I detest the "fashionable" pearl white colour.  No this doesn't mean I'm ditching the PSP, I think that both platforms excel at different game types.  The DS is good for quirky, unique but effectively simple games (admittedly more suited to when you just want a quick game) and the PSP is best suited to fun immersive 3D games such as Daxter, Katamari and Outrun.  I still play the PSP, even the older games like Lumines, but I often feel like I never give it the time it deserves.

I've already got a big list of games on the DS I'm interested in including Phoenix Wright, Trauuma Centre, Brain Training, Tetris, Advance Wars, Mario Kart, New Mario Bros, Elite Beat Agents and of course Zelda.  Not got any of them yet, or even ordered them.  Obviously I can't have them all (especially when they aren't out like with New Mario, Elite Beat Agents and Zelda) so I need to decide what will be good as an all rounder before delving into other games.  Maybe I can get some advice in that department, I pretty much like the more unusual puzzle like games.

Elsewhere, I almost bought an Xbox 360 from Game.Net last Friday during their 24hours sale.  They had 10 360 premiums going for £220 but they all went in less than a minute :P.  Probably for the best really as I don't really need a 360 yet.  I'd be buying it for their Live Arcade if I got one one as there's no really inspiring games on it at the moment.  I will get one eventually and also a Wii I expect.  Doubt I'll be in a hurry to get a PS3 though due to their price point and relatively dull games, I think Sony may have lost the ball with the next generation.

Anyway, that's it for now. Until next time :)