No more “take 1″? Well, the Creative Zen Microphoto has been out…for a while now. And I’ve got the pleasure of owning one of these nifty devices. It’s definitely earned the “eye-catching” status, as well as gotten me a few annoying fourth-graders telling me what a nice “mp3 player” I had. Don’t get me wrong, I love kids, I just don’t think fourth-graders need a personal music player yet.

My Zen Microphoto’s the grey variant. Oh, fun fact; my spell-check caught the word “grey”. Curious, I quickly searched up “grey vs. gray”, and ended up on a blog that graciously explained it: in conclusion, gray is an american variation of the word whereas grey is another “colour”. As a Canadian, I enjoy my “colours”. And to give proper recognition, the blog’s URL is: http://www.bernzilla.com/item.php?id=232.

You might be wondering why I got grey; well, at that time in my life, I was going through a “grey” phase. That, and they didn’t have the black or blue colour schemes in stock. It was boxing day, so I was quite desperate.

Zen Micro vs. Zen Microphoto

Now, you might think it was definitely not worth spending an extra $50-$100 on a Zen MicroPhoto as opposed to a Zen Micro; well, I should mention that the Zen Microphoto has 8gb when compared to the Zen Micro which came with 6gb. Then again, back then I didn’t even have 8gb of songs or photos to store on the device. Actually, now that I’ve gone legitimate in music, I’m afraid I still don’t have 8gb of songs. Sad, eh?

Also, the Zen Microphoto’s got colour. Now, I like my colours. I never realized it, but the colour capabilities came with an option to set different backgrounds (or you might prefer to call them wallpapers) and themes. In those aspects, the Zen Microphoto is light years ahead of the iPod, which needs heavy tweaking to possibly make that happen. I’m not an iPod-hater though; in fact, I’m currently using a 30gb 5.5-gen white iPod (gift from a family friend, and I never return/throw gifts out as a result from mostly getting red-pockets).

Asides from the two major differences, and ignoring a few differences in the physical skeleton/design/frame of the body, we can safely say that they’re practically the same thing.

Performance

Not only is it a digital audio player, it also doubles up as an FM-radio. You also have the option of recording directly off the radio, which is then saved as a .wav file. This option features a maximum recording length of ten minutes, I believe. With that said, the radio signal has to be excellent in order for this to work successfully. As a test, I tried recording off Z103.5 (a local Toronto station) and all I got was static. Sad.

It also has a built-in microphone which is “decent”, to say the least. I wouldn’t record my band’s latest song on that (mind you, I don’t have a band), but it would be perfectly fine to bring to an interview or something. In fact, my cousin and I recorded quite a hilarious parody on it (Jonathan Kwan of APH Networks should remember).

It can store photos as well as music. Now, these photos can be zoomed in and out of (in fact, I remember once reading a manga chapter like that). It’s not bad, especially when you want to kill some time when you’re somewhere out there (not as great as a game though). Sadly, you can’t listen to music simultaneously while you browse through your photos. But I don’t think that will deter all those people who want to bring back happy memories of their latest vacation in Hong Kong.

It’s got a built-in organizer with calendar, tasks, and contacts options. These options have to be filled in through Creative’s own software, which is kind of annoying. I honestly never used those functions before, as everything I need is in my phone.

It can also act as a portable storage device (a USB thumb drive). The storage device portion can be partitioned into a maximum of four gigabytes, leaving four gigabytes for music, recordings, and photos. Let me say this; unless you are willing to drag the Zen Microphoto cable around everywhere, don’t use this function. Save yourself some trouble and purchase USB thumb drive.

Ah, now to what the Zen Microphoto was created for: the music. All you audiophiles out there will be happy to know that yes, it does have a Custom EQ. Actually, I think that feature alone should’ve sold it more units than an iPod Nano (unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way). It also has many preset equalizers. To my delight, it also has “bass boost”, which is quite self-explanatory (it provides a nice touching emphasis of bass to my music). It also lets you create Playlists on the run (complicated, but it’s still there nonetheless), and delete songs on the run. To my surprise I really missed these two features when I started using my iPod (it doesn’t do harm to delete songs you might’ve somehow synced twice). And it really pisses (sorry for the bad word, but there’s no other way to put it) me off when I have to go back to the computer to delete it or just to make a new playlist. There’s also a DJ option, which I absolutely love: it’s like a smartlist on an iPod (which I can never seem to make due to the amount of coding required). The “Most popular” option and “Rarely heard” option are definitely the coolest ones there, although the “Album of the day” isn’t bad at all.

As I previously mentioned, it does have a themes function. This is basically just changing the highlight, background (if it’s default), and text colours. It’s still refreshing sometimes, and even if you don’t want it, at least there’s still an option (ahem, boring ol’ iPod).

It has an advertised battery life of fifteen hours; I can guarantee that it will give you at least ten (my apologies, due to lack of formal testing I can’t confirm fifteen as yet).

Not to mention that there is a nice blue light surrounding the device itself when you are navigating through it. I love that feature!

Lack of some “essential” features

Unfortunately, I must say that the Zen Microphoto does lack some features that would’ve made it completely killer.

Where the heck are my games? Seriously; even the iPod has Brick, Music Quiz, and a couple of other games! To be honest, I don’t find myself playing games on my iPod as I have my cell phone for that already. But, for all who don’t have games on their phone and want to kill a few minutes or so, games are essential! For a device with calendars and contacts capabilities, I have to wonder why aren’t there any games?

One more complaint; MY ALBUM ART! The Zen Microphoto does not have the option of viewing Album Art. Even though many outraged users have petitioned and even attempted to design a custom firmware to incorporate Album Art, it hasn’t been implemented yet. I find it sad, because this feature is even more important than the photo storage, if you ask me.

Outdated?

Now we stumble on the greatest issue; isn’t the Zen Microphoto really outdated? I mean, at the lowest retail price being around $260 (http://www.pcvonline.com/productDetails.aspx?id=3105) when compared to a Creative Zen V Plus ( http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10089452&catid=10205&logon=&langid=EN) for normally at around the same price, it really seems that way. And it is. Personally, I would choose a Zen V Plus over the Zen Microphoto, although I think the Zen Microphoto does look better, the Zen V Plus has video capabilities which is a major for me.

To be honest, I’d probably even choose a Zen V Plus over my iPod Video! Shocked? I’m not. Although a Zen Vision : M is definitely my #1 recommendation for now.

Last Words

I realize that I might come off at quite a Creative fanboy, but you must realize that what I’m saying is true! I love my Zen Microphoto, and after bringing it out for a little light-shining, I realize I might actually choose it over my iPod: I enjoy using Windows Media Player 11 much more than iTunes 7, but the iPod is only compatible with iTunes. Sad, eh?

Oh, and about the photo; the screen was already dimming into a blank screen to save battery. It’s a feature that’s practically included with every other digital audio player.

My first second take! An enthusiastic reader recently installed VistaGlazz on his computer and was ready to install new themes for Vista; unfortunately, he had no idea how to do it. But, I realized that a majority of users probably wouldn’t know how to install themes either. After all, I only learned how through major tweaking on XP (oh, all those countless nights).

Assuming you’ve already downloaded and installed VistaGlazz and patched your uxtheme.dll (that would be the computer with the green checkmark in VistaGlazz), you are now free to choose from any .msstyle designed for Vista. Wait, what the heck is a .msstyle? A .msstyle is a file designed for your computer that changes the look of the taskbar, the start menu, the windows themselves, the menus on the side, and many other aspects of Windows Vista. There are also .msstyle files for Windows XP, but they are incompatible with Windows Vista so we’ll leave those alone for now.

Now, where the devil would you download a .msstyle? Personally, I would suggest DeviantArt, as it has a huge collection of .msstyles for both Windows XP and Vista. However, take caution; many .msstyles that look like Vista could simply be a theme for XP. You will be able to tell the difference by the screenshot or the summary; usually, any screenshot with transparency will be Vista-compatible. Just to make sure it’s Vista compatible, read the creator’s summary; they will usually say “VISTA-ONLY” (or something like that).

After downloading, you realize it’s a “.rar” file. Now, what is a .rar file? A .rar file is simply a file format that compresses the size the original file (meaning it makes the original file smaller). You’re going to need a .rar program like UltimateZip, which I found to be sufficient till I got the full Winrar version. First, I tried highlighting all the contents and used the “extract” command to try to move the files to “C:\Windows\Resources\Themes”. However, I think Vista’s built-in defense stopped it. Don’t fret, there’s a very simple workaround. Navigate to “C:\Windows\Resources\Themes” by opening My Computer or any explorer window and paste “C:\Windows\Resources\Themes” into the navigation bar. Then simply drag the contents from UltimateZip or Winrar into “C:\Windows\Resources\Themes” and double click the “.msstyle” file that came with the contents. The .msstyle will be applied, and you’ll have a nice shiny new skin.

I hope you enjoy your new themes. If you’re computer-friendly enough, you might even be able to design your own!

If you’ve got any questions, feel free to reply with a comment on this post.  If you want to learn about more cool free software like VistaGlazz or interesting gizmos, visit my home page for more information.

“Another iPhone killer?” you might be wondering. It’s actually not designed for that sole purpose.  Or at least the first Nokia N95 wasn’t designed for that purpose.  You’ll see what I mean when the 8gb version comes out. Oops, maybe I spilled the beans with that comment.

http://www.esato.com/news/article.php/id=1733

Now, don’t get too hopeful Nokia fanboys. It’s still just a piece of wheat hanging around the rumour mill.

Actually, it’s hard not to get excited. First, it has a dual-slider design; slide it one way to reveal the keypad, slide it the other to reveal music playing buttons (stop, play, pause, etc) which possibly doubles as additional methods of navigation (not too sure about this yet).

A 5-megapixel camera tops the list off. I initially thought the Sony Ericsson k850 was first to achieve the superior camera, but apparently Nokia already included it with its March 2007 release of the N95. Its lens is made by Carl Zeiss, which I believe all Sony point-and-shoot cameras sport as well. Not only that, but it can shoot video at a resolution of 640*480, which is near DVD quality. Doesn’t look too bad on an iPod Video either. It also features a frontal camera so it can make video calls. As my uncle would say, “it sounds pretty serious,” so far.

It has a Micro SD memory card slot, as well as 150 mb of built-in storage. Not too great, I’m afraid, for a high-end phone like the N95.

It runs on the Symbian operating system (series 60). I’m going to be honest and say I don’t know too much about this, as I’ve never had a Symbian device.

It also rocks an integrated GPS system, which I would believe to be quite useful. However, some more sophisticated options might require a small fee. But seriously, if you can afford the phone, I think you can cough the change up to download these options.

As for the internet service, it has built-in wi-fi so it can connect through hotspots. It can also use carriers’ EDGE, HDSPA, or UMTS services. Not too shabby; considering how this phone was released in March, it has a lot of functions that only phones that were recently announced possess.

With the arrival of an 8gb hard drive, I think that this phone would stack up very nicely against the iPhone. But, even along with the rest of the eager iPhone killers, I think this one has an excellent chance of standing out. To be honest, I’m almost willing to give Nokia a second chance (after my Nokia 6101, I’ve never looked back). I’m also very partial to sliders and swivels as opposed to boring flip phones or candy-bars.

Sadly, this phone doesn’t sport a touch-screen which I thought would have made it killer. Also, I think it has a pricing problem; however, once again considering its technology, I think it is still quite justified to have it priced at around $700.

Pay some serious attention to this phone; you might end up regretting not purchasing it!

Source: http://www.cep-telefonu24.com/assets/images/nokia_n95_cep_telefonu.jpg

Two Motorola takes in a row! Wow! Yes, I’ve realized that I’ve been quite partial to Sony Ericsson in the beginning (k850, w960), but can you blame me? My Sony Ericsson phone has been the only one which possesses quality enough to satisfy me.

Then again, in retrospect, I haven’t exactly used a Motorola before. I always thought their navigation menus were possibly the worst part of their phone; after all, they have quite decent specs and usually quite a consistent aesthetically-pleasing design (examples would be the Krzr which is a name that stumps me, Razr, the Rizr, and the Rokr; heck, even the Pebl looks quite nice).

And by far, Motorola’s most successful product would be the Razr, which took the record for highest-selling phone. Will it’s descendant, the Razr 2 be as successful?

Well, first off, how would Motorola improve upon the Razr? By trimming 2mm off it’s thinness, of course (as if the original wasn’t slim enough). There are now two bright colourful dual screens, as well as having the “greatest resolution on a 2.0″ screen” according to Motorola’s Press Release.

It also continues to carry the Razr’s metal look (which I personally always liked). It has been reinforced with REAL steel to contribute to a more “strengthened” core, a camera with chemically-hardened lens, and all the other stuff. If you really want to know more about the Motorola Razr 2, I suggest you read the press release (link right at the end of the previous paragraph). Sorry, but I’m quite tired of paraphrasing/re-listing their information.

Personally, I don’t think the Razr 2 will be nearly as successful as the original Razr. The original Razr featured a concept/design that was previously completely untouched, but the Razr 2 is just completely built on the Razr concept. I’m sorry Motorola, but I think you should’ve buried the slim-design with the Krzr and somehow designed a new one. Or, perhaps implementing a slide technique from the Pebl to the Razr 2 would’ve been nice (seriously!).

However, I do think their UI has been tweaked a bit; it now functions on Linux, which they believe to be the next step of mobile architecture (and I can’t argue with them on that one). Not that it will sell like hotcakes for that reason.

I really don’t know what to think of the Razr 2. It seems quite like an ordinary phone with a tired concept; then again, the Razr was more or less an ordinary phone, once you took out the concept and design.

Source: http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/05/moto-razr2-official.jpg

Also known as the “MotoRIZR Z8″, it will be the successor to the sleek Motorola Rizr Z6. I do also believe that this is Motorola’s answer to the iPhone.

I really do feel bad for the iPhone. All these cell-phone manufacturers seem to be trying to bury it; then again, a couple of years ago, all the digital audio manufacturers seemed to be trying to kill the iPod. I clearly remember hearing about a lot of “iPod-killers”; one being the Creative Zen Vision:M. As we can see, the iPod seems to be quite immortal; but will the young iPhone have just as powerful a grip on its respective industry?

The MotoRIZR Z8 is very appealing in aesthetic terms, which is a trait inherited from its ancestor the MotoRIZR Z6. It’s a slider phone, which gets a few extra points from me. It features a 2.0-megapixel camera, which now seems to be the industry’s standard (although I can see it moving up to 3.2-megapixels really soon). Actually, I’m quite surprised that the MotoRIZR Z8 doesn’t have a 3.2-megapixel camera itself; I do believe that it will need to gain as much ground as it can, especially when competing with the w960 and the iPhone. It does however have 3.5G, a feature that the iPhone is lacking. It features Symbian software (which I have heard mixed reviews about), and a 2.2-inch screen, and apparently, Windows Media Player 11 (source: http://www.trendygadget.com/2007/05/18/latest-hsdpa-phone-from-motorola-z8/). It also features HSDPA, High-Speed Downlink Packet Access, a 3g protocol allowing for downlink speeds of up to 14.4 Mbit/s.

I think that the MotoRIZR Z8 will fare as well as the Z6 did, if not a bit better; considering how aesthetically-pleasing it is (yeah, I’m a shallow guy) not to mention the 3g features, I think that it has a little chance in hell of beating the iPhone.

Actually, I was wondering what happens when the iPhone-killers kill the iPhone? Will they start trying to kill each other? Heck, would that be a whole new category of phones?! Perhaps the iPhone really is revolutionary in that aspect.

Here, I present to you the iPhone Meizu M8. The thing is, it really reminds me of another device. But I just can’t put my finger on it.

Alright, so perhaps I was a bit harsh. After all, it does sport a touchscreen with dimensions that seem amazingly similar to the iPhone, but who am I to judge? After all, people did accuse Creative of plagiarizing the iPod design. Errr…maybe that’s a different scenario, actually; this really looks like the iPhone. It’s almost like the iPod Nano compared to something like this. And, coincidentally enough, it comes from China (err…the knockoff).

Now, I realize that Meizu is a Chinese company. I also am myself a Chinese Canadian and am not oblivious to our reputation for fantastic knockoffs. And, even though it’s annoying, I can now see why. Least to say, this is definitely not helping our reputation.

Alright, enough with the scoffing. Let’s put aside the completely obvious fact that it looks exactly like the iPhone and take it apart and examine it. Except we can’t, because 1. we don’t have the Meizu M8 yet, 2. it’s not out, and 3. I highly doubt it will be coming to North America. Even if it plans to launch there, I doubt the lawyers and Apple nor Steve Jobs will let that happen.

So, the iPhone is sitting at the steep cost of $499 for the 4gb version and $599 for double that storage. The Meizu M8 comes at approximately $305 and $400 for the 4gb and 8gb versions respectively. Shocked? So am I. That’s almost the same-looking package for a bill less than the iPhone! And if you don’t need or want a camera, you can pay either $195 or $285 for the standard version of the M8. It comes with a 3.2 inch 720 x 480 screen (sound familiar?), and a UI that looks amazingly like Windows Vista (which leads me to wonder if it’s really vista, or just another…well you get my drift).

Source: http://www.cellphones.ca/news/upload/meizu_m8.jpg

Anyway, I just wanted to bring this to light. Maybe you might not have such a strong reaction; in fact, you might grow to quite enjoy the idea of this Meizu M8 vs. iPhone. I kind of feel bad for the iPhone, but at the same time, I don’t blame cell phone manufacturers for jumping on it so quickly after seeing how the iPod dominated the digital audio player industry.

Could it be an early iPhone-killer? Yes, it most certainly can. I’ll show you why!

On paper, it already stacks up quite evenly with the iPhone (err…actually, the specs seem to be leaning towards w960 superiority): unlike it’s predecessor the w950, the w960 sports a 3.2 megapixel camera, as opposed to the now-seemingly meazly 2.0 offered by the iPhone. It possesses a keypad and touchscreen capabilities. It functions on the UIQ symbian operating system; but, after reading about UIQ vs. the stripped down OS X, I can’t really tell which one is better. The w960i does feature java support however, whereas the iPhone unfortunately has only the “sweet” way to use apps (to see more on this, click this link: http://curmi.com/blog/2007/06/17/iphone-development-not-so-sweet/).

But, enough with the comparisons. The w960 also features a menu similar to the k850 which is a definitely plus (to me).

It’s also a Sony Ericsson, so I personally believe that you can expect a standard of good quality. And I’ll admit it, I’ve got a bit biased in favour of Sony Ericsson, but can you blame me? My phone, the w600i, has served me well (and is still serving me very well).It functions on the Walkman 2.0 player, featuring Album Art (oops, I almost drooled). It has wi-fi functions AND 3g, which definitely is a plus especially when compared to iPhone’s lack of 3g. It has a 320×240 screen, which is plenty big (I’m still using good ol’ 174×220). It has 8gb of built-in memory, which stacks evenly with the iPhone.

Unfortunately, it’s expected to be released in the fourth-quarter of 2007! So, we can definitely expect the iPhone to have its own share of sales before it comes out. Ironically, doesn’t this situation seem similar to the Vista-Leopard situation?

Who knows, maybe the iPhone’s next firmware will feature more functions that can popularize it. Until then, it will almost definitely succumb to the w960 (then again, the iPod has always beaten many more competent players). Later days!