Please visit my new blog...

Please visit my new (more broadly themed) blog:

ClockworkTechnology.

Nokia 6233 update

I had planned to do a full review on this handset for some time, but re-reading my original post made me realise I have little to add to my initial impressions recorded below. Of course, this is positive, since it means that 5 months of everyday use have largely bourne out the favourable first impressions. There are, however, a few niggles I wish to record: Firstly, the phone could be somewhat slimmer - I keep seeing all those sleek phones that Samsung and Sony Ericsson are coming out with now and must confess to some degree of jealousy. Secondly, this phone is equipped with a 2 megapixel camera (the highest resolution phone camera I have yet had) that takes absolutley dreadful photos - just like every other mobile phone camera I've ever used. Why, please someone tell me, do they bother?

Aside from those two things, however, I remain impressed with the phone - which given my fickleness and addiction to new gadgets must make it very good indeed.

Seiko 'Black Knight' kinetic watch

This is my new watch, on my wrist (with apologies for the poor quality of the photo - taken with my Nokia 6233's typically-useless 2 megapixel camera). It's purchase was the result of a prolonged search for a watch that was elegant, yet tough enough to survive daily life on my wrist - I'm fairly hard on watches and so far only my Casio G-Shock has managed this feat for more than a year (a watch to which the term 'elegant' can hardly be applied).

I had been looking around for some time and had considered many watches, including some quite expensive models like the Omega Seamaster, but couldn't find anything that was 'just right'... Until, whilst visiting friends in London, I wandered into a jewellers and saw this: Tough, elegant, well made, properly waterproof, kinetic-powered and with a 6 month power reserve. I bought it the same day and in the ensuing month have had little cause to regret the decision. Though mechanicals are more popular again these days, I still find the kinetic movement fabulously clever (and I love watching the second-hand spin round when you press the power-reserve button). The watch itself is heavy but comfortable, big but not too big, attractive but not flashy - 'just right'.

The model of watch in question (I learned after buying it) is known among Seiko enthusiasts as the 'Black Knight' - a somewhat more elegant, discrete brother to the famous 'Monster' and 'Samurai' diver's watches. The only problem with it (as I read on one site) is that, like its brothers, it comes delivered with the 'Seiko-virus'... I've always liked watches alot and now I find myself wanting to collect all the others in the range...

Casino Royale

Just in case you didn't know already... The new Bond film, and the new Bond, for that matter, is simply awesome.

Now I will freely admit I am a Bond fan, and have been since I was a child, but this is another order of excellence. Daniel Craig's Bond makes Jason Bourne look almost wimpish and gives the character depth that has just not been seen earlier in the franchise (with the possible exception of the criminally underrated On Her Majesty's Secret Service). For once we meet a Bond girl who is a match for Bond himself and the supporting cast is generally excellent. The stupid, implausible gadgets and ridiculous, unbelievable cgi 'stunts' that sounded the death knell for Bronsnan's era are notable by their absence and there is a refreshing lack of space-lasers. Said nonsense is replaced by real action, character development, brutal (beautifully coreographed) fights, genuinely nasty villains and some cool, quite realistic, tech.

Quite how an elderly franchise team could have come up with something so radically different and better is beyond me, but kudos to them. Of course they had genuine source material to help this time; and apart from the necessary updating and the addition of an introductory first act, the film is remarkably faithful to the book. Whatever the reasons behind this entirely successful 'reboot', I can't wait for the next installment...

iPod Shuffle - the original

Amidst the kerfluffle surrounding the new headphones-take-up-more-space-than-the-player iPod Shuffle, I thought it apposite to cast a glance back at the original Shuffle. Ridiculed by the press at launch ('an MP3 player without a display, are they mad?!') the shuffle was in fact a great success - and having owned one for about a year (which is still my main MP3 player), I know full-well why. Admittedly, the lack of a display is a total bummer if you want to listen to a specific track, but if you're prepared to treat your player as a sort of radio station that only plays songs you like, together with the ability to fast-forward, pause and rewind, you'll love it. Here's my list of reasons why - including the one reason I probably won't upgrade to the new shuffle, wonderfully elegant though it is:

1. The shuffle is cheap. Having bought it to replace a very expensive hard drive player that broke, I appreciate this.
2. It's tough - the lack of a display helps here.
3. It's very small and light - you just don't notice carrying it around with you.
4. This player has simply wonderful ergonomics - you can operate the controls by feel alone, you don't even need to glance at them.
5. It looks cool. Face it, if we weren't so overloaded with white plastic right now, we'd still be saying 'ooh'.
6. It has a decent battery life.
7. The sound quality is remarkably good - noticably better than some other players.
8. The iTunes auto-fill feature makes composing that personal radio stations playlist a one-click affair.
9. Though it is cheap, it doesn't feel it - this is a quality item.
10. The shuffle can be used as a USB drive without the need for any extras or cables - pop the cover off the USB connector and away you go... and yes, that is the reason why I probably won't be upgrading. ;)