The newer Sidekick 4G seems to follow in the footsteps of its predecessors that used the Danger OS formerly owned by Microsoft. And who can forget the 3-4 day data outage that cause a lot of problems and inconvenience for many people? The keyboard was a great advantage. Its built-in AIM client when the vibrating part was set right, was quite strong. In some cases, strong enough to vibrate itself off a table. I would venture to say it was strong enough to generate a few comedy bits...
"But officer, this big thing vibrated my car right into the pole..." We all know not to text and drive. In some cases, it felt kinda like a joy buzzer, making you look like when you're shaking hands with someone who had one.
If you were waiting for a relay phone call, you could easily put it under your head or chest and the vibrating could wake you.
On to the Sidekick 4G. The Android OS was a nice change including the touch screen. The trackball is still there, but not as a rolling, but as an optical. Just roll your finger over it. Some other basic features were kept like the Menu and other keys. It doesn't vibrate as strongly as the old Sidekicks did, but it's still a good vibration. The screen doesn't do a 180 degree flip, rather, you're pushing it upwards to open to show the tactile keyboard underneath. I'm a little worried about some people who tend to open their screens a little hard, thus possibly breaking the little plastic piece in back. The thing is probably a bit tougher than it looks. Rather than hold down the lower right button to put it into sleep mode, you tap the power button. Turning it off, hold it down and press "Power off" when the menu pops up.
The number of applications available, more free than pay, are quite a few. Some look better than others. One of the first things I installed was the AIM program. Next thing I noticed was that the vibration wasn't much of a vibration. Just a quick "boomp." Kinda felt like someone fell over and died unless I missed something in the setups. I looked around for other AIM and other IM clients and came across Meebo. It used a longer vibration time, about the same as the old Sidekick. But its buddy list isn't that great.
The included browser was pretty nice, and a little looking around netted me Firefox, Opera, and some other browsers. The browser had a couple bookmarks that you couldn't delete. A workaround was to create a folder, move them into that folder, and delete that. You can even uninstall and delete an app that you downloaded, but the included apps you can't quite remove.
Other included apps were Maps with GPS directions, Calendar, an office kind of editor, Files access on the SD card, front and back camera, YouTube, TV, and a whole lot more. One big thing is the YouTube application also includes captioning support, as evidenced from when I watched an Annoying Orange video.
Battery power seems to be a bit short, unless I recharged it wrong when I got it. It uses a standard Samsung EB504465VA 1500mah battery. The USB connector isn't the standard size connector but a smaller size one. Next post in a week or two will tell how to put your exported data back in.
The Sidekick 4G isn't exactly a smartphone killer, but it does the job for those who don't heavily use their phones like others do. But of course, there's always the pads, tablets, and netbooks out there.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Black Sand Review
A few weeks ago, MSSD's Malz Theatre showed Black Sand. This looks like a thriller style of movie, complete with a lot of suspense. But what made the movie move slowly in its two hour showtime were all the flashbacks. Despite that, it was fairly good. I had a hard time understanding some things due to the signing nature of some of the actors, but I managed to understand what was going on. I'll watch the DVD with subtitles.
The synopsis on the webpage:
"Four students descend upon a tropical rain forest resort in Costa Rica with the purpose of having an adventure for a vacation at an aunt's place. Beautiful waterfalls and lush green jungles are the first sign of heaven but there's also a darker side to paradise. The four are warned not to venture outside after dark. Something from the jungle is stalking the vacationers. Whatever it is, is it protecting a secret or is it something so unspeakable?"
The end was a bit of a surprise, with a few twists and turns thrown in.
I'm not going to reveal the ending if you've not seen it. I'll just say romance is in the air.
The synopsis on the webpage:
"Four students descend upon a tropical rain forest resort in Costa Rica with the purpose of having an adventure for a vacation at an aunt's place. Beautiful waterfalls and lush green jungles are the first sign of heaven but there's also a darker side to paradise. The four are warned not to venture outside after dark. Something from the jungle is stalking the vacationers. Whatever it is, is it protecting a secret or is it something so unspeakable?"
The end was a bit of a surprise, with a few twists and turns thrown in.
I'm not going to reveal the ending if you've not seen it. I'll just say romance is in the air.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
"See What I'm Saying" Review
Last Saturday afternoon, I saw Hilari Scarl's "See What I'm Saying" documentary at MSSD's Malz Theatre. Many short films by other deaf have been done, but a documentary? It was pretty nicely done. So's the introductory music video by Powder. We see Robert DeMayo going from having an apartment to homeless to having a home, shared with the homeowner. It's a common theme we see throughout the movie, that it's much more difficult for a deaf actor to get jobs in the hearing world. We see CJ Jones, Robert, and TL Forsberg try to "invite" the hearing people into their world, but very few take up the invitation. It was especially disappointing for CJ to play at a hearing black-oriented convention in the theatre. Less than 20 people showed up total for 3-4 shows.
The most heartbreaking scene was when Robert's mother was in the hospital for the final stages of cancer which spread to her brain. Despite all the attempts with and without interpreter to communicate why he has an interpreter and his attempts to communicate without, he leaves the hospital. His mom passes away without even learning sign a few weeks later, despite him giving her a book on signs some time earlier.
The best parts were watching them perform including audience reactions and interviews. The Beethoven's Nightmare guitarist with the light gray top hat was kinda like a cross between AC/DC's Angus Young (without the extreme antics) and former Guns N Roses guitarist Slash (without the long hair), including other male rockers. TL had her own style that used elements from various female rockers. You have to give her credit for going so far as to make her signing more understandable with GLAD's help.
The post-show Q&A period was interesting, though a little hard to understand in places. It was an interesting treat to see Robert come on stage with Hilari. Outside the theatre, they sold tshirts, and there was mention of the DVD coming out.
Watch this documentary if you can. It's not just ASL-focused, but also has sound and subtitles for those who don't know sign.
Update: They've got a Facebook page!
See What I'm Saying on Facebook
The most heartbreaking scene was when Robert's mother was in the hospital for the final stages of cancer which spread to her brain. Despite all the attempts with and without interpreter to communicate why he has an interpreter and his attempts to communicate without, he leaves the hospital. His mom passes away without even learning sign a few weeks later, despite him giving her a book on signs some time earlier.
The best parts were watching them perform including audience reactions and interviews. The Beethoven's Nightmare guitarist with the light gray top hat was kinda like a cross between AC/DC's Angus Young (without the extreme antics) and former Guns N Roses guitarist Slash (without the long hair), including other male rockers. TL had her own style that used elements from various female rockers. You have to give her credit for going so far as to make her signing more understandable with GLAD's help.
The post-show Q&A period was interesting, though a little hard to understand in places. It was an interesting treat to see Robert come on stage with Hilari. Outside the theatre, they sold tshirts, and there was mention of the DVD coming out.
Watch this documentary if you can. It's not just ASL-focused, but also has sound and subtitles for those who don't know sign.
Update: They've got a Facebook page!
See What I'm Saying on Facebook
Saturday, May 3, 2008
The 'Wrong Game' Review
A couple weeks ago, I was with Jamie Berke to watch The Wrong Game at Gallaudet's Foster Auditorium. Little did we know we'd be sharing the campus with a festival and what looked to be a basketball game. The movie itself was quite good, the first time we've watched a full-length ASL/signed movie. The first thing I'd noticed was no sound. Next thing I noticed was that it had no captions/subtitles for those who don't sign well or at all. Not a problem there.
All through the movie, I noticed little elements from other movies and books here and there. It's rather difficult to list them, but suffice it to say that some major elements seem to have been taken from the SAW movie series. Namely, people being stuck in a room and having to do something in order to exit a maze or room. Even though the movie was low-budget, you know they had to fake, but otherwise their acting 'told' you what was going on. Very little blood and gore was used, with the most being in the Lion's Den when a character put his arm into one of the lion's mouths on the wall... Hardly a gush by Hollywood standards.
Other elements I'd noticed came from books I'd read over the years, a little Hitchcock here, a little Stephen King there, and a few other things here and there. Some of the props and scenes were made to look even more scary and menacing by the use of spiders and snakes. It was interesting seeing Bernard Bragg, both in one of the pre-show ads and in the movie.
Whatever questions I had through the movie were answered at the end. The signing was clear, although with the "old man" character in the attic with the blue gloves was a little hard to understand what with the dark gloves color against a dark background. The camera tricks were pretty well-done as well.
No spoilers here for those who haven't seen it. Let's just say the ending was quite interesting.
Move over, Hollywood... There's a new player in town and it's called Deaf Cinema.
All through the movie, I noticed little elements from other movies and books here and there. It's rather difficult to list them, but suffice it to say that some major elements seem to have been taken from the SAW movie series. Namely, people being stuck in a room and having to do something in order to exit a maze or room. Even though the movie was low-budget, you know they had to fake, but otherwise their acting 'told' you what was going on. Very little blood and gore was used, with the most being in the Lion's Den when a character put his arm into one of the lion's mouths on the wall... Hardly a gush by Hollywood standards.
Other elements I'd noticed came from books I'd read over the years, a little Hitchcock here, a little Stephen King there, and a few other things here and there. Some of the props and scenes were made to look even more scary and menacing by the use of spiders and snakes. It was interesting seeing Bernard Bragg, both in one of the pre-show ads and in the movie.
Whatever questions I had through the movie were answered at the end. The signing was clear, although with the "old man" character in the attic with the blue gloves was a little hard to understand what with the dark gloves color against a dark background. The camera tricks were pretty well-done as well.
No spoilers here for those who haven't seen it. Let's just say the ending was quite interesting.
Move over, Hollywood... There's a new player in town and it's called Deaf Cinema.
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