Yep, that's right, I'm baffled. At Nokia. Or more precisely, at what Nokia's been doing lately. And I don't just mean the past few months, but actually the past few years. It's like the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing (or vice versa, all the same), and I can't help but wonder when this is gonna change - if ever at all.
Do you remember the N95? You could fall in love with it at the first sight. And indeed, it was revolutionary in a way: featuring built-in GPS, dual-slider mechanism, and altogether being really compact for a device so feature-packed. It had that wow-effect to it, and sure enough I could still love it two months ago, if it hadn't been for the frustration about touchscreen and QWERTY, I'd still prolly have it. And its insides weren't bad either: the dual CPU, and hardware graphics acceleration - just what a top-end device needed. It clearly became evident however, that the device was seriously crippled thanks to the inferior amount of RAM: with only 64MB, you couldn't help applications getting killed by the OS when you wanted to do 3-4 or even more things at once. Then a firmware update kinda did a CPR to the thus dying model: introducing on-demand paging seemed to solve most of the issues - but truth be told, it wasn't a real solution, and there wasn't anything to be done to this, really, it was a fault at hardware-level, a flaw in the design, exactly like the other major disability of the thing: the battery, which was way too inferior for the poor device's capabilities. So what could Nokia do?
And just like that, about a year passed, lots of new phones were released, with new and exciting features too - or, well, not new in the revolutionary-sense, but new in a polished-sense: applications, task handling, everything, it's only natural that developments yield better results on the long run, right? So, Nokia had to do something, and quick. That was called the N96.
And again, time was flying by, and one very important thing was weighing down heavily on Nokia, and it's called touchscreen. They've slipped into mainstream, and now everyone was rolling out models equipped with a touchscreen. And I have to halt here, that's actually one of the few things I'll have to give Apple credit for: while I still can't see the iPhone as anything more than a fad, it did a great deal to "touch the masses". Nokia had a few, let's say, experiments, with touchscreens in the past, mainly if you think of the internet tablets, which have been anything but mainstream, really, just like the 7710 (an interesting thing though, not only did it feature a touchscreen, it was actualyl of 640x360 resolution - nHD anyone? and this model was announced in 2004!). And while it's a rather different category than the abovementioned Nseries models, we can't really pass by the 5800 XpressMusic here.
So, the 5800 was a success: people liked it and they still do, and the firmware updates have already made it quite polished by now. But this was still an only child, on a sea of similar devices having been around for that much longer. Not to mention the top level, you know, the aristocracy, where still the dud called N96 was being torn apart by the negative critics. And when the first images and then videos of the N97 came around, well...I think the world was impressed. The fire that was burning about the time of the announcement of the N95 seemed to come back to life, and a whole world was holding back their breaths: something truly amazing was in the works here. Or so it seemed.
Again, it has the wow-effect, and can make you fall in love as soon as you take a look at it. Indeed, it's a masterpiece, but sadly, only as far as looks go, because under the lid, well...ahem. The buttons are okay, even the odd layout of the QWERTY is easy to get used to, the display is nice, and there ain't any problem with the battery either. However, while polishing the outer design (and overlooking the horrid camera lens cover!), Nokia seemed to have forgotten about the insides once again. Sure, throw in widgets, they're a fad nowadays and greatly improve usability actually. But with all those things having always to run in the background, how could no one think of the RAM? 128MB is just not enough: we came to see the same mistake made as with the N95. And processing power, ffs? Using the same inferior chip as in the actual middle-range 5800 - please, you've got to be kidding. I mean, it would've been nice if Nokia had done that, but unfortunately, they were being serious. (On a sidenote, the absolute candybar-slider 6710 Navigator sports a 600MHz CPU - someone must've done a major fuck-up with the specs-blueprint-lists.) The form factor is great, but don't expect it to deliver the same experience as those demo videos were showing: it's just way too weak for that. And yeah, if you believed the transition effects (or any other graphics effects for that matter) on a S60 5th device, well...your fault for being naive, too. Flagship model with impressive appearance and mid-level hardware: when you consider this, the already way too high pricetag seems even steeper. And I haven't even mentioned the ridiculous uninstallable 3rd party apps trials.
...WTFH!?!?!?! Seriously? I'm baffled. And outraged too. Not at the N900, that gets kudos, because it seems awesome so far. But at Nokia's policy. I mean, wtf's up with releasing a SERIOUSLY crippled flagship model with a SERIOUSLY too high pricetag, only to announce something that already beats it hands down on the day of its announcement?!?!?! Wake up, ffs, you've gone down the wrong way with the N95-N96 by chance (let's not argue), and now you take the fuckin' same route BY CHOICE, AGAIN?!?!?! What's wrong with you people?!?!?! I'd hope it's all a bad dream and I'll eventually wake up, but inside I know this is reality. Really...fire those employees who are responsible for this friggin' misery, because it's just no good - and no fair either.
And on another level: while the firmware updates come pouring in, a lot of side-projects Nokia Beta Labs have been doing, never make it into the older devices' default software, despite having achieved a final version and despite having started to seep into the newcomer models: geotagging, ShareOnline updates, a more developed and better calculator, Ovi Contacts, Sports Tracker, Messaging - and yes, some of these are still not getting included, although final versions exists. Nice little things, that are cooked up inside Nokia's own kitchens, and would be more useful than 3rd party trials, yet you'll have to download them manually, while the previous ones come preinstalled and not even removable. Also, the UI. I know Symbian S60, okay? I've been loyal since the N-Gage. I know it's capable of a lot of things, I know it beats the others in many cases, without a serious fight. I know the active standby screen has been getting upgrades all the while. But ffs, really? If you do as much as dust it off, the latest S60 5th that's the soul of the N97 is the very same as the 3rd Ed. has been, without the FPs! How old is that?! Everyone's at customizing their softwares, giving them nice looks, new dresses, ANIMATIONS, whatnots - Nokia has devoured Symbian and they're still unable to properly develop. Or I could mention other key features that have been spreading like wildfires too: take the camera for example. N86 - supposedly one level below in a way. 8MP. I know I've defended the 5MP camera of the N97, because of the sensor, because of image noise, but still, what's with that? Or the Xenon. I can't comprehend why Nokia keeps omitting the Xenon flash, it was and is clearly praised in the N82. Or the fad features that might be useful, or might not, but still others can deliver them: DivX support, H.264 support, smile detection, touch focus, face recognition, and so on and so on. A QR code reader? Yeah it's pretty much unused, but the N95 knew it, so where did it get lost? PDF reader? Has been default AND full version for ages, now it's a fuckin' 15day trial in a fuckin' flagship model - not to mention QuickOffice: I know it's more Eseries oriented, but geez, here's a full QWERTY keyboard, let us use it! Bad, bad, bad - real bad - too bad. Or just as much as the Contacts: you could edit the labels themselves on the N95, now that option's gone too. The Music Player? Way too simple. There's the huge album art, but the title and the artist's name under it are just TINY, and why aligned to the left when it should be centered (another thing the N95 knew)? You know, focus of attention? And still no support for either the album artist or the disc number tag fields, when there are way too many multi-disc albums nowadays, not to mention all the featured artists, who are listed like an entire album was belonging to them - the phone has troubles handling 25GB of music anyway, why make it even harder?...
I guess that's pretty much it: I'm baffled at incompetence. From a manufacturer that's been market leader for so long, and that's been conducting so many queries, I fail to see where they fail to make those ideas come true. And even mroe, WHY they fail to do so. It's so clear what should be done, so why can't they just DO it? It's like, they get one tiny thing absolutely the bestest possible in one model, and then go on applying the OLD solution in all NEWER ones. I swear, I've been an avid Nokia supporter since the 3210. And now I'm totally baffled and outraged at their incompentece. Someone please explain me what's gone wrong.
I don't even know where to
Organization
I can't go by the issues here. First of course, the ticket sales, where the system just crashed totally because of the rush, and the office itself couldn't access their own network except for their HQ, while in the meantime the Gold tickets sold out at 3rd party vendors. All that after they supposedly prepared for such events, ie. to prevent them. Because I've had misfortune, I went for my ticket to the actual office...and as such, after waiting half day in the freezing cold and snow, I got home without any ticket. Not just me, but everyone, actually. At the same, a friend of mine who went to a bookstore (yep, inside location) got her ticket after like one hour. No comment. I got my ticket 2nd hand some days later, for almost double the price...only to find out like a month or two before the concert that LiveNation decided they'd print and sell some more Gold tickets. Yeah, talk about unfair. And then, there was the issue of the venue. About 3 weeks before the gig, they started messing with that too, changing it to an actual Stadium, of which the owners couldn't make an agreement with, because of some fuckin' soccer match and the grass. Even though the grass there is about 50yo and LiveNation would have agreed to actually REPLACE the entire thing with brand new, world class grass, they just said no...guess a CEO or some such wouldn't have gotten as much money as they'd've wanted. So finally it was taken back to Kincsem Park. But of course, that's not the end: the security basically didn't really seem like they knew what they were doing (and the fact that whoever appeared to be leader actually HAS voice, only turned out when he had to yell at the fans in the queue - when he was informing us about things, not even the second row could hear him); and the nice and slim police girls weren't really reassuring either. Thought, altogether there were so many policemen around there that I don't think I've ever seen at one place at one time. But, they could only act superior with that "Well, try it!" line, when we were to burst through the gates. Bunch o' morons. As for the fans: respect to those who were camping there since Thursday. No matter how fanatic I am, I can barely do with spending just one day there, so even two seems unbearable for me, not to mention three. And thanks for the idea of the little wristbands with numbers, to whoever came up with it: the first 200 ppl there had their numbers and could even go home mid-day and get back later on, it was arranged with the security that they'd only let that 200 in the foremost block of the barricades, everyone else was to wait further away. (But of course, that didn't go perfect either, after a while the latecomers started seeping through to our block, cuz there was only ONE guard between the two.) Still, even if we transformed into a simple group from the numbered queue, it was well worth it: around 3-4pm the oncoming mass of people, and the crowd/queue themselves just became rather scary, so it was a good thing we got there in the front. When we were finally let in, everyone started sprinting of course, slowed down only by the three further checkpoints we had to get through...and some, mid-way, when we actually realized we'll have to run about 7-800 meters (~765-875 yards), cuz they couldn't make a STRAIGHT way to the stage, it had to be a giant CURVE. From what I've gathered, I doubt anyone ever experienced such a distance in such a case. Next thing that turned the TOUR into a TRAGICOMEDY even more was the issue of drinking water. I mean, you know, it's summer and all, and we're first row right at the stage, being squeezed and pushed constantly for hours by the thousands of people behind us: no one in their right mind would think of fighting themselves through the crowd just to get to the food and drink stands which were totally on the side ends and at the entrance of the BRONZE (= farthest standing from the stage) sector, mainly after that sprint from the gates to there. And, apparently, people everywhere could consider that, and there were bottles of mineral water (actual packs too at most places) at the security guards between the fence and the stage, so that those there wouldn't dehydrate and faint. Not here tho, oh no. Guards and even the first aid station workers found the idea actually RIDICULOUS when we mentioned it to them, the ~lifesavers~ even complaining about how they're paid to save lives, not to distribute water (a: and preventing dehydration is not life saving, huh? b: wtf's with the attitude, they get their freakin' money whatever they do). But after a while, they apparently solved it, but the way they did...well, hilarious. We plastic glasses, and water itself arrived in plastic BUCKETs. And yeah, that's true, I didn't wanna believe it either and I saw it with my own two eyes. Talk about absurd? All in all, I'm not sure I ever wanna go to another concert in my own country...
The events
Arriving by the underground, you got a nice image of the place from the windows of the station: the huge stage from half-back-half-side, so much so that the otherwise giant trucks seemed like they were even less than matchbox cars, lined up behind the stage - certainly set the mood for what was coming. Finding the entrances was actually easy, but maybe that was only cuz of my instincts: I started off in the good direction and so just got there. When we were let in and started to run, at about mid-way I simply had to slow down, for two reasons. One was to catch my breath, and the other was to admire the stage. Last year in Rome I had a Hot Ticket, which meant that we could walk in from behind the stage, and thus the experience was just insignificant compared to this. But it's HUGE, and an utter MONSTER, and to see THIS monster IN MY OWN HOMETOWN...wow. I honestly had to take a moment to salute there. You really feel insignificant and absolutely minuscule when you get in the front row and look up above your head - and those enormous Ms only enhance that feeling, with whom (and what) they stand for. All in all, it gave me goosebumps, and not necessarily in the good way either, but somehow it still added up to a general good feeling. (Prolly the "hey, i'm here, it's here, it's all real and it's all happening" feeling.) I think about the first two rows were filled when suddenly everyone started screaming, and not without a reason either: M herself appeared on stage with a mic and dancers, in a baseball cap and some sort of tracksuit, with a scarf around her neck! I honestly never thought I'd see her like this up close and personal, just there to do some rehearsing! And it was an awesome appetizer, even then it was obvious that they all were in a good mood and really having fun. When it turned out that there was a guy there who came from New York (well, that's what they said anyway), M went "Oooh, high five, motherfucker!", and sat at the edge of the catwalk with two people holding her hips for support and reached out and gave the guy her guitar pick. Even just watching that was great.
Some "silence" and waiting followed that, until Paul Oakenfold appeared. I have to admit, "special guests" have always made me a bit nervous: bands are usually mostly unknown and thus we can't really go with their flows, not knowing their songs at all, and DJs occasionally put on a nice remix of some popular song but their own creations totally don't do anything to me. This time however, it was a pleasant disappointment. Paul played tracks I actually like and the remix versions were good too (Boom Boom Pow, just to name my favorite), then he put on even Celebration, which made the audience go real wild. In the meantime, the dancer guys appeared on stage too and danced and were goofin' off, visibly having a good time - idk how much of that was script, but I don't even want to, they created a real nice atmosphere for what everyone was grateful and cheered. And to end his set with I Gotta Feelin'... "I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night" - you bet!!!
When Paul said goodbye, we were waiting for M of course, but instead, crew staff appeared. Guess they were informed that rain was upcoming or probable, so they had to cover the stage with a felt-like material: that was quite odd with the tapes and all, and it took them about an hr, by the end of which we got quite frustrated. In fact, some ppl started booing and such, which I want to absolutely close myself off from. At that time, I didn't want to be a Hungarian, I mean, ffs ppl, would it have been better if someone had just slipped on the wet stage and broke their leg?! Wish some actually did some thinking before doing anything. By the way, one of the crew members had a hilarious text on his tee: "ALL ACCESS, ALL THE TIME, DON'T EVEN ASK". ... I want me one of those! lol In the meantime, another DJ was playing some music, which, according to the ppl around me was great, but personally I didn't at all like it...apart from the parts that really did hit the "RIDICULOUS BASS" level.
So to sum it up, the 5.30 gate opening turned into about 6.00; the 8pm beginning was right for Paul; the supposed-expected 9pm appearance of M became 10pm. I was a bit worried, I mean, if we out there got so frustrated, they must've been quite nervous too, back in there, waiting to get on stage already but not being able to, and that sort of spoiling the mood.
Well, it didn't.
Seeing the intro again already got me ecstatic, all of the backrdops are perfect and I couldn't mention one that I don't like at any tiny level. No matter the recordings all over the net, The Sweet Machine (Candy Factory would still suit better, says I) is just a different experience on those huge walls on stage. And of course its message: the sweets ARE here, the shop IS opening... And when M did appear, no effects of the delay were visible on them: still smiling like crazy, and the crowd too forgot about the delay. Whoever could watch the backdrop during Candy Shop, are sure to have gotten at least two cavities now in their mouths. I mean, I swear, it's just so freakin' explicit it's almost disgusting, and while my masochistic self totally likes it, my sober mind was voicing its objection quite violently. The tour sure could have got the "Stickier & Sweeter Edition" subtitle. And from then on was the first two "quarters" with their 11 songs that are just so together and so energetic, it makes you practically beg for a slow song to rest a bit already. And I'm 23 and she's 51, and I was just partying at one gig and she's doing everything at every show. Whoa...
They replaced Heartbeat with Holiday (with some Celebration in it), which I really welcomed: been to Confessions in 2006, been to S&S last year, and the song was omitted from both tours, while having been famous for always being in the setlist earlier. So it was awesome...not to mention the tribute to Michael Jackson: it's amazing how she can make it such an organic part of the show that it doesn't feel out of place and artificial. And that she DOES it, really, I mean, the whole remembrance act. It's one thing I really, really like about her. After that, Borderline was replaced with Dress You Up...I couldn't pick that one up as easily as Holiday, but I like that song nevertheless, and it wasn't a bad decision to include it, either. She's Not Me is still perfect, I absolutely adore how they edited the backdrop AND how they created the coreography too, with the costumes and all. (Plus, it was the silliest perk to see Madonna feelin' up her dancer's rear, just two arms' reach above my head...lol.)
My favorite parts, Devil Wouldn't Recognize You, Miles Away, La Isla Bonita: somehow they seemed much more intense than last time. Idk if it was the volume, or where I stood this time, or just the atmosphere and mood, but I was totally taken aback by those. In an absolutely good way. Then You Must Love Me...well, it was THE BEST! Hungarian fans planned a little surprise for our Queen, namely, there were texts like "HUNGARY LOVES YOU" and such printed on A4 papers, and distributed to many of the ppl there, with the instruction to hold it up during that song. And we did it. Guy came out to record the dozens of messages, and M had a smile plastered on her face all the way while singing. She actually let out a bit of chuckle when she got to the last word of the song, what with the papers and constant "WE LOVE YOU" yells around her. It was just so totally brilliant: we've been waiting for so long for her to come here with one of her shows, and now she did, and we were partying and applauding and yelling and singing each and every one of her songs from beginning to end, from the start of the show right til the Game Over. If all this love and enthusiasm couldn't convince her that she HAS to come back here, I don't know what would. Idk about others, but (mainly during Miles Away here) I can feel so much love radiating from her it's breathtaking - and it can't be described how good it feels that we managed to give at least some of that back to her.
Some of us were even singing Get Stupid, I was glad that they didn't remove that part, because it's really expressive and awesome. Just as much as Like A Prayer, but in a different way: the latter one is a spiritual experience, a journey, really. What with all the messages on the screens, in several different languages too, and the way she performs it, and the remix itself...I seriously get mad at whoever says that this version of the song is not at least as good as the original album one. It just makes one to want to get on their knees and say thanks to the higher power, no matter the names they call them, for simply EVERYTHING. ... I mean, if we weren't squeezed like sardines in a tin can, while pushed and stepped on by all the others around us, during a concert. About Frozen, well, I don't mind that one knocking Hung Up out, the latter has just been played so many times it got kinda boring...but didn't feel like there's much justice to Frozen itself. Don't get me wrong, of course Frozen is one of her bests and I love it too, but not this remix. It's somehow too strange, and by the time your brain processes what and how is actually being played and sung, it's already over, and you just spent a few minutes being short-circuited. Ray Of Light, on the other hand...I could never go with the jumping through the whole song act, simply don't have that much energy, mainly not in the middle of the crowd, where even balancing myself is different than otherwise. This time tho, I HAD to be jumping. Again, idk if it's the setting, or my mood, or her request, but somehow I couldn't stand still and just clap. Then of course, if you've been like that during Ray Of Light, you couldn't just stop before Give It 2 Me ended, either. It's still totally SICK (in a totally positive way of course), with the geek glasses and the arcade "game" and all...and a perfect closure to the candy-shop-turned-arcades. "Budapest, Hungary, thank you!" - well, dearest M, WE thank YOU!
Aftermath
Personally, I was praying for rain during the Rain / Here Comes The Rain Again video, because that would have been so beautiful and poetic. Well, just too good, I guess, those up in the skies could be thinking, because rain came a few tracks later, but it cames nonetheless, first just gently, then in the form of thousands of very tiny drops, and after a while downright pouring. (I'm not entirely sure when and how, but forgive me for that please, I wasn't really occupied with THAT, plus with the lights and all just barely above our head there, some of us were even a bit protected.) And the most fantastic thing was that it had absolutely zero effect on the mood: the whole crowd was going on with the singing and cheering and dancing as if it had just been a lukewarm summer night! By the time we got out of the Park, we were literally soaked to the skin, but no one seemed to care at all: I guess every drop of water was absolutely worth it.
At the tour merchandise shop, I left about half as much money as I originally anticipated. Sure the tees and caps were of the "normal" prices, but about everything else seemed almost underpriced, at least, I was expecting at least twice these pricetags, going by past experiences. So yeah, while no means budget in the common sense, when you look at what these stuffs are and how much they usually cost at these places, they weren't at all expensive.
And yes, the stage IS a MONSTER, they aren't using the latest and most modern stuffs there. It's spooky, almost really frightening to see what those MACHINES are capable of, but at least just as amazing as well. Sure, you can do an unplugged acoustic something, and the few hundred or maybe a thousand people will enjoy it, but it's entirely different, intimate, almost family-like experience, and definitely not about this kind of PROFESSIONALISM. Last year, if I had to sum the Sticky & Sweet Tour up in just a few words, I said: perfectly professional. This year, while I still stand by that opinion, I can't help but gape in awe at the Woman BEYOND the professionalism. The Woman who has some mind-boggling charisma, who can party harder than anyone else, and who has unbelievable emotional and spiritual depths. Whoever can tune their mind and listen to the songs during the partying, not only meaning the lyrics, but the musical instrumentation, the costumes, the dances, as well, to UNDERSTAND what they are about, can experience it. And it's not something that can be expressed in words either, you'll have to live it.
Dissatisfaction, further changes, edit versions, CONCERT EXCITEMENT - I've taken the time (and liberty) to put together a custom tracklist for Madonna's upcoming Celebration - greatest hits album. Well, it certainly is more difficult than I thought, but I'm quite content with the result...think it's actually great. Khm. So here we go.
First CD
Celebration - err, lead single, title song, we're celebrating, make it the very first song, ffs.
Music - because, after all, that's why we're celebrating, right?
Die Another Day - as in, a slight notion of the fact that the Girl's not gonna give up and lay back yet.
Into The Groove - because it's a sin not to include this one, and because, even just by the title, it has to be somewhere at the beginning of the party.
Vogue
4 Minutes (Radio Edit) - because, okay, it's needed, but the quality still sucks, soooo...
Fever - another "sin not to include" track.
Everybody - yep, her Madgesty's debut single, so a must.
Like A Prayer (Sticky & Sweet Tour Mix) - while many will try and excommunicate me for throwing in a remix version of one of Her absolute bests, I think this one suits the celebration-concept much better, and besides, face it: it's a remix that's totally awesome (hasn't She been on about reinventing, anyway? think this here is the encyclopedia entry example for that).
Ray Of Light
Get Together - better together than sorry.
Express Yourself
True Blue - rather than Open Your Heart.
Like A Virgin
You Must Love Me
Secret
Erotica
Justify My Love
Live To Tell (Confessions Tour Version) - as I've said, it's more intense with the organ.
Second CD
Revolver - the other new track, so it's best fired as the start of the other disc.
Material Girl
American Life - certainly more violent than Hollywood.
Human Nature - instead of Take A Bow.
Frozen
Don't Cry For Me Argentina
You'll See - sorta compensating for Take A Bow, its 'sequel'.
Rain - sin to omit, again.
Burning Up (Re-invention Tour Mix) - personally, I think it's more lively and energetic than the album version.
Holiday (Immaculate Collection Version) - might be just me, but the album version is so...grey, and unnecessarily elongated.
La Isla Bonita (Extended Remix) - no need to shorten this one tho, it's simply awesome!
American Pie
Give It 2 Me - to ditch this for Miles Away, geez...
Beautiful Stranger
Papa Don't Preach
What It Feels Like For A Girl (Above & Beyond 12" Club Mix) - the one used for the video, tho many will argue it's like castrated, methinks this remix actually suits the power in the song much better, not to mention the "changed the world" thingy.
Deeper And Deeper - c'mon, this one really has to be added here.
Hung Up (Radio Version) - sort of like a "that's all, folks!" ending, here you have it and now she's hung up...til next time, anyway.
So there. I think it's a much more complete selection, and adding some mixes, tour versions, here and there, would also add a bit of special value to it, instead of the "buying tracks for the second/third time" feeling. Not to mention, there are no banal songs now where the real strong ones should be.
(Based on Nokia N97 RM-505, v12.0.024.)
After just having bought the device, right after the first power-on, the one thing my friend highlighted was how pure the user interface seems, no gimmicks, no unnecessary frills and ornaments, just the software. Well, I have to agree with him on that one: if you disregard the home screen that can get quite clogged with the widgets, and really mean what it SEEMS like, it's true for sure. I'm not gonna go into details about the home screen itself, that's basically all the way customizable, and the clock-date-profile indicators (well, they're actually shortcuts) are basic info anyway. However, I remember reading an article of which the editor found the default icons Nokia used quite odd and not really suited for the business-minded "gentleman" of a device. Well, those icons did point to a new design, and the fake-all-flat ones do show themselves on the N97 as well...fitting this model much more indeed. I mean, they're obvious and colorful, what more would you want on a multimedia flagship?
Honestly? Some more eye-candy. And I have to refer back to the hardware part here, I KNOW the weak CPU and low RAM kinda undermines eye-candies (read a 6710 Navigator review...600MHz CPU??? must've had a mix-up at the design-desk...), cuz even with just the factory theme effects on, the device already slows down somewhat. But geeeeeeeez, would you mind at least bring the more unique/fancy menu ordering over here too? U-shapes, spirals, whatnots - all those mid-range devices seem to get are missing from high-end S60 counterparts. What's up with that? I know many people couldn't really care less, but I feel it's some sort of friendly fire. No good.
Diving into the settings menu (not gonna waste breath on calendar/contacts/messaging - those are pretty much the same awesomeness that come on any other S60 device, except for the contacts, which SHOULD GET BACK ITS EDITABLE LABELS, totally), it gets all the more confusing tho. Sure they've collected the settings of virtually EVERYTHING on board here, but hiding all that beneath one icon does not make a difference. Profiles are still deceiving: you still can't set the ringing/notification tones globally (ie, to be valid for all profiles except silent), and for the calendar and clock alarms, you still have to dig into those applications (or other parts of the settings menu here) - I can see the point, but it's way too bothersome nonetheless, having to go through all those if you wanna change ur tones. As for themes - someone please tell me who was that idiot who decided to handle themes as applications too? Before that, you could easily remove any theme from the phone right from the themes menu; for a while, you have to find your themes too among the applications - with 32GB in your pocket, that list can get just a bit too long. Phone settings came to include almost all the settings you can make in the different basic applications. Handwriting training being the only real nightmare here: many times the software just overrides what you've written, saying the character in question is too similar to another one. Er, pardon me? I am the one teaching YOU, so stfu and deal with it (and it should be able to, those pairs are usually perfectly distinguishable in reality). So that's a hassle...but you won't really want to use handwriting all that much anyway, I guess. Application manager is interesting here: you can view (and manage, obviously) the installed applications, take a look at the installation files (those that are in the Installs folders of the device/mass memory if I'm right), and there's a place for installation - settings. Yay. I'd've preferred a filter for Symbian/Java apps and widgets in the list, which as I said, can get really long. In Connectivity, you can set all your networks, be it mobile, wireless or bluetooth, or even USB connection. Destinations looks like a nice concept, basically it sorts the connections into categories (internet, multimedia msg, wap), so that you could handle them more easily from applications. However, it's quite nitpicky and inconsequential: my home wlan was first "uncategorized", and when i put it in the internet "folder", it simply got lost, showing up neither here nor there... And even though you can prioritize the access points in the submenus, the applications don't necessarily follow these priorities - if they can get to them at all, actually, instead of just listing different access points. And then, some others, don't even have the option to manually select which one to use, they just go by the predefined rules / preprogrammed methods. Quite annoying sometimes. (Oh and, would someone PLEASE modify applications so that I can define actual default access points, not to have to select and/or confirm every single time I start something up??? N-Gage is so nice and clear-cut with its primary and secondary access points, AND the option to set it to autoconnect every time, why can't others be like that? It's the easiest and best solution.)
If you survived this short trip, you've no doubt noticed how inconsequential controlling the device is. Yes, I mean the infamous "Single or double tap?" issue. I don't mind either, but PLEASE Nokia, make up your tiny mind already. I know it's been all around the net, but I can't pass by it myself either. It's simply too chaotic, most of the times I don't even see logic behind it, I mean, why this one here in particular and that other one at that other particular place?? Makes no sense at all - same as scrolling. It's just mind-boggling, and if you think of it: no eye-candies here, so at least these things should be obvious, but not even these are, only weighing down heavily on the OS. And if I try remain on the ground with both my feet, I'm quite sad, cuz I can't honestly think/hope that it's something they'll fix in future updates. But, let me be wrong here, I pray.
Get some media, and it's even more confusing: Photos and Videos&TV have been separated in the main menu. Okay, I could live with that, although I don't see the point of the "TV" thingy, given that the device doesn't have a TV tuner... oh well. But, I don't see the point of the videos being separated either, because, start up the Photos, and you'll see the thumbnails of your videos as well, making them just as accessible from here as they are from that other one. I'd rather have them merged into one and have for example the N-Gage shortcut in the main menu on its own. Oh, and, you don't have an "all images" option either. Several categories help organization, but apparently, no one thought that one would want to browse everything at once (and let me be evil here: they DID foresee the effects of the weak CPU then?)... Not that big of a loss tho, remember that spiffy interface for photo browsing that was introduced on the N90? That fake-3D U-shape that was even part of the N95? Well, that's gone too, there's a flat screen of thumbnails instead now. On the good side tho, at least this method doesn't generate additional folders with thumbnails on the drive.
Another thing I didn't want to believe when I first read about it (yep, it was only reading back then :P) was the viewer-only QuickOffice and the truly amazing (in a bad way really) 15 days trial of Adobe PDF reader. Well, it's true. For fuck's sake, the device has a full QWERTY and not only do we NOT get a full version of QuickOffice, but not even the PDF reader is a full version anymore. WTF'S UP WITH NOKIA, SERIOUSLY?! The whole thing makes about as much sense as having all the factory apps being installed to / using the absolutely minuscule phone memory when there's a 32GB space right next to it. Outraged much? Not quite - hang on, here's more to come: I'm sure JoikuSpot and Boingo and Qik are nice and useful apps - for about half of the users, at most. The rest, not only could live without them, but wouldn't at all want to see them installed, thank you. Especially not an app that works for 15 days after which it can only bug you to pay more (when you've already purchased a ~5-600€ device, ridiculous) for the full version. And here's the next "trick": they can NOT be uninstalled, as they're part of the ROM. Well, how's that song go... "Fuck you, fuck you very, very much 'cause we hate what you do and we hate your whole crew, so please don't stay in touch." ...something like that. Idk who they think they are, but pulling this stunt is downright blood-boiling. But they COULD remove the SIP/VOIP functions tho, eh? Not like I'd use that either, anyway, but technologically, would've been more important. I mean, okay, I can understand if Nokia has signed some contracts with a company or another, but geez, who in their right mind use the top-end, flagship model for such promotion crapware bullshit?! Whatever happened to premium softwares for premium users?! I remember my N90 even had a full-fledged Opera (not the Mini!) installed on it, free for life, by default. Now we buy a crippled-by-genes model for such a high price, and only get demos and trials, which are even uninstallable. Someone must have dropped a rock on some ppl's heads, or at least I hope that's what's happened, and it wasn't an actual sane-and-sober person who planned this.
Well, that's quite a rant. But I guess it's justified, with all the ... hey, VIRUSes infecting the N97. And believe me, I'm sad to say all this, cuz I really like this phone tho, but it's rather my loyalty and enthusiasm at work, and not the awe at the revolutional new inventions. That said, with the v12 firmware, the phone seems to run smoother and more stable than before. However, RAM handling is still not real good: if you switch on the device, Contacts, Clock, Log, Calendar and Messaging are listed as running by default, even though everything works perfectly as it should even if you kill those with a task manager, thus gaining some more RAM...something I can't comprehend. It's like, the whole thing needs a serious overhaul, at least to perform far better on this poor hardware, to justify the continued existence of Symbian at least, if they already fail to come up with a UI that's more pleasing to the eyes. And sorry for not delving into the obvious capabilities of the phone, but (as a friend of mine put it), it's like it's still in beta phase - and that needs debugging, so I rather dug for bugs. You can find all the default stuffs at dozens of such-themed (and more expert - or not) sites, anyway.
Although, speaking of reality, well... Even back in Crysis, I couldn't understand why the Korean soldiers had to speak English in the first 3 of the 4 difficulty settings. Now, the Germans all speak English. But, I guess it's not that disturbing at least, because you'll be more disturbed by the visuals - or the lack thereof. John Carmack might be sticking to DX9 (and HE might even be able to still get something out of it), but face it, time has passed by and DX9 is old. Especially with an engine that was originally started under DX8. While the cinematics are nice, the prerendered scenes look downright ugly: washed and anything-but-sharp textures, with the polygon count being less than the Vatican's population. Not to mention that slight logical gimmick of all of them being PRE-rendered, so you'll see agent B.J. running around with the most default weapons prolly throughout the entire game, even if you already purchased all weapon upgrades - that's the side of oldschool that really shouldn't've been brought back. And if we're at the "shouldn't've"s, the whole id Tech 4 engine can be put into that box too. No matter the claimed "heavy modification", it's just plain ancient. It was at least okay in Doom 3, but then, they've pretty much concentrated on dynamic lighting and shadow effects there, whereas I don't think I've stumbled upon ONE dynamic light source in Wolfenstein yet. A barely lit corner of the room, the narrow tunnels - look nice from far. But if you step closer, if you stand in the way of the (supposed) light, nothing will change and you won't see shadows dancing on the walls either. Not even agent B.J. casts a shadow anywhere - though that's hardly surprising, seeing how he doesn't seem to have a body either, apart from cinematics / pre-rendered scenes (anyone recalls Far Cry 2?). Quite catastrophic, really. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't look THAT bad, but it does obviously miss everything connected to HD. Not even Havok does any justice to anything, actually, have they done ANY development to Havok since Half-Life 2? Cuz I just can't notice a thing. While PhysX handles soft surfaces (clothes, soft plastic, etc) beautifully (...okay, overexaggerated, but compared to THIS, it surely is beautiful). here the flags hanging from the walls look like wooden boards when shot at. Well, not even that, cuz wooden stuffs (benches, chairs, boxes, barrels, etc) at least get damaged and eventually fall apart. In fact, about the ONLY piece of reality here are the nazi flags, with the swastikas being uncensored. And yeah, I was worried about those, having seen something enragingly obnoxious instead of the real thing there, in far too many movies and games.
Well, there might not be TOO big problems with this game, if you can overlook the outdated graphics, it's an okay piece. If only it didn't have such a strong console-aftertaste to it...
First of all, a happy 51th to Madonna! Here's for many more records to be broken by you! ;) Cheers!
Second...madonnatribe.com posted what's supposedly the final tracklist for the upcoming greatest hits album, Celebration. Let's just say it's an odd selection of songs, and I can't see any logic at all in the track order either. And I've serious doubts about the "34 songs that changed the world" thingy, seeing all this. Let's go one by one.
First CD
Hung Up, Music, Vogue - okay, totally. Basic.
4 Minutes - while I can understand where this is coming from, I do not like it. Still do not like it. Nowhere near to the previous ones and the following ones in prestige. Just yuck. So, yeah, it might fit here in SOME way, but it's sickly and in bad need of a cough drop.
Holiday, Like A Virgin, Into The Groove, Everybody, Like A Prayer - again, totally. W00t!
Sorry - er...again, I can understand where it's coming from, but. There's Hung Up already, and somehow I don't see any difference between these two: both are for the dance floor, both have been played to death by radios. BORING! Please. Seriously, I almost outright hate this song, even though it's the one during which I could "grab" her hand at the Confessions Tour. Blargh.
Express Yourself - another basic must-have.
Open Your Heart - I'm not really sure about this one. Someone help plz?
Borderline - great, but once more...I'm uncertain. Does this have to be here?
Secret, Erotica, Justify My Love - why of course! Ultimate must-haves.
Celebration - okay, new song, lead single, needed. But needed on THIS CD? I mean, c'mon, hullooooo, there's already a Hung Up + Sorry parallel here which looks fugly, and then they make a Holiday - Celebration one too? Wtf? I know the two songs are totally different, considering music and beat, but whoever can't connect them with a direct line, is not a Madonna fan and need to dig into the Girl's past, fast and seriously.
Second CD
Dress You Up - a personal favorite, but I'm not sure it's a song that "changed the world".
Material Girl, La Isla Bonita, Papa Don't Preach - classics, no doubt.
Lucky Star - er, someone? What's with putting almost her entire first album on a greatest collection? Okay, I admit, Lucky Star is a personal anti-favorite, but still. There's Holiday, there's Everybody, there's Borderline (and that's already questionable)...what's Lucky Star so special in? No. A Confessions Tour Mix, maybe.
Burning Up - oh yeah, and here's this one too. Time travel much? At least, make it the Re-invention Tour version. That one kicks some serious ass!
Crazy For You - well okay, still to this day it's many times picked as "world's best romantic song" or some such rot, but I don't see this one as that exceptional. And then, there's the fact that it's REALLY just so sweet that you either absolutely love it, or you find it so repulsive it makes you sick - no middle route. Meh. At least it's options...unlike with 4 Minutes.
Who's That Girl - errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr?!?!?!?! The hell's this one doing here? If someone knows, please inform me. Thank you.
Frozen - naturally, another classic.
Miles Away - oh dear. Personal favorite again, but when did this one even start to change anything at all in the world??? Love it, but nevertheless, it totally doesn't fit here.
Take A Bow - well, I'd rather opt for You'll See if a ballad's needed, or Human Nature if a Bedtime Story is needed, but okay, that's only my mind. Not bad.
Beautiful Stranger - again, personal favorite, again, with questionable presence. Where'd American Pie go?
Hollywood - with the video? Smashing, baby! Without that? So whatever... and just where's American Life?
Die Another Day - YES! Absolutely. Bond-experts were in an uproar because it was so unique, so unlike anything else before, that in the eyes of waaaay many, it was like a sacrilege. On the other hand tho? The track's lightyears better than the film, and yes I love the Bond-classics, but c'mon, of THIS quality, fresh blood is more than welcome.
Don't Tell Me - a song that many Madonna fans simply love, with the video or without it. Me? It's okay...but what's so special about it? The message, surely not, it doesn't say anything new. But the "it's like it's constantly wanting to start but fails" effect is nice anyway.
Live To Tell - well, yes, but not the album version. The one with the organ in it, is just more intense.
Cherish - heh...hehehehehe...joke, right? Personal favorite, but still...makes me smile (even laugh!) here.
Revolver - dunno this one, we'll see. But, it'd be better switched with Celebration, that's sure.
Well, there. First disc, jumping back and forth between long-past and quasi-present (minus Secret, Erotica and Justify My Love, which are neither here, nor there; Vogue is eternal, can't argue that one), which is totally chaotic, musically too. Let's hope it won't be a cacophony...I mean, such different eras, both sound-wise and considering the beat as well, it's just gonna create an odd atmosphere. Not to mention the Hung Up + Sorry and Holiday + Celebration parallels, which I think are major fuck-ups. Er. Yeah. And the second disc, just full of questionable decisions. Not to repeat myself, I rather ask: where's Rain? Where's Deeper And Deeper (or even Fever)? Where's HUMAN NATURE, for fuck's sake?! Or Don't Cry For Me Argentina, or You Must Love Me? Whoever picked the songs, please, someone shoot him in the head with a revolver. Don't even dare to ask where they left What It Feels Like For A Girl off, and that's one I particularly don't like the album version at all tho.
Yeah, I'm angry. It's full of errors like the developmental issues of the Nokia N97 (and the slow cpu, not enough ram, scratching camera lens cover, are quite the issues in a ~$6-700 flagship device). And I haven't even mentioned such minor issues, as the order of the tracks which seems totally random, and still, songs from the same album follow each other not once. So, as for me, I go pray. Maybe the gods'll listen and send them back to the blueprints once more. Or at least they'll make M toss something hard and heavy to the creators' heads when she sees this list.
PS: Give It 2 Me is missing 2???....
Since I've started watching Gravitation and Vampire Knight, I've been hunting the soundtracks too. For the former, Shuichi's songs are just plain awesome. RAGE BEAT (of course), and Spicy Marmalade are so totally stuck in my mind, I'll have a hard time not to "sing" them next week while at the Madonna concert. And, as I noticed, after listening to it, the instrumental tracks and remixes are great too. As for VK, the opening and ending are of course freakin' good - and the little melodies playing during the various scenes? Really add either a boost to the slightly gothic atmosphere, or a good chill for one reason or another to a particular character or event. And they manage to do this without the visual help as well, which is quite outstanding, I mean, not even most of the most popular and grand soundtracks are able to convey that. So, I'm totally fond of the soundtracks.
As far as the animes go... harumph.
Vampire Knight is pure love, every moment of it. A ~20mins episode has more intensity to it than the most expensive, full-length Hollywood blockbusters, I swear. The characters are really alive, and all their actions and thoughts are totally believable as well. Zero is an absolute number one there: got the looks and the personality set just right. Whatever he does or thinks, I can't find a flaw in the courses of actions he takes. Ever. Chairman Kaien? That one's funny. Could totally go for Soubi, minus his ~10yo fangirl self. xD Hanabusa...well, honestly? I can understand the Idol-chan thing, but beyond that...the 6yo boy makes me want to flee the world and hide, the proverbial ~young adult~ asshole jerk just makes me want to break his nose. Blah. Oh, and Kaname... *.* Beautiful, sober, sweet, caring, and the sadness always hiding in his eyes makes those rare-but-genuine smile-moments of his all the more precious. And not a hint of a that superior aura that should be there, based on the superior social status he does have thanks to his blood.
Gravitation. Er. Yeah. That one. Uhmmmmm...seriously, the crossdresser Shuichi is just mortal peril. And with each and every episode, I'm less and less able to figure him out. I mean, wth? Anime starts off, first episode, there's this sweet KID, me guessing about 16. Then comes an ACTUAL 16yo, and Shu is totally freaked out and calls him a kid. That's when Breathless goes investigating, and finds that Shu is, originally 18-19yo. Then comes another episode, and another...he bounces around in a dog-costume, waggling his tail too when patted on the head...he claims he's a "delicate guy" and then sleeps on the sofa in wrinkled sleeveless tee and boxers, his mouth open and he's all but drooling...he gets dead drunk and throws up...he SUPPOSEDLY gets raped...and SUPPOSEDLY sleeps with Yuki...and then he's also acting like a 6yo fanboy...What. The. Fuck. T_T Oh, and that's just the other thing: okay, no like plotless yaoi, but ffs, there IS a plot here, so what's with all the left out sex scenes??? And not just the sex scenes either, sometimes I feel like the story is totally broken cuz it seems like they turned two or three pages in the script at once, so we're left to figure out what happened between two scenes - and just how much time could have passed between them, too. In like, 5-6 episodes, a whole month...? Gah. So annoying!!! I don't even know why I keep watching...someone throw me a bone????
Well, I've been using it for like 3 weeks by now. So, I thought I'd cook up a review...sorta thingy. Fact is, there are too many all over the net, so I don't think I can say anything new, but still...gotta put down my thoughts.
The first thing I've never understood about this device since the day it was made public is why exactly Nokia ditched the dual CPUs, not to mention the graphics chip. I mean, c'mon, it's the most feature-loaded (more on that later) flagship device, and they opt for a single 434MHz processor, with no 3D acceleration...wth? And then the 128MB RAM. Remember the N95? I do, because I'd been using it for two years. They went with 64MB there originally. It became very clear, very soon, that it was anything but enough. New revisions were released, with double that amount - and it worked well. But c'mon, that thing didn't feature a home screen capable of running 5 different widgets all the time! Instead of thinking it through, Nokia just stood by its original choice of 128. It became very clear, very soon, that it's anything but enough. -sigh- And I've always been told that people learn from their mistakes...apparently, not.
Then there's the issue of the camera. I mean, the issues of the camera. 5 megapixels - some would argue that a flagship, top-end device should have at least 8 nowadays, but I have to defend Nokia on that one. As long as the sensors don't get any bigger (and they don't, really), an increase to megapixels only increases the image noise, and does little else. Not to mention that for common purposes, 5MP is more than enough, too. So what's with it, you ask? Well, first of all, the flash. Dual LED. Great for recording videos, not so much for snapping photos. I really wonder about why Nokia seems to be holding a grudge against Xenons...? Not like it was a major issue for me, I don't really do night-/darkinside photos, but generally speaking, it is an issue in such an expensive device. And the lens cover. The N95 8GB has always been giving me shivers with its "naked" backside. Now I'm inclined to think it would've been better for the N97...yes, I'm talking about the infamous scratches. I mean, I see where Nokia's been coming from, when it thought that a soft material in there would help wiping whatever dirt got on the lens, but apparently, the material only manages to press it hard against the plastic, making it scratch the surface. Them smarter people a few scratches don't seem to affect photo quality, but still, wouldn't it pain YOU too, seeing scratches on even a just-few-days old, high-end device? Because of such a stupid mistake? Yeah, thought so.
And just what do we have, past these woes? A huge body. Well, not real huge, but it's definitely not meant for the pockets. (Mind you, I personally have never understood people who carry a freakin' flagship model in their pockets. What's with that??? And of course they complain the loudest if the poor thing gets wounded. Blargh.) That's confirmed by the weight too, but not in a way you see most articles complaining about. I mean, I don't get reviewers whining about how heavy a ~150g device is. Like, you know, they WERE actual bricks. Get a grip. 150g is not a weight (don't want to carry it in your pocket, duh, it ain't even meant for such treatment, to start with), mainly not when you take a look at what all is packed in it.
Build quality overall seems to be pretty good to me (excluding the camera lens cover issue): solid, no creaks, and the sliding mechanism is as smooth as it is one of a kind. The QWERTY is great too, although the two buttons on the edge of the bottom row is a bit ... well, they seem to have no place to be pressed like the others do, simply no feeling of when I manage to press them and when I don't. Bit silly, but oh well, nothing's perfect...and with the way the 3 rows look like (small and flat, like you won't have enough space for your fingers and you won't be able to smoothly type away), it's certainly surprising how smooth and easy typing is - even with MY hands, which are definitely no small. And just a word on the two "oddities" most articles seem to mention: the D-pad being on the left, well, considering previous models it might be odd, but think of handheld gaming consoles, or even the controllers of their big brothers: they all have the directional controls on the left; and the space having been pushed to the right, well, had you been following Nokia's own blog entries and videos about the development of the N97, you'd know that it's been made so that typing is the most comfortable with your thumbs - it's certainly nicer not having to stretch all the way to the middle for the space.
The resistive touch screen is yet another thing many reviewers diss as not being as responsive to touches as a capacitive one. Well, I've got this to say: I haven't had any problem in this department. Whether I touch the screen with my finger, or with a - well, anything else, really, it seems to register it just nicely and responds to it too. If there are issues here, it's because of the software underneath: hating to say this, since I've been an S60 supporter since the original N-Gage device, but that's the case (partly cuz it feels like it's still in a beta stage, and partly cuz it's quite crippled thanks to the CPU and the RAM here). The light sensor does its job as it should, no changes there; and didn't come across any problem with the proximity sensor either. One minor thing on the "face" side of the phone: the notification/breathing light, around the menu key? Well...it barely makes enough light. While I understand that it is to reduce power consumption as much as possible, in case of the breathing light, the thing is, the same issue stands for the notifications too. Where it just shoots the meaning of "notification" in the rear. I mean, what's the point if you won't ever get to see it? It's okay in a dark room, but during the daytime, you'll have trouble noticing it, even inside, not to mention under a clear, sunny sky...
The chrome edge is a two-bladed sword of course: looks nice, but it's world's number one fingerprint magnet too. (Or something like that, must be in the top 3, anyway.) And I dread the day it gets scratched and/or starts peeling off... The camera shutter key is cool, not as soft as in the N95, but works just as nice, with a definite half-way for the zoom, no problems there, luckily. (Anyone recalls the N96?...) I don't understand why it has to start the secondary camera on a full press though, it's pretty annoying. Whoever will use the secondary camera for anything but video calls, in which case it's operated automatically anyway? (Or is it a hidden-secret "mirror key", like SE put on the Jalou? lol) ...Then again, I also found the dedicated Gallery key on the N95 annoying, having been so easy to press with the simplest and most common move of just picking the phone up - now I'm missing that button from the N97. What? Not having direct access to my photos is just weird for me, okay?
The power button on the top also still serves as profile-changer, even though there's no much need for that, with the profile indicator on the home screen also being the changer "widget" too. The 3.5 jack...well, I've been having my qualms against all those models that strut theirs on the "top of their heads". It just doesn't seem right to me, I mean, okay, in case of a mid-/low-end device that I'd've no trouble shoving in my pocket, but the N97? No way. And I still couldn't find a proper carrying case with a hole on the appropriate part for the headset/-phones. So, I either carry it in places I wouldn't so that I'm able to listen to music on the go (and with 32GB on-board memory, that's boon!), or I put it in the actual case and listen to the noises of transport. Harumph.
So... there you have it. The bright and dark sides of the hardware of the N97. I thought I'd rather share my thoughts on some highlights instead of going through all the features like countless reviews do - that all is already well-known, or very easy to figure out. Stay tuned for pt. 2.
