today's quite a long day.. first of all, brought my ngage to nokia care parkway for software upgrade.. the guy serving me looks freakingly identical to Jianxiang (one of my poly frens).. after leaving my hp there, i took my camera to kaki bukit to service.. it was in some sort of warehouse building (gordon warehouse.. the one wif the big jap beer ad above)..

the warehouse building was so damn complicated... there wasn't any common lobby or receptionist on the 1st floor.. all were either offices or storerooms.. n i was figuring out how to get to the 2nd storey.. gosh.. the staircases are actually located at the BACK of the building (either the staircases or the bus-stop).. i couldn't haf found it if i hadn't done a round-about around the building.. upon reaching the 2nd floor, i was even more baffled.. storerooms again.. n i had a hell of a time finding my destination.. worst of all i didn't even have my hp wif me, cuz it's at nokia care.. oh well.. in the end managed to find it.. tok abt lousy warranty service (at least compared to nokia).. they actually needed days to find out wad's wrong, so i haf to go back n collect it next tues instead..

after the hellish time at kaki bukit (partially becuz i hate industrial areas), i wasted some time at bedok interchange drinking mr bean n walking ard by myself.. cuz there was still some time left before i could collect my fone..

after collecting my fone, i almost had a shock of my life.. when my memory card was slotted in, the fone displayed an error n refused to start.. "AppMain closed." wth.. the lady there told me they have to format my memory card, but i said i'd go home n try 1st.. upon reaching home, i tried, n phew.. it was working.. my data is still intact..

at night, went back to parkway to meet Eddy for dinner.. right after we set the time Laibao sms'ed me n asked me if i wanted to go for dinner also.. but i decided to go wif Eddy.. basically had mos burger, den after that went bk for some onion rings.. i was still okay then, still could talk abit.. but still very troubled.. that i almost left my bag behind when leaving.. alone the way home wif Eddy, i couldn't talk again.. so i figured i'd be alrite as long as there's something to distract me.. like running errands, eating, or playing gb..

while i can still type now, i'll gif a review abt the ngage.. not dat i wanna help nokia advertise, but overall i tink it's a great fone after using it for ard 2 months now..

advantages:
-cheap...
-flexible, cuz it's running on symbian os
-useful.. i'll go into depths on my personal usage later
-built-in speaker is the best-quality n loudest, among the fones i've compared it wif (6600, 6230)
-has a usb port
-big screen
-can put mp3s n wav files as ringtones
-weather-resistance.. it may not be as resistant as my previous N5100, but turn it over n it's 95% protected against raindrops..
-the storage space is virtually unlimited since u can use memory cards..
-juz like a computer, u can run multiple applications at once, while keeping some running in the background.. there's even a task-manager (like ctrl-alt-delete in windows) where u can switch between applications n close them if there's a need to..

disadvantages:
-hard to use wif one-hand.. though u can actually master it..
-it does not have a built-in camera, but u can actually use it in conjunction wif bluetooth or mmc cameras.. i'm using mine wif an mmc camera (cuz cheaper n easier to find), n it works well.. i can take pics n mms instantly.. n trust me, u'll get much better resolution than using camera fones..
-bulky n heavy.. probably not a problem for guys
-sidetalking.. u actually haf to hold the fone by the side when making a call..
-battery-consumption.. the fone's supposed to be made for games, but playing games (especially fifa) will definitely drain ur battery flat in less than an hour.. under normal usage the battery life seems normal
-can be abit slow, especially when loading (not running) java applications n the mp3 player
-no asian languages supported

alrite.. the greatest advantage of the n-gage is it's usefulness.. tink the siemens sx1 (my dream fone) is the only fone which can beat ngage (cuz got camera).. so this is how i use my ngage:

-talking, sms, mms, gprs, phonebook, calculator, alarm clock, notebook, calendar, currency converter, clock.. ahh.. normal..
-web-browsing (real html webpages), msn, icq, email...
-MP3 player and radio.. the main reason y i bought ngage.. advantage over real mp3 player or fm receiver is that it can actually blast out the music (esp. in beaches/bbqs).. n Eddy even dares to blast it out on the bus.. the mp3 player in ngage takes some time to load, however.. so it'd be wiser to keep it running in the background rather than exiting it completely (takes little/no battery power..)..
-torchlight, via the Torch software..
-GPS (global positioning system, for tracking ur current location).. via the miniGPS software..
-portable movie player.. though abit small, but i've actually watched band of brothers on my ngage while on the bus.. abit battery-consuming though..
-answering machine.. i can set it to auto-reply ppl via sms who call/sms me when i'm not around
-games.. but very seldom now.. cuz i got sick of those games n it drains my battery.. waiting for ashen/worms/the sims to be released..
-development platform.. using it to test out java/symbian programs which i've written
-junctioning it wif a bluetooth/mmc camera..
-portable disk drive/card reader.. i use this function heavily to transfer data between home n sku.. n u dun even need ani software or drivers
-mosquito repellant, via the anti-mosquito software which generates ultrasonic waves using the speaker..
-a gameboy n nintendo emulator.. i was shocked to see for myself that ngage is powerful enough to emulate these devices..
-portable foto album.. where i can store n look at precious pics whenever i go..
-voice recorder.. i use this mostly for pranks, n to record my mum kpkb... n it can even record/playback to ppl who are on the other line..
-moon analyzer.. i can actually see the phase of the moon on a given day via the uSolun software..
-solar compass via the xT-Compass software, though i rely on my watch more for compass..

bottom line is.. if u wan a fone which is packed wif features, n can't afford siemens sx1 or N6600, get an ngage.. but still.. the fact that u can use ngage as a portable-hard drive really beats all other fones flat..