I don’t know if I am the last person on Earth who despises Touch Screen mobile phones. Their tiny buttons are impossible to my overly large thumbs. I used to own a touch screen unit once, and the texting experience was horrible! Well, maybe it was because it was a china phone, but I was able to borrow some touch screen handsets from my friends and tried to send a message, post a status in FB or even a tweet. I have tried typing using Samsung Galaxy Y, HTC Desire, and also some other non-android units like Samsung Corby, Samsung Star, Cherry Mobile and myPhone. They were all failures for my thumb size. Although, I tried typing in iPhone and Samsung Ace, but man, those units are dang pricey!
So, the other day, I gave in. I have got to get myself a better, decent, (and original) touch screen hand phone. One of my requirements was, it has got to be powered with an Android OS. I was too curious hearing about the war between iOS and Android for years already. As much as I would LOVE to try iOS, I find it too pricey and impractical. You would only get to have a unit just for calls, and texts, and some other entertaining apps, right? Paying for a unit for as much as PHP 17,000 (approx. $450) is a bit too much, in my opinion. Yes, you would get to have the most stable operating system but it’s too much. In other words, I’m not that rich!
Android, on the other hand, are being installed to a lot of devices from different manufacturers nowadays. From Sony Ericsson to Samsung, from Acer Mobile to Lenovo to the now returning on the handset game, Alcatel. The Android OS does have stylish and user-friendly interface (well, most of the time), and some of the Android devices can be a used as a WiFi hotspot. Now, that feature alone made my jaw dropped ever since I heard about it as one of the features of the very first HTC EVO 4G for Sprint which was released in the US way back 2010. I was checking the current market for some affordable Android devices with cool features, and that’s where I found Alcatel Glory X 918n.
With the specs similar as its first predecessor, Glory 918n, the only different with this unit is the number of pixels on the camera and the interchangeable cases for the unit. Powered with Android Gingerbread OS, it also has a Dual SIM standby, which is utterly perfect for me since I use more than one SIM. The interchangeable case is so neon-colored but in a fashionable way. It certainly feels like having my old Nokia phone with interchangeable cases, but this time, it’s a Smartphone, and it’s Alcatel.
Now, time to experience these apps that the public are talking about. I noticed a lot of Smartphone users are hooked with the latest apps or even with the updates for an app. So, I downloaded some of the Top favorite apps in Google Play. Of course, there are Social Apps, which I think it’s a basic on every Smartphone. There’s the app for Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and the photography app that’s been commonly used nowadays, Instagram.
The photo editing tools of Intagram are cool, and unique, making photo editing as simple as CTRL+C and CTRL+V. I think Instagram’s getting too mainstream now, making it a little bit boring. So, I found this app, which has the same function of Instagram but is way better when it comes to online sharing or even to the current users of the app. This one’s called Streamzoo. Hashtags added on the photo’s descriptions helps narrowing down the type of photos you want to see by clicking, tapping or searching a specific tag. So, if I were to choose between Instagram and Streamzoo? I pick Streamzoo.
There are also other apps that I used to post a status simultaneously to Facebook, Twitter, and even on Foursquare. I used Hootsuite, Seesmeic, and other apps, but I would prefer Tweetdeck. The user-friendly one-main page interface kept me from scrolling to different pages to read the latest tweets or latest posts on FB. I find Path a better social app as well, aside from all other social community there is. I get to share the tracks, films, and even books that I’m hooked on, aside from posting my status, pictures and videos.
I am still on the verge of discovering more apps to enjoy, and the thing that keeps me on the go is a reliable mobile internet connection. I choose SMART as my mobile connection partner. Even under the strong winds and heavy rain, SMART never lets me down. Statuses, Tweets, Photos, and Songs are shared in a quick speed. Having a cool Smartphone must be partnered with an intelligent network. I definitely live more with SMART.
ʙᴏɴɴᴇ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴛɪᴛ 