Tech – Gino's Blog

Samsung Galaxy Note II Review

December 7, 2012 By Gino 6 Comments

I’ve carried a lot of Androids in the past 3 years. Everything form the S1, to the Nexus One, HTC Desire, the S2, Galaxy Nexus, HTC One X, the S3, the LG Optimus 4X HD. Each of them was brilliant in its own right and time, but a couple of things always bugged me which bug a lot of other smartphone users. The first, was of course battery life. The second, was somewhat fragile hardware (especially the S2) that had me spending more on the repairs than the actual device!

The Note II fixed those two annoying setbacks of carrying a powerful Android. The battery life is insanely good and it lasts well over a day with moderate usage, a good 18 hours on 3G, GPS and my constant tweeting, instagramming and checking the blog’s stats and comments.

Here’s a breakdown of the main things I loved about the Note II

Size, Look and Feel

The Note II is massive. People like to call it the “Phablet” and Samsung wittily got the giant NBA star LeBron James to do their ads in the US. I honestly adored the 5.5 inch screen because I read a lot of ebooks, manage my email and publish blogposts using the Note II. Browsing the Internet and watching videos and viewing photos is extremely enjoyable with the extra 1.5 inches or so compared to other smartphones currently on the market.

It fits perfectly into standard-sized pockets (at least guys’ jeans and shorts) so don’t worry about it not fitting. It might be a bit wide, but it is remarkably thin for a tablet-phone hybrid (just 0.37 inches thick). The 16:9 display also makes watching videos all the more enjoyable and I sometimes set it up on a table and several friends get to watch the funniest YouTube sensation I stumbled upon.

It’s back cover is plastic, which makes it very light compared to other droids out there, but I would’ve loved to see a polycarbonate shell on Samsung’s newest gift to the techie world. The meche-like designs and patterns though are beautiful and the device overall feels very comfortable and snug in one hand.

One-Handed Operation and Typing

One concern with big droids is that you can’t operate them fully with one thumb. Samsung foresaw this inconvenience and have made several features one-hand friendly. You can toggle on the keyboard for example in single-handed control (which includes a setting for all you lefties out there btw) which makes it pretty easy to handle most things with just one hand.

Given that the Note II is one-hand-friendly, I am a huge fan of real keyboards and touchscreens have never really won me over when it comes to typing. The sheer size of the Note II makes it possible to type with both hands without jumbling up your letters since the buttons are large enough, making it as good as the good old-fashioned real keyboard typing with two thumbs.

Camera

The camera is beautiful of course since the display is so large and crisp. It might not be the camera with the fastest shutter speed out there, but it’s definitely the best among the Samsung devices. You can shoot bursts, panoramic shots, action shots, add filters, HDR modes and other near settings for particular environments or situations.

The camera experience on the Note II has a few, really neat perks too. You can shoot photos with voice commands like “Shoot” “Capture” or “Cheese” making it easier to take a shot without having to touch your screen as well as taking photos after setting up the camera far way from you without the hassle and rush of setting up timers. Another really awesome perk is that if you’re taking a group shot, the Note II takes several shots of each person’s face and allows you to choose the best one for each in one single photo. Meaning that, if someone had their eyes shut or looked like a mutant in one of the 4-5 face shots it takes, you can choose a better face shot of him or her, thereby ensuring all your friends faces are good enough to share on Facebook (assuming your friends look good of course).

Native Apps and Stylus

Another really cool feature of the Note II is the stylus. It’s a really cool tool when you want to create a note, it allows you to crop a part of your screen (instead of a screenshot of the whole page) and paste it into the S-Note app. The S-note app has dozens of templates you can use depending on what you want to work on, from cool and colorful personal notes, to business ones with tables and graphs and pie charts you can edit and create.

The stylus is also cool because you can hover it over an email or image gallery, and it’ll pop-up a preview of the contents of that email or gallery without you having to open it and go back out if it’s not the one you were looking for. Also, if you’re reading or browsing the web, you simply hover over the top, bottom or sides of the page and it’ll smoothly scroll the page in whatever direction you’re aiming at.

The stylus also allows you to use your own handwriting to type instead of a traditional QWERTY keyboard and it’s pretty easy and fast to use once you get the hang of it.

Jelly Bean Awesomeness

It comes with Android 4.1.1 and Samsung finally made their TouchWiz UI glitch-free and extremely. It’s the first time I leave the stock UI and launcher instead of downloading a custom one since it blends so seamlessly with the large displays and makes customizing your home page apps and widgets incredibly easy, fast and customizable.

NFC is also really cool on this device and after comparing it with the S3, I found the S-Beam and NFC features on it much faster and streamlined. I’ve collected total of 4 free songs and 2 free ebooks by merely tapping my Note II on Samsung ads all over the US (new ones every week) which is pretty cool and I hope will be integrated soon into ads in Lebanon (yalla marketing folks, make it happen!)

Conclusion

It’s the perfect Android, and you can double the already more than impressive battery life (new battery being released) making a true tablet contendor in terms of battery life. I highly recommend this phone if you’re a heave phone user for either business or pleasure. Tweeting, emailing, blogging, reading books, watching movies are all a delight on this beautiful piece of tech.

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Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: gadgets, galaxy note 2, samsung, samsung galaxy note II, technology

Instagram for Dummies

September 29, 2012 By Gino 5 Comments

Usually, when I grow very accustomed to a certain social media platform and put it through its paces for several months and try different approaches and techniques, I like to do a streamlined post for those wanting to, but not having the time and passion to find out everything you need to enjoy it. I’ve done it for Twitter before and this is the Instagram for dummies post.

What is Instagram?

Well, basically it’s the photo version of Twitter, on steroids. What this means that it can be several things depending on how you use it. You can stalk and lurk on celebrity profiles, you can build a network of your closest friends and family, you can explore different areas of the world, different interests, specific topics, events, etc. It all depends on who you follow and which tags you surf through.

The concept is fairly simple, you snap a photo of something or someone then edit it real quick and publish it. Editing is usually adding filters to your photo, altering the colors, contrast, sharpness, exposure and other stuff non-photographer folks like you and me would never be able to do on our own. Basically, it makes an ok photo look really awesome if you can mix and match properly between the effects.

Here are a few tips on how to be a good Instagrammer and get followers and follow people worth following

1- Don’t post other people’s photos

That’s just not cool. If it’s a hilarious meme or photo or something which you feel you must post, that’s ok. But no one wants to see something you screenshotted off 9gag. Also, don’t ever post a photo you googled. The beauty of Instagram is sharing the every day stuff you notice or experience, and sharing it with the rest of the world. Sure a photo from Kilimanjaro would look wicked awesome, but folks will know it’s not yours and wonder what was the point (unless of course you did climb it!)

2- Lose the frames and blur effects

Honestly, the frames on Instagram suck. I personally cringe when I see the burnt/torn edges one, or when someone blurs out part of the photo for no apparent reason. My advice is, never use a frame for your photo and only use the blur effect to really accentuate something, like a certain word or person in a crowded shot.

3- Don’t overdo the hashtags

NO!

The hashtag “#” is a powerful tool. When you click it, you will see every single photo tagged with that, which is one of the main ways of discovering new people to follow and photos to enjoy. The common mistake is people using popular, yet meaningless hashtags like “#instahub #instamood #instawow #picoftheday, etc.” Sure, these will land you a few extra likes, but they’re completely worthless and honestly annoying to your followers. Instead, use relevant hashtags to let people searching for a certain something stumble upon your creations.

For example, when you take an awesome shot of a nice building, tag it with things like #architecture #design #minimalism #beirut #lebanon which accurately represent your photo and it’s location, two things people would love to know. I personally get upset when I see a very nice shot, without it being tagged with the location and just the silly meaningless hashtags.

4- Post nice captions

A photo is worth a thousand words but a few words can make a photo a whole lot better and more meaningful. Write a nice caption of whatever the photo is about. Explain the situation, describe the area, write a nice quote, whatever you feel relevant to share with your followers. Also, if you’re linked up to your Twitter and Facebook accounts, it’ll make the posts and tweets a lot more interesting versus just a short url of the photo. Posting a proper caption is always a good idea, in my honest opinion, it’s best to post a plain text caption, and under it as a comment, use the relevant hashtags for the post (it’ll still work the same).

5- Don’t Instacanvas/Instagallery

Those leaching websites offer to print and sell your shots to people willing to buy them and give you a percentage. That’s cool, but come on, would you yourself buy someone’s Instagram shot? Very unlikely. Plus, if you don’t have PayPal (which most folks in Lebanon don’t have) it’s useless because even if you do sell, you wouldn’t be able to get paid. So, you’re letting people get money off your own work and that sucks. Plus, the automated “Like this photo, check out my instacanvas gallery…” comments are a real eyesore for me, cause I hate bots and I’m sure you do too.

6- Post nice photos

Ok, you’re not a pro photographer, but no one wants to see a photo of your name on a Starbucks cup… Take photos that are nice, the kind you’d wanna see on your own feed while scrolling through. If they’re not nice, at least make them relevant somehow, or funny or whatever. Don’t post ugly photos, entertain people following you, make them want to regularly check your feed for new photos instead of getting pity likes from silly hashtags for no reason and on a one-off basis. Build a following/follow environment that’s always active and interactive, which likes and comments and whom you like and comment back to.

7- Stay active

Don’t disappear for 3 weeks then post 1 photo. I hate that, and usually unfollow people who haven’t posted for more than a week. Instagram should be a minor part of your normal routine, not something you dedicate special time to. If I’m waiting for a metro and spot something cool, I photograph it, edit it and publish it in seconds. So, don’t expect me to believe there’s nothing worth posting for that long a period of time. Also, you might think I’m a spaz for being picky and whiny about this, but come on, I’m following you to entertain me, not throw a bone every now and then. This is Twitter-like, not Facebook-like, you need to always be there.

8- Link up

Let your photos get published on your other social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, etc. That’s how they get more exposure and help you find friends and share the awesome photos with your non-Android and non-iOS friends and family. I personally tweet all of my photos when published, and that’s where all the interaction happens whether it’s retweets, favorites or replies and comments.

9- Dont auto-follow

When you create an Instagram account and link it up to your twitter/facebook/etc, it shows you your friends and following who also use Instagram. Never click follow all. Why? Because you’ll automatically have for example 200 people you’re following, while only a handful following you, which makes you look like a loser which no one wants to follow, or a spam bot. Go through these lists, check who’s active and who isn’t (cause most never actually post, they just sign up “and couldn’t figure it out” and give up) check who’s worth it and who isn’t. It’s nice to have a balanced follower-to-following ratio, and it’s even nicer to have a follower-to-following ratio tipped to the followers side.

10- Choose an easy and relevant username, don’t protect your photos and write a bio

Don’t call yourself puppykiller187, unless you don’t want people to find you there. Call yourself by your name (without special symbols) because the Instagram search engine is somewhat unreliable and if you miss a few letters, you’re not gonna find who you’re looking for. Also, write a short bio, like the ones on Twitter, letting folks know what kinda person you are and if you’re what they’re looking to follow. Also, try not to protect your photos, I mean, post things which aren’t incriminating or too naughty, after all, why would someone request to follow if they can’t see what kinda photos you post? And what do you have to hide? Share with the world!

11- Follow me and let me follow you

I love going through my Instagram feed, I follow a lot of cool and interesting folks and whenever I have some spare time, waiting for the bus, waiting for my order to get done, etc. I flip through and see what everyone’s up to in the world. I also post cool photos (or so I’m told) so it shouldn’t be too much of a burden to follow me =D

Filed Under: Extras, Fun, How To, Tech, Thoughts Tagged With: how to get instagram followers, how to instagram, instagram, instagram 101, instagram for dummies, instagram guide

LG Optimus 4X HD Review + Video

September 24, 2012 By Gino 1 Comment

This is my new favorite Android phone. Those of you who know me well in real life, will know I change phones a LOT and usually carry several at one time. So, it’s probably safe to say that few phones capture my interest enough to become my main phone. The LG Optimus 4X HD is definitely one of them.

In the past year, I’ve carried 2 out of the 3 quad-core Android devices on the market, the HTC OneX and the LG Optimus 4X. I’ve also tested out the Samsung Galaxy SIII and it’s safe to say that my favorite was, surprisingly, the LG. I, like most of you had dismissed LG as a serious phone manufacturer, much less an Android powerhouse. But, this beautiful piece of tech won my heart, and though I found it tough parting with my similarly lovable OneX, I’m happy with my decision.

1- Shape and Build

It’s sexy, angular and sleek black screen and cover is highlighted with nice aluminum strips on the side and a grooved back cover and side skirts. Making it a much more elegant and improved cousin of the infamous SII. It goes to show that LG learned the secrets to device style after having Prada design a device with them.

2- Screen

I’m not going to into the very techy details, because honestly it’s too complex for my limited intellect. But, in just a few words, the crystals in device screen sometimes wobble around in different positions, distorting the light rays passing through them and into your eye. With IPS (in-plane switching) the distortion is corrected by a magnetic field, allowing for a more real image from your device’s screen and much better viewing from all angles.

3- User Interface

It comes with 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich Android with a few edits by LG. They don’t have fancy name for it like HTC’s Sense or Samsung’s TouchWiz. It’s light and simple, with a clean-cut, streamlined interface in the contacts section, lock-screen, camera interface and dialpad among other things. Makes you wanna dial and swipe the print-like, crisp-clean screen. The 4X has three bottoms, a back button on the left, a home/multitasking button in the middle and a menu/settings button on the right. I honestly would’ve preferred the multitasking button be on the right instead of the settings, but it’s ok after a few minutes using the device and get used to it.

4- Camera

The camera isn’t the fastest I’ve ever used, nor the best. It pales in comparison to the lightning speed of the OneX shutter and the crispness of the SIII’s. However, it does make up for that with a much better focus and a few awesome perks such as the extremely cool pre-shutter capturing, where if you didn’t quite catch the shot in time, you can “go back in time” with pre-recorded images a few seconds before you actually clicked on capture. You can also capture stills while recording video and the panoramic and burst mode are both extremely fast and fluid. Check out the awesome pano shot I took below, and the rest are here

All in all, the LG Optimus 4X HD is quite a mouthful, but also quite a handful. Loved this phone, below is the hands-on video review I made.

Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: Android, device, hands-on, LG, mobile, phone, review, smartphone

400+ Startups 30+ Countries 8 Winners and Loads of Fun This Saturday With Seeqnce

August 21, 2012 By Gino 1 Comment

Sartups are the most exciting element in every industry and the ones with most innovation, potential and of course risk. I enjoy following news on startups across the world, especially those that have to do with tech, web and mobile. Imagine my surprise and delight to find out that our very own Seeqnce Startup Accelerator, based just around Hamra street, was organizing an international competition for over 430 startups from across the globe including Japan, Europe, the US alongside homegrown Lebanese talents and Arab startups.

Since June, the 433 participants have been through a rigorous and grueling selection process that has narrowed it down to a handful of very promising ideas and business models for the world of web and mobile. 8 of the finalists will get their businesses financed by willing and relevant investors and get incubated at Seeqnce for a period of 6 months.

Now, needless to say, if you’re an investor, entrepreneur, businessman, or student interested in the world of web and mobile, the date’s already been marked on your calendars and I will see you all Saturday night. If you’re only hearing about this massive global event now, you’d better register here (for free).

This Saturday at 6:30PM on Seeqnce’s rooftop near the Central Bank of Lebanon, we’re gonna be listening to the finalists’ pitches after which the 8 winners will be announced. Of course, even though the pitches are what we’ve all been waiting for for the past 3 months, the real treat of this Saturday’s event is the massive networking opportunities you’re gonna get. Over 500 people from the industry of web and mobile will be there, from across the region and the world. If you’re a media person, businessman or entrepreneur, you don’t wanna miss The Rise of the Startups this Saturday night.

Plus, it’s on a rooftop, a type of venue we Lebanese love and are proud of with drinks and music and entertainment and of course, it’s free. For more technical and in-depth information about the past 3 months, check out these blogposts on the Seeqnce blog here, here and here.

I honestly think it’s magnificent that Seeqnce have pulled off such an amazing project against all odds. The massive interest, participation, dedication and ideas truly blew me away, and it is with great pleasure I announce that this blog is an official media partner for the event. Meaning, in addition to fully endorsing it, I’ll be live-tweeting it and reviewing it live and post-event extensively along with in-depth looks into each of the 8 winners’ business plans and models.

So, again, don’t forget to register here and RSVP on Facebook and looking forward to seeing you all this Saturday.

Filed Under: Leb, Tech

Nokia 808 PureView Review

August 13, 2012 By Gino 11 Comments

41 megapixels. Yes, forty-one (just in case you thought I forgot a decimal point). I know most of you are already very impressed, but some of you will immediately say “it’s not about the megapixels bro” to which I completely agree. I shared your skepticism too until I tried the Nokia 808 myself.

The phone camera comes in 3 settings, 5MP, 8MP and 37MP. Needless to say that when using the full resolution, I could take a portrait of you, crop out your eye and use the reflection off your cornea to get an image of my beautiful self along with the surrounding background, in terrifyingly good quality.

However, you don’t need use the full resolution to love the 808. Nokia has developed the “Pure View” technique in which an algorithm combines every 7 or so “imperfect” pixels and combines them into one awesome one. The result is a super-crisp photo that’ll never be grainy and is very zoom-capable.

If you’re a “point-and-shoot” kinda person like me, the auto will be more than enough to have you impressing people with your photography skills. But, for the more camera-savvy, there are loads of options you could alter, like ISO, saturation, color balance, etc. You could also use several pre-existing scene modes if you’re taking photos in the snow (a must for the Finland-based Nokia =P), at night or at dawn or dusk.

The phone comes with the latest version of Symbian OS, which is sort of a let-down. But, it’s polished enough to be enjoyable and it has never crashed with me during the past several months. If you’re the type of person who only uses apps Whatsapp, Facebook, Foursquare and the like, you’ll be more than satisfied with the software capabilities of this phone. After all, it’s all about the insane camera.

The build is awesome too. It’s not too big and bulky considering the massive camera specs and it feels really snug and sturdy in your hand. The 4 inch screen makes the whole interface easily accessible with just your thumb, making your photo-taking experience easier than with the bigger phones we’re now used to that come north of 4.5 inches. The touch-screen is also very nice to interact with, with tough, but very responsive glass making you want to just swipe around the screen if you’ve got nothing to do.

All in all, I loved the 808 PureView. It’s the best camera I have ever used, period. If you were thinking of getting a semi-pro camera and a new phone, the 808 is a serious option for both categories, combined into one, neat, streamlined device. For a more full description of specs and technical stuff, check out gsmarena

Here are a few samples of photos I shot with my 808, which I believe make the best review for this phone

That’s in a port in Limassol, part of the Abou Merhi Cruise

The city of Rhodes (right-click, open in new tab, and zoom in to see the mind-blowing detail)

The branches, shadows, leaves, soil, everything makes this photo one of the best I’ve taken

Mykonos, my favorite island in the world (as part of the Abou Merhi Cruise)

Another beautiful of the Old Town in Mykonos

The powerful wind and turbulent sea off the Mykonian shore

Marmaris, Turkey (as part of the Abou Merhi Cruise)

A “walking-on-water” illusion in Marmaris

The abandoned McMagic jungle gym

McMagic plastic balls area

Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: device, hands-on, mobile, nokia, photography, pureview, review, smartphone

Alfa Telecom Android Mobile App Review

June 8, 2012 By Gino 7 Comments

So, I received an SMS from Alfa today telling me I could download their new Android app. Naturally, their link failed to open, on multiple occasions. That happened with me and some other friends of mine who are Alfa customers carrying Anrdoid devices. No problem though, we’re used to crappy .com.lb websites after all… Anyway, I found it on the Play Store and tried it out. My first impression is, I like it.

It’s a much overdue app that allows you to do the very things you often wish there was an app for. Apart from allowing you to send the 5 free daily SMSes, it allows you to keep track of your balance for free (unlike when you need to pay to find out via call or SMS, which is beyond stupid). It also allows you to check the price of all services of postpaid and prepaid lines. In the future, you can even enable these services directly from the app.

Another interesting one was where you can report bad coverage. All you need to do is turn on your GPS and hit “report coverage” which I hope will be useful to them… You can also directly send them feedback.

The app itself is smooth and neat and tidy, which is a huge plus when it comes to an Android app, especially a Lebanese one. It’s fluid and its graphics are nice and don’t take too long to load. All in all, I loved this app and if you’re an Android user and Alfa customer, download it from here.

Check out the screenshots I took

The Home Page

Sending Free SMSes

List of services and their prices

Your Bill + Internet Consumption

Recharge here, without the need to call and dial

Enabling from here would be much better than dialing 111 and wasting a lot of time

Abuse this people, make them know where coverage sucks!

An example of reporting bad coverage

Filed Under: Leb, Tech

Order Burger King via Your Android/iPhone

May 10, 2012 By Gino 4 Comments

Remember back in March when I got my hands on some screenshots of an upcoming app and website that’d allow you to order Burger King from your smartphone? Well, it went live in the last few hours and I’ve already tested it out on my Samsung Galaxy S2. Here are some screenshots.

Filed Under: Tech

Instagram vs Lightbox

April 16, 2012 By Gino 1 Comment

We were all astonished at last week’s news that Facebook had acquired the photo editing and sharing app Instagram for a mind-blowing 1 Billion USD. A two-year old startup which as Colbert says “ruins your photos” with filters was worth 1,000,000,000USD. But, I’m sorry to say that Instagram is not the best app out there, and that I still prefer Lightbox, even though I do acknowledge that the acquisition will help Instagram come on top (or destroy it, depending on what the Zuckerberg is planning). Here’s a breakdown of why Lightbox is better than Instagram in my opinion.

Cross-Platform

Instagram dominates the iOS market, with virtually everyone with an iPhone at least trying out the app if not religiously using it. Lightbox is the biggest player on the Android market. But, two weeks ago, Instagram beat Lightbox to it, and released its Instagram for Android, making it “cross-platform”, while Lightbox is exclusively on Android for now (which I think is good, keeping all the “#iPhonographers” and their silly breakfast-shots away from my timeline).

However, Instagram’s website is practically useless. Lightbox has a magnificently sexy website which does all the same features its app does. In other words, it’s a fully-functional, stand-alone website meaning anyone can use it, regardless if you carry a smartphone. It’s also very handy compared to Instagram, where you can’t even edit your profile picture from the “website”.

Screenshot of the Lightbox Website

Screenshot of the Instagram “website”

Apart from which platforms these apps support, there are several advantage I have noticed which Lightbox has:

The photo can be any size, not the square-shaped ones of Instagram, meaning photos like my panoramic shot of Zaintunay Bay, can be beautifully edited and shared on Lightbox, but not on Instagram
More artsy layout in presentation mode. That might not be an advantage, after all, minimalism and simplicity are of the utmost importance in mobile, and even though Lightbox is much nicer, Instagram is definitely faster
The filters in Instagram are annoying, and make sure the photo looks rendered. Lightbox filters, especially “Instafix” merely make your photo better, without the obviousness of a filter, making it more of a pro-thing versus an amateur poking fun at what photography has come to today.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison I made. My final advice? Use Lightbox if you’re on Android and merely republish your Lightbox photos on Instagram without adding any filters, they’ll still be the best-looking (given you take nice photos). Also, don’t over-use hashtags, get followers the old-fashioned way: with good content…

Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: instagram, instagram alternative, instagram android, intagram vs lightbox, lightbox, photo journal

Another Batch of Must-Have Android Apps

April 3, 2012 By Gino 1 Comment

1- Expincers (Bank Audi Support) (5/5)

I just made my first credit card, and shuffling that with my internet card, savings account and debit card is sometimes confusing. Also, I hate going to the bank, and who the hell still uses paid SMS? With this awesome app, you just sign in with your Bank Audi online account, and it automatically tracks everything you spend with your cards. You can also add your cash withdrawals and categorize each transaction, and make a cute pie chart.

What’s useful about this app is it really helps you keep track of how much you’re spending. It also helps you keep track of your budget, and helps you sniff out all those pesky bank fees which they don’t SMS you about (sneaky bastards). If you’re an Android user and a Bank Audi customer, this is a MUST-HAVE. Love it. I just wish it would automatically categorize obvious things like restaurants into the “restaurants” category for example, but, otherwise flawless.

2- LBCI News (3/5)

I don’t know why, but instead of grouping everything into one, neat, comprehensive app like MTV, LBCI has chosen to develop several apps such as LBCI, LBCI News and Kalam Ennas. If you’re a news junkie though, this app is cool. It has breaking news notifications (in arabic) and does that cleanly without misbehaving in terms of wasting megabytes.

3- SMS Leb (5/5)

Alfa and MTCtouch rape us with their fees and rape us again with their poor, poor, poor service. So, making use of the measly 5 free SMSes per day does have its satisfaction. However, the assholes now added the stupid “verification” code when you want to send an SMS, making it even more of a hassle, especially from your mobile browser.

This app is extremely simple and does what it says perfectly. Just sign in, punch in the number, type your message and send. And voila, sent. No verification, no waiting for it to load, no lag in SMS time. So, download it and make use of the “gift” our crappy providers have given us. Also, there is one for Alfa and one for MTCtouch, making it even simpler.

4- Beirut Electricity Cut Off (3/5)

Personally, I step out of the door and press the stairwell button to see if its electricity or “moteur”. But, for you app freaks, I’ve added in this app. I don’t like it because it’s basically a widget-maker only. You have to get all the information, like when the electricity cuts off in your area, and for how long. So, it’s not very useful in terms of predicting the cut offs itself, it just presents whatever you now in a widget format. But, it’s nice to have it in case some Apple fanboy flaunts their version of the app.

Filed Under: Leb, Tech Tagged With: android apps, lebanon android apps

ArabNet on March 27: Why Facebook Timeline is Cool

March 27, 2012 By Gino 1 Comment

Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend all of today’s sessions and talks. I was upset because good friends like George El Khabbaz, Joumana Mattar and Maya Zankoul gave UX talks I would’ve loved to attend, but, all was not lost. Stephane Crozatier, a Facebook engineer tasked with helping develop social products for strategic Facebook partners through the open graph.

Now, that sounds super-geeky and programmer language, but luckily for you, I’m not a computer scientist and thus will relay what I understood and discovered today from the session: why the timeline?

Stephane talked about how Facebook has created a graph that has several nodes. Nodes are people and brands, and the network you create with people you friend and things you like, make the open graph everyone is so hyped about. Why are they hyped? Well, because it is the mother of all treasures when it comes to data mining: what you like, who you surround yourself with and what you do, every marketer’s dream data. Of course, if you don’t allow it, this graph will remain off-limits to websites and corporations.

Anyway, after introducing what the graph and Facebook Platform were, Stephane went on to discuss the rationale behind this new “evolutionary leap” in Facebook world. “Talking about things on Facebook is nice, but doing things on Facebook is nicer” pretty much summed up the Facebook mantra in a very simple and elegant way.

We used to send notifications to our pages, for example “Gino likes X article.” Today, you get “Gino read X article on Y website” in realtime, and with a “widget” on my timeline with the actual article. This also applies for music I listen to on SoundCloud for example, or photos I pin on Pinterest. Now, I can do those things via Facebook, or at least do more than “shallow link” to the homepage, but actually initiate an action via Facebook on the third party website.

You’d think, why would Facebook do that? Why would they grant access to their 850 million+ users to lesser online players? Well, why not? Facebook doesn’t only allow partners to utilize the graph (with user permission of course), they also help the strategic partners with their endeavors and perfect their social products, because according to Stephane, “it creates a viral loop” to which I completely agree.

Some interesting data presented was that Pinterest’s referrals rose 60% when its Facebook app became integrated into the new timeline. Another interesting tidbit was that Goodreads daily active users (DAU) rose a whopping 77% after utilizing the open graph technology to integrate it into Facebook.

So, the rationale behind the timeline and new platform seem even more appealing to me now. However, I know many of you have been resistant to switch to the new timeline. I have bad news for you, everyone is gonna be switched to the new timeline eventually. I personally sorta cheated and created a dummy app on Facebook developers and got the new timeline many months ago, and have since grown very much accustomed to it, and love it!

For privacy freaks, take the time to fix your settings. Also, I agree with Google co-founder Eric Shmidt when he said that if you don’t want it online, you probably shouldn’t be doing it anyway.

Fun Stuff

Also, something fun today was Nokia’s freezing cold competition. They brought a massive block of ice impregnated with a brand new Nokia 701. Each person had 30 seconds to try to chisel and hack at the ice and if you get the phone dislodged, it’s yours. Unfortunately, some people hit too hard and smashed the phone. Nokia were kind enough though to hand another, functional device for the winner.

Filed Under: ArabNet Tagged With: arabnet, arabnet 2012, arabnet photos, arabnet review, arabnetme

Speakers at ArabNet to Discuss How e-Commerce in the Middle-East Grew Explosively Last Year

March 23, 2012 By Gino Leave a Comment

If you’re in the Middle-East, chances are you were bombarded with thousands of “MarkaVIP” ads and emails. The somewhat “wozzeh” name though that seems like spam, is actually an immensely successful Jordanian-based company that has scored over 5 million USD in investment less than two years after its inception in late 2010.

Such examples have become abundant in the Middle-East recently, and I’m sure you guys are like me in wondering “why can’t I be part of that?” and “why didn’t I think of that!” and of course “do I still have time and opportunities to jump on that band wagon”. The answers might not be clear, but some of the most qualified people who can answer and discuss these questions will all be in one place next week: ArabNet.

The line up of speakers will include people like Osama Bedeir, Vice President of Payments at Google (I hope Google Wallet is coming to the MENA region soon!), Shervin Pishevar,nManaging Director at Menlo Ventures and Amina Belghiti, Head of Platform Partnerships, New Markets EMEA, Facebook. These three are only 3 among over a 100 other professionals, academics and entrepreneurs who will provide in-depth insight into a wide spectrum of topics such as entrepreneurship, investment, the future of media and advertising, interaction through social media platforms, and the effect of the latest technology trends on the digital market.

Being around so many innovative individuals over the past two years, has pushed me, a humble Biology student, to start thinking about online business ventures and e-startups. I for one, I’m glad to attend talks by these individuals prior to formally launching my business plan. I’m also hoping to poach potential investors and developers to help me bring it all together! So, I for one, am excited about the speakers, as should you! See you all next week! Oh, and here’s the full-list of other awesome people that are going to present.

Filed Under: Tech

Traveler Tips: Head Gear for the Road

March 23, 2012 By Gino Leave a Comment

I’m a brand loyal person usually. Not sure why, but if I enjoy a product enough, I tend to buy the newer one or other products from the same manufacturer. When I’m going abroad, I usually carry a small carry-on and a backpack full of all my electronics. Laptop, iPad, iPod, camera, phones and of course headphones.

The whirring of jet engines, the bakes of buses, the squeak of train tracks and of course your annoying fellow passengers make headphones a must when traveling. Here are my suggestions for which type of headgear to use when on the move. My extensive pleasurable experience has been with Skullcandies, I have several headphones and my backpack is also SKDY.

1- Headphones

I’m a headphone fan. Why? Well, apart from having no need to insert stuff deep into your ear canal, they usually look cool. They also send a message to others that “shut up, I don’t wanna talk to you” which is perfect on long journeys. Skullcandy have several types of headphones, but my favorite are the “hesh” line. They’re sturdy, have very diverse designs and are very comfortable to wear. In fact, in the few times I have been a DJ, my Paul Frank Skullcandies (which cost around 70.00USD) were my headphones of choice.

The second type of SKDY headphones I own are the “skullcrushers” which are notorious for their bass amplification. When I wanna listen to some minimal and deep house, maybe even some dubstep, the skullcrushers will definitely be your carry-on club sound system. Usually, a song sounds very different when played in a club setting with the improved and accentuated bass. These headphones provide you a good approximation of what a track will really sound like when you blast it at a party. Only downside is that when there are phones around, they create interference (parasite) and affect the music experience if you get a Whatsapp message. So, I’d definitely recommend Hesh headphones over Skullcrushers. They also need batteries to function fully, and the batteries are housed on the connecting line, which makes it awkward to stow away neatly.

The third type of SKDY I have are the smaller, Agent headphones. These headphones are better for travel, they’re smaller and more compact and usually lighter than their bulky Hesh counterparts. They also take a shape more similar to the human ear, making their prolonged use more comfortable. They’re also cheaper than their skullcrushing and hesh headphones.

2- Earphones

If you’re worried about size and price, and you really want 0 noise from the world around you, then you should go with the earphones or “buds”. They’re the type that you insert into your ear canal, insulating it against any other sound. They’re the cheapest in the product line and you can fit them anywhere. They’re less flashy though, and if you’re looking to make a fashion statement and send others a signal that you’re busy or don’t wanna talk, the buds are definitely not your right choice.

Conclusion

Go with the Agents. Why spend 400 USD for headphones when you can spend 10% of that and get one which doesn’t have a rapper’s name and looks exactly the same every single time. Happy commuting!