Motorola EX115 Hands On Review!

First of all, why dual-on GSM? Why now? After all this time, never crossed in my mind to use dual-on GSM phone. Until my BlackBerry primary network which using Telkomsel was 'broken'. I complained about how my signal reception is very good, I connected to BIS network (EDGE uppercase or 3G BlackBerry) but can't send a single 'hi' to anyone in my contact list. So I decide to use CDMA network in my Tour and its much better actually in my location.

So, I now have two GSM Sim Cards that I need to bring with me anywhere.  And my jeans pocket won't fit for another phone. After a search, I fall for this brown-thin-sleek Motorola EX115 (other choices are Lenovo Mobile which are just launched in Kelapa Gading last week).

In short, I finally then have the phone in my hand. As usual, nowadays the cellphone box is designed to the minimum. Thanks Apple for that. Motorola EX115 comes only with a travel charger and manual book. No cable data, no handsfree and of course no pouch or whatsoever. The phone design itself is good in my opinion. The material used is similar to the black version of Motorola Q8. It is plastic with semi-rubberized material which I haven't found out what the name is. It is quite thin and I could say it's the best compared to other MTK-phones (china manufactured - local brand).

My EX115

The phones come up with 3 Megapixels camera which gives you a decent image and it also have built-in timer and several effects (sephia, negative, sketch, etc). It's good to have it although its lack of flash and auto focus.

Here are some sample from camera shots :

Embossed Effect

White Inverted Effects

Move on to the most important part of this phone : QWERTY keypad. I've been using many of qwerty keypads from many phones. Sony Ericsson P910, Treo 650, Nokia E61, Motorola Q8, BlackBerry 8800, 8520, 9630 and this EX115 have the same sensation with the Q8. The button felt kinda hard but it's okay. Texting is easy using this phone. You type the message, add the recipient number, and then choose from which SIM you want to send the message. Same thing applies for making phone calls. Type the phone number and when you press dial, you will be asked from which SIM you want to start the call.

Next is the media player. I always thought the phone will have a very decent media player. But I was totally wrong. The Music Player in this phone comes with 3D surround and Bass Booster and it's very good! Reminds me of  ancient MotoROKR (Motorola E398) phone. It's definitely a plus point for this side. The phone also have microUSB slot and it is definitely also a plus because it could use my BlackBerry data cable and charger.

The minus? Have I mentioned even one the minuses? Yes nothing man ever made is perfect. The OS the EX115 comes with is most likely MTK-based. It's similar to most local brands and its not very user friendly when it comes to SYNC. You could sync the phone using the same PC Sync for other MTK's but it's very unfamiliar for me because these past years I was spoiled by the easiness of ActiveSync, iTunes, OviSuite and Google Sync. One of user also stated that he kind of disturbed by the backspace / delete button placement. When normally it's located below the letter 'p', EX115 put it in the left side of hung up button.

Well, besides of the sync issue, this phone is doing okay. The battery could last for around one and a half day in my usage. If you ever found one near your local store, my advise is buy it! Of course if you really need dual-on GSM phone. :)

@romeo_tango

PSP: Race-Your-Heart-Games!

Here are few of racing games I tested and played in past two months aside from the famous Need For Speed series.

1). Gran Turismo for PSP

 image taken from amazon.com

Released not so long after the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for PS3, Gran Turismo (GT) Portable is definitely one of the best of driving simulation out there. Just like its console series, the graphic is top of the notch. Better than Need For Speed: Shift in terms of this game is trying to create 'a real simulation' while NFS is just a merely game.

Finishing the "Driving Challenge" mode could waste your hours, days, or even weeks to finish all challenges with the gold medals. It also could be stressful if you're not understand what are you doing inside the game. I repeat, it's more likely an insane mode of racing game because you should be perfect in braking, curving, accelerating or simply put everything to win a gold!

The race series is much easier. I never played the multiplayer since none of my friends have it in their PSP while I was on it. Other best part of this game is that it features around 800 cars! Cool huh?

2). Asphalt Urban GT 2

image taken from amazon.com

I remembered clearly the first time playing Asphalt is on my classic N-Gage Phone (Symbian Version) and it was kind of good or perhaps best racing genre mobile game in that era where java games were everywhere. After a while, I noticed Asphalt was still on the market when I saw my friends iPod Touch and there it was Asphalt Urban GT. So I recently try the GT2 Version and what can I say... this game is not interesting for me. The cars looked so a little cartoonish or rough while they try to make the environment real. 

But Asphalt has a few good points. Unlike Gran Turismo, they mostly prefer sports-car that can'be afforded by most of people who play the game *ouch*. Just name it.. Aston Martin, Lamborgini, Jaguar, Hummer, and so on.

Also they have this 'wanted level' similar to Need For Speed: Most Wanted. You could be chased by the police that only after you and ignore the other racers (WHAT?) and if you do knock out the police, you will get $1000 in the game. Ain't that bad? I only play for one race and after that I decide to quit the game. :) You might find yourself different from my opinion and of course that is fine.

3. Twisted Metal: Head On

 image taken from amazon.com

Okay, I notice that this is not a racing games. But it also features cars and wheels so I'll just put it on. At least this is better than Asphalt (IMO).

Head On is very much similar to others classic Twisted Metal with the same characters such as Mr. Grimm, Sweet Tooth, Twister, etc. The gameplay also the same. You need to destroy  all enemies in the certain stage. For example in Paris, Rome, and rooftops.

The boss fight is ridiculously difficult even in easy mode so you might want to play a tag-team with your friends. TM: Head On also feature the same 'move list' as its predecessor to launch actions such as freeze missile or summoning shield. This game could be quite fun or not depending whether you liked the console version or not.

@romeo_tango

Sony PSP Recommended Games - Part Deux

Okay, continuing my last post before I am going to give a few more titles for Sony PSP recommended games. Of course it is if you are in the same taste with me.

#3. Need for Speed : Shift

This latest NFS is good in graphic and improved gameplay. I still prefer the NFS: Most Wanted gameplay but Shift has better graphic and it might be a plus for some of you. I haven't tried Gran Turismo yet, but some of my friends already said that for PSP, the NFS rule out!

#4. Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

The fact that the PSP 3000 have the limited edition of Assassin's Creed (AC):Bloodlines told us that this game is special. Yes indeed. If you played some of Prince of Persia (PoP) games also made by Ubisoft, you will notice a few resemblances between PoP and AC franchise which you could ram 'freely' in the town, climbing and walking in the dangerous spots. The differences in gameplay are that in AC, you should kill enemies silently in one strike while PoP offers you a more gung-ho experienced combat.

#5. Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core

Image from WikiPedia

This prologue of Final Fantasy VII main star is Zack Fair (of course there are also Sephiroth, Cloud and Aerith). The gameplay is changed into a faster action-RPG rather than slow-traditional RPG. The battle system is real time similar to Parasite Eve and the graphic is very smooth if not excellent. :) Put it here because I haven't finished the game yet to know the overall score. But the opening scene will obviously awe you.

#5.Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of The Lions

Image from Wikipedia

This is a remake from Final Fantasy Tactics in PSX. Same story, same characters, same gameplay. The plus side of it is that the events occured in the game now will be featured as  full motion video with subtitles. Also I notice that all the dialogue said in the game is using different sentences. They use more 'ancient' English than before.

#6. Warriors Orochi 2

Image courtesy of heroturko.org

Warriors Orochi 2 (WO 2) features around 96 characters (CMIIW) and that is quite a number for a game. Too bad this PSP version doesn't have the same graphic quality as in PS2 and of course couldn't match the first Warriors Orochi in PC (IMO the best). The gameplay is still similar with the first WO except that we could use Orochi from the very beginning. The new characters are what interest you want to play this game. They now have Sun Go Kong and San Zang from Chinese "Journey to The West epic", Yoshitsune and Benkei from Japanese history lessons and many more.

Okay than, since I need to go again right now.. I will continue this list later. :) 

Thanks.

@romeo_tango