Ercan METIN

2009-05-22T07:51:00.001-07:00

Armin rocked NYC!

2009-04-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Armin had a gig last night @ Roseland Ballroom NYC!
That was first time I was listening Armin and to be honest one of the rare gigs I could stay until the end! (thanks to my -15db attenuators)

Here are some videos from the event!

Not satisfied ?

Here is the link for all videos I recorded..

http://share.ovi.com/album/ercanmetin.public

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ercanmetin/sets/72157616392192312/

Logitech Driving Force GT PS3

2009-02-05T23:08:00.000-08:00

Today The Logitech Driving Force GT for PS arrived.
First impression off the box was unbelievable..
The wheel looks amazing.. When you touch it you can feel the superior craftsmanship.
Hooking it up to the PS3 system couldn't be easier(could be bluetooth)
To hook it up I first connected the pedal board to the wheel and then I connected the wheel to the AC power outlet. Only cable left after that was the USB cable, I connected that to the PS3 and the wheel started to rotate.

Every review I read on the internet was about the perfection of the Force Feedback. When I started driving my BMW M3 Coupe first thing I noticed was the force feedback.
I felt the force, the power I have in my hands. I also found the game control keys that are on the wheel so easy to use. I can play any other PS game using the keys on the wheels with no problem, they really are in perfect place.

Logitech did so much to give the real taste of the roads with this wheel but the most important thing is missing! They have force feedback on the wheel perfect but there is no feeling on the foot. When I push the gas pedal I HAVE TO FEEL THE FORCE! I HAVE TO GET SOME KIND OF FEEDBACK! I can even live with no force feedback on the wheel, but having it on the gas pedal is a MUST!

I almost always like logitech products, I certainly love how this wheel feels and looks but the pedal system needs improvements..

Nokia amazes me with A2DP support!

2009-02-01T23:56:00.000-08:00

It has been more than 3 years since I have used my Bluetake Iphono stereo bluetooth headset. I had Nokia 6680 when I bought my first BT headset. Unfortunately that time my Nokia 6680 did not support A2DP. I used the optional BT transmitter that time.. I have had both Iphono Plus and the Iphono Mini. I found it quite uncomfy to wear Iphono plus for long period of time. No such problem with Iphono mini but Iphono mini always had some sort of hissing sound which made listening music with low volume very unpleasant.

Time passed and I now own a phone with A2DP support but I never actually had time to
connect my BT headset to my Nokia until today. I am really amazed with the quality. But most of all, I AM FREE FROM CABLES! I don't know how to explain this feeling but NO CABLES!

I cannot believe I could have been free of cables since SEP 2006, but I never tried the A2DP until today!!!!

You haven't tried it yet? just buy a Stereo BT headset from Nokia, you will thank me.

Nokia Internet Radio Updated!

2009-02-01T23:24:00.000-08:00

If you have a Nokia phone and still don't have the Nokia Internet Radio App installed, now is a good time to do so..

I have just updated mine here is the link;
http://europe.nokia.com/explore-services/music/internet-radio/download

I strongly recommend downloading it and adding http://ca.ah.fm:80 manually to the station list! GREAT MUSIC! (for electronic lovers like myself)

If you are not electronic music lover don't worry Nokia Internet Radio app
has 1900+ radio channels listed. You can browse the directory by country, genre, and language.

Amazing quality, well done Nokia!
I've just tried to stream 192K over GPRS it buffered close to 8 seconds and played it smoothly.

Nokia Even Does Navigation Better!

2009-02-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

On my recent trip to China, I bought a cheap external LCD. I did not really have use in mind but it was quite a bargain so I kind of just took it..

Yesterday I was going to have a little trip to NJ I thought I set the LCD on the dashboard and connect my N95 8GB to it via supplied TV out cable.
I connected the TV out cable, the video now goes to the external LCD and I connected the audio to the car stereo.

Honda CRV has the navigation and the PCMCIA card support(up to 8GB, mp3 files only!) this system costs 2000$(no traffic info, no video playback, no web-browsing)

I didn't think about substituting Honda navigation system that's why I did not buy larger LCD. But I could even get an eight inch LCD and totally substitute the built in NAV.

With Nokia N95 not only I have the same NAVTEQ maps (NAVTEQ is a Nokia company now. Acquired on October 2007 for $8.1 billion). Nokia occasionally updates the maps. If you want to replace NAV DVD thru Honda they charge you 400$ for this. Plus with Nokia I can view the terrain as map, satellite and 3D. With Nokia I can watch video clips, listen to music and download new songs. I can run Nokia Internet Radio App and listen to 1900+ channels. I can get Live traffic view(Google maps, or Nokia maps). etc.. etc..

I really don't want to get into details here, but I personally will not even consider a built in navigation or any other navigation options other than a mobile device which I already pay and use.

When I think about how much money I save just because I use a Nokia device...
I can substitute a media player, mp3 player, car navigation system, a computer, etc..

Updated Fring to stream music via Last FM

2009-01-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Today I updated fring on N95 8GB and found out that they have added support for last.fm
I gave it a try, even though I am not 100% satisfied with the music quality I am very happy to see that fring keeps advacing itself!
They have always improved and added more and more since their first launch JAN 2007.

Even though skype launched their symbian version in April 2008 I think Israeli company fring is way ahead! I personally uninstalled skype and only rely on fring for my MoIP needs..

Nokia Comes with 8GB, 16GB or maybe unlimited?

2009-01-25T12:34:00.000-08:00

When Nokia had the countdown timer to introduce the N97 to the public.
I made a comment and said 32GB Internal memory did not impress me, I expected N97 would have better integration with their "ovi" service. Since ovi is an unlimited service, why would you limit your product with 32GB memory! I said I would advertise as 32GB offline memory, and unlimited online memory on my specs sheet. I said that Nokia phone should see the ovi site as another harddrive. C: E: O: for example.. Kind of like the application called WebDrive which basically maps ftp servers.

Couple days ago while I was browsing the application downloads via N95-2, I saw "Files on Ovi" and immidiately downloaded it. I do have couple ftp servers If I ever need extra back up space on my mobile devices. Currently I use Bermin software MobyExplorer for my ftp Downloads and Uploads. But I desperately need a WebDrive type of FTP software for Nokia cellphones and the N810. I will go ahead and activate the 60 days trial files on ovi and write my thoughts about it here..

Netbooks are Invention too? It all started with Nokia 770

2009-01-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

I hear from everyone around, that the most popular consumer electronic device for the year 2009 will be the Netbooks. Netbooks are those light-weight, responsive computers that does all of our essential online needs..
Because of limited hardware architecture usually Linux is running the show(ex. Linpus Lite distribution of Fedora), but some people prefer Windows XP with their Netbooks. I personally chose Linux and am very happy with it. But It seems to me this is just one of those times that Nokia is pioneer, inventor of something and other companies taking credit for it.
Like Nokia creates the 6600 in 2003 with;

1.3 MP camera.
Removeable battery.
Able to stream video and audio.
Able to download, upload files to the web and ftp.
Tri band.
104MHz CPU.
Bluetooth connectivity that supports both handsfree and file transfer
Able to copy and paste (I think this is a first on mobile history)
etc... etc... etc...

Then on September 2006 they released a "Multimedia Computer" which is the N95.
The "Multimedia Computer" had;

5MP camera.
Able to record DVD-like quality video.
160MB internal memory.
55.9 MB RAM.
Quad band.
332MHz Dual CPU.
Front CIF camera enables video calls.
3D card.
WIFI connectivity.
UPNP (being the first DLNA certified cellphone)
HSDPA (1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.4 Mbit/s. if supported by network)
Integrated GPS
Bluetooth 2.0 supports handsfree, file transfers, A2DP!!
etc.. etc.. etc..

If you have read so far now read this;

On June 2007 almost one year after N95 released with above specs, and four years after 6600 released with those specs Apple released iphone.
Here is a little about iphone;

2MP camera(no flash, no video recording)
620 MHz CPU.
GPRS - EDGE(14 kbit/s - 236.8 kbit/s)
Multi-touch
Location finding by cell towers(no GPS)
WIFI
Bluetooth(no file transfer. Even today with iphone 3G)

And the Time magazine named the iPhone "Invention of the Year"
after this I personally do not care about Time magazine.
All the specs and the release dates of devices are above. How can iPhone be any better
than N95 that I cannot understand.

Recently Nokia released the "Tube" 5800. People started to say it is iPhone killer.
Please don't be funny! Just because some magazine said iPhone is a big deal we are supposed to believe it? iPhone never killed anything, so there is no such thing that a company like Nokia that holds more than 40% of the cellphone market in the world needs to kill iPhone!

Lets get back to the topic,

Netbooks! New Inventions right?
As far as I remember the Netbooks started to sell in 2007
What they do is basicly, they have a wifi radio, they are able to run messenger clients(yahoo, icq, aol, msn, etc...) They have a tiny camera for video calls (for example via Skype) They usually have some sort of open office type of productivity tools. etc.. etc..

Lets go back to 2005 and talk about Nokia 770 a little bit.

That device also had a wifi radio, was also able to run messenger clients(yahoo, icq, aol, msn, etc...) 770 did not have a camera but the succesor N800(released JAN 2007) had a camera which enables video use via Gizmo Project and tons of other applications that let users to perform all kinds of tasks.

Nokia internet tablet (N770, N800, N810) is very small in size. I owned Nokia N770, and a Nokia N800 and currently I have Nokia N810 as well as a Acer One Netbook! In my opinion only difference between the Netbooks and the Internet Tablets is the size difference, sure the hardware architecture is different because of the size difference but they both are able to perform same tasks with ease. Especially if you use the iGo bluetooth foldable keyboard with the
Nokia Internet Tablets..

I really will not be shocked if some people call the Netbooks invention and never mention about NOKIA.

The Nokia 5800

2009-01-18T03:20:00.001-08:00

Being the newest Nokia member in my family, the Nokia 5800 has already impressed me with thousands of new features.

I was a N95 8GB user and I can say with confidence that N95 8GB was the best phone ever made. I wrote lots of things about N95 8GB because I was in love with the superior craftsmanship and the features bundled with S60 platform.

It has only been four days that I have started to spend time with the "TUBE" (5800) but I think the first things I noticed was the ease of use via touch interface. I never was a fan of touchscreen devices, I use Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, but I barely touch the screen there.. The physical keys always works better for me. But Nokia 5800 really impressed me with the ease of use via touchscreen.

Not only I don't mind not to have physical keys, I actually started to find the touchless interface on N95 8GB a little inconvenient. I am really impressed with the responsiveness of the TUBE! I love that the lights go off and the screen locks at the exact second I pull the "KEY LOCK" slider.

One other GREAT feature is the REMOTE LOCK! Remote Lock can be found under the security settings on the 5800, you basicly input a txt message, for example: "lockyourself" and whenever the phone receives the msg "lockyourself" from any number it basicly locks itself and the memory card with your predefined passcode. it is a MUST for a mobile device that carries personal data. I always thought a mobile phone must have biometric fingerprint reader for security purposes. But REMOTE LOCK could really be a substitute for the fingerprint protection.

Back from Hong Kong

2009-01-11T05:04:00.000-08:00

Hannunechkaaa I'm back :) I was out in the markets all day.. It is amazing.. I maybe walked 7km today and talked to all kinds of people who are trying to do business.. It is very nice place.. It feels like Istanbul years ago.. Even though you can find corporate giants here Guangzhou still is full of warm people who tries to make a living.. I feel that I really missed the feeling of dealing with actual people in everyday life.. Internet sales, etc.. makes you even forget about this feeling.. Today I found a street shop selling some clothes one for 4$ I spent good amount of time there trying to find nice ones from the pile.. The people spoke absolutly no english but we did great.. they really make you feel like king here.. I bought 2 kokoruza from other street salesman.. Each for 1 yuan! I bought kiraz and mandalinka and littlecka bananas.. I really really miss to deal with people this way.. I guess life is not always advancing for betta.

Flickr Advanced Search NOT So Advanced!

2008-10-09T20:40:00.001-07:00

First time in my life I had time to search photos on flickr,
I usually upload the photos I take via cellphone.
Until today I really didn't mess with their search engine, but I must say that I am very disappointed!

Today I was trying to see photos of Aurora Borealis (northern lights)
all the results to my search was 640 x 480.

I personally ignore these type of images. It might be the most beautiful piece of art,
if it is smaller than 1280 x 1024 it really doesn't matter how nice of work the photographer did,
it is just piece of junk for me.

I use 40" Sony Bravia as my monitor and It really is not pleasant to view tiny images on this resolution.

Back to the topic, Flickr is the best image hosting site there is; but the advanced search on Flickr does not allow to specify image size when searching for images. In my opinion this is a big drawback when you really search images.

I am a member of Easynews newsgroup and their search is the most "advanced" search I have ever seen on the web. I can specify dimensions, put minimum and maximum file size.

As the best of the best, Flickr should address this little problem and make their "advanced" search really deserve to be called "advanced"

My First Day with Ovi

2008-09-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

Nokia finally launched the long waited ovi.

As a daily flickr user, I must say that ovi needs lots of work on Share(beta) service .
I experienced hours of wait to be able to upload 500mb media(pix, and vids)
I am on 30mbit network! Flickr is much much faster.
It also kept signing me out for some reason;
Nokia, it really is a hassle to keep signing into my account!
With flickr I am almost always signed in!
The downside for flickr is lack of decent sized video support.
Finally with ovi I will be able to keep a back up of all my media somewhere; FOR FREE!

But I'm sure ovi will fix the slow upload problem soon enough.
The calendar, contacts and notes are just awesome!
No need to worry to back up contacts before upgrading a phone, you can sleep safe now; ovi has everything backed up for you ;) :)

Testing kyte with N95 8GB

2008-09-30T15:19:00.001-07:00

Have you guys surfed over symbian-freak.com lately? As I was doing my daily technology news update routine, I saw information about kyte on symbian-freak.

Unbelievable software! Can you imagine years ago you needed a broadcast truck with big satellite dish to do live broadcast! Now only thing you need is a WIFI enabled cellphone with a decent camera.

Here is a direct link for my 1st broadcast ;)
http://www.kyte.tv/ch/146154-ercanmetin/230471-live-mobile-show
Check it out and tell me what you think..