I can’t help but feel a little sad to part with my handmade beauties for sale.
Packed them up nicely and passed them on to be put on sale. The opportunity couldn’t have arrived at a nice timing. I just took the plunge. Still too early to tell if I will make money. Only time will tell. In the meantime, my shop site has been done up, and will be launched as soon as possible. 
Nicole
Sneak Peek!
Its coming real soon. Amidst struggling with books, this is a welcome distraction during my small breaks
Cheers,
Nicole
What have I been doing since my last post a couple of days back? Clearing all my outstanding project work that is. Freaky that the semester is ending so soon. And as much as I dreaded looking forward to the Festival (Exams), I still have to.
Went to Library 2 to zapped some notes. And I think I am getting cross-eyed from all that notes. I got to start understanding them and digest them 
I enjoy the satisfaction of completing some projects of mine. Looking forward to clear the remaining stack.
Tomorrow, I look forward to going for Tech65 podcast recording session. Oh am I glad to have a new toy or two to play with. Stay tuned!
Oh yes, he is coming home! *excited*
Nicole
I heart Google Labs.
Because of this.
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| From Blog |
Ok, granted one can cheat by Ctrl+R to refresh the page, but at the same time, being told to take a break is nice.
Nicole
To be honest, I feel lousy.
Part of me feels so tired, part of me still want to trudge on and on… Never felt so stretched out to my limits as a final year student… Like what people say, the mind is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Knowing how many things I have to complete is just enough to make me feel scared. But then again, I began to ask myself, what am I feeling so scared for? Am I just being paranoid? Probably. Worrying too much? Definitely. The truth is that even if I worry, there is so much I can do. Worrying over something I can’t control is as good as wasting my energy.
Hmph. Now you can see why I am so bloody pissed with myself. I thought I controlled it. I thought I nailed it in the bullseye. But alas.
Maybe I expect too much of myself.
I should learn to take things easy.
Nicole
This is a ranting post.
Do not click read more if you don’t wish to read
Week 10 of school is approaching, which means 1 more week to e-learning week. School work has never been so enjoyable. I can feel the all too familiar feeling of stress, pressure, temper flying, and the deadlines…
The month of November will bring about EXAMS!!!
I’ve examinations on 13th November, 20th November and 25th November.
13th November – 2 paper combos in a day. This is going to leave me very very drained. 2 related modules in a go. But that should be manageable, after all, I had 3 paper combos in 2 days, how worse can that be? Net-Centric and Advance Computer Networks modules are the paper combos to be attacked for the day.
20th November – Bioinformatics. Doubt I could screw this paper up. (then again, the paper might screw me instead)
25th November – Programming Languages… #*(#@I##I$U#@U# SO NOT my cup of tea. I want to get it over and done with.
Oh, did I just mention that I end my examinations 3 days earlier than my sister?
Nicole
Well, I didn’t buy the phone, but I manage to lay my hands again on the Innov8, thanks to my friend, WQ. He managed to get a set to review (as a member of Samsung Touch), and he kindly lent it to me for a while to play with it. In the short time of a train ride from Boon Lay to Tampines, I managed to get a taste of what the phone has to offer.
I’ve rattled about it here, and I am going to do it in this post again, this time, ditching the specifications, for you can find it here. I will be focusing on the features and functions that I tried.
First, lets start of with the design and aesthetics of the Innov8.
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| From Innov8 Features |
See the earphone cable sticking out next to the Mini-USB port? I feel that putting the ear phone jack there makes the phone a little awkward to put it into the pocket, because it will be lying horizontally (unless you use the phone pouch), and making the pocket look very bulgy. On the extreme left side of the phone is the volume control buttons, which also acts as zoom button in the camera mode.
The earphone jack is of the standard 3.5mm type, so you can plug in your own ear phones as well.
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| From Innov8 Features |
This is how the earphones look like. I tried it, and it fits my ear snugly, though initially, I had to adjust it a fair bit, thus causing a little discomfort. But I soon got used to it. The audio and visual playback is awesome.
Prior to accessing the main menu… there is a mini menu interface…
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| From Innov8 Features |
This contains shortcuts to predefined functions, or customized to your liking (will come to that soon).
A quick glance through the various buttons will show if the FM Radio is running (shows the radio station), or if you are spinning MP3 tunes. “Shortcuts” options can be customized to one’s preferences.
Here’s a snapshot of how the main menu interface looks like
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| From Innov8 Features |
See the media icon? with a little circle like thing at the top right hand corner? This indicates that an application in that category is running in the background. Nifty eh? The visual indicator helps to point out what the phone is doing.
They too, have thrown in Google applications such as Mail Reader and Google Maps.
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| From Innov8 Features |
What you see here is the function of recording audio clips, and each clip can contain one hour worth of audio. The quality and volume of the clip can be set prior to recording. Extension of the clip is of MP4. Playback of recorded audio is decent, it can be even better, but I think the environment in which the audio was recorded plays a part too.
Ever come across a song you like that is playing on the Radio and want to record it? Now you can, because the Innov8 can. “Options” and then “Record”. These clips are then stored in the file manager.
Like some other phones, it also allow auto repositioning of the screen elements, when the phone is shifted from vertical to horizontal view.
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| From Innov8 Features |
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| From Innov8 Features |
Notice the keypad? It looks flat, but is actually very comfortable to key in messages or numbers, and suitable for people with larger fingertips as well. I found no difficulty using it with one hand. The sliding mechanism of the phone is also very smooth, and makes it easy to use even with just one hand. The Innov8 feels very “solid” in one hand itself, giving me the sheer confidence of shooting pictures too.
The photo quality is quite clear, as shown in then previous Innov8 post, so I shall not dwell too much on it).
The Symbian OS makes phone navigation a breeze, though non symbian users might find it a little harder to get used to initially. Apart from that, the Innov8 allows a great deal of customization of the shortcut keys (spoil for choice). It can be a boon or bane, depending on how you perceive it to be. Boon – It allows you to define what are the most accessed and frequently used functions. Bane – Hard time remembering which keys accesses which functions when activated. There are at least 6 to 8 keys that can be customized.
Last but not least, the English to Chinese and vice-versa dictionary. Suddenly I don’t feel so language handicapped anymore. The sms input supports Chinese and Malay characters input.
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| From Innov8 Features |
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| From Innov8 Features |
That’s all I have. These are the features that I will use most often if I do get an Innov8, and I believe that these are some features that people like you and I would want to find out before buying the phone. I hope you will enjoy the review that I have written, feel free to give me suggestions or tips I can improve on. Thanks!
Nicole
I am thankful…
for everything that has happened, be it good or bad.
for having wonderful friends like you in my life.
for being able to enter university
for having a fruitful life.
I will…
want to do more,
and pay back to society, somehow, someway.
Nicole
Apologies for the lack of updates.
Things are happening too fast too furious (I barely have time to catch my breathe!) But I must shoulder on, and give my very best still. (So if you don’t see regular updates, pardon me).
Am not exactlty on a hiatus, just neglecting this little space on and off.
Today’s Friday, and it also spells the end of week 9 of my academic curriculum. Oh gosh. Which means less than a month to exams! In the meantime, have a good weekend!
Nicole
