Burps and belly rumbles

So far this has just been a duping ground for moans, groans and over exagerated injustices that have rained down on me. If you look close though, you might just find a post or two of opinion and not complaint.

Thursday 13 December 2012

Asus UK - A definition in crap customer care !

I have written maybe a dozen posts on this Blog since I started it, this is the third one about Asus UK and their complete lack of after sales care.  Of my previous two posts on this, one told you what was going on, and explained the issues I was having, the other actually gave a little praise as everything seemed to start moving along, needless to say everything has stalled again since then.



I finished my second Asus post by saying that I was only awaiting the housing association paying the amount quoted from the SBE repair centre  and then my daughters 4 days old Laptop could be mended and returned and we could all live happily ever after.  Life refuses to work like that though, and the gentle winding road ahead of me leading to a once again happy daughter was soon full of pot holes, red lights, and diversions.

When I last bored you with this, I was waiting for payment to reach the repair centre so the work could start.  True to their word, Glen Oaks housing association coughed up the necasery within the week, so I waited for confirmation from SBE that the Laptop was working and would be winging it's way to me like an eagle swooping from above.  After a week or so I got a little bored of this, and contacted SBE (I had to contact them on twitter as the phone system must be left on silent in the offices meaning no one hears them ring). The SBE social media team were prompt in getting back to me, they told me that my repair was on hold as Asus had not delivered the replacement motherboard that was needed to fix the Laptop.  Naturally I contacted the Asus UK level two representative, and asked if she could elevate delivery of the part.  I sent this email on the 23rd of November, more than enough time for the repair to have taken place.  On the 26th of November I received a reply stating that the repair centre had sent me a quotation and were awaiting confirmation to fix the Laptop,  even though the quotation had been paid in full by the 9th of november.  I replied quoting the information that I had received from SBE stating that they were actually awaiting the Asus team to deliver the replacement part, and again asking if delivery could be fast tracked.  I then got a reply from a member of the Asus technical support department which stated that 'according to our records the motherboard issue is now closed' and then went on to say they would be contacting the repair centre.  On the 10th of December I received another email from Asus telling me that the normal turnaround for repairs was 31 days, and after that they would look into alternative solutions, I informed them that at this point I had been waiting 56 days since collection.  

Today I had a missed call on my phone from a number I did not know, the voicemail which was left although hard to understand was from Asus, but I could not really make out any detail.  Being a little rash, I pressed the screen to call the number back.  Low and behold I was talking to Asus HOLLAND (I wrote that in bold just to make sure you paid it all the attention it deserves).  I will say that again actually, I was talking to Asus HOLLAND (oops, did it again).  My Asus Laptop, being fixed by Asus UK at a repair centre in Kent is under the jurisdiction of Asus Holland!  The very nice sounding gentleman named Jonas who is dealing with my case was un-available, so I left a message for him to contact me again.  Within minutes I received another email from Jonas, this time it stated, and I quote 'With reference to your query regarding the repair of your unit, please note that the delay is due to the fact that the fault was diagnosed as customer induced damage as such there are charges involved. Could you please confirm whether you have received a quote from the repair center or not? I tried to call you to discuss the issue but I got the voice mail.'.

Now maybe I am being delusional here, but I thought we had cleared up the fact that the quotation had been received at the end of October, and had been paid within the week.  It is now 30 days over the Asus 31 day repair threshold, and yet Asus rather than attempting to resolve the issue, are in fact acting like a bad comedy routine.  Every email I receive is like Groundhog day, nothing is moving any further forward.  

To say that I am annoyed, angry, disappointed, livid, raging, ready to commit murder would be ,like saying the sun is hot, true, but very understated.  The way things are going we will be lucky to get my daughters Laptop back for Christmas, but I don't hold out any hope of that.  What annoys me most is the complete lack of accurate information coming from Asus.  I booked my repair through Asus UK, and yet they have absolutely no concern their customers satisfaction.  I said this in my original rant, this is a paid repair, someone is making money out if this, not a lot, but a profit none the less.

GET YOUR BLOODY FINGER OUT ASUS - CUSTOMER SERVICE SHOULD NEVER BE THIS BAD.

Monday 29 October 2012

Asus 'service' update

This is just a small update to the on-going Asus UK saga. After my rant on Thursday night, two thngs happened on Friday. First when I called the Asus helpline again, and after going through the same routine as I mentioned in my last last post, I was given the telephone number for the repair center. Why I could not have been given this number on the Monday I do not know, but the call center operator claims that it should have been printed on my upload receipt (obviously it wasn't, and I am still unsure why none of the other operators I spoke to checked if I had the number, or even suggested that I call the repair center direct). The other 'happening' was a call back from the level 2 team. I don't know if my blog post and subsequent link on twitter mentioning @AsusUK (with a load of re-tweets, thanks tweeps) helped, but I suspect it may have. The rep from the level 2 team went over my case, and told me to be back in touch if I had not received my quotation by today (Monday), then I should e-mail back and they would ensure I received it.

The conversation with the repair center didn't really run smooth (even though the end result was fine). First I was informed that my quotation was still being finalised despite the fact that Asus had reported to me on the Monday that it was showing on their system as awaiting my response. How I was ever meant to respond to a quotation that was still being put together I don't know. When I inquired why it had taken so long to produce a quotation, I was told that it was actually quick for an Asus repair, as they normally take up to a month (a timescale that Asus have denied). I asked to check the contact details they had on file for me and was given my phone number and address, but no e-mail address. I then asked how I would receive the quotation and was told I would receive it through the post. As this saga has dragged on I requested to be sent it electronically, and was told that would be fine. Come Saturday morning I got the quotation, through the post. Not perfect, but at least they used a first class stamp!

Now I just need to wait for the housing association and contractors to agree to the repair.


Thursday 25 October 2012

Contractors, Asus, and typical Glasgow weather

It feels like I only post on here when I am moaning, but sometimes you just need to vent some anger.

My daughter bought a new Asus Laptop on my advice mid September this year. Although not top of the range, it cost her £800 from her student grant with the purpose of seeing her through her four year university course. The Laptop came with decent specs, a 750G HDD, an I7 CPU & 8G of RAM. The Laptop was delivered on a Monday, and after transferring files from her old Netbook she took it home.

Luckily (or un-luckily) my daughter is having some work done on her rented flat by the local housing association. The contractors on the job have pretty poor to say the least, which resulted in my daughters top floor flat being without roof tiles for a period of five weeks. On the Thursday morning she left for a day at university, leaving the Laptop closed on her living room coffee table, to return at around 4:30pm. Needless to say it was a typical wet Glasgow day, and sods law, her roof developed a leak. The water came through, ran along the ceiling and down her ceiling light onto the lid of her Laptop. If you are tech minded you know to remove the battery, and let the device dry out properly before attempting to switch it on, but in her panic my daughter broke the golden rule and switched it on to check if it was still working. The Asus logo flashed up and then it went dead. After calling home and following the correct procedure, giving the Laptop plenty time to dry out, the result would always be the same.

We contacted the housing association and wanting the situation resolved as soon as possible, put a proposal to them that would suit all parties. I suggested that we put the Laptop into a local approved Asus repair shop, and that a years insurance would be taken out to cover the now void Asus warranty. Everyone agreed and the Laptop was checked in for repair. Sadly because the device was so new to market, the motherboard (which was determined as the faulty part) was not generally available and the shop returned the Laptop still broken. At this point the contractors who were responsible for the leak, started acting like a bunch of arses. They decided that they were not happy with the repair shops assessment and asked that the Laptop be sent to their IT department for their own analysis. Obviously despite this additional delay we agreed, and the report came confirming the faulty motherboard. Sadly this was not all the report said, it went on to state that there was no evidence of any water damage and it would be a warranty covered repair. Now while I did not see the laptop sitting under the drip, I have seen the condition it left my daughters coffee table in, and there must have been a whole load of water that came in. It seemed to us that the contractors (Cameron Construction Group) were trying to wriggle out of their responsibility. Luckily the housing association agreed that the damage was caused by the ingression of water (it was four days old, and had it just stopped working we would have sent it back) and they agreed that we should send it to Asus for repair, and they would see good on the cost.

I called Asus, to be told that I had to fill out a form on the Asus UK website (which I did), the next day I received an e-mail back directing me to another form to fill in on the website (which I did), again the following day I received an e-mail telling me to fill in the original form again (which I did). Success! I received an e-mail the following day telling me the Laptop would be collected within 48 hours, and on the day of collection another e-mail detailing what time the courier would arrive. True to their word, the courier turned up in the allotted time frame and collected the Laptop on Monday the 15th of October. All was good in the world, the Laptop was going to be repaired, the housing association would foot the bill, and my daughter would smile again (not something that happens too often).

I waited till the following Monday before contacting Asus in regard of the repair and then the dark clouds of despair returned. I was informed that the repair centre had been in touch with me and were awaiting my decision regarding the repair (confirmation of the fault and the repair costs). I explained to the help desk operator that I had received no communication from the repair centre and was told that my case would be elevated to a level 2 case. I was then told that a member of the level 2 team would be in touch regarding my repair. After hearing nothing, I called back on the Wednesday to be told that the level 2 team could take up to 48 hours to be in touch, and that I should wait until four thirty before calling back. Obviously my phone it did not ringeth, and I duly called the Asus help desk again. This time I was told I would have to give the level 2 team until the morning. I expressed my displeasure at being told to wait again, and asked to be put through to the level 2 team, and was told that this was not possible, the level 2 team have to call you (maybe their phones don't get incoming calls?). On Thursday I once again called Asus UK only to be fobbed off again. I was told that I would again have to wait for a call from the level 2 team, and that the call might not come until Friday. It is now Thursday night and I have received no communication from Asus other than to tell me to wait whenever I call them to find out what is happening.

My daughters Laptop is lying in limbo in an Asus repair centre awaiting someone to say 'fix it'. While I appreciate that all companies have their own procedures, I would think that after this amount of time someone would just call or email the repair centre supplying my contact details, and ask them to get in touch with me ASAP. This is a technology company, surely a line of communication is not beyond them. Also remember that this is a PAID for repair, not a freebie, and someone will be making money from it (granted not a fortune, but a profit none the less).

When this is all finished and I eventually get the Laptop back working (it's been almost a month and a half since it last worked) I will no doubt send an email of complaint to Asus UK. If all goes according to form I will receive a reply around about the 4th of February 2014. 

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Community

I like community, whether it be the local community where I live, or my work community at the pub, or as is often most described as community these days, the people who you spend time interacting with on-line. I get on well with most of the neighborhood where I live, to the extent that we lend each other tools etc the way you used to see in those dodgy sitcoms from the 70's. I also mix pretty well with the majority of punters and staff in the pub, even if the job itself is getting me down right now.

On-line communities can be a little bit different from the other kinds. You don't judge people on how they look, or what they wear, and they also tend to be a little more frank in their views than perhaps they would be in real life. I like to think (foolishly maybe) that on the whole, that people are more honest with their feelings and views in a semi autonomous situation. When I first switched to using Ubuntu over Windows, it was the on-line community at Ubuntu forums that really blew me away, until that point I had never been one to indulge in chat with people I didn't know from Adam. This situation repeated itself when i got my Hero, the Android community, and the guys at VillainROM specifically were the a perfect example of what a community should be, and how everyone tried to help each other out. Since then I have joined twitter, and Google + and my circle of on-line friends has grown. I also think friends is the right word to use, I may not have met many in person, but the amount of time we spend in each others company far out weighs the time I spend chatting to the guys I grew up with.

The circle of friends I have on-line tend to have one thing in common, a lovely for technology. Unlike some technology and gadgets is not my living (although I wish it was), but is instead my greatest hobby (or vice if you ask Angela). That means for me its about enjoyment, which is why the last few weeks has been so annoying. Since the week or two before the Apple announcement my timelines have been full of Apple this, and Apple that, S3 this and S3 that. Its been pretty mundane and boring to say the least. What's worse is the amount of people falling out and holding grudges. I even read a piece from a tech writer who won't be attending the big Android BBQ due to threatening comments as she bought an iPhone to go with all the Android handsets she owns. I have to this point never blocked anyone on-line, or even considered it. But I think I may be getting close.

Technology, and mobile phones have reached a point where there is very little they can't do. It seems to me its more about what suits the way you use them, and your pocket. I have an S2, first released about 18 months ago. Sure you can get quicker, bigger, better camera etc, but does any of that actually lessen what my handset can do? Of course not, the pics I take are more than fine, I can store all the content I want, and play anything I need to. I have a healthy developer base to keep the geek in me happy. With all that in mind is it really worth falling out over, is there anything I have missed that justifies sitting with veins popping out your neck because the panorama pic I can take but will never use is ever so slightly different than the one you can take and after showing it off never will either? Nope, didn't think so.

Everyone really needs to chill out, have a beer, visit your family and see what in your life is really worth all that energy. And remember this - its only a phone.


Tuesday 7 August 2012

#MarchOfTheDroids


Earlier this year I helped arrange an Android get together in Glasgow, which became known as GlasDroid. It was never meant to be more than a gathering of up to a dozen folk for a few beers one Friday night, but grew to be something so much more. As a result, and after seeing the interest that it generated, we decided to do it again.

This time we have moved the venue to Manchester, a more central location for the whole of the UK. More websites are backing us, and indeed the team has grown to over ten. This thing is going to be far bigger, and far better. Currently we think we should be able attract around 200 people to come and natter about tech. We have speakers lined up to give presentations, and we also hope to get some nice bits and bobs to give away as well. 

Although very early in the planning process, things are coming along nicely. the website is up and running, and can be found here. Tickets have already started selling, and the interest from the community is growing.

Taking place on the 9th March 2013, I really cant wait for this. I look forward to meeting some of the faces from GlasDroid again, and finally getting face to face with so many other folk I gab away to on-line.

Wednesday 4 April 2012

MediaPad 5080B ICS update




Today Prestigio publicly announced the release of ICS for the MultiPad 5080 range of Android tablets, although it was actually posted on their site two days ago. The MultiPad 5080 is a re-badged budget end tablet and the fact that Prestigio have seen fit to support it to ICS level is really worth applauding. So many Android consumers who purchased top end tablets & handsets not too long ago are still waiting for their own slice of official ICS goodness, many from market leaders and multi-national manufacturers, making Pretigio's commitment to the end user all the more welcome.

The ROM itself is a stock affair, with the launcher being the only difference I can find. That said it's not as though they have replaced the launcher with a fancy TouchWiz type experience, but rather they have played with the source code for their own needs, so think more Nova than custom UI. The version is 4.0.3 so there is still room for future updates, and having had the tablet for a few months I can tell you that Prestigio are no slouches at putting new versions out. The upgrade procedure is a simple and quick affair although I would recommend that you backup any data you have on the internal SD. Full instructions and Windows drivers are included in the download and once you have them installed it is a simple app that carries out the update for you.

In the few hours I have used the ROM I have found two small issues. Firstly, and most annoyingly, there are a few market apps that show as not being compatible, most noticeably the official Twitter app, so installing from an external source is your only option. The second issue while less annoying is a little more alarming, if you wake the tablet from being in a deep idle state, you have to turn off Wifi and re-enable to get a connection. It’s not a major hassle, but you would really expect it to have been picked up during testing. Now the pluses, well it’s ICS so instantly your tablet looks so much better, it also seems to run faster. I’ve not benchmarked, but the way the tablet performs tasks and feels in the hand really is noticeably different. Previously I used the tablet for reading, Kindle, Google Currents and other similar apps, but I can actually see me using it more now; gone is the sluggish behaviour when I have too many tasks running at one time. With full GAPPS and only a couple of OEM added apps the ROM is pretty sleek or sparse depending on your point of view, but remember you do have full market access unlike some budget tablets. From what I can tell at this stage, battery life is also showing as being pretty decent and depending on use you should get most of a day out of it.

Now is the really good news, the ROM has already been rooted and as an added bonus those apps which showed as non-compatible before will now install. The rooted version also has some app adjustments with the removal of the Prestigio-added apps being most noticeable.

The official Prestigio download can be found here :-


The rooted ROM is downloadable from here :-

(This ROM will probably update at a fast rate to begin with, so I have linked to the original thread)

Thursday 9 February 2012

I'm Three, to do what I want (any old time)

We all know that mobile phone companies are there to make money, that is their only function and everything else is just a means to keep making money. We do however all expect a certain level of customer service, how high a level will depend on each of us individually, and possibly how much we are paying for that service. For me there are four deciding factors when taking out a contract, price, product (handset), network service, and lastly customer service. I put customer service last on purpose. Its the one area we tend not to think about until we have a problem, and so carries less weight than the other three at the outset of a contract. The thing is, unlike the other three its the one area that you cant test beforehand. The price wont change, the handset remains the same, its not often that network coverage or allowances will change during the duration of a contract (and yeah I know there has been the odd occasion when data limits have changed).

So what happens when it all goes Pete Tong? Well for one you expect that the carrier will do their best to resolve your problem quickly, and with as little fuss as possible, and to be fair I think it works that way most of the time. The problem is, when it goes wrong it is at best an inconvenience and at worst a major headache that leaves you pulling your hair out. 

This is a little story about a recent upgrade I had with Three UK. I have been with Three for years, more than I can actually remember, I have had at least 5 handsets with them, all for the duration of the contract. I also now have 5 other contracts with them and 2 PAYG data SIM's for mobile broadband. The upgrade phone call itself was a fairly painless, but drawn out affair, with the advisor trying to change little bits of the new contract here and there but eventually putting through the upgrade that I wanted. It is also worth noting that the handset I ordered, was of a far lower value than I was entitled to (a Wildfire S as opposed to a Desire S). So the deal was good for them, and what I wanted, happy faces all round you would think, and for the first four days it was. Then the phone arrived!


That's right, don't adjust your screen, two security seals on the box, both opened. Obviously it has been a terrible mistake, an unfortunate mix up in the depot, where I have been sent a return/refurb due to the young Lithuanian immigrant who was on picking duties that day reading the order form wrong. After a bit of too'ing and fro'ing with three customer service, I eventually manage to convince them that I am not making the whole thing up and arrange a doorstep exchange (sounds exotic) for another new handset. So two days later the doorbell goes and 'the courier' arrives for our exchange. I am immediately crestfallen when I notice the 'new' handset is in an un-sealed bag, which he then uses to put the refurb/return in, and hand me bits of paper and the box. I sign anyway hoping that this is the end of it, and take the box into the living room. Then things go from bad to worse. This is the condition of the box as it arrived.



Not only is there 2 security seals this time, but they could not even be bothered to close the box!! I mean come on, put a little effort into conning me will you. I was actually beginning to doubt myself, and checked on twitter if I was being unreasonable, or a little bit paranoid about the whole thing. So after some clarification that it wasn't me who was at fault, I tried to sort the whole sorry mess out with Three customer services, and again it took time to convince them that I did indeed receive the handset the way it arrived. Eventually after admitting that a new handset should not come in that condition I was offered another doorstep exchange, but this time I said no, I had already wasted an extra day awaiting the delivery, and as the weekend is approaching it would not arrive till Monday at the earliest. I suggested that I could drive to one their stores and exchange it there, only to be told that the stores hold different stock than the on-line sales department. I explained that as they had messed up twice it would be a nice gesture to allow it this once, but alas they didn't budge. They did however come up with this cracker after I had said I was not happy wasting another day waiting on a courier. The rep told me to cancel my on-line upgrade and upgrade at the store instead, the fact this meant I would have to waste a day for the courier to pick the old-new phone up seemed to completely pass him by. At that point I kindly thanked him for his lack of any help and said goodbye. I am now between a rock and a hard place, I want to cancel the upgrade, the new contract handset that also arrived today, and my contract which expires ina months time and move on. My daughter, who the phone is for doesn't want to lose the contract, as she really wants the One Plan, and my wife wants everyone to be on the same network as well. I have filled in a complaints form, but hold out little hope of it achieving much. The is a section on it that ask how I would like the situation resolved, and to be honest I am unsure how they can fix it now. A fancier handset wont work, we turned one of them down when we took the contract out, and its not about the money, the one plan costs the same even if you don't take a handset, so I am at a loss as to how they can restore my confidence in them. The only question is, have I just been really, really unfortunate, or is this kinda common really ?

Tuesday 31 January 2012

Lighting can strike twice!

So what do you know, a matter of 3 days after I blog to the world about my great luck in winning my LG G2x, I've gone and done it again :-). This time my prize is a shiny new iPhone 4 courtesy of @ThreeUK. I believe this now puts me firmly atop the #jammygit league of spawny sods. My first response was to ask if they could exchange it for an SGSII or GNex, but I was firmly told no, and then received a smattering of twitter abuse for being ungrateful. Nothing could have been further from the truth, I was incredibly grateful, but 'if you don't ask you don't get' I was always told.

Now I need to decide what to do with it, my original plan was to sell it, £350ish on ebay looked good. But when I got home from work I was smothered in requests and reasoning from my 3 daughters as to why each of them should have it. I knew I was not going to keep it for myself, first I am not a big fan of IOS, and secondly I am happy with my G2x and my contract is due renewal in just over a months time anyway, and I know that my wife would not look at it either (smaller is better in her universe, guess that's why she likes me). This means that I have the joys of making one child ecstatically happy, and having the other two despise me to the pits of hell. Its great being a dad, I just need to work out how to piss them all of at once, and I'm a happy man. Logically its pointless giving it to the youngest, she has a phone now and never uses it, so it would just be an iPod to her and she has one already. I could give it to the middle daughter, about to turn 13 it would be a nice birthday present for her, but I really think a 13 year old with an iPhone 4 is just asking to get mugged, plus it then sets the birthday present bar a little higher than I want it to go when the rest of them are looking for their own pressies. That just leaves the eldest, 22 and out the house (so she annoys me less than the other two by default). Her emotional plea (for plea read blackmail) is that she has returned to full time education and cant afford nice things, plus she has pulled an ace out of the pack by getting herself a place in Strathclyde University, not sure what the course is, but its an 'ology' of some kind. I also know its now become traditional to get your kid a laptop for heading of to university, but she already a decent enough one, so this is the perfect alternative.

Now I just need to wait on the phone being delivered, jailbreak it and pass it on, and make at least one daughter happy.


Saturday 28 January 2012

A (very) late review of the LG G2x

At the end of last year I was lucky enough to win a LG G2x from Free Your Android, for doing nothing more than hitting re-tweet, anything harder and I might have got it wrong. So with just over a month gone since the courier rang my bell, I thought I would write a little review of my time with it so far. That and the fact I have not blogged anything since June, and this was the first thing that came to mind.

If anyone is still reading a review for a handset that was released on 15th April 2011, which is essentially a re-hash of a handset that was first released in January 2011, then sorry, but it doesn't get any better than this.

I suppose the only thing that's not 100% normal with this review is that the G2x is the American version, and I am in the UK. I don't know if it 'should' make any difference to network reception, but for me it has. The specs are nothing extraordinary, but it does sport a Tagra 2 so is still current and this gen.

T-Mobile G2x is the American brother of the LG Optimus 2X. Both have Tegra 2 dual-processors, 1.3 and 8MP front and rear facing cameras respectively, with HD 1080p video capture. The display is 4 inches of WVGA resolution with 8GB of internal memory expandable by as much as an additional 32GB thanks to a microSD slot, and all powered by a 1500mAh battery. (courtesy of phoneArena.com)


The handset came un-locked (thank you Na-than), so obviously the first thing I did was root it & flash CWM recovery then set about trying out some ROM's. The rooting process was a breeze, although it did require Windows, but hey you cant have everything. I knew the dev scene was not the best, but as the phone had been out for 8 months I did expect it to be a little bigger. It has all the main ROM bases, AOSP (the stock ROM differs little from this), CM7, MIUI, and OMFGB, but very few versions of each base. But my main problem with the ROM's on offer is network reception, for calls and texts its fine, but for mobile data they range from no connection to a poor connection that drops off more than its live, that is except for the CM based ROM's. I don't know if its due to the fact that the G2x is a T-Mobile only handset and the radio (one of only two hardware changes from the EU 2x) is designed to work specifically with their network, but I do know that I have not read of anyone else having the same issue I have.  So my choice is kinda limited by the fact I can only use CM builds (I know MIUI is based on CM, but its really not my thang) which means I have a choice of a few ROM's, CM7 stable, an old CM7 nightly, a CM7 nightly kang, and a couple of CM7 based ROM's. Out of that lot I have only found one that gives me a stable data connection, the fantastically named 'PhoenixBlood!'. I don't know is its a US thing, but they like a dramatic name in the G2x page of ROM developing, Weapon, EagleBlood, and Bionix are some of the other ROM's doing the circuit - all very macho indeed. The only stroke of luck is that the ROM is actually pretty decent, got ADW EX hangin on top and it runs really smooth (one for skymera). Considering the paltry amount of ROM's, there are a few kernels to choose from, yet no-one has managed or wanted to add additional governors from powersave & performance.

Just over a month down the line, I am actually really enjoying the phone despite it not fitting my handset essentials list that well. The screen is like the N1, long and thin, whereas I prefer a fatter aspect, it uses softkeys where I like physical buttons (yeah, I know buttons are out, and softkeys are in), the power button sits on the top right again like the N1 but I am used to and like it on the front below the screen like the HD2 (thank god for button remapper,  a search softkey sits exactly there).

I have just read that ^^ and its incredibly boring, so if you have read it, FFS get a life & go do something less boring instead.

Now for some pics :-



The quadrant score is taken from a max CPU of 1.2G.