It seems that bdfone has finally released their first Android phone: the bdfone A2W. I previously mentioned them having a prototype over 1.5 years ago but it seems that they have finally got a production unit. From their Facebook page it seems to have started selling in December (in my last of connectivity, I must have missed it). It is currently priced at B$290 on QQeStore
They have hit a good price point, but with an older version of Android (not even 2.3) and a relatively old and slow CPU, it seems to lose out to the competition. There is also no mention of resistive or capacitive screen, just a “touch screen”. I also wonder how they will support Android updates or if they will at all. For the price I would recommend the Sony Ericsson WT19I Live with Walkman for B$308 (which has better specs) or even the LG Optimus Net P690 for B$268 (which has very similar specs).
Good
Brunei made Android phone
Decent Price
Bad
Competitors with better specs in the same price range
Old slow 600MHz CPU (other budget phones use 800MHz)
Ugly?
Unknown screen type
Unknown Android update possibilities
Unknown available space for apps
Specifications
Android 2.2
CPU: 600MHz (based on Wikipedia’s entry on the MSM7227)
I managed to take a look at the Huawei Ideos X5 that I first laid hands on at the TechXpo 2011. It is a very decent device at an affordable price of B$399. My only gripe is the lack of a front facing camera which means you will not be able to do normal video chats. If it had a front facing camera, this device would be one of the best budget Android phones. It has a bigger and higher resolution screen compared to the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro and thus makes it a good size for thumb typing, even for those with fat fingers like mine. Overall a very decent device, with 450MB+ for applications (a lot of space for a budget device), but I fear that there will be no official Android version updates.
A decent Android device at B$399 with larger and higher resolution screen compared to some cheaper phones
High resolution 3.8″ WVGA (800×480) screen
Support for Flash
On customer request the device will be rooted and upgraded to Android 2.3 running CyanogenMod
The Bad & the Ugly
No front facing camera
There are cheaper phones with front facing cameras
May not have Android updates
Specifications
Android 2.2 / Android 2.3 (upgrade to 2.3 upon customer request)
3.8″ WVGA (800×480) capacitive multi-touch screen
1GHz CPU
460+MB available for apps
RAM 350MB+
5 megapixel camera with flash (no front facing camera)
microSD card slot
Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS
Micro-USB connector
Note: We would like to thank TenTen for allowing us to film this at their shop in Kiulap. TenTen offers many Huawei and they also have battery packs for your iDevices or generic battery packs with a USB output to charge for your phone
The bmobile Pure is a budget Android phone running Android 2.2 and has pretty device specs but a pretty good 3.8″ high resolution screen. The high resolution 3.8″ screen makes it nice to read and surf the Internet but the 256MB RAM may be limiting for multi-tasking and general smoothness of the device. I was not able to get the Flash apk to try install and test Flash on the device but the 600 MHz CPU may not be capable of Flash, so I wouldn’t expect it to run.
Sadly there is no Android Market or Google apps such as Gmail, YouTube, Maps and the Market. Not having the Market means that the device needs an alternative Android app store. The Pure is bundled with the local grown Widget Warehouse for apps, however it seems that the Widget Warehouse doesn’t even work with the Pure. So I guess there is a need to rely on other 3rd party app stores such as GetJar, Soc.ia Mall (previously AndAppStore), SlideME, Opera Mobile Store. Side loading apps via downloading apk files (Android installer files) work well and that was how I installled apps to the device.
I love the fact that Android is able to scale down to a device as cheap as B$199 and with that device, although having limitations such as not having Google apps, it still has all the full functionality of a smartphone.
I stumbled upon the Acer Aspire S3 at Netcom at the Mall and it being the first Ultrabook in Brunei, I just had to take a look and play around with it.
It is a 13″ ultrabook which a form factor similar to the 13″ Macbook Air meaning it is thin and light but without an inbuilt DVD drive. Ports are similar to the Air with two USB 2.0 ports, one full HDMI port, SD card reader and a 3.5mm headset jack.
Based on reviews (LaptopMag, The Verge, Engadget) I knew that a few things to look out for were the keyboard, cursor keys as well as the touchpad. I found the keyboard to be fine but the touchpad was hard to press. It has no physical buttons but pressing the lower left or lower right sections of the pad acted as left and right mouse clicks. It can be configured to “click on tap” as a usable workaround although this still isn’t ideal for drag and drop actions. The cursor keys are indeed the smallest I’ve seen: 3 cursor keys side by side is of the same length as a single Shift key. This is surely too small for typical use.
The quick resume worked as advertised, with the laptop being on by the time the screen was at a viewable angle. The base (i.e. cheaper) model comes with a hybrid drive which combines a solid state drive with a conventional hard disk drive to try give the best of both worlds: SSD for faster disk access (faster boot up, stand by, resume times) and the typical HDD gives you space to store all your files as SSDs are expensive and have less capacity.
All in all I liked form factor of the device but was initially put off by the price of B$1778 which I was told as the based model price. However after the recording I found out that the price of B$1778 was for the higher specification model, not the base model. According to Concepts’ pricing the base model is B$1188 which is much less than the B$1728 or B$1328 for a 13″ or 11″ MacBook Air thus it may be a good deal for those who want a thin and light but capable but with a large enough screen for viewing your content. Do have a look at the device and take into account that this is a first generation device and that Acer competes more on price than actual quality.
I had the pleasure to help out at Convergence 2011 and thought I would record it as I do most events I’m involved with. Enjoy the dialogue and some inspiring stories from the speakers..
Opening Remarks from ProjekBrunei.com
Delwin Keasberry
(Download)
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/01OpeningRemarksFromprojekbrunei.com.mp3]
Opening Remarks from BMW
Clement Chong
(Download)[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/02OpeningRemarksFromBmw.mp3]
Introduction of the Speakers
Nadzri Harif
(Download)[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/03IntroductionOfTheSpeakers.mp3]
Describe Yourself in 5 Words
Dato Hamdillah, Lai Pei-Si, Norali Yusop
(Download)[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/05DescribeYourselfIn5Words.mp3]
Word Association – Music. Delicious. Brunei. Success. Significance
Dato Hamdillah, Lai Pei-Si, Norali Yusop
(Download) [audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/06WordAssociation-Music.Delicious.Brunei.Success.Significance.mp3]
What Has Changed in the Past 16 Years?
Dato Hamdillah
(Download) [audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/07WhatHasChangedInThePast16Years.mp3]
Why Did you Move from Comfort to Something Unknown and What Was it Like?
Lai Pei-Si
(Download) [audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/08WhyDidYouMoveFromComfortToSomethingUnknownAndWhatWasItLike.mp3]
What it’s Like as a Blind Person?
Norali Yusop
(Download) [audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/09WhatItsLikeAsABlindPerson.mp3]
What Would You Say to The 65 Year Old?
Norali Yusop
(Download) [audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/10WhatWouldYouSayToThe65YearOld.mp3]
What Would You Say to 18 – 65 Year Olds Considering Chasing Their Dreams and Steping Out of Their Comfort Zone?
Lai Pei-Si
(Download) [audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/11WhatWouldYouSayTo18-65YearOldsConsideringChasingTheirDreamsAndStepingOutOfTheirComfortZone.mp3]
What Would You Say to The 18 Year Old?
Dato Hamdillah
(Download)[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/12WhatWouldYouSayToThe18Year.mp3]
Did your Previous Roles Help you become an Entrepreneur?
Dato Hamdillah
(Download)[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/13DidYourPreviousRolesHelpYouBecomeAnEntrepreneur.mp3]
What is Success? How Do You Balance Family and Work Life?
Lai Pei-Si
(Download) [audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/14WhatIsSuccess.HowDoYouBalanceFamilyAndWorkLife.mp3]
What are you Daily Difficulties Getting Around in Brunei. What Kind of Changes would you Like to See to be More Independent?
Norali Yusop
(Download)[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/15WhatAreYouDailyDifficultiesGettingAroundInBrunei.WhatKindOfChangesWouldYouLikeToSeeToBeMoreIndependent.mp3]
Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone: What Have You Got To Lose?
Dato Hamdillah, Lai Pei-Si, Norali Yusop
(Download) [audio:http://www.archive.org/download/Convergence2011FromSuccessToSignificance/16SteppingOutOfYourComfortZone.WhatHaveYouGotToLose.mp3]
1) The Backbone for Social Media (mp3 download link)
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BruneiOnline-SocialMediaThatsWhereIts/01TheBackboneForSocialMedia.mp3] Speaker:
Lim Ming Soon of Telbru
3) 140 Characters or Less: Why Join the Twitter Conversation? (mp3 download link)
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BruneiOnline-SocialMediaThatsWhereIts/03140CharactersOrLess_WhyJoinTheTwitterConversation_.mp3] Speaker:
Dato Timothy Ong @Timothy_OngTM
Moderator:
Hj Rozan Yunos of Brunei Resources / @bruneiresources
4) From Idea to Enterprise: What Does it Take? (mp3 download link)
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BruneiOnline-SocialMediaThatsWhereIts/04FromIdeaToEnterprise_WhatDoesItTake_.mp3] Speakers:
Keeran Janin of MeSixty / @keeranj
Simon Soo of MixMedia International (MINT) Moderator:
Mr Tom
Seems like a great budget Android phone with a slightly larger screen than the Xperia Mini pro but without a keyboard to make it more svelte. Seems to share all the same common good specifications for a budget phone but a slightly larger screen and slightly cheaper at B$350.
Quick Specifications
Android 2.3
320 x 480 pixels, 3.2″ capacitive screen
1GHz Processor
512MB RAM
320MB for applications
5 megapixel camera w/ 720p video
Front facing VGA camera
xLOUD™ loudness enhancement makes it possible to listen loud without distortion.
Works similar to PocketCam: Windows or OS X software to be installed on the host
Used iOS version that can take video and photo from camera and it will send it to host computer
There are other apps for Android and iOS but many do not provide audio which is what we wanted
Multiple Camera feasibility study
IP Camera: separate VLC instance for each video and each audio for each camera. Gets complicated very fast
Pocket Camera / WebCamera: only one PocketCamera / Webcamera host software allowed to run at one time on one machine
Not possible to use multiple cameras using only one app. Mixer and match is possible
Needed proper communication between in-the-field camera user and master control
Sound
Input from mixer via line-in on laptop (not don’t have get a USB sound card)
LadioCast for audio mixing and piping of audio. Can even monitor sound without sending it to live stream
Internet
Needed wireless coverage
Used iPod Touch as a WiFi signal monitor. Activated voice control, tap the wireless signal to hear the strength level (probably there is an app for this but did not explore)
To forgoe a 3G router: OS X Internet sharing (Connetify.me for Windows)
Other things we used
Phone holder to tripod mount
Can get the at a shop in the Mall, near Netcom. Can’t remember name
