Tag Archives: smartphone

Why I Bought A Samsung Galaxy Note ll…

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Sigh. At the rate Apple and its Android rivals are releasing devices, you would need to be robbing a spate of banks every month to afford them. But then the one central question we need to ask is – Why am I buying such a device in the first place? I bought a Samsung Galaxy Ace simply because my ancient Motorola L6 gave up its zest for life with a colourful burst of pixelized pixels. Yes, it was that ancient. I have used my Ace for 1.5 years now and was fully satisfied with it. The truth is, it proved to be a blessing in disguise.

You see, I landed an incredible job in social media. At present, I work for an awesome company called Loops Solutions. As a Social Media Manager, we need to monitor our brands and having a smartphone is a must. My Ace made all this simple. But then since it is a low-end offering by Samsung, there were many things that were left to be desired, like battery life, memory and features.

This period marked my addiction to the world of smartphones. I got involved in the ubiquitous Apple vs. Samsung battle. I became a hater and lover of all things Apple and Samsung. I wanted everything they put out. But there was always the question of money. So I set myself a list of prerequisites for the perfect device. They are as follows:

1. It should last at least 2.5 years.

2. It should be easy to upgrade.

3. It should fit my list of requirements. And what are those? Well, l am a heavy user of Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Instagram, Kobo, Kindle, Google +, Google, Gmail, Gtalk, WordPress, Tumblr, YouTube and a myriad of other apps. Since I deal with images and adding effects to it, I needed whatever device I was going to buy to be versatile.

4. It should have a good battery life.

5. It should be durable and reliable.

6. It should have a good camera and have decent video functionality.

I will admit this – I am a complete noob. I have no problem admitting it and this is what helped me gather all the information I wanted in order to make that final purchase decision. I spent hours upon hours watching YouTube videos, reading reviews, talking to tech geeks and smartphone reviewers before I made that final decision. But what really made the difference is that opportunity to use a Note II and an iPad 2.

I travelled to Bali for my annual holiday and my Boss gave me his iPad 2 to use. I hated it at first but, I must admit, I fell in love with it. I loved how easy it was to use and that it hardly ever crashed. An office colleague upgraded it to iOS6 and it was buttery smooth. Reading, watching movies and social monitoring were a complete pleasure. The only drawback was the price factor. Apple supports their devices for a long period of time. Watching an iPad 2 run on iOS6 was just unbelievable. While there is a lot of hate between Samsung and Apple and their fans, the truth is that they both put out some amazing devices.

I won’t be dissing either brand since they both are exceptional. But what I will say is that if you are hunting for a device, list down your requirements and then see what devices suit those requirements. Thereafter, spend some quality time researching those devices. If you can use them for a set period of time, since there is nothing like using a device to know whether you are comfortable with it or not. As far as my requirements go, the Note II answered all my needs perfectly. Remember to keep an open mind when looking for something. You really can’t get too emotional with these things since the ultimate winner would be the brand.

Remember something else. The latest device will become redundant in a hurry, there are replacements every single year. This Note II, I am typing on, was released around 3 months back. Rumours of a Note III are already making the rounds. Expect it to be launched this year. But I digress. You probably want to know whether I am happy with my purchase. The answer is a resounding – Yes. It is, by far, the best device I have ever used. It has replaced 90% of my laptop and that is saying something.
All things considered, this does not mean I am a fan boy, rather someone whose requirments were met by the Note II. I hope this article is of some use to you and I hope my MO in choosing a device will be useful to you too.

By the way, that image is courtesy of my Note II. Whatever filter that has been added is via Instagram.

An Ode To The Sri Lankan Women Of The 40s, 50s & 60s.

I was compelled to write this article. What compelled me? It was how the fairer sex behaves in this day and age. I guess as humans we have a certain proclivity to compare. And this is what I did. I compared the women I meet in this day and age with the women who I personally knew or know that were born during the 40s, 50s & 60s.

The reason I write this article is because I wish to honor those qualities of those incredible women of the 40s, 50s & 60s. Trust me, when I say, these are creatures that are beyond unique and should be used as probable role models for the women of today.

I have identified 9 reasons why they have my utmost respect. Here they are.

  1. They suffered to make ends meet. Remember the time Mrs. B came to power and ended up unethically and remorselessly grabbing land from Sri Lanka’s citizens? Well, my aunt who is now close to the age of 70 happened to be a victim too. She was a rich lady. She had four children. Her husband drank himself to death thanks to losing all his land. She became an instantaneous pauper. While the rest of the family begged her to get married again, she remained stoic and said she never will because of the children. She is a woman who was used to having the attention of ten domestics on a daily basis in addition to a chauffeur and car. After disaster struck, she was forced to be self-sufficient. She used to pluck coconuts daily to make pol sambol (coconut sambol) and milk gravy (kiri hodi) to feed her brood before dropping them at school by bus.
  2. They were excellent mothers and wives. Most of the mothers I know who are in their 20s and 30s will just give into their kids and spoil them rotten. Most kids nowadays have got an iPod, iPad and/or a laptop. While they are all very tech savvy and independent, they are lacking in basic manners, ethics, values and morals. While my parents could afford to give me anything I desired, I got nothing. All I got was tough love. I was taught to respect my elders, to say “Thank You” and “Please”, to give up my seat on a bus for someone who was older than me and to be kind and compassionate to others.
  3. They took their marriage vows seriously. The majority of the people I know today are divorced. The majority of those individuals are aged 25 to 35. Why do they divorce? Irreconcilable differences. Very vague, isn’t it? So much falls into this category, including adultery, lack of money, no intimacy, trouble with in laws or just boredom. Those days, whatever happened, they stuck through their marriages. I admire the women of the 40s, 50s & 60s for this alone. They thought of their vows, their duties, their children and their family. Now? Most women I know just think of themselves.
  4. They were impressed by character and integrity, not appearances. The majority of women you get today are supercilious, superficial and unskilled. What they worship is the latest fashion, the newest car, a big designation and a man with a large bank account. The ladies of the 40s, 50s & 60s cared more about character, integrity and morals than anything else. Appearances, more often than not, took a backseat.
  5. They were skilled. My mother and her mother can cook, sew, find ways to save money, tend the garden, throw family dinners and luncheons single handedly, do the banking, come up with home remedies, home-school the children, bargain, feed the husbands, do the grocery shopping and also the accounts. Most of the women of today need Google and a smartphone to make a cup of tea. However, they do have that inexplicable talent of typing on a smartphone faster than a Ferrari.
  6. They sacrificed so much for their offspring. As many of my aunts have stated, if they wished, they could have wasted the family silver and enjoyed their lives with all the materialistic offerings the world had on offer. But they believed in frugality and bringing up their children the hard way so that they will always know that money never comes easy.
  7. They gave up their health and life for you. What mattered to them were their husband and child. My own grandmother used to get up at 4 a.m. and set to work on her farm. No cutex adorned her fingers. No branded clothes covered her strong figure. All that mattered was her family. She was self-sufficient and more hardworking than 10 women of today put together. Thanks for her unforgiving lifestyle, she ended up with arthritis and spine trouble in her later years. She used to cook well into her 80s. She lived up to the ripe old age of 88 and died knowing that the values and ethics she instilled in her children is what have made them successful today.
  8. They were thrifty. They may have had money but they showed that they didn’t  These were women who had seen recessions and wars. They lived through political upheavals and terrible times. They saved. They never spent. Just like an ant they worked hard and just like a bee they hoarded what they earned. Why? Because there really was no assurance of a better tomorrow.
  9. Love for them was different. How do the majority of women of today define love from their boyfriend or husband? For some it is a gift of an expensive set of jewellery, a Dolce and Gabbana gown, a rose or some trinket or the other. For my mother and her mother and the ladies of that age, love meant far more than an inanimate object. Love meant loyalty, kindness, compassion and a bond that was sealed the day they exchanged vows and decided it was only death that could do them apart.