Nokia Lumia 800 review, originally uploaded by benaston.

Although in the pre-smart phone era, I’d always loved my Nokia phones, I’d become a bit disenchanted with them and was pretty firmly attached to my Android HTC Desire on Android. But seeing as Nokia gave me one of their shiny new Windows 7 phones, the Nokia Lumia 800, I thought I’d give them another try.

Nokia Lumia 800 – what’s good?

So after a month long road test, what’s good about the Nokia Lumia 800? From the outside, it’s pretty. In your hand it feels as solid as an old school 6310 – it’s got a cool curved with a unibody design – carved out of a single polycarbonate shell (so even when it’s scratched it’ll retain its colour). It feels robust, like you could drop it and it’d still work. What’s more, it’s got Gorilla Glass  which means is lightweight, and highly damage-resistant meaning you don’t have to stick any of those stupid screen protectors on your phone to keep it looking shiny and new.

And it’s pretty on the inside too. If you’re at all familiar with the Microsoft Windows 8 or Zune interfaces, you’ll immediately feel at home. The interactive experience is based around sliding screens which allows for lots of white space in design – it all looks very sleek compared to the Android platform and a lot more interesting than iOS. The boundaries between content and apps and contacts are blurred too, with the ability to ‘pin’ anything you want quick access to on your homescreen. Whether it’s a favourite picture, e-ticket or contact, you just pin it on the screen so it’s quick and easy to access.

From a user’s perspective, integration is great across your social and messaging platforms: messages and communication are centred around your contacts and groups of people, rather than through a specific programme. The Windows Mobile platform aggregates your messages, feeds and updates for you, so that you don’t have to delve into all your different apps to stay updated.

What’s more, Nokia have thrown in some good software too – their Nokia Drive app allows you to download maps of the entire planet to your phone, so that you don’t have to use data on the go, giving you sat nav wherever you are. And the Windows Skydrive gives you 25gb of cloud based free storage, so you can access all your important stuff on the move. You’ll find all the big apps that you’ll want have got Windows Mobile versions too  – Spotify, Twitter, Facebook, Evernote, Trip Advisor and yes, Angry Birds – it’s all there and it looks a lot prettier than it does on Android or iOS.

So what’s not so good? From an aesthetic design perspective, it’s all good – no complaints on that at all. But I’m not sure about the lack of certain features. In terms of storage, 16gb is good, as is a 25gb SkyDrive, but I’m not sure that it makes up for the lack of micro SD slot – it’s a major omission that reduces its ability to be your primary music playing device. And one thing I’ll miss on the Nokia Lumia 800 is the ability to swap batteries in and out when you’re running low on juice.

Nokia Lumia 800 – what’s bad?

On the inside, I’m not convinced about the Windows 8 homescreen tile design; it’s too restrictive, it seems they’ve elevated form too far above function. I can see how it would be great on a desktop or  tablet, but on a phone, the tiles (and the persistent clock) take up too much real estate; you find yourself having to do a lot of scrolling. The same goes for viewing all your apps, you have to do a lot of scrolling to get to the bottom of your alphabetically ordered apps; there’s no way to reorder them. Annoying.

I was also hoping for a bit more from the camera, with a Carl Zeiss lens, I was expecting some really sweet pictures – they’re ok, but just a bit average, especially when using the video camera. Hopefully though, with the almost weekly firmware updates this will soon get started. My final niggle is with the lack of Google integration – MSN, Facbook, Twitter etc are all integrated beautifully, but you can’t help but feel that they could have tried a bit harder by allowing Google Maps (and Latitude) and Flickr integration into the platform; those things work, it’s just all a bit awkward.

Verdict – Nokia Lumia 800

This is a good phone though, I like it. It feels like a significantly different from Android or iOS. From a software perspective, it’s got a bit of a way to go but with Nokia’s incessant software updates, I think this is going to get better and better. This is definitely more than just an also-ran platform, the Nokia Lumia 800 is in the major league.

7.5/10

The Little Printer is definitely on my Christmas list – a new, tiny, cloud based physical printer that prints ‘publications’ – your customised snippets of information on demand. You configure Little Printer from your phone, and already they’ve teamed up to get content from Arup, foursquare, Google, the Guardian, and Nike to supply content.

I love things which reconnect the digital and physical world; connecting products to the Web lets them become smarter and friendlier. Paper doesn’t run out of battery – you can stick to the fridge or tuck it in your wallet. You can scribble on it or tear it and give it to a friend.

Paperlicious.

The pitch for this film must have gone something like, “We want to make a comedy about the most un-funny thing ever; cancer!” And that’s exactly what they’ve done.

So oddly enough, this is a comedy about cancer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film quite like it before – it’s a 50:50 balance;  raw emotion and hard hitting deep stuff about cancer and relationships, but with a generous sprinkling of comic relief on top.

If you’re a fan, Seth Rogen is at his best in this film apparently inspired (never quite sure what that means) by a true story, about a young and healthy 27-year-old guy, Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who learns he’s got a rare form of spinal cancer. He’s given a 50:50 chance of survival and the film explores how his relationships with his friends, family and girlfriend change as he struggles to beat the disease.

Well worth a watch, it’s like a sweet & sour haribo.

Tangfastic.

When someone sent me this link I mistakenly thought it was a link to the R Kelly classic. Mercifully, it’s not. Instead, it’s a film by the kind of man I imagine myself to be. Maybe not now, but probably next year after I’ve gone to the gym a bit.

Sebastien Montaz-Rosset’s new film is a 40-minute documentary following skyliners – practitioners of an extreme sport that involves elements of mountain climbing, slacklining and base jumping. Filmed beautifully, it combines a delicious treat for the eyes with an epic quest of folle-francais.

Sweeeeeeeet.

Lytro camera is unveiled, originally uploaded by benaston.

After talking about themselves a lot for the last 6 months, today Lytro finally unveiled their radical new camera; the errm, Lytro. And I’ve got one.*

The camera’s been billed as a big deal because it gives you the ability to focus a picture after it’s taken, on the camera, on your computer or online using a special viewer by using a technology called light-field photography. Basically, it makes it impossible to take pictures that are out of focus. And lets you play around with the focus after you’ve taken the picture.

The design is a bit industrial and distinctly Apple iSight flavoured. The pocket-sized camera with its anodized aluminum body has just two buttons; power and shutter. There’s a touch sensitive zoom slider and rear display that lets you view and refocus your pictures directly on the camera. It comes in three colours and two models. The blue and graphite models have 8GB of storage and will cost $399, the red model is 16 GB and costs $499.

But I’m not really convinced. I’d want it if I could it have it as a lens for my DSLR. But in its current format, isn’t it just an expensive point and shoot for people who find it hard to take pictures in focus? And for the point and shoot type of pictures you flick through on facebook, I’m not entirely sure the pictures are really worth ‘exploring’ are they?

So if anyone wants my camera, let me know.

*Kind of. It’s reserved.

Cow Club Oct ’11, originally uploaded by benaston.

I joined London’s first Cow Club because I like mmmeat.

The concept is pretty simple; get a crowd of mmmeat eaters together, buy a cow, get someone to chop it up, and get it delivered to your door for a bargain £10/kg.

OK, so on the face of it, it might not be a bargain, but this was no ordinary cow.

The Cow Club mmmeat was locally sourced; a Sussex Bullock, native to the South East. These beauties are exclusively grass fed which means they taste better and are healthier too – with lower overall fat content & higher Omega 3 fat ratio. Not only that, but when you compare it to the competition, it stacks up pretty well financially too. After 20 months of chomping on delicious grass, the happy cow trotted just three miles up the road to a small family run abbattoir, hung around for 28 days, and was then transformed into a selection of  delicious mmmeat pieces.

Game.

Going dancing with grupo corpo, originally uploaded by benaston.

In a bid to be cultured and that sort of thing, for the second time this month I trotted along to Sadler’s Wells, this time to watch Grupo Corpo; a Brazillian comapny who have been “reinventing classic ballet since the Seventies.” Not sure what that means but it certainly sounds like an awful lot of re-inventing.

I chose this show mainly because they looked like they did a lot of prancing about, combining ballet with a sprinkling of Riverdance; styles which I’m proud to say I’m quite good at too.

I’ve got no idea how to assess whether or not it was a good performance or not. I think it probably was. The sychonicity, flair and athleticism of the dancers was outstanding and I even had to concede that maybe they were better than me.

On the downside, there was a bit of confusion half way through when the show ended and the dancers started bowing, seemingly a bit prematurely. But after getting over the awkwardness of not really knowing whether or not it was time to leave, we were glad to find out that it was to be a tale of two halves; not just Ímã but Onqotô too.

It was only after the show that I realised just how much it was beyond me. Apparently, “Ímã is inspired by the scientific law of magnetism as particles either repel or attract one another”. Erm, right. Didn’t get that. Nice idea though.

And Onqotô tackles the origins of the universe through, a football match in Rio. Hmm, didn’t quite pick up that bit of the story either. Retrospectively of course, it kind of makes sense. It’s art. And it’s good to watch. Apart from the naked man bit.

Bonafide. 9/10.

Family portrait, originally uploaded by benaston.

This begins the first of what I hope will be a series of portraits.

What, at first glance, might be mistaken to be a poorly composed and exposed picture, is in fact, just that.

But you’ll see that Steepfun in the background holds up a green canvas which adds to the intensity of Claire’s ‘green-ness’. This is a metaphor for the role of the husband in affirming his wife and giving her a green light, to be the woman she is meant to be.

The cupcake reflects the couple’s love for food.

So there’s more to the picture than that.

Photogrart.

But what else? What layers of complex meaning in this rich tapestry do you see?

After the rioting of the last few days, you’d be forgiven for wondering if your abode was loot-proof. To be honest, it probably isn’t. The looters are so small, they can get into big houses like yours in a jiffy. What’s more, if you’re not a Sikh, you probably haven’t got a sword to wave at them when they get in. So perhaps you’ll be interested in my loot-proof house?

The picture above brings the idea to life; combining a small but robust house with a large hippo (Harry, in this instance), lurking in the shadows, ready and willing to pounce on any potential looters. The benefit of the small house is obviously to make it difficult for looters to actually get in. The hippo, although giving the appearance of being menacing, is actually quite friendly, but should do the job at biting anyone that tries coming in through the rear jardinerie.

Admittedly, right now it’s just a concept, but it’s probably going to be massive when the meeja get hold of it. Maybe even Inspector Corbett will ask me about it: she still hasn’t got in touch about breaking my bike lock the other week.

But should they go to auction as single items, or as a pair?  Would anyone buy these pieces of art history?

L’arte comme L’argos.

Harry the Hippo, originally uploaded by benaston.

I often forget I’m an artist at heart. Thankfully, when I went to visit Granny this weekend, I chanced upon what is perhaps one of my more iconic pieces; Harry the Hippo.

It’s a solid, robust piece, but asks serious questions of the viewer – what is a hippo? At the time of Harry’s birth (circa 1990), I think this was probably a very pertinent question and one that’s yet to be fully resolved.

Nonetheless, Harry provides an interesting discourse on the hippo; friend or foe? A passing glance allows you to lock eyes with his haunting cross-eyed vacant gaze. The visual feast then unfolds. You’ll find yourself exploring the vast cavernous extremities of the hippo’s mouth and lose yourself in the blancmange deepness; so pink, yet so dark. An enigmatic beast.

Arty.

p.s. I think someone has probably still got a coil pot I made (red and yellow) from 1992 that I could ebay if anyone’s interested? Also, available for commissions and stuff if you like my work, pottery or lino printing, that kind of thing.

Free milkandmore.co.uk delivery!, originally uploaded by benaston.

Ian Beardwell is my milkman. He can deliver milk and much more to my door on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I don’t actually know if he has a beard, probably.

Today was Wednesday so I ordered a ‘much more’ from www.milkandmore.co.uk mainly because they’ve got a ridiculously good coupon – WEBFEB which gives you £10 off your first order this month.

Ian did a good job, riding his electric milk float like a true bearded pro, he delivered my £10 non-milk combo to the door just moments before the clock struck 8am. It’s like the milkman used to be, just without the milk.

Without the coupon, it is a bit expensive, but maybe, just maybe, Ian is perfect for those special occasions just before 9pm (the latest you can order) at night on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays when it’s too dangerous to cross the road to get to the shop, but when you need milk and more the next morning.

Maybe.

Spotify ad – Windows 7 playlist generator, originally uploaded by benaston.

After an unsuccessful deployment to the US, unemployed Cold War Russian spies have finally been put to work by Spotify. A source close to the spies was reported to have said something a bit like; “They’re just trying to get on with their lives – they’re really peace loving people passionate about music.” Very plausible.

So here’s how it works. There’s an ad in Spotify that tells you to make a playlist powered by Windows 7. But it doesn’t use your Windows 7 powered mmmputer to generate the playlist at all. You’re handed over to the Russians in a sort of Web 2.0 diplomatic exchange. After you enter an artist’s name, it just spits out music from similar genres using super duper Russian spy skills.

Looks nice and green, almost like a CSR campaign but this is woeful IA. Adding and removing tracks from the playlist panel is painful. And as for, ‘Drag and drop the above icon…’ – erm, what icon?

Comparethemeerkat.com

Hello ie9 Beta, originally uploaded by benaston.

Like an old friend with bad breath that you don’t really keep in contact with any more, Internerd Explorer 9 Beta has showed up, gingerly poking his head around the door to say – ‘I’ve cleaned my teeth’.  And he’s not lying. All the demos in ie9 are very impressive; they use the mmmmputer graphics card power and conjure up all kinds of shenanigans with css3 and html5. Looks nice too – feels more Chrome than Firefox but like someone’s tidied up the house a bit.

After the excitement of the demos which show you how a browser using all your PC’s power is super-duper, download the ie9 beta and give it a try. You’ll see it might be a bit faster and focussed on performance, but when it comes to really demanding sites, how many sites at the moment that you go to, actually need the processing power to create a fishIE tank? I couldn’t think of any either.

But the GPU powered HTML 5 and CSS3 is pretty. Border radius, Web fonts and Canvas pad all look like they’ll become good friends.

Ahead of its time? Mmmicrosoft? Internet Explorer 9?

Maybe.

Angelina Jolie is Salt, originally uploaded by benaston.

This ad is brilliant. It cleverly presents the viewer with an intriguing question; ‘Who is Salt?’

Can anyone hazard a wild guess at who Salt is?

I won’t give it away; you can watch the film and Salt’s identity will be revealed. I’ll give you a clue though – her name begins with an A.

If you’ve seen Bourne Identity, you’ve pretty much seen this already – there’s a twist though; it’s about a girl called Salt, not a boy called Bourne.

Wait for the DVD.

apple ipad, originally uploaded by benaston.

How’s that for an over-sized iPod Touch?

In all its glory, here is the Apple iPad, which does pretty much everything an iPod Touch will do, only it’s on a proper sized (24×19cm) screen – so it won’t fit in your pocket.

This is probably good news for all you manbag makers out there – there’s going to be a lot of people carrying these things around, who have never before needed a manbag. Now, armed with their iPad, and with repetitive strain injury after casually carrying it in their hand for the first two weeks, they’ll realise that a manbag is in order.

That is of course, unless we should really be likening the iPad to an oversized iPhone, seeing as it comes in a 3G version – but can you really imagine walking down the street (after you’ve lost/broken your headset) holding this to your ear? Nor me.

The thing that’s really missing from the iPad is the humble USB port. You’d be forgiven for just assuming it would be on there somewhere. But it’s not. It’s mad that a device that’s this expensive ($499) and steps on the toes of all the netbooks out there requires an additional adaptor to connect to upload pictures direct from a camera.

Apart from that though, yes please.