Review: Inception [Updated!]
Filed under Entertainment, Reviews
It’s been a long time since I actually reviewed a movie, the last being The Lovely Bones. I rarely do, unless I find it necessary to.
Well, truth be told. I honestly don’t know where to start from. I watched the movie yesterday, and I’m looking forward to watching it again, it’s simply astonishing. One of the best movies I’ve seen, ever, I could say. In the past year, something that came this close would be District 9, albeit being of a different genre of course.
I’ve been following with the development of the movie ever since it was announced some 18 months ago, and seriously, it is worth all the wait. A famous critic online says “In terms of sheer originality, ambition and achievement, Inception is the movie of the summer, the movie of the year and the movie of our dreams”, and I concur with him 100%. The movie is an almost-perfect epic, with such rare visuals and story. Acting was generally good, with Di Caprio showing his usual talents.
Some parts of the movie were obviously showing that the story was written some one decade ago (yes, Nolan has been writing and polishing the script for the past 10 years!), with the setting reference pointing to currency.
It is in fact very difficult to illustrate in words on how brilliant and complex or visually stunning the whole movie is, from start to the shocking finish! It’s really a piece of art, with the story fitting no one genre specifically. Above all, I was taken in by the unexpected ending, which is of course typical of Nolan. And I loved how half of the cinema was left confused towards the end! LOL.
In short, Mr. Christopher Nolan, you did it again! It’s an experience-based flick, and thus definitely not to be missed.
Rating
Visual-Sound-Technical: 9.5/10
Story: 9.2/10 (Very unique story, unseen before)
Acting: 8.5/10 (Good acting coupled with good dialogues)
Score-Music: 8.7/10 (Goes with saying, Mr Hans Zimmer!)
Directing-Cinematography-Screenplay: 9.2/10 (No unnecessary overblown effects, typically Nolan again)
Overall rating: 9/10
Verdict: Worth the hype
***
SPOILER ALERT!
The story: Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible—inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
UPDATE!
Off the hook, the movie saw a unique premiere as well, with the company of live performance by Hans Zimmer (and his crew) and John Marr. Watch the recorded live stream below, where the concert starts at 7:30.
Tags: Christopher Nolan, Inception, Inception review
Nokia BH-905 Bluetooth Headset: Full Review
My long long overdue review on the Nokia BH-905 Bluetooth headset.
The Nokia BH-905: Old College Try at Excellence
A brief intro
Wireless headsets have been in trend for many years now, but to some extent failed to grasp a pole position in the mainstream market. Blame the shabby quality of music, the complication in wireless pairing protocols, or even quote health reasons; everyone had their own grounds against Bluetooth headsets. But today, in a world where everything is just a click away, wired headsets have become nostalgia of the long gone days. And when it comes to the Nokia BH-905 above all, you don’t need a good eye for understated fashion. Long story told short, it is among the very few high-end Bluetooth headphones with absolutely fantastic sound quality rivalling that of dedicated wired headsets from Nokia itself and many other manufacturers alike. “A Symphony of Sound and Silence” catchphrase accompanies the product name, and I personally think it fits on the mark.
With a starting price of USD249 (I think!) or GBP165, the Nokia BH-905 doesn’t come cheap however. In reality, for a hundred bucks lesser, there are plenty of other equalling headsets in the market. In view of the fact, what would actually convince prospective buyers of this high-end Bluetooth headset, with the exception of its fantastic looks? As usual, I shall go over the pros and cons of this gadget, from my perspective of course. Enjoy reading!
Read the Full Review
Tags: Nokia, Nokia BH-905, Nokia BH-905 review, Nokia bluetooth headset, WOMWorld/Nokia
Most detailed Symbian^3 Review + Nokia N8 Re-Reviewed!
Well, no wild guesses. It has to be from the famous Mobile Review (piloted by Eldar as many of you’d know).
Symbian^3
I’m not going to go over the extremely long review, I’ll leave it for you guys to read. Some parts are controversial, but as you’d all know, the truth always hurts.
Some of the interesting notes from his review :
* Symbian 3 is a decent upgrade for Symbian users
* Increased RAM improves the number of Apps which can be run improvement on previous devices
* Ultimately Symbian 3 is a evolutionary step rather than revolutionary
* Icons and UI are outdated
* Browser didn’t get any significant updates (very disappointing)
* Ultimately Symbian 3 is still catching up to competition (iOS, Android, Bada)
* Significant Updates to Symbian 3 are lacking due to Nokia’s resources being stretched , due to Symbian 4 and Meego being developed alongside (isn’t that a good thing???)
* Ultimately Symbian is inferior to its competition even though Nokia will sell tons of N8?s
Nokia N8
Now this one is particularly reviewed by Eldar (again), which of course means there are a lot of points that need some digesting.
In summary:
* There will be more models of the N8 like N8-01, N8-02, N8-03 (I thought the new numbering system was supposed to be easier!!!)
* There will be a 32 GB version of the N8 and some sort of music service in certain countries (‘Comes with music’) will retail about 425-450 EUR and be announced during Nokia world in september
* There will be a ‘cheap’ version of the N8 WITHOUT a 12 megapixel camera and less memory retail about 230-250 EUR
* There will be a senior version of the N8 with and qwerty keyboard resembling the n97 but there will be camera with less megapixels, but this phone which a render was leaked could also be the first Symbian 4 phone
* He does advice people that want a keyboard that they should wait for the N8 with qwerty keyboard coming soon apparently
* N8 is a replacement for the Nokia 5800 or people who haven’t had experiences with other OS’s (another shot to the Nokia fans)
* AMOLED on the N8 is superior to the Google Nexus One
* Nokia is not able to create screens as good as Apple or Samsung
* The N8 will have ‘Memory full’ problems like N97 due to the low amount of RAM
* Battery management is great and he even praises Nokia engineers for that
* Average usage is 2 days when fully charged
* Fastest Symbian phone to date
* Software not as good as iPhone 3GS let alone the iPhone 4, even BADA phones are faster
* Samsung Wave is the benchmark for the N8
* Nokia N9 offers totally new interface borrowed features from Android (will take that)
* Meego will look comparable to BADA OS and will look like current modern OS ‘s currently on the market like (iOS, Android, WebOS etc) (he’s definitely has seen the N9 and is that’s good news)
* N8 is decent but unremarkable
* Goal of the N8 is to keep sales of phones comparable to competitors
* Excitement will fade after a few months as nokia will offer technologically more advanced devices.
* The N8 is not an all-in-one phone like the Nokia N95 was.
Some of these points are utterly out of the world, so I guess we have to be wise in reading on.
Summary from My Nokia Blog
Tags: Eldar, Nokia, Nokia N8, Nokia N8-00, Symbian, Symbian^3
Nokia BH-905 Headset: Beauty Shots!
It’s a shame that the magnificent Nokia BH-905 Headset has to go off tomorrow, back to where it came from (WOMWorld/Nokia). I truly enjoyed this high-end device from Nokia, and here are some pictures to proof! Full gallery can be found on Flickr.
Note: All images were taken using Nokia E72
Review of the Nokia BH-905 coming soon!
Tags: Nokia, Nokia BH-905, Nokia BH-905 photos, Nokia BH-905 review, Nokia bluetooth headset, WOMWorld/Nokia
New 9MP Photo Samples and Symbian^3 Screenshots from Nokia N8! (With Review & Benchmark tests) [Updated!]
It’s been 2 weeks since I posted anything on the Nokia N8, so it’s time again to rekindle some good stuffs on this upcoming great Nokia device.
ifanr, a Chinese site, has extensively posted on their hands-on experience with the Nokia N8, including some great screenshots of the new Symbian^3, as well as 2 comparative sample images at 9MP (16:9).
Some highlights from the article:
- - Symbian^3 is not old wine in new bottle. It’s not just an upgrade from S60.
- – Symbian^3 seems to have been designed from scratch for touch usability, with no roots to S60v5
- – No more using the “Options” button like on Symbian^1. Pop-up menus and follow-up menus are accessible from any point
- – Mail client is greatly improved, in terms of UI also
- – New homescreen combines the features of iPhone’s homescreen (is there any?), effect of Android’s UI, and usability of Symbian^1. Users can also place icons on their homescreen (like on iPhone OS) – up to 72 for all the pages
- – Homescreen not as effective as on N900, but productive enough
- – Switching between tasks is fluid. Unfortunately, webOS task manager looks better.
- – screen switching system is very smooth in terms of animation and its dynamic too
- – the music player is very similar to iPod’s, but not the same
- – standby screen can display more content, with the use of interactive information handling.
- – browser interface – no significant changes, but the stability of much better than before.
- – Opera Mobile 10 and the default OSS browser are both good
- – best feature he liked is to support OTG + HDMI output
- – the battery lasted for 1.5 days with some HD output, e-book, and other common uses
- – shortcoming – Symbian^3 is not a beauty at first glance. Sometimes feels like using in the shadows of Symbian^1
- – some Symbian^1 apps had compatibility issues with this phone.
Screenshots:
Tags: Nokia N8, Nokia N8 camera, Nokia N8 camera samples, Nokia N8 photo editor, Nokia N8 photo samples, Nokia N8 sample image, Nokia N8 screenshots, Nokia N8 video editor, Symbian^3 screenshots
Nokia N900 Full Review [Image Heavy!]
Here it is, my long overdue full review of the Nokia N900. It took me almost a month to compose this lengthy review. Before I proceed however; a sincere thanks to the great WOMWorld/Nokia!
The Nokia N900: Best of Both Worlds
Take note that this review is for the pre-PR 1.2 firmware N900; so some of the glitches/problems have been addressed and solved.
A brief intro
When Nokia introduced the N900 back in September 2009, it was understood that Maemo 5 was the fourth step (in a 5 step program) to develop a mainstream smart phone platform. And until I laid my hands on Nokia’s flagship, the aforesaid N900, I frankly could not deem that notion. It was truly a refreshing ‘exploration’; a whole new level of user experience and above all, a whole new level of contentment. But how far can it go in fulfilling the needs of mass-market users? Can the so-called ‘geek phone’ N900 go among the masses and sell well? In my opinion, I think it might just do fine, serving all tech-savvy users, power users and common users alike.
Here’s a gist of my review:
28 Reasons to like the N900
- The built quality
- Display
- 5 MP Camera
- Camera UI
- ARM Cortex-A8 with 256MB RAM (1GB Virtual RAM)
- Excellent Multitasking
- Slide-Out QWERTY keyboard (on-screen keyboard too!)
- Kickback stand
- 32GB internal storage (with microSD extension)
- Portable Multimedia powerhouse
- Media player
- Stereo Speakers
- Maemo 5 (Fremantle)
- UI (Hildon)
- Panoramic desktop with customisation
- Notification light
- App management
- Clean menus
- Ease of use
- Menu/Dashboard/Desktop Contextual button
- Quick Launch
- Clock/Alarm App and UI
- X-Terminal
- Built-in screenshot function
- ‘Always online’
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Professional use
- Browser with Adobe Flash 9.4
28 Reasons not to like the N900
- OS glitches
- Resistive Screen with Weak Plastic front (Scratches)
- Distortion of Messages in Conversations
- Bulky
- Narrow Slide-out Keyboard
- Wrong placement of Headphone jack
- Non-Active/dynamic Kickback Stand
- No Portrait Mode
- Limited Media player options/features/settings
- Browser issues
- Outdated Ovi Maps
- Weak LED Flash on Camera
- No MMS and Video Calling
- Jittery Video Capturing
- Drastic Colour and Exposure balancing on Videos
- Built quality doesn’t equate to €600 price-tag
- No Digital Compass/Magnetometer
- Battery life – Needs daily charging
- Poor Image stabilisation
- Design flaws
- Making calls is difficult & Slow “Rotate to launch call” mode
- No Scroll bar for long Menus
- Inconsistency in file management
- Inconsistency in Contact/Phonebook
- ‘Inactive’ Menu
- Limited support on Nokia PC Suite
- Multiple Selection is difficult and/or missing
- Poor Headphones built quality
28 Places Where the N900 Could Improve
- Portrait Mode
- More Options in Apps
- Spring-loaded SD slot
- More options in Photo Gallery
- Apps on Ovi Store
- More native video formats support
- Ovi Maps need Upgrading
- More options on Camera App & Dedicated video-still image button
- Rearrangable Menu
- More buttons for Browser on Portrait mode
- USB On-the-Go option
- Support for 32GB SD cards
- Long press to get secondary symbols
- Support for Service Messages
- Sharing of videos (“Send” option)
- General Power Saving mode
- Menu icons to rotate about their own axis during screen aligning
- Video light
- Voice dialling
- More Profiles
- Easier personalisation of ringtones for different contacts
- More options for Contacts
- Bluetooth pairing with headsets
- Zooming controls in photo viewer
- Wasted real estate space, like on iPhone
- Better Battery management
- Minimal screensaver
- Front camera usage
Click here to read the FULL REVIEW
Tags: Nokia, Nokia N900, Nokia N900 review, WOMWorld/Nokia
Nokia N900: 28 Reasons to Like/Love it!
The Nokia N900 is definitely not a perfect phone, but there are just so many reasons to like or even love it. It may lag behind in certain features/functions, but as a whole, it’s one of the best devices out there! This list below isn’t exhaustive, more are still to come:
- The built quality
- Display
- 5MP Camera
- Camera UI
- ARM Cortex-A8 with 256MB RAM (1GB Virtual RAM)
- Excellent Multitasking
- Slide-Out QWERTY keyboard (on-screen keyboard too!)
- Kickback stand
- 32GB internal storage (with microSD extension)
- Portable Multimedia Powerhouse
- Media Player
- Stereo Speakers
- Maemo 5
- UI (Hildon)
- Panoramic desktop with customisation
- Notification light
- Easy App management
- Clean menus
- Ease of use
- Menu/Multitask/Desktop Contextual button
- Quick Access
- Clock/Alarm App and UI
- X-Terminal
- Built-in screenshot function
- ‘Always online’
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Professional use
- Finally, the crown jewel: MicroB Browser with Adobe Flash 9.4
Full review coming soon! Sidenote: Thanks, WOMWorld/Nokia!
Tags: Nokia, Nokia N900, Nokia N900 review, WOMWorld/Nokia
Nokia N900: Beauty Shots!
The Nokia N900 is a beauty by itself, there’s no denial to it!
After unboxing:
360-degree tour, randomly:
Sorry for the grainy shots! Blame the E72′s camera 
More pictures on my Flickr
Look out for the review soon!
Tags: Nokia, Nokia N900, Nokia N900 review, WOMWorld/Nokia
Nokia N86 Review: Part 5 – Full Review
Here it is, my long overdue full review of the Nokia N86, but you might want to check out the earlier 4 parts before that:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
Nokia N86: Mighty Machine with a Lil Achilles’ Heel
A brief intro
What is possibly the greatest asset of the Nokia N86 8MP? Well, the name tells it all; yes, it’s the mighty 8 Megapixel camera. It might not sound so great now in 2010 with the coming of Samsung M8910 Pixon12 and subsequently the SE Satio, but this time last year, the Nokia N86 was the pack leader (the Samsung Omnia HD wasn’t doing so well). With a dual slider mechanism similar to the Nokia N85 and N96 earlier, it was indeed one of the best buys, for the camera alone. But what if you’re looking for an all-rounded Nseries? Is this phone worthy of considering, or is it just another flawed Nokia with potent photography capabilities?
I like the Nokia N86 for many reasons, but also dislike it for many specific reasons likewise. It has a balance of pro’s and con’s, but in my opinion, the N86 is quite an all-rounded device, albeit with minor and yet tolerable problems. Read my review below, and you’ll know why.
Click on the image to read the full review
Tags: Nokia, Nokia camera phone review, Nokia N86, Nokia N86 8MP review, Nokia N86 review, WOMWorld/Nokia
Nokia N86 Review: Part 4
I’ve covered the photography part of the mighty N86, so what’s next? The physical quality/built and looks of course. A picture paints a thousand words, so see the images below to view the beautiful N86.
Getting Physical with Nokia N86
Click on the image to read/see the full review
Final verdict: Long story told short; for a phone that’s made in China, it’s as good as the N97 that’s made in Finland. I just don’t like the tear-to-open rear cover, which is again becoming a trademark for recent Nokia models (Nokia N97, X6, 5800, etc), but apart from that, almost everything is extremely satisfying.
The model I received from WOM/Nokia would have probably travelled across all the continents in the world from one hand of reviewer to another, which explains why the sliding mechanism was slightly off, and why the camera button was problematic, as I’ve mentioned previously. If I was the only person using it, I guess even after a year or so, I would have no complaints as to the built quality.
Other aspects will be covered thoroughly in the Full Review which is coming in a few days!
Full gallery can be found on Flickr
Tags: Camera phone review, Nokia, Nokia N86, Nokia N86 8MP review, Nokia N86 review, WOM/Nokia
