I have been a T-mobile G1 owner and user for over 8 months. I flashed my G1 with CyanogenMod (he is the best!), and considered myself as an “have-more-experience-than-a-newbie” user.

This is part 1 of my review of Milestone (Hong Kong verison). I charged up the battery over-night, and haven’t got much time to test every feature of the phone. So in this part 1 I will share some of my initial thoughts of Milestone.

You may find the detailed specification from the European official website (the Hong Kong Motorola website hasn’t posted up anything about Milestone yet) the Hong Kong official website, but here are some data / features which might not be disclosed there :-

• The phone is running firmware version 2.0 (there are reports that the camera has bugs, and the US equivalent Droid has already got patch version 2.0.1)
• The available phone memory is 140MB (I only installed SMS Backup and updated Google Maps at that point)
• Selectable locales/language are : English (UK and US), Spanish, French, Italian and German
• It has ambient light sensor
• It has settings regarding Credential storage on the SD card (I need to further explore that, it seems to be an Android 2.0 feature rather than Motorola’s)
• It can sync with more than one google account. I have a GAFYD account and several generic gmail/google accounts. This may be of great help to me because some of the google services (e.g. google search history, google bookmarks) are not available to GAFYD accounts.
• Further to the above, you may add more than one account to the Gmail application. As I consolidate all my e-mail accounts to my GAFYD account, I am not going to test this feature.

Included Software :-

• There are 2 applications called “Corporate Calendar” and “Corporate Directory” which seem to sync with Microsoft Exchange server. I don’t use these and will not test them.
• The Motonav application does not work, as there is no data included. A written notice is included in the box informed you the same.
• The included Google Maps is not the most updated one. You may update it in Market. The navigation feature is not enabled (unlike the US Droid). I may try the hack to see if it works with the Hong Kong Milestone.
• My Sign is a Motorola application allowing user to set touchscreen gesture to open applications. The gestures reminds of the “graffiti” in PalmOS (the good old days …). I don’t find it very handy, as you have to open the My Sign app and then draw the gesture.
• Phone Portal is another Motorola application. When you connect your phone via WIFI, it allows PCs of the same WIFI network to connect to the phone. I will test this later.
• Of course, there is Moto Input, which allows input of traditional/simplified Chinese by handwriting and pinyin. I haven’t tried it enough to pass judgment.

Battery life

As I said before, I only put the phone on light use (a few SMS, downloaded 2 apps in Market, played with various features) this morning. I switched it on at 8:00 a.m. and the Settings show the battery still has 70% after 4 hours 25 minutes. Remember, this is only after the first charge, the battery usually runs for longer lifespan after a few discharge-recharge cycles.

I am going to resume my review later. If you want me to test any features, please leave a comment.

(1) 最貴的手提電話

一向以為 Vertu 出品的電話貴到飛起，但原來一山還有一山高。 Peter Aloisson 設計的新產品售價高達 130 萬美元。這部電話的外殼由白金製成，鑲嵌了 50 夥鑽石。

(2) 情侶傘

這幾天的天氣預報都說會下雨，這柄情侶傘應該有市場。浪漫是要付出代價，盛惠 19.99 英鎊。

(3) 房間保衛者

最後這件產品全無存在價值 (但我最想擁有 )。這個 Room Defender 有 motion detector，會對進入房間的物體發射發泡膠子彈。售價 23.99 英鎊。

買這些奢侈品，不要怪責政府要收你銷售稅。

以 160GB 硬碟錄影機來說， HK$3990 的優惠價其實不算便宜。南韓 Hyundai 的同類產品只售大約 HK$3300。不過我家的電視機也是飛利浦的，用了幾年「無病無痛」，但兩部亞洲品牌 (ACL & Samsung) 的 DVD 產品一過保養期就出問題，所以我才立定主意買了這部飛利浦。

通常這樣 impulsive shopping 買回來的東西都有問題，不過先說優點：

• Time Shift Buffer — 一般的硬碟錄影機都有 Time Shift 這功能，用途通常是：假設你預錄了一個節目，但在節目完結前就已回家。如果是用傳統錄影機，你就要先看電視現場播映的節目末段，才看回錄影了的節目首段；或者等整個節目錄完了才看。Time Shift 功能就可讓你看錄影了的節目首段的同時，硬碟繼續錄影正在播映的節目末段，讓你可以一氣呵成地看整個節目。這部機的 Time Shift Buffer 就更進一步：每當開機時，它就會自動錄影節目 ( 最長可達 6 小時 )。這些被錄進 buffer 的節目亦可被選作永久保存。 Time Shift Buffer 可有幾個方便的用途，例如：
  • 有時我會看到節目的中途，才發現那個節目值得錄下來給家人看。如果開啟了這部錄影機就可以解決這問題，因為它已自動錄影了節目在 buffer
  • 用這台錄影機做電視的中介站的話，看任何電視節目都可以用暫停或回帶這類看錄影節目才有的功能
  • 忘了預設錄影的話，打電話叫家人開啟錄影機就會自動錄影
• 高速由硬碟轉錄至 DVD — 很多硬碟錄影機將硬碟裡的節目抄進 DVD 時都是實時進行，即是說抄一套 1 小時的節目就要用 1 小時。飛利浦這部機就可以快速抄錄，速度視乎所選畫質而定
• 剪輯節目很容易，又可以選擇節目裡任何一個畫面做 index picture

正如 Good Gear Guide 的評論所講，DVDR725H 的缺點都不少：

• 不可以直接由 DVD 轉錄至硬碟 — 既然有錄播 DVD 的功能，為何不讓用家直接轉錄。我又不是要將有版權的 DVD 影碟非法抄錄。現在我要將另一部 DVD 機接駁才可將以前的 DVD 錄影機錄下來的東西抄進硬碟
• 不可以直接由電視錄至 DVD — 這個問題較少，我買硬碟錄影機也是打算先將節目錄進硬碟
• DVD 錄影只可用 +R/+RW 碟 — 這個問題更少，我原本就只買 +RW ( 貪方便，無需封碟 )
• 無中文介面 — 還好本地代理附上中文說明書，否則我爸可不能自學使用

題外話：飛利浦陳列室減價到 27/11，那些 17 或 23 吋的 LCD 電視也很吸引 ( 在睡房玩 Xbox 尺吋剛剛好 )

這一篇看起來真像飛利浦的廣告

就算無「幫襯」，Apple 都唔會忘記你：再更新 iTunes 到 5.0，順勢宣傳剛剛推出的 Harry Potter audiobooks。Steve Jobs 真係唔會放過你。

Related:
聞‧見‧思‧錄：iPod Nano and iTunes Mobile
New York Times: Apple Unveils a New IPod and a Phone Music Player

Batteries in a Portable World is a comprehensible source about how to choose and maintain batteries. A few facts/tips I’ve got about Lithium-ion (“Li-ion”) batteries:

• Li-ion batteries have a defined age limit. Once the anticipated cycles have been delivered, no method exists to improve the battery. Therefore, avoid purchasing spare Li-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing date when purchasing. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.
• Periodic full discharge is not required because the Li-ion battery has no memory. Avoid repeated deep (80 percent) discharges.
• Partial discharges produce less wear than a full discharge and the capacity loss per cycle is reduced. So, charge the Li-ion often, except before a long storage.
• For best storage, keep the battery cool, but never freeze a battery. In addition, never fully charge or discharge the battery before storage. Most battery manufacturers store Li-ion batteries at 15°C and at 40 percent charge.
• If your laptop is capable of running without a battery and fixed power is used most of the time, remove the battery and store it in a cool place.