Nokia 6100 Rebirth

What is it with my stuff? They seem to be all dying! Yesterday, my Nokia 6100 gave up the ghost. It just powered down on its own. Powering it up is a hit-or-miss affair. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. But when it does, it powers down again after a few minutes. Now I wouldn’t mind if the damned thing completely dies but all my contacts are on the phone and not on the SIM!!! As soon as I got home I desperately tried to power it up and was eventually able to. I quickly backed up all the data using a trial version of Oxygen Express which I had hastily downloaded.

The next day, my friend Eeya accompanied me to a phone repair shop that had fixed her phone a few weeks back. I showed them my phone and they promptly flashed it. Bye-bye data. Good thing I was able to back it up. When they’re done with flashing, the phone still didn’t work. All my data gone for no reason! Grrrr. They eventually were able to fix it while Eeya and I were eating lunch at a nearby Subway, so I don’t know what the problem was. But it damn sure is not the flash memory. I hate it when people use their favorite magic tool to fix all the world’s problems. Well at least the phone is now working.

After dropping off Eeya at her place, I rushed home and tried restoring my data only to find out that the trial version of Oxyen Express does not allow restore of back-up data! Curses!!! I tried looking for warez or cracks but it is so new there are no warez and cracks. Looks like I’m gonna have to order it online :(

UPDATE: I finally bit the bullet and ordered Oxygen Express. After a day, I got the download link and the registration details. I quickly installed it and restored my back-up. My phone is back!!! :)

Garmin Foretrex 101

I was able to test the Garmin Foretrex 101, a nifty lightweight wrist-mounted GPS (Global Positioning System) unit, under actual conditions for the first time during the recent Makiling climb. Although it doesn’t have loadable maps, it does have most of the features of bigger GPS units: track recording, waypoint recording, navigating the tracks and waypoints, and trip log. It also has user replaceable AAA batteries. A similar model, the Foretrex 201 has a built-in rechargeable battery which doesn’t really make sense for an outdoors device.

My main complaint is that it loses track of GPS signals when there’s thick forest cover above. But then, that’s typical of most GPS units. Oliver, who was carrying a higher-end Garmin GPS unit during the climb, encountered the same problem. In any case, this didn’t hamper the usefulness of the device all that much.

Rating: 4/5

Suunto Observer

I’ve had my Suunto Observer for quite a few years now and it’s still ticking albeit with a battery change or two which isn’t really a big deal since you can just buy its CR2032 batteries from photo or battery shops and change it yourself.

So what’s the big deal with this watch? Well, for starters, as Suunto would say: It’s more than just a watch, it’s a wrist computer. Aside from watch features like time, date, day, second timezone, stopwatch, countdown timer, and alarm, it also has an altimeter, a barometer, a thermometer, and a compass. And all these features do work and work well.

And you can be sure they will keep working: The watch is encased within a solid chunk of stainless steel case (there’s also a titanium cased version) and the face is protected by mineral glass. Mineral glass is not as tough as sapphire but it still withstands a lot of abuse. The caseback as well as the bracelet is a polymer so it won’t freeze on your skin. It is water resistant to 100 meters. Good enough for rain and the occasional dunking. It’s not recommended for diving, although I’ve dived with it quite a few times with no adverse effects.

Best of all, it looks as good in the office as it does on the trail.

Rating: 5/5