The screen is still crisp as when I received the unit. It fell a number of times and though it disintegrated to into several pieces, it still worked flawlessly after I reassemble it. The screen protector is pretty banged up but it served it purpose specially for a person who always make the mistake of putting phone and the keys on the same pocket.

The phone’s dual-SIM capability is also doing wonders and saving me money. You see, I have only 2GB free data on my plan. I can blow that limit in a matter of days. Now, I’m using my for mobile broadband dongle’s SIM card for my data. My mobile SIM is on the other slot. I’m doing that because my broadband plan is unlimited (and FREE on my StarHub MaxOnline Express Plan). Before I did that, I’m charged $30 every month for my overage charges.

The Not So Pleasant
The first problem I have with this phone os the GPS. I never had the time to solve it and I’m not exactly keen on allowing the fastcardtech guys to connect remotely on my PC just to solve it. So up to now, GPS is still a bust.
Another problem is the WiFi signal. It’s kinda weak and drops all the time if I’m in my room. I guess it’s a driver problem because it can connect to yhe router just fine but cannot hold on to it if there several barriers(concrete walls, wooden doors) in the signal. It’s not something that makes my WiFi unsuable but more like an annoying thing but I can live with it.
The third is the software – still stuck at Ice Cream Sandwich. Though I’m planning to apply a new ROM later(there’s CM10 already available in xdadevelopers), I still don’t have time to start on it. But at least, this can be remedied easily.
The fourth and last one is LTE. It’s not available on this phone although my plan has it. But actually, HTC One don’t have LTE, too. It’s a small inconvenience given that my service provider has upgraded their network and covers more. That upgrade is also part of the reason my data is ober the roof. Having an always available neywork means more data yo download, more data to pay for.

But despite the flaws, I’m stocking the o is phone. Actually,  some of my Siebel Consultant friends here in Singapore are contemplating on buying one. They’ve seen my phone for the last 5 months and they also agree that it’s all worth it.

Spolier Alert
The clip starts with a narration by Tony Stark and then the camera shows him lying on a couch as if having a therapy. And then the camera pans to Dr. Brenner, The Incredible Hulk, who wakes up when the his glasses fell.

Tony Stark notices it and realized that Dr. Brenner dozed off midway to their session. He asked The Hulk what was the last words he heard and Brenner replied ‘on the 11th floor’. Tony then says that Brenner practically missed the whole thing.

At that point, Brenner explains that he is not that (psychologist) type of doctor. And then Tony Stark continues to mumble words. That’s when all the lights in the cinema will brighten and the moviescreen turns off.

1. The buttons are softkeys so there’s no tactile feedback. I don’t know if I pressed the button correctly or not.
2. It requires several steps.  Instead of pressing just one buttton as we’re accustomed to with the DBS keyfob,  you need to press buttons and input generated numbers at least twice. Not exactly user-friendly on my standards
3. It was cumbersome to use. If you have a fat finger, you can easily press the wrong key. If you do that, you have to start all of over again.
4. It actually authenticates twice. First with the number generatrd with sign(8) and then the otp(6). A momentary lost of connection will require you to start again.

In the end, I switched back to SMS type two-factor authentication.  It’s easier and straightforward. I only need to key-in six digits and I’m on my account already.

I wonder if there really are people using it.

And so I bought my HDC Galaxy S3 EX (Star B92m) resigned to the fact that my beloved GS2 is already dead. I removed its battery and then kept it in my gadget box.  After a few days, hoping for some kind of miracle,  I assembled the phone again,  charge the battery and turned it on again.  Lo and behold,  it worked! 
The yelow triangle greeted me and waited a few more seconds forthe cyanogenmod animation to finish. I am extremely happy by then. But apparently,the surpirise is not finished yet because I noticed the words “No SIM Inserted.  Emergency Call Only”. I said,  “No way! It shouldn’t ask for SIM if it didn’t detect the IMEI.” I immediately inserted my SIM card and lo and behold,  the phone connected to the network!

It can now be called a smartphone again instead of a glorified media player. I can text,  call and surf using 3G. It’s really back to life. However, it won’t be my main phone again. I just can’t take its battery life anymore. Add to that is its relatively lower resolution.

At that time,  it was running jellybean. That’s when I noticed that the backside, near the camera,  is heating up. I mean it is really hot. It got so hot that it died. Something’s still wrong. Probably,  it was the modem driver I installed on the device which might not be compatible with Singapore/StaHub version.

So,  I downloaded the stock ICS ROM from sammobile and installed it via ODIN again. After a quick refresh of the cache (power+volume up+home),  I got a fresh install of ICS 4.0.3 and touchwiz. I setup my account and Android immediately downloaded all my previous apps. Gladly,  the overheating is also gone.

If you see the phone now,  you wouldn’t think that it went on a spin inside the washing machine. It works flawlessly. Screen is still as vivid as before.  Of course,  it still have the bluish overtone that is normal with AMOLED. But that’s not a dealbreaker now. Besides,  it’s just a spare phone now.

I’m thinking of selling it but I still need it when we go to Manila over the CNY holidays. My wife’s iphone5 is using nano SIM which is not widely available. So my GS2 will be put to a good use.

When we come back to Singapore, it would be possible that my wife will use it as her own roaming phone. That is if I am not going to sell it first.

The Real Deal and The KIRF

In my review,  I discussed my experience and observation in the more than a week of using the device as my main phone. I used and still using it everyday and a review is in order.

A Side Note
This blog got suspended because of that post that I accidentally published here(I do the drafting here and posting there). It contains a script that automatically retrieves the current price of the device. At the same time,  that script has an affiliate link. That’s a big No-No here in wordpress.com.
As a result,  my blog got suspended. I reached out to the support(happiness engineers?)  and they reactivated it. Of course,  I removed the he offending post.

What To Do When it Happens
It’s a terrible situation when you see your beloved phone spinning with your dirty laundry and water and soap in the washing machine. I immediately stopped the washing machine when I hears about the loud thuds.

I searched for any large items inside the tub and perplexed when I realized the I’m actually holding my Galaxy S2, fully charged, still on and drenched with soapy water.

I immediately took it out of the tub, removed the cover and battery and let it dry. While waiting, I searched in the internet for similar cases. There are different variations of water damage and I was heartened d to know that in a number of cases, the phone went back to life.

What NOT to Do
Here’s when the terrible thing happened. Because I had a tight case, the water did not seep in into the battery compartment. That’s a very good thing but what happened next is terrible lapse of judgement. I am very aware that the water could have easily went through the earphone jack and damage the motherboard. But for some reason, possibly fueled by belated panic, I reassembled the phone and turned in on after a few hours. It booted, showed my home screen, screen went haywire and then died. It didn’t go back to life until I sent it for repair in Manila.

When they checked, they saw that the Power IC is busted while the power button is corroded. The technician managed to replace the Power IC while the power button was repaired. It went back to life and I was relieved.

Unfortunately, we found out later that the baseband is missing. I haven’t rooted my phone so it can’t be due to corrupted file. I tried to fix it the root way anyway. But alas, it was a hardware problem. Apparently, the GSM radio is also damaged. However, WiFi and Bluetooth are both working.

Had I not been too excited to turn the phone on again, I have a feeling that it would have survived unscathed.

A Glorified Media Player
The baseband problem made my Samsung Galaxy S2 a glorified media player. At least, I was able to use it for a few more weeks. More importantly, I was able to retrieve my files, messages, photos and especially, contacts! I didn’t know, I was not synching my contacts to Google. It was good while it lasts and allowed me to have something to use while I’m thinking on my next action.

The Replacement SmartPhone

For a month,  I was contemplating on getting a Samsung Galaxy Note 2. I also already posted before that I really WANT it. But I really don’t NEED it. So during that time,  I was using my dual-sim MyPhone which I bought in Manila a few years back.
That’s when I realized how valuable that dual-sim phone is. A few days later, I found out that Samsung is going to release a dual-sim version of Note 2. Now it looks like I need that dual-sim Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Unfortunately,  it was destined only for China.
Nevertheless,  the idea of having  a dual-sim phone went on. I almost bought the CherryMobile Flare in Manila if it was only available. That made me look online for other options.

Right now, I’m typing this post on my HDC Galaxy S3 EX otherwise known as Star B92m. It’s cheap and gorgeous and deserves another post.

Where Is My S2 Now

It’s still with me but dead. I’m planning to bring it back again for repair in Manila. It’s a gorgeous phone and the top of the game on its time. Even now, it is still a very capable smartphone. It is so capable that Samsung re-released it as Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus.
I plan to sell my GS2 if and when it goes back to look life. I’m currently looking for a cheap motherboard to replace mine.

Here are my observations:

The Good

• The video is amazingly clear
• Auto-refocus

The Bad

• Refocusing is quite slow. That’s the reason why some part of the video are out of focus. It’s not being helped by the constantly moving Jennifer Lopez running from one part of the concert stage to another.
• Sound is a bit fuzzy. I’m not sure if it was because the music is too load in the area where I was in.

Just like before,  it will be shown on Channel 202 SuperSports where StarHub shows all special sports events. So if you are not a SportsGroup subscriber yet,  grab your remote to buy it. As for me, I’m still thinking.

UPDATE: I pressed the blue button in the hubstation remote. $12.40 with GST. Not bad.

Go Manny!

UPDATE 2: Manny, knocked out cold at the end of 6th round. Yes, at the very last second of the round just before the bell rang.

I also read somewhere that g+ app is really having this issue. Hopefully, Google+ team will send a fix in the coming days. Otherwise,  I will stop the app first as it is now to save battery juice.

As for now,  I’m too chicken to try.