Mazen Al-Angary's Official Blog
Posts tagged Unboxing
You Scratched My Mac!
Aug 11th
Personally I have issues with people holding or even touching my Apple gadgets including my iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac.
The other day I got this email from a Mac user in Dubai, UAE who faced the wall of Apple resellers’ bureaucracy , I can relate to her frustration. What these resellers can’t fathom is that Mac users are very passionate about their gear, and such issues will never be resolved till resellers get that simple point one day.
So here is the email I got, I thought of sharing it without editing anything including the names of the stores (Saraf DG is Sharaf DG, but who give a F*** really!).
==========================
Dear Mazen
I do appreciate, here is the full version:
August 1: @9pm my husband bought MacBook Pro from Saraf DG [Ibn Batutta Mall Dubai]
August 2: my birthday, open present BUT i don’t open notebook [mistake]
August 3: all my friends left and i have time to break SEAL for first time since i got it. I discover a tiny scratch on the key board panel [paranoia sets in: i'm anal about scratches and too many hands handling a product: that is just me] and some “handling” marks. Nevertheless, it did not feel new! Please note: i did not open any other sealed parts [charger and cable]. I phone Saraf to speak with manager but are told to bring it in the next morning.
August 4: after another phone call to speak with manager, i get in my car and go to the store. I show him the tiny scratch, after which he take photo and assure me he will send it off to service centre for replacement and that they will get back to me on Sunday [August 8].
August 5: the more i think about it the more angry i get. I send email to ABM and Saraf DG service centre, complaining. ABM did not even acknowledge my mail and Saraf DG, well .. they’ll get back to me [they never did].
August 9: get in my car, no effort from Saraf whatsoever. Speak to a different manager. He assures me that they are waiting for a reply from Apple US and will do exchange as soon as they get the reply! We wait another hour, in which time they [Apple US] reply and say: the scratch is tiny, i must have done it and that they will not exchange. I’m devastated. Although they have a 7day exchange / refund policy: i took to long! Because the seal was not broken: i caused the scratch [how will one prove that a seal is broken if they don't even believe you with a scratch]. I left very angry. When i got home i decided to mail Apple myself and express my disappointment. So i mailed the manager to forward Apple’s reply. He could not supply me with US contact person, so the reply never came from the US. And they only send my URGENT request on Thursday EVENING [8:22pm]!
So i’m not the proud owner of a MacBook Pro but of a MacScratch .. This is my Apple story in short. Thank you again for your support! I’m going to switch it on for the first time since i got it .. wish me luck!
Kind regards
Riana B R.
iPad Scam: A True Story [Updated]
May 1st
A friend of mine wanted to buy a new iPad — almost like anyone else — and with the ridicules prices available in the Saudi market, he thought of getting one form the US.
He started searching for the best bargain he could land, till he found a way to buy it from a well known online site through one of its resellers, when he placed the order, that well known site rejected the order and refunded him with out any explanations on why the order has been canceled.
So while still scratching his head, my friend got a direct email from the reseller telling him that he can still order the iPad directly through him using PayPal. So he went ahead and placed the order.
Jumping with anticipation to get his hands on his shiny iPad, the carrier’s website stated that the device was missing. He initiated emails and over-seas calls to check on what was going on, they simply stated that there was no iPad.
“You [Beep] where is my iPad, you stole it!” said my friend to them over the phone.
“No we didn’t, check with your supplier, please” was their reply.
He sent the supplier an email telling him that something isn’t right. The supplier told him, that the carrier stole his iPad, and gave him a link to the US Postal Service where he can download the shipping details. So that was what he did, and provided it as evidence to the carrier, whom told him that they will investigate the case and get back to him by the end of the week.
Five Days Later…
My friend met staff members from the carrier service, to break the bad news to him.
“An iPads shipping weight is 3.3Lb, the document you got from the US Postal Service states that the shipping weight is 1.6Lb, which means that the seller shipped you an empty iPad box”
The whole world span for a couple of minutes in my friends head, how can that happen?
The moral of the whole story is to make sure where you are buying your stuff from, and never get tempted by prices or hype, the World Wide Web (or as I like to call it the Wild Wild West) isn’t a safe place, so you have to be always carful.
Below you will find pictures captured by the carrier.
UPDATE:
I would like to thank everyone for commenting on this post.
Here are some clarification: As my friend bought his iPad from the well-known online store, he got confused when the order got canceled, and during that period he got the email from the third party (the direct seller) not giving him enough time to make heads from tails.
Regarding the name of the sites, the whole purpose of this article is to warn you, not to defame a specific store or seller.
Did my friend get a refund?
Up and till now, the answer is not yet, he informed the credit card company about the situation, who told him that they will look into the case, and might file a law suit against that seller. Yet they need to check if the empty box was sent by mistake before taking such drastic measures.
آبل آيباد: حقيقة أكبر من خيال
Apr 11th
وأخيراً إنتهى الإنتظار والترقب، حيث قامت شركة آبل بتسليم الدفعة الأولى من أجهزة الآيباد للمشترين الأوائل، حيث وصل للمملكة جهازي المرتقب في الثامن من إبريل، مع العلم بأن جهازي زار مواقع عديدة خلال أربع أيام، فمن الصين طار للولايات المتحدة، ومن ثم لفرنسا ثم الإمارات العربية المتحدة، بعد ذلك إلتف ليصل للرياض وأخيراً وصل بسلام في يدي بمدينة جدة.
طبعاً أنا متأكد من أن الكثير منكم قراء العديد من المقالات والتحليلات عن الجهاز، مما يجعل إعادة الحديث عنها من محض اللت والعجن الممل. لكن ما أود الحديث عنه هي التجربة الأولى في حد ذاتها، وهذا ما قررت أن أشاركه معكم.
أول خاطرة ترد في ذهني عند رفع الجهاز من الصندوق هي “واو“ وبعد تشغيل بعض البرامج على الجهاز تداركت معنى إيجاد الجهاز في حد ذاته. فشركة آبل صرحت بأن هذا الجهاز ليس بديلاً عن الهاتف الذكي (أو آيبود بشاشه عملاقة)، ولا هو بديل عن أجهزة الكمبيوتر المحمولة. هذا الجهاز يُصنف تحت فصيلة جديدة من الأجهزة المتنقلة الخفيفة. وكما قال الرئيس التنفيذي للشركة ستيف جوبز “هذا جهاز وسطي بين الهاتف الذكي واللابتوب“.
إدعى البعض أن الجهاز ثقيل في الحمل، مما أعطى إنطباعاً بأنه غير عملي في التنقل، ردي على ذلك أن الجهاز متوازن في الوزن بالنسبه لحجمه، وذلك يعطي الإحساس بجودة الصنع العالية، حيث أنه غير مُصنع من قطع بلاستيك لُزقت بغراء رخيص.
كما قامت العديد من وكالات الأنباء الكبيرة بنشر أخبار عن عدم قدرة الجهاز على التواصل مع بعض شبكات الـWiFi، مما جعلني أجرب الإتصال بشبكات متعددة من دون أي صعوبات وبدقة فائقة تحاكي إتصال أجهزة الكمبيوتر المحمولة. في إعتقادي الخاص، وبما أن كلمة “iPad” من الكلمات المهمه في مواقع البحث هذه الأيام، أرادت بعض تلك المواقع الحصول على إنتباه الزوار من خلال نفخ بعض فقاعات الصابون من حالات فردية لم يتم التحقق من صحتها (يمكن أصحاب الأجهزة المتضررة زيارة أيٍ من صالات بيع أجهزة آبل، لكن لم يتم إثبات ذلك بعد).
لنكن منطقيين قليلاً في تفكيرنا، قامت آبل بإستثمار الكثير من الأموال والجهد لتطوير وتصنيع هذا الجهاز المرتقب من قِبل المستخدمين والمنافسين على حدٍ سواء، لا أظن أنها ستسمح بفرصة ثقب ترسانتها في مرحلة مهمه مثل هذه.
عنصر الإثارة
لإختصار الموضوع، فإن الآيباد أفضل جهاز كمبيوتر متنقل يتم تصنيعه حتى الآن. فهو أفضل متصفح للإنترنت (حيث يمكنك لمس المواقع كما لم تفعل من قبل)، هو أفضل مشغل وسائط صوتية، أفضل مشغل أفلام HD متنقل، أفضل جهاز للإبداع السريع مثل الكتابة أو الرسم، أفضل جهاز ألعاب (قريباً سيتغلب على البلاي ستيشن PSP والننتيدو DSi لما يتميز به الجهاز من قدرات فائقة لعرض الجرافيكس ثلاثية الأبعاد عالية الجودة)، كما أن الآيباد هو أفضل جهاز يمكنك أن تحلم بإقتنائه لقراءة الكتب والمجلات والصحف والمجلات الهزلية .
في الماضي تمكنت من السفر بجهاز آيفون مكنني من التواصل عبر البريد الإلكتروني والإنترنت، والآن يمكنني فعل أكثر من ذلك بالآيباد.
سألني البعض عن عمر البطارية، لم أقم بتجربة فعلية لكن من ملاحظتي إستخدمت الجهاز لمدة ٣ ساعات إستهلكت ما يقارب ٩٪ من طاقة الجهاز. آبل أعلنت عن ١٠ ساعات مشاهدة فيديو، وقام البعض بتحقيق ١١ ساعة من الألعاب والفيديو المتواصل.
جميع الحقوق محفوظة ٢٠١٠ مازن العنقري
Apple iPad: Bigger Than Life
Apr 8th
Well finally the wait is over, Apple delivered the iPad on the 3rd of April as promised, and I got mine delivered on the 8th, given the fact that my iPad flew all the way from China to the US, visited France, the UAE, till it reached my hands in Jeddah Saudi Arabia.
Now I am sure by now that you read a ton of articles, reviews, and opinions about the iPad and what it can and can’t do. So this won’t be a review, this will be an experience.
The first word that crossed my mind when i first held the iPad out of its box was “WOW!” after firing up some apps the whole iPad experience started to sink in, now i fully understand what Apple has created, and I think this is what got many people confused, they try to label this revolutionary device as a portable computer, or a netbook, or in some cases as a giant iPod touch (or iPhone). Yet Steve Jobs made it very clear when he said that this is something in-between a mobile phone and a laptop, created for ultra mobility.
Some people said that the device is so heavy, I find it very light and balanced (Recommendation: Try lifting some weight you wussies), you can feel that you’re holding a quality product, not a cheap piece of plastic tablet wannabe.
Many news sites reported that the new Apple product has issue connecting to the Internet, I found it connecting to many networks with no problems, so I guess in the quest to get more web-hits and Google juice, those site got there hand on a single incident to make a huge air-balloon out of it.
Let’s be logical, Apple placed a lot of betting chips on those product, they won’t ship out a defected device, especially when every other company dreams of finding a crack they can stab at.
The WOW Factor
Bottom line, the iPad is the best ultra-mobile device ever created, hands down.
It is the best Internet tablet (you can really touch the web for the first time), the best music device, the best HD movie player, the best creation on-the-go device, the best mobile gaming device, and the best book, magazine, and comic book reader you can ever dream of buying.
In the past I managed to travel naked with my iPhone, as a dear friend likes to say, now I can be even more productive and move lighter with the iPad, with everything merely a finger tap away.
P.S. This article has been drafted on an iPad, and if I had the SD card adaptor I would have posted directly to the web, thanks to Pages app on the iPad, so much for creating. Now scroll down and enjoy the images.
iPad thickness compared to iPhone 3GS
Reading books on the iPad
Drafting this article on the iPad using pages and exporting seamlessly through iTunes.
UPDATE: Regarding battery life, I have been playing with my iPad for about 3 hours with WiFi turned on, it consumed about 9% leaving me with 91% full battery.
Copyright 2010 © Mazen Al-Angary, All Rights Reserved.
Nokia X6 Full Review
Mar 3rd
I got my hands on a brand new Nokia X6 phone that has the “Comes with Music” feature, and boy was it so much fun to try that out for the very first time. The new Nokia X6 should be in the Saudi market within a week or so, with an MSRP of SR 2250 (estimated price).
Unpacking:
Inside the box you will find the X6, a charger, battery, in-ear white headphones with controls, a USB cable, Software CD, manuals, and the PIN code to activate your Ovi music store account to get as much free music as you want for a full year.
Hardware:
The Nokia X6 features a much welcomed 3.2 inches TFT capacitive touchscreen over the older resistive touchscreens, so this is clearly a move in the right direction. The unit also sports a proximity sensor, that will turn the screen off when it comes closer to the users face. A cool feature is the high-quality scratch-resistant glass surface.
As far as aesthetics, the devices feels solid while being held in hand, reminds me of the standard candy bar phones, over all it feels great to hold, yet I have noticed that the only minor drawback is the side lock-screen sliders, that feels a bit clunky. Otherwise it feels natural in the users hand.
The front of the X6 features a frontal camera for video calls, the back features a 5 MP, 2592 X 1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, Dual LED flash, video light. The camera also Geo-tags your images if you wish so.
On the sides you will find stereo speakers, along with the SIM card slot. While on the other side you get the volume controls, camera button, and the screen lock slider.
On the top of the device you will find the USB port, a standard 3.5mm audio jack, the charging port, and the on/off button. On the bottom you will find a place to hang a strap or a charm-attachment . The Nokia X6 comes in many colors like Blue on White, Red on Black, and Black on Black.
User Interface and Software:
Nokia X6 runs Symbian OS v9.4, Series 60 rel. 5 on its ARM 11 434MHz processor, you can touch almost any part of the screen to get to functions with a haptics tactile feedback to let you know you clicked on something. Navigating through the menus is quite simple, if you’re used to Nokia S60 devices you will find yourself right at home with the X6.
The device features the usual suspects like; Stereo FM radio, A-GPS support (with the free Ovi Maps 3.0), media player, Organizer, Photo editor, TV-out, Flash Lite 3.0, T9 support, A2DP Bluetooth support, among many other.
The Nokia X6 comes with a large 32 GB storage, 128 MB RAM, yet it doesn’t offer a way to expand your storage with a memory card.
The Experience:
Once I got the Nokia X6 out of the box, I got hold of the instruction card that shows you how to get free music, and application on it, you simply connect to the internet via 3.5G or WiFi which was easy to setup, after that you log into the Ovi store and enter the provided PIN, sit back and enjoy over 4 million Arabic and International tracks and albums that are available through Ovi music store. You can also install the Ovi application on your Windows PC and use the account to sync your music with your brand new device.
Nokia has worked hard on connectivity, where I learned by attending their private media roundtable meeting that they are pushing new solutions for Nokia messaging services that is suitable for both corporations and home-users, the new services provides push notifications and emails directly to your device, anywhere at any time. And with a foot-print as large as Nokia’s you can see the future of socializing with everyone around you. Setting up a new Nokia device is as easy as 3 simple steps, after that you get all your emails, IM massages, and social networks like Twitter and FaceBook running on the fly.
Conclusion:
I find myself compelled to use such a device, Nokia came a long way to reach this level, where now you can get free music, tons of applications, while staying truly connected to work and play with simple to use devices that many people have been loving and knowing for years.
What I liked about the X6:
- The improved capacitive touchscreen
- The standard 3.5mm headphone jack
- The ability to use it as an every day phone that can hold all your music.
- Easy connectivity to emails, messaging, and social sites.
- A great device for music lovers.
What I didn’t like about the X6:
- User Interface is a bit sluggish and slow at times.
- Ovi store needs more improvements.
- The way the interface occasionally requires a double tap can also be annoying.
- Slow at times while browsing the web.
So let’s rate the Nokia X6 shall we:
Hardware 4.5 out of 5. 
UI & Software 3 out of 5. 
Experience 4.5 out of 5. 
Overall 4 out of 5. 
Copyright 2010 © Mazen Al-Angary, All Rights Reserved.
GymBoss
Feb 2nd
If you’re serious about your workout, and have even been looking for an interval timer that would help you get the best results out of your workout, I think you should take a look at GymBoss.
It is a tiny timer that you can clip-on, signaling you about the end of a duration by beeping, vibrating, or both, so that you can shift to the other end of your intensity workout. GymBoss can even be used as a stopwatch.
I took shots of the box, which also has some explanation on the back of it. GymBoss comes in three colors (Silver, Slate Gray, and Hot Pink) and sells for $19.95, but what is really great is the flat cost of ground international shipping, which is $2.99 almost anywhere in the world.
Uboxing Garmin Oregon 550
Aug 17th
Have been using a GPSr for quite some time, and been very proud of my trusty Garmin GPSMAP 60 CSx
But what I didn’t really like about the 60 CSx was that fact that it attracts people’s attention since it really looks like a walki-talki which adds another level of difficulty while Geocaching in urban settings. So I needed a device that has the same power (if not more) and capabilities of my trusty 60CSx to be used as my primary device. I got the Garmin Oregon 550 with its touch screen interface, and the 3.2MP camera that geotags images, this new device was release mid-July 2009. I was trying to get it locally or from nearby region with no luck so I had to get it shipped from the US.
When I got the package I thought of doing an unboxing post so here it is:
Unboxing the Garmin Oregon 550
Just opened the box to see the surprise inside it.
They had to put the Mac logo in there, didn’t see any Windows logo though.
In the box you will find:
- Oregon 550.
- AA battery charger
- 2 AA NiMH batteries
- Carabiner clip
- USB cable
- Owner’s manual on disk
- Quick start manual
The back where you can see the camera lens of the GPS device.
Right next to the trusty 60CSx, much smaller.
A tad thicker, but it feels great in hand.
The back of the Oregon 550 and the 60CSx.
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