text:
Wow - for the past five days I have had post traumatic vertigo - for two of those days I could not even get out of bed! This pic from the Oly Studios showroom a couple of years ago. It was all over the blogosphere then and I loved it then, but now that I have been stuck in bed for several days I think how wonderful it would have been to be surrounded by that lush green wallpaper. Delicious, right?
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
dizzy lizzy
Posted by Elizabeth at 12:56 PM 0 comments
Monday, April 7, 2014
Two weeks ago I was in a horrifying car accident. Swerving to avoid a falling garbage can on the freeway, I hit the median wall head-on and then flipped my little car six to eight times. Witnesses said it was worse than a movie and everyone from passersby to the fireman who broke my door off to get me out all have said it was unsurviverable and that they fully expected me to be dead.
I am far from it, however. With the love and support of my family and friends I am already back up and around, and getting back into the swing of life. LIFE. I love life! So look for me soon, my friends - I will be back to blogging and designing and figuring out my next steps on this crazy journey. I have missed you.
"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and puts itself into our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne
Posted by Elizabeth at 6:42 PM 7 comments
Monday, March 17, 2014
beach bound
I know I have been obsessively posting on fashion the last couple of weeks instead of furniture and interiors, but many times where my closet goes, my interiors follow. For a while now my closet has been transitioning from jewel tones to nudes, grays, black and white. Now my entire cottage is in pale neutrals with hits of black.
For the summer and especially for my mama's birthday trip to Monaco and Barcelona this July, I am really craving these pieces. Metallic blush and nude, soft suede fringe and dress, pale and tactile. My bedroom redesign is following with cream and white with shiny brass accents!
I also hope to get a great underwater or beach shot on this vacay to blow up huge like this gorgeous shot:
Hope you are having a great week!
For the summer and especially for my mama's birthday trip to Monaco and Barcelona this July, I am really craving these pieces. Metallic blush and nude, soft suede fringe and dress, pale and tactile. My bedroom redesign is following with cream and white with shiny brass accents!
|Anthropologie cuff
|H&M Fringe Suede Clutch
|Anthropologie Suede Sheath
|Triangl Metallic Bikini
Hope you are having a great week!
Posted by Elizabeth at 6:38 PM 0 comments
Saturday, March 15, 2014
of a kind
Have you guys been to the website Of A Kind? It is chock full of awesome clothes, jewelry, baby stuff, etc... I get into phases where I wear the same jewelry for months on end. This spring and summer I am wearing stacks of gold bangles and rings. Heading into fall though, I can imagine wearing these stud earrings and sharp necklace every single day. Love!
Posted by Elizabeth at 11:55 AM 0 comments
Labels: fall fashion, jewelry, k/ller collection, lust list, of a kind, online shopping
Monday, March 10, 2014
on the fringe
I already have a fringe purse that I never carry. But these bags from Zara are making me crazy with lust! I want one for my summer trip to Monte Carlo/Barcelona...
Posted by Elizabeth at 12:38 PM 0 comments
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Why am I always?
...on a wild lamp hunt? I know I just posted on three or four options for bedside lamps a few weeks ago, and sconce options last year, but I have a friend who is looking for lamps, and it lead me to these two brass beauties.
Posted by Elizabeth at 8:49 PM 1 comments
Thursday, March 6, 2014
my tv room
Have you guys seen the wonderful online mag ROCO? It is run by the talented Rachael - she used to have a blog called Roco Rennie.
She asked me to talk about my fave room this week - my tv room. Head over and check it out!
She asked me to talk about my fave room this week - my tv room. Head over and check it out!
Posted by Elizabeth at 2:00 AM 1 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
SPRATLING Rare Vintage Rose Wood & 18kt Gold Ring
William Spratling is often referred to the "Father of Contemporary Mexican Silver" which is a title that was well deserved. He was an innovative and talented designer of Mexican silver jewelry and other pieces of artwork made of copper and tin. He dedicated his time and skill to the artistic development and growth of the silver industry in Taxco. Spratling jewelry is extremely collectable and each piece is considered a wonderful work of art.
A gorgeous signed Spratling wood and gold ring from the 1960's! This vintage piece is made of rose wood, which is set within a 18kt yellow gold frame. The band graduates in width and displays lovely deep brown wood. Set in the face of the ring are 11 gold beads that graduate in size. The inside shank of the ring is stamped .18K WS". Gold Spratling jewelry is much more unusual than his sterling pieces and this ring is simply exceptional. It's fantastic piece and makes a bold statement when worn. It would make a perfect addition to any collection!
Measurements: The band measures 5/16" wide at the smallest point, and 3/8" wide at the largest point. It has a finger size 5 but could possibly be sized slightly if desired.
Condition: The overall condition of the ring is excellent. Besides normal surface wear, there is no apparent damage to the gold and wood setting or to the gold balls.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
With over 20 years of experience and expertise, Porsche Tequipment showcases customary Porsche quality in every product. Perfectly tailored to your lifestyle and your Porsche, Tequipment products allow you to adapt your vehicle to your own personal wishes, retrospectively and with ease.Discover more
Whether you're looking for a T-shirt, a model car or a car care kit, Porsche Driver's Selection offers high-quality Porsche branded products to suit every occasion. Sporty, elegant and in the minimalist style that is typical of Porsche – this is what characterises the Porsche Driver's Selection clothing and accessories range.Discover more
© 2020 All rights reserved to Porsche Centre Isle of Man and its licensors.
*Data determined in accordance with the measurement method required by law. Since 01 September 2018 all new cars are approved in accordance with the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP). You can find more information on WLTP at
. From 01 January 2019, all fuel consumption figures are shown as determined in accordance with WLTP. CO₂ figures will be shown as NEDC-equivalent values, as CO₂ based taxation will continue to be based on an NEDC value (derived from WLTP) until 06 April 2020. For Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) range and Equivalent All Electric Range (EAER) figures are determined with the battery fully charged, using a combination of both battery power and fuel.
Values are provided for comparison only. To the extent that fuel and energy consumption or CO₂ values are given as ranges, these do not relate to a single, individual car and do not constitute part of the offer. Optional features and accessories can change relevant vehicle parameters such as weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics which may result in a change in fuel or energy consumption and CO₂ values. Vehicle loading, topography, weather and traffic conditions, as well as individual driving styles, can all affect the actual fuel consumption, energy consumption, electrical range, and CO₂ emissions of a car.
**Important information about the all-electric Porsche models can be found here.


text:
From where it began to today... The One X poses with the HTC G1
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexg1front.jpg][/lightbox]
Uninspiring products. Confusing line-ups. Bloated software. The criticisms levelled at HTC as 2011 drew to a close were echoed in falling profits and a slide from their lofty position as Android superstars. The company appeared to lose its way just as their competitors really started to step up their game.
It's quite incredible to think that it's nearly 3 and a half years since Google, HTC and T-Mobile announced the first Android device to the world - the G1 (aka the HTC Dream) pictured above - and it's been a wild ride. While HTC had been doing very nicely out of their Windows Mobile devices, it was their enthusiastic adoption of Android that really fuelled the changes from unknown ODM to a household name.
One could argue that the meteoric rise was always destined to end in a stall, but if there's one thing we can all be thankful for it's that HTC have been smart enough to see that things weren't right with their product portfolio and they're doing something about it.
Enter the One series.
Announced at MWC in Barcelona earlier this year, the One series is the reinvention of their product range that's aimed at addressing the criticisms above and getting HTC back at their very best. Uninspiring products? How about an aspirational product range built around a core set of values. Confusing line-ups? One product line with 3 devices. Bloated software? Instead we have a foundation of the latest Google has to offer with a layer of HTC'ness carefully added to bring genuine improvements, but not at the expense of the Android user experience, speed nor battery life.
If the product delivers then HTC should be back on track... but does it? Read on to find out.
HTC & me
My association with HTC devices goes waaaaay back. My first smart device after I defected from Nokia communicators (Nokia 9000, 9110 etc.!) was an Orange SPV running the Smartphone 2002 OS... also known as the HTC Canary. Since then I've probably owned or used just about every HTC device in between, but three of my recent 'long term' devices (hey, I'm talking relatively here!) have been Samsungs. First came the Nexus S, then the Galaxy S II and my device of choice before the One X arrived was the Galaxy Nexus.
Despite being somewhat indoctrinated into Samsung of late, switching to the One X feels a bit like coming home. I've always been a proponent of HTC Sense (I'm a firm believer in the fact we're not a one-size-fits-all world and although Sense might not be your cup of tea, it works for lots of people) and there's just something about the build, finish and overall 'feel' of HTC devices that I really like. Something that I can't put my finger on... the 'character' of a device I guess is what I'd call it.
If you think this means the One X is going to get a review biased in its favour however, you're wrong! As well as being one of HTC's biggest fans I'm not scared to be one of its harshest critics too... and HTC and I have had a few scrapes over the years I can tell you.
Anyway, enough of the introduction... let's get started.
Review device
My review device is production hardware and was supplied running ROM version 1.26.401.2, which was updated over the air to 1.26.401.7.
In the box
The actual contents of the One X box will vary by region, in that some territories will include Beats headphones in the box and some won't. My device shipped with the handset, microUSB cable, mains adaptor (5V, 1A), SIM removal pin and getting started guide.
The One X comes in new, minimalistic card based packaging.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexboxfront.jpg][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexboxback.jpg][/lightbox]
Hardware - Overview
Let's begin by getting the raw specifications out of the way. The new One line consists of 3 devices, starting at the low end with the One V, moving up to a mid to high end positioning with the One S and topping out with the flagship One X that we have here. As you'd expect on a flagship device, the specs are pretty much as good as they come in the market today. The device comes in White and Black flavours... you don't even need to ask do you - mine is white!
- Google Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense 4.0
- NVidia AP33 ('Tegra 3') 1.5GHz + XMM6260 HSPA+ modem
- ROM: 32GB eMMC
- 4.7" inch, 16m colour Super LCD 2 HD720 resolution
- Corning Gorilla Glass
- Capacitive touch screen with multi-touch capability
- HSPA/UMTS quad-band (850/900/1900/2100MHz)
- GSM/GPRS/EDGE quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- HSDPA / UMTS 3GPP Release 7 compliant (21Mbps peak rate)
- HSUPA (5.76Mbps peak rate)
- microSIM
- Standalone GPS
- Internal GPS antenna
- Motion G-sensor
- FM Radio
- Digital Compass
- Proximity sensor
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Haptic
- Gyro Sensor
- 8 megapixel camera with auto focus, smart LED flash, BSI sensor (for better low-light captures), F2.0 aperture, 28mm lens and 1080p HD video recording
- 1.3 megapixel front camera (720p for video chat)
- Dedicated 'ImageSense' imaging chip - capture a photo in the midst of recording HD video, continuous shooting mode captures multiple snapshots, auto flash smartly determined by distance from your subject, video stabilization, high quality slow motion video capture and playback
- Power LED flashlight
- Volume up/down button
- Power button
- Home key (virtual)
- Back key (virtual)
- Recent (virtual)
- One bi-colour (Green & Amber) LED for notifications and charging status
- Built-in dual microphones for noise reduction and stereo voice recording
- Loudspeaker for hands-free support
- Bluetooth with aptX™ enabled (Bluetooth® 4.0)
- Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compliant, support 2.4GHz/5GHz
- 5-pin micro-USB
- USB 2.0 with high speed client
- Mass storage support
- MHL for HDMI out
- Pogo pins - 5 pin for charging and audio out
- 3.5 mm audio jack
- Beats Audio™
- 1.8/3V micro USIM/SIM card slot
- 1,800 mAh battery
- AC adaptors
- AC input: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz, DC output: 5V and 1A
- Machined polycarbonate construction
- 134.36 x 69.9 x 8.9 mm
- 130 grams
It's fair to say you're not left wanting for much specification wise! Positive points are easy to find but as for negatives, they have to be the lack of microSD and the non-removable battery, both very much trends in the current device market (as is the microSIM).
Hardware - around the device
Let me give you a little tour of the device starting with the front. The front of the device is predominantly the 720P SLCD 2 screen of course, which is coated with Corning Gorilla Glass (version 2 I believe) for added toughness. The screen actually curves slightly towards the edge of the device, which is a nice design feature, although the screen itself is not curved top to bottom in the style of the Nexus S / Galaxy Nexus. Above the screen, on the polycarbonate casing is the speaker grille (which has the notification bi-colour LED behind it) and the forward facing 1.3 megapixel camera. Below this, on the glass, is the HTC branding and the various proximity / light sensors. Below the screen sit the 3 capacitive buttons - back, home and recent. Unlike the Galaxy Nexus, the One X doesn't use on screen buttons (well, except for the legacy menu button). Myself and the team are somewhat at odds as to whether this is a good thing or not, I argue that it gives you more screen real estate for actual content, but you do lose a lot of button flexibility of course!
On the back of the device at the top you'll find the microSIM slot (which uses a pin and tray mechanism), beneath which sits the camera and LED flash. The camera actually protrudes from the device a fair bit and I do worry that this could leave it susceptible to being scratched when placed face up on a surface. The silver HTC logo adorns the middle and at the bottom is the new, much shrunken beats audio branding, speaker and some FCC etc. graphics that would previously have lived on a sticker under the battery. On the right of the device are 5 pogo pins for connecting to charging / sound docks.
The One X uses a tray based microSIM system.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexsimholder.jpg][/lightbox]
The top of the device is home to the power button, secondary mic (for noise cancellation / stereo sound recording) hole and 3.5mm port. The left of the device has the MHL compatible microUSB slot (in an 'upside down' position ¾ the way up the device), the right of the device has the volume keys (my preferred position). The bottom of the device has only the main mic hole.
The top of the One X showing the secondary mic hole, 3.5mm headphone socket and power button.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onextop.jpg][/lightbox]
The left of the One X showing the microUSB port.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexleft.jpg][/lightbox]
The right of the One X showing the volume control.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexright.jpg][/lightbox]
The bottom of the One X showing the mic hole.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexbottom.jpg][/lightbox]
At 130g with its polycarbonate construction and its 8.9mm depth, the One X feels thin in your hand. It's tall (fractionally shorter than a Galaxy Nexus) and wide (fractionally wider than a Galaxy Nexus) and, as with any device sporting a 4.7" screen, you probably need to use a device of this size in person to decide if it's for you. Extreme corners can be a stretch when used one handed but, well, it IS nice having such a large canvas. :)
The One X is one of those designs that feels thinner than it is. All of the edges are curved as is the whole profile of the device and since it's so tall and wide, it's quite deceptive. In a good way!
The One X is the first HTC - actually, the first non-Nexus device - to ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on board. As a MoDaCo reader you probably already know that the latest iteration of Google's operating system is a significant step in taking it from a geek's toy to a slick, polished operating system for the masses. With this in mind, one could argue that the need for a manufacturer to give it a facelift is much reduced. Some manufacturers appear to disagree (look at the disaster that is ICS for the Galaxy S II), but thankfully HTC are taking a different approach.
While the One X does of course include HTC Sense, it includes version 4.0, a significant rework of what has gone before. In the spirit of the aforementioned soul searching, HTC's stated approach with version 4 was to simplify Sense, to slim it down and remove some of the 'visual fluff' that was met with such disdain by the hard-core Android fans.
Sense 4.0
So what does Sense 4.0 look like? When you turn the device on for the first time, you get HTC's customised setup wizard. You can immediately see that little UI elements have been skinned in the customary HTC green - toggle buttons, check boxes and the like. I think they look nice personally! There is an interesting effect instead of the 'over scroll' we see in stock Android or from other device makers, instead lists of items 'expand' as you over drag them (as shown in the screen shot below)... it's quite smart and definitely different to what other manufacturers *cough* Apple *cough* are doing!
click on a screenshot to view a full size version
HTC style radio buttons, check boxes and the overscroll effect.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-1-radiobuttons.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-2-checkbox.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-3-overscroll.png][/lightbox]
The lock screen is a key feature of Sense and is feature packed in version 4 too. A number of different lock screen styles are available - wallpaper, productivity (notifications), Photo album, Friend stream (HTC's social networking client), weather (HTC's favourite!), people, clock and stocks. All of these also have the 4 shortcuts along the bottom that can be dragged to the unlock ring to instantly launch an application from the lock screen.
The different lock screen styles
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-4-lock1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-5-lock2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-6-lock3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-7-lock4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-8-lock5.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-9-lock6.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-9-lock6.png][/lightbox]
These shortcuts actually mirror the shortcuts you have defined across the bottom in the launcher, which is another key element of Sense (this has some interesting implications potentially if you use a third party launcher). The launcher supports up to 7 screens (which you can add and remove as desired) and can feature shortcuts, folders of shortcuts and both Android and HTC widgets. The grid is a 4x4 configuration (which does seem a little wasteful) and only supports portrait mode. The app drawer itself is a horizontal scrolling affair, with tabs for all apps, frequently used apps and downloaded apps (although you can disable the frequent and downloaded tabs should you desire). A search button is present, as is a one-click link to the Play Store. Apps can be shared directly from the launcher menu and downloaded apps can be uninstalled too.
The homescreen with customisable panels, tabbed view and tab customisation.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-11-homescreen.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-12-launcherpanels.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-18-launcherdrawer.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-13-launchertabs.png][/lightbox]
The Sense lock screen and Launcher are both superior to their stock Android counterparts in my opinion... HTC 2, Google 0.
Previous users of Sense will remember that the pull down shade in the notification bar in earlier versions included a tab labelled 'quick settings' for toggling WiFi, Bluetooth and the like - this is now absent from Sense 4.0 as part of that simplification. The pull down is virtually identical to stock Android with only a Settings button (and a clear button as required).
The settings app itself is virtually stock in arrangement, albeit with the usual HTC stylisation and icons. There are a few HTC added categories (such as 'Personalisation' and 'Dock Mode') but if you've used stock Ice Cream Sandwich you'll know where to find things and if you're coming from a previous HTC device the look will also be familiar.
One enhancement in Ice Cream Sandwich is the 'recent' button. This button brings up a list of recent apps, much in the same way as holding the home key on pre-ICS Android releases, but with smart looking app thumbnails so you can see more easily what you are switching to. On stock Android these are presented as small thumbnails in a vertical list but in Sense 4.0 they are much larger snapshots that can be scrolled horizontally with a nice effect. They can still be 'swept away' in order to close the application. Again, I actually prefer the HTC implementation, as the screen views of the applications are much clearer.
The notification pulldown, settings apps and recent app view showing an app being swiped closed.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-14-notifications.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-15-settings.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-16-recent1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-17-recent2.png][/lightbox]
So that's the Sense 'non-apps' experience... what about the applications that have been replaced in Sense by HTC's versions? Let's talk about those.
Working through them in alphabetical order, first up is 'Calculator', which is simplicity in it's extreme, with only basic scientific functions in landscape mode. If you want a decent calculator you really aren't going to use the built in one.
Yes, the calculator is supposed to look like that!
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-19-calculator.png][/lightbox]
The 'Calendar' application offers month / day / agenda and invite views by default, however a week view can be added using the same 'tab management' system that we saw earlier in the launcher - this UI paradigm seems to be consistent across many of the HTC apps. Calendars can be viewed individually or in a combined view, pulling in Google calendars, people's birthdays from your contacts, Facebook events, Google Task deadlines and much more. Within your Google calendar you of course have the granularity of individual sub calendars. As you add additional accounts to your device they appear here... if for example you add a HoTMaiL account in the e-mail application, that calendar and task list appears as an option too. In the day view you can view the weather forecast for that day at the top (simple but it looks very slick!) and in all views one button press takes you to the 'Add' dialogue, which is clear and simple with a nice conflict checker feature. There is a button at the top of the Calendar screen that takes you straight to today. A secondary time zone can be configured in the settings menu, where that weather feature can also be disabled should you desire.
The calendar month week and day views. Selecting account types, adding an entry and viewing settings.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-20-calendar1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-21-calendar2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-22-calendar3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-24-calendar4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-24-calendar5.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-25-calendar6.png][/lightbox]
The 'Camera' application, which is pretty basic in stock ICS, has of course been given a major overhaul... but we'll come to that later as it's such a key function of the phone.
The 'Clock' application includes a slick 'Google Earth' like world clock, alarms with sound, repeat and vibrate options per alarm and configurable volume, snooze duration and side button behaviour across all alarms, stopwatch with lap / split and a countdown timer. The tab UI is again present with the option to reorder or remove tabs should you wish to do so. All in all the clock app is pretty simple but it does the job.
World clock, alarm settings, alarms, stopwatch and countdown timer.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-26-clock1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-28-clock2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-29-clock3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-30-clock4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-31-clock5.png][/lightbox]
The 'Gallery' application again feels like it's been simplified from the HTC apps of old from a UI perspective, but without trading out features. As well as viewing content on your phone, the Gallery can view content from Facebook, Flickr, DLNA servers, Dropbox, Picasa and Skydrive all from a simple drop down menu. Individual albums (folders) can be easily hidden which is nice... it is annoying when a game's asset folder always appears in your gallery! Images can be shared / deleted individually or in bulk as well as played in a slideshow on your device or via DLNA. When viewing an image the item can be set as a contact icon, favourite, footprint or wallpaper, viewed on a map or edited and you can view the EXIF details. Selecting the edit option allows you to crop the image, rotate the image left or right and apply various effects to the image. Effects include auto enhance, cinnamon, high contrast, sepia etc. etc. as well as adding simple frames (e.g. polaroid) to the image. As well as the predefined effects, custom filters can be added adjusting white balance, levels, exposure, contrast, brightness, saturation, sharpness, grain and vignette. Multiple filters can be applied if desired, and filter configurations can be saved as presets for you to easily apply to other images. When an edited photo is saved, it does replace the original image, which is something you need to bear in mind! Videos can also be edited in the gallery. The editing is limited to simple trimming however.
Viewing items and sharing them in the gallery, as well as adding some effects in the editor.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-32-gallery1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-32-gallery2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-33-gallery3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-34-gallery4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-35-gallery5.png][/lightbox]
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-36-gallery6.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-37-gallery7.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-38-gallery8.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-39-gallery9.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-40-gallery10.png][/lightbox]
The 'Browser' application is labelled Internet in HTC's launcher and it is an enhanced version of the browser shipped with ICS. Flash is preinstalled on the device, which is good, as to be honest the only reason you're likely to be using the Android offering is when you need flash, due to the Beta release of Chrome, which is probably a superior browser. All of the usual features are present - tabs (including incognito tabs), desktop user agent switching and bookmark syncing with Google. Once again the familiar configurable tabbed UI makes an appearance, with bookmarks, most visited, history and saved tabs shown by default, to be ordered / removed to your heart's content. The browser supports printing by virtue of the pre-installed JetCet Print application... but only if you have a Canon, Epson or HP printer. A sweep downwards towards the bottom of the browser screen reveals 4 buttons - Add To, Bookmarks, Saved and Tabs. The interesting one here is the 'Add To' option. As well as giving the option to add a link to the home screen or bookmarks, you can add a page to your reading list. This then drops the page in the aforementioned 'saved' tab for coming back to later. A real gem here would be ReadItLater sync or similar, but sadly this is not present.
Browser standard view, 'reading view', tabs, favourites and printing.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-41-browser1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-42-browser2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-43-browser3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-44-browser4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-46-browser6.png][/lightbox]
The stock ICS 'Mail' app (which I think is rather good) is replaced with HTC's own, which supports Exchange ActiveSync, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, HoTMaiL and other POP3 / IMAP services. The application is quite nice, it offers a nice UI, HTML mail viewing, search, push mail and everything else you would like to see but for me I think the Gmail-alike UI of the stock ICS app is a little nicer - more concise and more productive perhaps. Thankfully, the stock ICS app can be easily installed without any ROM hacking to allow the best of both worlds.
The 'Messages' (SMS / MMS) application is in the usual HTC style and offers a number of features over and above the stock ICS equivalent. SMS can be backed up to your internal SD or via e-mail and (obviously) restored from internal SD too. Messages can be sent to groups you have configured in your contacts (including groups that sync across from Google), which is a nice touch. When composing a message delivery / read reports can be configured on a per message basis. Unlike the stock app, message templates are not available. As well as the usual attachment options (picture / video / audio) you can also attach an app recommendation, location, contact (vCard) or calendar entry (vCalendar) which is handy.
Adding an account to the mail app. Adding content to the messaging app, sending to a group, doing a backup / restore and choosing delivery settings.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-47-mail.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-48-messages1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-49-messages2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-50-messages3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-51-messages4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-52-messages5.png][/lightbox]
The 'Music' application is an interesting case not least because, if like me you use Google Music for streaming, then the inbuilt client is effectively no use to you! It's pretty shiny though. ;) On launching the application the user is presented with shortcuts to the music stored on their device, a SoundHound link (for music identification) and a TuneIn Radio link (for internet radio). Additional links to other applications can be added (e.g. to Google Music should you desire!). Below this sit the recently played items. A menu option allows connection to a DLNA server. When playing a track SoundHound integration is present (for getting additional information about a track), sound enhancer can be configured (HTC enhancer if using headphones, Beats enhancer too if using Beats cans) and album art can be updated directly from the application. The application is fairly basic but does what it needs to. I'll stick to Google Music though!
The music app and the menu.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-53-music1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-54-music2.png][/lightbox]
In line with previous versions of Sense (and now ICS), contacts live in an app labelled 'People' which is integrated with the dialler. Phonebooks can be viewed individually or merged (note that Facebook contact sync support is included by default, unlike stock ICS!) with the application intelligently highlighting contacts that it thinks should be linked together to remove the duplicates in your contact list. Hopefully this won't populate the 'notes' field with junk like previous versions, but that remains to be seen! When viewing a contact their photo / status etc. is included from social media services if configured. You can set ringtones per contact, block individual callers and set default contact methods. A thread tab allows you to view recent messages, e-mails or calls and an updates tab links into FriendStream to show their social status updates. A gallery tab pulls in their images from Facebook. I have to say I've long been a fan of how HTC does contacts, and Sense 4.0's implementation is no exception. You can of course search across contacts, send contacts and configure various options such as whether to show contacts without a phone number, sorting and view mode. The application also includes a feature that will automatically search for contacts' accounts on Facebook and Twitter and bring them to your attention.
The Phone dialler itself is standard HTC fare. Favourites appear at the top and you can 'Smart Dial' names on the keypad, a feature that is strangely still missing from stock Android. A 'Voice Search' button is available but, well, like most voice search features, it doesn't work very well for me! Press-hold-number speed dials can be configured, and you can also configure blocked callers from the main page, adding either contacts or simple numbers. Finally, SIP calling is included if you use an Internet calling service.
The people app contacts, accounts, groups, dialler and settings.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-56-people1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-57-people2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-58-people3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-59-people4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-60-people5.png][/lightbox]
HTC have replaced the stock Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard with their own 'HTC Sense Input'. This is a multilingual keyboard with bilingual prediction and both regular and swipe modes. It also supports Chinese input. I will admit that when I first started using the device I was tempted just to install SwiftKey - my keyboard of choice - but that wouldn't really be giving it a fair test would it... so I persevered. Thankfully, the keyboard is very good. It has 4 rows with long press for numbers / symbols and a bottom row with arrow keys. There is a button for switching languages, which can be held for Voice Input. As with previous versions of HTC's input method, 20 key and 12 key options are also included. The swipe feature doesn't really work well for me personally (nor does Swype), but on the whole the keyboard is definitely a worthy replacement of the stock item.
HTC input qwerty, 20 key, 12 key and swipe input.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-61-input1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-62-input2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-63-input3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-64-input4.png][/lightbox]
While we're talking about text input, I'd just like to mention the cut / copy / paste functionality. This is very similar to previous HTC devices, and in my opinion is superior to stock ICS. There are two reasons for this. The first is that stock ICS has strange icons where it isn't immediately clear what they do for all users and the second is that the little flags that you drag to mark the start and end of a text area just seem to work so much better on the One X, aided by the magnifying glass view.
Cut and paste made easy!
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-65-cutpaste1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-66-cutpaste2.png][/lightbox]
That just about covers what HTC have replaced in stock Android... so what have they added?
First up is a '7Digital' online music store, which lets you buy albums and individual tracks for download to your device.
Next is a 'Car' mode, which will of course come into it's own when used with the forthcoming car dock (which connects via the 5 pogo pins on the back of the device). The enlarged UI has buttons for phone, navigation, music and internet radio as well as showing the current time. Options include auto-playing of music when connected to Bluetooth audio and configuration voice / audio out devices. It's fairly basic, but you probably don't want anything too complex if it's supposed to be used in car!
'Dropbox' is preinstalled on the device, in a special HTC version that will furnish you with an extra 23GB of storage (making 25GB in total for a new account), with the additional space being available free of charge for a 2-year period. This is deliberately in line with the longest phone contracts on which the One X will be sold. We like Dropbox, so this is good. :)
7Digital, Dropbox and Car apps.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-67-7digital.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-55-dropbox.png][/lightbox]
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-68-car.png][/lightbox]
'Flashlight' is exactly what it says, a Torch. ;) Seriously HTC, how about some UK localisation? The Torch (I'm going to call it that) has 3 steps of brightness and of course uses the camera flash LED. It does exactly what it says on the tin.
One of the things I like about HTC devices and that is infuriatingly missing on stock Android (even if they have the required hardware) is the 'FM Radio'. As with all FM radio implementations the headset is the antenna, although you can use the internal speaker as output too. The radio supports RDS and has presets, which can be auto-scanned, manually saved and renamed as desired. One feature that is really cool and I've not seen before is that the FM radio integrates with SoundHound (preinstalled) for doing song recognition directly. It works great! I know a lot of readers will say 'FM radio? Nobody listens to that any more' but, well, I do. So there.
The torch and the FM radio apps, showing the FM radio presets.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-69-flashlight.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-70-fmradio1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-71-fmradio2.png][/lightbox]
'Friend Stream' is HTC's own social media client. The application supports Facebook and Twitter viewing and posting with optional merged or individual timeline views. Flickr integration is also included. The app itself is fairly basic with few settings, but it is the backbone that drives social media integration across the device, in contacts, widgets, lock screen etc. so it is a nice to have. Most of the Facebook functions aside from simple viewing hook into the Facebook app itself and if you're a power Twitter user you'll probably need something more, but for the 'average person', it's easy to use, pretty and has just about the right number of features.
Friendstream main screen, account selection, posting options and attachments and the 3 widgets.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-72-fs1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-73-fs2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-74-fs4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-75-fs5.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-76-fs6.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-77-fs7.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-78-fs8.png][/lightbox]
With the recent demise of HTCSense.com, I was surprised to see 'HTC Hub' alive and well on the device, as I assumed they were integrated. Apparently not! HTC Hub is effectively a simple 'HTC Store', where users can find applications, themes and the like. Application downloads actually link back to the Play Store, so it is simply an app discovery tool. Personalisation downloads however (such as sound sets) do download directly, so it's the place to go for those. The Personalisation section only seems to contain sound items at the moment, although I expect scenes and wallpapers to follow shortly.
HTC Hub. You won't use this app very often.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-79-htchub1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-80-htchub2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-81-htchub3.png][/lightbox]
'Locations' is HTC's navigation application, which is built on Route66 (now owned by TomTom). 30 days of free Premium Navigation is included (on-board - the maps are stored on your device) and you can also use the application to record your favourite places using the 'Footprints' feature. In my experience while the integration of Locations is nice, Google Maps Navigation is of course a great free off-board solution while Co-Pilot is probably a better off-board alternative. Premium access for the UK in Locations costs £3.99 for 30 days, £17.49 for 1 year and £26.99 for unlimited. Traffic and Safety Cameras are also additional paid options, with 1 year of Safety Cameras priced at £5.49.
Locations startup, map view, POIs (quite useful) and purchase options.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-82-locations1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-84-locations3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-85-locations4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-86-locations5.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-87-locations6.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-88-locations7.png][/lightbox]
The 'Mirror' application is exactly what it sounds like - it lets you use the front facing camera to check you look beautiful. :)
Stop scoping yourself out dude!
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-89-mirror1.png][/lightbox]
An inbuilt 'Movie Editor' creates ready to share masterpieces on your device. You can choose from a limited number of themes (Birthday, Formal, Travel) and add up to 50 items, which can be either photos or videos. You can specify background music at a volume of your choice but, well, that's it! Simple but ultimately of limited use. The resulting footage can be saved at 360p, 540p or 720p resolution. Be aware that processing the video to 720p on device can take quite some time. Although the movie editor doesn't allow you to edit videos, this can be carried out in the gallery as mentioned previously. Again, if you felt the stock ICS Movie Editor was more to your taste, installation alongside the HTC version is straightforward.
Choosing a theme, inserting a video and sharing the finished result in the Movie Editor.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-90-movie1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-91-movie2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-92-movie3.png][/lightbox]
The 'Notes' application, which first debuted on the HTC Flyer, is - as you'd expect - a note taking application that syncs to the Evernote service. Notes can be sorted into multiple notebooks and can take the form of inputted text, sound recordings, drawn pictures or camera photos. Notes can be printed or shared directly from the application and also have calendar entries attached. I'm not a big Evernote user myself, but the online sync option does make it a compelling solution for taking quick notes!
The Notes application showing the introduction, sync options and freehand drawing.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-93-notes1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-94-notes2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-95-notes3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-96-notes4.png][/lightbox]
The 'PDF Viewer' on the One X is separate from the 'Polaris Office' application, both of which integrate with 'HTC Files' for viewing local files or files from Dropbox / Skydrive. Word / Excel / PowerPoint documents can be created on device and saved either locally or to Dropbox. I find Polaris Office OK, but if you require Google Docs integration or more advanced features there's almost certainly a better solution for you on the Play Store.
'Show Me' is a collection of how-tos to help users get the most out of their device. It is extremely comprehensive!
'SoundHound' is the music identification tool that integrates with the FM Radio and Music applications. The free version is included, however if you own the premium version and install that (disabling the free version) the integration still works correctly.
The My Files view from where you can also create a document and the built in how-to guides which are downloaded on demand.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-97-files.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-98-polaris1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-99-polaris2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-100-howtos1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-101-howtos2.png][/lightbox]
'Stocks' is HTC's stock tracking application, which is powered by Yahoo Finance. A custom list of stock tickers can be tracked and refreshed at a user-defined interval. As mentioned previously, the stocks application integrates with one of the custom lock screen options (homescreen widgets are also included).
'Task Manager' allows you to view and terminate currently running applications as well as viewing used / free memory. You can also choose to have the application alert you when free memory falls below a certain level (the default setting is 10MB). We all know you don't need a Task Manager though right? ;-)
'Tasks' on the other hand you may well need. It is, as the name suggests, a Tasks application. I have to be honest and say I didn't expect much from this application, but it actually integrates with Google Tasks (or HoTMaiL if you have it configured) and is quite slick. Tasks can be viewed in a list that can be filtered based on due date or priority and added with all the fields you would expect. The application also includes some basic functionality around assigning tasks to a particular location, however this is only accessible when creating tasks locally on the device as Google Tasks does not support this functionality.
Stocks, Task Manager with the settings screen for alerting when low on memory, the Tasks app, task sync and task priorities.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-102-stocks.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-103-taskmanager1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-104-taskmanager2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-105-tasks1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-106-tasks2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-107-tasks3.png][/lightbox]
'Teeter' is the long-standing HTC game of 'rolling a ball bearing around a maze', updated with HD graphics. Simple but quite fun!
It's a-MAZE-ing. Groan.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-108-teeter.png][/lightbox]
The 'Transfer' application allows users to bring SMS and calendar data from their old phone to the One X via Bluetooth (depending on their previous phone's capabilities).
'TuneIn Radio' is an Internet radio application that integrates with the Car and Music applications. Again, the free version is included but if you own the premium version and install that (disabling the free version) the integration still works correctly.
'Voice Recorder' is a very simple voice recording application.
'Watch' is HTC's movie store application. At the time of writing, all of the top 10 movies are priced at £9.99 to buy and £3.49 to rent, and can be played either on the device or via the MHL port to a HDMI equipped TV. This should also be available wirelessly to the Media Link HD accessory. I'm going to confess to not having splashed the cash to test this feature!
The Transfer application and the Watch application in action.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-109-transfer1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-110-transfer2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-116-watch1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-117-watch2.png][/lightbox]
Finally we have the 'Weather' application. Powered by Accuweather, the application provides now, hourly and 4-day weather forecasts for worldwide cities of your choosing. It also provides the weather integration across the device such as lock screen, home screen widgets and calendar. The weather features are actually more 'low key' in Sense 4.0... I think perhaps HTC realised they were getting a bit carried away with their weather obsession! :D
Weather might be a little lower key out of the box than on previous HTC devices, but it's still fully featured!
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-112-weather1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-113-weather2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-114-weather3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-115-weather4.png][/lightbox]
And that just about sums up the software in the device. Of course, the Google experience (GMS) applications are also included... Gmail, Google+, Google Maps, Google News & Weather (Genie), Play Books, Play Movies and Play Store (yes, it's Play Store out of the box), Talk and YouTube. Twitter and Facebook are also preloaded.
It's something of a given that not all the preinstalled software will be used by everyone and over the years the term 'bloat' has been coined for this. Really, it refers more to software carriers load for commercial reasons, but rightly or wrongly it's something HTC have taken grief for.
The One X doesn't really have any bloat (in my opinion), but there are a few apps people might not want and thankfully, there's a solution.
With the advent of Ice Cream Sandwich came a user interface option in the apps menu labelled 'Disable'. The functionality behind this wasn't new, the concept of disabling packages has always been there, but up until now the user had no access to it. What disabling packages does is leave them installed but completely disable them. They don't appear in the launcher, they don't run, they're just there. This is quite a nice solution as there's no irreversible changes being made to the device (they come back after a factory reset) and in addition the user is still notified if the application is updated in the Play Store after which they may choose to give the application another try.
On some devices that have shipped with ICS already (the Transformer Prime being one example) we've seen that a lot of the preinstalled software can't be disabled, but thankfully on the One X that is not the case. Don't want the official Twitter app? Disable it (I have). Own the premium versions of SoundHound and TuneIn Radio? Disable the free ones (I have). Don't use that wonderful FM radio? Disable it (I've not). And so on. It works great, and whether it's a deliberate inclusion by HTC or happy consequence of the move to ICS, we should be thankful! :)
Using the ICS stock app settings menu to disable applications.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-118-disable1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-119-disable2.png][/lightbox]
Before I talk about the overall experience of using the device, I'm going to focus on the camera, as it's one of the key features of the phone.
There's no doubt the specs tick the right boxes - an 8 megapixel camera with auto focus, smart LED flash, BSI sensor (for better low-light captures), F2.0 aperture, 28mm lens, 1080p HD video recording and a dedicated 'ImageSense' imaging chip - capture a photo in the midst of recording HD video, capture multiple snapshots in continuous shooting mode, auto flash smartly determined by distance from your subject, video stabilisation and high quality slow motion video capture and playback. Phew!
It's no surprise that the camera app looks great and is packed with features. A single initial view is presented for either video or photo capture which is launched by the shortcut icon on the lock screen or home screen / launcher. I'm pretty disappointed that on a phone touting it's camera credentials there's no dedicated camera button but there you go!
2 buttons on the right allow you to either snap a picture or start a video, an image below the buttons previews your latest shot and takes you to the gallery, while a blue 'blob' at the top allows you to choose live effects. The effects are pretty neat - effects include distortion, vignette, depth of field and dots as well as the more common ones like sepia, rescale negative etc. Each of the effects also has a slider to customise the level of the effect... it's pretty neat. On the bottom of the screen is a finger slider for digital zoom while the left of the screen has a toggle flash button at the top, the main settings button and the mode button at the bottom.
[lightboxhttp://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-121-camera1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-122-camera2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-123-camera3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-124-camera4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-125-camera5.png][/lightbox]
Touching the screen anywhere tells the camera to focus on that point, which it does, very quickly indeed!
Tapping the flash button toggles between auto, on and off modes. Tapping the mode button allows you to choose between slow motion video, auto, HDR, panorama, portrait, group portrait, landscape, whiteboard, close up and low light modes. It's worth noting that if you select the slow motion video option you'll be recording at a 768x432 resolution, not full HD (even though the settings UI suggests you are still set to full HD).
[lightboxhttp://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-126-camera6.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-127-camera7.png][/lightbox]
The settings menu allows you to switch between the front and rear cameras, set the self timer between off, 2 seconds and 10 seconds, set the image resolution to 8M, 5M, 3M, 1M or VGA, set the video resolution to Full HD, HD, High (VGA), Low (QVGA) or MMS (176x144), set a review duration from off, 3 seconds, 5 seconds and no limit (the default is off), adjust exposure, contrast, saturation and sharpness, set the ISO level to 100, 200, 400 or 800, set the white balance to Auto, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight or Cloudy, enable continuous shooting, toggle face detection, toggle auto smile capture, widescreen or 4:3 resolution and geotagging (for photos), toggle stabilisation, toggle audio and stereo recording (for videos), toggle the grid and shutter sound and toggle auto Dropbox upload. So there's no shortage of options!
[lightboxhttp://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-128-camera8.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-129-camera9.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-130-camera10.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-131-camera11.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-132-camera12.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-133-camera13.png][/lightbox]
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-135-camera15.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-136-camera16.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-137-camera17.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-138-camera18.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/xscreen-139-camera19.png][/lightbox]
The camera launches extremely fast and the application is extremely responsive. The speed with which the device focuses and takes pictures is INSANE. Even faster than the Galaxy Nexus... and that's fast!
Judging picture quality is always somewhat subjective, so in the camera samples below I have included a number of pictures taken with the One X alongside the same picture taken with the Sony Xperia S so that you can judge for yourselves. I've found the pictures to look good overall (excellent colour reproduction, well focused etc.) but with a slight lack of detail and some oversaturation when viewed at full resolution.
The caveat I have to insert here HTC tell me there are still some software tweaks to follow that will further improve the pictures, but I have to say that while doesn't necessarily set a new benchmark for picture quality (as yet), it is good and the speed is incredible. Did I mention the speed?
The biggest problem I have with phone cameras really isn't that the picture quality isn't good enough (although that can be the case), it's that they take too long to focus, too long to take the shot and the convenience of having a camera right there with you is virtually lost. The camera on the One X does get around this. As I mentioned above, for the sample pictures i've been walking around with the One X and the Sony Xperia S and taking pictures of the same subject at exactly the same time (pressing the shutter buttons at exactly the same time with one phone in each hand). Here's one picture I took of the cat... speed really is everything!
The cat really is more lazy than it appears in the second picture.
The included visual effects are smart (in real time and at full resolution) and the features like face detection work well.
With regards to video, I have again posted a sample below, but I found that for most videos I took I got better results with image stabilisation off. Unless you are planning to try and keep the camera still while recording (e.g. at a sports event perhaps) or pan along 1 plane, then I'd probably recommend you do the same. One nice feature of the One series is that, thanks to the ImageSense chip, the camera can take full 8MP stills while recording video with no detriment to the video itself. This is a cool feature and works well!
I really like the One X camera, even if the image quality isn't quite as stellar at full resolution as i'd perhaps dreamed. :D
In use
OK, so that's specifics... let's talk about what the One X is like as a day-to-day device.
As a piece of hardware it's pretty unusual. It's polycarbonate body with matte covering feels different in the hand to what I've had before and as mentioned already, its design makes it feel thinner in the hand that it really is. The device is pretty logically laid out for me. Although I prefer microUSB slots on the bottom of the device at least it doesn't have a silly rubber flap or anything like that. The power button is well placed and offers decent feedback, likewise with the volume buttons, which I prefer to be on the right hand side of a device. The power button does take a little bit of getting used to due to the way the top of the device slopes down slightly, it doesn't quite 'feel' like you expect at first. The microphones are perfectly placed for stereo video recording and the microSIM slot isn't really any bother (don't lose that pin!). The speaker on the back could probably be better placed for me... I find that when gaming it gets covered by my hand (like the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S II), I guess a speaker half way up the back cover isn't a viable design option though! The LED notification in the speaker grille on the front is kinda tiny and I'm a little bit disappointed that it's not RGB. 3.5mm socket on the top? The only place for it in my opinion!
The capacitive buttons on the front are very responsive to the touch. They have a white backlight that only comes on in dark environments, and they are always 'portrait orientated' - I wonder why the innovative rotating buttons setup on the HTC Incredible S was never adopted for other devices? While the capacitive buttons leave the entire screen available for your content, there is a downside and that comes in the form of applications that were created for pre-Ice Cream Sandwich Android and require a menu button. With no menu hardware button, a software version appears at the bottom of the screen and takes up a fair bit of space (as shown here). This will become less of an issue as apps migrate to the 'new world', but initially at least its a little bit annoying.
I think you'll find yourself seeking out 'ICS ready' apps more on the One X!
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/menubuttononex.jpg][/lightbox]
The screen on the One X is stunning. When I first saw the device it blew me away and when I switch back to my Galaxy Nexus from it now it makes the Nexus look like the worst screen in the world. The screen is almost Lumia 800 like in how the image feels like it's painted on the surface of the phone with fantastic brightness and wonderful clarity. The screen is set to auto brightness by default and it's very effective and completely unobtrusive. Its gradual change of the brightness is so subtle that I had wondered if it even worked at all. I think it does. :)
The sound on the device using the inbuilt speaker is a pleasant surprise. It's louder than many deivces, but of course very limited when it comes to bass. Output to the headphones sounds good, although I have a tendency to avoid Beats EQ and Beats phones. The 'Beats' audio enhancements work with all headphones, not just Beats headphones it seems. The loud on-board speaker of course extends to speakerphone calls, which are loud and clear.
Phone calls on the device are again of excellent quality and volume, in contrast to some devices of late, which have been criticised for their low call volume. The noise cancelling system resulted in callers being impressed with the call quality from their end.
Phone reception is a another thing that is hard to quantify as it will very much depend on your network, what signal is like in your area etc. but for me, I've found the One X to have excellent reception. Its polycarbonate body should definitely lend itself to good radio performance and I've found that to be the case, both on the mobile network and on WiFi, where the One X outperforms any of the other devices I currently own!
You may have spotted in the specifications that the One X features Bluetooth 4.0 LE with AptX support - this is good news. Bluetooth 4.0 LE is a low power Bluetooth specification that should rid the technology of its power hungry nature. Although Bluetooth 4.0 devices are currently very limited in numbers, Casio's Bluetooth 4.0 equipped G-Shock watch which displays notifications from your device (only available in Japan currently!) has a 2 year battery life with a single CR2032 battery! AptX is great news for audiophiles, allowing Bluetooth audio with lossless playback in contrast to the rather over-compressed A2DP standard. Sadly I own neither a Bluetooth 4.0 device nor an AptX device to give you real world feedback!
With a quad core Tegra 3 processor on board, you would expect the One X to be super smooth in operation - and it is. There is zero lag when using the device, heavyweight games run perfectly and there's little that can trouble the device. This smoothness in operation of course extends to all HTC's inbuilt apps and is another reason why perhaps the accusation of bloat that has been levelled in the past doesn't apply any more.... I can't really think of anything that is more troublesome or slower to do on the One X than a 'vanilla' device.
One of the downsides of Ice Cream Sandwich is that, with its one contiguous on-board memory, there is no option to connect this to your computer as good old 'mass storage'. The One X gets around this by partition it's memory in two blocks - the old style '/data' partition which comes in at 2.11GB (where your apps and data go if you don't 'move to SD') and the virtual / sdcard partition totalling 25.24GB, which can be accessed via mass storage! Personally, I can't decide whether it's better to have that one big space and be limited to MTP or to have this solution... but for people wanting to easily drop content on their device, mass storage is definitely a big plus.
Battery Life
Nvidia have stated that Tegra3 has been designed to use as little power as possible when in standby by virtue of it's '+1' core and this matches what i'm seeing on the One X. It positively sips juice when sitting idle - using less than most devices i've ever used, potentially leading to extremely long standby times.
Of course, once you start using the device and harnessing the quad core CPU the battery takes a hit, although in line with what we're used to for high end phones. It's early days for me as I condition the battery and i've been using the phone a lot preparing for the review, but it seems as though the battery on the One X will outperform my Galaxy Nexus.
I also feel like with some clever tweaking there's great potential for making the battery life even better (i'll elaborate on this in due course!)
Watch this space for future updates.
Is the HTC One X a triumphant return to form for HTC? All things considered... I would have to say yes, it's a fantastic phone!
The One X packs cutting edge hardware and software that strikes an excellent balance between the best of stock Android and HTC's own enhancements. Oh and that lightning fast camera is just the icing on the cake.
What is also interesting is competition from within HTC's own portfolio - the One S looks also to be an impressive phone and more perhaps suited to those who prefer the 4.3" screen size. Stay tuned for our review very soon!
This is my new favourite phone... but there is that elephant in the corner... the impending Galaxy S III. The One X sits at the top of the Android tree, but for how long...?
Pros and Cons
- Great specs
- Awesome screen
- Speedy, smooth operation
- Superfast camera
- Sense done right
- Unlockable bootloader
[*]It's still a big phone
[*]Battery life is an unknown
[*]There will be phones that take better pictures (slower)
[*]No microSD
[*]Fixed battery
[*]The Galaxy S III is coming and might be better
Roots and ROMs
The HTC One X is supported at launch for bootloader unlocking via the HTC Dev site. While solutions are in development (by me and others) for rooting the retail devices, they are not available as yet.
The One X is certain to be very well supported by ROM developers.
The particular device I am using seems to have an issue with 'fastboot boot'ing images, which I have reported to - and am working through with - HTCdev at the moment, I will update in due course.
Bugs and issues
I have found some bugs in the ROM release tested, namely a couple of typos and an issue with the initial orientation sensing on the Camera application.
Have Your Say
Do you have a HTC One X? Do you agree / disagree with my review? Post below!
The One X front top, camera, rear branding and with the good old G1. Click to zoom.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onextopfronton.jpg][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexcamera.jpg][/lightbox]
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexbottomback.jpb][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexg1right.jpg][/lightbox]
The One X sized up against the Galaxy Nexus (standard battery). Click to zoom.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexgntop.jpg][/lightbox]
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexgnleft.jpg][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexgnright.jpg][/lightbox]
The Sensation XE joins the party! Click to zoom.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexgnxetop.jpg][/lightbox]
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexgnxleft.jpg][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexgnxeright.jpg][/lightbox]
The Xperia S joins the party! Click to zoom.
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexgnxestop.jpg][/lightbox]
[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexgnxesleft.jpg][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/onexgnxesright.jpg][/lightbox]
Camera Samples
I have included a selection of camera samples below. The samples are taken on the HTC One X and on the Sony Xperia S, both completely stock latest ROMs with default settings, by pointing both devices at the subject and pressing the shutter at the exact same moment. You can click on any image for the full version.
HTC One X
Sony Xperia S
Video Walkthrough
- Great specs


text:
Zulily is one of my favorite places to shop.
This is my find of the day: Silly Souls baby clothing up to 55% OFF! They are created to inspire laughter and highlight the sunny, funny side of parenthood and the silliness of every baby. Look how cute! All under $10!
Looks like they are selling out fast (The ones that say All Gone are sold out). SO HURRY! Go here now.


text:
by Walter Fox
Rudy Miles, 78, of Chestnut Hill, a retired physical education teacher and a former All-City athlete in football and basketball, died of cancer Dec. 19 at Holy Redeemer Hospice in Meadowbrook.
Mr. Miles retired in 1988 after more than three decades as a physical education teacher to students with learning disabilities and behavior challenges in the Philadelphia public schools. He also coached these students in track, volleyball and gymnastics, producing several championship teams. For his work he received a distinguished service award from the school district.
After graduation from Central State University in Ohio in 1956, Mr. Miles, who played on All-City teams in 1949 and 1950 at Dobbins Technical School, was recruited by the San Francisco Giants to play on a minor league team in New Mexico, but turned down the offer when he realized it would require relocation and delay his impending marriage.
When Mr. Miles and his family moved to Chestnut Hill in 1935, they were one of only a few black families living in the community. Reflecting on this time in an interview with the Chestnut Hill Local several years ago, he recalled that his family was "embraced by the Italians and the Irish in the neighborhood." His mother, Bessie Miles, worked in the bakery at the Chestnut Hill Community Center.
Mr. Miles attended J.S. Jenks Elementary School and played football, baseball and basketball at the Water Tower Recreation Center, where Mike Giantisco, then the center's supervisor, became his mentor and teacher.
Giantisco, according to Mr. Miles, was responsible for getting him on the Henry Houston American Legion Post baseball team. Even though the team was ambivalent about having a black player, Mr. Miles became captain of the team.
During his teaching career, he played baseball for semi-pro teams, eventually becoming player/manager for a Penn-Del League team, but gave up baseball when his daughters were born. He continued to mentor many young athletes through the years.
Mr. Miles shared his experience of growing up black in a community that was rich in other cultures through oral history, photographs and documents with the Chestnut Hill Historical Society.
Mr. Miles also had been a member of the Boy Scout Troop at St. Barnabas' Church in Germantown and had achieved the rank of Life Scout.
He is survived by three daughters, Vicki Miles, Cindy Parris and Kim Boddy; four grandchildren, and his former wife, Sylvia W. Miles.
Graveside services were held Dec. 23 at Fairview Cemetery, Willow Grove.


text:
Drama, mild comedy, phantasmagorical visuals and ACTION!
The SUPERMAN movie of 1978 had at its tagline, "You will believe a man can fly!"
For the DOCTOR STRANGE 2016 film, the tagline is "Infinite Impossibilities" (but it should be "You will believe a selfish jerk neurosurgeon can totally wreck himself in a horrific, high-speed car crash, fall to ruin, slowly try and fail to build himself back up, STILL be a jerk, meet a mystic guru, be a jerk to HER, get his head set straight, learn of a broader reality – realities… begin to think of others besides himself, and fight to defend our reality from those who would tear open the walls between dimensions by opposing them using his mystical abilities to harness the forces of creation to warp the very fabric of time and space (while wearing a semi-sentient Cloak of fabric, btw)" – but THAT would be a bit hard to fit onto the posters.
Having been in a state of mild urgent, near-panic all day (should I leave early from work?, should I even go in at all, and just camp out at the theatre? Will I get a seat?) I ended up going in to work super-early and leaving at 4pm, arriving at the theatre three hours early for the 7pm show time at the Regal UA Westbury Theatre Stadium 12 & IMAX at 7000 Brush Hollow Rd., Westbury, NY 11590. I was the first on line (ok, tied for first with a mother and her teenage son) and I was joined before long with fans of varying age and experience. Most of us joined in conversation, ranging from the recent New York ComicCon, Doctor Strange merchandise and, of course, the comics.
Let me say that I wasn't even supposed to BE at work that day. I normally telecommute on Monday's from my home in PA, but I made sure to come in – not because I had a lot of work to get to, or meetings that I needed to attend (both were true, and, because I'm a professional, I made sure to be there to do those things as well, but). No. I made sure to come in to work PRIMARILY to attend this showing, as there were no theatres near my home that were screening this event.
Dedication, people. Dedication.
We filed into the theatre and a huge photo of Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange was looming large on the screen; an advertisement for a snapchat filter.
(This was pretty SUPREME sized, I must say.)
(or, as the kids say; "he big")
(snapchat filter)
At the VERY least, Benedict Cumberbatch is a better choice then Cammeron Powell; HIS mustache is too short. **
** If you don't get THIS reference, then hang up your cloak and hit the books. You're not yet ready to call yourself a true Doctor Strange fan.


text:
A drive down Piney Mountain Church Road felt like home. The curvy road is nestled in the small town of Ellenboro. Homes take in the view of rolling hills and farm land.
Rows of trees stand behind the few homes between 301 and 423 Piney Mountain Church Road.
Now, leftover damage lies within the same landscape. Ripped bark and snapped trees rest against those still standing. Some homes appear different.
An EF2 tornado ransacked parts of Ellenboro during the early evening of Jan. 11, 2012. The same storm continued into Burke and Caldwell counties, leaving a path of damage unprecedented in North Carolina�s winter season, according to the National Weather Service Forecast.
At least 20 people were injured in the storm. The National Weather Service reported more than 40 tornadoes during January 2012, stretching from Texas to as far as Ohio. Although no local deaths were reported, lives changed for families who lost their homes on the stretch of road.
2012 formed into a year of recovery for four local children, a married couple of 54 years and their grandson.
They survived the Ellenboro tornado.
The Children at 301 Piney Mountain Church Road
They bounced on the trampoline as they giggled under a cloudy sky. Harmony Owens, 8, flipped and smiled midair. Her siblings, Faith, 6, and twins Noah and Charity, 3, smiled carefree at a home on Crawley Gin Road in Lattimore.
Harmony did a quick run before landing on her feet after a front flip. Faith scurried around the yard trying to catch the pet Pot-bellied pig, Rootie Tootie.
That Wednesday afternoon was different from last year.
Faith remembers watching the sitcom �My Name is Earl.� Then, the storm hit.
They walked through the rubble of their shredded home. Red scratches marked Noah�s cheek and his eye left swollen. A TV landed on his face.
�I don�t remember being picked up,� Harmony said. �It�s like I was sleeping.�
The tornado destroyed their home on Piney Mountain Church Road. Their mother, Samantha Owens, and grandmother, Shirley, were with them.
The trailer�s roof was upside down. Owens previously told The Star she opened her eyes after the tornado passed to find her children crying, trying to find their way to her.
�It was a horrific moment in their lives. They�re going to remember that,� Dwayne Lovelace said. He and his wife Amy take care of the twins.
Angie McCraw, a family friend, said she and the Lovelaces headed to church after the storm.
�We prayed immediately. We were shedding tears. All that mattered was making sure they were OK,� she said.
Harmony and Faith have stayed with McCraw since June 2012. Securing a permanent home for the family is still in progress.
The ordeal brought on emotional trauma.
For months after the tornado, nervousness and panic consumed the four children whenever clouds darkened and rain fell.
�Noah would beg me to get him somewhere safe when it rained. Charity would hug herself and asks if they�ll be OK,� Dwayne said. �My heart sinks that they went through that.�
Faith showed how she kept from hearing sounds of howling wind and pounding rain: she placed one finger in each of her ears.
Many stormy nights, Angie found herself awoken by Harmony and Faith.
�I felt scared. I would run to Angie and say, 'Wake up!'� Harmony said. �I�d tell her I�m sad, mad, grumpy and angry about lightning.�
The storm passes over
Angie cradled Harmony and Faith on her lap inside Crawley Gin Road home. The girls smiled shyly, hiding their faces under their hands. They rocked back and forth on the family couch. They sang:
�Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.�
They learned the song, �Till the Storm Passes By,� at Heaven Bound Baptist Church in Ellenboro.
�It comforts me (and them) when I think of storms. The kids were a miracle to make it through that,� McCraw said. �I�m thankful God put them in my life.�
Since the storm, Harmony and Faith see a therapist weekly to help them cope. Both girls attend Springmore Elementary in Boiling Springs. Both are cheerleaders. They rustled their pom-poms as they cheered. McCraw, Dwayne and Amy looked on with smiles.
The siblings rushed out of the home and hopped on the trampoline. Noah adjusted his footing before bouncing high with Harmony and Faith. Harmony asked if she could do a front flip.
The husband, wife and grandson
A trailer sat at 395 Piney Mountain Church Road. Trees and an open land created the backyard. Byron Cole grew up in the trailer there for nearly 30 years. Next door, his grandparents lived in an L-shaped home on top of a slab of concrete. It was the fixture on Harold and Barbara Henderson�s four acres of land they owned.
Memories created and shared from both homes ended Jan. 11, 2012.
The tornado leveled Cole�s trailer. Only a brick porch remained. The tornado shredded the Hendersons� living room a few feet away. The home�s roof and a bedroom wall collapsed on the couple.
They relived that day as they sat across from each other Thursday.
More than 40 years gone in one day
Harold and Barbara sat cozily in two leather arm chairs.
They�ve been married 54 years. They lived on Piney Mountain Church Road for more than 40 years.
Harold watched the news the evening of the tornado. His wife, a diabetic, rested in her bedroom in the rear of their home.
�I saw on the news a bad thunderstorm was coming,� Harold said.
He rushed to his wife, trying to put her shoes on. The sounds of more than one freight train neared, Harold described, as the tornado made landfall.
�I tried to cover her,� he said.
Seconds later, the ceiling collapsed. A wall faltered.
�When the ceiling came down, I hollered, �God help us,�� Barbara remembered.
Harold struggled to free his wife. Then, he heard cries for help yards away.
�I was torn between two places,� Harold admitted. �But I had to get her out.�
It was his grandson.
A family home no more
Cole readied for a church service inside his trailer Jan. 11, 2011. He just finished his route as a bus driver for Rutherford County Schools.
He remembers standing in his living room. The walls of his trailer shook.
�I didn�t hear the tornado. Then, it hit. I blacked out,� Cole said.
He doesn�t remember the tornado whisking him away.
He woke up more than 70 feet in his backyard. His trailer demolished. He tried to move. A broken right femur kept him down. Then, hail trickled down from the stormy clouds. Harold heard his cry for help.
�I yelled for help. My uncle covered me with his body from the hail,� Cole said, referring to David Henderson who lives next door.
The tornado showered debris around him. His Compact laptop computer rested underneath his head.
Doctors at Mission Health Hospital in Asheville repaired Cole�s broken leg. He was wheelchair bound for months during recovery.
When Cole returned to Ellenboro, he saw what became of his childhood home. A vacant lot. Only a brick porch remained.
�It�s where I grew up. I was born and raised in that house. It was sad,� he said.
�God brought us out�
Cole, Barbara and Harold sat across from each other Thursday afternoon. Shelves, a TV and pictures hung from the wooden living room walls.
A family picture of children, grandchildren and relatives hung between where Harold and Barbara sat.
All three sat inside the Hendersons� new home fixed with a two-car garage, back porch and a washer set. Cole�s new trailer could be seen through the couple�s backroom window.
Both homes were donated by volunteers.
The gesture brings Harold, a retired cotton mill worker, to tears.
�I�ve never taken a handout in my life. At first I told them no,� Harold said about building the home. �I�ve cried. It makes you have a different look at mankind.�
The Hendersons� new home rests on top of the same concrete slab their former house rested on. Volunteers worked every weekend for nearly six months to build the home. Harold said nearby churches fed volunteers hearty meals during their tireless work.
�My daughter asked me why I haven�t cried (about the house) and I told her, �I�m too blessed to cry,�� Barbara said. �Because God lives is the reason we�re here now.�
Cole moved into his new trailer last June. The donation came with full home furnishings.
�This made me feel good and loved,� he said.
The wind moved swiftly as the Hendersons and Cole walked outside. Sun rays peeked from behind clouds.
A sign in the Hendersons� front yard moved with the wind�s motion. A message etched across the metal plate:
This is the house that God built with love.
�It was an act of nature and God brought us out. He deserves all the credit,� Harold said.
Reach reporter Alicia Banks at 704-669-3338, email at email@example.com and follow on Twitter @TheStarAlicia.


text:
call about
call about (something)
To call someone by phone to discuss a particular person or topic. A noun or pronoun can be used between "call" and "about." Hi, I'm calling about the ad I saw in the paper. I have no idea why the street is closed, but I'll call Laura about it—she knows everything that goes on in this town.
See also: call
call someone about something
to call someone on the telephone, seeking information about someone or something. I'll call Maggie about Ted and see what she knows. Let me call the manager about this.
See also: call


text:
"By turns funny and poignant. . . . Conjures serious emotions with grace, humor and gravity." –San Francisco Chronicle
"Funny and tender . . . Nissen is a perceptive writer with a wry sensibility."–Chicago Tribune
"Light-hearted but not 'lite,' sweet-natured but never sentimental." –TheBaltimore Sun
"A delightful novel . . . Aptly incorporates all of the sizzle, sorrow, and sporadic elation that a screwed-up family encounter. Nissen has spun an enticing story one wants to lap up whole." –The Boston Phoenix


text:
This guest blog post comes to us from our very own Heidi Blair, Producer Services Asisistant at Fair Trade USA.
This past July, 10 delegates from several Haitian coffee cooperatives traveled to the Peruvian highlands for a two week quality training workshop, hosted by CECOVASA (Central de Cooperativas Agrarias Cafetaleras de los Valles de Sandia), a Fair Trade Certified coffee cooperative. CECOVASA, founded in 1970, unites over 5,000 producers in the Puno region of southern Peru and is renowned for its high quality coffee, having won the National Quality Coffee Competition in Peru for 5 of the past 8 years.
The Haitian visitors, a team dedicated to improving the coffee quality of the 8,000 producers they represent, traveled as part of an initiative to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of their organizations by learning how to improve the production of their coffee plants and the quality of their beans.
When the French development non-profit Agronomists & Veterinarians Without Frontiers(AVSF) approached CECOVASA with the idea of an exchange program, they responded enthusiastically. "Our Haitian comrades came to learn and also tell us about their work," reflected Esteban Espinoza, CECOVASA's President. "The sixth principle of the International Cooperative Alliance is collaboration between cooperatives, and we have a unique experience to share after more than four decades as an organization focusing on production, quality, and the marketing of our product."
CEVOCASA was equipped to host this type of training program thanks to their Fair Trade community development premiums, which have enabled them to hone their cultivation and processing techniques to produce coffee of an exceptional caliber. These wise investments in quality initiatives have helped them to earn a higher price, build a reputation of respect and admiration in the industry, and now serve as a mentor for younger organizations.
Tibed Yujra Añamuro, CECOVASA's licensed cupper, led the workshops, which focused on deepening the Haitian's knowledge of protocols and criteria for specialty coffee cupping, the process of evaluating coffee based on internationally accepted techniques and standards. For a cooperative, having an experienced cupper is a great advantage: it allows them to determine the best production methods for farms and helps elevate them to a more equal playing field when communicating with international clients.
At the end of the trip, Haitian participant Francois Luxama commented that in addition to all they learned about quality and production, "We've seen more than just coffee. We've seen how CECOVASA members work. They carry coffee on their backs because vehicles can't reach their farms. As small producers, we admire them. They're very united."
The producers of CECOVASA and the delegates from Haitian coffee farms are examples of the ethical, sustainable and cooperative power of Fair Trade. By coming together with the help of financing from Fair Trade community development premiums, ideas can be shared, quality can be improved, and sustainability can be achieved.
We are excited to be able to share this inspiring story about the impact of Fair Trade and this unique exchange—one of coffee and cultures!
Vistas: 99


text:
- Code: Select all
class Resource
Users of the package would then code as either:
- Code: Select all
from Ecere import *
x = Resource.Resource()
- Code: Select all
from Ecere.Resource import *
x = Resource()
I know the first example feels a bit redundant, and I'm no expert. Take a look at packages already installed on your system to see what the common idiom is. But generally, it's lots of smaller files possibly nested in subdirectories, rather than one honkin' huge monolith with every class in it.


text:
Posted by Editoress on 06/22/12
Canada's Olympic team finished 1-2-3 on Friday in the women's road race at the national road championships in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. Denise Ramsden (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies), outsprinted Clara Hughes (Specialized-lululemon) to win the title, after the two broke away from the lead group with 30 kilometres remaining in the 107 kilometre race. Joelle Numainville (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) won the group sprint for third, two minutes and 20 seconds behind. All three riders were named Friday to represent Canada at the London Games next month.
Hughes, Ramsden, Numainville
The race took the riders on an almost 40 kilometre run from Lac-Megantic, through rolling terrain, to the 14 kilometre loop that they rode twice. Dominating the circuit was the two-plus kilometre climb up Mont Morne.
Attacks began almost immediately after the neutral zone ended on the outskirts of town, but the first serious one occurred roughly 15 kilometres into the race, when Julie Beveridge (Equipe Vienne Futuroscope) and Jasmin Glaesser (Cycling BC) broke clear. these two went 45 seconds clear and there was an immediate reaction from the rest of the favourites, which split the field. However, the peloton soon came back together and rode into the first ascent of Mont Morne with only two riders off the front - Jenny Lehmann (Trek Red Truck) and Joanie Caron (Colavita-ESPN).
The duo crested the climb in the lead, as the rest of the field gradually falling off the pace set by Hughes at the front of the bunch. Sitting down for the climb, Hughes revealed afterwards that she spun it in a 39x27 - a far cry from the 42x23 she rode 20 years ago when she won the national title.
Before the start of the second climb, the bunch was mostly back together, with only Lehmann still away. Veronique Labonte (CSM Epinay sue Seine) bridged up, and again Hughes led the splintering field, with Ramsden beside her. Defending champion Veronique Fortin (Tibco to the Top), a great climber, started the climb with Hughes, but then fell back, appearing to struggle with cramps, and was no longer a factor.
Labonte and Lehmann second time up the climb
Over the top, a much smaller group came back together, absorbing the leaders and, as they finished the second lap and headed back towards Lac-Megantic, Hughes, Ramsden and Numainville took tunrs launching attacks on the remaining eight riders at the front.
"There were a lot of attacks," explained Ramsden, "but nobody could get away. So when everyone sat up for a moment I attacked and got a gap. Then Clara bridged up to me and set the pace. Clara is so strong that I tried to help when I could, but she was doing most of the work."
"Denise attacked," agreed Hughes, "and I bridged across and then just drilled it. Denise didn't help for a while (due to Numainville behind), but then her team car came up and I ask if she could help, and she did after that."
Ramsden and Hughes go clear
The pair took ten seconds quickly over a chase group containing Numainville, Glaesser, Rhae Shaw (Exergy Twenty12), Beveridge and Labonte. Then it stalled at around 15 seconds until Glaesser dropped her chain on a climb, had to get technical assistance and chase back up. the others didn't seem to have the power without Glaesser who, immediately upon rejoining the group, went to the front.
But the damage was done, as the lead pair went a minute clear and finally over two minutes as the race entered town. After going up the main street, the riders had to negotiate a chicane turn 300 metres from the finish, and this is where Ramsden made the winning move.
Ramsden sprints
"In the finish, I knew that I had to be first going into that chicane - Joelle and I had talked about it earlier," explained Ramsden. "That was my plan, to stick behind her and wait until right before that last corner. I was able to jump away and sprint that last 300 metres. It's been an incredible two days, with the Olympics and now this, I don't think it has really sunk in yet."
Note: We have video interviews with both Denise and Clara that will go up shortly.


text:
You're currently browsing as a guest so please sign up now and join in on the free, friendly, and informative SiriusXM discussions.
All you have to do is simply register, check your email, verify your account, and post away. Did we mention membership is free?
Best of all, registered users will never see this message or advertisement ever again!
Sounds like too much work? You can login right now with one simple click of the Facebook Connect button above.
I think I hid a couple channels on my stiletto 100. Any way to recover these?
Forum Rules


text:
An Amazing Flintknapping Offer!!!!!
Have you ever wanted to learn how to flint knap?
Karl Lee, one of the countries leading Flintknappers, is doing a one off flintknapping workshop day!
It will take place on Saturday 16th May 2009 from 10am-4pm.
The day will include learning the basics of flintknapping, making replicas tools such as scrapers and blades and more and being among other people with similar interests.
The Workshop price is ONLY £50 per person. This will include all use of materials and flint, all tools made on the day are yours to keep and it also includes lunch!!!
There is also a cheap B&B over the road if you will be travelling a distance, for only £25 per night for a single room.
Please email me if you are interested in booking onto the course, there are ONLY 6 places left!!!
Please email for more details on email@example.com
Flintknapping Workshop
Moderator: Moderators
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:56 am
- Contact:
Flintknapping Workshop
Karl Lee
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1


text:
I replied personaly Alinoa..
Enry has got a point too
Blockmix is allowed on 80k but envy mix is not.
altough they are both players discoverys and not the best pilots of the standard features of the game like you said
I guess blockmix is generally used by now
But it's the same with envymix at stunting.
We all got used to it
It's not so popular to build racetracks with it but it is an enormous hit in the stuntsection.
I think you shouldn't use the same rules for stunting as for the racesection.
They are completely different worlds
http://united.tm-exchange.com/main.aspx ... 63722#auto
Link just to show what i am capable off
TrackMania Forever rules of ladder and formula
Here's the place to discuss anything related to TMF ladder ranking, special "ladder servers", rank limit rules and possible issues you might have with this system.
Moderator: TM-Patrol