Android – LG Optimus One P500 – 2 month update

I have now been using my Android 2.21 based LG Optimus One (P500) phone for about two months now, and this post is an update on my experience so far.

At first glance, the phone does not look sturdy at all (my standards of sturdiness have been set by Nokia, whose phones are virtually indestructible), and gives a very plasticky feeling. This goes more for the back of the phone, which picks up dust very easily when left on any surface. It is a good idea to keep the phone in a cover. However don't go by the initial experience, as the phone has withstood a couple of minor falls and come out without a scratch.

Call quality has been reasonably good. I have also been using the WiFi, GPS Receiver and Mobile data (2G and 3G) features regularly and all work without a problem. The FM radio sounded a bit scratchy and reception was not very clear, however I don't use the phone as a radio, so it doesn't affect me much. I had a bit of a struggle to get 3G enabled on my phone, nothing to do with the phone the issues were all with my provider (Vodafone). However, now 3G also works well on my phone, though I don't use it much except for sync'ing my email.

I have had a lot of issues with the battery life, with my phone battery getting drained before the day was over (after being charged fully overnight). This caused me a fair bit of concern since I expect my phone to last at least for a day without having to be charged. I did a bit of digging around and I found the answer to my problems in an app called Juice Defender.

The heart of the phone is Android and to get the best out of the phone, some understanding of Android is necessary. First and foremost is to not keep applications running in the background but end them on use (in the best case they will take up only memory, worst case they will take up both memory and CPU when in the background). Next is an understanding of how connectivity options affect battery life. Primarily, one has to keep WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth OFF in order to get the best performance out of the battery. Given that all of these are embedded under various menu options, the simple solution is a neat app called Quick Settings. Download this from the Android Market, put it on your home screen and presto! you can turn the significant options ON/OFF right from your home screen in one tap.

So, the key is to have the right apps installed on your phone to ensure that you get the best out of it. Here is my list of must have apps for your Android phone:

Juice Defender – This is a must have app for the Android phone. It claims to conserve battery and after installing I have observed about a 50% increase in my battery time. I have the free version installed and as yet it has worked well for me.

Quick Settings – This app helps in turning options ON/OFF in a very handy manner without having to navigate through multiple menus.

Angry Birds – THE must have game on the Android. If you haven't played it, you don't know what you are missing. Highly addictive and simple enough to pick up within minutes, however the combination of luck and skill needed to pass (the endless!) higher levels will ensure that you don't get bored.

CardioTrainer – If you work out (walk, jog, bike, whatever) and want to record details of your workout, then this is the app for you. Again, I am using the free version which is working well for me. Great integration with GPS allows you to see the path that you followed and the ability to post directly to facebook or twitter means that you don't have to enter any data by hand. I have been using it for about 6 weeks now and it works great (except for a tendency to use the battery heavily when it is active). One tip is to reduce the frequency of GPS lookups (can be controlled from the Settings menu within the app) to about 30 seconds (I have kept it to about 10 seconds for now).

MyBookDroid – This is *not* an eBook reader, but an application that helps you to organize the books that you own, want to read, etc. What makes it really useful is its ability to integrate with a bar code scanner app. Thus, you can scan the ISBN code from a book directly from the phone (using the built-in camera) and MyBookDroid will look up the ISBN code from the internet and voila! details of your book magically appear in the app (including the book cover). Its magic! MyBookDroid is probably not the best such app out there, the killer app would be one which allows you to scan all of your books, CDs and DVDs. That would be cool.

Apart from these, one would of course install apps such as facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and dedicated apps from the news sources that you browse regularly.

Some thoughts on the passing away of Sai Baba

Sai Baba passed away on Sunday, April 24, 2011 and his passing away is being mourned by millions of people around the world. Seeing some of the scenes and coverage a few thoughts came to my mind.

We are told that thousands of people are gathering at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, India, to pay their last respects. It is very clear that given the size of the gathering mourners, some kind of queue will be formed and that it could potentially take hours if not days for everyone to file past and get a final viewing before the last rites are performed. At the same time, we are shown images of VIPs who are dashing to Puttaparthi and are given preferential treatment in getting to the final resting place before the ordinary crowds gathering outside.

I wonder how does this reconcile with the teachings of Sai Baba? Or am I mistaken in thinking that equality of all people is not a basic principle that not just Sai Baba but all other religious / spiritual leaders profess? Clearly if the VIPs were to queue up like ordinary people then there would be some level of chaos, either security issues or mass hysteria (imagine a Sachin Tendulkar or a Amitabh Bachchan getting into a queue). So, on one hand we have practical considerations of crowd control but on the other hand trying to follow the path laid down by Sai Baba. In a setting such as an airport such considerations do not apply and VIPs are happily escorted through Security checks while the rest of us wind our way through the queue.

The same situation arises in cases of VIP darshan in any significant temple of note, Tirupathi and Siddhi Vinayak are just two well known examples. Again, we have VIPs getting to commune with the deity when ordinary people (whose need to commune with the deity is at least on par with the VIPs) wait, very often in not a very comfortable situation.

I am not questioning anyone's faith, simply the hypocrisy of VIPs bypassing everything, even in religious/spiritual matters.

What prompted this blog post was actually a photo of Sachin Tendulkar (who is a deity in many eyes himself!) at Puttaparthi, visibly grieving at the passing away of Sai Baba. Again, I am not questioning the genuineness of Tendulkar's grief just the fact that he gets to grieve before others.

I hope this post provokes the reader to respond with your point of view.

ICC WC2011 – A billion dreams come true

What more can be asked from a match for an India fan ? Quite a lot actually, a Tendulkar century, a Sehwag blitzkrieg or a Pathan rocket. However what was on offer on Saturday was enough for a billion eyes that were glued to their television sets and browsers as India chased a very competitive score set by Sri Lanka. However, before I get to the match proper, the team selections had left both India and Sri Lanka fans bemused.

India made one change with the injured Nehra making way for Sreesanth. This was another rabbit that MSD pulled out of his hat after having replaced Ashwin with Nehra for the Pakistan match. Do MSD and Gary Kirsten know something about Ashwin that we don't ? If so, please enlighten us as to how you can keep a guy who has performed every time a ball has thrown to him is kept out of a team ? Contrast that with Sreesanth (and I will be the first to admit that I am a big fan of Sreesanth's bowling), who would have been low on confidence after having been benched after the Bangladesh match and is clearly the fourth choice seamer. The logic that Sri Lanka play spin well works only to a point, current form and team composition has to count for something.

If the Indian team selection showed up MSD's contrarian nature, the Sri Lanka team changes were simply baffling. Angelo Mathews being injured was a big blow, so his replacement was a given, however Sri Lanka made four changes with Chamara Silva, Rangana Herath, Angelo Mathews and Ajantha Mendis making way for Kulasekara, Perera, Ranadiv and Kapugedara. Of the changes, Kapugedara for Silva on form seemed reasonable and one of Kulasekara/Perera for Mathews was necessary (as a result of injury to Mathews). However, the dropping of both Herath and Mendis, both of whom had performed very well in the previous matches to bring in a seamer and spinner was inexplicable. The only possible reason is that Ranadiv had posed problems to the Indians on their last tour of Sri Lanka and it is thought that Mendis has been 'sorted out' by the sub-continent batsmen. This seemed very defensive logic.

Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat and Dilshan and Tharanga started at a snail's pace. They were kept on a tight least by Zaheer Khan, who bowled an outstanding first spell and some inspired Indian fielding. Sreesanth after some initial nerves also seemed to be settling down and Tharanga succumbed to the pressure. This brought Sangakkara (arguably the best no.3 batsman in the world today) to the crease and he and Dilshan dropped anchor and built a good partnership. Sreesanth brought back for his second spell quickly dispelled any hopes of his bowling his overs out quietly and Dilshan helped himself to a couple of boundaries. A breakthrough was needed and provided by Harbhajan Singh when Dilshan had a deflection from his pad go on to hit his stumps.

The old pro Jayawardene now joined Sangakkara and both were looking inseparable when Sangakkara got an edge to Dhoni off Yuvraj ("Phoenix") Singh. The Sri Lanka lower middle order was suddenly brought into play with 20 more overs to go and it seemed as if India could restrict Sri Lanka to less than 250. Jayawardene had other ideas and was effortlessly stroking and ball and scoring at a strike rate of more than 100 even when wickets were falling around him. After Samaraweera and Kapugedara fell cheaply, he got excellent support from Kulasekara and Perera and Sri Lanka reached 274, a total that had looked very far off by the 30^th over. India bowled badly at this stage and their fielding too wilted under the assault from Sri Lanka. Jayawardene reached a very richly deserved 100 and it looked as if Sangakkara's comment at the toss, "whatever total we will get will be good enough", was coming true. India would have gone into the break thinking that Sri Lanka had got at least 30 runs too many and would have wanted to get away to a good start with Sehwag and Tendulkar.

It was not to be and hardly had the India innings got underway when Malinga produced a searing delivery which thudded into Sehwag's pads. Up went the finger and though India asked for a UDRS review, the verdict was upheld. If this was a body blow, there was a knock out punch to come shortly in the form of Tendulkar's wicket. Tendulkar had started very confidently and it seemed as if he had forgotten his tentativeness in Mohali and was batting as only he can. A drive through the covers was as good as any he has played and the crowd at the Wankhede roared its appreciation. It was too good to last and Malinga, who can produce a wicket taking ball almost every time he comes in to bowl, got Tendulkar to edge and Sangakkara happily accepted the catch. A stunned silence from the crowd among wild celebrations from the Sri Lankan team was enough indication of the importance of this wicket to both sides. Out strode Kohli and joined Gambhir who had been dabbing the ball around till then. Both Kohli and Gambhir did what Dilshan and Sangakkara had done earlier in the day, cut out fancy shots and stuck to rotating the strike. Strangely, Sangakkara seemed content with Tendulkar's wicket and there did not seem any great effort in trying to prise out another wicket.

Eighty priceless runs were added by this pair and it came in good time (about 15 overs at a rate of 5 per over). This kept the asking rate within limits and brought India perceptibly closer to the target. Kohli got out to a great Dilshan return catch and MSD sprang another surprise by promoting himself ahead of Yuvraj. Gambhir now prospered in Dhoni's company and both batted brilliantly. They saw off Murali and scored off everyone else and broke the back of Sri Lanka with their partnership. By the time they were separated, when Gambhir waltzed down the pitch to Perera when within touching distance of his century, India had only 50 odd runs to get in even time. Yuvraj settled down very quickly and Dhoni started asserting himself with some crisp pulls. In the end Sangakkara threw in the towel and Dhoni provided the perfect end by clubbing Kulasekara over mid-wicket for a massive six. Team India had achieved what every Indian cricket fan had been demanding ever since the start of the tournament, a victory in the World Cup final!

India's brilliance in batting cannot mask the strange tactical choices made by Dhoni or the frailities in the Indian bowling and fielding. However sheer desire to succeed and of course great skill, helped Dhoni guide India to a memorable victory. Ultimately India were good enough on the field in all the knock out games that they played whereas the other teams succumbed to pressure. It was thought that playing at home would add to the pressure on the Indian players and no doubt it played a huge role, but one would like to think that even the support that the team enjoys from the crowds at home would have helped to some extent in giving it an extra edge.

Some scenes from after the match linger in memory, Tendulkar being carried around in turns by all the players, Kohli acknowledging in an interview that every Indian cricket fan knows ("Tendulkar has carried the weight of the Indian team for the last 21 years, it is time that we carried him now"). It had all the marks of a clichéd sound byte, however it touched a nerve in every fan watching and Kohli has only risen in the eyes of however witnessed it.

With this monkey of his back, one expects Dhoni to create a very strong cricket legacy and become an even better captain and as for Tendulkar, only he knows what more he can achieve ...