EDsight

All electronics and computing gadgets are dependent on one thing — battery. And battery life — or rather its limitation — is a bane for many.

While computers are getting faster and mobile phones are sporting more fancy features, battery technology does not seem to be flowing with the time.

The typical battery life of a notebook was about two to three hours in the 1990s and it is still the same today. Even netbooks come with battery life of around three hours — unless of course, an extended battery is added — but that adds up to the weight and size.

Oh, what I would give to enjoy longer battery life without having to deal with bulky batteries.

In the telecommunications industry, a one-year delay is the launch of a product is a very long time. One must wonder why Garmin is postponing the launch of the nuviphone, which was first announced this January.

Garmin’s first mobile phone was supposed to be available in Q3 this year but the date has slided into Q3 of 2009. Just what is it that’s causing this delay? According to reports, Garmin is customising the product according to telcos’ requirements. But, surely one year is a long time to do so.

Its competitors may launch other products during this time frame and leave very little space for Garmin to play with.

I must say I was excited when I first read about the phone. While others are phone makers adding the GPS feature, Garmin is a GPS specialist moving into the mobile phone arena. Initial rantings on various sites even rate the nuviphone as a potential iPhone killer.

However, whether it can do so will not be known for another year.

Two things I never thought I would do — work on an under 10-inch screen on a notebook and using Unix. I’ve got nothing against either. It’s just that ultra lightweight notebooks are so expensive while Unix is not even on my radar — such is my bondage to Microsoft.

However, this changed three months ago when I laid my hands on the Acer Aspire One. Drawn by its affordability and an aching shoulder from my travels, I decided to venture into the netbook arena. After studying the specifications and price of various models, I picked the Acer Aspire One for its value.

Having used it for three months, I rate its most impressive attributes as screen resolution, light weight and speed of booting up and shutting down. The screen is bright and clear, making it a joy to work under most lighting conditions. My only peeve about the screen is that it is very loyal to finger prints — touch it and you can easily leave an impression.

The netbook is so light — about 1kg — that it makes my Dell notebook feel like a ton of bricks. I’m looking forward to bringing it with me on my trips.

Running on Linux, the Acer Aspire One took under 30 seconds — 27 to be precise — to book up. That’s very fast and impressed this Microsoft Vista user greatly. Shutting down is just as fast.

While some may consider the keyboard (about 95% the normal size) small, it is touch typable and firm.

On the downside, the battery life is short (just over two hours) and the applications are limited — what you have are what you get.

Bottomline: The Acer Aspire One offers great value and is one of the better options available now. For frequent travellers, you can bring this netbook around and stay connected without straining your shoulders — and at a low price to boot!

Bangkok is one of my favourite places. The food and shopping are great and my family and I travel frequently to Thailand and have spent many enjoyable days in Bangkok.

However, my recent trip in December 2007 left me with a sour taste, and I’m not talking about Thai food but Bangkok taxis and tuk tuks.

Yes, we all have our different experience on tuk tuks and I know from past experience to avoid whenever possible if I do not want to haggle and even end up in the wrong places. But, when two tuk tuks approached my family this time round and offered a very good price to bring us from Pratunam to Yaorawat, I thought things have changed. As they say, if an offer is too good to be true, then it probably isn’t. And I learnt the hard way. As we navigated the back lanes of Pratunam, they suddenly stopped by the side of a lane and told us that they need to bring us to a jewellery shop. We said we just wanted to go to Yaorawat but they insisted that we had to go to the shop so that they can get free petrol. When we declined, they told us to get off their tuk tuks.

As for Bangkok taxis, I have found them to be a very affordable means of getting around — it’s cheaper to travel by taxi than BTS if you have four persons. But this time round, about 2 out of 3 taxis we boarded wanted to charge us a fixed fare – about 200 baht from Pratunam to MBK – which costs less than 60 baht by meter. Needless to say, we asked them to charge by meter but they refused and simply drove off. We overheard one taxi driver doing the same thing to other tourists. On another occasion, we boarded a taxi from Pratunam heading for MBK. He kept complaining about traffic jams and asked us to alight a few metres after we boarded.

The only place where we did not have any problem with taxi was the queue at MBK.

Why do taxis and tuk tuks have to resort to such measures when Bangkok is a tourist paradise? They are definitely not lacking in business and I beleive that many tourists would gladly tip good service.

Unless this situation improves, I am going to bring a good pair of walking shoes next time I go to Bangkok. And I’ll stay near my favourite haunts so that I do not need to take taxis or tuk tuks.

Budget airlines have made travelling more affordable, or at least, in most instances.

I have flown on all the budget airlines flying out of Singapore and I must say that there’s definitely value for money, especially in short haul flights.

The best aircraft is those from the now-merged ValuAir. With the extra leg space, it beats flying economy on the main airlines. As for the others, legroom can be a little crammy but it’s OK if the flight is under three hours.

Food wise, there shouldn’t be much concern for short-haul flights. If you really don’t want to buy food on board, just grab a bite before you board the plane and have a meal after you land.

I would prefer seat allocation as in the case of JetStar because dashing into the plane to grab a seat can be challenging, especially for those travelling with young children.

In one personal encounter in Bangkok, a group of travellers from a particular country pushed their way through the stewardesses at the gate just so they could get in first. But, because they could not speak English, my friends and I were able to have seats by the emergency exits, which afford better leg room.

While budget tickets are generally cheaper, they can also be more expensive, in particular when you book nearer your departure date or a popular flight. The cost can sometimes be higher than main carriers.

Having said that, overall, budget flying has made it more affordable for budget-conscious travellers and families.

How many times have you been irritated by people talking loudly on the mobile phone while in a train or subway? These folks talk as though nobody else is around. And this seems to be a global phenomena, or so I thought.

The Japanese have shown that technology and basic social etiquette can mix. During my trip to Japan, I noticed a sign in the trains asking people to refrain from talking on their mobile phone while in the train. Right, I thought — this is just another sign.

I was expecting that rule to be broken. After all, this is the land of technology and nearly everyone carries a mobile phone.

How wrong I was. Throughout my entire stay in Japan and the numerous train rides I took, only once did I see something talking on the phone while on the train — and even then, the lady picked up her call only when she was about to exit.

I’m impressed.

Think of hot springs and my mind conjures an image of a relaxing soak.

I had my first onsen experience in Japan recently and boy, was I in for a major mind-shake! My family headed for the Taizen onsen (Japanese for hot spring) in Hakone, a resort just outside Tokyo in December.

Looking inconspicuous on the outside, with barely anybody around except for a few cars, the place looked almost deserted. We found a flight of steps leading up to a building on the hillside and made the steep ascent.

Once inside, we were greeted by a lady, who explained what we needed to do. After placing our shoes in a locker, we made our way past several hallways and rooms, some with people lying down and resting.

We finally arrived at another reception area with directions to two separate rooms — one for the men and the other for women.

While my wife and girls trudged off to the women’s room, I gently opened the men’s to what looked like a changing room. From this room, I had my first look at what an onsen is really like on the inside. Men in au natural were walking around and soaking in various pools.

Whatever image I had of relaxing soak in a hot spring went down the drain. After all, what I saw in movies were people sitting with towels wrapped around strategic body parts, not what I was seeing.

Not wanting to stick out like a sore thumb, I tried my best to blend in with the crowd (after removing all clothing and placing them in another locker).

As it was winter time, I felt a little cold so I quickly tip-toed to the nearest bath area for a quick scrub before dipping into the pool. This is probably the only place where one can have some “shelter” as my back was facing the crowd.

After what took longer than my usual bath, I inched in to the nearest pool. The water was not just hot but scorching! My leg was cooking. I eased my lower body in and could feel the heat all over. I felt as if pins and needles were shooting out of my body.

Once I’ve gotten over the sight of naked men walking around freely, I realised that the view from the onsen is quite spectacular. The pools are located in an open area on a hillside and the natural surrounding was somewhat therapeutic.

While the others seem to be able to soak for hours, I concluded that one hour was enough for me.

After taking a quick bath and getting air-cleaned, I put on my clothes and headed back to join my family.