My Ideal Google Nexus Phone

Wow, its been really a long while since I wrote anything here. Been busy. A lot have happened. Next year I will be joining a new company and will be posted to the States for a good half a year.

Today is a significant day. It is the day when Google and Samsung launch the Nexus S. For all of you who still lives under an e-rock, the Nexus S is the second true and pure Google experience phone which will be released into the market since the launch of Google and hTC's Nexus One a year ago.

As a Nexus One owner, naturally I am very excited about this. However, the Nexus S did not really give me the 'wow' feeling I had with the Nexus One. I probably will still get it nonetheless.

This, however, kick started my design thinking cap! What if I can design my OWN Nexus phone. What would it be like? Hmmmm...

Here goes...

It probably will look similar to the Nexus S in shape, thickness and size.

It will however have some titanium parts in matt colour to make it look slightly more premium but yet still keep the weight low.

It will have the same contour screen design.

It will have all the standard ports, slots, jacks, sensors and whatever.

Big internal phone memory for Apps! The other hardware specs are of no importance as specs are ever improving.

Now here comes the core of my design idea.

If Apple's iPhone has a one button to control all, my Nexus' design language will be a one ticker screen to control all.

My phone will spot a 4 inch AMOLED screen (of course the latest variant of AMOLED).

But right under that 4 inch screen, I will have a second mini AMOLED screen about 1 to 1.5 cm in height and the same width as the 4 inch screen.

I call this mini screen the ticker screen and the 4 inch screen the main screen for easy reference in this post.

Under normal usage of the phone (i.e. when the main screen is ON), the ticker screen will display the four Android command buttons. For Android users, it will be the 'back', 'menu', 'home' and 'search' button.

The user, can choose to press and hold to drag and change the positions of these 4 buttons if he/she wishes.

When the phone goes into Sleep mode (i.e. power button off), the main screen can be used to display a very simple time and date and even notification icons. The display will only appear when the phone detects that it is being moved or tapped (either by gyroscope or accelerometer sensors). If the phone is motionless, both the main and ticker screen will be off. This display is optional and can be switched off if the user wishes so.

When there is a notification (eg. incoming SMS) the ticker screen will flash a small SMS icon every 5 seconds. Icons will vary in color and design depending on the nature of the notification.

The user can then tap on the icon, and a short snippet of the SMS will be displayed ON the ticker screen itself. If the user thinks that the SMS is important and he/she wishes to reply straight away, he can then double tap on the snippet and the main screen will turn on.

Once the user unlocks the main screen (be in pattern or password or swipe), the SMS messenger is already opened and ready for him to reply that particular SMS. By this time, the ticker screen will already be showing the 4 Android command buttons.

If the users thinks that showing icons as notification LEDs is boring, he can choose from a wide gamut of patterns to display instead. Such as, a small pulsing light (any color), a dot of light that pans from left to right and back (i.e. knight rider style), or a tracing light that speeds around the perimeter of the ticker screen, or a light that tunnels outwards from the centre of the ticker screen in a rectangular manner, or a heart beat pulse, etc. etc. etc.

I would also like to take the opportunity here to introduce another way of unlocking the phone. It uses gestures in conjunction with the gyroscope and g-sensors. The possibilities are endless.

Well, thats about it, I probably have alot more ideas in mind, but you know me, I am too lazy to write them all down :P

So thats all folks, have a Merry Christmas!

My Incompetence...

Have you ever stop yourself from doing something you really wanted to do because you knew that you would get bored halfway or find it too troublesome after some time? Well I have... many a times. Even writing this entry had me thinking and reconsidering numerous times as I was afraid that I might just find it too much a hassle to pen down all my thoughts...

I know I can excel in doing something once I put in my 100 percent into it. I will finish something once I start it. But certain things will not achieve results within my lifetime. And not being able to see results straight away and therefore getting dejected is one of my many weaknesses... I admit.

After returning from Australia, I was fortunate enough to work for an MNC for the past 2 years till present. Life had been pretty easy and good though I feel I had not achieved much, career aside. Upon some reflection, I came up with my 4 major milestones which are to be completed within the next 4 years for myself. Sadly, even with these reasonably well defined goals in place, I felt something was still missing, something was still wrong about the place. Ever since coming back, it did not feel the same. Could it be I am still regretting my decision to come back?... I asked myself this teething question time to time.

It was not long before I started to widen my scope in all areas of my life. I start to observe more, start to read more, start to listen to people more. Soon, I came to realize that the Singapore that I had left behind 5 years ago is no longer the same place. Somewhere along the line, things changed... people changed. I wanted to find out more. Gathering information from main stream media as well as alternative media such as Temasek Review has stirred up something in me... something which I was never ever interested in before. I begin to be more involved (eg. my comments as Psi in AsiaSentinel).

Singapore seems to be in a predicament whereby true blue Singaporeans are living in discontent. Understandably, there are still a number of them who are still staunch supporters of the current ruling party. According to my observations, they are either:

1. Members affiliated with the ruling party, ie. they get some kind of benefits, mostly monetary in nature.
2. Less informed and tech savvy
3. Civil servants
4. Well to do people
5. Non true blue Singaporeans
6. Very traditional families

I happened to come from group 6. This is one of the main reasons why I failed to convince my folks that I should stay on in Australia. Nonetheless, I came back.

So here I am now, with emotions stirring within me. I wish to do something. I want to change something. To help not just myself, but more important, helping the poor, the sick and the old. And of course, the future of the country is largely dependent of its current workforce as well as the nurturing of the young minds. I have this sudden urge to go out there and just start doing something that will help benefit true blue Singaporeans and make this country a better place. More than 50% of young Singaporeans said they want to migrate to another country. I want to change that to less than 5%!

There are much much more issues, views and my personal opinions that I want to share. But I won't. The reason will be given in the later paragraphs.

So now, I wish to make a difference. Here comes the problem. I am nobody! I am a mere digit in this ultra modern and urbanized country. Where do I start? I have no past experiences. All my life I am pursuing the art of Science! And remembering my weakness did not help. What if I felt like giving up halfway when results are not met? THAT SOUNDS SO AARGH! I am so disgusted with myself right now. But then again this path is not easy. A lot is at stake if something goes wrong. I have the people to answer to.

Knowing myself, I decided to remain as the mere digit within the system. Just live out my life like majority of the Singaporeans do. Whining and complaining time to time but never plucking the courage to stand up. I will just go ahead, buy my flat, get married, buy my car and make some babies. Then in the near future, hopefully leaving this dreaded place behind.

I just hate myself sometimes...