Mike Baas - Writings

Wed, 28 Feb 2024

Got a brand new Blackberry Key2 BBF100-6 from eBay. This is to replace my beloved Blackberry Key2 LE BBE100-5 that has suffered a cracked screen. I view this as a blessing in disguise, because I was living with a debilitated situation with battery life and RAM. I am really hoping that the extra 2GB of RAM will make the Blackberry experience sing again! 4GB was always too little. I hope the dual SIMs come in handy when traveling internationally (which will be rare, but treasured!).

I backed up my BBE100-5 onto local storage in Windows at the Administrator Command Prompt using the following commands:

adb exec-out "tar -c storage/emulated/0 2> /dev/null" > sdcard.tar
adb exec-out "tar -c storage/0000-0000/ 2> /dev/null" > external.tar

I learned how to do this using this StackExchange entry: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/226573/adb-pull-stops-after-first-error/233784#233784

I was unable to use gzip on Windows.

The first command is to backup the "internal" storage. The second command is to backup the "external" storage.

First thing I did with the new phone was disable the Productivity Center.

Then I learned the hardware space bar was functioning intermittently, so cried tears of despair and ordered another model on eBay. So then another model came, this time a BBF100-9. The space bar was also functioning intermittently. I read on Reddit about users fixing the issue with WD-40, so I tried it, and amazingly, it worked!

[/Technology/CellPhones]

Fri, 11 Oct 2019

Blackberry KEY2 LE (BBE 100-5) Review

The Blackberry KEYOne was a fine phone, with an untenable problem: not enough RAM. I had to perform some kind of RAM management every day just so it stayed functional.

Fast forward to the Blackberry KEY2 LE - one more GB of RAM, actually usable.

A bonus is that they managed to improved an already fine keyboard.

They appear to have cheaped out on the speakers and microphone on the LE. Not sure if the non-LE model has better audio specs.

Pros:

Excellent keyboard. The only one in the world that I know of on a modern cell phone.

Cons:

LE limits RAM to 4 GB. Seem like some kind of tactic to sell more phones that no LTE carrier wanted to carry the non-LE model with 6 GB, which would be more future proof.
Special characters are not QWERTY compatible.
Sound quality of microphone and speakers a step down from KEYOne.

[/Technology/CellPhones]

Fri, 04 Nov 2016

A Brief Review: LG Enact VS890

I think as of November 2016, with the disappointing release of the Blackberry Priv (you call that a Blackberry keyboard?), the LG Enact VS890 is still the best Android phone with a physical keyboard, at least on Verizon (CDMA / EVDO / LTE).

This phone was released to little fanfare in August of 2013. It appears to have been marketed as an extry level phone. I find its features to be quite professional.

There isn't much RAM, only 1 GB, and that's where you're gonna get into trouble if you use this phone as a full-fledged Android device. It also has a very poor camera. What this device is great at is as a phone with email and text messaging capabilities with that wonderful physical keyboard featuring a full number row and arrow keys!

A lot of people don't want to carry a phone filled with all kinds of wizbang apps. They basically want a regular phone to answer calls and to write texts (in lieu of annoying voicemail), and maybe compose emails for more thought out conversations. What many people don't know is that they really want a physical keyboard to do all these things. And they also are going to want cloud-based contact integration, which Android thankfully offers. ~~After that, maybe they'll use Instagram and Hangouts, hopefully not Facebook.~~ If you can draw the line there, this phone is for you!

At Android version 4.4.2 and firmware VS89023A, I found the VS890 to be unrootable with either Stump, towelroot or KingRoot. ~~However, the latest version of KingRoot comes with software called Purify that took my phone from a laggy, nearly unusable state into a really efficient phone again.~~

Make sure not to run the brightness at full tilt if you want to keep the battery intact for more than 2 hours. :)

Now if I could only figure out how to disable the "Write and Share" button. Ugh.

[/Technology/CellPhones]

Fri, 05 Oct 2012

A Brief Review: Motorola Droid 4

Update: Bugless Beast didn't work out so well for me over time. It eventually crawled to a halt. My real fix came with Sourcery v2.2, outlined here.

After trying to raise my OG Droid 1 Motorola Droid A855 from the dead using the Bugless Beast ROM, having initial success and then watching my Droid degrade yet again to an unusable state where I'd wait many seconds for any activity of a button press to transpire, I pulled the trigger on a Droid 4.

So far, it's been disappointing, from a purely UI point of view. The hardware is fast. Buttons work properly when you press them. But Motorola/Verizon bung it up yet again by releasing an Android version chock full of annoying bloatware and unnecessary modifications. Where they won me over with the release of the OG Droid 1 by keeping the Android OS clean and simple, they ruin it here with the Droid 4. The text messaging and email apps are very noisy - tons of font and emoticon options clutter the screen. There's tons of misused space. Text messages display 3 messages at a time when there's space for 9. The UI feels like a comic book. It feels like text and UI options are splayed all over the screen in seemingly random fashion.

But these aren't even the deal breakers for me; those come along with the keyboard and button layout. After spending years with the Droid 1, I came to expect a certain feel from the keyboard. I loved the tight, small buttons. This keyboard (and device) is bigger, and not for any gain, save for video. It's harder to type by feel. The buttons give a lot, making it harder to type fast. It's moderately nice to have a number key row and proper locations for !@#$%^&*(). However, by putting the Caps Lock button where the Shift button would normally be on a keyboard, I am constantly having to edit my messages to repair having pressed Caps Lock. The Shift button is a far reach from where it would normally be in a QWERTY layout. It's something I haven't yet been able to get over, since my automatic touch typing response kicks in whenever I am using it and it is very hard for me to correct. Moreover, some genius decided that they would move the Back botton from the bottom left corner so somewhere in the middle of the layout, forcing you to look down to find it's location. This phone forces you to look at it, while the Droid 1 could be driven blindly and feel like an extension of one's hand. The back button is an integral part of the Android experience and moving it to a spot where you can't feel for it completely ruins the UI.

I reinitialized Bugless Beast on my Droid 1 following a great tutorial on Reddit here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/k9lbd/og_droid_owners_ive_dumped_dozens_hundreds_of/

Last time I had trouble installing V6 SuperCharger and KickAssKernelizer and it seems these two scripts are essential to avoid Droid Degredation. So far, it's been running smooth. I think I am going to get my cell service reinstalled and send the Droid 4 back to Verizon. LTE is faster, but it's not that much better of an experience.

[/Technology/CellPhones]

Thu, 26 Apr 2007

A Brief Review: Nokia 6256i

When I switched from Cingular to Verizon, I lost the ability to use GSM phones. Therefore I almost lost the ability to use the fine Nokia 2630, the personification of candybar perfection. My only other legitimate Nokia option on Verizon was the 6256i.

Pros