NEW MINI testdrive ...

Well, I went into the MINI Garage and told them Bob Holden sent me for a test drive. I was lucky enough to have a good chat with Bob at MiniFest 2006 in Hobart the other weekend. I've been thinking about taking a BMW Mini for a comparison drive since their launch years ago to see what's changed in the 29 years since my Clubman was produced. Obviously bigger on the outside, but surprisingly didn't feel much bigger on the inside, probably due to the much thicker door skins which conceal side intrusion bars and airbags. Seats ... mmm leather, comfy, very adjustable and nice. The one I drove was a Supercharged Cooper S, 6 speed manual, hardtop with sunroof and "Cockpit Chrono Package" to drool over, not that I got the chance to look at it much once behind the wheel! Nice driving position, all the switches and gearstick have been move back towards the driver compared the classics, which IS much better. If you've driven a classic you'll know what a pain it is to reach the non-intermittent windscreen wiper switch etc.
Unfortunately I was accompanied by the salesman on the drive, so began somewhat nervously and cautious as we climbed up the twisty Huon Road towards Nieka, getting a feel of this expensive piece of modern machinery. The 1.6 litre supercharged engine was no comparison to my tired old standard 998cc A series engine, lumberd with anti-pollution gear of the mid 70's, so I won't even go there! Glancing down at the speedo on a straight section, I was flabbergasted to discover I was doing 95km/hr (in a 70 zone!) It felt like I was barely on the limit which is in COMPLETE CONTRAST to my Clubman, which struggles to hit 80 on that section when pushed, yet feels like your doing about 100! The BINI was much quiter, even when HEAVY on the gas, steering was pinpoint, suspension nice and firm and smother than the Clubman as you'd expect, AND it stopped!! It cornered really well, but I didn't push it too hard, never once losing traction with Mr Salesman watching me. There's no denying it was nice and fun, even Mini like, but .. while I can't say it was boring .. it was certainly less "challenging" to drive than my old brick, and way easier to get booked for speeding in. If I were to go on LONG drives, I'd prefer the new one, but for shorter twisty squirts, I think I'd still take the 29 year old Clubman over it's younger, podgier cousin. At around $40,000 for a Bini, even if I DID have the money burning a hole in my pocket, me thinks I'd rather "invest" in a classic Cooper S which can presently fetch around $30,000. But I'm just a man of humble means, so now I can stop dreaming and save 1 or 2 K for disc brakes and some turbo charged fluffy dice for the Clubman and I will want no more. Well, a roundie would be nice ;)

Jas Jam, the first 6 days ...

Got to admit, after less than a week of using the Jas Jam, it has its faults! Some hardware based, but most software - visa vie, Microsoft issues. You'd think by their second (or is it fifth?) major attempt at a mobile platform (Windows Mobile 5.0), they'd get it pretty right.

Now, I may be nit-picking because just before I got this device, I was reading "The lunatics are running the asylum", by Allan Cooper, programmer of Visual Basic. In short, the book is about how programmers hijack product design and development to suit their own programming needs and way of thinking, when they don't actually think like most end users. Like trying to set a VCR to tape a program, should be simple, but NEVER is. Anyway, this isn't a book review and I digress ... I'm trying to approach this evolving review from an everyday consumers perspective, even though I'd likely be considered "techno-savvy".

This is the FIRST true PDA device I've used, also please bear in mind, I still haven't yet read the manual. Hey, I'm a bloke!! I should be able to work it out .. right?

The Jas Jam does heaps, and most of them quite well, but some things are plain clumsy and illogical. For starters, I've missed two calls. One while I was using another feature and couldn't swap to the phone fast enough, and once it was in my pocket & I didn't fumble fast enough within it's 3 rings. Presumably I should be able to set more rings somewhere, but as yet haven't managed to dig up that buried setting as it's not in the phone settings area where you'd expect.

Switching between tasks, even using the hardware buttons, can sometimes be troublesome and slow. When you hit "OK", you would think the programs would close. They disappear from the screen, but remain in the memory! To clear them, you have to delve into Start\Settings\System\Memory\Running Programs or the thing eventually crawls to a halt.

I used the camera (still and video) at a "Pink Floyd Experience" concert in the dark, and took over 200 pics at the "MiniFest" on Sunday. There's an OK button placed diagonally opposite the camera button, and the amount of times I hit this and got back to the Start Menu instead of taking a photo was annoyingly unbelievable, as it's where you naturally hold the thing with your left thumb. The pics - even outdoor mini ones are clear, crisp, plenty of contrast, but the shadows are very black, which isn't a problem if you're prepared to photoshop you pics on a pc!

Entering text on the built in keypad can be a pain. Often its easier to use the smaller onscreen stylus keyboard especially when using CAPS and numbers. Once you double tap the cap key to lock caps on, or same with the "blue dot" options - used to get numbers and some special characters, it's frustratingly difficult to return to "normal" lowercase mode. No doubt there's an obscure technique I need to read up on. Also with the keyboard, it would be good if it lit up in the dark when you slid it open, but it doesn't until you hit a key. There are two separate system settings to control screen & backlight which I'm sure could have be combined for simplicity.

In the dark confines of the concert, I found the screen too bright. I navigated my way to the backlight control, slid it to turn down, but one step too far, and OFF it went! Needless to say it was somewhat difficult to turn the backlight back on in the dark! There is no "dimmer" for the keyboard backlight, which IS a bright attention getting blue.

Some silly software quirks: when composing an email, you would think you could "press and hold" (which is the equivalent of the "right click") in the "to" field, and you could open your contacts, but NO, you have to use the menu at the bottom of the screen. Another, you have to actually open a contact, before you can select "edit" from the same menu. Here's another, in most cases, clicking "OK" saves and finishes whatever you're doing. But when composing a text message, "OK" cancels the message. You need to tap "send" instead, which appears at the bottom of the screen. Maybe (hopefully!) some of these "bugs" will be fixed in a future software update, or I guess I'll just HAVE to get used to them.

Selecting Media files to play from the memory card is WAY clumsy. You can't play them from the "file browser", you have to do it from within the media player, using an obscure icon buried at the bottom of the "now playing" screen, THEN go to the "Library" pull down menu at the top and select "Storage Card", THEN you can navigate to the "My Music or My Video folder. Why???

I can get the Jas Jam to connect to my home wireless network, but it keeps wanting to get on the internet thru Testra's network, which obviously costs money. Once again, the settings for this function are split between two areas, and I can't find anywhere to select WLAN as the preferred network! A "quick" look at the manual seems to indicate it should choose the WLAN automatically! Maybe it's a setting on my PC?

Are you starting to get the picture? Normally if I get into trouble on a PC, I just think like a stoned uni student (visa vie programmer) and can usually work it out, but I don't know what these guy's were on!! Maybe the brown acid at Woodstock?

So the initial WOW excitement has dulled somewhat. Without wanting to be an "apologist", I still like the device, and don't intend to put people off it's purchase if that is their want. You should be aware of its downfalls and decide if you are prepared to put up with it's limitations and frustrations. To be honest, I think the average Joe would have some difficulty getting acquainted and using this device comfortably. If you get frustrated programming a VCR, then forget it!

Hopefully with another week or so, a thorough read of the manual and more usage familiarity I'll overcome these obstacles like I eventually learnt to hold it differently when taking photos and I'll be writing a glowing rave review, but really, some of these basic device interactions should have been picked up and addressed in product/software development and testing, or it should come with a warning: "Designed by programmers, for programmers".

I think Mr Cooper may be right, the lunatics ARE running the asylum!