The art of blogging, or when your hobby becomes your job

April 25, 2011

Dear readers,

As most of you probably know by now, I’ve recently accepted a full-time position with Engadget as Senior Mobile Editor, this after spending almost a year freelancing for them in my spare time.

What does it mean for this blog, tnkgrl Mobile?

The blog: I’m going to continue writing here from time-to-time, focusing on any mobile tech content that’s not well suited for Engadget. Of course you’ll be able to read me over there to your heart’s content, and I’ll post links here to all my important Engadget features. Subscribe to my RSS feed† and my Twitter account to keep on top of what’s happening with me.

The videos and pictures: I’m planning to keep up the unboxing videos (time permitting). I won’t usually be posting them right away – after all, I can’t steal the show from Engadget :) Unboxing pictures and camera tests are more time-consuming to compile so I’m not making any promises. Instead, look for your fix of videos and pictures in my Engadget reviews.

The podcast: Talking with tnkgrl is dead in the water. As you likely remember, Matt Bennett decided to move on to other (two-wheeled) projects. Then Tony Peric and I struggled to coordinate our schedules and experienced some technical setbacks, essentially putting the podcast on hold. Instead, I suggest you listen to me weekly on the Engadget Mobile podcast.

Despite tnkgrl Mobile taking a back seat in my life this new job marks my successful transition from being a long-time video game developer to working as a journalist full-time.

It’s pretty amazing that something that started out as a hobby less than 5 years ago is now my career. I hope you stick around and come along for the ride. It’s going to be a blast!

xo

Myriam Joire (aka tnkgrl)

PS: I’ve still got a small backlog of content that I’ll be posting here over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.


Pictures taken with the Nokia 6790

August 28, 2009

On paper, the Nokia 6790 (Surge) camera looks like a whole lot of “meh“! With only 2 megapixels, no auto-focus, and no flash, it’s nothing to write home about… Or is it?

The lens and sensor are relatively decent, color balance and exposure are generally good. Other than the lack of macro, the resulting pictures are pretty nice for this class of device.

Just like the iPhone/iPhone 3G and the Blackberry 8320 (Curve) cameras, the 6790 camera surpassed my expectations, and that’s something to write home about :)


Podcast: Talking with Matt #13

August 3, 2009

It’s time for another podcast (35 min) with Matthew Bennett:
- Audio version
- Video version

This week we discussed the Nokia N97, the Samsung i8910 (Omnia HD), and the Nokia E75!

Other topics include Matt’s adventures on the N97 24/7 Tour, plus a few other things, all while sitting outside of Cafe Flore

Click here to subscribe to this podcast.


Noise – a case study

March 8, 2009

Other pictures taken with the Samsung T929 (Memoir) are available on my Flickr account.

So I decided to do a little experiment: take 3 pictures with 3 devices (one each) at night in the same location around the same time! The goal? Evaluate how megapixels affect low-light performance.

The megapixel myth tells us that more megapixels is not necessarily better. It generally means smaller pixels, which means more heat, which results in more noise, which impacts low-light performance…

Of course there are many variables here: differences in optics, sensor type/size, image-processing/noise-reduction software, and more. Because this is meant to be a real-life test with real-life devices, I can’t control these variables – I can only pick suitable devices.

Read the rest of this entry »


Thoughts on Nseries

December 13, 2008

Nokia Nseries

Dear Nokia,

Congratulations on the N97! It’s a very exciting product, but great devices alone don’t make you a leader.

So what is really needed for the Nseries brand to succeed? Here are my thoughts…

Read the rest of this entry »


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