Riding Smart

This is, probably, not the most sophisticated cellphone out in the market now. It is light and may be the smallest smartphone of its kind that I held. Using it for the first time actually put me at halt, literally. I had to stop, even when just walking. Typing on its small touchscreen keypad is tricky with my medium-sized, imperfect, and bike-deformed fingers. It is worlds apart from my old Nokias, and may even rate the lowest when it comes to my requirement of ruggedness and usability. But for combined frugal biking, working and training, it appears quite fit where it's worth.


It is too early to conclude since I just got the unit. I have yet to test the capabilities of the Samsung GT-S5360, for at least a year, on the road and until the warranty period. Better-known as the Galaxy Y, (Y for young), this phone may best work for those with youthful social needs and candle-like smaller fingers. For its online features, it seems to be a great deal for its range of affordable smartphones. It can decently connect to the internet and send emails outside the office. Like a tiny PC and phone in one, it is a good tool to work and play, and it is not that bothersome to put it in the bike jersey pocket.


Like typical cellphones, it has a built-in camera.  With a few swipes and without the need for rare, specific phone cables, it can send photos directly online or to subscribed recipients and selected clients. It packs enough storage to store all pictures, messages, notes and files into an ample memory, which can even expand to a 32GB card. Contacts can also be easily transferred or synchronized at a whim, making easy and reliable back-ups at hand.

But the Galaxy is still up for the true test. Like my old Nokias, Motorola, Siemens, etc, it needs to be road-worthy, otherwise, I will opt to go back to the ever-reliable and dirt cheap bar phone again.

It breezed through a few long drives and fast runs. The applications worked as accurately on such good weather and in fine road conditions. Also, the battery, after some breaking-in and being fully-charged, showed some potential after almost 3 days of stand-by power.

Well-charged and packed with GPS and a few cycling apps, the compact Galaxy should alternate with the wireless Velo well, I hope. We will see if riding with a smartphone is comparable to a cyclocomputer. I can't wait to pedal smart soon.

Sundays are the best days to bike, so it feels quite disappointing not to ride out the only day that overtakes the usual driving-frenzy Manila. Even if I bike almost everyday, I never liked a still weekend unless, maybe, it is with family  or friends out in the beach . Normally, I ride out early enough to get home for lunch or leisurely pedal the whole day if given the chance. Although the ber-months provide better cycling weather, I do not mind the extra-ordinary heat nor the rain unless it will compromise time. There was even a peroid that I was addicted to riding muddy trails until I realized that spending more time cleaning the bike than riding it does not make enough sense for someone a busy architect. Though I do not hate cleaning the bikes, as it keeps my cheapskate components rust-free, too many hours spent on it takes so much of the quality after-bike 'cooldown' time.

This unlikely damp Sunday interjected thunderstorms as if it really wanted me to do something else. And probably because of some lightings as well, it could have disabled the broadband connection and scrapped the attempt to pedal today. This allowed me to grab a Fortune magazine again and read more, spend time with Ice and finally savor our refurbished makeshift office desk and continue to write once again. Hoping I can take better pictures too.