A Memoir - This Month Last Year - July 2018 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay #BirthdayBoy

Hi Friends, 

July will remain always my favorite month as I was born in this month and every year I look forward to making it my best month of the year. This year I did spend a lot of money on the things I always wanted in my life and my family too showered me with gifts of their choice which I totally loved. I did win a contest with Aquelle but the prize is still to arrive so I am not sure what they will send me. 

1. A Memoir - This Month Last Year - July 2017 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay #1550Post - http://www.thelifesway.com/2018/07/a-memoir-this-month-last-year-july-2017.html - Last year when I posted this blog post for July 2017 it was my 1550th post and this year this one will be 1765th post on my blog. I think the next year it will be very less movement as I will move more towards video blogging as compared to the pen and paper. 

2. Product Review - @HuaweiZA P20 #SeeMooore #HuaweiP20 #ArtificialIntelligence - http://www.thelifesway.com/2018/07/product-review-huaweiza-p20-seemooore.html - Last year I was using this review unit by Huawei and totally loved taking it around the city. The portrait photographs looked too cool just from the smartphone and posted thousands of them on the social media networks. Now I am using Huawei P20 Pro which is also an awesome smartphone and my wife wants to use it now. 

3. Product Review - @SamsungMobileSA Galaxy S9 #DoWhatYouCant #GalaxyS9 @SamsungSA - http://www.thelifesway.com/2018/07/product-review-samsungmobilesa-galaxy.html - Last year I received this awesome smartphone from Samsung for 2 weeks review and I took the same to Badplaas Forever Resorts and totally loved the same. The photos on this device are totally out of this world that's why I think they call them GALAXY smartphones! 

4. Product Review - @NokiaMobile Nokia 6.1 #AndroidOne #NokiaMobileZA #Nokia61 @HMDGlobal - http://www.thelifesway.com/2018/07/product-review-nokiamobile-nokia-61.html - Nokia relaunched themselves in South Africa and I got to review one of their smartphones and the other one they sent, was left in the mailroom till the end of review period as they never called me and Nokia PR company never told me that they sent it. Totally missed the opportunity to use the Nokia 7 plus because of this miscommunications. 

I did several other product reviews last July and this July in 2019, I took a break from all social media channels and focussed on enjoying my life. 

5. A Memoir - This Month Last Year - Jun 2017 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay - http://www.thelifesway.com/2018/07/a-memoir-this-month-last-year-jun-2017.html - I totally love writing for this series of blog posts and share what happened that month of the year. I might be late to do so in many months but I try to be consistent and now onwards I will try to stick to a schedule. More and More I analyze these posts, I feel sad that I did so many posts for all these brands for free and they are not calling me to their events too. Some of them have never sent any goodies, press drops at all and when asked for the same, they totally stop all communications. This world of PR and blogging is such a mean world and you need to have a thick skin to carry on going in this one! 

Many thanks for all your love and blessing in my birthday month for all the wishes on facebook, WhatsApp and other channels of communications. Many thanks to my family and friends for all their great gifts and thoughts about my celebrations. One of my close friends told me that, I will be double Naughty at 40 because I am already Naughty! I am sure I will surpass his expectations! 

Cheers!!!

Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on your products, events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

Product Review - @SamsungMobileSA Galaxy S9 #DoWhatYouCant #GalaxyS9 @SamsungSA

Hi Friends, 

With the Samsung Galaxy smartphones over the years, I have always felt that I should do BEG, BORROW or STEAL to stay in touch with these fantastic smartphones from another Universe.  Samsung S9 needed no introduction and last year when I returned my office Samsung S8+, I was so sad and have to buy Galaxy Note 8 to cheer myself up in Jan 2018. But soon afterwards Galaxy S9 was launched with an improved camera and slow-motion videography which I could not master in my little 2 weeks review span due to hectic working hours at the office. 

Zoom Camera using Samsung Galaxy S9

Coming back to the Galaxy S9 jewel from Samsung Mobiles, this smartphone is equipped with 12 MP dual aperture f1.5, or f2.4 rear camera which has impressive low light capabilities along with slow-mo video capture at 960fps @HD quality and 240fps@fullHD quality and the front camera is 8MP f1.7 AF to take amazing selfies. All the photographs used in this blog posts are made using the Samsung Galaxy S9, and more can be checked on my instagram.com/araijain page. Weighing only 163 grams with 3.5mm headphones jack retained so that AKG earphones that come with the package can be fully utilised for an incredible audio experience. AKG earphones need no introduction too, people have written separate posts on the same, and I too loved them a lot from my S8+ days. Further, I ordered S8+ only due to AKG earphones as I also had a choice to order iPhone 7+ from office budget for myself which was to be retained by the office when I left that position.

What's inside the box?

Galaxy S9 has 4GB RAM, and 64GB model has user memory availability of around 50GB which is expandable via the micro-SD card. At the launch event, many telecom providers were giving 256GB SD card for free with this smartphone. A single slot contains a place for Nano-SIM and a micro-SD card expandable up to 400GB. The phone comes with 3000mAh battery which will last you around 12-13 hours but can be charged faster using the Speed Charger packaged inside the box. A transparent silicon cover to protect the smartphone is also included in the box. 

Silhouette Photography using Samsung Galaxy S9

The unique feature of this smartphone is the fantastic form factor with its glass melting into the edges of the phone giving infinite display capabilities. 5.8 inches of sheer viewing pleasure due to Quad HD+ display gives 16M colour depth. The text is more vibrant and brighter, and the colours on the smartphone really look great on its 570ppi display. 

Selfie using Samsung Galaxy S9 at Forever Resorts Badplaas

Secondly is the capability to bring ARemoji's which is gif's in which you are the main character and are made in several emotions to represents various life situations. It's a fun feature and is very quick to generate the images for you or for someone you love. 

Aashish Rai #AREmoji using Samsung Galaxy S9

The third feature is the capability to take Slow motion video in low light situations also at 960fps, and you can see what your eyes miss to gather from the motion. This is just like creating those videos which you see in IPL, Football World Cup and Wimbledon which when combined with music brings out the emotions in you. I really loved this slow-motion video capability but could not create one in 2 weeks review span. I did some but it's not up to what storyline I wanted to communicate so will need more time with the smartphone.

Elsa at Disney On Ice show using Samsung Galaxy S9

The camera has been the main feature of the Galaxy smartphones, and they have really taken out the market of point and shoot cameras. Everyone likes to carry the camera on their smartphones, and every company is making dual or triple or more lenses cameras. With Galaxy S9, I have not used my DSLR camera as I could the same kind of photos with a smartphone and secondly, its much less weight to carry the smartphone. The third benefit can be to immediately share the photos/videos on your social media channels. Live Focus is one feature which will make you leave your DSLR behind as you can change your background blur afterwards or can have the shallow depth of field in photographic terms as per your choice which DSLR doesn't give instantly. The only thing I didn't like in S9 is when you zoom the camera, it brings in a lot of noise even in full sunlight conditions.

Who is cuter? using Samsung Galaxy S9

Dust and Water resistance has been Galaxy Smartphones features since S5, but this one has the IP68 rating which will enable you to take selfies or photos in the rain. Dolby Atmos is the new three-dimensional surround sound theatre like effect to your new Samsung S9 smartphone. With Samsung smartphones, there are always a series of new features which a user has to identify himself/herself over time, and I really love finding those on my Galaxy Note 8 and earlier loaned S8+ one from office.

Happy Birthday Aashish on 22nd July using Samsung Galaxy S9

This is one smartphone for which I can go to any edge of beg, borrow or steal. Samsung has always been the frontrunner of technology and looking forward to what they have in store on 9th August 2018 when they launch the Galaxy Note 9 phablet. I am celebrating my 38th birthday on 22nd July, and only wishes that Universe listen to me this year.

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!