mobile phones that possess you

Now, when you get up from a dinner table at a restaurant, you generally not only look for your car keys, but more importantly your mobile phone. i dont need to tell you that your car probably costs more but there is a greater chance that you'll leave your car keys behind than leaving your phone. thats what mobiles have become for us now, a part of "us".



It would be too boring and basic to talk about normal phones (the typical Nokia's, Sony Ericsson's, Motorolla's and Samsung's) so i'll limit my comments to the more interesting phones that seem to have found their way into the Pakistani market.



What i say will center around the iPhone, for two basic reasons. one, i think its way better than any competing enterprise phone like the blackberry and two because I've had very interesting recent experiences with it.



First, lets set the premise; why does one buy an iPhone in Pakistan? to be honest the top of the list is its aesthetic value, an iPhone is cool and everyone notices it. you can be carry the most expensive Nokia or Samsung and nobody will even ask twice; you carry an iPhone and you're bound to get looks and questions. secondly, for those that enjoy their phones, the iPhone can be a lot of fun. you can have hundreds of applications, music, videos, you name it! another key aspect is the browsing and the iPhone's net browsing is divine. big display, easy controls, java; its got the works. now some might tell you its the fact that it has push email but honestly, thats not really a reason. its there but its not the USP of the iPhone.



Ironically, the second important thing is, how does one get an iPhone in a country where its not officially launched? this secondary because if you really want something, you figure out a way to get it. each iPhone has a firmware version, recent ones of the iPhone 3G have been the 2.2, then 2.2.1 and then finally 3.0. each iPhone also has a baseband version (2.28, 2.30). each iPhone also has a bootloader version (5.8, 5.9). too technical? ill tell you why im mentioning this. if you have an iPhone in Pakistan you really need to know which version you have. currently the 2.2 iPhone 3G is working successfully and can be "SIM unlocked" so you can use any SIM with it. if you have the iPhone 2.2.1 (like i did), then you're in trouble. the phone can be jailbroken (so you can use the wifi, net, applications and all) but not your SIM card. this makes it a shiny expensive iPod touch.



So you have an iPhone 3G that someone might have brought for you from somewhere in the world, or you might have bought it from a local shop here and its 2.2.1. there is a solution in the market and its called the turbo sim, or piggyback sim. now this doesnt cost a lot and is a sort of "bypass" method but not an unlocking. i'll give you my example, i bought this and the first week was fine. iPhone worked perfectly. after that, each time my phone would jump its signal from one BTS (mobile tower) to another, the signal would drop and not return for an hour or so! now for a person like me who's married to his phone, this makes the phone useless for me. firmware version unlocks are like anti-virus updates, they do come eventually but it takes time. so i had the option either to wait for the Da Vinci firmware 2.2.1 unlock, or sell the phone. i did the latter.



Now during this whole saga, i was often told that i should invest in a blackberry. enter the second character phone; the crackberry or the bhootberry (ghost berry). my take? blackberry's are ugly. very ugly. yes they are useful but they are exceptionally ugly. my other problem is, all of my friends who have one are addicted to it. and no matter what the critics say, i'm sorry brickbreaker is such a lame game that it makes me want to jump off the roof. the games i had on m iPhone were like having a PSP. so i really dont see the comparison here.



Phones like the iPhone and blackberry have created a shift towards the more advanced features that mobile phones have to offer. the typical brands that i mentioned up there do have almost all the features that these phones have but the introduction and acceptance of these features like the push email, calender, notes and Internet browsing have been made common by the iPhone and blackberry. now there is a great focus on not only the core but the augmented product. a classic example is, my friend has had the same problem with is iPhone but is still using it for the net browsing and the applications! functionally, the phone cannot make/receive calls or send/receive sms's but he's still using it!



so next time you go out or start your search to buy a mobile, you should really ask yourself, what really do you want in a phone in todays world? its not as simple as call/text anymore. its a jungle of numbers (2.2.1, 5.9 8900) out there. oh wait, let me switch on my GPS...

moves of a mediocre 7-on-7 football player

the warm up...

strap around the shin guards and slip on the long socks. as soon as the spikes, toes, kicks come on you get up and do a few hops just to show that you're ready for football. an important part of the warm up is noticing what other players are doing i stand silent and notice the goal-kickers; those who will probably never take a shot on goal during the match but love to slide one in before. then come the trick-passers; who dance around the ball before giving it a simple push knowing well that during the pace of the game such skills are better left to the pros. some prefer to be the force kickers; those that chose an exceptionally distant position from the post simply to display their strength at kicking the ball. a focused mediocre player like myself ofcourse, i like to practice crosses and passes; im generous that way. i do try the odd shot at goal though, for those defining moments when i dream to shine.

the teaming...

perception reigns supreme here. first the perception of each player about how good he is. second the perception of other players about how good the others are and finally the perception of those choosing the teams about how good each player is. i start from the top as i stand there looking at those warming up. simple rule, divide the strikers, then the goalies, then the defenders and try and fit myself in with enough defenders and few strikers to make sure i end up being an attacking mid-fielder.

formations...

So how really do you form your structure with 6 people? (goalie excluded) you point the direction to the strikers and ask everyone else to jump back to defense as soon as the team loses the ball. experience shows, that most people will not come back for defense. with the amount of organizing that i do, i could easily be stubborn and say 'hey i wont fall back, ill play my preferred position' but when your team is down a few goals, you do whats best for everyone. you set the center and set the wings. i mostly walk close to the right wing man, and whisper to him 'after kick off, make a run for it for the space between the midfielder and the left winging back'. much like full scale football, you defender center, right and left; your midfield should ideally be positioned at one wing (because of the lack of people) and one center to receive the ball; and your offense should be center with wings at the right and left for the cross.

kick off...

When you kick off, ive noticed more often than not that one of the hard hitters of the ball will receive it and try a half-line shot towards the unsuspecting goalie; i always scream to my goalie to be aware of this. if you receive you send one player to, basically, "bug" the opposition by following the ball like a guided missile; forcing them to pass quickly and hopefully make a mistake and lose possession.

game in play...

All i can recall, is the game in flashes:

the long ball collected at the chest, scaring the defense and guided with an overpowered shot over the downsized goal

the flawless short passing between 1 midfielder and 2 strikers somewhere close to the right line; losing eventual possession when one starts dribbling too much or works himself into a corner

the beautiful curving corner landing straight onto to head but missing the goal

the constant need of almost all players wanting to score a goal (dont we live in the world of work specialization here boys?) including the goalie!

the long run for the ball behind defense causing panic but losing the ball with the first touch

the brilliant knees-bent shielding by a defender eventually sticking a foot out to either trip the attacker (seemingly unintentionally) or dispossess him

the constant blaming of others for mistakes you make yourself and totally ignoring your lack of brilliance

the clever first touch taking the ball away from the defenders

the stupid first touch giving the ball to the defenders

the stinging pain when the ball hits you hard where you cant rub it where it hurts

the almost goal just before the light goes out and the chacha runs to switch on the generator and restore the lights

the rain which makes the ball heavy and the movement slow

the goal...yes the goal; in whatever way and at whatever time. the passing, the crossing, the dribbling, the tricks and whatever the hell else it takes for someone to push the ball through the net. even though not many people celebrate it during our games, it just seems too much i guess, but the feeling inside is one of achievement and satisfaction like no other.

the take-away's..

What i look for in a game might be very different from what other people do. i guess thats the same with everyone. mentioned earlier, the most common craving is that of a goal. some people gauge performance of theirs or their teammates by the number of goals scored. this however, seems too basic and inaccurate as not everyone on the field should technically be looking to score goals.

what i look for is first of all a good work out and a good even competitive game. the worst games are when one team thrashes the other; even if it is our team doing the thrashing. personally, i look forward to receiving and completing good passes; creative passes and purposeful passes. sadly, in our game nobody really looks at assists; passes that directly lead to a goal. i like to make short passes after a defender has come close enough to pass me once i no longer have the ball. i also like to give lofted passes over the head of a defender.

i also look forward to making unpredictable sudden runs along the right or left wing giving my strikers an extra person to pass to before making a shot on goal. it doesnt always work because i lack very good ball control but it does increase the pace of the game and makes the defenders think twice about all pushing forward.

its extremely satisfying to disarm an attacker. its very simple the way i see it, do not engage the attacker too soon, if you do he could just as easily change lanes or perform a cut-back and leave you standing there. bend your knees, keep jumping on your feet and stepping out in fake movements to make your attacker guess which side you'll commit to. then either make him pass by denying him a part of the field or make that crucial decision to commit your leg to a tackle that will hopefully dispossess him.

i also love taking corners. contrary to normal practice at our "stadium", i like giving lofted balls for a header rather than grounder one for a powerful shot. ironically, much like every other activity on the field except defending most strikers like to take the corner themselves to try and angle the ball in. directly.

i dont know all the take away's, but i do know what the give-away's are. at the end of the game one of the toughest things is to actually collect the money we owe to the groundsman. ironically, you somehow always end up giving something from your pocket. at the end of the day though, it alway seems worth it. we head to the market and sit around chatting about the game over sodaa's.

see you next week...

Football; the not-so-national sport in Islamabad

Traditionally, whenever we use the term "match" or "game" in pakistan, it is immediately assumed we're talking about cricket. However, due to the consistency of our wonderful cricket team and the development of an innovative idea in Islamabad, these are no longer so clear.

Islamabad is a small city to say the least. if you cut out the traffic i can drive from one end of it to the other in less than 20 minutes, wait, minus the speed cameras as well. since our childhood we've seen and played at several cricket grounds. unfortunately for us, just when we hit our mid to late twenties islamabad became host to the first 7-on-7 night football ground in the country. situated beautifully in the center of this city, the ground not only had proper lines and floodlights but also turf (not grass) to play on. as a visiting friend of mine from the massive city of karachi aptly said 'you said this was a ground; it looks like a stadium!'

As a major in marketing, i always quickly jump to the business implications but before that, let me tell you how it works. you have two options, you can either register your team for a monthly subscription that allows you to play a certain number of games a week or you can call a certain mr ali (never seen him) and get the ground booked for 90 minute slot. you pay PKR 2500 ($ 31) which comes to around $2 per person. quite affordable for people who generally play 4-6 times a month. as for the ground, it is prudent to assume they book 6 slots atleast on weekdays and 8 on weekends making it a sustainable business unit.

Looking more closely at the complimentary businesses i'll narrate a little story. when we started playing here, more than a year ago, i went to the local Nike store to buy soccer shoes (kicks, spikes, toes whatever you'd like to call them). when i asked for a certain size in a certain design i was told that they were "all out" of that size. sharing his disbelief with me, the salesman told me that in the recent months their sales of football shoes had sky-rocketed. previously, they couldnt sell soccer shoes regularly because the game was not commonly played. hmmm, 14 players into 46 playing slots per week; thats 644 pairs of shoes at the introduction stage of the product life cycle for the islamabad 7-on-7 football "stadium".

As a writer, i cannot help but look at the social implications as well. i believe that competitive sports are a great way to not only build friendship but also teams. almost every second weekend i argue endlessly with mr ali because some corporate entity or another has booked the ground for a "tournament". even i've had the privalge of being relegated from the second round of the Energile Premier League (EPL). another, more reflective post on this blog that i'm working on will correctly narrate the feelings associated with playing such a sport at our basic level but for now i can tell you that the screams on the field, the directions during the game, the breaks and the cross's, the through balls and the step-overs; it gives you a rush that we, at our age, have long forgotten.

The colors and the international team alliances are also quite interesting to see. its not surprising to find Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona fans but the best sight is seeing Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Turkey, Portugal, England shirts around the field signifying a greater depth and understanding of the game itself rather than just following the crowd. i myself have started building up a collection of football kits.

i recently quit cricket; watching and playing. the former being more obvious, the latter because the general practice here is, you find another team of 11 players. you gather your own team of 11 players. you book a ground. you buy equipment (always, because you seem to misplace or lose it). you get up at 8 in the morning on a sunday, you fight over every little decision on the game. you end the match at something like 4 in the evening with ample space for cheating. no thank you, id rather book the ground, start play and end in 90 minutes screaming like a child every time there is a foul!

My friends in the much more developed cities of Lahore and Karachi listen with envy when i narrate a game to them. much to my delight, ive heard islamabad is building another similar football "stadium". it makes me proud to say this, but despite all that negative trauma that our country is generally associated with, its a great feeling to see how a simple idea has collectively channelled our emotions towards the positive.

despite the red zones, high alerts and car checking, i need to get home early today because i have a match at 9...i wonder, should i wear AC Milan, United or Barcelona?

K. Yousaf

Innovation Journalism