The Nokia Guide

Weather and moisture proof gadgets on the way!

2008-07-21T22:54:01-04:30

Golden Shellback Waterproof Coating from gCaptain on Vimeo.

Golden Shellback is special coating that’s applied on electronic devices and is said to keep it safe from the elements. I can see something like this on future Nokia devices, but wouldn’t such a thing make cases obsolete? To give you a better idea of the product, this is what the official company website has to say;

“Golden Shellback coating is a unique coating that protects critical operational equipment against damage and loss of function caused by exposure to weather and moisture. It is ideal for application in the electronics industry.

Golden Shellback coating produces a vacuum deposited film that is nonflammable, has low toxicity and has the ability to weatherproof electronic devices and other surfaces. It contains no volatile organic combustibles (VOCs). The clear, nearly non-detectable, uniform film is insoluble in solvents. When applied to clean, moisture free surfaces, such as plastic, copper, aluminum, metal, ceramic, steel, tin or glass, the coating is transparent with excellent weather proofing and anti-corrosion properties.

Advantages

Golden Shellback coating has an excellent ability to repel oils, synthetic fluids, hazardous materials, dust, dirt and water based solutions. Low surface tension values, such as water and oils will bead and drain freely from coated surfaces. The process produces a uniform, continuous, near hermetic coating that resists rain and humidity. Electronics casually exposed to water continue to work even after exposure. The coating is readily applied and not generally considered to be removable. Repairs are made using abrasive methods. “

Via: Gizmodo

Nokia N78 added to the list of DNLA certified devices

2008-07-20T23:03:32-04:30

A quick check on the DNLA website revealed that the N78 joins devices like the N95, N95 8GB and N82 in being DNLA certified devices. DLNA-compatible devices serve two different functions: Server, Client or both. "Servers" distribute media such as image, music, or video files, and "clients" receive and play the media. Devices like N95 8GB, N82 and now N95 are classified as a Mobile Media Server, allowing you to make the content available to clients like the Sony PS3 and DNLA printers. If you’re wondering how exactly this certification can be put to use you can see how it can be connected to a Sony Playstation 3 to play music, show pictures and control your media, like in the video below. Pretty soon you’ll also be able print wirelessly via WIFI using DNLA certified printer.

The E71 and its Notification-light

2008-07-20T22:53:29-04:30

Remember the N80’s cool (and handy) Blue notification light? Or what about the one on the N800? The recently released E71 has this same function, but with an added touch of class. The notification light actually serves a dual purpose. Once the phone has entered the power-saving mode it tells you that the phone is On by slowly flashing the notification light: it gradually turns the light On (once every 8 seconds) and gradually turns the light Off. If that wasn’t enough it also serves as well, a notification light. You can set it to notify you of new Missed calls, New Text messages, New SMS messages and New e-mails received. While none of this is really new to us here at The Nokia Guide, I have to say that the way it gradually turns on and off when in power-saving mode adds a touch of class and somehow a gives it an almost organic feel to it. Dare I even say a bit of personality? Have a look at the short video and let me know what you think.

How fast is the E71 when it comes to data transfer speed?

2008-07-20T21:25:08-04:30

The Nokia E71 is another handset supporting microSDHC, meaning that it can use microSD cards up to 32GB. Wondering how fast you can fill up those cards? The transfer speed is going to be key! Using the HD Tach storage benchmark using the included 2GB memory card and we got the following numbers (in MB/s):

Basically it speeds is about as fast as recent Nseries devices like the n95 8GB or even earlier devices like the N76. Only the Internet Tablets are faster at 5.1MB/s.

Ultimate Accessories for your Nseries part 1

2008-07-17T01:27:13-04:30

In many cases, after buying that brand new Nseries it far from over as a great deal of your budget when buying mobile devices goes to the accessories. But what if money was no object, what ultimate accessories should you get for your Nseries?

Playstation 3($399-$499): The Playstation is currently one of the best and cheapest Blu-ray players and one of the first supporting BD-Live. Just like N95, N95 8GB, N78, N82, N96 it supports DNLA and UpnP which all comes down to wirelessly accessing files stored on the one of the devices mentioned above and displaying it on your large Plasma screen, like your pictures or videos. No need to worry about your music collection as that too can be wirelessly accessed and played on your Home Theater. I think this vid should do the trick.

Shure SE530PTH ($549.00): Simply put, the Shure SE530PTH is one of the best sounding In-Ear-Monitors (IEM) under $1000. In-Ear Monitor sit directly inside the ear canal and fully envelope it. IEM serve a double duty: they also act as earplugs to block out environmental noise. This not only has its advantages when it comes to isolating the listener from outside noise, but it also has its implications when it comes to the volume needed for comfortable listening and of course performance, delivering much greater dynamic range, as compared to the average earphone/earbud. Equipped with two woofers and tweeter this things produces incredible sound and has become my personal earphone of choice when enjoying my tunes on my N95 8GB. It’s noise-blocking properties totally isolate you from the rest of the world, luckily it’s included Push-to-Hear module has a mic and transfer music ambient sound to your ears allowing you to make normal conversation without taking them off.

SoundCast Outcast ($699): Most portable speaker sound horrible. The outcast is portable and features an 8” downward firing woofer, four 3” high frequency drivers in an omni-directional array, a 100 watt digital amplifier and the Soundcast receiver. The best thing about this is that it’s rechargeable, allowing you to take these anywhere you like, even outdoors due to speakers being weather proof. The Soundcast receiver allows you to keep your Nseries inside and wirelessly stream music to the Outcast outside! Finally a portable speaker that really sounds good.

Sandisk 16 GB microSDHC (No word on price): With an impending release of the N96 with its built-16GB of memory and the option of adding microSDHC cards, you could very soon be walking around with devices holding no less than 32GB’s of memory. Sorry N95 8GB and N81 GB users, you’re out of luck here.

Proporta’s “No Ordinary Designer Charger Kit” by Ted Baker:The Proporta Mobile Charger has become a de facto standard when it comes to mobile charging. Recently Proporta released a special edition black version of the Mobile Charger called the “No Ordinary Designer Charger Kit” by Ted Baker. According to Wikipedia Ted Baker is “is a British clothing retail company, known for applying twists to their products, and has become a UK designer label through word of mouth rather than advertising. It seems that the updated unit was Styled by Ted Baker London and features a new black and grey look. Hardware-wise the unit is exactly like the original except for the new black and grey look with the Ted Baker sign and a drawstring bag. The unit will sell for as much as the original version, which is around $ 49.95.If that wasn’t enough they also released the Ted Baker Six Pack which includes all of the above but adds the World AC Power and Car Power Supply (with USB) for $ 59.95.

What high-end accessory have you bought or are thinking of buying for your Nseries?

The new Nokia Tune, do you like it?

2008-07-17T00:28:23-04:30

Nokia tune is a selected passage from the solo guitar composition Gran Vals. Apparently: “In 1993 Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President of Nokia, brought the whole Gran Vals for Lauri Kivinen (now Head of Corporate Affairs) and together they selected the excerpt that became "Nokia tune"”.

Stefan was one of the first to break the news about the new Nokia Tune ringtone included with some of the newer devices like the E71 and N78. Do I like it? It’s OK I guess, but in some ways I prefer the previous Nokia Tune. The newer version starts abruptly and just isn’t recorded in a way to allow it to be loud enough, no matter how loud the built-in speakers are. Nokia doesn’t even include the older version in some of the newer devices like the E71. How about adding it back in newer firmware versions Nokia? Something so iconic and especially recognizable as the previous “Nokia Tune” should remain and even if it’s replaced with a newer version it should stay true to the original. In my opinion the newer version doesn’t do the Nokia Tune any justice. The ensemble in this Youtube vid seems to do a better job. What do you think? Do you like the new Nokia tune?

Joikuspot lacks infrastructure support?

2008-07-16T23:58:31-04:30

I recently found myself using what seems like one of the best S60 apps available: Joikuspot. Especially having unlimited 3G service, my N95 8GB, a notebook and of course Joikuspot means I can hop online at fairly high speeds anywhere where 3G is available on the island, which in my case means everywhere!

Recently I really have gotten into gaming and the media possibilities of the Playstation 3 and found myself going to friends with my PS3 and needing high speed internet access. One of the easiest solutions I turned to was the N95 8GB + Joikuspot +3G. The PS3 is able to detect WLAN connection and connect wireless, but no matter what I did it just didn’t want to see the Joikuspot connection.

After a bit of searching, it was clear what was wrong: Joikuspot on S60 based smartphones only supports the ad hoc mode, while devices like the PS3, PSP, Nintendo DS and IPod Touch require WLAN in an infrastructure mode. To make sure this works all you need to do now is check if your device can get online via infrastructure mode.

In the end I’m left with one question, is this a limitation of Joikuspot or Symbian S60? The reason why this is unclear is because of these two phrases used on the Joikuspot FAQ section:

“E) Why doesn't JoikuSpot work with Sony PSP or Nintendo DS?

Sony PSP and Nintendo DS require WLAN infrastructure mode. JoikuSpot does not support this yet.”

“D) Why does JoikuSpot appear as computer to computer (ad hoc) network?

Currently Symbian OS used in Nokia phones does not support WLAN infrastructure mode.”

A 3G-enabled Nseries, 3G service and joikuspot is a killer combination, but a whole lot of devices can be added if infrastructure mode can be added. Is this a limitation of Symbian S60 or Joikuspot? What do you think?

Nokia E71: First Impressions

2008-07-14T00:16:59-04:30

The Nokia E71 has arrived here at the Nokia Guide and having just a weekend to play with the new enterpriselicious QWERTY device so far, it’s not enough to write a full-blown Mega Review, but how about a few random thoughts and opinion based on my usage for now? The E71 arrived in a box similar to what we are used to with Nseries devices, except for two interesting things: a much much smaller box and using the color red as an “accent color”. Normally we are used to the grey, white and even pinkish Nseries, but red for the Eseries?! As you’ll soon see, it’s not only a part of the box that’s red.

The sample received was a “Grey Steel” E71-1 supporting Dual mode WCDMA (900/2100 HSDPA) and Quadband GSM (EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900MHz) with the v100.07.76 firmware. The standard retail package comes with:

· Nokia E71

· Nokia Battery (BP-4L)

· Nokia Charger (AC-5)

· Nokia connectivity cable (CA-101)

· Nokia Headset (HS-47)

· Nokia Eseries Lanyard

· Nokia Eseries Pouch

· User Guide, Quick Start Guide and other documentation

· 2GB microSD card

-Build-Quality is exceptional. Coming from something like N95 8GB, N95 or even the N82, the E71 stays true to Eseries tradition by delivering outstanding build quality that only gets better with the use of metals and the tight gaps between parts. The E71 leaves the N95 and N95 8GB far behind when it comes to build quality.

-The textured metal on the back adds a surprising amount of grip, yet adds an interesting and sophisticated design element.

-The E71 has a layout that’s the closest thing to perfect I have ever seen from Nokia, everything from the QWERTY keyboard, the overall size, the space between the elements, the buttons, it all just works perfectly, if only they could make the screen bigger: 2.8 or even 3”. The Nseries definitely should get such a device with such a layout and QWERTY keyboard.

-The included 2.5 mm Nokia AV connector is a disappointment and believe me it’s a big one. You truly appreciate the 3.5mm audio jack when a device lacks it. This is probably the biggest negative side of the E71.

-No TV-Out. With full-office editing and viewing functions, having this would have been the ultimate “leave your notebook at home” feature. Doing presentations via a TV-out function would have been ideal for the business user.

-The E71’s keys remind me of the excellent N93 keys, only slightly smaller and not as “spongey”, with the same rounded shape pointing upwards. The keys on the E71 work really well and are a positive change from flat keys we’ve seen so far from the likes of the N78. N93i. Even though the keys on the N82, N95 and N95 8GB worked, they should have been like the N93 and W71. Every key on the E71 exudes a quality feel, including the solid feeling Naviwheel.

-The new Nokia Tune is an interesting change, but where’s the original one?

-The addition of a lanyard and a pouch is nice touch and Nokia should this every Eseries and Nseries device. Too bad the pouch doesn’t have a belt loop or clip.

-Remember the red color on the box? This color is again repeated on the power button, lanyard and even the inside of the pouch. Red isn’t the accent color I would think of using when designing a business device, but it sure works well. This leads me to believe that the E71 and slider E66 are despite their business roots, they seem to have robbed a few ideas from Nokia L’Amour and Super Nova fashion devices.

-Despite the inclusion of a fairly decent (on paper atleast) 3.2 Megapixel Auto-Focus camera, the E71 falls behind other 3.2 MP devices like the N73 and N93 or even 2 Megapixel devices like the N70. The reason why the camera falls behind is due to the noisy sensor and poor dynamic range. This is expected from a business oriented devices, but this probably means that unlike devices like N82 that can double as a camera, the E71 should be left for emergencies only. In the case of the N82 you could leave the camera at home, in the case of the E71 you’ll probably need to carry more devices to cover the multimedia side of things.

-The breathing light is a cool, yet functional touch.

-The E71 is smaller in person than what I expected and let’s not forget how thing the device is, especially when you realize that the battery takes quite a bit of space.

-Speaking of batteries, the E71 battery life is quite impressive.

-Devices like the N76, N800 and even N93i screen were almost unreadable in direct sunlight, luckily just like the N95, N95 8GB and N93, the E71’s screen stays readable even in the brightest tropical sun.

-The E71 is a finger print magnet, especially the back. This is probably caused by the abundant use of metals and shiny surfaces. Just in case you were wondering the E71 should double as a signaling device in case of any emergency due to the shiny surfaces. Even when taking pictures of yourself, the back can be used as a giant mirror.

-The menu is very responsive and apps open up very quick.

What would you like to know about the E71? And if you were lucky enough to score an E71, what interesting things have you noticed?

PC Suite, Nseries PC Suite and now Nokia OVI Suite and Dashwire 2.0

2008-07-09T20:46:57-04:30

For a while now we’ve had the Nokia PC Suite and the not-so-popular Nseries PC Suite. And now we can add OVI Suite, which seems to be replacing both the Nseries PC Suite and PC Suite. Symbian-Guru, Ricky Cadden has the details on the new software here. And if that wasn’t enough we can now add Dashwire 2.0 to mix which is set to release a special version for Symbian S60 based Nokia’s, set to launch this summer. What will you be using? PC Suite, Nseries PC Suite,Nokia OVI Suite or Dashwire?

Tip of the day: Changing the Nseries TV-out to PAL or NTSC

2008-07-09T20:27:55-04:30

Staying in the TV-out theme, our tip of the day is for TV-out equipped Nseries devices. Travelers hopping from country to country, might find themselves using the TV-out feature with the resulting image looking a bit funny. This could be the result of choosing the wrong analogue video signal; here you have the choice of either NTSC or PAL. Just go to Tools>Settings>General>Enhancement>TV-Out and set the TV System to either PAL or NTSC. This applies for the N82, N93, N93i, All variants of the N95 and of course N96. The image below should help to indicate where PAL and NTSC are supported.

How can the TV-out feature be improved?

2008-07-09T20:24:08-04:30

Introduced with the N93, the TV-out feature is still alive and kicking on the latest high-end Nokia devices like the N96 or N82. Once you think about it truly enhances the “Multmidia Computer” aspect of the Nseries. Want a gaming console? Connecting the TV-out cable, adding a Bluetooth keyboard and what you essentially get is a fully featured gaming console with online gaming that can even play the classics. The same can be done with other productivity tasks like Spreadsheet, Word and Powerpoint viewing and editing or even entertainment in the form of media playback and surfing. While we can go on and on about the possibilities, I can’t help but wonder why this features has basically stayed the same ever since it was introduced on the Transformer-like N93.

Despite moving to HDTVs with resolution of up to 1080 (1920×1080) using Component video cables, DVI or even the newer HDMI connection, the Nseries’ solution for TV-out still relies on the Nokia Video Connectivity Cable CA-75U or CA-64U that outputs a 320x240/240x320 resolution using a RCA connector for composite video and stereo audio. When it comes to video playback though, it thankfully uses a 640x480 resolution.

How come we get to get one of the most advanced mobile solutions coupled with high-performance, high res screen, yet we can’t make full use of this due to the now dated TV-out system. Leading to the question: How can the TV-out feature be improved?

1.Higher output resolution

On current Nseries device, the output is a pretty low-res 320x240/240x320 and 640x480 when playing back recorded video. While this might look OK on older low-res screen, the same cannot be said about that fancy new Plasma or LCD screen you just bought. Another reason why adding higher video-output is a must, is because, it’s just a matter of time, when these devices start to record in HD and you are going to want a nice new TV-out system that can output at the same high-quality resolution. On the current system the output resolution is mostly limited to the screen resolution. In future devices we might see VGA screens which means that for outputting the UI theirs is going to be the need for up converting to a higher resolution. Output of at least 720 (1280x720) should do the trick on most new HDtvs. Better yet would be user selectable resolutions.

2.Longer modular cable

The included Nokia Video Connectivity Cable CA-75U or CA-64U are way too short. I found myself in many cases wanting for a longer cable. In certain situation you’ll find yourself way to close to the TV for it to be of any practical use. And while it would be nice to support the newer, higher-res screens, keeping the support for older TVs (atleast for a few years) would be nice. They could always include several cable, but having a modular cable design is in my opinion the way to go.

3.Add audio upmixing and virtual speaker technology

There’s always the possibility of adding more mics to capture audio for a true 5.1 or even 7.1 audio playback, but for mobile solutions I think it would be best to just stick to two mics and use sound upmixing technologies like Dolby Headphones and virtual speaker techniques like Dolby Virtual speaker to upmix the recorded audio to a 5.1 or in the case of just two speakers using virtual speaker technology

to create the effect of having a true surround sound setup. Nokia has been working with Dolby laboratories, making this something that we might see very soon in future devices.

4.Exact screen output vs Presentation mode

In some cases like viewing images in Gallery the devices would output the images in full-screen and not show an exact representation of what happening on the screen like displaying the carousel of images, in such cases an “Exact screen output” mode would be appropriate. There should be option to change this. Other times when doing a presentation for example you don’t want other to see the menu, just the media to be played back. In such a case the “Presentation mode” would come in handy where it only shows the media being displayed and hides things like menu screen or options while you are adjusting these and instead it could show a stand-by screen with your company’s logo.

Do you find the TV-out function useful? How do you think it can be improved?

The Future is FOTA… again?!

2008-06-25T17:56:39-04:30

In the “15 things I’ve wondered about the Nseries,” which I wrote 2 days ago, I asked myself what happened to FOTA and why isn’t it used anymore? Apparently it is still used, but not as often and not on as many handsets as we would think. Some 6120 user for example pointed it out that they had performed such an update. But wasn’t FOTA (Firmware-Over-The-Air) supposed to be this big feature on S60 Feature Pack 1 devices? It seems like more S60 3^rd edition devices (Non-Feature Pack 1) devices supported and actually use this feature than the actual FP1 devices themselves. Think of the N80, N80IE and N73, all supporting and even frequently updating via FOTA.

Nokia seems to be making a new attempt at using FOTA by releasing the FOTA-only software version 11.043 for the FP2-based N78. The N78 update will not be available through the Nokia Software Updater application, but is available directly through the Nokia N78 and improves the stability with Bluetooth (headsets and car kits) and music (playback over a long time and content refresh). It will also include optimized Camera performance and Naviscroll sensitivity improvements, requiring a 2MB download. Nokia informs that “To get this software through your Nokia N78, click Menu > Tools > Utilities > Device Manager. Select Options > Check for updates and follow the on-screen prompts. Remember that you can also use Wi-Fi to download the update.”

After such a long time tt’s great to see Nokia using FOTA on a recent device such as the N78, but in my opinion the user should have options and in this case releasing a FOTA-only update to me seems like a big No-No.

In other FOTA news, Nokia has released OS2008 Feature Upgrade v. 4.2008.23-14 for the Nseries’ line of Internet Tablet. The great thing about this update is that again further OS updates will be made available over-the-air. User will automatically get notifications about the availability of OS updates in the status bar when new updates are provided or by manually checking this from the Application manager. Worth noting however is that again this will only work over WLAN connections, while updates via PC are apparently just being left out.

This to me seems like a case of giving more options to the user and to me leaving out updates via the PC seems like a not so good idea. So basically we would like FOTA, but we would love to keep updates via the PC.

What do you think? Should Nokia completely remove the option of updating via the PC?

15 things I’ve wondered about the Nseries

2008-06-23T20:48:24-04:30

1. If the Eseries stands for Enterprise, than what does the “Nseries” stand for?

2. Why doesn’t the Nseries include USB charging?

3. Why wasn’t Nokia able to make a stylish and feature packed phone (N76 doesn’t count)?

4. Why does the N95 8GB with no upgradeable memory, exposed camera and lower Image Quality (when compared the N95) is considered an upgrade?

5. Why doesn’t screen auto-rotation work when the device is turned to the left?

6. Why doesn’t the Nseries Internet Tablets include phone functionality?

7. What will happen when all the numbers are used?

8. Why is the SportsTracker name used, when in fact it could be used for more than that?

9. Why are the icons being moved around with every new phone or even firmware?

10. What happened to FOTA and why isn’t it used anymore?

11. Why aren’t detailed lists provided with every new firmware?

12. Why isn’t firmware updates cached in case I want to reinstall them?

13. Why was the Video editor TRULY removed on the N95 8GB and N82?

14. If the N93 had such a great keypad, than why are newer keypads getting worse? (N82, N78)

15. In Nokia Search, why can’t I send the file I just found?

Add Sync ‘n charge via USB to your N95 8GB: Proporta USB Sync-Charge Cradle

2008-06-23T19:48:25-04:30

It’s no secret that Nseries device have an obvious limitation: No re-charging via the now universal micro- and miniUSB connections. This problems also ties in with the need to include a desk holder in the Nseries packages that’s also able to charge the device and perform the usual data transfer and sync duties via PC Suite or your Media Player. Nokia does offer the universal Desk Stand DT-13, up till now only the N91 has been blessed with the included DT-10 desk stand and before we forget the Nokia Phone Holder NK007044. As for USB charging, Nokia does offer the Charger via USB port CA-100, but again this solution only offers charging via USB , but no data transfer and sync. Until Nokia offers such a solution and includes it in the package, Proporta comes to the rescue with their dynamic duo...

Proporta offers two solutions for Nseries users that need both USB charging and data-transfer in one: the Proporta USB Sync-Charge Cradle and the USB Sync and Charger Cable. These two solutions might look different, but in the end it’s basically the same thing where the USB Sync-Charge Cradle, adds, well the cradle. By now you might be asking: The Nseries doesn’t support charging via the USB cable, so how is it charging? Basically it isn’t, but rather splits the cable in two on one ends: a miniUSB cable and the standard 2mm charger plug. On the other side there’s of course the standard USB plug that connects to your PC. With the USB Sync-Charge Cradle they have neatly fitted the miniUSB and 2mm charger connector in a nice looking black cradle, that I must say perfectly matches the look of the N95 8GB. Proporta’s solution is so simple and works so well that you have to wonder why Nokia doesn’t offer such a product until they get transfer-and-charge via USB sorted out.

The cradle itself is very well built from this solid lightly textured plastic and has this clear see-through plastic support where your N95 8GB would sit on the stand. The matte black finish also helps to hide those nasty finger prints. Interestingly once you do place the phone into the charger there’s quite a lot of free space left behind the phone where you could place all sorts of stuff like memory cards, keys, coins etc. I’m not sure whether it was their intention to create this free space for you to place all sorts stuff or if this “free surface” is the results of creating the necessary space to house the internals. On the front there’s a nice looking and handy blue LED that lights up when the unit is properly connected to the USB port. On the back there’s the usual USB connector port where you would plug the USB cable. Taking a closer look on the back reveals that Proporta has included a place to plug-in your Nokia charger allowing the USB Sync-Charge Cradle to double as a fancy dekstop charger.

Same story with the USB Sync and Charger Cable, of course sans the cradle.

Conclusions

Both the Proporta USB Sync-Charge Cradle and the USB Sync and Charger Cable are exactly what I was looking for: data transfer and charging via a single cable, providing a seamless solution to a shortcoming on Nseries devices. Choosing one over the other is just a matter of needing the cradle or not. Choosing the cradle unit will cost more at $24.95 while the cable will set you back $15.95. The USB Sync-Charge Cradle might look like the obvious solution to go for and personally I think it is, but travelers or users that want a more portable and compact solution would be best suited with the USB Sync and Charger Cable.

Proporta should consider adding a slide-to-close door that conceals a compartment where stuff could be stored inside USB Sync-Charge Cradle. They should also consider (especially for N82, N78 and N96 owners) adding a microUSB version of the USB Sync-Charge Cradle. As for the cable adding a clasp similar to recent USB cable included with the N82. Both accessories get a glowing 10 out of 10.

Pros

USB Sync-Charge Cradle

Sync and charge in one solution

Good Build quality

Cradle can double as desktop charger (with phone charger connected)

Matches the looks of the N95 8GB

Handy Blue LED informing the unit is plugged in

Cons

None

Pros

USB Sync and Charger Cable

Sync and charge in one solution

Perfect mobile solution for road warriors on the go with their notebooks

Simple and perfect solution

Cons

None

Suggestions

USB Sync and Charger Cable

-adding a clasp to the cable

USB Sync-Charge Cradle

-adding a slide-to-close door that conceals a compartment

-microUSB version of the USB Sync-Charge Cradle

Back home!

2008-06-23T19:44:15-04:30

I know I’ve been a little behind with my post, my apologies for this. I just returned from a trip to Aruba where the local telecom provider Setar invited me for a weeklong event to talk about Nokia’s Nseries and to educate the staff on the many uses of these devices communicating in the local Papiamentu language. Setar on the neighboring island of Aruba is the first Caribbean provider to launch a 3.5G network. It was a fun, action filled week where we covered everything from the Nseries line, S60, Applications, Smartphones and the endless possibilities of these devices. Having clocked 30 hours (total) of lectures, I will need to hit the beaches to get some rest, but in the end the staff was quite impressed and surprised as to what is possible on these powerful devices. I will be making several trips to Aruba on upcoming events. Happy to be back home and let the posting begin! :)

Proporta Mobile Charger restyled by Ted Baker

2008-06-11T16:26:15-04:30

The Proporta Mobile Charger has become a de facto standard when it comes to mobile charging. When I reviewed the unit it was clear why it has become the current standard: there just wasn’t much to complain about here. Proporta later on released a smaller and improved version of the charger called the Mobile Device Charger Micro (albeit with a lower a capacity), which I reviewed here. Recently Proporta released a special edition black version of the Mobile Charger called the “No Ordinary Designer Charger Kit” by Ted Baker. According to Wikipedia Ted Baker is “is a British clothing retail company, known for applying twists to their products, and has become a UK designer label through word of mouth rather than advertising. It seems that the updated unit was Styled by Ted Baker London and features a new black and grey look. Hardware-wise the unit is exactly like the original except for the new black and grey look with the Ted Baker sign and a drawstring bag. The unit will sell for as much as the original version, which is around $ 49.95.

If that wasn’t enough they also released the Ted Baker Six Pack which includes all of the above but adds the World AC Power and Car Power Supply (with USB) for $ 59.95.

16 GB Sandisk microSD cards to be released in July

2008-06-10T19:47:51-04:30

I was informed from my sources close to Sandisk that those sought-after 16GB microSD cards are supposed to be available to online stores in about 4 weeks, which should put availability sometime in July. This pushes availability 1 month later as these were supposed to available in June as we hoped. Apparently SanDisk seemed have had few issues lately and due to the large inventory of 8GB cards that needs to be moved, all have lead to the delay of the 16GB cards.

With an impending release of the N96 with its built-16GB of memory and the option of adding microSDHC cards, you could very soon be walking around with devices holding no less than 32GB’s of memory. Will you be getting the N96 with one of those 16GB Sandisk microSDHC cards?

Update: Some of you have been asking about the 12GB Sandisk microSD cards. It seems Sandisk will completely skip these and go straight for the 16GB models. Looking ahead, 32GB microSD cards should be arriving in the next 12 to 18 months, making it possible for users to carry a total of 48GB of memory in a device like the N96.

Gaming keys work on the N95 8GB…too

2008-06-04T22:53:57-04:30

As Tzer2 at Allaboutsymbian has pointed out, the N95 does have gaming keys. He has heard mixed reports about the N95 8GB, but I can confirm that on my N95 8GB (N95-2) with the latest firmware, the gaming keys work in N-Gage. What variant of the N95 do you have and do the gaming keys work in N-Gage?

Nseries vs HSDPA Modem

2008-06-03T00:32:54-04:30

Recently the local providers of Curacao (UTS) and Aruba (SETAR) have launched the Caribbean’s first UMTS network (including HSDPA). Besides offering just the mobile options, users can also opt for the HSDPA access modem, in this case the Huawei E220 for PC’s and especially Notebook access. The E220 is an all-in-one solution including HSDPA modem, USB mass storage device and virtual CD-ROM device. Opting for the modem means paying the expensive local purchase price or adding an extra fee to the monthly charge. As an official tester for UTS I decided to put the N95 8GB and the Black N82 against the Huawei E220 HSDPA USB modem. Would the Nseries be slower? How long would the batteries last when tethered?

The N95 8GB and the Black N82 were able to perform just as fast as the dedicated HSDPA modem, clocking close to the 3.6 Mbit/s limit as indicated by www.speedtest.net An interesting observation however is that the N82 seemed to disconnect more frequently than the N95 8GB or the HSDPA modem. This could be pure chance, but it also could be that it’s less sensitive at picking up signals. During the course of 3 days, the HSDPA disconnected just 1 time just like the N95 8GB, while the N82 disconnected 5 times.

As for the battery life, the N95 8GB lasted 2 hours and 24 minutes tethered to my laptop, while the N82 lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes before its battery died. The HSDPA modem was USB powered so it could keep going for as long as your Notebook could.

Conclusion

The N95 8GB and N82 work well as HSDPA modems giving you virtually the same performance as a stand-alone HSDPA modems. With the latest Nseries devices you can expect battery life of about 2.5 hours, which by itself isn’t bad, but can’t compete with a USB powered unit like the Huawei E220 in the sense that most notebook can keep going for longer than 2.5 hours. In the case that your notebook is plugged in and you didn’t bring your charger along means that the HSDPA modem could keep going while the the N95 8GB and N82 would be dead in less than 3 hours. Getting the Nokia Nokia Charger via USB port CA-100 should bring the latest Nseries devices on par with a stand-alone HSDPA modem.

CNET reviews the Nokia MD-7

2008-06-01T19:20:01-04:30

CNET takes a look at Nokia’s Bluetooth Stereo Speakers the MD-7 and informs that they are easy to use and that they offer quality audio performance. On the other side they think that the MD-7 speakers are expensive and their design is somewhat unstable. In the mean time I’m working on a review for much much larger speakers that will REALY fill a room with sound and bass (Think 8” Subwoofer), so stay tuned….

Nokia PDF document highlighting the differences between the N95, N95 8GB and the N96.

2008-05-25T23:55:35-04:30

James Powell from the Talk About Nseries blog has found a PDF document highlighting the differences between the N95, N95 8GB and the N96. No surprises here, but analyzing the document reveals a few interesting details. First of all the document indicates that the N96 includes A-GPS, but that it has an improved antenna. Another interesting detail is that they mention that the N96 has “Enhanced Audio Quality.” But it’s still unclear whether they are referring to the Digital Audio Processing for music playback or that audio-recording during movies has been improved. The N96 also appears to have the ability to natively playback WMV and WMV-DRM (finally!) But the most interesting information has got to be the fact that they indicate that the N96 will have an effective transfer rate of about 50 Mbit/s, 10 times faster than the N95 8GB and N95 which is a huge improvement over current devices on the market. It’s something that we’ve been complaining about and I’m glad to see the the official numbers. I do have to say that the real-world transfer on the N95 8GB is more around 0.8 to 1Mbit/s (the document mentions 5Mbit/s) which I think should put the real-world transfer of the N96 more in the 10-15Mbit/s range which is still pretty fast.

The documents can be found here and here.

Benchmark your Nseries with newly released JBenchmark SVG

2008-05-25T23:08:27-04:30

Kishonti Informatics, the guys behind JBenchmark have released their latest benchmark in the form of JBenchmark SVG.

The new version features:
- Heavy load on animation, DOM access and modification, spline and polygon rendering
- Mapping test
- User Interface simulation
- Font rendering
- Gaming
- Cartoon animation
- SVG load and parse test
- Low level performance tests

What’s cool about the JBenchmark series, including the new JBenchmark SVG, is that you can customize the benchmark by choosing what subtests to include. These subtests are like small test benchmarking your Nseries performing different tests like gaming, cartoon animation etc. and upload the results and compare to other devices.

If you’re interested in more graphic-intensive benchmarking you can always try the Futuremark’s SPMark for Symbian OS or Nokia E3 Tech Demo. The hardware-accelerated Nseries are known to ace these test, but how do they perform in 2D, animation and mapping tests?

What’s the best way of implementing media keys on a Candybar?

2008-05-21T21:16:25-04:30

Point number 2 of my recent post: “The 10 reasons why the N82 isn’t perfect ” mentions that something that the N82 lacks are media keys. This got me thinking: On sliders like the N95 it’s been pretty much solved by doing a dual slide design which houses media keys, but how should these be implemented on a Mono block device like the N82?

1. Slide-out top-mounted media keys: The N95’s slide-out design works perfectly, so why not do the same for a mono block device like the N82? This could be done by having a small slide-out portion at the top of the device.

2. Traditional side-mounted keys: This is probably one of the more traditional ways of adding media keys: placing keys on the sides of the phone. Peter Rullmann from the Humane Computing blog suggests that side-mounted media keys on the mono block devices like the N82, would Not only to control the music player but also to start a voice recording.

3. Sliding front cover. A similar idea was implemented on the N91 and N91 8GB which in fact were candybar devices with a sliding front cover.

4. Stealth keys surrounding the D-pad, which were implemented on the N81 series of devices and soon to be released N96.

In my opinion the raison the etre for candybar devices is having a sturdy and compact devices and having slide-out (point 1) and slide-to-cover solutions like the N91 (point 4) would work well, but would add unnecessary moving parts which candybar lovers are VERY sensitive about. Stealth keys like the N81 don’t work so well as it all has the be pushed into a very tiny space and it also increases the chance of accidentally pressing the wrong keys. Based on this, I would say that tradional side-mounted media keys stay true to what candybars are all about, while still adding the convenience of media control. What do you think is the best way of implementing media keys on a Candybar design like the N82?

Getting a new phone means losing every single purchased N-Gage game!

2008-05-21T21:03:43-04:30

Over at Allaboutngage there’s a well-written article indicating something that I personally wasn’t aware of: your N-Gage library is locked to the original handset forever. I always thought that my purchased games would somehow be linked to my N-Gage account, but as it turns out getting a new phone means losing every single purchased game! The article goes on suggesting that Nokia should fix by either doing game activation by consulting Nokia's servers or Linking games to a single N-Gage account, and linking that account to a single phone. Personally, I won’t be making a single purchase until this is sorted. What do you think? How should the N-Gage system deal with game purchases, activation and transfer?