FinestFones

A Quick Look At Barclaycard's PayBand For Wireless Festival 2012

2012-06-19T18:35:00.001+01:00

Barclaycard have always been at the front of NFC payment innovation within the UK; their latest (temporary - applications close tomorrow, June 20th) addition to their NFC product range, the PayBand, is now being delivered to customers. This NFC-enabled wristband will allow those attending the Wireless Festival to pay for goods with just a tap of the wrist, and saves you from having to carry easily-lost cash or a wallet. If you enable the auto top-up feature during set up, you'll also receive a free £5 bonus. I received mine today, so here are a few observations:

-The PayBand itself is very light.
-The payment area is quite large, so it probably won't be too comfortable wearing the payband with a watch.
-The NFC tag within the payband is Type B (ISO/IEC 1443).
-Unlike standard Barclaycard PayPass debit/credit cards, the PayTag does not have any of your personal data (e.g. your name) stored within it - as far as my Galaxy Nexus can tell.
-When you add money, you'll receive a convenient text message alert.
-Along with the PayBand, you'll also receive an 'exclusive festival guide' attached to a Barclaycard lanyard, and a Wireless Festival cloth bag. Pictures below.

I'll be trying out the PayBand at some local NFC-enabled shops, so stay tuned.

How to: Use Non-Sony Generic NFC Tags With SmartTags Application

2012-04-12T15:20:00.000+01:00

Sony have recently brought NFC tags into mainstream use thanks to the launch of the Xperia S and the SmartTags application that comes with it. The SmartTags application is designed to only work with Sony's branded NFC tags, which are quite expensive for what they are - £20 for 4. However, a recent discovery has meant that, with a tiny amount of tinkering, cheap generic tags can be made fully compatible with the application.

What you'll need:
-If you're using a non-Sony device (I'll be using my Galaxy Nexus), you will first need to install the Sony Liveware manager and Xperia SmartTags applications from the Play Store.

-Sony users and non-Sony users alike will have to install NFC Tag Writer and Reader.

-A suitable NFC tag. I used these Mifare Classic 1K tags which came in a pack of 5 for £6.

Thanks go to Alastair Aitchison and his reader James for this discovery!

Video instructions:

Written instructions:
1) Open NFC Tag Writer and Reader. Select the 'write' option and then 'reset tag'. This will clear the tag of any data that already exists on it.

2) Go back to the NFC Tag writer menu and select 'write' again. This time you'll need to select the 'URL' option. Get rid of the http://www. and instead paste in one of the URLs that I've listed below. Select the write option to write the data to your NFC tag.

To make your tag into a 'Car' tag, paste this URL: semc://liveware/A1/1/NT1/1/smarttags1

To make your tag into a 'Home' tag, paste this URL: semc://liveware/A1/1/NT1/2/smarttags1

To make your tag into a 'Bedroom' tag, paste this URL: semc://liveware/A1/1/NT1/3/smarttags1

To make your tag into an 'Office' tag, paste this URL: semc://liveware/A1/1/NT1/4/smarttags1

3) That's it. Now you can open the Liveware manager application to edit what your SmartTags will do when you tap them.

Enjoy!

How To: Add Funds To Google Wallet Outside Of The USA

2011-12-25T10:16:00.000Z

As I mentioned in my previous post, Google Wallet on the Galaxy Nexus is bloody awesome. But what's the point of having Google Wallet if you're stuck with a measly $10? That will get you no more than two small meals at McDonald's. Those of us who have installed Google Wallet (through somewhat questionable means) outside of the United States of America have had no way to top up the Google Prepaid card, since a credit card registered to a US address is needed for the process to go through. Well, that's how Google wanted it anyway. Read on to find out how I topped up my Google Wallet Prepaid card in the UK.

Thanks go to Yoni45 of XDA for this solution!

First of all you're obviously going to need a rooted Galaxy Nexus with Google Wallet installed. Follow instructions on XDA to get the Google Wallet application onto your device and working in the UK (or wherever else you are in the world).

Here's the difficult bit... you're going to need either a friend in North America, or an alternative source of a prepaid MasterCard that allows you to register an address. This is crucial. If you can't get a card like this, or don't have a friend in North America who can get one, you cannot add funds.

Once you have the prepaid card, you're almost set. For my top-up I used a Vanilla MasterCard purchased by a friend in Canada.

If you're using a Vanilla MasterCard, navigate to this website and click on USA (ENGLISH) GIFT CARD. This website allows you to check your balance and, more importantly, register a US address with the card.

Adding a US address to your card:

Enter the card number, expiry date and CVV. This will take you to a page showing your current balance. On the left of the page are some links; click on the link that says 'Register your card'. You'll be taken to the page below:

Now we have to do some hunting. To find a suitable US address, I went to the US Yellow Pages and clicked on a random state. This then gives a list of 'popular cities' in said state. I picked a random city from this list. With my city selected, I navigated to a website called ApartmentRatings and searched for that city using the search box at the top, which then presented me with a list of apartment buildings located there. I then chose a random apartment to use, but make sure you don't forget which one you choose. ApartmentRatings is useful as it provides the full address of the apartment building, as well as a local telephone number. We'll come back to that later, so keep that tab open.

Copy and paste the Zip code from the apartment into the Vanilla MasterCard website. You should then get a confirmation that the card is now immediately usable.

Adding the funds:

Make sure Market Enabler is running on your Galaxy Nexus and then open up Google Wallet. Tap on your Google Prepaid card and then tap 'add funds'. You'll be taken to a screen with a bunch of options for top-up amounts. Tap on other. This is because it's possible that you'll be subject to a 2.5% currency conversion fee, but I'm not 100% certain on this. To play it safe, I subtracted a small percentage from the total amount of the prepaid card that I was using.

After selecting next, you'll now need to enter card details. Use any name you like - I used a completely false name. Make sure you enter the card number and CVV correctly. When you get to address details, use just the address of the apartment building for address line one, you don't need an actual apartment number. For the city field, enter the city that you picked earlier. Use any real email address that you have access to. For the phone number, look on the Apartment Ratings page and use the number listed below the address, but with a few digits (other than the first three) changed.

Tap on add funds and you should be finished. It took about 10 seconds for the funds to be added to my Google Prepaid card.

Hopefully this will work for you, but as with all things as shady as this, I can't guarantee that you'll succeed. If you do have any issues, leave a comment below or use the contact me link to get in touch.

Good luck!

I used Google Wallet on my Galaxy Nexus today

2011-12-06T19:54:00.001Z

Google Wallet is an amazing little application. Many people think that NFC payment solutions aren't yet common enough in the UK to warrant the feature, but I'm sure you'll be surprised when you find out just how many shops accept contactless payment. McDonald's, Starbucks and Greggs are just three of the big names that accept contactless payment. But it's not just the big brands that are moving forward - my local corner shop also supports contactless payment. If the PayPass logo is present, then you can use your phone to pay.

After installing Google Wallet on my Galaxy Nexus last night, I was eager to test it out. So, for lunch today I headed down to Greggs and looked around for something tasty. I picked up a lemon muffin and took it to the counter, only to be informed by the nice lady behind it that contactless payment wasn't allowed for purchases under £3. I'm not sure if that's corporate policy for Greggs, but whatever. Not wanting to blow half of my $10 credit in Greggs, I decided to go into McDonald's instead. Ordered a Mayo Chicken and Hamburger, opened Google Wallet, entered my PIN and tapped the Galaxy Nexus against the contactless payment area - done. Needless to say, the woman at the till was shocked to see that I had just paid for my food with my phone. That was a pretty good feeling.

You can install Google Wallet on your Galaxy Nexus by following the instructions here. I obviously take no responsibility for anything that you do to your phone. Google is currently giving out a free $10 credit to everyone who signs up to Google Wallet before the end of December. My order at McDonald's came in at £1.88, which was converted to $2.95.

And that's the issue. Google Wallet is only officially available in the US at the moment. There are plans to introduce it in the UK during "early 2012", but of course that can mean anything. As Google Wallet isn't meant to be used by residents of the UK, there seems to be no way to add credit to my account. I can only spend the free £6 that Google provided, at least for now. That sucks. I'm sure Google has a good reason for geographically limiting Google Wallet's use... I'd just like to know what it is. As my friends at Grow would say: "shut up and take my money".

I certainly hope Google will open up this feature soon. Is there anything stopping PayPal from writing a similar application to Google Wallet? I genuinely have no clue. Right now, I just want to continue paying for lunch with my phone, and if a competitor beats Google to it, I'll be damned sure to jump ship.

Nokia Now Training Staff For Windows Phone 7 Launch

2011-08-13T11:42:00.000+01:00

Since it was announced that Nokia would be switching to Windows Phone as its primary operating system, everybody has wanted to know when the first device would be available. "Before the end of the year" is the official timeframe that's always brought up, with some suggestions of Q3 being a possibility. Today, along with the news that Nokia has apparently ordered two million Windows Phone devices, comes a tweet from khotabychua showing what looks to be the first page of an official Nokia training document.

I'm sure some of you might be quick to shout "fake", but hear me out. The format is practically identical to this Nokia C6-00 training document (which you can view here - 11mb PDF warning):

Notice the use of terrible backgrounds and jagged edges on the phone image? That's because both of the manuals are made by Upknowledge, a Finnish company that specialises in providing technology training materials.

There are, however, some strange things about this cover. Firstly, the pictured device is a Nokia concept that was revealed soon after the February 11 announcement. Why use a concept device in an official training document? Unless the device exists... hmm? Secondly, the title is 'Windows Phone 7 OS Introduction', despite the fact that Nokia's first Windows Phone will be running Mango, which is Windows Phone 7.5. It's probably not a big deal.

Since it's reasonable to assume that this is real, the version date (5th of August) suggests that Nokia is now seriously gearing up for the release of its first WP7 phone. Availability at Nokia world in October is looking very, very likely.

Nokia N9 Countdown Removed

2011-08-08T14:16:00.001+01:00

Just two days ago, Nokia Sweden placed a 50-day countdown on their N9 Swipe website, suggesting a September 23rd release. Today, that countdown has been removed. As with all things, this can be interpreted in many ways. The pessimist in me would say that this is a sign of delays for the N9, which does sound plausible since... this is Nokia. Perhaps an optimist would say that Nokia has brought the release date forward and no longer saw a need for the countdown.

Another possibility is that this is only a temporary removal. The Javascript code for the countdown is still present in the website's source - maybe Nokia's just doing some maintenance? The drop-down menu showing the list of networks that will carry the N9 has moved to a lower position, could the countdown soon follow?

New Nokia N9 Video And Photo Samples

2011-08-08T12:36:00.000+01:00

The N9 boasts a number of 'firsts' in Nokia's camera department - it's the first production Nokia phone with continuous autofocus during video recording, as well as the first Nokia phone to use a sensor that allows for both 4:3 and 16:9 photography without compromise. So then, it's always a good thing to see more samples from the device. Tony Rinnemaa, who is currently in posession of a N9, has uploaded a few pictures and a video to Flickr. Let's take a look.

This is an example of the Nokia N9's 16:9 mode. Thanks to the new sensor, this mode provides the equivalent of a 26mm focal length in 35mm format and, as demonstrated by the photo above, this allows you to 'squeeze in' more subjects. This shot is also pretty good considering how dreary the weather looks - the colours are quite vivid and despite the strong wind (look at the hair in the bottom right) there's little blur since the exposure was at 1/1000th of a second.

Here we have an example of a photo taken with the N9's dual LED flash enabled. The white bowl remains white instead of turning blue or yellow, which is always a good sign when you're dealing with LED flashes. Also, assuming this was taken in dark conditions, there's very little noise which is impressive.

Here's one where the subject is a bit closer to the N9. There's a lot of detail on the closed flowers (you can see the little hairs) and the colours look natural. You'll also notice the relatively shallow depth of field (i.e. blurred background) thanks to the N9's f/2.2 maximum aperture which can also help with getting better low-light shots.

Toni's video from the N9 is on Flickr, so I can't embed it here. Take a look. The continuous autofocus can't really be demonstrated in this video due to Toni's position, but at least it shows that the N9 records smooth video. You'll also find the rest of Toni's photos in his N9 testing set.

Unofficial Nokia N9 Preorder Prices Announced

2011-08-07T18:05:00.001+01:00

The Nokia N9's price is one of the few mysteries that still surround the device. As there's been no official word, the best we can do right now is to look at prices offered by third-party retailers. Unlike Expansys, Australian retailer Mobicity have now announced their preorder price for the Nokia N9.

The 64GB N9 comes in at 749 Australian Dollars, which is about £480 and 785 US Dollars at today's rate. The 16GB N9 is listed at 669 Australian Dollars, around £428 and 700 US Dollars.

Keep in mind that these are only preorder prices, and prices upon release should be lower.

Android App Allows For DSLR Control Over USB OTG

2011-08-05T14:46:00.001+01:00

While searching YouTube for information about custom firmwares for DSLRs, I stumbled upon the above video demonstrating a recently released Android application - DSLR Controller. As you might have guessed from the title, this application allows you to control the functions of your DSLR through your Android-powered phone or tablet. Some of you might be aware of methods for controlling the shutter of a DSLR using Infrared on the iPhone, but that requires you to be in the line of sight of the receiver among many other restrictions. DSLR Controller is a much more advanced solution.

The application works by connecting a Canon DSLR via USB to Android devices with official USB-OTG support, such as the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Motorola Xoom. This means that your hacked Nexus One isn't supported. The application allows for controls similar to Canon's own EOS utility to be accessed right on the phone, as well as added functions like tap to focus. Liveview is only displayed at 15fps at the moment, but perhaps this will improve later on.

DSLR Controller is currently available on the Android market in Beta form. It costs £5.23, but this is due to increase when Chainfire, the developer of the application, completes work on the first final release. Beta owners will, however, receive a free update.

It's a shame that the Nokia N8, which has put USB-OTG on the market for close to a year now, hasn't received an application like this.

Nokia N9 Release Date - 23rd September?

2011-08-04T19:07:00.000+01:00

The Nokia N9, announced just a couple of months ago, was received well on the internet. Though the same reaction was seen with the ill-fated N900, something about the N9 feels different. One tangible difference might have appeared today, in that, unlike the N900, the N9 will suffer no delays following announcement. NokiaGadgets have found that Nokia's Swedish Swipe website has started a 50-day countdown, suggesting a release on the 23rd of September. There's no such countdown on Nokia's UK website, but I'd expect for more global details to appear soon.

HTC ChaCha: Initial Thoughts

2011-07-09T13:08:00.001+01:00

The combination of a touchscreen with a physical keyboard is, in my opinion, the ideal smartphone configuration. HTC have been doing this for years with sliding devices such as the Touch Pro and Touch Slide, but there have only been a handful of candybar touch + physical keyboard devices. The HTC ChaCha is the latest of these, and with the addition of one-touch Facebook integration, looks to be a very interesting messaging phone. Read on for some of my thoughts of the device.

The box:
As is the trend these days, the ChaCha comes in a very small white box. On the top of the box you'll find a life-size picture of the ChaCha, which is a nice touch I suppose. Inside you'll find the charger/USB cable combo, white HTC earphones and a quickstart guide.

The phone:
On the front, you'll find a 2.6" screen above a 40-button keyboard.

On the back, you'll find the 5 mega pixel camera with LED flash, a speaker and what I assume is a microphone.

On the top, you'll find the power/unlock button, the 3.5mm headphone jack and what I assume is a microphone.

On the bottom, you'll find a microphone.

On the left side, you'll find volume buttons and a MicroUSB port.

On the right side, you'll find nothing.

The feel:
It's clear that HTC have paid a lot of attention to making sure that the ChaCha feels good in your hands. It's thin (10.7mm), but not to the point where your palms have barely anything to grip onto. The height and width of the phone allow for comfortable one-handed use, meaning that swiping down the Android notification bar shouldn't cause you any problems. At 124g, the ChaCha is quite light compared to phones of a similar form factor (Nokia's E6 is 133g and the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is 130g), some will prefer this but I personally like a phone with good weight to it.

A unique attribute of the ChaCha compared to other candybar QWERTYs is the slight curvature of the body. Beginning from just below the screen, the ChaCha's keyboard curves towards the user.

This allows the screen to sit up in your hands at a favourable angle, while also maximising typing comfort. Similar 'kicks' are found in the design of the G1 and Hero, but I feel it has been implemented best in the ChaCha. However, the curved body can lead to pocket discomfort, especially if you keep your phone in your trouser pockets.

This is a very solid phone in terms of build quality. The battery cover, for example, fits very snugly - you'd be forgiven for thinking that the battery is non-removable. Squeezing the phone produces no audible creaks, everything is nice and tight.

One of the key selling points of the ChaCha is that its form factor allows you to start typing instantly, so there's no need to slide it open to get access to the keyboard. The keyboard itself is great, with plenty of separation between individual keys as well as a highly-satisfying click following each key press.

The navigation buttons have a slightly different shape to the rest of the keys, which might be useful for gaming among other things.

The ChaCha features a 2.6" 480x320 capacitive touchscreen. Though the screen sensitivity is excellent, it's a shame that HTC have opted for a low resolution screen in comparison to the Nokia E6 or BlackBerry Bold 9900. Despite this, the screen is still quite sharp and you certainly won't notice any pixelation on text or graphics.

The software:
The ChaCha is currently shipping with Android version 2.3.3, with HTC's Sense UI on top. I personally prefer stock Android over Sense, but that is of course subjective. This being one of HTC's 'Facebook phones', there is heavy Facebook integration. By default there is a Facebook widget on the homescreen, showing recent status updates. Clicking this takes you to a separate application from the official Facebook for Android application, which might cause some confusion.
HTC have also preloaded a Facebook chat application, but I haven't really played with that much.

Another selling point of the ChaCha is the dedicated Facebook button at the bottom of the phone. I must say, it feels odd seeing a physical representation of Facebook staring at me 24/7, but maybe that's because I'm not the Facebook diehard that HTC are targeting.

Pressing this button from the homescreen will take you once again to HTC's own Facebook application, where you'll be able to write a new status update or upload a new picture. When you're in some specific applications, the Facebook button will pulse with light, indicating that pressing it will provide a custom function. In the music application, pressing the Facebook button will gather information (from Amazon) about the song that's currently being played into a new status update, awaiting your confirmation.

Speaking of music, the audio quality of the ChaCha is pretty good. I'm not an audiophile, but I was pleased with the level of bass and maximum volume through wired earphones, but it wasn't quite as good as the iPhone 4 or Nokia N8. The quality of music through Bluetooth headphones (HBH-IS800 and BH-503) is very similar to these other phones.

Miscellaneous:
The battery life, as you'd expect from a HTC Android phone, is nothing to shout about. Though the battery's rated at 1250mAh, you'll likely be looking at daily recharges if you want to avoid a dead phone midway through the second day of operation.

This is an area that most Android manufacturers are struggling with, but HTC certainly needs to work on their power consumption.

The phone lacks a physical two-step camera button, so autofocus is controlled by touching the area that you'd like to be in focus, which is a decent compromise.

As with many current smartphones, the back will become warm during prolonged or strenuous use. This becomes most apparent when browsing the internet, but it doesn't reach an uncomfortable level of heat.

The swift rise of the touchscreen on mobile phones can be viewed as both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, they've helped to place a greater influence on media consumption and user experience; on the other hand, they've placed limits on form factor variation amongst manufacturers. HTC have made an attempt to differentiate the ChaCha from the candybar QWERTY crowd with its subtle 'kick' design. This, in combination with deep Facebook integration, makes the ChaCha a very attractive option for those who require an all-round messaging phone on a budget. Though the days of innovative new designs such as the N90, N93 and N95 seem to be over, it's refreshing to see that HTC have chosen to spice up their own designs.

Nokia N8 , E6 or X7?

2011-07-04T17:45:00.000+01:00

Mobile phone reviewers get to tinker with a wide variety of handsets and so can give positive and negative aspects of each from a position of experience. Of course most consumers rarely get the opportunity to use more than one phone every 18 months to two years, so making the right decision is very important. If you love Nokia mobiles and do not know whether to get the Nokia E6, Nokia X7 or Nokia N8, read on for a brief comparison of the three.

Display and Design
Both the Nokia X7 and N8 are predominantly touch-oriented mobiles, with sleek bodies and large displays measuring 4 inches and 3.5 inches respectively, doing away with physical buttons in the process. The Nokia E6 is much more traditional, sticking with a bar design and a smaller screen which allows it to have a full QWERTY keypad in place of expansive touchscreen displays. The trade-off is that while typing is more accurate, the E6 lacks the screen real estate to run some of the more complex apps, so sacrifices are made on both sides.

Hardware
The good news when it comes to picking between the Nokia X7, E6 and N8 is that each is equipped with essentially the same components running under the hood. This not only ensures a consistent experience when using the software but means you do not have to worry about picking a phone which might not offer the same levels of performance as its rivals. 680MHz processors and 256MB of RAM give each mobile enough clout to render web pages relatively smoothly, show Flash content and burn through the latest games and apps with the help of the impressive GPU.

The Nokia N8 takes the cake when it comes to internal storage, sporting 16GB of built-in memory for you to add your files and media clips to as you see fit. Both the Nokia X7 and E6 have 8GB apiece, although none of these models is limited to its integral storage because microSD memory card slots mean you can add up to 32GB of extra space to each should the need arise.

Camera
In this arena the Nokia N8 is once again the dominant force, sporting as it does a 12 megapixel sensor to enable high resolution image capture, even in low lighting conditions thanks to its 'extendable' Xenon flash. The X7 and E6 have eight megapixel snappers, which are respected in their own rights, but do not even attempt to match the N8 for fidelity or performance. HD video capture is available on all three, letting you record 720p video clips when you are out and about, which is definitely a feature that needs to be found on high end handsets today.

Software
Each of these Nokia mobiles has the Symbian operating system onboard, with the X7 currently sporting the latest release - Anna. This provides customisable homescreens, impressive web browsing and access to the Ovi Store and associated services to help expand the functions available. The Nokia E6 comes with a few businesslike apps included for document editing and mobile security, giving it the edge here, but its small screen means that for media playback the Nokia X7 and N8 are definitely preferable.

You will need to use your own tastes and requirements to help you pick between this trio of telecoms devices, but the good news is that none of these should leave you disappointed if you're looking for a solid phone.

Nokia N9 vs N950 pictures

2011-06-22T18:32:00.001+01:00

So, Nokia announced the N9 yesterday. Sweet! They also announced the N950, the 'successor' to the N900, which will only be available to developers. Personally, I love a device with a hardware QWERTY keyboard, so it's deeply saddening to know that this beautifully-engineered phone won't be on sale to the general public. I would have preferred the N9 as the 'developer' device, but that's just my own opinion.
The guys at NokiaMania.cz have uploaded some great pictures of the N9 and N950. I've posted just the ones with both devices here, but make sure to take a look at their gallery - it's filled with tons of high quality shots of the N950.

Just look at those keys! This looks like it would be the ideal messaging phone. Please, Nokia, release this masterpiece!

Has Nokia Been 'Fired' From The Apprentice?

2011-06-01T19:48:00.001+01:00

Business Studies is one of my favourite subjects. It makes sense then that, despite the fact that it's not very representative of business in real life, The Apprentice is one of my favourite shows on television. The latest series has brought about a few differences in how the show works, for example there's no longer a job with Lord Sugar but instead an opportunity to enter a 50/50 joint venture with him. But there's one other subtle change that some of you might have noticed: the sudden absence of Nokia smartphones in candidates' hands.

I can't say that I remember which phones were used in the first series of The Apprentice, but I can definitely tell you that in recent series, candidates have relied on the E61, E66, N95 and N97 to stay in touch with their team members. This all changed in series seven, where candidates are now using Android devices, in this case the Motorola Milestone XT720.

But why the change? Product placement isn't allowed on television unless the 'P' logo is displayed at the beginning and end of a show, and since there's no such logo displayed during The Apprentice, financial gain doesn't seem to be the reason behind the switch to Motorola and Android.

The pun writer in me wants to say that, following the admittance of Nokia's CEO that they were standing on a 'burning platform', Lord Sugar chose to 'fire' them from his show. Unfortunately, this can't be the case, as Series 7 was filmed in Autumn 2010 -- long before Elop's memo was leaked.

Maybe it's because the producers of the show are looking to provide a more realistic representation of the modern, young businessperson in London? Let's face it, Nokia has lost its hold on the UK smartphone market. Perhaps it's just not 'cool' anymore to be seen using a Nokia phone?

I've emailed the BBC to see whether they'll comment on the matter, so if anything comes through I'll be sure to post it here.

Symbian Anna Update Coming Soon To N8?

2011-05-31T20:21:00.000+01:00

Many N8 owners have grown frustrated over the constant delays of the Symbian Anna update, and rightly so -- it was originally slated for 'early 2011' yet we're now entering Q3 with no signs of Anna... until now. Christian Espinosa of Cobertura movil has posted a picture showing a Nokia N8 running the new Anna update. You might notice that the N8 looks new (screen protector still on), perhaps this suggests that recently-produced N8s will be shipped with Anna? If so, the update for old N8s shouldn't be too far behind.

Christian conveniently placed a non-Anna N8 in the picture, allowing for comparisons to be drawn against Symbian^3. The most obvious difference is the new, rounded icons of Anna, which I'm personally not too fond of. It does also look like the new Nokia 'Pure' font is being used, but I'm not 100% sure on that yet. Down at the bottom, icons have now replaced the 'options' and 'back' text that has been with S60 (and then Symbian) for so long. This has allowed for a search option to be integrated into the toolbar.

Thanks go to Symbiantweet for spotting this!

How To: Use Nokia N8 With An External Flash

2011-05-28T14:35:00.000+01:00

Due to Nokia's general complacency over the past four years, many former Nokia fans have moved onto 'greener' pastures, and I'm no exception. I now use Android phones as my 'daily drivers', mainly because the Symbian devices of today would have suited my lifestyle in 2008; they're just not modern enough. There are, however, a number of things that I miss dearly from the glory days of the E90 and N95 8GB: battery life, loudspeakers and of course, the cameras.

Despite having being announced over a year ago, it would be very difficult to argue that the N8 is not the best cameraphone available. Even with this in mind, there are still ways to improve its photgraphic performance.

Those of you interested in photography might have your own 'speedlite' for your dedicated camera. Being a student, I opted for the cheap and Chinese Yongnuo YN-460II, which I feel provides great value for money. An interesting feature of the YN-460II is its optical slave mode. When set to this mode, the flash is triggered by any other quick bursts of light. Unfortunately, LED flashes are rarely picked up by optical sensors, as the light is not really a burst. That's where the Nokia N8's Xenon flash comes in.

So, with the YN-460II set to optical slave and the N8's flash forced to on, I went about the house to see what sorts of results the combination would yield...

N8 Xenon flash alone: