Are bulging App Stores overrated? Whichever Symbian-powered phone you own (or even if you have an iPhone, Blackberry, etc), could you manage with only three third party (i.e. add-on) applications? And if so, which ones would they be? Steve Litchfield conducts a spot survey and ponders a few personal theories...
Exclusive: as shown in the screenshots below, the next firmware for the Nokia N86 8MP includes a 'Face Detection' option, a feature not seen in a Nokia-branded camera phone before. With this, as you may have seen on some consumer Samsung phones, the Camera application can scan for human faces and will automatically focus on any that it finds. Also present in the next firmware will be significant photo quality improvements (less artefacts, better colours, also demonstrated below), a new Ovi Store client and, hopefully, a mountain of stability fixes - the N86 8MP v11 firmware is reckoned by some to be not fit for heavy use. [Updated with extra info and new screenshots]
If you're an AAS regular, you'll know that I love doing direct, informed comparisons between different cutting edge smartphones. Having been using the HTC Hero and Nokia N97 side by side for the last week, here's my head to head between Nokia and HTC's flagships. The result is somewhat predictable, but I do note that both devices are currently flawed and awaiting major software updates. The Hero's is apparently imminent, the N97's is about 3 weeks away. Still, hopefully it's an interesting comparison and worthy of comment.
In show 87 in our Insight podcast series, the AAS team discuss the Ovi SDK and Ovi Maps API, plus we talk about Ovi Maps 3.3.54, Nokia Messaging (Social/Instant), Ovi Suite 2.0, N97 software version 2.0, updates for other devices (including the 5800), plus we answer a reader question about the Nokia N97 mini.
It's always good to see a reminder of this particular bit of lateral thinking, so I'm happy to link over to Phil Schwarzmann's feature on his favourite Apple iPhone/touch-optimised web sites that also work well on his Nokia N97 (or 5800 or Samsung i8910 HD or any other wide-screened S60 touch phone, of course). Don't get too excited over the Stitcher example, though, it's essentially just a selection of podcasts, we're still waiting for a really decent Internet Radio client for S60 5th Edition [Steve looks meaningfully in the direction of Nokia here....]
The Samsung i8910 HD (a.k.a. Omnia HD) has been left for the last couple of months in firmware limbo, with some showstopping bugs - but today sees the launch of 'XXII1' firmware (the 'II' refers to 'September 09'), with my observations below. You can get the update for your own i8910 HD by hooking it up to PC Studio (version 7.2.24.8, please!) and using the built-in Updater tool. This update has been made available by Samsung Italy, so your phone will need to have an existing Italian firmware installed before you can get the update. Note that there's no User Data Preservation, so backup and sync first - you know the drill by now, just make sure your PIM data, email settings and registration codes are all safe.
You may remember that the Nokia N86 and photographer had a well publicised coming together recently, with the aim of shooting interesting characters and stories through the London night, armed only with a Nokia N86 8MP? Well, although the physical exhibition of these photos has now closed, the full set of 169 'Alive at night' photos are now online, with headlines, quotes and stories for each - interesting for these, and not just to see what the N86 can do. [updated: looks like the general public aren't being allowed access yet. Watch this space!]
As you'll see from the photo below, 12 megapixel camera phones are now starting to be sold on the High Street. On the face of it, more is usually better in a specifications battle, so why should I be so irritated by the latest battlefront? Read on for my thoughts on why the entire phone market is being somewhat misled.
While horribly biased (of course), Nokia's Conversations team has done a good job in producing a snack size 3 minute video summary of the main things launched or emphasised at Nokia World 09 Day 1, and it's embedded below. Good if you're short of time! For much more detail, see our other stories and, mostly, wait for Rafe to get back to base with his own hands-on material.
Red Bend, the company behind the Firmware Over The Air update system in most of the smartphones covered here (with the notable exception of Samsung, which doesn't appear to have FOTA yet), has just announced that its FOTA software is now used by just over half a billion mobile devices worldwide, over 413 different devices. This represents a 60% share of the FOTA-enabled mobile phone market. See Red Bend's site for more information.
In Phones Show Chat episode 2, AAS's Tim Salmon and I chat about software issues in the Nokia N97, have a few jibes at the iPhone (always a somewhat easy target, I know, but...) and manage to bring quite a bit of Android to the party as well. See also the RSS feed for this new audio podcast.
You've got to love the consistency of the Carnival of the Mobilists. Week in, week out, there are articles to read, even through the summer. Carnival 189 is here at MSearchGroove and not only provides some interesting reading, it also rounds up the other CotM editions that we may have missed over the summer. Happy reading!
It's the final part (7) of Ewan Spence's 'real world' test of the Nokia N97 at the Edinburgh Fringe and it's embedded below. He rounds up his experiences, explaining that he had to overcome his initial lack of excitement but that, once in use, the N97 performed really well when out and about at the Festival and did everything required of it. Ewan's fearful that the N97 will get overlooked now that the N900 has been announced and admits that S60 on the device seemed 'mature' and that backwards compatibility has proven something of a limitation, but overall I think he genuinely liked the Nokia N97 - to the point where he'd buy one if he didn't already own the qwerty-equipped E75. Happy watching - and suggestions welcome on what you'd like to see Ewan tackle next!
Steve Litchfield explores the Nokia N95's continuing legacy in something of a tribute to the original dual-sliding smartphone... In terms of features, build quality and longevity, how do its successors stand up? And is there an 'ultimate' N95? Find out here. I look at the N95, the N95 8GB, the N96, the N85 and the N86 8MP - it's a veritable N95-fest!
Following on from my review of the Nokia E52, it transpires that Nokia do intend to make a black(ish) version (with less keypad visibility problems) - here's their official photographic proof. Also, although Internet Radio isn't in the firmware, the version for the 6210 Navigator apparently works perfectly (official download here). Now, what about Podcasting, ladies and gents? (thanks to kazutoyo and WizzMob)
