Call this a quirky weekend item if you like, but the humble paper clip came to my rescue today and I thought I'd share what happened. After a week trialling the Nokia N96, I'd become really attached to its kick stand, enabling it to prop itself up for comfortable 'by your side' video watching. How could I apply this to my other S60 smartphones? Read on...
Year after year, handheld and phone companies make the same mistake, releasing buggy and incomplete products to market and then having to back pedal and fight fires for the next 12 months. Back when I was in industry, our company had a motto: "Right First Time". Now, I know phones are complex devices, but there's still got to be a better way. Read on....
One of the easiest contests ever: every week for the next twelve weeks a Nokia N81 8GB and limited edition N-Gage bathrobe will be given away on Gamasutra.com in association with Sauna Talk. All you have to do is answer one multiple choice question, which has a hint link next to it where you can find the answer. You can enter once a week, so you effectively have up to twelve chances to win the prizes. (In case you're unaware, Sauna Talk is a series of videos designed to advertise the N-Gage platform to developers. Apparently the contest is only open to those "related" to the games industry, but don't ask us what that means.) (via the Official N-Gage Blog)
Generic unlocked Nokia N96 owners (RM-247) can now update their firmware to v11.018 (from v10) at last. Thought you might want to know. The fix is painless and data-loss-free, thankfully. [Updated to remove mention of the bogus v12 firmware]
In case you haven't got time to read through my AAS reviews of the Nokia N96 and LG KT-610, here are easy-to-digest video versions, courtesy of The Phones Show programme 68, out now. Use the RSS feeds on the page if you wish, or click through to the higher quality version on YouTube. The low-res version is also embedded below.
part 1 of this review of Nokia's new flagship, the N96, Steve Litchfield examined its performance, its pros and cons as a product. In part 2, here, he walks the reader through screenshots of the applications that back up the N96's unique selling points, from the new Video Centre to BBC iPlayer, noting a number of confusing points and inconsistencies on the way but still ending up with a positive impression. Part 3 will look at the N96's multimedia capabilities in detail.
There's an interesting little piece by Chris Walters here, talking about his journey from Nokia N82 to the T-Mobile Android G1 and back again - hurriedly, when faced by appalling hardware and build quality. Seems he liked the general interface though....
Rafe's had Nokia's 'Tube' for around three weeks and has been using it day in, day out. In this, part one of a hugely in-depth two part (p)review of the 5800 XpressMusic, he introduces the device, explores the hardware and, most importantly, looks at how well S60 and touch work in daily life. With photos and copious screenshots, Rafe tells all, and I think it's fair to say that the 5800 XpressMusic has pleasantly surprised us.
In this, part one of a three part All About Symbian evaluation of the new Nokia flagship, the N96, Steve looks at its position relative to the previous flagship, the N95 8GB. Analysing all the upsides and downsides, he finds that its video capabilities, whether using DVB-H, BBC iPlayer, or the new Sky/ITV/BBC mobisodes and other video improvements, are crucial to any overall assessment. The N96 is not the obvious choice for a real S60 power user, but he reckons it does have a potentially successful place in Nokia's lineup.
In AAS video podcast 35, I met up with Lori Sylvia and Richard Kinder of Red Bend at the Smartphone Show 2008, talking about their FOTA (Firmware Over The Air) software that's included in the latest Nokia S60 phones and having a hands-on demo.
The latest in my continuing voyage of discovery in the world of camera-toting smartphones, I look at the difference optical zoom makes and ask the question "Is it better to have optical zoom or can you get away with just much higher resolution?" I illustrate my points with test shots from the Samsung G810 and INNOV8, plus a guest appearance by the Nokia N93, which also has an optical zoom lens.
As evidenced by Rafe's Gallery yesterday, we've got a LG KT-610 at AAS Towers, and I've been trying it over the last week. Cheaply put together in almost every respect, the price is sadly the only impressive thing about this qwerty clamshell. Nice idea, but shame about the implementation - here's my full KT-610 review.
As a trailer for Steve's forthcoming LG KT610 review, which will be available later this week, here is an image gallery featuring LG's second S60 phone (following on from the KS10). The KT610 has a rather unusual clamshell form factor with full QWERTY keyboard which does makes it stand out a little from the S60 crowd. If you have any specific questions about the phone then leave a message in the comment thread and we'll do our best to answer it in the review.
In All About Symbian Podcast 98 (Insight #45) we are back from last weeks Symbian Smartphone Show at Earl's Court. There some discussion on the feel and size of the show, Symbian Foundation related announcements, and the start of our run through of some of the devices and demos we saw.
My Phones Show 67 just went live, with a hands-on preview and thoughts on the S60 5th Edition-powered Nokia 5800 XpressMusic ('Tube'), plus a cross-platform feature analysing 'Which phone should you buy?'. Note also the RSS feeds for the standard and hi-res versions of the show, for your feedreader, browser or iTunes. And yes, Rafe's official AAS preview of the 5800 is coming soon, don't worry....
