It's official!
Published by Steve Litchfield at 10:58 UTC, March 18th 2008
No, no, not the v21 firmware for the Nokia N95, we're still waiting for that. But Nokia has officially unveiled the black N82, with availability quoted in 'weeks' and with a price of 400 Euros (300 pounds) before sales taxes. For the N82, the colour change from silver is not just cosmetic. The black finish solves the huge usability problem of white key legends on silver background, plus it should reduce the fingerprint problem quite a bit. Read on for pics etc.
In addition to the usability improvements, we're sure to see a new release of the N82 firmware - the last issue for the silver version is decidedly buggy and the new variant should see a renewed round of N82 bug fixes all round and increased stability.
We're trying to get a sample of this for review as soon as humanly possible, but here are the press pics and release, to whet your appetite. Also of interest if you've been following the whole Stavros 'Position Art' N82 promo is that there are new items up on the site, including Windows and Mac screensavers.
---------------------------------
Multimedia computer excels as travel companion with photography, navigation and Internet connectivity
Espoo,
Finland - Nokia today unveiled the Nokia N82 in stylish black, bringing
a blend of state-of-the-art imaging, integrated navigation and
high-speed Internet connectivity to the Nseries range of converged
devices. This jet black multimedia computer enables people to "geotag"
the images they capture - allowing them to not only be saved by date,
but by location as well. This adds to a line-up of compelling
photography features, including a 5 megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss optics
and a Xenon flash. Not only does the Nokia N82 take great pictures,
array of advanced connectivity features makes it easy for consumers to
share their discoveries, journeys and locations. The Nokia N82 in black
is expected to start shipping within weeks, with an estimated retail
price of approximately 400 euros, before taxes and subsidies.
"The
Nokia N82 is made for storytelling," says Juha Kokkonen, Director for
Nokia Nseries devices. "As one of Nokia's leading-edge connected
camera, the Nokia N82 in black captures people's journeys and
discoveries. With built-in A-GPS it even helps people to find new
places by pairing 'contextual' information with a wide array of
connectivity features such as Wi-Fi and HSDPA. We make it easy for
consumers to quickly share those moments as they happen."
When
it comes to camera capabilities, the gloss-black Nokia N82 is set to
wow world travelers and photography enthusiasts alike. The 5 megapixel
camera, powerful Xenon flash and Carl Zeiss optics, ultra-fast camera
activation, autofocus with a dedicated assist lamp, fast reloading
between shots and DVD-like quality video capture all ensure that
special moments can be captured "picture perfect" - even in low light
conditions.
Taking
advantage of its integrated A-GPS functionality and high resolution
camera, the Nokia N82 automatically tags images with capture location
metadata, making it possible to view the capture location on a map
either on the Internet or on the device itself. When it comes to
sharing, consumers can upload their pictures or videos directly from
their Nokia N82 to services like Share on Ovi, Flickr or YouTube. By
installing Nokia's exclusive and free Sports Tracker application,
consumers can share their whereabouts and travel route with others on
the Sports Tracker website - including the capture locations of images.
The Nokia Sports Tracker is a GPS based activity tracker that runs on
Nokia smartphones. Information such as speed, distance and time are
automatically stored in the application, and can be shared with others.
Urbanistas explore the world
To
showcase this exciting application, several explorers took off across
the globe, each with a GPS-enabled Nokia N82 as their travel companion.
On www.nseries.com/urbanistadiaries,
people around the world could follow these intrepid travelers, and
share the experience in near real-time through images captured on each
explorers' device. The Sports Tracker widget tracked the explorers'
location and marked the spot where each image was taken on a constantly
updated map. The widget has now been embedded in many blogs and social
networking sites.
So
that everyone can track and share their own journeys, stories and
pictures with friends - just like one of the explorers - the Sports
Tracker mobile widget will soon be made available with many new and
existing S60-based converged mobile devices. It is also possible to
share and compare travel routes or workouts with friends or the Sports
Tracker community. Others' journeys can also be browsed by location,
for example to find a more exciting travel route.
The
Nokia N82 is a true travel companion and supports microSD memory cards
of up to 8GB which allow the device to hold the user's choice of up to
3,600 high-resolution pictures, 5 hours of high quality video capture,
up to 6,000 songs or all of the available regions for the Nokia Maps
application.
Categories: Hardware, Links of Interest
Platforms: S60 3rd Edition
News Discussion
yade
Wow, that must mean the new N82 firmware release is imminent. I cant wait to get this phone fully featured and with more bug fixes :cool:
Maticek
Let's hope for FlashLite 3 support in the new FW.
PTWS
Flash 3 will be !
N82 in black have already Flash 3 btw :-)
N82 in black have already Flash 3 btw :-)
Unregistered
Great!And what about WRT?
ez2remember
Wow - how a colour change can make it look sexy. The silver just look butt ugly compared to this.
Why does everything look sexy in black aka n95 8GB? :D
Why does everything look sexy in black aka n95 8GB? :D
Unregistered
Not much coverage about the v21 n95 firmware here. Its coming right?
Rafe
We'll post about the firmware once its actually available to download / use. This should be very soon.
slitchfield
Yep, echoing Rafe's comment, I can't see why so many sites have got themselves in a tizzy about a firmware revision that's not even out yet! Just to be clear, AAS is not a site that deals in rumours or vapourware. Trust me, as soon as v21 hits NSU for generic N95s, you'll read about it here first.
Steve
Steve
zxon
Quote:
| it should reduce the fingerprint problem quite a bit |
viipottaja
Not everything looks sexy in black. N82 does. N95 8GB definitely does not to me it looks cheap and plasticy, and, geeky, compared to the original much classier color scheme of the N95. In fact, most phones do not IMO look better in black. In particular since its being used way too much. Look at th black 6300 for example. The original looks SO much better.
I am afraid its mostly geeks who think every gadget looks sexier in black.. ;) Hehe... can't wait for the backlash and angry comments to this provocative post.. :D
I am afraid its mostly geeks who think every gadget looks sexier in black.. ;) Hehe... can't wait for the backlash and angry comments to this provocative post.. :D
Unregistered
What's the differences between these 2 phones ?
buster
Don't you mean the blacklash...?
Unregistered
Just because AAS chooses not to report/acknowledge on unofficial subject matter, doesn't make it rumours and/or vapourware . The firmware v21. does actually exist and is in circulation, now. It's being installed by way of phoenix. So, why play charades, we're all adults. :wink:
slitchfield
Just because you choose to install an unsupported firmware via an illegal installer doesn't mean that we have to cover it...
I'm sure Rafe will back me up on this.
Steve
I'm sure Rafe will back me up on this.
Steve
Shadamehr
NEW FIRMWARE FOR N82 THEN...?
Reading between (or even on) the lines, then I suspect this means a new N82 firmware?
Why?
Because the press release talks of Geo-tagging a photo as you take it.
This is a feature that is set to be with us OFFICIALLY in the new soon to be handsets such as the N96 etc.
OR, it is available now, via additional download of a BETA piece of software.
But I can't see Nokia including BETA software from Beta Labs, in the official firmware for this device.
So if the new black N82 DOES have geo-tagging out of the box, it is either via Location Tagger which is a beta Labs Beta tool, or it is the updated finished article, a la N96 when it comes.
So my theory while writing this was it must be new firmware, to incorporate a new geo-tagging tool.
But then I just realised that the existing silver N82 like mine comes with a version that includes SportsTracker, out of the box. And that too is currently just Beta software. So maybe I am wrong after all.
Opinions anyone?
Reading between (or even on) the lines, then I suspect this means a new N82 firmware?
Why?
Because the press release talks of Geo-tagging a photo as you take it.
This is a feature that is set to be with us OFFICIALLY in the new soon to be handsets such as the N96 etc.
OR, it is available now, via additional download of a BETA piece of software.
But I can't see Nokia including BETA software from Beta Labs, in the official firmware for this device.
So if the new black N82 DOES have geo-tagging out of the box, it is either via Location Tagger which is a beta Labs Beta tool, or it is the updated finished article, a la N96 when it comes.
So my theory while writing this was it must be new firmware, to incorporate a new geo-tagging tool.
But then I just realised that the existing silver N82 like mine comes with a version that includes SportsTracker, out of the box. And that too is currently just Beta software. So maybe I am wrong after all.
Opinions anyone?
Unregistered
Steve, relax. You don't need Rafe, I actually support what your saying too. I know AAS doesn't "have to cover it." My point was, that you were incorrect by stating the fw as being rumours/vaporware. Btw, I'm actually a fan of your articles & shows, thanks.
RogerPodacter
the n82 actually looks better in silver IMO. and the n95 8GB is a million times better looking than the original n95!!
MarkLynch
I agree with Roger. With the N95 the black version looked better but this looks worse than it's titanium predecessor.
60things
@viipottaja: I beg to differ. N95 8GB does look plasticky, but it doesn't affect its sexiness. It's the sexiest, coolest phone I've ever seen. Looking at it is almost a spiritual experience for me. :)