After my initial roundup of traditional 'pouch' or enveloping cases for the Nokia N8, I've been trying a number of sleeker, 100% in-situ alternatives. The latest in this accessory genre is the rather sumptuous OtterBox Commuter, providing premium look and feel, together with what amounts to comprehensive protection. With only a couple of small caveats, this is a case well worth investigating.
Another week, another Nokia N8 case to review. You may remember my original roundup some time ago and then my CC-1005 and FlexiShield reviews? Now comes another hard case, designed to add as little bulk as possible to the N8. It succeeds on many fronts but has a flaw that's silly in the extreme.
There are those who proclaim that the Nokia N8 needs no protection at all. After all, with Gorilla Glass and aluminium unibody shell, what's there to get damaged or to break? However, it's still a relatively expensive bit of kit and even small scuffs will annoy if you drop it onto concrete enough times. And you will, since the aluminium is incredibly smooth and slippery. Which is why there's a small industry creating grippable skins for the N8 - the FlexiShield is the latest of the breed - but it does it pass muster?
If you've been paying attention to our coverage of the Nokia E7, you'll remember that I complained at length about the slipperiness of the unibody main shell of the device: it was prone to dropping, especially when opening the E7, plus the device tended to skate away from me on the desk when I was typing. In addition, the camera glass on the back was flush, meaning it was prone to picking up dirt and scratches. The Black Silicone Skin fixes all the above, as you might expect, although there are a couple of minor caveats that help to push my rating for this accessory down a bit.
And now for something completely different. From the All About Symbian Friday Review Cupboard comes this, the Jelly Lens "Close up", claimed to help fixed focus-lensed camera phones shoot macro photos. It's ultra cheap and ultra low tech, but is it any good and will it help budding nature and still life photographers who own the EDoF-lensed Nokia C6-01, C7 and E7? I take one for the team and settle down to look at the infamous 'Jelly Lens'.
This is going to sound completely outrageous, but I've been reviewing what is just about the perfect accessory for the Nokia N8. There's virtually nothing which could be improved on. It is, almost literally, perfectly implemented. Oh, and I can now choose the colour of my N8 depending on my mood. It's going to sound outrageous that it's 'just' a silicone case, but don't confuse this accessory with a cheap cash-in that you might find listed from Hong Kong on eBay. Read on for why...
Those Mobile Fun folks are pretty good at digging out weird and wonderful accessories for our smartphones. In this case, a Bluetooth Cassette adapter, for those older cars like mine which haven't quite made it to the CD age yet. Pair this with your phone, stick it into your car's cassette slot and you're away with stereo music direct to your car amp and speakers. Perfect for those without an FM transmitter in their phone or for whom there's simply too much FM interference? In theory. Unfortunately..... Here's my review.
It's an All About Symbian tradition: take the latest and greatest Nseries or Eseries handset and assemble a decent selection of commercial cases, of varying form factors and styles, then rate them according to style, protection, convenience and value. Even if my Nokia N8 case winner doesn't float your boat, hopefully the round-up will at least give you an idea of what's 'out there'.
In this latest accessory review, we investigate Nokia's new BH905 high end noise-cancelling headset. How does it fare for listening to delicate music in noisy environments. In the style of 'The Gadget Show' (and its budget!), to test the BH905 properly, Ewan booked himself on a Boeing 777 to the USA to see if even jet engines could be 'blocked'. It's a positive review, although it seems that good in-ear-canal headphones still block extraneous noise better at the end of the day.
If you want a desk stand for your phone without the all the usual paraphernalia of charging tips, USB ports, memory card readers, etc., then David Gilson might have found what you're looking for. Clingo is a new range of innovative stands and holders for mobile devices with a patent pending sticky gel. Read on to see whether David thinks it lives up to the hype or not.
