Vox’s posts tagged n95

My N95 Bodycam Demo Video

nobody@vox.com(Micky) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:57:21 +0000

N95 Bodycam Prototype demo

This is the first video of my N95 Bodycam, however, its still not completed yet due to some weight issues, so its a work in progress at the moment.

The idea behind this, is my N95 Bodycam will allow users to video themselves for their Blog reports, presentations, and news articles, whilst having both their hands free.! No more one handed videos, one hand holding the camera, and the other trying to sort paperwork, or demo devices.

Sorry about the no Audio, but I decided to dub it due to patent pending.

This creation was thought out, designed, and built by myself, and is still under development.

Youtube Video of N95 Bodycam

Second video now available on Youtube, I still need so rectify the stability, and angle of my Bodycam, but Im working on this. Also in talks with Wayne Fromm, the Inventor of the Quikpod, who will be helping me get a quote of manufactouring my accessory, then all I need to do is find a sponsor.

N95 Bodycam Demo #2

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New DS confirmed, Nokia 'Tube' and BBC iPlayer on N95

nobody@vox.com(Ant UK) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:25:52 +0000

Quite a busy day for announcements, the most exciting one being the new Nintendo DSi (in my humble opinion). Nokia's 5800 (you may know it as the 'Tube') is to be bigged-up in just over an hour but it doesn't excite me as much. The iPlayer on the N95 (as well as a bunch of other S60 handsets) is interesting and will be useful for many people, there's no content that interests me there though.

New DS has two bigger screens, two cameras and an SD slot. It will play the same games as the DS and DS Lite but may well have specially made games to utilise the cameras. I'm just speculating here but I imagine the inside camera could be used for video calls. Why else do you need two? Apparently there's a web browser built-in too. Hopefully it's better than the Opera one (Opera really dropped the ball on that one!)

The Nokia 5800 is all well and good but from what I know of it so far it's not peaking my interest. Maybe when it's officially revealed they'll be some goodies I wasn't expecting. I'll know in an hour!

BBC iPlayer widget works on my N95 8GB and works well from what I've seen so far. Having said that, they have Heroes listed but when you go to play it it comes up with an error. Did the BBC not get the rights to stream it to mobile? If so, they shouldn't display it on the mobile version. Oh, and it installs but doesn't work on the E71. That's a shame as the screen is already the right way up (landscape rather than portrait).

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Test from n95

nobody@vox.com(Lazerdance) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:40:05 +0000

La la la hede hode

Abstract_Rings_4

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Imaging: N95 vs N95 8GB

nobody@vox.com(Stephen) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:18:17 +0000

Got to play with my friend's N95 today! soI decided to check out its imaging quality myself and compare it with my N95 8GB. First of I seriously feel Nokia should try and get the camera lens shutter back on its Nseries devices. Well the N95 slider was something your fingers really had to 'work-on' to slide it! hmm.... good improvements to the N95 8GB !

Then I took these two pics below. they are of a 'fan' in my classroom ! LOL ya I know its funny but i didnt find a better thing than this to take a pics of !

Nokia N95:

17092008820

Well above we see two pics. first one that is the one above is taken by the N95 and the one below is taken by the N95 8GB.

I didnt spot any difference in the two pics but I must tell you that the image sizes were way different. The N95 image was about 500kB and the N95 8GB image was 1MB.

You can also read this post on Nokia Nseries Blog

Nokia N95 8GB:

17092008001

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Photos and Geotagging

nobody@vox.com(N95Expert) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 08:03:00 +0000

Now its time to talk serious about geotagging! (And I'm sorry I haven't been updating for a while...)

For me as an user of my N95 to the max, as soon as I learnt about the possibility to use the GPS on my N95 to geotag I started doing it. The possibilities using geotagging is of course endless but for the average user it's a very useful tool to know where you took a specific photo. I mean how many times haven't we taken photos and then a year or more after that wondered where the heck was this now. GPS and geo tagging is the tool for you, and if you have an GPS enabled phone, but think the quality of the photos aren't up with your standard, well I suggest you take a photo with both your camera and your phone (that has got a software on it to geotag the photos!). That way you can be sure where you took the photos.

Of course there are GPS enabled cameras too, but I guess they're more for professional use and to expensive for the average user.

Lets look at Photo sites now, how they handle this information.

Flickr: Is run by Yahoo, and they have their own software for S60 devices which both deploys GPS coordinates and cell info. Gives also suggestions for tags like if your in a city, it gives you the postal code (if possible) and so on. Flickr is a really good photos site and I use it for all my newer photos nowadays. The cost for a pro account is $24.95 and it's well spent money as I see it.

Share on OVI: Is Nokia's sharing site. OVI is a really good, free and unlimited service that allows you to upload all sorts of media files. Not only photos, sound files, pdf etc works fine. For me I use it to store all my digital media files. Their use of geotagging is excellent and especially when you combine it with the Locaiontagger its outstanding.

LOCR: Is the only really geotag page, they have both software for your phone and a software you can download to your computer to use both for geotagging afterwards and to look at the photos on maps. Its also used (of course) to send your photos to their webpage. But they have a linit for the free user and its only 100Mb a month, wich means about 100 photos. And you know how it is, on vacation you take loads more photos. But I love their interface, looks really nice and the way they display the geotag information is also great. The cost for an pro acconut is €20.

Picasa: This is a part of Google services, and much to my surprise they dont read the geotag information!

Places: This is part of MS hotmail services, where you can blog, post photos etc.

Photobucket: As far as I can see they they don't check your geotags up, they get all the other one's alright. Nice interface and possibilities to edit online too.

Shutterfly: Cool photosite that alowws you to share and print in different ways. Nothing exciting and they dont care about geo tagging.

SmugMug: Looks like a good site, however I didn't sign up as they charge you for using it after 14 days, but they use geotags.

SnapFish: Snapfish is run by HP, and is more of an upload and get prints site what I can see. No actual use of geotagging here.

Final conclusions and thoughts.

For most users I would suggest setting up an OVI account as it's one of the best AND free services. And as susual it always comes down to what you're looking for in the services your going to use. But if you're in for using geotagging my suggestions are: Set up an OVI and one Flickr account and your covered!

And as a final remark I have to say that shozu has got all the important pages covered to do your uploads to. And they have an excellent software for your phone to use too!

Technorati Taggar: Geotag, GPS, Photo, Video, Sharing, tools

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Nokia N95 8GB UNLOCKED (Free GPS Navigation Serv. For 6 Months)

nobody@vox.com(stevefranklis) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:46:10 +0000

Nokia n95 8gb

Nokia N95 8GB Houses Technology comparable to that of a miniature computer. Not that the Nokia N95 8GB 5 Megapixel camera included with The Nokia N95 8GB is by any means a sight for sore eyes, on the contrary.

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Noel's VOX presentation

nobody@vox.com(thomcochrane) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:29:58 +0000

Captured using N95 & uploaded to YouTube:

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How to make your own N95 Tripod mount

nobody@vox.com(Micky) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:05:10 +0000

DIY Tripod Mount

To make your own tripod mount, use an non OEM case like the one above, using a quarter inch bolt, heat it on the cooker until red hot, then with pliers, take the nut, and place it onto the hard plastic face of the case, this will form a perfect fit for the nut, then cool with water, then reinforce with super glue. Try not to let the nut go all the way through the plastic however like I did, as you will have problems getting the N95 to clip into the case correctly. I had to trim a lot of plastic to get my N95-1 to fit. Let the super glue dry, so leave it for around 12 hours.

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Fixing a scratched N95 8GB lens?

nobody@vox.com(snoyt) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:21:57 +0000

Some simple observations from a pure physics viewpoint:

Steve Litchfield takes a closer look in a post at the effects of scratched lenses at AAS.

Scratched lenses will reflect or diffuse incoming light instead of project it on the proper spot on sensor where it is supposed to be. Diffused light will definitely will cause hazing. Reflected light can cause unwanted sensor areas to get less light or even more. It can even be reflected against the (black) wall lens casing and cause hazing by being difusely reflected on the sensor.

To get a good idea of what scratches can do to your pictures, take a photo through a fence with the camera close up, making the fence wires nearly invisible and hazy. compare that to a shot without a fence in the way and you get a good idea of the issue. The effects are subtle. Scratches have distinct negative effect on the contrast and sharpness of the photo/lens.

Any company that proudly writes Carl Zeiss lens on its mobile should protect them with a lenscover. I would expect Carl Zeiss to turn himself in his grave about that! Shame on Nokia I think.

The Zeiss lens of your N95 8 GB is protected by aplastic cover. Replacing the cover or removing it will remove the scratches. Another option is to remove the scratches. There are liquids to repair scratches on laserdisks and cd's. Another option is to use a metal polish like Brasso. It's grain should be fine enough and I have seen people use it to remove a (anti-reflective) lenscoating after they damaged it (actually blew it up) . How well this works. I have no clue.

However you can buy a new camera protective cover. There are several internet shops selling them. I.e:

http://www.telecomtelecom.nl/?p=5&id=9656&tid=1423

Never ordered at them. So don't complain if they are unreliable.

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The pains and joys of migration from the N95 to the Nokia N82

nobody@vox.com(snoyt) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:10:19 +0000

N82

My last vacation turned into a burn-out test for the N95. It was taxed to and beyond the limit of its multitasking capabilities. Distressed it broke down for several days.Currently is revived and functional but I am definitely wondering for how long. Since I did not enjoy my involuntary disconnection from the civil world I decided to look for a second device, either a spare or as an upgrade. Posh? Not really, I think. Oke I could carry all the Toolman Tim devices in my backpack as a backup, but my name ain't Tim. In any case after a lenghty logical deliberation, my intuition (gadget addiction) was allowed its way and a N82 was ordered. I got it a couple weeks ago and it was time to migrate...

Data migration a blast

Phone switch

First things first, is transfering all my data from the N95 to the N82. Easy Peasy, we are talking about two Nokia's here. First impuls was to simply sync the N82 with my Exchange/Outlook account. Which works of course. However Nokia also has this nifty 'switch' application in 'Tools/Utilities' which allows a`slightly more advanced trick. First of all, it not only transfers/copies data from one phone to another phone. It really sync one-way or two-way what ever you prefere. It can sync agenda/contacts/notes/tasks/recent calls/SMS/MMS/Bookmarks/soundclips/active notes/pictures/video and your 'Nokia folder'. It really allows you to sync and swap phones in minutes.

The N95 and N82 can use their the transfer application to copy/synchronize most data between both phones. Nokia PC Sync readily accepts multiple phones to be synced to the same account. No problem there. Lifeblog/Photo's neither. It just chomps and collects all the data from either device. Ahhh perfection were have you been. Yet, in every horror movie that is the time there is a scary monster around the corner. Yet some complications remained. Transferring my maps and n-gage licenses caused a lot more problems. Read on if you are dapper and brave or skip to the summary below if you are faint of heart and soul.

The horrors of transferring Maps & Games

Week one, thursday 13:00: I called Nokia online help to swap my Maps license to the new phone. They were very friendly and kind. They said they would handle it. Within 10 minutes my licence would be transferred and I should be able to reregister my Maps license number on the N82. Alas. I also asked about transfering my N-Gage licenses. Ehmmmm, no we can't do anything about that, you should be able to reregister them easily. Alas, this did not work either. Nokia's statement about n-gage a while ago:

We acknowledge our customers’ concerns and have been working on a solution that would allow people to transfer purchased N-Gage games to a new Nokia device. We are working with our Nokia Care Centers with an intermediate solution to enable the licensed transfers of games until a final solution is ready to be deployed.

A couple months after this statement this is still 'work-in-progress'.

Week one, thursday: 20:00. Calling Nokia online help. Explaining it did not work. They said, it takes a day or so. But we'll request a speed transfer. Give us the license number and both IMEI. We'll call you back when you can register the license. Did not dare ask again about N-gage. SatNav first. Games later, I thought.

Week one, friday: 13:00. Got a call, it should work, you can reregister now. Hmmmm... Tried it a few hours later but alas... I get 'License already in use'. Drove by memory to Germany using those quaint old roadsigns.

Week one, weekend: Installed Nav4All, which worked very nicely and got me every where I wanted to go because luckily it was alway in GPRS/3G range. In fact the routing to home was actually the way I want to drive instead of going over lots of speedbumps as Nokia Maps always suggests. I like and mostly prefer Nokia Maps software, I like the new 2.0 userinterface and the offline mapdata, the nice map images etc. But routing is still subpar. If I did not have a very cheap 3-years license, I might go for another brand.

Week one, monday: Sorry, sir. We'll give it a try again. Well, so they did, but the result was nothing better. Today I am really starting to feel like a little white mouse in Nokia's consumers test lab running in a scripted tred mill faster and faster. Where does this script circle stop? I am getting dizzy!

Week one, tuesday: Not to day it seems. I called and got some new guy on the phone. He saids: "Sir, you have to downgrade to Maps 1.0, you have a 1.0 license and it does not register under 2.0". Which is very very stupid since Nokia gives free upgrades anyway. "Sir, you need to downgrade you N82 to maps 1.0 first....". I don't think there was ever a Maps 1.0 running a N82. So I ask: "Uhmmm, are you sure that can happen?". Anyway, playing the role of a sheep I downloaded Maps 1.0 for N93i, trying a install.... Guess what? Update error! Though one good thing, this guy knew you could transfer n-gage licenses. He said: "Send an e-mail through the support website, put both IMEI's and all your license and order numbers in it and state your transfer wish." Sounds great and easily done.

But first time to call again. I can feel the tredmill is spinning faster and faster. Oh oh... Fifth call. Luckily I got the same guy I had yesterday on the phone. I put on my best "I am not a happy camper"-voice. And he said he'll ask for a Nokia Maps 2.0 license to be given for my N82. He said he'll call back this week. It seems Nokia service seems a bit better than last year. Not only did they not call back last year, they could not find my N95 phone I sent in for service anywhere...

Week one, wednesday: Got an e-mail about registering my n-gage license. I need to enter my licenses, get unspecified errors, sent an e-mail and have the licenses cleared so I can enter them and everything should work then. Did all that, got an response, they wanted my n-gage account name. Gave that, waiting patiently now...

Week two, thursday lunchtime: Missed a call and got a voicemail about Nokia Maps. I really have to reinstall Nokia Map 1.2. This is not possible. I tried it. Downloaded a version from Mosh, from Nokia. Nada, nothing, rien, niks. P*rkele (Finnish curseword in case you are wondering). It needs a full hard reset and I just finnished configuring the N82 to my hearts desire... Deep, deep sigh. Not a happy camper. Even got Mail4Exchange working. Snif. Oh wel, I made sure Mail for Exchange did a last sync and here I go with:*#7370#. Blam... Started maps 1.2 (Yuck) entered license registered. And behold the license was transfered. So next I installed and configured Mail4Exchange. Ran a sync over 3G. Whohooo, he's back. Still could they not have told me this day one? Now lets dip into the revive folder on my memory card and start installing (maps 2.0, shareonline, mobipocket, nokia chat). Now I still have some other email, SIP and Wifi accounts to configure but lunch is over. Still, it is working.

Week two, thursday evening: Installing n-gage. My last problem. Hmmm, can't install licenses. Where did those nice popups of play demo or register license go? Actually ending the Mile High Demo, the phone now asks for a license number but I can't enter it anywhere. No box to enter it in. Hurray (sorry a bit cynical here). Better send an e-mail again.

week two, friday: Got an e-mail telling me to reinstall the n-gage games (again). No time today, better give it a try this weekend.

week two, weekend: Reinstalling the games, but still no gaming. On registration I get the remark: "This license has already been registered the maximum number of times.". That needs correcting.

week two, monday: The e-mail of friday had a link for a quick enquiry about the Nokia Service. Gave give them a piece of my mind. When asked about wether I wanted to leave my contact data behind. I gave it too. Might even get some decent action about Nokia's lack of troublesolving qualities.

week two, wednessday: Got an e-mail about this is going towards Nokia Finland and I'll be contacted when new info is available. Great service people, lousy problemsolving problems that should not exist in the first case. We are into the 3rd week now. O dear I hope there will be no e-mails about downgrading n-gage...

week three, thursday: They migrated two of my games. CotD and System Rush Evolution. They did not transfer Mile High Pinball since they could not find any purchase data. That figures, I got a free license on account of beta testing the n-gage platform. To be honest, the game is my favorite one too.

week three, friday lunch: I sent an e-mail explaining I got the license for beta-testing n-gage and please transfer the license.

week three, friday afternoon: I got a reply I should contact the company that gave me the license. I replied? That's Nokia, I though I was corresponding with Nokia? The respons was it would be escalated to Nokia Finland again. Geez, I know support can be hard on a guy, but this Nokia support dude really needed his weekend ;^)

week three, monday: Nothing yet... Ahhh, well time to post I think.

Summary

Well syncing between two Nokia phones with the onboard application is a blast and takes minutes. It syncs agenda/contacts/notes/tasks/recent calls/SMS/MMS/Bookmarks/soundclips/active notes/pictures/video and your 'Nokia folder'. It really allows you to sync and swap phones in minutes.

The Nokia Maps licenses and n-gage licenses are troublesome. Here one may count on real horrors. If you have bought an early 1.x map license and happen to upgrade to maps 2.0 on your phone before registering your license, expect a bucketload of problems. Caught between software issues and Nokia's care point staff who are friendly but lacking any useful answer, I gave up after a full week and finally found my answer in the forums to get my 3-years license (1,5+ years left) transferred. And please note that Nokia Maps is now default 2.0 on your phone, those who bought a 1.x license, start worrying!

Little better it went with transferring my n-gage licenses. Some Nokia Care people don't know they have to transfer your licenses for you, some do. Those who did, solved my software issues and managed to transfer my licenses though not without getting several times the statement: 'This has to be escalated to Nokia Finland'.

The Nokia Care Point People are nice and persistent. They really call you back and keep track of your calls and issues and do not ignore you. Then again there is often little coherence in the communications of Nokia Care Point by phone and you need to repeat your issues again and again for each person you get to speak, each call, each day, each week. E-mail seems more reliable and you get e-mails of the same person each time. Still I find the procedure to transfer my licenses is annoying, frustrating and debilitating. A week without my Maps license makes me start looking for other (free) options.

Currently three weeks further I am still waiting to hear wether or not Nokia will transfer the High Pinball license they gifted me for beta-testing n-gage to my N82.

My n-gage screen

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N95-2 New Firmware V30.0.018 now available via NSU

nobody@vox.com(Micky) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:19:14 +0000

Firmware V30.0.018 is now available for the N95-2 via Nokia Software Updater.

V20 is still showing as the latest available on the Nokia website, but I can confirm V30 is available for Euro 1 product code 0549487

N95-2 V30.0.018

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A dodgering N95

nobody@vox.com(snoyt) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:00:01 +0000

After my N95 recovered from its burn-out on my vacation it seemed OK. I considered using it as a spare and a second videocamera. Sadly it started to show some problems. Video recording seemed trouble some. It does not seem to be able to record longer video's. The photo application crashes and video records are mostly limited to less than a minute. Time to send it away...

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Flixwagon - Video streaming

nobody@vox.com(thomcochrane) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:20:16 +0000

Quite impressed with how easy it is to get Flixwagon video streaming going on the N95. Flixwagon allows you to broadcast live video from your cameraphone to the Internet, and saves it for later editing and sharing. WHY? you may ask - particularly as the N95 takes such great video on the device itself, that can then be uploaded in a multitude of ways to the Internet later? Reasons I see are:

1. Save memory space on your memory card - video is streamed directly to the Internet, and not permanently stored on your memory card (This is also a downside if you want the higher quality original version later!).
2. Flixwagon provides a direct upload link to YouTube - so you don't need to send your video to YouTube later - it will go there automatically (note - this only works for 'public' video streams).
3. If you have a 'jailbroken' iPhone you can record and save/share video!!!

My first example:

Live mobile broadcasting by Flixwagon. First try using Flixwagon on N95 and 3G streaming, with direct upload to YouTube as well. Obviously some practice needed - including turning camera on first!

YouTube Version

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The Nightblack Ninja (N82) versus the Plum Avenger (N95)

nobody@vox.com(snoyt) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:52:28 +0000

(updated the photo section)

We all know the advantages of convergence. Either you carry a pletora of unconverged gadgets on your toolman Tim belt or use a single multifunctional mobile (MFM) like the N95. Unfortunately the convergence makes you also vulnerable when that single device breaks down. I experienced this personally when my vacation became a burn-out test for my N95. Getting a backup device or better yet upgrading and turning the N95 into a spare is a smart but perhaps posh move. After a lenghty deliberation fed by numerous internet resources, reviews (AAS extensive review i.e.) and specifications my logical conclusion agreed with my intuition: The N82. The fact I get two year garantee on that model made it even sweeter for me. Currently I think there is none better in a highly mobile (small) package with a versatile web 2.0 software collection to fit ~~your~~ my needs.

Touchscreens are currently still lacking basic multifunctional qualities and their product maturity is still questionable. Even though Nokia S60 Touch is on the horizon, a high-end version with a sliding qwertypad in a super mobile size (100mmx50mmx20mm) is most likely miles away and no guarantees about running Maps, Sportstracker and more. IPhone, E90, E71they all are way to large for me to keep them pocketed 24/7. And yes, Nokia fans will have noticed that the N82 exceeds my idyllic specs with 10mm length (update: The new N85 fits it beautifully) . Definitely a compromise by me.

The Comparison

The N82 is more or less a repackaged and revised N95 with nearly similar specifications. The original 'classic' N95 had numerous complaints about its built quality (slider i.e.), battery capacity and firmware. Not unlikely the product was pushed to be released months before the iPhone, getting an unpolished but capable product. Successive firmwares did a lot of improvements and pollishing, if you were not simlocked that is.

My question is: Did Nokia took all the consumer input to their heart and made the N82 a better N95 in a different formfactor? The 'classic' N95 costs in the Netherlands 1,5 years after its release about 20 euros less than a N82. For those 20 euros more I get a real Xenon flash, a only slightly smaller screen, slightly bigger battery capacity and 4x more memory for running applications. Sound very promising for a mad power user like me. I'm comparing two unlocked models, both with the latest firmware installed (N95: V21.0.016, N82:V20.0.062).

Built and design

I love the feel of the N82 in my hand. It feels solid, more solid than the N95. The N82's 11% higher capacity battery snaps nicely and more securely into its place. The battery cover is also better designed that the N95's cover. There is now little chance of accidentally breaking the hooks that hold the cover in place. Oke I'd rather had the back in the same material the sides of the N82 are made or in black titanium ;^) Still it looks and feels very nice. The look and feel of my N95's silky plum coloured rubber cover is even better. I also assume the rubber is also better at absorbing shock. Alas, it softness and flexibility requires a certain shell thickness that would not have served the size of the N82 well.

N82 vs N95 screensize

The N82's vertical spacing key spacing of the numeric pad is a bit to cramped for full comfort, but it is still very usable. The height of the numeric buttons work well and I can get close to the N95's typing speed, though it took several days to get used to them. The other buttons and the navigation pad work very well and I instantly adjusted to them. Yet a bit of topology would have been slightly better. Volume, power, gallery and photo buttons are exemplary. The photo shutter? Wow!

The N82 has a slightly smaller screen but compared to a classic N95 it not a point. The difference is very small, since it higher dpi makes it crisper, sharper to read. Note the photo on the left is not representative in crispness between both. 25% screen brighness is comparable with 50% of the N95. Then again my N95 is set at 25% and when in 'sunny ville' at 50% and anything above 75% is a complete battery waste. The display of the N95 is a bit too colorsaturated, the N82 a bit too little. The real important difference is in direct sunlight. With the sun directly above the display (perpendicular) the colors of the N82 are washed out and difficult to read while the N95 retains its color nicely. However the screen text and symbols are still sharp and easy to read (using the default black background and white text theme). No worries for reading e-mail or using the mobipocket reader. Turning the N82's display 90 degrees away from the sun makes the color quality close to the N95's and certainly well enough for evaluating a photo shot you just took. Only in direct sunlight the transreflective qualities of the N82 are less than that of the N95. But how often are you stuck in a position needed to watch a video with the sun over your shoulder?

Photo's & Video

The N82 is faster in getting ready for taking a picture. Geotagging is an integrated option in the photomenu and works like a blast. Alas there is no feedback like with location tagger wether it succeeded in tagging or not. The photo's of the N82 also look a tad better than the N95. Less color blotches and noise in the mid and lower shades, no minute hint of purple.

The Xenon flash not only works miracles at night, it also does a great job to fill-in sun shaded faces. A Xenon flash has more great qualities. First of all, its microseconds flash duration is well suited to give unblurred night photo's compared to flash LED's. Second, the continuous colorspectrum of Xenon is fantastic for getting natural colors. LED's are pretty awful, particular in reproducing warm and sunny colors. Check some comparison shots here.

The N82 sports a IR autofocus asist LED for focussing in dark places where as the N95 uses its flash led. The IR AF assist LED lets the N82 do a better job of focussing in the dark than the N95. Video is comparable with the N95. A focus setting for macro or headshots in video-mode is still missing on both. Though it would be an easy addition to make and increases its use significantly.

Sound & Music

The sound output through external speakers is good. The larger distance beween the external speakers of the N82 give a better stereo effect as the N95. While the N95 doing better in the lower frequencies and volume, having a more solid sound. Yet I prefer the N82 speaker implementation, stereo when watching a movie in landscape mode is very important to me. If I need volume, use a headset or a AD2P boombox. The sound quality over a wired headset is much better with the N82. Both my N95's (one passed away and the other, its replacement, lately recovered from coma) have at lower volumes (10-20%) a clear and annoying hiss through a wired headset. The N82 is the clear winner here.

Media menu

The Caroussel media menu allows a quick access to different kinds of media an information. You rotate horizontally through the caroussel selecting on of a fixed set of topics. Each giving a vertically browsable quicklist: Videos (latest used), Music (Now playing, Music, Podcasts, Playlists, Shuffle all songs), Gallery (Last captured, slide show, albums), Contacts (configurable list of prefered phone/sms contacts), Weblinks (rootlist), Maps (latest used places). It is design is definitely more useful menu than the one of the N95. It lacks however the flexibility and configurability the media menu of the N95 has. I could imagine this being a configurable menu for downloadable plugins that give quick access to information an individual user wants. A plug-in that works locally or an internet widget for the lastest weather at your location. The N82's menu is definitely more useful, but still only in it's infant stages.

Memory, stability and batterylife

The larger RAM is a real breather. Finally I can run Maps 2.0, open the video recorder and make a recording and Maps is still there and so is sportstracker running quietly in the background without any trouble. It allows all the N82's power functions to be used to the full. Not impacting each other (other than processor capacity). Even web browsing is a better blast. Pages load better and faster. YouTube and other flashsites do much better with more real RAM. The N82 seems to have a better battery life. Whether it is the 11% more battery capacity, the slightly less energy consuming screen or perhaps better power optimalizations in design and firmware. The battery capacity feels better and more capable. Roughly 4 hours of eAAC+ music at 32 kbps took half the battery capacity with a wired headset.

GPS

The GPS is located in the top of the phone. It is described by Nokia to be working optimal when the phone is handheld at an angle of 45 degrees. Compared to the N95 there is no slider that needs to be open for optimal reception. This is far more practical. Sportstracking and GPS now perform well in your jacket, on your belt or anywhere else you stuff the phone not worrying about keeping a slide open. Even holding the N82 in you hand, the chance that you cover the GPS sensor with your hand by sheer stupidity is very low. The reception sensitivity does

N82 default headset

not seem to be really that different between both phone models. Yet in terms of practicality the N82's GPS wins hands down.

Headset

The N95 has the most luxurious headset of both. It has media control buttons for play, pause, next and prev. It even a lock for the keys. Yet the design of the N82's default headset is far more practical and discrete. It's has a terrific practical neckband that allows for subtle headset use. See the picture.I do find the lack of mediacontrol buttons on the N82's headset annoying, because the phone lacks them too. Yet, I have the choice between both headsets and the N82 headset gets actually used!

Final Verdict

N82

The N82 beats the N95 hands tied behind its back in nearly all aspects. It looks like Nokia listened well to all the complaints about the N95 and built a worthy replacement for it. It's GPS implementation is far more practical and the battery life improvements will suit most consumers. The N82 is a full featured smartphone in a really mobile form factor oriented towards consumers that want a xenon flash. With its pricing (350-380 euros) it is slightly above the bottom range of current smart phones. Yet I think its the current best buy multifunctional phone if it is compatible with your local 3G protocol. The vertical spacing of the numeric keys are a bit too cramped though not overly so. I find the washed-out color in direct sunlight is not really a problem, but have a look at it in a shop and decide that for yourself.

Currently there is a new batch of Nokia's announced. Particular the new N85 is a direct competitor to the N95, N95 8GB and the N82. It's excellent OLED screen, larger battery capacity and wmv video support it all looks very promising. Yet it will also be a much more expensive phone (for a while). With S60 touchscreens around the corner I can imagine migrating next year again, spending more valuable cash. The N82 is now nearly a year on the market with a proven track record and a grown-up firmware version for a very delicous price. Giving stability and know characteristics. Besides, a xenon flash is pretty terrific for ~~nighty~~ nightly pictures. Only one other Nokia sports it, a wifi-less one. So for nightstalking photographers the N82 is a simply irristible 24/7 pocketable smartphone. Without any doubt the best choice when compared to a N95 classic and certainly the best buy smartphone..

The one thing

The one thing I miss. The one thing from the N95 I miss, is the feature from the latest firmware. Open the slider, unlock the keypad of the phone. Close the slider, lock the keypad. Pure genius. So intuitive, so cool. For some reason it does not work on my N82. Funny, I actually keep trying it in my dreams.

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We have a new neighbor...a "praying mantis"!

nobody@vox.com(Camilla) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:19:00 +0000

A praying mantis has moved into the Euonymous shrub by our door, and we have been able to capture some really interesting close-up pictures. As always - the best camera is the one you always have with you, and in this instance I forgave Jeff for hanging up on me to focus on taking this first one last night.

This morning he was still there, so I captured another one - enjoy.

Jeffs Praying Mantis close-up

A morning prayer

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N81 sound quality damn good!

nobody@vox.com(Stephen) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:45:32 +0000

Today i got a chance to play with my friend's N81 in college. i checked out the device and its display remined me of my N76's smaller display compared to my N95 8GB. the N-Gage experience was good, a decent camera and picture quality.

BUT what surprised me was the sound quality and volume on the Nokia AD-54 headset (the ones got with my N95 8GB). It was BETTER than the N95. Well the speaker quality and volume on the N95 was way better compared to the headsets quality. it was really surprising because I used the same headsets on both the devices. Anyways it doesnt matter much because the N95 8Gb is far more better than the N81 !

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Firemint's Real Racing? Wow! Can it be for real?

nobody@vox.com(Ant UK) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:55:55 +0000

Just saw the following video over at Symbian Freak. All I can say is 'wow'! And, er, ask: Is this for real?

Firemint's Real Racing on Nokia N95

Okay, there's way more for me to say. I'll start off with a... if this is for real, this should be huge news for anyone with a compatible handset. This should be all over the various Symbian/S60/Nokia websites, blogosphere etc. This is by far the best video game I've ever seen on any handset. It looks so good that it, um, makes me - a little sadly - sceptical. But what do I know? I'll need to investigate me thinks! ;-)

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08.08.20

nobody@vox.com(M. L. Hunt) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:07:30 +0000

Vulture sitting on a cell site.

Must be a Sprint tower :-p.

08.08.20

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Geotagging - Using the GPS on N95 and iPhone

nobody@vox.com(thomcochrane) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:13:36 +0000

The GPS built-in to the N95 and iPhone allows you to locate your position on Google Maps, plot directions, and geotag photos (embed longitude and latitude data into photos taken with the smartphone's camera, allowing location on Google Maps etc...). Other more creative applications are also possible - such as locating restaurants etc... Online photo-sharing services, such as Flickr, support the use of geotagged data and provide direct links too Maps for locating the exact position where the photo was taken. This can be very useful. This data is usually embedded as EXIF data in a jpeg photo. Quote from Flickr:

What is EXIF data? Almost all new digital cameras save JPEG (jpg) files with EXIF (Exchangeable Image File) data. Camera settings and scene information are recorded by the camera into the image file. Examples of stored information are shutter speed, date and time, focal length, exposure compensation, metering pattern and if a flash was used.

When a geotagged photo is uploaded to Flickr, a 'map' link option is presented, and clicking the "more details" link for an uploaded photo will reveal the EXIF data. e.g.

On the iPhone, an example GPS enabled geotagging application is "Mobile Photos" - an iPhone Flickr client that supports 'location' details for photos uploaded from the iPhone:

iPhone GPS screenshots:

Make sure the "Location Services" option is enabled in the iPhone's settings - as this turns on the GPS!

Nokia N95 GPS Geotagging:

On the N95, use the "GPS Data" application to first get a GPS satellite lock - this can take 10-15minutes the first time - and must be done with a clear view of the sky - either outside or on a windowsill!

Start the "GPS Data" application, then select "Navigation", "options", "Show Satellite Status". When satelite data is obtained, several dark coloured bars will be seen:

Now use either the "Location Tagger" or "Shozu" applications to add geotag info to your photos before uploading to Flickr.

Vox’s posts tagged n95

My N95 Bodycam Demo Video

New DS confirmed, Nokia 'Tube' and BBC iPlayer on N95

Test from n95

Imaging: N95 vs N95 8GB

Photos and Geotagging

Nokia N95 8GB UNLOCKED (Free GPS Navigation Serv. For 6 Months)

Noel's VOX presentation

How to make your own N95 Tripod mount

Fixing a scratched N95 8GB lens?

The pains and joys of migration from the N95 to the Nokia N82

N95-2 New Firmware V30.0.018 now available via NSU

A dodgering N95

Flixwagon - Video streaming

The Nightblack Ninja (N82) versus the Plum Avenger (N95)

We have a new neighbor...a "praying mantis"!

N81 sound quality damn good!

Firemint's Real Racing? Wow! Can it be for real?

08.08.20

Geotagging - Using the GPS on N95 and iPhone

iPhone GPS screenshots:

Nokia N95 GPS Geotagging:

Location Tagger:

Turning on Geotag option in Shozu Settings:

N95 GPS & Google Maps screenshot

N95 Geotagged Photo