Nokia N900 looking pretty sweet

Google Maps on the N95

Yesterday evening I updated the Firmware on my N95 8GB. This was something of a pain in the ass, largely because it took around 10 minutes to shift Spiderman 3 from the handset to the laptop on which I was backing up the phone.

Spiderman 3 came loaded for free on a number of N95 8GB mobile phones. The only drawback was that you had to sign in to a website to validate it... or something like that... and I really couldn't be bothered. And frankly, who could? Spiderman 3? On a two inch screen? Meh.

Anyway, once Spiderman had squeezed its way through the USB cable, data transfer was quick and painless, which is a big step forward for Nokia PC Suite; one of the most loathsome programs ever conceived.

So, on with the installation.

I got an early indication of how it feels to be out of touch with "the young people today" when PC Suite told me that I was on Firmware version 15 and the new install would be version 20something. Horrible.

Anyway, the upshot is that I can finally use the GPS on my phone after months of angling it on a windowsill, waiting 20 mins and then occasionally connecting to a satellite. And, what's more, it's actually fully integrated with Google maps so you can get lovely images as an option. Which is great.

This is going to make navigation of London streets much easier, although at a cost... Vodafone data transfer is not cheap and Google maps is very data intensive. They do offer an add on at £7.50 per month which allows up to 120mb of data transfer, but I'm not sure that I will use that much data.

All in all... the update is a very good thing indeed. I am now tempted to go for a long walk just to use the GPS. Maybe I'll find a nice park bench, take a seat and watch Spiderman 3.

Nokia 6600

If, for some reason, you were asked to visualise a "Nokia 6600", it's likely that you would think of this beauty:

The Nokia 6600 was Nokia's flagship handset a couple of years back. The little joystick made it fantastic for playing games and, if memory serves, the camera was particularly impressive. Sadly, as with most complex Nokia handsets, the 6600 had a habit of grinding to a halt after around a year of daily use, making it into the kind of handset that your mum loves: "something that can make and receive calls."

On that note, could it be true that there is another worldwide shortage of N95 handsets because so many of them are being returned? The theory goes that, because the handsets are so complicated, it is usually easier for Nokia to provide a new handset than fix an old one.

Anyway... back to the 6600.

Actually, that's just what Nokia are doing: going back to the 6600. Well, they are not going back to the device but they are going back to the name, for a handset that looks like this:

As you can see, they are offering the handset as a slider or a flip. The feature list for the two is pretty similar, with the accelerometer that sets my heart aflutter on the N95 again present, along with a 512mb removable memory card and radio. Interestingly, the clamshell handset has a poorer camera: only 2 megapixel, compared to 3.2 on the slider. What does Nokia have against clamshell users?

And why do they go back to the same names again? This handset doesn't really have anything to do with the old 6600, which has effectively evolved into the N95.

Speaking of which, the 6600 slide looks rather like a simplified version of the forthcoming Nokia N96. Apparently, there are no handsets available for review purposes until the official launch in the autumn. If anyone fancies sending one this way, please get in touch!

What do I love most about the N95 8gb Part 2 - the accelerometer

It is sooooo wonderfully understated and Scandinavian to include an accelerometer in the flagship N95 and not make a fuss about it. Apple included exactly the same feature in the iPhone and made it one of the central parts of their advertising strategy:

"WOW... LOOK... A phone that knows when you are moving AND has internet browsing"

The Finns, in their understated way, just put it in there and didn't really do anything with it. Third Party developers (you don't get them with the iPhone) have gone wild with the device and you can now use the N95 for such varied tasks as... err... playing starwars, playing bouncy ball and.... umm... playing Space Invaders. Nokia's own Activity Monitor app is quite cool, although it won't do your battery life any favours.

Anyway, this is just another reason that I love the N95. Thanks Nokia!

(Sorry if this blog has got a bit boring of late... you know how people get when they are in love. Normal business will resume once a younger model comes along =)

Struggling to choose a new mobile phone

Well, I'm back from Argentina and faced with something of a dilema.

My trusty 6630 is really in it's dying days now. It still calls ok and sends text messages. The alarm still wakes me up bright and early in the morning for my work as an SEO copywriter. The screen still works and the ringtone still scares people. That, however, is about all.

The camera died a death before I left the country. The video camera passed away long before that. Since my return, the menu system also appears to have come unstuck. It is rather like driving through a large city in rush hour traffic.

The good news, however, is that I am now out of contract and free to hunt down the best contract and handset. Well, within limits... there is no reception in my flat for Orange and O2, leaving me the options of T-mobile and sticking with Vodafone.

Both of these present their own problems. Firstly T-mobile. Now, I'm not normally one to bear a grudge, but I have had some experince with T-mobile in the past and I'm afraid to say it wasn't good. My first ever mobile phone (a dearly departed Siemens which was so heavy that it has left me walking with a limp ever since) was registered with 0ne-2-one. The deal included free evening and weekend calls for two and sixpence monthly, which seemed like a clincher.

The problem, and my lasting resentment, stems from the fact that you had to stand on top of a towerblock in the middle of London to get one bar of reception. Honestly, it was like a bloody Rabbit phone. Even the one-2-one store in my native Watford didn't have reception, which struck me as enduringly crap.

My problem with Voda is that they won't offer me any decent handsets as an upgrade, depsite my having been a loyal customer for 5(ish) years and always paying my bills on time with minimal fuss.

All I want is an N82!!! Or even an N95. EVERYONE HAS AN N95. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?!?

Anyway, I'm keeping my eyes open for good deals. Any advice please let me know. Anyone working for Voda want to explain why you're not nicer to loyal customers? Anyone from T-mobile got reception?

Nokia Prism

Nokia is eschewing the curves which they arguably brought to mobile phones in the first place and going all angular.

The Nokia Prism was unveiled at a fashion show in China. Yes, a fashion show, not a technology conference as might be expected. To be honest, the technology under the surface of this handset really isn't anything to write home (or a blog entry) about: Bluetooth, USB 2.0 (I like), EDGE, GPRS and Tri-Band.

But the design is rather original, no? I love it when visions of the future from decades gone by actually come to be realised, rather like this lovely slab.

I do, however, have one concern about the angles and this is:

Every pair of jeans that I own has a white line around the lefthand pocket where my phone has sat. It makes me all nostalgic, looking at an old pair of 501s which no longer do up to see the outline of my first ever mobile - a Siemens S8 - which this page informs us has such groundbreaking features as a "large 4 line display" and "99 name phonebook".

Look at those sharp edges on the new Nokia! A recipe for denim disaster, no?

Some more about the Prism:
From the Mobile Gazette
From the Register
and finally, for those of you who dabble in Mandarin, from Nokia

iPhone is popular (no surprises there then)

Apple´s iPhone has caused the biggest fuss of any new mobile for as long as anyone can remember. In the wake of iPodmania, it should be unsurprising that the world is waiting with bated breath to see what the computer manufacturer can add to the already huge range of phones available. After all, the iPod revolutionised the world of mobile music players more than any single product since the original Sony Walkman. It was all a matter of usability, much as it will be with the new phone.

A phenomenal amount of free publicity has been given to the phone, from such unlikely sources as the BBC, which ran repeated features on the phone on television news bulletins and online. Similarly, newspapers around the world have been gripped by the progress of the device, again providing incalculable free coverage for the multinational. Clever stuff, no?

In the States, the iPod starts shipping next month and has already recieved, wait for it... one million enquiries from customers who wish to receive information when it is released. On AT&T alone.

Apple hope to sell 10 million iPhones and it seems their canny approach to marketing is doing the job nicely. Basically, they are saying nothing very much and letting the buzz build to phemonenal pre-release levels. No other mobile phone manufacter has the power to reach the mainstream media in this way, which probably sticks in the throat of Nokia and Sony Ericsson, who have been producing truly innovative handsets for years.

Now, all we can do is wait and see if it lives up to the hype.

My guess is yes.

Nokia E90

I've always admired the Nokia Communicator series from afar, waiting for the right time to switch up to the beasts. As I see it, there are two necessary requirements for owning one of these phones. Firstly, you have some need to check your emails on the go - maybe you travel away from your computer a lot - and secondly you need to wear a suit for work. For some reason these phones just seem perfect to fit into a suit pocket.

Sadly it doesn't seem as though I will be fitting either of these criteria in the near future. The umbilical link between myself and my laptop shows no sign of being severed any time soon and I work in shorts and a tee-shirt. Woo hoo! The joys of working at home.

The latest installment - the E90 - is one of the most advanced, feature-packed mobile phones ever released. Interestingly, the phone uses a Symbian S60 operating system as opposed to the S80 used on the 9500 and 9300. This may seem like an unusual step, but S60 offers E90 users access to a much wider range of applications. A quick straw poll suggests that S60 is every bit as easy to use as the newer system and ultimately more flexible. Good work Nokia.

This is a business phone. Smart features include onboard GPS and a high-resolution screen. The system can handle PDF files and read documents in Microsoft office. Unlike the previous generation of Communicator, the E90 comes fully-loaded with 3G, which can only be good news.

Features which you may be surprised to find on this phone include an FM radio and 3.2 Megpixel camera. Many businesses do not like to have cameras onboard business phones (however employees generally love them). I imagine the phone is there for those long, dull train journeys from London Euston to the Midlands to meet clients. Hmm... maybe that's fair enough.