Teach the Technophobe: Challenges – 3 and 4

The third challenge for the Teach the Technophobe was delivered to me a long time back, it was also completed on time. But since I have just moved to a new city, and I did not have an internet connection (broadband) to blog about it, the information of it was not put up here.

The third challenge required my technophobe to take a phot of himself and also send a position of himself, using the Maps application, to me via email. The distance meant that I had to email the instructions to my technophobe. I knew this would be difficult and I had my fingers crossed, I prayed for him to be able to complete it without any hiccups. My technophobe had not used Maps before and emailing me his exact position through the application itself was another level of toughness for him.

But all my fears were laid to rest when I recevied his email with his photo and a ‘.lmx’ file. the ‘.lmx’ file was basically a file, which when opened in Maps would tell me exactly where he was at that time.

My technophobe had been able to do what I thought was a tough task for him. I asked him later on if he found the task difficult or no, his response, only marginally, the instructions were clear and the UI and the phone made it much more simple. I was delighted, here was a person who was using  a 6681 in his daily course, telling me that something as ‘advanced’ as the E75 was easy to get used to and really nice to use.

Challenge #3 over.

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Challenge #4 was pretty easy, to say the least, but made difficult by my inability to access my blog due to an absence of an internet connection. Now I know that the phone has a woking internet connection,but 20-30Mb of video to be uploaded onto YouTube and then embedded into my blog would have taken close 3 hours, all thanks to an EDGE connection only that is prevalent in India. My problem was also compounded a bit by some ‘Tax Law’ issues that the state of UP has (I’m in NOIDA now…) this meant that my shipment had already reached New Delhi but due to some stupid paperwork it reached my hands only on the 10-11th August I think. So the delay in posting this challenge on my blog.

Below is not one but two videos of my technophobe, talking in brief about his experience of using the E75 and the email functionality.

Another one:

With this I can safely say that the challenges are all over!

Mission Accomplished!

I would like to thank Nokia, WOMWorld and their extremely warm and kind employees. The people at WOMWorld have been very helpful at every step and their professionalism is something that needs to be complimented. Kudos to WOMWorld! You are really great!

N85 Review Part-5: Maps, Internet, N-Gage and FM

This part of the review we shall delve into the Maps, Internet, N-Gage and the FM transmitter. You can read the previous parts of the review by clicking on these links:

Part-1: Design

Part-2: Lighting

Part-3: Software, Music, Battery and Screen

Part-4: Camera & Accessories

Without wasting any time let’s get to the review.

Maps:

The Maps is now a standard feature in most Nokia phones and the same goes for a Nseries phone.

Maps on the N85 is really a good feature to have. However there is a big downside to this application with respect to N85. if you plan to use this where it is sunny, then I’m afraid it’s useless. The AM-OLED screen is just not visible in the sun. You crank up the brightness, but it will be of no help. Only if you can protct the screen from the sunlight is it of use. This means that in a car (if kept properly) it will work great.

I gave it a shot, though I did not load the India map for N85, I tried to see how fast would it lock on to my position using purely the GPS chip. Well the result of which was shocking! The thing took less than 2 minutes to get a lock on my position. That means it was faster than the N96 and the N82 also. from a cold start it takes only about 2 minutes to get a lock on. This is fantastic, I’m sure when you use the Maps with the internet on and everything else, it will be even faster.

What it means is that in case you are lost, you will know where you are in a couple of minutes only. I’m impressed, this is perhaps the tightest integration of Maps I have seen.

I would give it a very high 9.4/10. A good GPS solution in a phone, let down only by AM-OLED screen in the sunlight.

Internet:

Internet on the N85 is an experience that has changed little since I last reviewed the N96  or any S60 device. I did not find anything different in the N85’s internet experience except for one thing, the screen. The N85’s screen is perhaps the one thing that changes the whole experience in a lot of ways. Here too, the screen made all the difference. I found the colours to be richer, thereby improving the experience considerably. Also it was not a strain to read the small font.

It does not have tabbed browsing, which according to me is a very bad thing. I don’t know if other browsers and platforms have such a feature, but the need of the hour is tabbed browsing.

For everyday browsing and other things the browser is more than adept. I would give it a 8.9/10.

N-Gage:

The N-Gage is a pleasure to play on this phone. With dedicated keys for gaming, which by the  way I found to be small and a bit hard for gaming; and the beautiful AM-OLED screen you can enjoy gaming for many hours.

The TFT screen can strain the eyes, but the AM-OLED does not. I found this to be the case when after playing for an hour on the N85, my eyes did not feel tired or strained.

Since the N96 and the N85 are similar in terms of their form factor, I found little difference (apart from the screens) in terms of the gaming. But I must repeat myself by saying that the gaaming keys are a bit too hard for my tastes and I would have liked the N96 keys on this device.

The N85 seems to suffer from the same screen orientation goof up as the N96.  I don’t know what were the N-Gage and/or Nseries people thinking.

I would give the N85 a good 8.9/10. The screen orientation taking the score down by half a point. If gaming is your poison, then the N85 is what you absolutely must have. You can click here to read how the N96 compares to the N85 in this area.

FM Transmitter:

This is a unique feature found in the N85. First seen on the N78, the FM transmitter basically allows you to transmit your music on the FM band that is set by you. You can configure the N85 to transmit over a specific frequency. But please be aware this does not transmit to the entire city. Only to very close objects. These objects will in turn be able to tune in only if they catch your frequency. Perfect of using in the car. I have used this feature a lot in my car. Every time I wanted to hear a song on my phone while driving, I would simply tune the radio and the N85 to a set frequency and voila, my phone would play the music and the my car’s speakers would output it! This is an awesome feature and I love it!

The quality of the streaming music is okay and nothing great. One would really need to turn up the volume to hear the song ‘loudly’. For everyday listening it’s good. A convenient feature. This feature is available in countries that allow such a thing. In India, to the best of my knowledge it is not allowed. So chances are that you will not be having this feature on your phone.

One annoying thing with the transmitter is the amount of disturbance that comes in. At times there is so much disturbance that you probably would prefer not listening to the song. Considering it’s a new technology on phones, I would give it time before it’s perfected and incorporated into other phones.

The N85 gets a good 8.5/10 for providing this cool  solution.

With this comes to an end the review of the Nokia N85, the unofficial flagship of the Nokia Nseries. What do you think of the the N85, is it as good as it has been said by many people. do drop in your comments and let us know what are your thoughts on the N85. we at  www.adityasphones.wordpress.com are eager to hear what you have to say to us.

N96 Review Part-5: Maps, Internet and N-Gage

This is the final part of the review of Nokia’s flagship device, the N96. Over the course of last few weeks, I have had a chance to play with this handset and get a feeling of what the N96 is all about. I have posted a look at the device from 4 angles.

1. Design
2. Lighting
3. Software, music, battery, screen orientation
4. Camera & accessories

Today I shall review the phone on the following parameters – Maps, Internet and N-Gage.

Maps:

I have found the Maps feature to be very helpful to me at many a times. On the N96, the screen’s size is one of its biggest assets. Also the GPS chip on the N96 is very quick to grab a fix on the location. I tried the Maps V2.0 and it performed really well. But by the time I could write something on it, Nokia Beta labs outed the Maps V3.0 beta. I downloaded it to see how much had changed in the new Maps. Well, a lot has changed. Maps V3.0 is definitely faster than the old one, the menu has changed a lot, there are quite a few interesting add ons to the the new Maps. I thought that the application was a little zippier compared to the older Maps. But going away from the software and taking a look at the hardware, The N96’s GPS hardware is definitely a generation ahead of the ones found on the N82 and N95. This thing gets a location fix faster, what that means is that now you can see where your on the map faster. I did not have to wait for 10-20 minutes to get a location fix on the N96.

Probably the only thing that really kind of upset me is that the software has no way to change the direction of the Map. Imagine if you were taking a left turn and the map on the phone showed you going in the exact opposite direction. Or if you were driving straight and the application was showing you to be driving reverse. It is extremely irritating to see that on the phone, I used to just switch of the Maps application at such points. I understand this happens because of a lack of a compass, but atleast allow the user to manually change the direction of the map on the screen. I’m sure that can be done.

Just for this irritating niggle, the N96 gets a 6/10. I knows that it’s abit harsh, but just think how irritating a dangerous it could be for a perso using it when he or she is driving?

Internet:

The internet, one of the most important  ‘things’ to have on the phone. Now there is little that I can say about the web browser as it is the same as one would expect to find on any S60 device, this one has one additional feature – the N96 allows you to change the font size. This is a nifty and good feature. The huge also screen plays a very important role in increasing the UI’s functionality. Let’s face it, a bigger screen is always going to make a person want to surf the internet than a small one.

The web browser is the same that has been on all the S60 devices I have reviewed so far, so othing new to tell you. It does not have tabbed browsing, which according to me is a very bad thing. I don’t know if other browsers and platforms have such a feature, but the need of the hour is tabbed browsing.

For everyday browsing and other things the browser is more than adept. I would give it a 8.9/10.

N-Gage:

The N-Gage application on the N96 is a second generation iteration of the N-Gage gaming platform developed by Nokia. Since this is not a review of the N-Gage, I will only be writing about my experience of the N-Gage application.

The N-Gage performs really well on the N96. The games have good graphics and seeing them being rendered on the N96’s huge screen really provides a good experience. The two gaming keys on music player keys are good, but could have been made more clearly identifiable. Another thing that is slightly weird is that the horizontal orientation for the N-Gage is such that one cannot use the stand. I know the stand is of no use, but why is the orientation so different for the N-Gage? One type of orientation would have been better, don’t you think Nokia? plus I don’t think one should burden the consumer by making remember the orientations for various applications on his device.

The N-Gage application is really looking good on the N96. A lot of people might complain that the 2.8″ screen is not a VGA screen, when it could have been. Well I agree that a VGA screen would have looked killer, but it would have also made things a lot smaller to read and see. The N-Gage games would have looked a little dull and I’m sure that rendering would have eaten up a lot of processing power and battery too.

On the whole I would give the N-Gage feature on the N96, a solid 9/10. A good platform that looks great on the N96 and that also has been executed well.

This brings us to an end with the N96. With all its shortcomings, the N96 still has a few good things about it. This device can no doubt be improved. What it needs is few software tweaks along with a hardware revision. A faster processor, more RAM, a dedicated graphics chip, xenon flash and a bigger battery.

The positives of the phone are the speakers that are absolutely loud!, the huge screen, the very good slider action and S60 FP2.

What do you like or dislike about the N96. do drop in a comment and let us at Adityasphones know.

Nokia updates Maps to V3.0

Yesterday along with the firmware update for the 5800, Nokia, through its Beta Labs launched a new version to the Maps application. The application is now up to V3.00.

The Nokia Maps Beta site states that the update is available for the following devices…

Maps 3.0^Beta works with Nokia devices based on:
S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 (E71, E66, 6110 Navigator, N95, N95 8GB, N82)
S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 (N96, N85, N79, 6650, 6210 Navigator, 6220 Classic, N78 )

The change-log for the Maps application is as follows,

• Start-up sequence takes you to your current position as soon as position is found. If your position is not found in few seconds, you are taken to last known position
• You can rotate the map, so you can for example view 3D landmarks from all directions. Just press 4 and 6 in map view. Pressing 5 takes you back to ‘north up’ view
• In 3D view mode, you can tilt the view by pressing 2 and 8
• 2D/3D mode works with all map modes, i.e. with Map/Satellite/Terrain
• My Favourites menu is cleaned up and History list is moved higher in menu
• My Places has option “Point me to” for any saved place/landmark, you the direction to that place on the map
• In addition to the synchronisation of Favourites and Collections with Ovi Maps and vice versa (use in online mode, enable Internet connection), you can now plan routings on Ovi Maps and synchronise to your device
• Finally, many bugs have now been fixed

The update does not work on the 5800, so do not try to install it on the 5800.

Here is a small video showing the Maps in action:

N82 gets an update

I had told you that I have exams and I won’t be posting till the 31st of January, but I couldn’t help it. This is big news for ya’ll N82 owners.

Nokia N82 has just received an update. The firmware of the N82 which was V30.0.019 till a while ago is now V31.0.016. There is still no idea about the changelog. So I have no idea what has changed in the N82’s new firmware.

If you want to upgrade to the new firmware, start the NSU (Nokia Software Updater) and connect your N82 to the PC. Follow the onscreen instructions properly, because you don’t want your precious N82 getting bricked. The N82 supports User Data Prevention (UDP) so nothing to worry about.

Note of Caution:

Please take a backup of your phone even though there is UDP. It always pays to be safe. You can take a back up of the N82’s data (phone memory) by backing it up on the memory card inside the phone. I always remove the memory card when the phone is being updated, maybe you would like to do it too. The other way to take a backup of the data on the phone (phone memory and memory card) is to fire up Nokia PC Suite and use the Backup utility. The same can be used to restore the data in case there is some corruption of data.

Steve at allaboutsymbian.com, reports that there have been some problems with “Maps” application on the N82.  He has had the application freeze up on him many times, so do proceed with caution. Mobitubia is also not working properly accroding to him.

UPDATE: Symbian-Freak forum member, “karanpawar” has reported that the new firmware is hackable. You can see the thread here. The method to hack the firmware is given here.

A raw changelog is also there for people to see.

Caution: www.adityasphones.wordpress.com would like to caution you that it is not responsible for any warranty loss and damage to the phone due to these hacks.