One of the best ways for staying up-to-date on product launches is Twitter Search. I’m scanning Twitter for E72 related news for quite some time now and I can tell you that many ppl are desperately waiting for the E72 to hit the market. I heard it will be October 6th or 12th…

The Nokia E63 itself is a very nice phone – I actually prefer its keyboard over to the initial E71 and so I am really glad that the E72 will not only have such a similar keyboard, but also come with a camera that will be able to compete with the really decent 5mpx cam on my Nokia N95.

My N95 is 27 months old now and – compared to other phones I’ve owned in the past – a bit worn out. The other day I also dropped it on the floor and it fortunately still does the job, only a few scratches on the (exchangable) cover. Back then I urgently wanted to get my hands on the N95, only to quickly realize that it has a “prototype” design and comes with other flaws I’ve mentioned on this blog in the past. Another problem with buying brandnew phones is that a stable firmware (~ the operating system on the phone) will probably only be released after a year. This isn’t a Nokia-only problem though, others like Apple have experienced similar issues.

The interesting part on this next purchase will be the question if I should get it like my N95 – with a 24month contract and a subsidized phone – or directly buy it without a contract and paying the full price.

The pre-order price for the phone currently is around EUR 360 and I am expecting this to change over the next coming weeks. Also, I think the current trend is that less phones are being subsidized these days and that mobile network operators and their resellers started leasing out phones, so you end up paying a hefty monthly fee + ~ EUR 15 for the phone. You’ll still find many customers asking for “a free phone” from their operator every two years (the way it has been in the past), but it is actually cheaper to get a prepaid card & buy the phone (unless of course you’re on a flat fee contract and using the phone a lot). I don’t call that much, but often check my mail via the phone, so “cheap internet access” is my main issue. I also like the browser on the iPhone, but then: I guess I am too stupid for Apple’s Monoculture and Operating System. The iPhone may have a great browser (the greatest?), but a non-removable battery, a lousy camera and no taskmanager (or is there?) are a no-go for me. Plus it is still too expensive in Europe.

I really can’t wait to get my hands on my own Nokia E72 because it will eventually enable me to return to the monoblock design. The 2-way sliders on the N95 are *interesting* but absolutely useless and it’s about time for me to upgrade from a T9 keypad to a full QWERTY (QWERTZ) keyboard.

The 2 best reviews so far are the one by Antoine of AllAboutSymbian AllAboutNokia (part 1,2,3,4,5 and his verdict) and Eldar’s piece on Mobile Review. These two reviews are also reason enough why I just want to own the phone and won’t do a review on it once it’s here.. :-)

OH, and it HAS A FLASHLIGHT!

Gravity

Gravity v1.00 is the first fully-featured and native Twitter client for the S60 platform. It supports multiple accounts, Twitter Search, Laconica, TwitPic and wraps everything into a gorgeous looking interface.

• Compatible with Twitter and Laconica
• All functions available on your S60 phone: tweet, reply, DM, follow & unfollow, create favourites, search, auto-update and many more …
• Tabbed view of your Timeline, Replies, Messages, Friends, …
• Setup and use as many accounts as you want at the same time
• Twitter-Search section with multiple search tabs and Twitter Trends
• Post pictures via TwitPic
• Open URLs from any Tweet
• Kinetic scrolling on S60v5 ( Nokia 5800 and Nokia N97 )
• Theme support on S60v3 ( fixed dark and bright theme )
  (source)

The only downside to this software is that it may create too much traffic whereas the alternative - Twibble (which I’d also used since its first day as a public release) - seems to generate less traffic.

I’m on a 1GB flat for my phone, which means I can generate 1GB in traffic via the phone and only pay 9,90 EUR / month. I actually don’t need 1GB at the moment because we also have DSL here, but it makes sense if you happen to download more than 41 MB / month (9,90€ / 0,24€/MB = 41,25 MB) + it isn’t limited to a proxy server, special online pages or other crazy limitations. And DSL sometimes fails, so it’s a good fall back option.

Creating a sceenshot of Gravity is a bit complicated as the Shift (Pencil) key on the phone (which is used in combination with the middle joystick button) also triggers the input form for new tweets on Gravity:

The beautiful part is that you can really SCROLL between tweets like you would do on an iPhone - bila the touchscreen on my N95 though..

And another good part is that it’s now much easier to insert images on your tweets (Twibble also has this but isn’t as comfy to use).

Gravity comes with a 10day demo version and I instantly (!) registered it after using it for only 2 minutes. Now, you’d have to know for yourself if you’re willing to cough up ~ 10,- € (in Germany - sijui why they are adding VAT on shareit.com for other countries) for an otherwise free and time consuming service such as Twitter, but then, again, there are other - much more useless - applications for the iPhone ppl are willing to spend money on and also: there are only a few really good applications for Symbian devices. Gravity is one of them.

You’ll also need to access the download page for the registered version via a normal computer as the phone’s internal S60 browser is having problems identifying the .sisx format. Jan, the developer behind Gravity, also mentioned that he’ll be working on some bugfixes now, so maybe there’s a way to include this as well (refers to the purchase of the software directly from a phone. Update routines are just flawless!).

Verdict: If you’ve been on Twibble before, you’ll LOVE Gravity. Highly recommended application.

—–

UPDATE: After some recent updates (currently 1.1x), Gravity also has the following additional features:

• Configurable Audio Alerts for Timeline/Replies/DM’s
• Group support for creating custom tabs with user-defined filters (S60v3)
• Post pictures to MobyPicture and TwitPic
• Preview pictures from MobyPicture or TwitPic
• Full-Screen mode on S60v3
• Built-in auto-update function and beta access for testing the latest features

And while I think that Gravity is the best application I’ve ever bought for a phone, I’d like to add two remarks:

• There should be a cheaper version of Gravity as not everyone out there is able to cough up 9,95 € on a mobile app - and sometimes it’s technical reasons as to why a prog like Gravity is only successful in developed countries: how would you pay for this app from e.g. Kenya (where there is money but no payment system such as Paypal?). And how about a sponsored (& localized) version with fixed banners? Would it make sense? And what would ppl be willing to spend on an app (in other countries than Germany)?
• There should be a mobile WordPress editor that’s just as easy to use as Gravity. After all these years of using WordPress for blogs and mobile phones, I’ve often called for better mobile blog editors and tested quite a few on this blog. Twitter indeed already is some sort of microblogging, BUT! it would be great if there also was an easy-to-use editor tool on the phone which could provide true mobile blogging.

[all screenshots are in German as my phone is set to German language]

Nokia Multiscanner is an application for S60V3 Nokia phones that provides Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for scanned texts. Currently, both business cards and document texts are supported - it even “reads” German texts and displays them on the screen for further usage.

available options: save image, adjust layout, binary image (?), language, image size

You can even zoom in and do the usual auto-focus to get your selected text in focus (doesn’t appear on these screenshots though as I had to simultaneously press two buttons at the same time to get the screenshot).

It will then display the scanned text and even ask you if you want to further save it as a note, a short message, mms or e-mail. Neat!

The beautiful part is that this application really works to an extend where it is somehow usable. Scanning business cards is even easier, as it will already group different parts of an address to different fields (the user may then still edit). See this forum contribution on Nokiaapps.org for more details on the procedure (also includes lots of interesting screenshots).

Nokia Multiscanner currently runs on my Nokia N95-1 and from what I’ve understood so far, Multiscanner was initially designed as a pocket translator tool - so the pure OCR functionality is a nice add-on.

As for scanning business cards, I will always recommend using Nokia’s Mobile BarCode Reader instead and sticking your very own personal barcode to the back of your phone.

Upon registering your mobile number on the Skype Mobile download page, an sms will arrive with a personalized download link. The application itself is about 360 kb, installs pretty quickly (I always use the phone’s internal memory - not the one provided on the microSD card) and it starts within seconds.

Here’s what it looks like:
(pls don’t be irritated by the German language selection)

So far, so good.

To edit a message, the S60 editor comes up (same as on SMS, OperaMini, etc.) and you can type your text.

It even shows you the current credit - nice!

Multitasking apparently does not work that well, as it suddenly displayed the following error message and closed itself.

Could be due to the running screenshot application that was trying to capture the screen as a background process.

What I like about Skype Mobile:

• huge fonts, clear interface
• makes use of full screen
• shows Skype Credit

What I don’t like about Skype Mobile:

• application is still in beta state, albeit being released as version 0.9.26.0 which implies that it’s close to a final release
• only covers Skype
  (as opposed to Fring that just works like a charm and provides some more services, e.g. MSN, Twitter, GoogleTalk, etc.)
• text input is in an extra window (apparently due to the S60 standard setup) - Fring really solved this in a much better way
• upon starting the application, it tells you that it will charge you extra for incoming calls. Charge for incoming calls that are coming from another computer? Is this still VoIP? Not so on Fring!
• conversations are only accessible through the list of events, not as different tabs
• text from conversations (e.g. hyperlinks) isn’t accessible, not even for the copy & paste method (this btw also doesn’t work on Fring)

Let’s compare that with the Fring experience on the N95:

Fring really is that All-In-One solution that a) just works out of the box, even as a background task and b) provides much more information on useful information (e.g. network, battery, different tabs for open chats).

Verdict: Skype Mobile (Beta) (for Nokia N95/S60!) should go back to the labs - and maybe also remain there, as Fring already does the job.

I don’t know how far Skype is involved in Fring’s business (investors?), or how closed Skype’s API is for Fring (now and in future), but I just don’t see any sense in this Skype Mobile application if Fring is so much more advanced and accepted by users. The only reason I’ve left it on the phone is because it shows the Skype Credit which Fring does not. Other than that, Skype Mobile gives me the impression that it was created for the typical Windows Mobile user who normally uses a pen and a QWERTY keyboard for text entry and navigation. And who will definately appriciate it if his future phone comes pre-loaded with Skype Mobile (at least - that’s what they had in mind, right?).

Also, I just appreciate how Fring is integrated into S60, showing all relevant background information from the host system (network, battery, etc.) and still provides it’s own navigation. Skype Mobile, on the other hand, is one of those stand-alone versions that you as a user will not want to minimize and close down as a background process. The service itself takes up system resources, and if if does not provide the same flexibility as other services, there’s no reason to keep this battery drainer running in the background.

Way forward: what I’d like to see is a combined eBay/Skype solution, similar to what Yahoo! created with it’s Yahoo! Go application. Something that adds value to an otherwise plain service. Currently, not all phones are capable of multitasking, and if battery drainage is still an issue, I think it’s much wiser to offer an All-In-One solution that either provides maximum connectivity (e.g. Fring) or one that integrates different web services (e.g. eBay) and transforms them for the mobile platfrom.

It feels like there’s so much more to mention on this phone, especially if you regard it as your electronic workhose that not only has to deliver basic office functionality, but also manage your business and private life.

What I can tell so far is that it is a very valid candidate that could send my N95 into early retirement. IF only the camera was better on the E71, I’d immediately switch and try to find a cheap contract online that subsidizes the E71. But it isn’t. The camera module (& it’s Carl Zeiss lenses) is the No. 1 reason why I’ll keep my N95 for the time being and maybe switch to an N79 one day or, even better, wait for the upcoming E72 & E75 models.

If I was still stuck with my old Nokia 6230i though and wasn’t spoiled by the multimedia capabilities of the N95 (e.g. video editor on board), I’d probably take the E71 right on. Again, if you’re interested in taking photos in darker surroundings (~ in a restaurant for a business dinner), there are other, better camera phones than the E71. As for the Nokia range of phones, I’d recommend those with a Xenon flash anyways.

So what about the “business & private life” issue?

The Nokia E71 comes with two adjustable home screens so that you can switch from a home to a business mode. I call it “mode” as all Nokias also come with different profiles - so the work-around/solution to his has in the past been to simply switching profiles via a short touch of the power button on top. Profiles, however, only contain different sound settings.

[all screenshots have been resized from 320x240 to 250x187]

screenshots: work & leisure home screens - note the different short cuts on the stand-by menu

This new mode - Nokia also calls it the “work & leisure modes” - provide two completely different home screens with different wallpapers, themes and short cuts on the home screen. Also, if you prefer the older S40 view and/or can’t decide between the standby view with short cuts and that older S40 homescreen (empty screen), just configure both modes accordingly - so that you can switch screens at the touch of a button.

screenshots: switching profiles & configuring home screens

I haven’t actually used this as I am also one of those guys who don’t use a dockbar on the desktop (~ Apple OSX) or any Launchy tools for quick starts. To me, one home screen is enough. On the other hand, this simple switch provides the flexibility to turn your E71 from a pure business workhorse into a multimedia machine without remapping the short-cuts on the standby / home screen.

screenshots: switching modes & the (root) menu

Talking about those special business needs - what else does the E71 have to offer?:

Printing
Did you know you can actually send your documents from the phone to a printer? I do have a very nice HP OfficeJet 7210 printer with a network interface, but it currently isn’t connected to my home network so I can’t test this. So I can only assume it’s working.

screenshots: configuring the printer (note the various options!)

Text-2-Speech
I’ve already mentioned the Speech Synthesis on my previous post and also showed you a video of how that’s done. This is REALLY COOL! Of course I couldn’t resist and installed a Japanese version along the mandatory German & English output.

screenshots: configuring language packs for the Speech Synthesis

But still, this isn’t all! You can just as well activate a function called “voice aid” where this voice will also read out information on recent calls, contacts, provide a voiced dialler, clock and also let you put in voice commands. Voice commands! As mentioned, it used to be nice on the 6230i, but I just don’t know why Nokia changed that with S60. Voice commands are a bit confusing (to me) as they are first read out by a synthetic voice (which can be deactivated). My feedback to Nokia: add some vibrations to the dialler so that visually impaired users are also guided around by a vibrating device.

screenshots: Voice aid on the E71 and the dialler

Deactivating the synthetic voice….actually, this is what I like about the S60 platform and what many ppl forget about it: Symbian S60 is so flexible and dynamic, and you can just as well install a Mobile Python interpreter and write your own little programms. Now try that with an iPhone! And Google’s Android? Well…. those who jumped the train for Google’s Chrome browser may like it, but I still feel a bit uncomfy about giving all my data into the hands of one company. I am of course also eyeing to get my hands on a Google G1 Android phone (note the clock! lol), but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from the Nokia N95, then it’s to wait for at least one year after a phone has hit the market. Besides, who needs widgets on a phone screen? On an iPhone they do make sense, but other than that? Hmm…

See, the E71 is a business phone, and companies don’t want to invest too much money IT managers couldn’t persuade the purchasing dept. in buying unreliable products. I think the N95 was mainly bought by freaks like me who are willing to accept certain flaws or banana software and even its prototype-like design. Not so the E71, which just has to deliver.

screenshots: the phone’s internal tutorial: take the manual with you!

And it delivers. It gives you VPN access to your company’s network (aptly named “intranet” ), enables you to encrypt the phone as well as the microSD memory card and even provides a mobile dictionary - which of course may also be read out to you via the speech synthesis.

screenshots: Encryption & VPN-access

screenshots: activate some security measures

The sweetest feature though is the remote lock : simply send a pred-defined sms to the device and the phone will be locked. Great!

Need more software? Just search for it from the phone or open the “Download!” application (@Nokia: this application isn’t very user friendly..)

screenshots: Google search & Download!

The Wi-Fi is also very nice - I think it’s even much better than the one on my N95 (which may be due to a different antenna position and other hardware improvements). I’ve configured the E71 with my Sipgate (VoIP) account so I’m able to do Voice over IP / internet calls with a fixed number from either home or the office. Other than that, Fring also runs on the E71, so you can go on chatting via Skype, GoogleTalk, ICQ, MSN, Twitter and so on right from the phone. Fring is just great, and with a true QWERTY phone it makes much more fun to actually type in messages while being mobile. No wonder they preloaded the latest Nokia phone, the N96, with a fresh installation of Fring!

screenshots: Fring in use on the E71

Another nifty feature I’ve already come to appreciate with the N95 is the barcode reader (see the barcode on the bottom of the right sidebar here) . You can of course also download a reader to your phone if it doesn’t already have one, but in this case, it’s just right there on the menu and I will tell you why I like it so much:

screenshot: the QR-Code reader

There’s this Firefox plugin that creates on-the-fly 2D (”QR-”) barcodes of any page currently loaded and sits in the bottom right of your Firefox browser window. Let’s say you’re on a page that says “access this site with your mobile phone’s browser to download our application directly to the phone” (e.g. OperaMini, Twibble, etc.). Now, instead of retyping the URL into your phone, just move your mouse over the barcode plugin and scan the generated barcode with your phone. Et voilà, the URL is ready to be used on the phone!

GPS/Maps
Sure, there’s Nokia’s Maps 2.0 application that works right out-of-the-box with a fast GPS chip. Nokia Maps changed from the intial version that came shipped with the old firmware on the N95, and while you can download maps from Nokia’s website and load them onto the phone’s memory, others prefer other commercial solutions - and I prefer Google Maps. Google Maps just does the job for me! Besides, it’s free and much more intuitive for basic mapping needs.

screenshots: Google Maps on the E71, displaying Waruku & area

screenshots: greater Nairobi and an aerial view of the “jungle” (~kibra)

Needless to say I also downloaded the wonderful Nokia Internet Radio application that provides streaming radio stations from all over the world. Including Radio Okapi and all SomaFM streams for all my Soukous & Electronic/Indy needs.

screenshots: Nokia Internet Radio

Add Nokia’s Video centre, download various video podcasts and there you have it: almost enough reasons for sending my Nokia N95 into early retirement!

screenshot: Nokia’s Video centre

What’s missing? Right! ==> Twibble , the Twitter client for Symbian S60:

screenshots: Twibble on the E71

—

That’s it! I could of course also mention how I tested the Psiloc Connect application, the CO2 emission tool or SkyeCaller Pro - three (commercial) applications available for download from Nokia’s S60 download website. But I’ll stop here and will instead tell you: if you’re interested in getting a decent QWERTY phone that just get’s the job done and provides much more tactile feedback than any touchscreen phone will currently give you, go to your nearest dealer and touch the phone with your own hands.

While testing the E71 for the first time (in a shop), I thought that my fingers are too big for this tiny keyboard. But don’t be fooled, typing is easier than assumed and I’ve been constantly comparing the QWERTY keyboard with the restricted T9 text input on my N95, just to see which method I prefer. I am used to T9 text input since ages now, and am thus a bit faster with the T9 method. Using two fingers on the E71 though, I am faster than using only my right thumb on the T9 keypad. And this after only a few days of using the E71! So if you want a QWERTY phone - go for it! - and don’t be afraid of these tiny keys.

Oh, and did I mention the awesome leather pouch the phone comes shipped with? That’s one accessory less to purchase extra, and a good one indeed: you can easily flip the phone out and see if there’re any new messages.

So, compared to cars, the E71 is just like an Audi A6 Avant (while my N95 is like a Toyota Prius now :-).

Hope you enjoyed this review!

Back in 2007, both the Nokia N95 and the Apple iPhone were released - two completely different phones that were only compared on numerous blogs due to setting new standards on each segment: the N95 being a true multimedia phone with a decent 5mp cam, 640×480 @ 30fps video (albeit a mono mic), a (slow) internal GPS module and a really nice multimedia player. With the latest firmware, it even plays flash videos (YouTube & Co.) and has different applications run at the same time (sort of multitasking). The iPhone on the other hand provided a compatible device that suits Apple users - a nice user interface and all-in-one device like the N95 which unfortunately still missed some basic phone tools (MMS, Bluetooth exchange, etc.). And although both phones aren’t the only cool devices out there, they sold quite well. Even if the iPhone doesnt feature all these special goodies the N95 comes with, Apple’s phone still has the best browser on a mobile phone.

GoogleReader on my N95…

Back in 2007 I had bought the N95 because the music player on my Nokia 6230i had constantly failed (due to a bug in the firmware) and because I urgently wanted to have a new, sexy phone. Something that enables a better mobile blogging experience.

And that’s exactly the basic point here: until now, no mobile phone has actually delivered this *sweet mobile blogging* experience so far.

Back in 2007, I argued that it’s a software issue. And still believe it is. So instead of buying new phones, a systematic adjustment between the phone’s software (firmware & single programmes) and your blogging platform (WordPress, Vox, Typepad, etc.) comes into mind.

Sure, there’s this WP iPhone app some of us have tested some time ago, but still: it doesnt work that well, and it doesn’t provide a similar experience we’re having online on our laptop, surfing the net with decent browsers on bigger screens with full JavaScript support etc..

And this - I believe - is also one of the many reasons for the success of Twitter. Twitter just filled that gap on mobile blogging, phone manufacturers have failed on providing. Why? Because that special Twitter experience is the same whether you’re online via a browser window on your laptop, use it via an extra widget somewhere on the desktop, have it run as a stand-alone utility on S60 & iPhone platforms or just use SMS (for sending only, though).

You know I had a discussion with my Minister of Finance earlier this week on getting a new phone (again), and I had mentioned the new Nokia E71 and why it could be an improvement on what I am looking for (~ mobile blogging device). However, with the above mentioned discussion on mobile blogging being a software issue, I am rather confused now and think I should stick to my N95 at this point. Maybe wait for Google Android’s phone being released by the end of this year?

Another interesting developement since 2007 is the success of so-called Netbooks - which are lightweight laptops at 7″-10″ screen sizes, often equipped with an energy saving CPU, a solid state disk and enough flexibility to provide surfing the net, answering your e-mails and doing some other office work. Battery runtime still is an issue though, often only giving 2-3 hrs. Netbooks are currently sold for 300-400,- EUR in Europe and are small enough to fill that special gap the need for mobile blogging has created.

So here’s my conclusion: instead of waiting for the ultimate mobile web experience via a dedicated & maybe also expensive smart phone, I’ll bet on another setup: ppl - especially those in need in a rural Africa - will imho be introduced to the combination of basic GPRS & UMTS (3G) phones, hooked up to cheaper laptop computers such as netbooks.

Not today, not tomorrow - but maybe in two years time when basic netbooks wil sell for ~ 150,- EUR and will also be sold on the African continent in a big style. Why? Because a mobile phone is - although it is often shared with members of the extended family - still a device for a single user (despite of these new Nokias that come with multiple phonebooks). A computer though can easily be shared with others. Here’s what I had in mind:

Solar panels are already for sale in rural Kenya as well as simple GPRS-capable phones, netbooks could be equipped with a free & open OS (+ BT, serial port & USB cable driver package) and it would still cost below the amount you’d normally spend on a) getting a normal desktop pc online or b) a fancy smartphone that just still doesnt deliver the real web experience.

And the best part: this setup isn’t reduced to the needs of a rural environment, but also applies to urban areas in the US, Europe or Asia. In other words: if I had to do true mobile blogging right now, I’d go for this setup (ok, maybe without those solar panels).

Netbooks are what Twitter is used to be to SMS: added value.

I really have to keep on telling myself not to verschlimmbessern any approved system. Just because a modification is possible, the “hack” often isn’t better.

Case in point: When I recently *upgraded* the original silver cover on my Nokia N95-1 to a black Made-in-China cover, I also switched to a new (and fake) camera lens cover - which apparently comes with a very low-quality plastic lens. The original lens cover isn’t that much better, but it still is. Guess it comes with a polarization filter. So today I’ve switched back to the old lens cover et voilá, macro mode has improved to the old sharpness. Sweet!

macro mode with fake lens cover:

macro mode with original lens cover:

Some years ago, I think it was in 2000, I traded in an older Nikon F2 with a 50mm lens into a Nikon F70 - both being single-lens reflex cameras. I went for the Nikon range because a) i wanted to use some older lenses we had acquired in Japan during the 1980s and b) I’d first gone for a Canon model but didnt like its weight. There’s a much better grip on the F70 and with a decent 28-105mm lens, it wasn’t as top-heavy as the Canon.

a Nikon F3 with an MD-4 motor-drive, some lenses, filters & bags

Needless to say that my F70 is still almost in mint condition - contrary to Cgzed or CG, I am too lazy for carrying such a huge camera around with me. I guess I’ll keep it for a very very very long time now…

Then came the digital age and my first digital camera was a Casio QV-100 I had managed to obtain for a relatively low price in 1998. Picture wise it came close to what low-budget webcams are capable of doing these days (or even worse) although it came with a CCD chip (instead of a CMOS chip). Battery consumption on this machine was horrible and just one day it went into early retirement. Although I couldnt get it back to life, I had managed to still sell it on eBay. Nice!

Casio QV-100 with data caboools

Next cam that followed was another low budget solution: Mustek gSmart Mini - which only advantage was the limited size. And you could use it as a webcam, which was pretty cool - back then. This little cam was later on inherited to a member of my extended family.

I think the best part about these cams came when I disassembled them - similar to what this guy did.

Years passed on and nothing happened. Then, during winter 2003, digital cameras started to flood the market. Mama Xmas gave me the hint that I’d have the choice between a bigger bed and a better camera. “You decide what you want, JKE”, she said. “I’ll help you kununua a bigger bed, or you’ll save it and get a camera”. Hmm. A bigged bed? What for? My bed was already 90cm wide and 200cm long - what would I need a bigged bed for? Don’t you know that nerds often sleep alone? …Well, I ended up going for a better camera (and later on inherited a bigger bed from my bro-in-law ;-) => Sanyo Xacti J1, 3Mpx with an internal lens which provides a 2cm macro mode . Awesome!

Sanyo Xacti J1 (not my hand)

The Sanyo J1 is still in use and I’ve often thought about buying a better point&shoot cam, maybe a 7,1*mpx “low-budget” (aka beginners) cam with some more features. Or rather go for a Nikon D40(x)? Of course, Hash will argue that the D50 is a much better deal, but then: unless you have a family and a baby buggy to carry around, there’s no way for me to carry a bulky camera around with me. PLUS: i am way too broke to seriously think about buying just another camera.

There are so many good cameras out there and so many talented photographers. Ok, maybe some of these ppl photoshop their results before uploading them to Flickr & Ipernity, but still: with todays advanced cameras, you basically only require some decent light and the right angle to take a picture. Of course it makes sense to invest into proper equipment, but if you’re as lazy & broke as I am, something like the autofocus 5mpx cam (based on a CMOS sensor) in my Nokia N95 will have to do. Also, it competes with other 3,2mpx cameraphones (N73, SE K800i) and is a real progress to what I had used before, and especially in Kenya: my Nokia 6230(i), which came with a nice & quick CMOS chip. Alas, if you need to take a quick pic without much ado, the Nokia 6230i is still the best cameraphone for that purpose. In fact, it was more fun taking snapshots with my 6230i than it is right now with the N95. But then - I am using the N95 as a real camera substitute, and not for snapshots only.

I’ve now lived with the N95 and its cam for the last 1,2,3….9 months and have taken most of my photos with this cameraphone. Why? Because it’s just around when I need it. Simple.

…and this picture is even geotagged!

I am not such a good photographer and so I actually don’t even have to worry about better equipment (as i does NOT depend on the right equipment + i’d be happy if i could get rid of the inherited F3 equipment above which has only been kept due to sentimental reasons + the bad market situation), but my aim right now is to see what’s possible with a relatively bad camera / good cameraphone. What kind of picture quality is this cameraphone capable of?

For a start, check out this Nokia N95 user group on flickr.

*there was this discussion on the net the other day where some camera testers argued the best mpx resolution/chip size was achieved at the 5-7mpx range - can’t find the relevant link though…

Here: changing the (broken) original silver/”plum” cover on your Nokia N95 into a MadeInChina-plastic cover in black.

before:

after:

(Pics taken with a Nokia 6230, hence the lousy image quality. Pole.)

Took me one hour. Problem is that you have to remove some parts like the loudspeaker or the flexible pcb underneath the display from the original cover and have to stick it (it’s glued!) to the new cover. Dito bottom: had to remove the GPS antenna and glue it to the new cover. You have to be a bit careful while reassembling it - especially the slider (hinge) requires some attention.

It feels a bit cheap with the new cover, sort of plastic touch to it as only the front plate is made out of aluminium, but it fits, looks better (imho) and works. I am not a big fan of the overall N95 design (i thinks it’s horrible and looks like a prototype - e.g. no seamless integration of the display) and with this new cover I think it looks a bit less chaotic.

Can you see the clear adhesive tape on the old battery cover? Well, a new battery cover (alone!) sells for the 1/3 of the price for a new complete black cover, so I was tempted to go for this complete mod. Considering that you have to remove some glued components from the original cover and make sure that you don’t destroy any gaskets, I think it may even be easier to just paint it black next time.

The integration of a very very very low quality “Lithium Battery” (Made in Indonesia) into the AD-43 control unit of their flagship model N95 that dies just after 4-5 months in use. And mind you: I haven’t even used it in power-user-mode, but instead only for about 8x / week, 25 minutes each.

There’s no way to open this headset without damaging it as the screw on the back is only accessible once the clip is removed. :-(

The control unit died last night after flashing the internal firmware of the phone to V20.0.015, so I initially thought there’s a connection between a (faulty) flashing process and the dead control unit. But no! Just a lousy battery which promoted the whole gadget to higher glory.

NOKIA! ==> There are alternatives available, such as the Renata CR2032:

…which costs a little bit more, but honestly: what’s better? Satisfied customers who will buy another Nokia phone - or unhappy customers who even dismantle the headset themselves because your totally unable customer service doesn’t even reply to e-mails?

Sorry for being a bit picky on this, but there sure is a reason why some batteries do cost 0,20 EUR and others 3,- EUR.

Well, computers in the form of desktop personal computers or laptops are still expensive. Despite of relatively high initital costs, an uncertain power supply and restricted internet access not only in “underdeveloped” countries for conventional computers, interesting stories are often best caught through the use of mobile devices. Another very important reason is that many consumers today are using mobile phones as the mobile phone sector is a fast growing market. We do not necessarily need to have a look at the unstable political situation in a country like Burma/Myanmar to understand the importance of being able to directly post content to the internet through a mobile device - but it serves as a good example to illustrate what should be possible with todays technology.

Obviously, the process of mobile blogging may be split up into a) the creation of content/media and b) uploading everything to a website/database on the internet.

As mentioned in my previous post on this subject, I initially assumed that it would all depend on the right gadget.
An advanced smartphone with a dedicated QWERTY keyboard does of course add comfort to the process of entering longer text, but it isn’t necessary to use one in order to get your stuff online. Hence it comes down to the right software solution on both the phone and online.

Another interesting observation is that manufacturers of mobile phones have in the past often only put an emphasis on giving users the ability to pull content from internet to their phone. Apple’s iPhone is a very good example for this as it comes with a media player which plays YouTube videos and a flexible browser which even display the URL. But also other phone manufacturers like the big players Nokia and SonyEricsson implemented RSS-capable browsers into their phones that automatically pull the required content from the internet without any computer in between. Now compare that with other mobile multimedia devices such as an iPod or a Creative mp3 player, which in the past always required a computer in between to synchronize content. With todays mobile phones, you can directly pull content from the net via GPRS, EDGE, UMTS or WiFi. Sexy.

The internet, though, and especially the Web 2.0 approach online lives from user generated content. I think that the use of the internet through a mobile platform will become more and more important in future, especially since mobile phones have become the leading platform for IT in developing countries.

And this upcoming development where we’ll see global players like Google distributing a sound software solution which combines and contains all these different services (telephony, messaging, streaming of multimedia content and uploading it to a site online) is reason enough to believe that we’re just at the very beginning of mobile services. Especially those that are I) easy to use (~usability) and II) don’t cost anything extra to the user - because he’s the one who creates content. Mobile phone operators seem to have understood that so far, which is why everyone wants to jump on the train of providing the right platform for content generation.

Anyways, I promised to deliver a small - not complete - overview of decent phones that already add some comfort for compiling mobile blog post. If you think there’s any phone that should be part of this list, pls feel free to drop a comment below. Thank You!

Ok, let’s start with Nokia ’s range of phones:

1. Nokia N95

Since I am using this phone, I can acknowledge that it’s a great phone with a good camera but lousy built quality (compared to other slider phones), a slow camera (autofocus), weak battery runtime, chronical shortages of RAM which limits true multitasking and a simple T9 keypad - which of course doesn’t offer the same comfort as a QWERTY keyboard. However, since it is one of Nokia’s flagships and just offers a wide range of services at once, I included it here in this list. The N95 also connects to Nokia’s SU-8W bluetooth keyboard:

The downside to this external solution? Relatively small keys, a bluetooth connection that will further drain the battery on your phone and a huge price of at least EUR 100,-. That’s a lot of mbeca just for a keyboard.

The new N95 8GB version (N95-3) as well as the improved version for the US-market (N95-2) come with an improved battery and more RAM and some other minor changes that don’t affect its blogging capabilities.

2. Nokia E90

Woooohaaaa! Expensive, bulky and a little bit buggy, which is why Nokia took it from the market for some weeks. Since it’s also based on the Symbian S60 platform (as opposed to the previous “Communicator” models which were based on Symbian S80 platform), it also runs the same programs as other S60 3rd edition phones. Comes with a sweet QWERTY keyboard (as pictured above), 3,2mpix cam (which is ok), two displays (!) and average battery runtime.

3. Nokia E70

Fellow blogger Kirima is using such a phone for surfing the inet from his rural home. I like this phone, even the previous models that came with a foldable keyboard like this one were nice (although they are known to be having some software issues…).

4. Nokia E61/61i/62

Sigh. The E61 (no camera, joystick instead of joypad) and the E61i/62 are very nice for mobile blogging. Especially the above pictured E61i which comes with an average 2mpix cam and a perfect QWERTY keyboard as well as the whole connection range of GPRS up to WiFi. VoIP included. Sweet!

5. Nokia E51

Best Nokia release imho. A small, brick-styled (candy bar) business smartphone with a 2mpix cam, the S60 platform and VoIP capabilities. This phone will sell quite well, I think, despite of its humble appearance. Comes with a T9 keypad.

6. Nokia N93/93i

I played with the N93 and the N93i in a shop last weekend, and while N93 is still better than the N93i, both phones are actually only good at recording videos because of their stereo microphones (important fact) and extremely good lenses + optical zoom. No QWERTY keyboard although of course you can also connect the above mentioned bluetooth keyboard.

7. Apple’s iPhone

…delivered to you as a printable cut&glue version (pdf), because that’s the best way to handle this design object. :-)

Seriously, the iPhone is a great innovation and comes with a VERY unique user interface. It lacks a few features that other phones have but has its own market and will therefore be just as good as other phones. I like the iPhone although I’ve figured out for me that it does not have what I need in a phone.

No exchangeabooool battery, no keypad or keyboard = no tactil feedback while pressing the virtual keys on the display, no MMS (not really needed if e-mail is used instead), lousy camera. I think the iPhone is good for WiFi environments - so if you’re in the USA and hopping from one Starbucks WiFi hotspot to the next - then this is your phone.

Have to ask fellow bloggers Christian and Erik on their mobile blogging experiences. And what about the iPhone that was on display @ Skunkworks Kenya earlier this week ?

8. SonyEricsson K800i

SonyEricsson’s sweetest phone ever (except for the T39m, yes :-)!
Comes with a nasty little joystick that often tends to retire within the first three months, but satisfies its user with a very decent 3,2 mpix cam and the best T9 keypad from SE ever. Included in this list because I see many ppl using this phone as a camera and music player. Actually had plans of buying this as a substitute to my N95.
The K800i comes, like most other new SE phones, with a little program that enables direct uploads to blogger.com (= Google). More on this later (part 3) as Nokia also supports the “blogging” platforms offered by Yahoo!.

Hmmm….SonyEricsson => Google and Nokia = > Yahoo! ??

9. SonyEricsson P1i

The SE P9i comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, a 3,2 mpix cam, WiFi and a stylus similar to those found on Windows Mobile phones.

10. SonyEricsson M600i

Obviously, the M600i comes without a camera but with a QWERTY keyboard.

11. HTC phones….

This list will never be complete, and while I am just confused about which HTC phone I should add to this list (Aegeus, saidia mimi tafadhali…si i hear u r back online anyways :-), I will update this post during the next few days and even deliver a part 3 which will cover the other side of the game: the software solutions that make mobile blogging possible.

Pls stay tuned!

Kiku’s Realm on an iPhone

Interesting fact: the iPhone will be officially available in Germany via T-Mobile (the only network in Germany that supports EDGE) from November 9th onwards. Rumour has it that it will at least cost a monthly fee of EUR 50,- which will include some free airtime and free sms. Plus the subsidized cost of the phone, of course, which I think will settle somewhere between EUR 299,- and 399,- [update: it will be EUR 399,-].

The other alternative is to import it from the US and hack it yourself - this is what my colleague did. Some of these phones are selling for at least EUR 400,- on eBay Germany (most of them for something around EUR 550,-), but he bought it in the US, had it sent to someone who just came over for a visit and hacked it last night. He just showed it to me during the lunch break and I have to admit: the iPhone scores exactly where my Nokia N95 has its downsides, namely the interface / usability, speed and and internet surfing experience.

Coming to an interim conclusion of my first hands-on impression: if you’re into surfing the net via Wi-Fi and if your network provider supports EDGE technology, if you’re not the MMS person and want to use e-mail instead, if you hardly ever use the phone’s camera and just want a great substitute for your E61(i) or Blackberry…then the iPhone is the right phone for you.
All others who need more multimedia functions may go for the N95, but frankly said: if I could swap the internal GPS on my N95 for a much better battery runtime, a much better browser (both browsers are based on Apple’s Safari core!) and a brick format (no movable parts = less problems), heck - i would immediately switch phones. Comparing the N95 with the iPhone isn’t fair, though. They just happen to compete on the same market but were made for completely different user groups, I think.

Oh, and the best thing about his deal: he just spent something like EUR 280,- on the phone due to the awesome exchange rate to the US-$. With EUR 280,-, I won’t even get a Nokia E61i… and THAT is sweet. An iPhone for EUR 280,- while the N95 currently retails for EUR 559,-!

@Mental: you may want to go for the iPhone…
@Mathias: kannst Du mir bitte ein iPhone mitbringen? :-)
@Bambi: *sigh*…please? prrrreeeezzzzee?
@CK: there you go…

[Update]: Ok ok ok…Bambi says NO! to the iPhone (NO! as in NO!), and since Bambi also is the Minister of Finances @ Kiku’s Realm, I’ll have to stick to this virtual (but nevertheless also neat) desktop iPhone realized through Adobe’s AIR tool:

[UPDATE 2]: CG just sent me a link to macnotes where it says that the tariffs will include a flatrate for EDGE and all T-Mobile hotspots. Hmmmmm… The iPhone lacking UMTS (3G) support may be ignored with a flatrate for T-Mobile hotspots, but still: all tariffs are just too expensive. And besides - even since the iPhone doesn’t support MMS - selling sms for 0,19 EUR is just sooo…1990s. T-Mobile and Vodafone both have great coverage and network speeds, but their approach to consumers is just an insult day after day.

Mobical isn’t perfect, and I just use it to backup and edit my data more conveniently, but nevertheless it is a bit better than using MS Outlook (which, as an MS-Windows solution, isn’t free of charge) and best: it works. Hassle-free.

…which makes me WISH that my prefered webbased email provider should offer the possibility to actually synchronize a mobile phone’s telephone book as well as the SMS / MMS inbox, bookmarks, notes and, most importantly, the calendar with my email box. Just a neat all-in-one solution.

I wonder why in a world of wide networks and a huge repository of good, free and open software, some tasks like the exchange of data are still such an issue?! Just think of the various Character Separated Values, Comma Separated Values or Colon Separated Values (CSV) formats that exist as there’s no common standard on this. *sigh*

Which gets me to the next issue that has been bugging me for some time now: The Nokia N95 is a great telephone as it comes with lots of useful multimedia features which are still hard to find with other phones.

However, having switched from a Nokia 6230i that offered an ideal keypad to key in short messages and other text, i find the buttons on the N95 rather unuseful and also ugly. Especially the keypad just below the top screen is horrible. I wonder who passed this design from R&D to production?
Anyways, in short: i like the phone but think that it still comes in an ugly packaging. Especially the front cover could enjoy some redesign. This should actually be possible as it is only secured by four screws on the back.

the design issues i am having with the N95…

So what’s the task?

1. the keypad on the front cover (”S60 keypad assy”) is way too narrow and I understand it was already moved down and away from the screen to shorten the distance to the actual number keypad (Nokia calls this the “ITU keypad assy”).
While writing text (e.g. sms), I sometimes type in a wrong letter which needs to be corrected. Hitting the delete (”C”) button on the front panel sometimes - unfortunately - results in hitting the red phone button by mistake => the phone goes back to the standby screen. Argh. A redesign thus should include the delete button to have a bigger size. Also, the overall size of the keypad should make use of the whole space left on the front cover.

2. Other slider phones from Nokia such as the 6110 navigator or E65 come with a gently inclined front cover. While writing text on the N95 number keypad, my thumb often hits the edge of the front panel. This could be avoided or limited by removing this artifical border and reshaping the front cover so that the thumb may freely move between the (lower) number keypad and the keypad on the front cover.

3. The front video camera on the upper right corner looks like as if it has been put there at the last moment. Obviously, there should be a better way of moulding it into the front cover.

4. I “secured” the display on my N95 with some BRANDO display protector (foil) as it a) looks as if the screen actually is a bit sensitive to scratches and b) there’s a gap between the display and the frame = no seamless transition between the display and the frame as seen with other phones (= which shows that such an approach to a better design is possible).

my 5-minutes paintshoppro’d version on a change I’d like to see on the front cover keypad..

As these modifications only apply to the cover, and exchange covers are already available via ebay & co, such a redesign should actually be possible and isn’t too far fetched. Chinese manufacturers (since you’re masters of copying adopting designs anyways) - are you listening?

There are those phones that come with a working QWERTY keyboard, and others that do not but offer the connectivity to a bluetooth keyboard instead (such as the SU-8W). Such a phone with a way too small keyboardpad is my Nokia N95. “It’s what computers have become”, as Nokia advertises it.

Only: you can get a full size laptop computer for the same amount you’d have to cough up for a Nokia N95. In other words: for an amount of around EUR 600,-, this phone has to be really good. But it isn’t.

It primarily is a phone, and as such it does it’s job quite well. The interesting, multi-tasking operating system Symbian S60, 3rd (feature pack1) does a remarkable job, and it is while working with this phone that you realize how this little gadget actually works. Much like an iPhone, I suppose, that also offers an interesting GUI which takes time to load - and sometimes hangs itself up due to a system-hiccup. A reboot as the interim solution, or the flashing of the internal firmware does the job. Frankly said, with banana software that ripes with the customer and short product cycles, I never expected anything else but exactly this behaviour. Another drawback besides of the ever draining battery (this has improved over the time now and I’ve managed to keep it running on one battery charge with normal usage for something like 48 hours - which would include lots of SMS and listening to music) is the narrow keypad, which makes entering text a pain in the…fingers (the multimedia buttons, actually, not so much the 0-9, *# keypad). The delete (”C”) button on the lower right of the front buttons is just next to the so-called “multimedia button”, meaning that I sometimes accidentally hit the multimedia button, and I have to switch back to the draft folder within the SMS menue where the started sms was - fortunately - saved automatically. Also, the other multimedia buttons on top when you slide down the front part are just useless. I hardly ever use them!

Now, those are the bad sides of the phone. And there have been numerous reviews on this phone during the past 2-3 months, a huge fan base around the world that diligently describes every new trouvaille, so nothing, really nothing is unmentioned. As for the Nokia N95 vs. the Apple iPhone - I am 100% d’accord with Steve Litchfield: the iPhone is 5 years ahead, but it lacks a LOT of features even average, mass-market phones such as the Nokia 6230i or the SonyEricsson W810i already have.

Which gets us to the hightligts. I initially decided for this phone coz I started using the mp3 player that came shipped with my previous Nokia 6230i. The phone had been “pimped” with a 2GB multimedia memory card (MMC) and thus had some “issues”: a) indexing took ages whenever the player was started afresh (after rebooting, as the index list wasn’t saved for whatever reasons) and b) it sometimes just rebooted out of the blue. So the idea was born that I would need to invest into a new phone. I wanted to get a phone with a working mp3 player, a decent internet browsing facility (~ screen size) and, most importantly, a good camera. The Nokia N95 has all this!

And this btw is also why I didn’t go for a Nokia E61i or the brand-new E90 communicator, both from Nokia (the E61i is very tempting indeed, only that it doesn’t have such a nice cam). The N95 DOES have a great cam (for a phone, that is!), it has EVERY possible communication interface there is: USB, IR, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA (UMTS 3), HSDPA (3.5G), a reliable mp3 player that remembers where I stopped the last time, even after rebooting the phone in between (nice) and the ability to record videos in near DVD quality (with a mono microphone though, which is kinda sad compared to the stereo mic on the N93).

So the point is: the N95 is a multimedia phone, and as such it does a great job.

And then of course there’s the e-mailing thing. I know there are other phones that do this job much better, even those with a push client etc (Blackberry & Co.), but for my private & “always-on-the-road”-needs, the internal e-mail client just works.

Heck, it even allows me to attach photos, video, audio files or other content!
Well…I guess some of these HTC PDAs running on Windows Mobile 5.x /6.x aren’t bad either (i hear you, Aegeus :-) and I should give them a try next time.

I switched back from using GMail to (the German freemail provider) Web.de which offers IMAP. This constellation is more reliable than GMail and even GoogleMail’s GMail dedicated java applet something hangs. For quicky checking my e-mail on the road, this is the quickest solution. Me I like… :-)

Oh, and btw: I didn’t pay anything for the phone so far, as I got it subsidized with two contracts - which are supposed to generate revenue for the network provider and pay up the subsidization. There’s a montly base fee, but apart from that, nothing else unless you use the two SIM cards. Well, I won’t.

p.s.: how could I forget to mention the awesome GPS inside the phone? You know what they are saying about men and how they never ask for any directions once they’re lost?… so this little add-on is just sweet! :-)

Interesting applications, utilities and widsets? User experiences, shortcuts on the menu or tips on how to optimize battery runtime? The international blogosphere + multimedia platforms such as the popular poparchive youtube or flickr deliver all you need - without even a single search through Google.

Hopping from one blogging “node” to the next, the need for simple googleing becomes almost obsolete, as others have already compiled interesting articles such as a “TOP 10 must have N95 utilities” list. 
So instead of doing a Web 1.0 search through Google on keywords such as “Nokia N95 appz”, I instantly consulted del.icio.us for anything on “N95” and received a list of quality links that would give me quick results. Whereas I always needed to check out various Yahoo!Groups in the past for an interesting file here or there (those small java applets that run on Nokia’s S40 OS-platform) or - even worse - forums that only sometimes come with a “sticky thread” where all interesting and important things are gathered in an FAQ-collection, the blogosphere delivers much more useful info on a topic. Selected, tested, rated and - most importantly - communicated to others.

And here I am now, happily runing a few selected and tested (!) applications on my new phone. This whole process of gathering informations on how to personalize my phone to my needs just took me a few hours of reading different blogs. Sweet :-)

What I eventually managed to run as a service is the streaming of video podcast. This service is just sweet as it enables me to download videocasts through a WLAN (@ home & @ work) or GPRS/UMTS (3G) directly from the phone.

==> Whereas an iPod Video still requires some syncing with iTunes + the pysical connection to a host computer (dito the Zen Vision:M I had used for some time), the N95 directly accesses the net. This way, all you need is network coverage and some memory space on your phone (I just ordered a 2 GB microSD card).

My next task will be to figure out how to make screenshots from the phone…