15 posts tagged “n82”

The Mobile World Conference is coming up in 6 more days and I am not feeling any worthwhile amount of anticipation. Why? As a consumer I feel misunderstood. There is no real phone that does it right for me, while could have been in the market for a year. We have touch phones, we have mini-qwerty phones, we have cam phones. But that thing in my pocket that still fits my needs best is already over two years old. In other words, I am saying all the new stuff is wannabe crap. Awake now?

There is quality and there is functionality. But where are the smart combinations? Quality calling, SMS, e-mail, webbrowsing, photos and satellite navigation. These are today's essential phone functions.

- Calling, I want calling with a decent sound quality.
- I want SMS and e-mail with a decent (qwerty) keyboard. So my screen space is used for composing and reviewing my message. No more frustration on a numeric keypad entering mixed language and struggeling with odd lexicographical tokens. No annoyance by tiny touch buttons or having your screen space completely absorbed for touch-qwerty data input.
- webbrowsing. Yeah I want to access the essentials either on a mobile site or the original. We are talking news-websites, RSS-feeds and stuff like youtube and other interesting internet video-feeds.
- I want quality photo's at low light and a decent flash. Image quality please! Not useless high numbers of insensitive MegaPixels.
- Satellite navigation. This means A-GPS support for speed and accuracy and some decent navigation software. Traffic information and more!

There are currently no decent phones on the market that take good pictures, have gps and a qwerty input. Touch or without touch. Even Nokia has been missing the point for more than a year. There is the N-series with 5 MPixels cameras and all the goodies one wishes except a qwerty keyboard. And there is the E-series with the E71 and the upcoming E75 that have decent qwerty but no 5 Mpixel camera. Nokia could have built an S60 3rd edition j71 (between E and N) over a year ago to fill that painfully empty spot in the market. And none of its competitors seemed to be bright enough to do it either. Not that I would go windows mobile.

The N97 seems the only upcoming phone with a sensible mix of quality and functions, though its size and weight tell me it is a bit of a brick and it's touch interface is yet still unproven. At the moment I would still prefer a phone with a decent compact  form factor and a qwerty on my next phone running a reliable S60 3rd edition FP2. Though I would not mind some nifty N97-ish widgets available for on the stand-by screen. But I expect that none of this will pop-up on the MWC '09. No it will be all 8 MPixels and more sub-standard touch-interfaces and lack of qwerty.

And the current phone in my pocket? A N82, in other words, a revamped  version of the two year old N95-model in stylish black. Still the best for now and likely for months to come.

Well, I have been skittish about upgrading to 3.0 the last few weeks. The N82 is supposed to have user data preservation, meaning I can upgrade the OS (like in Unix) without loosing any applications or userdata. Painless and troublefree. Still the last weeks have been awfully busy and I could/would not survive without my black ninja. This weekend I finally had a spare hour left in case upgrading the firmware went wrong and a full reinstall was needed or worse at trip to Nokia Care.

Yet it survived, but not without a cliffhanger. Strangely the upgrade program said my phone upgrade went wrong and it needed to redo it. Again and again. I nearly went slightly mad from this deadlocked circle. But then decided to ignore the statement and after a reboot the new firmware was there. I verified it with *#0000# and it looked OK to me.

The phone seemed slightly slower first time after a reboot, and software that was first time accessed after the reboot took a bit more time to start. Yet it seems to work at normal speed now, and all configurations and software is still there and running.

Which is pretty awesome indeed. UDP is really a very nice feature. I can't remember how often I have upgraded the firmware of my N95 and reinstalled, synced and backupped that phone. Hours and hours of work, which are no longer neccesary.

Nokia? Read this carefully! Never ever dare to built a phone without the UDP feature!

I might start billing you for unneccesary lost time ;^)

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

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.

I just wanted to see how the N82 performs with different ways of taking night shots. The non-flash pictures have fuzzy bubbles, but only if you look at the full resolution. right click on them and open the OVI link in a new tab or window. Nevertheless I am quite impressed with the results.

(updated next paragraph)

My company allows external exchange 2003 access through webmail and OWA. Fiddling with this a colleague managed to get Nokia Exchange support working and I have been running it now for a couple of weeks. Here are some quick impressions. Mail for exchange offers push type sync of agenda, contacts, tasks and e-mail. Sadly no notes, and some symbian contactdata does not match with exchange (carphone number i.e.) :

stability: Terrific, it has been working perfect since day 1.
syncing:There are different sync schemes for work and playtime. For worktime you can set working days and working hours, playtime (offwork hours) is the rest. Sync times are: always on, every  15, 30, 60 minutes or 4 or 12 hours.
battery usage: Terrific. I see no battery level drop over a whole day. I sync 8 hours and during free time once every 4 hours. Of course when transferring huge amounts of data this will impact the battery. But keeping it in 'always on' sync mode itself has not any noticible battery impact.
options: It syncs, agenda, notes, todo, contacts and e-mail. All works nicely. Some things and options I do miss. Contact images do not get synced! No html support. Limited support for company adressbook lookup (only name, e-mail and telephone, no office location and group member info, no pictures).

Currently my N82 no longer needs to sync at a pc. It now syncs it while I am on the move. Occasionally I sync the mobile bookmarks to my web browser at home and of course there is the live blogger/Nokia photo's sync. But that's it.

Quicklook score: 90%

It is a very reliable stable piece of software that takes good care of the essentials in a production environment. It is not however completely up to modern smartphone standards. It could use some extra features. The ability to set temporary sync profiles for a day or a couple of days: travelling, roaming, day off, working in the weekend is missing. Also the option for network profiles is missing, sync profiles that sync when the company network is detected. My N82 can scan for known wifi networks every 10 minutes without worrying for batterylife and hook me up to SIP and e-mail when in range. So yes it can be done. It's nice to have beta labs, but where can we request reasonable features for already finished software? Where can we contribute suggestions for improvements on software done?

Grouping of contacts, todo's and notes would be great. So would HTML support. Then again neither is supported by the default webmail client and S60. Syncing of contacts photos is not available in OWA I suspect (the exchange webclient itself does not show them either/yet).  So I can't really fail Nokia for these missing features. I also doubt if S/MIME is supported for e-mail. I see it more and more use of S/MIME for important messages and would love support for it.

download here or use the download application on your Nokia.

(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.

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

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

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.

Mark Guim of the Nokia Blog has reported that there is an new version, built wk32b04, of Maps 2.0. I don't know if it is released for all models, but at least the N95 8GB (Mark's) and the european N82 (mine) downloads give the new maps. Check his blogpost for more details about the upgrade or go directly to Nokia for a PC download or for a download via your phone here at nokia.mobi.

Yeah, its here. Finally. It has a terrific feel, it's tactile very pleasing, smooth and silky. Anyway it is here and I love it. Except for its numeric keys. I already have loads of comments to make on this phone, I'll let you know.

update: Recharged the phone at my desk, used the transfer function to transfer almost everything from the N95 to the N82. It sadly does not transfer e-mail, network and sip accounts and other configuration data. Still, pretty nice, I can use the N82 until I get time to configure all settings again. O and clearly a better image quality than the N95.

Update 2: The GPS rocks... compared to the N95. Really rocks. Yihaaah!

(Guest posted on www.darlamack.com). For the summer vacation I planned two weeks of R&R for myself. For my Nokia N95 it became two weeks of very hard work. It was continuously at my beck and call, multitasking to every whim I felt. The perfect electronic slave. On vacation I tend to rove around like a little mars explorer on steroids. Reading books in restaurants, coffee shops while taking a break from cruising the cities and countryside. Besides it was raining a lot during my trip,  a good excuse for not hiking too much ;^)

As a result the N95 worked doubletime. From the early waking call until late night, playing musical lullabies for this weary traveller to playback of converted DVDs to my nodding head. Over 200 pictures demanded to be geotagged, while sportstracker running occasionally in the background for hikes. Maps 2.0 working online and offline while routing me towards food, sights, relaxation, parking places, shops and cosy hotels.

As a result I ran into some big little annoyances. Revealing some of the N95's strong and weak points. I won't mention the obvious things the N95 is famous for. It has been chewed over enough. Thus not a word about the excellent camera quality, the top video quality for a mobile, nor my 8 GB microSD with 3000+ songs on it and 1,5 GB of map 2.0 data storing all of Europe with plenty of room left for recording video and photos. Nor will I complain about it's scrungy battery capacity. I had my car charger, my 220V-travel charger as well as a 3500 MAh Proporta to keep the little fella happy and beeping all day and night. I was prepared, happily so, to go on the road with my trusted e-buddy. After more than two years of ownership not expecting some interesting observations about my N95, an not in the least the ultimate frustration when it broke down the last 3 days of the vacation.

Searching places with Maps

Having maps 2.0 was mostly great.For rainy days it gave me zoo's, cinema's, aquariums and amusementparks to relax. For sunny days it yielded places with terrific views, hilltops, old castles and more. It suggested pubs, restaurants, hotels and car parking spots. It supplied phone numbers to call and check in advance whether or not it was open and make reservations.  In other words pure freedom.

Maps performed well in offline (saving on roaming) as well online mode for searching places. Bothersome is that the content of the offline database and the online search database are very different. Items found in the offline database are not always present in the online database and vice versa. Some kind of merging that search results would be really nice or at least one being a subset of the other. For a complete search, you have to check in both modes. Very annoying.

Routing

Routing works well in larger cities like Bonn, Koblenz etc. However when routing through rural areas maps it shows its shortcomings. It carelessly navigates you over single car wide farmer roads where two cars in opposite direction can not pass. "Hello mr farmer I happily will drive the last kilometer again but now in reverse to let you pass... This suggests that those roads were probably badly digitized from satellite pictures. Particular since some have traffic signs forbidding entrance, or even state being a deadend. Of course this is unlikely to be a purely Nokia Maps problem. In any case I applied some intellect and ignored the satnav when directed into smaller roads when not yet near my destination. Followed those oldfashioned roadsigns if they are available until I was in the right micro-village and could be safely directed to the proper location. Still, why in heaven's name don't they use the road width information from a satellite picture to my advantage?

A typical Nokia maps problem I found with its 'voice directions'. They occasionally are contrary to the routing displayed on the phone screen. The eternally blond, occasional says: "Turn right", actually meaning occasionally: ' turn left'. The road might bends right in front of the T-junction, but you really need to go left as the map on the display of the N95 shows. This is by all means not restricted to rural areas alone, though it shows to be more frequently there. In this, Maps 2.0 can do with some serious improvements. I also heard an interesting warning, never heard before in civilized roadcountry: 'sharp turn ahead'. It is a nice warning but it is inconsistently done and might even give a false feeling of safety and perhaps trick me into an unsafer driving style.

N95 GPS tagging and tracking

 During my trip I continuous swapped between maps, e-mail, music, gallery, n-gage, photocamera, videocamera and my very important webbrower. In the background locatontagger ran. Occasionally suplemented with sportstracker. Here is where the N95 shows it's first 'age'. Despite running V20 firmware with demand paging,  location tagger regularly got kicked out of memory, not tagging this or that picture. I resorted to contineously checking for it's proper working, but that soon became annoying.

On the positive side, I ran the music player through a bluetooth stereo headset (BH-500) simultaneous navigating with Maps 2.0. This worked brilliantly. It nicely reduced music volume and upped the Maps voice. Again, not without some form of a little big irritation. Switching between music and voice is a bit slooow, missing at least the first half second of the Maps girl announcing a turn. This happends using any bluetooth headset  with Maps 2.0 with to listen to voice directions. It regulary eats the first half second of the message making it impossible to distinguish between going left and right (in dutch it is 'left turn' instead of 'turn left'). Very nasty, particulary in difficult traffic conditions where you can't take you eyes from those crazy roadwarriors. It is technically very easy to activate the bluetooth headset half a second before making an announcement. Why not do so?

GPRS/3G Trouble

Well, internet worked nicely and in most places. In one rural area one Begian carrier really frustrated my GPRS connection and befuddled and deadlocked the N95 each time it tried connecting. In the end I had to switch off all the automatic internet connecting settings to prevent the phone from trying to make a internet connection and deadlocking itself. I suppose these were the first signs of impeding doom.

Breakdown

The last 3 days of the vaction it broke down. Refusing reboot, showing occasionally colored noise while booting. It simply refused to work. I guess it could not cope with the workload and a hotspell. No GPS, no photo's, no phone! Yes indeed, no phone. Driving over empty roads, kilometers/miles from civilisation I suddenly felt bereft of my little safety blanket. At risk for out-of-the-blue car trouble, chancing to run out of gas, or other unknown disasters waiting to happen. How hollow now the memory of that feeling of superiority I felt when sliding open my 'trusty' N95 to help that guy and his family who got lost because his PNA (satnav) broke down. O shame on me.

I do have an excellent sense of direction and can read maps like a true ranger. Yet a GPS is a wonderful thing when it is 3 am in the morning and you are tired from Aachen's nightlife. The hotel was more than an hours drive in a microVillage in the middle of nowwhere. While suddenly exiting the highway a heavy cloak of nightfog popped up over unfamiliar roads. You suddenly feel like walking into a horror movie. Without the prescient telltale music. Seeying creepy nightfog turning important roadsigns nearly invisible ones for real does that. I tell you, whole heartedly, a little GPS map on my N95 is on those occasions a perfect warning for unexpected intersections and dangerpoints in the road.

Resurrection

After six days of refusing to reboot, my N95 is now alive again. No clue why. I guess the heat and hard work was to much for it. A year ago my first N95 was replaced with a brand new IMEI number after crashing a similar way. I guess this one is already with one foot in its grave. I wonder if its merely pure coincidence or simply bad design/build quality of the first N95 model.

Now I wonder, would it be really that posh to buy a second, spare smartphone? I need a backup for calling in any case. My N95 got me addicted enough to all its little features and software. Instant e-mail access, satnav and webbrowsing. Topnotch snapshot pictures. To feel connected anywhere any time. Twice my N95 has now been defunctional, leaving marked periods of being 'without' in my life. Letting me feel that I really want one, crave one, cherish one. It sounds silly. Give me a backpack, a decent knife, compass, food for a week, sleeping bag, matras and I happily roam the bush bush by myself. Popping out the forest for more when the food is done. Gadgets? Who needs one. Yet, when roaming civilization I really really crave my little smart gadget(s).

A second smartphone posh? I am in fact waiting for the perfect n-series touch creen model. A Nokia with all the N95 features packed (soft- and hardware), with a 16:9 touchscreen and slider qwerty. Pocket-sized,  100x50x20 mm. Yet they are most likely months away. Between starting and finishing this post, I broke down an ordered a Nokia N82. In ninja black of course. It is currently the best in the N95-ish class. Its better stability, larger memory, xenon-flash, properly oriented lens slider, much better gps-reception and battery life would make my N95 blush in shame. I guess I simply am hooked. Hooked on instant knowledge, information and ability any time any place. I expect my N95 will soon be nothing but a spare. Hopefully an unused spare.

A mobile junky

The 32 GB versions of the iTouch and iPhone are announced and we know the  SDK kit is coming up real soon now. With the expanded memory and third party software the N800/N810 is getting steep competition. Surely one of the first applications will be web browsing  with decent flash support and more.  Though I guess it will take several months to a year before the iPhone/iTouch has become a more versatile and interesting platform compared to Symbian/Linux. But so will be the case for Nokia with the Symbian touch interface, perhaps even longer. Future models of Apple with GPS and better cameras will surely claim a chunk out of Nokia's n-series market.

A real battle is coming up and although Nokia holds the market, any company that can take 6% of the mobile phone market in 6 months will provide us consumers with an interesting battle, quick developments and some decent price slashing.

Let the battle begin over MIMD and MIMD-like-phones!