Symbian in Motion

I just started playing with the N95 on a regular basis again and thought that I’d post some screen shots for my US readers who are early anticipating the launch of the N95-3 - probably later this week.

The first is the obvious:

This is a speed test done while I was connected via HSDPA. It’s actually on the lower end of my tests while connected to HSDPA (3.5G). 3G typically gets me between 700kbps and 900kbps. Needless to say it’s leaps and bounds beyond EDGE!

The second screen shot is also quite obvious:

I have tons of apps/themes installed and also had plenty of apps running in the background when the above screenshot was taken. Even still, you can see that I have over 75MB of free RAM and over 100MB of free internal storage. Woo hoo!

The third screen shot is of a bug - a VERY annoying bug - that I thought had affected other N95 variants but when I talk about it to people no one seems to have heard of it:

I’m still trying to figure out the exact circumstances that cause this bug to occur, but essentially the N95-3 distorts images loaded by the S60 browser. It looks like this bug might only affect full web pages as mobile sites and wap sites seem to be unaffected. To see what the image above should look like, simply scroll down to my next post.

My N95-3 shipped with firmware version 10.2.006 and I have no idea what will be loaded on the production model or if this bug will be present. Perhaps Darla can see if this bug affects her shiny new black N95 and report.

—————–

EDIT: There is a confirmed workaround for this bug! Read about it here.

subscribe to comments made about this post

I don’t like to post too much news here on SiMo but this little tidbit on Zatz Not Funny! caught my eye this morning:

Echostar Announces Agreement to Acquire Sling Media, Inc

These two companies have been working together for quite some time but it will be very interesting to see what happens as a result of this acquisition. Congrats to everyone involved!

subscribe to comments made about this post 

While Best Profiles still having issues with FP1 devices, I was in a curious situation when my N95 arrived a few weeks ago. I rely heavily on automatic profile switching so I had to find a solution and fast! There are a few other options out there but I have to say that I’m very happy with the one I chose. As the title suggests, that option was Auto Profiles by Symbian Guru.

Auto Profiles is a remarkably simple and attractive solution that has yet to fail me on either FP1 device that I use it on. It doesn’t pack all of the punch that Best Profiles does, but it’s 100 times easier to set up and to be perfectly honest I don’t find myself using any of the ‘bells and whistles’ these days. The settings are kept nice and simple thus allowing you to create the desired profile schedule as quickly and easily as possible.

The main screen gives you three choices - Activate/deactivate, Schedule and Calendar. Schedule of course is where you’ll configure the profile schedule that will determine when profiles are switched. As seen below, there are only a few settings to worry about and you’re done.

Defining “workdays” within the app’s Settings menu further simplifies your schedule. Truth be told, I had my schedule fully configured in about one minute and I enjoy not having to worry about anything while Auto Profiles continues to do its job.

The third and final section within Auto Profiles is a simple screen that allows you to configure your Calendar settings. Here you can configure the app to automatically enable a specific profile during meetings defined in your S60 calendar.

Symbian Guru affords you a 10-day trial period to be absolutely certain that Auto Profiles is the solution for you. If you enjoy a useful straight-forward app that does exactly what you need it to do without any user intervention or worry, then this is the app for you.

subscribe to comments made about this post 

My buddy Robby is constantly emailing me links to various super-toys that are always fun to read about. His source: A blog called Born Rich that highlights the kind of luxuries enjoyed only by top CEOs and slutty heiresses.

I keep Born Rich out of my feed reader for two reasons:

1. I pretty much can’t afford anything they post.
2. I have very little will power and would probably end up buying something despite reason number 1 above.

If you have a lust for ubertoys and more self control than me, welcome to your new favorite site.

subscribe to comments made about this post 

Things have been pretty busy here on SiMo and they just got busier! They say “when it rains, it pours” and yesterday a new gadget found its way to my office courtesy of WOM World…

The N800 is a device that I have always been very skeptical about. Several people have tried to sell me on it’s functionality and usefulness but to be perfectly honest I never bit. I played with one for a minute or so once during a visit to the NYC Flagship store but in such a brief encounter I obviously couldn’t form any opinion on the device. Last night I unboxed it and fired it up and I have to say that my initial reaction was quite good. The device itself is extremely well-made and the form is stellar. The display is phenomenal! Clear and vivd; perfect for watching videos on the go. It’s also nice and big making it an ideal portable device for viewing full web pages (that’s right - flash, javascripts, etc).

Because this device has been so widely reviewed already in our blogosphere I’m not going to waste everyone’s time going through every little bit of the OS, apps and whatnot. Instead, I’m going to focus my time with this device on personally visiting the big question that has been on people’s minds since the first Nokia internet tablet was released: “Who is this device built for?”

Many bloggers have asked the same question but the truth is that I still haven’t read an answer that I like. Most of Nokia’s press photos place the device in the hands of models while they lounge in their lofts and navigate through unfamiliar roads. As chic as these images make the tablet out to be, I don’t recall seeing Gisele Bundchen sporting an N800 last time I saw her at Duvet. “Tech geeks” have had a love/hate relationship with the device since its introduction. Some call it a great device with a host of uses while others view it as a “solution without a problem”. Perhaps the light-weight compact device is best-suited for those who travel on business frequently? With it’s limited functionality in terms of MS Office compatibility I doubt that they would get much use out of it.

After spending my first evening with the N800, I’m nowhere closer to answering this question than when I first saw the device announced. With the hope of changing that, I’m going to be putting this device in the hands of a variety of people in all different walks of life. I’ll be gathering their feedback and coming to my own conclusions. Did Nokia go through this process before they released the device? I have no idea but we’ll see if it brings me any closer to finding a good home for the battered stray puppy that is the Nokia N800.

subscribe to comments made about this post