Symbian in Motion

Remember what I said about passing on the N95 8GB? I lied.

I had every intention of passing but the need for a new handset gave me the need to go back on my word. If I was a bit more excited about some of the handsets coming out in the near future I likely would have waited, but we’re looking at [least] until year-end before Nokia dishes some new goodies that will find their way to my pockets. To clarify that, I am pretty interested in the N96. It’s still unclear if AT&T-compatible UMTS will be present however, and I’m not at all comfortable with the battery size.

I should get it soon and while I’m not looking forward to getting all my apps moved over or the snail-like USB 1.1 transfer speeds, there’s no question that the N95 8GB NAM is a looker. No more waiting for that firmware update either. Anyone in the US shopping around for an N95 8GB of their own, shoot me an email. I have a Dell code that drops the price to $570 shipped - best price I’ve come across by far.

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With all the recent rumours of Nokia’s “iPhone killer” being touted around the internet, my head was spinning. We knew the code name was Tube (for some strange reason) but now the rumours have a picture to it! Yes, Symbian-Freak has revealed pictures of the so called “Tube” phone from Nokia.

Hinting that the device’s real name is something different to Tube (thank heavens), he also reveals it will not be an N Series device. I expected as much.

The brief specs for the moment are as follows:

3″-3.5″ (16:9) touch screen (No multi-touch, but has tactile feedback)
Camera with autofocus
Quad Band
Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, WLAN
Built in GPS supporting Geotagging

For the full story head on over to Symbian-Freak’s website.

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Apparently the folks at Nokia subscribe to the theory that if you’re going to do something, do it big. Nokia’s CTIA presence was just that: BIG. The Nokia booth was tremendous and very well laid out. The perimeter was lined with service demo stations for things like Mosh 2.0 and Share Online while the interior was home to a wide variety of Nokia handsets and accessories. As you’ll see in the gallery, a bunch of recently announced handsets such as the N78 (hot), black N82 (hotter, barring lack of US-3G) and the 6210 Navigator (hottest, probably the most well-built and smoothest Nokia handset we’ve seen in a while). I was a bit upset to learn that the N96 didn’t make it to the show, but fingers crossed that it has something to do with the alleged re-run that may be adding a xenon flash to the specs.

My frown was quickly turned upside down once I came across the 15+ WiMAX N810s on display in the corner. Aside from the subtle coloring changes that I like a lot, you might pass by this one thinking that it’s simply a standard N810. Oh no, a quick browse into the connectivity settings displays the oh-so-lovely WiMAX settings that are now available. Unfortunately there was no WiMAX connectivity available at the show, but it’s coming sooner rather than later. No word yet on pricing in terms of Sprint WiMAX plans but hopefully we’ll hear something soon in that department. Nokia also had the now available Hava Player client on display on one of the N810s. Hava Player, for those who don’t know, is a content streaming solution similar to the one offered by Sling Media and it features HD streaming along with a host of other features.

The Nokia fun didn’t end at the booth, by the way, or in the five other booths where Nokia had a presence. It continued out in the parking lot in front of the convention center. Nseries had a special tent set up where attendees could sign a waiver to take a ride in the “Internet Cafe in the Sky”. What’s that, you might ask? Essentially a platform housing a table and several seats. Once everyone on board was safely strapped in, a giant crane lifted the rig off the ground and participants enjoyed the opportunity to play with the new WiMAX N810 while suspended in the air. Odd? Maybe. Over the top? Definitely. Big? For sure. Hit the BGR gallery for pics.

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Sorry guys, I completely forgot to mirror this post. I’ve been so busy at CTIA (despite the fact that it’s incredibly lackluster). You’ve been waiting for it… I’ve been waiting for it… And now it’s here!

Admit it, as much as you love your Nseries you would gladly trade it in this second for a QWERTY S60 handset that was just as capable spec-wise. It’s ok, so would we. We know it’s coming down the road but we need something to tide us over in the meantime. T9 is terrible as far as text input goes, but there are a few other options. Our favorite by far is Adaptxt. It’s been around for a while on Windows Mobile devices and a few months ago S60 users got their first taste of true predictive goodness. For those who don’t know, Adaptxt is an intuitive text entry system that not only predicts words for you, it learns how you write and predicts the current word as you type, the next word, phrases and even sentences. It really is a fantastic app. The initial release had some issues that lead to the application being pulled for a while, during which time Keypoint tweaked the app to work a lot better with third-party applications among other things. The result is a brand new version arriving just in time for CTIA. The new version is dubbed beta but don’t be fooled, our tests have gone very well for the past few days. What’s more, Adaptxt is a payware application but while the new release is in beta it is available for free during the trial period. Not for the standard seven-day trial mind you, we’re talking a full 90 days of free Adaptxt love. Granted, you’ll know you can’t be without it after 24 hours but hey, free is never a bad thing.

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