Symbian in Motion

We had heard from our own sources that the firmware update would be available by the end of this month but since this statement was issued publicly, we’ll run with it. According to a Nokia support forum administrator, N95 NAM (N95-3) owners will soon be able to wipe those tears off of their tired faces. The long-awaited and highly anticipated firmware update is finally going to be issued by Nokia in early June. The following statement is from the Nokia Software Update team:

Nokia is aware of consumers’ demand for a new software release, and our development teams are working to produce the new software as soon as possible. We estimate that the new software should be available early June.

Please note that your mobile service provider, operator, or carrier may not have approved the latest Nokia device firmware available. Nokia produces many different variants of each product (for different countries and languages) and not all variants will have the latest Nokia device firmware. It is our priority to update all variants as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any delay.

To say that the update has taken an incredibly long time would be an amazing understatement. While the official change log is unavailable, we can expect the new firmware to support demand paging, web runtime and all the other goodies that other N95 variants have been enjoying for a while. Sweet.

[Via Symbian-Guru]

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(from my post on BGR)

A few days ago the guys at WOMWorld asked me if I wanted to trial the Nokia N82 Black, they must have been drunk or crazy because they should know that I personally love the N82! The black version has obviously been posted about all over the internet and I personally think it kicks royal arse!

At the moment I have literally got it and am setting it up (as can be seen from the picture above). Using the great little Switch application makes it easy to seamlessly transfer your personal data from one N Series to another.

I’m not quite sure on what I’m going to / hoping to discover from this or if there is anything specific I’m hoping to test from it. This might be more or less a general usage review, just to see how it gets along in a “normal” lifestyle.

If there is anything you’d like me to look into specifically, just leave a comment or send me an e-mail. For now here are a few pictures of it alongside it’s few cousins, the pictures aren’t the best so apologies in advance.

N82 Black Picture Set

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Ok, ok… I’m not really getting rid of my new N95 8GB NAM. I am sending it back to Dell though. Why? My new handset has a problem where the ear speaker clips (crackles) when the volume gets to a certain level. Unfortunately it’s not a very high level, in fact it even clips constantly with the volume set to 50% - 60%. Definitely unacceptable.

But that’s not the real reason I’m posting this. I’ve had limited interactions with Dell in the past but ever since I first heard the news that Dell would be outsourcing its customer service to India, I’ve heard / read a lot of people complain about poor customer service. Well I’m not sure where the person I spoke to last night was located, but I literally could not be happier with my experience. The customer care rep was polite and helpful, and the policies that applied to my problem were nothing short of perfect.

My call to Dell customer service lasted about 10 minutes. When all was said and done, the rep had initiated the shipment of a new N95 8GB to my house. The package will include a return shipping label and instructions on how to send my defective handset back. If I so choose, I can even have UPS pick my return package up from my house at Dell’s expense. I had email confirmations regarding all arrangements in my inbox this morning, done and done.

A+ Dell - fantastic job. I would certainly not hesitate to give them my business again. In fact, I’m positive that I’ll be giving them my business again. I’ll recommend them as well: The N95 8GB NAM is down to $580 shipped on the Dell Small Business site. No coupon needed; best price I’ve seen. Also, the red N95 NAM (N95-3) is $522.21 shipped which isn’t bad at all.

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Short and sweet: My N95 8GB NAM (N95-4) arrived two days ago, about two weeks ahead of the ship date that Dell gave me over the phone. Although I’ve played with it several times before, it still blew me away from the second I pulled it out of the box. This… is the handset I wanted to see when the N95 was first announced over a year ago. As much functionality as you can possibly squeeze out of S60 (for the time being) with a sexy and well-manufactured case to match. Stunning. The bigger screen is great, there are no wobbles or wiggles and it just feels fantastic. Worlds above my N95-3.

I’ll try to follow up with some additional thoughts soon, and maybe some live pics as well - as if you haven’t already seen thousands. I’m still in the process of moving all of my apps and data over, and what a painful process it is. To cripple this device by not including USB 2.0 support is crazy but that’s another post for another time. Seeing as the Euro 8GB just received a firmware update I imagine that one will be released for the NAM version right around the time I finish moving everything over…

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After my initial post on the Nokia N82 it has been a while since my promised update and my comparison of the camera capabilities of the N82 versus the N95. Apologies as I have been very busy with a few matters. I’m sure you’ve all read and have been keeping update with the crazy Stavros and his mission to create the greatest art ever. Now have you asked yourselves why he is doing it using the Nokia N82? I mean why not the N95? It also has a 5 Mega Pixel camera and as most of his journey is during daylight, the Xenon flash will not be a factor. So why the N82? Is it a Nokia PR stunt? Yes, it would seem at face value, it is to promote the N82’s capabilities and good reason too.

You have to realise on paper yes the only difference between the N95’s and the N82’s camera is the flash, but in reality and looking into it in more detail there are some other differences between the handsets that make the N82 ideal and on the whole a lot better than the N95. For one the GPS seems to lock on a lot quicker than the N95, the camera is quicker to respond and adjusts to light and the scene quicker than the N95, in lowlight the N95 obviously doesn’t compare against the N82, but there are also other issues to consider when taking a picture; colour, saturation, white balance and exposure, all these are not mentioned anywhere in the specs sheets. Hence this is why I always insist on hand testing a device before making judgement on it, obviously there are handsets which are just plainly not good enough and don’t deserve the time, but when comparing fine details like these it is essential. So the N82 does all these things better than the N95 but you wouldn’t know about it unless someone told you or you found out by trialling the devices themselves.

If you are still not sure what I’m on about or plain just don’t believe me I have taken a few comparison shots in different conditions to compare the differences between these two devices, my Casio Exilim also jumped in too, just to make it more fun (it is also a 5 Mega Pixel camera). So how do they all compare?

Bright sunlight, very good conditions, neither camera’s should have any problem capturing a good picture, which is what we get. But notice the difference in contrast and saturation the N82 has in comparison to the N95. The N82’s light sensor is much better at auto adjusting to bright light due to the support of the Xenon flash, which would be useless if the camera didn’t have the ability to adapt. Obviously the Casio Exilim wins due to the distinct sharpness of the picture but it IS a proper camera.

Casio Exilim

Nokia N82

Nokia N95

Moving on to some close up shots using the macro mode and flash, it is even more evident to see the N95’s lack of support for bright light and a weak flash. The N82’s does very well in this instance, almost even capturing a better picture than the Casio Exilim to a certain extent.

Casio Exilim

Nokia N82

Nokia N95

I’ll leave you with one more example on how the software behind the camera also is key to what it can achieve, it’s not necessarily the hardware itself. Pictures are both taken in night mode with no flash, and with just the lights from the chandelier. Notice how the N95 struggles to capture the light and any details in comparison to the N82.

Nokia N82

Nokia N95

I have created a set on Flickr with all the different comparison shots unedited to give an example on the differences between these two 5 Mega Pixel camera’s. Head on over to the set to compare and see for yourselves.

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