While this post is not really about the iPhone it is the standard for experience and should be mentioned briefly. I’m sure plenty of people will be willing to debate the feature end as well though given the device is still playing catchup with hardware, I’ll leave it at that.
In the past couple of weeks I’ve received two new N-Series devices, first the N82 and more recently the N78. While the N82 handily beats the N78 in specs, I find myself enjoying and choosing to use the N78 more. Part of this is that it’s a new gadget ,but as I’ve thought about it it’s really the updated S60 OS. Feature Pack 2 (S60 3.2) really is a terrific update. There are many subtleties as I discussed in my overview and it’s hard to go back – not hard to use, but I am quickly growing accustomed to the new way it’s done on Symbian and not looking to revert. I am still carrying choices around – N78, N82, N95 at the moment but find I am even skipping over the 3G N95 for the moment to get the better experience from the OS.
Now if I had a second SIM card … I’d absolutely be using the N95 for the faster data access and tethering capability. That’s a considerable expense though and a luxury I’ve yet to convince myself I need.
Price is killer. 3G and GPS for 199(8GB) or 299(16GB). Though subsidized, it’s a very strong offer and should appeal to the masses in a big way.
MobileMe… I’m looking forward to getting this working and love the idea. Sync is very important and something that’s not very easy to do and usually not that simple for the end user. Apple seems to have nailed this for the key pieces of your mobile life – PIM and Photos. I like it. I also like that my .Mac account will just become MobileMe.
The applications marketplace is nice, but I did not see anything that really turned me on in the demos. I’m not much for mobile games, though the graphics were impressive. I already have a DS and a PSP and rarely use either …
Nokia’s probably feeling good about the hardware side of things today, though the MobileMe details really crush the still yet to be delivered Ovi service. The simplicity of it all is where Nokia seems to still struggle. There’s nothing like that on Windows Mobile or Blackberry either, but only Nokia has been pushing their new service model…
As for my own usage, I’m standing clear of the new iPhone for now. I’ll try the 2.0 software when it’s released and look forward to Exchange sync and potentially the VPN access … Otherwise the device is still basically the same. Camera has not been improved at all though the battery life being reported is very strong and something I look forward to hearing about.
While I am ready to be surprised, I just can’t see racing out to get the new iPhone. Last year I waited in line, had a blast, (wastorturedbyactivation) and generally enjoyed using the iPhone but after an initial honeymoon phase (3months) I moved on and have really not looked back. It’s been about a year since the iPhone was released and I’m reflecting on the most popular post I’ve ever written.
I think I should reiterate that I am not a normal user. I am a power user and push devices to their limits frequently. I have given this some considerable thought lately thanks to the influence and full effect of the hype machine. For me, and I would imagine a lot of other mobile power users, the iPhone lacks some key details and features we have had for years. Some of these things are likely to equalize but from what I have seen in both current applications and the leaks from the SDK my needs appear to be best met elsewhere.
I have yet to meet a mobile device whose battery can last as long as I need in a day – including the iPhone and I’d expect HSDPA to have the similar battery crushing power it has on other devices. I’ve had good to excellent photo and video capture on my handsets for several years and am not willing to give that up, period.
In the US 3G is still new so that’s a push, but …the applications, local storage, over the air downloading, 5MP camera with Flash, video recording, java, flash in the browser, enhanced bluetooth profiles (keyboards and stereo headsets) are all key pieces to what I look for and need. I often keep applications (other than email and music) running in the background. Cut and Paste are also things I use many times a day …
The browser of course still remains the golden ticket for the iPhone. The manner in which pages load and render on the large auto-rotating screen is excellent and has yet to be contested on a phone in my experience. The iPhone’s email client with HTML is also very strong.
While the application store is going to be a big deal, the trick for the iPhone will be how to prevent the user from getting in the way. What I mean by this is how do you manage more than a handful of icons in the iPhone UI. Looking at my father’s iPhone recently he had two full screens of icons for all of his bookmarks, I mean web apps. My wife’s device has been handled by the kids and is a mess as well. When additional applications arrive the desire to try will be high for many. The more you add the more complicated it gets and the less bullet-proof the experience becomes.
The iPhone’s greatest success has been the broad mass awareness (and relative adoption) of mobile connectivity and I am grateful for that. I hope that the next generation continues to push things as we all stand to benefit.
Things might change on Monday … I’ll be watching just like everyone else!
The Nokia N78 arrived last night and I charged it up and started to play after getting the kids to bed. I’ve found that the N-Series line is similar to BMW though instead of 3/5/7 we have 7/8/9. The 9 series tend to be all around experts, while the 8s are more like category stars and the 7 series generally provide much of what you get across the board, but perhaps a slightly lower spec. I don’t mean this to take anything away from the N78. The N73, which the N78 seems to be designed to replace has been one of my favorite devices in the N-Series lineup.
After less than 24 hours use, the N78 impresses. It’s the first N-Series with USB 2.0 and the first Nokia with an FM Transmitter. You’ll also find 3.2MP Autofocus Zeiss optics, WiFi, GPS, geo-tagging of photos etc etc. There’s ample system processing speed and the updated operating system (S60 Feature Pack 2) offers some improvements that are sure to make S60 more approachable to a first timer, though may actually take a bit to adjust to as an experienced user. The keyboard is highly compressed and honestly it feels a bit small to me. The N82 has very small keys, but they are well spaced and easy to use while the N82 has a unique key formation that while easy to use is just a tight fit. Overall the device is feels nice in your hand. It’s lighter and thinner than the N82, though they are both about the same length.
Feature Pack 2 adds easier access to what’s running, shows the clock deeper in the system and adds a few other tricks like Audio Themes, timed Profiles and vertical standby layout. You also get an alphabetical list when adding applications in the shortcut list which sounds obvious but seems to be random in OS releases until now. I’ve also noticed that when the N78 syncs with PC Suite, sync occurs in the background and you only see a small icon near the battery meter. A very nice addition is the use of access point priorities / groups which let you define an order of connection types to get the best you have (WiFi or cellular) through a single point. This was previously only seen on E-Series devices though it’s simpler here. It’s been a while since I’ve used the S60 mail client for any period of time, but I configured my Gmail as IMAP and have to say it’s far more responsive than I recall. I’m not sure this is FP2 specific, but I think messaging has definitely been boosted.
The unit I have is the N78-1 which is the EMEA release meaning I don’t have 3G for the US. This is a bummer, but I don’t have 3G at my house anyway, so I’m hardly missing it at the moment. The camera is uncovered which is a bummer, but something I’ve become quite used to as well on the N95-3.
The back cover is seriously challenging to removed compared to other devices and I actually already broke, yes broke, the pull tab. I’m hoping it’s still relatively easy to get access underneath as my SIM is in there … Otherwise the device is solid.
In my usage, I’ve found GPS acquisition to be super quick – less than 10 seconds. The UI is snappy, though the Navi-Wheel can be tricky. I tested the FM Transmitter last night with the BH-903 headphones and was very pleased to see that the connection worked meaning I won’t have to deal with A2DP drop-outs, though it was not as loud as the bluetooth audio …
I’ve done a walk-through video as well which should give a good sense of what the device is like to use as well as a comparison to other recent Nokia N-Series Handsets like the N82, N81 and N95 and even the N73 for good measure.
Yes I know the iPhone has no keyboard, so let’s just put that to the side….
There are however plenty of other devices that can take advantage of the excellent work that’s been done on the updated mobile UI which do have keyboards … like the Nokia N810 which runs a Mozilla browser and the N95 which has the S60 Webkit browser. The more I’ve used the latest Google Reader the more it’s clear that a very wide array of devices could be using this and why not add just a bit more functionality to enhance it that much more.
I’m thinking the N810 could probably get this going through a greasemonkey script … Anyone up to the challenge?
In case you’ve missed it, people can’t stop talking about either Twitter or the 3G iPhone. I fond both clutter up my feed reading daily… Perhaps here’s why:
Signed up, posted. Added a friend, commented. Failed to import my contacts from gmail – actually could not even load my address book … then went down. There’s no mobile version and it’s a two vertical paned UI. If you need to sign up just to reserve your name, then enjoy.
I love this device … I have an E61i handy, but the reduction in size and enhanced OS and build look stunning! Syncing with all my work stuff never hurts either …
If AT&T does get this it will continue to carry the leading devices with the 3G iPhone, Blackberry Bold and Nokia E71. I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of these devices … but it’s going to be quite the choice!
CrunchGear is running a few videos on Android and aside from the obvious homage to iPhone, the level of customization and sleekness of the UI is very appealing.
Seems google has taken much of the investment made in iPhone apps directly for the Android platform. They’ve also kept a few goodies for themselves – maps include street view and I heard the guy say built in compass … Android as a true PND? Interesting indeed…
As previously noted, I recently received a Nokia BH-903 stereo bluetooth headset along with the N82. I’ve been testing it quite a bit with the N82 as you might expect and unfortunately the results are quite mixed.
I first caught a glimpse of this at Mobile World Congress and was immediately interested.
At the time, I was using the N95 and N810 for my media consumption and a stereo bluetooth headset seemed like just the thing. This particular headset is worn like a necklace and includes a dogtag controller for managing connections, calls and playback. The display is easy to read, quite bright and carries a lot of detail (song name, caller ID etc). The BH-903 is very comfortable to wear as well – at least around your neck. As you may have seen, the default ear buds are a very unusual shape:
I have no idea who has ears shaped like that, but I had a heck of a time getting the buds to stay in and as a result the volume was really lacking. I finally switched them over to what I discovered to be the standard round shape felt covers from the box. My experience immediately changed for the better and I’ve had no issues since.
The controls on the dogtag let you control your music and take calls very easily. I’ve noticed that the display only receives active song info from the nokia music player (at least not from mystrands). When you make or take a call, music pauses and then resumes when the call ends which happens quite elegantly.
The sound quality is fine. I’d love to say it’s better but I’ve been using a pair a Shure in-ear ear phones for a long time and upgraded to the SE420 model not so long ago. To compare a multi-function device to a single purpose high end one is not totally fair. Let’s just say the Shure experience is vastly superior, but I can’t make or take calls too easily. Call quality is great! I’ve had calls on the train and outside and no one has commented about extra noise or wind. I’ve been able to hear just fine as well … basic boxes to check for a phone call but very important regardless.
Speaking of quality and important details….
Stereo Bluetooth for music remains a work in progress!
It is incredibly frustrating to have the sound cut out and stall (while the music actually continues to play) when you are rocking out. Unfortunately this happens regularly!! I can’t figure out what causes it either which has left me just accepting this as a critical flaw. I have not had any issues on calls – just music so I’m guessing the amount of data transferring between phone and headset just becomes too much every so often.
The BH-903 has great potential and I am continuing to use it even with the audio skips for my commute … for now. I can see going back to the Shure’s (which are in my bag) because they just sound amazing. I don’t usually do that many calls on the train so I can manage the relative inconvenience when it pop’s up.
I’ve never really been a fan of Opera or Windows Mobile, but Matt’s video here makes both look quite compelling. I had a few moments of hands on time with Matt’s Advantage when we traveled to Barcelona earlier in the year and it’s a very serious (in a good way) piece of hardware.
Last night I had an interesting conversation with my wife. She asked if I had purchased a few albums we’d previously discussed recently. I mentioned that I had downloaded a bunch of things to my Zune (love that subscription!), but realized while saying this that there was no way for me to share these albums with her since she’s on a Mac with iTunes and an iPhone. She wanted to hear the stuff in the house and we use an AppleTV to stream … strike 2. She suggested just buying them on iTunes, which I really prefer not to do even though the instant gratification is certainly nice. I prefer to rip my music at a higher rate and want to be sure things will also work on my Zune or on my Nokia phones … I could always break out my iPod or iPhone, but that’s yet another device to carry just for those songs.
When I suggested we just get the CDs my wife looked at me like that was a crazy idea. Why would we do that she wondered? A CD would of course allow me to rip the tracks into a nice DRM-free format to be shared on any device and effectivelly freeing the music to be heard however we desired. Regardless this seemed all too retro given the tech within reach.
This week I’ve been playing with the Nokia Music platform a bit. This uses another DRM method which while also from Microsoft (like the Zune) will not work with the Zune. I think it will work on a PC through windows media player but we are a Mac household. I’m hesitant to purchase anything that will only create yet another island to hear just those tracks.
This is ridiculous. It’s no wonder illegal downloads occur in such high numbers and sales continue to drop. The music industry has gone out its way to de-standardize the standard of actually listening.
While MP3s do not typically carry DRM, they can be watermarked which is the method Amazon employs. Amazon also charge a lower rate than the other guys and will likely only grow as more people become aware that the music they purchase will only work in a single place.
There’s absolutely no way to purchase digital music effectively and know that you can share (as in fair use) as you might have done previously through a mixed tape or even a burned CD. Now you are effectively choosing to buy a CD Player and the CDs from Apple, Microsoft, or Rhapsody. If your friend or family does not also have the same player, they can’t enjoy the music.
There’s a lot of rumbling in the industry about stores offering DRM free tracks en masse. I can’t wait for this day to come! It stands to revive the industry and free people to once again enjoy listening – the part that’s supposed to be both easy and enjoyable.
I’m not sure about you, but the inside of my ear is not shaped like the earbuds above. They are the default covers for the Nokia BH-903 headset and I imagine they worked for someone in testing before they were shipped. Good thing there are also two sets of standard round covers as well…
I’ve just started to use Spinvox recently but immediately see the value in how it works. If you are not familiar with the service, you forward your voicemail over in a similar manner to the way you would with GrandCentral and Spinvox handles the rest.
Once your call diverts are configured you should begin to receive both email and text notifications for new messages – with the text from the voicemail! You can see an example here with this message from my wife:
There’s a shortcut built in to the text and email which lets you jump to that message when (or if) you call in to listen. Thus far, the speech to text has been pretty solid. I have seen some oddball translations though I am honestly not that surprised as the same words (my town Katonah for example) give people I speak to a hard time as well.
The full text feature gives you fully searable voicemail in your inbox and on your device which I’ve yet to take real advantage of in my short test but fully expect to find benefit searching through Gmail. Seeing the messages saves the time of even having to call to retrieve messages in the first place.
The only real gotcha for me here is that there’s an audible signoff when someone leave you a message whic would be fine if this were a free service. Perhaps a reduced fee is under consideration for allowing the spinvox signoff is in order. I am not very comfortable offering an ad on my voicemail for business or personal calls.
The true ideal here is for Spinvox to integrate with GrandCentral or perhaps Ribbit when they launch. The text integration is killer but it’s only one of many advanced features I’d like to have with my voice services.
Great news about the soon to be released update to Nokia Maps …
As part of the Ovi brand of Internet services, which includes the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage gaming platform, Maps on Ovi will allow users to plan their trips on their desktop or laptop and then synchronize (automatically or manually) it with their smartphones. Conversely, if you’re already out on the road, you can record routes and points of interest on your handset and then upload them to the Ovi service when you return home to share with family and friends. The interface on Web side is similar to what you’d see on your phone for ease of use and a more seamless experience. [Crave]
This is a very compelling feature and something I am very glad to see coming. As I noted a while back, connecting GPS from the web to device is a killer feature. It confirms the need for the device itself to be connected, which of course is the case when it’s a handset. I’m looking forward to getting to try this … plan on the desktop, sync to the mobile. Should be ready this summer!
Tonight I learned from Gerry Moth and Matt Stevens that Google Reader has been updated for the iPhone … which of course means it works great on the S60 Platform as well as the Nokia Tablets running the MicroB (mozilla) browser. I tried this tonigh on the N82 using the S60 webkit browser but as soon as I saw it in action I knew I wanted to use the tablet instead.
I shot this quick video on the N82 in my kitchen so I apologize for the out of focus text. I think the point is still quite clear … this is a great way for anyone to enjoy Google Reader on the go!
I’m definitely switching from the standard /m site which only offers a single item at a time. This is MUCH more efficient and works well even over EDGE.
As you can see here, I’ve got the Nokia N82 along with the BH-903 and have to say my early impressions of both pieces are excellent! I was only semi-interested in the original flavor of the N82, but now here in my hand and in black, it’s sweet!
I’ll be posting more soon but here’s a few points of interest:
It’s fast! General system performance feels better than the N95-3.
The screen and standard theme are excellent! Out of the box, this is one cool mobile.
Camera is really quick. The lag is pretty limited compared to the N95 which has made some “kid captures” pretty easy this weekend.
The Search and Share Online features are standard components which makes uploading to Flickr, Ovi and Vox fewer steps based on the way it’s built into Gallery.
Image and Video quality are excellent as you might expect.
The screen auto-rotates which is quite nice for photos, video and web among many more to be determined uses.
So far, the only bummer I know of is that there’s no NAM edition which means 2100 UMTS (Europe) only for the time being. I don’t have 3G at my house, but HSDPA will be missed when in the city.
