Nokia Tube slides it's way into the heart of Nokia users

The eagerly anticipated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, codenamed "the Tube" is finally out! According to Nokia, the target audience for this phone is the mid range market and The price is 279 Euro before tax.

The 5800 will feature a screen with resolution 640*360px. It’s is also called the nHD screen because it is basically 1/9th of a HD screen. Let me show you a diagram I drew prior to this post.

 

The 5800 will be the first S60 touchscreen phone from Nokia and it will also be the most advanced XpressMusic device in it’s category.

Some of the features of the 5800 includes the new S60 5th edition and the latest version of the Symbian OS, 3.2mpx Carl Zeiss Optics camera, 30fps DVD-like video recording, dual LED flash and GPS.

Connectivity wise, it supports 3G, Wifi, Bluetooth and USB.

3.2inch wide screen… dual speakers

The top part of the phone spots an on/off button, 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB port.

The phone will come in 3 XpressMusic colours… yes you’ve guessed it. haha… red, blue and grey.

As you can see, the right side of the phone places the camera shutter button, touchscreen slider lock and the volume/zoom keys.

2 new innovations I like about the 5800.

- Haptic feedback: It feels very different from the other touchscreens I’ve tried. This one doesn’t feel like vibration. It feels more like erm… a 0.5mm nudge.. which feels a lot more solid than the rest. (Edit: The haptic felt like a general one.. not specifically at the spot you touch)

- Touch media bar key: Can you see the bright little logo next to the word “XpressMusic” above the screen? Thats the touch sensitive key. Once touched, the quick access media bar will appear.. (the red vertical bar in the photo) and gives access to Music, Photos, Share Online, Videos and Internet.

I’m sure by now you would have noticed the 4 little photos on the main screen.

You can actually set the photos to display the 4 most frequently contacted person so when you touch on their faces, the call logs, sms history and RSS feeds will be shown respectively in tabs.

The 2 keys at the bottom of the screen are dial pad and phonebook respectively.

Now ready for some videos?

In this post, I will show you guys 2 videos.

Video 1: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic accessing OVI Share Online.

Prefer to watch it on Youtube? Click here.

Video 2: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic playing music.

Prefer to watch it on Youtube? Click here.

---adapted from-yes, you've guessed it-symbian.smashpop.net----

From what's shown on his website, the Tube does not support the n-gage gaming platform, however Nokia has preinstalled the device with Bounce: Boing Voyage as well as Global Race, both of which incorporate fresh new ways of playing the games, a bit iPhone-ish I might add.

Received prize for N95 photo competition

Today i woke up with a great feeling... perhaps it was the melodious sound of birds chirping outside my window.

Nah, it was the sweet small of the green stuff, and i'm not talking about the plants in my garden either. To my pleasant surprise Brandon, the administrator of the wonderful site N95users.com today credited 100USD to my paypal account as the prize for 2 months of photo competition i have won. One with the theme "flowers" in june and the other "animals" in august. Feel free to check them out on my Flickr profile and comment on them.

Why the N96 just isn't set to win the hearts of Symbian power users

The new Nokia N96 has just been launched some time ago, and as usual Nokia has devised quite a number of promotions to boost it's sales. The N96 is marketed as Nokia's next flagship device and said by some to be the successor to the now 2 years old N95. Over several firmware updates and device releases, the N95 literally become Nokia's most successful and powerful devices, and perhaps is the only mobile device manufactured that is still up to date after 2 years since it was first announced. but with the bar raised so high by the N95 8GB (N95-2), can the N96 top what the N95-2 already offered to users?

...and so the debate between the old and the new continues.

Thanks to the people at Gadget Information, there's now a clear list of the major differences between the N95 and N96. Perhaps one of the most notable differences is the CPU. Surprisingly, the N96 does not have a graphic accelerator as on the N95, and is furthur hindered by the fact that it's CPU is less powerful, yes less powerful than the one on N95s. The N96 has a ARM9 264MHz onboard while the N95 has a Dual 332Mhz ARM11 based CPU. Was Nokia so desperate to increase battery life they actually resorted used a lower powered CPU? If yes the decision is almost laughable to power users. However, the fact that the N95 has such powerful hardware only highlights its ability run amazing game like Quake 2 and Global Race, which are pretty much the only two games that fully utilise the N95's potential.

Coming back to the N96, Nokia doesn't really care about those two measly games because the know they can WOW regular users with the N-gage 2.0 series of games. As posted in several youtube videos, the N96 seems to run N-gage games just fine, which is pretty much good enough for the average user. So it all comes down to the way Nokia markets these devices, which is what Nokia has done quite well. Instead of marketing it as a "do-it-all" device like the N95, the N96 has been targeted more as a web browsing and primarily a mobile video device, hence the large screen, kick-stand and 16GB of storage space.

In my opinion the N96 is not targeted to replace the N95 and it's fan base of Symbian power users at all, instead it is aimed for users who want a phone which looks good, and still be "as powerful" as the N95. The reason i say this is because the design of the N96 itself and the build quality has improvised and from the N95s. The edges are rounder, it looks classier and even the operating user interface(UI) looks much fancier and smoother. However these are just all eye candies which will come back to haunt a user. There have reports on the net which show the N96's beautiful front glossy design being scarred with scratches after just weeks of usage, and how the fancy UI causes it to lag and be less responsive to he N95.

With all this said, to me the only true advantage the N96 seems to have is the claimed "optimal GPS reception without slider being open" which sometimes can be annoying on the N95. I think the N96 will no doubt be on the "want" list of many Nokia users, however not be enough to attract the current N95 fan base nor Symbian power users. Bear in mind that all this is currently based on the early stages of the N96's software, which i'm sure Nokia will vastly improve and work on, just as they have transformed the N95 from train wreck to mobile legend.

Seeing is beleiving - here are several video comparisons between the N95 and N95, as well as Spec comparisons

N96 VS N95 (Major differences)

Positive

• 16GB of integrated memory (as opposed to 8GB for N95 8GB), plus further extensibility via microSD memory card
• 2.8 inch display with 16 million colours (same as N95 8GB, versus 2.6" display for original N95)
• Camera flash is a dual-LED in the N96 while it is only a single LED in the N95
• New audio DSP for improved audio quality and longer playback time
• New version of Nokia Video Centre
• Longer music playback time (14 hrs) and video playback time (5 hrs)
• Windows Media WMV9 video codec is added
• Hardware acceleration for video codecs for H.264 and WMV (as well as MPEG4 as before)
• Location tagging (geotagging) of pictures, using the integrated GPS
• Mobile TV DVB-H receiver is built into N96
• New release of Nokia Experience Software
  • Maps 2.0 with satellite images, upgrade to pedestrian mode and voice-guided car navigation
  • Internet Radio pre-installed
  • Home Media Solution (sync with DLNA / UPnP devices over WLAN)
  • Online sharing of pictures with plugins for Flickr, Ovi Share and other services (Can be added on N95 with newer version of Share Online Application)
• S60 3rd Edition is upgraded from Feature Pack 1 to Feature Pack 2
  • Symbian OS is upgraded from version 9.2 to 9.3
  • The Java ME engine is upgraded from MIDP 2.0 to MIDP 2.1
  • User data is preserved when upgrading firmware (This feature is also present on the N95-2 as v21 installs UDP base files)
• The FM radio is upgraded with RDS
• Limited graphics acceleration (only for internal apps)
• N96 is a dual-band HSDPA (900 and 2100 MHz) while N95 was a single band (2100)
• MicroSD memory card slot (as in original N95, while N95 8GB has no card slot)
• No need to open the slide for optimal GPS reception
• New design
  • Landscape-oriented design (landscape oriented speakers, connectors and buttons located optimally for landscape use)
  • Flip-out kickstand
  • Media keys available in all modes (even when slide is closed, for background control of music)
  • Media keys on short side can transform into gaming keys
  • Lockswitch (enables quick lock / unlock of keypad)
  • Thinner and lighter than N95 8GB
• N-Gage included. About 5 games preloaded and one free game coupon (varies by country).

Negative

• CPU downgraded to ARM9 264MHz for N96 (N95 have Dual 332Mhz ARM11 based CPU)
• Same battery as original N95 (950 mAh), but the N96 reportedly has a much better battery life using the same battery (Nokia N95 8GB has 1200 mAh)
• No infra-red port on N96
• No Hardware 3D graphics accelerator for N96
• Built-in support for VoIP telephony (and thus cheap Internet Calling) removed from N96 (N95 has Nokia VoIP 2.1)
• Digital zoom is only x10 on N96, while it's x20 on N95 8GB
• Camera Lens in the N96 is 2.8/5.2, and in the N95 2.8/5.6 (N95 have more apperture)

----------

N96 Slow response time

N96 facing trouble running 3D graphic accelerator games

N96 running N-gage 2.0 games just fine

A Studen't Point Of View..

Boredom in my class was what drove me to write this poem. It's the first poem i've written in a while, so it might be a bit rusty. Comments and criticism are welcome!

so dull.. the echoes of my teachers voice..
i am trapped here
in a dungeon, disguised as a classroom
but not so much

in the forest closeby,
i can hear the sweet melodies of freedom
how the birds chirp and flutter their wings and take flight
but i cannot swim in that ocean
instead drown in a sea of reccuring voices



20 minutes later,
and i am still here,
the old record continues to play with a monotonous grey.

The future of tomorrow are being bleached,
NO, they do not know the meaning of fun.
Life is bursting with colours,
each of us colourful,
yet Notes, questions, and answers
all in black and white
like their souls anchored, unable to take flight

Many ride this train,
thinking they are on the right track
yet year after year
it becomes more of a trainwreck

we come, so filled with hope and dreams
only to find out, school is not what it seems,
this institute ran by fools and deception,
so filled with rules,
yet offer no protection.

but this is how is has been decided,
blindly driving our selves deeper and deeper
into this marathon
into a merciless rat race
in the circle of life.

it makes me wonder... am i a man?
OR a Mouse?

Sister Site Launched - BlueWarmth now online!

Ck and I originally started this blog to learn about blogging, HTML coding, as well as to establish a medium where we could share information and opinions with the rest of our friends. To our surprise the topics we choose to blog about started getting page views from the world over. We, blogged, we upgraded, and now, we're expanding. Ck, also known as Brandon feels confident enough to start his own blog, keeping a similar spirit which kept us going on the Voice Of Teenagers. A loyal friend and quite the socialist in our group, Ck's blog will be directed more towards he's personal interests such as Pop bands, latest music trends, with a dash of s60 news added into it. Visit he's blo here: BlueWarmth

Don't worry, Voice Of Teenagers will remain. I will still keep you updated with the latest and greatest news in the world of S60, as it has always been since this site started. Due to my exams, posts will be rather limited from now on till december (where our exams are over and hopefully we graduate with flying colours).

So, that's about it!

To all our Muslim friends and all those who are celebrating out there, Selamat Hari Raya!

A detailed N85 Review - Courtesy of Mobile-Review.com

As you all know we're short of time these few months thanks to our SPM exams, so instead of doing our own write up, we found a pretty good one on mobile-review.com, in fact it's one of the most extensive reviews on the N85 we've ever seen.

Enjoy the indulgence!

Mobile Review of Nokia N85

Samir is back in business - and he brings new goodies!

                    

 

Samir -famous for his application RotateMe which were among the first to utilise he N95's accelerometer- is back. Previously held back by some personal life problems, it seems as though he has got it sorted out and can now divert his attention back to programming. In this new come-back spirit, he has launched a new site AikonLab ("Nokia" spelled backwords) which will take the role as his new platform for development and releases, previously hosted by bysamir.fr. In addition Samir has promissed the release of a new application called HandWave tomorrow (13 September) which will bring a touchless interface to S60 3rd edition devices with a front camera, i.e. the N73, N80, N82, n95, n96. No doubt this will be another application that will stay nice and cosy in most of our phones and in will be one of those must-have apps all Nokia forums and discussions.

Go on, click on the link provided and visit Samir's new website!