15 posts tagged “n95”
Thanks to WOM world I have yet again a new phone to explore the Nokia 6220. More to come soon. I will update my post as soon as I play some more with the phone. So far the compact and lightweight design is really appealing to me. Stay tuned...(post initiated on October 31, 2008 will continue to update until I am satisfied)
Update #1:
So I decided to let my partner play with the phone, she has been playing around with N73 but decided it was too bulky, too heavy and it did not have the numerous alarm option and she could not send or receive MMS messages ( this I am not certain what is the reason for that network or the phone itself). I have been trying to convince her to abandon her Sony Ericsson dream and come over to the N side of life....with much hesitation when I brought the phone in on Friday, she said that she would consider playing with it. On Saturday, her sim was loaded and ready to roll. She first checked the alarm function - it's there ! She loves the form factor, slim, small and really light. She was amazed at how much 'stuff' can fit into this relatively small phone. When I told her that it has the 5mpix zeiss camera she almost 'died' of excitement. She has been using a 2mpix on her Sony Ericsson and occasionally the 3.2 mpix on the N73. We have a four year old daughter and taking pictures in the nick of time is essential, as a parent you just don't want to miss a crazy, funny, beautiful moment of your child's life so camera on a phone that is always on us is the preferred choice. On Saturday we took a nearly 200 mile (one way) road trip for my homecoming to meet up with old friends and in the car while playing with the phone for nearly two hours, she discovers that it has GPS and starts playing with it. She is just floored at how 'cool' this feature is, using Nokia Maps. She shows me almost screaming ' look, look, it shows our route' I look at her and say yhmmm, smiling for she looks like a kid discovering new candy flavors. As for me the only major issue I see with 6220 is the incredibly small yet very sharp screen. After playing for sometime now with 2.6, 2.8, and 2.4 (being the smallest) screen sizes I just think I might be a little spoiled. More to come stay tuned...
Update #2:
My partner continues to play with the phone, she says that she finds the screen to be adequate however the standby screen icons could be a bit larger. She also finds it a bit difficult to get used to a flat keypad, as she is an avid texter she is used to having more definition to the keys for 'intuitive' texting rather than for looking at the keys. I try to teach her about the key #5 which is always a starting point for me on any keypad, but she is not taking to this idea warmly and dismisses it for now as a possiblity.
Update#3:
Battery life...the battery life is just ok according to my faithful 'tester'. The battery lasts approx one day with heavy messaging and calling. This phone besides ocassional GPS and camera is not used for much else by her on daily basis. This is a bit of a surprise to me I would have excpected to get a bit more juice out of it...but hey I am used to running on 1/2 day on my N95-3 and having to recharge. So in the scheme of things it's doable not brilliant.
Update#4:
This phone does a lot, it's a powerhouse for non-power users. Again the compact and light design, great camera and FP2 make it a great package for an everyday user. I asked my partner again last night how does she like the phone, she looked at me and said; 'I love it, does it come with a tongue....?' hmm I will leave this comment to your imagination ...Needless to say I have not had much hands on time with the device since she is refusing to surrender it until she absolutely has to! FP2 is truly a very nice and much needed upgrade to the s60 platform. The priority set points, flexibility in menu set up, great transitions which seem to be more appealing to non-power users are just a tip of an iceberg when it comes to the FP2.
Update #5:
I got my hands on the phone last night and was able to play with it a little bit. First the good, I found the keypad and buttons to be very easy to use, type with, fingertip friendly, well lit and despite the totally flat keypad I really enjoy the tactile experience on this phone, as has my partner reporting to me last night. One downer for me is the camera cover, it's flimsy and just does not deliver the accuracy and flexibility that one is looking for in a device that does after all have a 5mpix awesome camera. The pictures and video mode is great I have no gripes with it on a fundamental level, just the cover. Kudos that 6220 has a lens cover which can not be even said about some of the N series devices. The battery life is still daunting, this phone under my usual daily use would not last much more than half a day or so. For that, for a Nokia freak like myself 6220 would not be an option. For non-freaks I still think it's a nice combination of features, compact size and freaking great camera which translates to a reasonably priced, full featured, mass driven Nokia product. When you even look at the N78 which I have reviewed few months back, there is no comparison. I would have to go with 6220 instead of N78, the price-value balance makes more sense in a 6220 then in a N78.
The time had come and I am due to send back the little treasure Nokia 6220c back to WOM world . Few last parting thoughts. The phone is really a great little, light power machine. I love the backlight, deep blue that along with breathing option makes it stand apart from other phones. When I told my partner that 6220c is due back, she almost cried...did a gesture of licking the phone, in our house a sign of serious endurment. She said 'tell them, tell them that I love the phone, but what in the world were they thinking putting such a poor battery in it' I promised that I would write about it again as it seems to be a serious deal breaker for her, not even talking about me, such a battery is NOT an option at all. She was out last night at a farewell party for one of our friends, her phone died, she calls me from a friends phone saying that her phone died again and that she was not even using it much that day. It has been a true pleasure seeing her experience the 6220 as she is not a gadget geek like myself. One thing we wholeheartedly agree on is that Nokia could have done much much better on the battery life in this phone.
Curiosities:
One cool thing I found on this phone while exploring it was the 'own key' option, by default it is set to 'maps' but by going to phone settings-general-own key you can set it to anything you chose or want. Nice feature. The 6220c is not a smartphone tho it is running the s60v3fp2 which gives it a lot of flexibility for a general public phone. The breathing that is present and called as such on the N series phones, is called a status light on the 6220c it also serves as indicator if you miss a phone call or have a new text message. Not all N series phones actually have this function enabled so it is nice to see it in a non N series phone.
Would I recommend this phone, in short YES ! This is a great phone with rich feature set minus the battery, but you either learn to carry two batteries and charger at all times or you are not a power user and daily charge will be sufficient to get you through. I definitely favor the 6220 over the N78 in overall user experience, minus the battery. N78 far exceeds battery standard as compared to the 6220c. Nokia did a really nice job combining a great and I mean great camea, compact and light package, customizible and heavy in features phone for potentially anyone to experience. As prices will continue to go down this one is a definite to consider.
Today I decided to give Nokia email service another try. To my surprise, it downloaded, installed, set up, retrieved email, sync-ed all in under five mints. I am impressed. This task was never possible before with the numerous attempts I have been trying the service on my N95-3. Today it worked like a charm. Now I can't say that it will continue to work like a charm, however this is a good an promising beginning. I was going to give up on this service until much much later, but being who I am - I CAN"T. My fingers itch to find new things, try something again and again and see it work on my device. I have participated in the Nokia Ambassador widset campaign and during the entire campaign my goal was to get it working on my N95, with all possible combinations, retractions, additions, subtractions and removals I have not been able to make my widset pet work on my handset :( I had much fun while participating and did not give up, despite the fact that campaign is now over I still, from time to time try to install widset pet and see if it will finally work on my phone. So back to email.....Nokia I am not going to abandon you yet...keep improving services and devices and I will be a happy camper for long time to come.
So just a few minutes ago Mr. UPS delivered my N82 package from the S60 crew for me to play with following my submission for the widset pet campaign and winning the report of the week. Here in a brief picture taken with the N95 featuring the N73, N82 in both variants. I have not yet really played with the new toy so stay for there is more to come. My test unit (the one in the middle) has seen quiet a few hands and places in the world. It is a bit banged up, few visible nicks, but the back cover still holds firmly in place, no major tear and wear can be felt at least initially. It's a one well build phone. In comparison with my test unit that WOM world send over of the brand spanking new N78 that was very wobbly and left a lot to be desired in terms of craftmanship, this little unassuming monster feels great and sturdy despite some visible wear on it.
My time with N78 is coming to an end, it's due back at WOM world in two days. During the two week period with the N78 and MD-4 speakers I have come to following conclusions:
N78 what I like :
- let me first start with the form factor, for me it's gold. The candy bar is both, lightweight, slim and comfy to carry around.
- The battery life is awesome, the best by far as compared to my N95-3 and N82. Granted that both N95-3 and N82 are powerhouses compared to the N78.
- The new menu layout and functions of how you can arrange things rocks for me. It makes it faster to get to the places I need to go on my device.
As you see there is 'dual menu layout', in the left column you have various menu shortcuts radio, search etc. and on top you have the shortcuts you have created. When you press on the top left option the shortcuts menu shows up, in my case that is the set up of convenience from bluetooth to messaging.
- Priority access points are a very welcome addition, make for efficient use of time and 'phone intelligence' to aid in web surfing, and using any function that requires connection.
- 'smart' messaging option, the phone makes a decision on its own if it is a text message or an mms message. Nice time saver instead of going through three menu's to get the same end result.
- the new FP2 is definitely easier to use over all for the first time s60 customers, which is a great plus when you look into reaching out to a greater number of potential phone buyers.
- The speed over all of almost all functions, options is amazing, fast photo processing, menu changes, command execution, in this category in my opinion an overall winner. The only things that loaded slower than my N95-3 and N82 was Nokia maps, once it got started tho, it had a quick lock in and was very zippy. The build in GPS and A-GPS do a nice job making this device versatile and a part of the N series family.
- the camera, although unchanged from N73 still a great one, I especially had fun using it with the micro mode. Check it out
It was a perfect morning after the rain. I took close to thirty pictures, but those seem to be ones I like the most.
- The timed profile option is a great way to manage your profile needs. This used to be present in older s60 models is absent in N82 and N95-3 but there is a great little app by Dr. Jukka called Profile Scheduler that has the same function as timed profile.
- The screen tho small, is sharp and definitely delivers what it's supposed to. I love the fact that it's in-cased in the casing, it's easier to clean and keep tidy.
N78 what I disliked :
- Poor build quality, the unit from the very first moment felt like it was about to fall apart. The back cover sits so ambiguously in place, it's got gaps I could not believe. If you tried you could stick quiet a few things in those gaps. Now I am giving N78 a benefit of the doubt and consider it being a possibility of my test unit vs. the rest of N78 made for market.
- Camera does not have a lens cover, just like in my N95-3 its a big problem,for the lens is really prone to scratches despite the fact that I never carry my phone in my pockets or bag packs, its always in its leather holster, and that does not seem to make big difference.
- Because of its shiny black casing, N78 is a print magnet and needs to be frequently wiped.
- The keys are very finger unfriendly, I found that it's difficult for me to write on them for longer periods of time. The N82 tho criticized by many is a breeze to use for typing as compared to the N78.
- Last is the cost factor. N78 in my opinion is way too expensive for what it has to offer as compared to the current prices of N95-3 or N82 for example. In a cheaper price bracket and solid over all build quality, it would be a ideal phone for many different users.
The MD-4 speakers:
It was a pleasure to use, small, compact form factor, versatile in how you arrange them and use them and pretty good sound quality make them a winner in my book. I only listened to the Internet and regular radio through them but I don't anticipate that there would be much difference when listening to the player. The speakers also serve as an antenna for the radio so it's a no brainier. The speakers use four batteries which could be a headache at times if you don't have replacements. The sound is clear and loud considering how small these speakers are.
Conclusion:
In my opinion the N78 is a worthy part of the N series family. When you look at N73 that N78 replaces, there is no comparison. The two devices in terms of what they deliver are like night and day. N78 surpasses N73 in every area except for the camera, but in that it is equal for it is exact same hardware. Over all the N78 was a pleasure to use and play with. Speed and added versatility in an even more compact form factor as compared to the N73 is outstanding. I realize that N series phones are not for everyone, but for a very particular group of generally heavy duty, risque users. Now what is beautiful about the N78 is that it is more geared towards main stream use with flattery of features. It is a prefect every day device for me, granted if only the build quality is over all solid not like the one of the test unit.
Another night
Bath time tends to be much fun
Pure in its form
Just silence
