Posts Tagged ‘n95’

My Three Favorite Nokia Phones, Ever

// July 25th, 2011 // 11 Comments » // Mobile, technology

My buddy Jason Harris recently posted on Nokia Conversations a list of his top three Nokia phones ever. His list is decent, but mine differs. I got my first Nokia cellphone in 1998, and since then have used nearly every smartphone the company has produced. I’ve personally owned more than half of those, and still have six different Nokia smartphones laying around my office. Thus, here are my three favorite Nokia phones of all time, and why:

62306230 - this is an oddball, because it’s not a smartphone. The 6230 runs Nokia’s own S40 dumbphone interface, but even today it’s a stellar device. When the 6230 launched, it was unbelievably small, but packed quite a punch. Full Bluetooth capabilities, EDGE data speeds (Class 10, no less), and a classic design all contributed to this little phone. Cingular (now AT&T) released the U.S. variant of the 6230 in a really horrendous glittery-navy-blue color scheme, but luckily, Nokia’s original parts all fit, so I was able to order a full custom black housing, with the silver keypad. The 6230 was such a great phone that I actually bought it twice, and still regret not keeping one around, just for grins.

N73 – the Nokia N73 was an epic phone when it launched, mainly due to its 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics. In 2006, when this phone was released, most phones had a VGA resolution camera, or perhaps a 1 megapixel shooter. 3.2 megapixels with autofocus was completely unheard of, and the mechanical slider to activate the camera was also quite a big deal. Like the 6230, the N73 fit all of this in a completely classic and tight package, and it was just a stellar phone. I also owned 2 different N73s – one the extremely rare white/mocha color scheme and one of the later released ‘Music Edition’, which featured a dedicated music player button and a larger memory card (the M.E. was also clad in all black).

N95-3 – the Nokia N95 was one of the first phones that Nokia released in about 5 different configurations. The N95-1 featured support for European 3G frequencies and had a manual camera shutter cover. It also shipped with a small battery and minimal internal storage. The N95-2 was later launched, again with European 3G support, but this time clad in all black, with 8GB of internal storage and a larger display. The N95-3 was one of the first Nokia smartphones to support U.S. 3G frequencies, and dropped the mechanical lens cover but added a much bigger battery and plenty of internal storage. The N95-4 was later released, and was a U.S. 3G variant of the N95-2 (also known as the N95 8GB). Many enthusiasts felt the N95-4 was the ultimate N95 model for the U.S., but the N95-3′s microSD card slot made it a superior choice for many, myself included.

I still have my N95-3, and use it periodically. Considering the N95-3 was launched in 2008, it’s quite impressive that it’s still alive and kicking. I used it as my primary handset for over a year, and my mom used it for at least 6-9 months, as well, so it’s seen some duty.

What are your three favorite phones of all time? They don’t all have to be Nokia.

What Makes Technology Quirks Acceptable

// May 28th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // technology

As a tech geek, I often observe various uses of technology, especially who is using them, how they’re using them, and why. One thing that I’ve noticed is that many people, typically over ~40, have trouble with technology, usually saying it’s confusing, when in reality, they simply don’t want to take 5 minutes to learn it. That’s another conversation though. What’s interesting today is that these consumers typically tolerate different levels of complexity for different technologies.

Case in point, my parents. They’re what I would call technologically literate, both having email accounts that they use, relatively advanced cell phones (my mom carries my old N95-3), and use the computer, have a home theatre system with large TV, etc. They also recently got a Roomba. If you don’t know, a Roomba is a robotic vaccuum cleaner that can be programmed to clean up at various times, etc. You can check it out here.

A few months ago, I tried to give my N95-3 to my dad. I did my best to set it up for him, so that he had very little to do, other than stick his SIM card in. After about a week, he politely informed me that he hated it, and found it really confusing to use. I know this has a level of internal perception, because he had no problems using the E71 previously, which uses the same version of Nokia’s S60 operating system. He thought it would be confusing, and so it was. In watching him try to use it, I noticed that his tolerance level for the phone was extremely low – if it didn’t do *exactly* what he wanted, with minimal effort, it was deemed too complicated, just like that.

Contrast this to the Roomba. He and my mom proudly displayed and demo’d it for Mrs. Guru and I a few weeks ago, telling how great it worked, and how they had to program it to say where to go, and when to run. They shared a few frustrations, such as the noise level, and how it got stuck sometimes. They had even named it (I don’t remember the name, but I do recall suggesting my mom paint on a housekeeper’s apron, lol).

Given the utility of the N95 and the Roomba, I’m fascinated at how they were willing to sit down and read the manual of the Roomba, but couldn’t be bothered to give the N95 more than 15-20 minutes to figure things out. As both my mom and my dad frequently call, text, send pictures, etc, it’s a no-brainer to see that they would get far more use from the N95 than the Roomba, which only accomplishes a single task (vaccuuming). So why does the lesser-used product get more attention?

Since noticing this, I’ve tried to observe my own habits, as well. I suppose I’m a bit more logically-thinking, but I will devote plenty of time to learning how to do things on my phone and getting it to function how I like, because I know it’s the single most often-used piece of technology that I have. Any thoughts as to why some technology is approached with more patience than others?

Shop Smarter With Gazaro

// April 11th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // cool

As a connected guy, I do most of my shopping online. It’s easier, more convenient, and usually cheaper, too, even after you factor in shipping. As such, any tool that helps me shop smarter online is a good thing. Many times, when I’m shopping for something, I’ll check prices across a number of different retailers, to make sure I’m getting it as cheap as possible. However, that only provides me with a snapshot of pricing NOW, which is only partially helpful. What if you could find out the pricing trend of a specific item, for various retailers?

Now you can, with Gazaro. This site (requires free registration) tracks pricing for electronics across a number of popular sites, such as Amazon and Newegg. It then presents this information as an easy-to-read graph, showing you any recent price drops (or increases) for the recent past. Why is this useful?

For starters, some retailers are known to drop the price of items for the weekend, which would be good to know if you’re planning on buying something on Thursday. It’s also helpful to know if an item’s pricing has remained steady, or fluctuated frequently. If it’s constantly changing, you might be better off monitoring it for a few days. Also, the graph shows what today’s price is, compared to other days. Again, helpful to know if the item has been cheaper in the past, or if it’s due for a price drop.

For instance, let’s take a look at the Nokia N95, from Newegg.com. It’s currently priced at $300 – quite the deal. Looking at the graph, we can see that, at Newegg.com, the phone sold for $429.99 as recently as October 2008. Since then, it dropped steadily until December 22, where it stayed at $339.99 until February 18. Since then, it has fluctuated between $339.99 and $300 every few days, but appears to have stayed at $300 for the past three weeks – a good indicator it’s going to stay this price for a while.

N95 Trending at Newegg.com

There are a few cool features that you get with your free account, as well. For starters, you can subscribe via RSS to a specific item – helpful for monitoring pricing without having to manually check back all the time. You can also save multiple items, for the power shopper.

Gazaro currently tracks electronics, though is looking to expand further, according to their website.

Stuff I Choose Not To Live Without

// January 6th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // technology

Zach @ The Outsidr posted his list of products that he simply can’t live without earlier, and as any blogger with nothing to talk about is prone to do, I’m going to carry on his ‘meme’ with my own list. Yes, of course we *could* live without these things, if absolutely necessary, so I’ve renamed my list, ‘Stuff I Choose Not To Live Without.’

First up, frankly, is my phone. Specifically, the Nokia N95-3. Sure, I’ve also got the E71-2, N79 NAM, 5800 XpressMusic, N82, and LG KT610 on my desk right now, but none can really truly replace my tried-and-true pocket companion. The Nokia N95-3 gives me a great camera (both photos and videos), full email access, internet, Jaiku, and of course, phone calls/SMS. It’s like having my laptop in my pocket, and I *could* post to my various blogs from it. I refuse to go anywhere without it.

Next up, obviously, is my Dell XPS M1330. I’m an online journalist/blogger, so obviously my laptop is vital to my livlihood. The XPS M1330 is by no means a top-of-the-line machine, but it’s small(ish), light, and packs plenty of kick to write posts, edit photos and videos, and anything else I need to do.

Last.FM is the first service on this list. While I maintain a rather large collection of MP3s, Last.FM gives me a fresh set of tunes, instantly tailored specifically to ME. I can type in ‘Productivity’ and get great working music, or ‘Relaxing’ and get music to calm me down. I use Mobbler on my N95-3, too, so I can enjoy Last.FM on the go.

Partially to appease James Whatley, I have to add Spinvox to this list. Spinvox takes the voicemails that my family and others leave me, converts them to text, and delivers it as an SMS. I’m bad about screening phone calls, so this lets me instantly and visually determine if I need to call you back today or next week. It’s completely brilliant, and something that gets used nearly every day.

Firefox is another non-hardware item that I simply could not live without. 95% of my workload is done in Firefox, and the other 5% could be, probably, if I wanted. It’s my window to the world, and like my Dell XPS M1330, it’s crucial to my livlihood.

I’ve talked about them before, but my Bose earphones are another thing that I would go nuts without. Oftentimes, I have trouble concentrating on the task at hand, but if I toss these in with Last.FM set to ‘techno’, I can push the rest of the world out of my view and simply focus on writing. They’re wonderful.

That’s it. 6 things that I absolutely choose not to live without. Of course, I have a ton of other fun toys that I would *prefer* not to live without, such as my external monitor, Fujitsu P1610, Nokia N800, and others, but the fact is that they are not absolutely vital in my day-to-date live. What about you?