Point & Shoot & Talk – what is missing from mobile photography
January 4, 2009
As far as I am concerned, Nokia makes the best camera phones on the market. If you do not agree with me, you should take a look at some of the photos in the n82 photo pool over on Flickr if you haven’t done so already. True, the n82 has been the closest mobile handset that I have owned that makes me blaze past the shelf of unused digicams on my way out the door without a second thought, but I am wondering how far off are we from mobile photography nirvana?
As the megapixel race has jumped from the point and shoot market to the mobile market, I am worried that some of the main features that make a great camera great will be lost as manufacturers scramble to get that old MP number higher and higher. These are a few directions I would like to see Nokia’s cellular photography market explore.
For starters, I would love to see an nseries phone come with a tripod mount thread on board. I can’t stand having to fiddle with my generic clamping tripod mount that did not have my phones in mind at the time of being manufactured, leaving my vital buttons clamped down or otherwise out of reach. I know it’s probably not overly high on the aesthetic list on a phone, but I’d be willing to concede function over form in this case. Why bother with a timer if you can’t easily be in the shots anyway?
Will the day come that we will see manual controls on a mobile phone camera settings screen? I have been very impressed with some of the night time exposures i’ve seen taken on an n82. Nokia has great point and shoot versatility, add to that, manual shutter options and you would have such a fantastic leap forward for the convergence of phone and camera. The nseries phones certainly seem capable of a lot of things, I know personally that i would greatly prefer a more in depth camera settings (though they are quite good) as opposed to a bar code reader built into the handset. I really don’t think I’ll ever, ever use that application.
I love the active shutter control on the n82. It is fast and responsive, and should be on every nseries phone. I love the fact that i can have the keys locked, open the shutter and snap a photo, close the lens cover, and have the keys go back to a locked setting. I was very impressed that Nokia designed this phone such that you can take a photo without having to touch a single key on the keypad. Why the n95 doesn’t have this is beyond me. The phone is already much thicker than any other handset i own, would i gripe over a minuscule amount of thickness added to the back of the phone in exchange for both the functionality and protection it would offer? Not at all.
I would like to see the optical zoom offered on the n93 make a come back. Cell phones have such wide angles to begin with, this was always a great feature of the phone that could combat that. As far as optics go, Nokia has a great partner in Carl Zeiss. It would be nice to see the sensors and lenses in the same upward battles as the megapixel race is right now, hopefully soon.
As I mentioned, the n82 is the closest we’ve come to convergence of phone and camera thus far. That said, if Nokia could push it a little further and give us users who are looking for a camera specific handset the same features that are available on even the cheapest of point & shoots these days, i think they would have a winner.
We buy these expensive handsets based on their content creation abilities, I think it’s time that a photo taken with an nseries device should move from “Wow, that’s great quality for a cellphone!” to “Wow, that must have been shot with a Nokia!”
nokianorth
a few thoughts on the n95 8gb vs n82
January 2, 2009
Having both the n95 8gb and the n82 nseries phones, i often find myself having to decide which one to carry. As much as the two handsets are similar, there are a few features that set them apart in my mind, mainly hardware. Here are a few things I’ve noticed.
Web Surfing – I find surfing the web on my n82 pretty annoying. The keys, while spaced nicely, do not lend themselves to one handed use of the phone while on the web and trying to input text. You have to stretch your thumb to hit the lower 30% of the handset to get to the keys and after awhile I just don’t find it worth it. Conversely, i find web surfing on the n95 second only to the iphone. The bigger screen makes a difference, but for me it’s the ergonomics that is the real winner here. The soft keys are easier to hit and keys themselves being larger seem to lend themselves to an overall more pleasant experience. The n95 takes the cake here.
Camera – It’s been well documented on blogs and reviews that the main shortcoming of the n95 8gb is the lack of camera lens cover with an active manual shutter control and no xenon flash. I haven’t been too bothered by the lack of a lens cover yet, but the lack of flash for the evening shots is a real bummer. I love having the n82 with me, you truly feel as if you have all the abilities of a point & shoot without carrying two devices. While recently taking some indoor night shots with my n95, i was quite disappointed because they looked like they came from a crappy cell phone camera, where as with my n82 and it’s xenon flash, my night time shots look like they came from a dedicated camera. The n82 kills it in this category.
Video Recording – I’m not sure if I’m the only one who has this problem, but when i am panning with my n82 in video mode, the image is strangely compressed and tends to look squished and distorted until the camera comes to a stop. This really takes away from the great video quality that this phone can shoot. I haven’t seen this problem crop up with my n95 8gb yet. Other than that, they both shoot fantastic looking video but for me the n95 wins out here.
Battery life – I have been pretty happy with both phones in this area. I was worried as the battery issues with the n95 seemed to be a big turn of for many. I find that if i throw the phone in gsm mode when not accessing the 3G network for data, my battery usage (even with using the camera quite often and listening to music) is quite comparable to other handsets i own from different manufacturers. Tie.
3G – The fact that i have a European 3G n82 and i live in Canada means that i can’t access the high speed cell networks in this country. It is too bad because i love the speed of my 3G n95 8gb. Now this isn’t a fault of the n82 by any means, i would have full access in other parts of the world, but for me in North America, the n95 is a much better choice when i want access to data. n95 wins here, but that’s my fault, not the n82.
Form Factor- I hate sliders. there i said it. Up until i used the n95 that is. I went for the n82 originally because i was getting basically all the benefits of the n95 but in the candy bar form factor that i preferred. But using the n95 doesn’t feel like other sliders to me. The handset feels balanced in your hand when you use it, not like others I’ve used in the past. I like that the phone’s weight remains on the base and the light screen portion is the part that slides. When inputting text or numbers, you don’t feel like the phone is top heavy, a problem which kept me away in the past. I suppose this is a sign of the good build quality and design that Nokia is famous for. For those of you out there like me who stay away from the phone because of the slider factor, rest assured this will not be an issue. Tie again
Data Port – n95 has mini usb, n82 doesn’t. n95 wins here for me.
Headphone port – n82’s headphone jack is on the top while n95’s is on the side. While not that big of deal, i prefer the n82 here, plus i love the earphones that came with the n82. I’m not really a big fan of the ones that came with the n95 8gb. As much as i’ve heard people complain about how stupid it is to put the headphone jack on the side of the phone, i hear fewer people comment on the benefit of this. Because of the side input, you can stand the n95 up on it’s side while the n82 is a lot tougher to make sit on it’s side. Again, a tie here as i like the benefits on both handsets.
Buttons – i like the way that the n82’s keys look, but i prefer using the n95’s for input much more. Also, being a dual slider, the n95 8gb’s screen slides down to reveal dedicated media buttons. I find these great for easy and no look access to your phones music. I use my phones in my car as a music source and being able to switch tracks without having to take much time looking at the phone is a real bonus to the n95.
Storage – 8gb’s is great on the n95. I do prefer the n82’s removable memory card because the data transfer speeds on both handsets is somewhat slow. Having the ability to pull the card out and transfer images and music on my own card reader is great, but the built in 8gb on the n95 is a great feature and enough storage for most users out there. Again, this one comes down to personal preference.
Screen – The large screen on the n95 8gb is great for using the internet, maps, and video. The screen on the n82 is a little smaller, but still very crisp and a joy to use, however i’ll give the nod to the n95 here based on the larger screen the sliding form factor allows.
So as much as these two phones are very similar, there are some make or break differences in my opinion. Mainly in form factor and camera build, but each phone excels in it’s own right. I couldn’t decide which one i liked more, so i bought both of them, but for those you out there that have no need for two handsets, keep in mind some of the benefits and negatives of each handset and make the best decision for your needs. I’d love to hear what your thoughts are on the two handsets and how they stack up to each other.
nokianorth
The Krusell Classic for the n82
December 21, 2008
Hey guys, the most recent case that i have been using with my n82 is the Krusell Classic. While I’m never a fan of a case that covers the entire keyboard in plastic, making it tough to type through, this case offers the best camera protection that i have found for my n82.
The backing is made of high quality leather with a strong pivoting clip and a zipper enclosure. The front side plastic covering offers 100% screen and key protection. The Classic has cutouts for absolutely everything that you need on the n82. I also really like having the speakers exposed with mesh grill. This gives a nice clear sound, the ability to keep dirt out, and maintains the cases structure. Had it just been open holes for the speakers to play through, i think it would have made the case stretch out a bit, which may or may not throw some of the other cut outs off line.
The gallery key cut out to the right of the D-pad is my biggest gripe with the case. It wasn’t made large enough and when pressing a key near it, the plastic would push down on the gallery key, launching the application. Every time i pressed the “C” key (IE while wanting to delete something in a text message) the application would pause and the gallery would load. This was driving me crazy as it would happen all the time, but taking a razor knife and expanding the hole a tiny bit to allow the full key to be uncovered solved the problem. I thought that the zipper which goes around the profile on the lower half of the case would be annoying, but i honestly never know it’s there. Krusell has done a good job incorporating a zipper and having it not be a dominant part of the overall aesthetic.
Typing on the n82 is a challenge at the best of times, but it’s made that much harder while using the Krusell Classic. That said, the phone pops out in about half a second if need be, or keeping it in the case since i enlarged the cut out for the gallery key has helped big time.
The reason i chose this case in the first place was to protect the great screen, but i was desperately in need for some lens protection. The Classic has two plastic snaps on the leather flap under the pivoting clip, that once pulled apart, reveal the perfectly cut opening for the camera and flash. I love this feature because you never have to be concerned with the lens cover being slid open while not in use leaving the lens exposed to whatever is in your pocket or bag. This was the biggest selling point for me and i have not been disappointed. I can take photos and video just as quickly as when i have no case, and now i have the piece of mind that my n82 is protected to the fullest. I recommend this case for anyone who doesn’t want add a lot of bulk to their phone and who desires around-the-clock protection with access to every port (camera, speaker, mic, etc..) on the handset. I use this case with my black n82 and it looks great.
What cases are you using for you nokia handsets?
let us know, leave a comment!
Thanks,
nokianorth
Canada and the nseries
December 18, 2008
It’s well known that the number of high end nokia devices in North America pale in comparison to that of Europe and Asia, that’s why i was excited when Rogers announced the n95 as a branded phone on their network. With a large advertising campaign behind it, and the fact that if you were lucky enough to take advantage of the data promo this summer, you could have 6gb’s a month usage for only $30. These two key components seemed to be what the nseries was missing in canada – exposure and the data plan to back it up. However, i feel that Rogers kind of dropped the ball with it’s release. The only thing that they really pointed out was that you can connect to facebook and that you could take pictures with it. Their commercials featured the same annoying group of teenagers that appear in all of their adds, and the wow factor of the handset was really overlooked. We all know what these phones are capable of, but with the release of the iphone 3g in this country, the n95 seemed to get somewhat overlooked. Be it poor timing with the all the effort going to the iphone or the lack of proper exposure to the unending benefits of the handset, it seems like the n95 sort of fell flat in this country. While there are many of us who can appreciate the nokia for what it can do, most people see the form factor and figure that they could just as easily post their pics to facebook with a much thinner and less expensive handset. While true, this completely understates the end users experience with the n95. Rogers carries low end nokia handsets, and their website doesn’t really put the n95 center stage. It’s burried on their website on the 7th page of handsets, i think it should get top billing over the nokia 3555 which looks like it’s for a child, and the description of the phone seems to mostly focus on the (in my opinion) very limited network services that they push. Who wants an unlimited web browsing plan for $7/mo that doesn’t access HTML sites?
I hope that when (if) Rogers releases the next nseries device, they will really push it to the public and get these amazing devices in the hands of Canadians.
Here’s to spreading the word up north!
I’d love to hear from other canadian users and their experience with the n95 8gb
nokia north
Thoughts on the nseries
December 17, 2008
I, like everyone else, am sick of the search for the ‘iphone killer’. That said, i am constantly switching back and forth from my n82 and iphone 3g because there are specific things that each device has to offer that i wish were in one package. The ideal nseries device would combine the fantastic content creation and connectivity options of current nokia’s models, with the ease of use, effortless web browsing, and concise menu system of the iphone.
I’ll focus mainly on the web experience on the nseries for my wishlist.
I love the n82 and n95, having such photo and video quality in my pocket, ready at a moments notice is very important to me. The quality that one can get from these camera/phones is something else. But what is also high up there on my list of demands is to be able to pull a device out, get online and get whatever i’m looking for in a quick convenient package. The nokia’s don’t hold a candle to the iphone for web browsing (which isn’t perfect either, but still ahead of the symbian browser in my opinon). Even the ergonomics of the n82, while great for phototaking, leads to discomfort while surfing the web, always having to stretch my thumb downwards to the keys to move the cursor or input text in portrait mode. Not to mention the hassle of switching from portrait to landscape to input text.
I don’t want an iphone killer, i want a killer nokia. The freedom that the nseries gives you to both create content and it’s access to features on a mobile device is second to none. While instantly posting our creations to the web is a major selling point for the nokia handsets, it would be nice to view them that easily as well.
As we become more and more dependent on the web in our daily lives, i want to a device that will deliver the smoothest most painless experience (iphone) but at the same time do everything else i can think of (nokia). When it comes to mobile tech, all i want is my cake and to eat it too, is that so much to ask? We are getting very close, the n97 seems to be pretty much the ideal device. let’s see how things shake out, i just hope that it doesn’t follow the same path as the n95-1, killer specs, dream device, but then setbacks out of the gate. Hopefully we won’t be seeing a n97-4.
New Nokia Blog
December 16, 2008
Nokia North – new nokia fan site from Canada
This is my new blog that will be covering the nokia nseries phones, mainly n95 8gb and n82 to start out with. Here you’ll find video how to’s, answers to questions, information on updates, links to other great nokia blogging sites, and pretty much anything else concerning the nseries. This blog is coming from Canada, where i feel that nokia is quite under represented. So hopefully this will become a great place for both Canadians and nokia fans from all over the world to share opinions, news, tips, and stories pertaining to their nokia smartphones.
The blog will be created and uploaded directly from my nokia nseries device. I’ll be getting started very soon, so please check back!
nokianorth
