Nokia: Connecting People

Wow. I’ve spent the past few days formulating my thoughts
in regards to the Nseries party at the Hollywood mansion in L.A. First off, as
I’m sure you know by now, no one made any correct predictions as to what
exactly the shin-dig was for. That doesn’t surprise me. Everyone – myself
included – wanted the event to be some super-secret launch party for a new
device, or, as Olly hoped, a new partnership announcement. No one could really
believe that so much planning and money would be spent just to hang out with Nokia at a
cool house. But that’s exactly what it was…

Increase Your Macro Camphone Quality, the Cheap and Easy Way

Coming at you in the "cheap tricks" department, we have this great YouTube video showing you the quick and dirty way to improve the macro quality, even if your phone isn’t one of those new fangled 3 or 5 megapixel jobs!

Watch the video yourself… might help you to hang with all those haters making fun of your MEASLY 2MP Camera Phone!

[Thanks Kotov!]

– Matt

New Nokia CP-218 Wrist Band

I’m not going to lie, I have a hard time deciding if this is a joke or if it’s really a legit accessory. Apparently, it is. Here’s a nice pic of Phil from S60 demoing the new Nokia CP-218 wrist band. It’s basically a wrist band with a pocket in it to hold your mobile phone while you’re working out. Seems stupid, but this is actually pretty cool, imo. It’s great positioning for using plug-in headphones, and even better if you’re going Bluetooth.

No clue as to when or where you’ll be able to find this fine Nokia accessory The official product page can be found here. Many thanks to Phil for demoing it for us.

Live from the L.A. Event!!

That’s right, this post is going to be as live as it gets from the Nseries party in L.A. I’ve been pondering over the past few days the best way to live blog this thing without killing my phone battery, and I think the best way is going to be ShoZu (against my better judgement, I’m reinstalling JUST for tonite).

Thus, below you’ll find a slideshow of photos that I’m taking throughout the night. No labels, these puppies are going up fast and furious. I’ll go back through and label them later. To help you keep up, you’ll also want to hit up the channel that the WOM World clan setup on Jaiku. I may try to post on that occasionally, but I’m going to try to enjoy myself and blog at the same time. The party kicks off around 7pm PST, so be sure to check back then.

Also, if you’re chilling on the site here watching the photos load up, feel free to use the 3Jam box in the right sidebar to shoot me an SMS if you have a question you’d like asked. I’ll be sure to keep track and will post the answers as soon as I get a chance.

Chatting with the Guru Ep 2 – Ollywompus

That’s right, Episode 2 is ready to rock and roll. You may have noticed it was up earlier today if you have the feed setup in your podcatching application. If you don’t, then shame on you! Here’s the feed link, you can use that to subscribe.

This one features guest author Ollywompus, as we discuss the recent announcement that Verizon Wireless is looking at LTE for their 4G network, and also the presentation that Sprint gave claiming that their WiMax business model would do away with the typical subsidy-contract based setup.

It’s a great little chat, and we managed to keep it right at the 30 minute mark, so it’s not too long. Quality is a bit shaky, as we used Gizmo Project again. For all future CWTGs, I’ll be using Skype. I’m also working to get the Album Art to show the Chatting with the Guru logo. Just for kicks and giggles.

[display_podcast]

Next episode will feature James Whatley, aka Whatleydude, of Spinvox, for some intriguing conversation about blogging and corporate openness.

Dedication in Action

I got a text from David Pitkin last night, saying that after reading my post regarding the availability of the Nokia N95 US 3G, David and some friends were taking a train all the way from Boston down to NYC to get their new N95s!
Sure enough, this mornin David texted me again with news that he’d gotten his phone! Apparently, the NYC Nokia flagship store was down to its last 5 units! Folks, I just want to say Bravo. I love so much about this phone launch. I love that Nokia’s doing it without any carrier support. I love love love the pics of the displays that the flagship stores put up (I’ll try to come back and add that pic). I love that consumers are clearing out the inventory so quick. I’m hoping that this launch sends a clear message to Nokia and encourages them with other handsets.

SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian S60v3 Devices!

As of today, the SlingPlayer Mobile application has been freed from the confines of its European overlords at 3. I’ve had the pleasure of toying with the Slingplayer for Symbian application over the past few weeks, and I have to say, it’s a phenomenal addition to my N95. If you’re not familiar with the SlingBox, it is a little box that plugs into your TV and cable box, and it basically broadcasts your TV signal over the internet. Using the Slingplayer application on your computer, or now on your Symbian S60v3 device, you can tune into your own TV at home from anywhere you have an internet connection!

The Slingplayer for Symbian application is available for the N95, E65, and N75 here in the States. It’s best used over a 3G or WiFi connection, but if you don’t mind a bit of stuttering, then an EDGE connection will work as well. With the SlingPlayer, you’re able to completely control your TV from any internet connection. This includes Video OnDemand and DVR recordings.
Click through for the video….

It’s Official: The US 3G N95 is ON SALE!

I got the call this morning! I’m REALLY excited to inform you that the US 3G N95s have arrived at the Nokia Flagship Stores in NYC and Chicago and are AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE. I have confirmed that both stores have inventory in the brown color. They’ll have the black ones soon. The phone is $699 USD.

Unfortunately, for this hot item I was told they are not accepting phone orders, so if you’re in the area, you’ll need to stop in the store. If you had previously put your name on a waiting list, you’ll get first chance at it, but since they’ve only got the brown color, they’re giving you a call to see if you’d like to wait for the black one.

 

Also, according to this thread on HowardForums, there’s a store in NYC called MobileCityOnline that is carrying the Black version for $649.99, which is $50 cheaper than the flagship stores. Better get out there and get it quick!

Just to recap, these puppies are shipping with the upgraded battery and HSDPA on the 850/1900 bands, so they’ll work fine on AT&T’s 3G network. For those wondering, you do NOT need a special data package from AT&T to get going. Just the regular MEdiaNet package will work fine.

Site Updates Galore!

Well, I’ve been a full-time blogger for a week or so, and I’ve added some fun stuff to the site that I want to point out. Before I do, though, I want to say thanks to anyone who reads Symbian-Guru.com. Today is 10 months, and I’m extremely excited at where this site has gone! I’m really glad to have met some of you in Chicago, and I’m even more excited to meet more readers in L.A.

Click through for the latest site updates here on Symbian-Guru.com.

Darla Mack has a US 3G N95!

Well, that lucky duck Darla Mack has gotten her hands on a US 3G N95 (with the black cover) and is putting it through the paces with direct comparisons to the currently available Euro 3G N95. This will be a multi-part walkthrough, with the first two parts covering RAM and Battery Consumption. Personally I’m finding this fascinating.

Bravo, again, to Nokia, for listening to those of use who are using their products, and increasing the RAM and battery life on this flagship device. Don’t forget to check back with Darla’s site often, as she’ll be adding different looks at this US 3G N95, and hopefully soon I’ll be able to get my hands on one as well.

Typepad Mobile for S60v3

I’m posting this entirely from my N95, courtesy of the new Typepad Mobile application. I know what you’re saying. "But I thought Lifeblog could post to a Typepad blog. Why do I need Typepad’s application?" Well, I’m glad you asked.

Here’s good reasons to use Typepad’s app instead of Lifeblog:

1. It can be installed on  E-series devices. That’s right, those of you with QWERTY keyboards on your phones can now easily post to your Typepad blog.

2. Saving Posts. With this new Typepad application, not only can you easily create a post for any of your Typepad blogs, but you can also save that post as a draft. This is going to be SUPER handy on the airplane. I can hack out a few posts, save them, and then upload them when I land or get to the hotel.

3. You can do pretty much everything you need, such as adding categories.  Nice.

So what are the limitations, if any? Well, for starters, I can’t add hyperlinks. I’ll have to go back and manually add those online later. 

Speaking of, while I am able to save a post as a draft, I’m not able to schedule when it goes live, should I chose to publish as-is. This would be a nice feature, specially for me, as I use the post scheduling to manage my blogging time efficiently. I also noticed that there’s no way for me to separate a post into 2 parts. I like to only have the first paragraph or so to appear on the front page, with the rest of the post available after clicking on a link. This keeps more stories available to the reader, and prevents my rants from taking up my whole page. Limitations aside, I’m incredibly excited for this application, and will certainly be using it extensively.

Thanks to Darla for the heads up.

Evening with S60 – Cali Style!

Dan Shugrue over at the Consumed by S60 blog has announced the next Evening with S60 event, to be held in San Francisco, CA. The event will be held at Element Lounge on Tuesday, October 23rd with tons of food, drink, and Nokians to talk to. If it’s anything like the Evening with S60 in Chicago, it’ll be a bunch of cellphone geeks standing around talking about phones all night. And seriously, what more could you want?

If you’re in the San Francisco area, or even if you’re not, but you need something killer to do on October 23rd, I’d HIGHLY suggest heading out there. It’s seriously a really good time, you get to play with all the new devices, get hands-on demos from the guys who work on this stuff full-time, and give open feedback to them. It’s great.

I haven’t officially decided if I’ll be able to go or not. I’ve got some other things going on then, so I may have to pass on this, but I’ve also been looking for an excuse to go to San Francisco again anyways, so I may go. You can RSVP here, and do it quick!

Nokia E51 Hands-On Video

Phonescoop has a nice little hands-on video on their YouTube account with the new Nokia E51. This slim little E-series device packs quite the feature list, including a 2MP cam, HSDPA (for the Euro bands, sorry, US), and WiFi, all running on S60v3 Feature Pack 1.

Other than the ~$485 USD pricetag, I’m really impressed by this device. For that kind of scratch, I’d just as soon have the N81 8GB, personally, but that’s just me. Which would you prefer? They’re both featured roughly the same (basically just a different form factor and 8GB).

Y-Alarms from DrJukka.com

Dr. Jukka, the same guy who brought us great apps like Y-Browser and Y-Tasks has introduced yet another freeware app for the S60 community, though this app is targeted at non-FP1 devices. Y-Alarms is a multi-alarm app for S60v3 phones that were not blessed with Feature Pack 1. Currently, the only S60v3 FP1 devices are the N95, N76, E90, E51, 6290, 612x, 5700 XpressMusic, 6110 Navigator, and N81.

I was able to install and use the app on my N95, which is Feature Pack 1, though, because the app is self-signed, there are limitations. The main limitation is that you’re unable to edit or delete any alarms that are already in the alarm application on the device. You must create and edit any alarms entirely in Y-Alarms for them to work. Obviously this does not affect S60v3 users that do not have Feature Pack 1 on their devices.

It’s a simple app, there’s not really much else to say. You must also use your device’s built-in alarm app to change the alarm tone, as Y-Alarms will not be able to do that, either. Perhaps future revisions will be Symbian Signed, and thus have more access to offer a more complete package. In the meantime, you can download the app by visiting Jukka’s MOSH page at Nokia’s MOSH site. While you’re there, create a profile and check out the cool community built around sharing over there.

Where Can I Get This Stand?

Maximus over at the Just Another Mobile Phone blog found some pics of a launch party for the N77 and DVB-H (which really doesn’t concern us here in the States, since we don’t have any DVB-H operators). There’s tons of pics of this phone, which I had the opportunity to handle at the Evening with S60 in Chicago earlier this year. The biggest thing in my mind was that the screen is flush with the rest of the phone. I love that.

Anyways, above is one of the pictures that stood out to me, check out the phone propped up on this little stand. Where on earth can I get one of those!? It says Nokia Nseries right on it, so you’d think I’d have seen it somewhere before, possibly even with the new N95 8GB, what with that massive screen for watching video and all. Has anyone else ever seen it, or better yet, have a spare they’d like to send me?! Shoot me an email and we’ll work something out, I think that’d be incredibly handy to have sitting on my desk.

Actually, the more I look at it, the more I think that it should come packaged with the SU-8W Bluetooth keyboard. It just looks so…..stylish. What do you think? Don’t you wish Nokia would toss more stuff like that in the phone boxes these days?