Tag Archives: mobile

5 Positives and 10 Negatives of the Nokia E5

Pros:

1. Very Feature Rich compared to other E series phones like the older E63 and even the newer Nokia upper-end model E6 (except there’s No Touch in E5).

2. The Best Symbian OS version in its class till date.

3. Excellent Camera with Flash. However, Not with Auto Focus.

4. Nice Grip and overall Dimensions of the Phone. Convenient for Shirt Top Pocket.

5. The Nokia Suite aka OVI Suite aka PC Suite Software has appreciably improved.

Cons :

1. Flimsy Plastic Panel around the Navigation Key above the QWERTY Keypad. However, there is nothing wrong with the Navigation Key.

2. Home & Messaging Keys get Stuck in the 6 Key Panel and Tilt upon pressing.

3. The entire 6 Key Panel above the QWERTY Keypad makes Squeaking Sounds upon pressing towards the Display.

4. The Display is Vivid but with 256K Colors unlike 16 Million Colors Display on other Popular Nokia Phones. Cost Cutting by Nokia.

5. The QWERTY Keypad is slightly different from E63. Takes a while for an E series user to migrate. The transition is worse for someone using an E63 or an E6.

6. The SIM Card is placed under the Battery and can be inserted/ removed only after removing the Battery. Inconvenient for Users who do have to change SIMs often.

7. The SD Card is also placed under the Battery and can be inserted/removed only after Battery Removal. This is Very Inconvenient.

8. The SD Card has to be inserted/ removed in or from an Obsolete Mechanical Push/Pull Tray. The Mechanical Tray can get Permanently Damaged, if the SD Card  is removed and inserted frequently.

9. A very small ~4″ long USB Cable has been provided, it is Very Impractical specially for those Users who connect the Phone to Front USB Ports on their Desktop PCs. Laptop Owners have to place the phone right next to the Laptop. It is Not Convenient to Answer/Make Calls with such a small USB cable connected to the Laptop. Nokia, Do Cost Cutting Elsewhere.

10. Don’t Recommend buying the very attractive looking Original Nokia Silicon Cover for this Phone. When placed on a Table, the E5 rocks on the left and right in it, due to a protruding Rectangular Silicon block with Nokia printed on it.

For Nokia Loyalists, in this price range the only Phone which does not have the above mentioned Negatives is the older Nokia Model E63. It is Most Stable and  Most Reliable albeit has lower Specs.

Till a better Symbian QWERTY Phone is launched by Nokia in this Price Range…Like the E5 or Sulk or Move-On to Android based Smartphones 🙁

WhatsApp Update For Symbian Users

A few days back Nokia Symbian Users got Support for Smileys. Although the feature had been an integral part for Android, Blackberry, IPhone Devices, Symbian seemed to be last one in the league to be updated.

Symbian Anna and Belle users might not able to use the application until they update the same, as a notification would appear to update the app before using it.

Users can download the latest copy of the application either from Nokia Store or from www.whatsapp.com

Happy Messaging ! Keeping Chatting 🙂

Nokia Lumia 800 : The Switch to Windows Phone

 

Its everywhere on the internet from rumors to leaked videos to pricing and specs and so on, today we go ahead and discuss  about the feature packed Nokia Lumia 800.

Just a few months back all of us were made aware of the recent establishment between Nokia and Microsoft, as part of venture Nokia has an advantage that they had complete authority to go ahead and fully customize the UI and Phone OS, although less of custom built apps are seen as of now by Nokia.

The Nokia Lumia Comprises of 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon Processor, with an Adreno 205 GPU, the RAM and ROM Size is 512MB, which provides and multitasking at its best. An internal memory of 16GB provides enough space for media including music, videos, apps, documents etc.

What’s New In It? :

  • Enhanced UI with Multitasking support.
  • Excellent Integrated Social Apps within Windows Phone.
  • Sleek Design Improves Reception
  • Nokia Apps and Windows Market Place

What’s Not In? :

  • Bing Maps (Poor Zoom and Street Names)
  • Battery Life
  • Front Camera
  • No Support For Adobe Flash
  • No Support for Expandable Memory (No SD Card Slot)

UI Makes a Difference

The earlier versions of windows mobile operating system were slow, no multitasking and an overall dull interface, that’s the reason it was not a boom or a so called successful OS considering iOS and Android in the ball game. The scenario is now changing towards the positive side with Microsoft’s decision to redo the mobile OS and UI. The Current version of Windows Phone Carries Both Flare and Vivid Functionality. Hardware acceleration with a dedicated GPU and a modern menu makes the touch, look, feel factor to be the best even beating competitors in the league.

The menu comprises of the home screen where one can pin commonly used applications and is ready to go, more the applications better the grouping, if your phone comprises of more than 44 apps it groups apps by names making it easier for the user to use the apps.The home screen interface has dynamic graphics while switching between apps and home screen.

A More Social Phone

Yes, a phone that has social features within the OS, one doesn’t have to download thousands of apps to use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn Etc.

People Hub pulls out a dynamic stream of pictures from Friends across multiple Social Networking Platforms. Social Network Integration is seen across the messaging structure which is similar to Android Devices, with an added benefit of unified communication under a contact, your phone’s texts messages, Facebook, Twitter and so on under a single head and that too with dynamic switching allowing users to switch between phone messaging and social networks.

Sleek Design and Improve Call Quality

The Design of the Lumia Phone has  huge resemblance with The Nokia N9, the outer form factor remains about the same, relatively smaller with a polycarbonate body and narrow curve at the ends allowing the phone to be more compact and easy to carry.

The front part comprises of 3.7” Gorilla Glass Screen and three virtual buttons to go back and forth, access the menu, and perform a search.The top has three quick nooks that comprise of a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Cable Connection Port, and a SIM Slot (The phone uses a Micro SIM). The only physical buttons on the phone lie towards the right side, which includes the volume controls, screen guard lock and a camera key. The camera key has a big plus, it works in standby leading you directly to the camera if you are in mood to snap in a quick photo.The Call Quality is very good on the phone, the  phone design leads to an improved  phone reception in places with weaker signal strength.

Nokia Apps and Windows Marketplace

Applications make our experience more enhanced and interactive, from games to communication, to media streaming, to watching videos and so on.The Lumia 800 has some pretty good and different applications which Include Nokia Music App and Nokia Drive.

Nokia Drive is a complete voice guided driving suite which allows users to get turn by turn navigation details, now don’t think about data usage on it, users get an option to store the maps locally as in offline and can carry and use the application even without a dedicated data plan, you save a lot money by doing so. Besides that it comprises of multiple views, which include 2D and 3D navigation view.

The Nokia Music App seems to be different yet identical to Windows Phone Zune application with unique differences like Mix station and Gigs.

Mix Station allows users to select a favorite genre, select it, zip- zap and the streaming has begun. Although one can skip tracks that they don’t like but the limit to it is seven tracks in 24Hrs. Gigs yet an included feature within the Nokia Music App seems to be more like Nokia Here and Now, which means the latest buzz on concerts, events, parties etc. are just a touch away.

Windows Marketplace is still on a throttle, although applications available might not be as great as compared to Apple App Store or the Android Market, considering that the platform is still fresh and developing.

Getting closer to dislikes or some sour thoughts on what didn’t turn out well includes Bing Maps, from zoom quality to reading street names is a tough task, Street Names visibility on Bing Maps are not as good as Google Maps or Nokia Maps. Seem to cramp up while one tries to navigate or switch tabs.

Battery life is fair, not good or bad one has to charge the phone at end of the day, considering the phone is a Nokia, it makes the phone feel shy comparing battery life performance predecessor Symbian. Windows Phone is more packed with features hence more power needed.

The Phone does not have Front Camera Support, by missing out such an essential feature it seems to be an injustice. The user does not have an option to make a video call.

The phone also lacks support for Adobe Flash for mobile, live flash playback via web browser is not supported as a part of the user interface.

The Camera resides in the center with a 8MP Carl Zeiss Lens. Image Clarity and Output is good besides two constraints, focus response being the first one and image clarity in low light conditions being the other one.

Considering all pros and cons, one must consider all options before buying the handset. The competing handsets like Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4S give more feature rich content and wider application options to customize and enhance user interactivity and experience at very less price difference.

Near Field Communication (NFC)

Near Field Communication is the most talked about platform to be integrated across various mobility channels as means to serve variously transactional and useful resource needs across various segment.

Before discussing the benefits of the same let us try to know what exactly it is. Near Field Communication can be described as enabling transactions, data exchange, information and encrypted transfer between 2 devices within a proximity of few centimeters, NFC is a being integrated across various gadgets, devices which include handhelds, tablets and other platforms.

NFC is a co created  and founded by NFX  and Sony Corporation in 2002.

Google Wallet one is the 1st creation and actual implementation of NFC wherein a user can use his mobile device as a credit or a debit card to do a transaction or make a payment while not actually carrying the physical card, people are still new to the technology and are skeptical on its implementation and usage.

Considering the Indian Market and large consumer base across mobile phones Nokia India and Ra.one (a Red Chilies Production Movie) were first to implement the same with their brand campaign and media strategy.

Ra.one Zones were created across 400 City Wide Nokia Priority stores to make the campaign a success, media that was pushed included promos, trailers, wallpapers, ringtones and so on.

However NFC is not yet found across all devices and mobility gadgets. It involves an NFC chip to both at the sender and receiver end to enable the communication.

It is also said that the technology has a wide scope to push media from various vendors or ad agencies while a transaction is being done, an example for same can be a $50 discount coupon on a purchase made through the upcoming mode of payment or just using it for the 1st time.

The implementation segment is vast allowing products like Appliances, Food, Entertainment, Travel, Shopping, Etc. to promoted across malls, stores and so on.

Also NFC is to be a among Top Media Trends for 2012 as Per Mashable’s Founder Pete Cashmore which were discussed during Mashable’s Media Summit 2012.

Major Players Like Apple and competitors like Samsung, Blackberry, and Nokia are also working on the same.

Symbian Belle and a Few Symbian Anna Devices Comprise of the same as well which includes Nokia E6-00, Nokia 600, Nokia 700 and Nokia 701 Smartphones

NFC based phone are ought to range within a price band of $200-$250 being economical and can be made of for mass usage.