Thoughts on the Nokia N82

I owned a Motorola V325i. It was primarily used for making phone calls and that was it. It was durable but it wasn’t a looker nor did it do much.

But now all that’s changed. After using the Nokia N82 for two months, I have gotten really comfortable with using it. Time to rant my thoughts.

Hardware

The candy bar design is a first for me and it feels comfortable and sturdy. I was surprised by how small the phone was when I opened the box. For a phone so expensive, it sure is made out of a lot of plastic. The quality and weight feels solid but I can’t help but notice the creaking when pressing a button.

No need for a headphone adapter is a plus. Removable memory is also a plus.

Small keys were a worry at first but I got used to it eventually. Center keypad paint is coming off though.

Perhaps my most coveted feature of the N82 is its 5 megapixel camera. Compared with my old Samsung DuoCam SC-D6550, it captures much better photos and video. Granted, the camcorder was manufactured 2 years before the N82 but the fact that a phone outperforms a standalone camcorder is evident that technology is improving at a rapid pace. I doubt it can keep up with the current generation cameras but for a camera phone, the pictures sure are crisp and the flash sure is bright.

Software

I had never even touched a phone running the Symbian operating system before I bought the N82. Now I understand why it has such strong support from mobile users. There are so many applications that you can get that it can be a bit overwhelming. You can even view documents and .pdf files if needed.

I think the menus look great and I don’t really have to press too many buttons to get what I want done.

Music playback, voice recording and video recording are there if you need them, but don’t expect it to replace your dedicated multimedia device.

Going to a website works well, but can be slow (when loading flash) and cramped (when viewing a full web page) on such a small device.

I haven’t used the GPS yet. Maybe sometime in the future I will attempt to use it.

Conclusion

Pricey but well worth the money. It feels great to have such a good quality device in your pocket.

Flickr: Best Photo Site Ever?

I love Flickr. Even though it is owned by Yahoo, Flickr has an absolutely wonderful community and there are countless jaw dropping pictures to explore. The biggest reason why I have stuck with Flickr is it’s easy site navigation and it’s clean, simple design. Best of all, everytime I take a picture with my phone, it automatically uploads it to my photostream.

Reference System

Currently my reference model for building a PC.

Here’s what’s decided so far:

• Graphics Card: MSI R4850-512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz
• Heatsink: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R
• Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
  
• Power Supply: Antec NeoPower 650 Blue 650W
• Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM
• Exterior Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black

[Filler Text Here]

For now, this will do, but this is subject to change as new technologies and products arise in the future.

Right now, with deals and savings randomly spouting about, this all totals out to just under 800, which isn’t bad at all, especially with some really high quality parts.

Oblivion: Still One of My Favorite RPG’s

More Gripes with the Zune 80

Let me just say, the glass screen looks beautiful compared to the plastic; looking brighter and more crisp. Sad to say the same can’t be said for the resolution; pixels are prominent up close. The software will sync videos with 640 x 480 resolution, but it only displays it with 320 x 240 resolution, which makes absolutely no sense, and will only do so at max resolution when outputting to a television.

Next, the battery life for video is still a marginal 4 hours. With my videos, I can probably get about two to three hours. Microsoft claims the Zune can playback music for thirty hours, but I’m getting around thirteen.

Sure, for every user, the battery life varies, but thirteen!

Twenty-five would be fine, but thirteen is nowhere close to thirty, just in case you’re so shocked by how wrong Microsoft is that you forgot how to count.

Still, thirteen is an improvement over the ten of the old Zune. That still doesn’t warrant a $250 price tag, though.

That being said, I’m still quite pleased with the Zune 80, and it feels like an entirely new product, even though it’s the exact same interface I’ve come to appreciate.

Oh, by the way, I need a new camera.

First Day Testing the New Zune

So I finally got my hands on the new Zune 80 and I have mixed feelings so far.

On one hand, it feels like a much more polished product compared to the old Zune 30.

It’s thinner, it’s lighter, and it’s just more visually appealing in general.

The glass screen definitely makes the video animation more crisper, even though from a technical standpoint, nothing has changed with video. It still uses a 320 x 240 screen resolution, and the same problems with video on the Zune 30 still exist in this reiteration. However, the glass screen does make the video look slightly better, and the .2″ bigger screen certainly helps and hurts the Zune 80 video playback.

Also, I’m really loving this touch pad control scheme. It feels natural and easy to pick up, though it does have a learning curve. If I get sick if it, I could always turn it off, which is a plus.

On the other hand, it doesn’t feel like a compelling upgrade to someone that already owns an mp3 player, but doesn’t need more hard drive space or more battery life.

Pleased so far, but maybe I’ll run into troubles. After all, it’s only been one day since I have purchased this.

A View of the Zune 30

The Zune 30 has been pretty much shunned by much of the technology community and for what it’s worth, it’s easy to understand why it’s such an inferior product to Apple’s popular iPod.Maybe it’s the thick, brick-like exterior. Or the dissatisfying Zune software. Or maybe the fact that it’s just an iPod.

Whatever the reason it may be, the fact of the matter is, the Zune 30 is not a perfect product.

However, there are some advantages the Zune has over it’s Apple competitor. The plastic, not glass, screen is bigger, 3.0 inches over the iPod’s 2.5 inch screen. And here comes an unnecessary cliché line: bigger is not always better.

While the Zune sports a bigger screen, it doesn’t have excellent video quality one might come to expect. There just isn’t enough pixels for such a screen, utilizing only a 320 x 240 resolution, and causing pixels to be more noticeable while viewing videos. There also aren’t enough colors displayed; low quality shades of black are stick out, especially at close viewing distances. Videos, while being easier to see, just look worse compared to the beautiful Creative Zen or the Clix2, or even the iPod Classic.

Pictures look great however, it’s just the videos that irk me.

I’d have to commend Microsoft for the interface however, as it is just beautiful. The current firmware for the Zune, 2.3.0, is a much more streamlined, pleasing looking compared to the default pre-2.0 firmware. On the main menu, you got large text for easy viewing, which looks better than it sounds, I know.

If it weren’t for the full screen album art, I wouldn’t even want to keep the Zune. Being a person that likes to tag all their songs properly and neatly, I’m very pleased with the Zune music interface. I can sort by genre, song, album, etc. and it’s all very easy to just pick up and learn.

The radio feature is a handy feature, and FM radio reception is excellent, at least with what I’m using, but I’m not finding myself using it very much. Probably someone who enjoys the radio more than I do will appreciate this more.

The worst thing about the Zune, and any other MTP device, is the software it’s tied to. I don’t mind having to use one program to sync my music, videos, and pictures, but at least make the software functional. Luckily, Microsoft has patched things up over the months, and my library has finally looks the way I want it to without the Windows Media Player/Zune software screwing it up.

Finally, the Zune supports podcasts after upgrading the firmware. While the Zune subscribes to podcasts, it’s still a little buggy at times, showing that the software isn’t perfect, nor is it very functional.

So, that’s it. If it weren’t for the sub-par video quality, beautiful interface/full screen album art, and the firmware updates, I would’ve tossed out my Zune a long time ago and joined the majority of the iPod users.

Well, I’m getting a Zune 80 tomorrow, which is probably more of the same, except in a slimmer body that you wouldn’t be afraid to take it out in the subway.