MobileDan’s Weblog

It’s been a bit since my last post…

I’ve been slacking…

Sorry!

Ok, in a nutshell…  in about May I received a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music… I’ve already posted about that here, but in the following months (it’s all actually been a blur) I received a N79… it was pretty nice, but like i said in my last post, I cannot go back to buttons… Maybe I am broken?

It’s actually a shame, because I really wanted to like that phone, but have found that I am completely touch screen from here on out…

Unless the N86 can win me over…

Enter the N97!

I was asked to go with the Wom World / Nokia 24/7 tour with such bloggers as

Matthew Bennett

Jonny Bruha

George Kelly

Andrew Currie

What an experience!  the task was to pretty much go 24/7 using nothing BUT the N97, its GPS, the amazing 5mp Carl Zeiss optics camera, the comfortable slide out (or pop out whichever you prefer calling it) keyboard. 32GIG! of installed memory with the option to upgrade another 16 gig Micro SD card, the home screen with the widgets which made using the phone’s features that much easier because they were all accessable from the home screen… ie. the facebook app, the weather app, up to 8 contacts on shortcut, up to 8 apps on shortcut…  all around, I fell in love with the device…

But, what was more exciting than that…

I was tasked to be the ‘wrangler’ of the above mentioned bloggers, or “voices” as they put their devices through rough and tough trials!

For those readers who didn’t happen to follow the Nokia N97 24/7 campaign, we all met in LA, traveled to SF then off to Chicago and finally ending in NYC! They were tasked to push the device to it’s fullest, we used public transportation, hiked around town, and to most of the touristy places, seeing and doing as much as we could do… all said and done, the 5 of us generated about 20 Gigabites of content!

All in the course of 2 weeks…

We drove up the Pacific Highway and had amazing conversations, we attended BarCamps in all of the cities we visited. and discussed amongst other things, where we see the future of mobile technology (usually at the expense of me being called a mobile addict, always having my eyes on my phone… (i’ve gotten better about texting and surffing while I drive guys! Which is a serious safety concern throught the world, and really isn’t worth the risks taken!)  )

It was a great experience, and I look forward to many more!  Please take the time to visit the above bloggers’ websites as well as My new employer’s website, 1000heads / WomWorld/Nokia

That’s right!  Welcomed to the UK by 1000Heads, who run WomWorld/Nokia, I am the new Voices Executive for the US!

I am writing this post, from a bus (with Wi-Fi!) from Oxford UK to Heathrow Airport, returning from my 1 week of training here at both the Milton & London offices!

I am excited to see that there are going to be exciting changes and improvements in the US market for WOM World/ Nokia and that I can be a part of it!

Expect a lot of more postings regarding this, although I am wondering if I should post this to my personal site instead… and keep the format and information found on mobiledan as it was… (with more updates of course )

With that, I end this posting, but look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas!

Daniel Silvers

MobileDan

dandandan

as a repost from the Nokia Daily News

I would like to point out that as I gathered, and I may be missing something…

Howard Forums has a running thread, and all that I was able to get out of it was from a user “sr1329″ who stated

“The one thing FP2 brings is a whole new access point management system that can switch from 3G to a known Wi-FI access point if you get close to one. Where it fails is that when you leave the range of that access point it isn’t very good about switching you back to 3G. It will just say connection dropped or something like that. The next time you access data it will ask you again for the access point you want to use. “

Let’s do a comparison for $hits and giggles…

Mobile user “A” purchases a brand new E71x from AT&T with a 2 year contract for $99 for the actual unit and the required data plan of $30 per month your total cost(leaving voice out because we’re assuming that Mobile user “A” and “B” will be getting the same voice plan) would be $819.99 ($99.99 for the unit, PLUS the additional $720 for just data alone, )

Compared to

Mobile user “B” (the smart and savvy shopper who purchased their unit “unlocked” from, say… Dell.com for $340)

Mobile user “B” purchases the unit, unlocked for $340, at a much higher price then user “A” of $240.01 but aside from the FP 2 I can’t see why there is THAT much of a difference, when the ends justify the means… Let’s examine further… Shall we?

Mobile user “B” now has to purchase a rate plan (we’re assuming the same rate plan as user “A” here, so the difference is the data plan…) user “B” can purchase the $15 data plan, for the same unlimited data as user “A” above for a total cost over the 2 years of the contract of $700 ($340 for the unit, PLUS the additional $360 for just the data alone…)

Wait! Did user “A” pay $720 over the 2 years and user “B” only paid $360 FOR THE SAME DATA? another example of why it pays to be a smart shopper… they give it to you cheap in the front, but you take it in the rear!

AT&T DOES NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THS!

Come on people, When will you wake up?  Sure, What’s a little $119.99 over 2 years when you can get FP2 on your E71?

Well, what’s to say that Nokia can’t do an OTA (Over The Air) update?

plus, you won’t have the AT&T branding of, disabled Nokia keys, un-movable (or deletable) menu items…

The device was made in such a way for a reason…

If you want it cheap, and as a knock-off, (which is how I view branded devices)

Then please buy this unit

Sincerely yours…

MobileDan

So, I think I’ve gotten my own self to believe that I am possessed…

The 5800 has been shutting off on me!

Well, this time, I Googled the symptoms Nokia 5800 shutting off” I found this

Turns out, the battery terminals on the 5800 are raised off of the back of the mother board… leaving a bit of play between the terminals and the battery… so, if the phone is jogged, or squeezed, the battery terminals loose their connection, even for but a moment, it’s enough, and it’s enough frustration for the user…

This might not be the case for ALL 5800 phones, or even all the users, but for those of us who it does deal with, here’s a solution!

What I did was I took the corner off my pack of cigarettes (I know, I’m trying to quit!) and I placed it under the battery, where the terminals are… Seems to have done the trick!

Hope this helps… I can’t claim this, all credit should go to damolee who is a sage at Nokia Support Discussions. I can only link my video and elaborate to the original post…

I think this could be a huge recall problem, so I hope someone can get something together, because this device really is a beautiful thing…

One Idea I have is for Nokia to send out stickers, to a certain thickness for dealers, repair centers and any consumer who asks for one. Have a specific location picked out on where it should go, and that should do.

for the units not yet sold, maybe a thicker battery? Maybe install the sticker where it’s needed?

I would really like to know why the battery is upside down though…

MobileDan

Hello again, here it is, the moment we’ve all been dreading, or at least I have been!

I am sending this beautiful piece of hardware back to it’s home with WOM World/Nokia. I’ve put this phone through it’s paces, and while I don’t think that it’s ready for me just yet, I would love to see it pretty soon when it gets it’s next firmware update.

I kept it a bit longer then I should have, and that is because I had no phone to return to.  The joystick on my N73 broke off, and I’ve been waiting for my N78 NAM to arrive.  That’s for another blog though… The phone hastn’t yet arrived, but I really should send this one off…

Starting from the bottom of the package and working our way up…

As silly as it may sound, I actually had the worst luck on this trial… My phone broke, and my car phone charger tip refused to fit…  Figures… This came in so handy as I’m always on the road!

The Data cable was used, but the CA-75U was the winner this time around, while installing TV’s and testing the imputs the picture coming out of this unit was amazing, not to mention driving to work and plugging it into the screen on the work truck for viewing traffic updates via Google Maps, very handy, and such a great display!

No plastics were hurt in the use of this demo, I did however manage to lose the screen protector, but I am affixing one of the ones that I switched to, I recomend the iConcepts SCREEN PROTECTORS FOR GPS It wasn’t very expensive at all, and looks and feels great! No scratches even on the plastic cover! It just kind of floats on top!

I didn’t use the headphones nor the controller, as there was the slide out controls for the media as well as the ones surrounding the D-Pad… and I used my own headphones.

All packed away, ready to go home…

This was a very interesting time, I really think that this phone will come into it’s own very soon, as it’s at v11 for the US and the N95 is at v30… I don’t forsee it taking nearly as long as that for the “kinks” to be ironed out…

I understand that I speak a bit rough sometimes, but it’s tough love to me, I love this company, I spend so much of MY free time speaking about mobile technologies and Nokia’s role in it, and I just get frustrated when Murphy’s law kicks in, just as i’m needing to use an app like google maps for traffic with my boss, or showing off any other feature and the phone resets…

I think the phone is attractive, simple, yet packed with features, and above all, comfortable in hand, and easy to use.  With updates and proper advertising it could and should hold a lot of weight in the lineup!

I am not a market analyst, I am not a tech guru, I am not even much of a consumer, but what I am is an end user… I think that this means a lot.  It does to me… I matter a lot to me, and what I choose to spend my money on is a well thought out process of want vs. need (sometimes )

Tonight I had a discussion with my friend Serko from MobileDivide (please excuse the cursing, it was a private conversation that he has allowed me to share parts of)

SERKO: hope we get to play with the N97 on Tuesday!

Me:  That would be nice!

SERKO: I’m beginning to lose faith in Nokia too much rehashed BS

Me:  I hear you. But I don’t need a new phone, I need dependable

SERKO: definitely!

Me:  And, if the 95 is tried and true after all these years, so be it

Me:  That’s why I bought the 78

SERKO: Yeah I want an N85 in all Black with a Xenon flash

Me:  It’s exciting to see new, but I’m broke, and I can’t sell my parents, brothers or friends on something that’s not ready… Something that needs Fw updates and whatnot

SERKO: sure man totally understand

Me:  I can’t buy new yet, not patient enough. I’ve gone thru hell with this 96… So many freezes

SERKO: I want ATT to release a NAM 5800 for $99

Me:  Na, They raped the 75, I want them to NOT fu*% anything I want up

SERKO: well I flashed my mom’s N75 awhile back with an unbranded firmware build and it’s unlocked officially

Me:  Until they realize they can’t stick their d!*% in everything before they pass it out, I’ll pass

SERKO: lol OUCH!

ME: I sent 4 of them back until I got an old fw… That didn’t have their tabbed home screen. F*%k them, I’ll pay the money (for unlocked)… I think the tube will be under 300 Then practically give them away unlocked.. Without contract… If they (Nokia) can take that hit, it’ll attract a lot of people. But it had better be road ready! Don’t race to just sell it… Get the download store ready for it… Apps that work properly with it. Get everything symbian signed and verify it works with the tube

SERKO: sure man I agree, though I kinda feel weird going backwards in terms of Camera MP

Me:  I’m happy here at 3.2… Xenon is a big jump forward too!

SERKO: If they can get the 5800 to $249 on Amazon I think they’ll have a field day!

Me:  Not on Amazon! At the Nokia store

Take away any chance for people to sell for a profit

Draw people to the store… get people to see everything that Nokia has to offer… It’ll be in time for the 4th generation iPhone… (insert laugh) They can catch all the late adopters.

This started a fire that I let dwindle… A few months ago I spoke about my rant on Nokia’s attempt (or lack of one) in the US market. Amongst other things that I spoke of in that blog, I commented on my ideas on how to win over this finicky market…

The US market was lost by Nokia on so many fronts, but mostly the thing that I think did it in was the iPhone… I see too many people using it, and while I think it’s a great invention, It’s got nothing new, but things that I have seen and not marketed within S60.

Nokia is now fighting a multi-theatre war, one in trying to win consumers over with Nokia phones, and the other with trying to sell manufacturers and consumers on Symbian S60…

I get confused sometimes… I would really love to get my hands on the Samsung INNOV8 so that I could compare what Nokia and Samsung do with the same OS.

But, for now, I am a Nokia Fan-boy I guess…  I just see how the US consumer is inundated by a new phone ad daily, and it’s flash and shine… whereas I have convinced my family on how with the economy it’s less about form and more about function!  (Not that I don’t like the form of Nokia phones! they’re just not marketed as “sexy”)  My 67 year old father is using OVI to sync his calendar, contacts and photos that he was taking with my old N73, he seems to be getting by fine, and once he gets into his own routine I think he’ll figure out how much more is possible with it!

I think that the problems that I’ve had with demoing new phones is that the hardware is there, it’s flawless!  The problem is that the firmware needs to catch up, and most consumers aren’t willing to have to go through the trouble of having to do this weekly or monthly if and when there is an update…

I’m in the market for a new phone, and I want something that I don’t have to complain about, something that when I’m showing it off to people it isn’t freezing up or worse yet, restarting mid load of an app!  I think that Nokia is in a good position to release the 5800 tube, if they can get everything to work seamlessly, under normal use or under strain by a power-user! Something that shows what the download store is meant to do, show that it works great out of the box, and show that It’s possible to replace so many things that you’ve taken for granted in Nokia.  And with OTA updates, your phone will soon be able to learn to do so many more things!

Nokia: Take a price cut, and offer it without a contract for a competing price as the iPhone is with a contract!  it’s a base model, it’s NOT an Nseries, let it pave the way for the N97!

I don’t think that anyone knows how to conquer the US market, you hold your ground until something else flashy catches these consumers eyes… Grab their attention and hold it, and release something new and different, don’t release an updated version months down the road… Nokia to me hasn’t been like that, I love that my 2.5 year old N73 is still much better then most everything non Nokia, and that’s not just because of the 3.2MP camera!

The average consumer doesn’t care about their network so much as that it works!  I think that because the frequencies are so different in the different markets, it’s gonna take until we get to something like  5G (insert laugh here…) for all of the frequencies to match up, which I think is another problem, not only do manufacturers have to make one product for one market, they also now have to adapt that product to work within the US frequencies which are trying to catch up with the  GSM community…

One key reference website that I use is GSM Arena it lets me choose by manufacturer and sort results by frequencies.  AT&T for instance is 850 and 1900 GSM and 850 and 1900 UMTS… as explained here 2G is GSM and 3G is UMTS also called WCDMA and HSDPA I don’t know much about any of this but I know that I am seeing 3.5G on my screen and am happy to be able to use data and voice simultaneously! AT&T works great for me, I had problems with T-Mobile in my area and don’t foresee myself going back, but, I only use AT&T for service with voice, data and text, any other features they offer I am currently able to get through other services.  I still think that the providers should find a way and offer Spinvox, as I’ve been using it and loving it!

What I’m getting at in my last is that I understand that we are a hard market to please, and with that, it’s a gamble to make a product version for us that may or not sell as it does across the pond… once that is settled I think it’ll be easier for the companies, but for now, we need something on the high and low end to WOW us, to make us jump up and stand in line, and once we’re in line, and have the product, we don’t want a slap in the face when the same thing is re-packaged with more features and re-sold… just upgrade the firmware!

I will revisit this blog in the near future I am sure…

So, I’ve been playing with the new N96-3 NAM for a little over 2 weeks now, and I have been noticing a lot of things that I really like.

First off, the shell is beautiful, an improvement on the N95-2/4 which I don’t think was so necessary, but is still very nice… rounded and less clunky.

The TV out is beautiful, not only have I used it on a huge 60″ TV but, also as a passenger in my boss’ car. My job in the mornings is to navigate traffic, so on our way into the city, I use the video input on his 6″ touch screen car stereo, this lets us both see live traffic (or as live as Google maps updates…) so that we can take the appropriate actions for other routes to clients’ houses.

Another improvement is storage, 16gig is a definite improvement from 8gig any day of the week, but with the option to utilize the expandable SD Micro card slot, that brings the total to a whooping 24gig! Way to go guys!

The screen seems clear as day, I really liked viewing videos and such, even with “power saving mode” activated which tended to dim things.

The camera takes amazing photos, but I cannot readily compare them to any of the other 5MP Carl Zeiss camera photos I’ve shot, but they still look great.

Music player / media button. while I really liked the placement of the old media key, I think that it’s proper placement on the front is really smart, but I fear that people with bigger fingers would have a bit of a problem, this was not the case for me though, even while driving…

Speakers, even with the 3.5mm out, on the top which let me use it easier while driving, the speakers by themselves sounded crisp and clear with most of my music, I did however have to tweak the audio and Eq for loudness and such.

All in all I think the hardware for the N96 is spectacular, I liked it a lot…

But remember, there are a lot of negatives and most of them revolve around the Firmware…

First off was the noticeable battery. the N96 comes with the BL-5F battery which is a 950mAh battery while the N78 that I have been borrowing from Jonathan Greene comes with the BL-6F battery which is a 1200mAh battery.  That left a big humph as I sighed and placed it in the device…  The usage out of the smaller battery was noticeable, especially when trying to power this much bigger device.  When I used the BL-6F battery, which I read about on The Symbian Blog I managed to get a bit more out of it, but, as I’m always out and about, I’m using either Sports Tracker and or NokiaviNe which is constantly using both the Internet and the GPS.  I am also using Fring for instant messaging and Jaiku as well as running Nokia Email.  I think that with everything that I am running, and others might be running more or less, a decision to keep the battery smaller is unacceptable, I wouldn’t dare leave the house without my AC-5U travel charger.  = FAIL

Creaky keys… I get a lot of creaky noises, while I wouldn’t award this a FAIL it’s kinda loud when I’m trying to type on it and someone else is trying to watch TV or something…

Freezing…  This is the bane of my frustration… I have been using this phone for 18 days, for a total of data sent and received being 130MB and total talk time of over 12 hours… I don’t know if this constitutes “power user” but I think i expect more out of my devices then most others!  I use different apps at different times, and I have a few that I like to run all the time… take Jaiku, Fring, and Nokia Email for instance… they are running all day long… There was a noticeable “lag” from hitting keys to getting a response, but I dealt with it… Once I decide to  open something like SportsTracker, I open the program, start tracking my trip and I go to look at the phone, and it’s restarted… so, my whole “workout” or “vine” when I’m using NokiaviNe is lost, ruined, and thus, not complete!  ARGH!!!  FAIL FAIL FAIL

“Activate Power Saving”? WTF?  This is a no no… does anyone pick up their phone in the morning and say, gosh, i want it to run full power and be dead in no time? FAIL!  It should be able to handle anything that users throw at it, with whatever power source it was designed to carry… and it should of course be able to at least last more then half the day…

Buttons 1, 2 and 3 please stand up… You’re fired!  Why do you think that hiding up so damn far is a good idea? I’m not a big guy, by any stretch of the imagination.  My hands aren’t huge and neither are my thumbs, but i still have problems with those damn keys… who texts with their pinkies? FAIL!

Battery cover, you FAIL… You can’t take a slip from my ottoman, 8″ up without losing your insides? Humpty Dumpty looks like a rubber ball compared to you!

Did I mention the s….l…o…w…  L…a…g…? FAIL!

I want to love this phone, I really do, but for now I’d advice people that get frustrated easily to go and purchase an N95-4 NAM

I think that most of the problems can and will be addressed in upcoming FW updates, I was using 11.018 for the N96-3 NAM

Freezing and lag time, one would hope would be addressed in newer firmware updates… As well as the power saving… make that in a FW that it’s ALWAYS in Power Saving Mode… don’t give the option as power saving, default to regular and offer something like battery waste mode as an option, but don’t default to power hog!

How I would suggest fixing some of the non FW issues would be recalling the BA-5F battery or, offer a coupon for users to upgrade to the BL-6F AND Make a back plate that can accommodate it, without falling off as easily as it does with the proper battery in it!

Creaky keys, we have to live with it, but it should be addressed… as well as 1, 2 and 3…

I think as a flagship, it would be nice for the Xenon flash,  but just typing that out made the back of my neck tighten thinking of the battery issue…

I know that this device will get better, it will take a little bit of time, but once it does it’ll be nice to see this phone in all it’s glory… but oh, wait… there is already going to be a lot of hoopla about the N-97 I just hope it doesn’t get thrown by the wayside… Nokia needs to stay strong with NON TOUCH SCREENS as well!

Hi, so I trust everyone had a good weekend… The Olympics are starting, I’m not a follower… but I hope that it goes well!

Ok, back to why you’re here, and not for my world knowledge on countries sports teams!

This was my first weekend with the E71… Nokia’s newest Enterprise series… Business phone…

I am really starting to run it through my own independent tests…

First, I had to take my car apart from the deer that I hit…

My car after the deer (Canon PowerShot...)

then I had to go help get my GF’s apartment set for them to move in on Sunday, which never happened…

In the cleanup, a carpet was removed, which left a nasty floor!

Eww! I wish I took a pic of the carpet that covered this!

The Landlord said just paint it… So, with deck paint on rollers it was done… Here is the finished product…

Room taken with Canon PowerShot SD600

I tried for the same view with my Gf’s Canon PowerShot SD600 and the E71-2

Room taken with E71

What’s that you say?

Poor picture quality?

Here is my rant… I was just starting to like you, E71!

What in the world would you call that?

A Photograph?

CRAP!

That is not at all what I would want to show someone!

I’m sorry… But I prefer the 3.2 Mp Carl Zeiss camera on my N73!

This was sad… everything was going so well!

All the other features (except the 2.5mm headphone jack) had me sold!

But I guess I’m back to looking…

The camera on a camera phone is necessary in this day in age!

So a good camera is a must… and a crappy camera is a deal breaker

When I had the N82 I loved it!

I take a lot of pictures, (not a crazy amount that I need a camera on hand,) but I see stuff that I’d like to photograph… and I need to send to people

Take for instance that I was driving my mothers car (since mine was in pieces until I fixed it)

Well…

Her exhaust fell off… on the highway…

Exhaust problems!

Different angle

I walked about 100′ in front and 100′ behind and retrieved some spare parts that had fallen off passing cars over time, and…

Here are your supplies Macgyver!

I Macgyvered something together, enough to get home…

Well…

Frustrated with the events of the day, and the fact that this camera phone… In broad daylight, had turned my mothers gray interior, violet, I forgot to take a completed picture!

How do I document my day?

The only problem I had with the N82…

The sole reason I hold out on purchasing an N82?

Lack of US3G!

That’s it!!!

I carried around the N95-4 as my phone, and the N82 as my camera at night…

The sole reason I hold out on purchasing an N95-4?

Lack of a decent flash!

But the E71… I know, I know… It’s an Enterprise phone, business model if you will… I shouldn’t expect too much…

Like, if you had to take a picture of a product to send to a client and make him think that whatever you’re selling is violet colored… This is the phone for you!

If I really don’t want to lose the sale, and must keep the customer thinking you take the product you are selling serious!

Serious enough that you want to at least represent it properly you should think about another camera phone…

or a real camera…(like a Canon PowerShot SD600)

you might as well take a picture, then upload it, and email it to them,  which will take time…

Which… incidentally is the reason this post has taken so long to upload…  The battery on the camera was dead… and I couldn’t find the charger… so uploading all the camera photos to Ovi.com took forever,

and thus I’m into my 4th day of using the phone…

Which isn’t going much better or worse… I’m getting more used to it…

I think I’ll write my next review at the end of the week, which would be a full week with it… or when something else drives me crazy…

The keys… beautiful… I’ve totally gotten used to typing when driving… er, using the phone, and find it to be very comfortable…

See you soon…

MobileDan

More to follow…

K, so…

I was in the city last night, had to be midtown… I live about an hour drive from Manhattan… and I parked my car near a friends, 181st and RAN! to catch the A train, so that I could attend a function last night all the way down to Hells Kitchen…

I was late… (anyone that knows me, knows this is nothing new…  I’ve been working on it though…) it was a 6:30pm, (please be there 15 min early kind…)I got there AT 6:30PM…

Regardless…

It was in a neighborhood where I had seen frequently as a child, as my father worked in the garment district… I’d passed this specific spot so many times in my life… and always wondered what was inside…

and that’s where it was…

It was like going to Wonka World!

K… Fast-Forward… I get out of this thing, and I have to figure out if I’m going alone to see my GF’s Step Father in the hospital,  or if she’s meeting me there, or down here, or on the east side if I go to see my friends band the Jaik Miller Band… (His name is Jaik, and yes, that’s only one of a few shameless plugs!  Check them out!)

I’m walking around Hells Kitchen, and trying to get a fix on everything… Passed my father’s old building, and wanted to take a really good picture of it to send to him.

Thanks Google Maps Street View...

About then, it hit me…

I’d been aware that I was using my old phone, the N73, but standing there, in the big city, without all of the things I’d recently grown accustomed to, like a really really good camera, (like found on the N95 or N82…) GPS to let me track where I WAS, to where I WANTED to be, (which really was a detour to see my friends’ band on the east side… and then the hospital) Music!  That’s what I needed, but the headphone jack for this phone is the older style, not the 3.5mm type… so I didn’t have it…

I’m whining…

But seriously…

I had a better phone last night, using the N73,  then most of the people passing by me in that moment, yet I felt like I had nothing!

Naked in a cold world of wolves and…

Ok, maybe not that bad, but still, I’d become so used to EVERYTHING that was available now on a select few phones, and yet everyone else is happy that they can Touch, or Slide…

it’s not about the case, the casing, or the shell people!

That’s just a vessel to get scratched, and dented, and changed out… it’s protecting what’s INSIDE!

I don’t know when people will get it…

It’s literally thinking INSIDE the phone, that’s Thinking Outside the box…

With the N82, I could have mapped my trip to and fro, listened to music the whole time, taken a good picture of my father’s old building (that he no longer worked at since retiring after his heart attack almost 8 years ago…(He’s better now, thanks) ) If I had the N95-4 US3G I could’ve been talking on the phone while browsing the internet on 3G (which also shows 3.5G in Manhattan!) For fun, I know it’s not a NEED, but I had so much time to kill, I could’ve made Position Art

I did have a 3.2 mp camera, I did have music, (but not the right headphone jack…) I did have Google Maps and Nokia maps, (but no actual GPS,) I did have Jaiku, GMail, Fring and widsets to play with…

which is more then anyone else…

So I shouldn’t be complaining…

BUT IT”S MY BLOG! And I WAS THE ONE SUFFERING!

I need a new phone… and this last loan has convinced me of just how lost I am…

I need a flash, I need US3G, I need GPS, I need A decent sized screen, or at least one that shows a lot of detail… (Did you know that the smaller screen on the N82, has more pixels then the much larger Iphone screen?

N82-

• 2.4″ LCD QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) TFT color display with up to 16.7 million colors

iPhone-

• 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
• 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi)

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the iPhone, I think it’s great, it will get more people to understand how much better life is to be connected, I just think it’s a little bit of trying to feed a child, and I’m not a child anymore… I’m not a Phone Geek, but I think I do understand a bit more about mobile technology then my neighbors, I don’t know what makes it work, but I know how to use it…

So that’s leaving me with the N78, which I’m not sure I could get used to the buttons on… I Text A Lot!

I’d love the N82 in US3G. I’d love to try the N96, and maybe see if that double LED can meet my needs for a flash… hint hint

I’d love to be able to see what’s next…

I use my phone, A LOT, and people see me using my phone, people always want to see what’s new, and how to use it… most of the new devices i’ve been using have been what’ve helped to get me out of the house, and off my PC for the most part… (I’m in my pj’s at the time of this writing, I type soooo much faster on a real keyboard, but I can… do it in T9… so don’t test me…

Ok, Need a phone… Need a Job, then a phone… well first I need to pay bills, then I can get a phone…

Oh… everyone needs to wake up and realize that it’s function over form!!!

Well, it finally came time to hand back the N95-4 that WOM World/Nokia loaned me, I was very sad to see it go, but knew that I still had some time to spend with the N82 before I had to get that back to the S60 crew…

First thing I missed was how the N95 felt so comfortable in my hand, I would just whip it out of my pocket and slide it up, and voila!

Kinda made me feel like a super cool spy or something… or just someone who has too much time playing with phones…

the N82 doesn’t have as cool the bells and whistles to it, but I think why I used the two individually in their own right, the N82 more fit my needs.

I go out, and I like to see live music, I see bands pretty frequently, and that was what I needed, the music players were equal and the speakers were both sub par to my stereo, but sounded amazing through the headphones that came with the devices, let alone some noise canceling ones!

So, I’m waiting to find a new phone for my father, he’s got my N73, I’ve got the N82, and I’m carrying stuff around the house in a rubbermaid container… and

BANG! OUCH!

This happened on Sunday, on Monday I called Customer Care, they said I’d have to send it out…

Nokia Flagship Store said that Jack’s Place is an authorized repair center…

I called S60, to get their approval, since it’s not mine to send out…and they said not to worry, but I’m sure I’m on the poopie list…

My fault… stupid stupid dandan!

I was able to plug it into my tv, to get the incoming texts, until I could swap with my father for my N73 back… and I was able to use the RCA jacks to get through all of the syncing to get me back and running… if it had been the other way around, I would’ve been screwed!

So, now i’ve blanked all my personal data off the phone, and it’s on it’s way, to S60, who I really have to regain confidence with!

I was going to be sending it back this week anyway!  Figures!

So now I’m back to my N73, it’s still a nice phone, but I think I’ve been spoiled as of late… I need something more… and for my needs, I’d have to say I NEED the N82… I only wish it was in 3G, because it was not something I can trade… Flash at night for 3G during the day AND night?

What would you do?

I’d really love to hear some more replies, some more debates going on, as I’m really new to the whole Mobile Addiction, but I think I’m catching up quick!

A bit ago I received an invite from Colin @ WOM World / Nokia for the Nokia New York Vice Event, I asked Zacharye if he was going and he told me he wasn’t informed of any event… I’m thinking, this is weird…

I started looking into the letter further, like I always do, too much…

Santos playhouse… Nokia Vice Event… Hmmm

So I googled both of those things…

Nokia Vice Event, came up with Nokia’s Vice President…

and google-ing Santos playhouse came up with a single page website which opens into a myspace page, and when I first checked it, it had 80 friends… As the event drew near, it had jumped to 200

But nothing on this event… and no reply from Colin… (turns out they were running events on the East and West Coast of the United States… (I’m interested in seeing what event was going on over there…)

Zacharye said to be cool… maybe it was like the Crown Point Festival…

Ok, I chilled… The other part of this email was that Colin was sending his colleagues there to look after me…

So, I got invited to an event that no-one has heard of? and he’s sending 3 people to look after me?

Maybe my ideas about the phone tutor got to some people who really really liked them!

Maybe someone didn’t like them, or I knew too much? And they were sent to kill me?

Ok, go with it… I brought along both the N82 for photographic evidence and the N95-4 for GPS tracking and to Qik my captors… Oh, and I can call 911 too!

So I leave the hospital from clinical (I’ve told you I’m in school for Respiratory Care right?)

Where was I? Oh yeah, Late for dinner, tracking my progress on Sports Tracker I called Donna by adding my calling card info I had stored on my contacts, by using the “Cut and Paste” and adding it to her London number…

I arrive, Qik my entrance, which came out shoddy… (I need a re-do on my re-do )

I meet Eric Robbie, Donna (Dons) and Molly From Wom World at 218 Bar . We have a couple, we eat some nom noms…

All was well, we all got along, It was cool, how you can meet complete strangers, who have similar love as you, and you just fit in!

We moseyed our way to the club, and I noticed a HUGE LINE!

After a little delay with the VIP line, we get inside and go downstairs…

This event is sponsored by Nokia, they’ve got a professional photographer inside,

If you look real close…

She’s shooting pictures with an N95.

There were about 5 N95’s being used as cameras’

People were coming up to us asking what the event was for, I think the 5 of us and the people using the Nokia devices were the only ones who knew anything about Nokia, and apparently they didn’t know much about the devices in their hands, except that they could be used as cameras, and they bluetooth to the pc to be printed…

Here’s Eric showing the Nokia person for the evening some of the benefits of S60 and the N95!

There were 2 N810’s floating around, and when I scooped one up and started playing with it, the girl asked me how I did that, while browsing through the settings, she explained that she was new to the device… I told her that I had the model before this one… Finally getting the device in my hands for 5 minutes was really nice, but it was far from worth it to Nokia to go through all the trouble for little ol’ me…

I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed, that the one time I get to see higher end N-Series devices, placed in peoples hands, it’s in a bar where people can’t hear anything about the product…  This goes back to my rant about how I think I would do a little bit of marketing…

So, We’re downstairs, lots of techno, I just want to go upstairs and see The Muslims I’d heard them at home while deciding if I was going to go to the show or not, and decided I could listen to them in the background… when we finally made it upstairs, after a little talking with the bouncer, (since the upstairs and downstairs were technically 2 separate parties) he let me go get the gang, and we walked in upstairs to the awful sounds of The Vivian Girls.

Don’t at all get me wrong please!  The WOM World Crew were GREAT!  Eric was totally cool… the dinner was awesome!  But Nokia… What were you thinking?

You sold yourself out to be a 2bit Photo-booth!

You weren’t appealing to the masses…

Someone did you wrong… This was wrong… If you’re not appalled, then I feel sorry for you!

There was your logo, in 2 places shining from the lights onto black cinder-block walls…

and some people using N95’s as cameras’!

Upstairs I saw not a single thing Nokia related… Not a single mention of Nokia.

The only people it seemed, who really knew anything about Nokia and S60 were the 5 of us, and it was too loud in there to try to talk to ourselves, let alone talk with others!

Thank you for the dinner, thank you for the alcohol, thank you for the music and the evening out.

I think the money was well spent on me and Eric!

I had a good time with the WOM Crew! And look forward with seeing them again!

It was a nice chance for them to meet us, and for Eric and I to meet each other.

I look forward to meeting other bloggers…

Dear Nokia, I don’t think the rest of the evening was worth your money…

It seems that someone’s got free rein on your checkbook, and, it’s not your marketing department!

Nokia, The WOM thing is working, Maybe a little more effort in the US market is needed, but don’t overdo it, We’ll talk, I’ll try to pencil you in for lunch sometime… Until Next time…