Nokia releases new firmware update for Nokia N96

As feature-packed and stylishly designed as the Nokia N96 is, the N96 has been plagued with stability and performance problems. But, that’s all about to change with the new Nokia N96 firmware. The new firmware update from Nokia promises to make the Nokia N96 faster, improves camera accuracy, and increases WiFi reception range.

Nokia N96 owners looking to tune-up their handset can download the Nokia N96 v12.043 update through the Software Updater. MobileBurn is also reporting that the firmware update may be available through the Nokia N96’s OTA (over-the-air) update utility. To wireless download the update, simply dial *#0000# from the stand-by screen and then navigate to Options>Check for update.

Nokia Updates Share Online For S60v3 FP2 Devices

The Nokia Beta Labs has launched an updated Share Online, v4.0 today. Thanks to some technical features, this new version is only compatible with S60v3 FP2 devices, and is even limited to only the N96, 6210 Navigator, 6220 Classic, and 5320 XpressMusic, at least for now. Versions for the N78, N79, and N85 are apparently in the works, but there’s no mention of the 6650 or other S60v3 FP2 devices being supported.
This new version of Share Online brings several new features, including a redesigned Active Standby plugin that allows the user to disable it, if they wish. It will also show the current upload progress on your home screen, which is nice.

Share Online v4.0 also allows you to set it to upload with WiFi only, and the application will queue your uploads until it’s in range of a known hotspot. You can also now have multiple uploads in queue at once, which is a really nice feature, and something I complained about earlier.

If you own the N96, 6210 Navigator, 6220 Classic, or 5320 XpressMusic, you can download the new version here. If you have another S60v3 FP2 phone, you’ll need to wait a bit for the correct version. Installing the wrong version can hose your Gallery application.

Did u Know?? i sure didn't..

The guys at Yeigo’s blog has rounded-up ten nice 'lil things that you didn’t know about Nokia (neither did i until i read this). The last one is sure to touch a chord for nature lovers..

1) The ringtone “Nokia tune” is actually based on a 19th century guitar work named “Gran Vals” by Spanish musician Francisco Tárrega. The Nokia Tune was originally named “Grande Valse” on Nokia phones but was changed to “Nokia Tune” around 1998 when it became so well known that people referred to it as the “Nokia Tune.”
2) The world’s first commercial GSM call was made in 1991 in Helsinki over a Nokia-supplied network, by Prime Minister of Finland Harri Holkeri, using a Nokia phone.
3) Nokia is currently the world’s largest digital camera manufacturer, as the sales of its camera-equipped mobile phones have exceeded those of any conventional camera manufacturer.
4) The “Special” tone available to users of Nokia phones when receiving SMS (text messages) is actually Morse code for “SMS”. Similarly, the “Ascending” SMS tone is Morse code for “Connecting People,” Nokia’s slogan. The “Standard” SMS tone is Morse code for “M” (Message).
5) The Nokia corporate font (typeface) is the AgfaMonotype Nokia Sans font, originally designed by Eric Spiekermann. Its mobile phone User’s Guides Nokia mostly used the Agfa Rotis Sans font.
6) In Asia, the digit 4 never appears in any Nokia handset model number, because 4 is considered unlucky in many parts of Southeast/East Asia.
7) Nokia was listed as the 20th most admirable company worldwide in Fortune’s list of 2006 (1st in network communications, 4th non-US company).
8. Unlike other modern day handsets, Nokia phones do not automatically start the call timer when the call is connected, but start it when the call is initiated. (Except for Series 60 based handsets like the Nokia 6600)
9) Nokia is sometimes called aikon (Nokia backwards) by non-Nokia mobile phone users and by mobile software developers, because “aikon” is used in various SDK software packages, including Nokia’s own Symbian S60 SDK.
10) The name of the town of Nokia originated from the river which flowed through the town. The river itself, Nokianvirta, was named after the old Finnish word originally meaning sable, later pine marten. A species of this small, black-furred predatory animal was once found in the region, but it is now extinct.
11) They also used to be a Rubber Boot manufacturer before they entered the wireless phone buisiness! Chek dis!! Courtesy Neon.

You know what? When i read things like this about a company it makes me see the company in a more humane perspective. It changed my view of the company to something that we can all associate with.. well sort of...

Why Nokia? Why do you do this??

The N95 is indeed a great camera-phone. It has loads of great
features, 5MP sensor, 30fps video recording, auto-focus camera,
Carl-Zeiss lens, great color recreation, and a whole load of
customization features.

What it lacks is a Video Editor.

I know, I know, it does have one. But have you ever been able to use
it for editing one of those 5MP videos of yours? If yes you'll have
ended up face to face with the now famous slogan of the N95 -[b]
Memory full! Close some programs and try again.
And it flashes up even if you do close all programs, with the video
editor being the only open app. Neat little joke by Nokia huh? But i
think it sucks!
Why did they put in the video editor anyway?? I never understood why they did that..

Ah..and I think Nokia heard my complaints and responded to it
too..albeit in a sad kinda way.


It happened when they brought tout the N95 8GB. A phone that boasts of
128MB RAM, something that we'd begun to see only in computers from
2001. With that kind of RAM I would have been happy editing videos to
glory on my phone. But of course Nokia, by some strike of genius
didn't even include the feature in the handset. Now don't ask me why!
Why they did it, I believe, is, and will remain, a mystery for ages to come.



Update!



Now they plan to bring out the Nokia N96!

Even though Nseries stands for NextGen handsets the only nextGen the N96 packs is a different look - the features are more less the same as in the N95. You only get an extra 16GB of onboard memory and a dual LED flash, which isn'nt that bad., but it ain't worth the money no matter what anyone says!

DLNA for n95-2

Espoo, Finland - Nokia announced yesterday that the Nokia N95 8GB had the distinction of being the first ever mobile phone to receive Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certification. The DLNA is a body advocating the interoperability of wired and wireless consumer devices. For the consumer, this accolade translates into convenient and intuitive connectivity between your DLNA Certified home electronics devices, personal computers, and your Nokia N95 8GB.

DLNA technology enables multi-vendor home ecosystems of consumer devices by building a common connectivity platform for a variety of multimedia experiences. This vision is fully in line with the Nokia’s aspiration for openness and seamless interoperability between devices and services from different brands.

Read the rest of this post at dailymobile.se

nice..

Nice little video but I saw it a few days too late I guess :( Guess being on the Information Super High Way by itself won't get you anywhere, you need to have an aim.. Anyways here's the video for all of you who'd missed out on it as well...Special thanks to Clement Clarke Moore, and to all of you out there, be safe, be happy, and enjoy life to the full.

And we bring to you..

Hey guys and gals! Guess what, Nokia's very own WOM-World is going to send me a N800 next week so that I can spend some time reviewing it. And since I won't be needing my N95 then, I'm going to send it off on a vacation - to the Nokia Care Center - for some rejuvination therapy ;) It seems to be a little out of shape lately, with creaking slides, light leaking sides, and a multimedia button that makes a ticking sound..not to mention the system crashes! They seem to have increased after I updated to v20!! It's been long since I've played with a touch screen..my last touch was a 7710. Anyways, the N800 posts will start rolling in a week, so if anyone has anything that you want me to try out on it, just ask. Ciao!

Phone Wallet v.1.0 for S60 v3 : secure & organize your info

Symbian Guru released the new software Phone Wallet – security software which keeps your confidential info safe and secure and organizes your data in your personal way.

Phone Wallet secures your personal and confidential information using strong data encryption algorithms, so the data is not available to others and is secure, even after the disk dump of the phone. To access your data you should enter the correct password.

You may enter any information you need to keep secure, from passwords to the credit card numbers and you can be certain that everything is safe. There are many preinstalled folders and data types with icons. You can easily add or delete folders, records or fields, everything can be set according to customers’ wishes. You can organise data as you wish. There are no limits to numbers of records, fields and folders. You can create as many fields or records as you wish and need.

To get this application more secure, the autolock function was implemented. After some period of time the application gets locked, for example after some idle time. Also it gets locked in background, for example when you have no time to close the application and should answer the urgent call; application gets closed automatically.

Key Features:

· Strong data encryption for your data security with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

· AutoLock function after some time of being idle

· Application is locked when it goes to background

· Layout settings for icons and view styles

· Total flexibility for adding, deleting and editing of folders, records and fields

· Many data are predefined for you, so the application is ready to use right after install

· Nice application design

More info as well as pdf user manual for Phone Wallet can be found on www.symbianguru.com.

N95 cum N90 cum N91 ??

Chek this out folks! The latest rumour to hit th eS60 V3 blogs is here with a cross between the N95 and an N90 with help from a N91 ;) . Personally I don't think it's gonna be a real hit, over complications alway lead to bad customer reactions..but it does look kinda cute and chunky
Read about it here.. at Vaibhav's Blog.

The hat that makes videos mobile? oooOH

Check this out folks, the latest technical innovation in history is here..with the Hat that makes video Mobile! haha..funny phrase huh? Well this hat here is something that allows you to use your Multimedia SmartPhone HAnds-free, and i don't mean the call feature only. The hat holds the phone in place in front of your face, so that you'll be able to watch whatever's playing on it, without out having to hold it! Awesome huh?? :P

N95 FirmwWare updated too! :D

Guys and gals, the v20 is out! And it brings with it a load of goodies for all n95ers to have! A glimpse at the change log was all it needed for me to almost loose my sanity. And then I did loose it, when I cancelled my 720 MB video download to make more bandwidth for my NSU to feast on :D!

This is the evergreen ChangeLog(this must be the most-used word among symbian bloggers):

1. New icon structure with addition of the N-Gage application and one free demo of fifa which can be played 10 times.
2. Search app has its own place in the active standby
3. Phone is much faster to operate and the real difference is seen in the boot time!(see it to believe it!)
4. Multimedia menu still the same but does not pop up on opening the slider in the opposite direction.
5. Free memory between 22-30 mb during normal usage.
6. Camera has NEW auto focus sound
7. Viewfinder grid added in the camera menu
8. VIDEO ringtones. Native support for video ringtones finally added.
9. Radio has a new icon.
10. Music player has a new icon for podcasts, alongwith a new Visualization called Circles, and also new buttons on the Screen for the audio controls.
11. Gallery opens really quick and (i think) it has a new animation in flipping pictures.
12. New real player.1
3. Same old flash lite 2.0, no youtube support.
14. Maps app revised but not gone out on the road to see how soon it locks.
15. Browser has slight changes.
16. Keypress bug GONE!
17. No out of memory messages yet.
18. Wi Fi somewhat cleverer in detecting connections around!
19. New menu added in videos, SET AS TONE
20. Fast switching between landscape and portrait mode.
21. DRASTIC decline in picture quality. I feel so.. Please report on it!
22. Using the VGA Video calling camera, the camera sound (2) does not play properly (sorry for listing the stupidest of things, but these come to mind)
23. Faster opening of Music Player.
24. Showing of Videos in the ringtones to choose for profiles, and the video playback on receiving the call is GOOD and quick but does not play in fullscreen in landscape mode.
25. New version of quickoffice.
26. Same old barcode reader and zip applications.
27. New icon for Radio and segregation of similar items in the Media Folder.
28. Addition of Utilities folder.
29. Better handling of calls, and no TALKBACK(echo) heard in speaker, as heard before, sometimes.

The official Nokia announcement:

”This software version includes battery, stability & performance
improvements enabling you to run faster and longer - giving you up to three more
hours of music (up to 30% increase, from 9h to 12h of music playback). This
release also includes a new version of Nokia Maps which provides faster
positioning, faster Map Loader, and free 3-day navigation. Free N-Gage demo
games are included and other games are available via Download! With the Nokia
Music Store now live in the United Kingdom, users can enjoy the convenience of
instant over-the-air downloads, regardless of where they are.”

Now hopefully we can hope for some battery life improvement too! The Nokia Maps update is the same as earlier but the N-Gage demos are is a real hot spot! This firmware will definitely make the N95 the better phone and for once you can think twice about moving over to the N95 8 GB ;)

Change Log courtesy http://blog.abhista.com/

N95 8 GB firmware - updated!

While the whole of the Symbian world is busy behind the proposed v21 N95 firmware Nokia's released an update for the N95 8GB. That's right, an update already, when the phone's not even started crawling yet! Whywould anyone get a toddler a car when his older brother's still waiting for his bike?

I mean the N95-3 was released just a few weeks ago! AAS thinks that it's probably just a quick bug fix and not a full fledged update - theN95 8GB's Internet browser did have some serious stability problemsthat users had been complaining about..some users are also hoping for a normal portrait screensaver to show up as well - seems they're fed up with the landscape one!

Click Here To Update Your N95 8GB

V21 for our N95-1!?

It's not a 21 valve engine but for all I know the new V21 Firmware update for the N95-1 is sure gonna rock..considering that Nokia is going to have to add lots of new stuff in the firmware like the Search, N-Gage and a solution to sinister key press bug. Not to mention about On Demand Paging and other features designed to bump up the performance! You know what this means?no?? We're gonna get a N95-1 with more RAM people!!

But the problem is that the firmware pic has been dates as 10th October! How come no one's got it still remains a mystery...:(

There lingers a doubt in my mind however, on whether the Demand Paging feature will make the phone slower upon everyday use. The pagingfeature actually stores bits of software data on RAM.When these data are moved to the main memory there would be more of a lag when the phone fetches the data - which happens when we open a app or run a game. After all there must have been a reason why the original designers decided to place it on the system RAM instead of on the main memory. Oh well,, let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Have you heard of the recent rumours doing the rounds? the one about the total free RAM increasing to a good 30mb. If that's true then I wouldn't give a **** whether the phone's faster or slower... 30MB of free RAM 8-)

If you’re an owner of the N95 classic, you just got more reasons to hold on to your device than I'd provided before. After the screenshots tipped up yesterday, today Symbian Freak has the juicy details regarding this magical firmware that is not only supposed to bring things like Demand Paging, the new Search app introduced on the N76 and new folders and application including the N-Gage app. If that wasn’t enough the device’s free RAM jumps from 18-20Mb to almost a whopping 30Mb! No word if the new multimedia menu has made its way into the old faithful, chances are it will.

The Update is OUT!! read it here

Courtesy Symbian PileUp & symbian-freak.com

1.5 Decades ago..

Forgotten Tech

Fifteen years ago tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen, Nokia launched the world's first commercially available GSM digital phone, the Nokia 1011, the model number coming from the launch date: 10 November 1992.

Nokia's 1011: GSM first

The 475g 1011 was rather heavier than today's slimline models. A lot of the weight came from the unit's nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery, which yielded a low - by today's standards - talk time of just 90 minutes. It could stay operational for 12 hours in stand-by mode.

The 195 x 60 x 45mm handset could hold 99 phone numbers and the names of their owners, any of which could be displayed on the 1011's two-line screen. There was no colour, no camera, no Bluetooth, no memory card slot and the handset had to have an extendible antenna. But it did introduce one innovation that phone owners now use without a second thought: text messaging.

However, the 1011 lacked that crucial component of all modern Nokia's: the infamous Nokia ringtone. This jingle wasn't introduced until 1994.

The 1011 wasn't the first GSM phone, either. That honour goes to the unnamed handset Nokia developed for Finland's Radiolinja network in 1991. The Finnish phone giant also supplied testing handsets that year for Hutchison's Orange in the UK, then in the process of building its network up from the Rabbit service launched a few years previously.

GSM

Development work on GSM - originally Groupe Spécial Mobile, later anglicised to Global System for Mobile communications - began ten years before the introduction of the Nokia 1011, in 1982. Five years, later 13 European nations agreed to mandate its use for their digital cellular networks.

The first version of the standard - dubbed 'Phase 1' - was completed in 1990, paving the way for the completion of the Radiolinja network, which had been initiated a year earlier, in 1989, and became operational in 1991.

However, unlike its predecessors, the 1011 was the first GSM phone to go into mass production. It operated in the 900MHz band, which had been adopted by UK networks Vodafone and Cellnet - now O2. Orange's phones operated in the 1800MHz band.

For all three, GPRS data services were way off in the future. Orange didn't launch its digital service commercially until 1994, the same year that Cellnet launched a digital network alongside its analogue service.

Nokia replaced the 1011 in 1994 with the 2100.

Courtesy RegisterHardware a.k.a reghardware.

N95 vs N95 8GB

I've just got my hands on a video that showcases the differences between the classic N95 and the newer meaner 8GB edition of the same. After watching this video you'll be able to say for sure whether you really need to go for the newer phone just now or whether to wait out for the next revouloutionary pone from Nokia..

N95-2 aka N95 8 GB Manual

What's the next alternate to getting an N95 8GB for test drive?? Checking out it's manual ofcourse!! And that's just what Phat Trance of DailyMobile has done.

He has got a manual giving in detail the many uses and naunces of the N95 8GB version..and being a very nice guy he's posted it over at his blog for everyone to share, it'll make do until we get a personal meeting with the N95-2.these code-names make me feel like i'm talking 'bout a spy!!

You can download the manual over from Phat's blog by clicking over ->here<-.

N95 gets 6X LeNS !

Mobile phones with cameras are proving to be immensely useful for many purposes, mainly because they have the advantage of always being with you.

Sadly, the companies sell u phones with a 3.MPcam now and put-of the 7 MPfor next year, eventhough they could bring it out now if they wanted to. Accordingly, cameras with high quality optics are still rare and optical zoom lenses on cameras are even rarer.The N95 has a hi-res 5MP cam-but with no optical power while the n93i has the optical lens but powered by just a paltry 3.2MP sensor.

So if you’re one of those people who would like to have a 6X optical zoom on your mobile and would gladly pay big bucks for it, here’s one that will do the job for just US$19(excl. of shipping). It has a manual zoom and focus but as you can see from the images , it works very well, particularly at that price.

Shown here, is the kit and a N95 with the lens installed. For ordering you could visit their site HeRe. More personal reviews will be posted if i get to review the product.

Nokia Spices up the Nokia Video Center

Hye, it's more good news for us guys as Nokia teams up a host of companies such as Cnn,IBN,Jamba, Sony Pictures, Roof top comedy,ROK and others..givin us access to videos on the Go! Provided you have a 3G connection ;)

This new feature will give us access to a load of videos from these companies with the single press of a button making life simpler for all of us. Now you'll be able to while away time just like that..but make sure yuor in range of a good 3g network k..!

Read the rest here.

Courtesy DailyMobile.

N95 or N95 8GB..?

The N95 8GB can be said to be a N95 with all it's problems solved. Everything that had gone wrong with the N95 has been taken care of in the new version (batteries etc.) Another thing is that the buttons have also been changed to a thinner look along with a bigger screen. The N95 8GB also looks much more mature than the previous version as you can see in the picture.

Read more about this review from MyNokiaBlog.

N93i - the rest of the story..

Continued from here...
Problems

There are a lot of problems with the new N93i, mostly coming up due to the new design and form. For instance the mirror screen up front has been designed to facilitate using minor features of the phone without opening it and for seeing incoming call IDs. But when you stand outdoors the visibility of the screen reduces drastically - so much so that you'll have to bring it up to your eyes and twist and turn to get an angle that let's you see the screen. Problems with the form factor also arise such as a misalignment of the front face of the phone as well as some play..mostly towards the left. But on the looks front it really does looks good..!


Improvements

The new improvements include a joystick for side control when using the camera, buttons on the screen for added user friendliness, good Zeiss lens cover, stylish sim access and a battery similar to the n95 - but which lasts noticeably longer.


The Metal keyboard scores way high on looks and durability but is in the pits for usability..a real pain for my poor lil' fingers they've been. There isn't much of a divide between the buttons except a flimsy rubbery thing and the delete button is microscopic, you'll have lots of trouble with that little thing!!

Camera
Easy to use, with design elements of a handy cam, the N93i's Imaging Capabilities are similar to that of the the N93. Noise reduction is the same though the stereo effect has been found to be comparatively lower. Another bug that i found was that the brightness decreases upon zooming using the optical zoom. This is a real bad situation, because there isn't much use with a Optical Zoom camera if you can't get more detail into it!

Another thing i took note of was that the subject can see himself on the front screen and get an idea of what he looks like when the picture is taken. And girls could use it for putting on make-up and applying lipstick..creative of me isn't it?...

Speakers

The speakers are garbage compared to that of most other recent releases from Nokia.. it doesn't even come half way near to what the speakers of the Nokia 5700 can do! What good is a N-series multimedia phone if you can't even use it for hearing music?? Nokia seems to be losing it's touch here...

And so in the end the N93i is yet another expensive phone in the market today, and will be so until the next Nokia N-Series handset comes along.

N93i Wares:
Games ( Symbian S60 v3 )
Softwares ( Symbian S60 v3 )

looks some what like a transformer doesn't it?? or like a lap top computer perhaps ???