Once in awhile an application comes along thats just so simple but extremely useful. This is exactly what CalSyncS60 is. Now my Google Calendar and Nokia N82's calendar are in sync with eachother, so far without any hiccups.

CalsyncS60 has been around for about 4 months now I believe, but the developer has recently updated the application to fix some bugs and add a few languages. Not to mention you can now have a scheduled sync which happens automatically. I haven't yet tried out the scheduled sync and I can't find out much info on when it synchronizes, I'm guessing once a day. The sync between Google Calendar and S60's built in Calendar application is bi-directional meaning that if you add an entry on your phone it will be added to Google and vice versa. This goes for deletion of entries as well.

Below are a few recent changes made to Calsync.

0.3.1 - 26th of May, 2008- Some people had problems with long event IDs. This is now fixed.
- Added localizations for Polish and Dutch.

0.3.0 - 16th of May, 2008
- Scheduled sync, CalSyncS60 will automatically keep your calendar updated.
- Access point can be selected from the settings
- Some minor bug fixes, although some of the bugs from 0.2.0 are not yet fixed.
- Localizations for English, Russian, Slovak, Finnish, Romanian, German, French, Hebrew, Chinese Traditional (Taiwan), Czech. Languages are not yet tested.

So far everything is working great for me with the latest update. It's amazing how much this application has helped me out since I only use Google Calendar and not Outlook. Keep in mind this application is still in beta so you probably will find minor bugs. The great thing is there is a support forum where you can report bugs and ask questions. From the looks of it there have been many answers.

Like I said this application is free but since it's so useful I'll be making a small donation to the developer so he can keep giving us updates. Oh and did I mention this doesn't need to be signed. Just download and install.

Click here to check out CalSyncS60 and start syncing now.

The Nokia E71 has to be one of the most anticipated high end Nokia devices since the original Nokia N95. The hype is so built up, and so many peopole are interested in buying one of these puppies. Interestingly enough I've seen a lot of people in various community websites from the North American region exciting and waiting for this to come out.



The fellas over at Boy Genius Report have gotten there grubby hands on a presale model of the hot Nokia E71 where they are answering tons of questions from giddy Nokia fans. I personally am very excited about this phone and interested to see if AT&T will pick it up. If so, and it's a reasonable price, I may grab it and unlock/unbrand it to make it just like I got it from Nokia.

A few hardware features that I love about it is the size (thinner than the iPhone), 3.2mp camera, Gps, Wifi, 1500mah battery (amazing), and of course the qwerty keypad and North American 3g data speeds. As far as internals go the T9 has been enchanced, the memory and UI is big and fast, there are "modes" where you can define different standby screens for different times of the day, plus most of the other great features that you get in any Nseries device.

For me if it came down to the E71 or N95 I'd pick the E71 all the way. The reviewer mentioned that the E71 is built like a rock, another plus. It's just too hard to give up the xenon flash of the Nokia N82 that I've fallen in love with.

Check out the video review of the Nokia E71 by Boy Genious Report. Keep in mind it's 17 minutes long but has lots of great info and compares the E71 to the Blackberry Curve and iPhone. You can see lots of comments that include questions and answers about the Nokia E71.

Are you excited as many others are including myself about this upcoming Nokia Eseries device?

It's been an ongoing battle between Google Maps & Nokia Maps. Some can't use Google Maps because it's all data. Those that have unlimited data plans like myself absolutely love Google Maps.



Google Maps for Symbian S60 has just updated to version 2.01 and adds the ability to create favorites which show up as a star on the map. Within these favorites you can add a buttload of imformation such as address, phone number, website, gps coordinates, etc. This is great for marking locations that you don't visit often and are hard to find. Or maybe if you enjoy hiking or walking and want to mark a tree or stream you find for future reference. You can also add your favorites to specific categories. The possibilities are endless.



Google Maps also automatically imports the favorites that you have stored in Nokia Maps, aka "My Places". This is a great move by Google to keep competition with Nokia Maps.

The application runs slightly faster than previous versions and is definetly a worthy upgrade. It seems to have a bug that maybe only is on the Nokia N82. When searching or on a screen besides the Maps screen I can't select anything. My center button isn't responding. Hopefully it's a bug only on my phone, but maybe others can confirm.

Link: www.google.com/gmm

Thanks to IcyHot from Howard Forums for the "heads up".

It seems as though Nokia is adding a small box above words you are typing out to enhance our predictive text T9 experience. Yesterday I was reading a review of the brand new Nokia E71 by Boy Genious Report and they showed the screenshot below.

photo by Boy Genius Report

Here's how it works, quoted from the article:

"Something also interesting is the inclusion of predictive text on here. You might be thinking why you’d ever need predictive text when you’ve got a QWERTY keyboard, but it actually helps more than it gets in the way. It sort of works like how the iPhone does. If you’re typing fast and accidentally misspell a word but keep typing and hit the space bar, it will auto correct and suggest that word for you. It can also save you a good amount of typing time as it will suggest words for you when you are halfway through them and a simple press of the space bar selects the suggested word and keeps you moving."

I think this is a great move by Nokia & Symbian, I've always missed this sort of feature that is found on Blackberries and some Sony Ericsson devices.

Implemented In New Nokia N95-4 Firmware
If you look at post number five of this topic at Howard Forums about the new N95-4 firmware (which came out just today), it seems as though Nokia may have implemented this. The user njgill05 says "there's a new little fast lookup window for text input that finds what you're looking for as you type it in." Looks as though this false afterall. This is really something they need to implement. Bummer.

I can't wait for them to add this to the next firmware update of the Nokia N82 and hopefully all high end Nokia phones. Wonder what took them so long in the first place.

Do you think this is a welcome addition, or something that will add clutter and is not needed?

Just off the heels of a long awaited N95-3 update the other day, I got an email this morning about a new firmware update for the N95-4, America's 8gb version. Also the first reports from Howard Forums are coming in as well. No change log is available available yet. The new version is said to be 20.2.005.

The North American beast is already up to par as far as firmware goes, what can be new? I'm thinking maybe the addition of Automatic Screen Rotation and a handful of bug fixes. Maybe even User Data Preservation which is found on the Nokia N82.

Update: Here are a few comments by JonnyBruha of Howard Forums:
-Reinstalling everything on the 8gb is going to be a royal pain. Backing up everything manually with the ridiculously slow transfer speeds is just silly.
-No ASR in any of the settings I've seen.
-Sport Tracker is preinstalled.
-The fonts are thinner, like the newest N82 firmware. I don't think I like it.
-Still USB 1.crap.
-Right click> Eject is working properly for the first time.
-Hacking still works! Just installed HacksOff/On, and deleted everything in the private folder!

This update is rather intriguing to me since Nokia has neglected the North American model of the N95 as far as firmware updates go. People were left thinking "does Nokia even care about their small but loyal North American base?". The whole time I was thinking that they do, but maybe they were holding out on the N95-3's update hoping that owners would get fed up and just go buy the new N95-4 (with all the updates already installed). I really hope that wasn't the case, but todays findings of new firmware being released for the still new 8gb model is kind of peculiar.

If your a N95-4 owner and have never upgraded before, check out this article for tips on upgrading firmware. Come back and tell us what changes you see or if you can find a change log.

The long awaited and constantly bitched (well deserved) about firmware update has finally arrived for the Nokia N95 NAM Edition, also known as the N95-3. The new version is v20.2.011. Check out the unofficial changelog:

* Flash Lite 3 support
* Faster bootup
* Faster camera load time
* Integrated Search
* Demand paging
* No ASR
* N-Gage demos


Keep in mind this doesn't bring User Data Preservation so make sure you back up everything before updating your firmware. Before upgrading you might want to read this post I made with tips for upgrading your firmware so that it goes as smoothly as possible. The article refers to the N82 but the tips work for any Nseries phone.

For more support during this upgrade you can refer to this post at Howard Forums where there is already a long discussion going on.

Thanks to Symbian In Motion for bringing the news.

Earlier today over at The N82 Blog I posted a few awesome deals.

Right now at Amazon.com you can buy the Nokia N82 Silver for only $359.99 shipped. Super cheap if you ask me. Just a month ago retailers were still trying to sell the N73 for $350! Insane.

You can also get great deals on memory cards. A 4gb microSD is $14.90, while the 8gb is only $39.49.

Link: Nokia N82 Silver - $359.99

SanDisk 4GB MicroSD Card $14.90

SanDisk 8GB MicroSD Card $39.49

I would also like to ask the question...

What the hell is driving the price of the Nokia N82 so low?

Nokia released their newest version of their popular Nokia Maps application today, bringing it to version 2.0. The application has been in beta for a while now working out all the kinks and getting feedback from users at Nokia Beta Labs. Hopefully it's not a premature release and the community is indeed happy with this version.

Nokia says,

Downloaded over 240,000 times since announced in February, Nokia Maps 2.0 has improved its optional Car Navigation, enhanced its pedestrian navigation, added multimedia city guides, now offers satellite images, and is sporting a redesigned user interface. Nokia's mapping and navigation solutions give people navigation features, local content and world maps directly on their mobile device, in a way that only connected devices can.

A partial list of the updated features in Nokia Maps 2.0 includes:

DRIVE:
- Improved optional Car Navigation equals PND-level car navigation experience with faster routing.
- Easy-to-use, updated User Interface features including a new navigation carousel with pre-defined navigation views - i.e. navigation, arrow, bird-eye.
- Top-of-the-line navigation features: signposts, multi-stop route planner

WALK:
- Optional pedestrian navigation efficiently walks you from A to B with visual guidance. It helps you to locate yourself by giving information about the surrounding buildings, streets and parks and, if the device supports it, notifies the direction you are walking.
- Nokia Maps 2.0 includes public transportation information (station entrances) data in 17 cities with localized icons for stops.
- Advanced multi-sensor positioning using A-GPS, and pedestrian orientation using the compass feature (Nokia 6210 Navigator needed for built-in compass usage)

DISCOVER:
- Satellite images with hybrid rendering overlays for selected cities worldwide provide real aerial views on your mobile.
- Signature "one-box search" allows you to search through places, addresses, restaurants, nightlife, outdoor, accommodation.
- New premium multi-media city guides including features photos, video, audio streams.

Nokia Maps 2.0 uses vector maps provided by Navteq and TeleAtlas, Nokia Maps now has maps covering over 200 countries, with over 70 of them navigable. Maps can be downloaded over the air directly to selected devices or by using the Nokia Map Loader on a PC. A new beta version of the Nokia Map Loader is available on the Nokia Beta labs web site.

I personally have always been a huge fan of Google Maps and never use Nokia Maps, but today I'm going to give Nokia Maps 2.0 a try and post my thoughts on the new application. Nokia Maps is great for those who don't have an unlimited data plan, especially if you use the Maps Loader. Which do you prefer?

Visit http://www.maps.nokia.com/ to download the new Nokia Maps 2.0, and check out the Maps Loader while your at it.

Warning: I'm not sure, but if your still under your free trial of voice navigation, you may lose it if you upgrade to 2.0. Be careful.
Update! According to emails from a few users you won't lose your 6 month license. Try it at your own risk.

Today I was checking out one of my favorite technology blogs called Lifehacker and came across an extremely useful article. I have yet to find a good language translation application for my Symbian S60 powered Nokia N82. I'm sure an application like this exists and if anyone knows of one please let me know. Until then I will be using this web application which is a simple website made for the iPhone. Knowing that the S60 Web Browser and the iPhone's browser are powered by similar technology I decided to give this a shot. Cool thing is this website works with most mobile phones so you can spread the word about this to your non-S60 friends. Not sure that the interface will look as clean though.

Go to m.mikebrittain.com from your phone's browser and you'll be presented with the following screenshots. I typed in "What's for dinner" in English and asked for the results in Spanish.





The translator currently supports 11 languages and lets you translate to and from English, Russian, French, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese. No signup or login is necessary.

On newer Nokia phones with Symbian S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 and 2 you can make this bookmark into a shortcut on your standby screen for fast access. This is a great tool for those who are always traveling to other countries and want to try to speak in other languages.

Jeez it's been a long wait for N95-3 owners. Nokia has made their few but loyal North American fans wait ages to receive a firmware upgrade for their flagship device. Meanwhile they release another N95 variant as you know the 8gb North American version which came loaded with the latest and greatest features such as Flash in the Web Browser, Web Runtime support and demand paging which increases the performance of the phone. As I predicted many N95-3 owners jumped ship and bought the N95-4, a move that I'm sure Nokia was hoping for.

Ricky From Symbian-Guru has all the details so go check out the article. According to sources the firmware should be available by the end of June. Hang in their North Americans!

Another busy few weeks have passed in the Symbian and Nokia community with lots of great articles and news. Check out a few tidbits below that I found interesting.

New WLAN Connectivity Application & Gmail
Ricky from Symbian-Guru says that the new Psiloc Connect application has been "sent by the gods". This application attempts to connect to your known Wifi access points first, then falls back on your data connection if need be. All this is done in the background so you don't really notice anything going on. In another article he also goes over the different ways to get your Gmail on your S60 phone.

MyStrands Social Player 3.1 Released For Last.fm
Zach from Symbian In Motion has brought us news that the Last.fm scrobbler My Strands has recieved a crucial update. Click here to learn more.

Panoramic Photos, Opera Mini Updated, Steps Counter, and more...
I've talked about a few new applications and updates over at The N82 Blog that enhance my mobile experience. Panoman allows panoramic pictures, Opera Mini Browser has been updated, and Steps Counter can well, count your steps. Also check out a few themes that were posted last week.

Nokia Music PC Client Released, Maps On Ovi
Rafe from All About Symbian has brought us news about the new Nokia Music PC Application. I haven't tried it yet but I've read that it's really slow and programmed badly. Also Nokia has announced Maps On Ovi which helps you plan out your route on your PC then upload it to your phone.

Nokia N96 Comes With Transformers
It's only right that the N96 and it's dual slider and little flip out kick stand come with the Transformers movie built in. Check out the news by Phone Report.

Well it's no secret that the Nokia N78 is coming soon. Maybe sooner than we think. Folks of WOM World are already mailing the device for bloggers and reviewers to get the word out.

Neil from iGadget Life got his hands on the Nokia N78. He posted side by side photos taken by the N78 and N82. The N82 comes ahead, but not by much. For daylight shots the N78 can hold it's own with the 3.2 megapixel camera. Be sure to check out his lengthy review as well.

Here is a sample of the many photos he took with the Nokia N78.



You can also find more N78 photo samples over at N78 Forums. A flickr set was found with a few N78 vs. N95 comparison photos. I honestly think the camera stands up well against the N95 and will only get better with firmware updates. Reports are saying that the N78's camera software is much faster than the N95-1 and N95-3.

I personally can't wait to get my hands on the newest Nseries device. Not only will it be the slimmest Nseries phone to date, but it will also be the first to have Symbian S60 3rd Edition with Feature Pack 2. The N78 will prove to be a great upgrade to those who love the Nokia N73 for it's form factor and 3.2 megapixel camera. A hands on review of the Nokia N78 should be here in the coming weeks so stay tuned.

I just read some great news about the Nokia touchscreen device thats been rumored and talked about over and over. NokNok.tv has found an article published by Pocket-Lint.co.uk which states the following by a Nokia rep...

"We plan to bring the first touchscreen-based Nokia S60 products to market this year. It is an important trend but it's not going to be for everyone. We will continue to offer choice here so people can pick what works best for them".

Glad to see they are going to keep making non touch devices for those not interested in touch only. Hopefully they come out with some kind of combo device that has both touch and real keys. I really can't wait for this to come out but from the sound of it so far this will probably not be a Nseries device. Who knows maybe Nokia has a suprise for us under their sleeves.

Just got an email today with some great news. Ever since I got into S60 and Nokia smart phones I've wanted to use the built in IM Chat Application with my data connection instead of using SMS messages for every IM like it currently does. Reason being is I have unlimited data and only 500 texts on my monthly plan. This is gonna be a short post because it's Mother's Day and I'm on my wait out taking my mom to lunch and spending the day with her. So I'm not going to show you this step by step by I got it running in seconds.

MobJab.com acts as a IMPS Wireless Village and allows you to connect your S60 powered phone to AIM, Yahoo, AOL, , MSN & ICQ. I've only gotten the AIM to work so far so check back if you can get the other settings to work and let us know how.

Go there and register. After registering follow these settings below which are also found on the website. These go in the server settings.


Account name : MobJab
Server address : http://mobjab.mobi:9090
User ID : username of your MobJab account
Password: password of your MobJab account
Access point settings : This is your mobile opertors gprs/data
connectivity
Proxies:
This setting specifies whether or not your gprs/data connections
will be routed through a proxy. Enable this setting if you
will be connecting to an alternative Wap Proxy/Wap Gateway.
Data Bearer: The data bearer that will be used for the connection
(e.g., GPRS, EDGE, etc).

Hopefully you get it to work. This is great news for me I've been waiting for this. Not sure if I like it better than other option yet but I'll check back and let you know.

Update: thanks to dr. tran i realized it's not loading up the full contact list. Hopefully we can work out the kinks.

It's gonna be a beautiful night on the waterfront at the Port of Los Angeles.

Out goes the Nokia N95 8gb, in comes the Nokia N82 black. Do I miss the N95-4? Not really.

Well...maybe a little bit.

Holding the Nokia N82 again after 3 weeks with a large slider phone makes me remember why I love candy bar style phones so much. One solid piece, no moving parts. In and out of my pocket with no problem and I don't feel like I'm holding a baby all the time. My particular N95 didn't have a wobbly slider, but the slider still didn't feel as tight and solid as it should like other phones. It was too easy to open and close, maybe because of the dual slide. My girlfriends Sony Ericcson slider phone she got from AT&T for $30 dollars has a much tighter slide and would be something I can actually live with.

Of course I'm gonna miss the N95-4's North American 3g internet speeds which is something the Nokia N82 doesn't have.Connecting to my built in email application's inbox was fast and easy and browsing the web was more like a real desktop computer with the larger screen and smaller load times. Like I've said in a previous article of my N95-4 review - I have never browsed the internet or used as much data. During my trial with the beautiful N95 I used over 200mb of data in about 3 weeks according to AT&T. With the N82 I average about 150mb in a month. So there obviously is a huge difference in the way I used the N95. Even file uploads was much easier. I was more likely to post my pictures to Flickr or Share On Ovi by uploading them from the N95 instead of from the memory card and computer like the N82.

For European users that own the twin brother of the N95-4, also known as the N95-2, these internet speed comparisons don't apply. The N82 already has European 3g bands.

So what we look at next is the screen size. When I unboxed the Nokia N82 black and held it in my hands the first noticeable thing was the smaller screen. I am normally an N82 owner but after using the N95 8gb and the 2.8" screen for 3 weeks, it made the N82's 2.4" screen seem miniature. Consuming media is a lot better with a larger screen. Reading the internet and checking maps were really different with the N95. When viewing web pages you see more of the page at once at makes you understand why people love browsing on the iPhone so much. Viewing images in the gallery and watching movies is so much better. It's closer to feeling like you have a laptop with you. For people with bad eyes I highly recommend the N95.

The keypad of a phone is of course an important issue when people purchase a phone. You have to ask yourself a question. "What kind of keypad user am I?". Do you love pounding out text messages like crazy? If you do then you want to have a keypad that is better for speed. Or maybe you do lots of emailing and need a keypad that will be more comfortable for those long 3 or 4 minute emails. Personally I am the first option. Short text messages are fast on the Nokia N82. The keys may be small, but they are very spaced out and easy to feel the difference between each key. No look or one handed texting is a breeze. There is no slider to worry about so when you send the message you just slip in back in your pocket.

The N95 on the other hand has larger buttons that are right up against each other. They are very easy to press and very comfortable on your thumbs. The keypad is wide enough to hold it with both hands and use both thumbs. Actually holding it with one hand is kind of uncomfortable because when the slider is open the phone is longer and I was always scared to drop it. Almost like a top heavy feeling. Long emails or texts on the N95 is much easier on your thumbs as long as you are able to look at the keypad more closely. Which do I like better? Obviously the N82 better suites my needs. I check emails like crazy on my phone, but I don't often respond to them until I get to a computer.

Internally both phones are virtually the same. The N82 has faster camera software, but thats the only difference that I've noticed. I feel like the N82's UI is slightly faster than the N95's but maybe it's just my imagination. Of course the xenon flash of the N82 is much better if you love taking pictures in the evening, night, or indoors. Check out this article with photos I took at the bar with the N82. It just feels closer to a real digital camera than any other phone I've had. Outdoor photography during the day won't show much of a difference on either phone.

Personally I like the Nokia N82 better. What if the N95 had xenon flash just like the N82? Hmmm that would be a tough one. It would come down to larger screen or a more compact phone. I'd probably still go with the N82. What if the N82 had NAM 3g but no xenon flash and the N95 had NAM 3g and xenon flash? Then maybe, just maybe I would sacrifice having a slider phone. It all depends on the user.

Which phone do you prefer? Have you tried both? If you have any questions about my thoughts on either phone be sure to ask.

It's not often that I talk about Eseries phones here at Symbian Addict, but in the coming months you'll be seeing a lot more coverage. I've never got a chance to play with an Eseries phone, but after seeing the latest leaked pictures of the Nokia E71 I really want to get my hands on one.

Sure it doesn't have xenon flash like the N82 or a 5 megapixel camera, but latest rumors say a North American version with 3g will be released. Having a 3g S60 phone with a qwerty keypad would be awesome. Will I ever purchase one? I'm not sure I can go without xenon flash. But I would love to see this phone get huge in the US. I've talked with a few other people from the Symbian/Nokia community about this and we share the same thoughts. More Americans prefer a qwerty keypad over a solid camera. That's why the E71 will be a huge hit. The 3.2 megapixel camera will probably make the Nokia E71 one of the best North American 3g cameraphones.

A few weeks back someone in the mobile industry mentioned to me that a 3g Eseries phone is in the works and that Nokia is being really hush hush about it, but hewouldn't specify which model it will be. Waking up in the morning and reading Howard Forums is a daily routine for me. Today someone posted pictures of the E71 in the hands of a US mobile company, specifically Decho Wireless. Interesting thing is the pictures show a E71-2 and RM-357 under the battery. According to the original poster this version has NAM 3g. Keep in mind that this is not official, just a strong rumor. Stay tuned in the coming days for this rumor to hopefully be announced by Nokia.

Features the E71 is rumored to have:

-3.2mp camera
-1500mah battery!
-Wifi and GPS
-Microsdhc
-Feature Pack 2

Photos...




Click here for more photos and discussion from the same source. Click here and here for even more discussion and information.

What do you think about the E71? Would you consider buying one? In one of those links you can see a side by side shot with the N95 and the E71 is significantly thinner. If I didn't need xenon flash on my N82, I would for sure rather pick up the E71 before the N95.

I've never seen the need to use a screen protector since I have never scratched a cell phone screen in my life. I've tried them before but I found them annoying because they would peel off easily. Well finally the other day I scratched my first screen. To make things worse the N95-4 didn't belong to me, it's a trial device from WOM World (sorry WOM please don't stop sending phones). Right when I saw the minor but annoying scratches I pretty much crapped my pants. I need suggestions about finding a good screen protector.

How did this happen?

Well I normally keep one pant pocket dedicated to my cell. I was at the store making a quick purchase and for some reason put my debit card in my pocket instead of back in my wallet. I must've been trying to help the bagger with the groceries quickly and just dropped the card into the pocket. Three minutes later I get to my car, pull out my cell, and notice the scratches. I was livid. The raised digits on the debit card or a rough edge is what scratched the screen. Something so minor as a debit card was able to scratch the screen

Here are the pictures to prove it. They aren't really long skinny scratches. Instead small scratches bunched together. In the picture below you can see one below the 9 and one below the 1.

Huge Bummer...

In the picture below you can see the worst smudge looking scratch to the left of the 9. All the other little marks are just dust and fingerprints.

As you can see it looks pretty damn ugly. From now on with all my phones I will be using a screen protector. Also - nothing, I mean nothing will go into the same pocket as my $550 smart phone.

I have one problem though...

Which screen protectors are good? I've seen a few good reviews about a couple of brands but right now I can't remember the names of them.

If anyone can help me out that would be awesome.

Please leave a comment if you have a suggestion. Thanks!

I just got the Nokia N82 black in the mail yesterday, something I've been waiting to get my hands on for a long long time. Thanks to WOM World for the trial device so I can share everything about it here. All the pictures I've seen look great so I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. I'm a huge fan of black phones, I think they just look so slick and clean.

I was already a huge fan of the Nokia N82 as you can read in my older reviews of the titanium color. Now that it comes in black I know the N82 will be a huge hit. People have been waiting for this color so anxiously since the phone was first announced. Whenever I posted N82 black photos here the blog would get tons of visitors from all over the web.

Besides the color it's hard to notice any other physical differences between this version and the titanium. To me it seems that the outer rim of the D-pad is slightly raised more, while the main selector button has stayed the same. This gives it more of a concave feel and allows for easier navigation. The buttons also feel stronger and more durable on this version. As for the screen, well its still weak and dim. The highest setting is about the same as the N95 at one more than half. I've seen reports that the N82 black has a brighter screen than the titanium. If that really is the case with some than there is a serious hardware issue going on here. All these models should be exactly the same with a bright and vibrant screen. Where there is supposed to be white, instead I get off-white or light creme.

Below is a handful of photos that I have taken and a few old photoshoppped versions that were posted here months ago just for laughs...

note: the slideshow is in flash and may not be viewable from some rss readers. full the full website if you can't see anything.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

For more analysis and initial thoughts about the Nokia N82 black you can check out this article by Devin from The Nokia Guide.

Keep checking back for more thoughts on the N82 black and leave any questions or comments you might have.

It's been a busy morning for Nokia Beta Labs. They've brought a few updates to some of the applications they've already had, and introduced us to the new Nokia Communication Center which I have quickly fell in love with.

Nokia Communication Center
First off I'll start with Nokia Communication Center. If you've already tried out the Nokia Beta Labs program called PC Phone than you might find this redundant. Even I first questioned why they would do this. Well I've never really liked PC Phone I couldn't get it to work properly and the need for a web browser was kind of a downfall. What Nokia Communicator will eventually be is a add on to Nokia PC Suite. Managing contacts and messages has never been easier. Sure I showed you guys a few weeks ago how PC Suite currently allows you to view and reply to text messages, but that was miniature compared to this new program. What I like about Communication Center is it has all your texts and MMS messages folders including the outbox and sent messages. You can reply to, forward and send new messages all from this program.You also have a place to manage your contacts which comes in handy.

Key features:

• Create and send messages easily
• Receive, view, forward, and reply to messages as they arrive
• Compose multimedia messages effortlessly with easy access to the images on both PC and device
• Manage messages, and sort and group them to quickly find what you are looking for
• Display all your messages in a timeline
• Manage all the contacts stored on your device
• Add new contacts with ease
• Create contact cards complete with thumbnail images

Right now the program is a separate install from PC Suite. It's not yet integrated. I actually think this is a great solution for managing my phone at work. I don't think it's necessary to install the full PC Suite at work, but Nokia Communicator is all I need. It's only a 7mb installation so it won't take up very much memory. Now at work I hardly even need to touch my phone, since most people know to text me rather than call me during work hours. If you have a bluetooth adapter or blue tooth built into your computer it just makes life that much easier. Keep in mind this program is in testing mode right now and you might find a few quarks. If you do head over to Nokia Beta Labs and let them know your issue so they can fix it in the next version. This is the whole point of Beta Labs. Click here to try out Nokia Communication Center. Update: Looks like you need to have PC Suite installed as well, the latest version in fact. So my idea about having only this program installed on my work computer is useless unless I want to install the full pc suite.

Location Tagger
Location Tagger Beta has been updated for the last time. Reason being is it will be integrated into most new Nseries phones that have yet to be released. The Nokia N82 has location tagging built in since the latest firmware update, but other than that all other Nokia smartphones need this separate application. If you haven't tried it yet, Location Tagger allows you to automatically add the GPS location of each photo you take to the file so that you can add it to a map on Flickr or Google. Here is an example of me using Location Tagger for my day at Disneyland.

New in this release:

• Persistent log. Now when you exit the application, your list of images in your logs tab will not disappear. When you delete an image from the Gallery of File Manager, the item will also be removed from the logs tag.
• File renaming. There is additional option in the Settings menu to rename tagged file. The file name will be added _NLT as suffix. For example, if the original file name is image001.jpg, it will be renamed to image001_NLT.jpg. This feature will allow you to easily differentiate between tagged and non-tagged files.
• Get location from cache. As you may know from our last posting that Location Tagger tags pictures with the last known position in the last 1 hour. If there is no last known position, it will put pictures in the queue until time-out. We added a new feature that allows you to get location from GPS device’s cache.
• Optimization and some bug fixes. This new version should run relatively faster than the previous one.

Click here to download or learn about Location Tagger.

A Few More Updates From Beta Labs
Nokia Channels has been rebranded and reloaded. It is now called Nokia Headlines. I've never been too interested in this application but hey you can click here to check it out. Why not its free.

Nokia Text Messenger, a lighter version of the new Communication Center has been updated. It's only for Vista though, so if you have Vista it might be worth a try.

Do you find any of these beta applications useful? Do you like what Nokia is doing with Beta Labs? I think it's great they have this program allowing users to check out new applications before they are considered stable and final. It gives us a way to add feedback for the developers.

Lately there has been some buzz about streaming live video applications for S60 powered phones. In my mind the most popular one so far has been Qik, which I've used quite a number of times and have already mentioned in a few articles. Live video streaming is a great way to share your times with friends and family over the internet for other friends and family to see, and I think it's going to slowly become more popular as these technologies become more accessible.

The other day I got to meet a few people from the mobile industry at a Wom World get together in Los Angeles. Wom World is the company that helps promote Nokia Nseries & Eseries products. One of the guys I met was Jeb who runs Brilliant Expos, a company specializing in setting up Mobile events and expos. Awesome dude I wish we had more time to talk. He brought to my attention the Flixwagon application and spoke about how much he enjoys using it to stream live video from his Eseries phone. I had heard about Flixwagon a few times before but never got the chance to try it. If you remember Ricky from Symbian Guru just recently got married and this remarkable event was captured live by four Nokia N82's and Flixwagon. According to Ricky's recap the live streaming was a great success and over 9,000 people watched his wedding live throughout the day over the internet. Congrats again to Ricky and his new bride. This event is exactly what Nokia means by there catch phrase "storytelling rediscovered" which they tagged for the Nokia N82.

Now back to Flixwagon. Right now it's in alpha which means it's still under testing and you have to sign up and be put on a list to try out the service and application. If you check out their website you will be welcomed with a very professional and clean layout where you can start viewing recent live video streams. You will notice that there is already a huge community of Flixwagon users and is growing every day. Once you have your own Flixwagon account you can share, edit, and manage all your videos along with your profile. Adding your Flix's to Youtube or any website where you can embed code such as your myspace, blog, etc is simple with the code that Flixwagon gives you. If you haven't noticed I recently started sharing my videos here at Symbian Addict in the column to the right. You can view my recent videos and any live video that I may be shooting. You can also set privacy preferences to decide who has access to your live and stored videos. Viewers can add comments while you are streaming live so you can see them on your phone and respond back in real time.

The video quality so far has been pretty good for me especially since I'm currently using the Nokia N95-4 which has North American 3g bands. I haven't yet tried out video quality over an Edge connection but Jeb assured me that the quality is reliable and sufficient. So far the Flixwagon S60 application has been a breeze to use and easy to set up. The application seems light and doesn't slow down the phone or lock it up. As soon as you launch the application an internet connection is opened so that you can quickly record the moment and begin the broadcast when your ready. You set up the privacy preferences before you start recording or just do a one click video and start recording a public video stream immediately.

I have attached a few screenshots below so you can see what the application looks like.

As you can see the interface is very simple and straightforward. It can't get any easier.

Below is an example of the video quality that is uploaded. I was with my girlfriend in one of those drive through automated carwashes while her car was getting a bath.



The video quality is crisp and sufficient for internet video streaming. You might have noticed a little bit of clipping because of my deteriorating 3g signal in the concrete enclosed carwash, but overall the quality is acceptable.

Overall I find this application extremely useful and a great addition to my Nokia multimedia computer. It opens up a new window for sharing stories and memories in my life. When I show others around me features like this on my Nseries phone they are amazed by the technology that Nokia brings.

So if your interested in Flixwagon click here and check out the website. While your at it you can sign up on to see if you can get yourself an account and a copy of the application. Don't forget to check out the guided tour page to learn about everything that Flixwagon can do.

Have you tried out Flixwagon or any other streaming video applications yet? What are your thoughts about live video streaming with your S60 handset?

Dexter the cat is one awesome cat. So awesome in fact that I decided to get some professional photos of him taken for my girlfriend - sometimes I think she enjoys her time with Dexter than she does with me. Whether he's sleeping, eating, or chasing me all over the place taking little bites out of my ankles, he's always the coolest cat on the block.

Messing around with the camera settings that I know nothing about such as ISO and White Balance I managed to get some stunning photos of this little feline with the Nokia N95 8gb. Some of the pictures were taken in black and white mode, others with the sepia tone. No photoshop work was done with these files, and no work with the photo editor on the N95 was done either.

Below is an example of how the pictures looked before messing with the settings...

and here is a similar pose after I messed with the settings...

As you can see the black and white is more interesting, and messing with some other settings I was able to create a sharper light setting.

Check out the slideshow of all the whole N95 photoshoot with Dexter the Cat. You will notice some came out a little blurry and out of focus, but hey I'm no photographer.
note: this flash slideshow may not be viewable in some rss readers.

Of course these settings aren't realistic for everyday shots, but it's good to know the Nokia N95's camera is cabable of creating professional looking shots, even as amateur as it may sound.

Stay tuned next week I might have a photoshoot of my dog with the Nokia N82 black.

Have you messed with the camera settings on your Nseries phone? If anyone has any tips for cool camera settings please leave comment, I'm all ears!

The N95 8gb's battery isn't the best, but it isn't the worst either. Damn we haven't seen a solid battery since the Nokia N73 so I wasn't expecting much. I still can't comprehend why Nokia hasn't solved this battery issue. The upcoming Nokia N78 is going to have an awesome battery. But why not the N95. The N95 has a bigger screen and a better camera. Obviously it's going to be used for more multimedia purposes which of course will drain the battery. Who knows?

Heavy Use Is No Bueno (no good)

If you've read my previous post about my trip to Disneyland with the N95 8gb then you already know it didn't last long under heavy use. Only lasted me about 4 or 5 hours but of course I was streaming video, taking and geotagging a crapload of pictures, sending them to Flickr and friends, etc. I expected maybe about 8 hours out of the battery, but as you can see I overestimated.

What About Normal Use?

Well that depends on the user. Normal use for me could be considered light for others, or vice versa. So I'll basically give you my normal use for days during the workweek and let you know the results.

• Wakeup at 6am with a full battery.
• Check email and rss feeds for about 10 minutes in the morning
• Get to work and recieve and send about 10 texts and multimedia messages
• Make about 5 or 6 calls during my 8 hour shift
• Listen to about 2 hours of music over wired headphones over 8 hour shift
• Have email set to check ever 2 hours during work shift
• Browse the web for about 10 minutes on my lunch break at Carls Jr. or Subway
• Leave work and fire up Google Maps for about 20 minutes to check the traffic and see which would be the fastest freeway to take home (California traffic conditions are insane)
• Talk on the phone for about 10 minutes making plans for the evening
• Set my email retrievel to every 30 minutes since I'm away from a computer
• Go to the bar or friends/family's house, maybe shoot 5 or 6 photos
• Make a few more calls in the evening
• Upload the pics to Ovi or Flickr
• Call it a night and put my phone back on the charger

After all that I'm left with about 2 or 3 bars. Mind you this is over North American 3g bands which uses more battery than GSM and Edge. Some people suggested to turn off 3g but why would you do that unless your in extreme need of the last few bars. Heck if your gonna pay $600-$700 dollars for a phone you should be able to use it the way its meant to be used right?

Yay Or Nay

So are those results good? Personally, I don't think they are horrible, but I wish they were better. Sad thing is they blow the N95-1 classic's battery out of the water. Compared to the N82 I think the battery life is about equal despite the bigger battery in the N95 8gb. The NAM 3g and bigger screen use up a lot of power. Like I've mentioned so many times before in other reviews and this one - Nokia says these are Multimedia Computers. If you want use to use these puppies like a real multimedia computer then you gotta give us so more juice. Talking to Al from The Nokia Blog the other day he showed me the Proporta Mobile Charger, a must have accessory for all Nseries users. I don't have a link to the product right now but I'll post one up later today.

What are your thoughts on the battery life? With those results, do you think the battery held up well? Or do you expect more out of your battery as well?

This has to be one of the most gory and coolest themes I've ever seen.

My phone is literally bleeding when using this theme. Blood by Taieb brings blood dripping onto your LCD screen, making it feel like Halloween in May. Check out the screenshot below.

With this great S60 horror theme I wanted to bring the news that theme master Taieb has finally put up his own website. He's always been one of my favorite theme creators, but finding his themes was always a pain in the ass. I would usually find them at Symbian In Motion or just floating elsewhere around web.

Now you don't have to look further than TaibThemes.com to find the latest and greatest themes. Oh and did I mention they are free?