Had an informal gathering with Nokia, Text100 and several bloggers at The Straits which is located at 31 Pekin Street, Far East Square. At first when I heard of The Straits, it was referring to the The Straits Kitchen located at Hyatt Hotel. Luckily the full address is given, if not I will be going to the wrong place. The last informal Nokia event was held on the 13th June 2008. How time flies, 2 months just passed like that.

We get to play with the Nokia N79, N85 as well as the long due N96. I would like to say that my views are PURELY based on the prototypes as N79 and N85 will not be launching that soon. For the N96, it is quite closed to the final as it will shipping next month (September 2008) and the RRP for it is SGD$1258.

Nokia N79
The first phone that I got to play with is the N79 and it is the successor of N78. It is the smallest Nseries device that is built by Nokia so far and indeed it is small. The build quality of it is solid, similar to that of my N82.

As you all may know, the Xpress-on cover is back. I have not heard of that term for a long time. This time instead of paying separately for the covers, Nokia has decided to bundle 2 other colors cover within the package. 2 colors of the N79 will be available, Canvas White as well as the Seal Grey. The Canvas White will come with the the cover color of “Olive Green” as well as “Light Sea Blue” and the Seal Grey will come with the cover color of “Coral Red” and “White”. Both sets of the N79 will come with a default cover color which is Espresso Brown.

I am quite impressed by the Xpress-on cover. For example, if you change the cover to Olive Green, your S60 OS’s theme will also change to Olive Green. There is a chip located below at the back of the cover that does the magic.

The shutter speed for the N79 has been increased and hence it takes lesser time to snap a photograph an hence when taking a slow moving object, it will not be that distorted anymore.

Nokia also added Nokia’s Widsets to the phone. WidSets is a clever service that brings the Internet to your cell phone. You can have your Twitter, Friendster, Flikr, Digg, Wikipedia, etc services within the application.

The N79 also has an accelerometer and this time it can rotate any screen within the OS itself (even the main menu). Just rotate the phone, and the screen will be rotated as well. It is much better than my N82 when they first introduce the accelerometer where it can only rotate certain screens.

The N79 will have the common stuff such as 5 megapixels camera, dual LED lights as well as GPS.

The only thing I do not like about N79 is the menu key as well as the clear key. The left and right screen key as well as the answer/hang-up key are “popup” but on the other hand the menu key as well as the clear key are flat and hence it is a little harder to press the menu and the clear key or worst still you will press the wrong key like me. I tested it and when clearing my message, instead of pressing the clear key, I pressed onto the right screen key.

Nokia N85
The Nokia N85 is the direct successor of N81 and N81 8GB. It is built for playing N-Gage games similar to the N81. The N81 is a normal sliding phone but the N85 is a dual slider phone.

The N85 spot a new OLED screen never seen before in the Nseries. With this screen, whatever is displayed on the screen is brighter, sharper and consume lesser power. You can definitely notice the difference.

The keypad on the N85 is very flat and hence it is very difficult for me to press. I have to press the menu key quite hard for it to recognize my action.

Similar to the N79, it also have faster shutter speed, Nokia’s Widsets, accelerometer, 5 megapixels camera, dual LED lights as well as GPS.

A lot of people are saying N85 is the N96 killer as N85 has better screen and much better battery life. You can read about the comparison here.

Nothing to say much about the N96 as I have discuss it many times. I personally think that it is a long due phone since February 2008, it has been more than 6 months and finally it will be launched next month. If Nokia were to launched it before June 2008, I think it would be good as I think that the N85 will eat into the market share of N96 as they are very similar and DVB-H is not ready in Singapore.

Nokia N79 and N85 will launched sometime in October 2008.

Once again, do note my views are still based on early prototypes and some of this problems may get solved before the actual release.

PS: I forgot to bring my Canon iXUS 860IS as well as my Nokia N82 and hence when I use my iPhone to take the pictures of the phones, it turns out to be crap and hence I did not upload it. iPhone camera really not up to standard.

Nokia N82 Black

Product Information: Nokia N82 Black
Source: Engadget

School Started
This week is the first week of my new semester. I am currently in year 2, semester 2. If everything goes well, I will be graduating in year 4, semester 1, which is around end of 2009.

Here are the modules I taking for this semester:

CS2106 - Operating Systems (4 MCs) [1 PT]
CS2301 - Business And Technical Communication (4 MCs) [1 PT]
CS3216 - Software Development on Evolving Platforms (4 MCs) [N/A]
CS3254 - Introduction To Computer Networks (4 MCs) [778 PTS]
MA1312 - Calculus with Applications (4 MCs) [1 PT]

Module Code - Module Name (Module Credits) [Points Bidded]

Mom’s Cousin’s Daughter Wedding
My last week before school starts was pretty busy for me as my mom’s cousin (from China) came down to Singapore because his daughter is getting married to a Singaporean. They are not those usual PRCs/FTs who come to Singapore and snatch our job because they are like 921380123 times richer than my family and secondly they speak hokkien as their main language instead of mandarin. You might be wondering how rich are they? They brought in SGD$50,000 in cash and got stop by air port custom, own several casinos in Asia and own a resort and a helicopter in Philippines. The daughter wedding dinner was held at Fullerton Hotel, if I am not wrong it is about SGD$2,000 per table (total of 30 tables). But the food at Fullerton Hotel was just average and all the food served are cold.

My Family, Photo Taken Before The Dinner
(From Left To Right: Me, Li Xiang, Dad, Mom, Hui Mi and Leroy)

Nokia N82
My mom and brother finally changed their handphones. My mom changed from Nokia 7610 to a Nokia N82 from Singtel for SGD$588 and my brother changed from Sony Ericsson W800i also to Nokia N82 from M1 for SGD$598. As for me, I am still waiting for my Nokia N82, hopefully I can get it before Chinese New Year (*hint* Dinesh *hint*).

Family Of Nokia Phones
(From Left To Right: My N93i, Mom’s N82, Bro’s N82 and Dad’s N73ME)

Mobile Square selling for SGD$988. iPOSH selling for SGD$968. Telecoms not out yet.

- Nokia N82 on Nokia Asia

It’s what cameras have become - the new Nokia N82
November 14, 2007

Nokia introduces a leading edge connected camera, navigation device and multimedia computer in one

Espoo, Finland - Nokia unveils the Nokia N82, the latest multimedia computer optimized for photography, navigation and internet connectivity. With the tools to discover the places and moments worth capturing, and the capabilities to capture and share them instantaneously, the Nokia N82 offers photography enthusiasts an enhanced camera experience.

Discover, capture and share
The Nokia N82 enables you to explore your surroundings and find your way with navigation and routing; document your adventures with the high quality imaging capabilities; and instantly share your experiences with one click upload to the web.

Featuring A-GPS, 5 megapixel camera, Xenon flash, Carl Zeiss optics and internet connectivity, the Nokia N82 also incorporates all the multimedia computer features common to Nokia Nseries. Like its predecessor the Nokia N95, the Nokia N82 is the latest epitome of a truly converged device that is not one thing but is many.

“The evolution of camera capabilities in mobile devices has been extremely fast over the past years. With the Nokia N82 we have reached such a superior level in image quality, speed and ease of use that not only does it outperform any other cameraphone on the market, but it’s also a very credible alternative for single purpose digital still cameras,” says Satu Ehrnrooth, head of Nokia Nseries Cameras Category, Multimedia, Nokia. “In addition to the high-end camera, the Nokia N82 also enables you to navigate and discover new places, enjoy your music, browse the web, play games, chat online and be part of the global web 2.0 community wherever you go. Thanks to the wireless broadband connectivity, convergence and yet again increased performance, the Nokia N82 is all you need in your pocket!”

Discover the world
The powerful A-GPS and preinstalled Nokia Maps help you explore and locate new places, whether in another country or just around the corner. All Nokia N82 standard sales packages come with a free voice guided navigation trial, and you can purchase additional features, such as city guides and longer subscription to the navigation.

With access to more than 15 million points of interest, you can locate and navigate to the most interesting sights, bars or restaurants wherever you are. You can also send map excerpts and routes to friends by MMS or save map screen shots to the gallery.

Capture your experiences
With a 5 megapixel camera, powerful Xenon flash and Carl Zeiss optics, the Nokia N82 delivers remarkably vivid photographs, even in low-light conditions. Fast camera activation, autofocus with a dedicated autofocus assist lamp, fast reloading between shots and DVD-like quality video capture make it a truly convenient and credible tool for capturing and telling your life stories.

Thanks to the 2GB microSD card in the standard Nokia N82 sales package, you can store up to 900 high-resolution photos or up to 84 minutes of high quality video on the device.

“The Nokia N82 gives the best ever camera and navigation experience in one stylish premium device. Just imagine what kind of possibilities this will open up and how much richer your every day life experiences can be! The sophisticated design and glossy looks appeal to men and women who are conscious of their style and want to impress with the latest in technology,” Satu Ehrnrooth continues.

Share your stories
With high speed Wi-Fi connectivity and one-click upload to online communities, the Nokia N82 makes sharing your experiences and discoveries easy. When viewing a picture or video, simply one press of a button starts uploading it while you carry on using the device for other purposes.

Or you can impress your friends with multimedia slideshows - complete with music and effects - on the high resolution display or on a compatible TV.

The Nokia N82 comes with the new content driven 3D multimedia menu and includes a convenient orientation sensor that rotates the user interface automatically between horizontal and portrait mode. For quick and easy access to entertainment content, the Nokia N82 also supports the Ovi family of Nokia internet services, including Nokia Music Store, N-Gage games and Nokia Maps.

The Nokia N82 is available now in key markets with an estimated, pre-tax, unsubsidized sales price of approximately 450 euros.

Nokia will host a virtual launch event today, Wednesday, November 14, 2007 beginning at 2pm Finnish time/1pm CET. You can access the virtual launch event at: www.nseries.com/truestories. The webcast will also be available for view on demand afterwards.

Source: Nokia Press Release

Nokia N82 - Front View

It definitely looks better than those leaked shots.

See them here or here.

18 more hours till the official announcement from this post time.

Nokia N82 will be for sale somewhere in January 2008 and the announcement is expected to be on next Tuesday or Wednesday (source).

The recommended retail price (RRP) will be SGD$998 (source).

Lets recap the specs:

• Dimensions: 112 x 50.2 x 17.3 mm
• Weight: 120g
• Display: 2.4″QVGA 240×320, 16M colors
• Camera: 5MPix, CZ optics, Autofocus, up to 20 x digital zoom. Xenon flash. Integrated camera protection
• Video: VGA 30fps
• HSDPA
• Wifi b/g with UPnP
• GPS, TV-out
• Auto UI rotate (new)
• ~120MB RAM (new)

(Source)

Check out: Symbian Freak - Nokia N82 Hands On and Symbian Freak Forums - Nokia N82 Hands On

Rumoured Specifications:

• Quad band GSM, UMTS and HSDPA connectivity
• 5 mpx camera with Carl Zeiss lens
• Autofocus, up to 20 x digital zoom. Real Xenon flash
• 30 fps VGA video capture
• Secondary CIF camera
• 2.4³QVGA 240×320, 16M colors screen
• Built-in GPS
• FM Radio
• TV-Out
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0
• 100 MB built-in memory
• Micro SD memory card slot
• Dimensions: 112 x 50.2 x 17.3 mm
• Weight: 120 g
• Talk time: GSM: 280min, WCDMA: 180min
• Standby time: GSM: 270hrs WCDMA: 250hrs

It is rumored to be announced on the 2nd November 2007 during Nokia UK Play - The Next Episode.

Source: 5 megapixel Nokia N82 imaging phone. Live spy pics - Unwired View