What’s Your Next Device? Nokia N86, N97, Or Waiting It Out? Why No Xenon?

I have a good question for the thousands of loyal N82 users that are eager to pick up a new device. Nokia has a few options available right now, but do they live up to your standards? Oddly enough xenon flash has been left out of Nokia’s new “top dog” devices including their so called imaging flagship – the 8 megapixel N86.

Coming Up This Weekend

 

Coming up on this blog I’ll be showing you some articles comparing the N82 to the N86 and also to the popular 32gb Nokia N97. Since most of you already know the detailed specs of all of these devices I’ll mainly be focusing on imaging and if the dual LED flash can even touch xenon flash. I’m not 100% happy, but my findings might surprise you. I’ll also give you my thoughts on the N97 experience compared to the N82. Stay tuned tomorrow evening for my article about the N86 with some real life photo samples.

Why No Xenon?

I’ve received nearly 100 emails in the past few months asking me the question about new Nokia devices and why xenon flash was not included on any of them. I didn’t have the correct answer besides maybe it was a cost issue. But after seeing some photo samples floating around the web (many I’ll be showing you in the next article) I’m impressed with what Nokia has done with the N86 to bring dual LED technology closer to xenon flash power. But what is the difference between the dual LED on the N86 and other devices like the N97? JBC from Nokia Conversations (an official Nokia blog) left his comments about the technology in a very informative article about the N86. He says,

“The imaging setup in the N86 sports two fundamental improvements over other devices. The first is the size of the aperture, which is much larger than normal and also variable, changing size depending on the amount of light available. Photographers will know that the bigger the aperture, the more light is allowed into the sensor and so the easier it is to capture low light images. Equally, variable aperture size means the camera is just as effective when light is in abundance.

The second key difference lies in the sensor. Much more sensitive than any previous sensors in mobile devices it is capable of handling more detailed, and defined, image capture. Again, this is a huge benefit in low light where flash-assisted images can suffer with an increase in noise (those speckles you see in some images shot indoors).

Ultimately, what the team ended up creating was a device that in many low light situations doesn’t require a flash (though the sensor and aperture both work well with the fully optimised LED unit on the N86).”

And his answer to the big question…

“The obvious question to ask, particularly when comparing the N86 with the N82 is why it doesn’t have a Xenon flash. Despite the fact it doesn’t really need one in most situations, the team tried hard to get one in but found the added bulk would have a significant impact on the whole look and feel of the device. Like other Nseries devices, design plays a key part in the N86 and much focus (sorry, couldn’t help myself) was put on ensuring the device looks as good as it performs.

By tackling low light head on, the N86 manages to create crisp, noise-free images, even when the environment would normally ensure the opposite would happen. Of course the camera’s imaging prowess also benefits from improved algorithms and better shutter speed control. It also sports a smart technology which runs in the background, helping to eliminate blurry images. Automatic Motion Blur Reduction (AMBR) monitors pixel movement, frame by frame, and makes allowances for when either the camera or the subject moves. Simply by spotting if all the pixels in the frame move simultaneously, the sensor instantly suspects camera shake and makes the appropriate corrections. If smaller groups of moving pixels are detected then the camera assumes the subject is moving and once again makes the appropriate corrections.”

Very interesting stuff. Essentially they are saying the N86 lets in more natural light than the N82, eliminating the need to brighten things up so much.The N82 vs N86 dilemma is a big issue especially for North American users. The N82 never got a NAM 3g variant, we are still stuck on slow GSM internet speeds. The N86 is extremely tempting to many of us since the NAM 3g version is only a few weeks away. Not to mention the N86 has a larger screen, better video recording, and an updated version of Symbian S60v3 that is very impressive. There are a few other improvements and additions, including one very special feature that has to do with video recording.

Check back this weekend for some photo samples that I’ve gathered up from various forums and blogs.

What Are Your Thoughts?

Do you think Nokia is sugarcoating the dilemma or do you think it was a good move to tackle low light issues naturally rather than blasting xenon flash at it? Is anything in the Nokia lineup looking good to you? I would also like to hear some current N86 users chime in.

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Nokia 5800XM Photo Samples vs. The N82 – We Have A Winner

Ohrly? Remember a few weeks back I showed you the N82 side by side with the Nokia 5800XM? In the comments of that article I promised some comparison photo samples between the two devices. Of course the N82 will come out the clear winner in some of these photos, but I think it’s interesting to note that the Nokia 5800XM can hold it’s own in daylight photos. I didn’t include any low-light photos or night shots because the N82 would obviously kill it in that regard, but if anyone wants some examples just ask. My current phone arsenal is the Nokia N82, E71, and 5800xm. The list might grow longer with the upcoming Nokia N97 (now listed on Amazon). My fiancé has been dying to get her hands on it.

For people on the fence about whether or not to pick up the 5800XM, if you can afford it I would say it’s a great value at $289 (after rebate) and a great secondary phone to carry around when hanging out with your iPhone buddies. I’ve started getting used to the T9 input on the 5800xm, as I mentioned in past reviews.

Ok enough rambling. Let’s cut to the chase and see what the 5800XM can do – photo wise.

N82 Left, 5800XM right
(click images for actual size)

As you can see the Nokia 5800xm looks decent in some shots, and just sad in others. All of these photos were taken in auto mode with the flash set to automatic. This isn’t to say that the 5800 isn’t capable of taking great photos. I captured this one while on the way to wine country.

What are your thoughts? If you have any more comparison proposals or questions feel free to ask. Happy Friday everyone!

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Nokia 5800 Photos Next To The N82. You Have Questions I Have Answers

The Nokia 5800 seems to get tons of interest from N82 users. I’ve read many comments and emails from readers asking how I like the Nokia 5800 and how good it is compared to our black (and silver) beauties. My fiancé currently owns the 5800 and I did try it out for a few weeks, I even partially reviewed it over at Symbian-Addict.com. It’s a really great device at a great device, but I’ll warn you right now that it’s NOT for everybody. I know a few hardcore Nokia fanatics that ended up liking the 5800, but personally I just couldn’t get used to not having real buttons. The experience just is not the same for me.

Some of you may end up liking the Nokia 5800. I know a touchscreen S60 device is extremely attractive to a lot of you. That’s why I decided to give you some side by side photos of the Nokia 5800 and N82.

Check out the photos below:

Above you can really see how big the screen is on the Nokia 5800. This is by far my favorite feature.

The thickness of the two devices is pretty much the same.

 

The Nokia 5800 is only slightly bigger.

There you have it. The Nokia 5800 vs. N82 side by side. Lets not forget the Nokia 5800 has a North American 3g version for high speed internet on the AT&T network. Sadly, the low-light photos are extremely poor. If I get enough requests I’ll show some N82 vs. 5800 photo samples. Some might be surprised to see the daylight photos the 5800 captures. They look surprisingly good with the latest firmware.

Right now you can pick up the Nokia 5800 from Amazon for about $350 bucks. Not a bad deal for a touchscreen smartphone that comes with 8gb and decent battery life.

If any of you have questions about the Nokia 5800 let me know and I’ll answer your questions.

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Nokia N82 Still In A League Of Its Own, One Of A Kind

It’s no doubt that the Nokia N82 is my favorite mobile device of all time, with the Nokia E71 in a close second. I’ve played with many devices since I got my own phone number and nothing has been able to find a place in my heart like the N82. Those devices include Nokia powerhouses N95, N79, N96, and the 5800XM. Not to mention a few other “dumbphones” and smartphones in between. Don’t get me wrong they all have their own special traits, but none of them feel like a “swiss army knife” like my N82. I’m extremely interested in trying out the upcoming N86 and N97, but I still think my sim card will find itself in the N82 most of the time.

I’m not trying to beat a dead horse with this article. I’ve written posts like this before, reassuring everybody that their precious N82’s are still state of the art. Back in October our writer Aaron talked about how he believed the N82 to be the best camera phone at the time. I think this STILL holds true today.

I’m actually writing this because I want to share a story with you that Steve Litchfield from All About Symbian wrote about the N82 and where it stands in his yes. He praises the N82 very much and even calls it 100% reliable. Steve goes on to say,

I know, I know, I was a bit dismissive of the N82's styling when it first appeared, but as time has gone on the phone has become more and more appealing. So a bit of a U-turn from yours truly, but:

At the time I think we all thought that Nokia's OMAP2-based graphics acceleration was going to be standard in all following phones, or maybe improved upon.
At the time we all thought that Xenon flash was going to be retained for at least some future models.
At the time we expected that the protective lens shutter would also be standard.
And at the time the VGA video recording, neatly focussed for action within a metre or two, was also expected to continue, as it had on the N95 and N95 8GB (plus E90) before it.
And, as such, there was no reason to lift the N82 up onto a pedestal, since future devices would obviously exceed it.

Curiously, the machinations of Nokia's platform plans has meant that the likes of the N95 and N82 haven't been equalled since, with the N79, N85 and N96, plus the 5800 XpressMusic, all lacking in most of these ways. No graphics acceleration (which makes a big difference when playing back video and some games), no Xenon flash (the only other smartphone with this is the [also S60-powered] Samsung G810, which is a let down in other areas), the N96 and 5800 both lack any kind of lens protection, and all bar the 5800 have had their video recording crippled by being focussed on infinity.

Very good points, and I’m glad to see such a prolific face of the Symbian community give some love to the N82. Click here to read the entire article.

Lighting, Lighing, Lighting

Talking about photos and lighting again, even the dual led of the Nokia 5800XM is crap. I’ve been writing a review of the 5800 over at Symbian-Addict.com for a few months now and I haven’t touched on the dual led flash  yet… but I plan to soon with side by side examples. The daytime photos look fine but the low-light photos are unusable. If the N86 and it’s supposed “next generation dual led” technology performs anything like the 5800, that would be a huge letdown. I strongly believe that your flagship imaging device MUST have xenon flash even if it has a thousand megapixels.

What do you think? How much longer will the N82 be “the one” for you? Are you saving up for the Nokia N97 or N86?

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N82 vs. N95 - The Ongoing Battle

If you guys haven't had enough - here is another N82 vs N95 comparison article. This comes at an interesting time since these two devices are no longer at the top of Nokia's lineup, being replaced with recent devices like the N96, N85, and 5800 S60 touch device. Despite these brand new smartphones officially hitting the market, the N82 and N95 are still the topic of many discussions.

For example Aaron, who you already know as a writer here at the blog, recently laid out his thoughts about the Nokia N95 8gb over at Symbian-Addict. The N95 8gb was his second choice back when he was looking for a new device. Thankfully he chose to go with the N82. In the article he goes over the pros and cons of the old Nokia flagship, and here were his final thoughts...

Well, I admit that I kind of desire the better entertainment experience that the N95 offers, but all things considered, after almost a year with the Nokia N82, I am still happy and not regretful of choosing it. I preferred it because it's more compact and solid, and not to mention, it's cheaper.

Overall, I am really impressed with the N95 8gb. I can confidently recommend a purchase of this device to friends and relatives. Expect more coverage about this device on upcoming posts.

Click here to read the entire article.

A New N82 User Has Joined The Family...

This brings us to another "N82 xenon flash kicks the N95's ass" article. My pal Ravindra who you'd remember from Symbian Life Blog has jumped ship and bought a Nokia N82, leaving his N95 to gather dust. At his new blog Symbian Stories he shows us another close look at how the N82 out-performs the N95 in a small camera battle. Taking a picture of his ceiling fan, the N95 gives horrible results...



Amazingly the N82 managed to capture the fan like it wasn't even on, making the blades look perfectly still. Be sure to read the rest of the article here and subscribe to the RSS feed. Rav's been writing tons of good application reviews.

What does all this remind us? That even the newer devices - all the way up to the Nokia N97 - won't live up to the photo quality of the N82. Kind of a bummer in my book, as it's the one thing keeping the N97 from being an overall winner in every department.

Have you thought about switching to another phone?

If so what would be your choice? If I had to pick another phone in the Nseries to use it would probably be the N85, mainly because of the screen size and North American 3g.

Thoughts...

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So I Got An 8mp Olympus Digital Camera For Xmas & Also Have The Nokia E71...

I've gone without using a dedicated digital camera since I got my Nokia N82, which has been about a year. Needless to say my precious N82 has been a champ, making me forget the fact that I don't have a digital camera and on countless occasions astonishing people that I trust my phone to capture all those specials moments. On rare occasion I wished that I had optical zoom or better audio recording for videos. Other than that the N82 has held it's own. But this holiday season has been a threat to my Nokia camera powerhouse...




A new device has come into my life. Every year for Christmas my dad surprises me with one cool gift, usually a gadget. This year happened to be an Olympus FE-20 8 megapixel camera, with 3x optical zoom. Upon opening my gift I was a little speechless. Not because I was filled with joy, but instead a little sorrow and skepticism. First thing that came to mind was - "Crap, I already have my N82". Next thing was - "Shoot, am I going to be using my N82 less?". Keep in mind I've been having a mental "phone fight" in my head the past few months on a daily basis. I also have a Nokia E71 that I received when I started working for Nokia with the S60 Ambassador team. The E71 is a workhorse with it's huge 1500mah battery and North American 3g capabilities. However I still lean towards taking my N82 out for the day, especially when I know I'm going out later that night to hang out with friends or family. But when I wake up in the morning and know that I'm gonna be away from the computer for most of the day yet I need to have full access to the WWW, I grab the E71. The battery life is just killer.

So now I have a question. Will the E71 + Olympus digital camera fully replace my N82?



This is something that I've pondered the last few days, and I gotta admit have been somewhat scared of. My girlfriend's birthday was Friday, myself and friends took her out for sushi and drinks. I elected to leave the N82 and home and go with the E71 + Olympus combo. Needless to say I really enjoyed the camera experience, especially the optical zoom which was great for capturing friends across the bar or table. Not to mention the image quality, face recognition, and stabilization makes the experience better. But I ran into a few annoyances...

1. It really sucks carrying around two devices. I hate having a ton of stuff in my pockets. E71 in one, camera in the other. Really annoying.

2. I often forgot which pocket my camera was in when reaching to take a quick shot. By the time I got the camera out the moment was gone.

3. Holding the camera, the damn phone rings. Now I have to fumble with 2 devices in front of my plate of food. With my N82 as you know I can easily take or reject the call, then get back to my photos.

5. No immediate photo-sharing features. I love uploading the pics to Ovi immediately, and also sending to friends/family.

4. I'm still not sold on qwerty. I love T9.

So what is my conclusion? I really don't want to deal with these annoyances every time I go out with friends. This once a year occasion perhaps is worth bringing along the Olympus, but this won't be happening often. The N82 is just more convenient for a simple night out and for those "random" moments. I suppose the Olympus will only be making an appearance when I know for sure I'm going to be taking a lot of photos and will need the optical zoom.

What else has this experience brought to my mind? The big question of course. When will Nokia replace the N82 with a new imaging device? Image stabilization, facial recognition, optical zoom, etc? I'm not really desperate for more megapixels, just some of these extra features would be great. Ricky from Symbian-Guru.com recently wrote up a great article with his thoughts on this subject. I'd suggest you all check it out.

Stay tuned for some head to head photos and videos. If you have any questions let me know.

Do you own a digital camera and a Nokia N82? What are your thoughts? How often do you take the camera out with you?

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Nokia N85, N96, N79 - Does Double LED Stand A Chance Against The N82?

I haven't been too impressed with a few of the phones that Nokia has released since our beloved N82. To me the N96 just seems like a copy of the N95 with a few minor improvements. The N79 seems like a downgrade from the N82 if your looking for a great cameraphone and a block form factor, and of course the N78 has completely fell off my radar. I played with that phone for a few weeks and was extremely unimpressed with the build quality and "laggyness" of the menu transitions of S60 3rd Feature Pack 2.

The one Nseries device that has stood out to me though is the Nokia N85 - launching in the UK on Friday. The slider looks to be solid, the 2.6" screen features OLED technology, and it's just so nice and compact. But one glaring thing stands out on all these phones - they all have LED flash!!! A big letdown.

Mark Guim from The Nokia Blog has recently posted a great comparison that I've been waiting for - N85 vs. N96 vs. N82 photo comparison in low light conditions. Double LED Flash vs. Xenon Flash. I was hoping that the double LED would hold it's own and compete a little better than the N95 did against the N82 - but as you can see below this isn't the case.

N82 left, N85 Right...



As you can see the true color really comes out with N82, as apposed to the greenish tint and lack of detail of the N85.

Click here for Mark's entire article with more comparisons and larger photos.

As you can see the Nokia N82 pulls ahead in all photos. Another double LED flash device new on the market is the Samsung Pixon M8800, featuring "face/smile/blink detection, panoramic shooting, image stabalisation and shake reduction software, all of which are to be found on ‘proper’ point-and-shoot cameras", according to that article. But once again still no xenon flash - leading to weak and grainy low-light photos.

Granted all of the devices mentioned here take great pictures during the day and it well lit conditions, but the N82 for those who want more out of their cameraphone. In my opinion the benefits I have with the N82 outweigh those of the N85, despite the lack of North American 3g on our N82. Until Nokia releases another xenon device - I don't think I will be purchasing another Nseries. The N82 is more than enough for my needs.

If you need another N82 vs N85 comparison the dudes from Mobile World Innovation have some great coverage. Click here to check it out.

What do all of you think? Will or have any of you already jumped ship to a newer device? If so - your welcome to keep reading this blog of course - all of the applications featured here will work on most S60 3rd Edition phones. Out of the devices I mentioned here, what impresses you the most.

Disclaimer: As many of you already know, I'm currently working for S60. This article has nothing to do with my job or my views as a Nokia employee.

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Has The Best Camera Phone Been Overthroned? Is The N82 Still The Best Camera Phone To Date??

Over at All About Symbian.com, a very interesting read is the Camera Gritty Nitty series wherein Steve tackled several aspects regarding camera phones. Do unprotected lens' scratches really affect the output quality of pictures taken? What are the pros and cons of Led / Dual-Led / Xenon flashes in camera phones? Is it true that a camera isn't better just because it has more megapixels? Is there really difference between branded and regular camera optics? Head over to the articles to find out...

On the fifth part of the series, Steve investigated which among today's camera phone beasts really is the best? With the following devices, he made several comparisons and gave points in terms of effectiveness/colouration and detail captured: (Nokia N82, Nokia N95, Nokia N93, Samsung G810, and Samsung i8510). Here are the final scores:

1. Samsung i8510 - 61 pts
   
2. Nokia N95 - 57 pts
   
3. Nokia N82 - 55 pts
   
4. Samsung G810 - 48 pts
   
5. Nokia N93 - 47 pts

Hmmm.. It's sad that the N82 did not win. But it's hard to accept that even the N95 triumphed over our dear N82 which leaves it at third place! The N95 indeed is a great phone, proven and tested that both phones capture outdoor shots with a very slight difference in picture quality. But with regards to indoor and night shots, the N82's xenon flash easily leaves the N95 far behind. So I think, as far as camera is concerned, the N82 is still ahead.

Samsung did a great job with the colors of i8510's images:

..though looks artificial, it's really pleasing in the eye. I wish Nokia will grant this to us as well (as an additional setting/option) on future firmware updates. And pray to God (O_o), that they grant us that long awaited fix on the N82's too much image compression. We have large capacity cards now, and Nokia needs not to be too concerned about us having 3-5mb for every pictures we take. It's what we really wanted, there are settings available anyway, in case users want to reduce image file size.

A couple of concerns I'd like to mention about the comparisons made, wherein the N82 could have won, (or at least against the N95??)

• the toy car as the subject for macro mode i think is not that ideal for comparison. even a very minor difference on how the phones were held, or on the distance from the subject, while taking their attempt could have affected their performance on proper focusing, also add the fact that it's hard to get an ideal focus from such a subject like that car .. Or at least another subject for macro mode could have been added to have a fairer comparison. a textured wall, or cloth? or patterned stuffs? The n82 really does great job on macro mode...
  
  
• why was there no 1:1 comparison on the pic where the girls were jumping? The n82 sure would have garnered more points and a bigger advantage on that aspect.. hehe;)
  
  
• i think in addition to picture quality, the overall performance of each phones (especially with regards to processing speed and cam response) is another factor to consider. (at least some bonus points? haha) Yeah, Steve mentioned that the question was: "Which, taking all (still) photographic attributes into consideration, is currently the best camera-equipped smartphone in the world?", lols
  

I believe the N82 is still the best camera phone today. What do you think? It does great quality outdoor shots, perfect even for large print-outs, and its Xenon Flash is a very huge advantage, especially in a battle against dedicated digicams.. Samsung i8510 and the N95, both having typical led illumination, won't even stand a chance on night shots, rendering them almost useless at night.

Don't get me wrong, like any other posts by Steve, i really enjoyed that article. I think it really boils down to the user as to how he wants his camera phone to be. And this camera-nitty-gritty series.., sure another helpful guide for those in search of that camera phone they really wanted.. ^^

As for me, the n82 is the real winner! ;-) Thoughts and comments welcome!

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N82 vs. Samsung U900 Photo Fight! Who Wins?

If you haven't heard Samsung released a 5mp cameraphone with a LED flash. Before the release of the Samsung competitor the Nokia N82 was known as the imaging champion of all cameraphones. Does it still stand as king? Keep reading for a direct photo comparison of the Nokia N82 and the Samsung U900.

I recieved an email the other day from Hamidi from Mobile-Review Forums informing me of this photo quality comparison he's doing. He calls it the 5mp Stand Off. So far it looks like the N82 is really kicking ass in almost all departments, check out the images below...

Samsung U900 left or top, N82 right or bottom (depending on your browser). You can click the images for the original size.



As you can see in those images the Samsung on the left is too bright and is letting in too much light. The term for that is over-exposure correct? Here's another example of this...



Here is a macro shot...



In my opinion this is where the N82 faltered a little. The Samsung U900 gives a little more detail and sharpness.

And should we even try to compare night shots? LED vs Xenon...come on thats not even a fair game. Ehh, why not?



As you can see the LED flash of the U900 looks atrocious, while the N82's xenon flash gives off a nice warm natural light.

So who takes the win? Needless to same the N82 comes out on top with a stellar performance. Still the reigning king of photo quality on a cameraphone. Nokia N82 takes all the glory.



Ok enough gloating. Hamidi gets a huge thanks for this comparison. But don't stop reading here. You can find even more comparison photos over at his post at Mobile Review Forums where he even throws in some Nokia N95 photos for an even closer look at the competition. Click here for more head to head photos and voice your opinion.

This makes me remember why I'm a proud N82 owner.

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Still Can't Decide Which N82 Color? Here's Photos Of All Three Side By Side

I conducted a poll a few weeks ago about which color variant of the Nokia N82 you prefer. Out of 512 voters - 52% said black, 41% said Titanium and 6% undecided. If your one of the people on the fence about which color you prefer, check out the gallery of N82 black and N82 titanium variants creme, and white. Good find by the guys over at Into Mobile.




Click here to see the rest of the gallery if you'd like.

Thanks to the folks at Wom World I'm going to be getting to use the Nokia N82 black for a few weeks so I can showcase it to all of you and finally make my decision to to purchase or to keep the titanium. If anyone wants any certain angles of the phone I can take a picture and show you here at the blog. More on that next week.

For those that have the N82 black already, are you liking it? How is the build quality?

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Roundup: Interesting News & Articles From Recent Weeks

There as been a lot to cover the past few weeks as far as Symbian S60 and Nokia news goes. Everything from applications to tutorials, to discussions about the N95 and how it affects Nokia. Below is a roundup of all the latest happenings.

Qik Tips For Live Video Streaming
Matthew from the Darla Mack Blog has posted an article talking about everything you need to know about the Qik application for live video streaming. Click here

The Black N82 Is Amazing
Stefan from Into Mobile talks about his time meeting one of the project managers of the Nokia N82. He also talks about how much he loves his new black N82. Click here

The Where Application & Sling Player For S60 Update
Rick from Symbian Guru has posted articles about the popular Sling Player which allows you to watch your live TV on your phone and a new application called Where which is a location based application and tells you things such as gas prices, events, places to eat, etc.

Uploading Your Photos To More Than One Place At The Same Time
Mark from The Nokia Blog wrote up a great article about the free Shozu application which allows you to upload photos and videos to popular online social websites. It's like Share Online 3.0 on steroids. Click here

Listening To Baseball And Hockey Radio On Your Phone
Have you ever wanted to stream live internet radio to your phone. Here is the only solution for right now if the format is Windows Media Player, which S60 phones currently don't support. Click here

What Makes A Smartphone Smart?
Great question by Steve from All About Symbian, along with a great article. Click here

S60 Software Thats Worth Paying For
Do you buy a lot of applications? Or do you prefer to find a free solution. I only have a few applications on my phone that are worth paying for. Vaibhav from The Symbian Blog has posted an article about this. Click here

Nokia N78 & Nokia N82 Side By Side Pictures
Just Another Mobile Blog has posted a ton of photos showing the two phones side by side. Click here

Problems Updating Firmware With Vista? Look Here
Do you get this error? "Nokia Service Layer Host Process has stopped working". If so Mr-X from Finest Fones has posted a article to get around this. I highly recomment eveyone to read this before you update your firmware with Vista. Click here

That's it for now. If you've seen any good articles recently let us know in the comments below.

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The Two N82 Colors - Side By Side

A Chinese phone website has published some side by side comparison photos of the Nokia N82 in black and titanium. It's amazing how both of the phones look great. I initially thought I would be leaning towards liking the black version better, but now I am not so sure. The titanium is really unique and like others have said I would've liked to see the N82 black in more of a matte finish rather than glossy.

I'm curious to see how many of you prefer the titanium or black.

Vote in the poll in the right column and let us know your thoughts.

Click here to see more side by side N82 black and titanium photos.

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Squirrels & Lizards Captured In Darkness With The N82

Hopefully Ravindra from Symbian Life Blog didn't blind these poor little fellas haha. I'm sure there fine. He got a chance to try out the N82 and shows off the xenon flash capalities - in pitch black darkness.


Looking at all the pictures on his article you would think there was a light on in the room. I had a discussion with Devin from The Nokia Guide today and we agreed how hard it would be to give up xenon flash. I was telling him that myself, living in the USA we don't get to take advantage of the N82's 3g speeds. I could opt to go for the N95-4, but there is no way in hell I can get good use out of the N95's camera in low light conditions. I take a lot of night photos so this is definetly a problem.

Click here to head over and check out the article by Symbian Life. It's very interesting as are the photos he took.

What do you think? Would you be Europeans be able to give up your 3g speeds to keep xenon flash? Or would you switch to a N95 with 3g and no xenon? I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
I'm actually going to find out this question for myself soon. I will be trialing a N95-4 (N95 8gb with North American 3g) for a few weeks thanks to Nokia. I'll check back here with my initial thoughts in a few days.

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A Quick Comparison - N82 vs. N95 Camera Different Besides The Flash?

I just came across this post over at Symbian In Motion comparing the Nokia N95's picture quality to the Nokia N82. We all know that the flash on the N82 blows the N95's out of the water.

But how about normal lighting without flash? What about photos in a dimly lit room with no flash. Is there a difference?

Here is a chandelier with the light on in a dark room. Both photos are taken in night mode with no flash. Photos taken by Zach from Symbian In Motion.

N82

N95

As you can see there is a huge difference. The N82's picture lets in the perfect amount of light so that it's able to grab the details of the chandelier. The N95 failed miserably. As Zach points out in his post, this has to do with the imaging software in the N82 being better than the N95's. What else would explain this? They have the same megapixels and same lens right? Nokia N95 owners should be happy about this because more than likely since is software this can be fixed with future updates.

Click here to check out the rest of the post at Symbian In Motion. You'd find more N82 vs. N95 comparison photos and he even throws the Casio Exilim into the mix as well. Makes you happy and proud you picked up a Nokia N82.

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The Nokia N82's Flash Beats Out A Kodak 5MP @ Symbian World

Well I've been waiting for someone to compare the xenon flash of the Nokia N82 to the flash of a dedicated digital camera. I've been speculating in my head since the release of the Nokia N95 if a camera phone can replace a digital camera for everyday and night use. Of course the led flash of the Nokia N95 fails vs. a digital camera. But take a look at these comparison pictures done by Symbian World. In a battle of dark lighting between the Nokia N82 vs. a Kodak Z740 5MP Camera, the Nokia N82 came out on top. This is great news for those who are trying to decide if they don't want to lug their digital camera around all over the place.

Check out a few samples below:

left: Nokia N82, right: Kodak Z740























(click photos for full image)

So what do you think. Obviously the N82 the trophy in this shootout. The average price is about $230 bucks for that Kodak Z740. If you look hard enough, you can find a Nokia N82 for no more than $550. For me the extra couple hundred bucks would be worth it. It depends on the user. For me, I would no longer need a digital camera. These samples are proof enough for me that it's just not necessary. All the tests I've seen show that the camera starts up in about 2 seconds on the Nokia N82, just as fast as my digital camera. Zoom functions are much better on a digital camera, but I rarely use zoom at all.

Click here to check out the article at Symbian World.

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