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Two-box solution or one? Symbian/iPad versus the Galaxy Note

12 years ago, I remember demonstrating to a packed room of enthusiasts to delights of pairing up my Psion palmtop with the Ericsson SH888 (titanium, indestructible), which possessed an infrared modem, meaning that I could get my palmtop online at a whopping 9.6kbps via Circuit Switched Data (this was before GPRS!) It was a working two box communications solution and it's with a certain nostalgia that I remember it as I look a modern 'two box' solution. How do the pros and cons of splitting one's electronics work out in practice?

# Posted by Steve in How To, Hardware at 11:14 UTC, Jan 31st || Comments

How would you improve the Nokia N8?

It's somewhat amazing that the Nokia N8 remains in the top tier of smartphones a full 16 months after release - it's fair to say that this is almost entirely due to its camera, with perhaps build quality and gadget-complement contributing too. But no phone can go on forever. If you were Nokia and wanted to produce an "N8 mark II", what would you add/tweak? What's practical? What's worthwhile?

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 10:46 UTC, Jan 30th || Comments

Why the humble phone loudspeaker needs to be just that: LOUD

As I sit at my desk looking at around a dozen smartphones of all shapes and sizes (hey, I'm a journalist, and privileged that way), running four different mobile OS platforms, I find my decision on which to use as my main phone based on a number of hardware factors (screen size, form factor, camera) that you'll probably empathise with, plus one that you might not expect. At the top of my list of characteristics for a perfect smartphone is a loud, high quality loudspeaker. Yes, really.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 10:38 UTC, Jan 11th || Comments

The biggest power drain of all... cleverer software needed

So there I was in a largish UK town on December 27th, visiting relatives. Naughty, I know, but I was staying in touch with email and Twitter through the day, because... well, this is me. And I totally killed two smartphones in five hours. And was on the way to killing a third. To find out why, read on, there's an issue here that I've moaned about before, that not many technologists acknowledge and which could do with addressing intelligently in each mobile OS.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 11:28 UTC, Dec 28th || Comments

Camera phone? Why not a standalone?

There's a very famous adage that addresses the question posed in the title ("Why not a standalone camera?") very adeptly and quickly: "Because it's the only camera that's with you". However, true though this is, the question and answer have provoked Tim Salmon and I to indulge in some friendly Christmas debate - comments welcome if you come down on one side of the argument or the other!

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 10:06 UTC, Dec 22nd || Comments

The Nokia E7 and 700 - an unlikely comparison

The Nokia E7 and 700 - there couldn't be two Symbian devices that are more different. The E7 is the enterprise-focussed behemoth, and the 700 is the ultra slim device made to discreetly fit into any pocket. Surprisingly, there is very little that you can do with one device that you can't do with the other. Thanks to Belle's updated user interface, Symbian's best in class power management and its general functionality, there is plenty to lament about Nokia's decision to sunset the platform.

# Posted by David in Comment, Hardware at 13:07 UTC, Dec 13th || Comments

Nokia C7 vs N8: Female vs Male: Madonna vs Kurt Cobain?

Yes, it's a Friday Face-off. Sat next to me on my desk are the Nokia C7 and my beloved N8. Yet despite that adjective, I do keep picking up the C7 and err.... fondling it. It's just so beautiful. Could this be a classic battle of the sexes? Smooth, silky beauty vs brute power? Despite the cosmetic differences, the C7 and N8 are surprisingly well matched under the hood. Here's my run-down: would you, too, be tempted by the C7?

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 7:57 UTC, Dec 9th || Comments

The N8 as reference point for Nokia's new Lumia 800

Over on All About Windows Phone, I've been putting the new Nokia Lumia 800's camera through its paces in detail. Why am I mentioning this here? Because it's impossible to cover a device like that without at least some frame of reference - in this case, the venerable Nokia N8. And, with many N8 fans perhaps wondering if camera technology is now good enough over on the Windows Phone side of the fence, it seemed appropriate to show some of my N8 vs Lumia 800 camera comparison shots. See below for the snaps and some choice quotes.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware at 14:36 UTC, Dec 4th || Comments

Matching devices today - to technology from the Last Classic S60 smartphone

Despite the torrent of device releases across the world this year, I was struck by a comment on one of my Phones Shows, pointing out that in some ways smartphone hardware has gone backwards in the last few years. This is something of an exageration, but I got the point. Moreover, I thought it well worth documenting the different aspects of yesterday's (and today's) smartphone technology - are there indeed tricks from the past that 2012 designs can learn from?

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 7:23 UTC, Dec 1st || Comments

Nokia 701 week continues - IPS TFT versus AMOLED: 701 vs C7

Another in my little series of tech highlights (previously: BL-5K differences and EDoF gen2), ahead of my full review of the Nokia 701. This time looking at the display change for the 701, compared to the C7. The latter used the same AMOLED display as the N8, albeit hidden a little behind a slightly mirrored oleophobic coating, whereas the new 701 uses an IPS (In Plane Switching) LCD, similar to that introduced by Apple for the iPad and iPhone 4, plus Nokia's CBD system. How do the two displays compare in differing light conditions?

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 19:57 UTC, Nov 17th || Comments

The Nokia 701 and EDoF generation two

Much criticism has been levelled at Nokia's ever-growing pantheon of EDoF-equipped smartphones. From the C6-01 to the E7 and E6, each device's camera has been criticised for not allowing close-up ('macro') photos, despite all the other advantages of Extended Depth of Field processing. Has Nokia listened? Yes. Can you now shoot macro photos? Not quite, though you can get closer to your subjects. You'll also see significantly better photos in all conditions - the EDoF camera (and associated electronics) in the new Nokia 701 effectively represents EDoF generation two.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 11:41 UTC, Nov 16th || Comments

Nokia's Hydrophobic Future

Nokia’s Cambridge Research Lab is investigating several uses for Carbon nanotube technology. Built from a single layer of Graphene, a new type of Hydrophobic coating could make phones much more resilient to wet environments, while providing a cheaper alternative to current touch screen technology, which is based on rare earth metals. Since Graphene is a form of Carbon, one of the most abundant elements on the planet, the raw materials are much easier to obtain. We spoke to researchers at Nokia World’s Future Technology tent to find out more.

# Posted by David in Interviews, Previews, Hardware at 7:00 UTC, Nov 10th || Comments

The big, big EDoF challenge

I've written about EDoF before, of course, explaining how it works and rationalising why it's used so much and who it's aimed at. Ten of the eleven Symbian^3/Anna/Belle smartphones use EDoF cameras, rather amazingly - Nokia has gone 'all-in' with the technology. But I wanted to come to a verdict once and for all - for me, this time: could I live with EDoF? Taking only the Nokia C7 with me for a whole weekend of family activities and leaving the N8 at home(!), just how good could my EDoF-taken snaps be? Or just how disappointing? We find out below in a truly image-tastic gallery, with comments.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 9:03 UTC, Nov 7th || Comments

Are the 2010 Symbian smartphones about to be obsolete? (That'll be a NO)

The smartphone world moves, as they say, at a frantic pace. What is cutting edge one month is replaced six (or even three) months later. Making rather a mockery of typical 18 and 24 month phone contracts, but that's another rant for another day. More to the point, we've had a number of new Symbian handsets announced and then made available in the last few months (Nokia 603, 700, 701), all running Symbian Belle. Where on earth does this leave the original Symbian^3 handsets from 2010? On the shelf? Not likely....

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 7:45 UTC, Nov 3rd || Comments

A NFC (Near Field Communications) primer

NFC, widely touted to be one of the 'next big things' is here already in the Nokia C7, Google Nexus S and Blackberry Bold 9900, plus all the new Symbian Belle handsets have it built-in and other manufacturers and platforms are sure to follow. But what actually is Near Field Communications and how does it work? What can you do with it right now and what will it enable in the future? Here's a bookmark-able primer that should answer all your questions.

# Posted by Steve in How To, Comment, Hardware at 8:17 UTC, Oct 20th || Comments

Head to head: Nokia E6 and Blackberry Bold 9900

Both devices are now out and established, fighting for the title of 'Best Portrait Qwerty' - it's the Nokia E6 and Blackberry Bold 9900. Having now used both for a few weeks, here's my detailed head to head, comparing them blow for blow. Both devices have compromises, remarkably similar, both are from companies fighting to stay alive in the 2011 smartphone space - is there a winner and are either of them ultimately good enough?

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 10:20 UTC, Oct 13th || Comments

No pressure, but... (Xenon and the rise of the REAL camera phone)

More of an observation than a rant (though see below), but the rise and rise of the REAL camera phone puts quite a bit of pressure on us geeks, whatever mobile OS we currently favour. You see, the theory is that "the best camera is the one you have with you" but in practice all smartphones aren't created equal in the camera department and that has unforeseen social repercussions....

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 12:07 UTC, Oct 11th || Comments

One year of the Nokia N8: the ultimate 'long term review'?

Exactly a year ago, to the day, Nokia released the N8 to the world's press (and to a few lucky people able to get to the few flagship stores), just making their own Q3, 2010 deadline. As of two hours later, my main SIM went in the N8 and, a few review and retro dalliances aside, has been in it ever since. For anyone who's followed me over the years, that's nothing short of incredible. The same phone for 12 months. And there's still nothing to replace it. Here's the N8 story and here's why it's lasted.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 8:11 UTC, Sep 29th || Comments

The thorny question of screen resolution. Is Symbian now ultimately limited?

The last nine years has seen an increase, not only in the physical size of smartphone screens, but even more dramatically, in their resolution. We've gone from the original S60 smartphones (e.g. the 7650 and 6630) right up to the monster 'superphones' of 2011, with the highest resolution model offering a staggering twenty-five times as many pixels, all to (arguably) do a job that's not dissimilar. Which begs the question of how the various resolutions compare, of how many pixels you actually need, and whether Symbian as we currently know it is up to the job for competing in screen resolution with the smartphone class of 2012? Here are my (illustrated) thoughts.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 7:44 UTC, Sep 28th || Comments

Bring back the SU-8W!

There's one Nokia product decision that has really, really puzzled me in the last few years - and that's the retirement of the SU-8W after only a couple of years on sale. First made in 2005, I reviewed it here and, amazingly, it still works perfectly - six years later, as demonstrated below with my N8. What is the SU-8W, why did Nokia stop making it and where can you still get it, all questions I try to answer below. And - I know Nokia reads All About Symbian - isn't it about time to kick off another production run? Pretty please?

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Hardware at 12:14 UTC, Sep 21st || Comments

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