Nokia N900 first impressions

I’ve been using the Nokia N900 since unboxing it 5 days ago, and I’m still blown away!

I wrote “the N900 is brilliant”, and it’s true – I have not been this excited about a Nokia device since the N95, and that was pre iPhone.

For better or for worse, the iPhone changed people’s expectations. Suddenly, having the best hardware was secondary to having the best software, services, and user experience…

Podcast: Talking with Matt #14

It’s time for another podcast (25 min) with Matthew Bennett:
- Audio version
- Video version

This week (episode 15 14) we discussed the Nokia N900, the Nokia N97 (which I accidentally drop), and the Nokia 6790 (Surge)!

Other topics include Matt’s clever hack, the Toshiba NB205, and a few other things, all while sitting outside of Farley’s

Click here to subscribe to this podcast.

Podcast: Talking with Matt #13

It’s time for another podcast (35 min) with Matthew Bennett:
- Audio version
- Video version

This week we discussed the Nokia N97, the Samsung i8910 (Omnia HD), and the Nokia E75!

Other topics include Matt’s adventures on the N97 24/7 Tour, plus a few other things, all while sitting outside of Cafe Flore…

Click here to subscribe to this podcast.

Nokia E75 camera

There’s no doubt the Nokia E75 is a great device. But the camera really surprised me…

With 3.2 a megapixel sensor, auto-focus, macro, a single LED flash, and VGA video recording at 30 fps, the E75 camera specs fall somewhere in between the “meh” Nokia 5800 camera (which features dual LED flash and Zeiss optics) and the mediocre E66/E71 camera (which only features QVGA video recording at 15 fps).

But in reality, the E75 leaves the 5800 in the dust, beats the decent T-Mobile G1 and teases the excellent BlackBerry Storm to the finish line – check out the pictures and judge for yourself!

HTC Touch Pro/Fuze review

Soon after reaching out to the HTC folks at CTIA, I received an HTC Fuze to review. The HTC Fuze is AT&T’s locked and branded version of the HTC Touch Pro. This is my first review unit from HTC, and hopefully the first of many. Within about an hour of getting the phone, I unlocked and unbranded it into an HTC Touch Pro (sans front-facing camera).

CTIA: Nokia N97 demo

While I was busy drooling all over documenting the Nokia booth at CTIA, I was introduced to Julien Fourgeaud of Nokia, who was kind enough to let me play with an über sexy white Nokia N97.

The outcome: this exclusive 15-minute video demo and a lovely picture :)

Unboxing the Nokia 5800, US version

Hot on the heels of the Nokia 5800, Euro/Asian version that I used for 3 months, here are the unboxing pictures and video of the Nokia 5800, US version!

The Euro/Asian review unit arrived in a generic box without manuals, so I wanted to share the retail box and manuals – not to mention the E75 cameo…

Noise – a case study

Note: Other pictures taken with the Samsung T929 (Memoir) are available on my Flickr account.

---

So I decided to do a little experiment: take 3 pictures with 3 devices (one each) at night in the same location around the same time! The goal? Evaluate how megapixels affect low-light performance.

The megapixel myth tells us that more megapixels is not necessarily better. It generally means smaller pixels, which means more heat, which results in more noise, which impacts low-light performance…

Of course there are many variables here: differences in optics, sensor type/size, image-processing/noise-reduction software, and more. Because this is meant to be a real-life test with real-life devices, I can’t control these variables – I can only pick suitable devices.

Pictures taken with the Nokia N85

In 3 months of ownership, I snapped nearly 1000 pictures with my Nokia N85, US version, including some truly great ones! That covers most of the pictures taken during my holiday road trip to New Orleans.

Right about now, you probably expect me to write a glowing review of the N85 camera, but I can’t – it’s pretty nice, but it’s not good enough.

Despite almost identical specs, it falls short of the cream of the 5 megapixel crop: the Nokia N82, the Nokia N95, the Motorola ZN5, the Sony Ericsson K850i, and the i-mobile 902…

The culprit? Noise, noise, and more noise – just like its sibling the Nokia N79, the Nokia N96, and the 3 megapixel 5800/E71/E66. Do you see a trend here?

Podcast: Talking with Matt #7

It’s time for another podcast (26 min) with Matthew Bennett:
- Audio version
- Video version

This week we discussed contacts and context, the Samsung T929 (Memoir), and the Nokia N79.

Other topics include the Samsung Omnia HD, the Nokia N86 vs. the Nokia N85, and the ever popular Nokia 5800 XpressMusic – enjoy :)

Click here to subscribe to this podcast.