BlackBerry Tour camera

The BlackBerry 9630 (Tour) camera is identical to the BlackBerry 9530 (Storm) camera – if you’ve read my review of the Storm camera, you’ve read my review of the Tour camera :)

The Tour takes pretty awesome pictures for a business phone. It lacks the accelerometer present in the Storm, so there is no auto-rotation, but it features a dedicated two-stage camera button, which is missing on most other devices with a similar form factor, like the Nokia E71.

Nokia E72 and Nokia 5530 in pictures

Every once in a while I run into an interesting device that I have not used yet, and I always take a few pictures.

During my hands on with the Nokia Booklet 3G, I came across the Nokia E72, successor to the E71. Check out the pictures above…

Unboxing the Nokia 6790 (Surge)

Well look what FedEx dragged in – it’s the Nokia 6790 (Surge), a Symbian smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard running S60v3 Feature Pack 2 that’s exclusive to the US market (AT&T) – at least for now :)

Think of the 6790 as a reduced cost/feature version of the 5730 (itself similar to the E75), just like the E63 is scaled down from the E71/E72.

So what’s been axed from the usual pile of Symbian goodness? WiFi is missing, the camera is only 2 megapixels (without auto-focus or flash, but with QVGA video recording), the audio connector is of the 2.5 mm variety, and the 3G is US-only (instead of tri-band)…

Everything else is there, the 2.4″ QVGA display, the GPS, the accelerometer, the awesome BP4-L 1500 mAh battery (2 weeks standby), the quirky Nokia industrial design, and tons of available apps, both built-in (like the POP3/IMAP email client) and third party (like Qik).

Interestingly, the European version features a better camera (3.2 megapixels). Is the US market getting the shaft again? Stay tuned as I put the 6790 through its paces.

In the meantime, enjoy my unboxing pictures and video!

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!

Nokia E75 first impressions

I’ve been using the Nokia E75, US version for a little over a week and I’m very much in love :)

I was in Montréal on a business trip for most of the week, so I was able to evaluate it in a proper setting.

First impressions? Like most other Eseries devices, build quality is top-notch. The E75 looks and feels expensive. The back cover is stainless steel and is laser-etched for better grip. The spring-assisted slider feels buttery smooth and makes a satisfying sound.

Unboxing the Nokia E75, US version

What’s incredibly hot and superbly built? The Nokia E75, US version – in ruby red, of course!

I’ve always been a fan of Nokia’s Eseries devices, especially QWERTY ones like the E71. So ever since the E75 was announced at Mobile World Congress, I’ve been secretly coveting it :)

Before I put it through its paces, here are some pictures and a video (including a few poses with my VAIO P).

Podcast: Talking with Matt #8

It’s time for another podcast (27 min) with Matthew Bennett:
- Audio version (uncut)
- Video version (in HD)

This Last week (I’m behind in posting this – blame GDC) we discussed Matt’s new blog – US Mobile Industry, the upcoming trip to CTIA, my adventures with the Samsung T929 (Memoir), plus a few other things, while sitting outside of Cafe Flore :)

Click here to subscribe to this podcast.

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?

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic may just be the most significant device to come from Espoo since the N95…

The N82 and E71 were both worthy devices, and the N97 will surely be significant, but the 5800 marks the start of a new era for Symbian: touch.

It’s also packed with the kind of features usually associated with Nseries phones: 3.2 megapixel Zeiss camera (with auto-focus, macro and dual LED flash), 3G, WiFi, a micro-SDHC slot, and GPS. Most importantly, It’s affordable, and it’s here today!

I’ve been using the Euro/Asian model (UMTS/HSDPA at 2100 MHz) for a couple months now (thanks to Molly at Nokia Blogger Relations) – the US model (UMTS/HSDPA 1900/850 MHz) will be available soon.

So what makes the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic so special?