Pictures taken with the Nokia N900

The Nokia N900 camera is really quite good. In fact, even with pre-release firmware, it walks all over the competition!

It’s no surprise. The N900 comes from a long lineage of great 5 megapixel phones from Nokia, such as the N95 and the N82. It features Carl Zeiss optics (with auto-focus and macro), a dual LED flash, and a sliding lens cover – as such, it’s virtually identical to the N97 camera…

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 #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.

Life with the Nokia E75

OK, I admit it! I’m totally hooked…

I’ve been using the sexy red Nokia E75 on and off for 3 months and I’m still madly in love. In fact, I’ve been procrastinating about returning it – it’s going back this week, I promise :)

So far I’ve unboxed it, shared my first impressions, and reviewed the camera. Without a doubt, the E75 is one of the best non-touch smartphones on the market today, one of my favorite Nokia devices (up there with the N95), and my favorite Eseries to date.

Samsung T929 (Memoir) camera

It’s been almost 6 months since I picked up the Samsung T929 (Memoir), the first subsidized 8 megapixel cameraphone in the US, and I’m overdue for a review :)

Over the years, I have tested a plethora of 5 megapixel devices – the i-mobile 902, the Nokia N95/N95-3/N95-4, the Sony Ericsson K850i, the Nokia N82, the Motorola ZN5 (ZINE), the Nokia N96, the Nokia N85, the Nokia N79, and more recently the Nokia N97…

There are now several 8 megapixel cameraphones available from Samsung (Pixon, Memoir, INNOV8, Omnia HD), LG (Renoir, Viewty Smart), Sony Ericsson (C905, W995), and Nokia (N86 8MP) – not to mention upcoming 12 megapixel units.

I’m getting a Nokia N86 8MP review unit soon, but so far I’ve only played with the Samsung i8510 (INNOV8), the Samsung i8910 (Omnia HD), and of course the Memoir.

For over 4 months I used it as my primary imaging device, and 1000+ pictures later, I have to say that the Memoir features the best camera I have ever enjoyed on any phone – and by a wide margin!

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 N86 8MP hands on

Amongst the plethora of devices on display at CTIA was the Nokia N86 8MP, which is basically an N85 with an 8 megapixel camera, 8 GB of built-in flash (in addition to micro-SDHC support), a kickstand, and a glass screen cover… Take a look at my pictures!

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?