Unboxing the Nokia N8, part 1

Yes, that’s right – the Nokia N8 has landed, in all its 12 megapixel, xenon flash glory – and I got my paws on a US model :)

Please excuse the drool in my unboxing video and my first power on video (after the break) – just revel in the tasty Nokia goodness…

Apple iPhone 4 vs. Motorola Droid X camera

iPhone 4 sample pictures (slide show):

Droid X sample pictures (slide show):

Arguably, the Apple iPhone 4 and Motorola Droid X are the current flagship smartphones for AT&T and Verizon. Both are multimedia powerhouses, and feature impressive cameras, at least on paper!

I’ve been playing with the cameras on both devices extensively for almost 3 months, and the resulting pictures and videos are indeed excellent, yet there are pros and cons to each phone. More after the break…

Podcast: Talking with tnkgrl #26

It’s time for another podcast (34 min):
- Audio version
- Video version

Once again, Matthew Bennett (Nokia Daily News, US Mobile Industry) joined me while Tony Peric (fone frenzy) edited the video – thanks guys :)

Unfortunately, we ran into some problems with the microphone for the first few minutes, so please excuse the poor sound.

This week we covered our Nokia N8 hands-on, the Apple iPhone 4, the Motorola Droid X, the HTC Aria, and the ongoing Galaxy S tsunami!

Other topics include my first post on Engadget, the Nokia E73 (Mode), the LG Sentio, and the Palm Pre Plus, GSM version, amongst other things…

Click here to subscribe to this podcast.

Regarding the iPhone 4

It’s been almost 2 weeks since the iPhone 4 was announced at WWDC, almost a week since pre-orders started (a fiasco that probably deserves its own blog post), and with launch only a few days away, I wanted to share my thoughts on Apple’s latest object of desire…

Nokia N8 hands on

Today I finally got a chance to play with the Nokia N8. I got to use prototype hardware (still labeled C0) running early software (not even pre-release).

In short, I’m definitely impressed. But I’m still concerned that the N8 will not be able to compete with iOS and Android devices when it’s launched later this summer.

Read on for my thoughts…

Pictures taken with the Nokia 5230 (Nuron)

While the Nokia 5230 (Nuron) is a basically a Nokia 5800 on a spec diet, it features Nokia’s best 2 megapixel fixed-focus camera to date!

The resulting pictures (slide show) are quite lovely for a low-end camera, with good color balance and exposure…

Nokia E72 vs. Nokia X6 camera

E72 sample pictures (slide show):

X6 sample pictures (slide show):

The Nokia E72 and the Nokia X6 have a lot in common despite being very different devices. They arguably represent the best QWERTY non-touch business phone and best touch media-centric device currently available from the lovely folks in Espoo.

Both are feature-packed, reasonably-priced Symbian smartphones with nice cameras, and follow in the footsteps of good devices with disappointing cameras, namely the Nokia E71 and the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. More after the break…

Podcast: Talking with tnkgrl #25 (HTC EVO 4G special)

It’s time for another podcast (44 min):
- Audio version
- Video version

Both Matthew Bennett (Nokia Daily News, US Mobile Industry) and Tony Peric (fone frenzy) joined me this week… Thanks guys, and props to Tony for the editing!

We covered the HTC Incredible, the upcoming HTC EVO 4G, the Sharp/Microsoft Kin, the Apple iPad 3G, and the (now official) Nokia N8.

Other topics include the Sierra Wireless Overdrive, and Matt installing MeeGo on his Asus Eee PC, and Android on his iPhone – madness :)

Click here to subscribe to this podcast.

Unboxing the Nukia O1/Q1 (fake Nokia 7705)

Oh KIRF, how we love you :)

Chris Zeigler reminded me today of the Nukia O1/Q1, a fake Nokia 7705 (Twist) which I acquired several months ago…

I’ll let my unboxing pictures and video do the talking – enjoy the quirky goodness (and some specs) after the break!

About the Nokia N8

Congratulations, Nokia. The brouhaha surrounding the Nokia N8 is almost as epic as the recent kerfuffle about the iPhone HD (my nomenclature). Fantastic PR Job!

What do you mean that “leak” was not intentional? Oh well, any advertising is good advertising…

So, about the N8. Color me cautiously thrilled. The short of it is that the hardware is spot on (finally), but the verdict is still out on the software (predictably). Or maybe I’m just a sucker for a nice cameraphone :)