141 posts from 2008

Thanks to Highendstudio here in Finland for giving me this opportunity to test, and trial this neat little gizmo, the Pico pocket Projector.

Here's my Unboxing video for now.  I will be trialling this device with several Nokia devices in the coming weeks, so keep your eye's peeled for more updates as i go along, putting the Pico through its paces.

 

Programme 72 covers:

• Happy Christmas!
• News from the Phone world
• Conclusions from my phone camera studies, looking at scratches on camera glass, the Megapixel myth, and other topics
• A demo of YouTube in Web on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
• Hands-on thoughts on the Samsung Omnia
• A demo of installing an app from the Android marketplace on the T-Mobile G1

I have been looking for a charging solution for sometime now, something that would charge all my Nokia handsets at the same time, with only one lead.  I found that the Chargepod did this, and does it very well.  No more various mobile chargers, and leads shattered all over the place, just one hub, one mains lead, and away you go.

The Chargepod is a simple solution, with its secret, being in its mains adapter.  It regulates its output to the device connected, recharging it in as little time as it would from a single mains charger such as the Nokia wall charger.

I was a little sceptical at first when I first stumbled across this device, and thought there is no way it would charge all my devices at ones, i was convinced it wouldn't, but it does, and without any problems at all.

The Chargepod retails at just £24.99, plus P&P, but unfortunately does not contain the small Nokia charging tip in its bundle pack, so in my case, I had to order five additional adapters, these cost £5.99 each.  Ok, it sounds expensive, but trust me, its worth every penny, and really is a great charging solution if you have several mobile devices like myself,

I picked up my Chargepod from an Official UK Chargepod retailer, who sells them on eBay.  They have sold out for now, but will be reselling more in the New Year, so add them to your favorite sellers list in Your Ebay, so you get notified once they start to sell them again.

Here's a short video showing all six devices powering up upon switching on the Chargepod.

 

Well, after reading so much about these Nokia BH-604 Bluetooth headphones online, they sounded just perfect for what I was looking for, and being Nokia too, is a bonus, as Im sure you know by now, Im passionate about all things Nokia.

I mainly wanted some headphones like the BH-604 after picking up an ear infection using my In-ear Bose headphones, which was an horrible experience, and wouldn't like to go through that again.

I'm not only a music fan, Im also a Film critic, and love watching films from all genes, watching them on my Laptop, which has bluetooth, the BH-604 sounded perfect, and although their bulky size, they are very comfortable, not too heavy on the head, and the sound quality is simply superb!  I will write a more detailed review after I have used them more.

Only recently have I been able to enjoy the potential of the BH-604 headset connected to my laptop due to a bluetooth problem I had with my Acer Aspire drivers, but upon doing some research for a better connectivity solution, I came across Bluesoleil 6 which is a fantastic, simple, easy to use solution.  Bluesoleil 6 costs just €19.95, and is worth every cent.!

More soon!

In this podcast we cover:

Steve, Rafe and Ewan chat about Nokia World 2008, including:

• Nokia Messaging, Mail on Ovi, IM services, pricing issues
• Maps 3.0 and Maps on Ovi
• Nokia's presentation attitude in the keynotes
• Nokia N97 - specs, marketing, hands-on opinions, So-Lo (Social Location) integration

For completeness, note that The Phones Show 71 is now online, with a video version of my musings on the Nokia N82 and robustness, plus (from the non-Symbian world) a detailed hands-on review of the HTC Touch HD and why TouchFLO needs to take over or die, plus a walkthrough of web browsing on the Android-powered T-Mobile G1.

Programme 71 covers:

• A tale of drama and robustness, starring the Nokia N82
• Hands-on review of the Windows Mobile-powered HTC Touch HD and why I think Touch FLO 3D needs to take over or (preferably) die a horrible death
• Hands-on walkthrough of Android's web browser on the T-Mobile G1

First of all, I wish to thank Portable Power Supplies for sending me one of their USB Li-Ion Battery Pack’s for review.  Here I will review this great must have alongside the popular Proporta USB Charger many of us are already familiar with.

How many times have you found yourself out and about with your Nokia device, only to find your battery is running low, and not enough time to find a wall socket to recharge?  That’s only if you carry your charger with you, you don’t?  No surprise there then, neither do I, however, when I am out and about, I always carry on my person, a fully charged USB Mobile Charger, usually the Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger.  This ensures, I never run out of power in any of my devices I carry, while travelling.

Now, we have all heard about USB charging before, usually from your PC, or Laptop, and know how dam slow this process can be, but please don’t try, and compare this to either the Proporta, or, introducing the Portable Power Supplies USB Li-on 3400mAh Charger.  These powerful USB chargers, charge a device much, much faster than any conventional USB port of a computer, or Laptop.  The Charge is not only quicker, but a deeper cell charge too, meaning the charge enables your device to last longer following a shorter recharge period. 

I have carried out several tests on these USB Mobile device Chargers for some time now, and they really do punch power, so don’t under estimate them by any means.

The Portable Power Supplies USB Mobile Device Charger, which I have been putting through its paces over the last week or so, is very similar to Proporta’s model, however, what I really like about the Portable Power Supplies USB Li-Ion Battery Pack model is that it features a row of 5 blue LED’s on the top. 

These are status indicators, and flash in sequence whilst charging, and let you know when the battery is at peak performance, they also let you check how much power is left in that massive 3400 mAh, Battery.  Just press the button on the top, and if 5 led’s light up, its full, if only 1 lights up, it needs charging, and so on.

The first thing you'll notice with the Portable Power Supplies Charger is how small the actual unit is. At just 100 x 62 x 15mm (similar to a cassette tape), it's easily tucked away into your jacket pocket, gadget bag, jeans pocket, or handbag and forgotten about.

The unit comes with a USB to mini USB cable, which is used to recharge the device, a retractable cable compatible with many of the tips that are supplied, which will cater all your charging needs.  If your Nokia device accepts the small Nokia tip, it includes this too, as well as the conventional Nokia tip, but please note- The Charger advertised on eBay does not come with the small Nokia Tip, if you are wanting the small variant type, purchase the item from The Portable power Supplies website. 

The Nokia CA-100 USB to Nokia small pin Charger can also be used with this charger from Portable Power Supplies.

The charger actually comes about 80% pre-charged, which is perfect, as I desperately needed to charge my mobile phone when I first received the package as I was just about to go out, so what better way to test!

Charging the actual charger is easily done, with mini usb to standard usb.  Recharging the Portable Power Supplies USB Charger is simple, just pop it into your computer’s USB Port, and it doesn't take too long, around half hour to an hour, or so, depending how depleted it is.  The manufactures guidelines state 6 hours charge is needed, but I found 2 hours most from almost flat.  With the in-car charger, you can also charge it on the go, also in the full pack, you get wall charger too.   

A full charge of the actual unit gives it 3,400 mAh of power.  Once the unit is fully charged, it can give power-hungry devices such as the Nokia N95, and N96, 4 full charges, this was tested from 25% battery level left in my various Nokia devices.  Obviously, this will vary depending on device being charged, be it an iPod, or PSP etc.  I charged the following devices, and all of which were charged at least 3 times, from 25% to full.  N95-1, N95-2, N81 8GB, N96, and, an N82.

Once a device being charged with the Portable Power Supplies USB Charger has reached full charge, the charger automatically switches off after 30 seconds, and you can see this easily with those helpful 5 row blue LED’s I mentioned earlier.

Specifications.

Size: 100x62x15mm (similar to a cassette tape)

• Weight: 120g
• Capacity: 3400mAh
• Charging efficiency > 95%
• Charges in 6 hours (4 hrs from wall adaptor)
• Can be recharged approx 500 times
• Includes sticky back Velcro tape
• upto 700mA Current output
• RoHS Environmental Standards Compliant
• 1 year warranty

This mobile Charger kit from Portable power Supplies, really is quite an amazing must have.  You can even recharge it on the go, as it comes with an in-car charger also, with LED indicator.

So there you have it, The Portable Power Supplies USB Mobile Device Charger.  So much more than just a gadget, this thing is a must have.  Never get caught out again with a flat battery on your Nokia device, or any mobile device for that matter, be it an iPod, HTC, Nokia, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, etc etc.

The Portable Power Supplies unit sells for just £14.99 plus P&P from their eBay shop, this is for the basic kit, with no mains charger, or in-car charger.  The full kit is available on their website www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk for £26 to your door, (UK).

All you N96 owners, the update you hae been waiting for is here.  V12.043 is now available via OTA, (Over The Air).  I have not tried NSU (Nokia Software Updater), but it may also be available there too.   As usual, there is no change log at the moment, but from what i have found so far.

Improved WiFi Performance.  Connects faster, and Range Improved.

Main Camera Improvements to focus.  (Used to be too fast).

Menu Navigation much smoother, and more importantly, no lagging, including online experience, is much more improved, with quicker connecting times, and page loading.

 

 

 

 

Update :

NEW FEATURES IN THIS RELEASE

Switch 4.0 – improved switch application to transfer user data from/to other devices

IMPROVEMENTS IN THIS RELEASE / GENERAL AREAS

Still image quality is improved, with fixes for color haziness and motion blur that appeared under certain conditions

Many fixes for conditions that can lead to application crashes or instabilities

Improved overall Bluetooth interoperability Improved overall Bluetooth interoperability

Now compatible with Nokia Email service (application available as separate download)

If user sets brightness to maximum value the display backlight now does turn back on after screensaver mode

The device autolock no longer locks the device while viewing or recording videos

SMS no longer gets auto-converted to an MMS message if there are more then 20 recipients

Music Player “Refresh Library” no longer hangs if General Settings Date separator is set to “:”

Now only one message alert tone is played per synchronization with Mail for Exchange, instead of one per message

Fix for issue with alarm snoozing when alarm was set and device was powered off

Theme no longer jumps back to default theme after using USB mass storage mode

CSHelp texts are now updated to resolves several identified issues

KNOWN ISSUES IN THIS RELEASE

During boot, we recommend to wait for battery bar to show up prior to using media keys to ensure they are responsive.

Ngage pre-selects wrong access point in certain operator networks, in these instances user needs to reconfigure Ngage access points manually from within Ngage settings menu.

Thanks to Mr G of N95users for the heads up on the changes.

Original Source Symbianplanet.net

Programme 70 covers:

• An update on The Phones Show itself
• News of the Nokia N97
• Hands-on reviews of the S60-powered Samsung INNOV8 and i7110
• Hands-on review of the Windows Mobile-powered Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, the legendary Qwerty arc-slide device with lots of style and a new Panels front-end

High quality video version can be found here.