Loads of live pics of the Pink Nokia N95

You hear that? That’s the crooning of (probably) all the women that are looking at this Nokia N95 clad in a nice, soft shade of Pink. Ok, we admit it, we like the Pink Nokia N95 too - just don’t tell anyone.

Thankfully, the Pink-ness is limited to just the rear battery-cover area of the Nokia N95. Nokia has decided to tastefully leave the face of the Pink Nokia N95 untouched - the Pink/Silver combo is attractive indeed (especially compared to that fugly Pink and Gold Sony Ericsson T650).

[Via: JustAMP]

Nokia N95 8GB for sale on Nokia USA website

Are you ready for the N95 8GB sticker shock? Nokia USA website has the phone listed $779! Don’t make a made dash to buy it until you think through your 3G needs because this model is NOT the US version. It uses the 2100MHz WCDMA band mainly for the European market.

I’ve been testing running the N95 8GB on EDGE and WiFi over the past couple weeks, and must say that I love the larger 2.8-inch screen, the 5-megapixel camera, a-GPS and the additional system memory.

If you can wait a around a little longer, Nokia might release a model just for US consumers utilizing our own 3G band.

[via Slashgear]

Video: Nokia N95's built in accelerometer used to control a remote car

The built in accelerometer in the Nokia N95 has been used to control light sabers, bouncing balls, and now it can even command a remote control car. Andreas Jackl from Forum Nokia has the details here and a pretty insane video:

Nokia unveils new lineup

Nokia unveiled four new mobile phones at its Nokia Go Play event in Singapore recently. The new phones include the Nokia N81, the upgraded Nokia N95 8GB and two new XpressMusic phones, the Nokia 5310 and Nokia 5610.

Nokia says the N81 is a true mobile entertainment powerhouse designed for work and play. It features a new 3D multimedia interface, which allows for fast and intuitive navigation through your music, pictures, contacts and web browsing activities, Nokia said.

It also comes with dedicated music and gaming keys, a 3.5mm headphone connector as well as 3G and Wireless LAN connectivity.


The N81 is configured to find, buy and manage music as well as games purchased from Nokia's recently launched Nokia Music Store and N-Gage games service.

New and improved models
Nokia's flagship multimedia phone, the N95 has received a well-deserved upgrade.

Major improvements to the phone include a larger 2.8in QVGA display, increased memory size to 8GB of Flash memory and improved GPS capabilities with A-GPS (Assisted-Global Positioning System) for faster and more accurate satellite positioning.


The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is billed as a mini music powerhouse packed full of features in an ultraslim design – it measures only 9.9mm thick and weighs less than 71g.

The phone also features a 2in QVGA screen, dedicated music buttons and a 2-megapixel camera. The Nokia 5610 is another great looking music phone with aluminium side panels that complement the phone's black gloss finish.

The phone features a unique Music Slider key, which makes it easy to access your music and radio functions with just a flick of the thumb.
Proving to be more than just a music phone, it also features a 3.2-megapix
el camera with autofocus and dual LED flash.

The 5310 offers 18 hours of music playback while the 5610 allows for up to 22 hours of playback time. Both phones support microSD cards of up to 4GB.

Both XpressMusic phones also support the new Nokia Music Store, which allows users to purchase songs to be downloaded directly to their phones.

All four phones are expected to be available in the fourth quarter this year.

++++
http://www.nokia-asia.com/

Nokia N81, N81 8GB, N95 8GB, 5310 XpressMusic and 5610 XpressMusic Phones unveiled

Nokia has been on a roll for sure. Launches, Launches and more Launches! And interestingly most of the products introduced weren’t mobile phones, but were things like navigation systems, Bluetooth headsets and Internet services for mobile phones. And now there’s yet another plethora of releases, but luckily this time around it is mobile phones – the devices the Finnish company is best known for.


Nokia introduced four new mobile phone devices, namely – N81 and N81 8GB, N95 8GB, 5310 XpressMusic and 5610 XpressMusic, at an event in London. All the phones are slated to hit store shelves by the fourth quarter of this year.

Kai Oistamo, Executive Vice President, Nokia said, “From the compact Nokia 5310 XpressMusic music phone to the fully-featured Nokia N81 multimedia computer, Nokia offers a range of entertainment-enabled devices for consumers who want their music, games and favorite media with them wherever they go.”

“We believe these full-featured, well-designed devices will be very popular and will help bring Nokia’s Internet and music services to life,” added Oistamo.
Below are the key features of each of the newly announced Nokia phones:
Belonging to Nokia’s popular N series, the latest Nokia N81 packs in:

• Includes dedicated music and gaming keys
• Larger 2.8-inch QVGA non-touch screen (compared to the old N95’s 2.6-incher)
• 3.5 mm headphone connector
• WLAN connectivity

The Nokia N81 8GB, includes all the above mentioned features, but comes with a bigger capacity of course; that of 8GB.

While, the N81 will cost you 360 EUR (excl. taxes), you would have to shell out 430 EUR (taxes extra) for its sibling N81 8GB which has a bigger capacity.

Nokia N95 8GB phone:


Also from the N series, the N95 is no new device. It was launched in April worldwide. But the good news is that now you can store much more data in your N95 since it has been introduced in a humungous 8GB built-in capacity. The other features of the Nokia N95 are:

• 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics
• Built-in A-GPS, WLAN, HSDPA
• Innovative 2-way slide
• 2.8″ QVGA display

560 EUR (excl. taxes) is what you need to pay for the N95 8GB device.

As the name suggest, Nokia 5310 XpressMusic and Nokia 5610 XpressMusic are ought to be awesome companions for any and every music lover.

Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone:

• Offers 18 hours of music playback
• Supports 4GB microSD card
• Includes a dedicated music key
• 2-megapixel camera
• 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors

The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone will be priced at 225 EUR (without taxes and subsidies).
Nokia 5610 XpressMusic phone:

• Supports 4GB microSD card
• 2.2-inch screen with up to 16 million color
• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and dual LED flash
• Uses 3G technology enabling faster and simpler downloads, web-browsing and video calls faster and easier

The Nokia 5610 XpressMusic phone will be available for EUR 300 (excl. taxes).

So here are some amazing new Nokia phones, offering massive capacities with great features.
What’s more, they look fab too!

Nokia to release an upgrade to the N95 and the new 6555

Sneak previews of a couple of new Nokia phones

An upgrade to the Nokia N95 has recently been approved by the American FCC. The new version of the N95, will be in a stylish black colour but the two significant and more interesting changes are to the memory and battery. The current N95 has an internal memory of 170MB – which is capable of holding around 40 songs, the new version has a whopping 8GB of internal memory which can store over 2,000 songs! The battery has also been improved from the original 950 mAh to 1200 mAh – meaning a better battery life for heavier users. As far as we can see the only sacrifice that has been made to the original N95 is the removal of the lens cover.

No word on European availability or pricing as yet, but needless to say it will be an expensive piece of kit.

Nokia have announced a new clamshell phone, the Nokia 6555. Like the Nokia N76 this is another Nokia flip phone that appears to be taking styling advice from Motorola. Not a lot is known about this phone as yet, Nokia are apparently making a big announcement on new phones on the 29th August, so more is expected then.

We do know that the 6555 has a 16M color internal TFT display with a QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) resolution, but there has been no word on what camera this will feature. The Nokia 6555 is 3G, Quad band, has an internal memory of 30MB and a microSD card slot.

The Nokia 6555 is due for release next month, in four colour schemes and is expected to cost around £130-£150.

Nokia N95 gets crowned by EISA

Nokia N95 has been awarded the title of “European Media Phone of 2007-2008″, one that is surely bound to state the important position of this device in the future. The award is the result of the votes of the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA), Europe’s leading association for consumer electronics.

“This award is an endorsement of the strategy behind Nokia Nseries - to bring to people’s hands high performance multimedia computers which make digital convergence a reality”, said Jonas Geust, head of Nokia Nseries Players Category, Multimedia, Nokia. Moreover, “The Nokia N95 has evidently raised the bar for mobile devices and we are thrilled to receive this accolade from consumer electronics magazines across Europe”, he further added.

“It’s no mere mobile phone and no mere status symbol. Pick up a Nokia N95 and you hold in your hands a state-of-the-art communication tool - the ideal way to remain permanently in touch and on track with the world that surrounds you”, commented EISA in its award citation.

via Softpedia

Real Live Pictures of US Nokia N95

Symbian-Guru's all over the US N95 launch, this time bringing us a handful of up close snaps, confirming the body changes picked up from the flyer. The shutter slider has indeed been jettisoned, but now the camera is receded into the the back of the phone. They've also apparently raised the media keys and made a handful of changes to the battery compartment to accommodate the beefier bulge—meaning it probably won't fit into the Euro models. Subsequent peepage after the jump.


[Symbian-Guru]

Battle of the camera-phone kings

If prices of our stock would rise as fast as the resolution of camera-phones these days, we'd have struck gold. Handset manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson have been pushing the envelope by sticking even higher-resolution image sensors in camera-phones. But what does all this mean to the average man on the street? Experience tells us that noise increases when the pixel size decreases given the same image sensor size. However, most people walk into shops asking for the best camera-phone available. And their gauge? More megapixels, please. In this three-part feature series, we'll take a look at two popular 5-megapixel camera-phones--the Nokia N95 and the Sony Ericsson K850i--to see which one will emerge victorious in the prizefight.

First up is a feature-to-feature comparison between the models. In our next issue, we'll take a look at the image quality from the handsets compared with digital cameras. And finally, we'll round off the series with a prizefight--the battle to the end. For now, let's warm up with a look at the fighting stats of both contenders.

Introduction Camera statistics Phone statistics

This article is by no means an exhaustive comparison of the Nokia N95 and the Sony Ericsson K850i and is based on the information we've gathered so far. To find out more about the phones, check out the reviews and first takes of each phone on the CNET Asia site.

Nokia N95 8GB to feature better battery, VGA screen and more RAM?

Over at Mobile-Review forums, user “Eldar” has posted some additional information about the upcoming Nokia N95 8GB “multimedia computer.” According to him, the new N95 will not only have more storage space, but will also come with more RAM (128MB) and the VGA screen! Wow!

If this ends up to be truth, I’ve just founded the new perfect device for myself! I was one of those ranting about how the N95 has insufficient RAM. Plus, I’ve wrote several posts that if Chinese handset manufacturers can produce a phone with WQVGA screen, Nokia can certainly do that as well.

Nokia hope you’re listening to this — even if the above words are far from the truth at this stage, please make this happen soon. We’ll follow you…

[Via: JAMPBLOG]

Two weeks with the Nokia N95 and iPhone

My T-Mobile Dash and I hardly talk any more. Over the past month or so, I have been seeing other cellphones. There was the meaningless fling with the Upstage from Samsung which ended badly. And for the past three weeks (2 weeks each with one week overlap), I have been messing around with both the Nokia N95 and the Apple iPhone.

I decided to test the N95 and the iPhone at the same time because they are considered by many to be in competition with one another. After spending a couple of weeks with each, though, I’m not sure why (other than their hefty price tags). They both have very specific strengths that make them appealing to different segments of the market.

Apple’s iPhone ($599) and Nokia’s N95 ($795). Nothing like carrying $1,400 worth of phones in your pockets.

Nokia N95
The N95 is the high-end Swiss Army knife of mobile devices. It does just about everything you could ask for: camera, video recorder, GPS, WiFi, music player, video player, FM tuner (yes, an FM tuner), external stereo speakers… oh, and it makes phone calls. Of course, all of these features will cost you. The N95 retails for $795.

The Good
The Nokia N95 is the most full-featured mobile device I have used. As I mentioned above, it has just about everything.

The 5 megapixel camera blows away every other built-in camera you will find on a mobile device. And because the phone is shaped like a camera, it is easy to hold while shooting. It features zoom, auto-focus and a powerful (sometimes too powerful) flash.

The back of the Nokia N95 looks like a regular digital camera.

The video quality is pretty impressive, too. The N95 even includes an AV cable to connect it to a TV. How many other phone manufacturers would want their phone’s video blown up onto a big screen. A 2GB MicroSD card gives you about 1 hour of video recording capacity.

The built-in stereo speakers on the N95 sound really good, too. I often used it without headphones to play music. The N95 also includes audio and EQ settings that let you tweak the sound that comes out of them.

The hardware and software interfaces are better than average as well. The N95 features a 2-way sliding design that shows your phone keypad in one configuration and media player controls in the other. I never really bothered with the media controls because all of those controls were available on-screen when in portrait mode.

Nokia N95 with keypad exposed.

Nokia N95 with music player controls exposed.

Menu items can be selected via 2 separate menus. One is an animated menu (seen in the photo) above. The other is a more conventional list of icons that you would see on a Windows Smartphone or the iPhone. Both do the job, although the animated menu is definitely cooler looking.

Web browsing on the N95 is also pretty good. N95 uses a custom open source browser that supports Flash Lite 2.0. It does a good job of rendering pages and the mouse, which is controlled with the 4-way directional pad, works really well. Of course, there is no QWERTY keyboard, but we’ll cover that later.

Twitter on the Nokia N95.

There are also a ton of apps available for the N95.

The bad
Battery life on the N95 is terrible. It would have been better if they had just added a hand crank. At least that way I could guarantee that I would have a usable phone at all times. I think the N95 died on my 5 or 6 times over the two weeks due to low battery. If you don’t charge the Nokia every 8 hours or so, you will have a very expensive paper weight in your pocket. In fact, as I type this post, the N95 ran out of juice. Nice!

The build quality of the N95 is a little lower than I expected. The case feels a bit light and the navigational buttons on the front feel kind of cheap. I expected a much sturdier product for $800. In fact, I let several people try out the N95 and all of them commented that it felt a little flimsy. It is also a little bulkier than other devices. Part of that is due to the fact that Nokia tried to shape it more like a camera.

iPhone on the left, N95 on the right.

There is no QWERTY keyboard on the N95, so texting or typing in URLs is pretty tedious.
The GPS requires you to be outside to get a decent signal.

There are also some minor usability issues with the N95. If you slide the N95 to open the media player controls, your screen will be in landscape mode until you slide it the other way to open the phone keypad. That got a bit annoying. Also, by default, the keypad would lock everytime I slid the screen closed. So if I just finished with the media player and then wanted to interact with the N95, I had to hit “Unlock” before I could do anything. Also, if you hit the camera button, but forget to slide open the lens cover, the N95 doesn’t let you know what the problem is. I also found that the sliding earpiece section of the phone never felt like it was close enough to my ear. Minor annoyances, but they added up the more I used it.

The bottom line
The Nokia N95 is a good mobile device. It has a lot of high-end features that you wouldn’t expect on a mobile phone, especially the 5 megapixel camera; however, the flimsy build quality and bulky case make me question whether I would pay $795 for it.

It is best suited for someone who wants to carry around a single device but still have high-quality audio, photo and video capabilities. Of course, the battery life could make it difficult to enjoy the N95 for long periods of time without stopping to recharge.

Apple iPhone
OK, there is no need for me to give an overview of the iPhone. You do everything with your finger and it costs $599.

Let me start off by saying that I was not a fan of Apple products in general, so I don’t want the rest of this post to seem like the ramblings of a fanboy. In fact, I built the iWipe parody just to show what I think of most Apple products. That’s why it pains me a bit to admit how much I like the iPhone.

The good
The iPhone has the most intuitive and easy-to-use hardware and software interface of any mobile device out there.

On the hardware side, there is only one button on the face of the device. Press it and return to the main screen from any app. On the side there is a ringer on/off switch and a ringer volume control. On the top, there is a lock/reset button. That’s it. Everything else is controlled through the multi-touch display.

The Apple iPhone.

Of course, the software is where the iPhone really shines. Just about everything works the way you think it should. And I can’t overstate how much difference being able to manipulate objects with your hand makes. Whether it is scrolling through your inbox, moving through your music collection, flipping through your photos and browsing the web, the multi-touch interface beats every other mobile device hands down (Get it? Hands down…anyway).

The screen is amazing. Bright and, surprisingly, scratch-resistant. I kept it in my pocket without a case and had no scratches or scuffs. Much tougher than the 5G iPod I have.

Web browsing is where the iPhone really shines. Everything about it is great. The Safari browser renders any page you throw at it. And the ability to zoom in and out or move around the page with your hand feels very natural.

The on-screen keyboard is not nearly as bad as people have reported. I actually have grown to like it. Maybe it is just the size of my fingers, but I am able to type with very good accuracy and speed. Much faster than I can on my Dash’s QWERTY keyboard. Plus, the iPhone learns what you type, so it will suggest words for you The iPhone’s keyboard.

Oh yeah, and it has an iPod built it, too. I hear those are pretty good.

And, as with other Apple products, they sweat all of the details to make sure the experience of using the iPhone is better than other mobile devices. If you turn the iPhone to the side, the screen changes from portrait to landscape and vice versa. No buttons to mess with. The keyboard automatically capitalizes the first character after a period. It also removes the space bar when typing in a URL (since spaces aren’t valid characters in URLs). There are so many little things like this that seem trivial to mention; however, they all add up to better user experience.

The bad
There are plenty of areas where the iPhone falls short.

Phone call sound quality isn’t very good (Good thing they didn’t name this iPho-, oh wait they did?). Calls sound a bit muffled and muddy. I often found myself asking people to repeat themselves and that didn’t always help.

AT&T’s EDGE network is sloooooow, so browing the web on anything but a WiFi network can be a test of your patience. The EDGE performance also makes the YouTube app almost unusable when you’re off of your WiFi network.

The iPhone’s 2 megapixel camera isn’t very good either. Sure, it will capture an image, but it really isn’t an image that you’d want to show off to anyone. If the lighting is perfect and you can hold the iPhone still, then you can get a decent image. Otherwise, skip it.

The bottom line
I can’t believe I am saying this, especially considering all of the negatives I just mentioned; however, the iPhone is the best mobile device I have ever used. It does everything I want a mobile device to do and it does it effortlessly (for the most part). It is perfect for anyone who is tired of the clumsy, unusable software available on the majority of mobile phones. It also provides the best mobile web browsing experience. And don’t forget about the iPod in there.

The most interesting thing to me about the iPhone is that everyone who I let use it knew how it worked immediately. This goes for my kids, for my mom and for my co-workers. And not only did they figure out how it worked in just a few seconds, but that was just about how long it took for them to say, “I want one of these!”

It also draws a crowd. If I was using the iPhone in public, people would stop me and ask to see it.

A guy in line at Subway played with it the entire time we waited in line. That’s never happened with any other gadget I’ve owned.

So which one’s better?

Even though I just declared the iPhone the best mobile device I have ever used, I don’t want to suggest that it is the best device for everyone.

I think the Nokia N95 is a better choice for someone looking to cram as many high-end features into a single device as possible. If you take a lot of photos on the go, the Nokia’s camera crushes the iPhone’s. Same for shooting video, especially since the iPhone doesn’t support recording video.

However, if you’re like me and you want a device that looks great, is incredibly easy (and fun) to use and provides the best mobile web experience, then there is nothing close to the iPhone.

Sure, the phone quality kind of stinks, but I hate to talk on the phone anyway
So what’s your favorite mobile device? And do you think you will ever spend $600-$800 one? after just a few uses.

Nokia N95 Louis Vuitton edition - fake unfortunately

It’s like pink “Hello Kitty” Nokia ESeries devices are not mocking enough, someone decided to make the N95 Louis Vuitton edition. Not that I have anything against Louis Vuitton per se, it’s just that I would expect that the famous brand adds more style and charm to the table. Then again this isn’t the official version, but could be a good starting point for the designers at Louis Vuitton to get their feets into the phone pimping business. Fuzzy dices may be cool, but we also want more cool handsets…

[Via: Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]

Nokia planning 8GB N95 upgrade?

Nokia's N95 pocket supercomputerphone is heading for an upgrade, if findings on Nokia's web site are to be believed.

An unformatted XML page supposedly reveals plans for an updated 8GB version of the phone - and yes, that's all anyone has to go on right now.

This totally fits in with Nokia's past efforts, though - releasing an 8GB N95 "Music Edition" would be perfect in helping convince a few people to plump for an N95 now rather than wait (ages) for an iPhone.

So what's next for Nokia in its war against Apple? Fixing the N95's battery life might be a good start, as there's not much point having a supercomputerphone in your pocket if keeps switching itself off and moaning about needing a charge when you want to TXT MSG mum about tonight's dinner arrangements.

Nokia N95 one-ups Apple's iPhone via unrefined display 'hack'

There's no denying that we were fairly taken aback by the beauty of the iPhone's screen, but leave it to a clever (and likely bitter) N95 owner to trump Apple's best shot with his very Nokia.

While not nearly as ingenious as converting the device into a mapmaker, this crude demonstration explains how to increase the screen real estate linked to the N95 if you're willing to sacrifice your left (or right) arm.

Granted, the "hack" did begin with a broken N95, so strapping a portable TV onto one's forearm and utilizing the device's video output was about the only real solution within arm's reach (ahem). Like it or not, it's laced in utility, and you can catch a video of the action after the jump.

[Thanks, Eirikso]

Nokia May Have iPhone Killer For European Market

By Adario Strange

Another “can anything beat the iPhone?” story popped up today in The Wall Street Journal (registration required). The story runs down all the usual smart phone suspects offering a nice comparison chart featuring the iPhone, the Nokia N95, the Samsung UpStage, and the beautiful LG Prada touch phone.

But you’ll have to skip all the way down the end of the article to find one of the most surprising assertions regarding the iPhone we’ve read to date. Industry analyst Avi Greengart said, “N95 has everything that the iPhone has. It could have been an iPhone killer. In Europe, it may well be.”

Finally, someone (other than John Dvorak) is staking their expert cred betting against the iPhone. European consumers are famously wary of following over-hyped trends from the U.S., so Greengart may be on the right track. Nevertheless, the real battleground for the iPhone will be Asia, where many cellular handset trends begin and end. If the iPhone can carve out a significant niche in Asia in 2008, they can win over the entire planet.

Nokia's Do-Everything Phone

The handset maker is betting on the multimedia, Web-prowling, map-navigating N95 to take market share from Motorola—and even from iPhone

If Nokia had its way, you would throw away your iPod, your digital camera, maybe even your PC and TV—and certainly all those road maps cluttering the glove compartment of your car. Instead, you would own a Nokia (NOK) "multimedia computer" that not only makes phone calls but also does the work of a host of other digital devices, including a GPS navigator.

The Finnish handset maker hasn't quite sold the general public on its vision of mobile phones as do-it-all communications portals—yet. But Nokia's N95, its current, top-of-the line, multimedia handset (which launched in the U.S. in April) shows how determined the company is to become the center of people's digital universe.

"It's very important in terms of showing the world and leading consumers what can actually can be done," says Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia executive vice-president in charge of the company's multimedia business unit, which will likely book revenues north of $13 billion this year. "You can expect these features will become more standard over time."

Nokia won't divulge sales figures, but early indications are that the $750 N95 is a hit with the technophiles it's aimed at. As the leading edge N Series phone, the N95 certainly takes some of the credit for the gains in sales of high-end, multimedia handsets that have been helping Nokia take market share from rival Motorola (MOT). And a perusal of N95-related blogs shows that the product is generating significant discussion, as well as a fair amount of enthusiasm. "It should be a flagship product for Nokia," says Jari Honko, deputy head of research at eQ Bank Limited in Helsinki.

ViewRanger And Nokia N95 Create A New Horizon For Outdoor GPS Navigation

Topographic Maps, GPS Navigation and Location-Based Services for the Outdoor Enthusiast
Cambridge, UK – 30th May 2007 – Augmentra, a leading innovator in gps-enabled navigation software for smartphones, today announced the latest version of its award-winning ViewRanger off-road mapping, navigation and information software, and announced support for the Nokia N95 with integrated GPS.

ViewRanger is specifically designed for the off-road user, whether hill-walker, mountain biker, geo-cacher, birdwatcher, or rural tourist. It offers a unique combination of 2D and 3D mapping, GPS navigation, sports performance analysis, content sharing, and buddy tracking.
Running ViewRanger on the Nokia N95 with integrated GPS removes the need for a separate GPS receiver.

The N95’s high-resolution, bright and crisp screen is perfect for displaying the fine detail of 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 topographic maps. The 5 megapixel camera allows the sharpest images to be captured, marked on the map, and shared over-the-air via the ViewRanger Information Exchange. All of England (or Scotland) at 1:50,000 scale can be held on the Nokia N95 via a single microSD memory card.

Whether a frequent outdoor sports participant, or just an occasional visitor to the countryside, ViewRanger and the Nokia N95 deliver capabilities and convenience that cannot be found elsewhere.

This latest version of ViewRanger includes many features that allow outdoor enthusiasts to locate, identify, navigate and connect:• High quality multi-scale mapping licensed from Ordnance Survey• Unique 3D Panoramic Viewpoint display that identifies features in the landscape• GPS trail navigation and tracklog recording, with support to import/export waypoints, tracks and routes to many PC applications including Google Earth• TripView sports computer to monitor data during a journey and analyse performance• Buddy Beacon to transmit location to friends and family; see the location on your ViewRanger handset or through the web• Exchange notes and photos to share experiences of the landscape via ViewRanger’s over-the-air Information Exchange

“Having achieved Symbian Signed status, we are delighted that ViewRanger is one of the first third-party mapping and navigation applications to support the Nokia N95 and its integrated GPS,” said Mike Brocklehurst, CTO, Augmentra Ltd. “ViewRanger and the N95 set a new benchmark for functionality, ease-of-use and convenience in outdoor GPS.”

ViewRanger runs on the Symbian S60 smartphone platform, and transforms a Nokia or other S60 handset into a full-featured trail navigation system. ViewRanger is available to use internationally with no base-maps, and with Ordnance Survey mapping of Great Britain.

Further international coverage will be announced shortly.
ViewRanger is available from

http://www.viewranger.com/ and selected retailers.

For a complete list of supported handsets and ViewRanger resellers please visit ViewRanger at

http://www.viewranger.com/

- ENDS -

Apple iPhone vs. Moto RAZR2 vs. Moto Q9h vs. Nokia N95: The Battle that Isn’t

As each new smartphone or multimedia phone is launched or announced, each one is touted as the latest ‘iPhone killer’. We’ve seen the Nokia N95 termed such, the enigma that is the Deeda Pi, Samsung’s double sided media phone, and most recently two new models from Motorola - the Q9h and the RAZR2.

As it turns out, in our humble opinion, none of these are iPhone killers, iPhone spoilers, iPhone ruiners, or whatever else they’re being called.

The Nokia N95 isn’t anymore of an iPhone killer than the iPhone is a Nokia N95 killer. We’ll bet the new Motorola Q won’t stop prospective iPhone customers from laying down their hard earned cash. Neither, we’re confident to say, is the RAZR2 going to sweep the proverbial leg out from under the iPhone, Johnny.

As it turns out, the devices all put forth some impressive specifications. The reality of the matter is that each phone will likely serve a particular segment of the population. Sure, the demographic for each will overlap with that of the others in several ways, but each phone still has it’s unique place in the market. These are not head-on clashes.

Since it’s ever popular, and often valuable, to look a things side by side - the following table compares the specs of the Apple iPhone, the Motorola RAZR2, the Motorola Q9h, and the Nokia N95:

Size and Weight
All four devices are quite compact, especially compared to many predecessors in the smartphone genre. The iPhone and the RAZR2 get the slight edge here by coming in a bit smaller than the others, especially in terms of their thickness. The Q9h is barely bigger. The N95, tips the scale in the thickness category, a negative for those of us who are getting used to paper thin devices.

The RAZR2, at 4.4 oz, might be noticeably lighter than the rest of the group.

Operating System
We’re going to jump the gun an give the Apple iPhone the clear edge here. Though every techie has his/her opinion on what the best operating system is, and for various reasons, the most important feature in a phone operating system is useability. Even having not seen the iPhone incarnation of OSX, Apple is notorious for making it’s devices wonderfully useable and we expect no less from the iPhone.

On top of the confidence we’re giving Apple to put together a nifty iPhone version of OSX, the others have their faults. Symbian is not always the easiest OS to navigate, though improving - Motorola’s Synergy UI is often painfully dumb and awkward, and Windows Mobile is well, Windows Mobile.

Screen and Video
All devices step up with impressive screens/displays. In fact, the RAZR2 bothers to step up with a pair of impressive displays. Still, the Apple iPhone gets the edge here again. Though we’re not sure how many colors the iPhone display presents - the 320×480 resolution and extra inch or more it holds over the other displays give it the clear edge in screen real estate, and likely video performance. Add in that the few public iPhone displays have shown off what seems to be a true beauty of an LCD and the others fall behind.

Storage
Depending on your perspective, the iPhone can take a real hit here from the others by failing to include expandable storage in the form of a microSD, or other format of, memory card. Then again, the iPhone comes with 4GB or 8GB of included storage, while none of the others carry more than 256MB on board. Again, a matter of perspective.

Camera
With an extra 3 megapixels hanging over the heads of the rest of the group, the Nokia N95 forces the others into relative camera obscurity. No contest here.

Connectivity
The Nokia N95 is the standout here as well being the only one of the four to offer both 3G and WiFi connectivity. The two Motorola models fail to offer WiFi (we’re still not sure about this based on preliminary Q9h specs) while the iPhone lacks 3G.

Though we too are dissapointed the iPhone isn’t coming to the US with 3G, at least not a first, we’re also willing to bet that most iPhone users won’t be bothered by the lack of the high speed connectivity. With WiFi present, and most iPod converts used to syncing their music from their PCs, the lack of quick OTA downloads likely won’t get in the way. At least not a first.

Music
Though Nokia gets a nod for adding the wildly popular FM radio feature, we’re going with the iPhone here as well.

It’s music. It’s Apple. Get serious.

GPS
Shame on Apple and Motorola for leaving GPS out of the iPhone and RAZR2. The Motorola Q9h and the Nokia N95 both managed to fit GPS in, and Nokia included many rich GPS features in the N95. Though many GPS features are hard to take advantage of on small mobile device screens (though this might not have been the case w/ the iPhone had they included it), many folks consider the lack of GPS on certain devices a deal breaker.

Email
The Q9h is going to be the best phone for email here unless Apple shocks us. The N95 does a decent job in this category, though the lack of built-in push support is sort of annoying (push support can be accomplished via third party software on the N95 at around $50). The RAZR2 with it’s non-QWERTY keyboard clearly pulls up the rear.

Price
With the pricing information at the available time, there’s no clear cut edge here. Though the listed iPhone prices are for 2 year contract commitments, the other manufacturers have slapped high price tags on their devices as well. Though the iPhone has been highly criticized for it’s high price point, when compared with comparable devices - it lines up well.

All in all, neither of these devices are going to “kill” one another regardless of how well they do or don’t match up. Each device is impressive in its own right. More importantly, these devices, regardless of what anyone says, aren’t aimed directly at eachother. The RAZR2 may kill the RAZR, but that’s about it. The Q9h may kill the first Q, the N95 is probably killing some other Nokia, and the iPhone may kill the iPod.

Consumers should avoid the suggestion that there’s a “correct” phone for them to buy in this bunch. Learn about the features of each phone and experiment with each model, then buy the phone you like the best. Simple as that.

Project 95 - Explore China with Nokia Nseries

Nokia’s “Project 95″ will take Peter Schindler - a seasoned traveler - on a 20,000-plus kilometer, Nokia-solely-sponsored, road-trip across China. Peter will be equipped with various Nokia Nseries devices, most notably the Nokia N95. He will keep a record of his excursions by maintaining a mobile blog that shares his thoughts and images taken through his Nokia N95, which can access the internet anytime and anywhere.
“I am looking forward to this adventure, driving across China,” said Peter, who has traveled by himself over one million kilometers throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia. “I am eager to explore the modern lives of Chinese people; their thoughts on life and their expectactions for the future. The Nokia N95 will allow me to share my experiences with people around the world.”
The Nokia N95 will be Peter’s most important and powerful partner. The Nokia Nseries flagship device was launched in September 2006 and will debut in China in May 2007. The all-in-one multimedia computer features an innovative 2-way slide design, an integrated Carl Zeiss five megapixel camera, GPS* and multimedia player. The device features a large 2.6″, 16.7-million-color QVGA display - allowing users to watch and record videos, listen to music, take high-quality photos, browse the internet, use instant communication, search on the internet, and access e-mail while on the move.
“Project 95″ will also raise funds for the China Youth Development Fundation (CYDF) to support sports and education programs for children in remote regions. When the trip ends, Nokia will put the car that Peter drives for auction, the Caterham Superlight R300 sports car - proceeds will be donated to the CYDF. The public can also contribute donations through various channels during the road trip.

Nokia goes for Tom Tom’s throat?

Following the release of the N95, Nokia states satellite navigation will be added to almost every phone in the line according to Kai Oistamo, head of Nokia’s Mobile Phones.
“I believe it (GPS) will quickly go through almost the whole of our portfolio,” Kai Oistamo, head of Nokia’s Mobile Phones unit, told a recent news conference.

This will mean major changes in the booming sat-nav market, as most have cell phones but no where near do most have navigation devices. Until Nokia has their way.

The power of carrying around a phone, the internet and now a navigation device is going to be the next big thing.

Other phone manufacturers are following suit, for example, Blackberry has had GPS built into their untils like the 7520 and 8800 series. The iPhone is supposed to have mapping, but no GPS as of yet.

How will the sat nav market respond to this major threat? I suspect they’ll try to bring their brand to the phone, highlighting their POI (points of interest) that they trade on…But the end of the road (no pun intended) may be near for some.