Nokia N95 one year on - An assessment (Part 1)

Whilst rifling through my things yesterday, trying desperately to find some misplaced tickets, I stumbled upon my N95 documentation. Much to my surprise I discovered that today, "3rd April", is a year to the day since I first purchased the N95. I remember reading a preview of it in the Gadget Porn magazine Stuff, (it could have been T3), at the tail end of the previous year. Immediately I lusted after it as a replacement for my Sony K750i.

Without signing up to some ridiculous contract, I knew that I wanted one as soon as possible after it came out. I didn't expect it to take quite as long for it to emerge. I knew it would be a special phone, but I didn't quite realise it would change the way I use technology, and how much. The marketing term "Its what computers have become" was more than just marketing.

So looking at its features and how I've used them

Phoning

The obvious one, but it wasn't actually explained how to make a phone call until Page 93 of the manual (something at the time I described in a forum as the N95s hidden feature). I honestly probably make phone calls the least. I don't use VoIP (but don't have many foreign contacts or anything that might make me want to do this). I've never used Video calls and I'm not sure that I can try Push to Talk, nor have I ever heard of anyone doing so. I've made my own ring tones, assigned personal ring tones and played with the 3D settings etc.


Features 10/10 (not sure what else I would want)
Usage 4/10 (Indispensable but not used as much as other things)

Texting

Used a lot. Pretty good but no smileys (surprisingly). Easy to send texts to groups of people as well. A download from Nokia (Conversation) allows texts to be followed as conversations (a bit like a threaded forum). Multimedia Texts are easy as well and photos will be re-sized as needed. I also tried out an animated message application called Yoyap. Fun but most of my mates phones come from another era.

Features 8/10 (wot no smileys)
Usage 6/10 (could do more with Multimedia but I'm too lazy)

Email

Initially I set up my email accounts on the Phone and set it to auto poll. It was kind of great getting alerts to messages every 15 to 30 minutes when friends and colleagues only managed to log on once a day (got lots of free Cinema tickets this way). Two things though that annoy, battery life and not getting all of the email only the headings.

I also tried push email (I used emoze but there are others). Brilliant, but battery again is the problem.

I've settled on using more web based email services now, and the Gmail app is excellent, Yahoo Go is OK, and I also tried a Windows Live app. I tend to avoid windows. (so the Windows Live app may be good but only lasted a week).

Funnily enough you can also "just" log on to your web based email sites using the browser, but hey that would be too simple wouldn't it?

Features 7/10 (Headers/Battery)
usage 7/10 (Would beat blackberry to a pulp if the battery lasted)

Part 2 etc coming soon Happy Birthday My Little N95

Jogku (or Run Fat Boy Run)

Phones can get you into trouble.

You know, you fancy a really expensive model for no particular reason, you buy it, and then you feel compelled to find a reason to have it.

That's how I found all these blogs

...and that's how you find all these forums

...and that's how you find and try all these amazing free applications

...and thats how I found myself weighing myself and going for a run for the first time in 20+ years.

Firstly over at Nokia Geek Matt was trying an application called Nokia Sports Tracker and came up with the idea that he should undertake Geek Fitness in order to get fit. Willpower being the equivalent of the Nokia N95s battery (short lived) it didn't last very long.

Then over at Symbian Guru Ricky, in view of his impending nuptials, announced Geek Vs Guru thinking that the two of them would spur each other on. It was working, but due to other circumstances Matt is currently unable to partake. Therefore Ricky has opened up the offer to others.

I also have Nokia Sports Tracker (out of curiosity) but thought it was brilliant. Just needed something to use it for. I also have a brilliant little application on the phone, and use via the PC, called Jaiku. This is a brilliant microblogging application (a bit like Twitter) where MunkiMatt and Ricky just happen to hang out. Several guys were talking about also joining Ricky and Matt and thats how Jogku happened.

So I'm in, have taken my first, albeit short, run and it half killed me. Still there should be more to come, if others take up the challenge (come on you know who you are). They should get better and this fattish, nearly 40 year old will either prosper, die or more likely give up.

The Weigh In
This is the bit I hated most

The First Jogku

Click here to see the Route on Sports Tracker

Visions of the future?

This is what I really am



This is what I aspire to

There is a real buzz about this latest Symbian Application

*Warning adult themes*

Well when I said my phone can do 95 things, I never expected this...

..... Hello Kitty indeed.

Oh dear god what will they come up with next.

Poll of Polls - Top Albums 2007 Nos 80 - 61

Part 2 of the top 100 albums of the year Poll of Polls compiled from 19 different sources

80	Kassin + 2	Futurismo
79	Foo Fighters	Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
78	Dillinger Escape Plan	Ire Works
77	John Fogerty	Revival
76	Jens Lekman	Night Falls Over Kortedala
75	Commix	A Call To Mind
74	Clipse	Hell Has No Fury
73	Health	Health
72	Ricardo Villabos	Fabric 36
71	Nick Lowe	At My Age
70	The Maccabees	Colour it in
69	The Cribs	Mens Needs, Womans Needs, Whatever
68	Richard Hawley	Lady's Bridge
67	Miranda Lambert	Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
66	Iron and Wine	The Shepherds Dog
65	Black Lips	Good Bad Not Evil
64	Nine Inch Nails	Year Zero
63	Lil Wayne	The Carter Sessions
62	The Coral	Roots and Echoes
61	Pram	Moving Frontier

Part 3 coming soon

Technorati Tags: Top,Albums,CDs,Compact Disc,2007,NME,MOJO,Uncut,Q,Kerrang,Word,Record Collector,Mixmag,Observer,OMM,Time,Times UK,Telegraph,Daily Telegraph,Guardian,New York Times,Blender,Pitchfork,The Wire,Spin,Rolling Stone,Drowned In Sound,Music

On the Twelfth day of Christmas.......

A graffiti artist gave to me, some Christmas accessorised stencilled graffiti.

Poll of Polls - Top Albums 2007 Nos 100 to 81

Recently to satisfy my idle curiosity I conducted a poll of polls for the top Albums of 2007. I looked across 19 different publications both UK and US, including Music Magazines, websites and newspapers. They are listed in the technorati tags below.

I looked only at the top 30 albums from each site, if there were more they were ignored, if less I started them at a higher number of points to give a closer weighting to critics top choices from each publication.

There were 201 different albums in total. I've only got time to give justice to the top hundered. The lowest scored 16 points out of a possible 570. The highest scored 354. Therefore at the lower end of the 100 you find some strange choices, but they may have come from a particular specialist publication such as Mixmag or Kerrang, but remember they would have come in the top 15 of that publication and might be worth a quick listen.

For those that are interested, scraping in at 101 (with votes from more than one publication), was Britney Spears

Without further ado I present the countdown from 100.

No#	Artist	Album
100	Clap Your Hands Say Yeah	Some Loud Thunder
99	Laub	Deinetwegan
98	Interpol	Our Love to Admire
97	Field Music	Tones of Town
96	Every Time I Die	The Big Dirty
95	Common	Finding Forever
94	Calle 13	Residente O Visitante
93	Andrew Bird	Armchair Apocrypha
92	Aesop Rock	None Shall Pass
91	Strategy	Future Rock
90	Plan B	Paint It Blacker
89	Gogol Bordello	Super Taranta
88	The Hives	The Black and White Album
87	Oner Ozer	Kashmir
86	Maps	We Can Create
85	Machine Head	The Blackening
84	Kaiser Chiefs	Yours Truly, Angry Mob
83	The Dream	LoveHate
82	Prince	Planet Earth
81	Paul McCartney	Memory Almost Full

Technorati Tags: Top,Albums,CDs,Compact Disc,2007,NME,MOJO,Uncut,Q,Kerrang,Word,Record Collector,Mixmag,Observer,OMM,Time,Times UK,Telegraph,Daily Telegraph,Guardian,New York Times,Blender,Pitchfork,The Wire,Spin,Rolling Stone,Drowned In Sound,Music

Brussels Experiment No 1 - Grand Place using autostitch

Took a whole set of very quick pictures around the Grand Place in Brussels using my Nokias Camera Function. I just made sure they overlapped. Then I just used Autostitch and voila a panorama is produced.



Clearly with a bit more effort (for example taking more pictures of the sky,putting the church in the middle of the panorama rather than at the end and standing in the centre of the square) the results might be brilliant. But as a 5 minute first effort I think Autostitch is well worth further effort.

Big Ideas (Don't Get Any) - Radiohead Revolutionise The Record Industry?

So following on from Princes revolutionary idea to give his latest album away with the Daily Mail (who would have probably pretty much hated a Black, semi androgynous, sex mad Jehovahs Witness***) another act is set to change the way we 'buy' music in the future.

Radiohead have announced they have finished their next album titled "In Rainbows" and that it will be available for Download 10 days after the announcement. It is going initially to be available in two formats:
(a) A super duper box set featuring the album on CD, an additional CD with further tracks, the album, the album spread across 2 heavyweight vinyl records, (perfect for all audiophiles, and lts of art work, lyrics books etc. (Released December)
(b) Download only with just the main album. (October 10th)

The box set comes in at a not insignificant £40 but the extraordinary thing is that the Download is operating on a pay what you think it's worth basis. This means that, subject to a transaction fee of 45 pence, you can get the album for nothing.

Many sites such as Money Saving Expert and Hotdeals are advertising this fact, and some people are encouraging people to pay nothing for the album. I think that if people genuinely think that the album is worth nothing, then why the feck do they go there in the first place?

The problem with the honesty box process is that on the web people are generally dishonest and out to steal what they can. The difference between this and Prince is that Prince was paid by the Daily Mail to be a huge advert for them, helping to sell more of their newspaper. Similarly for Prince it was a huge advert for his concerts, made him as much money as his previous album did and helped shift his vast back catalogue (A Greatest Hits compilation entered the charts, and all of the stores like HMV who moaned had a great opportunity to do deals on the back catalogue.

Radiohead, however, have worked on a 'No Logo' basis before, even resorting to a tent tour to avoid advertising. They will not make profit that way, so if we all resort to getting something for nothing, where will they get the money from?

Box Set Sales? - Maybe but I cannot believe that they will sell that many, even to a willing fan base.
Touring - Hope so, because its been a bugger to get a ticket recently. However not only do we have tour guilt for environmental reasons, but anyone who has seen 'Meeting People is Easy' will understand why Radiohead have avoided large scale tours and only tend to play small gigs when they feel like it.

Don't get me wrong, I've downloaded the new songs from tour boots, and I'm not adverse to a freebie (currently downloading all the GHP bootlegs from here). However the Band struggled for about 10 years with one of these songs before releasing it, (Nude), that was originally titled "Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)". Do you think a 45P transaction fee is justified?

I now have a dilema, as I understand a commercial CD release may follow. Do I get the box set, or donate a minimal amount and buy the standard CD when it comes out. I think I'll buy the box set, and hope it might offer the chance to pre-register for concert tickets or something as good as that.

So you can order the album here.

Go on, give a little. Your honesty and generosity may dictate how artists decide to release their music in the future.


***P.S. This is not the way I see Prince. I see him as a musical genius who is carrying on the band leading brilliance of other greats like James Brown ...who might have a slight teeny fixation with sex ;-)

Coming Soon

Its been a long wait.....

but at last our Banana has flowered. I don't know if it will show fruit but apparently to fruit properly it needs a male and a female flower to cross pollinate and they tend to flower at different times of the year (not very clever is it, could be the fruit equivalent of a panda).

The variety of banana is the Musa Basjoo which is not edible, but one of the hardiest varieties, therefore good for trying in UK gardens.

Its now about 15 feet tall and frost will destroy the plant down to the ground (but roots survive) if not wrapped. Its been in the ground for about 5 years now and last year I had to wrap it with the aid of a very wobbly step ladder.



More photos can be found on my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/waveydavey001/

I'm using ShoZu now on my N95 so by the time I'd got in from the Garden my photos taken on the Nokia were already on Flickr. Brilliant.