Posted by
Josh – June 25, 2010
With the imminent release of the Nokia N8 and the new operating system Symbian ^3 – what sort of problems could Nokia fix and improve upon? Or rather what am I hoping they will resolve or implement in their next OS / Phones?
- RSS feed widget on home screen (ala The Sony C905 from Oct 2008) – Comfirmed in this video.
- Improved UI Design / Icons – read somewhere that Nokia were planning on a refresh before actual release?
- Improved Web Browser – the built in Symbian web browser has been poor for a long time – it needs to support email subject definition in email mailto links (it doesn’t understand the ? option).
- Improved sharing features – ie. Photo share to Twitter, FB, Blogger, not just OVI
- Built in Twitter client and home screen widget
- Improved battery life or sleep mode(s) – using the phones features often drains the battery too quickly.
- Have a screen that works outside even when battery is low (what’s the point in the light sensor if it doesn’t do anything?)
- PC software needs fixing – why are there separate apps for Nokia Maps loader, Nokia Ovi Suite, Nokia Software Updater, etc, why can’t these all be combined into one?
- Lots of memory (RAM) for multi-tasking, the Nokia N97 has 256mb* but only 73mb was available, the Nokia N97 Mini has 512mb with 277mb available to the user*, and the Nokia N8 has 256mb, but will it be enough?
Whilst the imaging options (filters – vignette, colour filters) look greatly improved (based on Mobile-Review’s look at the new OS), in the built in photo editor, it would be nice to see the same sort of Apps as Android and iPhone devices have – Photoshop for Symbian anyone?
The MP3 playback on the N86 is very good (much better than the Satio) and features stereo speakers which are useful for video playback – and it would be nice if this level of quality should continue (Unfortunately it looks like the Nokia N8 only has 1 speaker).
However, whether Nokia fans will continue to be faithful is another matter. Will they wait for the Nokia N8 to arrive even when numerous Android phones and the new iPhone4 are already available, and then if they do use the N8, will it be enough to encourage them to wait for Symbian ^4? Even as a Nokia “fan” I don’t know how much longer I will remain “faithful” to Nokia. Especially as the Android onslaught continues…
* Source: Wikipedia.
Posted by
Admin – July 3, 2009
iPhone 3.0 adds a lot of function that, were it not Apple, would have been expected a standard. MMS, copy and paste are glaring omissions rather than additional functionality. Apple can get away with this sort of thing, however, and clearly people were not too bothered if you look at the sales figures.
One significant, and, staggeringly underrated and under-reported upgrade is the functionality of the YouTube application. It has finally gone from being a facility to search and view videos to managing subscriptions, managing user videos, favourites and pretty much the full functionality of YouTube when accessed from a PC/Mac. The iPhone imaging software and battery life has also been updated, but not to huge effect. The only other significant addition was search. I didn’t get it really. How much stuff do you have on an iPhone? Maybe it’s just me. I know all the media and apps on mine so perhaps I am just not forgetful enough to need this, but it fits nicely and works the Apple way, smoothly and it is unintrusive when it is not being used. Nice but no use to me. Perhaps there should be a way to turn it off?
This isn’t as much a review as an excuse to say this: it’s a stop gap update. Substantial, but it leaves me feeling like I had one beer – really good, but I need more to feel happy about it. Personally I am, after this update, expecting iPhone 4.0 to be a quantum leap in mobile tech. Android is looming and I have thought that I might check it out. As much as I love Apple, I wish they were open source and the Google kit is starting to look, frankly, awesome. What I do know is this: when everyone thinks they are catching up, Apple usually does something extraordinary. I just hope that iPhone 4.0 is due this Christmas. I am due an upgrade then. I cannot comment on iPhone 3G S until I get one.
In other news, iPhone 3.1 beta is already out to developers.
Edit:
Upon logging in to my Mobile Me account this morning I discovered an excellent feature (admittedly, I paid little attention to the iPhone 3.0 keynote so my ignorance is my own fault) called Find my iPhone. Within a few minutes I had set up my iPhone to be detectable anywhere in the world. Mobile Me kindly shows me where it is on Google Maps, allows remote wiping in the case of theft and obviously allows me to hunt it down so I can baseball bat the thief. Chalk that as a huge mark in the plus column for iPhone 3.0.
