N97mini Review Part-3: Software, Music and Battery

With the last review of the N97mini happening so late and a lot of things happening at my end (chronic backache, transfer of work location and some personal issues) I’ve been unable to bring you the remaining parts of the N97mini review. I apologize for the same.

Well anyway, without wasting time let me finish this most important part of the review.

Software:

The N97mini employs the latest version of the firmware, a.k.a V2.0, this version of the S60 5th edition, was hotly anticipated by the owners of the N97 as the saviour of the N97. While it did set a few things right, it could not do enough to mend what was committed at the hardware stage. The N97mini seems to have benefited most from the mistakes made by the N97. the mini has a larger internal memory (240MB + compared to 72MB on the N97). The screen is definitely more responsive. It seems Nokia has been really working on their screens.

On the software part, there is little difference with the N97. Everything is just as is on the N97, though I will have to say that things seems much better executed by the phone. Multitasking is much better and overall the mini does seem snappier than the N97. The N97mini also comes preloaded with a huge bucket load of widgets and apps, it also has space for lots more.

Let me list out what came with our review unit,

1. Drawing

2. JoikuSpot

3. Qik

4. Boingo

5. Traveler

6. YouTube

7. AccuWeather

8. Amazon

9. AP Mobile

10. Bloomberg

11. CNBC TV-18

12. CNN Video

13. Elle

14. Facebook

15. Friendster

16. Hi5

17. MySpace

18. Slideshow

19. Vlingo

20. Asphalt4

21. Spore

22. Marble Maze

23. BDayLauncher

This surely makes it a loaded phone. Despite all of these apps being there the phone had an amazing 240MB+ of available memory, meant that one could run Nokia Messaging and install a few more apps and the phone would not slow down or hang like it’s big brother.

A gallery of images will show the N97mini’s OS.

I’d give the entire experience a 8/10. The S60 5th edition works well, but still feels clunky.

Music:

When it comes to music, the N97mini did not disappoint. It was loud and clear. The dedicated audio chip allows one to experience good quality music. The earphones supplied with the mini are also pretty good. Though on the BH-905 is when you can actually really feel the clarity. Devices in the price range of US $300 and above are now mini stereos without the huge speakers now a days. The N97mini is no less. It’s own stereo speakers being pretty loud. In a noisy environment (Indian conditions) it does get difficult to hear the phone.

The music player on the mini is the standard music player on any S60 5th edition, which means it offers shuffle, repeat, equalizer settings. The look of the player remains unchanged and that’s a bit bad as it is beginning to look old already. Nseries definitely need to make the player more appealing to their target audience. Adding a few more features would definitely help.

The music store which is tied to the Nokia Music store works very nicely on the N97mini. Once you log in and enter the serial no. for the free 100 tracks that come with the phone, you can download straight onto your phone. Should you choose to send it to a friend or a PC, you can do it too. Nokia Music Store has a continuously growing library of music and features the latest content and some other content which can be hard to come by these days.

And if all of these things still leave you wanting for more, FM radio should help you. The N97mini has FM radio, so you can listen to all the music you want over the airwaves. Absensce of an FM transmitter is glaring here. I am left wondering why it was not retained for the N97mini?

Overall the N97mini gets an 8/10. If one takes out the Music Store, the score comes down to 7. The Music Player app needs urgent help, in my opinion, when it comes to aesthetics.

Battery:

The battery on the N97mini is not the same that did duty on the N97. Since it has a smaller screen and a few other things missing over the N97, Nokia decided to give it a smaller battery. The Nokia BL-4D does duty on the mini. It is rated at 1200mAh, a full 20% lesser than the N97’s 1500mAh. While in the normal course you would not feel it. But if you are a heavy user the charge awaits you by the time you reach home at night. I’ve been able to squeeze 2-3days from the battery with moderate usage. Heavy users are likely to find it tough to manage that feat.

If you are watching one of the three preloaded movies on the N97mini (Da Vinci Code, Spiderman, My Best Friend’s Wedding) you will see the bars drop pretty fast. The device will also heat up from the bottom.

I’d rate it at 7/10. This is a mixed bag and though the battery life is good on it, with one doing many things on it, don’t expect it to last that long.

Gallery:

Skyfire 1.5 Launches for Symbian S60 3rd and 5th edition

Skyfire, one of the best browsers out there has come up with a new version for S60v3 devices. Whats even more exciting is that they have added support for v5 devices too ! The UI has been specially prepared to provide an amazing experience on touch screen devices.

What’s new with Skyfire 1.5 for Symbian S60 3^rd edition?

• Smooth Scrolling: Scroll operations are more fluid.
• Updated user interface for 3^rd edition devices.
• Performance tweaks: Many small enhancements for a more robust and faster browsing experience.

What’s new with Skyfire 1.5 for Symbian S60 5^th edition (Beta)?

• Available for the first time on Symbian S60 5^th edition.
• Finger friendly UI: A new, intuitive, and finger friendly UI for high resolution touchscreen devices provides an easier browsing experience.
• Smooth Scrolling: Kinetic scrolling has been enabled to Skyfire. Pan or flick the screen to move in any direction smoothly on touchscreen.
• Full screen mode: For touchscreen, browse in full screen mode for maximum screen real estate.Bring the controls back by clicking on the corner icon at any time.
• Auto-Rotate: Browse in portrait or landscape mode with a simple change of the device orientation.

Skyfire on Symbian S60 inherits all the unique Skyfire benefits that make it the best mobile browsing experience available, and still Free (!) to download:

• “Full web” mobile browser: The only mobile web browser to support all the rich media on the web for a PC-like web browsing experience.
• Browse any page: Browse your favorite websites on Skyfire exactly like you do on your PC. No compromises! We’re the only mobile browser to support all major Web 2.0 standards – Ajax, JavaScript, Flash 10 – it just works.
• Watch any video: Skyfire is the only mobile browser that gives access to the full media experience on the internet by supporting Flash 10, Silverlight 3.0 and Windows Media. Catch up on the freshest sports commentary, celebrity gossip or TV on your phone!
• Share instantly: Easily share what you find on the web or what you are up to. Post web pages and status updates to Facebook and Twitter, with one click!
• Stay connected: Check your Gmail, follow your friends’ Facebook and Twitter updates, and keep track of news, sports, video and other content in your own customizable activity feed.
• Blazing fast: Skyfire fires up fast and web pages load quickly. Skyfire is the fastest mobile browser available in market.

With this latest release, Skyfire is available on the full set of the most popular smartphones in the world, the Nokia N and E series. So happy browsing!

Tamoggemon releases TouchCalc Lite for S60v5

Ever wondered why you have to tote around a scientific calculator AND a
mobile phone for performing the simplest of calculations? At
Tamoggemon’s, we wondered – and created TouchCalc Lite.

TouchCalc is developed specially for touchscreen usage. Large keys make
entering computations easy, and various input assistance features make
accessing the wide library of supported functions easy. Nokia N97/N97
mini users furthermore benefit from a keyboard-optimized view.

Formulas and terms can be entered into the program as they are written
in the real world – for TouchCalc, 5+5*5 is 30 and not 50.

Five memory banks allow you to store and retrieve results of
calculations with but two clicks. Of course, their values are persisted
even on power-off.

Finally, TouchCalc Lite contains a high-performance graphing engine
which can plot each and every function supported by TouchCalc in blazing
speed and amazing clarity. Ever wondered how a sine looks? TouchCalc
knows…

TouchCalc Lite can be purchased for 3 Euros via the Ovi Store

N97mini v/s. the N97

Well with the N97mini being in our hands for reviewing and being put to use, we though we’d bring you some interesting photos of the N97 and the mini. See how they stack up to each other. Which one according to you is a better looking device.

If you thought only the phone was redesigned… take a look and see how much the N97mini has changed compared to the original N97.

Click on the image to see a larger size of it.

Stay tuned for the first part of the review coming up soon.

Update your Nokia phone

So you bought an expensive phone that does it all for you a few months back and now somebody you know also bought the same phone and he/she tells you about this cool feature in their phone… you are left wondering how come you don’t have it on your phone. Well the answer is simple. You have a phone with the old firmware.

Now you might wonder why do you need it, or might have the fear of losing your data even. Well, don’t worry this video will address all those myths that you have. Have a look at the video and start updating your Nokia phone right away.

Oh and in case you have the N97 and have still not upgraded to the latest firmware, this should give you a good reason why you should update to the latest firmware.

Now if you are wondering how to do it…. look no further it’s all here.

So what are you waiting for… update that phone to the latest firmware today…

Next Page »