 It finally came today.. my sweet, new, GPS-enabled Nokia N95..
awesome! I'm finally making the leap to coolest GPS-enabled, Symbian S60 3
smartphone around. I'm pleased to share my getting acquainted experiences with
others... enjoy as I get up and running with this iPhone killer ;0)
From Day 1
The first thing I'll be doing is updating the firmware to the latest (it has
enhanced support for assisted GPS), migrating all my data and apps from my old
N80 (that's always fun), loading a few new applications (like fring, the latest
from Shozu, and some of the cool stuff from Nokia Research labs) - I'll also
grab the new Worldmate, an awesome travel app - and of course I'll be stuffing
a
2GB MicroSD card inside this badboy so I can enjoy the 5 megapixel camera and
high res video to its fullest... the flickr and youtube channel should start
seeing some cool stuff! Stay tuned as I plan on documenting my experience of
getting up and running with this dream device. Peter Batty and Ed Parsons should
have some useful material on their blogs to help out with some issues and the
huge collection of N95 resources I started building out at LBSzone.com should
also come in handy.. stay tuned! First impressions... the display is HUGE, loads
of memory, the battery cover on the back seems flimsy, the demo is really good,
there's lots of apps loaded on it, the dual direction slider is way
cool.
More... From Day3
More comments on the Nokia N95... well, it's been
2 days since I got going with the N95. I spent Friday night messing around with
the device, reading the manual, running through video demos, and migrating data
from my old device (N80) and trying to get the new system up and running.
For those of you that have never switched smartphones its similar to trying to
migrate all your data and apps from your old PC to a new one. Luckily the device
comes with some useful utilities that make it a relatively painless process...
although I've done this several times now and I likely have a leg up on a
"newbie" smart phone user - FYI, I've been using Nokia smart phones for about
3.5 years now. Friday night I did the following and suggest a similar route
should you ever get one of the spanky units...
- first, I loaded a 2GM microSD card into it and
updated the device's firmware... Nokia just released an update for the N95 that
provides additional enhancements supporting A GPS. Updating firmware on a new
device is simple and much easier than attempting it on your regular device that
would likely be packed with data and apps.. think formatting your PC hard drive!
- I then transferred most of my data from the old
device to the new N95 using Bluetooth. The N95 comes with a useful transfer
utility specifically for this. I say most because it kept barking at me that the
device memory was full and would bail on the process.. weird because the N95 has
a ton of free data! A simple solution using file manager that comes with Nokia
PC Suite - the PC companion utility for file and application management, used
from your PC.
- Once all my contacts, notes, emails etc.. were loaded
I then installed a couple of applications that I needed, like Shozu, and
configured a flickr upload utility. My flickr is all configured now and shozu
helps send all my data in a compact format... fast and cheap! Shozu is a MUST
have. Unfortunately flickr doesn't seem to want to auto post my photos to the
blogger blog so I'm still trouble shooting that.
- finally, I loaded a few more songs onto the N95 since
I have so much space on the SD card! The MP3 player on the N95 is awesome and
the FM radio is great... I was listening to the broadcast at a baseball game on
Saturday! This will come in handy when I go see the Rockies play the Padres next
week!
- the rest has just been trial and error, mostly trying
to figure out how the mapping and GPS is working. It's a learning curve but so
far I've managed to capture my position at several locations and then added way
points/ POIs for certain features (home, the gym, CSU etc...) Using the GPS has
been fun.. imagine calling up the "Map" application and the map auto centers
near my exact location. Then as I update my position from a driving vehicle I
can see my location displayed on the map and it moves along with me.. this is
way cool! Once I'm more comfortable I'll be making sure that my flickr photos
are geotagged and being mapped... I'll likely also try the Google Panoramio
service as well (I have an account but don't use it much so far.. it pales in
comparisson to flickr IMHO.
- a couple of things I like.. the display is freaking
HUGE, the color of the screen is way cool (especially using a dark theme) I had
no issues using the device outside on a very hot and sunny day; the music player
rocks, GPS is simple so far and fun, the bundled services are plentiful (ie.
configure flickr, data transfer, radio station search,
etc...
I've already connected with the
PictEarth guys since I got the device... maybe I'll send my N95 up for a fly on
a UAV.. how cool would that be to capture some aerial photography with it! See
http://pictearth.ning.com/ for more on
PictEarth
Stay tuned for another update in a day or
two.
Rlated weblinks:
Updating the Nokia N95's firmware... takes guts,
patience, and a little wine doesn't hurt either!
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