Nokia Rant & iPhone Envy

My first Nokia was the 6255i flip back in early 2000, and my first qwerty Nokia was the E62 on what used to be Cingular. As much as I understand people standing behind Nokia, I got so turned off by the N97 that I simply had to call BS on it.

This is the first Nokia model that I consider to be a pariah of mobile technology, and the fact that HoFo users continue to defend it is not shocking at all. Its usability seems to be a polarizing topic of discussion, and I question why certain users would start to settle for its horrific shortcomings and ridicule those who refuse to do so. Fanboyism could be a valid reason. It's as if Nokia fans want so badly to make the N97 more than what it was meant to be in the first place: a half-a**ed, last-minute "flagship" offering before the N900 arrival. In a way, that is even more disappointing. Where is the logic in wasting time on an OS that may be dying by the wayside? Why waste resources in creating a device that is so lacking on a number of levels, AND THEN MAKE A MINI VERSION OF THAT SAME DEVICE?! To make matters worse, it seems that if one word of negativity is mentioned about the N97, the fanboy brigade comes into full effect with its mob mentality. I was going to post the video unboxing of the second N97 I purchased and do a follow-up as to why I detest it, but I decided against it.

Honestly, I have always been curious about the Omnia HD despite its lack of a hardware qwerty. Since a friend recently got his iPhone 3G and is loving the heck out of it, I began to wonder how the S60 5th edition OS would fare with a capacitive touchscreen. True, there may be some sacrifices, but the chance of being able to have US 3G support in my area is tempting. AT&T uses the 850 and 1900 bands in my area for 3G, and the Omnia HD has the 1900 band supported. I remember experiencing this same exact phenomenon with the Nokia Euro E75 from WomWorld a while back. I was definitely shocked to see 3G support on it out of the box, but it all made sense when I read the specs. If this is a possibility with the Omnia HD, then it may be worth a shot to take advantage of its features.

As long as I can continue to use Nokia Sport Tracker, have 3G and be able to use the OS MORE reliably than on the N97, I may be ready to accept it as an iPhone-like back up to my TP2. I have come to the conclusion that no other qwerty may ever surpass the layout on my Euro TP2, and the AT&T version looks like it will be a let down (I won't even begin to pretend that the lack of a number row and Control key are acceptable). I can probably limit use of the Quickoffice editor since that virtual keyboard may be unrealistic for productive typing. That camera, capacitive touch, sound, and huge AMOLED screen are what draws me to want to try this model. In addition to feeding my iPhone jealousy, I guess there is also a need for me to see if the S60 5th edition OS can be salvalged via a Samsung device running capacitive touch. If this is the case, then the N97 is much worse off than what I thought.

The upcoming N900 does seem promising, but I am currently cautious of Nokia's potential in screwing that up as well. After all, the N97 was marketed as a mini computer...(insert hysterical laughter HERE) Another thing to consider is Maemo's compatibility with apps previously made for S60 5th edition. I certainly look forward to mark/space possibly making a Missing Sync version for Maemo.

We will see what happens, I guess.

TRENT
Sent from my HTC Touch Pro 2
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentsense.com
youtube.com/absolon3

Learn to Appreciate Technology

I am simply impressed with these words being said aloud! I have actually spent much time pondering the exact same thing.

HTC Touch Pro 2 Review

Bluetooth Setup
Bluetooth profile linking to my MacBook was trouble-free as expected, and tethering was said to be available despite the TP2's lack of US 3G. After a long period of using Missing Sync for Symbian, I had to remember key points about revisiting the software version for Windows Mobile. While the Symbian version would send the application file to the device, this was to be done manually for my TP2. Upon searching Google, I learned of extracting the .CAB file from the application folder contents and then transferring it to the phone. After the installation of the .CAB file was complete, syncing took place via a bluetooth ActiveSync link. Hangups seldom occurred with getting the Mac and TP2 connected, and I sometimes had to turn off either the phone or the Mac application (or both) to get them to talk to acknowledge each other. With some patience, all contacts, calendar and tasks were eventually imported to the device with no problem. This had always plagued my Missing Sync sessions between my Mac and Windows Mobile smartphones, but was a necessary evil as long as I could get it to work nonetheless.

Unfortunately, bluetooth tethering with my Mac was a lost cause with the Touch Pro 2 since it did not support US 3G.

Mobile Outlook
Using this feature for email managing was reliable with qwerty usage and the preview screen on TouchFLO 3D, but there were a couple of minor frustrations: duplicate emails, incomplete Blogger postings, and lack of direct server command syncing. Whenever an email was sent from the device, I would notice duplicate entries in my Gmail "Sent to" folder. I had searched the web for a solution to this common situation, but was not successful. I would not have minded this problem alone, but there was a serious issue with posting incomplete blogs directly from the Touch Pro 2. Multiple attempts at sending emails to my Blogger publishing address yielded about half of the word content of the original article written. That immediately rendered the TP2 useless and unreliable for mobile blogging. Not being able to have inbox command actions synced over to the Gmail inbox online was another inconvenience. Having to delete messages from both the phone and the Gmail site may have been solved in some way, but I was not able to find any resolution.

Music Player
Similar in comparison to other music players in regards to interface, there were a number of different ways to search for audio content. There was an equalizer feature, but only enabled when corded headphones were connected. Sound from the speakers was amazing and had as much potential as the NSeries devices. Aside from the Motorola Q9 for AT&T I had used in the past, the TP2 was definitely impressive in its audio delivery. Bass tended to be lacking at times, but overall the listening experience was suitable nonetheless. The fact that I only had MP3s and WMAs installed on the TP2 probably played a small role in the powerful and clear playback, since both formats aren't as compressed as AAC files and have more audio detailing in their sounding.

Depending on the size of the current playlist being accessed, the music player app could certainly take more than a few seconds to first appear on the main screen when selected on the interface. With over 1500 songs on my 16GB microSD card, it was wise to break down that total into smaller playlists or choosing to play limited selections according to different parameters such as genre, artist, album, etc. Choosing to shuffle ALL 1500 songs was not conducive to a fast startup of the app, but navigation of its features seemed fine once it opened.

When using the Nokia BH-503 bluetooth headset, I was surprised to hear playback with a considerable amount of audible clarity. There was rarely any minor interference with interface navigation in areas outside of the music player, but there was a culprit for interference that was certainly more annoying. Whenever wi-fi was enabled there was a sporadic occurrence of pitch changes and brief pauses that became a nuisance after a few minutes. Eventually, there was no choice but to disable wi-fi in order to solve that problem.

A situation took place one evening when the music stopped coming from the headset even though it was still connected to the phone via bluetooth. The only thing that happened at that instant was the appearance of a new email notification, but I was not sure if this was the cause.

Update: I had accidentally damaged the Nokia bluetooth headphones by sitting on them, and replaced them with the DJ-style S805 model from Motorola. Music playback experience surpassed the Nokia BH-503 since the newer model blocked much more ambient noise with its cup-over-ear design.

Update #2: I returned the Motorola model after a few days due to its bulky size and excessive heat after being worn for prolonged periods. I had found the Sony DR-BT50 model and was happy with it ever since. As with all Sony products I had used, the sound was simply amazing and crystal clear with hardly any detectable interference.

Internet Video Viewing
Considering that multimedia was not a top priority for me, watching online video content was only a luxury I didn't expect to have without support for US 3G. In a strange way, I was proved right and wrong.

As for the YouTube application on the TP2, it seemed to be impossible to work with...if it worked at all. Whether I was connected via wi-fi or EDGE, accessing a video simply timed out with an error message of the connection being lost.

Internet Explorer actually played flash content from YouTube just fine with a steady connection to either wifi or EDGE. The only drawback was not being able to get a full screen view of the footage as it was playing on-screen. Overall, it felt good to know that flash was not completely out of the picture just yet. Sound was very good through the speakers on steady playback, but the video itself did suffer from occasional skipping when downloading on EDGE whereas the wifi had less skipping.

Update: I found an application from freewarepocketpc.net called youtubeplayer, and I began to rely on that over the failed HTC YouTube app. In comparison to a few other candidates available on the freewarepocketpc site, it only had an average rating. But what caught my eye were the statements from end users proclaiming the great video quality of that application despite its homely interface aesthetics. I preferred acceptable playback quality over a polished UI, especially since the good looks of the HTC version only yielded constant error messages over WiFi AND EDGE! Even though the interface of youtubeplayer was very simple and not as flashy as the HTC player, it WORKED! As expected, a WiFi connection was flawless in playback performance while EDGE proved to be a bit unpredictable without a strong network signal. That whole experience actually made me proud to be a Windows Mobile owner once again, for I became aware of just how extensive and useful the developer community had become in comparison to Symbian.

Video Player
The video files I had imported the the microSD card played just fine on the TP2 as they did on the N97, but with a simpler interface for the touch controls. Changing the aspect ratio between native, zoom, and stretch proved to be interesting without a text-driven options menu like on the Nokia. Imaging quality of color and texture was quite impressive on the screen considering that Windows Mobile only supported 256K colors, and the Nokia N97 didn't look any different with its 16 million color display. Sound from the stereo speakers was very suitable and impressive for movies and TV programs I had saved onto my card. Another surprising find was the lack of onscreen pixelation in fast forwarding or rewinding throughout video playback. When the progress bar was activated by either a stylus or fingernail and its cursor moved, the footage would resume with no trouble at all with viewing quality. This was unlike the N97 which did experience brief pixelation whenever the cursor was moved during playback.

Opera Mobile
This browser alone could certainly make up for the lack of US 3G and flash video, for I enjoyed every single second of using it. The smooth, kinetic scrolling movement of going across a webpage reminded me of the iPod Touch Safari browser and made the N97 variant seem somewhat clunky. Optimization of text when zooming into a webpage was a much welcomed feature of Opera Mobile that I certainly missed as a former S60 user. Ease of navigation was another refreshing benefit; unlike Nokia, going back to a previous page only required the tap of a back arrow and without accessing an Options menu. A number of additional commands could be accessed by doing a tap hold on an area of the web page, and the "Select Text" choice had certainly come in handy.

The included accelerometer (aka G-Sensor) also worked very well in keeping the screen orientation in either portrait or landscape mode according to the phone's position. Switching between these modes happened relatively quickly with hardly any lag time and didn't call for any visual effects, and I was not really yearning for any to begin with.

PockeTwit
My Twitter account used to be considered a nuisance, but that was due to the lack of a reliable app to prevent from going on the web browser. On the N97 I used Gravity quite frequently and doubted being able to find the same user experience on Windows Mobile. Luckily, I was proved wrong.

Not only did PockeTwit offer the benefit of function over form with its simplified layout, it eventually helped me to not miss Gravity at all. The app showed a primary timeline in the center of the screen, and a horizontal swipe to either side revealed additional options to select. The look of the interface was nothing to be impressed with, but I certainly preferred that over the more flashy Symbian S60 counterpart. Integrating the ability to upload pictures via a link to TwitPic was what finally put the last nail in Gravity's coffin.

In addition to the app itself, there was also a Program listing for quick posting via PockeTwit without having to open the app!

TouchFLO 3D
There was no doubt that HTC revisited the drawing board on improving the interface of TouchFLO 3D, and I was extremely impressed! Running into the old, familiar Windows Mobile UI on the TP2 never struck me with overwhelming disdain, for I honestly felt indifferent about it as long as it worked. Nonetheless, being greeted by HTC's theme in more sub menus than the previous Touch Pro model was a worthy experience in using the current handset. The sleekness and contrast of the HTC black theme really promoted an expensive aesthetic to a high-end device. Even more impressive was the stability as I moved from one area to another with either the stylus or my fingertip (stylus or fingernail was of course more accurate). There were occasional lags from low signal reception when data needed live updating for Weather or Stocks, but this was due to network service. Overall, the new version of TouchFLO 3D was an improvement on the previous generation.

As much as I was curious to try out new interfaces on the device, I really didn't want to mess with a good thing. I would probably consider hacking the device to introduce a new UI in the future, but I was not ready to do so just yet.

Camera
The 3 mega pixel camera did not come with a flash, but did claim an ability to shoot VGA footage at 30 frames per second. With that in mind, I took advantage of the first opportunity to use the camcorder on the TP2 and was thoroughly surprised on the playback. Video quality was not too far from the E90 Communicator's 3 mega pixel lens and audio was promising when heard from the stereo speakers. I did a comparison shoot between the TP2 and the N97, and the N97 was of course victorious. But that victory didn't involve having more mega pixels as much as video/audio synchronization. Recorded audio on the TP2 displayed a noticeable lag from its video source while the N97 remained in sync. I was not sure if this was due to the camera needing a breaking in period, for a later video shot of a band jam session seemed to playback just fine without any issues. One interesting thing I noticed between the TP2 and N97 was widescreen support for different settings: wide format was supported on N97 video, but not still images (standard 3x5), and on TP2 stills, but not video. For still pictures, it was what it was and nothing more; adequate for well-lit environments and a bit grainy for darkened settings. Auto focus control via touch on any area of the screen seemed to work just with no trouble, and interface menus were easy to comprehend.

Operation of the shutter was almost as slow as the startup time, and having to hold steady on its duration to prevent blurriness was an inconvenience. The TP2 camera unit is definitely not made for taking quick shots on the go like the N97.

Build Quality
The TP2 was a bulky device with a lot of weight to it. From a positive aspect, there was a sense that I was holding a "real" phone and not a cheap upgrade unit from a carrier. However, a negative came from the smooth, glossy exterior that was especially true when the slider was closed. Without a surface suitable for a reassuring grip, it was easy to drop the TP2 if one was not careful. I was actually reminded of a YouTube preview video from phonedog that portrayed the phone slipping out of the hands of a demonstrator.

Unfortunately, I did drop the phone onto a concrete parking lot in the midst of a rainstorm while trying to excessively multi-task. The exterior was wet for only seconds before I shoved it in my pocket for a vigorous drying. In the aftermath, I performed a thorough examination of the unit and took pictures of dings on the upper and lower right corners. There was also a slight, unnoticeable bulging on the right side as well, but this appeared to only affect the outside shell and not the inner components. Luckily, the device continued to operate normally and I did get the chance to no longer be paranoid about keeping it in pristine condition. Seeing that physical damage did lower my expectation of the TP2, for its appearance could no longer perpetrate the metallic, high-end bravado I recalled from the Nokia E90, E71, and E75. Despite the TP2 being exposed as a plasticky unit, its build still felt sturdy and solid in the hand with absolutely no creaking or loose parts.

The bulk was lessened by rounded corners and didn't seem to be too big for my pockets, but I still preferred a belt clip carrier to prevent scratching. Honestly, that HTC did not exhibit the same durable qualities as the Nokia N97 to make it pocket-worthy.

The TP2 qwerty was by far the most AMAZING and PERFECT layout I had ever seen on ANY device I had owned, reviewed or seen in the past. Essentially, the quick typing capability of the E71 was combined with the function ability of the E90. The width was just right to prevent thumbs from traveling too far, and the tactile feedback of each key was certainly sufficient for a "click" that was not overtly loud. Comfort for long periods of typing was paramount for the TP2, and for the first time since the E90 Communicator I felt justified to use actual fingertips instead of fingernails. If there was ever a mobile device to be considered for any kind of blogger/writer on-the-go who didn't want to carry a laptop or netbook, I would definitely suggest the Touch Pro 2. Unlike the Nokia with the N97, HTC constructed a unit appropriate for accurate typing that surpassed basic SMS and short emails.

If there was an honest piece of criticism for the TP2 qwerty, it would have to involve the top and bottom rows. Using full fingertips on those keys sometimes ran into the border surrounding the entire keypad layout. Not really a huge issue, but only a minor (yet tolerable) annoyance.

Photo Viewer
Looking at albums was overall an okay experience. I didn't like the fact that the orientation of a photo could not be switched from portrait to landscape (at least not easily). Transferring pics from the photo browser could be done through a number of methods such as email or MMS, but that was it. I was not surprised to see that I had to take extra steps with File Explorer to use bluetooth for transferring (or beaming) to outside devices. What really bothered me was having to beam each picture individually. If there was a way beam multiple images simultaneously, I sure didn't see it on any options menu in File Explorer. Nonetheless, picture slideshows ran smoothly and displayed each image in the best way possible on an ample sized screen. Kinetic scrolling on the entire image library performed flawlessly and made for a much easier time in choosing pictures. No matter how fast I scrolled through the image thumbnails, the TP2 had no trouble in promptly refreshing them to show image previews.

Reception Quality
Out of all the benefits of the Touch Pro 2, it was quite unfortunate that it suffered horribly from dropped calls on AT&T inside my home. For the first time since owning the Sony Ericsson P990, I had to resort to using my LANDLINE phone to resume dropped calls! Outside of my home all was sufficient in using only EDGE frequencies, but when inside things were totally different. For years I had known of two dead zones in my residence, but that was the first time in a while to experience call dropping on such a regular basis.

Speakerphone Quality
The TP2 had powerful output on its stereo speakers from the back of its body with virtually no sign of interference. Clarity of sound was amazing and definitely a testament to the inner acoustic technology that was installed. I was pleased to notice that I didn't have to hold the phone near my face to be able to understand words spoken by the caller. Straight Talk technology introduced by HTC allowed for the phone to switch instantly into speaker mode when turned onto its face during a call.

Overall Impression
I was impressed with my return to Windows Mobile through the look and appeal of HTC's improved interface and revamped hardware. Honestly, the company had redeemed itself from the shortcomings of the previous Touch Pro model with the Touch Pro 2. Considering that no device was ever perfect, that recent qwerty slider certainly came close to it! The combination of a grand 3.6inch WVGA touchscreen, stereo speakers, robust slider, sleek dimensions, solid weight, and a SUPERB qwerty had taken the TP2 to another level into the Communicator realm. There were some cons, but most of these were nothing that some online research couldn't rectify. The clunkiness and confusion of Windows Mobile was tamed by the well-designed, yet functional TouchFLO 3D, and I was glad to be an end user. Within a matter days, that device had worked its way into my daily routine in the same manner as the E71 despite its lack of US 3G and a camera flash. For enterprise customers and casual users alike, the Touch Pro 2 was truly a marvel of usability and performance.

Trent Smith
Sent from my Nokia E90
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TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentsense.com
youtube.com/absolon3