Jan 11 |
 |
Strange things happen when you run a web site! Obviously there’s the really strange stuff like endless spam. But along with the (climbing) adventures that this site focuses on (remembering many people find hanging by your finger tips above certain death quite a strange pastime) there’s also a lot of interesting (and strange) things happening too…
In December I was contacted by WOM World asking if I’d be interested in conducting a trial of the new Nokia N82 Handset. The only string attached was that I write a review. Why not I thought, it might be fun!
Here’s an excerpt from that invitation:
…we aim to provide more hands-on experiences with Nseries so people can gain and share real user insights.
We will soon get hold of a special sport pack which includes the new Nokia N82 pre-installed with a handy application called ‘sportstracker’ which collates all of your training info such as, distance travelled and average speed etc. The pack also contains a Salomon pursuits kit. Judging by your blog we thought this might be of interest to you…
As I understand it, this handset isn’t available in the UK yet. So it was quite interesting to see what might be possible with the new technology. Here’s what it looks like:
The “shiny” N82 handset.
It also comes with a massive 2Gb microSD card loaded with maps for the GPS…
Basically it looks just like the previous model (one of my colleagues at work 
has a N73), except there’s a whole load more electronics packed inside!
Here’s all the other stuff that came with the handset:
Salmon sports back pack, snazzy headphones & microphone with a neck strap, USB lead, video lead, and a mains charger.
Oh, there’s some smart packaging too!
So what did I think?
The easiest way for me to do this is simply to list what I thought was good (+ve) and what I thought wasn’t (-ve):
+ve
- Nice looking, the handset is undoubtedly attractive with lots of shiny parts
(although it is quite large). In fact, if it wasn’t for the “shininess” I wouldn’t have noticed my work colleagues N73. - I’ve not had a handset with WiFi access before, and this is great.
When in range of a wireless network you’ve got access so you can go surfing at no (extra) network costs… Brilliant. - The GPS feature is great to have (although note my -ve comment below).
The handset seems to also have an even better idea of where you are using cell location from nearby mobile masts. But I couldn’t really confirm this living in the cell phone dead spot called Cumbria! 
- The handset also has a very good 3 mega-pixel camera with a proper flash (many don’t have that, relying instead on a simple LED).
-ve
- Why do you need network access to use the maps (GPS) feature? Okay, so it can then get the latest info like traffic jams etc., but what if you don’t want / need that - it just runs up your telephone bill (you are unlikely to be in range of a WiFi network when on the road)! That is unless your mobile package has some kind of unlimited on-line access included.
I can only guess that mobile phone manufacturers are in cahoots with the cell phone companies on this one. Nokia have nothing to gain by this, only the cell companies profit from network access… - The map data is good, but in rural areas (Cumbria and the Lake District being one! ) expect to get lost! Many of the small country lanes are missing! Poor, a simple bottom of the range TomTom ONE has all the roads on it…
And a final thought, the Salomon back pack… A nice pack, great for running and other aerobic sports, being neat and close fitting. But (and there had to be a “but” didn’t there) the elasticated straps on the back pack get it the way of opening it - unzip the pack and you still can’t open it fully ‘cos of the bungee cords! Doh. Do not pass “Go”, do not collect $200, and go straight to jail back to the design board Salomon!
Start slideshow with these images
Go to Image Archive...
Entry for Friday, 11th January 2008 by 
Pete,
filed under 
Technology.
Follow responses through the 
RSS feed,
e-mail a link,
leave a response, or 
TrackBack from your own site.
(Not Rated) 
Loading ...
14 Responses to “Strange Things Happen!”
Leave a Reply
Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
[...] It is generally a positive review from Pete who is taken by the looks and shiny exterior of the device. The inclusion of Wifi connectivity in the N82 is also a boon which coupled with the GPS functionality adds some very useful features Pete didn’t necessarily expect on such a handset. [...]
Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Its interesting that you buffer us users from the outside world and the potential injury there from
Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Does it have a camera? Users of this site might find that useful; we could then post to the site during the activity i.e. whilst falling off a rock face
Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Oh yeah, it has a camera. It even made telephone calls! So…
You can fall off a rock climb, phone the mountain rescue, giving them your exact location using the GPS, get a picture of the carnage (for the blog or perhaps the evening news?), then post the report from your hospital bed!
Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Now seriously folks, you’ll probably fall off cos it’s so big and heavy!!
Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
So in the event of a fall, does the menu system allow the operator to get to the camera (and any other relevant functions) before impact occurs
.
Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
“Why do you need network access to use the maps (GPS) feature?”
When A-GPS is active it uses the nokia servers to give the positions of the satellites back to the phone and gets a faster fix (this can be switched off).
Map data can be preloaded on a microSD card.
Too avoid any ‘call/data’ cost the phone can be set to ‘offline’ mode but the GPS (without A-GPS) will still fix - though it might take a bit longer.
(cell/mobile coverage is short on vodaphone but cell size on the orange network has further reach had no problems in Cumbria)
More Mapping/N82/N95 on the Mapperz blog.
http://mapperz.blogspot.com/2007/12/testing-n82-with-sports-tracker-beta.html
Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Thanks for your feedback mapperz regarding the need for network access to use the GPS with the N82. Although I’m sure you are right I still think the phone manufacturers and network operators are in cahoots!
As for cell access and map data in Cumbria, I’m certain you are wrong. It may be good around the main roads and towns, but from a rock climber’s perspective, the wilder areas are poorly covered…
Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
please dont take this the wrong way, but i think it is unfair to post a negative comment about a product without first reading the owners manual, or at least reading the help section (located in the phone). i am refering to the point you made about downloading maps over a data network. it takes only a few minutes to download large maps and install them to your phones supplied memory card, but i think it is actually a positive that you can load maps on the go just in case you end up in a country or city that you didnt plan on being in when you left home.
Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
George, you have misunderstood. The issue is network access (for whatever reason - e.g. the faster positioning mapperz refers to) when actually travelling, not the map data itself. Although that was also lacking in remote parts of Cumbria.
Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
But does it locate sausage rolls???
Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
So what is the difference between a cellphone and a mobile phone? I thought they were the same thing, and the former was just an Americanism. (But then, as you know, my mobile doesn’t even take photos, so I am the last person to be up to date with techno-stuff!)
Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Yep, just an Americanism - sorry!
Sunday, January 20th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Very nice GPS kits blog