Three First Impressions of Windows Phone 7

If Microsoft is to have a fighting chance with Windows Phone 7 then it better make a good first impression.

Three reasons Windows Phone 8 Metro/Modern UI is bad

1. Poor use of display real estate poorly

• Menu title split across multiple screens isn't professional
• A big black bar on the home page's right side for just an arrow
• Tiles on the home screen are too big (lots of scrolling) and boring (like a static IE logo): Unlike what Microsoft tells you, bringing information to the home screen isn't unique, Symbian and Android have it via widgets
• Too much scrolling for the same thing: Text is way too large by default. Contacts that normally take a page on iOS or Android needs scrolling through 1.5 screens or more in Metro UI

2. Too much scrolling needed

• Page names are listed at the top but spread across the multiple screens so I can't see what pages are available to me without having to scroll through each one
• Unconsistent UI transition: When you click an option, the current UI will flip out to the left but clicking the back button doesn't cause the last page to flip back from the left to replace the current screen but shows the current screen flip back and the last page just blink in. 

3. Easy to quickly lose menu context

• Overuse of flashy transitions that aren't intuitive to the user what's happening and deep scrolling
• Small non-descript icons: In a few places in the UI, small + or arrows icons are presented but it's difficult to tell what each would do without clicking on each one

Nokia E71: Three Years in Review

Even surrounded by numerous 3.5+ inch touchscreen smartphones, the Nokia E71 still stands out as one of the best QWERTY keyboard equipped phones for me.

The Good
I'm still using it and nothing inside the E71 has failed on me.  This phone is like a tank and I'm fairly confident it could last me a few more years of use.  My usage pattern has likely changed in the 3 years I've had the phone, but at this point I mainly use the phone for company e-mail through Mail for Exchange (improved a lot since I had the E71), Smartconnect, Garmin XT (one of the best navigation software for a smartphone and still better than most available for Android), notes, texting, and making phone calls.  I no longer use it for browsing the web after I got a Nokia N900 and most web pages don't render properly in the old S60 browser.

In the 3 years, I've dropped my E71 a lot of times and the most I've got is chipped corners.  Definitely a tank.

Its design is timeless.  I still get compliments on the elegant, thin design of the E71.  It's unfortunate that most will not consider getting a Nokia and S60/Symbian is not easy to configure compared to an iPhone.

The Bad
In the 2 years since I wrote my first year of use review of the E71, a few things have changed from wear and tear:

1. After 1.5 years of use, dust was getting under the display through the 2.5mm audio jack:

I had to seal the 2.5mm audio jack with scotch tape.  It looks ghetto but I'd rather have the tape there than more dust.

2. A little after the 2 year mark, the included BL-4L battery couldn't hold more than a day's charge and started to bulge like most old lithium polymer batteries so I got another battery and it's back to normal again.

3. I get the random "out of memory" issue so it requires a battery removal.

Going Forward
After 3 long years of travelling the world with it, I've retired the E71.  The E71 reminds me of the time when Nokia was on top of the world with some great designs and some great devices.  I'll miss the comfortable keyboard and robust design.  So long E71, you'll be missed.

If you're still carrying around a Nokia E71, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the phone.

Saving RIM and BlackBerry

Once the darling of investors, RIM was riding high in 2008 with a share price of $148 and $412.5 million in profit for Q4.  Their low cost BlackBerry Pearl and Curve was impressive hits for the Canadian company with millions sold and introduced millions of people to the addictive BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). 

RIM's Strengths
Many people and companies adopted BlackBerries for their usage for its secure e-mail, comfortable QWERTY keyboard, and an easy to use UI for e-mailing.  For many it was their first smartphone and it's simple UI helped users punch out messages in no time.  Many corporate users had difficulty getting away from work now that their e-mails were available everywhere.

Eroding their own Profits
Unfortunately, the introduction of these low cost models drove the price of QWERTY keyboard smartphones and made it difficult for RIM to demand the high $499 with contract prices it had originally sold its BlackBerries reducing its profit margins.  In addition to that, competition was right around the corner with Apple and a legion of Android manufacturers.


The Competitors' Winning Formula
With the runaway success of Apple's iPhone in 2007, Google's Android smartphone operating system (OS) gravitated to a similar large touchscreen user interface (UI) and many manufacturers following suit.  Now all of RIM's competitors, Samsung, Apple, Motorola, and Nokia are all shipping sleek, large screen, simple UI devices with strong software support.  In 2010, Apple introduced a tablet powered by the same operating system as the iPhone, called the iPad.  Once again, Apple turned out a success and Google and gang follow suit with Android Honeycomb.

Moreover, Microsoft has refined with push e-mail and opened up their ActiveSync for synchronizing e-mail with Microsoft Exchange servers in the mid-2000 exposed RIM's BlackBerry Exchange Sever (BES) has an expensive push e-mail tool.  Although BES also managed devices but it saw little benefit to consumers.

RIM's Response to the Competition
RIM introduced the large screened BlackBerry Storm that failed to gain much acceptance from BlackBerry users due to numerous software bugs and loss of BlackBerry's signature keyboard.  The Storm ceased to be produced in 2010 with the Torch carrying on in 2010 with a large screen but with the addition of a slide out keyboard.  RIM also produced its own tablet to counter the iPad in 2011 with the introduction of the Playbook running a new OS called QNX.  It received harsh criticism for missing critical features such as e-mail and the highly touted Android application support.  RIM dramatically slashed prices on its Playbooks after a few quarters of poor sales.  With all these efforts, the Playbook and Blackberries failed to make any real impact on Apple's sales.

Where to go from here
With a failed Playbook, failed Storm, and ailing BlackBerry sales, RIM isn't in a good place and needs to leverage its core strengths to win back its customers.

1. Continue to drive down the cost of BlackBerries
RIM hit a sweet spot with its Curve and Pearl so it would be a good plan to keep going down market with their current BlackBerry OS to steal some of failing Nokia's bread and butter - especially in the emerging market.

2. Scale back on the Playbook and refocus it for industry use
Get Playbook working with BES so it can be managed by a company's IT department.  Build out a consulting team to help companies such as hospitals, retailers, and energy producers use tablets to increase process efficiency.  Many companies had purchased iPads but many don't know how they'll use it.

3. Accelerate the BlackBerry 10 devices and bet the entire company on it
The company is in need a halo device.  Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 has the Nokia Lumia 800, Google Android has the Galaxy Nexus, and Apple has their iPhone 4S and RIM has... the Torch?  It's not good enough against the competition.  Make a device like the Torch, a side slider, and finally a big quadcore touchscreen only phone.  And make sure the software and hardware is ready.  The market isn't going to accept a device that will require an update for promised features when all your competitors are polished and already ahead.

We all know RIM is doing #3 but I hope it realizes it needs to do more with what it has to maximize its profits.  Regardless of what RIM does, I hope they're successful for years to come.  If you have some suggestions to what RIM should do, feel free to drop a comment below.

Comparing Xenon Flash and dual LED - N8, N82, N900 Low Light Showdown - Part 2!

After two years, and much to the delight of Nokia euthusiasts, Nokia has finally brought back Xenon flash to its camera-centric phones. The only two other Nokia devices with Xenon are the N82 and 6220 classic.

As most people know, Xenon flash provides brighter and faster flash than dual LEDs which are popular for phones. Some reviewers have tried to say dual LEDs is a good compromise for phones but my comparison between the N82, N86, and N79 nicely showed off the ability of the N82's Xenon flash to light up a room and stop objects in motion and put the dual LED N86 to shame.

Nokia N8, Nokia N82, Nokia N900

It's been almost a year since my last review and Nokia has put out a lot of impressive devices so it's time to do another Xenon flash and dual LED showdown. This time I'm pitting the venerable N82 against Nokia's latest superstar, the N8, and the powerful N900.

According to Nokia program manager, Damian Dinning, the "N8 has virtually the same flash power as the N82" (source). So we should expect similar flash results from the N8 but, hopefully, better details with the N8's larger sensor and higher resolution.

The N900 did really well against the N82 in outdoor daylight shots but I have a strong feeling the dual LED is going to put the N900 out of the contest.

Finally, the N82, Nokia's night photo champion for a whole 2 years. Will it finally lose its crown to the sleek stylish N8? Let's find out!

The Nokia N8: Day 2

Last night I popped the SIM card out of my trusty Nokia N900 and stuck it into the N8. Different than most Nokia phones, the SIM card slot is at the side of the N8. Before you stick your SIM card in, be sure to read the manual first (you do read manuals, right?). When you do insert the SIM card into the slot, make sure the gold contacts are facting downwards towards the back of the phone with the diagonal edge going in first. I didn't hear a click like the manual says so my SIM card is stuck inside. I'm going to need tweezers to pull it out. I really hate this SIM card design. Although you can access the SIM card without removing the battery, you cannot hotswap a SIM card - so when you pop out a SIM card, you can't go online until you restart the phone.

Now, I need to get my contacts onto the phone. If your old device is a Nokia, you can use the N8 to automatically pull contacts, notes, and calendar entries from it. First turn on Bluetooth on your old phone then, on your N8, go to Settings > Connectivity > Data Transfer > Phone switch. Really straightforward and now I'm ready to go out with my N8.

I'm not one to walk around the pond but I figure it was a good opportunity to test the N8 in outdoor photography (all untouched photos):



I also took some indoor photos:



Not bad. As you know, the N8 doesn't include a mechanical cover like the N82 or N900 so there's nothing you can slide to get quick access to the camera. If you like mechanical covers, I'm with you on that. But, sliding the unlock key, holding the camera key to pull up the camera app, auto locking, and taking a photo actually takes less time than the N82 to do the same with a mechanical cover. And it's because the autofocus and photo capture is light years ahead of the N82 and significantly improved over the N900 as well. Plus, if you're expecting to take a lot of photos soon and just need to save battery between shots, I'd recommend just keeping the camera application open and just lock the phone - locking the phone will close the camera shutter.

A major improvement that sets the N8 camera apart from other camera phones is the camera locking to the exposure at focus lock. This allows better control of the exposure just like a real point and shoot camera.

The camera application is similar to previous S60 5th edition camera applications like the one found on the N97. It gives you control over white balance, exposure, ISO, contrast, and sharpness. But for users from Blackberry or iPhone, there's a simple camera icon in the center that automatically focusses on what's in the center and takes a photo.

By default the camera is set to take wide photos at 9MP so go to Options > Settings > Image quality to get the maximum quality photos at 12MP.

I also took a HD video:


It's even better than the videos I take with my Canon SD850i. An added bonus is the stereo microphone.

Overall a good day with the camera... I mean N8 smartphone.

The Nokia N8: Day 1

I just got the Nokia N8 in the mail today. Now this blue box is sitting on my desk just waiting to be opened.


The Nokia N8 box is thinner than previous Nokia phone boxes. It's about 2/3rds the thickness of the N900 box

Similar to you, I've read a fair share of articles and blog posts about the Nokia N8, Nokia's upcoming flagship smartphone. With a long list of features such as the Xenon flash (which hasn't been seen on a Nokia since the Nokia N82 and Nokia 6220 Classic), HDMI output, and Dolby Digital output, who could not be excited in such a super phone? Not me for sure. So now it's in front of me, what do I do?

Obviously, open it!

This is such a tease. Show me the phone already!

Here lies the Nokia N8


It's longer than the N900 so at first glance it looked big. Stacking my E71 on top of the N8 shows that the dimensions are almost the same.

Picking up the N8, it felt light. It's lighter than my N900 but a long shot and it's a tad lighter than my E71. But it felt really solid - really hard aluminum and no creaks to mention.

In my hands, the N8 feels really thin compared to what I'm used to


For a few seconds, I looked in the package for the battery to insert but quickly remembered that the N8 battery is built-in, can't be removed, and doesn't need me to put it in. So I power it on and feel that little vibration to let me know that I've turned it on.

Once the screen was lit, my first impression was: This screen is so small. Maybe I was used to the N900. Maybe it was too many hours of Solitaire on my iPad. But my E71 screen was smaller. With my finger on the screen too, it didn't feel like there was much room for anything else on the screen. It was an odd feeling that I never got when I first turned on the N97 or N900. Maybe it was the surrounding black bezel that makes it feel smaller than it really is.

Just like any Nokia recent Nokia device, I'm welcomed to my phone with setting up the date followed by the phone wizard to guide me through setting up the device - as most power users would, I chose to skip it.

Up comes the familiar Symbian^3 / S60 5th edition homescreen of clock/date/profile and 5 customizable widget areas. The main selling point of the N8 is the much hyped 12MP so I click and hold the camera button to pull up the camera application. The camera application looks just like the N97's camera application, which isn't a bad thing. It just needs a little too many clicks to get into Scene mode. Since I was just testing around I snap a few photos with just auto (click for full image):

I wasn't amazed by the results like I did when I first got my SE W810i. I was taking the photos a dimly lit interior so I figure I had shaky hands.

I had to run to dinner with friends so I left the N8 and stuck to my N900: