FCamera N900 Review

FCamera is an advanced camera application for the N900. It is based on the highly touted FCam (short for Frankencamera) photography platform develped in collaboration between Nokia, Stanford, and other partners. Is it good enough to be worth replacing the built-in camera application?


Updated 8/19/2010 with comments from FCamera 0.1.6
Originally posted on 7/23/2010

Nokia N8: This is the Phone to Wait for

The unthinkable has happened. The phone that I have long praised as having the best camera/flash combination and internal GPS has broke on me. I will have to find a replacement for my Nokia N82. But what exactly is for me? Perhaps you still hold a Nokia N82 and you're thinking the same as me. Well come along the ride as I step through what kind of mobile phone is designed for us.

Nokia N900 Review - Hardware

After experimenting with touch-based tablets since 2006, Nokia finally merges cellphone capabilities with their tablets to create the N900. Not to be outdone by other manufacturers, Nokia also includes common Nseries features like 5MP camera, wifi, and integrated GPS with the N900.


I've had the N900 for over 3 months now and I want to share with you my experiences with it. I wanted to make this one big review but there was just too much to talk about the N900 that I'm breaking it out over 2 posts: Hardware and Software.

More after the jump!

Niko the Robot

I've been away from the blogging scene for a few weeks to work on the Niko the robot. It's almost time to put him live on Twitter so if you're on Twitter, you can change your status to @N900Niko followed by one of the following commands:

move forward
move backward
turn right
turn left
turn around
photo

Here's an example Twitter command to Niko:

@N900Niko move forward

This little robot will perform your command and send you back a reply with a photo from his camera:


Niko has been featured on numerous blogs!
Engadget
Gizmodo
MAKE
SlashGear
Jim Baker's Ephemera

PUSH N900 - MOD in the USA Finalists

Nokia's PUSH N900 MOD in the USA competition has just announced their 3 teams of finalists who will get the opportunity to bring their creation to life.

Niko the Robot – Niko the Robot pairs the Nokia N900 with Lego NXT building kit to create a robot that utilizes the Nokia N900 as its ‘brain.’ It will understand commands sent via Twitter to a specific handle, send feedback about the area around it as well as post pictures from the Nokia N900’s camera.

Pit Crew – This mod sets up the Nokia N900 to be the brains behind a slot car in order to compete against human competitors. Using Python code and algorithms, the Pit Crew thinks they can have a Nokia N900-controlled car beat a man-controlled car. Do you?

BrettSarahTops– This set up utilizes several different features of the Nokia N900. From the GPS to the camera, the BrettSarahTops team think they can turn the Nokia N900 into a car-like dashboard. Showing a speedometer, odometer, geocaching your route and even providing a car horn – this app might have it all!

Niko was my idea! So look for updated on the progress of Niko at http://blogs.nokia.com/pushn900/usa/.

Each team will need to start building quality because the CTIA in Las Vegas is just a month away. Good luck to the teams and congratulations!

Source: http://blogs.nokia.com/pushn900/usa/2010/02/and-the-mod-in-the-usa-finalists-are/

Nokia Announces FULL Nokia Maps for free!

*Updated: Free Navigation is NOT available for all S60 3rd edition phones. See below



That's nice for people who love using Nokia Maps. What's included free is:

• Turn by Turn Navigation
• City guides (like from Michelin)
• Safety camera and Speed warnings
• Traffic information (if available)
• Premium services such as Weather information and event guides

Here's the caveat, the free navigation version of Ovi Maps isn't available for older phones, only current and future phones (S60 3rd FP2/FP5). Here's a list of currently supported phones:

• X6
• N97 mini
• E52
• E55
• E72
• 6730 classic
• 6710
• 5800
• 5230

Source: Nokia

Now, I'm finally upgrading my Nokia Maps. Balls on your court now, Google.

Nokia N86 8MP Review

Announced early 2009 and released in mid-2009, the Nokia N86 8MP is Nokia's first 8 Megapixel camera phone and ideal for consumers who want to leave their cameras at home. The photos captured look amazingly vibrant on the 2.6 inch OLED screen. As with all Nokia highend Nseries smartphones, the N86 packs an integrated GPS, 802.11g/b WiFi, TV out, and FM transmitter all in a dual slider format.

Thanks to WOM World for supplying me the N86-1 8MP for this review.