Nokia N95 USA version coming - a pointer to a first look

Over at Engadget they've rolled out a pretty decent look at the Nokia N95 which will be officially rolling out here in the USA and Canada very soon - although there are already a number of lucky users (like yours truly). If your interested at all in this powerful GPS-enabled smart phone be sure to give this one a read - be sure to check out all the comments (some good Canada/USA bashing there too!) I'll be really interested to see which carrier(s) gets the bulk of the business on this one... T-Mobile or AT&T... or will you have to go through Nokia's sales channels? See here

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The 8GB Nokia N95 - GPS, loads of memory, now games!

Rumors of the 8GB Nokia N95 are not exagerated. I have to admit, info about this device is tough to locate on the Nokia website although there are many images posted in the press area (no wonder people have a hard time buying this awesome device!) I wish I could tell you more about the availability on this elusive device, however, if you have a Nokia shop near you (New York, Chicago) you might see this cool device for sale. Like the traditional N95 its a quadband World phone, complete with integrated GPS, loads of cool apps to leverage you location information and memory - lots of it. With the supported 8GB card (supplied with this one) you can store all kinds of apps, videos, music and as of today you can try ALL the N-Gage games for free! N-Gage has matured from a device (mine got stolen from my car a couple of years ago - want some games??) to a platform. More on the 8GB N95 can be found (I think) at nseries.com or nokia.com (see also the N95 support site) . A tip.. Nokia, to sell even more of these units maybe bundle some integrated GPS supported apps on the deck that work without the need for doing loads of research, for example, send and MAP the photo to flickr, Google maps (like a MyMap) and try a couple of cool colors like Pink and maybe even a "Trimblish" yellow with a ruggedized, grippy shell.. that would sell! This device appeals to mobile field force workers and outdoor enthusiasts, maybe try marketing to them!

The 8GB Nokia N95 (Source: Nokia)

LiveContacts localizer now supports nokia N95

The LiveContacts localizer (frind finder app) is now supporting Nokia N95 and other S60 3rd edition devices. FYI,Livecontacts is a solution from the Dutch company webintegration that facilitates the exchange of location based information between trusted contacts. A bundle of applications is offered to both consumers and businesses. The core of the system contains position information of the registered users. The whereabouts of users can be based upon their mobile phones (GSM CellID), GPS coordinates or IP addresses. See more at http://www.livecontacts.com

Geotagging your flickr photos with Yahoo! zonetag and locr - a short tutorial

ok... more on the geotagging photos sent to flickr via shozu and my Nokia N95 GPS-enabled smartphone. I've recently been doing some research to figure out exactly how to geotag my photos, and get them up on flickr then view on a map. From the outside looking it one would think, "no problemmo", however, things are not often as simple as they would seem. Luckily there's a couple of good third party apps that work very well. Those of you that depend on out of the box functionality that wil accomplish this will have to try again!

My research has led me to believe the following:
- there's much confusion out there about this.
- it's a total pain in the arse to accomplish using the Nokia N95 out of the box
- it's not as simple as blogs and other write ups lead you to believe
- many people seem to be having trouble with many different aspects of this.
- some people seem to be experiencing difficulties uploading via shozu from the Nokia N95 - I have yet to see any issues with this.
- apparently you can tag photos from N95 directly with GPS coords if you run sprt tracker or load the maps application - I've yet to be able to accomplish this seemingly simple task.

Enter Yahoo! Research labs zonetag and locr. Zonetag from Yahoo! has just recently come out with a version that supports Symbian S60 3rd edition devices (Nokia N80, N95, 6110 etc...). The application is very simple to use and it works. Simply install zonetag, setup your preferences (I'm still tweaking these) load the app, connect the GPS to grab your fix, take a photo, upload to flickr... it's as simple as that! Once on flickr your photos will have a hyperlink to map the photo and the coordinates will display when you view the photo on a map. So far I've had excellent results with this application.

Locr (www.locr.com) operates in a similar manner. Install the app, setup an account, connect to GPS to get a fix, snap a photo, upload to flickr and to locr if you wish. Your photos are maintained in a locr account and from the mobile device you can also view your photos or photos that are near you. Once feature I'm not big on is that the application takes over the camera and you don't seem to get the full functionality from your device. This contrasts with Zonetag where you use the camera in the same mode that you normally would with your device.

Please note, you should have an all you can eat data plan to use these applications otherwise the results (and your next phone bill) could be scary! I use shozu for uploads normall, however, it seems that when using zonetag or locr you are actually bypassing the shozu functionality... I'm not worried as I can use al teh data I want. Stay tuned for more on these apps. Overall, I give locr a 3.5 out of 5, zonetag gets 4.5 out of 5!

Related weblinks:

• my locr and zonetag photos on flickr
• zonetag
• locr

Flickr account holders can easily sign up for a zonetag key and start using it

Photos uploaded to flickr using zonetag - the title is automatically loaded with your location - notice the "map" link

The photo appears exactly where I took it on the map!

Zonetag GPS connect function on N95 (left) and locr application as seen on the device (right)

Yahoo! research zonetag for flickr now supports Symbian S60 3 (ie. Nokia N95)

Great news.. I just noticed that Yahoo! research labs popular zonetag application now supports symbian OS S60 3 devices (like the 6110 and N95).. this is awesome if infact it works! Given that Nokia's interface for actually getting GPS tags written to the photo EXIF totally sucks, this may be a very welcomed addition... stay tuned. One note though... I just tried getting the app via txt message download and the form doesn't seem to be working for t-mobile numbers.. stay tuned. See http://zonetag.research.yahoo.com

A little help on GPS tagging photos from the Nokia N95

A little help from any Nokia N95 users out there?? I've been dabbling a bit with the N95 trying to get geolocation elements associated with photos... sureley this has to be the most desired feature of this phone! Apparently Shozu does indeed support this functionality, however, I can't seem to get GPS coordinates written to the EXIF associated with images. Does Shozu do this to anyone's knowledge?? I've tried getting a gPS fix, then snapping images, however, no GPS coords seem to be getting tagged to the image. Can anyone shed a bit of light on this for me? I found this statement on the Shozu forum... "I've added putting the GPS data into the EXIF of JPEGs as a possible future feature for ShoZu" so I have to assume that its not currently doable. " Source: Forum post titled "Nokia N95 - GPS Support?"
Kudos to Stefan over at Ogle earth blog for a great write-up on his experiences tagging his photos from a recent mountain trek. He goes to great lengths describing how he tags his images, uploads to flickr, then streams to Google earth.

Getting those Flickr photos on the map

If you have GPS data associated with your digital photos it should be easy to get them on a map. In theory, yes, however, there are a TON of utilities out there and finding exactly the right one for your needs can be tough. Since I now have a Nokia N95 with GPS I would like to have all my photos available via a map UI.. should be simple right? I'm getting close but it hasn't been easy. Geobloggers blog reminded me that RSS and KML formatted Flickr data is easily availabel from flickr.. thanks! So, this means I can grab a KML output file of all my geotagged flickr photos - here's a sample of my photos output as KML. Now I can easily grab this string and enter it into the Google MAps search dialog and then voila, I can see my geolocated images on the map... nice! One problem though... I'm still manually adding my photos on a map using flickr's map this photos utility.. this is the step I need to get rid of. Hopefully soon I'll have the tool I need to enable flickr (and other apps) to recognize and read the GPS data from my photos. A great starting point is this page on the Google Code section on Geotagging photos.

100+ features that you'll find in the Nokia N95 Symbian Smartphone

It's a given that the Nokia N95 is PACKED full of functionality. How much? Well, here's a sampling of more than 100 features that you'll find packed into your Nokia N95 right out of the box.

- Operating Frequency: WCDMA2100 (HSDPA), EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS)
- Automatic switching between bands and modes
- Dimensions
- Volume: 90 cc
- Weight: 120 g
- Length: 99 mm
- Width: 53 mm
- Thickness (max): 21 mm
- Memory Functions
- Up to 160 MB* internal dynamic memory for messages, ringing tones, images, video clips, calendar notes, to-do list and applications
- Memory card slot supporting up to 2 GB microSD memory cards
- * Changes to product details are possible without prior notice. Application offering may vary. Dynamic memory means that the available memory is shared between dynamic memory functions. When any of these functions is used, there is less available memory for other functions which are also dependent on dynamic memory.
- Power Management
- Battery: Nokia Battery (BL-5F) 950mAH
- Talk time: up to 160 min (WCDMA), up to 240 min (GSM)*
- Stand-by time: up to 200 hours (WCDMA), up to 225 hours (GSM)*
- * Operation times may vary depending on radio access technology used, operator network configuration and usage.
- Displays
- Large 2.6" QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) TFT display with ambient light detector and up to 16 million colors
- User Interface
- Operating system: S60 software on Symbian OS
- User Interface: S60 3rd edition
- Dedicated Media Keys
- Multimedia Menu
- Active standby screen
- Call Management
- Contacts: advanced contacts database with support for multiple phone and e-mail details per entry, also supports thumbnail pictures and groups
- Speed dialing
- Logs: keeps lists of your dialed, received, and missed calls
- Automatic redial
- Automatic answer (works with compatible headset or car kit only)
- Supports fixed dialing number, which allows calls only to predefined numbers
- Conference call
- Nokia Push to talk (PoC)
- Voice Features
- Speaker independent name dialing (SIND)
- Voice commands
- Voice recorder
- Talking ringtone
- Integrated hands-free speaker
- Messaging
- Text messaging: supports concatenated SMS, picture messaging, SMS distribution list
- Multimedia messaging: combine image, video, text, and audio clip and send as MMS to a compatible phone or PC; use MMS to tell your story with a multi-slide presentation
- Automatic resizing of your megapixel images to fit MMS (max 300 KB size depending on the network)
- Predictive text input: support for all major languages in Europe and Asia-Pacific
- Data Transfer*
- WCDMA 2100 (HSDPA) with simultaneous voice and packet data (PS max speed UL/DL= 384/3.6MB, CS max speed 64kbps)
- Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) support for simultaneous voice and packet data connection in GSM/EDGE networks. Simple class A, multi slot class 11, max speed DL/UL: 177.6/118.4 kbits/s
- EGPRS class B, multi slot class 32, max speed DL/UL= 296 / 177.6 kbits/s
- *Actual achieved speeds may vary depending on network support.
- Digital Services
- Java� and Symbian applications available from Nokia Software Market
- Imaging
- Imaging and Video
- Up to 5 megapixel (2592 x 1944 pixels) camera, Carl Zeiss optics, Tessar� lens, MPEG-4 VGA video capture of up to 30 fps
- Direct connection to compatible TV via Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U, included in box) or wireless LAN/UPnP
- Front camera, CIF (352 x 288) sensor
- Video call and video sharing support (WCDMA network services)
- Integrated flash
- Digital stereo microphone
- Flash modes: on, off, automatic, redeye reduction
- Rotating gallery
- Online album/blog: photo/video uploading from gallery
- Nokia Lifeblog 2.0 support
- Video and still image editors
- Movie director for automated video production
- Mobile Video
- Video resolutions: up to VGA (640x480) at 30 fps
- Audio recording: AAC mono
- Digital video stabilization
- Video clip length: limited by available memory
- Video file format .mp4 (default), .3gp (for MMS)
- White balance: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
- Scene: automatic, night
- Color tones: normal, sepia, black & white, negative, vivid
- Zoom: Digital up to 10x (VGA up to 4x)
- Mobile Photography
- Image resolution: up to 5 megapixel: (2592 x 1944 pixels)
- Still image file format: JPEG/EXIF
- Auto focus
- Auto exposure - center weighted
- Exposure compensation: +2 ~ -2EV at 0.5 step
- White balance: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
- Scene: automatic, user, close-up, portrait, landscape, sports, night, night portrait
- Color tone: normal, sepia, black & white, negative, vivid
- Zoom: Digital up to 20x (5 megapixel up to 6x)
- Camera Specifications
- Sensor: CMOS, 5 megapixel (2592 x 1944)
- Carl Zeiss Optics: Tessar� lens
- Focal length 5.6 mm
- Focus range 10 cm ~ infinity
- Macro focus distance 10-50 cm
- Shutter speed: Mechanical shutter: 1/1000~1/3 s
- Music
- Music Features
- Digital music player - supports MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA/M4A with playlists and equalizer.
- Integrated handsfree speaker
- OMA DRM 2.0 & WMDRM support for music
- Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz /76-90MHz)
- Visual Radio *
- Listen to music and interact with your favorite radio stations
- Find out what song is playing, who sings it, and other artist information
- Enter contests and answer surveys, vote for your favorite songs
- Find out more about Visual Radio
- * To check the availability and cost of the service, contact your network operator or service provider.
- Explore
- Navigation
- Built-in GPS
- E-mail
- Easy-to-use e-mail client with attachment support for images, videos, music and documents
- Compatible with Nokia Wireless Keyboard (sold separately)
- Browsing
- Nokia Web Browser with Mini map
- Digital home
- Play video, music and photos on home media network - compatible TV, stereo and PC over WLAN/UPnP
- Java Applications
- Java MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1 (Connected Limited Device Configuration (J2ME))
- Over-the-air download of Java-based applications and games
- Other Applications
- Personal Information Management (PIM)
- Advanced S60 PIM features including calendar, contacts, to-do list, and PIM printing
- Settings Wizard for easy configuration of e-mail, push to talk and video sharing.
- Data transfer application for transfer of PIM information from other compatible Nokia devices.
- Wlan wizard
- Connectivity
- Integrated wireless LAN (802.11 b/g) and UPnP (Universal Plug and Play)
- Integrated Bluetooth wireless technology v.2.0 EDR
- USB 2.0 via Mini USB interface and mass storage class support to support drag and drop functionality
- 3.5 mm stereo headphone plug and TV out support (PAL/NTSC)
- Nokia PC Suite connectivity with USB, Infrared and Bluetooth wireless technology
- Local synchronization of contacts and calendar to a compatible PC using compatible connection
- Remote over-the-air synchronization
- Send and receive images, video clips, graphics, and business cards via Bluetooth wireless technolog
- Video
- RealPlayer media player
- Full-screen video playback to view downloaded, streamed or recorded video clips
- Supported video formats: MPEG-4, H.264/AVC, H.263/3GPP, RealVideo 8/9/10
- Package Contents
- Standard Sales Package Contents
- Nokia N95
- Nokia Video Connectivity Cable CA-75U
- Nokia Connectivity Cable DKE-2
- Nokia Stereo Headset HS-45, AD-43
- Nokia Battery BL-5F
- Nokia Travel Charger AC-5

Developer Tip - Maps In Apps 2007

The mobile space, in particular, the LBS marketplace, has always had some great developer opportunities in the form of contests. Typically, the contests offer up developers a chance to access free tools, SDKs, and data. Add to the the opportunity to get some great recognition, your app on a deck, and maybe even some cash... lots of cash! Tele Atlas is now promoting a cool opportunity for mobile (LBS) developers - enter Maps In Apps 2007

From Tele Atlas... Location information enhances all kinds of applications - Tele Atlas wants to see your apps This contest is for consumer and business applications that are not LBS focused, but include mapping or location as a functionality enhancement.

- Registration opens July 23rd and closes September 23rd, 2007
- Participation is open to all mobile applications developers using Tele Atlas data
- Up to 3 finalist applications will be showcased on websites and in the Tele Atlas booth at CTIA IT 2007, visitors and attendees will vote for their favorite application
- One grand prize: $25,000 cash, $50,000 in Tele Atlas map data.
Two runners up prizes: $10,000 cash and $20,000 in Tele Atlas map data.
Click here to read the official rules. or jump to http://www.teleatlas.com/LBSSeries/index.htm

Navigating With The Nokia 6110 Navigator

We all know by now that Nokia is encouraging mobile navigation via the GPS-enabled Nokia N95 (I'm still trying to get used to all the functionality with mine) but did you know that there's another cool GPS-enabled device from the company - enter the 6110 Navigator. This one is a more budget friendly option that doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the N95 delivers, however, those of you looking for navigation and GPS functionality will like this one.. some info on the device from Nokia... The Nokia 6110 Navigator brings together GPS (Global Positioning System) and AGPS (Assisted Global Positioning System) with always-on mobile connectivity in a feature-rich, compact device. The phone features video calling and sharing functionality, a 2 megapixel camera and a large and bright 2,2" QVGA screen, offering up to 16 million colors. The phone has a talk-time of up to 3,5 hours and a standby time of 11 days. For more about the 6610 see:
photos
video
latest news - http://www.lbszone.com/content/view/2156/2/
More on the N95
Suggested N95 / 6110 add ons

Nokia 6110 Navigator