My Nokia Blogs first podcast!

February 4, 2008 at 11:05 pm | In Music, Nokia, Nseries, Rant, Urbanista | 5 Comments

I would like to introduce My Nokia Blogs FIRST EVER podcast. I write that in bold letters just so you know, this was our first attempt, so sorry if some bits are a bit amateurish. Its quite hard when you are speaking over skype from halfway across the word and with no Script. This was recorded about a week ago, I just didnt have enough time to get it up as my internet connection died so I was using my 3 modem for a couple of days, and with an upload speed of 56k its not the best way to upload a 20mb file! Again sorry if its a little long and boring, but I promise we will have a plan for the next one :).Anyway, if you have any suggestions or would like to make a guest appearance in the podcast (Cough Cough Mr James Burland hehe) then please email me at chaslam500 @yahoo.co.uk. 

My Views on Comes with Music…..

December 7, 2007 at 10:53 pm | In Music, Nokia, Nseries | 1 Comment

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketNow, im sure you have read all around the web about comes with Music by now. If you have been living under a rock and not heard about it, its basically a service that when you by a Nokia phone you get a years worth of music for free from the Nokia music store. At the moment, Nokia only has a contract with Universal for this service, which is confidential, so no one knows any details about it.Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketNow, I personally feel that this is the step forward, but I really hope that by the time they release the service and its rolling out with new handsets, that they have made deals with the other major labels. I can imagine it  getting really confusing and people getting very annoyed only being able to download certain songs of certain record labels. The only way that people would be able to differentiate between what songs they can and cant download would be to orgainse the songs by record labels, but then it would still be frustrating for consumer and can get pretty confusing looking for a song. Also, I didnt really feel Nokia had announced the service right. They gave very little detail about the service, basically just saying it works on 3 devices, was free and was universal only. They didn’t say what happens after a year, when it will be release and what handsets it will be available with (By that I mean will it be only with specific Nokia phones, or all the ones that support music playback?).I think if Nokia advertise and promote this right, it could be a huge itunes Killer. The same if they add more record labels before launch which I think they are planning. Also, like I was discussing with Rafe from AAS in Amsterdam, it will be interesting to see if they release a device for this Comes with Music, or if they will just add it to existing handsets. Our view was, that with the announcement of S60 touch, there could be a phone in the works that could compete against the iphone, and Comes with Music will coincide with the launch of this.

Nokia Launch their Music service

November 2, 2007 at 6:07 pm | In Music | 2 Comments

Today Nokia has officially launched their music store service. I was really looking forward to trying it out, but there is just one thing letting it down for me, well, 2 things actually. First thing is that its only compatible with Windows computers. When will large companies like Nokia learn that there are Millions and Millions of their customers who use Macs. Its the most frustrating thing wanting to use a service but not being able to because they havent made the website “Compatible” with a mac. Its not really alot of ask for, and as so many people use macs now, it should really be done as standard.The windows issue isnt really that much of a problem, luckily im also running bootcamp on my macbook pro. I was just about to re-boot my macbook pro into windows, but then I spotted one more thing, that was even more disappointing. Here is it:*Currently Nokia Music Store is available on your compatible PC or on Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8GB and Nokia N95 8GB multimedia computers in the UK only.   Now, the reason this is so disappointing is that I was so eager to try this on my N95 and even on the N93i I am using from and now, unless I get my hands on a N95 8GB or N81, I cant use it! Im sure that nokia are going to change this very soon, but ive heard that it will require a firmware update. Why could they not have just made it an application that you download onto your S60 device I wonder?  

Nokia MD-6 review: Mini Stereo Speakers - Maximum Sound

September 11, 2007 at 8:13 pm | In Accessories, Music, Nokia, Reviews, Speakers, Video | 4 Comments

Nokia MD-6 review: Mini Stereo Speakers - Maximum Sound

Thanks Stefan Constantinescu of intomobile for giving me his extra “Nokia Go: Play” press bag. (And WOMWorld for bringing me there :p) I only found out once on the train home from London this fantastic little gadget wedged amongst the press releases. Here’s my review of the MD-6 and my first post on this blog.

Also posted on mobileburn forums.


(Click to enlarge)

The MD-6 measures in at 32mm x 33.5mm x 122mm, and weighs in at 140g …It’s smaller than most dedicated travel speakers out there, but can it deliver in audio quality?

Physical Aspects:

The Nokia MD-6 appears to be a pen case or a retro cologne bottle, but actually it’s neither. The MD-6 becomes portable stereo speakers, compatible with any device than can accept a 3.5mm AV connector plug.

Glossy black plastic (tends to pick up scratches quickly) with matte red at the poles.

At the bottom end, the MD-6 has approximately 73cm of phono cable that can be discreetly coiled and hidden by the slide of the red switch. Pretty useful as you can set the length of the cable to your needs whilst hiding the excess.The slot that allows the cable to escape does have a tendency to be too tight and pinch the wire, if done too many times could snap it.

Opposite is the business end. Flicking the lid 180 degrees reveals and activates the speakers. The on status is indicated by the white LED. It is held closed by two pairs of magnets, and likewise, kept open by another pair. There’s no mechanical latch to keep the lid closed so if you apply a twisting motion the lid does move side to side.


(Click to enlarge)

The speakers are powered by 4 AAA batteries. On the reverse side to the red switch you’ll notice a pill shaped recess .Pushing down and towards the wires slides this battery cover out exposing the batteries. Its easy when you know how but the past few weeks, it has been a mystery to me as to how to remove that.


(Click to enlarge)

Check out this first video for MD-6 physical Aspects.

Onto the action: Performance:

For something so relatively small, the speakers provide astonishing volume and clarity to your music. There’s ample bass to separate itself from the best integrated speakers of the N800/N95, making the N800/N95 sound more obviously tinny. On full charge, it’s much louder than the loudest Nseries, but still maintaining that crisp sound with no distortion. The only let down perhaps is poor channel separation since the speakers are barely 1cm from each other.

Take a look at this second video and judge for yourself, MD-6 speakers vs phone speakers.

Note: YouTube has degraded video/audio quality as usual. Hopefully the difference is still noticable.

Verdict

The MD-6 seems to personify “wonderfully surprising” with its unconventional, yet highly practical design and great sound quality and volume. Other than the poor channel separation and the tendency of the slot to pinch the wire too much the MD-6 is a well thought out music companion for your Nseries, and every portable decide with a 3.5mm port.

+ Pros:

  • Ultra Portable
  • Innovative, appealing design
  • Loud
  • Great Sound

- Cons

  • Poor channel separation
  • Glossy black plasic vulnerable to scratches
  • Cord prone to getting pinched

Battery life is stated to be around 27h. I’ll update you when I have tested this how much I’m able to get.

Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.