N82 Personal Impression (3 week use)

Question

General observations for anyone considering purchasing an n82. *Stuff between the asterisks indicative of my reaction *
Firstly, I don't think anyone will deny that it's a great mobile/PDA/Smartphone for its price and size *haggle at an Aussie store for under AU$799 or grab an Asian version from eBay at around $600 including postage*. However there are a couple of things to consider before buying: -
1. The Aussie Version (my version) comes with the following WRITE languages - English, Indonesia, and Pilipino. *Yep* It doesn't include Chinese and there's no upgrade, nor is there any commercial package that gives it Chinese compatibility according to the Nokia helpline *my issue is that it doesn't read/display Chinese*. That's despite the fact that the Asian version *imports through eBay* supports Chinese. The ramifications are obvious if you consider Chinese websites, GPS maps & navigation, eBooks and translation dictionaries that substitute Chinese characters with rectangular boxes. They really should have all n82 languages built-in or allow language packs to be installed (I have read of mods that you can do to change the phones model number and then use nokia update to load the Asian firmware but I'm a bit of a wimp unless someone's gonna guarantee that it won't void aussie warrantee *like even*). I mention this because the market is global and it will assist all future mobile sales. *anyone listening from nokia?*
2. Please upgrade the n82 from v10.0.0.46 to v11.0.117 *hope I got the version numbers right* as soon as possible as it fixed the following glitches that I experienced: -
a) Accidentally pulling out the stereo headphones from the 3.5mm jack while listening to music or doing other stuff no longer causes the n82 to auto reboot or hang.
b) The sound quality of the built in Media player for mp3's appears a tad less muffled (playing via speakers is still less than ideal, with a high pitch *drill* sound when played at full volume, ie something sounds loud but it ain't the music - some older folks might not be able to discern it *wink*);
c) Listening to music while using the Nokia GPS no longer causes the phone to hang (needs more testing as there were a few music glitches during multitasking but I gather it's caused by the memory card being accessed for both the music and the maps)
d) According to some users on the internet this update allows the n82 to support 8GB MICRO SD cards as it updates support from fat16 to fat32 file structure (haven't tested yet). Other users have reported flaky Wi-Fi after update but I didn't have any problems. Before I forget, this phone refuses to connect to a wireless router if the SSID of the access point is hidden.
e) The updater for the software I used was v1.4.23en. The reason I mention this is because I originally used the web installer 1.6 to auto download the latest Nokia software including the updater (I chose to use Chinese language instead of English via the installer - in the hope that it would load Chinese firmware on the phone - long shot but I thought it was worth a try *stupid*. Anyway, long story short, it loaded updater v1.3.5 *OMG* which didn't recognise my n82 so I uninstalled it) The actual update didn't take too long (it downloaded 101MB of data from the net and updated the phone - overall 20mins) Oh, I had the n82 plugged into mains power and the MICRO SD card in the slot during the update. Some users posted that you should power off the n82 after completing the update before disconnecting it from the usb port or there might be a glitch with the usb connection?
How well does everything work?
1. Usb file transfers are slow *fact* so some ppl suggest if you get a 8GB micro sd to use an external adapter. Bluetooth file transfer is even slower (100KB/s according to windows) but at least there's no cables *so this is my preferred transfer method*.
2. I find at times that if you install a lot of programs on the n82, the menu system gets sluggish especially when you try to customize standby apps. At first I thought it might be a cpu issue cause there's plenty of free ram, so I checked the speed, which some programs indicate as 200Mhz *almost freaked out cause it's suppose to be over 300Mhz according to gsmarena.com*. Other users have posted that these programs don't detect the right speed, anyway, the reason I was concerned is because Realplayer will play realmedia files (both on internal memory and on micro sd) but it will regularly pause intermittently *every 5 or so seconds* for 1.5-2 seconds resulting in video being unwatchable and totally out of sync with audio *this is unacceptable given these are small 1 minute real8 encoded 320x240 clips. Placing the clips into live memory first helps turn the pauses into 0.2second hiccups-but the audio is still significantly out of sync. BTW these clips play perfectly on the win pc version of realplayer*; I find this really strange given that the default video capture of the n82 is mp4 at 640x480 30fps - playback on the default media player is just fine. *note though, playback of the same captured mp4 videos on 3rd party symbian players installed on the n82 is very jerky – don’t know what's going on*
3. GPS Mapping is great... with a couple of reservations. *I'm hoping that the new v2 Nokia Maps will be way better*
Pros-
-It sure beats carrying around the ubd street directory and this one can tell you where you are in around 5minutes depending on where you are.
-Lists points of interest, parking, restaurants, petrol stations etc.
-Note that you can keep the backlight on while using mapping, although it's not turned on by default (go into settings)
Cons-
-Cursor is hard and slow to move if you are travelling and you want to see the place of interest that is coming up ahead;
-Rivers on the map look like land (they're not defined by a different color, namely blue);
-The route feature is only usable in a practical sense if you pay (example: assuming you don't pay for the upgrade premium service you can route between 2 points and it'll show a set of written directions, click on the directions to go into map view and you get a black line linking the 2 points with intermediate points showing you where to turn. It can run a voice guided simulation of your travel at 50km/hr *speed not adjustable*. What it CANNOT DO, is show your route in map view and your immediate gps position at the same time *i.e. I don't need navigation directions, but I would like to see whether I'm staying on the routed black line*
-No quick way to save a route and call it back up.
4. Many little things that get on my nerves can be solved with the *limited* freeware out there: -
a) The n82 has a nasty habit of turning off the display backlight when I want it on for extended period of time. The maximum timeout for display light is 60secs and the standby autolock sets in at 90seconds. Use 'Spoton v0.07' to keep the backlight on, it runs in the background after you start it *select backlight on* and it places a yellow dot on the top right hand corner that blinks to keep the backlight on and prevents the n82 from going into autolock/standby mode *BTW don't close it when you see a white screen with text, just switch to another program using the n82 menu button*. To alter way autolock works, use 'Mr Lock v1' *trial and error to find your perfect setting, just don't set the timer too short*.
b) You can get certain n82 symbian S60r3 freeware from the nokia website but the bookmark link on the n82 phone browser often suggests there is no downloads available for the n82 *what gives?* Example is the 'Nokia internet radio' which is ok for use with a broadband wireless network.
c) The built-in webbrowser doesn't support flash, hence no youtube, dailymotion, veoh, tudou, crunchyroll... Currently, there is limited support for youtube via 'Mobitubia' and 'Emtube'. 'Emtube' was the best *D* flv player - with smooth playback & wide flv compatibility overall, speculations suggest that youtube took it down for violation of terms *last version 1.0.10, makes me wanna weep*. The latest version of 'mobitubia' v1.76b3 has problems playing clips that an earlier version didn't have but overall the quality and sync for various vids ain't as great as 'Emtube'. Both will allow you to 'cache' into flash memory and play clips later unlike the youtube java version. Some use Opera-mini4 as their web-browser but there are no real advantages, every website is a test of patience on such a small screen *good for checking out the weather and news snapshots tho* - opera doesn't gel too well with the n82 barcode reader.
d) cCam v1.03 will allow camera photos without the 'chi-cha' sound but the red light still comes on if you decide to hold down the camera button to focus and it relies on the option key to snap the photo not the camera button;
e) 'S60Dict' for a simple english dictionary; 'SMS Export' to export sms to txt and 'Datamatrix' to generate 2D-barcodes *BTW Firefox has a 2D-barcode generator addin*;
f) 'S-Tris' will give you tetris, but a lot of mobile games don't play too well on the n82. Despite the built-in graphics processor, the awkward response of the middle navigation button is too fiddly and not very comfortable, always try before you buy. *I'll stick with the Nintendo DS; mind you I've stopped using my ipod nano 8GB cause I don't have to carry around a cable to transfer tunes via bluetooth*
g) There a quite a few symbian shareware available, so try them and by the end of the trial period you'll probably have more than a couple of reasons as to why you don't want it or need it anymore *kinda sad really*.
h) A lot of freeware applications require self-sign *hassel*, I'm still waiting for the symbian website to be back up but I am eager to try out 'flipsilent', 'PhoNetInfo' and 'activefile'.
TIP: Always try to install 3rd party programs to the micro sd cause you can boot the phone without it to stop unwanted programs loading at startup.
5. Battery doesn't ever last as long as it should - I'm glad I'm not using the n95 cause I seem to run this battery flat daily, just by play Nokia Internet radio out loud on the speakers.
Eagerly awaiting the n96, but til then the n82 will do for now.
*BTW I started typing this on the n82 but it gave me a cramp, sorry if it’s incoherent, and if there’s anything I’ve missed, I'm sure other members will be happy to reply *

Answer 1

Thank goodness I didn't run into any problems with this update, unlike last time
Let's cut to the chase...
1. I've noticed that websites using simple flash elements that didn't work under v20 works better after the update. However, those not optimized for mobiles are still slow to load in the nokia browser using wireless g when compared to a v slow laptop on the same wireless network. A couple of glitches I've run into when browsing... firstly, there are websites that seem to load and just when the page is almost completely rendered, reloads and renders again, and again, and again... painful... secondly, the built-in cache mechanism is flawed, go back a page and you find that it re-downloads a lot of stuff that should be cached (yes, I have tried different configurations of the browser settings and monitored http network packet traffic router side using a sniffer). Loading saved webpages doesn't work on a number of sites if there are elements that are scripted (flash ads also throws a wrench in the works) it constantly tries to connect to the network which is kinda stupid. For those who were thinking of suggesting I cancel while it's in the middle of connecting/loading and read the 1/2 page that renders...
2. In terms of flashlite3, the n82 will now play flv files saved on the microsd/phone; pretty sure I tested support for both sorenson and vp6 codecs, yah!... unfortunately, I haven't found a way to fast-forward nor rewind the video??? Play, pause and full screen playback requires menu digging - not so user friendly (btw realplayer can't seem to see the flv files, despite the fact that it's the default youtube player?). The audio track of the flv's sound muffled (tend to notice it on some clips more than others) and all of the flv files show up under media gallery as a broken icons and won't play if you select it (implementation problems)... .
3. Ad hoc wi-fi courtesy of my fast laptop still won't work with wpa (could be a problem with Vista I suppose), n82 restarts if I try to connect, will work with wep tho, but lets face it, ppl on the net can unlock wep in a couple of minutes nowadays so it's anything but secure...
4. Themes can adversely affect flash video playback (makes the video hesitate and glitchy), both for Mobitubia and the inbuilt flash player, took me sooo long to isolate this error and I can't understand why this could possibly be the case - but uninstalled theme and it plays fine now so go figure.
5. Battery indicator appears to be slightly more accurate - previously it would show that there was a lot of battery left and then all of a sudden, run out. However, I feel that youtube clips in mobitubia don't play as long as they use to - can't say for sure tho...
6. FOR ME, the camera application didn't start up faster than v20 firmware and there were no discernable quality improvements with the pics, very nice but at 100% zoom the 5MP pics were still super grainy indoors when shot at a distance beyond the couple of meters flash range (image noise).
7. Music Player, nothing major, other than a change of button color and music tracks added error. Does glitch less I suppose.
8. I turn off auto rotate cause it drives me insane... I do prefer it post update as it switches the whole screen with a delay but the redraw is faster, if it makes any sense...
9. The silver on my keypad casing has started to show signs of peeling so it looks like I'm gonna have to buy an n79 when it comes out (hope its keypad ain't as hard to use as ppl say but I suppose I do have experience in this area thanks to the n82).
10. One last thing, Psiloc Crystal chinese will allow read and write chinese characters - 10 day trial unless you love playing phone reset. Alternatively, you can edit the fireflysung font by decreasing it's size to 70% with orientation top left and save it under the resources font folder of your microsd card as a couple of weird font names. That'll allow you to read chinese in nokia web browser but it'll screw up english lettering under the music player and some other apps (cuts the letter in half and only allows you to see the top half if I remember correctly). Forgot to mention in my previous posts that you don't have to hold down the camera shutter halfway to focus before taking a pic, simply click and it'll autofocus before taking pic anyway - it came as a revelation when I found out(better than my canon digital camera in this aspect). Oo, oo, I was quite amazed that the nokia battery can shoot more than 200 consecutive photos with flash on a single charge (don't think the phone was even fully charged at that point) - got bored one day and just kept snapping (btw the phone gets a bit warm)... n82 down to AU$505