Nokia Camera's Down the Years

We have graciously given Daddy permission to write a post on our blog. So we take absolutely NO responsibility for the quality, accuracy or interest level in this blog post.

These days having a camera on your phone is pretty much a basic requirement, however many years ago (some of you might not remember) through the mists of time, it was a pretty cool and new thing to have. So I thought I would take you back to that time, 2002 saw the release of the Nokia 7650 sporting a VGA camera. VGA I here you say, yes VGA! A whopping 640x480 resolution camera. Not exactly mind blowing by today's standards but it was damn cool back then. Unfortunately my 7650 would not oblige me with an image, so I had to turn to my 3650 which was released later the same year and incidentally, was the first Nokia cameraphone to go to the US market. So for those of you that remember here is a blast from the past, for those of you that do not, well this is what we oldies had to put up with. So if you feel like complaining about your cameraphone just look what we used to put up with!! Oh and by the way the early cameraphones did not have flash of any kind, yes thats right NO flash, no LED, no Xenon, nothing.

So here is a trip down memory lane for those that remember!

The Nokia 3650 - camera resolution 640 x 480 (0.3Mp) - released 2002

The Nokia 7610 - camera resolution 1152 x 864 (1.0Mp) - released 2004

The Nokia N70 - camera resolution 1600 x 1200 (2.0Mp) - released 2005

The Nokia N93 - camera resolution 2048 x 1536 (3.2Mp) - released 2006

The Nokia N95 - camera resolution 2582 x 1944 (5Mp) - released late 2006

The Nokia N86 - camera resolution 3264 x 2448 (8Mp) - released 2009

The Nokia N8-00 - camera resolution 4000 x 3000 (12Mp) - released 2010

Hope you enjoyed that little trip and maybe brought back some fond memories of devices now gone.

Weather It Is or Weather It Is Not - The Purrview

You might be asking why would two gaming, housebound, Maine Coons have any interest in the weather?". Well the answer is simple, occasionally we're allowed out on our leads and as we have delicate pads on our paws, we like to keep them warm wherever possible. So we need to know when this white stuff is going to arrive:

In this type of weather, we need to psyche ourselves up and be mentally prepared!! Oh and before any of you out there say "why don't you just wear something to stay warm!" - Come on! Do you really expect two large Maine Coon bruisers like us to go outside looking like this pussy:









So here are four free weather apps available and what they say about the weather.

WEATHER TOUCH by OFFSCREEN

First up is Weather Touch by Offscreen. This is the simplest of all the weather apps and only shows this page with a symbol to show that it's cloudy and what the current temp is (in either °C or °F). It also predicts the temperatures for later in the current day.
















PSILOC WORLD TRAVELLER

World Traveller gives a bit more detail than Weather Touch but you may also notice the forecast is different - not only does it say that it's cloudy but also rain has appeared. The temperature reading I believe is a min and max for the day, rather than a current temperature. This application also shows a forecast for the next 5 days as well though. And, to be fair, Psiloc World Traveller also does timezones, flights (premium service), as wellas a globe showing day and night zones, A "Safe" application for card data (Premium service), Currency converter and travel planner (coming soon). It also has a nice pop-up at the start of each day (time can be set) to tell you the weather today.









In terms of weather forecasting the next two applications are the big boys (much like my brother Del)

FORECAWEATHER




















As you can see from these screen shots Forecaweather is much more detailed. So if you are a weather JUNKY and like or even understand this stuff, then this maybe the app for you. You get, current conditions, short forecast, long forecast, weather radar, temperature map, precipitation, symbol map, wind map, cloud map and satellite map. Pretty darn detailed I must say and it's FREE





















ACCUWEATHER




















Accuweather like Forecaweather gives a lot more detail, just in a different style. We like the fact you can save multiple locations (sorry, Daddy forced us to say that). So if you are planning a holiday you can save that location and get the weather forecasts before you go (and abandon your pussy cats, leaving them with strangers who just do not get us!!). Accuweather is not quite as detailed and geeky (weather geeky) as Forecaweather but it gives more than enough detail for us: cold, damned cold or white stuff - what else does a cat care about?

Nokia N8 - Games Purr Up

The state of play so far, "Del catch that, No, over there" - sorry about that. It's autumn, too many leaves to catch. Back to the point at paw. Here is a list of games we feel were worth a mention for good or bad reasons.

From EA (Electronic Arts)

Monopoly HD - Not really any need to review this classic from EA, except to say it's in 3D and uses the accelerometer to shake the dice.

Need for Speed: Shift HD - Here is the Purrview

Tetris HD - Another EA classic, if Tetris is your thing then this version is a must. We have one issue with this game, we would rather chase the blocks than fit then into gaps, it's what we do best!

Sims 3 HD - Here is the Purrview

From Gameloft

Avatar HD - Here is the Purrview

Gt Racing: Motor Academy HD - Here is the Purrview

Hero of Sparta HD - Much like Avatar, great game, graphically really nice and with a similar control system to Avatar.

Real Football 2010 HD - Opinions of this game differ greatly, if you are an EA Fifa fan then the fact that the team and player names is this game are not real probably annoys you. In terms of gameplay it's great. The choice is yours. But let us say both games pale when you watch us play football!



This is how it should be played!!

Guitar Rock Tour 2 HD - Here is the Purrview

Asphalt 5 H D - Here is the Purrview

From Fishlabs

Rally Master Pro - Here is the Purrview

Galaxy on fire - Here is the Purr view




From Polarbit

Iron Sight - Here is the Purrview

Armageddon Squadron - Here is the Purrview

Raging Thunder/ Raging Thunder 2/ Wave Blazer - Not a graphically rich as some driving games but offers multi-player mode, which works really well over 3G connection. So if playing online is your thing. Then these games are a must.

Cannonball - Difficult to describe, looks like a theatre set, and you throw cannonballs at the ships etc passing along the set. Fun for a while, more so for us cats, we like chasing stuff.

Fuzzies - A fresh take on Lemmings, using Monkeys instead

From IG Fun (India Games)

T20 Cricket fever - Here is the Purrview

WarChess 3D - If you like chess then you will love this. You get options for a classic chess board or if you prefer a 3D version with magical characters and animation.

From Rovio

It has arrived!! In the same format as the N900 version, the initial offering is 105 levels of Bird playing mayhem. With themes "Poached Eggs" and "Mighty Hoax". Hopefully this means the extra themes that the N900 has will be coming too. Soon we hope as we have just about completed these levels with 3 stars, just 6 stars to go.

From Namco

Pac-Man Championship Edition

Quite frankly, even if you are a Pac-Man fan do not buy this, the controls are unresponsive and you will end up, like us with you hackles up, hissing at the game.

Asphalt 5 HD by Gameloft on the Nokia N8 - A quick purrview

Another of Gameloft's classics brought to life on the Nokia N8 with stunning graphics and the usual "smash all" Asphalt gameplay.

I know what you are all saying - "not another driving game", well, yes it is. Now of course, here comes our disclaimer: pussy cats are not really known for our driving prowess. And you're probably beginning to understand from our previous blog entries that pussy cats aren't what you would call "natural born gamers" in any way, shape or form. Natural born bird killers yes, but even that pleasure has been denied us by our human slaves as they've enforced household slavery on us. So really, what choice do we have but to attempt to scale the evolutionary ladder and become the first bona fide feline game experts??

Anyway, back to our driving lessons on Asphalt - safe to say, it's a pretty scary experience for us and Daddy!! But that is what makes the Asphalt series good, you can be really bad at driving and still do ok because hitting other cars is a good thing, well some of the time anyway. Head-ons are not recommended!




Now as with all the driving games, you have the option to have a single/quick race or start your career and move up. Initially you get the Mini Cooper S to drive, but as you would expect there are many, many cars to upgrade to as the game progresses. These cars are only unlocked when you achieve a certain level and, of course, have the cash available to buy them. It always comes down to money!! And birds.












As I have come to expect from previous Asphalt games you get several types of race in each region, and gain cash and levels as you complete each one. This in turn not only unlocks cars, but also Girls (they give you boosts in certain ways) and new tracks/events.












Not only do you have the option to upgrade your car as a whole but you can also upgrade its components.























We got daddy to go out and buy another HDMI cable so we could play on his 40" Samsung LCD tv. Obviously we were excited but Daddy insisted on testing it out himself, so you can imagine our reaction.












Lastly, here is his feeble attempt at videoing while playing Asphalt 5. Normally we would not make excuses for him, but he is getting on a bit now - so forgive his shaky hand.

Watch it here