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2011-04-05T22:58:00.001+03:00

The Big Thaw has started. #Nokia #N8

Nokia Camera's Down the Years

2010-11-15T18:46:00.042+02:00

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

2010-11-04T07:27:00.020+02:00

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

2010-10-16T11:03:00.055+03:00

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 - H ere 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

2010-10-07T16:11:00.021+03:00

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

Guitar Rock Tour 2 HD by Gameloft on the Nokia N8 - A quick purrview

2010-10-04T16:52:00.020+03:00

And the games keep coming! Another classic from Gameloft and, once again, they have done a suPURRb job.

I am sure that,by now, you are asking why a pair of pussy cats would want to play a game like this. Well, you see, it's all Mummy's fault. She loves Rock music so we have got used to it and kind of like strutting our stuff (in a cat way of course, involving more swishing tails than head banging).

While we are on the subject of music, the songs in the game are ace and sound really, really good out of the N8's speaker.

As you can see, there are two play options: quick play if you just fancy a quick song and then out, or Career mode which, once set up, you can do that too.

Nice!! Not the usual "tap a name in". However, you may notice that we are not that talented at writing - believe it or not, that scrawl is "RD". Rodney Del in short.

If you believe our maths ability is good enough, there are 11 characters to choose from. (more fool you if you do, since when were cats good at maths?).

Plus, as the picture shows, you get to play drums too. A bit more difficult with paws and I am better with my opposable paw than my bro Del.

So the actual gameplay itself is classic Guitar Hero/Rock tour stuff -something we cats are excellent at. Well, it is chasing lights after all!!

Daddy, on the other hand, sucks!!

As you can see, it follows the usual format seen before on symbian devices. Graphically however, it's a whole new story and, unlike the N-gage game of old, they did not cut down on the amount of songs available.

We liked this game so much we had a brotherly hug afterwards...

James Cameron's Avatar HD by Gameloft on the Nokia N8 - A quick purrview

2010-10-01T16:14:00.022+03:00

Another great looking game from Gameloft. This one is a platform game in 3D. It really looks good and the controls work really well.

On the left is a D-pad and on the right are the action controls that change depending on the situation. Very easy to master (phew!! we like easy)

The game starts off easily enough and we set the game difficulty to easy. I know what you are now saying, but you try using a capactive touchscreen with hairy paws!! It's damn hard and we like to make things easy to start with.

He is obviously talking about the Nokia N8 at this point! Well, maybe not but it sounds good.

We will leave the purrview there so we do not spoil things for anyone. Hang on, I think Del wants to butt in at this point. Phew, it's ok, I biffed him and he has gone off sulking. We are brothers you know, it's our duty to fight each other and it's fun.

A definite paws up from Del!

Cricket T20 Fever by IG FUN on the Nokia N8 - A quick purrview

2010-09-29T11:04:00.037+03:00

IG (India Games) is not a game developer we know but, perhaps not surprisingly, they have done a cricket game. Now, we pussy cats are not really cricket fans - have you ever tried holding a cricket bat with paws? Not easy, even with Rodneys' opposable ones. Now football would be a different story as you will see later. Sorry we strayed from the path there a little, too much for our scatter brains to take in. Back to the game.

So there are 2 options. Play a quick match or select a game mode shown on the screenshot below.

Now pussy cats are not known for their cricketing prowess, we would prefer just to chase the ball or snooze happily from the sidelines during the many hours during which nothing happens!! We resisted that urge to bring you this quick purrview. Just!

So on to the game, thankfully there is full bowling and batting tutorials. Phew, we really needed them.

Batting

Bowling (Easy than batting and we get to play with the ball!!)

Well what can we say but from what we know of cricket the game pretty much proceeds in the normal way. Obviously you can choose how many Overs (think that is what you call it) you play.

You can also select where you play,the difficulty level and obviously the teams.

Here are some screenshots from the game - highlights you might say.

We saw this screenshot a lot.

That's it for the quick purrview. A really good game, the controls are more difficult than most games. More so for batting but, more than anything, that just makes it a challenge.

We thought we would share with you what we prefer to do with a ball!

Sims 3 by EA on the Nokia N8 - A quick purrview

2010-09-29T10:57:00.018+03:00

Another EA classic hits the Nokia N8. This time it's Sims 3. We have had Sims 3 before on Nokia devices, this version is worlds' apart from anything we have seen before.

Now some of you may be asking, "why would two pussy cats want to play Sims 3?". Well that, my friends, is easy to answer. We get to control humans!! Not that we don't control you normally, it's just we can be more obvious this way instead of sneakily getting you to do exactly what we want you to do.

So on to the game itself, well it has all the usual components you would expect from a Sims game. You get to tailor your character, clothes, hair, shoes, sex, personality etc etc etc.

So you have tailored your Sim, now what? Well you go out into the big, wide Sim world, make friends, enemies (the bit we like best), find yourself a job, go fishing (hmm, fish...), do some gardening, find a girlfriend/boyfriend, get engaged, get married. Well, everything you humans do as part of your daily humdrum lives!!

During the game your sim has wishes, no - not the genie in a bottle type of wishes, just things your sim wants to accomplish.

This one we like

Now obviously your Sim, as part of life, has to eat, sleep, wash, cook and go to the litter tray. Oops, sorry we meant toilet. So you have to go out there and work to earn money to improve your standard of living, and ours of course, we expect the best you know.

We could keep rambling on, something my bro Rodney is very good at doing, but in short if you like this type of game then Sims 3 is a must. A tried and tested game that now looks great too.

Armageddon Squadron by Polarbit on the Nokia N8 - a quick Purrview

2010-09-26T22:02:00.019+03:00

Poor, poor Daddy. Well, he soon will be. Only kidding - these games are not expensive and here is another with a 3 euro price tag.

This game from Polarbit is a flight simulator and we have to say it's pretty decent too. Controls work really well and graphics are nice. Plus it has an online, multiplayer mode. Great for us when Daddy gets his Orange N8, oh the hours of fun shooting my bro. Now all I need is a beat 'em up so I can lay some wicked punches and kicks on my bro. Oh wait, I do that in real life. Scratch that then. No seriously, scratch that, no left ear. Purr purr!!

So, as with most games, you get options in single player mode for the type of game you want to play - depending on the time you have available.

Judging by this, we assume there are 12 missions in the campaign mode. Of course there may be more. Here are two screenshots from the intro to the Tank Factory mission:

And here is an in-game screenshot whilst playing the tank factory mission. If memory serves, and I have to say our memories are not great... Well come on, there is a lot to remember for a cat, when to sleep, when to eat, when to annoy Daddy... where was I? Oh yes, was going to say there are 3 weapon choices - just swipe down over the symbol in the top right to select your weapons.

So all in all another nice game from Polarbit. Paws up on this one. Keep the games coming Polarbit, us pussy cats love what you are doing!!

Ironsight by Polarbit on the Nokia N8 - A quick purrview

2010-09-26T08:55:00.009+03:00

Yet more games! We are in pussy cat heaven - unlike poor Daddy who is pawing the bill for our happiness. I am sure he does not mind, not that we have asked him. This time we got 4 new games from Polarbit, two of which seem to be updated versions of games we played on the N97 and two are new, to us anyway.

First up is Iron Sight. This is a 3D turn-based artillery style game using robots (mechs) and a variety of rockets rather than traditional artillery.

There are 2 modes of play in the single player game, campaign and single mission. You can either be on the side of the rebellion or with the corporation. The multiplayer mode also gives two options, Hot Seat or Internet. Hot Seat meaning you pass the device to a friend when it's their turn and Internet obviously is online play.

We like the Hot Seat mode, or rather I do. I get to drop bombs on my bro in revenge for all the times he has dropped his full weight on me, and believe me he is very heavy!

The first level is pretty simple with hardly any cover. This means targetting your opponent doesn't involve moving too much. The later levels have buildings and more obstacles, making it harder to accurately target the opponent unless you move into the clear. This, however, means you are also an easy target for their weapons.

The game costs 3 euros and is easily worth the amount. It will provide numerous hours of mech destroying (or dropping bombs on your bro) fun.

GT Racing: Motor Academy HD on the Nokia N8 - A quick Purrview

2010-09-20T14:03:00.012+03:00

Oh poor daddy, his credit card continues to get hit. But what is a few euros compared to two happy pussy cats? This time it is another driving game and it's huge. Well I say huge but it's nothing compared to Del my brother (He is 8.5kg or nearly 19lbs) . However we have played a lot of games on Nokia devices and we have never seen one weigh in at 155.5Mb. So was the hefty download worth it? First impressions, OH YES!!!

There are two modes of play, career and arcade.

The control system is very good although Need for Speed: Shift is slightly more realistic where steering is concerned. There are settings to help with brake assist and traction control dependent upon your level of skill. We set ours to Novice to start with (well we are pussy cats after all). You get an onscreen accelerator and brake pedal that are very responsive. All in all, a great system and probably very challenging so even the more accomplished of drivers (those with hands rather than paws) will find the game a challenge.

As you would imagine there are numerous cars to choose from of all shapes and sizes. You also get to choose by manufacturer. A nice touch. Here are the manufacturers and a few of the cars. THERE ARE LOADS!!!

We don't want to spoil it for you so we have not posted pics of all the cars. Well, to be honest, we wanted to - but Daddy told us off. So, after a bit of sulking, we agreed only to post these. PS, we posted the rest to Daddy's flickr account so go have a look. One very special car!!!

This is just a quick purrview so we will not say anymore about the game except go get it yourself and its a bargain at only 3 euros!! Have fun.

Galaxy On Fire on the Nokia N8 - another quick Purrview

2010-09-19T10:05:00.000+03:00

In a Galaxy far, far away. To boldly go where no pussycat has gone before. At this stage I should point out that Daddy is a sci-fi buff (nut-job actually) hence the quotes as he makes us watch. I should also point out (because Mummy would do otherwise) that "To boldly go" is grammatically incorrect. It should be "To go boldly". Sorry about all that but this game ignited memories.

It seems there is no rest for Daddy's credit card - lets hope all the really great games come before he notices. If he does we don't care, we will just give him puss in boot eyes. Or pay off the credit card before he realises. We know how :-)

Just look at this game, it looks amazing. But looks are not everything. It plays amazingly well too. We have been using accerelerometer control which (as seems usual with Fishlabs) you can adjust for sensitivity to suit your paws. You can use an onscreen d-pad if you prefer.

As you can probably tell, this is a space-based shoot 'em up. As with a lot of games of this type, you can upgrade your ship, buy a new one and/or buy new weapon systems. Check your cargo as you acquire loot throughout the game.

Some more suPAWlicious screenshots for your viewing pleasure,

This game truely is beautiful in every sense. Smell, looks, touch, sound - Cheesy Cheshire Cat grin here. Thank you Fishlabs. This game gets a definite paws up - ALL PAWS

Rally Master Pro on the Nokia N8 - A Quick Purrview

2010-09-18T13:10:00.000+03:00

What can we say but: thanks for the loan of the credit card again Daddy. Shhhh!! He does not know but we got another great game today. This time it's from Fishlabs. These guys make some great games and we will be reviewing another one of theirs in the coming days.

On to the game, well it really is eye candy (or catnip). Its stunning - just like us. Modest I know but what is a cat to do? The game plays well and gives you the option to use the accelerometer or onscreen keys to control the car's direction. You can also adjust the sensitivity to suit your particular style. Needless to say' I am quite delicate with the controls whereas my bro Rodney is a pure lunatic. Well he is a GINGER!!

The game has several modes of play, Career, Time Trial, Adrenaline and Mini-Games, although only Career mode is available to start with. Time Trials becomes available as you complete each stage in Career mode and the others when you earn them. So be good, be very good!!

Career mode works the same as a real Rally Race with several stages. There are 9 stages to complete but beware - you receive damage so it's easy to total the car if you are not careful. Something my mad Ginger brother did with alarming frequency. You do get the opportunity to repair your car from time to time to help out and that is, in its own way, a mini-game too with you having to complete tasks.

After each race you complete, you get a replay with controls to pause, rewind, fast forward etc so you can re-live your glory or, as in our case, your appalling driving. Well come on - we are cats!!!

In short, this is another great game for your Nokia N8 which will give you hours of Pawtastic fun.

NFS - Shift on the Nokia N8 - A Purrview

2010-09-17T23:10:00.000+03:00

So Rodney and I were busy doing our usual things - sleeping mostly - when we got a sms from Daddy who was sat with a guy from EA. Here's what it said "Boys you have to see this, playing NFSS on the N8 and it's amazing. Your opposable paws will find this game so easy, it's like driving a real car. EA have got the calibration so spot on. You jealous yet :-))". Needless to say we have been waiting not so patiently ever since this message and proceded to hassle Daddy the moment he got home. Now it has arrived in the Ovi Store.

So on to the game itself. Well NFS (Need for Speed) is a very well-known franchise now and having played with other versions in the past on the symbian platform I have to say I was not expecting much. Oh, how I was surprised. The game is PURRtastic. EA have really put the effort in on this one. High Paw to them for that. Not only does the game look Purrlicious but it plays really well too. The calibration on the N8's accelerometer is nothing short of Purrfect. The in-game music is sweet too.

The game has all the elements you would expect from NFS with different Events, each event having challenges to complete as you race.
Choose from circuit, sprint, driver duel, eliminator, time trial and drift in 4 different locations Chicago (only one available at the start), London, Tokyo and World Tour

As you would expect, each car can be customised to improve performance by upgrading Top Speed, Acceleration, Suspension Tires, Nitro. You can customise visuals too with no less than 16 wheel types, a new body kit, 9 body colours and 8 different spoilers. There a total of 20 cars to choose over 3 Tiers of experience so more become available as you progress through the game

Some more random screenshots showing the start of the race, race result, driver profile and the car shop.

Needless to say this game has caused a few battles between me and my bro Rodney, both of us wanting to play all the time. It's a war zone I tell you. Fur flying everywhere. Size on my side and speed/stealth on Rodney's. He tends to swoop in and steal the device and then hide. But he has to stop somewhere to play. That's when I sit on him and steal it back.

In short this game is a must buy for anyone with a N8 - it's worth the price tag of 7 euros in our opinion - it will generate hours of gameplay as you try to accumulate the cash needed to get the best cars.

A definite pads up from the Maine Coon brothers!!

N8 homescreen

2010-09-11T19:40:00.001+03:00

My Symbian^3/N8 home screen. The new icons are looking nice and more modern.

Nokia Rolls out Firmware updates and Ovi Sync

2010-04-21T00:17:00.000+03:00

Yesterday was a good day - my X6, 5800xm and E72 all got FW updates. Not seen a changelog for them but to be honest I never read them anyway. I prefer to be surprised by what I get. The most obvious difference on the X6 and 5800xm is they finally have kinetic scrolling throughout the entire OS. Something that I really found iritating. One more thing I noticed instantly is a Ovi sync icon in the aplications menu. It gives you the option to sync Calendar, Contacts and notes with Ovi online and schedule syncs. It also has a automatic sync feature if data changes. Pretty cool!!

Nokia Live Event - Everyone connect

2010-04-12T14:15:00.000+03:00

Yet another countdown has started!

What can we expect this time? According to twitter it will be about Ovi Maps integration with Messaging. It also seems according to twitter that there will be NO announcement of any new devices. Shame! Well there is only 20 Hours to go so time will tell and thankfully not long to wait.

Update:

So what was it all about?

I think a few people will be disappointed by the lack of a Flagship device announcement or a Symbian 3 device.

What we got was 3 new devices from Nokia. The C6, C3 and E5. All have improved social network, IM intergration. And all at very affordable prices. Good news for the general consumer out there. Bad news for the geek community that want so much more. Personally I think I will be getting the C6 and maybe the E5. One point to note about the E5 is that it supports superfast cat9 HSDPA - so here in Helsinki I would expect to achieve 5Mbps download and with its HSUPA support at least 1Mbps upload speeds. So in terms of data transfer it puts the device up there with the N900. Its a shame the C6 does not support it too.

Nokia C6 - most noted feature as pointed out by @GJCAG on twitter is the quad band 3G - expected Q2 2010

Nokia E5 - for me the most important is its lightningly quick data speeds supporting up to 10.2Mbps download and 2Mbps upload - expected Q3 2010

Nokia C3 - its going to be cheap so great news for emerging markets bringing an affordable qwerty keypad and good social networking/IM - expected Q2 2010

Hissings on the N900 - The Hisspurr Continuum

2010-03-30T11:44:00.000+03:00

Rodney

Time to continue with our thoughts on this "Marmite" of a device. Love it or hate it, it will definitely stir up an emotion or two.

To keep the purrs going I would like to pass comment on the Contacts and Conversations applications. Something us geeky cats have been hissing about for ages on a Nokia device. Finally a paw in the right direction. The IM integration is great (albeit mostly by 3rd party plugins). It would also be nice if it showed available contacts automatically at the top but that is a minor hiss. But the real killer is the conversations app - threaded SMS and chat messages. PURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! This makes me a very happy puddy tat.

Ok so what can I say about the App Manager. Well why does it constantly need to refresh - what happened in the last 2 seconds that it feels the need to refresh. Nothing!!! So why it does this I have no idea. I do know one thing it makes my daddy say some things. Quite loudly too!! Us felines, as cat lovers will know, like to chase things. Especially things on the move. So for us the App Manager is Purrfect for the wrong reasons. Because of the constant refreshing with that green circle going round and round and round. Its great but does make me a little dizzy. As the regards the quantity and quality of apps available for the N900. Well what can you say. There are a few really nice ones that stand out namely WITTER, BARRIOSQUARE, HERMES, FRIENDSTATUS but for the most part they are mediocre. I am not trying to take anything away from the guys that do it in their spare time afterall I need my 18 hrs of sleep a day. You do a grand job but its not quite the same as a professional team. The lack of Ovi Store support for paid apps does not help.

Del

My turn to listen to some music (my bro always hogs the headphones when it comes to the music section so I sat on him. Hehe) and I am glad I did because the media player on the N900 is nothing short of superb. The loadspeakers are damn good too. And the best thing is I can download an OGG codec and play files at 500kbps. So purrleasing to a delicate pussy cat's ears. Especially with the BH905 headset so I don't have to listen to my brothers constant whinging and moaning. Whinging and moaning. Grrrr!!!

One app that kept me interested in the N900 was (believe it or not) Mahjong and I am not that bad at it either with all the boards completed in under 5 minutes. Not bad for a pussy cat if I purr so myself - although a well kept secret is my pedigree as Finland's current feline tic tac toe champion. Shhhh!!!!

Right sorry to put a downer on things but (hack, hack, cough, hack, hack - oops sorry Hairball!!) but onto Maps. Certainly nothing to purr about. It doesn't do anything. Certainly no use to our Jailers who can't find their way out of Ikea (it has arrows in case you don't know). I am sure this situation will not be rectified until the Meego build for the N900 is ready and maybe not even then. I do hope so. As I hope more quality apps will appear when the Meego build comes.

Also daddy jailer took the N900 away the other day - when he brought it back one thing was obvious. It was faster - great for chasing the screen around. I believe he did something with the cpu clock speed and I believe 800Mhz was uttered. I can't be sure as I never quite understand his rantings.

Now my bro Rodney will attempt to answer the Ultimate Question - no not Life, the Universe and everything and the answer is not 42.

Is The NOKIA N900 more interesting than a dripping tap?

Hissings on the N900 - (plus a few Purrs) - Our initial thoughts

2010-03-22T23:19:00.000+02:00

Rodney

I am not sure whether to start with the Purrs or the Hisses, or maybe just mix them up so I hisspurr throughout.

Now I am quite a large cat (not as large as my brother but then he is a pig!) - we Maine Coons are amongst the largest cats - as daddy will testify when he picks me up (much to our disgust). So even with our size and obvious strength that brings (great for bashing mummy and daddy in the face when I want my breakfast) I struggled with the weight of the N900. Consequently my two paw test failed miserably (btw I have opposable paws). Its just way too heavy for even me. So both mine and my bro's tests are done with the N900 firmly placed on the ground.

Whilst on the subject of size etc I feel the keyboard needs a mention - do the Nokia designers hate us pussy cats - they must do. The keyboard is unusable, especially the top row. I can't get my pads in there to hit any of the keys and even daddy struggles to use it. I heard him the other day saying some things I don't quite understand but normally says to me when I have done something wrong. However it must be said that the virtual keyboard is by far the best Nokia have ever produced and better than any we have tried. Purrrrrr. Big Purr there. But I still wish I could use T9 one pawed too. Its a shame Nokia got stuck with it being a tablet and hence ignored portrait mode completely. Oh well such is a cats life.

Whilst I am still purring I should mention the kickstand. Great for watching our favourite kitty shows whilst the jailers sleep. Here is me chilling to The Big Bang Theory. Courtesy of daddy and "his precious".

Del (A happy-ish paw gamer)

Well what can I say about the N900 and gaming - purrfect, purrplexing. Both really. Why purrplexing you ask? Well I shall tell. I am purrplexed by the lack of games for what is an incredible gaming machine. I believe Nokia should have done more to encourage companies to develop for this platform. Look at Bounce Evolution and Angry Birds. Both by Rovio. Stunning!! Rovio themselves said they prefer the N900 to the iphone for developing games. So what is stopping developers. I have ideas (yes cats can have ideas you know) but no evidence. It is my belief the main cause is the lack of a decent app store for the platform that is putting companies off. Daddy to this day has still not managed to purchase the extra levels for angry birds. Well I believe that is part of the cause. Maybe companies just didn't think Maemo 5 would be around for long and well they were right. Whatever the cause is its a damn right shame. Why can't Nokia get this stuff right before a device is released. I was so looking forward to some serious gaming on this device. Instead a few 3rd party guys have done some ports of games which are ok but which lack the polish a company like Rovio brings. Hopefully with the advent of Meego and the weight of Intel and Nokia some more Developers will get involved. Time will tell. I guess I will be getting a lot of sleeps in before I see any more serious games. Time to rest those paws.

Purrings on the X6 - Purr 2 The Final Purr

2010-03-21T13:09:00.000+02:00

Rodney

We kitties have very delicate hearing so music playback quality is very important - unfortunately although the X6 is quite good Nokia still ignore the true music lovers need for Ogg and Flac. We may be a small niche market but its a market Nokia does not cater for. Hopefully with Symbian going open source future devices will get this support whether via Nokia directly (our prefurred option) or by 3rd party developers. Nokia purrlease help us poor kitties out or we will invade Nokia House and drop fur everywhere (not really but it would be fun to try)

Del (A Paw Gamer)

I, like my fellow felines like to get out paws dirty with a bit of gaming - now you would think as the X6 has a nice capacitive screen that gaming would be superb. Especially as we now know thanks to my brother that the fur between our pads does not impede the responsiveness of the screen. But no. Sadly this was not the case. I happen to be a bit of a Skyforce reloaded fan and have played this game on daddies N97 and N97 mini (shh he doesn't know) but on the X6 it only worked with accelerometer control and not touch. I was so disappointed. However I must say other games worked great especially the Nokia published games such as Dance Fabulous (great for kitty grooving) and Climate Mission for the more concientious kitties out there.

Must Have Kitty Applications:

We kitties do not travel well and are prone to pooping and being sick when we are upset so making a journey as short and stress free as possible is very important to us. This is why we use Waze a social GPS turn by turn navigation application that is actually fun too. You can find Waze here. It supports all S60 V5 devices and V3 devices too that have a GPS module. The application is pretty easy to use plus if you like mapping you get to draw new roads as Waze is totally user generated. You get points for mapping roads, updating these roads using the online map editor, adding street numbers etc. These points generate a world rank (daddy is only ranked 1402 at moment - pretty lame but what can you do). Because waze is user generated you get all important traffic reports which is purrfect for keeping journey times to a minimum thus helping to prevent nasty smells and keeping daddy happy. Waze also has a Chat feature so we can also have kitty chats with fellow feline wazers - all in all a purrfect (well nearly) navigation app for kitties and humans alike.

Are you a musical kitty? - do you have a last.fm subscription? Then you need Mobbler. It does everything a kitty could want from a last.fm client. Start a new station, view friends, shoutbox, playlists, recent tracks etc. Its simple (great for us technically challenged kitties).

Well what can I say about Gravity that hasn't been said before. Nothing as it is quite simply the best (Better than all the rest) . It does everything a Twitty client should and a lot more too. I can checkin on Foursquare at all my favourite hangouts (The Back Yard, The local kitty Club, The Back Alley, everywhere a kitty wants to be) and it tells me where all my pawpals are. Great for a Tomcat if you know what I mean. If that wasn't enough I can also see my friends facebook updates and comment when I want to. And the great thing about Gravity is its developer. Jan Ole Suhr continues to improve it and add features. Not an easy task when you consider how good it is already.

These 3 applications are all top treats. Mobbler and Gravity can be found in Ovi Store. Waze is just downloaded from Waze's website.

Final conclusions on the X6

Its a good device considering the usual hardware limitations of the current S60 V5 devices. But its let down by the terrible onscreen keyboard forcing us kitty cats to use the T9 keypad. Which is very responsive but not particularly fast. The UI still needs improvements and kinetic scrolling throughout. Hopefully these will come in future firmware updates.
So without further ado our Final Paw Score is

Purrings on the X6 - Purr 1

2010-03-15T23:18:00.000+02:00

So the boys having spent the day with the Nokia X6 have finally delivered their verdict.

Rodney

My main concern before trying out the device was the fur between my pads. Maine Coons tend to have a lot and I thought this may impede the purrformance of the capacitive touchscreen. I am happy to announce it did not. So all us kitties out there can be happy with the knowledge that we can use a capactive touchscreen without fear of our paws being trimmed.

Next up I wanted to see how the kinetic scrolling worked on the capacitive screen - I was very purrleased to see that music player with all the pretty pictures - something I will talk about later and the contacts had kinetic scrolling which worked extremely well. Better in fact than daddies favourite, the N97 white which I can never get hold of because he won't let me touch it. He calls it "his PRECIOUS" - how lame!! I will sneak a play one night when he sleeps. Anyway back to matter at paw. The kinetic scrolling - so how good was it - well for starters one swipe of my paw can take me through over 100 contacts - As for the music player - 6 swipes got me through all 553 songs and pretty pictures. I do like having songs with the pretty pictures attached something that has been very hard to do on a nokia device but now seems that solutions are there. Media Monkey and Ovi Player both do it very well now. Although it should be said I can get several sleeps in while Ovi Player is transfering tracks. A good thing you might say but I am not the most patient of Puddy tats so Media Monkey was the best as it took just 30 minutes to do the 553 tracks loaded with pretty pictures.

Del

Hi everyone - unfortunately the sniff test did not work out well as it really had no smell. Such a shame as I do like my toys to smell good and daddy refused to put some catnip inside the battery cover. This made me very sad.

Anyway on to more serious purrings. What did make me very purrleased was that I could play with and hug the X6 for many many hours without daddy taking it away and doing something with it involving a cable stuck in the wall. Nearly 36 hours of sleeping, hugging, playing and chatting with my bro Rodney on Ovi Contacts which incidentally was completely stable for all 36 hrs. I was very impressed indeed and it was still going strong with two of those little dashes in the top right hand corner when daddy took it from me with a bit of a fight - got a couple of scratches in. Muahahaha

Anyway after much debate our paw score so far is

The Blogging Team

2010-03-14T19:26:00.000+02:00

Hi my name is Rodney and I will be helping my daddy perform vital tests on his Nokia devices to ensure their usability. The most important of which is the "two paw test" which we feel crucial in the success of a device.

And my name is Del "Lovely Jubbly" and I too will be helping my daddy test devices. My most crucial test is the "sniff" test. Afterall a device should not smell bad.

The boys are brothers and are just over two years old now. The right age I feel to start getting into blogging and mobiles.