Archive for the ‘Nseries’ Category

Nokia N82, a winner is you! From the official release:

Nokia today announced that the Nokia N82 multimedia computer has been awarded the ‘Best Mobile Imaging Device in Europe 2008′ by TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) - Europe’s largest photo and imaging press association.
 
“The Nokia N82 is a compact multimedia computer that integrates GPS, web, video and music functions around a 5 Megapixel camera with a high-speed, f/2.8 autofocus lens,” the TIPA jurors said. “This Carl Zeiss Tessar focuses from 10cm to infinity and produces sharp prints up to and beyond A4 size. Several scene modes are also available to optimize the Nokia N82 for great images, whether shooting portraits or night shots,” TIPA continued. Other Nokia N82 features highlighted by the jurors are the Xenon flash and 20X digital zoom.”

The N82 of course is an N-Gage compatible device, something the judges surely did not overlook in their careful deliberations. To learn more about this device, visit the N82 page.
 

Hello all, thought it was time to get a new post up, even though I don’t have any updates for you regarding N-Gage First Access  — sorry about that, for all of you waiting patiently. But in the mean time, here are some recent reviews of N-Gage compatible devices you might enjoy. Note: some links may not be optimized for viewing on a mobile web browser.

Geek.com reviews the Nokia N95 8GB
“The N95 turns out to be one of the best gaming phones ever. The device uses its powerful processor, all that storage, and the large display to play games extremely well, including in impressive 3D.”

Brighthand.com review the Nokia N81 8GB
“Almost matching the N95 8GB feature for feature, this smartphone is featured as the music and gaming device du jour from Nokia, and comes loaded to the gills.”

OS News.com reviews the Nokia N82
“While it’s not ready yet for download, the N82 is NGage-ready. It has a 3D accelerator in it, and it came pre-installed with two 3D games to showcase the platform.”

Mobile Today review the Nokia N95 8GB
“This is all in one. You can take it on holidays and you have a mobile, a camera, an FM radio and GPS, so you can’t get lost.”

Mobile Today reviews the Nokia N81 8GB
“The Carphone salesman calls it ‘a gamer’s dream’, while Kane says the N81 is a ‘typically stylish Nokia’.” 

Discussion — which N-Gage compatible device do you have or wish to get?  Another question - how many of you are reading this blog on your mobile device as opposed to a PC? Let’s see a show of hands.

Hey everybody, we are rolling out N-Gage next week!

Those of you who have a Nokia N81 or N81 8GB will have exclusive access to the pre-release version of the N-Gage application and one or more N-Gage games!

At the same time, we’ll open up our N-Gage First Access forums, where you can give us your feedback on the experience, make suggestions, and help us co-create the N-Gage games service.

So be sure to check back next week, when N-Gage First Access begins.

As we promised when first announcing our roster of N-Gage compatible devices, we intend to continue adding new devices to our lineup on an ongoing basis.

So it is today, as we announce support for the Nokia N82, another Nseries device that will be capable of playing N-Gage games. The N82 has begun shipping this week.

No need for me to recount all the juicy details here — check out the official N82 page on N-Gage.com for all the details.  There’s also a write-up on GSM Arena, and high-res photos are available in the Nokia Press Room.

A couple of quick links today…I’ve been pretty darn busy all week helping get our website ready for launch. I had lots of pretty new screen shots to look at too…sorry, can’t share them here

Anyway, first item: All About Symbian has a poll up asking which announced N-Gage compatible device are you going to use at the launch. So far the Nokia N95 and Nokia N95 8GB have more than 50% of the votes between the two devices. I’d put up a similar poll here if I could xakto to add a poll widget.  Demand some poll action in the comment section! 

Item number two: The Age, an Australian newspaper, has put up an interview with with David Watkins, Nokia’s South East Asia Pacific Multimedia Sales Director, covering the growth of mobile games and the N-Gage experience. A snippet:

“Also our games are ‘made for mobile’ so we’ve done a lot of work on making that available in a number of ways, including over the air, while ensuring game quality. You will find the N-Gage games will generally be bigger than the largest Java games on the market and the multiple distribution channels provide publishers with a number of options to reach consumers. In addition to over the internet and over the air, we will also be embedding games in devices for purchase and publishers will find other ways to bundle N-Gage games for purchase with other content. “

Have a great weekend all!

Pocket Gamer takes a look at the new Nokia N81 and N95 devices, but focuses on the important stuff: How are they for games?

“The [N81’s] slider, which is currently available for purchase, is surprisingly well-equipped for gaming. Along with a traditional orientation that situates the phone upright for play, the device can be tilted on its side for a landscape presentation. This option won’t be available for all titles since it isn’t native to the device; instead, it’ll be supported on a game-by-game basis.”

The writer goes on to discuss the N95, the pre-installed game demos, and the overall N-Gage experience that is coming soon, including a quick overview of N-Gage Points.

Definitely worth checking out. Another article on the same site covers EA Mobile’s private briefing at the recent CTIA show, including coverage of Nokia and N-Gage.

Finally if you’d rather watch than read, the latest episode of the Smartphones Show includes a hands-on review of the new Nokia N95 8GB. See it here.

Following up on the release of the Nokia N95 8GB (try saying that five times fast), our pals over at All About Symbian has posted up an unboxing photo diary, complete with lots of juicy photos of the etched lens, the multimedia keys, and more.

Also check out the N-Gage icon in the interface — it’s not the actual N-Gage application, but it should be something called the Discover N-Gage application.

The Discover application is designed to give you a taste of the full experience and help you go and download the full application is available. 

Not to be outdone, Into Mobile has also posted a video showing off the unboxing of an N81 8GB. It’s like a birthday party!

The Nokia N95 8GB has begun shipping to selected markets — check out this device page on N-Gage.com for all the juicy details on this multimedia computer.

But as the name suggests, one of the key features is the eight gigabytes of memory built right into the device.

As part of the rollout, and to show off this storage capacity, there is a special version that is coming pre-loaded with a full-length feature film.

The film is Spider-Man 3, the third installment in the Peter Parker saga from Sony Pictures Entertainment. The special version of the N95 8GB with the film preloaded is available in Europe and selected markets in Africa and the Middle East. It also includes Spider-Man goodies such as a ring tone, wallpaper, and a screen saver.

How to start the movie:

Go to Menu -> Video Centre -> My Videos
Select “Spider-Man 3″
The movie will begin automatically and it will play in full-screen landscape mode. The My Videos folder also includes a movie trailer.

It’s pretty amazing that devices like these today have so much memory they can come preloaded with an entire film. Makes you wonder what’s in store a few years down the road — maybe a device with all twenty seasons of The Simpsons pre-installed, or the entire film catalog of Stanley Kubrick.

On your phone multimedia computer.

Long-time Arena members may remember John “Vanityklaw” Kuner, one of our admins and formerly the boss of both Redrum and Ikona. He’s been on sabbatical from the N-Gage program since the Fall of 2006, working on a project that could be more important than videogames.

“What’s that?” you ask. “More important than videogames? Impossible! How can that be?”

We found it hard to believe too, until he started telling us about Project VIEW. This is a project that uses digital storytelling with camera phones for cross-cultural connections.

What that means in practice is helping people who normally wouldn’t get to interact face to face get to know each other through video. For example, imagine students in India exchanging video clips with students in Norway, describing their favorite places to eat.

This is a great way for people in different parts of the world get to know each other face to face, but without the intervening distortions of media or the expense of travel — sort of like Pen Pals for the Digital Age.

Project VIEW is part of the Digital Vision Program at Stanford University, a forum for social entrepreneurs to develop IT-based solutions in the areas of health, education, and finance for emerging markets.

If you’d like to learn more — or better yet, participate — visit the Project VIEW website.

Here is a sample from the project:

Click To Play

Hop on over to Nseries.com for a chance to win a brand spanking new Nokia N95. All you need to do is shoot a short video and upload it on the website.

If your video receives enough views to be entered into the Nseries Hall of fame, and is judged the best video of the week, you’ll win a new Nokia N95 device.

At the end of the competition, some of the videos may even have some of their footage included in the final cut of an Nseries TV commercial.

There’s a new winner every week, with six more weeks to go, so you still have plenty of opportunities to win. Check out Nseries.com for more.