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nokia n95: my review

hey mates
been a while since i last posted here. after my xda2, i've been using a mio a701. i was then given budget for a new office phone so what the heck i tried out the n95. here's a review after a month's worth of use:
1) battery - if you're a heavy user of bluetooth, wifi, internet, etc...then chances are you're going to charge this almost every night. the bat was okay and i think it could hold it's own for around 2-3 days. i did try out the media player and after like 2 hours of use the battery went down to almost half (from a full charge). i just ordered 2 extra batteries from ebay...good thing their cheap at 2.00usd each.
2) camera - one of the reasons i got this unit. excellent quality given that it's using carl-z optics. the 5 megapixel is quite good and the flash does work wonders. thing is, the camera can also drain the battery if used continuously. yup, the battery is the number one gripe for the n95. however, i was able to buy this little accessory while in hong kong:
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yup, it's a zoom lense. the package comes with a crystal case and from there you attach the lense holder at the back. you have to be careful before you stick it in. the surface comes with a special adhesive. you have to be careful you put the holder in the right position else you risk having an off-centered lense. once attached, the zoom lense slides into the grooves and there you go. i tested it myself and i must say i was impressed with the telescopic feature. you can then remove the zoom lense and keep it in the padded pouch. i was also able to buy a tripod which clamps the phone in place. regular camera tripods allow you to screw the cam on the holder. for the nokia, the tripod has a padded clamp which holds the unit in place.
3) speed - around 9 years ago i was using a nokia 8850 before i switched to ppc units. i'm still getting used to the fact that i have to use the keypad...and no more stylus for me to pull out. other than that the speed of the unit is quite good. applications start out fast. i tried opening several applications at once and it was able to cope without slowing down.
4) media player - i loaded my mp3s on the micro-sd...paired the unit with my r-35 itech headset and there you go...the a2dp works great. i also shut off the bt app and tried out the stereo speakers. although we're not talking b&o quality here the sound is quite good. i think the speakers have been set so as to prevent the speakers from blowing out. in other words, i cranked up the volume to the max and it showed no signs of distortion. it was loud enough to be heard but of course i would expect that the sound would be drowned out when you're in public (like in a bus or a crowd).
5) sliders - the dual slide system...in my opinion...is not as handy. sure it's an added feature..but when you slide it to the right the screen goes on landscape and simply opens up to the animated menu. this is the same menu which pops out when you press the right bigger button while in portrait mode. from there, you have press the central select button to activate the media player.
6) tv-out - the unit can be plugged into the tv and use the screen to display whatever you want. in this case i also loaded a 3gp file of the movie "happy feet"...and to be honest i was quite impressed. it was like having a mini-dvd player. you can also use the tv to display photos or whatever
7) gps - one of the reasons why i bought this unit....but i wasn't as impressed. if you're a hard core navigation user, then better stick to using ppc gps applications. here in thailand i've been using gps to get around as i'm not a native of this country. i've been using powermap v7 for my mio and i was always happy with it. for the n95, the application is called "maps". you then have to install "maploader" into your pc to enable you to download all the maps you need. the pro for this is the maps are free. the con is that you have to pay for navigation services. although the maps application can provide navigation, it will not give you voice directions. you have to pay for this feature...and it comes in plans. it's not a 1-time payment deal...when you pay it can be for 1 year, 2 years, etc.
paying involves connecting to the internet via your gprs /wifi or whatever method you use. although i'm honest in saying that i'm fortunate the company pays for my phone bill, if you're a regualr plan user this can be a burden.
another thing about the gps is that the antenna is on the bottom of the phone. you would have to tilt the unit around 45 degrees in order to get a signal. i would recommend that you switch to landsape mode so as to allow the antenna direct access to the sky.
getting a signal is okay if the sky is clear. while inside the car, i saw some delays and difficulties in getting a satelite signal. i bought an extra gps-receiver and that boosted the connection speed. although there are symbian gps applications like route66 or tomtom, unfortunately the maps are still limited.
don't get me wrong, i like the n95. however, i'm also keeping my mio as i use it for gps applications. overall it's a good phone and i see myself keeping this for quite some time. i was thinking of getting the ameo...but the size factor is what's keeping me from doing so.
cheers

Aftermarket Docks And Fun With Tasker / Smart Connect

I bought numerous docks off amazon. They all are coming from China so I figured I'd order a few from different places and see what happens. Estimated delivery on the first dock was end of October and I recieved it the 19th of Sept.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D7VDPQ0/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_6
I got two from these guys and they are awesome. Very basic and simple, but the phone seats nice and snuggly with a full Skinomi CF skin applied and SP on front. They come with a somewhat short cable. They do not have a weight inside to give them that sturdy heavy feel, but this doesnt bother me, gives them a cheap feel but when you think that a chunk of pot metal inside means nothing then it's easy to accept. I have a few more coming in due time but so far I am very happy with these. They come in Black, White, and Purple. I ordered two black. I keep one on the night side stand and one beside my recliner. I will update with photos if there is any interest and also update with other docks as they come trickling in.
So on to the what we do with them part. This all started when I read the DIY dock topic. I built one and boy did it suck. So I said screw it, $15 and I can have one. I just wanted to charge without having to pick at that dump little flap with my gorilla hands but once I got to realize the possibilities it went crazy from there. I originally started with Sonys built in Smart Connect app but quickly outgrew it within an hour as I expected more and more out of it so I went back to an app I havnt used in years, Tasker. Smart connect is decent if you want some basic to mid level routines executed though. I had it set to
When Docked Between 1800 to 0600=Turn on BT>Connect to BT speaker>Launch Lightening Bug app> lower phone and notification volumes>Brightness to 50%
At End=Read Time>Raise all volumes to Max>Brightness to 100%>BT Off
Plus other variations on the above based on times (which covered if I was docked at bed or by chair)
However the Lightening bug app still kept going which is annoying since there is no (as far as i know) kill option for the at end. Tasker can be simple or complex, depending how far you want to push it. Im playing with plugins now trying to get it to recognize the dock state. Thoughts? Anyone else get a bit nutty with automating routines? Is this being discussed elsewhere and I need to STFU and go away?
**Edited title since I have more to add after getting spun up on tasker last night.
So I know there are others far more versed in the ways of Tasker than I, but I havnt seen any real discussions. Here's what I set up last night.
My Profiles (Think of as conditions to be met that trigger tasks)
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And these are my tasks, or actions. When a Profile is met, such as phone docked, then the linked task will be executed.
So the profile Dock Night (obvious bad pun intended), named because I plan to set up other dock profiles for work based on either time or location or other variable. Dock Desk Dock is the condition that must me met. Dock Desk is what and the second Dock means in rather than out of the dock. When this profile is met it runs the Night Dock task, which is a series of predefined actions. Lets look at those.
This one is very simple one once you know where to look for all the right pieces. I had to download a plugin for Tasker called Locale Dock Condition that easily allows tasker to see and work with dock states.
When inserted into dock it will:
Lower notification volume (3/7) for those middle of the night emails and texts
Sets brightness to Auto
Speaks outloud text indicating its in dock mode, something i admittedly threw in just to hear it.
Turns on BT which inturn connects to my BT speaker by the bed.
Loads App that plays the sounds for night time and locks display on for clock.
All of this happens nearly instantly and is awesome for not having to do stuff constantly. I have others that when you turn the display on it snaps a picture giving me a album full of selfies but the occasional shot of someone looking at my phone, usually wife. And others for when the passcode is entered wrongly. 2 times it snaps severals pictures and auto uploads to drop box. 5 wrong attempts it begins recording audio for 15 minutes and this too will be uploaded to dropbox.

Is there a way to configure the forced auto rotation in dock mode to be turned off?
If the phones docked even if I have auto rotation turned off in settings it just ignores it and rotates anyway.

Review Bluetooth Headphones with Bone Conduction and NFC -> Digicare DO

Hi all, I have recently acquired that gadget and this is my experience
I must start this review confessing that I am a quite intensive user of headphones, either it's radio, podcast or music.
For that reason, I found very interesting the opportunity to try this device, not only for being wireless (they use Bluetooth), but also for their bone conduction tecnology (the same used by the famous and expensive Google Glasses). The sound is transmitted through our bones and not through our ears cavity.
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External Appearance
They are made on plastic and the touch is very agreeable. On the right side can find the “Play/pause” button, on the left one, another button for calling (hang up, down and voice assistant). Finally in the rear part the is a microUSB adapter for charging, the On/Off switch and two small buttons for volumen and track change.
Specifications
Bone conduction technology
Bluetooth V3.0+EDR with profiles HFP, HSP, AVRCP, A2DP
NFC Connectivity
Stereo sound, with high sensitivity microphone
High-speed data transfer (24Mbps)
Intelligent power saving system
DigiCare splashproof design, suitable for outdoor sweaty sports
Ergonomic and including and adjustable band for different head sizes
Only 50 grams of weight
Working distance 10 meters
Frequency 20-20Khz
Impedance 32Ω
Receive sensitivity 88dBm
Battery de 260 mAh
My experience
Between the different advantages present on this technology, the first one that could be highlighted is that, since we don't introduce anything into our ears, the potential damages are clearly reduced, so less intrusive than traditional earphones.
In addition, it prevents of having bacteria inside the ears, and, something that surprised me, it doesn't block the sound while talking or listening to music, so if you are on the street, you continue hearing other sounds like traffic.
After using them continuously for more than one week, I can clearly say that the advantages mentioned on the above paragraph has fully convinced me. Specially because I guess my ears are quite special and so, I find uncomfortable almost every earphone... or they fall all the time.
In the past week and something, I have used those Digicare DO walking, running and riding the bike and, they didn't fall down at any moment, and the sound was always good.
The quality of the audio is very good, not only listening to music, but also during calls, even while going on the bike.
The battery duration is most than acceptable, it has last for several hours (like promised) using for music and doing long calls (more than 1 hour).
Another aspect I was a little bit doubtfully was the position of the buttons, BUT at the end the user experience has been great, very easily accesible all of them, the ones next to the ears (play/pause and calls) respond very quick to a simple touch, and the ones in the back are very easily identifiable, even wearing gloves.
Last the Bluetooth works excellently, the pairing was the quickest I've seen in the last gadgets I've tried (other earphones, speakers or between phones,…) and even when we change to another phone, once the Bluetooth enabled it connects really fast. The other good point here is that we can connect 2 phones simultaneously.
Points to improve
For sure not everything is good on this review, so here some aspects that Digicar should improve for future updates or versions.
The NFC is clearly improvable, it worked... but sincerely it wasn't quick, neither simple. I tried with 2 different smartphones (including Galaxy S4) and I only could detect the headphones with one of them.
They come on universal size. I have a small head, so I feel like I have too much "hanging behind" and it is a little bit uncomfortable with the coat or scarfs. It's true that the elastic belt to adjust it works well, and the position for a good audio quality, but still too much plastic hanging... maybe it would be a good idea to have two different sizes.
Voice assistants (Siri, Google Now, Cortana...) work but, sincerely don't help, or at least I couldn't make them understand as well as when you talk directly to the phone. I worked very well to sat "Call number 123456789", it dialed and the conversation quality was very good. But when asking about football results, or something to add to my calendar, it captured other noises in addition to my voice (I guess the micro is really sensible also for that) so Siri didn't finish capturing.
I suppose using it more often, Siri (or the others) will "learn" to understand us, and it will work better, but for the moment it's not so comfortable, I go much faster with the fingers
Conclusions
Some months ago, I was looking for Bluetooth earphones and I finally took the traditional ones (inside the ear), first because I didn't know anything about that bone conduction technology and secondly for the price, the difference was considerable.
After trying those ones... I trully think the price is justified. In fact I haven't used the other ones anymore since I receive the Digicare DO, just a question of comfort.
They are currently in promotion at Geekbuying using the promo code PNALFZGX . That's where I got them

My favorite feature

Using the secondary display as and application switcher. I really hope LG expands on this.
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This second screen window allows you to switch back and forth between apps like a mini windows taskbar (Running applications).

Don't forget in nougat, if you double tap the recent app button, it switches to the last app that was used

McQueefus said:
Don't forget in nougat, if you double tap the recent app button, it switches to the last app that was used
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:-o
Learn something new every day! Thank you!

planetbeen said:
:-o
Learn something new every day! Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem:good:

Also, you can slide your thumb left and right on the LG keyboard spacebar to scroll through the words you just typed.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

The 4 way DAC, with a semi-decent connected headphone and listening to a local FLAC, at least 24\96, has made me grateful we evolved with 2 ears. Led Zeppelin (the 45 RPM version )with the V-Moda wireless (though connected with it's included braided cable) has opened music, that I know very well, in a wonderful manner.
I had the Sony MDR7506 at 63 ohms and it made the hair stand up. I've returned it and ordered the BeyerDynamic DT 770 PRO 250 Ohms Studio Headphones. High Definition music, and a headphone that triggers the DAC, will make every other phone, you have listened to, into a Hodor. My mobile phone music player history goes back to the Seimens SX66 (from 2004) and 20 or so other phones that could play locally stored music. This thing is a beast.

Good stuff!
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

When I was considering the V20 I was like, ok it has good audio, but whatever. I focused more on the removable battery, screen size, second screen and overall specs.
After trying the DAC with my Audio Technica noise cancelling headphones I am like WOW! And that's with no special music, just regular mp3s. Is like that every instrument and voice is in the room next to you when the DAC is activated! I am glad that LG took the effort to develop a high quality feature. Now I don't mind that I paid the early adopter fee (usually after few months phones like these are much cheaper on eBay) of paying regular price.
My other favorite and more practical feature is the second screen. I was used to the LED of my Nexus 5 and was a little bit concerned about getting used to the second screen. That said I usually look at my phone from 1-2 feet anyway when I want to check for new notifications and in this context the second is much better because I can see the notification icons.
The second screen can be used to control your music as well!

haris163 said:
The second screen can be used to control your music as well!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only annoying thing about music player on second screen is that when playing music on lockscreen it doesn't stay on music player (it keeps going back to default screen). I have to keep swiping it back to music screen everytime I want to change a song.

This evening I went to a small recital to try and record in 24\192 again. My 2 previous shows had been disappointments with the result. It was mostly my fault but I took steps to correct my methods. Wow! I don't what the 2 auto modes are for but when I managed the gain and clipping in the manual mode, I got HD tracks that are worthy of commercial releases. One I got my fat fingers out of the way, and started sampling the results, between songs, this is my next favorite feature.
I also love the removable battery and SD card slot but I have had 3 LG phones before and trusted the engineering.

justthefacts said:
The only annoying thing about music player on second screen is that when playing music on lockscreen it doesn't stay on music player (it keeps going back to default screen). I have to keep swiping it back to music screen everytime I want to change a song.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your headphones have controls (specifically an answer/disconnect button) you can double tap the answer button to skip to the next song.

dartinbout said:
The 4 way DAC, with a semi-decent connected headphone and listening to a local FLAC, at least 24\96, has made me grateful we evolved with 2 ears. Led Zeppelin (the 45 RPM version )with the V-Moda wireless (though connected with it's included braided cable) has opened music, that I know very well, in a wonderful manner.
I had the Sony MDR7506 at 63 ohms and it made the hair stand up. I've returned it and ordered the BeyerDynamic DT 770 PRO 250 Ohms Studio Headphones. High Definition music, and a headphone that triggers the DAC, will make every other phone, you have listened to, into a Hodor. My mobile phone music player history goes back to the Seimens SX66 (from 2004) and 20 or so other phones that could play locally stored music. This thing is a beast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Enjoy those headphones. Not the most musical but still very good and great for critical listening.

I wonder how well car cradles & the Edge Sense are going to play together

A lot of us use car cradles that clamp onto the phone. Although I use a very minimalist clamp buy Kenu, some car clamps can run almost the full side length of a phone.
I'll be curious to see if these set off the Edge Sense when you clamp your phone in and if it's going to be a problem for people. I haven't seen a single person bring this up in a review or online, but it's one of the first things I thought of.
Fortunately the clamp I use is very minimalist and I can set it to clamp higher on the phones edge, so maybe above the squeezable area, but I know some have fuller sized clamps.
Yes I know you can set the sensitivity of the squeeze to initiate the desired function.

I never thought of this. I guess I will see once I get my phone

Simply you'll have to disable edgesense directly with in the quicksettings. An item is here to enable/disable it when you want as you do with wifi for example. But I have to admit that if you don't disable it, edgesense engage the action you set and you often have the photo app launched :/

Fre$h said:
Simply you'll have to disable edgesense directly with in the quicksettings. An item is here to enable/disable it when you want as you do with wifi for example. But I have to admit that if you don't disable it, edgesense engage the action you set and you often have the photo app launched :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a quick access toggle in the notification bar pull down to turn Edge Sense on and off?

Yes there is one toggle :
https://imageshack.us/i/pnktR3vfp

The clamp force of a smartphone holder is not big. So u think there will be no issues here.

notice the included case is cut out almost the entire edge length. Partially for buttons of course, but partially for edge sense space.
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*justintime* said:
The clamp force of a smartphone holder is not big. So u think there will be no issues here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the Kenu one I use is extremely strong, but either way... putting it in and out of a clamp might set the edge sense off. Hopefully there will be Tasker integration and then maybe you can set up a profile so that if you're attached to the Bluetooth in your car that shuts off the edge sense functionality.

Just get a magnet-based mount system. Problem solved. They work great. I wouldn't ever go back now that I've switched.

Bright idea: Use your car dock to set up a shortcut to start your phone's car app! (Win/win)

I've been using slipgrip mounts forever, though they are device specific so I change it every time I upgrade phones. Grabs by the lower corners and one tab mid-point.
Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

cool idea
If your using side grip mounts in your car with the HTC U11. Grab a few of the NFC programmables and use some triggers(macros) to disable the Edge Sense before mounting, and another to enable it when you take your phone out of the side grips (maybe on a keychain). I'm finding the Edge Sense useful for now. It's a gimmick now, but maybe other options will pop up. You can launch MacroDroid with the short squeeze and do a lot more with Edge Sense.

Just pull down notification bar and toggle off edge sense while it's in an edge grip cradle. Lol
Sent from my 2PZC5 using Tapatalk

I use a car mount like this. Doesn't falsely trigger edge sense when I put the phone in. My edge sense setting is about slightly below medium setting.

I have Kenu plus.... will have to see....

If you are looking for a great looking cradle this is a very nice one.
Solid.. Nice design and no edge sense "problems"
Rock autobot cradle.

OK, got my phone yesterday and had tried out Kenu Plus this morning on the way to work. The mount grip triggered the Edge sense, but it displays a message saying "release to launch or keep pressing to cancel". So, it detects the pressure but will not trigger any actions. I am just worried how that constant pressure will affect the lifetime of the physical edge sensors...

I am interested in this one, seems like it doesn't apply any pressure to the edge sensor...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item-img...48866.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000017.2.xuebZ4

I have a car mount which squeezes the sides.
when i pop it in, the graphics come up to indicate that it senses a squeeze, but after a few seconds, it realises that its constant pressure, and not a squeeze per-se, and times out. No impact on use.

sephstyler said:
I have a car mount which squeezes the sides.
when i pop it in, the graphics come up to indicate that it senses a squeeze, but after a few seconds, it realises that its constant pressure, and not a squeeze per-se, and times out. No impact on use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here, see my previous post, just worry about long term effect on the sensors.
Actually now that I have put the Spigen clear case on, it kind of reduces the pressure and the phone doesn't sense the squeeze at all.