Nokia Test Center Blog

Boston Media Makers - Roll Call 2/1/11

2011-02-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

http://bostonmediamakers.com
Video shot with Nokia N8 and Wide Angle lens, edited in iMovie 11.

Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA - Blizzard 2011

2011-01-13T17:57:00.001-05:00

Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA - Blizzard 2011, originally uploaded by stevegarfield.

Qik - Boston blizzard 2011 10:30 AM by Steve Garfield

2011-01-12T10:51:00.000-05:00

Qik - Boston Blizzard 2011 9:00 AM by Steve Garfield

2011-01-12T09:21:00.000-05:00

Shot with Nokia N8, streamed LIVE to Qik, and then cross-postd to YouTube.

gorillapod adhesive clip

2011-01-04T10:39:00.002-05:00

Recorded this video with a Nokia N8, Joby Gorilla Pod, and photojojo wide angle lens

2011-01-03T17:07:00.001-05:00

Recorded this video with a Nokia N8, Joby Gorilla Pod, and photojojo wide angle lens:

Nokia N8 with Wide Angle Lens and Joby Gorillapod

2010-12-30T09:40:00.002-05:00

Trailer: Jamaica Pond Snow 2010

2010-12-30T09:17:00.001-05:00

Trying out iMovie 11 Movie Trailer creator.
Video show with Nokia N8 with Wide Angle lens.

Nokia N8 footage shot at 25 fps, iMovie project 25 fps

2010-12-29T15:45:00.000-05:00

Nokia Ovi Maps - Audio Interview with Phil Campbell

2010-12-08T07:16:00.003-05:00

Listen!

Thanks Phil.

Nokia N8 Radio

2010-11-16T11:00:00.001-05:00

Going to walk the pond with my Nokia N8 because I can listen to the radio with it. Works great.less than a minute ago via Tweetie for MacSteve Garfield
stevegarfield

Fall

2010-11-14T12:58:00.001-05:00

Taken with N8

Swans

2010-11-14T12:57:00.003-05:00

Taken with N8

Lots of Video Equipment at Boston Media Makers 11/07/10

2010-11-09T08:11:00.000-05:00

Photo taked with Nokia N8

Boston Media Makers Roll Call 110710

2010-11-08T14:19:00.001-05:00

Shot with Nokia N8

Nokia N8 w/ FREE lifetime OVI maps is a better investment than a car Nav system

2010-11-07T13:11:00.001-05:00

Just got a postcard to upgrade my car Nav system for $199. A better investment would be a Nokia N8 w/ FREE lifetime OVI maps.less than a minute ago via TwitterrificSteve Garfield
stevegarfield

Just got a postcard to upgrade my car Nav system for $199. A better investment would be a Nokia N8 w/ FREE lifetime OVI maps.

Nokia N8: First Photos

2010-11-06T13:57:00.002-04:00

Nokia N8 Ovi Maps is Better than Google Maps

2010-11-05T21:09:00.000-04:00

Video - Steve Garfield
http://stevegarfield.com

Nokia N8 Ovi Maps

[Video] Nokia N8 Default Alarm - Unique and Different

2010-11-05T11:19:00.000-04:00

This default alarm for the Nokia N8 is unique. It's a song with alarm tones in it that builds in volume as time progresses. Very cool and creative.

Excuse the frozen images, this was recorded on my webcam directly to YouTube on November 05, 2010, 08:07 AM

Now I'd like someone to show me where to get a flipclock.

Fall Leaves

2010-11-05T08:37:00.002-04:00

Would be nice if TwitPic allowed embedding of larger images. Lame.

Qik Live Video - Archived

2010-11-05T08:36:00.000-04:00

N8 (Symbian^3) does not have APIs that enable HD recording yet :(. Qik are waiting for Nokia to have the APIs available for partners before they can rollout Premium HD live streaming.

Qik for Nokia N8

2010-11-05T00:04:00.000-04:00

Qik Video Camera Lite in the OVI store.
by: Qik Inc

Photo & Video - 0.88 MB

Easily record videos and instantly share them with friends and family! - Capture special moments in video right on your phone - Share videos live to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, blog or other sites - Send private video messages via email, SMS - Videos are instantly uploaded to your Qik site for sharing or safe-keeping

Streamed Live From John Harvard's

2007-12-20T08:10:00.000-05:00

Here's a recording of a live stream that I broadcasted from John Harvard's in Cambridge while having a beer with Carl Weaver.

This technology is very exciting.

Thanks to Qik for enabling the embed code...

I just set up a page, Steve Garfield Live, that will broadcast my current live stream if I'm broadcasting, or an archived recording of my most recent broadcast.

Streaming with Qik

2007-12-18T17:32:00.000-05:00

~~Blogger isn't diplaying the embed code so head over to the Qik page to see my first test videos.~~

Thanks to ATT for the SIM card and service, Nokia for the N95, and Qik for the live streaming service.

How To: Recording Sound on a Digital Camra

2007-08-13T02:31:00.002-04:00

Click To Play

The Farm

2007-08-13T02:31:00.001-04:00

Click To Play

Nokia N95: How to edit video

2007-08-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

Click To Play

This video shows you step by step how to edit video on the Nokia N95. You can see the edited video on Blip.tv too.

Featuring: Imogen Heap

Here's the video I made on my VOX blog.

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov) 320x240, Quicktime (.mov) 640x480, MP3 Audio (.mp3), Flash Video (.flv), MPEG-4 Video (.m4v), YouTube.

Westin Grand Bahamas - Infinite Pool and Beach

2007-07-21T09:52:00.001-04:00

Lumiere: Boston Common Baseball

2007-07-16T19:41:00.001-04:00

VIDEO: Junkanoo: Grand Bahama Island

2007-07-15T16:56:00.000-04:00

Steve Garfield's Video Blog: Junkanoo: Grand Bahama Island

Lumiere: Nantucket

2007-07-15T12:47:00.001-04:00

Here is a video for the Lumiere Project (60 seconds max. • Fixed camera • No audio • No zoom • No edit • No effects). Remember this is a Lumiere video. This video contains NO audio. Feel free to leave your own music running.

Jamaica Pond Cars Rushing By

2007-07-11T14:54:00.000-04:00

Cars drive by Jamica Pond, rushing to where their occupants are taking them.

Video on the N95

2007-06-27T13:25:00.000-04:00

The maximum quality for video on the Nokia N95 is 640x480 30 fps.

It's a lot better than what I used to be shooting, 320x240 15fps

I think the photos and videos are excellent and have been using the N95 to shoot lots of video.

The format is mp4 which makes editing in FCP take longer than if I was capturing DV from my GL/2.

The audio/video seems out of sync in FCP's Viewer window, but after it hits the Timeline and I render all is well... I'm wondering if this is the case with all mp4 video in FCP.

You can edit the mp4 files directly in iMovie and I hear that you can edit mp4 files natively in the new FCP. I'd like to see that my self.

There are some new cameras out that capture H.264 and if the N95 did this it would be perfect.

Nokia Ad

2007-06-27T12:33:00.001-04:00

Nokia N95 ad
from Jakob Lodwick

Baby Geese at Jamaica Pond

2007-06-10T23:40:00.001-04:00

Baby Geese in a Pond from stevegarfield on Vimeo

Spices of Life Sky Cam

2007-06-08T10:58:00.001-04:00

Spices of Life Sky Cam - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

In this episode from the archives of Nina Simond's Spices of Life videoblog, I used a Nokia N93 as a Sky Cam. Fun times.

Watch it here:
Behind the Scenes: Mahi Mahi and Mango Salsa

N93 Captures Nina and Steve

2007-06-05T21:42:00.000-04:00

Boats

2007-06-04T17:43:00.001-04:00

Boats - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Nokia N95 Peephole

2007-05-29T17:27:00.001-04:00

Healthy American Food Exposed

2007-05-25T13:09:00.001-04:00

I just posted a new video, Spices of Life - Pyramid on a Plate #2: Healthy American Food Exposed:

"I found it interesting that you don’t have to always order low fat salad dressing. After the shoot I go to eat the Artic Char. It was amazing. I got so caught up in the filming of the episode, I asked Nina waht kind of salmon it was because it tasted so good. She told me that it was Artic Char. HA! I really enjoyed it.

Technical notes: This episode was filmed using a Nokia N93. It records at 640 x 480 30 frames per second. I converted the .mp4 files to QuickTime .mov files using MPEG Streamclip, then edited the video with Final Cut Pro. When done editing, I exported using Compressor at 320x240 H.264 and uploaded to blip.tv. Blip.tv then converts the video to Flash and cross-posts... to Spices of Life."

Yay!

N95 in NYC at BXL

2007-05-22T21:19:00.000-04:00

Personal Democracy Forum: Hallway Walking Videos

2007-05-19T22:38:00.000-04:00

Personal Democracy Forum People - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

At the Personal Democracy Forum I did some hallway walking, and captured some fleeting moments in video.

This video is authentic and unedited. Captured on a Nokia N95 cellphone, that I'm evaluating for Nokia, I uploaded the videos to blip.tv, which automatically converted the .mp4 videos to flash and cross-posted them to my video blog.

It's easy to create this type of video and I'd enjoy seeing video like this from the candidates running for president.

Cross posted at techPresident.

Technorati Tags:
pdf2007

Videoblogging in 5 Minutes

2007-05-19T11:14:00.000-04:00

Showed people how they could shoot, edit and upload video from the street using an N95 at the Personal Democracy Forum in NYC.

Tags: Personal Democracy, Personal Democracy Forum, PDF2007

Preparing the table

2007-05-10T20:26:00.000-04:00

Preparing the table at Legal Sea Foods for shooting a Pryamid on a Plate episode of Nina Simonds Spices of Life videoblog.

Nokia N800 Displays N95 Flickr Photo

2007-04-18T22:18:00.000-04:00

You know I love the Nokia N95, now I've displayed a picture taken with the N95, and posted directly to flickr, on the Nokia N800.

This is too much.

Kind of crazy.

It's the future.

Nokia N800 Delivers the News

2007-04-18T22:13:00.000-04:00

The Nokia N800 delivers news of the moment via a WiFi connection and twitter.

Nokia sent me a Nokia N800 for evaluation. I'd experimented with bringing an HP Pavilion dv9000 down to the kitchen table to stay current with the news while sitting in the kitchen, but now with the N800, it's easy and convenient to bring the N800 with me where ever I go in the house.

The browser is quick, saves bookmarks and the text entry interface can be either character recognition or entry via a touch screen on a QWERTY keyboard.

I'm enjoying discovering the ease of use of having the N800 around with me.

Nokia N95 Live WiFi Video Streaming

2007-04-14T07:29:00.000-04:00

Transatlantic and coast to coast:

This was amazing. I saw Chris Pirillo on Twitter say he was using Ustream.tv to broadcast himself live. So, off I went to see what was going on. Lo and behold, i saw Chris chatting away to people on the builtin webchat they had on his show page and also on irc. So, I hooked up my webcam and Skyped him. Then I could see myself on his screen too! We chatted away while others watched. Meanwhile, I was projecting the whole thing on my wall with one of my projectors (I love projectors). THEN, Steve Garfield popped up in the chat room and started using his ComVu account and a Nokia N95 to broadcast LIVE from his phone too!! At one point all three of us were chatting away, with some stilted lag here and there, but it was a truly trans-Atlantic and coast-to-coast broadcast! Three geeks wittering away! Heheh. Me in London, Chris and Seattle and Steve in Boston. GREAT!

This was very exciting. Part of it had to do with the immediacy of the live broadcast, part of it was the excitement of finding new uses for leading edge technology, and part of it was the fun of connecting to friends in real time in a unique way.

Panda

2007-04-13T11:13:00.001-04:00

Nokia N95 One Camera Shoot with Tripod

2007-04-06T21:08:00.001-04:00

I used the N95 with a tripod on a video shoot for the video blog Spices of Life. This episode will be posted on Friday.

iMovie Export Settings

2007-04-02T09:27:00.000-04:00

These are the settings I use to export an MPEG4 movie that I've edited in iMovie after copying it off the N95.

After exporting I upload to blip.tv and they convert it to Flash for me. The original MPEG4 is also available on blip.tv.

Note: After exporting this file I got a QuickTime movie that was 153.3 MB, so I re-exported and limited the data rate to 300 and then got a 15.7 MB file. Much smaller and it looked good too.

Electric Pedal

2007-03-30T17:50:00.001-04:00

Steve TV: Gas Station

2007-03-29T11:08:00.000-04:00

Click To Play

This video was recorded on the Nokia N95. I then edited the video on iMovie on my MacBook Pro.

I learned a couple of things. An 8 minute movie, exported as 640x480 is a 266MB file. So I re-exported this as a 320x240 QuickTime movie using H.264 and it ended up as a 73 MB file. A better size for uploading to blip.tv.

I might switch to recording these Steve TV videos as 320x240 so I don't have to deal with the file size problems. The 640x480 quality is amazing, but for these little tests capturing life streams, I think the smaller size is fine.

I'm also being seduced by the ease of use that the N95 provides with it's internal editor. After having gone through all the trials and tribulations of logging and capturing, editing, compressing and exporting video with a desktop based system and miniDV based camera, it's freeing to be able to shoot, edit and post from one device.

Steve TV: Waiting Room

2007-03-28T23:32:00.000-04:00

Steve TV: Waiting Room
The N95 did the title and credits. I used the menus to make this movie. First I merged two clips, then added the title, then added the credits. All without a timeline. Pretty sweet. There's a timeline based editor too, but I wanted to try this out today.

Also, part of this was edited in camera, meaning I shot a clip, then paused, then shot, then paused, and then saved. So I ended up with a clip that had three shots in it. very cool.

Boston from BostonNOW

2007-03-27T23:05:00.001-04:00

Nokia N95 Spectrum Visualisation

2007-03-25T20:12:00.000-04:00

Listening to Bang Camaro Push Push (Lady Lightning) on my new Nokia N95 via headphones with Spectrum Visualisation turned on. ROCK!

Coffeebabyyeah

2007-03-19T10:54:00.000-04:00

My class at Northeastern shot and edited this short piece with the Nokia N93 (standard Ravi disclaimer from the Channeling Ralph Hinkley post).

Again, there seems to be some audio synch issues when editing clips (?).

Channeling Ralph Hinkley

2007-03-18T22:50:00.000-04:00

As an avid preteen television viewer, I distinctly remember the harrowing dilemma faced by Ralph Hinkley in The Greatest American Hero. In the pilot episode he receives a magical suit from space aliens (I remember the space ship was quite impressive in that episode as was the iconic shot of him reaching upwards from his Jeep as they flew away).

The suit was capable of amazing things but he lost the manual, so was always scrambling to figure out how to use it. This led to comedic highjinks as he would fly into walls and such.

I received the Nokia N93 recently on a loan basis from folks at 1000heads (thanks to Steve). The enclosed manual is in Finnish so I've been kind of winging it, Ralph Hinkley style to figure out what I can do with the camera.

After gearing up with a universal charger and a 1 GB miniSD card (so I could charge the phone and shoot more than a couple of minutes of video), I shot and edited this piece (Sundays with Sonia) that represents a typical Sunday down at my in-laws. I've uploaded in it's unadulterated mp4 form that I downloaded from the phone to my computer via the USB connector cord.

Some observations:
• the editing is a little clunky, but hey -- it's on a phone!
• I couldn't seem to figure out how to save my project file (trimmed clips in a sequence); whenever I reopened an edited piece it was flattened to one clip
• There seemed to be some audio-synch issues that came up through the process of editing (see the clip where I'm thirsting for wine).
• I couldn't figure out how to "play" any text inserts to preview; hence the title text is oddly tiny
• Next I need to figure out how to post the video somewhere from the phone.

Note: I did find the user manual PDFs on Nokia's web site, but I was already too far gone with my Greatest American Hero riffing...

Broadcasting Live from Cellphone to the Web

2007-03-06T07:45:00.000-05:00

Broadcasting Live from Cellphone to the Web - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

I can't believe I just did a live broadcast from my Nokia N93 over WiFi to the web. This is the future. Amazing.

Using the ComVu PocketCaster software I broadcast live audio and video from the secondary video camera to the web. I almost can't believe I just did it. But we have video to prove it. So it must have been real.

Here's the video from The future.

Here's my Personal Cellphone Webcast page where I also have a second video recorded with what ComVu calls the back cam, it's the bigger one on the side of the N93.

Demonstrating N95 Video Editing

2007-03-05T07:28:00.000-05:00

David Tamés took this photo of me demonstrating the Nokia N95's video editing features at this month's Boston Media Makers meeting in Boston.

Here are his meeting notes.

Skiers

2007-02-28T20:12:00.001-05:00

Taken with N95.

Spices of Life visits DriveTime

2007-02-26T21:20:00.000-05:00

Here's a still shot from the SkyCam we had set up while shooting a new spisode of Spices of Life. I'm shooting the scene with a Nokia N93 while Nina Simonds is talking with Ravi and Sonia from DriveTime.

Green: Recorded and edited on a train with an N95

2007-02-25T07:53:00.000-05:00

Click To Play

I recorded this movie, edited it, added credits and a soundtrack on the Nokia N95 while riding the Orange line train from Green Street to Downtown Crossing. That's about a 15 minute ride.

This is an exciting development to be able to be able to shoot and edit a little video while on a train on a cell phone. I don't have cell service on the phone yet, otherwise I would have been able to post it to my blog too. Once we get free WiFi all around Boston I'll be able to use that to send the video via WiFi where ever I want. This is exciting because it allows video production from the streets.

I'd never used the N95's video editor and learned how to use it on the train ride. I shot a few clip and then did an assemble edit. Added transitions and credits. Then I took the song Let Go from Imogen Heap and added it as a soundtrack. I trimmed that down to match the length of the video, 28 seconds. MBTA Map.

Jonny Goldstein - The Claw

2007-02-25T07:22:00.001-05:00

Taken with an N95. Small adjustments made in iPhoto.

Watching YouTube and Rocketboom on the Nokia N95 Cellphone

2007-02-15T09:54:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

In this video I show how you can watch internet videos on the Nokia N95. First we look at a YouTube video and then an episode of Rocketboom.

I am so psyched to be able to show you guys this since it completes the circle of being able to record a video, upload it via WiFi, then subscribe, download and watch, all on the same device.

Sweet!

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov), YouTube.

Tags: nokia, n95, vlog, youtube, video, rocketboom, rss, nseries, internet

Rocketboom on the Nokia N95

2007-02-15T08:22:00.000-05:00

Rocketboom on the Nokia N95 - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Here I am watching Rocketboom, from February 7th, on my Nokia N95 via the N95 Video Centre. The N95 grabs the videos off the web and downloads them. I am using a WiFi connection. I also watched YouTube videos. These two vlogs showed up on the Nokia video Service Catalogue in a list of six feeds. Other feeds were Reuters, Startcooking.com, Unicef and Tagesschau.

Watch a video of me watching video on the N95. ;-)

Wine Expo - Nice Glass

2007-02-11T12:33:00.000-05:00

This shot was taken with the N95 in close up mode.

More Wine Expo photos are over here.

Nokia N95 Dissected

2007-02-10T07:51:00.000-05:00

Nokia N95 Dissected, a flickr photo set.

via [ RingNokia ] via [ Engadget ]

R & D Pub at MIT

2007-02-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

Nokia N93 Tripod

2007-02-03T10:24:00.000-05:00

I recently received an N93 tripod from Nokia for testing.

It's the Nokia DT-22 Tripod Adapter and basically adds the much needed standard tripod mount to the bottom of the N93. This adapter can fit on your standard tripod in addition to the neat little Nokia tripod.

If you've got an N93 and shoot video, you need this tripod. The legs extend too. One cool thing you can do is use the tripod to hold the camera out at arms length when shooting either a still photo or video of yourself.

I also used the adapter to attach a Bogen - Manfrotto RC2 Compact Rapid Connect Mounting Plate 3157N to the N93 so that I could attach it to my Bogen tripod. See the pic.

Christian Science Monitor Photo Shoot

2007-02-01T11:55:00.001-05:00

Christian Science Monitor Photo Shoot - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Melanie Stetson Freeman from the Christian Science Monitor came by this morning to shoot some photos for a story that Benjamin Arnoldy is writing about videoblogging. We had fun and I showed Melanie how I can shoot video with the Nokia 95 and post directly to my VOX blog over WiFi.

Once posted on VOX, I noticed there was a cut out in the audio which made half of the video out of sync with the audio, so I brought the mp4 file into iMovie and extracted the audio and cut out a second or two to put it back in sync. I posted the revised version over on blip.tv.

Note: The video was shot on a pre-production model of the N95 that I am testing for Nokia.

N95 Indoor Pictures with a Flash

2007-01-31T07:44:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to a meeting in Boston, It was a good time to try out the N95 in a low light situation. The photos are much better than the N93.

It takes quite a while for the camera to display the image after taking the picture, but I'm sure that's just because this is a preproduction model. It seems that I have some focus issues too, but that might be because I put my subjects over on the side of the frame. The focus area is pretty big. I'll have to play around some more with this. If it's like any other camera, I'm sure I just have to focus on the subject and then move the camera to the side.

On thing I can tell you is that the N95 will make you very popular at parties. The meeting I was at was all about new software solutions in technology. One attendee told me that seeing the N95 was the highlight of his evening. It's a fun phone to show people.

At dinner after the meeting we were talkign about Imogen Heap and my friend hadn't heard of her, so I took out the N05 and played him one of her songs. I just set the phone down on the table and let the music play out of the stereo speakers. People liked it.

Jamaica Pond Ducks

2007-01-28T15:26:00.001-05:00

Video: Uploaded via WiFi

2007-01-28T12:14:00.000-05:00

Here's a short video I recorded on the street and uploaded to VOX via WiFi.

UMass Medical Center

2007-01-28T09:02:00.001-05:00

Photos taken with the N95.

RICE

2007-01-28T00:21:00.000-05:00

I captured this on the Nokia N95 tonight at a party and uploaded it directly to VOX via the phone.

Nokia N95 Second Impresions

2007-01-26T22:17:00.000-05:00

I had some time to try a few more features of the Nokia N95 today.

MUSIC PLAYER
You can play music files from the Music Player or the File Manager, but I can't figure out how to get my mp3 files to play with the music player. Later, I figured it out. You have to put the files in the same directory as the music files. Pretty straightforward, but I first put them on the microSD card instead of on the phone's inbuilt memory. More testing is needed here.

VOICE RECORDER
I set the voice recorder to High quality and recorded my voice. When I tried to send it to VOX, I got an error saying that VOX only accepts images and video. That's not right. The recording was good.

CELL SERVICE
I thought that for Cingular, now AT&T, MEdia Net is the package I needed to get HSDPA. So I asked a few friends and Darla Mack wrote back to me:

"I have Cingular's Unlimited MEdia Net. I don't think that Cingular's 3G will work properly on the N95 because firstly, their 3G isn't available everywhere as of yet. Also, the N95 isn't programmed to work on the US 3G network."

Nokia N95 on Wikipedia
The Nokia N95 is an Nseries smartphone/"multimedia computer" by Nokia. It was unveiled in September 2006 and is scheduled for release in March 2007 at an estimated unsubsidized retail price of €550 (US$700). It is based on S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 software on the Symbian OS (v9.2) and is particularly significant for being both Nokia's first 3.5G (HSDPA) handset and also first GPS enabled handset.

Nokia N95 First Impressions

2007-01-25T19:08:00.000-05:00

Unboxing the N95
This was fun. It turned into a multimedia experience.

I did a video with my N93 of unboxing the N95.

I have a lot of unboxing the N95 photos on flickr.

Here are some first impressions of some of the N95 features:

Micro SD card
When I took the Micro SD card out of the phone's memory slot to plug it into my card reader, I found that I didn't have an appropriate opening for it. I didn't even have an appropriate opening for a MINI SD casrd never mind a Micro SD card.

MUSIC
Listening to Moby, In My Heart, the Nseries theme song. I plugged in my own headphones and was presented with a choice of:

- Headphones
- TV-Out Cable
- Music stand

What's a music stand?

I dragged over a few .mp3 music files and they played with no problem.

LOADING APPLICATIONS
I wanted to find out how Darla Mack did those cool little screen shots of her phone so I could do them too on my review. So I emailed her and she gave me a link to Antony Pranata's Screenshot app. Here is the link.

http://www.antonypranata.com/screenshot.

It's an application that lets you take screen shots of your cell phone. That is very cool for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the Nokia N95 is an open platform.

I loaded the snapshot application, took a snapshot, and nothing seemed to happen.. So I clciked on the snapshot application and then it started running, so I took a snapshot and now I can't find it... Must be here somewhere...

Found it!

I sent it up to VOX, the blogging service that the N95 provides a pre-loaded blogging client for.

Here's the post over at VOX

RINGTONE
I don't have cell service for the phone, but I hooked up the USB cable and copied over the ringtone from the TV show 24. I can't get enough of that ringtone.

You can get the CTU 24 ringtone here for free.

I also copied over the song Let Go from Imogen Heap. Great song and it sounds really nice on the phone's stereo speakers.

GPS
I clicked on the world and zoomed into my house. The mapping function looks really sweet. Right now I'm searching for a local place to eat, let's see what it comes back with when it's done searching.

WiFi
I got on the internet using the local LinkSys router that I have in the house. I've got WEP security turned on, so I entered my password and was online to Google in a flash. One cool think about the browser is that it pre-types in http:// in the URL entry line so you don't have to. I liked that.

I also just set up the connection to my LinkSys router so I don't have to type in the password every time.

PHOTOS
I took a few photos and the Carl Zeiss 5 Megapixel lens seems nice. The flash seems to do a good job in low light too. I need to do more testing and bring the camera outside to check outdoor photos. No tripod mount though.

VIDEO
I had some trouble figuring out how to turn the video camera on. On the N93 you just flip open the viewfinder and depress the shutter. With the N95, you close up the slider and open the lens cover. It starts off on camera mode and you just press the selection button and you are in video mode. If you are in the music player and want to use the camera, it seems that you have to close and open the lens cover to reactivate the camera. No audio in.

I shot a video and uploaded it to VOX.

After uploading it I visited the site using the browser, but when I tried to play it I got the message, "This movie file is not accessible from mobile devices." Ironic.

Plays fine from my Firefox browser.

Video: Unboxing the Nokia N95

2007-01-25T13:43:00.000-05:00

Click To Play

I used my Nokia N93 to shoot an unboxing video of the Nokia N95. Here's what the shooting setup looked like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/369062645/

Nokia N93 Video Shoot of N95 Unboxing

2007-01-25T11:59:00.001-05:00

I'm using my Nokia N93 to shoot an unboxing video of the Nokia N95.

Nokia N93 Review

2007-01-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

Nokia N93 Review [ cross posted from Off On A Tangent ]
I've had the Nokia N93 for a few months now and used it in a number of situations. One thing that's universal, when I take it out to shoot video it generates a lot of
interest.

The N93 has the potential to be a complete portable video production studio, but it has some flaws which keep it from being a failsafe video capture device.

Hopefully by working with Nokia and getting updated firmware, these reliability issues will go away. Also, with the impending release of the N95 next year, you'll have a choice to consider for a very similar device.

Video
The N93 shoots amazing video outdoors. The N93 is now my main vlogging camera. Shooting 640 x 480 at 30 fps with a beautiful lens, I love the quality.

Having the camera in my pocket or bag for capturing moments is ideal.

The handling is very nice and I like the flip out screen.

Low Light
The N93 has a torch light built in that can be used as a flash or a constant light. When used as a flash for still photos, the photos are sometimes grainy. The more light, the better the photos on the N93.

Here's a pretty good one where I was very close to the subject and the light worked welll indoors:

The Canon S400 takes better low light photos with a flash. I was at a recent party and didn't take my Canon Digital Rebel or Canon S400 with me. It tried using the N93 as my party camera. It didn't work so well. All the photos weren't bright enough. Other people with digital still camera with onboard flash got better lighted results. That's too bad. I hope the N95 will be better. Some people have added a bicycle light with velcro to the top of the N93 and that seems to have good results.

White Balance
The camera has automatic white balance. There is no manual white balance to adjsut to a white card or surface manually.

Sound.
There's a stereo mic with left and right mics on the phone. It produces great quality when you are close to your sound source. For example in a one on one interview. An audio in jack would make it even better. Being able to attach a handheld or wireless mic would make the sound better for interviews. And while I'm at it, I'd like to get two channels of sound input. If I had a mic in, I'd be able to use my XL breakout box.

Steady Cam
The N93 has an inbuilt stabilizer. This works really well.

I filmed Massachusetts Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick for over 30 minutes and the shot was really, really stable.

One time I had some shakiness, like vibration, I'm not sure what that was caused by. I'm still watching that. Hasn't occurred again.

Lost Video Twice
I had video that I had just shot using the in camera pause and continue feature, get lost. This is unacceptable.

As you shoot video you can press a 'pause' button, then press 'continue' and have your video be one continuous clip.

Twice I've had the camera lock up.

Once, after shooting about 10 clips in a row, the camera rebooted on me and I lost he videos.

Another time after shooting three or four clips the camera froze up and I couldn't press 'stop' or 'continue'.

I think this has been fixed in a firmware upgrade. I'll need to do more testing.

Speaking of firmware upgrades, these are now available online, but you have to have a windows machine to get the updates. You also have to have a SIM card installed in the camera to update the firmware. I haven't signed up with a mobile provider yet, so I'll need to borrow someone's SIM card to perform the update.

Still Camera.

The camera takes really nice still photos at 3 Megapixels. Sometimes there is a problem for the camera to quickly find focus.

Cell Service
I'm a Veriazon customer and get great service from them. Unfortunately they don't support SIM cards.

Now I need to look into getting either Cingular or T- Mobile.

Cingular told me in an email that they do not support the N93, although I know that others with the N93 use Cingular. Not sure what their policy is about giving you service and a SIM chip for an unsupported phone.

What would be best is if Verizon just sold SIM chips via another service. I'll have to look into that with them. Makes lots of business sense. Verizon should resell access to a network that supports SIM chips.

Editing
The phone saves video as MP4. You can edit MP4 natively in Appple's iMovie if you initially choose MP4 when you edit a movie file. iPhoto now also recognizes the N93
and imports both photos and movies directly into iPhoto. Makes it a lot easier then having to go through directories using the bluetooth or Finder interface.

For Final Cut Pro, when you bring in an MP4 file it has to be rendered. You can edit the original clips in the browser, but once they are placed on the timeline they have to be rendered and then if you move them around they need to be re rendered.

I'd be much better if the files were save natively on the N93 as QuickTime H.264.

Future.
I'd like to see H.264 native capture support and a solution of my two freeze up and reboot issues. Like I said, the new firmware is supposed to resolve those issues.

I'd also like to see a standard tripod connector on the bottom of the camera.

When you flip the view screen around to point towards you subject, the N93 switches to the secondary camera. I'd like it to be able to stay in full movie mode.

I'd also like to be able to stay in full movie mode and shoot with out having the camera fliped out. I'd like to see a manual white balance too.

There is Lots More
The N93 has a lot more features that I'm not going to review in this article. You can hook the phone display up to your TV to play games and watch video.
The phone has WiFi that allows hooking up to the internet and your home network.

The N93 has a radio application in it and another application called Lifeblog which allows you to directly post to a configured blog. I've gotten this to work with photos, but never got it to work with TypePad blgging software to post even the shortest video. It's supposed to work but after contacting TypePad technical support and trying both MP4 and 3G files, it hasn't worked for me. I did use the web interface with video hosting service Hipcast, which I consult for, and that worked. I've also seen a blog post where video was directly uploaded to blip.tv from the phone. So it will work.

You can also edit videos on the phone too. That will have to go in another review.

Disclosure
Nokia sent me an N93 to evaluate and ended up letting me keep the phone. They also paid my expenses to go to NYC for the N95 product rollout. Nokia has not required me to write or say anything about the phone. Anything I write about it are my own thoughts.

Conclusion
I love how Nokia is an open company. Open to developers to add on features via software. There's also a user community that's very helpful, as are Nokia
representatives themselves.

Once I get my open issues resolved, I'll be able to give the N93 a vote for the best video bloggers cameraphone combination on the market.

Capturing a Fleeting Moment

2006-12-04T06:28:00.000-05:00

Ravi Jain unveiled the Wiki Cake, a collaborative cake, at this month's Boston Media Makers meeting.

Nokia N93: Two Camera Shoot

2006-12-04T06:25:00.000-05:00

Here's a behind the scenes photo form a work-in-progress project I'm involved in.

In this photo you can see my N93 attached to a monopod, and N93 attached to a light stand.

I'm using gaffers tape to attach the N93's to each supporting device. An N93 tripod is on the way.

Nina Simonds
spicesoflife.com

SchardtMEDIA Strategies
www.SchardtMEDIA.org

Nokia N93 Three Camera Shoot

2006-11-15T11:24:00.001-05:00

Nokia N93 Three Camera Shoot by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Here's a behind the scenes photo form a work-in-progress project I'm involved in.

In this photo you can see my Tota light, N93 attached to a monopod, GL/2 (backup camera), and N93 Sky Cam.

You can see the close-up camera in this photo.

Nina Simonds
spicesoflife.com

SchardtMEDIA Strategies
www.SchardtMEDIA.org

Watching a Video Podcast on the Nokia N93

2006-11-15T07:31:00.000-05:00

Watching the Rey Brothers. ;-)

Subscribed to their RSS 2.0 feed and downloaded a video over WiFi. It works.

Podcast Subscription via Cellphone is no accident

2006-11-14T20:41:00.001-05:00

Nokia - Podcasting - Software - Nokia Nseries.
I am downloading the most recent Accident Hash podcast right now to my Nokia N93 cell phone over WiFi using the Nokia Podcasting application, after susbscribing via RSS.

Actually using a cell phone to subscribe to and download a podcast is exciting.

Video is next.

Standard Nokia Disclaimer applies.

Simon Singleton - Puregroove Records

2006-11-10T18:59:00.000-05:00

Click To Play

I interviewed Simon Singleton of Puregroove records. Puregroove is a record store, has a record label, a publishing company, and a has a live music program. It's a mini music empire!

Video shot with Nokia N93 cell phone and edited with Final Cut Pro.

Nokia launches international community of music connoisseurs - the Music Recommenders

Images:
Puregroove Records: http://www.flickr.com/photos/takasmz/
In Store Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicoleblommers/

The Carol and Steve Show: Driving The 101

2006-11-09T20:06:00.001-05:00

Click To Play

In this episode Carol and Steve are in Southern Californina driving back to Santa Barbara from Los Olivos after a day of wine tasting. I didn't drinkn any Merlot. In California all the freeways are called 'The' Something, like The 101 or The 405. Not in Boston. In Boston the highways are called routes. So we have Route 128 and Route 1. You'd never hear anyone says they are taking The 128 anywhere. So funny. in this episode we congratulate Ravi and Sonia on their one year anniversary of doing a talk show from their car. Check it out: DriveTime. Length 2:07

Shot on a Nokia N93
Edited with Final Cut Pro

San Francisco

2006-11-06T08:28:00.002-05:00

Foggy SF

2006-11-06T08:28:00.001-05:00

Swan Song

2006-11-02T10:56:00.001-05:00

Deval Patrick: Just Words Speech 10/15/06

2006-10-15T23:22:00.000-04:00

Click to Play

Deval Patrick: Just Words Speech 10/15/06 Boston Common

I will not engage in the politics of fear. Because fear is poisonous. All through history it has been used to hold back progress and limit fairness. Only hope defeats fear. It always has. At a candidates forum last week, the moderator asked each of us to say something nice about the other candidates. Kerry Healey rather grudgingly said, Well, he can give a good speech. She would know this not because she has ever attended a speech of mine but because she has them filmed by this fine fellow here. But her dismissive point, and I hear it from her staff, is that all I have to offer is words.

Just words.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. Just words. We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Just words.

Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.

Just words.

I have a dream.

Just words.

Let me say it before you do: I am no Dr. King, no President Kennedy, no FDR, no Thomas Jefferson. But I do know that the right words, spoken from the heart with conviction, with a vision of a better place and a faith in the unseen, are a call to action.

N93 Video: Claude and Millie in Boston

2006-10-14T16:29:00.001-04:00

Click to Play

Claude from Blogging in Paris came to visit Millie from My Mom's Blog. They met at South Station in Boston and had lunch at Les Zygomates. Carol and Steve met them afterwords. It's really great how blogging can bring people together.

N93 Video: Andrea Shea from WBUR [ Original Footage ]

2006-10-14T09:22:00.000-04:00

Click to Play

Here's the video, from the Nokia N93, where I captured a moment from Andrea Shea of WBUR when she interviewed me. This is in MPEG4, the original format.

Please be patient while it loads...

Here's a link to the WBUR interview.

Nokia N95 Video

2006-10-07T08:48:00.001-04:00

via [ Darla Mack ]

Video: Nokia N95 Product Rollout NYC

2006-10-05T23:51:00.000-04:00

Click to Play

I attended the Nokia N95 product rollout in NYC and here are some moments i captured from the show floor. The main thing I learned is that Nokia is open. Open to developers and open to the future of mobile computing.

http://nokia.com
http://rga.com
http://howardforums.com

Disclosure: Nokia provided the N93 cell phone to me, that this video was shot on, and paid my travel expenses to NYC. Nokia did not require me to write about the N93. All the opinions expressed here are mine alone and those of the people that I interviewed.

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Tags: stevegarfield, nokia, n95, nyc

Nokia N95 photos on Belarusian site

2006-09-29T13:09:00.000-04:00

Some of my Nokia N95 photos ended up on Belarusian site, Onliner.by, which is one of the biggest internet sites of Belarus.

Nokia Open Studio: onliner.by

Nokia Open Studio Webcast New York Sept 26, 2006

2006-09-27T06:12:00.000-04:00

Here's a link to the archived webcast of the Nokia Open Studio presentation in New York on Septenber 26, 2006.

Nokia Panel

2006-09-27T01:18:00.001-04:00

Live blogging notes:

Om Malik
Moderator

Steve Boom - Yahoo! Broadband and Mobile groups
Connected Life

people are connected at all times via broadband or mobile.

They want access to their data in the social media world.

Martin Varsavsky CEO of FON.
Desktop, Laptop, to pocket.

It's a movement to the pocket.

Ralph EricKunz Nokia
Bringing promise to life

Split hardware on OS.

Take user by the hand and see how we can get a compelling experience froma PC screen to some thing that fits in a pocket.

Developing Internet, connected home, mobile computing.

Connecting with companies to make it easy.

Why would I give up Apple and go to Nokia?

What do you want to carry with you at all costs. What additional experiences can you take in?

Music, GPS and Maps...

If you just want music and you started out with an iPod, Nokia has that AND a good cell phone experience.

These experiences need to be combined in a compelling way. Interconnected.

Take address out of contacts, say navigate and the apps work together..

Om: You need to do a Mac version of you computer programs if you want influencers...

The Nseries is an open platform the 3rd parties can develop on. That's what differentiates Nokia from Apple. You are going to need to allow other people's services on your device.

Nokia N95 Press Photos

2006-09-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

Check out Jay16k's Flickr Photo set of the press photos from the Nolia N95.

Nokia N95 is out

2006-09-26T23:16:00.000-04:00

What a day. Just got in from watching Gnarls Barley, introduced by David Bowie, at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square.

Lots of fun.

The day started with the Nokia Press Conference.

I posted about it over here and here.

The Nokia Forum now has all the technical specs for the N95 posted.

Use the Nokia N95 for connecting to mobile Broadband using WLAN or HSDPA (3.5G) with up to 10 times faster downloading than 3G. The Nokia N95 is a GSM/WCDMA dual mode portable multimedia computer supporting EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 2100 HSDPA. With the Nokia N95 you can take photos with a 5 megapixel autofocus camera and enjoy videos, music and graphics with crystal clarity on the ultra high definition 2.6” VGA 16M color display. Listen to music with enhanced “3D stereo” using the built-in dual speakers or for a big screen experience, connect the Nokia N95 to a compatible TV using direct TV out connectivity or via Wireless LAN and UPnP technology. Additional Nokia N95 features include USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR with A2DP stereo audio, and Micro SD memory card support.