FUNGSI multimedia membolehkan anda memainkan pelbagai jenis aplikasi muzik dan video. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KIRA-KIRA empat tahun lepas, penulis telah dibawa melawat salah sebuah makmal penyelidikan teknologi maklumat yang terkenal di Oregon, Amerika Syarikat dan ketika itu saya telah melihat satu gajet yang paling canggih boleh diimpikan oleh kita.
Gajet yang dalam peringkat prototaip ketika itu ialah sebuah telefon yang mempunyai segalanya iaitu mempunyai kemudahan komunikasi 3G dan juga boleh mengakses Internet menggunakan talian tanpa wayar atau WiFi.
Ketika itu terfikir di hati penulis, inikah yang dikatakan gajet masa depan kerana sukar digambarkan bagaimana teknologi telefon terkini iaitu 3G boleh digabungkan dalam satu produk dengan teknologi Internet tanpa wayar terkini iaitu WiFi, kerana keduanya dibangunkan secara berasingan.
Malahan salah seorang saintis yang memberi penerangan menyatakan, perkembangan teknologi cip sekarang sememangnya membolehkan ia diletakkan apa sahaja aplikasi di dalamnya tetapi masalahnya bagaimana kesemua aplikasi itu ‘berurusan' terutama yang membabitkan penerimaan gelombang.
Misalnya teknologi telefon bimbit, radio, Internet tanpa wayar, Bluetooth dan inframerah – kesemuanya menggunakan sistem penerimaan gelombang kerana ia beroperasi tanpa menggunakan wayar dan sudah tentu ‘sukar bagi mereka' untuk ‘berurusan' satu sama lain.
Ketika itu, bagi penulis, untuk menyusun atur kesemua aplikasi tanpa wayar itu dalam satu produk ibarat suatu projek impian kerana terlalu ‘kompleks.’
Tetapi bulan lepas, ketika menyertai Cabaran Nokia N95, barulah saya teringatkan kembali gajet ‘impian' yang saya lihat di makmal sebelum ini telah pun berada di pasaran dan sedia untuk digunakan.
Sememangnya model terbaru Nokia ini merupakan produk yang ditunggu-tunggu oleh kebanyakan peminat telefon bimbit kerana mempunyai pelbagai fungsi sehinggakan ia digelar ‘komputer multimedia’ oleh Nokia.
Mungkin gelaran itu tidak keterlaluan kerana telefon yang boleh disorot ke atas dan bawah ini kerana mempunyai segalanya – dari talian 3G terkini (HSDPA), WiFi, kamera 5 megapiksel sehinggakan navigasi menggunakan Sistem Kedudukan Global (GPS).
Sudah tentu ciri-ciri merupakan suatu yang memeranjatkan. Sebagai contoh, fungsi kamera digital 5 megapikselnya dengan lensa Carl Zeiss Optics jauh meninggalkan kamera digital yang penulis gunakan ketika ini (dibeli dua tahun lepas) yang mempunyai hanya 3.2 megapiksel.
Seperti dalam iklannya, telefon ini sememangnya boleh digunakan untuk bekerja (ditolak ke atas) dengan pelbagai aplikasi pejabat seperti Notes, Quickoffice (untuk aplikasi seperti QuickWord, Quicksheet dan Quickpoint), Adobe PDF, Zip dan sebagainya.
Bagi yang ingin menyambungkan ia ke komputer, ia dilengkapi dengan port mini-USB. Selain itu, audio jack 3.5 dan slot microSD yang boleh menyokong storan sehingga 2 Gigabait menjadikan ia seperti sebuah komputer buku.
*Hiburan
Bagi yang meminati hiburan seperti menonton filem atau mendengar muzik, N95 juga menawarkan kemudahan tersebut kerana anda boleh menonton video atau filem pada besar 2.6 inci dengan 240 x 320 piksel.
Sebagai pemain multimedia, N95 menyokong aplikasi MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ /WMA/M4A dengan OMA DRM 2.0.
Untuk memainkan video, Pemain RealPlayer yang terdapat di dalam telefon ini menyokong fail-fail seperti MPEG-4, H.264 /AVC, H.263/3gpp dan RealVideo 8/9/10.
Menarik
Speaker stereonya menjadikan pengalaman mendengar muzik merupakan sesuatu yang lebih menyeronokkan tetapi untuk yang ingin bunyi yang lebih menarik, anda boleh sambungkan sahaja set kepala kepada audio jack yang anda miliki.
Jika skrin masih kecil untuk menonton video kegemaran atau gambar-gambar yang diambil menggunakan kamera itu, anda boleh terus menyambungkan telefon itu kepada televisyen secara terus.
Menarik bukan? Ciri terbaru yang sudah tentu mengagumkan ialah anda boleh melayari Internet di telefon bimbit anda menggunakan perkhidmatan 3G dan juga WiFi.
Ini bermakna anda boleh memilih untuk menggunakan rangkaian 3G atau WiFi ketika hendak melayari Internet bergantung di mana anda berada ketika itu.
>
*Navigasi
Sudah tentu, tidak sah berbicara mengenai N95 jika kita tidak menyentuh mengenai kemudahan GPS yang dimilikinya kerana ciri inilah yang masih baru untuk masyarakat di negara ini.
Ketika berpeluang mencuba menggunakan aplikasi tersebut dalam cabaran N95 baru-baru ini, sememangnya kemudahan GPS itu memberikan pengalaman baru kepada pengguna.
Ini kerana telefon yang dilengkapi dengan Peta Asia Nokia ini mampu memberi panduan berguna kepada kita apabila hendak mencari sesuatu tempat dan jalan-jalan yang perlu dilalui.
Perkhidmatan GPS adalah percuma untuk digunakan dan digabungkan dengan perisian Peta Asia Nokia, anda akan terus boleh menggunakannya tanpa perlu membayar apa-apa perkhidmatan.
Bagaimanapun, bagi mereka yang ingin mengemaskini maklumat peta, telefon ini perlu disambungkan ke Internet sama ada melalui rangkaian 3G atau WiFi kerana sesetengah kawasan belum dimasukkan ke dalam peta tersebut.
Bagi yang inginkan navigasi berpandu dilengkapi suara (seperti yang dilihat digunakan oleh kebanyakan pemandu di Eropah), anda perlu membeli perisian tersebut.
Sebenarnya, terlalu banyak yang hendak diperkatakan mengenai N95 kerana ia mempunyai terlalu banyak fungsi tetapi penulis sekadar memberikan gambaran ringkas mengenai telefon yang berharga kira-kira RM3,000 ini.
Disebabkan terlalu banyak fungsi, sepanjang penggunaannya, penulis mendapati jangka hayat bateri ini juga hanya mampu bertahan untuk dua hari sahaja dan akan menjadi lebih singkat jika anda menggunakan aplikasi GPS dengan lebih kerap.
Ever since Nokia announced the N95 back in September 2006, we knew for sure it was going to be one highly anticipated handset. However, nearly half a year flew past before we got some love from the N95. To most people, this Nokia sounds like a dream come true, with HSDPA, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G and a 5-megapixel autofocus camera packed into a compact slider. But behind these glossy specifications is a rather disappointing battery life, somewhat sluggish performance and a premium price tag. That said, the N95 will still appeal to tech gadget enthusiasts and, of course, those with deep pockets. Design The Nokia N95 is one smart phone that just doesn't measure up, especially if you consider all the features in its minute size. Although the N95's footprint is only slightly larger than a credit card, it is thick on the side. In hand, the unit feels surprisingly light. The soft-touch finish on the back is a pleasure to hold, though the plasticky build of the body gives it a less than solid feel.
The screen changes to landscape orientation but doesn't switch back automatically when the phone is closed.
One of the first things we noticed is the sharp 2.6-inch 240 x 320-pixel screen. The LCD held up well under sunlight and the picture display is crisp and clear--an important criteria as a navigation device-- even though it has a nasty habit of holding fingerprints. But what's really unique to the N95 is the two-way sliding mechanism. Sliding the top lid up reveals the alphanumeric keypad, while pushing it in the other direction exposes a column of media playback keys. These buttons are not touch-sensitive although they appear to be. We have to make a conscious effort to depress it in order to register a particular command.
What's annoying is when we slide the lid to access the media keys. The screen changes to landscape orientation but doesn't switch back automatically when the phone is closed. We had to push it further to get to the numeric keys before the screen would go back to portrait mode. The numeric keys, on the other hand, have a ridge-like contoured surface which makes it easy for thumbing our messages and they light up in blue when the ambient sensor detects a dark environment. Likewise for the buttons on the top lid. These are large and provide tactile feedback. If we have to nitpick, the controls on the outer ring are a tad too slim horizontally and there's no option to map the buttons to specific applications.
The 3.5mm audio jack is a god-send for music lovers.
There are many things we like on this Nokia: A mini-USB port instead of the proprietary connection for desktop synchronization, a 3.5mm audio jack for our favorite headphones so we don't have to reach for an adapter, an external memory card slot that supports microSD media up to 2GB, and finally, a pair of onboard stereo speakers sitting along the sides.
On the back of the handset is where we find the 5-megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss lens. The ring slider protects the lens from scratches and the integrated flash helps to light up our subjects in dark environments. In use, it's not different from a dedicated digital camera. We could distinctly feel the half-press action to autofocus before actually taking a shot.
Features The N95 is one of the trickiest reviews we've ever written, simply because there are so many features on this slider phone that we're not sure where to begin. Aside from the built-in GPS, a 5-megapixel camera and HSDPA connectivity, attention has also been given to minor styling details--we now have the option of enabling animated icons in the menu and the navigation is also slightly more user-friendly.
If you are, or have been, a Series 60 user, you'll probably find the platform somewhat handicapped when it comes to search capabilities. What Nokia has included in the N95 is a new one-stop search application (also available for free download from the Nokia Web site for other S60 devices) that not only ploughs through the handheld for all entries relevant to the search keyword, but is also capable of giving online results via the Yahoo or Windows Live search engines.
Nokia's Asia Maps appears far more responsive compared with the MapKing software which HP's iPaq uses.
One of the main draws of the N95 is the onboard GPS receiver. Compared with the MapKing software which HP's iPaq uses, Nokia's Asia Maps (NAVFone Pro) appears far more responsive. There's a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite usable. The female voice guide, aided by a pair of onboard stereo speakers, is concise and audible. It would have been nice if Nokia had bundled in a car kit instead of offering this as an optional accessory. Lacking the gear, the N95 had to be bluetacked to the dashboard and we had to rely on the audio as there was no way to view the screen. A nice surprise: The GPS was able to indicate if a fixed-position speed camera was ahead (test was done in Singapore along the CTE expressway).
As expected of a GPS cellular device, the battery was able to sustain only half a day of GPS tracking before it konked out. So the best investment would be a holder with a charging cradle. We didn't get to see what happened if someone had called in while the GPS was in operation. In our tests, the GPS signal dropped a few times but picked up quickly again. Nokia's Asia Maps give alternative routes if you don't like the one it's picked, but typically it sticks to main roads which can be a hassle since these are the most traveled and not always the best way to avoid traffic.
At times, the navigator would prepare you for a corner by indicating "prepare to turn right". At other times, it wasn't able to react as quickly to a turn. This could be due to the density of buildings and trees around. The GPS will recompute the route if you go offtrack, though not if you are on a minor street. And it wasn't 100 percent on track all the time. So as long as the user is very clear that the GPS feature is to assist navigation, not replace it, the tracking capability of the N95 is pretty nifty to tote along and impress your passengers with.
The Nokia N95 is bundled with the Asia Maps program.
>
Overall, it took about 5 to 8 minutes for the onboard GPS to get a successful triangulation, but that's also heavily dependant on the line of sight to the satellites. There are actually two applications on the N95 for your GPS fix. First is Asia Maps, which we've just talked about and is available only in Asia-Pacific countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and India. The other is Maps--the default Nokia application that can be downloaded online.
You can use Asia Maps (with turn-by-turn navigation) free for 60 days, after which you'll have to pay for an upgrade that will cost US$29.90 for a lifetime subscription. Maps, on the other hand, comes with free downloadable maps via the Maploader software. Catch is, if you want to use it for real-time GPS tracking, you'll need to pay a fee. Prices may vary depending on where you purchase the maps, but a seven-day license for the Singapore map (which also comes with the Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur cities) will cost S$12 (US$7.63). Pay an additional S$3 (US$1.91) and you can extend the license coverage to 30 days. A one-year and three-year fee cost S$119.49 (US$76.02) and S$139.41 (US$88.69), respectively. All local prices mentioned here are inclusive of GST. There's another catch to Nokia Maps (and also Asia Maps). According to the Finnish company, the license fee is linked to your phone's IMEI, so you won't be able to enjoy the maps you bought should you decide to switch to another GPS-enabled mobile.
Use Your Nokia N95 With Nokia SU-8W Wireless Keyboard 8 Jun, 2007 Accessories, News, Nokia N95
Now, power users (and those with non-keypad models like the E61 and E70) can look away, but there must be many people reading this who have only ever used their smartphone ’standalone’, using its built-in numeric keypad to enter text.
>
If this is you, the chances are that you flinch whenever you have to enter a long word or name, getting through something complicated is a real hassle, both with multi-tap or with ‘predictive text’ turned on. Yes, you love having a tiny smartphone, but occasionally, perhaps a few times a week, you really, really wish you had a proper qwerty keyboard.
>
>
>
