Two days ago, firmware version 2.0633.65.01 became available for my U.S. product code and I jumped on the bandwagon and upgraded. I tested the camera once again in both photo sizes, both in low light conditions at night and during the day. The result is the same. So my conclusion here (other than the camera on the E61i is average at best compared with what's out there today, especially from Nokia) is that, unless I plan to print something I snap with my phone (which I don't think will ever be the case), I will be taking all of my photos in 640x480 format, which offers richer, smoother pictures at 1/5 of the file size of the 1600x1200 format.

Taken at night in 640x480 size:



Taken at night in 1600x1200 format and then resized to 640x480:



Taken during the day in 640x480 format:




Taken during the day in 1600x1200 format and then resized to 640x480:

As happy as I am with my E61i, I have to admit I could be happier if the camera was better. I mean, I wish this 2MP camera matched the quality of either my 1.3MP 6682 or 1MP 7610. The 6682 does have a flash and this makes a big difference, but the 7610 doesn't, is about 5 years older and still takes better photos than the E61i. What's worse... Last night, I noticed the E61i takes better quality photos in 640x480 format than in 1699x1200. I will be taking all of my photos in this smaller format from now on, which pretty much defeats the purpose of having 2MP. I plan on posting a more thorough comparison, maybe even including photos taken with my 6682 and/or 7610, but here's a sample of what I am talking about.

This photo was taken in the smaller format (640x480):



This one was taken in the larger format (1600x1200) and then reduced to the same size as the first.

I have not posted in centuries, but I don't think anybody's noticed. Heck, I didn't remember my blog, which has gotten a whole... what? 10 visits since it was created? So this will be another quick post to introduce my new toy, the E61i, which I just bought while in NYC. As you can see from my previous posts, I gave Windows Mobile once again a try, but I keep coming back to Symbian Series 60 devices.

Most people can't tell the difference between the E61 and the E61i and that's because they're really not that different. The E61i is considerably slimmer, has a gorgeous case made of a different, shinier metal, adds a 2MP camera, 2 extra keys and has a different keyboard layout, but that's where the significant differences end.

Maybe I will post more on this phone soon... or maybe not. After all, am I not the only person who reads my blog? :)

Shiny!


E61i vs. E61:

There's the camera (a very welcome addition):

Yes, I got it. Yes, I love it (except for the poor battery life, which I discuss here, here and here). Yes, I'm in a rush, but I did not want to go one more day without posting (like anyone reads this blog!). I will post in more detail in a few days (I hope!). I just want to have enough playtime with the toy before I add a comprehensive (and probably small) review.

Cingular 8525 (HTC Hermes) ... Returned.
Samsung BlackJack ... Returned.
Palm Treo 750 ... Out in stores tomorrow. Can't wait!

I have always been a Symbian/S60 fan, but, as you can see, I am giving Windows Mobile another try.

The feature-rich Cingular 8525 features the Pocket PC Edition of the operating system and, hence, has a very large application base.  However, it's terrible for one-handed operation.  You need to either pull out the stylus or slide out the keyboard to do almost anything.

The Samsung BlackJack is excellent for one-handed use, but, since it uses the Smartphone Edition, only a handful (this is a relative term) of applications have been developed for it, which is the main reason I returned it.

The Palm Treo 750 promises to offer the perfect balance.  It will feature the Pocket PC Edition, i.e. thousands of software titles available, and it will be very good for one handed use, thanks to the Palm enhancements.  Like I said, I can't wait to get it tomorrow!

Needless to say, I am still using my dependable Nokia E61...  Best device I've ever had.

So someone subscribed to my blog! How exciting! Thanks, Anonymous!

I guess I now feel more pressured to blog often. What will I write about next? How can I not disappoint? What will I do if my boss finds me blogging at work? Feel free to answer those questions with your suggestions. :)

It's no secret that the Nokia E61 is already one of the most popular phones Nokia has ever released. (Goes to show you how many geeks are out there.) When I first started looking at this phone, it could be had for about $385 unlocked from different vendors. Due to its popularity, prices have risen and right now $419 is the cheapest I have found. Incredible how even after 1 year of its release and the ulterior release of the E62 variant by Cingular not only has the price not dropped, but, in fact, it has climbed even higher than it was. (Not to say this phone wasn't a mobile bargain from the very beginning.)

And it is the release of the E62 that brings me to my point.

First, it was the rumor of an E61 variant for Cingular, many months ago. Then, specs started appearing all over the Internet. Back then, it was clear that the E61 was the real deal and that the E62 would be extra crippled, as it would be dual-band (as opposed to quad-band like the E61), lack UMTS, Wi-Fi, VoIP, have a 256K color screen (as opposed to the E61's 16M color screen) and other omissions typical of a U.S. carrier, Cingular in particular.

Upon the release of the final specs and eventually the actual device in Cingular stores, we have all realized these initial specs were wrong. Although the E62 does lack UMTS (which you don't get to use in the U.S., since it uses the 2100 MHz band and no U.S. carrier supports that band... yet), it does lack VoIP (which you can't use unless you're using Wi-Fi) and it does lack Wi-Fi (which is really the biggest drawback for us U.S. users, although we only get to use it in our home and/or office wireless networks and not when out and about), the phone is still quad-band and still has a 16M color screen. It also adds MiniUSB support for standardization (which replaces the usual and awkward Nokia pop-port and can be used quite often), a standard stereo headphone jack (which can be used as often as you use your phone to listen to music), vanity dialing (to make a 1-800-PROGRESSIVE type call), a better IM client (one that works as expected) and even a faster processor (which you use every day, every minute, every second)!

I don't know about the rest of the users, but I must say I feel like I was just screwed.

Several weeks and I haven't posted, as predicted. However, I am away from home on a business trip, bored in my hotel room, and decided to conduct a little experiment.

You see, I know that many blogs have become quite popular, get dozens if not hundreds of visits every day and comments gallore. What I do not know is how these blogs get to that point. What makes them popular? How do people start visiting them when they are "born"?

Take this blog, for example. I had one comment on my first post right away. I asked the lady how it is that she found me and never heard back from her. I am guessing there is a list of "The newest bloggers" somewhere in blogger.com and that's how she found me.

But my blog is no longer new. It keeps being boring and pointless, but it is no longer new. Is it really sitting somewhere in cyberworld where nobody can get to it unintentionally? How will people find me now? Will there also be a "Latest posts" list?

... and this is where my experiment comes in!

If you are reading this post, could you please let me know how you found it? Thanks in advance to all that contribute!

Have I mentioned I love my Nokia E61? Think of a feature you'd like in a phone... Any feature. Um... Well, no, not that one. A phone will never be able to do that. Other than that, however, the E61 has it.

Symbian Series 60 3rd Edition (Symbian rocks!)... QWERTY keyboard... TFT screen with 16 million colors (sharp!)... quad-band... EDGE... 3G UMTS (2100 MHz band, so its no use here in the U.S., unfortunately)... Wi-Fi... Bluetooth with every protocol imaginable... Infrared (what's that, anyways?)... push e-mail (through BlackBerry Connect, Seven, Goodlink, Visto and MS Exchange)... speakerphone... streaming video... push-to-talk... VPN... VoIP/SIP... 75 MB of RAM... miniSD expansion slot... MP3 ringtones... and the best full HTML Web browser in the industry!

No idea what some of those features are? Feel free to write me and I'll gladly explain in Lehman's terms or link you somewhere.

Oh, wait... It has no camera. The E61 is geared towards business professionals and many large corporations do not allow cameras. I must admit I miss the 1.3 MP awesome camera in my Nokia 6682, but this [not so] little gizmo is keeping me quite entertained.