The New Nokia N96 Symbian Slider SmartPhone Review

Nokia N96 Review

Nokia N96 is the latest Nseries devices released by Nokia. It can be considered as a successor of the Nokia N95 as it shares many features with the Nokia N95. The nokia N96 however focusses more on TV and Video capabilities.

Rafe of AllAboutSymbian has recently posted an detailed review of the Nokia N96. Here are a few important points:

General Design and Hardware

The N96’s overall design and styling is very similar to that of the N81, but there are elements of the N95, N82 and N81 in the design too. The overall impression is that of polished, flat surfaces with silver highlights. The N96, at least subjectively, looks and feels like a high end device and this should improve the device’s appeal among style conscious users. At 103 x 55 x 18 mm, the N96 is relatively large, but much of that is necessary to accommodate the large 2.8inch screen. It is marginally longer and wider than the N95, but very slightly thinner. The back of the device, which is dominated by the five megapixel camera, uses a similar material to that of the N82 which is less prone to finger prints and has an attractive ridged pattern embedded within it.

Connectivity

Connectivity is comprehensive, with quad band GSM, dual band WCDMA (900/2100) and WiFi, together with Bluetooth and the aforementioned USB for local connectivity. USB performance has been greatly improved on the N96; the current prototype is five times faster than previous Nseries models and Nokia hope to improve this further in the production model. UPnP functionality, used for connecting media device over a home network, has been updated in the N96. The Home network application now offers bi-directional sync with a designated UPnP Media server.

DVB-H - Mobile TV

The lead feature for N96 is the inclusion of DVB-H for receiving mobile TV. DVB-H is a superset of DVB-T technology but is designed for use in mobile and handheld devices. DVB-H is a broadcast (multicast) technology and is able to provide higher quality pictures.

GPS and Nokia Maps 2.0

The N96 will ship with Nokia Maps 2.0, currently in beta, on board. Maps 2.0 brings a number of new features, such as a dedicated pedestrian mode, improved mapping, satellite imagery and revamped city guides.

Multimedia

The N96 has a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and Carl Zeiss optics; it should produce similar results to other 5 megapixel Nseries devices. Accompanying the camera is a dual LED flash. A Xenon flash, which is the main alternative, might give superior still images in low light conditions, but is unable to provide continuous illumination during video capture.

The N96 has excellent video playback attributes. It supports an array of formats, including H.264 at VGA (640×480) resolutions at 30 frames per second. A notable addition is support for Windows Media Video (version 9) at CIF (352×288). Flash video is also supported, thanks to the inclusion of Flash Lite 3 – its main use will be in the web browser on sites like YouTube.

The standard Nseries Music player and Podcasting applications are present, as is the Nokia Music store.
The usual FM radio is also present, but new is its support for RDS (Radio Data System), which is typically used to display the radio station’s name and the current song or programme name. Nokia’s recently announced Internet radio application, for listening to radio streams via the Internet, is present and is integrated into the multimedia menu. It adds yet another audio/music feature to the N96’s multimedia department and, bitrate permitting, can out perform the FM radio (and doesn’t need an aerial). The usual Nseries audio output options are all present with a choice of 3.5mm audio jack (headphones or TV-out), stereo audio Bluetooth (A2DP/AVRCP) or the integrated stereo speakers.

Software

The N96 runs S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. The usual suspects, such as Calendar, Messaging and Contacts, are present with some small updates here thanks to Feature Pack 2. Contacts now integrates SIM contacts into the main contacts store, Messaging has a unified editor for SMS and MMS (the phone decides what type to use based on the content of the message). With 128MB of RAM on board, the N96 should have no problems with multi-tasking. In use, the speed of operation was comparable with other recent Nseries devices

Technical

Battery

The N96 has a BL-5F 950 mAh battery – the same as the N95, but a step down from the 1200 mAh battery of the N95 8GB. Nokia said that considerable effort has gone into improving power management and the technical changes mentioned below would support this.

Video and audio performance

The N96’s hardware video acceleration supports H.264 video (previous Nseries used software decoding for this). This results in improved video performance (higher bitrates can now be played back smoothly) and reduces power requirements during playback. This means that the N96 has a longer video playback time than earlier Nseries models. H.264 has other benefits too - it is more efficient than earlier standards (able to achieve good quality video at lower bit rates).

The N96 also has a dedicated DSP (digital signal processing) chip, which gives improved audio performance and uses less power (N96: 12 hours playback; N95: 10 hours). The DSP chip converts audio signals from digital to analog and vice versa.

One area where the lack of 3D graphics acceleration might be relevant is gaming. However, even this is debateable

In considering the chipset and technology in the N96, remember that it is first and foremost a video and mobile TV focussed phone. Thus, Nokia have chosen to use the solution that fits best for the market positioning of this device. While some power users may get agitated over the chipset used in a given device, the reality is that it is the experience for the consumer that really matters, not the technical implementation.

Conclusion

As one of Nokia’s flagship devices, the N96 will deservedly receive a lot of attention from the media and consumers. It is inevitable, thanks to its looks and its model number, that the N96 gets compared to the N95 or is referred to as its successor. However, this is a mistaken attitude – the N96 should, at best, be seen as the video and TV focussed version of the N95. The N96 is to the N95 as the N77 was to the N73 –a sister device.

Check out the complete review here

Nokia has recently announced the successor of Nokia N95, the Nokia N96.

Specifications:

Support for digital television (DVB-H ).
16GB of internal memory + support for Micro SD cards
Support for WMV videos and DivX video
5 MP camera
N-Gage gaming Platform
16GB Internal Memory
Expected Price: 800$
Expected Availablity: 2nd Quarter 2008

Memory trick breaks PC encryption

Because of their portability, laptops are particularly vulnerable

Encrypted information held on a laptop is more vulnerable than previously thought, US research has shown.

Scientists have shown that it is possible to recover the key that unscrambles data from a PC's memory.

It was previously thought that data held in so-called "volatile memory" was only retained for a few seconds after the machine was switched off.

But the team found that data including encryption keys could be held and retrieved for up to several minutes.

"It was widely believed that when you cut the power to the computer that the information in the volatile memory would disappear, and what we found was that was not the case," Professor Edward Felten of the University of Princeton told BBC World Service's Digital Planet programme.

Volatile memory is typically used in random access memory (RAM), which is used as temporary storage for programs and data when the computer is switched on.

Deep sleep

Disc encryption is the main method by which companies and governments protect sensitive information.

"The key to making it work is to keep the encryption key secret," explained Professor Felten.

Encryption has recently become a hot topic after a number of laptops containing personal records were lost or stolen.

Simply locking your screen or switching to 'suspend' or 'hibernate' mode will not provide adequate protection Edward Felten

"What we have found was that the encryption keys needed to access these encrypted files were available in the memory of laptops," he said.

"The information was available for seconds or minutes."

In theory, this is enough time for a hacker or attacker to retrieve the key from the memory chips.

"The real worry is that someone will get hold of your laptop either while it is turned on or while it is in sleeping or hibernation mode," said Professor Felten.

In these modes the laptop is not running, but information is still stored in RAM to allow it to "wake up" quickly.

"The person will get the laptop, cut the power and then re-attach the power, and by doing that will get access to the contents of memory - including the critical encryption keys."

Cool running

Switching the machine off and on and is critical to any attack.

"When it comes out of sleep mode the operating system is there and it is trying to protect this data," explained Professor Felten.

But a full power-down followed by a swift re-start removes this protection.

"By cutting the power and then bringing it back, the adversary can get rid of the operating system and get access directly to the memory."

Professor Felten and his team found that cooling the laptop enhanced the retention of data in memory chips.

"The information stays in the memory for much longer - 10 minutes or more," he said.

For example, where information stays in a computer for around 15 seconds under normal conditions, a laptop cooled to about -50C will keep information in its memory for 10 minutes or more.

Professor Felten said that the best way to protect a computer was to shut it down fully several minutes before going into any situation in which the machine's physical security could be compromised.

"Simply locking your screen or switching to 'suspend' or 'hibernate' mode will not provide adequate protection," he added.

"It does cast some doubt on the value of encryption. I think that over time the encryption products will adapt to this and they will find new ways of protecting information."

source:bbc.co.uk

iPhone nano Is it true??

While analysts have been speculating that Apple may unleash a smaller ( in the not too distant future in order to grab a sect of market share not interested in the relatively pricey iPhone, the rumors are seeming to gain traction. According to Kevin Chang, a JP Morgan analyst based in Taiwan, Apple is actually looking to "launch a cheaper version of the iPhone in the fourth quarter that could be based on its iPod nano music player." The report cited anonymous sources "in the supply channel" and also referenced the now-famed patent that suggests such a device could be materializing. Still, we'd highly recommend taking all of this in with a healthy heap of salt for the time being, but don't be incredibly shocked if your next iPod nano unexpectedly rings while you're stereotypically browsing through Gorillaz tracks.

Source:engadget.com