Tag Archives: Nokia N79 - Page 2

The Small Wonder : X-Mini Max

It is very hard to believe that despite of using computers for almost 10 years , I never purchased speakers. I am not that much into music & movies & watch them once in a while only so my primary source of Audio is my Philips SHP8900 Hi-Fi headphones.

Due to all this I never had good experience with speakers. I wanted to buy small portable speakers for my Nokia N79 which can run on battery & provide enough volume & loudness for 1 room. I don’t want to disturb the whole neighborhood so wanted something which is small, can run via battery, can be charged quickly & which can be carried to small parties in a Cargo Short’s pockets or a simple Backpack.

I found X-mini Max Stereo Speakers but wasn’t expecting them in Lucknow but I found them in Jumbo Electronics in Fun Republic. Jumbo Electronics is indeed a good place for such kind of fancy electronics items which are usually hard to find anywhere else in Lucknow. I was surprises to find X-Mini Max there & after a bargain I was able to buy it at Rs 2,200.

X-mini Max is available in a cylindrical packaging as shown above which is quite compact. The speakers look like a small bomb form a Sci –Fi movie when they are both connected together. Many eyes were looking at us when we were trying them in McDonalds .

The package contains the speakers, one connectivity cable & one small pouch to keep the speakers while traveling. When the speaker is inside the cloth pouch, it is still very small to carry in your Cargo’s side pocket.

My primary purpose of buying these speakers was to use with my N79 & once in a while with my PC when I have many people watching a movie in my room.

I captured some videos during video & music playback with my Sony Cybershot W80 Digicam.

Don’t compare these with full blown speakers like Creative T40 or iTrigue because they are real PC speakers & they are indeed better if you plan to use them on a PC only however they are not as portable as these X-Mini speakers.

X-mini gives sufficient audio to completely fill a medium size hall with audio. Whether you are listening to music on PC or using a digital audio player or mobile phone, the X-Mini will indeed give you sufficient audio. However, don’t plan to use them in Outdoor environment as due to open area the audio will spread in all direction & overall volume will decrease. The speakers are marked at 3.5W RMS each.

The only thing I have to which I can compare the sound quality of these speakers is my T.V’s speakers. Compared to them the vocal dialogs of T.V shows wasn’t that loud. The audio doesn’t distort up to 90% volume level but does distorts at 100%. Make sure you close the Bass accordion when watching movies as movies usually have dialogs more then music at which Bass can produce bad audio with these speakers.

Audio when watching movies is better when the speakers are placed on a 90 degree angel facing you.

The speakers provide a playback time of 8 hours with a full charge & take 2 hours to charge completely. They can be charged either by connecting to a PC via USB or a USB Wall A.C adapter. They can also be charged using D.C batteries if you have a portable travel charger with a Mini USB connector. I found one on ebay & have ordered it. During charging the light turns to red, when fully charged or playing they turn to blue. Light blue means battery is low.

Overall, if you are looking for big full blown speakers & if you are an audiophile for which even a point increase in treble means a lot, then buy these speakers after checking properly. However, if you are looking for something portable to use with your Notebook or Netbook PC, or Mobile phone or iPod or something else portable then X-Mini Max stereo for Rs 2,200 is a good purchase.

BSNL 3G : It works

Posted by Saurav Srivastava on March 19, 2009 301 comments

Finally, I got BSNL 3G USIM in Lucknow. Right now 3G is quite costly but the BSNL Voice calls costs less then Vodafone. You can read the tariff of BSNL 3G here.

Note : I am no longer using the BSNL 3G USIM. I inquired the information & did all the research for this service so this content & discussion on this blog post can continue.

3G is automatically activated when you activate the SIM using Rs 350 or higher activation voucher. To configure your phone for 3G Data Connection, just create a new connection with Access point “gprsnorth3g.bsnlmobile.in” or “bsnlnet” & leave all the other settings at default. Name it “BSNL 3G”. Then go to your phone’s “Network selection” menu & Select UMTS instead of GSM/Dual Mode.

If 3G isn’t available & if your phone is set in Dual mode then your SIM will automatically work in 2G mode. In that case the tariff will be same as 3G

The speed of BSNL 3G is HSDPA compatible & although I am not getting 3.6 mbps but the speed is still quite good at 512 kbps easily. Here is a screenshot which I was able to take of Symtorrent just before the speed throttled. The speed is 48 KBps or 384 kbps. To test the speed of your GPRS/EDGE or 3G connection check your DSL Report’s Mobile Speed at http://www.dslreports.com/mspeed

1) IMAP & POP3 E-Mail is supported. I am able to access my E-mails in my N79′s inbuilt E-mail client.

2) HTTP is supported. I am able to log in to chat networks using Slick.

3) FTP is also supported. ftp.gxsaurav.com works too using Webkit Browser.

4) Fring works fine, I can even make calls to people using Google Talk & Skype on computers.

5) SymTorrent works fine for downloading Torrents.

6) I am able to connect my PC to BSNL 3G using Nokia PC Suite’s One touch access.

There is a great handy software called JoikuSpot Premium using which we can connect a PC to 3G internet of a Mobile phone. JoikuSpot turns your phone to a secure mobile WLAN HotSpot. No need for USB dongles, cables or Bluetooth. The light version is pretty much useless so premium is all you should buy if this is what you need. However, if you have Nokia PC Suite, you can also use to connect Mobile to PC to Internet. This is the speed I get.

BSNL has data plans starting with lowest denomination at Rs 250 in which you get 300 MB bandwidth. Now, for casual users this is a lot of bandwidth & they will only use 50 MB in a month when using Data services only in Mobile phone. BSNL also has a trial Pack of Rs 60 in which you will get 50 MB bandwidth but this trial pack can be used only once in any USIM & is valid for 15 days only. I would really urge BSNL to make this trial pack a proper 3G data pack in which for Rs 60 the user will get 50 MB bandwidth for a duration of 30 days. This is something every 3G subscriber will surely buy as most people associate 3G with High Speed Internet, but they forget that 3G is also about a better network connectivity & voice quality.

I was also able to make a video call to a friend Shuvadeep from Durgapur. He is using HTC Touch Diamond. I was able to take a screenshot during the video call but for some reason the screenshot application didn’t capture his video.

GX Tango : Black & Gray

Posted by Saurav Srivastava on January 17, 2009 4 comments

Ever since I got my Nokia N79, I am searching for a good & usable theme for it. Since its a mobile phone which while working is straight in front of your face, Icons in 2D Perspective look better then 3D perspective. So far there are 3 icon sets for Symbian S60 which I have come to admire..

1) Pizero Icons

2) Tango Icons

3) Nokia S60 5th Edition Touch Icons

I requested Pizero to fix some minor flaws in his Pure Black theme some time back to which he said he will do it soon. During my search I came across Nahid’s Blog who has made some seriously good themes based on the S60 Touch Icons for S60 3rd edition phones. However I am not a fan of blue color over black color so I requested him to make a black & gray theme too. Ian Flahorn is extracting the Touch Icons from Nokia 5800 Xpress Music but it will release soon.

Since I got my own symbiansigned certificate sometime back, I decided to look upon & make my own theme based on freely available Tango Icons using Nokia’s Carbide UI. The aim of my theme’s design is not something flashy or graphical but something simple which can be easily used everyday. While working on my phone outside I found that in direct sunlight the screen gets dark & on a black background, black or gray text is not quite readable. So I paid attention on the way at least I would prefer to use a theme & started to create the mockups of what to expect from the end result. The first variation of this theme will not have many colors, just black gradient & gray because I intend to make this theme very usable & easy on the eyes both indoor & outdoor. I just want this theme to be as perfect & simple as possible, nothing flashy.

Right now I am using Tango Icons & learning how to make a theme using Carbide.UI but if possible, I would love to useS60 Touch Icons as they are even better then tango Icons for a mobile phone’s screen. Here is what I think for the Standby Screen…how is it, please provide comments so as to make it better.

If you want a preview then just copy this PNG Image to your phone & watch it in full screen. Right now I am making it for Symbian S60 3rd Edition with FP2 only.

Keep in mind that there is a similar Tango theme for Symbian but the author is no longer updating it for new phone & new icons so I have decided to make something similar but with full icons.

Making the best use of Voice Chat

Posted by Saurav Srivastava on January 14, 2009 31 comments

Voice chat has been in the chatting industry for ages however due to bad Broadband conditions in India not many people don’t use it. However, today things have changed because 256 kbps broadband is available for as low as Rs 649 (Airtel Delhi) which is sufficient enough for voice chat.

Few days ago I used my Nokia N79 for voice chat over Internet using WiFi. It was just a test but it proved that with a Smartphone like Nokia N Series or Windows Mobile & WiFi Internet you hardly need a PC anymore. You can very well use a Mobile phone with a WiFi or unlimited Internet plan to talk to anyone on Skype or Google Talk (so far) using a simple setup at both ends. I was able to talk to a friend of mine in Bangalore over WiFi using Fring after signing into Google Talk just like any other phone call. This is actually a better experience then sitting in front of a computer & talking to a Monitor, you are no longer bound to the computer desk. To do this you need to setup your PC & Phone both….

How to setup the PC

1) You need a software which can let you voice chat. Today all the IM networks support Voice chat such as Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk but the best one out there made for this particular task only is Skype. Talking on Yahoo & Windows Live through a phone isn’t possible yet but talking using Skype or Google talk is. I recommend installing Skype as it is available for all the Operating Systems out there, but even if you use Google talk on PC, the procedure is exactly same.

2) You need a wireless Mic connected to the PC so that you are no longer bound to the PC desk only. The best solution for this which I recommend is using a simple Nokia, Sony Ericsson or similar Bluetooth handsfree. They are widely available for as low as Rs 1,000 in the local phone market & they provide enough range for you to walk around in other parts of home, & they will also work with your mobile phone. If you want something of even higher range then you can try Microsoft Lifechat ZX-6000 headset.

3) If you need a webcam then they are available for as low as Rs 500 from Frontech. If you are using a PC then it is not a problem. If you are using a Mac then you already have iSight inbuilt & if you are using Linux then I recommend you have a look at your distribution website for compatible driver, however ideally it should already be there in the distribution. You can also go for Microsoft Lifecam VX-1000, which is what I personally recommend. If you leave the marketing words of Microsoft then VX-1000 is the cheap & best solution which provides enough quality for normal webcam chat. These webcam come with a Mic inbuilt just that you will not have the freedom to roam around, but this is cheaper as you don’t need to buy a Wireless Headset.

4) Install everything on the PC & check if they are working. After this, it isn’t that hard to configure them to use on the PC side. Just read the manual first

How to setup the phone.

1) You need a Smartphone running Windows Mobile or Symbian Series 60 with WiFi support. If you don’t have a WiFi enabled phone but do have EDGE or 3G supported Smartphone then consider opting for an unlimited data plan for your service provider.

2) The software you need to install on your phone is Fring or Nimbuzz. It is available for Windows Mobile, Symbian Series 60 & iPhone right now. Follow the instruction on Fring website to configure according to your phone.

3) You need to make a free Fring/Nimbuzz account first which is quite easy & can be done from the phone itself. Once done, select the service of your choice from the Fring menu, either Skype or Google Talk & sign in to Fring. It will automatically show all your contacts. You can either text chat with them or simply select to make a “Fring Call”. This way you will be making an Internet based call to anyone anywhere in the world sitting on a PC running Skype or Google talk, which is cheaper then a usual call’s rate. You can also leave Fring running the background & do your work fine & the moment someone tries to call you on your logged in network, you will get a call just like any other call in your phone.

Now comes the best part. You actually don’t need a PC at all. Using Fring/Nimbuzz & this tutorial you can talk in the following scenario over Internet

1) PC(broadband) to Fring(WiFi/EDGE/3G)

2) Fring(WiFi/EDGE/3G) to PC(broadband)

3) Fring(WiFi/EDGE/3G) to Fring(WiFi/EDGE/3G)

Right now you cannot do webcam chat using Fring, although if Fring can support Skype Video chat then it will be an experience just like a 3G Video chat as many 3G enabled Smartphone today come with a secondary camera.