Nokia N82 First Impressions

[Christopher Chaltain]

Sorry for the redundant reply. I try to process all of my email before I 
start replying, but I didn't notice that Rosell's response was to this 
particular message. I know how busy everyone is, so again, sorry about that!

Christopher Chaltain wrote:
> Well, in addition to the Pocket PC option, which is a bit more 
> expensive, you also have Smartphones which you can use with Mobile Speak 
> Smartphone and the comparable product from Hal. In the case of Mobile 
> Speak Smartphone, it costs the same as Mobile Speak, their product for 
> the Series 60 phones. This is also included in the $89 deal from AT&T.
>
> golden wrote:
>   
>> yeah, i'm joining you Chris and others to suggest to Nuance to give due 
>> consideration to office accessibility in their next release of talks. i'm 
>> someone who likes to continue doing work even on the go. i'm pretty sure 
>> there are so many of you like me  out there. pocket PCs running MobileSpeak 
>> pocket maybe the right solution  but how many of us can afford it?
>>
>> since most of us are running mobile phones with its growing trend of 
>> becoming more and more pact with PDA features, this aspect of accessibility 
>> sure worth due priority.
>>
>> so, Nuance, we'd like to have this as your newyear gift for us in your next 
>> release.
>>
>> may i humbly apologise for my broken English as i'm not a native speker of 
>> the language
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Christopher Chaltain" <cchaltain at austin.rr.com>
>> To: "The Accessible Phones Discussion List" <blindphones at mosenexplosion.com>
>> Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 9:18 PM
>> Subject: Re: Nokia N82 First Impressions
>>
>>
>> Again, another good post from Stephen that I couldn't have said better
>> myself! :-) I will though, humbly, add just a few things! ;-) I agree
>> golden it is a step backwards. I also had access to MS Office documents,
>> both for reading and editing, on my Nokia 9290 Communicator. Although
>> it's a step backwards for us, it isn't clear that it's the fault of the
>> Talks developers. I suspect that either the applications you and I
>> remember from our Communicators weren't QuickOffice or that QuickOffice
>> changed significantly from that version to the current versions (i.e.
>> QuickOffice 4.5 and 5.0) which are currently available. In addition to
>> the work that may be required by the Talks developers, the QuickOffice
>> developers may also have to get involved, which would again take time
>> and effort from the Talks developers. I suspect it's not unlike what had
>> to happen before Java applications became somewhat accessible on the
>> desktop.
>>
>> I think we need to keep asking for this feature, from Talks and
>> QuickOffice, but as Stephen said, this will have to be prioritized with
>> everything else on their to do list. For example, I have a Nokia N75,
>> and as much as I'd like to see the front panel start working with Talks,
>> I'd rather have access to QuickOffice. I suspect though that accessing
>> the front panel of the N75 is a much less challenging task than working
>> with QuickOffice.
>>
>> It seems like our other option would be to use a Windows Mobile device
>> with a screen reader from Mobile Speak or Hal. I'm assuming these screen
>> readers work with the version of MS Office ported to the Windows Mobile
>> platform.
>>
>> Stephen Giggar wrote:
>>   
>>     
>>> golden
>>>
>>> You are forgetting the 9500 is a very old phone now days. You are also 
>>> forgetting that software
>>> changes and this is true for Quick Office and Talks and MobileSpeak as 
>>> well. Again the screen reader
>>> makers have higher priorities then to get Quick Office working. IE their 
>>> first or one of their first
>>> priorities is to make the newer phones work with the basic programs so 
>>> that people have access to
>>> the phones to start with. Then after that; They can go back and add other 
>>> programs to work with.
>>> Example: MobileSpeak just added the ability for their screen reader to 
>>> work with the built in TTS
>>> that are on all 3rd Edition phones. Talks has added the ability for you to 
>>> use the web menu option
>>> for 3rd Edition phones. This is different then the services wap browser.
>>>
>>> So as you can see; The screen reader makers are trying to give people 
>>> access to the software that
>>> most people would be able to take advance of.
>>>
>>> Then on top of that; The screen reader makers have to take in mind what 
>>> people want and try to
>>> prioritize what is going to get worked on and when. Then while this is 
>>> going on; They have to try to
>>> keep up with any bug reports and try to figure out if it is a problem with 
>>> the user doing things
>>> incorrectly, the phone going bad or if it is a problem with the screen 
>>> reader or software that a
>>> user may have put on the phone to start with or settings a user may have 
>>> changed that caused a
>>> problem.
>>>
>>> So saying all of that! <smile> I'm certain QuickOffice to make it work is 
>>> on the list and will be
>>> gotten to in it's own time. Just that their are higher priorities.
>>>
>>> Signed: Stephen Giggar
>>> sgiggar at sbcglobal.net
>>> Skype: dr-phone.
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "golden" <golden789 at gmail.com>
>>> To: "The Accessible Phones Discussion List" 
>>> <blindphones at mosenexplosion.com>
>>> Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2007 11:51 AM
>>> Subject: Re: Nokia N82 First Impressions
>>>
>>>
>>> hi Chris
>>>
>>> but i remember talks works reasonably well with office on cummunicator 
>>> 9500
>>> running series 80 though.
>>> i once had a chance to test it on my friend's phone and my first 
>>> impression
>>> was positive. i could share word and excel documents between my pc/laptop
>>> and the communicator wirelessly via bluetooth enabling me to resume my 
>>> work
>>> even when travelling.
>>>
>>> regretably, this is not so with office on my E65. yes, i can transfer word
>>> and excel and even powerpoint documents to the phone but unfortunately 
>>> talks
>>> would fail me miserably. it wouldn't read anything other than the titles 
>>> of
>>> the documents.
>>> i'm seeing this as a step backward when office should become more and more
>>> accessible IN THE NEW RELEASE OF TALKS
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Christopher Chaltain" <cchaltain at austin.rr.com>
>>> To: "The Accessible Phones Discussion List" 
>>> <blindphones at mosenexplosion.com>
>>> Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 11:26 AM
>>> Subject: Nokia N82 First Impressions
>>>
>>>
>>> I was waiting for someone else to answer, but I haven't seen a response.
>>> Here's what I've found out.
>>>
>>> First, it doesn't look like the N82 ships with QuickOffice, even the
>>> free viewer. I'm basing this on my review of the N82's specifications. I
>>> don't have an N82 myself, and I could obviously be wrong about this. It
>>> was my impression though that the N Series of Nokia phones would include
>>> the free QuickOffice viewer.
>>>
>>> Second, it appears that QuickOffice will work on the N82. It's listed on
>>> quickOffice's web site as a supported phone. I'm not able to find the
>>> free viewer for download anywhere though. I'm sure it used to exist,
>>> since I installed it on my Nokia N75 a little while ago. Maybe the free
>>> viewer was removed when QuickOffice 5.0 came out recently.
>>>
>>> Finally, as I've posted in earlier messages, Talks--and I assume Mobile
>>> Speak--don't work with QuickOffice 4.5, and according to the
>>> representative I talked to at QuickOffice, it would be a few versions
>>> before QuickOffice worked with Talks. I haven't been able to test
>>> QuickOffice 5.0, since I don't see a free trial. Therefore, whether the
>>> N82 supports QuickOffice or not would be irrelevant if you're a Talks 
>>> user.
>>>
>>> If anyone has any additional information, I'd be interested!
>>>
>>> golden wrote:
>>>
>>>     
>>>       
>>>> does it also support quick office such as word, sheet and presentation?
>>>> thanks
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> *From:* Jonathan Mosen <mailto:jmosen at mosen.org>
>>>> *To:* blindphones at googlegroups.com
>>>> <mailto:blindphones at googlegroups.com>
>>>> *Sent:* Friday, December 21, 2007 11:20 AM
>>>> *Subject:* Nokia N82 First Impressions
>>>>
>>>> I received my Nokia N82 yesterday, so for those who are
>>>> considering this phone, here are just a few thoughts. There are
>>>> really well written, comprehensive reviews of all that this phone,
>>>> which is a smaller, improved N95, can do, so I won’t duplicate all
>>>> of that here.
>>>>
>>>> But in brief, it has a 5 MP camera, GPS receiver, FM radio, HSDPA,
>>>> and all the features you would expect from Symbian Third Edition.
>>>>
>>>> I loaded Mobile Speak onto the phone and was able to use Nokia’s
>>>> very cool Switch application to transfer contacts, notes,
>>>> bookmarks, calendar items, call history and other items directly
>>>> from my Nokia E61I. Nokia really have done a nice job with this,
>>>> just pair the two phones, select what you want copied across, and
>>>> leave it alone for a few minutes. Nothing could be simpler.
>>>>
>>>> You can definitely feel the fast processor in this tiny candy-bar
>>>> style phone. The phone boots up in about 20% of the time it takes
>>>> the E61I to load, quite staggering. Applications load really quickly.
>>>>
>>>> As someone who has not used a Series 60 Feature Pac 1 phone
>>>> before, it’s necessary to get used to the fact that submenu items
>>>> can now also contain submenus under them. For example, when you go
>>>> into the Tools menu, there is now a submenu available called
>>>> utilities.
>>>>
>>>> Truphone have just released an N82-compatible version, so for
>>>> those of you who use this brilliant service, you’re not out of
>>>> luck. Call quality is very good, and they have just extended their
>>>> free calls deal until the end of February, meaning you can call
>>>> numbers in over 40 countries for no cost at all. A good thing for
>>>> getting in touch with family and friends over the holidays.
>>>>
>>>> But the main purpose for writing this is to offer a blindness
>>>> perspective on the keypad. I was a little apprehensive about this
>>>> phone, because the reviews are mixed on the keypad. Firstly, the
>>>> actual number pad is one of the most clearly spaced Nokia phones I
>>>> have seen. The buttons feel quite unconventional, but they are
>>>> very widely spaced and well raised. The ability to feel these keys
>>>> is far better than my first Symbian phone, the 6600, and indeed
>>>> the 6630.
>>>>
>>>> Beyond the number pad is quite a different story though. On the
>>>> extreme left and right of the unit’s front are two very tiny
>>>> vertical strips that are your call and end keys. Next to the call
>>>> key is a large rectangular key that feels as if it’s a single key.
>>>> It isn’t. Pressing the top of the key activates the left soft key,
>>>> and the bottom of the key is the feature key, known in most phones
>>>> as the menu key.
>>>>
>>>> The five-way key in the middle is very similar to that found on
>>>> the 6630. It feels like a single key which you press in whatever
>>>> direction you want to navigate, with the select button in the
>>>> middle. I have found on a few occasions that I have navigated up
>>>> or down when I wanted to press select, but I suspect I’ll get used
>>>> to it in time.
>>>>
>>>> On the right of the five-way key is what feels like a single
>>>> button with a raised dot in the middle. Actually these are three
>>>> keys. The top part activates the right soft key, the middle part
>>>> with the dot is serving as Mobile Speak’s key and I actually don’t
>>>> know what function this key performs normally. The bottom part of
>>>> the key is the clear key.
>>>>
>>>> So from a blindness perspective, this is a phone of contrasts,
>>>> with very nicely pronounced number pad buttons, and function keys
>>>> that may cause issues for those with dexterity issues or whose
>>>> finger sensitivity has been diminished due to diabetes. If you
>>>> don’t have an issue with dexterity though, this phone’s
>>>> performance, form factor and feature set are very hard to beat.
>>>>
>>>> Note to US readers though, that this phone does not support the US
>>>> 3G frequencies. Although it is a quad band phone for voice, and
>>>> will therefore work on any GSM network, it only supports the
>>>> NON-US 3G, as well as HSDPA, sometimes known as 3.5 G. We have
>>>> this here in New Zealand and data is coming down at a ridiculously
>>>> fast pace for a cell phone.
>>>>
>>>> Also a note for talks users that the current released build does
>>>> not support this phone although a fix is in the works, so Mobile
>>>> Speak is the only screen reader that currently works with it.
>>>>
>>>> Hope this helps anyone considering the N82.
>>>>
>>>> Jonathan
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>       
>>>>         
>>>     
>>>       
>>   
>>     
>
>   

-- 
Christopher

cchaltain at austin.rr.com