Just got home from the Nokia N96 launch at the Silver City and apart from the drinks and overload of cheese and parma ham, I took home a Nokia N79 — well at least a certificate that says I can pick up my new phone next week. Wow, what a treat! There was a huge raffle and Nokia / SMART was giving away a bunch of N79’s and N96’s.

You see, I badly needed a new phone and if I had to buy one, I’d go for an unlocked 1st generation iPhone or a Nokia N71 to replace my BlackBerry Pearl which is still in the shop. The Nokia N79 will really fit my needs – I’ve been praying for a sign from above to help me decide on a good buy, and this was it! Here are a few reasons why the N79 is such a good deal:

- I recently lost my iPod nano, and not that I’m very interested in the music aspect of the N79, but rather this unit hails from the N78 that comes with a built in FM transmitter. I’m an avid listener of podcasts and audiobooks on the road so this phone definitely makes up for the iPod + FM transmitter option. And it’s going to be hard to lose this, as it is also going to be my primary cellphone.

- If you’re a fan of the lightness and overall real estate of the N82, you’re going to love everything about the N79 as it has the same light (even lighter?) real estate and better (bigger!) keys. The phone also comes with three interchangeable covers.

- 5MP camera, 802.11g WiFi, GPS, HSDPA conectivity — you can’t go wrong!

I can’t wait for next week!

[photo c/o Nokia PR]

Post from: Cellphone9

We got to play with an N78 in the wild last night courtesy of Nokia, and I took some photos.

Beneath its smooth, clean surface, the Nokia N78 is the first Nseries phone to boast a built in FM transmitter. This is pure genius. In the history of staple hardware built into mobile phones, the camera and the music player are mainstays in what we consider to be “mobile phones.”

Shouldn’t all music phones have an FM transmitter built in? This is tons useful for podcast and music junkies who want to listen to their music in the car. Look: It costs an extra USD $50.00 to buy an FM transmitter for your iPod. It comes built in when you buy an N78. This makes perfect sense. The only concern would be battery life considerations as FM transmitters do suck up a lot of power from the music source.

But that’s why you have plugs.

The N78 is kick ass. Ever since Nokia revamped their Internet services and initiated a software update to their S60 platform it became so much easier to subscribe and download RSS feeds for videos and podcasts. Adding the FM transmitter function makes this device shine while listening to audio in the car.

It’s a phone that could very well replace my N82 as it has everything sans the Xenon flash. Here is a rundown of the other great features

802.11g WiFi
GPS
70 MB internal memory // 96 MB SDRAM memory
HSDPA 3.5G connectivity
3.5mm audio jack
3.15 MP Carl Zeiss Camera

Post from: Cellphone9

Cheaper by around 200 dollars, the sleeker N78 comes packed with a 3.2MP camera as compared to the N82. The Nokia N78 has a sleeker form factor compared to its predecessor. For one, the call keys are better located on the sides, and the four way directional pad supposedly also serves the purpose of a scroll wheel.

Nokia is quick to deploy their new user interface onto the new batches of phones starting with the N82.

Post from: Cellphone9