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Recently the local providers of Curacao (UTS) and Aruba (SETAR) have launched the Caribbean’s first UMTS network (including HSDPA). Besides offering just the mobile options, users can also opt for the HSDPA access modem, in this case the Huawei E220 for PC’s and especially Notebook access. The E220 is an all-in-one solution including HSDPA modem, USB mass storage device and virtual CD-ROM device. Opting for the modem means paying the expensive local purchase price or adding an extra fee to the monthly charge. As an official tester for UTS I decided to put the N95 8GB and the Black N82 against the Huawei E220 HSDPA USB modem. Would the Nseries be slower? How long would the batteries last when tethered?

The N95 8GB and the Black N82 were able to perform just as fast as the dedicated HSDPA modem, clocking close to the 3.6 Mbit/s limit as indicated by www.speedtest.net  An interesting observation however is that the N82 seemed to disconnect more frequently than the N95 8GB or the HSDPA modem. This could be pure chance, but it also could be that it’s less sensitive at picking up signals. During the course of 3 days, the HSDPA disconnected just 1 time just like the N95 8GB, while the N82 disconnected 5 times.

As for the battery life, the N95 8GB lasted 2 hours and 24 minutes tethered to my laptop, while the N82 lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes before its battery died. The HSDPA modem was USB powered so it could keep going for as long as your Notebook could.

Conclusion

The N95 8GB and N82 work well as HSDPA modems giving you virtually the same performance as a stand-alone HSDPA modems. With the latest Nseries devices you can expect battery life of about 2.5 hours, which by itself isn’t bad, but can’t compete with a USB powered unit like the Huawei E220 in the sense that most notebook can keep going for longer than 2.5 hours. In the case that your notebook is plugged in and you didn’t bring your charger along means that the HSDPA modem could keep going while the the N95 8GB and N82 would be dead in less than 3 hours. Getting the Nokia Nokia Charger via USB port CA-100 should bring the latest Nseries devices on par with a stand-alone HSDPA modem.

Introduced with the N93, the TV-out feature is still alive and kicking on the latest high-end Nokia devices like the N96 or N82.  Once you think about it truly enhances the “Multmidia Computer” aspect of the Nseries.  Want a gaming console? Connecting the TV-out cable, adding a Bluetooth keyboard and what you essentially get is a fully featured gaming console with online gaming that can even play the classics. The same can be done with other productivity tasks like Spreadsheet, Word and Powerpoint viewing and editing or even entertainment in the form of media playback and surfing. While we can go on and on about the possibilities, I can’t help but wonder why this features has basically stayed the same ever since it was introduced on the Transformer-like N93.

Despite moving to HDTVs with resolution of up to 1080 (1920×1080) using Component video cables, DVI or even the newer HDMI connection, the Nseries’ solution for TV-out still relies on the Nokia Video Connectivity Cable CA-75U or CA-64U that outputs a 320×240/240×320 resolution using a RCA connector for composite video and stereo audio. When it comes to video playback though, it thankfully uses a 640×480 resolution.

How come we get  to get one of the most advanced mobile solutions coupled with high-performance, high res screen, yet we can’t make full use of this due to the now dated TV-out system. Leading to the question: How can the TV-out feature be improved?

1.Higher output resolution

On current Nseries device, the output is a pretty low-res 320×240/240×320 and 640×480 when playing back recorded video. While this might look OK on older low-res screen, the same cannot be said about that fancy new Plasma or LCD screen you just bought. Another reason why adding higher video-output is a must, is because, it’s just a matter of time, when  these devices start to record in HD and you are going to want a nice new TV-out system that can output at the same high-quality resolution. On the current system the output resolution is mostly limited to the screen resolution. In future devices we might see VGA screens which means that for outputting the UI theirs is going to be the need for up converting to a higher resolution. Output of at least 720 (1280×720) should do the trick on most new HDtvs. Better yet would be user selectable resolutions.

2.Longer modular cable

The included Nokia Video Connectivity Cable CA-75U or CA-64U are way too short. I found myself in many cases wanting for a longer cable. In certain situation you’ll find yourself way to close to the TV for it to be of any practical use. And while it would be nice to support the newer, higher-res screens, keeping the support for older TVs (atleast for a few years) would be nice. They could always include several cable, but having a modular cable design is in my opinion the way to go.

3.Add audio upmixing and virtual speaker technology

There’s always the possibility of adding more mics to capture audio for a true 5.1 or even 7.1 audio playback, but for mobile solutions I think it would be best to just stick to two mics and use sound upmixing technologies like Dolby Headphones and virtual speaker techniques like Dolby Virtual speaker to upmix the recorded audio to a 5.1 or in the case of just two speakers using virtual speaker technology

to create the effect of having a true surround sound setup. Nokia has been working with Dolby laboratories, making this something that we might see very soon in future devices.

4.Exact screen output vs Presentation mode

In some cases like viewing images in Gallery the devices would output the images in full-screen and not show an exact representation of what happening on the screen like displaying the carousel of images, in such cases an “Exact screen output” mode would be appropriate. There should be option to change this. Other times when doing a presentation for example you don’t want other to see the menu, just the media to be played back. In such a case the “Presentation mode” would come in handy where it only shows the media being displayed and hides things like menu screen or options while you are adjusting these and instead it could show a stand-by screen with your company’s logo.

Do you find the TV-out function useful? How do you think it can be improved?