The mobile TV cell phone Nokia N92
The most important feature of N92 is support for DVB-H digital broadcast television, with the N93 using similar dual-hinge clamshell design.802.11g Wi-fi, FM Visual Radio, 2 megapixel camera and 3G connectivity, the N92 is a true top range multimedia smartphone. Nokia are using the N92 to showcase DVB-H technology, which is truly impressive, but the device has plenty to offer besides mobile TV.
The phone has a 2.8 inch QVGA display WITH a 320 x 240 pixel resolution AND up TO 16 million colors screen, able TO use DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) technology TO pick up broadcasts direct FROM TV masts, NOT through operator networks. TO start watching mobile TV, you OPEN the Nokia N92 IN VIEW mode AND press the Multimedia KEY. The phone has a Electronic Service Guide (ESG) that contains information about the available TV channels, programs AND services. Nokia promises watching TIME OF up TO 4 hours.
The N92 runs S60 3rd Edition, which together with the underlying Symbian OS 9 is the engine behind many of the improvements found in the phone. The S60 platform team have put a lot of work into making the user interface and bundled applications generally easier to use. There are four key reasons for this. Firstly the higher screen resolution than earlier devices gives a crisper, easier to read display. 3rd Edition supports scalar vector graphics, meaning a similar physical size can be retained whatever the screen resolution. In general, a similar amount of information is shown on screen as earlier (lower resolution) devices, thus avoiding the readability issues often found in other high resolution devices. However in some instances, such as photo viewing and web browsing, the higher resolution can be used to display more information on the screen than was previously possible. Thus 3rd Edition enables the best of both worlds and makes the most of the extra screen resolution. Secondly, there have been several sensible UI design changes. These include making the height of the title/status area smaller in some instances, such as the applications view, and and the introduction of scrollbars in several areas such as in list views. Thirdly, support for a landscape view across all applications (in contrast to the N90, which was Camera and Gallery only) means users can choose the one they prefer. Certain tasks and applications have a better user experience in landscape mode, with browsing being an obvious example. Finally, many of the built-in applications have received minor updates in layout, menu structure and functionality.
The TV functionality is accessed via the Series 60 TV application when in view mode (landscape). Within this program you can easily change channel and access an ESG (electronic service guide). It is clear the device is optimised for watching TV in this mode. You can sit the N92 on a desk in front of you and adjust the viewing angle, or it will sit just as easily in the palm of the hand.
The TV picture is displayed full screen and the quality of the picture is excellent, and channel changing is near instantaneous. It is difficult to get across how good it looks without seeing it for yourself, but between the high resolution screen and the DVB-H technology, the N92 offers an unsurpassed mobile television experience. At the NMC Nokia demo we were receiving a live stream of several channels which was about 2 or 3 seconds behind traditional TV (shown on the wall). In the keynote Nokia executives talked of the convergence of the world’s most popular entertainment medium (2 billion viewers) with the world’s most popular communication device. It is easy to be dismissive, but seeing BBC World broadcasting live coverage of Rosa Parks funeral gave a real sense of the potential of the technology.
There is also a constant 30 second rolling record function (like many PVRs) which means you can get an instant reply whenever you wish and you can record TV direct to the memory card (limited only by the space available). There is also support for subscription services, meaning, potentially at least, the device will support premium and pay per view channels.
Nokia were also keen to emphasise the interactive capabilities of the device. With cellular connectivity built in, it is far easier for TV to become a two way medium compared with traditional TV, with TV voting and additional web discovery being two of the possibilities highlighted.
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· Tags: QVGA, stereo FM radio, TV-series
