For mobile potatoes: Nokia N92 with Mobile TV
We were in the Horizon Lounge up on the 25th floor of Makati Shangri-La just last Tuesday. It was high noon and we had just finished the appetizer of a sumptuous five-course Japanese lunch. But instead of the friendly banter, we were all engrossed watching TV.
We weren’t watching the same TV program, however. I was tuned in to MTV. My seatmate was watching CNN. The young female journalist in front of me was on ETC.
No, we haven’t forgotten our manners. The occasion was Nokia’s press debut of its groundbreaking new N92 mobile phone. And we were all simply amazed (pun intended, thanks to Smart which provides the TV service) by what we were viewing.
On the outside, the N92 looks like the pioneering N90 and the more recent N93 and N93i handsets. It’s a clamshell phone that swivels into either a camcorder-like form or as a tiny laptop with a landscape display.
But what sets it apart is its Mobile TV capability. For a nation that’s always glued to the boob tube, this seems like a heaven-sent device. The N92 is the first integrated DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) mobile device in the Nokia Nseries range.
Simply put, it lets you watch TV programs as you would on your home TV, but using cellular signals instead of VHF (or cable) as on a regular TV. And we liked what we saw.
Considering that Mobile TV is still very much in its infancy in the Philippines, the selection of channels that Smart is offering as I write this is already a formidable one: CNN, ETC, MTV, National Geographic Channel, The History Channel, Cartoon Network, Jack TV, Pinoy Box Office, Solar Sports, PBA, and Basketball TV. (Mobile TV can handle as much as 50 channels with one telco provider.)
Equally important, despite most of the programs displaying a “test broadcast” disclaimer, the videos being broadcast on the phone were crystal-clear and had perfect audio (thanks also to the N92’s superb-sounding stereo loudspeakers).
I expected the screen to freeze the way it does when you watch YouTube on a slow Internet connection. But it never did, at least on my first two days with the N92.
Nighttime on my third day was when I first experienced a frozen picture that was almost immediately succeeded by a blank screen with the message “No TV signal.” Five minutes later, everything was back to normal without me having to do anything.
The broadcast was equally seamless while on the road. The only time the picture freezes is when you enter underpasses or even when you’re under a flyover. The picture comes back immediately after exiting from whatever is the overhead obstruction, however.
Mobile TV is also very user-friendly. In the time it takes to flip open the phone, open messages, and then start to compose a text message, you’ve already opened Mobile TV on the main menu and have started viewing breaking news.
Switching channels is as easy as channel-surfing on your remote at home. You just click Options, click Change Channels, then choose from the drop-down menu from any of the available channels. It even shows what show is on at the moment in any of the channels and what program will follow and at what time. Cool.
Five minutes after first seeing the N92, watching TV on it was as second nature as making a call.
Users can set reminders to watch their favorite TV programs, create personal channel lists and subscribe to TV channel packages. The usability is further enhanced by the large 2.8" anti-glare QVGA screen that has 16 million colors and the dedicated media keys that deliver a rich viewing experience.
“The Nokia N92 is the first in a range of products bringing together the rich experience of conventional broadcast TV with the connected experience of mobility to create a new category — Mobile TV,” said William Hamilton-Whyte, Nokia Philippines’ general manager.
“We are confident that Mobile TV will be an exciting new service for consumers, as well as generate new opportunities for innovation and growth in the mobile and media industries,” he added.
The Nokia N92 has four different modes for simple and easy usage. The new view mode is especially designed for watching TV and video. To start watching mobile TV, users simply need to open the Nokia N92 in view mode and press the Multimedia key. Other mobile TV features include viewing time of up to four hours, recording and 30-second replay.
Future applications of this cellular connectivity include greater user interaction with the TV through services such as voting, program feedback and additional Web discovery.
Further, the Nokia N92 supports the new Nokia Web browser with Mini Map, which provides a semi-transparent zoomed-out view of a webpage that enables users to quickly orient themselves on a small screen. With an overall view of the webpage, users can intuitively navigate to all corners of it as well as see the webpage as it was originally designed.
The N92 is also an XpressMusic device, with up to 2GB memory card support, offering storage for up to 1,500 songs delivered through the stereo speakers or a stereo headset. The entertainment experience is further complimented by FM radio with Visual Radio support.
Additional Nseries features include a two-megapixel camera for print-quality photos and e-mail attachment support as well as an internal VGA camera for 3G video calling.
The N92 provides a rich range of connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, infrared, Bluetooth wireless technology as well as USB 2.0 which allows users to connect the N92 directly to a PC for quick and convenient file transfers or downloads.
The Nokia N92 is currently available only through
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