Two things remain that keep me tied to Nokia though and this week one of them was scrubbed from the list. The cameras on Nokia phones are still ahead of most of the competition. At least the N82, N86 and the latest N8 are and my N82 is still untouched by any Android phone 2.5 years after its launch. The N8 will push the envelope further. The element that dropped from my Nokia-is-best list was the navigation. I guess I’m not comparing apples to apples by comparing a slow, small-screened device with an outdated version of Ovi maps to the large-screen, fast processor SE X10 but having tested Google Navigation last week, I can safely say that Google Maps and Navigation is going to satisfy my needs 99% of the time. The speed of search is fantastic. The quality of the search results top-notch, cached navigation works until you deviate from a route (but re-routes if you have a data connection) and I love the way that my favorites are synced across all my Google devices. I can add a favorite to my desktop and there it is on my phone when I need to navigate to it. I thought I would need cached maps but it’s just not the case. Even GPRS data is enough to get search and re-routing working well. Ovi Maps is no longer the must-have for me.

What does it leave for Nokia then? The camera. I want that N8 camera for sure but do I really want to pay for another high-end touch-enabled superphone just for the cam? And will I still be using the X10 if I want to share my images? The N8 is showing up in pre-sales for over 450 Euro and that’s as much as any of the latest smartphones. I just can’t justify 450 euro for a camera, even if it does have Wi-Fi, BT and 3G.  The N8 is a no-go for me now.

So how about that Motorola XT720 then? (Pocket-Lint have a review up) It’s a lower-powered phone than the X10i (although way more powerful than the N82) and there’s a hint of a plastic lens in the review photos I’ve seen, it’s ugly and also rather expensive but it looks like it’s up there with the N82 in terms of quality and features and even runs Android 2.1 which beats the 1.6 version I have on my X10. The exposed lens makes me think twice but I’m prepared to give it a go because it combines Android and a high-end cameraphone in a way that hasn’t been done yet.

If I can find someone to buy the X10i or swap an XT720 with me, I’ll definitely be up for it and the end result will be that Nokia will be out of my life.

Click for full version. ISO 100, F2.8, 1/333s

It turns out that the Satio doesn’t run OVI maps (out of the box,) isn’t as fast as the Cortex A8 CPU might have you believe and with a waiting line of Sony Ericsson phones expected, I really don’t see it getting the long term attention it needs from it’s creators.

All that remains now is to wait for Mobile World Congress and if I don’t see anything there, the N82 will likely be my phone for the next year. It’s been good from day 1 and with Gravity, Opera Mobile and Ovi Maps to make it even better, why shouldn’t it be the perfect buddy for another 12 months?

Supplementing the N82 with a MID like the UMID BZ is working out pretty well and we’ve got the Viliv N5 and Dell Mini 5 to look forward to too!

First though, I need to decide on what device to take and to do that, I need to write down exactly what I want to achieve.

• Work. Full keyboard, 7” or greater screen. Bright.
• Location. Tracking, occasional or live gps location information? If live, Ipoki or lattitude?
• Connectivity. Built-in 3G or tethered?
• Microblogging. Pocketable
• Photography. Reasonable snapshot camera with easy export facilities.
• Audio. For some tunes/podcasts on the way
• Communications. Phone, instant messenger.

The first problem I have is that a true ‘work’ device doesn’t quite match up to the microblogging requirements because I would like a big keyboard. My phone, as with nearly all phones, isn’t up to what I want from a microblogging experience so we’ve immediately hit a choice between taking 3 different devices or making some compromises.

See full article for live tracking…

For phone, audio and photography, I’m going to use my trusty Nokia N82. Unlike previous microblogging excursions though, I’m not going to burden my phone with too much internet connectivity. It doesn’t work! Instead, i’ll be switching to GPRS and turning on the Google Latitude service for location sharing. Why am I using Latitude today? 1) The application runs well, smoothly, efficiently and reliably on my smallest device. 2) I can easily share my location on my blog and on my Google Talk status. You can do it too. 3) Friends can connect with me over Latitude. Feel free to become my ‘friend’ but I’ll probably only give you my city-wide location. 4) As you can see, I can choose what level of sharing and privacy I want on a per-person basis. The best thing is that Latitude now has a KML feed which you can import into a Google ‘My Maps’ and share out. This allows you to make map mashups as you go. My live position should show up on the map below along with things that I mash-up on the way. I don’t think this auto-updates though so you might have to refresh the map frame to see changes.

So that’s audio, phone, location and photography covered, what about microblogging and working with Internet connectivity? Would it be possible to use just one device? It would save a ton of weight.

What I would need is a device with a 7” screen (my minimum for 1024×600 table-top working) that is light, has 3G, a keyboard, a bright screen, ssd (for ruggedness) and at least 3 hours of battery life. The Touchnote T1028M is too big. The Viliv S5 is too small for table-top use so I’m left with 3 devices to choose from.

Raon Everun Note S16S 7” 1024×600. SSD. 3G built-in (non standard.) Good keyboard. Bright screen. 2hrs battery life. 750gm

Fujitsu Loox U/B50N. 5.6” 1280×800. HDD. Lightweight. 3hrs+ battery life. 650gm

Kohjinsha SC3. 7” 1024×600 bright screen. Small keyboard keys. 2.5hrs battery. 800gm.

Ideally, I’d take the bright screen from the SC3 and put it on the Everun Note (it really is that much brighter than the others) but the Everun Note S16S has such bad battery life. The D24S is better at about 2.5hrs but I don’t have one of those. What I do have though, is a spare battery which brings me up to about 3.5hrs 3G working in bright daylight on the Everun Note which covers me nicely. Because of the SSD, the built-in 3G and the better keyboard, the Everun Note is the better choice. Well it would be if my spare battery was charged! Instead, I’m going for the Loox. It doesn’t have a 7” screen so i’ll have to bump the fonts up. There’s no 3G on it either so I’ll have to tether to my phone over BT and make sure the phone charges from the device using the USB charging adaptor. Compromises, compromises.

OK. Enough of the preparation. It’s time for me to set-off. I’ll blog some images and thoughts as I go along. (I’m only out from 1200-1500 CEST today though.) One last picture before I go. Here’s my final mobile blogging set-up. It weighs 920gm. That’s 2lb. It fits in my sports pack.

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