The Nokia Guide

Getting the most out of your Nseries’ camera

The Nseries is all about imaging. This is obviously an important feature seeing the success of imaging devices like the N73, N95, N95 8GB and most recently the N82. Seeing the quality imaging hardware and the  exceptional images that are the result of this, it shows how important imaging is to Nokia.  But a camera is only as good as the photographer. Sure, manufacturers are constantly putting in “smart” features that  try to correct and make masterpieces using our admittedly less-than-ideal shooting habits. Mastering the art of photography takes a lot of knowledge and practice, which in many cases takes years to master. There are however a few easy tricks that are easy to remember, but in the end make a huge difference.

Filler Flash

Flash is used to illuminate a scene and for this reason people tend to associate Flash with dark or low-light conditions. That is in fact one way of using flash, but have you thought about using your Nseries’ flash during the day? Most cameras including the Nseries devices have the flash set at a default to auto mode, which only activates flash in low-light condition. Setting the flash to always “On” can come in handy during the day by making your subject stand out. The key to doing this is settings the flash to “On” instead of the default “Automatic.”

Go around taking pictures of your subject in daylight with the flash set to on, you’ll be amazed at the results. The first image on the left was taken without flash and the second one on the right had flashed turned on. See how the subject pops out? (click on the image for full size)

 

Tip of the day: Best audio performance goes to….

Looking into getting a new Nseries device and music is your thing? If you plan on listening to your favorite tunes using one of those expensive and fancy earphones, than you might have a look at the N81, N81 8GB or even the tried and true N91 and N91 8GB, arguably the best performing Nseries devices when it comes to audio quality over the 3.5mm Audio jack. Test that I have done myself show that these are capable of rivaling and often even beating most stand-alone MP3 players. If your more of the type that likes to share their taste in music with the world, than you might have a look at the N95 and N95 8GB, while inferior to the already mentioned devices when it comes to the 3.5mm jack, it makes up for it through some of the loudest built-in stereo speaker I’ve heard and superior specs.

Turning your Nseries into a Super Nintendo System: Step by Step

I had previously talked about how the Nseries could be used to play your old Nintendo classics like Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong Country, right here. Now here are the steps to get things up and running and how to optimally run the games which in fact are emulated.

1) First things first. The software needed for this to work is called vSsun, a Super Nintendo Emulator for S60 devices. Yes I know it’s not free, but once you have it; there are literally thousands of games to be had. All those bulky cartridges are replaced with your Nseries device with only the phone’s internal storage being the limiting factor.

2) Search for Super Nintendo SMC ROM files, thousands of these can be found online.

3) Once the program is installed and you have your SMC ROM files, connect your Nseries to your PC or Notebook using the USB cable in “PC Suite mode.”  Launch PC Suite and open the File Manager and go to: Phone Memory>Data>Others>Vsun. Here you should see the preinstalled “Color Demo.” Copy as many .SMC ROM files as you like to this location. Alternatively any wireless connection such as Bluetooth can be used.

4) Fire up the vSun app and you will now see a list of all the detected games, select the desired game and click to launch.

5) One launched, the game might look odd or it might even take only half of the screen. Press either the left or right soft key until a menu pops up.  Go to Graph and set Size to “Full” and Output to “Bitmap”. If you want audio go to Sound and Switch to “Full” and adjust the volume as needed. Press to right softkey to exit and go to Exit. Restart the game and your good to go.

You can save or load your game by pressing the right softkey and going to “Game” and selecting one of the appropriate slots from 1-5 to where you can save or load your saved game. And lastly if the mobile gaming is just not doing it for you with the small screen, play those classics using the usual way on your TV where the Nseries device is your controller. Or how about a more 2008-ish approach with a Bluetooth keyboard?

It takes a bit to get the whole thing going, but once you do chances are you’ll agree that it’s well worth it. Ah, Mario and Donkey Kong are back!