Nokia N78 OTA Firmware V11.043 Released

This “over-the-air” (OTA) software release will not be available through the Nokia Software Updater application, but is available directly through your Nokia N78. The release includes improved stability with Bluetooth (headsets and car kits) and music (playback over a long time and content refresh). This release also includes optimized Camera performance and Naviscroll sensitivity improvements.

Technology innovations mean the size of this “over-the-air” update is approximately 2 MB. To get this software through your Nokia N78, click Menu > Tools > Utilities > Device Manager. Select Options > Check for updates and follow the on-screen prompts. Remember that you can also use Wi-Fi to download the update.

The N73 Gets a Firmware Update

The N73 is undoubtedly one of the most best-selling handsets Nokia has ever released, and the regular firmware updates it gets proves my point. The N73 just received a new firmware update, V4.0812.4, and if you’re not using Windows Vista you can update yours. Its new features and improvements are support for mobile TV (when used with the SU-33W receiver) and Express Mail clients. This release also includes updates and improvements to Nokia Maps and improved Java support.

How to Finish Updating Your Firmware Using Windows XP

As you might guess, today I managed to update my N82 firmware using Windows XP Service Pack 2. However, I didn’t download the whole firmware anew – I used the files I’d downloaded via NSU on Windows Vista. A couple of days ago I reported that the newly released Nokia Software Updater (NSU) doesn’t function properly on Vista for many users. If, upon updating your firmware on Windows Vista, NSU downloads the whole firmware but consistently fails to move it to your handset due to the “Nokia Server Layer” crash which results in NSU displaying something like “15 minutes left”, you can do the following to avoid re-downloading all firmware-related files while using NSU on Windows XP.

• 1. Make sure you can view hidden files on both machines which run Windows XP SP2 or above and Windows Vista.
• 2. On your Windows Vista, assuming it’s installed on your C: drive, go to the following directory:
  • C:\Program Data\Nokia\Nokia Service Layer\A\
• 3. Copy the following folder which contains your recently downloaded firmware-related files to a safe location:
  • nsl_service_module_00001
  • Of course, this is the name I get with my N82 firmware, and yours might or might not be different. Also, you can copy this folder to a flash drive or a CD because you should later use it on your XP machine.
• 4. Go ahead and install both Nokia PC Suite and the latest release of Nokia Software Updater on your XP machine.
• 5. Having restarted your Windows XP, move the “nsl_service_module_00001″ folder to the following directory, assuming Windows XP is installed on the C: drive:
  • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Nokia\Nokia Service Layer\A
• 6. Having made sure your smartphone is fully recharged, establish a connection between your handset and the PC Suite using the “USB cable” option on your XP computer.
• 7. Run Nokia Software Updater, follow the prompts, and your handset firmware will be updated in a few minutes without having to redownload the necessary firmware files.

With these steps, Nokia Software Updater first indicates that it needs 15 minutes to finish updating the handset firmware, but this time will change to 5, 4 and 3 minutes in a short while. The important point is that you should make sure you have the very latest Nokia Software Updater release on your XP machine, or the redownload/reinstallation process will most likely remove the firmware files. If you need the latest NSU release, use this URL to get the US English build. Needless to say, the NSU language should match your Windows language. To download a proper NSU release for your Windows, check here.

Finally, an upside of this semi-manual update process is that you can update the handset firmware for whatever smartphone whose necessary files you have fairly quickly – just keep your firmware files, move them to the proper folder on Windows XP and update the suitable handset with that firmware release. I finished updating another N82 firmware this way in just 5 minutes. Hope Nokia fixes the newly introduced NSU incompatibility issues with Vista soon.

N82 Receives the Big 20.0.062 Firmware Release

Today the N82 received a new firmware update, V20.0.062. According to our expectations, this firmware update brings in Flash Lite 3 support, web runtime, geo tagging (also called GPS location tagging) which is off by default, camera exposure improvements, better Bluetooth headset interoperability, lots of bug fixes, stability improvements, localization enhancements and memory leak removals. If you have an N82, don’t hesitate to update your handset firmware. I’m going to access the nearest ADSL connection tomorrow and update mine. Just as a quick reminder, User Data Preservation (UDP) is also at your disposal.

Firmware V20.0.016 on the Way for the N95 8GB

After the N95 Classic, it’s now time for the N95 8GB to get a V20.0.016 firmware update in a few days. This firmware release will provide the following new features and improvements:

 

New features:

• Automatic Screen Rotation (ASR),
• Support for new combo memory added.

Browser:

• Improvement when creating a voice call from WAP page,
• Improvements to embedded video functionality in browser,
• Sending email via browser flash plug-in improvements.

Messaging:

• Mail in HTML format handling from Gmail IMAP server improved.

Connectivity:

• WLAN connection stability improvements,
• BT connection stability improvements with certain BT headsets,
• USB connection stability improvements.

Telephony:

• Voice call handling improvements after certain type of U.S.S.D message receiving,
• Stability improvements to gallery in case when there’s lot of content in Gallery,
• Improvements to switch application,
• Voicemail icon handling improvements.

Localization corrections:

• Deletion of all contacts now possible even more than 6000 contacts in phonebook,
• Startup functionality improvements.

As you see, the log doesn’t mention User Data Preservation (UDP). Do you think the N82 will get a V20.0.016 firmware update or a V15 one? This firmware release shows that Nokia provides firmware releases to top Nseries handsets following their appearance on the market.

The New N95 Classic Firmware Release and User Data Preservation

When Nokia released firmware V11.0.117 for the N82 back in January, everyone was happy to see the debut of User Data Preservation (UDP) which meant it was no longer necessary to reinstall everything into the phone memory after updating the firmware. At that time many people, myself included, thought it would become a standard feature of all future firmware releases on FP1 Nseries handsets. Now it’s interesting to find out that the latest N95 Classic firmware release, V21.0.016, doesn’t come with UDP. A friend of mine who just finished updating his N95 also told me that he had to reinstall his applications altogether into the phone memory.

The obvious question is why Nokia hasn’t made UDP a part of this firmware release. Are there any software limitations at work? I don’t think so because the N95 has a lot in common with the N82 as both are FP1 handsets with analogous features. Is a lack of ample time to be blamed for the absence of UDP? Again I don’t think that’s the case because Nokia could have managed this over the 2-month span after the release of the N82 firmware update.

If software technicalities and timing issues are ruled out, we should pinpoint the cause somewhere else. In my opinion, Nokia purposefully distributes new features when it releases firmware updates so as to avoid making a certain handset stand out in the crowd. So, for instance, when it releases a new firmware update for the N95 8GB and enables Flash Lite 3 for that handset, the software engineers do their best to keep it away from the N82’s firmware release. Yes, the N82 will most likely get Flash Lite 3 support soon, but it could have gained the title of a Flash Lite 3-enabled handset back in January. And, clearly enough, the same strategy can be observed when Nokia manufactures new handsets. The N95 8GB has a better battery compared with the N95 Classic but doesn’t come with a physical camera shutter, the upcoming N96 has a 950 BL5 battery with its array of features, and the N82 offers a better battery compared with the N95 Classic but doesn’t offer music-dedicated keys.

At the end of the day, will User Data Preservation be bestowed on the N95 Classic? There exists no technical obstacle to prevent it, but that will take some time.

Nokia N95 Firmware V21.0.016 Available

Today Nokia made a relatively minor firmware update, V21.0.016, available for N95 Classic owners. Of course, the term “minor” applies to this release only if we compare its features with those of the previous V20 firmware update. Anyway, the new features provided by this firmware are:

 

• Flash Lite 3 support (for accessing Flash video sites such as YouTube),
• Standalone Widget support (via Web runtime),
• Standby-time improvements,
• Better Bluetooth headset compatibility,
• Enhanced Java application support.

 

This firmware update brings the N95 Classic on a par with the N95 8GB with its firmware release V15.

N82 firmware update is a milestone

Yesterday I managed to update my N82 firmware to V11.0.117 10-12-07 RM-313 Nokia N82 (23.01). The update size was 98.4MB and with a 256KBPS ADSL connection it took less than 150 minutes to grab the update. It also took about 4 minutes in order for the firmware update to be transferred to the handset.

As updating was over and the phone restarted, TALKS started reading the phone screens immediately. In fact, neither was I forced to set the date/time, reinstall my applications, re-adjust the menu structure, restore my contacts, and so forth. This is “user data preservation (UDP)” in full swing.

I call this a milestone because the N82 is the first cell phone in general and the first Nokia handset in particular to have implemented user data preservation. Moreover, this is also a welcome change for Symbian screen reader users who won’t be forced to reinstall their screen readers if UDP finds its way into other Nokia handsets. Kudos to Nokia!

N82 gets a new firmware

Today Nokia released a new firmware for the N82. It’s V11.0.117, and seems to be a minor update, mainly targeting bugs. Those who have updated their N82 report to have seen a slightly increased amount of RAM after the update. More importantly, N82 is the first Nokia handset to have received “user data preservation (UDP)”, which keeps data stored on the phone memory intact after the update. At any rate, the changelog for this firmware follows:

Camera application:

• Improvements of “Unexpected error…” probability when starting up with quick succession of camera lens cover open/close.

Music player (Music player stability):

• Fix for music player freeze when operating app from accessory remote controller e.g. BT headsets, AD-54 etc.

Map application:

• Reset fix when opening Map app from landmark app,
• Long Map app closing time,
• Address search in Chinese character.

One more point: to update your N82, you need the latest release of Nokia Software Updater.

I’ll be updating mine tomorrow, and will be reporting my findings afterwards.

N82 and “user data preservation” around the corner

Those who have used Nokia Software Updater at least once know that restoring the previously backed up data after a firmware update is quite painful. Add to that the nightmare of installing and configuring many applications. Now this may become history at least for the N82.

The first N82 firmware update (which is to become available soon) introduces a feature called “user data preservation”. It refers to the fact that as updating is over, everything should remain intact. Of course, backing up data before a firmware update must always remain a number-one priority for all.

At any rate, it wouldn’t be uncommon to see this feature making its way into other S60 handsets. Imagine a day when your screen reader immediately speaks after a firmware update. Are you optimistic? Nokia has something to surprise us daily!