Nokia N8 Upgrade to Belle 111.040.1511

I've been putting off any changes to my N8 until I had a lot of spare time in case anything should go wrong. Up to today, I was running a custom Belle firmware (don't remember the details) that I had modified slightly (default analog clock, fixed some errors with the little icons along the top, etc). It was reliable and fast, and I loved the customizability. But a few months ago, the Store stopped working. It would load, but I couldn't go to the screen with My Stuff to check for updates, and I couldn't download new content.

Removing the custom firmware took a little research. The generally accepted procedure is to flash the N8 with the 11.5 Scandinavian version, after which you can install whatever you like: Anna, Belle, etc. Problem is, v11.5 no longer appears in Navifirm. After some hunting, I finally found a copy on the N8FanClub site.

Flashing the N8 did not take long at all.

• Close all applications and make a full backup using Nokia Suite.
• Power down the N8.
• Remove the microSD card and the SIM (this may not be really necessary because I forgot once, and nothing happened. Still, may not be a bad idea).
• Uninstall Nokia Suite to prevent it from popping up every time the N8 is reconnected to the computer.
• Install Phoenix.
• Copy the Scandi firmware to Phoenix\Products\RM-596.
• Start Phoenix, select the port the N8 is connected to.
• Press ctrl-R to rescan.
• Select Flashing -> Firmware Update and press the button with the three dots.
• Choose firmware 0598984 Scandinavian DG.
• Press the Refurbish button.
• After programming the phone is complete, it was necessary to manually power up the phone and abort Phoenix. For some reason, it was waiting for a communications check with the phone, but the phone stayed powered down. Fortunately, the phone didn't brick. Once the N8 powered up, it was clearly running older firmware and was ok. Yay.
• Rename the Scandi RM-596 directory, to save it for next time.
• Download the new firmware and put it in Phoenix\Products\RM-596. At first I downloaded and flashed 111.030.609 since that was the most recent version for my phone (059C8T6), but when I realized that it was an old version of Belle, I threw it out. Reflashed to Scandi 11.5, and grabbed nam_0599218. The product code doesn't match (0599218 vs 059C8T6), but I did confirm that nam = North America. It seemed like a low risk substitute. If anything went wrong, I could just reflash, right?
• With the new firmware in the RM-596 directory, restart Phoenix and connect the N8.
• Select the right USB port, press ctrl-R, and select Flashing -> Firmware Update again.
• Select the button with the three dots. The new firmware (0599218 nam) should appear).
• This time select Update Software.
• After about 5 minutes, the phone has been updated.
• Restore the phone from backup, and enjoy setting up your N8 again.

The curious thing is that after I upgraded with the nam 599218 firmware, my phone still shows Product Code = 059C8T6. Unexpected, but I can live with that.

Always have a camera with you..

.. even if it's "just" an N8. In my limited experience, chipmunks are incredibly hard to shoot. Normally they're skittish and don't come near humans. When bribed with a peanut, they don't stay long. And when they're on the move, they're fast. But yesterday a co-worker spotted this little guy while crossing the bridge that joins our building with the south parking lot.

The N8 was fully zoomed in (about 2x digital), and held about 10-15 cm from the subject. All the other settings were on automatic or default. I managed to get six shots off before I and not it(!) decided to move on. Miraculously, only one of those was blurry enough to warrant throwing away.

The above shot was enhanced in GIMP with a touch of unsharp mask (radius 1.0, amount 0.50, threshold 1) and cropped. Here's the entire set, shrunken by the upload process but otherwise unmodified:

Hat's off to @PhoneDaz and the rest of the N8 team!

Fixing USB car chargers from eBay

A few months ago, in an accessory buying frenzy for my then-new N8, I ordered a couple of USB car chargers from eBay. The first one did not specifically say it was for the N8, but it didn't say it was for Apple either, so I took a chance with it. Disappointingly, it did not work. I ordered another one, this time in a bundle with a wall adapter and 3 micro USB cables. There was a choice of colours, so I ordered a pink one because that goes well with Subies. This model was advertised to work with the N8, but of course it didn't work. Some time passed. Recently, I helped put together two Minty Boost USB chargers, which showed that for some devices, pins 2 and 3 need to be shorted together. Inspired, I disassembled the pink one and soldered the pins together. Sadly, the N8 still wouldn't charge from it. Luckily I spotted this in a forum:

I found a similar problem: USB cigarette ligher (an expensive one) charger, and the phone (Nokia C7) won't charge. The solution was somewhat surprising. Some background info: in the USB plugs, there are 4 wires: +5 V, Ground, +Data, -Data. Only the first two is required for charging, but you have to do something with the rest. The spec says, they should be connected together either directly or through a maximum of 200 ohm resistor. However, in my charger (optimised for iPhone perhaps?) the +Data was connected to the +5 V through a 24K resistor, and likewise the -Data to the Gnd through a 24K resistor. Removing them and connecting the + and - Data through a 100 ohm resistor, the charger works perfectly. Too bad though, that you need a soldering iron for this...

Aha! After removing two resistors tying pins 2 and 3 to the power rails (and of course soldering pins 2 and 3 together), the charger works. The voltage between pins 1 and 4 is 5.24 V, and between 1 and 2-3 it's now 2.15V (it used to be ~3V). Mr Pink's circuit board. Green: solder bridge. Red: removed resistors. The other USB charger was trickier to disassemble because it is encased in a stainless steel sleeve, but after some prying it came apart. Same problem, same resolution, same results. Top: Mr Pink's resistors. Bottom: Mr Steel's resistors. There's no doubt in my mind that Mr Pink's components were placed and soldered by hand :(

Smartphone followup

The verdict In the end, the Nokia N8 won, at least for me. Mrs Squirrel bought a second-hand Nexus One based on my research, and that device and OS is perfect for her. For me, the N8 has been a better fit. I ordered an unlocked, black version from Newegg.ca in December, received it a few days later, and have been enjoying it since. Let's break it down. Camera and xenon flash Much has already been written about N8's camera, and no other smartphone has yet to best it. The shutter-to-shot time could be faster. The Xenon flash is so close to the lens that red-eye (or in the case of cats, laser eye) is almost always present. But if you're serious about using your smartphone as a camera, the N8 is hard to beat. Compared to a point-and-shoot, the only thing missing is optical zoom. Making and receiving calls Though I don't spend much time talking on my N8, I've never dropped a call or been disappointed by the sound quality. By way comparison, my old Treo 650 frequently could not receive or make calls from inside buildings (even standing near a window), and it needed an app to boost the earpiece and mike volume. Mrs Squirrel makes lots of calls on her Nexus One, and is happy with it. WLAN During our recent vacation, Mrs Squirrel and her Nexus One was much quicker at connecting to public WiFi networks that require one to accept an agreement on a browser. But that might be attributable to Mrs Squirrel, who is brilliant, and not necessarily to the Nexus One. At home or on networks using WEP or WPA/WPA2, the N8 has no problems once the SSID and passkeys are entered. My N8 can even connect to the LEAP network at the office, something I've yet to configure my Linux laptop to do. 3G data The N8 has a pentaband 3G radio, but I'm too cheap to buy a data plan. I like not being tied to any service provider though. Battery life I can go 2 days without needing to charge my N8, whereas Mrs Squirrel frequently runs out. But this is likely a reflection of usage patterns too. The battery meter on the N8 could use some work though: the reading is usually higher than what other battery monitoring apps say. Operating system I'm ok with the Symbian OS that runs on the N8. Sure, it's not as tweakable, nice looking, and the app store is not as well stocked as Android or iOS, but it's perfectly serviceable. The long period from when PR 1.1 was announced to be available and when it actually released for my phone was regrettable, but at least it happened. This is one of the benefits of buying an unlocked phone, by the way. Earlier this month I played with an N8 that was locked to Smart, and PR 1.1 is still not available for it. Applications Nokia makes some nice apps for Symbian. I'm really happy with their Ovi Maps, Wellness Diary Beta, and Sleeping Screen. I haven't had a problem with the Ovi store. Their browser, Web, has gotten better with the recent updates, and I use it equally with Opera Mini. Other 3rd party apps that I use are Gravity, Best Timer, Best TaskMan, Best Jotter, Best Converter, Panorama, Pixelpipe, Offscreen's Anglemeter, and MobileKnox. My favourite games are Angry Birds, Doodle fit, and MicroPool. Case I used a cheap slip-on hard case from ebay, and upgraded to Otterbox's Commuter case as soon as it became available. The future I'm happy with my N8, and I'll probably keep using it until it breaks. Nokia has partnered with Microsoft and produce some Windows 7 phones, and there are rumours of a new N8, so we'll see what happens.