Nokia N96 App review – Psiloc Xelnex Lite
March 31, 2009 by Patrick Campbell
Filed under Applications, Nokia, Review, S60, Software
Name: psiloc Xelnex lite(v1.02)
Description: Utilities, call recorder
Summary: Xelnex Lite is an application for recording all incoming and outgoing calls on your phone without the need to press or do anything. Most call recorders need to be started and only the selected call records but this one will start automatically and will not interrupt the conversation with a beep, it also has an unlimited record time. This app contains everything you would want from a call recorder very simple yet with the options to record at different qualities and different conversations. It will also organise all you conversations in its own folder and playback is only a button press away. It should be mentioned how quick, easy and hassle free this application is.
Overall: There are many different call recorders which seems to suggest that call recorders are important to many users, recently I reviewed an application called “total recall” which is another call recorder but a few people complained about the quality. This however has a higher quality which is probably the most important aspect of any call recorder. So if recording you conversation is really important this is the one to go for, unfortunately this app is not free and to own it it will cost about 15 euros. On a brighter note it dose come with a 10 day free trail which will probably convince anyone


with its quality. So it gets a great 9/10
To buy Psiloc Xelnex Lite please visit their website here.
Or to just try this software you can download it here.
If you have any questions/problems about Psiloc Xelnex Lite then please feel free to leave a comment in the forum
Nokia N96 expanding community
March 29, 2009 by Patrick Campbell
Filed under Blog News, Nokia
First I would like to thank every forum member for their time and expertise, without the level of dedication nokian96.net would not be what it is today. With every week that passes more and more people are joining the forum and adding to the number of people that have resolved their problems with the n96. The forum has now reached over 2000 members and is growing rapidly, mostly we try to help members with issues and inform members about latest software also we provide a suitable place to discuss any topic involving the n96.
Now with the numbers of members rapidly expanding it is time to expand the community, so I’m here to announce that there is a Nokia n96 community now on Facebook. This will be hopefully another way for us to reach out to any other N96 users and anyone who is planning to buy one. There has never been a better time to buy a Nokia n96 especially with the quality of help and guidance available. The Nokia n96 community on Facebook is here to help you so don’t be a stranger.
We want to get every N96 owner to come and see what potential their phone has and come and join the N96 community. No matter what the problem is many of our users will have guidance and advice to solve most problems from cleaning the dirt from under the screen to fixing a “bricked” phone. With every user creates new problems and new solutions that are very specific to n96 and your help could help many others so come along and join both the forum and facebook community.
We are hiring!
March 24, 2009 by Meraj Chhaya
Filed under Uncategorized
In an effort to combat financial crisis by creating jobs, and in an effort to promote the teachings of mobile content in the blogosphere, PhoneReport Communities is hiring bloggers.
Bloggers won’t be completely subject to write here, at the Nokia N96 Blog. There is place for you, at blogs focused on Windows Mobile also. If you want to just write about S60, that’s fine with us.
If you don’t understand much about phones, but you are still passionate, don’t panic! It’s all about sharing your opinion of applications, games, themes, and even compare one phone to another. We’ll guide you all the way.
Positions are limited, so they will either be given on a first-come-first-serve basis, or there will be blogging competitions, so that the best wins. You can apply at any time, and because we are constantly expanding on the number of blogs, we won’t ever run out of places, and you will probably get a chance of blogging about your favourite phone.
Salaries go up to 100US$ per month, and if you do extremely well, it goes even higher than that!
So, what are you waiting for? Comment here, or send us a message, and we’ll get back to you ASAP. No resumé or CV required! Give it a shot!
Nokia N96 App Review – Nokia Step Counter
March 11, 2009 by jonbaker
Filed under Applications, Review, S60
Name: Nokia Step Counter (beta) v0.25
Description: Counts your steps and gives corresponding statistics
Summary: This is a nice little application. It looks great and is easy to use. Like the title says, it counts your steps and breaks them down into the following statistics:
Energy (calories burnt)
Distance
Time
Amount of steps
The above are displayed in the first screen. You can then scroll up or down to the other 2 screens which are: A line graph that displays amount of steps on the vertical axis and the time they were recorded on the horizontal axis. And lastly, a bar chart that highlights the intensity of the steps and the time they were recorded.
If you run the step counter each day, your statistics are recorded in the diary calendar where you can view your information for each day the application was used. There is a progress option that summarises your total step count and your daily step count. It also displays stats of energy used and distance.
This application can be set to start at boot time if you wanted to record your steps every day and will run in the background. You can also set a step target and change how the stats are measured i.e. Metric, Imperial or Nautical.
Lastly, in the user menu, you can enter your age, gender, height, weight and step length. This information, I assume, will be used to calculate your energy (calorie) burning.
The whole thing works using the accelerometer. With your phone in your pocket, it will count the amount of steps you take by using the motion of your thigh. Clever stuff.
If you couldn’t give a stuff about calorie burning, exercise and health, then this application is not for you, but you could use it to measure distances you have walked or run if you felt the urge! It’s not something that I’ll have running everyday but it is an interesting application, especially for fitness people.

Rating: 8/10
Forum discussion: Applications – Nokia Step Counter
Download: Nokia Step Counter
Enjoy!
Nokia N96 App Review – cClock
March 10, 2009 by jonbaker
Filed under Applications, Review, S60
Name: cClock v1.21
Description: Power saver that displays the time and other selected information
Summary: cClock is a popular application. Many people like to use their phones for the time, and cClock enables this without having to press any buttons. Once selected as the power saver, it will display the information you have selected as soon as it kicks in. There are tons of options to tweak the information displayed and then options to change the appearance of them, far too many to mention in fact, but include:
Time, Date, Battery, Signal and Events.
Once you change an option you can preview it easily through ‘options’ which saves you having to wait for it to kick in to see what your change looks like. One option I do like is having the battery and signal displayed in percentage as opposed to bars.
Also included is a stop watch. Very simple to use if you ever need one. I will now be able to time my boiled eggs to perfection!
Rating: 7/10 Great idea, but I would like to see more fonts included. I wont be swapping this application for my Tag Heur though!
Forum discussion: Applications – cClock
Download: cClock
Enjoy!
Nokia N96 App Review – Phone Locator
March 9, 2009 by jonbaker
Filed under Applications, GPS, Review, S60
Name: Phone Locator v0.70
Description: Tracks your phones location and trail using GPS
Summary: Since my wife’s N96 was stolen on Boxing day, I’ve been on the lookout for ways to trace handsets. Phone locator does just that. It’s an interesting application that was originally made to track the designer’s motorcycle tour around the Alps in 2007. Phone Locator uses your devices GPS to detect its location and uploads the information to the website where you can log in to view it. It also records the trail of the phone and the times the updates were received.
There are plenty of settings on this application that revolve around how the updates are to be sent. Some settings have an impact on battery life because the GPS is always active, but there are options to overcome this:
• Turn on ‘battery saver’! ‘battery saver’ turns off the GPS when the phone is stationary or the GPS signal is too low to get a fix. The GPS is turned back on when the phone connects to a different cell tower. This works best in metropolitan areas where the cells are small.
• Update less frequently! A big drain on the battery is the data context that is used to send data to the server. For example, if the application is set to ‘update every time I move’ it will drain the battery quicker than if it is set to update every 30 minutes.

After installation you are directed to the website where you can register your account. You can then log into the website on your pc and see where your phone is currently and where it has been at earlier times. You can choose to be ‘public’ where your location and trails are viewable to others or you can be ‘private’, and your location is only viewable when logged into your account.
Phone locator can be set to run at boot time so you can just forget about it. If you lose your phone, or it is stolen, you are then able to view its location providing a gps signal is or was available. It also runs in the background and doesn’t show up in running applications when closed.
You can also add other phones to your account that have the application installed to view family and friends locations and trails if you so wished.
I hope I never have to use this to try and trace a lost or stolen phone but I have it running just in case!
Please remember that data sent will incur charges to your phone bill unless you have an unlimited data plan with your provider.
Forum Discussion: Applications – Phone Locator
Rating: 9/10
Download: Phone Locator
Enjoy!
Nokia N96 App Review – Health Calculator
March 8, 2009 by jonbaker
Filed under Applications, Review, S60
Name: Health Calculator v1.0
Description: Calculates BMI (Body Mass Index) & BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)
Summary: Health is a big issue these days, and most people struggle to understand exactly how to lose weight or gain muscle. Now, I’m not about to write an article on how to do that, but this little application will give you a very basic idea about your current weight.
What it does is calculate 2 things for you. Firstly, it gives you your BMI (Body Mass Index) and secondly, your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). BMI is a calculation that uses your weight and height to determine if you are overweight. The BMI weight ranges, as set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), are outlined below.
• If your BMI is less than 18.4, you’re underweight for your height.
• If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, you’re an ideal weight for your height.
• If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, you’re over the ideal weight for your height.
• If your BMI is between 30 and 39.9, you’re obese.
• If your BMI is over 40, you’re very obese.
The above information isn’t on the application which is a shame as the numbers you get might not mean much to people, although it will summarise and tell you if you are overweight etc.
You use energy no matter what you’re doing, even when sleeping, so the BMR calculator will calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); the number of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day! You need to burn off the calories you take in to stay the same weight, burn more to lose weight or if you take in more than you burn off you will gain weight.
I’ve provided this information to complement the application so that the numbers you get will mean something. As a guide, men take in 2500 calories per day and women 2000.
If you weight train and have a muscular physique, then the BMI calculation is not going to be accurate because it can’t take muscle mass into consideration. I’m going to use that as the basis for me being on the verge of overweight according to my results in the screenshots! Muscle weighs more than fat.
You can use this for your own benefit or test it out on others to either encourage a healthier lifestyle or simply for taking the Mick!
Rating: 6/10. This calculation is nothing new and can be found all over the web, but it’s handy to have one on your phone! More information on the meanings of the calculations should be included in the application but at least I have explained it for you!
Forum discussion: Applications – Health Calculator
Download: Health Calculator
Enjoy!
Nokia N96 App Review – Alone MP3 Player
March 7, 2009 by Patrick Campbell
Filed under Applications, Software
Name: Alone MP3 Player
Description: Audio recorder/player, call recorder.
Summary: The Alon MP3 Dictaphone is the first high-quality MP3 player to replace the pre-installed music player.
It supports MP3, OGG, AAC/MP4, AMR, WAV and a few more, plus it has a great Equalizer, and it also supports M3U playlists.
The application is easy to use, however, it can take its time to find all your songs, but in the end of the day, it’s one of these applications that make your phone better.
The record function is one of the best, recording everything very crisply and clear.
This is a 14-day trial software, so see how you like it, and if it’s really that useful to you, then it’s all there to be bought. Here’s the trial.

Overall: Great MP3 player, if you find the pre-installed music player to be a bit lacking then try this.
Rating: 9/10
If you have any problems or questions about the Alone MP3 player, please feel free to comment at the applications forum.
Nokia N96 App Review- Total Recall
March 7, 2009 by Patrick Campbell
Filed under Review, Software
Name: Total recall
Description: Call Recorder
Summary: This is probably the easiest, most friendly conversation/extended recorder utility ever.
It doesn’t beep when it starts and will record for as long as you have memory, it can also send the recorded clip automatically to anyone via SMS or MMS. This application will auto-start but won’t really affect your phone’s performance, and all clips are cleverly made and easily sent to anywhere. However, make sure you change the settings before you start using it.

If you are thinking that you don’t need a call recorder, which is reasonable, you probably have never needed one. I’ll tell a little story about one: “Me, my girlfriend and mate of mine where going to this party now we are all a little drunk, and we are going to a place quite far away, anyway my mate calls a taxi and we all go there but when we arrive at this wrong place, and the taxi driver was going to leave but my friend had recoded the conversation, proving that we said the right place and he had taken us to the wrong place” and from then on I record any important call I make.

Overview: This app is a free ad-based version so you will have to view an ad when you receive a call but it’s free - download here.
If you have any problem or issues with Total Recall then please feel free to leave a comment at the Applications forum!
Nokia N96 Theme Review – Green Deluxe
Creator: Valepunto
Theme Name: Green Deluxe
Summary: Unless you are very young, a decent theme is hard to come by in my opinion. I’m not a fan of tacky images that are the feature of many themes, instead, I like something a bit more plain or classy. Usually, I’ll just go for a straight black theme but this one really caught my eye.
Black is a colour that goes well with most bright colours and Valepunto has come up with a superb theme that gives you a great shade of green on top of my favourite black! The idle screen, as you can see, has a dotted wave type pattern that looks great on the N96.
Icons can be chosen as default (which I always prefer) or custom depending on the download you chose. You can view the custom icons on the download page.
This theme is free and there are other great themes by Valepunto at his website, but, from what I can make out, a small donation is required for his latest work.
Discuss this and other great themes over at the themes forum
Rating: 9/10
Download: Green Deluxe by Valepunto


