This has been quite a sore spot of mine for some time now- ever since I saw the early shots of the N95 8GB variant- the lack of proper lens protection on the new iterations of the Nokia N95.

To the left is an image recently taken of my US N95, who also lacks the protection of the original device. There are severally many quite visible scratches on the anti-glare coating of the perspex window that poses itself as reasonable protection for the 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss optics. While it most certainly does what it is intended to do, which is protect the actual lens, I feel it's no where near adequate for the purposes of such an amazing camera as far as converged mobile devices go.

Click "Read More" to comment and view the link to a poll at N95users.com.

Demand paging makes the new N95 a super zippy device. 8GB of embedded memory is a great deal of space. The screen is a lot larger than you'd think from the stats and it's stunningly bright. There's 25% more battery power and a slew of other tasty features... but is there a price to pay? Of course! You should know by now that not even Nokia can create the perfect device for every user- so here's a list of ten pros and ten cons that I've come up with over the past month of exposure to this new variant of "the legendary", the Nokia N95 8GB.

 "Read More" for the whole story.

Gizmoratty over at N95Users has filled us in on an expected firmware revision for the N95-1. The new firmware, labeled v21.0.001, has been released to Web Runtime Developers and adds what appears to be several new enhancements -one being better YouTube playback.

Version date for the firmware is 16-10-07, so we could be seeing this any day now. Please note that this upcoming revision is for the N95-1 (EURO) model, and not supported under the N95-3 US Edition or the N95 8GB. Here is a quick glance at noted improvements: 

• Fresh boot up gives about 28MB of free RAM (demand paging?)

• Search Application accessible via the Standby Screen

• YouTube Playback (for real this time)

• Grid view added to camera options

• Music Store and Podcasts implemented in Music Folder

• Camera can now be opened with 'Capture' button

Still no RotateMe as of now, but again this is not a final release. It was also noted that firmware v15 was released to developers for the N95 8GB, no other details on this yet.

Continue on for screenshots......

 Mywaves, based in Sunnyvale, California announced the availibility of their video content in the Nokia Video Center today. They join with global content brands such as Reuters, CNN and Sony Pictures to deliver free high-quality mobile videos to Nseries devices owners around the world.

Millions of consumers across the planet will now have access to a selection of over 200,000 channels via the Video Center application. Through the Video Center, mywaves will provide personalized access to TV and video-on-demand services on Nseries devices via cellular and WiFi connections. 

"Our addition to the Nokia Video Center lineup provides streamlined distribution into Nokia's strong global market share, giving mobile consumers yet another way to access our compelling video entertainment while delivering even higher visibility and reach to our advertisers," said Rajeev Raman, CEO, mywaves.