I was at the Crown Point Festival last night, an event sponsored by Nokia Nseries here in New York City. In short, it is an annual 3-week festival showing off emerging and pioneering artists in film, theater and music. My girlfriend and I met up with Zach from Symbian in Motion, Donna, and Molly from Nseries WOM World to check it out. I was also able to briefly play with the Nokia N810 and compare the Nokia N95 8GB to my Nokia N95-3.

Very enthusiastic about the Nokia N810.

As we entered the theater, I saw an Nseries booth that lets people try out the Nokia N810, Nokia N800, Nokia N95-3, and Nokia N73 Music Edition. There might have been more, but I was busy eying Donna’s Nokia N95 8GB. There was also a flat screen TV behind the devices that showed Steve Garfield’s video on how to shoot, edit, and post video with the Nokia N95.

It was the first time I’ve met Zach, whose blog, Symbian in Motion, I frequently read to find out what stuff I can install on my phones. He also wrote his recap of the Crown Point Festival.

Group picture taken from the Nokia N95 8GB.

Unusual Accessory

After we got our tickets, we headed upstairs to our seats. What caught my attention was a woman wearing a strange accessory that I can describe as a headband that placed her Nokia N95 in front of her face. I was only able to see her for a few seconds initially, so my head was going nuts. Was she making a live webcast, watching a video, or disabled and using it as an assistive device? I told myself to find out at intermission.

The show lineup that night was nothing to get excited about, but I particularly enjoyed listening to Nullsleep playing music from programmed Game Boy cartridges!

During intermission, I approached the woman with the unusual accessory and asked what it was. She placed it on my head and played a movie on the Nokia N95. AAHHH… so it was a hands free accessory that lets you watch movies or videos up close… really close to your face.

Sheila watching a movie with the head mount.

I would use this accessory for a different reason, though. I would use it as a camera holder to make some cool videos of me using my phone or walking on the streets. It would be like a moving tripod. No details on availability, but she mentioned that it was an official Nokia product that will go on sale.

Nokia N95 8GB Initial Impressions

After the break, I borrowed the Nokia N95 8GB and started comparing it with my Nokia N95-3. Things I noticed included:

• The 2.8 inch on the Nokia N95 8GB display looks great!
• The camera turns on noticeably faster on the N95 8GB.
• After taking a picture with the Nokia N95 8GB, a status line saying “processing image” briefly shows up before the picture is shown.
• An extra option is in the camera mode of the Nokia N95 8GB that lets you turn on or off the squares that autofocuses on objects.
• The biggest thing I noticed is that I could not find the Video Editor on the N95 8GB! You can find this application on the North American Nokia N95-3. Why was it not included?

My eyes are locked on the Nokia N95 8GB. Photo by Zach.

Even though I would not buy it because the fast 3G internet speed with AT&T is not compatible, I’d still want to spend more time to review Nokia N95 8GB.

Party on Stage

At the end of the show, an Nseries photo booth tent was set up onstage. The photographers at the tent explained that the pictures were being uploaded to the Nseries NYC Flickr gallery. We took a few pictures inside. There was also a DJ on stage. Pretty cool idea to transform the stage into a dance floor.

On our way out, we were told that we would get free gifts if we had Nokia phones. I should have taken a picture of their faces when four out of the of five us took out Nokia N95’s! Sheila had an iPhone…

For more pictures from the Crown Point Festival, check out the flickr galleries:

• Mark
• WOM World
• Zach

The festival is not yet over, so if you are in the New York City area and want to see something different or play with the new Nokia N810, give the Crown Point Festival a visit. The Nseries booth will only be there until November 11th.