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Nokia N96 Gets iSync Plugin and Firmware Update

By The Guru on October 13, 2008

The Nokia N96, arguably the ‘little’ brother to the superior N85, has received a few important updates recently. Though Nokia only started shipping the N96 in the past month or so, the device has already had 2 firmware updates, the latest of which brings the phone I fondly refer to as ‘Widebody’ up to v11.101. The update is available through Nokia’s NSU, which requires a Windows-based computer. With the N78 receiving most of its firmware updates OTA (Over The Air), I’d hoped to see that become a standard for Nokia, but it looks like I was wrong.

Note, also, that this firmware is only for the Euro version, as Nokia hasn’t released the NAM version of the N96 yet, unsurprisingly.

For those of you using Mac computers, the N96 has also gotten its very own official iSync plugin recently, as I informed Darla Mack recently. This official plugin allows the N96 to be sync’d with your Mac computer. Sadly, if you’re rocking Linux, your syncing options are limited to less official methods, as Rita discovered.

My Nokia N96 is sitting at the UPS station at the moment, though I’ll be able to pick it up in a few hours. PsuedoFinn and Rita both also got their hands on the phone, so expect to see some serious comparison pieces from three very different mobile users.

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The Guru

The Guru, aka Ricky Cadden, started Symbian-Guru.com in November 2006, out of his excitement for the S60 3rd Edition version of Symella. The Guru has used Symbian devices since the Nokia 6620, and is known for his perspective as a power user. You can follow The Guru on Twitter at @Rcadden

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  • Tim

    “Little” brother? How do you define “Little” ;-)?

    I think you call N85 superior owing to its OLED screen. It can be argued that by being smaller and lighter and packing all the goodies, it IS superior to N96 but that’s not how Nokia would see it!

  • Tim

    “Little” brother? How do you define “Little” ;-)?

    I think you call N85 superior owing to its OLED screen. It can be argued that by being smaller and lighter and packing all the goodies, it IS superior to N96 but that’s not how Nokia would see it!

  • http://www.womworld.com/nokia/4757/n96-gets-firmware-update-and-isync-plug-in/ WOM World / Nokia » Blog Archive – N96 gets firmware update and iSync plug in

    [...] the Nokia Software Updater and not Over The Air (OTA) like other devices such as the N78. Ricky hoped that OTA was going to become standard, but it looks like he’s going to be disappointed. He also reports on the iSync plug in that [...]

  • Kyle

    I just updated my firmware on my N96 over the air 30 minutes ago.

  • http://www.symbian-guru.com/ The Guru

    @Tim – I call the N85 superior based on the OLED display, the superior battery life, size, and USB charging abilities. It’s also a few hundred $$ cheaper.

    @Kyle – to what? I didn’t see any mention of being able to update the N96 OTA, and it didn’t find any updates when I tried prior to simply using the USB cable. What version do you have on yours now?

  • http://www.symbian-guru.com The Guru

    @Tim – I call the N85 superior based on the OLED display, the superior battery life, size, and USB charging abilities. It’s also a few hundred $$ cheaper.

    @Kyle – to what? I didn’t see any mention of being able to update the N96 OTA, and it didn’t find any updates when I tried prior to simply using the USB cable. What version do you have on yours now?

  • http://www.n96.me/2008/10/n96-firmware-update-and-isync-plugin/ N96 firmware update and iSync plugin

    [...] the Nokia Software Updater and not Over The Air (OTA) like other devices such as the N78. Ricky hoped that OTA was going to become standard, but it looks like he’s going to be disappointed. He also reports on the iSync plug in that [...]

  • Kyle

    Now I have 11.101. I didn’t know it worked either. I was just going to look at my firmware version today and typed in *#0000# and was presented with device manager rather that the familiar version popup. A quick click on the options menu and I noticed “Check for Updates”…. it found an update and downloaded… (i think a little more than 30mb) installed the updates and preserved all my settings and data :)

  • Kyle

    Now I have 11.101. I didn’t know it worked either. I was just going to look at my firmware version today and typed in *#0000# and was presented with device manager rather that the familiar version popup. A quick click on the options menu and I noticed “Check for Updates”…. it found an update and downloaded… (i think a little more than 30mb) installed the updates and preserved all my settings and data :)

  • Kyle

    I’m not sure if there are regional differences in the firmware that would explain why it worked for me…. I say this because my phone was bought in Kuwait. Can anyone else confirm that OTA updates are working on another version… mine is RM-247. Also, Ricky when you get your phone if you don’t mind let us know how the voice quality is. Mine sounds terrible.

  • Kyle

    I’m not sure if there are regional differences in the firmware that would explain why it worked for me…. I say this because my phone was bought in Kuwait. Can anyone else confirm that OTA updates are working on another version… mine is RM-247. Also, Ricky when you get your phone if you don’t mind let us know how the voice quality is. Mine sounds terrible.

  • Tim

    @The Guru: If you see my post, I CONCURRED with your conclusion that N85 is superior overall. I just said that Nokia’s pricing/marketing would suggest otherwise.

    By the same token, Nokia 6120 was arguably superior to many Nseries handsets of that time, by virtue of being light and un-pretentious, dirt-cheap and fast. Too bad it got stuck with a mediocre camera and the 6220 just doesn’t have that same air about it, being overpriced and unwieldy by comparison.

  • Tim

    @The Guru: If you see my post, I CONCURRED with your conclusion that N85 is superior overall. I just said that Nokia’s pricing/marketing would suggest otherwise.

    By the same token, Nokia 6120 was arguably superior to many Nseries handsets of that time, by virtue of being light and un-pretentious, dirt-cheap and fast. Too bad it got stuck with a mediocre camera and the 6220 just doesn’t have that same air about it, being overpriced and unwieldy by comparison.

  • @nt1

    Yup, N96 OTA firmware update works like a charm! Couldn’t believe it at first… you download a file, the phone restarts, screen turns white with “updating” (or was that upgrading? huh) bar in the middle, restarts again and voila! All done.
    Mine is 247 as well.

  • @nt1

    Yup, N96 OTA firmware update works like a charm! Couldn’t believe it at first… you download a file, the phone restarts, screen turns white with “updating” (or was that upgrading? huh) bar in the middle, restarts again and voila! All done.
    Mine is 247 as well.

  • Kyle

    I just updated my firmware on my N96 over the air 30 minutes ago.

  • Kyle

    I just updated my firmware on my N96 over the air 30 minutes ago.

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