Over at S60.com a link archive is available to refresh our memories on the S60 platform,so here you go check whether there is anything that you missed in case.

First of all my apologies for been away for a long time,it is almost 3weeks since I stopped writting here continuously.The last few weeks of the year was a real rush to catch up with,the hardest and busiest for me as it was throughout the year.2008 was a year that made so many changes in my life,speaking on me and my S60 experience.Briefly,

1.I graduated from Uni after completing my BSc in Science.

2.Got Engaged.

3.Saved two squirrel babies and raised them till they are ready to go back.

3.Won the N95 8GB from Nokia Fimmaking Awards.

4.Moved the blog from Symbian-life.blogspot to Symbian-LifeBlog.com.

5.Won the N78 from SymbiaNational Geographic Contest.

6.Got Married.

7.Got an offer from Australia to do my MSc.

8.Visa Granted.

That’s how things happened around me,and put me into a tight schedule,busy as never before.OK those things happened last year now it’s 2009 an goodbye 2008,my lucky year.

So in the very beginning of this new year I’m prompted to make a choice on the devices I use(me and my wife).It’s about the 5700Xpress Music that my wife Samudrika is using,the time has come to replace it with a much newer model,my main concerns are on,

1.GPS

2.A fast responding Camera.

3.Steady and a reliable device.

4.Should look pretty.

Right now I have N82 and N85 in my mind,N82 I have used but,the N85, have never even seen one in real.I love the N82’s features ,it was a real Story Telling Rediscovery when I trialed one few months back and I have no complaints on it.But the N85 is also good,which is indeed prettier and packed, only lacking the Xenon when compared to the N82,but recent trial reports from my fellow bloggers about the wobble in the slider mechanism is pulling my leg.Wobbly slider issue was killing me for a long time now since I was using my N80 and Now the N95 8GB.

So I’m stuck in-between two choices that I have to make by the end of this day.Does anybody have suggestions or opinions before I purchase one?

Few months back I got an N78(a White one),which I won from the SymbiaNational Geographic contest.As I was using the N95 8GB,I gave it to my wife and she is very pleased with it.Actually when it arrived at home,the first thing I noticed was the improvement of its design language,the outfit looks really nice and appealing,in design wise truly it is the successor of N73 and N82 but its features are made to fit a general user profile.It’s sleek and flat.The flat surface gives it a unique look that non other Nokia in the Market has,and the much discussed strange looking key layout,all these design portfolios were targeting a whole new crowd out there,probably the youth.

But if you examine the device thoroughly,you might be able to figure it out that this device is actually the birthplace for some of the Nokia’s latest technical innovations.

The Naviwheel-True it was present in N81 and on some N82 prototypes,but the real deal started its journey on this device.Unlike on the N81 the Naviwheel’s applicability is largly improved on the N78 and was well integrated with the built-in S60 UI and its applications.

Theme Effects-This is the first device to come out with built-in visual transition theme effects,which was developed by The Astonishing Tribe(TAT),the Kastor UI.

FM Transmitter-Another feature which turned out to be its main selling point,attracting more and more youth towards this little piece of gadget.Users are fascinated by this nifty feature,when they find out that their device is actually capable of acting as a broadcast center.I’ve seen many teens playing with this FM transmitter,and making others surprised.

The Resistive Surface-Another clearly noticeable improvement on this device is the selection of its outfit materials,It first came out on the N81 and the N82 with the back panels and finally on the N78 the full outfit was made with a dirt-resistive plastic.What I mean is the Glossy back panel and the Shiny flat faceplate parts,which are easy to clean unlike any other device,you can wipe-out any dust or dirt very easily.

The Flat under the surface Keys-On the N78 has one common physical key to replace 6 of its operational keys,the 2 softkeys,Call,End,Menu and the Delete keys.they are all represented and operated with a single sheet of plastic.This is what they’ve ported on to the other future Nokia Devices.

So aren’t these things look cool for an average N-series device that falls in to their mid range of prices?It is a simple and stylish device,yet carrying the N-Series Spirit,that will surely take your heart with a surprise.