Hello, have you watched TV lately?

It was one hot and humid evening when Nokia and Smart launched the Nokia N96 all-in-one device recently. But no one inside Silvercity was complaining — the air conditioners were running at full-blast, the music was cool, the company great and there was lots to eat and even more to drink.

Cell phone aficionados had reason to celebrate as the Nokia and Smart launched the N96, the latest to-drool-over cell phone.

With its 5-megapixel camera and its Carl Zeiss Tessar optics it not only can capture great pictures, but it gives one the freedom to capture moments, connect to the world, live life in tune, explore places and enjoy TV on the go.

“This is our most advanced multimedia computer to date, combining outstanding video and camera capabilities, music playing, Internet connectivity and navigation and bringing it all to the next level,” said William Hamilton-Whyte, general manager, Nokia Philippines. “The pioneering dual slide design blends phone and multimedia options seamlessly so it makes discovering and sharing experiences effortless. The Nokia N96 is simply in a league of its own.”

The Nokia N96 is the latest and most powerful model of Nokia — for now, at least. The device looks interesting, although a little too business-like for me.

The N96 is loaded with 16 GB of onboard and 8 GB of replaceable flash storage — that’s a lot of files that this device can store.

But it was watching TV that I had lots of fun doing stuff on the N96.

I will be the first to admit that I am no TV watcher, but I did take the N96 for a TV test run.

I watched shows on Cartoon Network, and a few basketball games. The news on CNN kept me up to date — on Obama.

I guess such a device would come in handy if I were stuck in traffic and wanted to catch my favorite TV show. Or perhaps if I wanted to know what the latest news in the world was.

I have also been told that other people like to watch TV when they are at the doctor’s office waiting or when in the mall and the rest of their companions are still shopping. Although the N96 TV does not and will never replace the plasma TV at home, it is quite handy when you have time to kill.

With the Smart connection and MyTV, watching crystal-clear TV on the high-definition mobile TV service was easy on the eyes because of the really good TV reception I had.

MyTV’s range of top-rated TV channels include 24-hour news channels CNN and CNBC, MTV Philippines, Cartoon Network, National Geographic, History Channel, PBA, Solar Sports, Basketball TV, ETC, and Jack TV.

“We believe that to truly maximize the features of advanced, all-in-one devices, they need to be powered by innovative operator technologies — offering the Nokia N96 is a natural fit for Smart,” said Orlando B. Vea, chief wireless advisor, Smart.

Through the Nokia N96, it is even possible to record favorite programs to watch at a later time, be it in a cab, in an airport lounge or in a café over a drink. You can view your videos, pictures or web pages in the bigger screen with its TV-out cables connected to an LCD or projector. The Nokia N96 can also store up to 40 hours of video or 12,000 songs with its built in 16GB flash drive while surfing the Internet is a breeze, thanks to its Wi-Fi capability.

The best thing about the N96 is that it is loaded with all the features Nokia users are used to. It’s like they added a few cool new things and kept the old-reliable programs and functions intact.

I was able to transfer all my contact, my fave photos and music onto the N96 using the Bluetooth connection. It took about 20 minutes to get the N96 set up and ready to my liking.

As I sat and fiddled with the cell phone I spotted some of the movers and shakers in the business and society circles taking a peek at the N96. 

The newest myTV N96 ambassadors were introduced to the party-goers that night. They are Chris Tiu, DJ Jon Herrera, model Brent Javier, sports anchor Jude Turcuato, equity trader/stockbroker Mike Jacob, Amazing Race Asia contestant Tisha Silang, model and writer Kelly Misa, supermodel Apples Aberin, actress Rhian Ramos and singer Nikki Gil.

Seen talking Nokia and Smart were the Nokia team led by William Hamilton-Whyte accompanied by Angelique Repapis, Nokia corporate communications manager Nikka Abes, Nokia head of marketing Sandeep Khanna, Nokia Head of GTM, Rhomel Marcojos, and Nokia product manager Mike Smith. Also present were Smart officers led by Orlando Vea, mainstream acquisitions head Kathy Carag, sales and distribution head Florante Jimenez, MediaScape managing director Benjie Fernandez, and myTV brand manager Louie Ang. — Kathy Moran