Diaries of a Nokia Fan Boy

Wow, it’s only been a couple hours but it seems Nokia’s reply to replacing Symbian with Maemo on their N-Series devices is already out!

If you ask me, this non-confirmation-non-denial of the leaked information means that at the very least they’re thinking about it, and at the most have already decided but still need to market it correctly. Nokia is saying that they’re strongly committed to Symbian, but that really means squat if you ask me. That’s the short and sweet of it, but decide for yourself. Here’s and excerpt from Nokia’s reply:

While it is our policy not to disclose details of our product roadmap, we’d like to explicitly communicate that we remain firmly committed to Symbian as our smartphone platform of choice. Any speculation on what our 2012 roadmap, including operating systems and product branding, are completely premature.

Along with a comment from Nokia on expanding their mobile OS portfolio from a couple months back:

As we have stated earlier, Nokia has multiple platforms to serve different purposes and address different markets. Symbian is more successful than ever in bringing smartphones to the masses. Maemo is our software of choice for devices based on technology that you’d typically find inside a desktop computer. It delivers a different user experience and enables us to widen the market we can address.

Ok, but desktop computer technology can be found in just about any Nokia high-end phone, so that doesn’t tell us much either.

I guess this update doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know. But the update itself, the wording within in it, and context around it can tell us quite a bit.

-Nokia FanBoy

via: Symbian Freak (read)

I’ve been wondering for a while about what Nokia is going to do with their OS portfolio, and just where they’re going to take it. Symbian is obviously much more stable than most other operating systems out there, and does wonders for the Enterprise-class devices, however it has little “sexiness” to show for the phones that are supposed to be, well, sexy. There are many apps the Ovi Store, but their extent just doesn’t reach that of say Android’s Marketplace. The home screen on Symbian, too, is better suited for the Enterprise.

Of course out comes Maemo 5, bringing lots of sex-appeal to a Nokia operating system, and immediately raising hype in the industry. Much to my disappointment, however, the only phone available with this new, sleek OS doesn’t have the 3G frequency of the cell phone providers in my area. ****! (sorry, a little bitter on this one)

So for a while now I’ve been waiting to see a Nokia cell phone with an operating system other than Symbian, and was kind of hoping it would be Android. For the most part because Windows Mobile didn’t really appeal to me and iPhone OS / WebOS / BlackBerry OS aren’t exactly an option.

Well back to the topic at hand: some information has been leaked and it appears that Nokia will be adopting their Maemo family, starting with Maemo 5 for their N-Series devices. The idea (or rumor at any rate) is to have all N-Series devices run on Maemo by 2012, that is unless the world tears itself apart… I’m actually fairly excited about the switch-over, however I’m not sure which one is better suited for the job: Android or Maemo. And of course, it still stands to see just how stable Maemo 5 turns out to be.

What does this mean for Symbian? Really, nothing. I expect Nokia to continue putting out Symbian S40 basic phones, and S60 on their E-Series. Its the X-Series and the yet-unannounced C-Series that I’m still not sure about, however I’m getting the feeling that X-Series will see Maemo adaptation as well.

Personally, I would like to see Nokia do something similar to HTC and allow users to upgrade their OS as they see fit via ROM files. And in an ideal world a single phone wouldn’t be constrained to a single OS either, but would have the ability to work with Symbian, Maemo, Android, etc. with little effort. (maybe we could even get dual/triple boots going with a shared memory!) But I’m afraid at this point its just wishful thinking, even if there is nothing technological stopping this from happening.

-Nokia FanBoy

via: Engadget (read)
and: my twisted imagination

It seems that Michael Gartenberg has once again updated his Entelligence column, and this time he comments on competition and FanBoy-ism in the mobile space. He raises a number of good points, mostly talking that competition is not a negative thing, and doesn’t have to be about being the next gadget-killer, but instead should be driven by the desire to succeed and make something better. I agree with him on the statement that if a company, a brand, or a series ends up dying out its not because some company came out with the respective gadget-killer, but instead its because that particular gadget got old, fell behind competition, and simply died through natural evolution.

Consider the old Palm OS. Once arguably the best in its class, had to be majorly rebuilt in order to keep Palm afloat. It wasn’t because the iPhone came out and suddenly killed that OS, its simply because the industry moved on, and Palm had to keep up.

Michael also comments on the positive aspects of FanBoys, but also suggests that many FanBoys simply down-talk the other devices and take their own devices to be all-powerful. His recommendation is to instead focus on the positive aspects of the gadgets of which you are a fan. This part of the comment particularly struck home, however after thinking about it I believe I already do this. I’m sure I still need to improve on many aspects, but then everybody does.

I highly recommend the article, its a great read, provides some important insight and a bit of humor along the way.

-Nokia FanBoy

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During my readings today I stumbled across Engadget’s review of PowerGenix NiZn batteries. From a glimpse at the numbers in the review it looked like the batteries the batteries were a much needed improvement in the space of mobile gadgetry:

• 1.6V nominal Voltage
• 30%-50% longer usage on a single charge
• Better able to produce high current

While the review doesn’t specify, I’m guessing that Engadget was comparing the PowerGenix NiZn AA cells (known) to Energizer’s ‘Ultimate Lithium’ AA cells (unknown), in a Speedlight SB-600 hot-shoe flash (known). Anyone having used hot-shoe flashes knows just how demanding they are of batteries, and how quickly they can chew through them, so the test is good.

What surprised me is that they did not post the mAh rating of those batteries. Indeed, even after poking around PowerGenix’ website I could only find a mWh rating of 2500 mWh for a AA cell. Of course, wanting to compare to some of the high capacity NiMH batteries that rating was useless so I found a conversion:

mWhrs = mAhrs * Votlage * hrs (originating from P = I * V)
moving some of the variables around we get:
mAhrs = mWhrs / Voltage (since hrs = 1)
so:
mAhrs = 2500 mWhrs / 1.6V
mAhrs = 1560 mAhrs

That means that these batteries have almost half the capacity of NiMH (high cap NiMH ~3000 mAhrs). Now at first I found this quite confusing since 1500 mAhrs would not be enough to charge the flash 300-400 times. And then I realised that I’m in fact basing my comparison on a worst-case scenario for the batteries. First of all, NiMH batteries are afraid of fast discharge scenarios, and a hot-shoe flash is definitely a fast discharge, second of all, the hot shoe flash works much better with the higher voltage batteries (NiZn 1.6V vs. NiMH 1.2V). In fact, that assumption is built into the review as well, and I believe a different review would be required for longevity in low-current, low-power devices, perhaps a wireless mouse or keyboard.

So my conclusion is actually similar to Engadget’s: if you’re using the batteries in a high-power, high-current device such as a hot-shoe flash, then these batteries are for you. The otherwise, however, is unknown. While I would expect the NiZn to lose out in a low-demand scenario, such as a wireless keyboard, I just don’t know how well those batteries keep their charge. Case in point: my keyboard lasts months on four AA Eneloop cells, and at those time frames its the self-discharge rate that comes into play, not necessarily the capacity.

I guess every battery has its purpose, and this is a rechargeable battery that has long been missing from the options list.

-Nokia FanBoy

read:
PowerGenix
Engadget Review

[caption id="attachment_862" align="alignright" width="164" caption="BlackBerry Curve 8520"][/caption]I was taking a stroll through the mall with some friends over the weekend and I happened across a Rogers booth with some dummies displayed. And me and my friend started talking about the build quality of the two phones.

Immediately after picking up the BB Curve 8520 I felt like I was holding a cheap plastic toy. Sure it was lighter than the E71, but the cheap plastic made me want to turn away from it right away. Then having picked up the Nokia I felt like I was holding a real phone: there was no hesitation as to how long the phone would last, no confusion on the price range of it, it just felt like a solid piece of equipment that could take abuse.

My friend, on the other hand, had another idea. She felt that the lighter phone would benefit her more due to the reduced weight, and complained about the E71 as being “too heavy”. Of course this is also the girl that is regretting having picked a “pink Telus phone” as it is falling apart on her and generally not working as she would like it to.

Of course I understand that I was only holding dummies, and not the real phone. I would be the first to commend BlackBerry on their construction and durability (after all, my 8100 Pearl is still going strong after 3 years of constant use), however I believe that today’s feature phones should be constructed out of metal for its durability, and general appeal. But that’s just my two cents.

-Nokia FanBoy

Ok, so these are my thoughts on the future of mobile computing, and the writing of the article was inspired by a specific device envisioned by Ericsson’s Life in 2020 (flash). The opinions I’m going to present here aren’t new; in fact, the original ideas are as much as 3-5 years old.

To begin with, let me touch on the device that inspired me to write on this: Ericsson’s Spider Computer. The device, if a little creepy looking, isn’t necessarily that ridiculous. Its basically a miniature computer (think: pocket PC), with alternate forms of Human Interface Devices. Instead of the standard bulky screen, the device uses a miniature projector to project images onto a wall or other flat surface; and the hardware (or on-screen) keyboard is replaced by a laser keyboard projected onto a desk or, again, other flat surface. Now the idea itself is great, however there are a couple limitations: you need two flat surfaces, at least one of which needs to be a uniform color, preferably white (I know, white isn’t a color, bite me). There is no privacy, in the sense that you can’t hide what you’re projecting from someone else, and in a dark room it will disturb others.

Projected Keyboard

Projected Keyboard

Spider Computer - Folded

Now, lets consider the technology behind this idea, and this is now my own ideas. There are basically a set number of aspects: hardware (processor, memory, hard drive, etc.), video output (projector), input (keyboard), power (battery, or other), connectivity (WiFi, 3G, etc.), miscellaneous.

Hardware:
The hardware is pretty simple. I mean look at your regular smartphone: 500+ MHz CPU, 128+ MB RAM, 8+ GB Hard drive (including memory card), plus other necessities like GPU, various chipsets. Now this phone is capable of rendering high quality images, the quality generally constrained by the display as opposed to the processing power. The phone is also capable of rendering websites, performing calculations, playing music/videos, etc. So the hardware already exists.

Video Output:
The video output is also out there – just look at all the pico projectors out there. Those are large, agreed, but that is because they include a battery, processor, etc. The projector itself is actually no bigger than the top part of your thumb (you know, the one after the knuckle). So the video output is out there.

My vision is that the video output will be handled either by holographic screen projected above the device, or will project directly into your eyes or onto a worn headset. Of course these particular technologies are still a little ways off.

Input:
The input is easy: just search for “Virtual Laser Keyboard”. And sure, it still costs a fortune, but that device is ages old (generations in computing terms). So clearly, this is covered

My vision is that this will end up using muscle readings, or input via directly manipulating the screen and voice control. Of course, these too, are a little ways off and aren’t quite ready.

Power:
This gets a little tricky. On the one hand, we have wireless power and this device could easily benefit from it. On the other, it would be nice to take the mobile computer with you wherever you go, and for that you will need either battery (far too large for the time being), or solar (not efficient enough yet). So the power aspect is a little lacking.

Connectivity:
This really falls under the hardware section, as its really just another chip, but this is out there too. Maybe the only part of this that’s a little difficult is the power consumption of current generation chipsets.

Miscellaneous:
Ok, this is the “nice-to-have’s”, the things we can live without but would be nice. For instance: audio output. I’m not going to write much in here, however you should understand that the device is never truly complete, and this section will be different for different people. So look at what you believe should fit in here and consider whether its realistic, and how far away the technology is from being available to the consumer, and how far away from being mainstream.

Putting it all together:

Well the sleek, spider-esque device that we see isn’t a reality at the moment, and at the moment we already see what we can have. I do believe, however, that the already built device could be reduced in size many times by simply designing the circuit boards and interconnections specifically for that device.

The only question that remains is the practicality of it all. I mean if its just for emergencies, we have our smartphones capable of doing the exact same thing.

And for prolonged use won’t make any sense since a physical keyboard will always be better than a virtual one. However the projector may be nice.

What would be nice to have, is a foldable display, which would unfold to 20″+, and have all the components built-in, while communicating with a Bluetooth keyboard such as the Nokia SU-8W.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts and opinions, maybe I’ll put it a little more concisely and create my own little page out of it.

-Nokia FanBoy

Ericsson Life in 2020
via: Engadget (read)

Ok, so for those who do not know, Rogers has been running running an initiative called Rogers urVoice Panel. This is basically a website where Rogers puts up various surveys and registered users can fill them out, and leave their opinions. One of the initiatives on there has been the “Android Revolution” sequence of ads that have been running for all the Android phones. For answering the surveys users get entered into a chance to win a gift worth on average $50, however I would imagine that most that do it, do so because they want to have the input.

Well the latest, and rather very exciting panel, has been regarding roaming data plans. That is, if you go to the US (and US only so far) you can use your data without roaming charges. There were basically two ways they were looking at this: a dedicated data plan (presumably incompatible with the current data plans), or an add-on that takes care of the roaming charges so you keep your current plan. Now I have the 6GB data plan, and I’m getting a discount on that plan, so I think my choice is pretty clear: no way in hell am I giving up that plan. Now the idea is fantastic, I would totally go for paying an extra $5 or so per month and be able to use my data in the US, however if its going to be $15 extra per month, then I will be cheap and only add it when I need it.

What peaked my interest in this, however, is the close proximity of this particular Panel to Google’s announcement of Google Maps Navigation. If you recall, I noted that the solution wouldn’t work for me since I would have to have something else for the US so as not to incur data charges. Well this changes everything. Of course this makes me think that Rogers knew about this for a little while (or a long while), and this is their response: a way to increase your monthly fees while providing you with more service. I’m definitely happy that they did so, but I do wish that it wouldn’t take companies like Apple and Google to force Rogers to bring in cheap data plans, and realistic roaming rates.

But I guess at the end of the day I am just a consumer, so I will stay happy with whatever services I can get. I’m already getting an amazing deal from Rogers as it is, so I won’t complain too much.

-Nokia FanBoy

via: the strangeness of my mind

Well here’s some game changing news – Google is releasing a free, turn-by-turn, voice guided navigation client.

I’m sure we’ve all used Google Maps on our respective devices, and I’m sure we’ve used them with a purpose they were not intended for: navigation. A number of people have been complaining to me that Google needs to pick up the pace and release a navigation client a-la TomTom or Garmin. Well it appears they finally have.

Google Maps Navigation is coming out with Android 2.0, however knowing the online hacking community I’m sure earlier versions of Android will have it too. The new features introduced in the new software are pretty cool:

• Google search (obviously)
• Turn-by-turn directions
• Voice guidance, including street names
• Aerial map and satellite view
• 3D aerial satellite view
• Street-view of your next turn or destination
• Constantly updated maps (Vancouver was updated with Street-view during the summer)
• Taking into account of traffic conditions (sadly I believe Vancouver is out of luck on this one)
• Route caching in case you lose signal (but if you deviate off route, then you’re again out of luck)

Besides these, Android 2.0 will support device-wide voice commands, so finding a good coffee could be as easy as saying “navigate to a coffee shop near me”.

All of this is nice, and the features will certainly be game changers for many people (I know I’m going to be trying this out), however I’m a little worried about re-routing. For instance, I don’t like using Garmin because the re-routing takes so long that once its done I’ve missed the turn already, while TomTom and some others seem to be good in that sense.

There are also some down sides. For instance, if you do not have a data plan on your phone, then you’re out of luck since downloading and storing maps on the phone is out of the question. Sadly, this means that for me this can’t be the only guidance system either as I like to travel to the states and do not wish to pay the high data charges.

Most interestingly is the effect this is going to have on the GPS industry. With TomTom and Garmin stocks down already, this will be an interesting year or two.

Make sure to check out the video in the read link.

Update
Video of the interface in use, and official website:

-Nokia FanBoy

official website
via: Engadget (read)

Ok, so Windows Mobile 7 (WinMo7) doesn’t have a heck of a lot to do with Nokia. I could push that its because its Microsoft, and they are now working together, but that would be crap and you would know it. Really the main purpose for my covering this is I’m interested in the UI. I always thought that WinMo had a very outdated UI, and was always wondering why they don’t just redesign it, I mean they have the money for it. Of course help came with the shell updates from companies like HTC with WinMo 6.x, but those were just surface changes. We can actually see a mirror image of that happening with the touchscreen Symbian 5, in that the new version of the software looks kind of like a mask, with the insides still being glitchy and not user friendly by today’s standards.

Well the really exciting part is that Microsoft is actually doing something about it with WinMo7, or so we hope anyway. So that’s why I was quite excited to review the screenshots.

Ok, so the first screenshot is the calendar. Well some good, some bad – the interface is certainly more appealing, however having the time bar at the top would have been useful, but they removed that; and judging by “Pivot Left” and “Pivot Right” buttons on the screen, it would appear that gestures won’t be supported (and if they are then they’re wasting space).

The second, in-call, screenshot seems to be fairly basic, but is done fairly well – no complaints really.

Thirdly, the address book / contacts list (whatever you want to call it) certainly looks appealing, and I’m just hoping that they left the long-press menu option available and will use it to instantly call, create message or email the person.

Calendar

In-Call

Contacts

Inbox, the fourth screenshot, is virtually identical to the contacts list – if the long-press menu’s are there, then we’re good. Of course here some other gestures would be nice too.

The toggle switches and slider bars are certainly an improvement over the checkboxes, but we have to see how they actually implement those in actual menus, since screenshot five is just a sample.

The sixth screenshot, the text message, I have a small gripe with. Its always annoyed me when I have to close what I’m typing just to check on a consecutive message that came in from somebody. Which is why I like the threaded views so much. However, what’s the point of a threaded view if you can’t even see the message above? The keyboard takes up the entire screen and I would say its entirely unnecessary.

Inbox

Switches

Message Composer

Overall, the screenshots are an improvement, but a rather small one at best. There are a lot of things that we have to look at, such as menu structure, in order to find out if its actually going to be any good. And unfortunately, I’m already disappointed with it: there is absolutely no reason why the context menus have to be on there. Its things like that that make me very cautious over Symbian’s progress, however since Symbian is going open source, hopefully we’ll see user-compiled versions with some nice improvements. That is, of course, if Nokia allows users to reinstall the operating system like HTC does at the moment.

PS: if you notice all the screenshots are different, non-standard, dimensions – this tells me that they either didn’t have a very good design structure or made it all to be very scalable. And guess which one I think is the case?

-Nokia FanBoy

via: GSMArena.com (read)

We’re all quite familiar with Sony Ericsson’s Bluetooth watches, and of the little patch that allows us Nokia users to use SE’s watches on our phones. And of course now we’re getting previews of Blackberry’s own Bluetooth watch. So it begs the question: ‘Why not Nokia?’ I mean its not like there wouldn’t be a market for it. The development of the Symbian application for interfacing with Sony Ericsson’s watches clearly indicates that there is a need amongst Nokia users for such a watch. I know I, for one, would buy it. I seriously considered getting SE’s watch and interfacing it, but decided against it due to the brand. (actually, I’m kind of curious how many of my readers would be interested in purchasing a Nokia Bluetooth watch, but not a Sony Ericsson Bluetooth watch?)

We’ve seen Nokia’s Morph concept which incorporates the entire cell phone into a watch/phone hybrid:

And this is all fine and dandy, but I would like to see something real! Lets start with the new SE phones for instance: they have a Classic, Music and Executive editions. Nokia could come out with something for their X, E, and N-series devices. As for some innovative features come out with a navigation special watch – displaying a map, the next direction, or a compass while navigating to a given destination. Maybe include a basic touchscreen OLED with some gestures so as to reduce the number of buttons and improve sunlight legibility. Use the wrist strap to house an extended battery to keep the watch somewhat slim. And include voice recognition to make calls via Bluetooth headsets, or compose/reply to messages and emails, even start programs and navigate to specific locations. And, of course, control music.

Basically make it so that the phone can sit in the wearer’s pocket for most of the day. I know that SE’s watches are made to provide only the most basic functionality, while BB’s watch is supposed to allow to make a decision whether the message/email can wait 15 minutes or if you need to stop what you’re doing to reply. I think Nokia can provide a watch to go even further and provide some pretty impressive functionality.

As an afterthought, Nokia could even incorporate some interesting notification methods – instead of using small speakers, or noisy vibrations, instead silently contract the wrist strap or provide a small electric stimulation to the hand. Of course the latter would have many implications that would need to be considered.

-Nokia FanBoy

via: my twisted imagination.