NokiaNav – The Final Video

I loved the first teaser video that @Bennycrime made which we watched at the NokiaNav Finale.

Now the time has come to see the finished product of what was an amazing experience for everyone involved.

I don’t really think that I have to comment on the video as my comments and actions within the video speak for themselves. Embarrassing but funny and honest nonetheless. Enjoy and feel free to tease me about that funny little leap of love :-)

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N900 – PR1.2 OTA Update Problems

It  seems that a few people have been having problems updating their N900′s to the Firmware version PR1.2.

If when doing the update OTA you end up with a screen saying the following:

Screenshot-20100525-092544.png
Then this is what you need to do:
  1. Connect your N900 to your PC via usb, selecting the “PC Suite” option.
  2. Open up NSU and continue to search for an update of the firmware.
  3. NSU will either give you the option to update to PR1.2 or it will tell you there are no updates ready for your phone.
  4. What you need to do is continue by re-installing the same firmware you currently have(the older one PR1.1)
  5. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU BACKUP YOUR DEVICE
  6. Once the update is complete, disconnect your N900 from your PC.
  7. Try again to update OTA on your Phone and when you reach the stage you got stuck at the last time you should see the below image.
Screenshot-20100525-102522.png
The problem seems to be because the OTA system thinks that your phone is not ready to be updated to PR1.2 because of it’s current firmware.
Strange I know!!
Just wanted to make an update here thanks to @thefalken from rachaelandtom.info it actually seems that the reason people are getting this problem is because of not having  (~55meg) free space on rootfs.

I hope this helps anyone who is having problems. If not please let me know and I’ll see what I can do to help.
Enjoy PR1.2 I know I am :-)

Post to Twitter

N900 – Firmware update PR1.2 – At Last

N900 PR1.2 firmware is ready for UK users and from tomorrow will be ready for Global users.

This is not a joke, unlike the one made in April which fooled everyone he he he he read here. This might sound funny but one of the best things about this release is that all the millions of threads and online posts of people complaining about the delayed release of this firmware might finally stop.

I had problems trying to find the update using NSU so decide to go OTA.

Screenshot-20100525-092128.png
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Screenshot-20100525-092319.png
Screenshot-20100525-092418.png
Screenshot-20100525-092530.png
Screenshot-20100525-102522.png
Screenshot-20100525-102603.png
Screenshot-20100525-102623.png
Screenshot-20100525-110321.png
Screenshot-20100525-110349.png

The download as you can see is 113.6MB so if you don’t have a 3G data bundle I recommend you wait until you can find a wifi access point.

Some of the new functionality that I have looked at and liked so far:

  • The main UI menu has changed so there is now no “more” button which is cool because everything is on one screen and you can edit the position of your apps.
Screenshot-20100526-104327.png
Screenshot-20100526-104405.png
  • I’ve seen the option to do video calling but have not yet had the chance to try it out so watch this space.
Skype1
Skype 2
  • Portrait mode when web-browsing is now in and is very cool (I love it).
  • Many more screens now have the ability to search by typing in letters from the keyboard (e.g App Manager).
Screenshot-20100526-105522.png
Screenshot-20100526-105549.png
  • At long last the long press for use of the symbol keys is in place, this is awesome :-)
  • Ovi Maps now loads slightly faster and the GPS lock is extremely fast the UI has also changed.
Screenshot-20100526-104007.png
Screenshot-20100526-104023.png
  • The UI does seem faster at first glance and apps generally seem to open up much quicker which is also great.
  • I also noticed that there is a user guide for the N900 on the device (2nd icon Top right in the image below)

Screenshot-20100526-105622.png
Screenshot-20100526-105644.png
Screenshot-20100526-105654.png
Screenshot-20100526-105717.png

Here are few things that have bugged me so far:

  • I still find that I had to delete the birthday smart calendar and then added it again to get it working, this has happened after every firmware update and most people don’t realise.
  • I had some big problems trying to get Nokia Messaging working again with the default email client in the end something changed and started working again. Sorry I don’t have a solution here.
  • Most people are find things running faster but my App Manager is still a little slow.

I’ll do my best to test and try out more of the changes/fixes over the next few days.

I’ve done some reading over at Nokia Conversations and it turns out that on the 27th May that OVI will finally go live with changes for the N900 and we can expect some new games such as:

We can also expect some new apps coming through OVI such as:

Thanks to the Talk.Maemo.org  wiki for all the below information regarding the Changelog:

New Features

  • Qt 4.6.2 is now preinstalled on the OS.
  • Changes for the video recording in the Camera Application.
  • Video calling can be accessed through contacts.
  • Can dial USSD Codes.
  • No more “More” menu in application launcher, and is rearrangeable.
  • Virtual Keyboard has been modified and now looks different.
  • File Manager is now able to share any file and/or folder.
  • Typing in Application Manager starts a search (like it is in Contacts or Media Player).
  • Status area is now reachable in portrait mode
  • Portrait mode Virtual Keyboard for browser. *Not yet confirmed* (Source)

Resolved bugs

Please note that this list is not necessarily complete.

See this query for more accurate/up-to-date report.

maemo.org Official Applications:

Browser

Calendar

Chat & Call & SMS

Contacts

Desktop Widgets

Email

Games

Images and Camera

Map

Media player

RSS feed reader

Settings and Maintenance

Utilities

maemo.org Official Platform:

Connectivity

Core

Desktop platform

Location

Multimedia

Synchronization

System software

Telephony

Translations

UI Specification

Updated packages

  • +alarmd 1.1.16+0m5
  • +apt 0.7.20.2maemo13.1+0m5
  • +base-files 3.1.osso2+3.1.10.osso25+0m5
  • +bash 2.05b-2-26osso8+0m5
  • +bluez 4.60-0maemo1.4+0m5
  • +browser-eal 0.5.5-6.1+0m5
  • +cairo 1.8.8-0maemo1+0m5
  • +clinkc 2.0-0osso17+0m5
  • +clutter 0.8.2-0maemo66+0m5
  • +dbus 1.2.14-0maemo4+0m5
  • +dbus-glib 0.78-0maemo7+0m5
  • +desktop-file-utils 0.12-2osso7+0m5
  • +dnsmasq 2.45-1+lenny1+maemo3+0m5
  • +dosfstools 3.0.1-1maemo6+0m5
  • +dpkg 1.14.25maemo3+0m5
  • +dsme 0.60.44+0m5
  • +eds-backend-telepathy 0.4.62-1+0m5
  • +evolution-data-server 1.4.2.1-20100226+0m5
  • +farsight2 0.0.17-0maemo13+0m5
  • +gcc-4.2 4.2.1-4maemo12+0m5
  • +gconf2 2.16.0-2osso6.2+0m5
  • +gdigicam 0.3.5.1+0m5
  • +glib2.0 2.20.3-1maemo4+0m5
  • +glibc 2.5.1-1eglibc23+0m5
  • +gnome-menus 2.23.3-2maemo+0m5
  • +gssdp 0.7.1-0maemo2+0m5
  • +gst-openmax 0.10.0.6~1-0maemo17+0m5
  • +gst-plugins-bad0.10 0.10.14-git265-0maemo10+0m5
  • +gst-plugins-base0.10 0.10.25-0maemo14+0m5
  • +gst-plugins-good0.10 0.10.16-git276-0maemo14+0m5
  • +gstreamer0.10 0.10.25-0maemo4+0m5
  • +gstreamer0.10-plugins-camera 0.79-1+0m5
  • +gtk+2.0 2:2.14.7-1maemo29+0m5
  • +gtkhtml3.14 3.24.4-osso18+0m5
  • +gupnp 0.13.2-0maemo2+0m5
  • +gupnp-av 0.5.2-0maemo2+0m5
  • +gupnp-igd 0.1.4-0maemo3+0m5
  • +hal 0.5.12~git20090219-0maemo7+0m5
  • +hildon-application-manager 1:2.2.60-1+0m5
  • +hildon-application-manager-l10n-public 6.0+r7611+0m5
  • +hildon-control-panel 1:2.2.27-2+0m5
  • +hildon-control-panel-l10n-public 6.0+r7640+0m5
  • +hildon-desktop 1:2.2.135-2+0m5
  • +hildon-fm-l10n-public 6.0+r7483+0m5
  • +hildon-games-wrapper 1.9.4-5+0m5
  • +hildon-home 0.3.66-2+0m5
  • +hildon-input-method 1:2.1.46-1+0m5
  • +hildon-input-method-framework 1:2.1.56-1+0m5
  • +hildon-input-method-l10n-public 6.0+r7520+0m5
  • +hildon-libs-l10n-public 6.0+r7510+0m5
  • +hildon-status-menu 0.3.34+0m5
  • +hildon-theme-layout-5 0.15.0-1+0m5
  • +hildon-thumbnail 3.0.44+0m5
  • +ke-recv-l10n-public 6.0+r7611+0m5
  • +kernel 2.6.28-20100903+0m5
  • +libcanberra 0.14-0maemo4+0m5
  • +libcomapp 1.8.03-01+0m5
  • +libconbtui 1.4.3+0m5
  • +libconic 0.24+0m5
  • +libdsme 0.60.30+0m5
  • +libexif 0.6.17-1maemo3+0m5
  • +libffi 3.0.7-2maemo2+0m5
  • +libgtkadi 0.7.13-1+0m5
  • +libgtkmozembed 1.8.7-2.1+0m5
  • +libhildon 2.2.15-1+0m5
  • +libhildondesktop 2.1.40+0m5
  • +libhildonfm 1:2.28.17+0m5
  • +libhildonmime 2.1.5-1+0m5
  • +libical 1.43-101+0m5
  • +libmafw 0.2.2010.06-1+0m5
  • +libmlocknice 0.1+0m5
  • +libmodest-dbus-client 4:3.2.5-0+0m5
  • +libnice 1:0.0.9-0maemo8.0rtc+0m5
  • +libosso 2.31-1+0m5
  • +librtcom-telepathy-glib 0.1.49+0m5
  • +libsoup2.4 2.26.3-0maemo3+0m5
  • +libunwind 0.99+git20080421-2+0m5
  • +libwidgetutils 1.4.1-6+0m5
  • +libwww-perl 5.803-4osso1+0m5
  • +loudmouth 1.4.1-0osso10+0m5
  • +maemo-af-desktop-l10n-public 6.0+r7640+0m5
  • +maemo-maf 5.0+3+0m5
  • +maemo-mmf 5.0+3+0m5
  • +maemopad 2.6-3
  • +maemo-version 5.0update5+0m5
  • +mafw-gst-renderer 0.2.2010.07-2+0m5
  • +mafw-iradio-source 0.2.2010.06-1+0m5
  • +mafw-shared 0.2.2010.06-1+0m5
  • +mafw-test-gui 0.2.2010.06-1+0m5
  • +mafw-tracker-source 0.2.2010.06-1+0m5
  • +mafw-upnp-source 0.2.2010.07-2+0m5
  • +matchbox-window-manager-2 0.2.89-1+0m5
  • +mce-dev 1.8.17+0m5
  • +microb-eal 2.9.5-1.15+0m5
  • +microb-engine 20091230-1.9.2-6.8+0m5
  • +mini-rc 0.2.67+0m5
  • +modest 3.2.13-3+0m5
  • +obexd 0.18-0maemo5+0m5
  • +ohm 0.1.2-0maemo33+0m5
  • +osso-af-utils 2.12-1+0m5
  • +osso-app-killer 1.33-3+0m5
  • +osso-filemanager-l10n-public 6.0+r7611+0m5
  • +osso-games-startup 1.7.49-1+0m5
  • +osso-gnome-vfs2 2.16.3-2osso11+0m5
  • +osso-gwobex 0.64+0m5
  • +osso-rss-feed-reader 1.8.03-3+0m5
  • +osso-rss-feed-reader-applet 1.7.03-1+0m5
  • +osso-rss-feed-reader-lib 1.8.01-1+0m5
  • +osso-system-lock-l10n-public 6.0+r7585+0m5
  • +osso-uri-l10n-public 6.0+r7510+0m5
  • +pango1.0 1.24.2-0maemo4+0m5
  • +pixman 0.16.2-4+0m5
  • +poppler 0.4.5-5.1etch3maemo1+0m5
  • +posix-locales 2.7.2-1maemo7-binonly0+0m5
  • +pulseaudio 0.9.15-1maemo38+0m5
  • +qt4-x11 4.6.2~git20100224-0maemo1+0m5
  • +rtcom-eventlogger 1.3-4+0m5
  • +rtcom-eventlogger-plugins 1.4-1+0m5
  • +rtcom-eventlogger-ui 1.4-2+0m5
  • +sapwood 3.1.1-10+0m5
  • +sqlite3 3.6.14-1maemo3+0m5
  • +telepathy-farsight 0.0.13-0maemo5+0m5
  • +telepathy-gabble 0.8.11-0maemo2+0m5
  • +telepathy-mission-control 5.2.7-0maemo6+0m5
  • +tetex-bin 3.0-30maemo2+0m5
  • +tiff 1:3.8.2-11maemo5+0m5
  • +tinymail 1.1.90-svn4193+0m5
  • +totem-pl-parser 2.27.2-1maemo2+0m5
  • +tracker 0.6.95-25maemo1+0m5
  • +upstart 0.3.8-64+0m5
  • +wpeditor 3.53-1+0m5
  • +xkeyboard-config 1.5-2maemo15+0m5
  • +xorg-server 2:1.6.99.1-0osso20090208.108+0m5

So have you update your Firmware?

What you have found different?

Do you love and hate about PR1.2?

  • +xserver-xorg-video-fbdev 1:0.4.0-180+0m5
  • Post to Twitter

    Nokia CK-200

    ck-200 both

    Thanks to @WOMWorld/Nokia and to the  #NokiaNav Challenge (read here, here and here) which ended last Friday (14th May 2010), I’ve had the privilege of testing the yet to be released Nokia CK-200 in car Bluetooth car kit which was announced over at Nokia Conversations on the 4th May.

    The finale of the #NokiaNav challenge was the perfect ending to an amazing week, with lots of great food, way too many beers and loads of funny, interesting and like minded people.

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    So what is the CK-200 and what makes it great you ask?

    (Thanks to Nokia Conversations for the video)
    (FULL DATA SHEET from Nokia)

    Not only is this a sexy looking device but it is very easy to use.

    CK-200 display

    The big selling point for me on this little car assistant is the ability to connect to 2 bluetooth handsets at once. This is very handy for those with a business or personal device. It’s also practical when you and your other half are in the car at the same time, allowing both devices to be used for calling out and receiving calls. The CK-200 also has the ability of reading out SMSs and sending pre-defined SMSs.

    The CK-200 comes with a small yet easy to use remote control:

    R6 CK-200

    The remote gives you full access to all the functions of the CK-200 from configuring volume; to deciding which devices are trusted; to downloading of Contacts from your phone. There is also a one touch switch phone button making it easy control the right phone.

    I loved the fact that the size and design of the device has been done in such a way that the CK-200 is never a distraction. I only ever needed to look at it when it was safe and easy to do so. When looking at the display screen, it is very clear and uncluttered, making things very easy to read. For any in-car system this is a huge compliment!

    After speaking to some of the other lucky #NokiaNav drivers, I was told that the Nokia kit doesn’t really get on well with Apple and as a result had some issues with connecting, remembering that this could just be a firmware issue, considering we had pre-production devices.

    20100509_022.jpg
    20100512_009.jpg

    Somewhere in the middle of my 3rd or 4th beer I was lucky enough to get some Q&A time with the lovely Elina Paavilainen-Heikkinen who is the Product Manager for the CK-200.

    When I asked about one of the issues I had which was the downloading of contacts from the N900 to the CK-200, I saw a smile and glint of frustration on Elina’s face. I was told that yes the N900 is not compatible with this feature and because of the contact/Bluetooth setup on the N900 it was probably not likely to happen in the future.

    When I ask, “What is your best feature on the CK-200?” I got the reply that, the CK-200 team have many ideas and upgrades that they hope to implement in the future. She loved the fact that owners of the CK-200 could easily disconnect the system and install firmware updates from their home PC.

    Now we all know how much Nokia users love their firmware, so this to me is also a really great feature.

    The device is expected to launch this summer in the UK and at a price of €140 (price before taxes, subsidies, and installation), I expect this to be an important accessory for all the Nokia drivers, especially those now using the Free OVI Maps Voice navigation.

    My biggest worry is about the Installation. The CK-200 needs to be installed directly into the cars radio/speaker system. Elina mentioned that they have designed the kit with minimal external cables to make this process as painless as possible. I’m also told that it is highly recommended that you get this installed by professionals.

    So my question is will the need for professional installation going to impact on the sales of this lovely device?

    Post to Twitter

    NokiaNav – Picnics with Ovi Maps

    The excitement and adventure behind NokiaNav (read my previous post) continues…

    May 012.JPG

    Something I haven’t mentioned before, is that along side the black box I found in the boot of the DB9, was a beautiful picnic basket.

    20100512_003.jpg
    20100510_012.jpg

    AS you can there was a little note attached to the basket (WOMWorld/Nokia love there little notes), which said the following:

    20100510_011.jpg

    (Click to enlarge)

    A strange challenge you might think to yourself, but I can see why they thought this might be cool.

    Firstly in case you hadn’t noticed I have DB9 which means I’m probably going to do loads of driving to find just the right spot. Secondly I have an n97mini with Ovi Maps free voice navigation on it.

    So before I tell you about my crazy and exciting picnic adventures let me tell more about Ovi Maps Free Navigation.

    Nokia has recently entered the world of satnav’s and how better to do it than to simple through some free software on the millions of devices that are already out there! I found using the software really great and fairly easy to use.Tthere are a few more shortcuts that I would like to see on the map screen when you are following the map and perhaps a more filtered/organised way of saving/finding addresses. (I must admit I have only used it for a few days so I simply may not have found the easiest way to do things yet.)

    The only two major problems I have had was a miss calculation when I took a wrong turn which resulted in my journey being extended for 1 hour (Do I have to repeat that I was sitting in a DB9 so I wasn’t complaining at all), the only other issue I had was my phone battery died, I can’t really blame the software for that he he he

    Below are some screen shots of the Ovi Maps Navigation system:

    Scr000009
    Scr000004
    Scr000002
    Scr000008
    Scr000005
    Scr000006
    Scr000010
    Scr000012
    Scr000013

    The other cool thing about the navigation is that you can create your own custom voices, instead of having to select the default settings. Let me warn you that the Surfer dude guidance voice can be very annoying.if want to create your own voice head over to Ovi Store and download the app now or if you want to read more about it and listen to what other people have created go here

    So now onto the good stuff… and before I start let me just say DON’T JUDGE ME

    My first picnic was in the beautiful Wimbledon Common, it started out all pleasant as you can see from the images below.

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    As you can see the picnic basket was amazing, and so was the location that ovi took us.

    If you have a sharp eye you may have noticed some tech sitting on the basket. It wouldn’t have been a real NokiaNav picnic without some Nokia devices.

    Let me introduce the AWESOME MD9 mini speakers

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    These little bad boys took me by surprise. The sound is really good on them and they are very very compact. I am definitely going to get myself some for the future.

    The adventures continued when I decided to ask  Ovi Maps to take me to  Windsor for some sight seeing.

    I thought that having a picnic in the middle of town outside the castle wasn’t the best idea, mainly because people started pointing (Pointing is rude you know!!)

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    Luckily for me Windsor Park is a beautiful place to be and was not to far away from these very interesting postboxes.

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    20100512_020.jpg

    .

    Seeing as though I was in Windsor I thought it be wise to let my inner child out and visit LEGOLAND.

    Unfortunatly for me it was closed, however this wasn’t going to stop me…

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    It was very funny when the security guards came out and asked what I was doing, to which I answered, “I came all this way, I might as well still have fun and take pictures”. It did help that I had a Aston Martin DB9 with me he he he.

    Let me warn you though if you try to have to many picnics you might go a little crazy as the two images below seem show.

    20100510_034.jpg
    20100510_035.jpg

    Like any great Sat Nav system, it is very easy to simple click on the map and ask to be taken to a petrol station or a museum or in my case a  food location.

    20100512_031.jpg
    20100512_032.jpg

    Drive thru style

    Now you might think that there isn’t anything more I could possible say about driving or having a picnic. Well I you would be wrong! The best picnic  to me always has to have two things.

    1) something nice to eat

    2) good sights

    So what better picnic to have than to eat strawberries off of a Aston Martin DB9 in the middle of a park :-)

    May 043.JPG
    May 044.JPG
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    May 047.JPG

    Post to Twitter

    NokiaNav – Challenge 2

    Following on from my previous post about the beautiful DB9 in the house. Yesterday I arrived home after work to find @bennycrime and @JoelFDiamond waiting with smiles to do some filming and get the #NokiaNav Challenge two on the go.

    To start off with I was instructed to use the N97mini to download a new location via ovi maps. This was a very simple and easy to do synchronization process which took me minutes to complete.

    Now that I “knew” where I was going, it was time to fill the car up. When I say fill!!! I mean to the top he he he. Lets just day the DB9 was not made for 4 people, however with me in the drivers seat I was more than comfortable.

    20100509_022.jpg
    20100512_009.jpg

    After finding the best place to stick the N97mini with Ovi Maps and starting up the CK-200 hands free ki,t it was time to head off. The drive took me up to the beautiful Cannizaro House near Wimbledon Common.

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    I was then instructed to go inside and see if there was an envelope for me.

    Indeed there was package for me, the funny thing was that the guy wanted to see ID which I didn’t have, luckily having the cameras with me made him realise I was the right man for the secret message.

    Once again there was only mystery to be found in the envelope.

    20100512_001.jpg
    20100512_002.jpg

    The first thing that popped into my mind was the big black box in the boot of the DB9 parked outside. So with no further delay I ran outside popped the boot, and started to open the box.

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    As you can see the good times keep rolling on. The black Box contained a set of BH-905 bluetooth Nokia Headsets with the following note:

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    Now that challenge two was over, all I need to do was get back into the beautiful car I’ve been given and burn some more rubber. (I thought I’d tease you all with some more images.)

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    If you have any questions regarding some of the nokia devices I have received please let me know and I will be more than happy to answer any questions.

    • Ovi Maps
    • N97mini
    • BH-905
    • BH-214
    • CK-200
    • MD9 (mini speakers)

    Post to Twitter

    NokiaNav – DB9 in the house.

    You may have read my previous two posts here and here regarding the very mysterious #NokiaNav challenge and may still be wondering what is happening.

    Yesterday afternoon I arrived at Heathrow Airport to this:

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    So things were starting to kick off but everything was still a mystery. On Saturday 4 other bloggers got some fancy cars from WOMWorld/Nokia which also related to the #NokiaNav Challenge.

    @ThrProdigalFool from The Prodigal Guide got this:

    911

    @nechbi from NechBi got this:

    Maserati

    @itsnoel from Vago got this:

    tt

    @Macintosh from Mostly got this:

    bmw

    So the big question I had on my mind was “What will I get?” and here she is…

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    The most beuaitful and powerful car I have ever driven. The Aston Martin DB9 v12

    This isn’t the end of the mysterious NokiaNav challenge, as I have since found boxes and baskets in the car. I’ll report on those later.

    For now here are some pictures of this amazing machine.

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    I would love to stay and chat, but I have rubber I need to burn…

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    NokiaNav Challenge – Another Mysterious message

    Following on from my post last week regarding the NokiaGo – Mysterious message, I have received yet another mysterious video from WOMWorld/Nokia.

    I will no doubt find out more on sunday when I get back from Ireland what this all means.

    In the mean time head over to the featured NokiaNav page at WOMWorld to who else is involved and what they think is going on or follow the chatter on twitter with #NokiaNav

    Lastley there is a meet up that ties in with this whole event which you can find out more about at twtvite .

    stay tuned…

    Post to Twitter

    NokiaGo Challenge – Mysterious message

    At 11am this morning I received a very strange and unsuspecting package from the people over at WOMWorld/Nokia.

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    With in the package was simply a cardboard version of an old school cassette tap with a USB stick in side it with the following hashtag #NokiaGo.

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    The only file on the USB stick was the below video.

    I don’t really know much more about this challenge other than it is possibly going to involve a vehicle of sorts. I know this because earlier this week I was asked to send copies of my drivers licence over to the WOMWorld towers.

    Have you received a strange package too?

    Post to Twitter

    N8 – Q & A session

    If you missed it yesterday (27-04-2010), you must have been asleep or stranded in the Kalahari desert, because it was big news and it was all over the internet. In fact the newly announce Nokia N8 mobile camera phone started trending on twitter in no time at all.

    For those of you that don’t know this will be Nokia’s first Symbian ^3 device and will boast the best camera in Nokias arsenal of phones.

    Without getting to much into the full tech spec, here are some of the highlights:

    • A massive 12mega pixel camera with face detection
    • nHD OLED screen at 3.5inch.
    • multi-touch capasitive screen

    And here is what this babies camera can do, thanks to Nokia conversation for the untouched images.

    (Click to Enlarge)

    Below is the Promo N8 video sit back and enjoy:

    (more videos can be found over at Nokia Events)

    Leading on from the announcement I was invited by WOMWorld/Nokia to attend a virtual Q&A session with Maija who is part of the Nokia Communications team for the N8, and Aapo who is the Director of Ecosystem Marketing – Nokia Qt SDK launch and Essa.

    Below is a summary of that session:( full transcript on the Nokia Nseries blog)

    Q: Mickyfin:is there any more specific release dates that are country specific, and Will all five colours shown be available on release?

    A: Nokia Maija:Hey Mickyfin, there will be three colors in the beginning, the silver white, dark grey and green. Info on the release date is third quarter.

    Q: mack005: And how about the battery is it built-in?

    A: Nokia Maija: About the battery, we wanted to create a robust, one-piece device that feels good in the hand, therefore the integrated battery that can not be replaced by the user.

    Q: FoneArena: Did Nokia achieve better battery life due to integrated battery ?

    A: Nokia Esa: Integrated battery does not actually affect to battery life.

    Q: Stobbsc: My first question if I may is What processor does the N8 have and will it have a GPU core?

    A: Nokia Maija: about the processor: we do actually have a graphics accelerator next to a main processor. Its a way to get a great perf

    Q: mack005: is it a ARM-11 680MHz processor?

    A: Nokia Esa: @mack005 yep, that’s the processor, plus we got the grapchics accelerator next to it. Getting great speeds with that combination. Some screens are running already now at 60fps

    Q: Sergejs: Greetings! Does the N8 have a camera cover or not? It’s hard to tell from the official images…

    A: Nokia Maija: @sergejs: there is no camera cover. The materials are highly scratch resistant, and also, we wanted to make the use of many social applications as seamless as possible

    Q: FoneArena:Can you say how is the N8 Camera better than the N82 ?

    A: Nokia Esa: @FoneArena: yep, camera is stunning. It starts from the sensor, bigger the sensor, brighter shots :) I checked few 300-400€ pocket cameras and they had smaller sensors ;)

    A: Nokia Esa: And we piled the cam with 28mm wide optics from zeiss, that’s great combination

    Q: FoneArena: Esa , Is Nokia entering Pocket Cam business then :)

    A: Nokia Esa: we’ve been in cam buziness for a while. it’s in Nseries :)

    Q: Mickyfin: Will the N8 FW updates still be tied to product codes leading to great frustration among large groups of users or will S^3 now allow updates to be applied regardless of product code, along the lines of Maemo for the N900 ?

    A: Nokia Esa: @Mickyfin I need to check the product code thing. Don’t know at this point

    Q: zeem35: What is the actual available user memory in the ROM?

    A: Nokia Maija: @zeem35, the device user memory is 145MB and the Nokia N8 has 256MB RAM, improved with dynamic data management, which means great user experience

    Q: zeem35: Why is the Homescreen limited to 3?

    A: Nokia Aapo:@zeen35 – concious design decision. two reasons – to have the best possible performance for the home screen. second, to keep it simple enough to use.

    Q: Mickyfin: Can you expand on the USB To Go; what is it, will an adapter be required to use standard USB memory sticks, do you get read/write compatibility with USB memory sticks, and what formats & filesize are supported (e.g. NTFS, HFS? in addition to FATx). Can a 5Gb HD movie be copied into the phone from a memory stick, for example?

    A: Nokia Esa: USB OTG: We’ll have an adapter inbox to connect your USB memory sticks & hard drives. There’s obviously a power limitation that N8 can supply so some of the bigger hard drives need an external power supply

    A: Nokia Esa: You can copy big files from hard drives without PC. There is one limitation with the filesizes; max is 4GB, it comes from FAT32 system.

    Q: Guest: Hi, i’d like to know where the usb port is

    A: Nokia Esa: USB is in the left side

    Q: Mickyfin: Will S^3 support virtual RAM, will SIP be enabled, and which qt version does it come with?

    A: Nokia Aapo: @Mickyfin Qt 4.6

    Q: Rafe: Some Qt SDK questions for Aapo:

    How integrated is the SDK going to get. I appreciate it has the ‘new’ Qt simulator and on-device debugging, but what about integration with (Symbian) Signing and upload to Ovi Store?

    Any risk of fragmentation between the main Qt SDK and the Nokia Qt SDK (or is it really a question of tighter focus on Nokia specific elements (simulator, mobility APIs etc).

    Is Qt going to be upgraded separately to the platform i.e. Qt 4.7 release will be getting near final by the end of the summer. Thinking of potential of Qt Quick etc.

    What about support for Qt SDK on other platforms. I see Mac is a possible, any time line on that? What about Linux?

    A: Nokia Aapo: when Nokia N8 ships, we will have Ovi Store publishing in place for Nokia Qt SDK apps

    A: Nokia Aapo: @Rafe we are very keen not to fragment

    A: Nokia Aapo: @Rafe Windows and Linux are out first but we are very hard at work with Mac version as well. So we are actively working to get it out. That means Nokia development on all computer platforms!

    Q: irfun4ever: N8 coming with Flash 4. is it mean we can be able to watch facebook videos?

    A: Nokia Esa: Flash Lite 4 comes with compatibility to Flash 10 video

    Q: SymbianTweet: Dose N8 record sound in 5.1 channel.

    A: Nokia Maija: @SymbianTweet, there is stereo sound recording for the video cam, 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus only in playback

    Q: Stobbsc: Does the HDMI out just mirror the phone’s screen, at higher resolution, or can applications display content separately to both screens?

    With more “connected” tvs and media centres etc, will it support easy wifi media sharing, Upnp, bonjour for service discovery etc?

    With the HDMI out, is HDCP supported? I.e. will we be able to play back DRM’d HD Content?

    what was the reasoning behind sticking with nHD rather than the higher res of the n900?

    A: Nokia Esa: @Stobbsc: HDMI, video player & photos come out with 720p, rest of the UI is upscaled from nHD. E.g. Media wall UI looks cool on TV.

    Q: Guest: Does qt quick offer a common way to develop for symbian and meego? Or the toolkit UI widgets will be different?

    A: Nokia Aapo: @Guest yes a common way to develop UIs on both platforms. you can do UIs which are also forward compatible with future Symbian and Maemo UIs. Furthermore, there are projects to add mobile specific UI components to the general pool

    Q: zeem35: my friend had a bad experience with N97 border peeling off..

    A: Nokia Esa: @zeem The covers are made out of aluminium and the colors come with anodization process. It seems to resist the scratches by nature. I bet nothing is 100%

    A: Nokia Esa: you’ll gona love the new aluminium when get hold on the device :)

    Q: Ani: @ ESA – whts your favourite thing about N8?

    A: Nokia Esa: I love the camera, & HD. it’s wonderful

    So what do I think of the device? To be honest I would like to hold my judgement and or praises until I manage to get my hands on public release version. However from looking at the spec and all the online chatter here are a few of my likes and concerns:

    What I like so far:

    • I like the form factor and colour options.
    • I love the camera spec, xenon xenon xenon
    • At last a multi-touch capacitive screen
    • I think the price range is good at 360euro provided the device is released on time.
    • Dolby digital Surround sound

    Concerns so far:

    • The Battery is a concern,  this device is aimed at taking many pictures especially with a xenon flash
    • No camera lens cover (however many other devices have managed without it)
    • I’m a fan of OLED’s, but it struggles in sunlight and this phone is made for being outdoors taking images.

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