…WONDERING!!!!!!!!! where the **** it has been:
The parcel.
The parcel containing a Nokia E71 and BH-903 the kind folks from WOM World/Nokia have given me for a short testing period….
..only to realize after 2 weeks of onychophagy uncertainty that the landlord (who lives downstaires in the basement) already received and opened the parcel a week ago – assuming it’s the phone he ordered some time ago.
Dude!
AOB: TwitterKeys are so ?? …
It’s almost one year ago that I published three (1, 2, 3) articles on mobile blogging – and nothing has really changed since then.
Back in 2007, both the Nokia N95 and the Apple iPhone were released – two completely different phones that were only compared on numerous blogs due to setting new standards on each segment: the N95 being a true multimedia phone with a decent 5mp cam, 640×480 @ 30fps video (albeit a mono mic), a (slow) internal GPS module and a really nice multimedia player. With the latest firmware, it even plays flash videos (YouTube & Co.) and has different applications run at the same time (sort of multitasking). The iPhone on the other hand provided a compatible device that suits Apple users – a nice user interface and all-in-one device like the N95 which unfortunately still missed some basic phone tools (MMS, Bluetooth exchange, etc.). And although both phones aren’t the only cool devices out there, they sold quite well. Even if the iPhone doesnt feature all these special goodies the N95 comes with, Apple’s phone still has the best browser on a mobile phone.
GoogleReader on my N95…
Back in 2007 I had bought the N95 because the music player on my Nokia 6230i had constantly failed (due to a bug in the firmware) and because I urgently wanted to have a new, sexy phone. Something that enables a better mobile blogging experience.
And that’s exactly the basic point here: until now, no mobile phone has actually delivered this *sweet mobile blogging* experience so far.
Back in 2007, I argued that it’s a software issue. And still believe it is. So instead of buying new phones, a systematic adjustment between the phone’s software (firmware & single programmes) and your blogging platform (WordPress, Vox, Typepad, etc.) comes into mind.
Sure, there’s this WP iPhone app some of us have tested some time ago, but still: it doesnt work that well, and it doesn’t provide a similar experience we’re having online on our laptop, surfing the net with decent browsers on bigger screens with full JavaScript support etc..
And this – I believe – is also one of the many reasons for the success of Twitter. Twitter just filled that gap on mobile blogging, phone manufacturers have failed on providing. Why? Because that special Twitter experience is the same whether you’re online via a browser window on your laptop, use it via an extra widget somewhere on the desktop, have it run as a stand-alone utility on S60 & iPhone platforms or just use SMS (for sending only, though).
You know I had a discussion with my Minister of Finance earlier this week on getting a new phone (again), and I had mentioned the new Nokia E71 and why it could be an improvement on what I am looking for (~ mobile blogging device). However, with the above mentioned discussion on mobile blogging being a software issue, I am rather confused now and think I should stick to my N95 at this point. Maybe wait for Google Android’s phone being released by the end of this year?
Another interesting developement since 2007 is the success of so-called Netbooks – which are lightweight laptops at 7″-10″ screen sizes, often equipped with an energy saving CPU, a solid state disk and enough flexibility to provide surfing the net, answering your e-mails and doing some other office work. Battery runtime still is an issue though, often only giving 2-3 hrs. Netbooks are currently sold for 300-400,- EUR in Europe and are small enough to fill that special gap the need for mobile blogging has created.
So here’s my conclusion: instead of waiting for the ultimate mobile web experience via a dedicated & maybe also expensive smart phone, I’ll bet on another setup: ppl – especially those in need in a rural Africa – will imho be introduced to the combination of basic GPRS & UMTS (3G) phones, hooked up to cheaper laptop computers such as netbooks.
Not today, not tomorrow – but maybe in two years time when basic netbooks wil sell for ~ 150,- EUR and will also be sold on the African continent in a big style. Why? Because a mobile phone is – although it is often shared with members of the extended family – still a device for a single user (despite of these new Nokias that come with multiple phonebooks). A computer though can easily be shared with others. Here’s what I had in mind:
Solar panels are already for sale in rural Kenya as well as simple GPRS-capable phones, netbooks could be equipped with a free & open OS (+ BT, serial port & USB cable driver package) and it would still cost below the amount you’d normally spend on a) getting a normal desktop pc online or b) a fancy smartphone that just still doesnt deliver the real web experience.
And the best part: this setup isn’t reduced to the needs of a rural environment, but also applies to urban areas in the US, Europe or Asia. In other words: if I had to do true mobile blogging right now, I’d go for this setup (ok, maybe without those solar panels).
Netbooks are what Twitter is used to be to SMS: added value.
This (quote from an article by Rebecca on the new M-Pesa online payment gateway):
Intellectual property is another challenge identified by Mulamba, where software developers who work for a company realize they can offer similar services.
“Safeguarding intellectual property is a challenge; people thrive on stealing other people’s ideas and that is why there is a high turnover of software developers in many companies,” said Mulamba. “One is forced to work with a smaller team of trusted people and take a longer time, instead of a larger team that would have taken a shorter time to complete the project.” (source)
…reminds me of an e-mail I’ve received two weeks ago:
“To be sincere I do not like dealing with Kenyans when it comes to jobs or something professional, not that I hate my people but because sometimes I know how they feel about other people´s success.”
Mchonga mwiko hukimbiza mkono wake?
Life’s little pleasures….an upgrade from a 2GB microSD card to an 8GB micro SDHC – Secure Digital High Capacity memory card.
Please note the tiny card reader (about 1″ long) which will be attached to my keychain. This way, exchange of data will be much easier and faster and I can still use the “old” 2GB card as a portable memory stick. New 2GB cards currently sell for around 8,- EUR, so it doesnt really make sense to sell it again on eBay & Co.
The upgrade is just very sweet. It enables me to carry around LOTS of music (right in my phone = mp3 player) and to still keep enough free space for videos, images or even navi maps.
And since these card are hot-swapable, you can just flip them out and put in another one if you need more memory space.
…a.k.a. “things you do when you are supposed to other things”:
Here: changing the (broken) original silver/”plum” cover on your Nokia N95 into a MadeInChina-plastic cover in black.
before:
after:
(Pics taken with a Nokia 6230, hence the lousy image quality. Pole.)
Took me one hour. Problem is that you have to remove some parts like the loudspeaker or the flexible pcb underneath the display from the original cover and have to stick it (it’s glued!) to the new cover. Dito bottom: had to remove the GPS antenna and glue it to the new cover. You have to be a bit careful while reassembling it – especially the slider (hinge) requires some attention.
It feels a bit cheap with the new cover, sort of plastic touch to it as only the front plate is made out of aluminium, but it fits, looks better (imho) and works. I am not a big fan of the overall N95 design (i thinks it’s horrible and looks like a prototype – e.g. no seamless integration of the display) and with this new cover I think it looks a bit less chaotic.
Can you see the clear adhesive tape on the old battery cover? Well, a new battery cover (alone!) sells for the 1/3 of the price for a new complete black cover, so I was tempted to go for this complete mod. Considering that you have to remove some glued components from the original cover and make sure that you don’t destroy any gaskets, I think it may even be easier to just paint it black next time.
If these pictures are anything to go by – then I want one those new Google phones based on Android.
Now! :-)
@D: what about the E61i? (someone pls combine a 5mpx cam with a qwerty(z) keyboard & I’ll go for it…)
[youtube zdo_wEwBqXo]
Nokia’s new N96
Seriously, what I miss about the new range of Nokia & SE phones is a decent keyboard. Sure, you may also go for a touchscreen interface + keyboard as on the iPhone, but I am not yet convinced of these technologies (~ what about dust? tactile feedback? + the downsides of the iPhone e.g. non-removable battery, iTunes, etc.).
Nokia’s & SE’s new phones are said to be made for the internet and/or provide multimedia comfort (DVB-H receiver, short range FM-transmitter, audio & video playback, video recording), but when it comes to actually using them you’re really punished with an old fashioned T9 keypad. Entering longer text is a pain and makes only sense while using a foldable keyboard (video) (like Nokia’s SU-8W).
Don’t get me wrong: for consuming multimedia/inet content, these phones are just great. But interacting with others from phone to phone (except for direct bluetoothing or sms/mms) still requires another approach, I’d say. Best example: Fring! Fring is an awesome messenger service that now also offers direct file transfer. Now imagine you’re chatting with someone over Skype or ICQ and have to enter text by using a T9 keyboard only…
Well, I keep coming back to my N95 albeit its horrible design (slider, case, keypad layout) because it has a decent camera and enables me to record anything while on the go + even editing it on the phone. Now that’s something really sweet considered it’s just a phone.
