I had this realization the other day: Nokia is missing out on using Ovi on its lineup of internet tablets.

I've written in the past that I really don't like the fact that the internet tablets don't have any PIM functionality out of the box. Well, OK, you've got your GoogleIM contacts, but if you don't use Google as your contact manager you're out of luck (well the contact management on the device needs improvement too).

Of course the lack of a notebook, todo, and calendar apps just adds to the lack of PIM goodness on a device that could really use it. After all, you get emails with invites, why not be able to schedule them on your internet tablet and have it sync to the could?

Ovi has been available for a while now with S60 clients and S40 coming out now (if I am not mistaken). It would make absolute sense to have robust calendar, todo, and contact management apps on the Internet Tablet that allow you to sync up to the Ovi cloud!

As an added bonus, the Comes With Music should be extended to the NIT. It's got the storage, it's got the media playback capability, and it's becoming mobile with GSM/UMTS being added to it for the future iterations.

Tags: technology, Nokia, PIM, cloud, ovi

There are many services out there that offer you cloud based PIM+ (plus email, photos, storage, etc.) Some are free, some are for pay. I think that 2009 will be the year that we see more competition for consumer mindshare.

Yahoo has been in the game for quite some time. They've got Yahoo Mail, which has free 'push' to Apple's iPhone/iPod touch platform (last I checked anyway). They've got an OK addressbook, calendar, notebook, and photo management through Flickr. The problem is that they haven't put it all together. They do have Yahoo! Go but results do vary from smartphone to smartphone and it's not available for all platforms.

Google provides superior email service (in my experience) and their calendar is pretty useful - although lack of iCal sync (for free) makes it less useful for me. Their addressbook stinks - big time! I really wish they would fix it. They too have photo management through picassa. The one problem with the google verse is that is only available on Android devices -although I guess separate apps could be available on other platforms.

MobileMe is Apple's paid service (and sometimes I feel like a sucker for using it, but I can use my nokia phone and my ipod, and my mac to use it, so I guess it's valuable).

Ovi is Nokia's platform for all things PIM+ - haven't used it much, and the sync times out on my Nokia N80, so I guess I won't be fully using it until I get a new S60 phone.

Finally Microsoft has announced SkyBox, it's own version of PIM+ that is set to be unveiled sometime this month.

There is of course the Danger sidekick PIM+, but I am not sure if this is sticking around for very long (I think it would be better to integrate it with SkyBox...but what do I know?)

The one problem I've got with all of these services is that they don't play nice with one another. On my Mac I can sync my contact data with Google and Yahoo. Awesome! What about my ToDo and Calendar? What about an Ovi plug in? I don't mind having a different cloud provider for my PIM data, however it's imperative for this data to be interoperable with each other.

So what will happen in 2009? I think we will probably see an improvement of services in order to gain mindshare. I don't think we will see much cross-sync compatibility - as much as I would love to see this happen.

Tags: technology, PIM, Nokia, windows, apple, cloud

Here's a third post in a series of reposts of interests from the NewtonTalk list. My commends are in Code format

Joe Riley Wrote:
This is a continuation of the iPod touch talk from the "[NTLK] [ADMIN] This is only a test" thread.

I just got a 1st Gen refurb iPod Touch from apple (looked brand new!) and I've been very amazed with it. I'm not a newton power user in terms of the calendar/contacts and the info linking the newt can do so I could see me using the touch as its replacement for those functions. I also can do without the HWR since I usually end up using the onscreen keyboard on my newt because most of my data to enter doesn't like the HWR (gear charts for race cars, web addresses, etc.). If you use blackberry, treo, winmo, etc, getting the hang of the touch's keyboard shouldn't be too hard. The first data entry might be a pain if you do it manually but the touch can sync with address book and ical.

I synced everything with my MobileMe account and al info was there. I found the only problem to be the iPod's auto-correct. I write in Greeklish (Greek in latin characters) on twitter and it keeps wanting to correct everything. English typing was no problem, even from the get-go.

Someone also mentioned the small screen, which I do agree is a little annoying but scrolling is easy with the touch screen and it keeps the device small. The multimedia and web on the touch is awesome compared to the newt. Some of the interface touches even remind me of the newt, like how the keyboard and some other boxes glide on/off the display and the clicky sounds it makes when you type (although it doesn't have the overall interface sounds the newt has).

It does have some serious flaws though. First and most important to me is the lack of a good notes app. The built-in notes app looks similar to the newts but lacks folders. I'm going to try some 3rd party apps but reviews I've read so far don't give me hope.

This is a serious problem (as is note sync). I've written about this in a previous post.
Second is battery life. The battery life of the touch really sucks if your punishing it with lots of web surfing, app downloading, or worse online gaming. It seems to do ok if you've got the wifi off but its still no where near the newt, you need to charge it atleast every night if not sooner. Maybe if they made it as thick as the iphone 3g we'd be set.

You know, I don't think that battery life is a problem. Yes if you keep using the web and playing games it's going to drain your battery fast. It's a cost balancing situation. I use my iPod mostly for media playback, and I keep it charged while at work. I never run out of battery. I also don't hop on the net with all the time. I check my email, check my twitter and facebook, and turn the WiFi off. You can't compare the newton battery life-span to that of the iPod. The Newton does not go online, and it doesn't do media playback. I know people have created apps to let you do just that, but if you do this, your battery will drain equally fast as the iPod Touch.


Third is the lack of copy and paste. This one really bugs me because I use C&P on my blackberry and newt all the time. And last it lacks the Agent and overall search funtions of the newt although it does have in-app searches for some apps. Lack of HWR may be a deal breaker depending on if you are really fond of it.


If the notes and copy & paste problems are solved this may be a decent 'new newt' for some. It does the web, multimedia, mail, contacts and calendar, its not a brick, it syncs easily with modern apps and its easy to use IMHO. I do wish it had a green backlight and could be put into greyscale mode, maybe an app could be made to give all the white on screen a green tint and switch the rest of the colors to greyscale? I guess I'm saying it needs theme support too

LOL, a green backlight and a Newton theme would be awesome (maybe the jailbreak community can help out). The fact that the iPod is not a brick and can accomplish so much (despite its limitations) is why I choose it over the newton for my needs. Lets not forget that the newton is 14 years old and it's been more than 10 years without official support!

Do you have an IPod Touch/iPhone? What do you think?

Tags: technology, Newton, NewtonOS, Nokia, N800, ipod, touch

Continuing my series of reposts of mailings that I find interesting about the future of the newton from the NewtonTalk list, here's one from Carlos Santiago. I've added some comments and personal views in code format

Carlo's Post:
I was prompted by the 2010 timeframe barrier I'd heard about but I made the switch after v2.0 of the system software which had abilities much better in regards to email than the earlier version; at 1.x it most mostly an ipod but the 2.0 software brought it close to a pda but 100% and no where, anywhere close near a Newton.But I then sold off my iPAQ and BT GPS unit as we also gotten a Garmin GPS which made the switchover possible.

It took a while for me to make the switch, mentally, everything important I had on my 2100 and PDA. Key apps there I vitally needed and used.

• cut-n-paste! poor man's inter-app messaging
• Newton notes; still no clear replacement
• Newton calendar; Pocket Informant on the PDA made that platform a good transition but the Newton was the gold standard so it'll be tough to replace
• Newton inter-app slip messaging; but things are slowly improving within key apps
• PDA Pocket Informant; a PIM that's coming this month!

I'm not a twenty something wanting a gaming only device (but not that there's anything wrong with that! - these folks in part fueled Apple in recent months and this platform after all) but needed a PDA which approched Newton status. My iPod isn't a Newton but I'm finding less is more in some areas.

What I like:

• speed; I now juggle 6 email accounts; evan google and yahoo along with work, etc.
• apps availability; I often buy apps I like hoping support will spur further advances; most feature 'free' subset versions which is vital since all sales are final - and tied to you; you can't resell.
• web browsing - full screen and fast; however in recent months some sites take to dumming down their site when then see an iPOD; wrong approach; some offer a choice of classic or iPod site view; much better
• GREAT - f-n-GREAT (so far) app s/w provider support; I think they see the future ahead of most users and are running in droves to the unit; I can only hope some exNewton titles make it here.

I have all of my email accounts (except for my Hotmail account) on my iPod Touch and it's great! On my N800 I don't have everything. The again, I purchased the device for web browsing, not email handling. I only have my mobile me account on the N800 since I can't use the browser to check the mail. Hotmail, yahoo and gmail are all easily accessible on the maemo browser.

What I dis-like

• small sceen resolution with BIG UI interface controls means display real estate is an absolute premium; most apps either waste space or feature too much whitespace. There are some PDA style apps which try to cram too much info but I think within the next year the UI and developers will come to terms and deliver great apps - my hope anyway.
• poor apps sometimes crash the unit; recent I took to emailing one developer on their latest update and was totally floored at the response; *GREAT* had a new, fixed, app in a few days. Oh, and this app was *FREE*

I really would like to see some category for gag apps. I don't care that people are making fart or bouncing boob apps, but it really makes it hard to look for good apps when the gag apps are taking up so much space.

And neutral items...

• it's not a PDA let alone Newton. In the 2.1 s/w release Apple heard first hand that some folks actualy rely on their units for something other than on demand music purchase and play. Given the wider, non-game app availability, I suggested they spend a bit more time in QA; they appear to be.
• yes there's no stylus; it's up to the app the make the UI transition to gesture based input. it's funny to see HWR attempts etc. on this unit. IMHO those apps just don't get it (aka those don't dogs won't hunt It's hard but you do need to rethink things from scratch.

Would like to see items

• Newton notes; folders, outlines, todo, style sheets, etc. partridge in a pear tree...
• universal platform issues; cut-n-paste, messaging, 'back' ability. Each app execution replaces rather than pushes current apps. You can return to the former app after pressing the home button and navigating to it but I'd like to see a 'go back' button or gesture to do this. That would go a long way to addressing inter-app slip passing as app design all feature a fast save state ability you pick up just where you left off.
• built-in camera
• speaker (2nd gen unit already has this)
• dump AT&T in favor of generic provider support; this is part of larger soap box to have all cell phone carriers compete by using a U.S. then world-wide cell phone network topology and technology; we'd then see real competition vs. the fiefdoms we have now.
• overall h/w improvements; 3rd party storage & batter upgrades - don't try this yourself

Overall I'm happy I made the switch; but miss my 2100.

I agree. I still have my 2100, I don't use it and I miss it. But I am happy to be using an iPod Touch and N800 instead

Tags: technology, Newton, NewtonOS, N800, Nokia, ipod, touch

I know, this news is a week or two old, but wow!
I was thinking that my next phone would be an iPhone but...Nokia REALLY upped the anti with this one! IF this phone has Triband HSPA (or even better quadband) I may go for it if I have the money.

I wish that people start working on S60 touch apps now so we can get all those iPhone like apps out . There is no capacitive touch display on the N97 (so no multifinger gestures) but that's OK. Maybe someone can get me one for my birthday

Tags: technology, Nokia, telephony, s60

A while back I was reading this article over at the Internet Tablet School

It's been a while since I initially read it, so I went back to re-read since I had been thinking of the topic lately. The author's thesis is that Nokia doesn't want to compete with itself by offering two devices that do the same thing: the Nokia S60 touch interface phones (such as the Nokia 5800 pictured to the right) and the Nokia Internet Tablets.

The author further goes on to day that Nokia should put create subnotebooks like the Eee PC and put maemo on, abandoning the tablet factor, and that Nokia should focus on improving the functionality of maemo with regard to functions such as word processing and other office apps.


Now, I agree with two things:
1. You don't want to cannibalize sales of your flagship products (phones).
2. You should focus on adding functionality.

I disagree on the notion of getting rid of the tablet factor and making something like the Eee PC. Sub-notebooks are a pain to carry around. A tablet fits comfortably in your coat pocket, a sub-notebook does not. You don't need to put maemo on a laptop to clearly show who the intended audience is.


What should Nokia do?
Software wise:
1. Add a good PIM suite to your internet tablets. Contacts, Calendar, To-do and memos are a must and by doing this you will get people from the PDA market to switch over. While you're at it, make this PIM suite compatible with iSync and synv with Yahoo and Google as well.

2. Make office applications more accessible on Maemo. Word, Excel and PowerPoint are documents that people want to open and edit on the go.

3. Make mail for exchange available on maemo and integrate IM functionality into the OS (yahoo, MSN, ICQ, AOL). Pidgin does a good job, but this also adds one more app you need to run.

4. Get more support for web based clients, like the iPhone.

5. Get SMS, MMS, and phone applications on Maemo.

6. Make media playback easier on the device. Video podcasts don't play well on Maemo - fix this. Look at Canola for PMP inspiration (or support canola actively)


Hardware wise:
1. Integrate quadband GSM/Quadband UMTS (and if you're up to it, WiMAX as well). Will this cannibalize your S60 touch sales? To a small extent yes, but most people buy a phone for most phone related activities, and a tablet for extended internet activities. The tablets have more screen real-estate, and better processing power which makes browsing more pleasurable than on any phone.

2. Integrate your phone like and tablet lines. Make it easy to compose, send, and sync MMS, SMS from your tablet to your phone

3. Bring back the FM radio with RDS

4. Make tablets easy to connect to monitors and TVs for more real estate.

5. Take the N810 body and add some external buttons, so people don't have to slide out the keyboard to use basic navigation buttons

6. Throw in a 3.2 or 5MP camera.

7. Yes, do make wireless keyboard and mouse an viable option for maemo. There's nothing cooler than taking your tablet out, brining out a wireless keyboard and sitting and taking notes!



Nokia posits the N-series devices a multimedia computers. In my opinion it doesn't matter if you are running symbian or maemo. While current tablets can go online by tethering them to a phone, it's better and easier to keep the same form factor and add cell radios in them.

Tags: maemo, symbian, Nokia, future, opinion

With the arrival of Nokia chat (beta), nokia created a conduit for the N800/N810 internet tablet devices which allows you to use your Nokia chat account with the internet tablet. Pretty good idea think I!

Now I know that it's easier to create a conduit for Nokia Chat for the N800 because nokia chat works on the XMPP/Jabber which the internet tablet already supports, BUT nokia should really create some conduits for other popular IM platforms like ICQ, AIM, Yahoo and MSN so people can use the built-in chat client to chat and video/voice chat! (and exchange files).

I've got nothing against Pidgin. It's a great app! But... I would liketo see some alternatives!

Tags: Nokia, chat, N800, applications, beta, IM

A while back I got a free license for Nova Media's FoneLink. This software allows you to connect your phone to your Mac running MacOS X and it allows you to transfer files, perform backups of your phone, and synchronize PIM and SMS data.

The software is quite admirable in terms of its compatibility list. The phones include phones running Symbian S60, UIQ, Nokia S40 and whatever OS regular samsung and SonyEricsson phones run. Click here to see for yourself!

My phone, with which I have been testing this software, is a Nokia N80 purchased two years ago, with firmware version 4.0623.0.42. In general I like the software, however it does have some features missing which I would love to see in a future version.

I was planning on doing a looooonger review - but I decided to keep it short and sweet. Essentially the application does what it advertises which is pretty cool!

One of the features of FoneLink is Mobile Finder. This feature does what you think it does. It provides a finder interface to your phone's memory and to the attached SD card (if your phone supports removable memory). The mobile finder allows you to look at your music, photos, video and other multimedia, and transfer files between your computer and the phone.

One of the features that I really liked was the ringtone creator that is part of this media center interface. You can drag and drop any MP3 file, and cut it down to create a ringtone for your phone. I should mention that the MP3 file you are trying to cut down should be of reasonable size. I tried cutting a 64MB podcast down to get a small clip as a ringtone and the program crashed.

Another feature is called the Organizer and it allows you to view the notes, calendar events, tasks, the contacts and the SMS on your phone. It also allows you to send SMS messages and add notes in your phone's notes app right from the desktop - pretty convenient if you ask me. The application supports Growl (awesome, awesome app!), so when new SMS messages come in, you get to see them on your desktop.

Contacts and calendar events can't be changed from the app, but you can sync to make changes between your addressbook/ical and your phone - which brings me to the next feature - synchronization. The application is a replacement for iSync and it allows you to sync your phone's PIM data with your computer's. Personally I did not use the sync functionality because quite honestly iSync works perfectly fine for me.

Finally, there is a feature called Time Tunnel and obviously it is a play on Apple's Time machine. It allows you to go back to a previous backed up version of the phone's software to collect data. I used this a few times. As a matter of fact the default behavior of the app was to try to create a backup as soon as you connect your phone to it. I didn't use this feature a lot.

The backup seemed to take quite some time (although I think it's a differential backup so it should get shorter as you use it more), and it made my phone reboot. The backups seemed to be there when I checked them out, but I did not like having my phone reboot and the app being unresponsive - maybe it had crashed.

The one last thing about this app is that updates to the app seem to be fairly regular, so if you do end up buying it, you will probably get good support!


Now, here are some things I would like to have in future version of this app:

MMS import - Just like there is an SMS app, I would like to be able to see my MMS messages on the desktop, and I would like to send MMS messages right from the desktop.


Phone log - I would love to be able to see my phone log on the desktop, like I see who's SMSd me, who I SMSd and when.

Called ID flash on screen when someone calls - This is a feature of BluePhoneElite and I think that FoneLink would really benefit from the implementation. When someone calls, their name and number show on my desktop. Often at the office (and at home) my phone is on silent - I just don't like to have the ringer on - it annoys me - but I would like to know if someone is calling. Implementing this functionality would be great. It can be a growl message for all I care.


Growl for voicemails - A growl notification when you have a new voicemail would be nice.




All things considered, this isn't a bad app!

Tags: review, technology, macintosh, macos, Nokia, N80, fonelink, software

OK I was thinking about this the other day.

Nokia bought all of the shares of Symbian, and turned it to the Symbian foundation, with a roadmap to open source the OS. The features of MOAP and of UIQ will make their way to S60, essentially creating one platform. We've already seen Nokia experiment with touch screen S60 (the so called Nokia Tube) so we're partly there.

There was also scuttlebutt (although disputed) of Nokia and Google cooperating. Hmmm...

For those that don't remember, Nokia owns the maemo linux platform that runs on the Nxxx series internet tablets, and acquired trolltech earlier this year, which may mean a lot of the maemo platform.

Now with all this consolidation, cooperation, and merging, are we seeing an "all roads lead to symbian" situation?



for full size graphic see here.



Just a thought...

Tags: symbian, android, Nokia, prediction, linux

My second attempt to use what I have as an iPod replacement is my Nokia N800. On the surface it kind of looks like an iPod touch, so it should work, no? Well, yes and no. Compared to my N80 and the PSP the N800 requires the least amount of investment. It came with 4GB worth of SD memory, and I had 2GB from my now defunct HTC Blue Angel, so I have a total of 6GB to play with. It has been a bumpy road, but I am working with it.

So what are the tools of the trade? I use the built-in media player to play back my music and podcasts, I use gpodder to subscribe and download podcasts and the USB cable to connect the N800 to my PowerBook whenever I want to load more music on it. Just like most things, it's got its good, its bad and its ugly.

The good: I can play my MP3s, I can listen to my podcasts. The volume is acceptable - it compares equally to my 4.5 year old iPod but when I am on the train I sometimes have trouble hearing. I like that I can download podcasts directly to my N800, so if I run out of podcasts during the day, I can hop on to a hotspot and download a few more for my commute home.

The bad: gppodder lags a bit. There are times that the application is simply non-responsive and you need to just let it do its thing. This can be *very* frustrating. Another frustrating thing is that you can't do a partial keylock. You can either lock the touchscreen and all keys, or you can leave it unlocked. This is frustrating because there are times that I simply want to increase or decrease the volume and I have to remove the unit from my bad, unlock all keys, adjust the volume, re-lock, and put it back in my bag. The device is not very media friendly in this way.

The ugly: Well, there aren't many ugly things about it. The one thing that I would shoehorn in this category is the lack of adequate video support. I was looking forward to downloading video podcasts again and viewing them during my commute. Unfortunately the video lags A LOT, it's badly out of sync when it does start working and it's choppy. So much for video podcasts...

Now I know that it is an Internet Tablet, and not a media player, but the N800 is a great device! I really wish that Nokia had pumped up the video processing on this unit device and that they had created a media profile where the screen locks automatically after X time, the wifi/BT are turned off automatically and certain keys are mapped for media functions (next song/previous song/volume up/volume down)

All things considered, the N800 is a great media player IF you don't watch video podcasts AND you don't have the urge to keep skipping to the next track.

Tags: apple, ipod, Nokia, internet, tablet, N800, technology

I was recently in the public transport system, and I pulled out my internet tablet, fired up the GarnetVM (PalmOS virtual machine), and looked up the times of the upcoming trains to get back home. At this point I recalled that someone had been able to get a developer's build of Android to run on Maemo and I started pondering: is there anything this device can't do?

The folks over at OpenEinstein are working at getting the Newton emulator (called Einstein) to run on the newest Maemo (diablo), I can run PalmOS applications through GarnetVM, I can install ubuntu on the tablet (the first OS hacked to run on the NIT), and now Android.

Pretty slick I must say! Now if only it had a more powerful A/V processor!

Tags: Nokia, internet, tablet, N800, operating, system

When my iPod bit the dust, I immediately wanted to get another one (more on that in a later post), but for the time being I wanted to use what I had in order to get on my day to day business. There are three options: My PSP, my N80 or my N800 Internet Tablet (NIT).

I don't have that much external memory for my PSP, so unless I wanted to invest in memory stick DUOs, I am a bit out of luck. Also, the PSP is a bit bulky, and in order to carry it around I would need some sort of case, which I don't have, so I decided to give up on that idea.

The N80 was the next contender. My usual listening habits include podcasts. Lots and lots of podcasts. I exported my podcast subscriptions in the form of an OPML file from iTunes. I installed the podcasting client on my N80, and sent the OPML file via bluetooth. Seamless. I can connect my headphones to my N80, I can download podcasts over the air, and listen to them.

Well, I hit a snag. My removable memory is only 128MB, so I would need to invest in a miniSD card (or more if I wanted music). Considering that my N80 is 2 years old and newer phones take microSD (damned formats!), it seems idiotic to waste money on miniSD cards, thus I can only download one or two podcasts. I am OK with that. I am usually within a WiFi hotspot near work, and at home so I can always keep my podlist fresh.

I tried downloading a podcast (1 podcast), and I could not! My connection (at home) kept stalling! I finally gave up. Granted I haven't tried since to see if I can get podcasts on my N80, but I've sort of written it off for now.

N80 as an iPod replacement, I give you a C+

Tags: ipod, PSP, Nokia, N80

I upgraded my Nokia N800 to the newest firmware a while back, and I have to say that I am pretty pleased! Initially I was not going to upgrade because I was really not looking forward to reinstalling my applications. Thankfully, the backup that I did also captured most of my config files so I did not have to configure more of my upgraded apps.

My overall impression of Diablo is favorable. I am really liking the new email client, and the browser seems snappier than before but maybe it’s just new-OS-it is that I am experiencing, so we’ll see how that goes.

I decided to upgrade the firmware on the N800 for one reason: Over-the-Air upgrades! (OTA). This means that in the future, when there are new OS upgrades, I can just download them over the Wifi network and install them without needing a PC, and without needing to reinstall all my apps again – which is something I hate to do. I just want my device to work, not to make me work in order for it to work.

Tags: maemo, diablo, Nokia, N800, updates, upgrade

Garnet VM beta 2 was released last week for the Nokia Internet Tablets. I decided to give it a try and see what’s new since beta 1. I do not have that many apps for palm since I was never really a user of the palm platform. I have the local commuter rail map and schedule application, google maps, and some freeware games that I downloaded a while back to test the virtual machine.

The first thing I did was to check the hotsync. As you know, the N800 does not come with a PIM suite, and I would really love to sync my mac with the addressbook, calendar, and notes of the garnet VM PIM apps. Nope, you can still only sync over the air, not over cable, so that leaves iSync out of the picture.

The second thing I checked was the control panel. I wanted to see if there are any changes (or improvements) there. Nope, same old stuff. I know that the VM allows you to use the N800’s wifi connection, so google maps just works, but what about Bluetooth? Can I send and receive stuff using the VM?

The last thing I checked, and it wasn’t there, was the inclusion of new apps. When someone gets a palm PDA, there are usually a number of useful apps such as blazer, versamail, and documents-to-go. I know that the N800 comes with a web browser and a mail client, but why not package those in with the VM (at least as alternatives)

I look forward to beta 3, maybe things will improve

Tags: garnetVM, Nokia, N800, sync, PIM

I was reading Mac.sis recently, and they had a promo running. They had obtained a few free licenses for FoneLink, and they were giving them away (provided of courses that you do a review of the product, which I will do at some point next week once I’ve sufficiently tested the product). I played around a little bit with it yesterday, but not enough to have a complete view of the program.

FoneLink is a piece of software that allows you to synchronize your contacts, calendar, to-do and SMS messages between your phone and your Mac. It also allows you to browse your phone for video, photos, music and ringtones and to transfer data to and from the phone. It also has a nifty feature (which I have not tried yet) that backs up the contents of your phone on your Mac (looks similar to Time Machine, or at least the name does).

I look forward to giving this a try at home.

Tags: software, macintosh, Nokia, s60, sync, isync, multimedia

Just for kicks I was looking at the Sony Mylo 2 the other day.

Don't ask me why, I don't know why. I was just looking.

Anyway, I was looking at the specs, and at the video demonstration bellow, and the device did impress me, even though it still lacks a lot of features.

I started thinking that this device might make a great SonyEricsson Phone. The OS seems to be refined at every iteration, it had widgets, it has an RSS reader and podcatcher (which need improvement), and it has skype (therefore it has a microphone and a speaker). This device would make a great phone, and a good competitor to the Danger Sidekick, the Helio Ocean and possibly to the Nokia N8xx and iPhone devices.

If you added Quadband HSPA, Quadband EDGE, opened up development so that people could write apps (such as games) for the device, included a good PIm suite, and tidied up the existing collection of apps that the device comes with. It could make SonyEricsson money.

Tags: mylo, sony, Phones, MID, internet, tablet, N800, Nokia, iPhone, competition

I saw on the (RSS) wires recently that there is a new version of ITOS2008 available (or is going to be available soon) for the Nokia N800 and N810 tablets. I am debating whether or not to upgrade now, or wait for future upgrades. I haven't seen any compeling (for me) reasons to upgrade, and the hassle of reinstalling all my applications after an upgrade is too great for "stability improvements"...considering that I already find my N800 stable for my tastes.

Now if a good PIM with iSync (SyncML) support were part of the upgrade...then I would upgrade in a jiff!

Tags: ITOS2008, Nokia, N800, updates, upgrade, debate

For a while now we’ve been hearing about Nokia’s answer to the touch-screen craze, trying to compete with models such as the iPhone, the LG Prada, the HTC Touch, and the LG Voyager. Some details were leaked today, along with some spyshots, and I have to say that I am impressed.

I was thinking that my next phone was probably going to be an iPhone (I will not go back to windows mobile, at least not for another five to ten years, it just sucks), but the spyshots have me impressed.

Imagine an N96 type phone (16GB flash, GPS, 5MP camera, DVB-H, WiFi, Quadband GSM, Bluetooth) with a touchscreen interface! (and hopefully triband HSDPA!). This sounds better than an iPhone to me

Tags: Nokia, touch, technology, Phones

It's been a month or so that I've had my upgraded N800 and I must say that it sees a lot of use throughout the day.
It has become the de-facto e-mail client for my .Mac account.
It has replaced my laptop as the instrument with which I browse the internet on my sofa.
It's great for Last.fm

This weekend I saw that the GPE PIM has been updated to work with ITOS2008...but unfortunately it still does not scratch my PIM itch.
Nokia can't you integrate PIM functionality that is SyncML (iSync) compatible? please?

Tags: N800, Nokia, ITOS2008, PIM

I was going to write a lengthy review of my N800 experiences, but why bother? The device is not really new, I am not an early adopter (for this device anyway), and there have been many, many, reviews of the unit. So, in lieu of a review I decided to write (mostly) about what I like about the N800, since I have already aired some of my criticisms (or recommendations for improvement) in previous blog posts.


Hardware

When it comes to hardware, I really like the form factor. It fits easily in my coat pocket, it is sort of like a slimmed down Newton 2100. It has a nice desk stand, which I thought I would not like, but I do! It’s rather convenient for when I want to listen to music, or just keep at eye level to see incoming email notifications.

The battery is nothing spectacular, but it is nothing to whine about. I generally (for my usage) recharge the unit once a day, and it sees a full day’s use, usually email, IM, and some last.fm

The 0.3MP Camera is a novelty (for me at least) since Pidgin does not support A/V chat, and I do not have many contacts on GTalk that would video conference.

The FM Radio is a nice addition. Granted I do not often listen to the radio these days, but there have been moments of sheer boredom (caused by silence in the room, in an area without WiFi), and the FM radio has championed the anti-boredom cause!

Of course the reason I picked an N800 instead of an N810 are the two SD Card Slots! These are great! There is one internally (under the battery cover) and one ‘external’ which can be accesses normally like other SD cards. This option gives my N800 almost endless storage (someone quoted 16GB can be had by two 8GB SDHC cards in the N800), my storage is three standard SD cards, 2GB each (non HC). Thus far it has not disappointed me!



Software

The software component of the N800 has two dimensions, the ITOS2007 dimension and the ITOS2008 dimension. I spent about two weeks with ITOS2007 before I upgraded. Generally I feel like the upgrade to ITOS2008 was worth it. The OS is more finger friendly, the RSS application handles embedded HTML in a better fashion, and the browser…well the browser is a mixed bag. I liked Opera (ITOS2007 browser) but it did not render everything correctly. Firefox Minimo (ITOS2008 browser) is much better at rendering pages that I visit, however it is slow to start, and it generally takes more time to accomplish tasks.


What I like
Applets – I love the applets on the main screen. It is so convenient to access information using applets. My only ‘gripe’ is that there aren’t more applets available! My wish list for applets would be: a stocks applet, a gmail applet (similar to the MacOS X widget), an applet that tells you what new mail has come into your mailbox (similar to the RSS applet). Finally a ‘current coordinates’ applet that would tie in with a Bluetooth GPS unit to let you know approximately where you are (based of course on the map application or maemo mapper)

RSS Reader & Mail - Great applications, they have really untied me from my desktop and my laptop! I have written in previous blog postings that I wish that the Mail app supported Google Threaded emails, and that the RSS reader had some sort of podcatcher feature so you could subscribe to audio and video podcasts.

Application Manager – I have used linux machines in the past, and installing apps was a royal pain in the (you know what). Granted I haven’t used linux in the last year or two so I may be out of date but the Application Manager kicks butt! I like that I can easily install applications from a repository, that I can easily remove applications, and that I don’t have to worry about dependencies (at least this has not been an issue up to now).

Vagalume – a Last.fm client. This app is single handedly responsible for my usage of Last.fm. Simply great!

Skype/Gizmo – Crystal clear (and cheap!) calling! Now there is no excuse to not call my grandmother (in Greece) more often. Now, I only wish that Skype supported video conferencing on the N800 just like on the

Pidgin – I have Pidgin running all the time on my N800. It’s a great IM application that integrates well with the ITOS2008 dock/status area. My only ‘gripe’ is that video and audio conferencing (and doc sharing) is not available as a feature. Otherwise, I’ve gotten back to the IM world that I had put aside for such a long time due to my inability to use IM on my regular computers.

Video Center – A nice application that allows you to subscribe and download video podcasts. Videos from some RSS feeds are choppy, but if you get your podcasts from ‘video center approved’ feeds, the videos play just fine.

Maemo Mapper – A nice free map application that I haven’t played a ton with. Supposedly you can get door-to-door directions. Need to play more with it.

Transmission – I don’t download torrents on my N800, but just the fact that a fully functional version of Transmission is available is incredible!


What I don’t like as much:
Input & Localization – I am a bit torn on the input front. I haven’t used the handwriting recognition (I suppose I should). I generally rely on the virtual thumb board for typing which in my experience (thus far) has been a little slow. Additionally, as I have mentioned in a previous blog post), there is no way to input asian scripts such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean. I know that there are people outside of Nokia working on it, but it’s at best a third party solution, and it could de-stabilize the system. Localization also falls a bit short for my tastes. You can input text in a number of different European languages but the OS (and applications) are not localized for all of those languages. There is no Greek localization for instance.

Web Browser – As I mentioned in the introduction, the Minimo browser needs some work. It is a bit slow to start up and sometimes it is a bit unresponsive (you need to wait, it hasn’t actually crashed). It does render pages better than Opera (ITOS2007) but it does need some speed improvements. Additionally, since it is based on the Firefox code, I would love to see some plug-ins that are available for Firefox to be available for Minimo.

Control Panel – The control panel is great, however the ‘lock’ function is not. I bought my unit third hand, and somewhere along the way the default lock code was changed. There is no way to know what this lock code is (in order to reset it), so I have to send my unit to Nokia for a complete reflashing (or something) in order to get it back to factory settings. This also means that I probably won’t be able to use my backups as a restore file because the old lock code is in there somewhere in that restore file. I wish there were something like a ‘pin 2’ or ‘puk’ that allowed you to reset that lock code without needing to reconstitute your data!

Contacts – I am not going to speak much about the contacts application since I have written about it in one of the N800 improvements blog posts. I think that PIM functionality is woefully under-developed in OS2008.

Notes & Sketch – Nice apps, but they really should be integrated. I think the Newton Notepad model is the model that I think Nokia should be striving for. MaemoPad+ is a good substitute but it’s still not a Newton Notepad.

Maps – I haven’t had much use of the Maps application. Mostly because it is a pain in the butt to download maps! The maps for USA East is about 700MB. I have started to download these maps, but my N800 ALWAYS crashes! Luckily after some googling and searching I found a work-around, but if you offer an option to download maps to your device over the air, you better make sure it works!

Canola – I recently discovered canola, an application which allows you to make your N800 into a personal media player. I really (really) like the user interface of canola, however the way it operates leaves something to be desired. You can use it as a podcatcher, but you must manually add in each address (PITA!) and this only works for audio podcasts. It supports photocasts, but again – no easy way to subscribe. It supports internet radio, but it doesn’t incorporate a shoutcast (or others) directories to easily add radio stations or browse them. It does not support the built-in FM Tuner in any capacity

Joost – Where’s my joost client?

GarnetVM – Recently Access, Inc. released a virtual machine for its legacy Garnet OS (formerly PalmOS 5). I think that this is great, but it is missing a considerable amount of functionality. I installed a few palm apps, and it borked the VM. I had to uninstall it an reinstall it again. There is no way to do USB or Bluetooth hotsync. It does not offer features found in Palm handhelds like the SMS app, the world clock app, a full control panel (with BT and WiFi options), Blazer, and so on. I know it’s still in beta – so I am patient. I can’t wait until the final version.

MS Office doc viewer – or the lack thereof. I receive emails with excel, word and powerpoint files attached to them. It would be nice for an internet tablet to include some sort of viewer for these files.


Final Thoughts
It may sound like I do not like the N800 based on what I have written, but in actuality I really do like my device, despite my complaining and its shortcomings I think that it is actually quite a nice device to own and use! I would recommend it to anyone who just wants to browse the internet, chat and check mail in the living room (or on the go) without wanting to whip out the laptop.

Tags: review, N800, Nokia, hardware, software

One of the things that bugs me in my internet tablet is the lack of (what I consider to be) important scripts. Nokia has not included Chinese, Japanese or Korean (CJK) in ITOS2008 (and it was not available in ITOS2007 either). Now, my knowledge of these languages is limited, but I am learning, and it would be helpful if I could go to websites that have text in CJK to be able to have it legible. It would also be nice to type in CJK scripts - quite useful for last.fm or looking up something in a dictionary.

On a related note, no Hebrew or Arabic is supported by the internet tablet OS. Why? I know that a lot of people speak English, but there are websites out there that use these scripts, and it would be nice if they rendered properly for the people who can read those scripts!

Tags: maemo, Nokia, N800, internet, tablet, ITOS2008

Having used my internet tablet with OS2008 for about a week now, I wanted to sing a little to the choir and echo some of the community’s comments regarding applications that one would expect to be included in the Internet Tablet, but are not.

PIM Suite:
PIM suites used to be the bread and butter of the PDA, not any more. PIM suites exist on desktop computers (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.) on smartphones of all sorts, and even good ol’ regular cellphones. IT behooves anyone to think that an Internet Tablet does not have a good addressbook (that includes snailmail addresses!), a good calendar, and a good to-do list. These are almost a necessity these days, and Nokia should have included them as part of the product. They have experience with PIM suites (look at their S60 phones, they all have PIM).
A PIM is not only useful for referencing information, or reminding you of an appointment, it’s important because it can tie into your IM client and identify your contacts, it can tie into your mail and you can have easy access to all of your contact’s information. If you receive an email invitation it can go directly into your calendar, and so on.
On top of the PIM suite, I would say that there should have also been synchronization (USB, Bluetooth, and/or wireless) capability via SyncML to synchronize this PIM data with your computer, nokia mobile phone, and/or online services like Google and Yahoo (sort of like what the iPhone does).


Mail:
I like the mail application, I won’t write much, but there are three things that I would like to see implemented: Hotmail support, Exchange Support, Yahoo IMAP support (like the iPhone). Other than that, I am a happy camper thus far


IM:
Pidgin is a great app, I really wish that it were part of the package and not a separate download. I wish this were the case because then it would be integrated with the status indicators on the top of the screen, and I could set my accounts in the control panel. On thing that I would like to see implemented in Pigdin (or if the built-in IM supports all of the protocols that Pidgin supports) is to have both video and audio chat. There is a built-in camera in both the N800 and N810, why not use it? It seems kinda silly to ask my friends on Yahoo to fire up Skype or GTalk in order for us to voicechat.

Tags: N800, Nokia, ITOS2008, improvement, suggestions

Our recent internet lives have been inundated with social this, and social that. We all have a LinkedIn, Facebook, mySpace (or whatever) account to keep in touch with our buddies, our colleagues and our family. Given the abundance of these services that we are part of, here are some suggestions for apps (or integration) that would make Maemo even better.


Blogging Client:
It would be nice to have a robust, blogging client so that you can blog without going to the webpage of your blogging service to do so. Off the bat, I would say that Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, Twitter, and Tumblr should be supported. You can sync up your x-recent posts, you can create new ones, edit old ones, and so on. I tried using WordPress on the browser that is supplied with ITOS2007, and I was having issues. A blogging client would side-step these issues and provides greater functionality.

Social Network Client:
Facebook has made a special interface for the iPhone, and MySpace is a downloadable application on the Sidekick/Hiptop. It seems like a great idea to create a Social Network Client that supports the top 5-10 networking sites and allows you to at least do some rudimentary stuff like accept/reject connection requests, see who recently joined (example: new classmates or colleagues in LinkedIn), check your email, change your status, browse through your friends list, send messages, and so on.


Podcast Client:
The RSS reader (with the exception of aforementioned improvements) does a good job for text and image based RSS feeds. It would be nice if a podcast/vidcast client were available for the ITOS2008 platform. You could subscribe to your favorite podcasts, choose which ones to download, and have seamless integration with the media player for the playback of those podcasts. I know that canola offers this kind of functionality, but it would be nice to have the functionality of a podcast client as a separate app. I don’t use my tablet as a media center, and therefore don’t want to fire-up my media center app when I want to browse or listen to a podcast.

Flickr/Picassa Manager:
Many people store their images online these days, either as a backup, a way to share with friends, or a way to easily post them on their blogs and websites. It would be a great if a Flickr (and/or Picassa) manager type application were available for this platform. You could browse through your photos, add or change tags, create and add to collections, and have the ability to upload from your device. I know that the neither the N810 nor the N800 have great cameras, but with Bluetooth you can always transfer images taken from phones or cameras that have built-in Bluetooth or SD slots.

YouTube Manager:
In similar fashion to the Flickr Manager, the YouTube Manager would allow you to browse and play through videos that you have marked as your favorite, it would allow you to change your account preferences and information, search for videos (like the iPhone YouTube client) and finally allow you to upload videos to YouTube (taken with a phone or other device, or videos available in your SD card)

Bookmark Manager:
The built-in bookmark manager is OK, I generally don’t get thrilled about things such as bookmarks, however there would be a nice killer feature that this app can have: Integration with del.icio.us (and/or other bookmark repository sites such as Yahoo and Google). You can save new bookmarks locally to your tablet; you can save them on the network on your preferred service(s); and you can access bookmarks already saved on those services without needing to fire-up the browser and navigate to those sites!

Tags: N800, Nokia, improvement, suggestions

I installed Internet Tablet OS 2008 on my N800. It’s only been a few hours, but thus far things seem to be working OK. Thus far things seem to be better than ITOS2008. Pidgin seems better on ITOS2008 than 2007 (in terms of the integration with the OS)

Tags: N800, Nokia, upgrade

I've been using my new N800 for a couple of weeks now. I've been thinking of what software features and improvements can make the tablet an even better tool. Now I know that I am using Internet Tablet OS 2007 (I may be upgrading in a little while), so some of the ideas may be integrated in ITOS 2008, and I know that I am late to the party, so some ideas may not be completely original. Having said this - don't get bored if you've read something before.

I will be addressing improvements in chunks - today I will write about two 'small' things, the RSS reader and the Webmail notifier.

The RSS reader:
I really like this program. I've imported my OPML file from Google Reader, and I keep up with my RSS feeds on the go, or when I don't have access to my computer. There are two things that I think would make the RSS reader even better. First I think that Google reader (and/or Bloglines) integration would be great. Sure you can read your feeds on the device, but it would be great if I could star and share news stories of interest within the reader, and if I've read something it will automatically be marked on google as being read, so when I go to my computer, I don't have to go through articles I've already read. Now before you say "well, why don't you just use Google reader through the browser?" - first off, that's not the point, and secondly I have tried - it's too slow and it doesn't work well with Opera on the Tablet (I don't know if ITOS 2008 is any better).


The Webmail Notifier:
This is a great extension that is hindered by only being able to check one account. I don't know about other people, but I have a couple of Google mail accounts, as well as Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail accounts. It would be nice if the notifier were able to check multiple accounts, and if it were able to check Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail accounts as well. I know that Pidgin allows you to do this, but why run a full fledged app to do this?


More suggestions to come

Tags: ITOS2007, N800, Nokia, improvement, suggestions, RSS

I had been looking around in the past month or so for something that would allow me to browse the internet wirelessly for those times that I was in the living room and feeling the need to look up some factoid about some movie or television show.

My laptop became an 'ethernet-only' device last summer when it started malfunctioning, and while I could just go out an buy a new laptop, my current laptop - despite its state, can still do 90% of what I need it to do - word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and browse the internet - the old fashioned way. I was thus trying to decide whether to get the older N800, or the newer N810. After a period of reviews and contemplation I got the N800, 'like-new' plus four gigs of SD memory off eBay for about $260. Why go with 'older tech'? Quite a few reasons actually:

1. Not much changed under the hood
WHen one looks at the N770 and the N800, you can see quite a few differences of importance. The same cannot be said about the N800 and the N810. Yes the built-in GPS, Keyboard and 2 GB of storage are nice...but not for double the price (amazon.com quotes)

2. No need for GPS
A couple of years back I bought an external bluetooth GPS unit. The built-in GPS unit of the N810 seemed a bit reduntant considering I already have a GPS unit which can work with the N800 (provided that I get some software).

3. Skeptical of the Keyboard
I've had a number of portable devices in recent years with built-in keyboards, and quite honestly none of them left me completely satisfied. I did not think that the built-in keyboard on the N810 was really worth the extra money (or that I would use it all that much).

4. Need for SD, not mini SD
The N810 comes with one mini-SD slot, which is not for people who haven't used SD cards before, but over the years I have accumulated a number of SD cards from older PDAs (that are no longer with me). The Mini-SD slot would require me to scrap my existing SD cards, and pay yet more to get mini-SD cards. The N800 on the other hand has two standard SD slots so I can reuse my existing cards.

5. FM Tuner
Not a major deal considering that I do not listen to FM radio much these days, but the N800 comes with an FM tuner, the N810 does not.

6. Price Difference
As stated earlier, the price of the N810 is about double the price of an N800. Given the perceived expandability of the N800 (compared to the N810), I did not think that the features warranted it. Also, since the N800 can be upgraded to the Internet Tablet 2008 OS (the same as the N810)...the N800 seems like a better purchase (for my needs). All things considered, I thought (and still do) that the N800 was a better value for the money.

Tags: internet, tablet, Nokia, N800, N810, purchases

I never really cared about Black Friday, as a matter of fact I always thought there was something wrong with individuals that spent the previous evening staying up late and celebrating, and the very next morning crowding shopping malls at three in the morning for those hard to beat deals. I always prefered to sleep late and enjoy my day off, or when I had to work, go into the office and be free to work without distractions.

This year may be different, I am actually looking forward to black friday! Why do you ask? Well, it's no secret that my aging powerbook (4 years, 1 month old) has been acting up and I have been waiting to get a new MacBook Pro. Now new models may come out in January, but if the deals are great during black friday....well why not just buy one then? I wish Nokia would hurry up and release the N810...so that can go on black friday sales as well.

I wonder if any PSP games will be on sale...

Oh...yeah, I am not crazy to get up a two AM so that I can get in line at some mall entrance...all my shopping will be online, probably on amazon and the apple store (unless my local apple store has a compelling reason for me to go into groupie mode...like $1000 off the price of a MacBook Pro)

Tags: macintosh, apple, purchases, Nokia, N810, internet, tablet, computer, PSP, amazon

Well, if you have a GSM SIM (that's active) and you are able to survive without being constantly connected at GPRS/EDGE or UMTS speeds...well...I've got some cool old tech for you! Sure you won't be able to get MMS messages, and you won't be able to receive email as fast as you can with your ultra modern blackberry, but your berry has nothing on these following devices of yesteryear when it comes to retro coolness. What's best, even though they are old by technology standards, if you just pop your SIM in, they work!


Nokia 9000i: The Nokia 9000i was the first of the Communicator line of smartphones that Nokia made. It is now a ten-year old machine, having been released in 1998. With a whoping 24Mhz 386 Intel chip and 8MB or memory, this beast of a machine ran GEOS 3.0 It has an HTML browser, email and Fax capabilities, on top of standard SMS. This retrocool toy surfs the net at a blazing 9.6kbps over CSD. It comes with full PIM, telnet, and a terminal application
The North American version (9000il) is GSM 1900, and the European version is GSM 900. Fun fact: it was used in the movie the saint, its over 300 grams (!), and of course sports a cool monochrome display. All subsequent models of the 9xxx series used Symbian with the Series80 User Interface.

Ericsson R380w: Circa 2000, this world phone (GSM 900/1900), nay, world communicator, gives you a nice touch screen with a flip down numeric key pad (sort of like later UIQ phones), you can surf the world of WAP sites at blazing CSD speeds, you can read/send email, and of course send and receive SMS. It runs on EPOC, and of course sports the obligatory Infrared port. Size-wize, it is about half the size of the Nokia 9000i. This was Ericsson's first, and last, smartphone before going into the Symbian UIQ market as SonyEricsson.

Tags: retro, smartphone, Nokia, ericsson, psion

With the unfortunate breakdown of my mac, despite the fact that I can still get online with it, and accomplish much (if not all) of the work that I need to accomplish with my computer, the last four years I've been completely wireless. I've been using WiFi to get online, thus the notion that I would go and seclude myself to another room every time that I want to check out something on IMDb (or something else online) seems rather foreign.

I spend far too much time everyday looking things up, checking forums, responding to email - making it inefficient to have have to seclude myself when I need to do one of these things. I was thus considering buying a Nokia N800 internet tablet. I can browse, have my RSS, my email, my internet life all at the palm of my hand. There are a few things though that I don't like about it though:

1. No PIM! I know that it is not meant to be a PDA, but a device of such size, and abilities, should have both a robust addressbook and calendar application! I know that there are a number of open source programs that can be installed, but some of these utilities should be pre-installed on such a device.

2. Apparent lack of mac compatibility. I would like to easily import and sync addressbook, calendar, notes, music, videos, and bookmarks with my Mac. Even though this device is mean to be used by itself, without the need for a computer and synchronization, it would be nice to be able to accomplish these tasks!

3. No TomTom! I would love to get a software navigation package for North America. I already have a bluetooth GPS unit, but no software is available (just software)

Tags: Nokia, N800, internet, purchases, wifi, technology