Nokia releases two convergent devices; shows path to the future

There's a lot of talk on the Maemo users list that Nokia should release a Maemo netbook. Is there a working port of Maemo to Intel-based chips? Maemo is a Linux-based operating system that runs Nokia's Internet Tablets which are slightly larger than a mobile phone devices that are full (if limited) computers. The run on an ARM processor, and as far as I know, Maemo has not been ported for Intel chips that you find in laptops and some netbooks, including the Nokia one pictured on the right.

This was partially mentioned above, but I don't think enough weight has been given to the fact that Nokia has just within the past three months announced major partnerships with both Intel and Microsoft. It is not surprising that a corporate-focused booklet would choose this platform.


And remember, the N900 "Rover" is coming out. The OS/2 comparison is interesting, and it may well be that Maemo stays firmly in the "hobbyist" arena. But i think we will see Maemo take a bigger role as the laptop and phone continue to merge into a new hybrid device (of which netbooks and internet tablets are early forays into this class of device.


Nokia's strategy and vision for the future can be seen clearly from one feature both of these devices share: GSM networking capability. This is the same network your mobile phone uses for its data connection, enabling an almost-anywhere connection to the Internet from both the Booklet and the Tablet devices.

At this point, it looks to me that the Booklet is aimed at corporate commuter users, primarily because the video makes a point about "VPN-less" connection to your corporate email. Whereas the tablet is still aimed at the hobbyist/bleeding-edge connected user. With phone-call capability, this could become a must-have device for the younger always-on-facebook and text messaging set.
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N97 part I: First Impressions

Perhaps the friendliest DHL lady I have ever met delivered my Nokia N97 with US 3G from WOMworld. I did a live Qik recording of the unboxing, reaching the amazing milestone of 1 continuous viewer for the seven and a half minute unboxing.

Feel
I've held and played with an N97 before, so the solid construction and satisfying "snap" of opening and closing the phone was no surprise. Still, I love it.
I like the matte feel of the back cover. Some people like a sleek phone, but I get a better grip with the texture. The bottom sort of flares out and there is nothing wrong with this, but for grip purposes, I think this would have made more sense at the top.



Interface
Though it is not my primary device, I have used the Nokia 5800XM (firmware 20.x) quite a bit and am familiar with S50 5th edition. I immediately found the N97 more responsive on menus and switching the screen between portrait and landscape modes. The screen is also more responsive to my touch than the 5800 and I found I did not have to press as hard on the screen for it to register my input.
It took a couple tries to figure this out, but in addition to the usual locking mechanism via the side switch, the screen semi-locks when it goes dim. It does this in a way that a mere touch of the screen does not bring the phone back to life, but a press of the single button does. I like this feature. It lets me set the timeout for a long time, but when I forget to lock the phone and slip it in my pocket, I don't accidentally dial anyone.

The Homescreen
One of the best features of S60 phones is the massive amount of information they provide from just a quick glance at the screen. In 3rd edition, this is typically upcoming calendar entries, todos, current song, and in Eseries, recent email.
But ever since the Diablo release of Maemo, I have been excited about homescreen widgets: a nearly neverending set of options for displaying information that you are really interested in. The N97 homescreen achieves this. Not perfectly, but better than anything I have seen yet, with the ability to customize the screen with your interests. This could be improved by adding something like the Eseries concept of 'modes', whereby I could change the entire information display by a single click; providing a contextual or time-of-day bias to the presented information.

But still, this level of customization and instant information is amazing, and I have not seen its equal like in any phone yet.

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N96s are falling like poker chips

In what is at least the third Poker Challenge contest, SymbianWorld is hosting a contest where you can win a Nokia N96 and a copy of Million Dollar Poker. To win, all you have to do is head over to the SymbianWorld contest page, look at the image, and tell them the best hand you think can be created from the displayed cards.

Say what you will about the N96, but I have been using my E75 in landscape mode, and I would love to play some n-gage goodness on the N96 with its larger screen.

In Which I reply to a forum post concerning Clouds

You may not know exactly what it is, but chances are you use some form of cloud computing. This trend has accelerated as we move to smaller, more mobile devices. I read and commented to this interesting Nokia Conversations post about cloud netbook operating systems. I disagree with the commenter Illusionado that Nokia has lost its mind with regards to computing. I see Nokia embracing web/cloud technologies and it is right to do so as they are the perfect complement to their smartphones.

Original netbooks only had a couple gig of storage, and cloud connectivity made sense. Most now are seen as laptop replacements and have 160GB hard drive, so these "Cloud OSs" don't make a ton of sense. What does make sense is to have that cloud data cached or sync'd to the local machine w/ all its space so it is there when either you or the service is offline.

But that older netbook-style of computing translates perfect to the new smartphones, that can do some things, are always connected, and therefore fully augmented by the cloud computing infrastructure.

And the other important trend of which Nokia appears to be aware, these services need to be available to users of less feature-rich phones.

Ovi Files is a perfect example of this type of service.

If you don't know, Ovi Files allows you to make 10GB of your files available at anytime via a web browser, even if your MacOSX or Windows computer is turned off; even from your phone! And if the computer is turned on, you can access the entire hard drive from your mobile browser with click links to download, email, or share the files with other people. This is true mobile computing on the go.

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Easy podcast listening on your Phone

Thanks to Gerrymoth the NokiaAddict, I have setup the podcasts I listen to regularly on OPMLmanager. With my podcast list available on the Internet, I can easily add to my phone all the ones I listen to.

And the best part? You can too! Just follow these simple steps:

1. launch the podcasting app
2. click into Directories
3. click: Options>new>web directory
4. type in: http://www.opmlmanager.com/opml/bogart.opml

And that's it! Now you will have Bogart's feeds and can subscribe to any and all that sound interesting.

You should be able to use this opml file in just about any podcast application you like. The above steps assume a Nokia phone with its built-in podcasting application.

I configure my podcasting application to automatically download the podcasts in the morning, using my wi-fi connection at home so I can listen to them during my morning commute.