17 July 2012

My Nokia Blog

My Nokia Blog

Lumiappaday #244: London Olympics 2012 demoed on the Nokia Lumia 900

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 11:58 AM PDT

This is one of the many Olympics related apps at Marketplace. London 2012 TT is a straight forward time table where you can either keep an eye on a day’s activity or a particular sport.

#244) London Olympics TT

Price:  Free

Link: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/654571e3-9397-4b68-92ee-e5fe6d45c4a1

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WC3AI2zubY

Developer Blurb:

The complete London 2012 Olympics Timetable.

 

Find the events you are interested in, pin your favorite sports to your homescreen, receive reminders of the events you don’t want to miss, read the latest news…

 

Rating:

Design: 8

Usability: 9

Performance: 9 

Price: 10

Nokia Entertainment Bundle (Lumia 800 + Play 360 +Purity HD) Drops to $599 at Microsoft Store

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 10:08 AM PDT

WP Central

$170, that’s how much you’ll be paying for the Lumia 800 UNLOCKED on the latest deal from the Microsoft store; Previously we let you guys know about the Entertainment bundle deal that was selling for around a very pricey $900, but with the latest price drop this is one hell of a steal. Coming directly from the Microsoft store this is the only other option for picking it up in the US as Amazon.com are selling it Unlocked  for around $400, if you ask me getting $420 of entertainment gear for an extra $200 isn’t to bad of a deal.  You can pick it up from the Online Microsoft store in Black or Magenta if you like over here:

Microsoft Store: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/en_US/pd/productID.245999700?Icid=Phone_CustomerFavorites_3__PID_245999700

VIA

Nokia Boasts Indoor Mapping in over 4000 Locations/38 Countries #NokiaServices

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 07:06 AM PDT

 

Seems like someone has been listening to Jays Rants about the lack of Nokia Advertising, sure it’s not on a huge scale but taken on “other opponents” claims is a nice step forward. Nokia Conversations just published this pretty infographic (see above) that details the distribution of the 4605 indoor venues that are currently available on nokia maps.

To date, we have mapped 4605 venues – shopping malls, retail stores, airports, and transit hubs – in 38 countries with more being added every month. This is over a 2000% increase in just 16 months. Wait until you see what happens in the next 16 months.

Nokia even went as far as calling out the lousy 2D maps that competitors provide (in only 5 countries) tooting their own maps that carry loads of details including end to end Experience, with ATMs, Escalators, Floor Levels, Restrooms and much more.

While other providers claim to have powerful indoor map offerings with a large number of venues mapped, Destination Maps are not just the average 2D floor plans that can be viewed on a device. Our indoor map content enables a full end-to-end experience, making the exploration and discovery of indoor places more realistic. Further, Destination Maps include a wealth of interior map attributes, like escalators, floor levels, ATMS and restrooms. Including these important points allows for more advanced and accurate guidance and routing.

Why is this the first I hear of Nokia’s indoor maps? I never knew they existed for offline usage/Mobile usage (as in not the PC browser); but apparently they’re already integrated into Bing search as well.

 

VIA

Nokia 808 PureView, Reds, Whites and Blacks.

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 05:58 AM PDT

Not sure exactly what this is but it seems like they’re taking on the colours of the Nokia 808 PureView, all snapped I think, by the 808 PureView.

That red is totally quite something else no? Stunning. Red and black, white and black or just black.

Notice also the level that they’re zooming in and everything is still super crisp!

Their picture for the white doesn’t look all that nice (though the white 808 is also stunning). The black picture looks better than the white one (composition wise).

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Video: Qt 5 on Raspberry Pi

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 05:58 AM PDT

Here’s a look at Qt 5 on Raspberry Pi. This is running in full HD, though to stop the flickering is set at 25FPS which is apparently not as smooth as the original presentation.

After the login, what you’re looking at is a Qt 5 App written mostly in QML on the Raspberry Pi.

What's a Raspberry Pi?

The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It's a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video. We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming.

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WP Marketplace search – why does it suck so bad, Microsoft?

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 03:01 AM PDT

It’s been nearly 17 months now using Windows Phone and the Marketplace. Whilst I’ve been more than satisfied with the quality and quantity of apps coming to the platform, what annoys me sometimes is the ridiculously awful app search in marketplace.

This post is not so much about the equally important topic of ‘App Discovery’ but about the fact that their search function is TERRIBLE! It has improved ever so slightly from the utter rigid block it once was (where if you missed one character it would show no results) but it still sucks.

If I misspell an app name, there are no suggestions given to you. You will just have no results. Or you will be given the wrong results. No wonder no one uses BING except those who are forced to (e.g. obscenely obvious TV/Movie placements or universities). I have a google tile on my home page because I absolutely despise integrated BING (mobile BING is oddly better).

Why make things more difficult for yourself with bad search?

 

Here’s Android. iTunes, and Nokia Store also get more relevant results.

 

Don’t even try finding an app by key words.

(Oh, on a plus side, I do like the suggest as you type for app search. But searching past that is sometimes more of a hassle than it should be)

 

Hey @Nokia, please advertise your Nokia mapping solutions more?

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 02:33 AM PDT

 

If there’s one thing Nokia is supreme at is that it sucks at advertising anything that it is good at.

You’ll never really know half the amazing stuff a Nokia is capable of unless you’re in a Nokia blogosphere related bubble.

Outside of it, Nokia’s assets fizzle away because why? Nokia won’t advertise it. If they do, they will advertise it in the WORST WAY POSSIBLE or advertise it really well, but you’ll never see that advert ever again.

Why? I don’t know. It seems ingrained into their way of working that all good things must remain secret.

What brings me to rant this Monday morning is this advert that popped up in front of another YouTube video. It’s Google’s attempt at offline maps, which looking at their own advert looks complicated as hell.

What else can Nokia do? What about talking about your supreme offline navigation? Or the fact that you don’t just download tiny portions of maps but can do whole countries, continents or even the whole world. In your pocket. We could have a similar situation where we actually bring up the navigation to give someone else directions instead of blabbing “go left and then go right and then..blah di blah blah”.

Mapping is something we’re taking for granted. Apple has joined the map fights. Nokia Maps is becoming more important at Nokia by the day as Nokia struggles to remain relevant. Please shout about the things you’re good at.  I love that I can just pull up Nokia Drive, find a place or drop in a post code and in mere seconds begin navigation. I love how it can be in a city I’m living in or a new one I’ve never been to but NEVER feel lost. I love how friends/family who I’ve recommended Nokia drive to have the same sense of security when they venture out to new places. I love the simplicity. I love that little bleep from Nokia Drive that tells you off if you’re speeding.

I’d like to see real life situations of people using and enjoying Nokia mapping solutions. Show the screen, show it in action, show how reliable Nokia maps is at getting you from lost to ‘you have reached your destination’.

I don’t want to see vague/artsy/meaningless adverts. I want to see adverts about Nokia mapping solutions that allows consumers to understand WHAT it (e.g. Nokia Drive) is, WHAT it can do, HOW it can be relevant and useful for them, all demonstrated in an advert they can connect with and place themselves in the position of the actors.

Comments on YouTube…>_>

I don’t even want to begin complaining about bringing Nokia maps 3D to mobile.

This is nice, but it’s not good enough. It’s just a screen. I can’t connect with it. I don’t know what’s going on here. Give me a REALISTIC situation, an actual use of the maps.

Notice how Nokia’s take on ‘being one of the locals’ vs google’s actual representation on being one of the locals.  Nokia’s video briefly mentions it to the point you might not have noticed it at all. Google’s video is all about being street smart with the help of your maps. I remember the first time I went to Manchester, I actually helped other visitors find places they were looking for with Nokia Maps. I didn’t know myself where I was but with Nokia Maps, I could not only get myself where I needed to be, but also strangers!

Some ideas: perhaps getting a family or a group of friends to use it to get from one place to another, stop it midway to find a shop and continue on after successfully buying some food for the journey. Or someone has just moved to a new city and has a dentist appointment but doesn’t know where the clinic is. Or a friend wants to visit another friend at their house but doesn’t know where that might be.

The most comforting words? “You have reached your destination” over and over, and always being at the correct place, on time with no hassle.

Why aren’t we seeing something like this on the official Nokia channel? This video below is from Nokia india. The closest I think I’ve seen to this is the NokiaConnects promo where bloggers took features from the 800 and I had Nokia Drive. That was a real life use for maps.

I really do not enjoy the choppy nature of this video

This one is good, though reeks a little of trying too hard with the humour.

BTW, does maps have a ‘where am I’ feature that you can send to someone who’s asking you where you are? I’ve not ventured too much into the maps myself to find this. Being able to take a screenshot would be good. Bring back that ‘Own Voice’ app thing too.

Why does Nokia spend hundreds of millions in the advertising department and produce so little? I can complain much more about various aspects of Nokia advertising but I’m going to focus this post for Nokia Maps related things as having too much to talk about is yet another problem sometimes from Nokia ads.

Largest smartphone retailer chain in China, D. Phone signs distribution agreement with Jolla

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 12:28 AM PDT

IntoMobile says this is a press release from Jolla indicating that Jolla has signed an agreement with D. Phone, the largest smartphone retail chain in China.

BTW, does Jolla actually have a website? I could only find their twitter/linkedin.

If you’ve stumbled onto Jolla, it is of course the new direction for MeeGo. Cast away from Nokia, ‘MeeGo’ sort of became Tizen. The real MeeGo/Maemo however continues with Jolla, a Finnish company with ex Nokia staff who are set on producing more MeeGo phones in Nokia’s absence.

Anyway, the press release:

Jolla Ltd. and China's Largest Smartphone Retail Chain D.Phone Sign Product Sales Agreement

Jolla Ltd., a rising Finnish smartphone product company, has signed a Sales and Distribution agreement with D.Phone Group, the largest mobile phones retail chain in China. Together the companies have a shared target to reach significant sales volumes in China's 150 million smartphone market. The agreement is such that D.Phone will start sales and distribution of Jolla smartphones in China, utilising D.Phone's vast network of over 2,000 retail stores to reach the Chinese consumers.

Mr. Donghai Liu, Founder and CEO of D.Phone Group: "We see great potential for Jolla as a new player in the Chinese smartphone market with Jolla's fresh and unique user experience. Together with Jolla our aim is to reach significant sales volumes."

Dr. Antti Saarnio, Chairman of Jolla Ltd.: "China has the largest and most rapidly expanding smartphone market in the world. This agreement with D.Phone is a major step in Jolla's journey towards becoming a significant player in the global smartphone market."

Jolla Ltd. is an independent Finland based smartphone product company that will
reveal its first product later this year. Jolla was founded in 2011 by a team of former Nokia mobile industry professionals. The company is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland and has an R&D office in Tampere, Finland.

D.Phone is China's largest chain retailer of mobile phones and accessories with extensive nationwide retail coverage of over 2,000 outlets across the country. D.Phone is a strategic partner with China Mobile, China Telecom and China
Unicom.

Source: IntoMobile

Cheers Lordstar for the tip!

Video: Nokia Lumia 900 Screen & Battery Replacement

Posted: 15 Jul 2012 11:34 PM PDT

This is the latest Nokia related instalment from : a guide to the Nokia Lumia 900 screen and battery replacement. He’s put a little index of the contents:

Skip Intro 0:43
Battery Cover 4:28
Screen Off 5:34
Battery Out 6:12
Long Pin 11:02
Diagnostic Test 12:14

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