04 July 2012

My Nokia Blog

My Nokia Blog

CNET UK – “Nokia 808 PureView, best camera phone money can buy…”

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT

Cnet UK takes a look at the Nokia 808 PureView, which should hopefully be making its way to UK buyers soon.

From the start, there’s both praise for PureView but an immediate negative tone towards Symbian. I don’t know if that was based on actual use or the years and years and years of constant negative press towards it, in addition to the news that it was no longer the main focus at Nokia. (Note, remember Cnet UK also hated the N8 – thought sucked, PRIOR to anything Elop said for those who want to chirp that same 211 accusations again).

They reiterate the dislike on Symbian again as a downside. The ‘unlovely’ Symbian OS.  They admit Belle is better than previous incarnations, they feel the make over is only skin deep. Dig down and apparently the surface polish rubs off.

Now, I’ve been highly critical of S^3/Anna. Note that Belle is quite different to Belle FP1 and it’s actually super nice now (though I’ve not had the chance to FULLY test it, by way of the browser and possible slow downs/freezing after time that I experienced with N8).

For those that are negative, I wish they would be more SPECIFIC about what actual problems they had with Symbian, otherwise it just seemed to be a superficial nag and whine that could have simply rubbed off by reading other moans from other people. CNet on this instance mentions first that they’re having problems with the browser, which they feel is severely underpowered.

I don’t know how Nokia could have gotten the browser so right in Maemo 5 as to get Engadget to call it Glorious, and have users fawning over it years and years after its announcement, but on the flip side have Symbian with a constantly poorly reviewed browser. What gives?! I just can’t reconcile that difference. How the hell does Nokia both have the best browser ever and , what’s seems to be also the worst browser. Why can’t we have ALL the great things at Nokia ALL moving together in future devices as opposed to always having bits and pieces of a good thing leading to a mishmash of mediocre with hints of brilliance?

On the camera, they’re in complete adoration and acknowledge that this is the best camera phone EVER. “It’s the BEST camera phone money can buy but it’s a subpar smartphone”. In they end, they recommend the iPhone 4S as a better package for smartphone and camera.

I guess by current expectations, by the constantly shifting capabilities for smartphones, the 808 may not meet their particular overall needs (e.g. the apps, or the browser, or the keyboard). But the 808 understands its target consumers. It’s first and foremost for the imaging buff who wants a smartphone but also wants THE BEST CAMERAPHONE MONEY CAN BUY as to never miss that photo/video opportunity.

by 

Bittersweet: N9 gets PR 1.3, community says goodbye to Nokia’s finest

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 03:06 PM PDT

I’m trapped in a bittersweet mood at the moment. I am thrilled that the N9 has gotten PR 1.3, but I am upset that the Maemo team is finally leaving. In particular, Sotiris Makyrgiannis, the head of MeeGo developement. He has been around to assist in, and bring to the public, devices like the N770, N800, N810, N900 and N9/N950.

Some of the most innovative things to come out of Nokia, especially when it comes to Linux, has been thanks to this man and his team. I must admit, reading some of his tweets I was overcome with sadness. They are what is left of the old Nokia. The Nokia in-house OS. Now there is no Symbian (taken over by accenture) and no more Maemo/MeeGo.

Here are some of those tweets;

After 12 years at #Nokia is time to say goodbye. Last day but I’m going knowing that we created a legendary phone #N9 and we tried hard.I would like to take the time to dedicate this entire post to the team behind such amazing devices, and wish them the very best in their future endeavors. I am sure it isn’t the last we see of them.

In fact we made more devices, #N810 #N800  #N900 even I was there when # N770 was born. Recruiting top Linux talent from around the globe

From the jungles of brazil, the poor towns of India, the cold city’s of the north…. # Nokia meego people were/are. The best guys to work with

I remember the eyes full of passion, dreaming to be the future of Nokia.  Willing to stay weekends and cut vacations to ensure quality
The funny moments and a team spirit that I could never forget. We learned a lot, #Nokia was a great place to work. Full of ideas.naive maybe
The community that wanted a #Linux powered phone with cool design. A Linux community that I was happy to serve and work with them
I remember 11.2.11 – was in SF – midnight watching the live stream on  the strategy. What a bitter night that was, but also a new start.
Should be told, Nokia meego team was the first to create and publish  windows phone applications. 25 of them in 4 weeks time.Learn fast/adapt
To all of you, loyal #Nokia customers and happy #N9 users. To all #linux  contributors thank you once more. We will be back to serve you!
Special note: do not throw away your #N9 after few years, keep it. Nokia has 120 years of history, in 15 years I predict it would be worth more.

Please use the comment section below ONLY to voice your gratitude and appreciation for Sotiris and his team. There is also a TMO thread for those of you who would be interested

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1231302

Lumiappaday #231: Cool Wall demoed on the Nokia Lumia 900

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 01:30 PM PDT

If you’re a fan of Top Gear, you’ll be aware of The Cool Wall. This app allows you to view the Top Gear Cool Wall (which works really well on the Metro philosophy) as well as create your own cool wall.

#231) Cool Wall 

Price:  Free

Link: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/d6db921c-9a47-48c4-b1bb-53bbf1d98ec3

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yHyyVfgw7g

Developer Blurb:

Using over 300 cars, you can place the cars where you think they should be on the Cool Wall. If your favourite car’s missing, you can even add it into the mix. Just take a photo, input the name and stats and place it on your wall. All the images of the cars are complete with stats.

Be warned though, the car stats are highly suitable as slightly dodgy pub facts, but use sparingly when you need to win an argument. Where there was more than one model, we simply picked our favourite. For the most accurate stats, the car reviews section of www.topgear.com/uk/car-reviews is still the place to go.

Here's what you can do:

• Create your own Cool Walls by assigning cars to Seriously Uncool, Uncool, Cool and Sub-Zero.
• Browse the 'Original Cool Wall' from the TopGear show.
• View details of cars including top speed, power, 0-60 and a comment from the TopGear presenters.
• Save an image of your Cool Wall to your phone or share it on Facebook.
• Add your own cars with a photo, description and stats to your Cool Walls and your My Cars list. You can also add your favourite cars to this list.
• Build a Video Cool Wall with featured videos that play right inside the wall or rotate your phone to watch full-screen.
• Select cars or videos for a friend from your contact list and share them to Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

 

Rating:

Design: 9

Usability: 9

Performance: 9 

Price: 10

Video: PR1.3 Demoed on Nokia N9

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 11:41 AM PDT

As Jay mentioned earlier Pr1.3 is currently rolling out as we speak; earlier today I updated my own N9 (I believe it’s a UK variant; could be Finland though) to 1.3 and had a quick spin on it, as we previously mentioned not much has changed in the UI of the OS; regardless here’s a video showing some changes plus an annoying email problem that is the main reason I don’t use the N9 at all.

 

The Changelog so far is:

  • file upload now seems to work using the default browser (1)
  • video decoding got improved (1) (2) (3)
  • UI feels alot smoother now (1) (2) (3)
  • Beep profile has an Icon on status bar and standby screen (1) (2)
  • It seems that wireless networks are found much faster than before. In addition the device sees more networks than with PR1.2 (1)
  • Fix for GNOME Bug 662125 - Sharing uses 100% CPU if a client requests a lot of small slices from a media file, most visible symptom is choppy video playback (1)
  • Compatibility fix for XBox360 (GNOME Bug 664184): Previously showed a single song up to 5 times in the “All Songs” list (1)
  • better NFC support with C7 (1)
  • Inception 0.1 security hole got fixed (but there is Inception 0.2 already) (1)
  • Swipe resistance fix for RSS reader app (1)
  • “Fenix not responding” message was renamed to “Mail not responding” (1)
  • certificate-based access in MfE works now (1)
  • Swype keyboard works again properly in terminal (was broken on pr1.2) (1)
  • The browser top sites selection seems to be less laggy coming up (1)
  • Music Player widget on Lockscreen have little shadows at its font. it works nicely with bright wallpaper (1)
  • Camera improvements (out of centre focusing and improved autofocus in low light) (1)
  • New fonts again (1)
  • Nokia Maps positioning is a lot faster when in indoor (1)
  • Twitter app now support timeline & mentions streaming (1)
  • The weather widget background on the notification screen is now transparent (1) (2)
  • Copy/Paste text is more precise now to select (1)
  • Nokia Music store payment bug fixed (1)
  • Various minor performance and layouting fixes were made for the application icons and folders (1)
  • Bookmarks were opened using the previous default browser after changing the default browser (1)
  • Application icons were sometimes incorrectly shown after unsuccessful application installation (1)
  • Some default application names were truncated in some languages (1)
  • Notification timestamps were incorrect in certain scenarios (1)
  • Profile selection did not work after using headset (1)
  • Lock screen did not update when connected to a TV (1)

Changelog VIA

What do you guys think of 1.3? how many of you are still waiting on it? (anyone know what’s up with the email client?)

Nokia Launching First WP8 Device This Year; China to Get Priority Treatment?

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 10:42 AM PDT

It was only a matter of time till we heard the first launch rumors for Nokia WP8 devices, this time coming from Chinese site WPDang who claim that Nokia have expedited their manufacturing process of phones to be able to push out a WP8 device this year (2012 for those of you not keeping track). I’d love for Nokia to be the first OEM to push out a WP8 device but at the same time they shouldn’t be too far ahead of the rest as the general train of thought might be “wait to see what Samsung has first” or basically that the next launch would steal their thunder, however if Nokia were to push out the first WP8 device that device would become the “face” of all future WPs (as is the current fad with the Lumias).

WPDang also reports that this time around China will be one of the first countries to receive the new set of phones rather than ending up as an afterthought, and since Elop has promised exclusive phones for each carrier don’t be surprised if we see 3 or 4 phones launching together; hopefully one of them will be pureview capable.

VIA Source

N9Appdate: Inception 0.2 released; fixes hole patch from PR 1.3 just hours after global rollout #N9Hacks

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 09:11 AM PDT

This feels a lot like the iOS vs. Jailbreak cat and mouse game. The N9 was just updated to PR 1.3, and one of the 1000 improvements was a bug fix that patched the hole exploited by Inception.

Well, V 0.2 is out now, so those that were holding out to update in case their favourite hacks couldn’t be used, can update without any concerns now.

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1230988

Michael

Nokia N9 PR1.3 Changelog

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 08:52 AM PDT

Today PR1.3 was made officially available and it is making the rounds on update availability to you guys.This seems generally more to streamline and polish your N9 experience.

http://mynokiablog.com/2012/07/03/firmware-update-for-nokia-n9-to-pr1-3-available-1000-improvements-confirmed-at-nokia-v40-2012-21-3/

The developer page isn’t really a changelog as such despite the mention of over 1000 quality improvements. That’s all really that it says

 

Change log of the Nokia N9 40.2012.21-3 (PR 1.3) firmware release (release date: 2.7.2012):

  • Over 1000 quality improvements including Mail, Facebook, Twitter, minor network & connectivity improvements.

Here’s an extended version – I think user generated.

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1230913#post1230913

  • video decoding got improved (1) (2) (3)
  • UI feels alot smoother now (1) (2) (3)
  • Beep profile has an Icon on status bar (1)
  • It seems that wireless networks are found much faster than before. In addition the device sees more networks than with PR1.2 (1)
  • Fix for GNOME Bug 662125 - Sharing uses 100% CPU if a client requests a lot of small slices from a media file, most visible symptom is choppy video playback (1)
  • Compatibility fix for XBox360 (GNOME Bug 664184): Previously showed a single song up to 5 times in the “All Songs” list (1)
  • better NFC support with C7 (1)
  • Inception 0.1 security hole got fixed (but there is Inception 0.2 already) (1)

Thanks Mariano for the tip!

Nokia Lumia 800 and 900 win Gold at International Design Excellence Awards 2011

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 06:37 AM PDT

Apparently in the 2011 IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards), Nokia’s Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 900 won design GOLD awards.

NokConv writes:

Lumia 800 & 900 by Nokia

At the 2011 IDEA awards, Windows Phone 7 won Best in Show, now it's Nokia's Lumia 800 and Lumia 900 that get the glory. Entered separately, the Jury chose to reward the Lumia series for its distinctive contribution to smartphone design.

The Jury said, "In a market in which it is difficult to stand out, the Nokia Lumia brings a fresh perspective. The iconic form is personal and inviting without sacrificing precision, and the construction is modern, efficient and well-crafted down to the smallest details. It's a bold, gold-worthy effort, and I'm glad to see Nokia reclaim its design swagger." Jonah Becker, Principal and Creative Director, One & Co.

http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/07/03/nike-nokia-and-ibm-go-for-design-gold/

 

Nokia Store reaches 15 Million Daily Downloads (5.4Billion/year rate), 120,000 apps.

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 03:24 AM PDT

 

Another Engadget Nokia Story (they’ve got a few blocked together yesterday it seems), this time to share that Nokia has 120,000 apps in the store, with 15 million downloads every day. At 15 Million per day, that’s 5.475 Billion downloads per year rate (should it remain static at that number).

http://www.developer.nokia.com/Distribute/Statistics.xhtml

They give some data for Nokia’s store:

  • Globally, there more than 120 million registered Nokia Store customers
  • Nokia Store offers more than 120,000 apps, and currently drives more than 15 million download requests per day
  • Nokia Store has over 100,000 content items available for Series 40 devices, and nearly 25,000 content items targeting Nokia Asha devices specifically, which take advantage of Asha’s more advanced features.
  • To date, Nokia Store has driven more than 5 billion cumulative downloads (Series 40 devices accounted for 13% of the first billion, and 42% of the last billion)
  • Nokia Store offers operator billing supported by 145 operators, across 52 markets
  • 80% of Nokia Store traffic converts to a download
  • Apps are No. 1 among paid-for and free downloads
  • Nokia Store available in 190+ countries, of which 90% in local language
  • 411 developers have achieved more than 1M downloads through Nokia Store, while 63 have achieved 10M or more, 28 with 25M or more, 9 with 50M or more, and 3 developers have now passed the 100M downloads milestone – namely UTV IndiaGames (IN), Pico Brothers (FL) and Inode (MX)
What’s the amount of apps for Symbian devices? 120,000 is the cumulative amount for all Nokia OSes except WP which uses marketplace.
There’s also a note about the marketplace
  • The ecosystem is starting to thrive, with new, original and differentiated app experiences from partners including CNN, ESPN, Sesame St, Voddler and Univision
  • Further new app and gaming experiences are coming from partners including Kraft, Red Bull and Zynga
  • There are now 100,000+ apps available in Windows Phone Marketplace
  • More than 20,000 Nokia Lumia devices have been seeded as part of the joint Nokia & Microsoft seeding program
  • More than 3 million developer tools have been downloaded to date
  • There are more than 100,000 registered developers
Source: Nokia Via Engadget

 

 

 

Only a minority of consumer features seen so far in WP8.

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 03:17 AM PDT

 

As hoped by many of you out there, WP8 will have more consumer features than what we saw at WP8′s launch. That WP8 preview event was targeted towards developers, not consumers. It’s new features and hardware range certainly began filling in some long exposed gaps, but there was still much in the way that you guys mentioned it could be improved.

Pocket-Link speaks with Windows Phone’s Product Manager, Greg Sullivan who says:

Of the end-user consumer visible features and capabilities, we showed a minority of features at the event

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/46330/windows-phone-8-consumer-features-more-coming

That raises the hope that some of the ‘missed features’ you guys discussed in in several hundreds of comments may still make it in to the final release, especially at least for Nokia’s devices.

Why not detail consumer features?

This release has a significant amount of new functionality for developers and IT pros in particular, and because of the planning cycles involved in getting them the information they need to take advantage of the release when it hits, we thought it was important to confirm and prepare them. Which is partly why we didn’t detail all the consumer features…

…You have to balance it. We aren't vertically integrated like Apple, we have a host of partners we work with, a developer eco-system to think about

Good to hear that there are more features to come, not only to have more user end features but also it should make the official WP8 launch (hopefully close to new WP8 Lumia release) more exciting and not ‘oh, we already know about all this’.

Sullivan also goes on to explain why, yet again, MS reset their mobile strategy.

Source: pocket-lint Via:  Engadget
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