TabletBlog.com by ThoughtFix

Survey: Mobile device usage

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:43:00 +0000

I am going to collect data for the idea I had for a maemo summit presentation even if it is not presented in Amsterdam. My first step is a generic survey posted here. Please help me understand tablet users more by taking this survey.

Compelling

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:09:00 +0000

The presentation that I had hoped to show at the maemo summit has been declined. I hope someone can take the idea and make something better out of it - so here's the abstract:

Attracting the Masses

Intended audience: Developers - but other parties may be interested
Abstract/description

Tablets have hundreds of applications now - but who are they for? If the Internet Tablets are intended to attract a more mainstream mobile market, the maemo community needs to get in touch with the needs of the target market.

The first part of this presentation will give an overview of the most popular applications on competing platforms. This information will be collected through app store sales/download counts, direct communication with a sampling of mobile consumers, and communication with some other high-profile mobile technology journalists. This will include actual applications, connectivity options, peripherals, interface (touch/keyboard/icon/etc) preferences, and related consumer desires.

The second part of this presentation will give an overview of the state of the existing maemoplatform including commercial partners, independent contributors, and ports of more popular Linux software.

The conclusion will analyze mobile consumer desires compared to maemo offerings and, hopefully, give developers ideas on what they can write to make the platform more appealing.

The feedback from the Dave, Jamie, and Valerio is (in part) as follows:

Thanks for your submission for the Maemo summit, we appreciate the effort.
However, we don't think the content is compelling enough for the summit
as is. And certainly "reaching the masses" will be covered by Nokia
during the Nokia day. So we are sorry to inform you that we are not
accepting the presentation.

Since I'm more of a "put the tablets in others' hands and get a reaction" type and not a "developer" type, I figured that's the only topic on which I am qualified to talk. I'm open to ideas, though. I'm still looking forward to seeing what comes out of the summit.

Maemo events upcoming

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:20:00 +0000

At first, I was confused by the Maemo presence at the upcoming Gran Canaria Desktop summit. Now, with the Intel/Nokia Linux partnership going on, it makes much more sense to me. Could this be a weekend when they announce the next generation maemo device? I don't know if the Desktop Summit is the right crowd for that - but I take nothing for granted now.

Also coming up: Maemo Summit 2009! Last year's event was simply fantastic. As a non-developer, I spent most of my time listening to developers trade ideas, improve each others' understanding, and consider what they want for the future. It was an honor. Since then, we have not yet seen a new major OS release or hardware device but we have seen new partnerships form and ideas take shape. If you're involved in the maemo community and think you have something to share at the event, go ahead and submit it in the "Call for Content." I already posted my idea but I am sure there are more good developer-centric speakers out there with good ideas to contribute.

The Nokbook N9000? Plot thickens with OEM orders

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:19:00 +0000

Bloomberg is reporting that Nokia ordered Quanta and Compal netbooks for distribution in Q3 of this year. Without any supporting sources, we don't know any more about this. However -- What if?

Two years ago, Palm announced a device that would be a "smartphone extension." The 10" screen, laptop form factor, 2 pound device would give users a larger window into all the things their smartphone does: Calendars, address book, email, web, and light media consumption. The price tag was $599. This sad little Palm Foleo was so universally panned that it never even made it to the market.

If Nokia and Intel are going for an "in-between device," they need to do far better than Palm did. It's good that they're starting with Maemo and Moblin as core development models as third-party app developers are familiar with those ystems. The big hurdle here is one that was never properly addressed with the Nokia Internet Tablets: Why do I need one?

Maemo, Nokia, Intel, and the community

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:12:00 +0000

The community is weighing in and discussing this morning's news. Here are some highlights:

Peter@Maemo says: "Let me remind you what we have said about Maemo 5: Maemo 5 will support OMAP3 processors i.e. ARM Cortex A8 technology, not more, not less."
He goes on to say: Maemo and Moblin will continue to exist as software platforms, no change to current situation but we will align more of what is underneath the UI framework and APIs.

There's more discussion in the whole thread on talk.maemo.org. I don't think many mobile tech blogs understand exactly what this all means (myself included) but I THINK this is what will happen:

Facts: Intel and Nokia combined have a broad understanding of mobile computing - both development and marketing. Nokia has had vast success in handsets, feature phones, and smartphones and Intel is enjoying many years as the top mobile CPU for laptops and now netbooks and ultra-portables. As these two types of platforms converge into a "middle device," it makes sense to bring the power-players in each together to develop some standards.

Through the success of the iPhone and Android, the whole mobile market has learned that platforms MUST have a strong third party developer base. Intel and Nokia will work very hard to make Moblin and Maemo cooperate with each other even though they will have different styles and hardware platforms. This will make it easier for third party developers to write applications that can be released on both platforms without major rewrites. This will encourage developers to adopt both Maemo and Moblin on their respective platforms.

I could be totally wrong, though. What does everyone else think?

Nokia and Intel team up - promise to kick butt on mobile Linux

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:16:00 +0000

Today was the wrong day to sleep in a little: Nokia posted a press release with Intel promising several very important things to the mobile space:

Open source collaboration, including cooperation between Moblin and Maemo.
Intel licensing Nokia 3G technology
Increased focus on standards-based pocketable devices.

Wow. I love the Intel Atom. I love the Maemo tablets. I am swimming in excitement for the future right now.

AT&T Fails at the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:18:00 +0000

AT&T managed to dampen my joy of using an N97 and finding my N810 where it hid in my apartment. The DSL router above has a center light that should stay green but is instead blinking red. Apparently - for no reason - my DSL service decided to no longer work and AT&T can't figure it out so are dispatching a tech to my apartment. FRIDAY MORNING.

I'd use my N97 to get online but I can barely get phone reception at home - much less 3G. Who is my carrier? AT&T.

A blogger with a full-time job and no home internet is a slow blogger.

Here's some advice: Don't give AT&T money for anything unless you have no other choice.

Happy Day!

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:41:00 +0000

I found my N810!

N97 coverage?

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:56:00 +0000

I am borrowing a Nokia N97 (thanks to a friend who isn't migrating to it just yet) and have had my share of "this is awesome" and "Wow this sucks" moments with it in just a couple days. With the N810 getting a little "old" in the long view and with no sight of a Maemo 5 device yet, would tabletblog.com readers be interested in some coverage here?

What I CAN say about the N97 so far - If I can work out a few little bugs and still see no sight of a Fremantle Maemo tablet, I'm going to buy myself one. A white one. I miss a couple little applications of the iPhone (like Yelp and my bank's portal) but the added features of the N97 are worth those losses.

Maemo and Ovi?

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:09:00 +0000

I dug up my Nokia PC Suite application and updated it as part of my attempt to migrate off the iPhone. I realized that the PC Suite is being deprecated as part of Ovi branding push. This makes me wonder - will Maemo devices get Ovi integration as well?

Since the Nokia 770, users have been asking for more desktop interoperability between the tablets and the PC. Simple things like contact sync, calendar sync, and bookmark sync have been requested. So far, the Internet Tablet developers have treated the Maemo platform as more of a "laptop alternative" than "laptop companion." With mobiles becoming more computer-like and laptop class systems becoming more "smartphone-like," it'd be nice if the tablets were offered the same desktop support software of the Ovi suite.

There are problems, though. Applications "available on Ovi" won't work on the Internet Tablets unless tablets and phones have two different application stores. Consumer confusion is a BAD thing, especially with the N series competing with Apple's "it just all works together" iPhone model.

Thoughts?

LJPRM-504 - Watch this space

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:37:00 +0000

In my normal FCC filing cruising while stalking the next Internet Tablet, I saw the newly filed LJP-RM504. This is what I know so far:

Confidentiality filed for 45 days from June 3. The button configuration looks JUST like the 5800 XpressMusic, so it's not likely to be the next Internet Tablet. Still - worth watching.

GSM 850
GSM 1900
GPRS 850
GPRS 1900
EGPRS 850
EGPRS 1900
BT 2450
WLAN 2450

Great quote:
This device has Dual Transfer Mode capability for use at the ear. Therefore, SAR for multi slot GPRS mode was evaluated against the head profile of the phantom.

Bring in the Yelp?

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:12:00 +0000

The iPhone application for Yelp is one of the finest non-mapping location aware applications I've seen. I find myself frequently using it around Silicon Valley as I am still unfamiliar with many things around here even after living here since October. Yelp provides an API. Think some creative developer can get into making it an application?

Question for Devs: Backward Compatibility?

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:05:00 +0000

Here's a thought: With reports indicating that the 4th generation tablet may contain a regular GSM phone, it may steer another article series in a different direction. Initially, I had planned to write a series of articles on extracting a user from the iPhone "walled garden" and migrating to a Nokia N97 or Phone+Tablet combination. If the 4th generation tablet includes a phone, that would make it easier as the article series would be abou the migration from iTunes to maemo.

I can start on that now - but need to know a crucial question: Will existing maemo apps still work in the maemo 5 environment? If not, I'll have to wait until maemo 5 apps arrive to start writing about that migration experience.

Off-Topic: Leaks and Responsibility

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:47:00 +0000

It's obvious that there is going to be a lot of fall-out and discussion about the "N900/Rover" phone/tablet reporting. If the leaked specs are fake, many blogs got taken for a ride and there will be both cheering and disappointment when the real device lands (depending on features.) If the specs are real, well...

What kind of person takes internal trade secrets and gives them to a blog without any level of confidentiality assured? It's nice to speculate and toss around wish-lists for new devices, but it's really quite rude and destructive to take internal specs and engineering samples and lay them out for the whole public to pick apart. There's also a huge difference between a leak through negligence (like FCC reports outside confidentiality or some partner company releasing advertising too early) and the active work of someone taking specs from confidential material and sending it off to a blog.

Anyhow - if someone did actively leak product documents, they will be found and fired I am sure. In the meantime, I'm pretty sure Nokia is working hard to lock down secrets again which - sadly - makes it harder on blogger relations.

Is this the N900?

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:56:00 +0000

People are already talking at length about the supposed N900/Rover tablet of which MobileCrunch claims to have "exclusive knowledge." The mock-up above was included in their post over it.

The specs they report are no surprise: They're a combination of the existing N810, some features of the N97, and all the information we heard back in September of last year. What really throws me for a loop: TMO? Really? T-Mobile? One of the blessings of the Internet Tablets before were that they were carrier-agnostic and can be used with a tethered phone on any carrier supporting the service. This meant that the same tablet can be used globally. Adding a carrier means adding carrier restrictions and bending to the will of those carriers. There would be an advantage, though: It could be offered at a lower subsidized price. Still - I'm not sure about the placement of this one.

Thoughts?

Nokia redefines "openness" - allows others access to unused patents.

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Fri, 22 May 2009 00:07:00 +0000

From FastCompany:

In an effort to boost the local Finnish economy, they're throwing open their thousands of unused patents so that any company in Finland can pursue ideas that Nokia has abandoned.

This article (link for more) really raised my eyebrows. I don't know of any consumer electronics company who'd be willing to make such a move. In these troubled economic times (drink!) it would behoove more companies to foster way for others to make money too. More money = more customers with money = more sales. It's never that simple.

I raise my mug to you, Nokia. Hope all that works out.

New poll - ad supported Internet Tablets

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:51:00 +0000

Wow - it's been a long time since I posted a poll. The voting is on the right side of tabletblog.com (if you catch me through an RSS reader) and asks:

Would you use an ad-supported Internet Tablet?

No - it's far too annoying
Yes - it doesn't bother me
Yes - but only if the internet service was free
Yes - but only if the service and device were free

I go back and forth on ad-supported devices. Advertising dollars on blogs have gone to nearly nothing - but that's because my target audience is too tech-savvy to view the ads and far less likely to click. I wonder what kind of market an ad supported Maemo tablet will have and what the click-through ratio would be?

MobileCrunch cracks open Harmattan: Maemo Phones?

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:09:00 +0000

Looks like MobileCrunch has an inside source with two new articles: One showing the screenshot above with some commentary and one speculating that the OS shown will be on ad-supported phones. I don't have time to do my own analysis right now (day job) but will post my impressions later. Looks interesting.

2009 Maemo Summit location announced!

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:30:00 +0000

Ladies and gentleman - if you needed an excuse to take a vacation to Amsterdam, now is a good time. Quim Gil just posted that this year's Maemo Summit will be there on October 9, 10, and 11.

Last year's Summit brought some good ideas, good direction, and great enthusiasm for platform development. We also found out what the next tablet will contain. Seven months later, we still do not see a new tablet but the Maemo 5 SDK is solid and I am sure Nokia is allowing the developers to lead with applications that will be ready when the device is launched.

Personally, I hope to see a new tablet by August at the latest. I don't know if it will be released before the end of June as that is too close to the Nokia N97 launch date and there will be very few people who would buy both but likely a lot of overlap in those who would buy one OR the other.

For myself, I want both for different reasons. The N97 will be the most advanced phone available and the Maemo 5 tablet will be the most portable full-featured Internet/Social Networking device combined with the most advanced Linux handheld ever.

That's what I believe so far. Let's see what arrives!

N97 available for pre-order

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:55:00 +0000

... and it's cheaper than I thought. US $699. I was tempted to put down the credit card now, but other major expenses snuck up and bit me. I hope to buy it for myself for my birthday in June.

We'll see.

Still no news on the Maemo 5 tablet, but Ars Technica has a good article on the SDK status.

iXtraction

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:42:00 +0000

I'm a very poor Nokia Internet Tablet blogger.

In the last months, some great software has been released and updated. Maemo 5 development is well underway. Things are, in general, moving right along. I've been silent through it.

I could pitch excuses about how I've been busy with the new job and such, but I'll get right to the core: I am not using my Internet Tablet nearly as much as I used to. I started using the iPhone 3G when I arrived in California just for the convenience alone. Now I find myself accidentally sucked into the Apple ecosystem - and I'm tired of it. I want out.

Here's a promise: I'm going to write a series of articles all about the extraction from Apple to other devices. It will cover Email, messaging, microblogging, music, video, podcasts, and apps. I'm going to wait for a maemo 5 tablet or an N97 first, though. Both promise far more than my current N95-3 (with the neglected NAM firmware) and the Nokia N810 can offer. Budget permitting, I'll get ahold of each (or both?) and get the articles cranked out. In the meantime, make sure to watch the maemo news page for all the latest on Internet Tablets.

What is the Nokia Sparrow?

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:20:00 +0000

If unwiredview.com is to be believed, Nokia is already showing a Linux based mobile internet device:

The design of Nokia Sparrow device does not follow the current netbook trend, going more the MID way, with some passing resemblance to Nokia N800 internet tablet.

It will have multi-slide keyboard, with different layouts/keys revealed as you slide it in different directions. The display also slides in several directions for different functions – think Nokia N97 tilting display.
The new Nokia computer has a very interesting keyboard with diamond shaped, elevated keys inverted to each other. At first glance it seems very uncomfortable – the keys are pretty small (about half the size of normal key), actually the device itself is rather small. But when you start typing on it, it works very well. It is very difficult to hit multiple keys with a finger, even on purpose.

Hit the link above for more and their own mock-up drawing.

Is this real? Why haven't we heard or seen more? Why do the only Google results for "Nokia Sparrow" go to that page or links to that page?

Future Maemo Tablets: Put the application first.

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:44:00 +0000

The last few posts and comments have sparked a good level of discussion on both sides of the Internet Tablets' future. I'd like to highlight some very good points made to contradict my first critical post and follow-up. Some of these are responses to the comments and some are from direct conversation with other Tablet users.

In the first post, I mentioned the importance of Hulu, NetFlix, and the BBC iPlayer. While these are fantastic developments in new media, very few users would actually require what is essentially a "mobile internet TV" in the purchase decision. Netflix in particular requires a DRM-heavy platform that is contrary to the ideals of the tablets. While it would be "cool" to have those features, they're not as important as I initially painted them.

In the second post, I mentioned that the hardware requirements are out of line with "reality" but are required. That may not be entirely true either as evidenced by the next realization:

Recently, Nokia's growing relationship with Facebook has been discussed (link to wsj.com - subscription required) especially in relation to Nokia's Ovi. This helped me to realize that the marketing of the N97 put the purpose (specifically - a social networking optimized mobile device) ahead of the features. What does that mean to consumers?

I've recently seen ads for the Apple iPhone, the Blackberry Storm, Samsung Omnia. They all have something in common: They claim to be the best choice for music, communication, mobile internet, and more. This is all too confusing for the consumer. If the Nokia N97 is marketed as "the perfect phone for social media" and then they tack on stuff like "Multimedia player, camera, keyboard, and a ton of other features" it will be far easier for consumers to picture themselves using it.

Why limit that approach to just the N97? Maemo tablets have a higher resolution display, better keyboard, and (currently) work independently of phones. With a software layer optimized for social networking, the Maemo tablet can potentially be the single greatest non-phone social networking device. Here are some features that could do it:

Good camera (already promised at OSiM) for photo-video sharing.
Lightweight photo editing for cropping and posting photos (software only)
Improved GPS for geotagging and location-aware applications.
Better CPU (already promised at OSiM) for a faster overall experience
Social network applications or application layer to speed up status upates, location sharing, and photo/video sharing (software only)

Look at that. It's a device that people can actually see themselves using for a very popular task and it's no further from reality than what has already been promised.

Could the next Maemo tablet be "The Facebook Tablet?" Maybe.

In defense of the tablets...

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:49:00 +0000

There was a lot of fallout in the comments to my last post.

The first thing I want to clarify is that Ryan Abel is absolutely correct on his summation of capacitive touch displays. Having a high-precision resistive touch display gives Maemo tablets a wider degree of functionality than a capacitive display could. These are little computers, after all. Capacitive touch is for low-precision operations like phones, media players, and kiosk displays.

Second: I know damn well that my aspirations for a Maemo 5 tablet are far out of line with reality. The features I described at the price I mentioned are simply not possible with today's technology. There's simply no way to stuff all those features into such a small device without killing battery life and skyrocketing the price. I know it was a pipe dream. The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet was years ahead of its time. Years have passed, however, and the next Maemo tablet needs to be far ahead of existing technology to stand out as a device consumers actually want to buy.

Finally: I haven't lost my lust for internet tablets. While technology is catching up with Nokia's innovation, I still believe that Maemo developers can pull something out of their hats that will make jaws drop worldwide. I believe this because I've had the pleasure of meeting a good number of them. They're really THAT brilliant. If they pooled their minds and decided they wanted to build a Mars rover of their own, I am sure they could do it.

All worked up for nothing!

noreply@blogger.com (thoughtfix) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:39:00 +0000

Nokia's MWC event has come and gone, with no mention of Maemo much less a 4th generation Maemo tablet. I was just plain wrong.

It's a crucial time for the Internet Tablet product line. Something special needs to appear to set the device apart from tiny computers (like the VIAO P) and superpowered phones (like the Nokia N97.) Something must burst forth to convince consumers to adopt the Maemo platform instead of buying into other established Linux, Windows, or Symbian platforms.

After thousands of blog comments and hundreds of conversations with mobile device enthusiasts, I have come up with the following: Purchase decisions are made on several common factors:

Function: Does it do everything I want it to? Does it do it well? The features in Maemo 5 are built for social networking with a rich web browser, content creation, and content consumption. With that, it needs to grow to include the latest in new media like Netflix On Demand, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. This will give it an extra leg up over Apple's lame duck version of Safari on the iPhone.
Form: Is it comfortable, usable, intuitive, and small? The Nokia N810 did a lot "right" but could do better. I remember (and agree with) a comment suggesting a capacitive touch screen and total removal of the stylus.
Price: Am I getting what I am paying for? Will I wish I had spent less money on another device or more money on a different device?
Trust: Does the company behind this device have the experience and follow-through to justify the money I am going to spend? Nokia is by far the dominant mobile handset maker in the world, but their high-end Nseries seems to be only a small part of that. North American consumers are especially wary since our carriers use several different frequency bands for calls and data. NAM versions of Nseries phones (like the Nokia N95-3) only get 3G from AT&T Wireless. Even so - some of us swich to AT&T to get the sweet N95 action only to later be left out to dry when the NAM firmware stagnates while the European firmware gets new updates and features.

In the best of times, Internet Tablets were a hard sell. With US $299 "netbook" class machines flooding the market, Maemo tablets need to break away and pull out ahead. Let's hope for an 800x480 capacitive touchscreen, integrated/searchable application catalog, comfortable keyboard wth a D-pad that allows for light gaming, good cameras with video capture, and a fast enough CPU to handle the latest in new media. Let's also hope that it doesn't come out too far past US $299.

Yes - it is unrealistic to expect all of the above to fit into one product. Sacrifices will be made in design. The price will have to match the components and development costs. It's nice to hope, though, isn't it?