First... lemme apologize for missing in action for almost a year, but the truth is... sometimes you have to step back and take a breather to realize and focus on exactly what and who you want to be.  I know that probably doesn't make sense to many of you, but without getting too personal (and teary eyed) I needed to shut alot of things down.  I do owe alot to the crew who kept my blog running... why in the hell they did it I have NO clue... but I am and always will be eternally grateful.

Someone once told me... that breaks are needed now and then, but when you get so lost in what's going on to the point that all you want to do is sleep to get through things, it kind of makes you think.  In a nutshell... most of 2008 and 2009 wasn't great for me.  I needed the time off to reflect and decide what I really wanted... not to mention to figure out if I was in fact happy with who I was.

I'm returning to blogging and doing what I love which became a major part of my life and who I am.  Lol, hopefully by next week I'll be 100% ready to go.

My apologies in not contacting people... but when you can't identify the problems within your situation... how in the hell can you share or explain what you are going through to someone else?  Trust me... I was battling myself in trying to find out what the hell was going on. lol

I'm happy to say that I'm in a much better place in my life now.  I can breathe and yes dammit I was and am happy with who I am... but as I said... that break was needed.

Thanks again to ALL of you who contributed to keeping my site going... for all the love and support you've shown... and just for everything.

Now in the words of a true Mobile Diva.... "pass me my damn Nokia and let's get this show on the road!!!"

xxx Darla xxx

Comments on this Entry:

JebBrilliant on Nov 3, 2009 6:26 PM:

I can't tell you how happy I am to hear from you. Some of us have been trying to reach you for a while and finding out you're coming back to us today has truly made my day.

Talk to me any time my friend,
Jeb

zadosha on Nov 3, 2009 6:30 PM:

I am so glad to see you back! Even more glad to hear that things are going better for you! Welcome back!

Angel Martinez on Nov 3, 2009 6:39 PM:

Welcome back, Darla! You were missed!

Ms. Jen on Nov 3, 2009 7:48 PM:

' Now in the words of a true Mobile Diva.... "pass me my damn Nokia and let's get this show on the road!!!" '

Bravo!

:oD

Michael Hell on Nov 4, 2009 12:12 AM:

WOW!! .. finally THE mobile diva is back!! :)
feels good to have you around again darla, you were missed!
Rock on!!
Michael

Clinton Jeff on Nov 4, 2009 12:16 AM:

Omg Darla i'm SO glad to see you back !

Rita El Khoury on Nov 4, 2009 2:19 AM:

Damn it, it was so hard trying to keep the female's role in this nokia/symbian world going on our own (I speak on my and Jen Hanen's behalf). Now that the diva's back, we can easily proclaim that we're a force to reckon ;)

You know how happy I am to see you here, Darla. Yours was the first site I read back when I got my 3250xm, and along with Ricky's, my all-time favorite, even if later I discovered other sites. I'll always be grateful because you showed me that playing with the boys toys is something we can do, and we can do it pretty darn well.

Bring it on!

Nick on Nov 4, 2009 3:53 AM:

Nice to see you back. Take it easy. 100% is a lot..

raghu on Nov 4, 2009 4:20 AM:

glad to see u back... u were really missed!!

raghu on Nov 4, 2009 4:20 AM:

glad to see u back... u were really missed!!

Mike on Nov 4, 2009 4:44 AM:

Darla,

There is nothing more important than yourself and your well being and that in reality is more important than any website. I am glad to read you have found a new purpose and I hope it leads you in good stead.

As for the people who kept your site together and running, they should be given a medal.

Welcome back Darla! I look forward to your next post.

Ray H on Nov 4, 2009 9:52 AM:

Welcome back Darla, catch up soon, CES perhaps? ;-)

christexaport on Nov 4, 2009 6:12 PM:

Don't worry, Diva. I've been through my trials, too, and at the moment, I'm sure I'm the only mobile industry blogger without a mobile device. Economic/employment/emotional issues are a pain we all endure from time to time. Just know we endured them alongside you. The community certainly has your back, as you can see. What doesn't kill us will only make us stronger.

You are one of the first bloggers I followed, and the inspiration for my own mobile blogging aspirations. Glad to see the Queen Diva of Mobile back on the scene. Its also good to see a Black woman being a role model for so many. I am proud of Darla Mack, and as Jay-Z said, "Guess who's bizzack..."

Devin Balentina on Nov 4, 2009 6:52 PM:

Welcome back Darla and I'm happy that things are getting better.

Whooohoo Darla is back!

Steve on Nov 5, 2009 3:45 AM:

Welcome back! Word of warning: stay focussed - it's late 2009 and the influx of new stuff to write about it starting to overwhelm *me* and I do this for a *living* - don't try to cover everything 8-)

Edwin on Nov 5, 2009 3:42 PM:

welcome back, darla! happy to hear you're ok.

Maciek on Nov 6, 2009 12:55 AM:

And Just in time to get that new shiny N900. A TRUE comeback for two Divas... Darla and Nokia.

Darla on Nov 7, 2009 10:36 AM:

Awww wow!!!! Thank you all so much for the love!!! Lol now I have to go and educate myself on the N900.

how to find cell phone numbers on Nov 9, 2009 2:08 AM:

At last you are back! Nice to see you again. I hope you will not be going to be vanished again. Just keep on rocking!

teambanana on Nov 9, 2009 3:45 PM:

Just a quick note to say that I'm glad you're getting better, and It'll be good having you back.

:-)

Weave on Nov 11, 2009 8:07 AM:

Good to have you back. I found this blog when I was waiting in anticipation of the N95 being released and rushed to NYC to get one when it first went on sale there.

Now I'm hoping to do the same for the N900. Time to get excited!!!

Darla has been without phone or internet for many months and thus her absence from her blog. She's had many personal issues to battle through which I'm sure she'll share with you once she's back online.

Arrangements are being made to get Darla back online in the next few days / weeks and she plans on making a return to blogging. I can't wait, the blogosphere hasn't been the same without her.

Darla sends you all her love and thanks for your continued support and loyalty. It really means the world to her, to know that she has a blog and a fan-base to come back to. 

Paul x

Comments on this Entry:

C. Enrique on Nov 3, 2009 3:58 PM:

Very good to hear... thanks for the info.

Phat^Trance on Nov 3, 2009 4:11 PM:

yeeeeeey :)

dani2xll on Nov 3, 2009 4:15 PM:

Hooray... Looking forward to your return to the blogasphere

JebBrilliant on Nov 3, 2009 4:17 PM:

Paul,

Thank you very much for letting us know that Darla is ok. It's really appreciated.

Jeb

Ms. Jen on Nov 3, 2009 4:38 PM:

Paul, thanks for posting this news. I am very glad to hear that Darla has made contact and will be getting back online. Yay!

smiles, jen ;o)

Frank Koehntopp on Nov 3, 2009 5:06 PM:

That is soooooo good to hear! Tell her we love her and look forward to her return!

Alessandro on Nov 3, 2009 5:07 PM:

Ciao,

great to have Darla back to blogging!
Alessandro

PseudoFinn on Nov 3, 2009 5:13 PM:

"the blogosphere hasn't been the same without her."

Quite true! It'll be great to have her back.

Oh- and look who just signed on to MSN... :-)

Tim on Nov 3, 2009 5:21 PM:

Welcome back Darla, looking forward to your return!

Giovani on Nov 4, 2009 1:50 AM:

Thanks Paul for posting this, waiting for her comeback =)

Donna on Nov 4, 2009 4:23 AM:

Welcome back Darla :-)

Aditya Singhvi on Nov 9, 2009 10:04 AM:

Great news indeed!!!!!

Bia Kunze on Nov 10, 2009 6:09 PM:

Darla, we miss you a lot! I am a huge fan :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garotasemfio/2383992686/

Nokia has reportedly inserted their last credit into the N-Gage mobile games service, announcing plans to shut it down in 2010 and focus on promotion of titles through Ovi Store.

The service's demise marks the end of 6 years of Nokia trying to penetrate the lucrative gaming arena since the original N-Gage device in 2003.

Despite producing a more aesthetically pleasing hardware sequel in the form of the N-Gage QD, then resurrecting the brand as a software-only platform for specific handsets at the end of 2008, Nokia's service never managed to garner traction in a competitive mobile market.

The latest N-Gage blog post definitively states the future of the platform, and the form it will take:

"N-Gage games can be purchased until the end of September 2010. While the N-Gage.com site together with the N-Gage Arena and other community features will remain in operation throughout 2010, the Ovi Store will be the new central place for all the mobile games that Nokia and other publishers offer from this point forward."

A bittersweet message follows, spelling out the fate for the online portion of N-Gage games:

"Your games are safe - all your purchased N-Gage games will continue to work on your N-Gage compatible mobile device and they’re yours to keep. However, community features of the games will not be functional after 2010....We will no longer publish new games for the N-Gage platform."

The rest of the post takes the form of a big arrow pointing users in the direction of Ovi Store, a robust and fully featured app resource that is pre-installed in many Series 60 devices, and will be on S40 phones out of the box in future.

A widely proliferated application store works - ask Apple - but the splitting of the demographic with only some phones supporting the N-Gage platform was a notable problem, particularly when hugely popular ones like the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic were not among them.

Not appearing on Nokia touch phones which had no physical keys or d-pad only served to narrow the appeal of N-Gage to N- and E-series phone owners, as UK developments like the iPhone on Orange only serve to bring applications to a wider demographic.

The cannibalisation of games between N-Gage and the Ovi Store was already taking place with titles appearing in both, that's without mentioning the unnecessary confusion it brings to customers.

Ovi Store tailors content for compatible phones, meaning Nokia owners are able to see only the apps that their phone supports, with a range of music, games and productivity applications available from a single location.

The recent influx of N-Gage titles suddenly begins to make much more sense, as Nokia are presumably shifting the elite developers over to the Ovi Store before they become swayed by the lucrative charms of their competition...

N-Gage was arguably the best mobile gaming network, supporting online multiplayer, achievements, leaderboards, persistent stats, as well as downloadable content directly to devices.

The fact that Nokia managed to develop a leading online service whilst Microsoft did not even attempt to bring their Xbox Live service to Windows phones (despite numerous allusions to doing so) makes N-Gage's demise even more disappointing.

N-Gage may live on within the Ovi Store, but we will dearly miss the 'Taco phone' and all that she spawned.

Comments on this Entry:

tarjeta nintendo r4 on Nov 10, 2009 5:10 AM:

It's totally gamer phone , i loved to play game in this phone because it's grip of the phone like remote..

The big one is certain to be kinetic scrolling, bringing much needed fluency and consistency to the Nokia N97's user interface. Yes, the S60-sporting 5530 Xpressmusic saw this upgrade a good few months ago, but it is here now and the change is decidedly for the better.

The Ovi Maps 3.1 update also brings 3-D maps, more accurate positioning, and improved search functionality to an already strong service. Nokia Messaging, Ovi Store, and finally support for VoIP calls have also been added.

Tweaks under the hood include improvements in memory and battery performance, and image and video stability for the slightly underwhelming camera..

Despite cutting it fine with the imminent release of the Nokia N97 Mini and soon-to-be flagship Nokia N900, it is great to see Nokia continuing to support the Symbian platform with verve.

Hopefully this will come as good news to Jon of Tehkseven.net, who just recently voiced his concerns about the Nokia N97's lacklustre performance...

Comments on this Entry:

Mike Bowen on Oct 28, 2009 1:08 PM:

The Nokia 5800XM has NOT received such an update yet. We are still waiting for Kinetic scrolling and various features that are appearing in new models.

Ernest Doku on Oct 28, 2009 1:12 PM:

Cheers, you're right. My slip, amended.

Jon from Tehkseven.net has published a video, directed at Nokia, asking them to address the issues with the Nokia N97.

Comments on this Entry:

Dear Darla,

Ms. Jen here.  Where are you? Are you coming back?  Are you ok?

I am not really interested in writing about mobile in this space, your blog, when in fact I am quite worried about you the person.  Worried about your completely dropping off the internet, worried that you aren't responding to any inquiries through various channels, worried about your safety or health or whatever it is that caused you to decamp and depart.

If you need space and time, great, but just one of us know (like Matthew) that you are alive and breathing.  If you need help, even a little thing, there are more than a few of us who will extend a hand happily and willingly.  Please let us know.

smiles, jen ;o)

Comments on this Entry:

phat^trance on Oct 19, 2009 12:43 PM:

Yeah, WHERE are you??
We miss you!

Ricky Cadden on Oct 19, 2009 12:55 PM:

I realize you guys have your own team to make decisions, but perhaps it's time to put this site to rest? I don't mean to be disrespectful, but if none of you have heard from Darla in X months, it would seem that she's not uber-worried about it.

Perhaps not take it down entirely, but just put up a final post saying the site is on hiatus or something similar?

Ms. Jen on Oct 19, 2009 1:52 PM:

Hi Ricky,

I agree with you, which is why along with concern, I posted this post. To me it doesn't seem right to keep posting when we haven't heard from Darla in months and months. When she originally went away last winter, she was happy to have folks continue to post, but it has been over 8+ months and I am now concerned about her welfare and I am not comfortable to keep posting with no contact from Darla.

christexaport on Oct 19, 2009 3:27 PM:

Darla is one of the rock stars of the Nokia blogging scene, and she's greatly missed. I could care less where she writes, but I'd like to hear her opinion more often. DM is the first blog I found when I bought my first Symbian device, and I have a hard time letting go of this formerly great blog.

I love Ms Jen, but we all want Darla to at least Tweet us here and there, and let us know when or if she'll be returning. DM is an institution, but there are plenty other places online, and without its namesake, its just not the same reading here so sporadically.

I'm almost ready to delete it from my RSS feed, but I'm holding out hope. At least she has a great team in her stead.

C. Enrique Ortiz on Oct 19, 2009 4:52 PM:

Darla! where are you? hope all is well!

ceo

Giovani on Oct 20, 2009 2:35 AM:

This was also the first blog I found when I got my first symbian device, I wish Darla was covering all the latest stuff from Nokia.

Ax on Oct 21, 2009 6:24 AM:

Indeed strange that shes lost. Stupid ? question: She was known as a person with like zillion phones, so why not just call her over cell

Andraeseus on Oct 21, 2009 7:14 AM:

This was the very first site i came to when i brought my first smart phone... kinda been attached to it ever since

mobiwan on Oct 21, 2009 11:00 AM:

Days in this life without the mobile diva turns miserable. Wonder where you are, Darla !

dani2xll on Oct 24, 2009 9:42 AM:

Miss you too Darla. It is great that other folk have been helping you on the site, but it is not the same without you.

f1reman on Oct 26, 2009 5:06 AM:

We miss you Darla.
Take care!

Slashgear's unboxing of the device shows off Nokia's flagship computer, with the N900's 3.5" screen and QWERTY-slider form factor given a good airing.

Ewan has a great live unboxing of the Nokia N900 of MobileDeveloper.tv, showing off the intuitive nature of the device and his positive 'unfiltered opinion'.

The accompanying post on Mobile Industry Review had Ewan blown away by the N900's prowess, with the following quote encapsulating his feelings pretty nicely:

"...let me make this early prediction: If the N900 captures sufficient attention from the mobile developer community to at least get all of the favourites (and then some) ported on to Maemo… I think this is going to be a device to be reckoned with.

It completely kicks much of the iPhone 3GS experience into touch. It makes the iPhone look like a Fisher Price ‘My First Phone’ with it’s multi-tasking brilliance."

The reason why Nokia has been reiterating that the N900 is an internet tablet rather than a phone becomes apparent, as the multitasking and user interface of the N900 begins to shine.

Further videos showing off the picture quality, and even how the N900 works with Google Wave are included, as Ewan gives a comprehensive roundup of the device.

Unwired View has taken the intensive approach, with the first part of their impressions now up after 15 hours of hardcore testing. Their feeling?

"The bottom line – I’m impressed. Very impressed. Really, really impressed."

From the initial steup sequence to organising the desktop, their run through of the N900 is equally fawning over Maemo's ability to multitask whilst looking gorgeous, as well as being quick and responsive with a resistive touch screen.

Despite being a pre-release model, the Nokia N900 is equally regarded as a mobile computer with phone features rather than a smartphone, taking particular time to comment on the impressive internet functionality.

A full Firefox browser with HTML, Flash and Javascript support, they reckon the Nokia N900 presents desktop-quality browsing on the 3.5", 800 pixel wide resolution display...with the screenshots to back it up.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows, however, with their negatives to follow.

As we wait for the official launch of the N900, it's exciting to see the positive response to Nokia's flagship device in the industry.

To focus on Maemo as the flagship platform in the face of Windows Mobile 6.5 and iPhone OS is a necessary risk, and it is good to see that it might well have paid off.

When looking at the multitasking functionality, support for S60 applications and sheer slickness of the user interface, the Nokia N900 has every chance of bringing the Finnish manufacturer shoulder to shoulder with the best.

The most exciting part? That the N900 may be a bit more of a niche device, and 'step 4 in a 5-step process' of where Nokia is going.

The promise of a mass market handset with Maemo on the way is even more encouraging for the future of Nokia, but the N900 will do just fine in the meantime.

Comments on this Entry:

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