http://symbianontheline.com thoughts, reviews and sometimes even news from the smartphone world, with a strong focus on Symbian (site formerly known as the S60 Online Blog) posterous.com ssixtyhttp://feedburner.google.comSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with Live.comAdd to Any Feed Reader Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:04:32 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/should-white-nokia-devices-get-a-teflon-coati http://symbianontheline.com/should-white-nokia-devices-get-a-teflon-coati <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_short_quote">When I read about the White HTC Hero, I found it interesting that only the White version had a Teflon coating. Teflon as you may or may not know is known for its non-stick properties, where water-containing substances nor oil (aka; dirty hands and fingers) don’t stick to the object with the coating applied, perfect for White smartphones. Maybe Nokia should apply this to upcoming White device.</blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://thenokiaguide.com/2009/07/18/should-white-nokias-device-get-a-teflon-coating/">thenokiaguide.com</a></div> <p>Yes, maybe they should. On the other hand, why shouldn't every phone on the planet (especially smartphones, where royalties should not be an issue at that price point) have this, if it works so well? </p><p>I still wonder why HTC chose to have this coating limited to the white Hero. All other colors don't get it. Why? Regardless of their color, all recent (smart)phones seem to follow the same glossyness trend which some like because it makes the phones look 'classy'. </p><p>Yeah, classy when first taken out of the box. From that point on, they all look like a smudgy and greasy mess. And yes, black ones do too. I'd even go so far as to say that this is worse in black phones. And the main problem white phones face is not greasyness, but the fact that they just get dirty. And if the plastic coating (read:paint) isn't good enough, they'll even turn yellow-ish. </p><p>Me? I'd rather see phone manufacturers get over this glossy fashion already. But, since that doesn't appear to be happening, at least we can add some Teflon to ALL of them? </p><p>DuPont, would you give us a hand here and reach out to phone manufacturers? </p><p>kthxbai</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/should-white-nokia-devices-get-a-teflon-coati">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/should-white-nokia-devices-get-a-teflon-coati#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=BynGCBa-hBM:nszBFVa-uBE:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:03:04 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/charge-your-smartphone-faster http://symbianontheline.com/charge-your-smartphone-faster <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><p><strong>In summary then:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Where possible, use the charger that comes with your phone<br />&nbsp;</strong></li> <li><strong>If you insist on using another charger, check the current rating is as close as possible to that of the real thing<br />&nbsp;</strong></li> <li><strong>Don't try using a microUSB data cable to charge a phone from scratch - it'll take an eternity! Use microUSB data charging for 'top ups' only</strong></li> </ul> <div><br /></div> <div>Get the output current ratings wrong and it's not the end of the world, you're not going to blow anything up - but you <em>will</em> end up wasting time staring at the 'charging' animation....!</div></blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/How_to_Charge_your_smartphone_faster.php">allaboutsymbian.com</a></div> <p>Excellent, excellent post on AllAboutSymbian. Go read it all if you haven't already. </p><p>I for one remember asking myself if the different milliamp ratings on different chargers don't make a difference in charging times, but then I just let it be and never considered it again (especially given how Nokia standardized all of their phones' charging tips, it seemed a non-issue). </p><p>Well, it turns out it sort of is an issue. </p><p>And I'd like to add that charging via USB may be slow, but charging via car chargers is unbelievably slow. So keep that too in mind.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/charge-your-smartphone-faster">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/charge-your-smartphone-faster#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Xq5q1Km4lh4:q3u46-UYYlA:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:56:10 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/symbians-horizon-will-hopefully-be-nothing-li http://symbianontheline.com/symbians-horizon-will-hopefully-be-nothing-li <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><p>The core idea behind Symbian Horizon (<a href="http://www.symbian.org/horizon" target="_blank">http://www.symbian.org/horizon</a>) is making the business and distribution of Symbian apps easier.&nbsp; Horizon is a publisher program similar to a book publisher or record label.&nbsp; Developers can submit their app or even an idea for an app that they will build.&nbsp; Symbian will select the best apps and help take them to market.&nbsp; We will sign the app, publish it to the App Stores and manage the transactions, all at no cost to the developers.&nbsp; It is a ‘code once, publish to many’ syndication service.</p> <p>Symbian is looking for apps that cover a wide range of needs.&nbsp; Free or paid apps are welcome, apps that take advantage of mobile features like GPS and web integration are especially interesting, as are the standard categories like games and utilities.&nbsp; We are primarily interested in apps that use the Symbian^1 platform but any recent platform will also get high consideration.</p> <p>What’s the catch?&nbsp; There isn’t one.&nbsp; We want great apps, the stores want great apps, mobile users want great apps too. Devices are increasingly judged by the enhancements that they support.&nbsp; We see Horizon as the best way to help developers, enhance the value of Symbian and the value of the entire mobile market.</p> <p>Today, most of the processes behind this program require manual tasks.&nbsp; Our goal for the near future is to develop a system that will automate this work allowing us to scale the program to include as many apps as possible.&nbsp; We want every Symbian app to be available online and on devices, through as many of the App Stores as possible.</p></blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://blog.symbian.org/">blog.symbian.org</a></div> <p>Symbian seems to understand that they need to work for developers or with developers, and not against them (Symbian Signed ring a bell?). Very good. Especially for freeware developers, or, I'd say, developers just getting started with developing for Symbian (in spite of Robert Scoble, I do think there still are those). </p><p>The only issues (which I hope will prove to not be issues after all) I find with this is that it will have a very limited start in October, they plan to expand it next year, but even then it will be (in what ways, we'll have to wait and see) limited. By someone at Symbian thinking whether an app is worthwhile or not? Perhaps. And that might not be such a bad thing, if it keeps us from ever seeing fart apps on Symbian. </p><p>Why is Google leading the way of vapor-announcements and everyone else following suit these days? I didn't say vaporware, because I think we have to make (yet another) distinction thanks to Google (like what Beta means wasn't enough). </p><p>No, these (Wave, Chrome OS, Office 2010 Web, Symbian Horizon - till now, but I expect more to come, sadly) things will probably happen, they will exist, and as such, we can't deem them vaporware. </p><p>But announcing something that will be available in what, for this "real-time" web world, seems ages, is a bad trend in my book. </p><p>So I'm hoping Symbian's Horizon won't be something (literally) untouchable like, you know, the actual horizon. Or something that goes farther away the more you run toward it. </p><p>Because it's a novel idea, and something that, if done right, might actually do a lot of good for the future of Symbian.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/symbians-horizon-will-hopefully-be-nothing-li">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/symbians-horizon-will-hopefully-be-nothing-li#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=p7Mqe-sCe8c:5OKWXDNf-bc:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:41:18 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/the-linkbait-ing-title-is-out-why-nokia-and-s http://symbianontheline.com/the-linkbait-ing-title-is-out-why-nokia-and-s <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><p>Apple has “one phone to rule them all,” while Sony Ericsson and Nokia have a gazillion models to try and cover every little market segment imaginable.</p> <p>Here’s what’s wrong Nokia’s and Sony Ericsson’s current approach:</p> <ul> <li>Giving consumers too many products to choose from just creates confusion.</li> <li>It’s simply not cost effective to have that many different cell phone models; not from a marketing standpoint, not from a product development standpoint, and not from a production standpoint.</li> <li>Having one unified, consistent platform makes it easier to provide a compelling user experience.</li> <li>From a third-party developer perspective, the iPhone with its consistent interface and features is a no brainer (not to mention the infrastructure in place to push out those applications).</li> <li>Both Nokia and Sony Ericsson are careful to also cater to budget-conscious consumers. Apple only has its relatively expensive iPhone. <strong>But guess what?</strong> Apple does have a budget option after all: older models of the iPhone. So they are slowly seeping into that end of the market as well.</li></ul></blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://royal.pingdom.com/2009/07/17/why-nokia-and-sony-ericsson-are-getting-their-butts-kicked-by-apple/">royal.pingdom.com</a></div> <p>Interesting take. A bit wrong, but at least not entirely wrong. And that's strangely refreshing to see in these anything-but-truth-filled days. </p><p>This again bases Nokia's and Sony Ericsson's problems (no one seems to note how different their problems are, I guess it's too cool to just pair them for no apparent reason) on what surely they consider one of their main strengths: product (line) differentiation. </p><p>I think these are both extremes. What Nokia, and especially Sony Ericsson have been doing for the past year (Nokia) or couple of years (SE) is one extreme. That of artificial differentiation. No, there's not a market niche for each and every one of those models, guys. Seriously, there isn't. </p><p>On the other hand, what Pingdom proposes is the exact opposite extreme. Which is wrong too. Sure, it works (to some extent) for Apple because they never cared about sales volumes. Or if they did, they're crazy. But I think they didn't, and they have no intention to rule the world with ONE SINGLE phone. Again, if they do, they're stupid. Apple will never gain 41% market share with ONE single device. </p><p>So that doesn't work either. What should work, though, is something in between. At this rate, SE is the next Motorola. Really. And they made the exact same mistake. You'd think top execs at this level would at least pay attention to their former competition. </p><p>So, yeah. Halve that product range (at least), focus on less platforms (Symbian vs. Maemo, anyone?), I strongly agree with that. (Wow, I managed to strongly agree with my own point there, aren't I amazing?) </p><p>As for catering to budget-conscious consumers at $99 with a contract of what, $60/month, I'm laughing. Out. Loud. </p><p>Obviously all the budget-conscious consumers in the world are in the States, because of the economic downturn. </p><p>Ignorance is bliss. </p><p>Yes, this is about India again. And not only. Amazingly (for some), there are countries in this world where $99 is anything but budget-friendly. And it's in those countries that sales of anything keep going up and up, even in this "harsh" economic climate. </p><p>So, what I'm saying is that there will always be the need for $25 contract-free, taxes included, phones. In "developing nations", and (netbooks seem to prove that) in "developed nations" too, perhaps.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/the-linkbait-ing-title-is-out-why-nokia-and-s">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/the-linkbait-ing-title-is-out-why-nokia-and-s#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=i3HMZ41CGoE:N9p9kWA7bPI:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:18:19 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/dear-subscribers-via-feedburner http://symbianontheline.com/dear-subscribers-via-feedburner <p> As you may have noticed, I did change the Feedburner feed settings, so you are automatically receiving posts from my new blog, now called <i>Symbian on the Line</i> (previously <i>S60 Online Blog</i>, and S<i>60 Info - Ssixty.info</i> before that).<div> <br /></div><div>It is completely your choice whether to stay subscribed via Feedburner, or subscribe to the actual feed (which Feedburner itself pulls), found at <b><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/rss.xml">http://symbianontheline.com/rss.xml</a></b>. I will keep updating Feedburner settings if needed, so you can just do nothing at this point and ignore this post.</div> <div><br /></div><div>However, from the time I publish a post till Feedburner catches it there&#39;s usually at least a 30 minute waiting time. Sometimes even close to a full hour (yeah, I&#39;ve tested). So if you&#39;d like to be updated as soon as possible when a new post is published, I recommend subscribing to the actual feed (noted above and in the sidebar). This will still not make it even close to &#39;real-time&#39;, the web&#39;s new favourite buzzword, because of the way the different feed readers are set to poll for updated feeds. But posts will come sooner than via Feedburner (which is basically just an intermediary).</div> <div><br /></div><div>In retrospect, my decision to syndicate my original Ssixty feed with Feedburner and stick with it ever since has hopefully meant that the (many) transitions between domains and blog names went a lot smoother for those of you reading via RSS, which is why I won&#39;t give up on it. Who knows, perhaps in a year&#39;s time, it will be <i>Line on the Symbian</i> (I apologize for this joke, I know maybe 3 people will get it, but I still had to - for a clue on what this is about, think about Twango ;)).</div> <div>This, if you subscribe via the actual feed means that when (if?) that happens, you&#39;ll have to subscribe again to a different feed, just to be able to keep up with the excruciatingly awesome content I provide.</div> <div><br /></div><div>So it is all up to you.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>To those new here</b>, I hope you&#39;ll stick around. And ignore all of this post before this line. </div><div>To subscribe via RSS, please use <b><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/rss.xml">http://symbianontheline.com/rss.xml</a></b> (also found in the sidebar on the homepage).</div> <div>There&#39;s also a Twitter account that has just the feed, at <a href="http://twitter.com/symbian_OTL">http://twitter.com/symbian_OTL</a>, if you&#39;re into that.</div><div>Thank you.</div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/dear-subscribers-via-feedburner">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/dear-subscribers-via-feedburner#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=7g9Yq09cjFQ:C_hG0J-W3tY:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:02:00 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-increases-its-market-share-for-smartpho http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-increases-its-market-share-for-smartpho <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"> <p>Earlier today Nokia, the world&rsquo;s largest mobile phone maker, said things weren&rsquo;t going too well. The Finnish company posted a<a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sony-ericsson-swings-to-second-quarter-loss"> 66 percent plunge in second-quarter earnings and a 25 percent drop in sales</a>, and said it&rsquo;s no longer expecting its market share this year to increase over 2008. The comments sent shares of Nokia down more than 14 percent, to end at $13.46.</p> <p>More importantly, look at the longer-term decline in Nokia shares &mdash; they&rsquo;ve lost over half their value in the past 12 months. While a moribund global economy can take much of the blame, Nokia itself can&rsquo;t be absolved of its sins. The company has failed to respond to threats posed by the likes of Apple, RIM and Google&rsquo;s Android.</p> </blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://gigaom.com/2009/07/16/as-its-stock-sinks-we-wonder-whats-wrong-with-nokia/">gigaom.com</a></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>You should go ahead and read the original MarketWatch article (linked inside the excerpt) before reading GigaOm's take. Because, again, this is a classic case of mis-reading and mis-leading readers.</p> <p>Sorry. I just won't have it.</p> <p>Some quotes from the original article that never made it into Om's very deep analysis:</p> <p>"On an adjusted basis, Nokia (NOK 13.48, +0.02, +0.15%) reported a profit of 0.15 euro a share, slightly better than the 0.13 euro a share that analysts, on average, were expecting."</p> <p>"Sales continued to weaken in the second quarter at Nokia, although the company witnessed signs that demand is stabilizing. Overall sales fell 25% to 9.91 billion euros. At the mobile-devices unit, they dropped 28% to 6.6 billion euros.</p> <p>The Finnish manufacturer shipped 103.2 million phones in the quarter, down 15% year on year, but up 11% sequentially."</p> <p>"Nokia has a huge base in emerging markets, but over the course of the past few quarters, it has come under fire from analysts for losing market share in the so-called "smart phone" segment. On top of basic calls, these phones can play videos, browse the Internet and function as miniature computers. They're the fastest-growing category of phones and carry higher margins.</p> <p>Nokia on Thursday said it increased its market share in the segment to 41% from 39% in the previous quarter."</p> <p>"Although the market didn't cheer Nokia's performance, some industry analysts said it was remarkably solid.</p> <p>"Nokia's scale and distribution advantages have again insured remarkable resilience in a turbulent market," said Geoff Blaber, analyst at U.K. telecoms consultancy CCS Insight.</p> <p>"The market remains a long way from recovery, but Nokia's results cast some light following three successive gloomy quarters, Nokia's financials strengthen our belief that the market will see a modest improvement in the second half of the year," he added."</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>So. Smartphone market share increased from 39% to 41%. Enough said.</p> <p>What I read from their results is "it's bad, but very slowly stabilizing". What Om read was "Nokia is doomed" (or did he read that on Gizmodo?).</p> <p>Does Nokia have to innovate? Sure. Have they been in an overly reactive state (as in, reacting to the competition, not leading the market) as of late? Of course. Should they wake up and lead again? Certainly. Although even if they do, I fear that Gizmodo, GigaOm and the likes will still write it obituaries.</p> <p>I'm starting to hope that blogs reporting opinions disguised as facts should be doomed. But then some journalist-type will come rushing in trying to make me understand how much better a proper journalist is at this than a blogger, see?</p> <p>And to that I say: indeed. It was a proper newspaper that invented the Nokia+Android=Love story, was it not?</p> <p>They're all doomed.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em>By the way, what I was trying to do with the title of this post and some of the quotes from MarketWatch is the exact opposite of what certain blogs enjoy doing. Instead of only extracting negative stuff, writing a blog post full of it and opinions masqueraded as facts based on it and ignoring everything else, I wrote a title extracting the most positive aspect of the quoted report and ignored all paragraphs in the report with the words Apple and Android in them. Maybe someone will learn. Maybe not.</em></p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-increases-its-market-share-for-smartpho">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-increases-its-market-share-for-smartpho#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=RblEi18htjQ:7IeDAdK_P8o:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:30:35 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/big-shocker-install-rates-of-free-mobile-apps http://symbianontheline.com/big-shocker-install-rates-of-free-mobile-apps <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote">Since so many popular web apps are free to use, people expect the same free access when it comes to mobile apps, said a panel of iPhone application developers during a breakout session at <a href="http://mobilebeat2009.com/agenda/">VentureBeat&rsquo;s MobileBeat conference</a> today. As a result, they said, install rates are significantly higher for free apps than they are for those that cost money.</blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://gigaom.com/2009/07/16/mobile-devs-install-rates-of-free-apps-higher-than-paid-apps/">gigaom.com</a></div> <p>Wow. This is undoubtedly unheard of. No one has ever reached this conclusion before. And no, this is anything but extremely obvious.</p> <p>Right?</p> <p>Funny they (I don't know if "they" are the mobile developers, the panelists at the conference or anyone else) blame this on web apps. I am surprised, however, that they didn't blame it on Chris Anderson, since he seems to be responsible for the decline of every single last-century industry these days.</p> <p>Sorry, mobile developers. Perhaps if you create something unique enough (WSJ, anyone?) you'll be amazed to find out that people are willing to pay. Try it and hate me then, ok?</p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/big-shocker-install-rates-of-free-mobile-apps">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/big-shocker-install-rates-of-free-mobile-apps#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=SP9C0hjlMHo:c2Tb2S5YGss:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:13:52 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/behind-the-new-nokia-homescreen-multiple-home http://symbianontheline.com/behind-the-new-nokia-homescreen-multiple-home <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C35s7ZLm1go&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;hd=0" /> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent" /> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C35s7ZLm1go&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;hd=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="350" wmode="transparent" width="425"> </embed></param></param></param></object> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://mynokiablog.com/2009/07/14/video-behind-the-new-nokia-homescreen-multiple-homescreens-coming-soon/">mynokiablog.com</a></div> <p>The N97's homescreen is the best thing that has ever happened to widgets. Actually, I'm starting to become a widget-lover. If this has always been the intended use for widgets, please excuse my very long hatred for them. </p><p>I sure hope that multiple homescreens are indeed coming soon, because the only thing I can find wrong with the N97's homescreen today is the limited number of widgets it can accomodate. I'm don't think they can cram some more up into one screen without making the content hard to click by finger, so multiple homescreens is the solution. </p><p>And I do hope that the next firmware update for the 5800 XpressMusic will come with this new homescreen. Otherwise, we'll just have a new case of artificial differentiation (which is not unlike Nokia, sadly).</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/behind-the-new-nokia-homescreen-multiple-home">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/behind-the-new-nokia-homescreen-multiple-home#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=hAE5gUzqqSQ:jyBbWhL5S8g:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:27:00 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/mobile-operators-face-competition-from-satell http://symbianontheline.com/mobile-operators-face-competition-from-satell <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"> <p><strong>Short Term Satellite Rental:</strong></p> <p><em>&pound;20 a day or &pound;500 per calendar month<br /> Data costs are &pound;7 per MB<br /> Voice calls are &pound;1.20 per minute</em></p> <p>Compare this to, I don&rsquo;t know, say <strong>Vodafone for instance</strong> and you get the following:</p> <p><em>&pound;35 per calendar month<br /> Data costs are &pound;10 per MB<br /> Voice calls are &pound;1.65 per minute<br /> </em></p> <p>Admittedly you don&rsquo;t have to pay the huge rental fee for a normal networked handset, but still.<br /> If <em>a satphone</em> can beat the data costs of the Vodafone - especially when I&rsquo;m pointing the damn thing at an <em>actual satellite</em>, then surely something must be going wrong somewhere, no?</p> </blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://thereallymobileproject.com/2009/07/where-the-hell-is-that-whatley-guy/">thereallymobileproject.com</a></div> <p>That Whatley guy is in Namibia. Doing something for some brand that sounds (literally) strange to me. But, look. He's in Namibia, ok? And he'll be in a few other interesting places in the following months. Read all about it via the almighty link above.</p> <p>Now what's in that excerpt above really got my attention. On one hand, I'm glad to finally see that prices for satellite telephony and data have gone down so much that they've become bearable for you and me.</p> <p>On the other hand, they're so close to 'normal' mobile prices (in the UK, at least), that something really is wrong somewhere.</p> <p>Stop. Think about it. Which is more important? That satellite telephony and data is now affordable? Or that normal mobile service is now almost as expensive as satellite service?</p> <p>Interesting world we live in. And outrageous too, at times.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Note: I say "almost as expensive" because I took the satphone rental fee into account. You could not, but then it wouldn't be a fair comparison in my opinion.</em></p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/mobile-operators-face-competition-from-satell">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/mobile-operators-face-competition-from-satell#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=MnrY25bYs70:p4goYUtvXkg:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:44:04 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/exclusive-the-worlds-first-nokia-n97-text-unb http://symbianontheline.com/exclusive-the-worlds-first-nokia-n97-text-unb <p> This is it, Ladies and Gentlemen. The first of <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/welcome-two-exclusive-never-before-seen-thing">the moments</a> you&#39;ve desperately been waiting for.<div>The Nokia N97 unboxing. In text. Nothing more, nothing less. Here goes.</div> <div><br /></div><div><b>the box</b></div><div> <br /></div><div>Dark grey, a lot smaller than I expected, and very minimalistic. Barely any text on it. An N97 (slider opened) &#39;engraved&#39; into the front of it. But this is in the same color as the box, so you can see it only if you focus really well on the box. Otherwise, you could touch it. A very cool effect. The box is made of a slightly textured material, which is interesting to touch. I wouldn&#39;t say &quot;feels nice&quot;, but interesting.</div> <div><br /></div><div>There&#39;s a shiny grey <i>Nokia N97</i> written on one side (and very large, compared to all the other text). <i>Nokia Nseries</i>, again, very shiny and grey, right next to the engraved N97 shape on the front of the box.  There&#39;s also <i>Nokia N97</i>, <i>32 GB</i> and <i>Carl Zeiss Optics</i> on the side you pull up to open the box. On a separate part of the box you have to pull up afterwards, you can see <a href="http://nokia.com/nseries" target="_blank"><i>http://nokia.com/nseries</i></a>. Still the same shade of grey, but a lot less shiny.</div> <div><br /></div><div>On the back, again a shiny <i>Nokia N97</i>. Under it, the exact same list of features you can find on the N97&#39;s hinge, when the keyboard is slid out. This is: <i>32 GB | AF 5MP Carl Zeiss | nHD 3.5&quot; | A-GPS | Bluetooth 2.0 | WLAN | 3G HSDPA | USB 2.0 | FM RDS</i>.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Some of these features Nokia chose to highlight make perfect sense, while others seem to be there just to fill space: Bluetooth, FM RDS and USB 2.0 come to mind. And it&#39;s rather funny that for years Nokia didn&#39;t have RDS for their FM radios in phones, because they invented some kind of competitor to RDS called Visual Radio, which never took off and so, thankfully got dropped for good. And now that sorta is a highlighted feature on the &#39;flagship&#39; N97. </div> <div>Also of note, while they claimed USB 2.0 on devices as old as the N95, the ~900 KB/s transfer rate seen on FP1 phones seems anything but USB 2.0. Glad to see it finally there. For real, this time, I mean it&#39;s on the feature highlights list, so it&#39;s gotta be, right?</div> <div><br /></div><div>Back to the box. Below the features highlights, there are two entire paragraphs (in multiple languages) dedicated to the integrated FM transmitter. Specifically, they list countries where it is allowed, and also prompt you to go to <a href="http://europe.nokia.com/fmtransmitter" target="_blank">http://europe.nokia.com/fmtransmitter</a> for updates. Strange as this may seem, there are a lot of countries around the world where the use of an FM transmitter is illegal. 2009, you said it was?</div> <div><br /></div><div>Below these are the Copyright notices, and on a different side of the box are the barcodes, all sorts of other codes, and the country of manufacturing (in this case, <i>Made in Finland</i>). And that concludes my review of the box itself.</div> <div><br /></div><div><b>inside the box</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The phone sits on a piece of plastic that you can see immediately after opening the box. Also there, but in different spots, are the battery and the stylus.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Underneath said piece of plastic are the rest of the contents of the box: charger, charging adaptor, USB cable, microfiber cloth, earphones, remote control, Ovi CD (in a very disturbing, very bright red, creating a strange contrast to the rest of the mostly grey contents) and user manual.</div> <div><br /></div><div><b>battery</b></div><div><br /></div><div>BP-4L. The highest capacity battery that Nokia make. 1500 mAh. I think I&#39;ll write a book about this battery. I can go for 2 days without charging. Now considering that I charge my N95-1 (on its third battery so far) 2 times a day, that really is an improvement. I&#39;ve noticed, however, that the charging time of the N97 is more than 3 hours (~3:30). Which wasn&#39;t a very nice surprise, again, coming from the N95-1 which is fully charged in an hour and 45 minutes. Other than that, Nokia should only use this battery for all their future phones. Period. Seriously.</div> <div><br /></div><div><b>charger and the charger adaptor</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The charger, strangely, is a lot bigger than my N95&#39;s. I guess that might be because of charging via microUSB port on the N97, I don&#39;t know. It&#39;s glossy black, and the tip is black with grey.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Small rant here: the phone is white. All the accessories are black, grey, or black and grey. Now I understand what mass-production means and its benefits, but for a device that will only ever have two colors, surely it can&#39;t be that difficult to match the color of the accessories to that of the phone. Sadly, it seems more and more manufacturers are choosing not to.</div> <div><br /></div><div>The &#39;charger adaptor&#39; (I&#39;m calling it that for lack of a better name) is genius. Basically you attach it to your existing (2 mm or older 3mm) Nokia charger&#39;s tip, and voila, you can charge your N97 using one of your old chargers. Brilliant move when changing standards. I just wish they would ship this will all future microUSB-charging devices (the N85, for instance, didn&#39;t have it).</div> <div><br /></div><div><b>usb cable</b></div><div><br /></div><div>microUSB to USB. Charges the phone too. Nothing more to be said here.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>remote and earphones</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The earphone remote is the same old black glossy one from past Nokia devices. And yeah, it&#39;s black and glossy and while connected to the white phone it does look rather strange. Other than that, it does get the job done, has the usual microphone, call key, play/pause key, forward and rewind key for controlling music and the 3.5mm jack for connecting the included earphones or your own. The remote itself, of course, also connects via a 3.5mm jack to the phone, so you can ditch it altogether if you want and plug any pair of headphones directly into the phone. This way, though, you&#39;ll have to use the phone&#39;s built-in microphone to speak into if someone calls while you&#39;re listening to music. Both options have their fans and haters, so it&#39;s up to you.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Earphones seem to be of the same quality as those that came with past Nokia devices. Read:use your own if you&#39;re an audiophile.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>cleaning cloth</b></div><div><br /></div><div> A nice addition, as the N97&#39;s screen does get greasy real fast.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>manual and CD</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I don&#39;t know. I haven&#39;t opened the manual yet or done anything with the CD. The manual is grey, and, as I said before, the CD is bright red.</div> <div><br /></div><div><b>the &quot;stylus&quot;</b></div><div><br /></div><div>It looks like a very, very small thumb drive. It&#39;s so useless because of its size that I can only think that Nokia added it to the package just to prove a point: that you won&#39;t be needing it. I have very big fingers, and I can browse through the UI with absolutely no trouble at all without a stylus. So that&#39;s that then.</div> <div><br /></div><div><b>the Nokia N97 &#39;mobile computer&#39;</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Nokia likes to call it that. The top &#39;half&#39; looks very, very good in my opinion. Classy. Sadly, I can feel a difference in quality of craftsmanship when thinking about the bottom &#39;half&#39;, that which houses the keyboard, and the back plate of the phone. At least judging by the white model I have for review, the plastic doesn&#39;t seem cheap, but it isn&#39;t the most expensive either. And there&#39;s, in my mind, quite the contrast between the perfect top half and the plasticky-feeling bottom half.</div> <div><br /></div><div>And then there&#39;s the matter of the battery cover. This is actually the whole back part of the device, it all comes off, and is held in place by a rather strange mechanism. There&#39;s no lock slider or any button to push so you can take it out. You just pull from a designated area towards the bottom of the back. And to put it back on? You just push it against the phone, starting with the top part all the way down.</div> <div><br /></div><div>And it doesn&#39;t feel right. It doesn&#39;t feel right for such an expensive device, and the back cover creaks. A lot. Like crazy. Like, unbearable for this price point. Seriously. It might be just this particular device, I know I hope it&#39;s a limited issue.</div> <div><br /></div><div>The camera button is very good, and so is the volume rocker (which is now different than past ones, in that the &#39;volume up&#39; part is slightly raised compared to the &#39;volume down&#39; - perfect for using it without always being careful about which part you press).</div> <div><br /></div><div>There&#39;s a completely useless (in my opinion) white charging light next to the microUSB connector, which, you guessed it, lights up while charging (I have to stress yet again that I haven&#39;t seen such long charging times in a great while). What this does, the &#39;breathing&#39; light next to the menu key could have done with ease. Anyway, moving on.</div> <div><br /></div><div>The fact that the green and red keys are touch-sensitive is a very nice touch. Completely ruined by the fact that the menu key is actually a key, has a very strange orientation (that looks nice, though) and is rather stiff.</div> <div><br /></div><div>But at least it&#39;s not as hard to press as the power button. In what is becoming a trend with the latest Nseries devices, this button is 3 times smaller than it should be, is very stiff and has almost zero feedback. So good luck using it.</div> <div><br /></div><div>It helps, however, that you can quickly change profiles by touching the active profile in the standby screen, but this I will discuss further, along with other UI aspects, in my N97 review.</div><div> <br /> </div><div>The camera shutter works flawlessly and feels sturdy. The mechanism of the slide-out keyboard is probably the sturdiest I&#39;ve ever seen, but it&#39;s huge. Which makes the keyboard small. Which makes the keys themselves small. Which perhaps would not have been a problem if they weren&#39;t also flat, and with very limited feedback. I don&#39;t think that the keyboard is useless as others do, but it definitely could have been better. It does work for an SMS, quick email or status update. Writing a blog post on it, however, seems more trouble than it should. To me, at least.</div> <div><br /></div><div>The d-pad is ok, but the center key is a little bit too big, especially compared to the directional keys surrounding it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The key lock/screen lock slider is perfectly placed, I&#39;d say. And it always worked flawlessly (other people have had quite a number of issues with it, I haven&#39;t had one).</div> <div><br /></div><div>The screen is the best resistive touchscreen I&#39;ve ever used. Now granted, I haven&#39;t used a lot of them, but its responsiveness compared to that of a, say, HTC Touch Diamond is mind-blowing. Sure, there are a lot of capacitive-lovers out there, but if you are objective about it, this screen is very usable. Other than that, personal preference is all that&#39;s left in loving one technology or the other. There are pros and cons for each, but since multi-touch is not implemented in S60 5th edition (yet?), most of the pros for capacitive sorta fade away.</div> <div><br /></div><div>And, again, this screen is incredibly responsive.</div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, I&#39;ve been using it with the screen protector that came with the phone. Thought not to take it off because I might scratch the screen. Therefore, I&#39;ve yet to test its scratch-resistance, however the screen protector does show a disturbing number of scratch-lines on it. I hope the screen would be able to take that better.</div> <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Now if you&#39;re still reading at this point, what&#39;s wrong with you? :D</div><div>Seriously speaking though, this was part-<i>text unboxing</i> and part-<i>hardware review</i>. So in my upcoming review I&#39;ll focus more on the software than the hardware.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Thank me for bringing you an exclusive world-first.</div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/exclusive-the-worlds-first-nokia-n97-text-unb">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/exclusive-the-worlds-first-nokia-n97-text-unb#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FCCAdxYMMnI:VOvt-88f68c:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:09:00 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-loosing-its-grip-more-like-people-are-g http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-loosing-its-grip-more-like-people-are-g <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_short_quote">For the first time in well over a year I have to admit Nokia are starting to become boring with their same devices repackaged and using the same OS over and over again, especially when other manufacturers are doing such a good job at getting things right.</blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.worldofnokia.co.uk/2009/07/nokia-loosing-its-grip/">worldofnokia.co.uk</a></div> <p>Funny this piece over at World of Nokia. "Same devices repackaged"? Nokia? Sure. But then, among those other "manufacturers getting things right" you list Sony Ericsson. Big LOL there. If Sony Ericsson haven't been selling what are basically the same two hardware platforms (with added or removed bits and pieces here and there) infinitely repackaged in different form factors out of desperately trying to, well, differentiate, for the past couple of years, who has? Oh, yes. Motorola before them. Glad to see Moto isn't also an example of doing things right.</p> <p>But what this post proves to me most of all is that people are just bored. Too bored. And on a very tight blog posting schedule.</p> <p>I mean, sorry, but the only real advantage to other offerings that you point out is how pretty the UI is. I will not argue against that, because you do so yourself when mentioning Samsung's and Sony Ericsson's Symbian-based phones. Um, what? The same Symbian that is boring in Nokia is not in Samsung and Sony Ericsson? Why, because they have different widgets? That's all the difference there is at this point. Oh, and different pre-installed themes. And one or two effects. That's it.</p> <p>I'm not saying that manufacturers won't differentiate more based on Symbian (though I certainly hope it won't all end up as 35 completely different UIs for the same OS, that would be a complete mess, and Android is slowly but surely heading that way thanks to Google's desire to please everyone so that Android has a better chance of becoming relevant), but right now, that's all.</p> <p>I hope everyone will agree that looks, aka perceived beauty, is a really subjective thing. You don't like the way Symbian looks? Fine. But see, buying a BlackBerry just reinforces my point about subjectivity.</p> <p>I don't think S60 (3rd or 5th Edition) is ugly. I think it may be in need of more transitions and 'cool' (3D?) effects, but that's it. And then again, I'd probably turn those off. But I don't think it's ugly. As a matter of fact, the UI is different for me each day. Because I discovered Themes.</p> <p>Bored? Change your theme and write about features, apps, getting things done, whatever. Not prettiness. Please.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Note: As for the repackaging of devices, that's very true of Nokia to some extent. I intend to write a post about this. When the blogosphere will (if ever) get past how pretty the UIs are.</em></p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-loosing-its-grip-more-like-people-are-g">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-loosing-its-grip-more-like-people-are-g#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=dWWnwQjklAA:VnZ3GW_KLnI:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:16:45 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/video-focus-and-user-focus http://symbianontheline.com/video-focus-and-user-focus <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_short_quote">With the advances in microelectronics, I fully expect to see a camera phone with continual autofocus in video mode at some stage. The problems of wear and tear and noise will be solved and then this whole feature will be moot - you'll simply point and shoot your phone and it'll focus on whatever's in the centre of the viewfinder. [And then some arty people will complain that they want to focus on something else in the frame, so manufacturers will have to put in a toggle to switch the continuous autofocus off again! - sigh.....]</blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/Camera_Nitty_Gritty-Extra_Video_focus.php">allaboutsymbian.com</a></div> <p>I just absolutely had to highlight this. Hilarious because I believe it's true. People always want something to work differently than it does. What this demonstrates, though, is that people are for choice, whether they know it or not. And this I can stand by. Yes, give 'em as many choices as possible. That's the way to do it. Sure, 99.99% of people won't care or even be aware of said choice, but then the other 0.01% would stop whining. Major win. </p><p>Back to the point, if you click the link you'll find that Steve Litchfield continues his Camera Nitty Gritty series with a post on video focussing options pros and cons. </p><p>One thing I've got to add to his post from (solely) my experience with the N95-1's video capture. </p><p>I get lighting problems. As in, if it's very sunny and I capture something that is not the horizon, but not very close either (something located at 5-10 metres, usually), I assume that because of too much light (?) coming into the lens, it darkens the video a bit. Which is absolutely cool (leaving it at the actual brightness I experience in real life will make it close to useless) until I move the camera to try and capture something closer, like 1 metre away. What happens is that you can barely see anything on the video at this point, because it is still as dark as it was when it had to deal with too much light. </p><p>Now the only way to fix this is force it to capture something about 40-50 centimetres close (bordering on macro?), which makes it 'light up' the video again. </p><p>Strange and very, very annoying. I don't know whether or not this has anything to do with the video focussing option used. And I apologize if I wasn't too good at accurately describing what happens. I'm not a 'camera freak', I don't know the (correct) terms.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/video-focus-and-user-focus">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/video-focus-and-user-focus#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=jH_q_rOmsCo:5n8xcJK0tQ4:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:51:38 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/rhomobiles-rhodes-write-in-html-once-get-nati http://symbianontheline.com/rhomobiles-rhodes-write-in-html-once-get-nati <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><strong>Rhodes Features:<br /> </strong><br /> - Allows developers to write apps in HTML and simultaneously build as native apps for all smartphones<br /> - Supports <a href="#" class="iAs" style="font-weight: normal !important; font-size: 100% !important; text-decoration: none !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(43, 101, 176) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 0.2em !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; color: rgb(43, 101, 176) !important; background-color: transparent !important;" target="_blank">iPhone<img name="itxt-icon-0" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/mag-glass_10x10.gif" style="height: 10px; width: 10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-color: initial;" /></a>, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian and Android<br /> - Makes developers five times more productive for even a single smartphone OS<br /> - Support for Push Synchronized Data on iPhone and BlackBerry<br /> - Full access to device capabilities: GPS, PIM contacts, camera<br /> - Allows users to work with synced local data for rapid access and ease of operation when disconnected or offline</blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.intomobile.com/2009/07/14/rhomobile-launching-rhodes-12-with-support-for-push-data.html">intomobile.com</a></div> <p>So, where are those developers at?</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/rhomobiles-rhodes-write-in-html-once-get-nati">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/rhomobiles-rhodes-write-in-html-once-get-nati#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=JBTtU-qHBxE:IvCHcDQ1nrk:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:01:16 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/ericsson-sets-up-randd-office-in-south-korea http://symbianontheline.com/ericsson-sets-up-randd-office-in-south-korea <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><p>The Swedish company said it will spend the money over the next five years and use it to set up a research and development facility there that will help develop LTE. While LTE has early support from carriers such as Verizon Wireless (<a href="http://finance.paidcontent.org/paidcontent?Page=QUOTE&amp;Ticker=VZ" class="ticker" title="VZ">NYSE: VZ</a>) and Vodafone (<a href="http://finance.paidcontent.org/paidcontent?Page=QUOTE&amp;Ticker=VOD" class="ticker" title="VOD">NYSE: VOD</a>), South Korean operators were early to roll out 4G networks based on WiBro, which a flavor of WiMax. </p> <p>Ericsson’s moves today will only increase the debate on whether WiMax, which is mainly supported by Clearwire (<a href="http://finance.paidcontent.org/paidcontent?Page=QUOTE&amp;Ticker=CLWR" class="ticker" title="CLWR">NSDQ: CLWR</a>) in the U.S., or LTE will be the dominant mobile broadband standard going forward.</p></blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://moconews.net/article/419-ericsson-sets-up-pricey-rd-office-in-south-korea-to-invest-in-competing/">moconews.net</a></div> <p>Interesting that they've chosen the land of WiBro for their R&D location. Other than that, Ericsson always was one of the biggest backers of LTE, so they're just pursuing their strategy. </p><p>I really really hope that day which they (among many others) envision comes. A day when there will be only one standard across the globe. </p><p>We'll have the microUSB charger, I can bet. Next, the network standard should be. And after that, let's please all settle on the same electrical plug design and voltage, shall we? If it's a global village, why does each house have a different socket? </p><p>None of this is funny anymore.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/ericsson-sets-up-randd-office-in-south-korea">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/ericsson-sets-up-randd-office-in-south-korea#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=o1dct2da40A:y1kJUba4w4U:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:46:38 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-reinvents-digital-zoom-bringing-it-very http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-reinvents-digital-zoom-bringing-it-very <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_short_quote">Not just blocky - squint and it’s passable - video zoom, but honest-to-goodness full resolution zoom, giving results that are extremely close to a proper optical zoom, as last seen in the legendary N93.</blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://web.me.com/jamesburland/Nokia_Creative/Blog/Entries/2009/7/13_N86_Digital_Zoom__No_video_capture_innovation_for_3_years,_then_when_they_do,_they_tell_no_one%21.html">web.me.com</a></div> <p>What I've got to say about this, James Burland has already said. So click, read, and, most importantly, watch, a feature of the Nokia N86 (their new 'imaging flagship') that Nokia has not advertised, or even mentioned once. </p><p>Talk about advertising/marketing/PR fail. </p><p>Anyway, one more reason to consider the N86 if you're seriously into video recording on a mobile device.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-reinvents-digital-zoom-bringing-it-very">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-reinvents-digital-zoom-bringing-it-very#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=b0jR4O1Qxfo:dqT5uya0Oz8:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:20:00 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/facts-should-prevail http://symbianontheline.com/facts-should-prevail <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote">The iPhone 3GS is supremely loved by the&nbsp;(mostly US based) IT press and tech bloggers and sold a massive&nbsp;amount in the first days right after it was&nbsp;released. Sure. Its a great phone now, finally, in its third edition, after it fixed the massive faults we chronicled here at this blog even before the original 2G iPhone had launched. Yes, its a <strong><em>great phone, now in July 2009</em></strong>. But the mobile phone industry moves very fast. 3 megapixels may seem hot for most Americans, but Koreans have had 12 megapixel cameraphones for several years and they have already been brought to Europe. The most common camera resolution for new phone models last year in the UK was not 3 megapixels, it was 5 megapixels. Last year! So even the 3GS is starting to appear mediocre by its camera now, in Europe where they have far more advanced smartphones and where next year half of all phones sold will be smartphones according to the European Commission. The specs of&nbsp;a hot phone become very boring in six months and nearly&nbsp;obsolete in 12 months. Just compare the 3G iPhone and the iPhone 3GS.&nbsp;Big difference in just one year. And yes, nearly half of all smartphones sold in the world, are sold in Europe, far more than in the US, where smaretphones sell roughly&nbsp;on par with Asia. european also buy far more expensive smartphones on average than Americans.</blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2009/07/lets-have-some-realism-to-the-smartphone-hysteria-part-1-scale.html">communities-dominate.blogs.com</a></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ah, Tomi Ahonen. At times during my break from blogging I had the urge to write just one more post, just one more, so I can link to certain posts in certain blogs that are, in my opinion, must-reads. Tomi Ahonen's blog is one of those that should come pre-installed in RSS readers, if you click on "mobile". Or something like that.</p> <p>Consistently, throughout the years, he has provided much needed facts to slow dreamy US-based bloggers down in their sometimes lying claims. Ok, that's now, not in the past, but still, he always has a very good and refreshing European perspective. Or global perspective, since I guess he's in Hong Kong now. Anyway, this is a man whose world doesn't revolve around the Bay area, if you know what I mean. And can differentiate between fact and fiction.</p> <p>And so he brings us Part 1 in a series, <em>Let's have some realism to the smartphone hysteria</em>. Adequately titled, in my opinion. And, as always, a must-read. So go on and read it.</p> <p>I don't necessarily agree with all he says in this post For example, the fact that only few of the smartphones owners actually are aware that they have smartphones, while definitely true, is something that needs to change in my opinion, and not be used as an argument in such a manner - this will only fuel the iLovers to say "see, Symbian users are clueless and stupid, we are smart and cool", which is all well and nice, except this general cluelessness towards how smart your phone is is general, as actually demonstrated by Tomi in the last paragraph of his post, when referring to App stores.</p> <p>However, I feel good because I see people starting to wake up and smell the propaganda (let's not say lies this time). Not all may share my rather extreme opinion (as <a href="http://www.symbianontheline.com/fed-up-with-revolutions-revolutionary-and-rev">thoroughly documented here</a>), but apparently there are still others who appreciate facts as much as I do.</p> <p>The rest is all useless hype.</p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/facts-should-prevail">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/facts-should-prevail#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=mFWqjyW9mCM:FX7a2mv4anw:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:47:00 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/an-interesting-discussion-about-nokia-europe http://symbianontheline.com/an-interesting-discussion-about-nokia-europe <p> <p>This is a Friendfeed conversation started by Robert Scoble, partly in response to <a href="http://thereallymobileproject.com/2009/07/dear-robert-scoble-no-sorry/">this post on The Really Mobile Project</a> (which in itself was a response to <a href="http://scobleizer.com/2009/07/09/europe-no-longer-matters-to-lead-position-in-mobile/">this post on Robert's blog</a>). Yours truly chimed in a couple (or dozen?) times. All in all, I think it was very interesting, I did not see any mobs being instantly formed and I do believe in the end we can all agree to disagree while focusing on the subject at hand and not the persons involved.</p> <p>You're free to comment here, or (for this only!) do it on FriendFeed directly (just click Comment in the embedded thread below, right under Robert's initial post). Let's keep the discussion going.</p> <p><iframe src="http://friendfeed.com/scobleizer/c07c1c54/everytime-i-notice-market-shift-lots-of-people?embed=1" frameborder="0" height="600" width="450"></iframe></p> <p><em>Note: if you're reading this in an RSS reader and can't see the embedded conversation above, please click through to the site.</em></p> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/an-interesting-discussion-about-nokia-europe">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/an-interesting-discussion-about-nokia-europe#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=1sTv92uVWkk:Mgkajf451Do:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:13:46 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/welcome-two-exclusive-never-before-seen-thing http://symbianontheline.com/welcome-two-exclusive-never-before-seen-thing <p> Unboxings.<div><br /></div><div>Unboxing images (the more, the better, 100 seems to be too little these days), unboxing videos (the more you can, in painstaking detail, describe the texture of the tip of the charger, the better).</div> <div><br /></div><div>I never really got this phenomenon. And <a href="http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/media/item/AAS_Podcast_133_Nokia_N97_audio_unboxing-Insight_Special.php" target="_blank">I&#39;m not the only one, apparently</a>. </div> <div><br /></div><div>I remember the first unboxing video I ever watched. I was anxiously waiting for the &quot;device handling, turning on and showing software&quot; and all that. And wait I did. For a full 9 minutes of shooting the box from every conceivable angle. The same treatment then applied to every single item inside the box, <i>except</i> the phone itself. Which was handled for the whole of 10 seconds, and then turned on. At which point the video ended.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Wait. What?</div><div><br /></div><div>And the answer is I don&#39;t know. What, that is. Somehow this is the mother of all memes, at least video memes, in the geek world. It&#39;s a &quot;must do&quot;. </div> <div><br /></div><div>Ok, you&#39;re excited that your new toy (read:mobile computer) has arrived. I get that. Believe me, I do. But see, I&#39;m <i>too</i> excited. To do anything else than power it on right away and play with it. Whatever else was in the box, will stay in the box, until it needs its first charge. When I will take the charger from the box. But still leave everything else there untouched. Until I need to connect it to a computer first. When I&#39;ll take out the USB cable... you get the point, I&#39;m sure.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Now I&#39;m conflicted. See, when <a href="http://www.womworld.com/" target="_blank">WOM World</a> (an entire post dedicated to how awesome they are is coming very, very soon) said they&#39;d give me a Nokia N97 for trial, they asked I do an unboxing. Video, no less. And after reading my thoughts above, you see my problem.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Not to worry. I&#39;ve decided (and I hope they won&#39;t mind) to have not one, but <b>two</b>, <b>exclusive <i>world firsts</i></b> right here on this blog, to celebrate its start. They are: <b>a text unboxing</b>,<b> </b>and<b> a video re-boxing</b>. </div> <div><br /></div><div>I&#39;m pretty sure no one else has ever done this before, but if you have, do leave a comment and link, I&#39;ll edit the post and mention you, however I won&#39;t change the linkbaiting title(s). Oh, and such things done after I posted this don&#39;t count. You may have posted first, but I own the rights to the revolutionary concepts involved.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Re-vo-lu-tio-nary.</div><div><br /></div><div>This will change the world forever.</div><div><br /></div><div>I&#39;m off to a very good start, then. Just wait and see. And stick around. And maybe even come back. Or subscribe (the sidebar has all the details). I welcome you.</div> <div><br /></div><div>I&#39;m back, baby.</div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/welcome-two-exclusive-never-before-seen-thing">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/welcome-two-exclusive-never-before-seen-thing#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=d_WkFRZdcYs:xUpyCN7fif4:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:16:48 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-positioning-themselves-to-grab-the-low http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-positioning-themselves-to-grab-the-low <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><p>Players such as Nokia are developing invaluable content-driven services that will encourage first-time mobile users to keep on using their devices and improving their standards of living,” Junipe said.</p> <p>According to the Low-Cost Handsets Report author Andrew Kitson, “With around 80 percent of new mobile users set to come from emerging markets over the next six years, it is essential that operators and vendors work together to dilute the price barriers associated with mobile technology and to provide ongoing support through the development of specific social and personal services, such as Nokia’s Life Tools suite.</p></blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.nokiamobiletalk.com/2009/07/nokia-positioning-themselves-to-grab-the-low-cost-phone-market-around-the-world/">nokiamobiletalk.com</a></div> <p>Ya think? Not to offend anyone here, but this is clear to anyone who knows anything about the mobile industry. And sales. And Nokia. </p><p>By "this", I mean both that the low cost phones market will grow and grow and grow, and that Nokia is in the lead here. By far. </p><p>And I don't mean in the lead only by sales numbers. Sure, of those about 1.5 million phones they sell A DAY, one would guess that not all are Nseries or Eseries, right? </p><p>But. They know this. In a few years' time, more people will use a phone as their FIRST EVER device to connect to the internet with. <br />Which is exactly where stuff such as Nokia Life Tools (launched in and marketed specifically to the market in India for now - get it?) comes in. And I'm sure it's just a start. </p><p>People laugh too much at stuff such as Ovi Mail while they completely ignore the millions of people whose first email address EVER will be @ovi.com. </p><p>So yeah, surprise. The fastest growing part of the mobile industry is not the iPhone. Who'd have thought? </p><p>Not Robert Scoble.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-positioning-themselves-to-grab-the-low">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/nokia-positioning-themselves-to-grab-the-low#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=Zqux52jTYGI:AvAJyOtLioo:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:06:00 -0700 http://symbianontheline.com/one-year-later-2 http://symbianontheline.com/one-year-later-2 <p> <p>Hi. I'm Vlad.&nbsp;</p> <div><br /></div> <div>Again. Or rather, Still.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>I used to have this little bloggy thing, which I started on February 11th, 2008, right when the Mobile World Congress kicked off.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>This little bloggy thing that I mentioned was at first called Ssixty dot info. Ssixty, S60... I still wonder if anyone got that. Or how I'd have to struggle to spell it out loud.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>Which made me buy a dot com domain (see, I learn!). That made my blog's name change to S60 Online Blog*.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>From the beginning it was a blog about Symbian (and specifically the S60 UI implementation of the Symbian OS). News, thoughts and reviews I said. And it had a little bit of all of those.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>113 posts later, in July of that same year (it really does feel like a decade ago), I gave up. And let it slowly die.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>I gave up because, as the gurus, experts, strategists and/or consultants may tell you, I failed to establish a niche of my own.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>See, when I started, there were maybe 30 others doing what I was doing. Hobby-blogs, let's call 'em that, although probably all of 'em hobby-bloggers have surely thought of making a living outta blogging more than once. But back to the point. By July, that number grew to probably about 100.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>And so, the echo-chamber was created. The infamous echo-chamber, which had started to plague the so-called 'tech' blogosphere, came to the Symbian-related blogosphere too. Because it likes to travel, I guess.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>As such, my news, thoughts and reviews, well... they were mostly focused on stuff other people also wrote about. I'll take them one by one.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>News.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>You can only directly report news if you're there when news is made. Otherwise, you're just living off of someone else being there. And in the news world, being first (and accurate in that) is most important. There is one small exception to this, in case of events such as the Mobile World Congress. If you're subscribed to enough PR feeds, you might post something first even if you're not there (because generally the people who are there are busy with something else). But that's it.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>'Big' blogs, in any part of the market, such as mobile- or Symbian-related, have resources. Its kind of a circle. If you're big enough, you have the resources to be where the news is at any time. But you have to have those resources, and report on news directly in order to become big. In the news world this is most prevalent. And before you say Engadget is big and they just link to other blogs, just analyze how many reviews they did this year compared to last year. I'll tell you. A lot more. Sure, their linked-to-somewhere-else posts still prevail, but the change is obvious. Plus, they do have an entrance into any event related to what they report.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>And I got tired of posting about firmware updates. Seriously, this is one of the main reasons I quit. Because I really didn't know what to do about such events. I wanted to report on them, because I still hope that one day every smartphone owner in this world will be 1.aware that he/she is in possession of a smartphone and what it can do and 2.aware of firmware updates and updating his/her firmware on every occasion.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>But at the same time, posting about a new firmware update seemed useless. 100 other blogs posted that same thing within that hour. And you can't really say anything different than what everyone else is saying. Because there's no other data to go by. You all know the exact same thing and post the exact same thing. And without copy&amp;pasting, the result always is 100 posts that are 99% the same. Funny.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>Reviews.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>First off, I'm not one of those guys inclined to do 15000 word reviews. Of anything. There are a few blogs and sites that focus on that, and they do it well. And while reading a review for the first time is very interesting if you're interested in the product being reviewed, by the third one you read you already skip all the "button placement" parts. Because, again, those are all the same. Same data.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>I did more software reviews than hardware. Because if I found an app that I enjoyed, I wanted to write about it. And sometimes did so before the 'big guys' (read:Symbian-focused blogs with the most traffic) did. I (and many others) knew that apps were the deciding selling point for a smartphone way before Apple or your average normob did.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>However, choosing (because at some point I understood that it would be valuable to readers), for example, to post screenshots of every individual screen or setting you might encounter in an app made writing one review take hours. Which, honestly, I did not enjoy.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>See, blogging is not easy. I don't mean the ideas you have, or the content. I mean the act of blogging. Of inserting images, videos. Spacing. Bolding or italicizing text to make it more readable. Linking to previous posts of yours as much as you can (thanksalot, Google). Linking to sources and other blogs covering the same thing. And let me not even try to go into getting pictures and video for the review off the phone and to the computer, and such.&nbsp;All of these are activities that are not necessarily in a direct relation with the content you wish to produce, but nevertheless things that "have to be done". Things that always took me at least 3x the time the writing itself did.&nbsp;</div> <div><br /></div> <div>This is not good. All the blogging platforms and clients are anything but intuitive. All were designed in an age when "blog" was a word maybe 500 people knew. This has to change, but sadly, to this day, it hasn't.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>There were times when I just wanted to share an app. But the thought of having to "blog" for 5 hours to do that made me not post anything after all.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>Thoughts.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>I'm a very opinionated person. And a very rational person. I don't love companies or brands. Or hardware, or software. I don't hate any of those either. (And frankly, I also don't hate anyone. Never have, never will).</div> <div><br /></div> <div>I have not been too blunt in stating my opinions on my little bloggy thing (a couple of exceptions to this, but that's it). Because of my Bachelor's in Journalism, I presume. Always striving for the objectivity they teach us. Which of course, is in itself a mere fantasy, but I digress. Irony was my main method of asserting an opinion.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>And this will probably remain the same.&nbsp;</div> <div><br /></div> <div>The truth is, I felt that it felt empty without me.&nbsp;So I shall blog once more (actually thrice, as you can see from the sidebar).</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>This is my new blog.&nbsp;</div> <div><br /></div> <div>This blog will focus more on thoughts and opinions. Of Symbian-related things, but not only. After all, competing OS platforms, are, in a way, also 'related' to Symbian, as they exist on the same market, so there might be a post covering them from time to time. Competition is always good, and I will embrace it.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>Because Posterous' bookmarklet makes it very easy, I may from time to time quote other bloggers' opinions/takes on something, and add my own comments. Hell, I might even write a couple of thousand words now and then, but only for something I believe so strongly (in) that I feel it's worth it.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>There will be news. News that hasn't been reported 100 times before. Or has, but then I'll report if I have a different angle or take on it.&nbsp;</div> <div><br /></div> <div>There might be reviews. But probably not thousand-word reviews. If microblogging should have taught us anything, that's to be as concise as possible. So less screenshots, less words, which means you'll get to actually try the app/phone being reviewed faster, since you won't have to read that much. Yeah, really.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>For this, I'm hoping you'll trust me. Trust that when I recommend an app, you will do just that. I'll give you reasons for why you would do that, but I won't give you a descriptive opinion on every letter in the app's UI. I will give you reasons why I think you should buy a phone, but won't go into details such as the d-pad positioning unless that has a negative effect on user experience.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>I will try to make every post easy to read. But not necessarily by bolding, italicizing, underlining or indenting. Mostly by the manner I'll write in. I guess we'll see if this will work or not, but I thought I'd give you a fair warning. Also, all titles will be lowercase. All words will be lowercase in the titles, except for brand names and proper names. I don't know why, but this looks best to me. <em>(Later edit: Especially in contrast with the all caps title, wouldn't you say?)</em> A forced departure from the newspaper headline model that almost all of us used to go by, if you wish.</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>It's not S60 Online anymore, it's now Symbian on the line*.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>Rather appropriate, I'd say. S60 will be no more, so the brand had to be changed. Also, now more than ever, Symbian seems to be on the line. It's still the No.1 smartphone operating system by a healthy margin, but, in a disturbing similarity to Internet Explorer's, that's shrinking. Quarter after quarter.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>Why do I care about Symbian, you ask? Because in my humble opinion, it is the most advanced mobile operating system on the planet. And even if they leave the codebase untouched today, that will still be true for at least 2-3 years.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>However, it's under attack from the UI prettiness of other platforms. What they lack in substance, underlying capabilities and features they make up in UI and UX. So will Symbian step away from the line and rise again (so that I'll have to change my blog's name and domain yet again)? Will it become as pretty as it is mature and functional?</div> <div><br /></div> <div>Interesting times are ahead, and I want to actively be here as we live, experience and enjoy them.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>-----</div> <div><br /></div> <div>And now, some administrative (for lack of a better word) stuff.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>I imported my old blog here, all the posts are available.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>But, all the internal links are broken right now. I will fix this, although it will take some time.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>All external links pointing to any of my previous domains are and will permanently be broken.&nbsp;</div> <div><br /></div> <div>Furthermore, as I was an idiot and did not renew any of my older domains when I should have, they now belong to link-farming people. This is why I did not link to any of those domains, and won't ever.&nbsp;</div> <div><br /></div> <div>To those of you who have, at some point, linked to my posts, I have this to say: I'm really really sorry. I know asking you to change the links to the current ones is too much, so I won't. I just want you to know that this domain will be renewed, even if it's the last thing I do (it's actually on a self-renewing plan, so domain squatters please go somewhere else for your make money with google links).</div> <div><br /></div> <div> <div>-----</div> <div><br /></div> <div>For more information on why I chose Posterous for my blogs, please read <a href="http://http302.info/why-posterous-9">the post on my personal blog</a>.</div> <div><br /></div> <div>-----</div> <div>footnote:</div> <div><strong><br /></strong></div> <div><strong>*</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;Ssixty dot info -&gt; S60 Online -&gt; Symbian on the line. My blog is starting to look like a Nokia service or application with all these name changes. I'm aware of that. If it will ever become Ovi something, I'll let you know.</div> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://symbianontheline.com/one-year-later-2">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://symbianontheline.com/one-year-later-2#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:Jwdi1b3fU3Q"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Jwdi1b3fU3Q" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:DN0H40_Ym5U"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=DN0H40_Ym5U" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:I9og5sOYxJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=I9og5sOYxJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:V-t1I-SPZMU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=V-t1I-SPZMU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:qZ7jBH1wJJ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=qZ7jBH1wJJ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:Zr-ilWsoaZ8"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=Zr-ilWsoaZ8" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:stS7rrhhblI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?i=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:stS7rrhhblI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?a=FFcno9Rvsww:NUwQjEoH6jw:lDq76RMptA4"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ssixty?d=lDq76RMptA4" border="0"></img></a> </div> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/86209/vbntry3.png http://posterous.com/people/1beqkxboUVj Vlad Bobleanta Vlad Vlad Bobleanta