Dean Pattrick Head of Nokia Entertainment showing off some of the Mix Radio features (And yes that is a Badass Guns&Roses T-shirt)

Now that MWC is over (unfortunately) I had a chance to organize all the Q&A sessions we had with all the awesome Nokia guys; we had four in total, one with Damien Dinning about the 808 and it’s camera which I posted seperately, here we have 3 more Q&As about the Luima design, Nokia Maps/Transport and Nokia Entertainment.

Once again I’ve listed the points in Bulletins for quick reading and because I can’t remember all the questions

Just want to mention that all the Nokia people were AMAZINGLY nice and really comfortable to be around; Dean Pattrick spent the first 15 minutes telling us ‘war stories’ that sounded alot like something else and Jason Gregory the man responsible for the N9 and the Lumia 800/900 spent about an hour in a bean bag chair having a causal chat with me.

Anyways off to it, hope you find this useful (Unfortunately I lost the notebook I had written these notes in so I’m going off of memory here)

“Since Nokia Are now the largest provider of Windows phone (largest share of the pie) our greatest focus will be on Increasing the size of the pie” (~~ focus on helping WP grow rather than competing for the current WP market share)

Mix Radio is a free, internet streaming music proposition with no subscription or accounts needed. Just out of the box and listen to great music.

Lumia/WP

• The 800 was not being planned or designed before Feb 11^th  (meaning that there was no previous indication of a Nokia WP)
• As far as is known to us there was never an Android Nokia even for testing/Experimental purposes
• The Design of the 800/900 admittedly inspired by the N9 have been greeted with huge success, and as such expect to see upcoming phones continue to have this same design (they call it the Fabuli design apparently that’s how the designer described it at first)
• Having a technology such as pureview is an amazing thing and it would be ridiculously insane not to capitalize on it with our main ecosystem (WP)– (Probably once they’ve found a way to utilize the pureview tech with a smaller sensor)
• Possible memory expansion in upcoming devices
• The Lumia 610 is running on 256MB of Ram making it the first ‘fragmented’ Windows phone

• Q: Since fragmentation has begun on Windows phone what’s to stop other manufacturers from making low-end phones that ruin the windows phone experience that so far has prided itself on being smooth on all devices
  A:  Windows has set forth a strict set of guidelines for the minimum amount of specs required for a device to be approved to run any version of WP – as of now this benchmark has been set by the 610, and for the time being don’t expect any device to launch with less specs.

• Q: When are we going to see the fruit of the Nokia Exclusive customization of WP (I basically asked if we could have WP with swipe)
  A: As of now we have no plans to do any serious visible customizations as that would give Nokia an unfair advantage over other OEMs that produce Windows phones which could lead to alienating them and making them switch back to android (Back to focusing on increasing the Size of the Pie itself and not Nokias share of the pie right now)

• The main selling point of the Lumia 610 is it’s design and not it’s price, as we didn’t not compromise the integrity/design of the device to fit a price range.
• Nokia has no plans of releasing a Tablet as of now as first of all we are still focusing on Re-entering  the US Mobile market and do not want to get distracted, as well as that as of now there is no way for Nokia to stand out and offer a proper tablet experience amongst the slew of other tablets available (In other words when we do a table we plan on doing it right)
• Internet tethering will Be available on the Lumia 900 upon launch however for previously launched Lumias (710&800) this feature will be pushed out with the next WINDOWS/Microsoft update (Will not be a separate update)
• The date of the tethering update is not for us to announce, as it is Microsoft responsibility to push out this update
• The Lumia 900 does not have a curved screen because it would lead to at least an increase in .5-1 mm of width as well as making the phone more likely to fracture (it’s difficult to make a screen that large curve without weakening the glass or having to add extra layers to reinforce it
• The white Lumia 800s are available for purchase in stores as of this week

Maps:

• Transportation and offline maps services will be available to the current and upcoming range of Lumia devices in a separate app update whiten the upcoming weeks (no need to wait for a Microsoft Software update)
• transportation with estimated times of arrival and recommended departure times will be provided to all locations that have supplied Nokia with their timetable schedules/infrastructure
• Nokia maps will replace Bing maps as the default map service on Windows phone, as well as several other OSes (RIM?)
• Voice guidance and turn by turn navigation have been added to the browser-based maps service on Android & iOS (Coded in HTML 5)
• Maps on Android/iOS are cached in the browser to save on data charges (voice guidance can be downloaded as a separate package)
• The Weather widget which was removed from Symbian will be released later (recently launched in the Beta labs)
• Nokia Pulse (location-based private Social network) will get dedicated clients on Android and iOS rather than web-based accounts
• Sharing your updates on FB/Twitter from Pulse was purposely left out to keep things more private
• Offline nav on the Lumia range was not introduced upon release due to the limited time they had before first shipments
• “Car Mode” will soon be introduced to the Lumia range as well

So my trial device Lumia 800 is finally here! Already in love, I’m currently looking for countries where Nokia can’t extradite me back to Finland for ‘Product Theft’. Now once I got the 800 I realized that I didn’t have a tripod for my N8-00 to film the unboxing/review with, and that’s when my ingeniousness kicked in (sometimes I surprise myself).

Using just 2 binder clips you can make your own home-made tripod that has adjustable angles (moving the Clips- or as I call them Quadpod Legs). If you’re worried about scratching your N8 (even-though that shouldn’t be an issue considering the adonized aluminum) you can put some tape or tissue paper, or gauze around the ends of the binder clip… be creative!

Do you have any other tricks? let us know!

*Best way to avoid scratching your casing is just to put some electrical tape on the edge of the clips (the thick Black/Blue tape) it’ll smoothen it and make it gripper! Happy Filming

Of all the Nokia phones I’ve owned the sturdy 2100 is the clear winner, that thing was a beast; not only was it impossible to break but one night I forgot it outside on the balcony in the pouring rain and all the buttons stopped working (of course I was too afraid to tell my dad), so I simply popped off the covers and put it on top of  the radiator over night… Next day it was as good as new.

Now of course as technology has advanced screens have grown in size, phones have become slimmer and a million new pieces of gadgetry have been crammed in… All the more things to go wrong. What truly surprises me is that not a lot does go wrong when it comes to modern Nokias, sure the body work gets messed up (will get to that later) but the main components of the phone seem to keep on truckin’.

I’m the last person in the world to whom the words ‘gentle’ or ‘careful’ can be applied, especially when it comes to emptying my pockets after a 6 hour lab, I’ve literally thrown my phones across the room; now alot of people do that but the difference is that with a Nokia you don’t run after it to make sure it’s alright, you either wait for it to bounce back to you or you pick it up in the morning on your way out. There is no need for excessive care that takes out the delights of what a phone should be, which in my opinion is ‘to make your life easier’; not to have you constantly worrying about what’s going to happen. With Nokias what’s going to happen to the phone in your pocket is an after-thought (if at all) rather than dictating your actions for fear of it’s safety.

The Body:

So we’ve established that dropping your phone probably won’t mess up your camera, or ruin your speaker; but what about the casing of modern Nokia phones? My past 3 Nokia phones have all faired nicely against the everyday test (which is basically living with me) but interestingly each one of them had it’s own critical design flaw. (starting in reverse order)

• N73- Amazing build overall (even-though it was just plastic) but the main problem was the joystick key in the middle, which would start to get screwy after a couple of months (not just in mine, more than 5 friends had the same problem).
• X5800- Sadly possibly one of the lesser quality Nokia phones as the plastic casing material felt ridiculously cheap, and  the Slider/Housing for the stylus was horrible; after just 3 days the stylus started falling out on its own. Plus the pins that kept the batter casing in place were also extremely flimsy.
• N8-00- (I don’t know why I bother with the ‘-00′ even though the N8 successor obviously isn’t going to be ‘-01′ ,but not the point right now) The casing on the N8 is a work of beauty, the Adonized Aluminum is truly a stroke of genius it absorbs more hits and damage than anything you could imagine, sadly the N8′s fatal flaw: the black plastic casing on the end-caps. I know the normal end-caps are there for increased reception-which is fine, sure they get a bit scratched but that’s only normal; however the black casing on both ends is just some REALLY thin and fragile, I mean this stuff just falls right off (I lost the part around the headphone jack when it fell from my pocket at the gym onto a carpeted floor- less than 2 feet! And I just noticed the part around the power button – FAIL). Also notice the hairline crack on the mini-HDMI port, if you head over to the Nokia forums you’ll see that loads of people (myself included) had that crack after just opening the port once. Another major problem I’m facing with the design of the N8 is the micro-USB port which doesn’t connect to my PC/Charger unless it’s set JUST right, meaning even the tiniest wiggle will cause it to disconnect; which of course makes it extremely difficult so synch or charge (not sure if this is only me or if it’s a common problem.)

Well that’s my take on Nokias build quality, let us know what you think about your recent Nokia devices, how do they stand everyday usage? do they have a “crucial Design Flaw”? What’s your all time ‘Best-Design Nokia”? (feel free to post links to photos of your phones, or even just tell us about a crazy Nokia survival story)

Side Note 1: I’m particularly interested in people with the E7, how’s that Hinge on the keyboard holding up?

Side Note 2: Regardless of all the N8s flaws I’m still hopelessly in love with it as a design (I think the camera bump on the back just gives it extra character)

Apologies for any inconvenience. I’ll list the problems later when the site is back up. Fingers crossed.

btw emails to @mynokiablog.com are also unavailable so unfortunately we can’t receive or reply to any of our mails.

UPDATE:

• Posts are slowly being uploaded.
• Videos aren’t showing up on majority of posts due to break in code.
• Theme will be changed soon
• Sidebars will be updated
• Plugins will be installed last.

Bluetooth 3.0 is expected to have up to 480Mbit/s transfer rates and with Generic Alternate MAC/PHY (AMP) may allow for WiFi over Bluetooth.

I transfer all my phone media to my computer via Bluetooth. Just select my laptop and send. Only ever waiting a few minutes, at times it does get annoying when I have to wait a while when I’ve got large video files.

But the whole no wires and minimal clicks to send is just so appealing.

How much more convenient when we have such huge transfer speeds? Not just for sending files to computers but sending files to other BT 3.0 phones.

But would I have to be more weary about always leaving my BT on? There’s been scares before with people trying to hack/send viruses or steal information via bluetooth. How much more worrying is it that someone could just swipe GBS of personal information and media in seconds!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/162920/confirmed_bluetooth_30_coming_april_21.html

Here’s a little preview of the upcoming Click report on the BBC News Channel, “Testing times for mobile phones“.

Nokia has opened its test centre doors to TV cameras so we can catch a glimpse at how they test out their devices before sending it out to us.

I’m curious to see exactly what tests they do perform. The video clip from the BBC shows:

1. Charger in and out tests - some blokes thrusting the nokia charger in and out of the nokia phone
2. The Trouser test – the nokia phone is placed into what seems to be a sown hammok and swivelled about a centre axis. I don’t ever recall that ever happening in my trousers. They should do a test to see how it feels – if it causing any unsightly bulging. I hope they put keys and coins and other scratchy things with the phone.
3. Twist test – this is absolutely horrible. The phone is clamped at both poles and twisted. :’(



4. Smash test – can’t really tell if it’s being hit or just dropped very quickly
5. Squeeze test – with the phone horizontal and supported only at the top and bottom, force is applied to the centre  (notice the light turn on, it looks like this N79 is signalling its pain!)



6. Scratch test - the phones are dunk in churning green and yellow pellets.
7. Weather test – the phones seem to be tested in extreme temperatures and against water.
8. Tumble test – the phone is placed in what appears to be a mini fairground ride as it is spun about.

Watch the full report tomorrow on the BBC’s programme Click: 11.30BST, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April, BBC News Channel

The most reliable testing of all is unfortunately undertaken by the general consumer, by which time it’s too late for them, but not future consumers who end up with the “i” version or a black “music” version or both.

This brings me onto the subject of:

Nseries Build Rant

We know from the Vertu line up/8800 and co/recent E-series, that Nokia can produce handsets with remarkable build quality and design. So it is bewildering when we see less than desirable, ill-fitting, squeaky plastics take front seats on the material list for what’s meant to be the uberly precious N-series.

It has been particularly laughable at times, remember the N93′s amazing rubber doors for pop-port/memory card? (By heck loads of things were wrong with that phone design wise – as much as I love it)

Or what about the dire chrome peeling that happened to the N76? (Ironically survived being ridden over by a stretch Hummer but not the evil that is the sweat of your hand).

Not forgetting the slide issues with the N95 (experienced by a few, not me though) or it’s awful battery cover that just broke if you looked at it.

Nseries has been getting better, design and build quality wise. Much more refined than before but I do wish they’d consider using real metal/glass.  (instead of plastic brushed metal effects or fake chrome).  This way the N range of multimedia computers will look and feel as expensive as their actual price tags :p.

Carphonewarehouse (CPW) has Sony Ericsson’s Idou on their coming soon page for 2009. Whatever the Idou (I do? I do you? ee dow wu?) will actually be named, it puts it back into contention for possible phone purchases for 2009 (previously outwritten as it was expected for 2010). Like all of CPW’s coming soon line up, all their dates are subject to change; and with a rather vague 2009 instead of specific months, there’ll be a rather swift slap on ones face if one had waited so long only for it to turn up next year.

With that said, June is looming. June means prepare for a sudden £700 deficit in your bank balace as June means N97! With a price so steep  (at least as quoted early March on the possible price of the N97), it’s good to know alternatives and the “Idou” is definitely one of the three I’m considering (along with N97 and Omnia HD).

With most of the features beloved in the N97 demonstrated too in the Idou (Screen size, screen resolution, OS maybe) I’ve got to start nit-picking at what else is brought to the table. The Idou brings 12.1 MP with XENON flash.

If only the N97 had maintained the XENON flash that the N82 had, I would have no hesitation as to which of the three or in fact any other phone to choose. As a student, most of my pictures are taken in the vampiric hours in clubs and pubs and appreciate that all I ever need to bring is my phone if I ever felt the need to capture the alcohol inspired antics of my friends to share on facebook. Dual led flash exhibited by the N85 has proven a little adequate in this situation but literally pales in comparison to the N82. I don’t know yet how the N97 will fare as it has been shown that not all dual LED flashes are created equal (N85>N96). Hopefully much brighter than previous offerings, to not only make still photos more acceptable in low lighting, but provide sufficient intensity as to make the video light more useful than capturing video footage of things 5cm away.

But that’s just my personal opinion and speculations – 2mp with no flash or autofocus although feable is more than enough it seems for the iPhone crowd in flickr.

As it stands the N97 offers the fact that: it has a qwerty keyboard, huge on board memory, subjectively better aesthetics, and that it is indeed coming soon!

So roll on June! End of exams! Class trip to Alton Towers! Moving house(term-time one)! Summer Ball! And of course, the NOKIA N97!!

I’m just grinning from ear to ear as that’s exactly what mates from India have told me to expect, and it all appears 5 minutes into getting on the road.

Today’s my last day until the hand over tomo. I want to get those pics of the palace and the huge reclining bhudda up and then see what there’s to see in my final city before heading home.

Can’t believe it’s been two weeks already.

On the phone side, I’m using sports (not tracker) setting on the camera when on the move. Seems ok enough, especially since photos aren’t going to be published in full size. It helps kill the still relatively sluggish autofocus time that you’ll get in auto.

Yet again, we encounter another upload problem. It was uploading fine but I decided to cancel the upload just in case my signal would be interrupted (moving through buildings) and cause an error.

One “workout” later to the airport and an attempt at restarting upload gives me”cannot upload to service, invalid data”. 2 hours attempting at reuploading and no luck. Looks like my first 3 hours in Chennai will be spent in an internet cafe again.

Urgh, so very annoying!

So, I’m assuming that the Nseries Urabanista widgets will become personalised for each Sports Tracker user in the future, to put into blogs and online community profiles as this has and will for the urbanista people. I don’t really see the whole Sports Tracker community (on the site itself) taking off the way it is now. Too cumbersome to navigate, and way too slow, and that’s not even the uploading/editing of workouts portion.

Although slow, I’ve taken for granted that I’ve always got readily available internet connection so I can upload workouts and pictures whenever i’ve got signal. Back in the UK when I’ll be using my own sim, i’ll be limited to certain upload locations (ie open/legit wifi spots) as data rates are still so shockingly expensive.

That said, if the sportstracker guys can iron out the bugs and streamline the site and the widgets, I can see myself using it outside of the nseries urbanista project. Again, just to state, application in Beta, site in alpha stage, i.e. Thankfully nokia acknowledges that there’s a lot more work to go before both are set out into the public.

At the waiting lounge now for Chennai. Will be meeting miss Jen tomo, then to Wales, home on Sunday. Missing everyone, oh and broadband, and of course my laptop. Haha, sad.

What a super pleasant change, i was getting whoozy from the high temperature and but now the rain is timely cooling everything down. I’d put it down to just coincidence, but a little bit of me hopes its the birthstone i picked up yesterday that was apparently meant to be lucky.

The n82 i think suffered some heat stroke as it was being a pain in the ass, tripling the time it takes between pictures, and frequently producing the unknown camera error.

My only pair of shoes are outside in the rain. Nice.