MobileDan’s Weblog

3G in my opinion is the 3rd generation of GSM… you can read the history line here.

This is what is getting confusing by the consumer… IMO, CDMA is an outdated technology, AT&T bailed on it, and went the way of GSM, leaving USA, Some parts of Russia and parts of South America still trying to, as my analogy goes, dump money into making a model T keep up with a Ferrarri… When, in the long run, you could just buy a Ferrarri!

Sure, you have service in places GSM doesn’t, but that’s because the system has been around a lot longer!  GSM is catching up, and CDMA is still dumping money into that old technology…

Most phones come tri or quad band, 2 bands for North America and 2 bands for Europe.  this means that it should pick up 2 bands in it’s home country and at least 1 if not 2 bands in a roaming country. GSM for voice in the US (900 and 1800 mhz) and Europe (800, 1900 and 2100mhz) These are the main GSM bands, or 2G.  where the 3G comes in is this… the voice is 2G then AT&T in the US (for instance) went to what they call EDGE, otherwise known as 2.5G this lets you get data at faster speeds then the regular 2G network… But, the downfall to that was that voice trumps all, and when you’re downloading something, or reading something, the internet connection was severed and you got “packet data on hold.” kida like dial up on your PC… remember that?

3G lets you use the same bands in your country (900/1800 for the US and 800/1900/2100 for Europe) for voice, but also lets you use a data at the same time, over the same frequency… kinda like being able to watch Cable TV while you also use your cable modem… or… a better example, being able to use your DSL modem for internet while also using your phone…

When a European 3G phone is used in the US, it reverts to EDGE (voice trumps all, and you get “packet data on hold” and the same for a US phone used in Europe…  the problem is that in order for it to work all the time, everywhere,  all 5 2G bands AND at least 2 of the 3G bands (one for US one for Europe) the phone would be huge… So the choice is made to choose a phone for each market…

This is my brief synopsys of this, and I hope you’re still with me…

done typing on this for now… Let me know your thoughts…

It’s been a bit since my last post…

I’ve been slacking…

Sorry!

Ok, in a nutshell…  in about May I received a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music… I’ve already posted about that here, but in the following months (it’s all actually been a blur) I received a N79… it was pretty nice, but like i said in my last post, I cannot go back to buttons… Maybe I am broken?

It’s actually a shame, because I really wanted to like that phone, but have found that I am completely touch screen from here on out…

Unless the N86 can win me over…

Enter the N97!

I was asked to go with the Wom World / Nokia 24/7 tour with such bloggers as

Matthew Bennett

Jonny Bruha

George Kelly

Andrew Currie

What an experience!  the task was to pretty much go 24/7 using nothing BUT the N97, its GPS, the amazing 5mp Carl Zeiss optics camera, the comfortable slide out (or pop out whichever you prefer calling it) keyboard. 32GIG! of installed memory with the option to upgrade another 16 gig Micro SD card, the home screen with the widgets which made using the phone’s features that much easier because they were all accessable from the home screen… ie. the facebook app, the weather app, up to 8 contacts on shortcut, up to 8 apps on shortcut…  all around, I fell in love with the device…

But, what was more exciting than that…

I was tasked to be the ‘wrangler’ of the above mentioned bloggers, or “voices” as they put their devices through rough and tough trials!

For those readers who didn’t happen to follow the Nokia N97 24/7 campaign, we all met in LA, traveled to SF then off to Chicago and finally ending in NYC! They were tasked to push the device to it’s fullest, we used public transportation, hiked around town, and to most of the touristy places, seeing and doing as much as we could do… all said and done, the 5 of us generated about 20 Gigabites of content!

All in the course of 2 weeks…

We drove up the Pacific Highway and had amazing conversations, we attended BarCamps in all of the cities we visited. and discussed amongst other things, where we see the future of mobile technology (usually at the expense of me being called a mobile addict, always having my eyes on my phone… (i’ve gotten better about texting and surffing while I drive guys! Which is a serious safety concern throught the world, and really isn’t worth the risks taken!)  )

It was a great experience, and I look forward to many more!  Please take the time to visit the above bloggers’ websites as well as My new employer’s website, 1000heads / WomWorld/Nokia

That’s right!  Welcomed to the UK by 1000Heads, who run WomWorld/Nokia, I am the new Voices Executive for the US!

I am writing this post, from a bus (with Wi-Fi!) from Oxford UK to Heathrow Airport, returning from my 1 week of training here at both the Milton & London offices!

I am excited to see that there are going to be exciting changes and improvements in the US market for WOM World/ Nokia and that I can be a part of it!

Expect a lot of more postings regarding this, although I am wondering if I should post this to my personal site instead… and keep the format and information found on mobiledan as it was… (with more updates of course )

With that, I end this posting, but look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas!

Daniel Silvers

MobileDan

dandandan

So, when I decided to write my last post on emoze I had to break out the only phone I have for now, being Jonathan Greene’s N78 that I still need to get back to him, AND think of an appropriate gift, seeing as I’ve been borrowing it for… oh… 6 months! (Please leave ideas for things if you have any)

BACK to the story!

So, emoze is in the process of releasing a version for the 5800, but for now, I don’t have one, so I had to fire up the N78…

Buttons… Wow…

I don’t think I was really expecting to like the Nokia 5800, I was kinda iffy on the whole touch screen thing, being that I drive and text so much, but I had already known that I HATED QWERTY, although I did kinda like the E71, It was QWERTY and that was a deal breaker for me… (that, and the pink hue on the photos…)

So, Yeah, I LOVE this phone… I am reassured every time I pick up the iPhone, every time I have to show my father how to do something on his N75, and every time that I use any other phone…

But the funny thing was that using the N78, which is a SOLID device I must add… I really felt like using a rotary dial phone… after using Touch tone for so long…

That’s how archaic it felt to my hands…

Sitting here at my computer, phone on lap, I just touch the screen on the 5800 to wake it up to see if I missed anything… I did it 3 times to the N78, after catching myself doing it the first time, calling myself stupid, I still managed to do it 2 more times!

It’s just that smooth!

One beautiful, solid phone this 5800 is!  AND it’s just the basic model!

The N97 is going to have so much more in the way of social networking, and after just seeing this phone, I know it’s going to be AMAZING!

As I wrap up my visit from the Nokia 5800, I am again comforted in the fact that Nokia is producing quality products, with the user in mind, never really outdating a model with a newer or flashier one before the last model has seen it’s glory.  Which I must add is my #1 pet peeve with one specific company for releasing a newer version of phone or music player a step up for the same price as the last model, JUST after I have purchased mine…

Thanks…

My N73 which is a few years old can still hold its own in the wild, as well as the N78, and any other model released…

Even the N95 which was the flagship phone for many years, is still very competitive, even with the release of the N96 and the up coming release of the N97.

So, back to rotary dial for me… buttons, buttons and buttons… until I get the N97!  my only problem, and I’m sure it’s across the board, is the pricetag… but for what it’s worth, my feelings on the economy and such, is that instead of purchasing a flashy camera AND phone… get your moneys worth, Function over Form!  look into the Nokia devices, I’m sure there’s something that can fit your budget… the lowest camera resolution of 3.2 usually comes with Carl Zeiss optics which alone makes it a great camera, mixed with all the features of S60 and a solid build, and the fact that firmware updates are always coming out to help your phone keep up with the times… Nokia = sound investment

Until next time…

MD

Wow, I really didn’t give this phone a chance… Every time I saw it, i played with it for about a minute, then passed it on…

Not impressed I’d say…
Now, I want one of my own, and I hear that Amazon and Dell are both selling them pretty cheap…

On with my actual writing, and not my babbling about it…

This device is solid, lots of internal memory for applications and storage
I could definitely see my brothers and friends and even my parents using this phone, It’s very straight forward, the camera is amazing in good light outside for taking quick snap shots, and it’s got everything that I have come to love with S60!

Currently I have installed on the device:

Palringo, Fring, Photo Browser, ScreenSnap, Sports Tracker, Gmail, Google Maps, Qik, JoikuSpot, Shozu.

I took the phone with me on my trip to Denver and up the mountain and the only problem I had with the phone, I had corrected before I left

First off,

I thought the battery life was short before I left… I think that I just use the phone too much… in the last 3 weeks of having the phone I have used 19hours talk, and over 500MB of data transferred, so… maybe I just need a bigger battery…

using the touch screen with gloves on was simple, and uploading via Shozu to my blog, my Ovi account as well as searching through the Facebook site on the huge screen made it really easy to go a whole week without using a computer.

This is what I look for in a device, something that can keep me on the go, and also keep me in the know!

I would recommend this device for anyone who is looking into a new device, is interested in listening to music with the included 8gig micro SD card, and anyone who would like to view the web in a really nice size screen that can also fit in their pocket!

The camera is a 3.2Mp Carl Zeiss optics lens which takes amazing photos in daylight, and decent up close shots with the led flash…

there are a few things that took some getting used to, like only having 4 items on my standby screen, but for people who talk a lot you could substitute that with people you call frequently.

searching for a number was pretty easy, just select contacts, then tap the type screen, and choose the first letter, then it automatically gives you the next available second letter and so forth and so on… or, you could just scroll down till you find the name you are looking for…

you can also easily manually enter the phone number of course.

by losing the other options on the standby screen, you also gained some other media shortcuts… By tapping just off the screen on the top right, you are given your media options: Music, Photographs, Share Online, Video and Internet browser.

Tapping the time you can set your alarm and access connectivity options such as network, LAN, Bluetooth amongst other connectivity options.

I really like this device, and at the price point of under $350 I don’t see why you would get any other touch screen device at all! Or at least not pick up this sweet device!

So, I think I’ve gotten my own self to believe that I am possessed…

The 5800 has been shutting off on me!

Well, this time, I Googled the symptoms Nokia 5800 shutting off” I found this

Turns out, the battery terminals on the 5800 are raised off of the back of the mother board… leaving a bit of play between the terminals and the battery… so, if the phone is jogged, or squeezed, the battery terminals loose their connection, even for but a moment, it’s enough, and it’s enough frustration for the user…

This might not be the case for ALL 5800 phones, or even all the users, but for those of us who it does deal with, here’s a solution!

What I did was I took the corner off my pack of cigarettes (I know, I’m trying to quit!) and I placed it under the battery, where the terminals are… Seems to have done the trick!

Hope this helps… I can’t claim this, all credit should go to damolee who is a sage at Nokia Support Discussions. I can only link my video and elaborate to the original post…

I think this could be a huge recall problem, so I hope someone can get something together, because this device really is a beautiful thing…

One Idea I have is for Nokia to send out stickers, to a certain thickness for dealers, repair centers and any consumer who asks for one. Have a specific location picked out on where it should go, and that should do.

for the units not yet sold, maybe a thicker battery? Maybe install the sticker where it’s needed?

I would really like to know why the battery is upside down though…

MobileDan

First video taken with the Nokia 5800 XM on my way in to the city this morning…

I need to work on my “um’s”

Here I discuss How I’ve come to really like everything about the unit, and how I keep finding out new things about it all the time!

OK, so last night didn’t count… I got the phone opened up and played with it, but I didn’t really leave the house with it…

Today I did…

I am on the road a lot… at least 600 miles a week, and I still need to be connected… OK, you got me again… I don’t NEED to be connected, I WANT to be connected… I’m out there trying out these devices, making sure that they can handle whatever anyone can throw at them, and being the multi-tasker that I am, who better to do it then me?

On with it!  As I mentioned before I was against touch screens… but I think it was made up for by the addition of the Alphanumeric Keypad…

One problem I found today was when I was using Palringo to talk to friends I got annoyed at the steps that I had to take just to post anything!

I have organized some screenshots (Oh, before I forget, there is a really sweet app for that http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/How_to_take_screenshots_on_the_Nokia_5800_XpressMusic.php)

On with the screenshots… with my commentary…

The first thing to realize when entering any information on this phone, is that there are 4 different ways of entering text!

Handwriting

Mini QWERTY keyboard

Alphanumeric Keypad

And of course Full Screen QWERTY, which I could not show because the screenshot I am using apparently does not do so well in rotation mode…

K, now that that’s out of the way…

Here is my main buddy list, I’ll go ahead and select Ping.fm, Lets now update my status…

Now that I clicked that buddy, I want to type to it, I tap the part that says “Type Message Here” and it brings me to the screen below me… (I know the top part is hard to see, I am sorry…)

Next I am brought to this screen, this makes no sense to me, because I cannot DO anything with it, since I don’t actually have a keyboard… So, again I am forced to tap it again… I think it does this by default, thinking that I might use the Handwriting, but when It’s not in that mode, I really wish it could cut this step out…

After tapping the screen I am brought to my last used setting, the Alphanumeric Keypad

NOW I can finally type out my message…

finish typing, tap the green check mark and…

Back to this screen, this redundant screen… this damn stupid screen…

I next have to tap the options button

And hit Ok…

Which brings me back to the actual Palringo application screen with my text entered…

I next tap the screen where it says “Send”

And Voila!

My status is updated!

Versus on the N78 I would have been able to type in the fields and just hit send…

I don’t mind a few extra steps, but I really wish I could take out the Handwriting screen… or at least not have it be default…

I also have this problem when sending texts…

I’ve gotten it down though, and am pretty quick about it.

The learning curve was very short, and I definatly prefer this over QWERTY, and I fear that I am alone on this one…

UPDATE:

As per Ricky Symbian-Guru suggested below, I went and downloaded the native Palringo app

So much better using the right tool for the right job, here you see how much better and more efficiently this works!

Off the bat, this application makes better use of the screen.  I can’t believe that when I went to download the app, it gave me the other one…

Here, we can use the plecturm or our finger to scroll around, and hold on the contact we wish to talk to…

sending a message, from this screen…

…will take you to your default text entrly

leaving more room for typing, reading and less room for extra, unnecessary buttons

There you have it, Palringo v.99 for Symbian S60v5

Keeping up with what the users want and need, even as they themselves find something new that they MUST use!

It has been said by a few people recently that I should write more about myself… My mobile usage and how my phone is used in my life, as well as how my life is spent on my phone…

Currently I am using the Nokia N78, on loan ( a long loan I know and I will be returning it ASAP!) from Jonathan Greene… this device has proved to be so handy, that when my brother was having problems with his N75 in Las Vegas, I got him one, the NAM version of course… I picked up the NAM N78 for $260… That’s a great price! There’s always Nokia devices on Dell.com of all places!

I am also switching back and forth between that and an E90 communicator, which I received on loan from Cybette… Something happened in shipping, and I think that a button is being pressed or something, the phone works amazing, as long as I don’t close it… So I am forced to only use the internal phone… That is one amazing thing about this phone, it is pretty much like using 2 phones… one on the outside and one on the inside… It’s like a mullet, business inside, party on the front!

Ok… bad attempt… but really, it’s an amazing phone so far, and I’ve only been using one part of it… the inside screen makes typing emails so easy, viewing the whole thing, while using the screen on Google maps makes my driving life a pleasure! And the QWERTY!  Wow!  It’s big, 2 hands big, but it’s worth it!

On to the apps I’ve been using… I’ve been a big fan of Fring, and love that I now have my FaceBook built in, as well as my last.fm account, which has saved me more recently on a job in which there was no music in the apartment!  I just fired up Fring and turned on my last.fm account and I was off!

Lately I have been using Palringo more often… I used to primarily use this IM client just to upload a picture to my ping.fm account via the bot, but more recently I have been able to use the chat feature to talk to my buddies on AIM, Google as well as FaceBook chat…

Both are very strong IM clients, and together they both serve my needs 100%

I have kind of slacked off on using BuddyCloud, Chanse showed it off on one of our S60 meetups, and I was very interested, but I kind of fell off… that was around the time that Google Latitude came out, and I found it to fulfill all  of my needs…

As for Nokia Beta Labs goodies, I have been using Contacts on Ovi as well as Nokia Conversation, I suggest you go try them out, I like that when I click a buddy in Conversation, it has the running conversation from me to them to me and back and forth in order…

SportsTracker has to be one of my most used apps still!

Nokia Email is my new favorite, and has replaced the Gmail app, It’s seamless, I can tie up to 10 email accounts, and the app runs in the background, and is always searching for new email… you can set the time, but the default runs and I have not seen much, if any drop in battery life…

Oh Widsets… I want to love you, I just don’t really need anything that you have to offer at this time… You are still on the phone, and I still go to the site to move my stuff around…  Please go check it out though… currently I am running my widsets pet (feed me please!) my FaceBook, AccuWeather.com, Wall Street Journal, Tower Bloxx game, Wikipedia (of course!) and fruit sets another game…

Let’s see… I’ve also switched my standby theme from the horizontal icon bar to the vertical icon bar… It took some getting used to, but I think I can get around faster with it this way… Top apps in my shortcuts: FaceBook link, Gmail, Google maps, Fring, Nokia E-Mail and SportsTracker Search is Google, Calendar is used frequently, and the music player is here, instead of me needing to hit the media button… Radio is now on here as well, even though I would love to be able to take it off, and add more shortcuts… FM transmitter is on here too, again, I don’t use it without using the music player, so more shortcuts would be nice here too… and last but not least the WAN Wizard, which helps being on the front… even though it’s on the main screen on horizontal icon setting…

The App updater in the Applications folder is handy, and I check it frequently, but most of the apps I use have their own built in updater…

I do frequently check the download store, and if you haven’t been, you really should… There’s a lot of cool stuff there…

Of course I might use something different than most other people, that’s why there are so many apps for people to use on S60…  Open to anything, the Developers love to work with the platform, and the users have a nearly endless supply of possibilities!

On to it…

My day… Today for instance… I over slept my regular alarm… (I’m so bad at waking to an alarm, that I have a “his and hers” alarm… 2 in 1 and I still manage to sleep through it… but not the phone alarm!

So, I’m up… I reach on the nightstand and pick up the phone and check my email… with my FaceBook status and friends overseas, I want to catch up on any emails that I got while sleeping… (I know… This is bad… My GF hates when she sleeps over, instead of rolling over to cuddle, I reach for my phone… Bad BF )

So I’ve gone through whatever looks important… and I’m waiting for the shower to heat up… I fire up the music player in the phone and place it on the sill just outside of the shower…

I’m out the shower and I get dressed (doesn’t require the phone… but I am still listening to music…)

Music player off, I’m sitting at my pc, checking my work email, geeking out for the few moments I do have to sit at my PC and I am off…

Into the car, I am loading Fring, send a message to ping.fm to update my status (Jaiku, Facebook, Twitter, Gtalk, AIM, Identi.ca, Brightkite, Friendfeed as well as my personal status page.)  I check the traffic I am to look forward to on Google Maps, stop for coffee and am off, listening to music through my ipod, or via the phone’s 3.5mm phone jack dependant on whether or not I will be using my phone to talk on the way down… I also log into SportsTracker and start tracking my trip, to get my speed average… I don’t really use it for anything but my own grin in the morning…

At work, I am checking my email, and friends online, talking with a few when I leave the site to go to get lunch or supplies, and am just walking through the city…

After work, I get in my car, and check Google maps to see just how much traffic to expect on the way home, and how I can avoid it… Today, instead of taking the West Side Highway, I saw traffic backed up and took Riverside Drive… past Grants’ Tomb, but forgot to take a photo… Damn!

I am also (and don’t tell anyone…) driving and texting the whole day, writing replies to facebook messages and sending IM’s… My poor excuse is that it’s T9 and I don’t have to look while I type… It’s not good enough, I know… but I fidget, and before my phone addiction, I was cleaning my car while I drove, read the paper… Tons of other less safe things to be doing…

So, tonight, heading home, I was typing an IM to WhatlyeDude, about my wanting to put SpinVox decals on my car… got some laughs… Then went to wash my car… checked the weather via AccuWeather, on my Widsets and then headed home for dinner…

Then I finally sat back down at my computer…

12 hours after leaving the house…

I was completely mobile all day,

I am completely mobile every day

I am MobileDan…

I am sitting here, typing at midnight, about to go to bed, and wake up in 6 hours and do it all over again…

As a part of my trial of the N96, I was trialing  NokiaviNe, I was also asked to do a mobi-documentary… a sort of “Day in the life of”

I have seen some other documentaries and chose to do mine a bit different.  I’m not up for video editing just yet… so bear with me

Using the N96 for music and as a camera, NokiaviNe for tracking and choosing one not so crazy day to track, I set out to document a part of my day.  Due to the nature of my current work, I cannot film inside clients houses’ so I more or less did updates to and from the job.

One of the things I like about “viNe” is that you can see the icon for music, photos and/or video and then click on that icon to see it via your browser.

As of now, I cannot search for my “viNes” or myself by username, so I have to zoom in on my area and find the specific “viNe’s” that I want to show for this post…NokiaviNe is still working on ways to be able to link to “viNes” so I am going to include screenshots of the NokiaviNe website.

Back to the task at hand, “A day in the life… Gosh I get sidetracked easily!

Zooming in on the Westchester County New York area I can see that I’ve posted a bunch! And that there are others around me also posting a lot as well!.

My day in my life viNe

Zooming in further I can pick out some of the videos that I posted, and can even view them on the page!

This video shows how I take the above picture…

Here are the rest of the videos I posted…eNjoy!

Driving though Westchester in morning traffic…

Finally with my boss, letting him do the driving…

Entering the city, Harlem River Drive, driving under I95 and the extention for the George Washington Bridge…

CrAzY  cAbBiEs!

Going to get eqiptment from the truck, and a blended video,

The last video kind of bleneded together, weird, I didn’t edit them, it just kind of worked out that way…

Hope you enjoyed this, I will next try to learn video editing whenever I get a chance!

Take care, and thanks for visiting!

Hello again, here it is, the moment we’ve all been dreading, or at least I have been!

I am sending this beautiful piece of hardware back to it’s home with WOM World/Nokia. I’ve put this phone through it’s paces, and while I don’t think that it’s ready for me just yet, I would love to see it pretty soon when it gets it’s next firmware update.

I kept it a bit longer then I should have, and that is because I had no phone to return to.  The joystick on my N73 broke off, and I’ve been waiting for my N78 NAM to arrive.  That’s for another blog though… The phone hastn’t yet arrived, but I really should send this one off…

Starting from the bottom of the package and working our way up…

As silly as it may sound, I actually had the worst luck on this trial… My phone broke, and my car phone charger tip refused to fit…  Figures… This came in so handy as I’m always on the road!

The Data cable was used, but the CA-75U was the winner this time around, while installing TV’s and testing the imputs the picture coming out of this unit was amazing, not to mention driving to work and plugging it into the screen on the work truck for viewing traffic updates via Google Maps, very handy, and such a great display!

No plastics were hurt in the use of this demo, I did however manage to lose the screen protector, but I am affixing one of the ones that I switched to, I recomend the iConcepts SCREEN PROTECTORS FOR GPS It wasn’t very expensive at all, and looks and feels great! No scratches even on the plastic cover! It just kind of floats on top!

I didn’t use the headphones nor the controller, as there was the slide out controls for the media as well as the ones surrounding the D-Pad… and I used my own headphones.

All packed away, ready to go home…

This was a very interesting time, I really think that this phone will come into it’s own very soon, as it’s at v11 for the US and the N95 is at v30… I don’t forsee it taking nearly as long as that for the “kinks” to be ironed out…

I understand that I speak a bit rough sometimes, but it’s tough love to me, I love this company, I spend so much of MY free time speaking about mobile technologies and Nokia’s role in it, and I just get frustrated when Murphy’s law kicks in, just as i’m needing to use an app like google maps for traffic with my boss, or showing off any other feature and the phone resets…

I think the phone is attractive, simple, yet packed with features, and above all, comfortable in hand, and easy to use.  With updates and proper advertising it could and should hold a lot of weight in the lineup!