MobileDan’s Weblog

Ok, A lot has happened in the… 7 and a half months since my last post!

A few things I would like to talk about…

The Nokia N97 Mini, tried and true, been through a lot with this device, Putting it simply, it ROCKS!

Ovi Maps!  Free, and AMAZING!

Apps I’ve been using and cannot live without!

So, I purchased an N97 Mini for my brother, to replace his worn out N78…

I couldn’t afford it, but he was paying me back… He changed his mind… Leaving me stuck with it… I had a phone, and like I said, couldn’t afford a new device… I tried to sell it on facebook and through twitter, but no luck…

The night before my Gf and I were flying to Wales for 12 days… I needed this phone… so, I cracked…

First thing, the camera was my main reason for needing it… the second, Ovi maps is just amazing on it!

I went over to Wales in January with my Gf, and used another N97 and swear, I would have been lost without it.

Again, her father put me on the car insurance, and all was great, aside from getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road (we in the states, and elsewhere in Europe drive on the right… the other side being the wrong… ) Took no time at all, I LOVE the roundabouts!  So much better!

I put about 300 miles on the first trip, and i would have to say about 800 miles this second trip.

Each time I would set up the address and let it do it’s thing… I kinda liked the surfer dude voice, but it started to get on me.

Important things for an American driver to know, driving in the UK; Speed cameras!  Ovi maps helped me to know where they were, what the speed limit was wherever I was, and when I was speeding (which was pretty frequent…)

Then, Ovi released Own Voice, which I haven’t used yet, but would let all of the 54 voice memos (turn left, turn right… etc… ) be in a voice that you record…

I really would have been lost without Ovi Maps… literally! I used to use Google maps for everything, but it didn’t have turn by turn… I just set the location, put it on the dashboard and drive!

If you haven’t tried this FREE app yet, What are you waiting for???

WomworldNokia just completed a really cool campaign for #NokiaNav Check out some highlights here!

Apps:

These are some of the main “cannot live without apps” I have been using…

Gravity

I purchased Gravity for this device, I loved gravity before, but now… I can check in to foursquare, facebook AND keep up with Twitter!  Amazing job on this need to have app!  I NEVER purchase apps, this is the exception! Do yourself a favor, GET THIS APP!

IM and Skype

Palringo is on the phone, but has been phased out by Nimbuzz… mostly for the twitter functionality…

Joikuspot I used so that I could be a WiFi hotspot for my Gf who was roaming with her iPhone.

The new Sportstracker app is much nicer to look at, and seems to run a lot smoother!

Nokia Bots has been an interesting app as well, I suggest you check that one out!

I will be returing to blogging as much as I can, and would love to hear your imput!

I am also debating getting an android phone, thinking the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10… any thoughts on that as well?

Ttfn,

MD

Sorry it’s been so long, not much new has happened…

So, this Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has grown on me, but alas, It has got to start getting ready to go back…

Some of the apps that I’ve been using though, have completely made the phone, and opened my eyes for the future of S60 v.5 which is a jump from the previous v.3. I am really looking forward to how this version will react with an upper level phone such as the N97 as well as the Samsung i8910

On with the apps…

One app that totally takes advantage of the full screen resolution is Gravity, I am not much of a Twitter fan, but this app has opened my eyes. Coming from being a die hard Jaiku user, and loving the threaded conversations, it’s still a bit hard for me to try to keep up, but Gravity takes some of the headache out of it…

I can view photos taken with twitpic right in the app, and can respond and start a new tweet very easily. The app is really easy to use and is very responsive.

Shozu is a life saver. While in Colorado I was without a computer, and had to rely on this device for all of my posting and uploading of photos, Shozu made that really easy, and left me more time to enjoy my trip.

Google Maps with Latitude has also appealed to me, and now with the option of using my location to update my Google status, it’s all the more connected…
I can see where my friends currently are, and, if i’m nearby I’ll know so that I can try to meet up.
This is one of the things that I like about LBS (location based services) I can not only Call my friend, but I can text, IM them if they are on an Instant Messaging app, fire up the map and see where they are and in the future I could even video call them.

There are so many different ways that we are connected, and just think… a few years ago people didn’t think they needed voicemail, now we use it all the time, especially with SpinVox! Texting really took off as well, and people thought that would be a waste… Just wait to see how technology is going to make our lives so much easier!

Of course I’m still using sportstracker and I think you should check out all that it has to offer… especially the new package from Nokia and Polar a bluetooth Heart rate monitor for getting up to the minute Heart stats during your work-out!

Fring vs. Palringo… Hmm… I still have both installed… but I must say, that the Fring for S60v5 seems much easier for me to use… maybe it’s just me… what do you guys think? They’re both free, and both great products! if you’re looking for an IM client that ties skype into itself, try Fring… if you’re looking for an IM client that lets you use Facebook chat… go for Palringo… or, get them both!

Nokia maps… I really want to get into this app, but… I just don’t find myself needing everything that it has to offer… maybe if I was on foot… or not in a rush… But I drive almost for a living, and know my way around pretty well… the only thing I don’t know is physical addresses… and for that Google Maps helps me out so much… I will try it out now, for a bit and will try to report back…

So… That’s about it… I need to update a bit more, and I am sorry, but there really doesn’t seem to be much in the way of change, and need for me to update… and I’m not one to repost the news… I don’t feel it’s necessary to do that, it kinda bores me… Just give me the device or the app to play with and I’ll tell you if I like it, and, if by my description you want to try it, so be it!

Please vote for me, Daniel Silvers for the 48 hours in Denmark contest.

It is a contest in which I am trying to use my knowledge and ability to use mobile technology and social media to promote Tourism. I believe I can show how Tourism can be shaped for the future, using mobile technology, and not some big, bulky camera!

I can do so much from my mobile phone, and that’s what I’ve been trying to show for a while now!

I will be getting a round trip flight and hotel for 48 hours in Denmark!

Please vote, because I hope you believe in me as much as I believe I can do this!

http://48hoursindenmark.com/

Voting started today, the more comments, the more “votes”

Thank you!
Daniel

So, I found this website, 48 hours in Denmark which is offering:

“… a free trip to Denmark, with all expenses paid. Plane, hotel, food and fun.

What’s the catch? We want you to show us how you use digital media when you travel as a tourist. We want you to tell us how you’ve researched the trip, how you use digital media while you are here, and how you share your experiences when you get home.

Anything goes, as long as it has got something to do with digital media. We expect blogging, twittering, lifestreaming and flickring to come together – maybe even some services we haven’t heard about…”

I really think that this is something that I can do…

Something that I am very interested in, as I am very interested in how social online media is and can be a more effective part in daily life, and where else to start, but tourism.

And, I think I would enjoy it very much!

So I applied!

Watch my video application (Daniel Silvers) and the others here:

After recently watching CNN’’s race to 1,000,000 followers on Twitter, I cannot help but feel sorry that Google has let Jaiku go to the wayside…

I believe the way that I heard it said… And I wish I could remember who it was (it seems that every time I cannot think of who said something, Stefan comes to mind… So, until told otherwise, he gets the credit…)

Twitter is like yelling out the window to strangers, Jaiku is like walking downstairs to talk to them…

I think that with Jaiku A trip like this could be more fun, people could comment in real threaded time to your updates on things you are doing, and wherever you may be, and maybe even tell you things nearby… Then again, there’s Dodgeball but, oh, Google bought and shut that down too… Just signed up for four square and will try to cross post to there as well…

Back to it… I believe that using Google Maps on the phone, I can find where it is I want to go, and can use SportsTracker, or NokiaviNe to keep track of my trip… As well as using Shozu to upload photos and video, as well as updating my blog on my way… that way, I can keep my friends and followers updated in real time…

Although I love being on a computer, I have really come to enjoy the freedom that using a smartphone, (such as the Nokias that I use) affords me, I can stay in touch with the online world, and not be tied down to a computer, at a coffee shop, in a cubicle or anywhere… And, If I need a bit more then the phone can offer me, I can just break out the N800 Internet Tablet…

So, what do you say? interested? stop by, see the entries, and if you feel so inclined, apply by April 27th!

I feel that all the current applicants are all doing different things, and all of which are very exciting for social media!

I really wish I had done a better video, but I was stranded in Denver International Airport, and just barely made the deadline (before it was extended…)

There was so much more I wanted to talk about, but hoping that by my blog speaking about myself and my belief in the future of Mobile Technology, I will still be able to stay afloat in the running!

Thanks for reading, now… Go Check it out!a

As you’ve read, I received a Nokia N96 from WOM World / Nokia, I’ve had it for 1 week so far, and am loving it.  I am part of a test group using Nokia’s new LBS (location based services) App, NokiaviNe which is in beta testing.  I was asked to contribute content and feedback on this new and exciting mobile app which uses the phones GPS to track your mobile entertainment content (photos, videos and music listened to), and where and when you make use of such material.  As my ongoing review of the N96 continues, I will bring you more details regarding the actual device… But for now, let me focus on the NokiaviNe application and it’s accompanying web site…

Due to embedding problems, please click the picture to be taken to the video by Nokia which will help to explain it.

As of now, the NokiaviNe Website is not functioning properly, I hope that this due to them adding new features, but we’ll see.  For now, peoples’ “vines” are being uploaded to the Nokia Sports Tracker website, and labeled “My viNe” with the corresponding date and time following that…

When I first heard of NokiaviNe, it reminded me a lot of Sports Tracker which is another LBS application and web site designed by Nokia Beta Labs to be used for tracking exercise and comparing your “stats” to your friends… They are both very similar, but make use of different tracking information.

Nokia Sports Tracker Website.

When I first tried Sports Tracker, I immediately loved it!  I drive frequently and wanted to use it to track my day.  It reminded me of the early works of Stavros’ “Position Art”

Just a snippit of one of his works, dedicated to his neighbor.

Eventually, the Sports Tracker application was upgraded and let the user upload photos to their “workout” as long as it was taken while “tracking” and was taken of course, taken on that mobile device .  I first noticed the addition of photos on my October 28th Workout I am still waiting for music that I listened to to appear on Sports Tracker.  As of now, music that I listen to, while “tracking”, shows up on the device, giving hope of seeing it implemented soon, but right now, is not synced to the Sports Tracker Server… This was something that when I first noticed brought to the device app, I didn’t think would take long to also bring into the web based form.  It seems that the Sports Tracker platform is nearing it’s end, as nothing new has been going on with it, but I can, and hope that I am wrong!

This brings me to actual screenshots of “My viNe” and My “Workout” both from the Sports Tracker website, both tracked at the same time… They both don’t show my music listened to, but the Mobile app below them both does… Funny isn’t it?  I think not…

One of my "workouts" from Sports Tracker.

One of "My viNe's" from Sports Tracker.

Screenshots of the N96, notice the last 2 on the bottom row...

Noticing the last 2 screenshots…  I’ll enlarge them… The left one is showing my music listened to on the device, also giving the location, and the right is an actual cropping of the above NokiaviNe / Sports Tracker map cropped to compare.  as you can see. music is not included… We’ll see once the NokiaviNe site comes back up…

Close up of the above...

I think and hope that maybe NokiaviNe is going to pick up where my use of Sports Tracker is leaving off… adding my user generated content (photos and videos) as well as tracking listening habits.  As of now though, the “vines” I have added do not share music listened to either. I wish that maybe Sports Tracker would keep the tracking function, and share all of the new and interesting things that NokiaviNe is adding, I’d much rather track my speed, and have the function of tracking my music listening secondary, but that might just me me.  There’s always last.fm and the S60 Mobbler… But some people couldn’t be bothered with all the information that Sports Tracker offers.

Going through my stats on my Sports Tracker profile, I see that as of this writing, I

I thoroughly enjoy Sports Tracker, but can see where NokiaviNe is headed, and how I can use it in my daily life.  We’ll see how it turns out.  The nice thing is that I can install them both…

What do you think?