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

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

So, I’ve been trying out Emoze for S60…

While there are a lot of applications available for s60 now a days…
the one thing that struck me was the addition of Facebook messaging…

While I Can’t assume that all of my readers are Facebook users, I cannot fathom that if you don’t use it, you still haven’t heard of it!

In general, it is a push email service that polls for your email from various clients and sends them to your mobile device…

Some services covered are:

Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail, Facebook messaging. Home/Local internet account. OWA based Corporate email account.

In a nutshell this gives you email on the go, and on top of that, access to your facebook emails!

From my reading further into it, It can run all the time, or in a standby sort of mode, meaning that when something gets detected, it will wake the application up, and show the new message

Pairing this service with the wonderful mobile application palringo, you can have instant messaging for facebook. amd check your messages via emoze.

That is just my current setup, as being on the go all the time, and sometimes unable to log on to facebook…

There is a free version which lets you check one messaging service, or a paid service they call “Pro” which costs  $12.99 a year.

There is a native app, but what I tried was the Java version, which looked really pleasing to the eye, and had number keyed menus so that once you hit menu, all you have to do is push the corresponding number (you can of course hit up or down to get to your selection )

All in all I liked this app, I can’t wait to see what other services they offer, as they also listed MySpace, Bebo
Ning, LinkedIn as well as Hi5 as up and coming supported social networks.

Also listed is that they will provide support for 40 other web
communities including Orkut, Frindster, Skyrock Network and Flicker to name a few!

Also, not to be forgotten, it’s available for nearly EVERY device, I even hear that an iPhone app is right around the corner!

While I currently use many different mobile email services, this is a really simple to use application which can get all of your messages to you directly on your mobile… Because I’m usually mobile and we’re all headed that direction and still need to get our messages…

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!

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!

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!

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?

So, I’ve been a user of Sportstracker for a bit now… 

Over 500 Miles… and I’ve been having a good time with it… 

It’s a GPS app that people can use when running or biking… but since I drive a lot, I use it to track my trips.  When used with a phone that has music capabilities, It shows where on the map I was, and what track I was listening to!  I can even upload pictures and they will be geotagged as well!

This brings me to my next app, it’s called NokiaVine

which is still in beta, but I believe It’s going to be very similar, but I think it’s going to be more social in aspect. I cannot wait to try it out, and see how they market it to others…