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This is what is getting confusing by the consumer… IMO, CDMA is an outdated technology, AT&T bailed on it, and went the way of GSM, leaving USA, Some parts of Russia and parts of South America still trying to, as my analogy goes, dump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…

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

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 a repost from the Nokia Daily News

I would like to point out that as I gathered, and I may be missing something…

Howard Forums has a running thread, and all that I was able to get out of it was from a user “sr1329″ who stated

“The one thing FP2 brings is a whole new access point management system that can switch from 3G to a known Wi-FI access point if you get close to one. Where it fails is that when you leave the range of that access point it isn’t very good about switching you back to 3G. It will just say connection dropped or something like that. The next time you access data it will ask you again for the access point you want to use. “

Let’s do a comparison for $hits and giggles…

Mobile user “A” purchases a brand new E71x from AT&T with a 2 year contract for $99 for the actual unit and the required data plan of $30 per month your total cost(leaving voice out because we’re assuming that Mobile user “A” and “B” will be getting the same voice plan) would be $819.99 ($99.99 for the unit, PLUS the additional $720 for just data alone, )

Compared to

Mobile user “B” (the smart and savvy shopper who purchased their unit “unlocked” from, say… Dell.com for $340)

Mobile user “B” purchases the unit, unlocked for $340, at a much higher price then user “A” of $240.01 but aside from the FP 2 I can’t see why there is THAT much of a difference, when the ends justify the means… Let’s examine further… Shall we?

Mobile user “B” now has to purchase a rate plan (we’re assuming the same rate plan as user “A” here, so the difference is the data plan…) user “B” can purchase the $15 data plan, for the same unlimited data as user “A” above for a total cost over the 2 years of the contract of $700 ($340 for the unit, PLUS the additional $360 for just the data alone…)

Wait! Did user “A” pay $720 over the 2 years and user “B” only paid $360 FOR THE SAME DATA? another example of why it pays to be a smart shopper… they give it to you cheap in the front, but you take it in the rear!

AT&T DOES NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THS!

Come on people, When will you wake up?  Sure, What’s a little $119.99 over 2 years when you can get FP2 on your E71?

Well, what’s to say that Nokia can’t do an OTA (Over The Air) update?

plus, you won’t have the AT&T branding of, disabled Nokia keys, un-movable (or deletable) menu items…

The device was made in such a way for a reason…

If you want it cheap, and as a knock-off, (which is how I view branded devices)

Then please buy this unit

Sincerely yours…

MobileDan

I am not a market analyst, I am not a tech guru, I am not even much of a consumer, but what I am is an end user… I think that this means a lot.  It does to me… I matter a lot to me, and what I choose to spend my money on is a well thought out process of want vs. need (sometimes )

Tonight I had a discussion with my friend Serko from MobileDivide (please excuse the cursing, it was a private conversation that he has allowed me to share parts of)

SERKO: hope we get to play with the N97 on Tuesday!

Me:  That would be nice!

SERKO: I’m beginning to lose faith in Nokia too much rehashed BS

Me:  I hear you. But I don’t need a new phone, I need dependable

SERKO: definitely!

Me:  And, if the 95 is tried and true after all these years, so be it

Me:  That’s why I bought the 78

SERKO: Yeah I want an N85 in all Black with a Xenon flash

Me:  It’s exciting to see new, but I’m broke, and I can’t sell my parents, brothers or friends on something that’s not ready… Something that needs Fw updates and whatnot

SERKO: sure man totally understand

Me:  I can’t buy new yet, not patient enough. I’ve gone thru hell with this 96… So many freezes

SERKO: I want ATT to release a NAM 5800 for $99

Me:  Na, They raped the 75, I want them to NOT fu*% anything I want up

SERKO: well I flashed my mom’s N75 awhile back with an unbranded firmware build and it’s unlocked officially

Me:  Until they realize they can’t stick their d!*% in everything before they pass it out, I’ll pass

SERKO: lol OUCH!

ME: I sent 4 of them back until I got an old fw… That didn’t have their tabbed home screen. F*%k them, I’ll pay the money (for unlocked)… I think the tube will be under 300 Then practically give them away unlocked.. Without contract… If they (Nokia) can take that hit, it’ll attract a lot of people. But it had better be road ready! Don’t race to just sell it… Get the download store ready for it… Apps that work properly with it. Get everything symbian signed and verify it works with the tube

SERKO: sure man I agree, though I kinda feel weird going backwards in terms of Camera MP

Me:  I’m happy here at 3.2… Xenon is a big jump forward too!

SERKO: If they can get the 5800 to $249 on Amazon I think they’ll have a field day!

Me:  Not on Amazon! At the Nokia store

Take away any chance for people to sell for a profit

Draw people to the store… get people to see everything that Nokia has to offer… It’ll be in time for the 4th generation iPhone… (insert laugh) They can catch all the late adopters.

This started a fire that I let dwindle… A few months ago I spoke about my rant on Nokia’s attempt (or lack of one) in the US market. Amongst other things that I spoke of in that blog, I commented on my ideas on how to win over this finicky market…

The US market was lost by Nokia on so many fronts, but mostly the thing that I think did it in was the iPhone… I see too many people using it, and while I think it’s a great invention, It’s got nothing new, but things that I have seen and not marketed within S60.

Nokia is now fighting a multi-theatre war, one in trying to win consumers over with Nokia phones, and the other with trying to sell manufacturers and consumers on Symbian S60…

I get confused sometimes… I would really love to get my hands on the Samsung INNOV8 so that I could compare what Nokia and Samsung do with the same OS.

But, for now, I am a Nokia Fan-boy I guess…  I just see how the US consumer is inundated by a new phone ad daily, and it’s flash and shine… whereas I have convinced my family on how with the economy it’s less about form and more about function!  (Not that I don’t like the form of Nokia phones! they’re just not marketed as “sexy”)  My 67 year old father is using OVI to sync his calendar, contacts and photos that he was taking with my old N73, he seems to be getting by fine, and once he gets into his own routine I think he’ll figure out how much more is possible with it!

I think that the problems that I’ve had with demoing new phones is that the hardware is there, it’s flawless!  The problem is that the firmware needs to catch up, and most consumers aren’t willing to have to go through the trouble of having to do this weekly or monthly if and when there is an update…

I’m in the market for a new phone, and I want something that I don’t have to complain about, something that when I’m showing it off to people it isn’t freezing up or worse yet, restarting mid load of an app!  I think that Nokia is in a good position to release the 5800 tube, if they can get everything to work seamlessly, under normal use or under strain by a power-user! Something that shows what the download store is meant to do, show that it works great out of the box, and show that It’s possible to replace so many things that you’ve taken for granted in Nokia.  And with OTA updates, your phone will soon be able to learn to do so many more things!

Nokia: Take a price cut, and offer it without a contract for a competing price as the iPhone is with a contract!  it’s a base model, it’s NOT an Nseries, let it pave the way for the N97!

I don’t think that anyone knows how to conquer the US market, you hold your ground until something else flashy catches these consumers eyes… Grab their attention and hold it, and release something new and different, don’t release an updated version months down the road… Nokia to me hasn’t been like that, I love that my 2.5 year old N73 is still much better then most everything non Nokia, and that’s not just because of the 3.2MP camera!

The average consumer doesn’t care about their network so much as that it works!  I think that because the frequencies are so different in the different markets, it’s gonna take until we get to something like  5G (insert laugh here…) for all of the frequencies to match up, which I think is another problem, not only do manufacturers have to make one product for one market, they also now have to adapt that product to work within the US frequencies which are trying to catch up with the  GSM community…

One key reference website that I use is GSM Arena it lets me choose by manufacturer and sort results by frequencies.  AT&T for instance is 850 and 1900 GSM and 850 and 1900 UMTS… as explained here 2G is GSM and 3G is UMTS also called WCDMA and HSDPA I don’t know much about any of this but I know that I am seeing 3.5G on my screen and am happy to be able to use data and voice simultaneously! AT&T works great for me, I had problems with T-Mobile in my area and don’t foresee myself going back, but, I only use AT&T for service with voice, data and text, any other features they offer I am currently able to get through other services.  I still think that the providers should find a way and offer Spinvox, as I’ve been using it and loving it!

What I’m getting at in my last is that I understand that we are a hard market to please, and with that, it’s a gamble to make a product version for us that may or not sell as it does across the pond… once that is settled I think it’ll be easier for the companies, but for now, we need something on the high and low end to WOW us, to make us jump up and stand in line, and once we’re in line, and have the product, we don’t want a slap in the face when the same thing is re-packaged with more features and re-sold… just upgrade the firmware!

I will revisit this blog in the near future I am sure…

A bit ago I received an invite from Colin @ WOM World / Nokia for the Nokia New York Vice Event, I asked Zacharye if he was going and he told me he wasn’t informed of any event… I’m thinking, this is weird…

I started looking into the letter further, like I always do, too much…

Santos playhouse… Nokia Vice Event… Hmmm

So I googled both of those things…

Nokia Vice Event, came up with Nokia’s Vice President…

and google-ing Santos playhouse came up with a single page website which opens into a myspace page, and when I first checked it, it had 80 friends… As the event drew near, it had jumped to 200

But nothing on this event… and no reply from Colin… (turns out they were running events on the East and West Coast of the United States… (I’m interested in seeing what event was going on over there…)

Zacharye said to be cool… maybe it was like the Crown Point Festival…

Ok, I chilled… The other part of this email was that Colin was sending his colleagues there to look after me…

So, I got invited to an event that no-one has heard of? and he’s sending 3 people to look after me?

Maybe my ideas about the phone tutor got to some people who really really liked them!

Maybe someone didn’t like them, or I knew too much? And they were sent to kill me?

Ok, go with it… I brought along both the N82 for photographic evidence and the N95-4 for GPS tracking and to Qik my captors… Oh, and I can call 911 too!

So I leave the hospital from clinical (I’ve told you I’m in school for Respiratory Care right?)

Where was I? Oh yeah, Late for dinner, tracking my progress on Sports Tracker I called Donna by adding my calling card info I had stored on my contacts, by using the “Cut and Paste” and adding it to her London number…

I arrive, Qik my entrance, which came out shoddy… (I need a re-do on my re-do )

I meet Eric Robbie, Donna (Dons) and Molly From Wom World at 218 Bar . We have a couple, we eat some nom noms…

All was well, we all got along, It was cool, how you can meet complete strangers, who have similar love as you, and you just fit in!

We moseyed our way to the club, and I noticed a HUGE LINE!

After a little delay with the VIP line, we get inside and go downstairs…

This event is sponsored by Nokia, they’ve got a professional photographer inside,

If you look real close…

She’s shooting pictures with an N95.

There were about 5 N95’s being used as cameras’

People were coming up to us asking what the event was for, I think the 5 of us and the people using the Nokia devices were the only ones who knew anything about Nokia, and apparently they didn’t know much about the devices in their hands, except that they could be used as cameras, and they bluetooth to the pc to be printed…

Here’s Eric showing the Nokia person for the evening some of the benefits of S60 and the N95!

There were 2 N810’s floating around, and when I scooped one up and started playing with it, the girl asked me how I did that, while browsing through the settings, she explained that she was new to the device… I told her that I had the model before this one… Finally getting the device in my hands for 5 minutes was really nice, but it was far from worth it to Nokia to go through all the trouble for little ol’ me…

I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed, that the one time I get to see higher end N-Series devices, placed in peoples hands, it’s in a bar where people can’t hear anything about the product…  This goes back to my rant about how I think I would do a little bit of marketing…

So, We’re downstairs, lots of techno, I just want to go upstairs and see The Muslims I’d heard them at home while deciding if I was going to go to the show or not, and decided I could listen to them in the background… when we finally made it upstairs, after a little talking with the bouncer, (since the upstairs and downstairs were technically 2 separate parties) he let me go get the gang, and we walked in upstairs to the awful sounds of The Vivian Girls.

Don’t at all get me wrong please!  The WOM World Crew were GREAT!  Eric was totally cool… the dinner was awesome!  But Nokia… What were you thinking?

You sold yourself out to be a 2bit Photo-booth!

You weren’t appealing to the masses…

Someone did you wrong… This was wrong… If you’re not appalled, then I feel sorry for you!

There was your logo, in 2 places shining from the lights onto black cinder-block walls…

and some people using N95’s as cameras’!

Upstairs I saw not a single thing Nokia related… Not a single mention of Nokia.

The only people it seemed, who really knew anything about Nokia and S60 were the 5 of us, and it was too loud in there to try to talk to ourselves, let alone talk with others!

Thank you for the dinner, thank you for the alcohol, thank you for the music and the evening out.

I think the money was well spent on me and Eric!

I had a good time with the WOM Crew! And look forward with seeing them again!

It was a nice chance for them to meet us, and for Eric and I to meet each other.

I look forward to meeting other bloggers…

Dear Nokia, I don’t think the rest of the evening was worth your money…

It seems that someone’s got free rein on your checkbook, and, it’s not your marketing department!

Nokia, The WOM thing is working, Maybe a little more effort in the US market is needed, but don’t overdo it, We’ll talk, I’ll try to pencil you in for lunch sometime… Until Next time…