.jpg)
3GSM starts next week and I'm gonna be there on the Tuesday and Wednesday. I will post most generic stuff to the 3GSM Blog, but all the NSeries and S60 stuff will be right here. I'm aiming to post pictures 'on the fly' to the blog. If there is anything in particular you want to see let me know and I'll do my best to track it down.
vendredi 9 février 2007
3GSM 2007
3GSM starts next week and I'm gonna be there on the Tuesday and Wednesday. I will post most generic stuff to the 3GSM Blog, but all the NSeries and S60 stuff will be right here. I'm aiming to post pictures 'on the fly' to the blog. If there is anything in particular you want to see let me know and I'll do my best to track it down.
jeudi 8 février 2007
Rotateme
Rotateme is an application that allows you to rotate the screen layout of your S60 phone into widescreen, a feature that the E60 had, and that all S60 phones should come with as standard. There is a thread over at the Mobile Review forums here.
I've not had a chance to try it out myself yet, but one of the posts on the thread contains some screen shots.
I've not had a chance to try it out myself yet, but one of the posts on the thread contains some screen shots.
Nokia & Smart2Go
VIa a press release from Nokia, which is copied below. Nokia are to make the Smart2Go navigation and mapping platform available for download free of charge, from February 10th. Initially available for S60 and Windows Mobile, Nokia hope to expand the range upon which the platform will work in the near future.
Press release:
Press release:
Nokia today announced that it is making its smart2go mapping and navigation platform, available for free download (www.smart2go.com), enabling millions of people to use the most comprehensive map coverage offered on a mobile device. The platform allows for mapping and routing in over 150 countries and has support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries. The application allows people to view where they are on a map, search for points-of-interests (POI) around them and create routes to get them there free of charge. Nokia plans to start offering the smart2go application for free, on Saturday, February 10th, for selected Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices initially and has plans to roll out support for most of the major mobile OS platforms including Nokia S60, Series 40, PocketPC, Linux and other Windows Mobile devices.
Nokia plans to pre-install the smart2go mapping and navigation application on all future Nokia Nseries multimedia computers under the name "Nokia Maps". Current owners of Nokia devices may also download Nokia Maps to their supported devices. And now, by paring your non-GPS enabled mobile device with a Nokia Wireless GPS Module LD-3W or other compatible GPS module, Nokia Maps can provide the same fantastic navigation experience for a broad range of Nokia devices.
The platform contains over 15 million POIs that help people explore the most interesting sights, restaurants or accommodations around them. Customers can select their favorite locations and send them to friends by multimedia message, Bluetooth wireless technology, infrared or e-mail. They can also send map excerpts and routes or save map screen shots to the gallery on the device. Recognized brand names like McDonald's will have the option to place branded icons across the world's digital maps downloaded onto millions of mobile devices.
"People will trust and use maps if they have those maps with them when they need them, and smart2go allows consumers the full freedom of which maps they want to carry with them. By offering Nokia Maps and smart2go for free on your mobile device, cost is no longer a barrier for anyone to enjoy the convenience of maps and routing on-the-go," said Ralph Eric Kunz, vice-president, Nokia, Multimedia. "Nokia is on track to build the world's most connected location based platform for mobile devices which also opens up interesting opportunities for future services."
smart2go is a hybrid map solution: Map data from Tele-Atlas and Navteq can be downloaded directly via wireless network (e.g. GPRS/3G/WLAN) and stored on the devices memory card as needed. If all the desired map data is stored, no network connection is needed for mapping, routing and navigation. For managing downloads of bigger sizes there is an additional PC desktop tool available.
smart2go comes with the option to upgrade to full fledged turn-by-turn navigation. With just some clicks, customers can turn their device into a voice guided navigation system by purchasing a navigation license. There are various licenses available: from a one week to a three year term. When traveling to a new country for holiday one can download the relevant maps via PC in advance and subscribe to the navigation service for the duration of the holiday at affordable cost.
mercredi 7 février 2007
Series 60 3rd Edition Feature pack 2
mardi 6 février 2007
Even in Japan, there's no one "killer" mobile data application
As reported by What Japan Thinks, a recent survey of 1,000 Japanese mobile phone users asked what features would be important when they upgrade to their next phone. The results matched what we've seen in the US and Europe -- there's no single feature that all users want. In fact, there isn't even a data feature that a majority of users want.
This chart shows the most important findings:
When upgrading your mobile, which features are important? (Multiple answers allowed.)
I left out some generic features like "memory card." Other than those, no feature got a thumbs-up from more than about 20% of the users, which is very similar to the sort of results we've seen among mobile users in the US and Europe.
I did think it was interesting that mobile TV got a pretty good score, as did the e-wallet features that some Japanese operators have been pushing. E-wallet functionality has been a gleam in the eye for mobile companies for at least ten years; it's nice to see someone implementing it.
It appears that Japan, like the US and Europe, has a segmented mobile data market in which different users want different, conflicting features. The best way for a manufacturer to tackle that is with a line of products targeting different user segments, rather than one all-consuming super smartphone.
Although mobile feature attitudes in Japan aren't as different as many people might expect, attitudes toward mobile brands are enormously different. That's because Japanese mobile phone companies don't focus on the export market, and overseas brands don't do a good job of designing for the Japanese mobile operators. Sharp is by far the most desired mobile brand in Japan, for good reasons because it makes really nice mobile hardware. The top brands in the US and Europe -- Nokia and Motorola -- are also-rans in Japan.
What brand of mobile handset do you desire most? (Only one answer allowed.)
This chart shows the most important findings:
When upgrading your mobile, which features are important? (Multiple answers allowed.)
I left out some generic features like "memory card." Other than those, no feature got a thumbs-up from more than about 20% of the users, which is very similar to the sort of results we've seen among mobile users in the US and Europe.
I did think it was interesting that mobile TV got a pretty good score, as did the e-wallet features that some Japanese operators have been pushing. E-wallet functionality has been a gleam in the eye for mobile companies for at least ten years; it's nice to see someone implementing it.
It appears that Japan, like the US and Europe, has a segmented mobile data market in which different users want different, conflicting features. The best way for a manufacturer to tackle that is with a line of products targeting different user segments, rather than one all-consuming super smartphone.
Although mobile feature attitudes in Japan aren't as different as many people might expect, attitudes toward mobile brands are enormously different. That's because Japanese mobile phone companies don't focus on the export market, and overseas brands don't do a good job of designing for the Japanese mobile operators. Sharp is by far the most desired mobile brand in Japan, for good reasons because it makes really nice mobile hardware. The top brands in the US and Europe -- Nokia and Motorola -- are also-rans in Japan.
What brand of mobile handset do you desire most? (Only one answer allowed.)
The operators' "secret" plan to destroy Google. Yeah, right.
By now you've probably seen the reports that six European mobile operators plus AT&T are planning "secret" talks to set up a mobile search engine to rival Google. The Telegraph reported that the secret seven might team up with an existing search engine, or might set up their own shared search engine and advertising sales team.
The idea is for the operators to capture the majority of advertising revenue from mobile web search.
It's possible that the report is false, but the Telegraph had some quotes and details that sound credible. (Besides, if it's not true then there would be nothing for people like me to posture abut online.)
As you'd expect, the report is already attracting a lot of commentary online. I won't bother repeating what everyone else is saying, but I'd like to make a few quick observations:
1. Have any of these high-profile operator consortia ever been successful? It's a sincere question, not rhetorical. I can't think of any of them that lived up to their hype. But maybe I missed one. Please post a comment if I did.
2. I don't think the threat to create their own search engine is credible. The investment in infrastructure is too large at this point. So the real play would be to partner with one of the current search companies and squeeze money out of it. Let's see, who's desperate for search share and has a ton of cash? Hello, Redmond.
3. Who starts secret negotiations by leaking the fact that they're being held? Only someone who's inept, or is posturing to create leverage in their discussions with Google.
4. All of this presupposes that the operators can continue to maintain closed gardens, preventing users from going to whichever search engine they like. That worked soooo well for AOL and MSN, didn't it?
5. Why can't these guys negotiate with Google the traditional way, by threatening to sue them?
6. I hope eventually someone will realize that unless we figure out how to make mobile browsing a lot more useful and compelling, there isn't going to be any pile of riches to divide from mobile search.
The idea is for the operators to capture the majority of advertising revenue from mobile web search.
It's possible that the report is false, but the Telegraph had some quotes and details that sound credible. (Besides, if it's not true then there would be nothing for people like me to posture abut online.)
As you'd expect, the report is already attracting a lot of commentary online. I won't bother repeating what everyone else is saying, but I'd like to make a few quick observations:
1. Have any of these high-profile operator consortia ever been successful? It's a sincere question, not rhetorical. I can't think of any of them that lived up to their hype. But maybe I missed one. Please post a comment if I did.
2. I don't think the threat to create their own search engine is credible. The investment in infrastructure is too large at this point. So the real play would be to partner with one of the current search companies and squeeze money out of it. Let's see, who's desperate for search share and has a ton of cash? Hello, Redmond.
3. Who starts secret negotiations by leaking the fact that they're being held? Only someone who's inept, or is posturing to create leverage in their discussions with Google.
4. All of this presupposes that the operators can continue to maintain closed gardens, preventing users from going to whichever search engine they like. That worked soooo well for AOL and MSN, didn't it?
5. Why can't these guys negotiate with Google the traditional way, by threatening to sue them?
6. I hope eventually someone will realize that unless we figure out how to make mobile browsing a lot more useful and compelling, there isn't going to be any pile of riches to divide from mobile search.
jeudi 1 février 2007
Quiet time
The blog is gonna go through a period of quiet time til next Tuesday, as I'm off to Rome for my birthday. With any luck there will be a stack of things to talk about when I get back, as the run up to 3GSM starts. I'm looking forward to 3GSM almost as much as the release of the N95!
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)