Nokia Service Suite

Interesting press release from Nokia today. Useful to owners of WLAN enabled Nokia phones. I look forward to trying the product out (having recently purchased an N80 to go along with my N73...)

No point paraphrasing the press release, read for yourself below:

The convergence of cellular and Internet technologies has reached a stage where the future of mobility will be determined by players ready to take the next step. For consumers, using a PC and broadband connection to reach friends and family around the globe has become a familiar procedure. Now with dual mode phones and the increasing availability of home and hotspot wireless LANs (WLANs), consumers can get to the next level.

Today announced Nokia Service Suite, a software solution which automates both the connectivity over the available access methods like cellular and WLAN, and also provides the preferred location and presence specific services to the user. Nokia Service Suite heralds a whole new generation of consumer services for voice, data and rich media. Telio, a leading European broadband telephony provider and technology innovator, is the first to adopt and deploy the technology for consumers.

Nokia Service Suite is capable of simplifying and economizing any communication application - the download and upload of rich media, including pictures, music, video podcasts, email and voice. Nokia Service Suite does this by automating connectivity and achieving the most convenient combination of cellular and WLAN access.

Alan Duric, Chief Technology Officer and co-Founder of Telio said about the Nokia Service Suite: "The combination of Nokia's powerful solution and Telio's flexible technology platform has enabled a whole new world of possibilities that go well beyond VoIP. As a core technology, I see Nokia Service Suite creating a wave of innovation in the mobile industry and revolutionizing the way people will communicate in future."

"Nokia Service Suite opens up great new business potential for new and existing services that can be seamlessly deployed by providers and easily consumed by end-users. Telio has proven to be a valuable front runner in the adoption of our technology for consumers. We are delighted with the close cooperation," said Markku Rauhamaa, Vice President of Local Interactions at Nokia Emerging Business Unit. "All the elements are now in place for the public to enjoy a richer, more economical and accessible mobile experience."

The possibilities enabled by Nokia Service Suite are already being commercially deployed by service providers like Telio as well as Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies, including Fujitsu Services Oy.

Nokia Service Suite is available today for all Nokia WLAN enabled dual mode devices, both Nokia Nseries and Nokia Eseries devices. Equally important, the Nokia Service Suite is an open platform that can be used for other WLAN enabled devices. For example, the Nokia N80 Internet Edition is a multimedia computer optimized for Internet Calls. The VoIP framework, based on SIP-protocol is integrated into its user interface, so making an Internet Call on the Nokia N80 Internet Edition is as easy as making a regular voice call, only the call is carried over WLAN.

Nokia Service Suite makes its official debut and will be demonstrated at VON Europe Autumn 2006 Conference in Berlin Germany on November 6 - 8.

About Nokia:

Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations.

http://www.nokia.com/

DATASOURCE: Nokia

CONTACT: Media Enquiries: Nokia Communications, Tel. +358-7180-34900,

E-mail: . Nokia Emerging Business Unit Communications,

Tel. +358-7180-45792

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Fierce Wireless Favourite log Awards

I'm quite chuffed with this. My blog has a nomination on the Fierce Wireless favourite blog awards. You can vote in the awards, nominating your top five from the list, by clicking on the logo on the top left of this page or clicking on this link. Not much time left though, voting closes tomorrow.

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No trial - No purchase.

Just a quick plea to software developers. It seems more & more of you are not offering free trial periods on your software. I find it hard to understand why? A trial period allows the end user to take the interesting idea your software offers and really put it to test, over a period of say 15 - 30 days. That way it is clear whether the app is going to be of use or not, whether the UI is good, how the colour scheme fits in with the theme on the phone, etc. No trial period makes, for me at least, a reluctant purchaser. I see an interesting idea, but unless I can try that app I'm hesitant to lay out €10 - €30 just to realise I might not use it as much as I had imagined. A trial period is going to make that a non-issue. I would know by the frequency I use an application in it's first few weeks whether it has value to me or not.

I don't know how trial periods would effect cracked software. I imagine if someone is determined not to pay, they won't. But I also know of people who use smartphone that put cracked software on their device to try the software out. They will buy the full proper program if they like it and use it. The ongoing support, upgrades, etc, make it worth their while. If the software they were interested in had a trial period then they wouldn't use cracked software.

So, developers, can you consider trial periods when you launch your new programs?

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Mission Impossible on Nokia NSeries

Nokia have announced the launch of the MI III film on memory card to coincide with the DVD launch. The film fits onto a 512MB Mini SD card and runs at 25 frames per second. You will be able to fast forward, rewind, stop and continue watching the film at any time.

The film will be bundled as part of a special package with the N93 in the folowing countries: Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the UK.

To quote:

"With this package, we want to highlight that the Nokia N93 is not only a fantastic movie-making device, but that it is also a portable video player, allowing users to enjoy movies wherever, whenever," said Tuula Rytilä-Uotila, director, Multimedia, Nokia. "You can even watch movies on an airplane with the device in offline mode. Indeed, we look forward to seeing consumers across Europe enjoying M:i:III on their Nokia N93 devices this holiday season."

"Combining the exciting innovations of Nokia N93 with a film as cutting edge as M:i:III makes for a truly winning formula for consumers," said Thomas Lesinski, President, Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment.

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N7x Music edition theme

I found this on the E61 Life site this morning (I like the E61 life site, even though the focus is obviously E61 not NSeries. Highly recommended)

I like this theme. I'm not 100% sure whether the theme is N73 music edition or N70. Either way it looks good

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Two Problems on my N73

I've had the N73 for a few weeks now. And despite there being a few reported problems in forums and on other blogs, my phone has been very solid and reliable to date (Hope I'm not tempting fate)

Two things that I've noticed over the last couple of days though:

1) I stored a lot of themes onto the memory card yesterday. However not all are showing on the list of available themes to choose from. Has anyone else noticed this? How did you resolve the problem? Related to this, in the installation manager not all themes are listed, so there are some I cannot remove. They are nice themes so not a major problem, but an annoyance all the same.

2) Writing an email with the built in email client, if I want to attach a picture I have to scroll through the whole gallery to find the pictures(s) I want. This is very frustrating, and I'm sure wasn't like this in previous editions?
The answer to this problem if you've experienced the same, I've found, is Profimail. This allows you to scan folders in a logical manner, making attachment of items very easy. I do wish the font they used on Profimail wasn't quite so small, though.

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Windows Live messenger on your S60v3

Posted over on E61 life I've just installed it on my N73. Connected fine, no problems. I'm gonna play around with it today, I'll post up some more detail later.

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Nokia's mobile search app

I saw this posted on AAS earlier on. Daniel from E61 life posted in the Symbian Freak forums about a search program for S60 3rd edition phones. Symbian Freak run the story on their site earlier. I downloaded the app and put it on my N73. It's a great little app. You can search through messages, emails, other files, calendar events:

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N95 Video

Found over on the Nokia blog a quick 2 and a half minute video of the N95 taken at the Symbian smartphone show this week:



And a quick hands on 'first impressions' review over on Mobile Review. I am very sure this handset will be one of my wants for next year.

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Moblogging

I installed the Picoblogger app the other day. I haven't had chance to use it much but first impressions, it is very good. I'll give an update soon when I've had a chance to use it more thoroughly.

But I was wondering, for those that don't use Picoblogger, if you Moblog, what service do you use?

Shozu has always been a useful application. You can upload photos and videos to a range of blogging sites, to Flickr, to the BBC, CNN & Scoopt. Additionally you can subscribe to Zucasts, a selection of videos & pictures. Usefully you can also back up your contacts keeping a copy of them online.

You can also use Flickr to Moblog. Take a picture on your phone, email it to Flickr. Go to the Flickr email upload page and get your personalised upload email address. In the bottom corner of that page you can set Flickr to post directly to your blog. The compatible services a numerous, including Blogger, Blogger beta, Wordpress, Live Journal and more.

One of the best features on the N73 (also available on N93, N80ie, N72, N70me) is the integrated Flickr support. Instead of emailing the pictures over, upload them directly from your gallery. All the settings and info you need for Flickr Nokia support can be found here.

A simple setup. If you use Blogger, go to the settings tab, and the email sub link. You create a pasword to insert between your blogger username and the blogger domain. username.password@blogger.com Take a pic, add some text and email it to Blogger. Simple & straightforward.

I've never used Nokia Lifeblog. I guess I'll try it out sometime. If you use a different service thats worth knowing about, let me know.

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Phone themes

Over on AAS today I saw a link to E61 life. Daniel there has created a white theme for S60 phones. I've put it on my N73, looks good. Although I still prefer the turquoise theme provided on the S60 blog a few weeks ago.

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Picoblogger

A nice application turned up yesterday, Picoblogger. Allows Moblogging to a variety of services including Blogger, Wordpress & Live journal. Publish and download photos, videos and audio files. Make posts to your blog, tag them, attach mulitple photos and videos. It is probably the best moblogging application available.

Download here:
Picoblogger

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My favourite programs

I've had the N73 a while now. Programs specifically for S60v3 are still a bit thin on the ground, when compared to S60v2 but there are some good apps to be had. Here's what I have on my phone at the moment (S60 & Java apps):

Opera
The built in Nokia Safari web browser is one of the best native web browsers on a mobile phone. Without discussion. But there are some things Opera does better. Worth having.

Opera mini
And if Opera is a good back up, you just need to have Opera mini. With the native browser, Opera & Opera mini there isn't a site you can't view on your phone.

Yahoo Go
Getting a compatible versiono f Yahoo Go for the N73 is not always straight forward. If you bought a Three UK handset, it should be pre installed. If, like me, you have a generic sim free handset, you should be able to download a copy through the downloads app, in the applications folder. Yahoo Go gives you access to the suite of Yahoo services, including mail and messenger, through one simple straight forward menu interface.

Sky by Mobile
Another app that is not easy to get hold of. I applaud companies like SKY and Yahoo who join the mobile arena with great applications. But guys, don't make them so hard to get hold of! SKY by Mobile gives you acces to, amongst other things, the SKY tv planner, SKY news, SKY weather reports, SKY sports reports. And, if you have SKY +, you can set your box to record using the application from your mobile! Definitely a must have app.

Screen Share
Screen Share. A simple to use screenshot application. Sometimes the most simple apps are among the best

Advanced Call Manager
Advanced call manager. The mobile phone allows you to be contacted whenever, wherever. ACM allows you to take back control of who you talk to and when. Screen calls, automatically reject witheld numbers, setup white lists and black lists for calls, accept calls only from your phone book. Excellent app. A rival app would be blackballer:

Blackballer
Which also allows you to block incoming SMS and MMS.

Agile messenger
Finally, Agile Messenger. MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, Google Talk. Easy to access easy to use. Send voice messages, send pictures, over the IM networks.

These are the apps I have on my phone right now. What are you using?

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Carrying case

I've never been a big fan of carrying cases for phones. I've always preferred a good pouch. Protection for the phone when I am not using it, unrestricted access to full phone functions when I need to use them.

I've not found a decent looking pouch for my N73 though. So I bit the bullet and bought a case for it. I bought the case from Mobilefun. So far I am happy with the purchase. The case is manufactured by Krusell, and is an extremely tight fit. The openings on the plastic front of the case are well lined up, but the side openings for the volume and camera keys are not so well aligned.

Overall I'm happy with the case but if anyone has a recommendation for a good pouch, please let me know. Usage of the phone is fine, but I can't operate the camera. The case being a nice tight fit doesn't accommodate easy camera operation. The slide just won't slide.

Finally a quick word for some good service from Mobilefun. I purchased my case on Friday afternoon, it was delivered Saturday morning, standard delivery. Very impressed.

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Advanced call manager for N73

I downloaded this application for my phone this evening. It allows me to control who I receive calls from. It's one of the most annoying things about mobile phones, is people can get hold of you wherever you are. There's no more quiet time, whenever someone wants to get in touch they just call.

I don't want to turn my phone off. I want the option of being able to make a call should I wish, but choose who I don't have to answer to. Of course, I could always see who is calling from the caller ID and reject the call. But with advanced call manager I have total control over incoming calls.

Advanced call manager allows me to set up a selection of call lists. Black lists for numbers I don't want to receive calls from, white lists for groups of people who I want to receive calls from. So if I select a black list, anyone on that list who calls will be dealt with by a rule I previously instructed. Be that diverting them to my answer phone, or just giving them a busy tone. I can set up different black lists, as I can white lists. So during the day I can avoid calls from certain groups whilst at work, but in the evening and weekends I can avoid work numbers.

Withheld numbers are dealt with separately, you can choose to offer them a busy tone or divert them to answerphone independently of any black list operating at the time. I really detest calls from people who withhold their number. My recorded message on my answerphone informs people who withhold their number that this is the reason they've been diverted. I'll call them back at my leisure (or not, depending who it is)

Other features on Advanced call manager offers allows me to set up different situations depending on the profile I've chosen on the phone, and I can also set it up depending on location too.

Overall advanced call manager gives me total control over the calls I receive, or choose not to receive. It's definitely on my top 10 applications list.

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