Posted on

All Hail the US HSDPA Nokia N95!

iPhone or not, I want this phone!! No memory issues AND 3G which I’ve just noticed is finally available where I live!

This new Nokia N95 offers North American 3G/HSDPA/UMTS compatibility while retaining all the award-winning functionality of the existing Nokia N95. In addition, a number of new product upgrades have been added including: assisted GPS (A-GPS) for faster navigational fixes, 124MB of RAM to complement the included 1GB microSD memory card and the 160MB internal memory, and a higher capacity battery for extended operating time.

The Nokia N95 is expected to start shipping in September to a growing number of independent retailers in major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco, as well as the Nokia Flagship Stores in New York and Chicago.

The Nokia N95 will also be available from Nokia’s online store (www.nseries.com) and multiple online retailers with an estimated retail price of $699. [Symbian.com]

Technorati Tags:
, , , , ,

Posted on

Are we there yet?

The jokes are old with regard to blue screens of death in cars… but I can’t help but think how complex life with kids in the car might become if Microsoft controlled the infotainment… The current car systems might be far from perfect, but a MS driven “standard” is not what I am looking for to make it better. I can get my ipod / iPhone working just fine today without assistance from either Apple or Microsoft thanks to good old standard audio and video jacks.

Microsoft and Siemens will join forces to develop in-car entertainment and navigation products that should make it easier for consumers to connect devices such mobile phones and music players.

The two companies said on Friday the first Siemens products based on Microsoft software should go into production in 2009.

The market for automotive infotainment products is set to grow to about $54 billion by 2012 from $38 billion currently, according to research group iSuppli.

The rise of portable media players and content downloadable from the Internet is forcing carmakers and their suppliers to rethink their offerings, which have until recently centered on standalone audio systems. [CNET News.com]

Something about this announcement just made me think of this classic Apple commercial…

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , ,

Posted on

Ooma Annoyances

We are a couple of weeks in with Ooma and there are a few rather annoying things I’d like to report.

  • About 80 – 90% of the calls we receive and 10% of the calls we make have an audible buzzing background sound and make it very difficult to hear the other party. The sound is audible on both sides of the conversation.
  • My Caller ID (outbound) has yet to activate. It’s been several weeks and I’ve even received a piece of mail (paper) confirming things from Verizon.
  • Verizon is still listed as my carrier for Regional Toll Calling and Long Distance. Unless I missed something here I was under the impression that Ooma was making changes to my call plans with my existing carrier (as per their agreement on signup) which would eliminate all but minimal charges with VZ. Instead I’ve got both though I’m missing the standard features like CallerID and have been given crappy call quality as an added bonus.

I tried calling Ooma this am to discuss but while their web site says they open at 8am PST, the recording states they won’t be open until 8:30 instead. My wife is less than pleased… Operators are standing by…

Update

— My buzzing sound has been reported and has been forwarded to engineering. CallerID is apparently hidden for “Security Reasons” by default, but you can enable it on outgoing calls by dialing *82. I expressed my discontent with this option and suggested it be a one time activation with the option to block as needed – the way everyone else handles it. Provisioning Ooma, apparently does NOTHING with your existing carrier LD service and you have to actively cancel Long Distance. I’m going to wait another month to see whether my call sound issues go away before trusting Ooma to be my sole provider at the house…

Technorati Tags:
, ,

Posted on

Nokia to integrate Twango into S60

This is great news from Nokia on how they will use the Twango assets and technology, though I wonder what this means for Mosh…

“‘We are going to integrate it with our S60 platform,’ Stephen Johnston, senior business development manager at Nokia, said in a speech to a trade fair in Helsinki.

When asked about social networking and the role of communities in Nokia’s future he said: ‘It’s really going to be the underlying layer, across everything.'” [CNET News.com]

Technorati Tags:
, , , , ,

Posted on

Video Search…Results are still being tabulated

I saw that Truveo re-launched today…

“Last night, Truveo relaunched as a consumer video search destination. Emphasizing branded content (including branded channels), it may be the most comprehensive video search site on the Internet. The site also has a host of personalization and social media features (user favorites, what’s hot, etc.). Truveo CEO Tim Tuttle contrasts the site with YouTube (which is also indexed on Truveo) as a place where branded content is presented in an environment that is favorable and friendly to professional content producers.

Tuttle also says that the organization and presentation of content on Truveo avoids the ‘noise’ that one finds on many video sites and thus enables people to get to the videos they may want faster. For example, a search for ‘Harry Potter’ on YouTube might yield scores of videos and montages put together by fans mixed with content from professional producers. Truveo calls out the professional content, while also presenting the fan content. Compare YouTube and Truveo search results for ‘Harry Potter.’ Many people will watch and enjoy the fan videos, while others just want to see the professional clip or interview.” [Search Engine Land ]

Sounds good to me … I searched for Nokia N95:

Videos that match your query: nokia n95 - Truveo Video Search

I don’t see one professional video in the bunch. I see two from me (orange cat) taken with a Nokia N95 a few video blogs by Phil Campbell and Ricky Cadden and some “other.” If you look closely you can see the tab we are on by default is Top Ranked. I call this to your attention because when I last checked my own videos, the cat outside stuff was viewed less than 1000 times (by Blip’s count) without a rank. When I look at my YouTube videos I see my N95 Walkthrough has over 33,000 views and 100 rankings (3 stars). My Viddler Browser video has over 83,000 views, Google Maps over 49,000 and the N95 Jaiku beta video over 33,000 views. Get the picture? Viddler seems absent from the results all together actually but I don’t understand why a much more viewed (and relevant) video from YouTube would not show up, while my test samples from the N95 camera (the cat outside) makes it twice as a top ranked result.

I did the same search on Blinkx:

nokia n95: Blinkx Video Results

Interestingly Steve Garfield’s iPhone unboxing (with size comparison to N95) is listed first and I saw that was actually posted today. Blinkx, it seems is leading with the most recent as an indicator of relevance which is the default search sort.

These two video search sites work totally differently and lead you to completely different results. If you are searching for something specific it seems you might be better with “the google” or simply making the rounds on the video sites you know and love to use. Search is still working…

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted on

iPhone IM – Just not practical yet

Lot of chatter today of the release of Meebo for iPhone. I checked it out and it’s nice, but think that Beejive’s Jivetalk which I’ve mentioned previously, is the superior client. They both get the job done in an elegant way, but Beejive has better contact management and enables a float on top of either your buddy list or current chat if something comes in from another buddy. Both let you log into multiple services simultaneously.

In both cases though, I find myself only using IM on the iPhone when I am checking in with something because without either sound or vibration notifications, IM on the iPhone remains a limited experience. I don’t want to leave my IM Safari window open as my primary activity unless I’m actively chatting and when you move on, IM might as well be off since you have no way of know whether something is happening.

Apparently Apple’s Web 2.0 Safari “SDK” did not include hooks into the system audio… Until someone figures this out or Apple let’s me run iChat or Adium directly, I’m leaving IM on the sidelines for regular use.

Technorati Tags:
, , , , ,

Posted on

Sirius on Sonos

SIRIUS on Sonos

If you have or have been thinking about a Sonos system, things just got a bit more interesting with the ability to stream Sirius radio. Sonos has done a remarkable job lining up partnerships to make sure you have every option available through the Sonos UI — effectively replacing the need for physical media. Now if Apple would open up an API for their DRM, Sonos would truly be able to do it all.

Technorati Tags:
, , ,

Posted on

Product Advisory: Nokia BL-5C battery

In case you have not yet heard the news, there’s a product replacement advisory for Nokia Nokia BL-5C batteries. I checked my stash here and found I have two – in the N70 and N91. The N91’s battery matched the lot to be potentially replaced and I’ve submitted my info to Nokia.

Nokia has identified that in very rare cases the affected batteries could potentially experience over heating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge. Nokia is working closely with relevant local authorities to investigate this situation.

Nokia has several suppliers for BL-5C batteries that have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries. This advisory applies only to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. There have been approximately 100 incidents of over heating reported globally. No serious injuries or property damage have been reported.

Consumers with a BL-5C battery subject to this advisory should note that all of the approximately 100 incidents have occurred while charging the battery. According to Nokia’s knowledge this issue does not affect any other use of the mobile device. Concerned consumers may want to monitor a mobile device while charging that contains a BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory.

While the occurrence in the BL-5C batteries produced by Matsushita in the time-period specified is very rare, for consumers wishing to do so, Nokia and Matsushita offer to replace any BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory. [Nokia]

Technorati Tags:
, , , , ,

Posted on

HP – Search over Mobile Ads

It’s hard to argue the logic here… Without really knowing where and what (consumer vs. business vs. enterprise) was marketed I can’t comment in any detail over the planning. The current on-deck stuff has remained limited and the more advanced users more likely to be traveling off-deck into the mobile web of their own terms. As with all things though relevance is the key variable which is why search remains a solid online marketing channel.

Hewlett-Packard’s worldwide media director controls a budget of $829 million and is a big fan of nontraditional media. HP, for example, is devoting 70% of its back-to-school budget to online and viral messaging. Yet Mr. Berg is frustrated by the limitations of mobile-web advertising; marketers who push out ads rather than allowing users to opt in; and strategies that overlook the most important consumer need in mobile marketing: search.

‘We’ve had experience with advertising on the deck of some phone carriers — just didn’t work out for us,’ Mr. Berg said. HP also tested off-deck ads on the mobile web and came to the conclusion that search, at least for the time being, is the way to tackle the new media.

Tangible search terms

‘I would much rather spend the money on the search terms than the advertising because I can track it, I can understand it, I can tweak it based on consumer needs,’ he said.

The key, he believes, is for marketers to realize people are using their phones for information — and smart advertisers will market around that rather than simply pump out a steady stream of ads. He said HP’s latest mobile strategy, which is set to roll out next year, will be based on the thinking that the mobile phone is a utility for consumers.

‘I have a number of concerns about the push technology. One of the big ones is there’s going to be a huge backlash by consumers if we start to push text messages or voicemail messages, and that’s going to lead immediately — immediately — to legislation against this type of activity,’ he warned. ‘Right now you have the do-not-call list. That could possibly get more stringent, in my opinion, if marketers tend to go overboard in push technology in mobile phones.’ [Advertising Age]

Technorati Tags:
, , ,

Posted on

Ooma Day 1

Ooma

So far so good with the Ooma today… Call quality seems clear and no one has commented that we sound any different which has happened on occasion with previous home VOIP services.

Only one glitch which was when I accidentally disconnected my sister-in-law by placing the call on hold. When my wife went to pick up with a second extension the call was not there and I thought a simple flash would flip over to the active line. My understanding of how Ooma works is that you get the second line on a second extension if the line is active elsewhere.

Otherwise the phone is working as we would expect. I like being able to get a visual cue that the phone is in use (#1 Button is active and Red). Still getting used to seeing a blue blink every few minutes out of the corner of my eye…

My wife seems pleased (outside of the call disconnect) and was really very happy to learn we could SEE we had a voicemail AND that you could access things without even having to dial!

I’ve also received an email from Ooma this morning telling me that over the next few days more features (outbound Caller-ID needs to activate for starters) will become available and my current carrier (Verizon) will be notified of the changes we are making which is standard stuff, but good to see that Ooma is on top of the initial welcome and customer communications.

Technorati Tags:
, ,

Posted on

Ooma Arrives

ooma: logo

I received the Ooma today which I initially discussed on my podcast, the GearTech Update.

In the box were both the Hub and Scout which was a nice surprise as the Scout is sold separately or so I thought when I first read about this. I am not sure whether the initial seeds (1500 White Rabbits) are getting both pieces or if everyone does which somewhat offsets the future price of $400. Though the scout is around $40 as I recall – so not that much! You can certainly choose to add a Scout anywhere you want more hardware.

The hardware is both elegant and simple. There are lights to let you know which “line” is active and lets you choose whether you want to join a call or start on a virtual line. I used quotes only because the Ooma provides access to a second virtual line which is usually not available unless you take a call with call waiting. With the box and actually now with the flash on your phone you can switch and start a new call on a separate line. I’ll have to play with this more as I’ve only made a test call to my cell so far (it’s after midnight). You can also conference the two lines together with the box by pressing both line buttons together which is a nice bonus feature. The other buttons enable voicemail access, playback and delete. There’s another button which lets you push any call into voicemail like on your mobile – again a nice bonus feature though I would think this could be even more useful with an LCD display to show Caller-ID. The way cordless phones walk around our home, it’s quite possible to have the phone ring and have no idea where the actual handset is hiding …

I have the main Hub unit on my desk where it can directly connect into our network with my cable modem and router. It’s suggested that you place the Hub between your Cable Modem and Router so that voice can be prioritized over your data. In my past experience with VOIP services (Vonage and CallVantage) this made a noticeable difference and I’ve gone with the suggested configuration. I do however, have the main phone line running through my HP PhotoSmart 3310 Printer so the fax works. The Scout is directly connected to our phone line in the Kitchen with the cordless base station. The phone on my desk is a wireless extension as are the rest of the phones in the house.

When everything is connected and plugged in, Ooma auto-connects and configures itself. The lights blink and after a few seconds you are ready to set up your greeting and voicemail. This is the usual stuff – nothing really to report on this other than I had no issues. When Ooma is active on your phones you get a new dial-tone to let you know it’s on. You also get a visual reminder on both the Hub and Scout with the blue status light. If you lose power or have a network problem, the light turns red and you are back on copper. My plan once I really give this a test is to drastically reduce my Verizon monthly service (currently ~$100/mo) as we’ll only really need basic dial-tone and local calling for emergencies. Ooma also provides web access for call logs and remote voicemail access. I’m not sure that you can get mp3 voicemail attachments as I’ve had with other services and it looks like a flash player, so no listening via mobile phone just yet.

So far Ooma seems like a nice addition to our home telephone set-up, though I’ll be very interested to hear what my wife has to say when she sees and uses it for the first time. It does seem like a very friendly consumer design and other than the fact that we now have another small box on the kitchen desk (her desk!) I like how the boxes let you see you have a voicemail… perhaps now we’ll be better about actually listening to home voicemail messages! In many ways the boxes themselves are a new spin on the older answering machines and Ooma has even called this a Broadband Answering Machine. There’s clearly more under the hood as it’s a VOIP router with Quality of Service (QoS) and P2P inside. I”m guessing that the Scout runs on some home phone-line networking I also am not sure how the P2P really works yet or what the mystery USB port is on the Hub… I’ll post more once we really test this whole set-up. For now, here’s an unboxing… and yes I think I probably do look that tired most of the time.

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , ,

Posted on

Remember when Palm was Cool?

Remember when Palm was cool

It’s been a while since Palm did anything that got my attention in a positive way, but seeing the alleged pictures of the pending Treo 800 just has me scratching my head. Did someone get distracted along the way here or what? This is one ugly design… Are we sure the function buttons are large enough? Could they possibly take up more space? It’s also hard to believe that they are still working with a square screen in this day of portable media when a rotate to landscape view would accommodate video so much more appropriately – though holding that beast might be a tad awkward.

I owned the original Palm and most of the units released following through the Treo 650. Between the revolutionary Foleo and this new Treo, I’m certainly glad my needs have evolved.

Technorati Tags:
, , ,

Posted on

F.C.C. enabling 700Mhz

While this does not fill all of Google’s requirements for participation, it does make the future look good on this pending bandwidth.

“The F.C.C. did not approve a provision that would have required the winner of the auction to sell access to its network on a wholesale basis to other companies. Google favored the rule as a way to hasten competition and innovation in the cellphone industry, a market it is considering.

While the language of the ruling has not been made public, it appears that any company that buys the new spectrum will have to leave it open to devices it does not approve or control. If, for instance, Verizon were to buy spectrum, consumers would have to pay Verizon for access to its network but they could use devices of their own choosing on it.

At present, the carriers decide what devices are used on their networks and therefore control many of the services and software available to consumers. The carriers contend this lets them control the quality of the customer’s experience.” [New York Times]

Whether Google bids or not in the end, the network will be available for the consumer which is excellent. Google wanted the option to bid and lose which would let them win either way with access to the network at a reduced price (not 4 Billion) and offer their services even if there was a toll to get there.

The way things are leaning now, you the consumer will be able to buy any compatible device and use it as you like which is quite different from today. Subsidized devices are going to have to get more interesting or go away with this new model. If I can get more on an open system than I can with a subsidized and (usually) limited device I’ll choose the more open system any day.

This is great news for Nokia who sells unlocked higher end devices and should open the door to greater opportunities for marketing. Whether they walk through that door of course is an entirely different question.

Technorati Tags:
, , , , ,

Posted on

SiRF and Intel joint development agreement

Embedded GPS makes Jack a very happy boy…

“SiRF Technology Inc. (makers of the SiRFstar chip line, amongst others) and Intel (makers of everything else) have just signed a license and joint development agreement to collaborate on products which the companies hope will ‘help location and wireless connectivity become more mainstream in next generation mobile devices.’ As part of the agreement, SiRF will license some of its technologies to Intel, but the company will also co-develop new products which will be destined for Intel-powered gear like mobile phones and ‘mobile internet devices.'” [SiRF and Intel sign license and development agreement – Engadget]

Technorati Tags:
, , ,

Posted on

Sprint, Google in pact for WiMax mobile Web

An interest bit of news from Sprint and Google…We already know that Sprint and Nokia are working on a device for the WiMax network and now a Google Powered mobile portal is in the mix as well.

: “Sprint Nextel said on Thursday it would develop with Google a new mobile Internet portal using WiMax wireless technology to offer Web search and social networking.

Sprint’s WiMax for high-speed wireless and its services for detecting location will be combined with Google tools including e-mail, chat and other applications.”

[News.com]

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Posted on

iPhone vs…

Seems today’s meme is iPhone vs. Blackberry.

Dave Winer looks at ease of use for things we all consider on a daily basis – advantage BlackBerry.

For example, I brought only the iPhone with me to a meeting in Palo Alto last week. As I was driving to the meeting I could see that I would be a few minutes late, so I wanted to call the person I was meeting and alert them. With the Blackberry I would have been able to do this while stopped at a red light. Just search for the person’s name in my inbox, open the first message, highlight the phone number, click the scroll wheel twice (once to dial the number, the second time to confirm that I want to do it).

In comparison, the iPhone only keeps the most recent 25 messages in memory, and this person’s email was not in that group. No search command. And it doesn’t have a scroll wheel or a clipboard. The light turned green long before I found the email that contained the phone number. [Dave Winer]

Mark Hendrickson at Techcrunch compares mainly email – and it’s only due to Exchange sync that the Blackberry wins. With better email / PIM sync the iPhone would have come out on top.

Despite all of these criticisms of the iPhone, our venture capitalist admits that he would switch over to the iPhone if only it supported push email, calendar and contacts synchronization, and GPS. For him, the prospect of ridding his pockets of a separate device for music (an iPod nano), as well as enjoying all of the iPhone’s slick features (such as full-featured web browsing, stocks and weather apps, and its YouTube program), makes the iPhone very tempting. However, until Apple resolves these shortcomings (and perhaps Google makes its applications, especially Gmail, work as seamlessly with the iPhone as Microsoft makes Exchange work with the BlackBerry), others are going to have to pry his BlackBerry from his cold, dead hands (his words, mind you, not ours). [Techcrunch]

In my own usage, I am finding the email experience to be more than a bit anemic. The Gmail integration (or lack thereof) is horrendous. Gmail uses it’s own system which completely messes up the way you’d normally do POP mail – something I really don’t like to begin with… While the 15 min sync interval is fine for most people, in my experience it seems the iPhone is constantly in a state of connection – trying but not downloading messages. When viewing my FastMail IMAP account or Yahoo IMAP account things are more efficient and seem to connect properly and as expected.

I’ve been working with Gmail for quite a while now and while I was accustomed to some limitations on Nokia devices (not respecting my preferred email identity and no sending of attachments) things are amplified on the iPhone. As Dave mentioned, there’s no search, but there’s also no ability to view by tag / folder. Another critical ommision is there’s only one setting for checking mail on all accounts. I’ve been leaving three accounts active, but essentially live in Gmail. As a result I get multiple notifications for all my mail – first in FastMail which then forwards to Gmail. I need Fastmail on the iPhone for when I don’t want to send as Gmail, but Gmail is my main inbox where I want to get quite a bit of other stuff.

As much as I enjoy using the iPhone for all that it does – particularly the web and iPod functions, email is seriously annoying me. We need a dedicated app to manage Gmail – not POP and that will certainly require some changes (an actual application) on the iPhone. I don’t in anyway miss using a blackberry, but thinking about how nice the J2ME Gmail is on my Nokia N-Series devices does give me some pause over which device has my long term usage in its future. Why make compromises when there a choices of devices that can do it all?

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , ,

Posted on

Nokia acquires Twango… a few quick thoughts

Twango Logo

Nokia has announced they’ve acquired Twango for around $90 millon! Twango is a social media site that lets you share photos and video from your mobile or computer. I just signed up and have a few observations.

  • I’ve got no idea how long this was in the works, but where’s the Web Upload configuration for N-Series devices??? Email works from every device, but is a more a pain than anything as it tends to hog the device when you send massive files. I like how you can download vcards for each of the folders you set-up. That’s a nice touch and something most sites that use email as the method do not use. I had them emailed opened and synced to my iPhone in a few minutes.
  • Contacts, the key to all social networks… Where’s the upload my address book feature to search against existing registrants and to enable me to invite my friends who’ve yet to sign up?
  • Limits on uploads suck. Sorry it just does. I previously mentioned how much I enjoyed Vimeo, but found the limits, well limiting for my needs and moved on without looking back. Twango allows the same 250MB per week… If you’ve used the later model N-Series devices, you know it’s easy to get 70-90MB files with a quick video. Do that a few times a few along with your photos and you’ve reached your limit. Choose to share other media from your desktop, and you are over.
  • The site looks good and is certainly easy to use, though a way to play videos on their existing page would be nice. It’s a fresh start here unless you’ve got some way to do a bulk upload (without bumping into the file allowance) and could be a slow transition.

Technorati Tags:
, , , ,

Posted on

Elgato’s HD Homerun … still in the park

Elgato HD HomeRun

Elgato announced the $199 HD Homerun this morning which is a very cool, though limited product.

I love the idea! A centrally located two tuner, HD DVR accessible from any networked computer and ready to share content with my AppleTV, iPod or iPhone. Unfortunately due to one substantial limitation, this box will not be sitting in my equipment rack anytime soon…

The Good – Record two separate HD inputs across your home network. The HD HomeRun sits wherever you’ve got a 100/1000base-T Ethernet connection and a cable box, which is a great option for people like me who have a wired home and a central place for all my gear.

The main negative with this box is that it only works with ATSC and ClearQAM signals meaning you will not be controlling your cable box, but rather working with the unencrypted and freely available signal. This negative is a deal breaker. I have no intention of starting to work with antenna based HD at this point.

Today, I can access our DVRs from any TV thanks to a rather complex installation and networked video. I’d love to export shows from the DVR for use on the AppleTV (more permanent) or to the iPhone, but I can actually do that now with the EyeTV 200 I have currently collecting some dust. Of course I would have to have a computer sitting next to both the cable box (or at least a wired coax connection) and the EyeTV. The HD Home run solves that connection issue by being able to be sit away from my computer, but adds a new wrinkle by only working with Coax connections so there’s no easy way to export from my cable DVR rig. So close…

Posted on

SiriusMac

SiriusMac - Jam On

SiriusMac is a super cool application I just stumbled on at the Apple Downloads site. You have to install MacPython, but that’s very easy (follow the prompts) and then you are on you way. If you’ve got a Sirius Radio subscription this is infinitely simpler than browser streaming which is a royal pain for Macs. The best feature is a single CAPTCHA rather than having to enter one each time you run.

You can set alerts for artists you want to hear (like on a hardware radio) and get Growl support so it’s easy to see what’s playing as things change. You also get a popup guide which shows what’s on each station …

Happy Listening!