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Google updates Search, Reader and iGoogle for mobile

You may have noticed that Google updated Search, Reader and iGoogle for mobile … The iGoogle page has been around for a while though not named iGoogle. If you’d signed into Google, you were able to personalize the start page via mobile which was nice, but now there’s an easier way from your desktop. (thanks AAS)

Reader has been enhanced via the iPhone URL for a while now and I enjoy that view on my N810 as well as the various handsets I tend to use. This morning, I noticed that the old default (and crappy) view has been altered to be more like the iPhone version though …not quite as nice. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you’ll see that you are probably within the Classic view. Click on Mobile instead and you will have access to the richer iPhone view which as discussed previously works great on S60 and on the Maemo Mozilla Browser. The new enhancements work great too … I can now share with note or email from within the mobile view on both platforms which essentially gives me (and you) a full featured mobile reader. Another tip is to hit # and the view zooms out one level which gives you more on screen. Enjoy!

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The important details from the iPhone announcements

Price is killer. 3G and GPS for 199(8GB) or 299(16GB). Though subsidized, it’s a very strong offer and should appeal to the masses in a big way.

MobileMe… I’m looking forward to getting this working and love the idea. Sync is very important and something that’s not very easy to do and usually not that simple for the end user. Apple seems to have nailed this for the key pieces of your mobile life – PIM and Photos. I like it. I also like that my .Mac account will just become MobileMe.

The applications marketplace is nice, but I did not see anything that really turned me on in the demos. I’m not much for mobile games, though the graphics were impressive. I already have a DS and a PSP and rarely use either …

Nokia’s probably feeling good about the hardware side of things today, though the MobileMe details really crush the still yet to be delivered Ovi service. The simplicity of it all is where Nokia seems to still struggle. There’s nothing like that on Windows Mobile or Blackberry either, but only Nokia has been pushing their new service model…

As for my own usage, I’m standing clear of the new iPhone for now. I’ll try the 2.0 software when it’s released and look forward to Exchange sync and potentially the VPN access … Otherwise the device is still basically the same. Camera has not been improved at all though the battery life being reported is very strong and something I look forward to hearing about.

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iPhone 2.no

While I am ready to be surprised, I just can’t see racing out to get the new iPhone. Last year I waited in line, had a blast, (was tortured by activation) and generally enjoyed using the iPhone but after an initial honeymoon phase (3months) I moved on and have really not looked back. It’s been about a year since the iPhone was released and I’m reflecting on the most popular post I’ve ever written.

I think I should reiterate that I am not a normal user. I am a power user and push devices to their limits frequently. I have given this some considerable thought lately thanks to the influence and full effect of the hype machine. For me, and I would imagine a lot of other mobile power users, the iPhone lacks some key details and features we have had for years. Some of these things are likely to equalize but from what I have seen in both current applications and the leaks from the SDK my needs appear to be best met elsewhere.

I have yet to meet a mobile device whose battery can last as long as I need in a day – including the iPhone and I’d expect HSDPA to have the similar battery crushing power it has on other devices. I’ve had good to excellent photo and video capture on my handsets for several years and am not willing to give that up, period.

In the US 3G is still new so that’s a push, but …the applications, local storage, over the air downloading, 5MP camera with Flash, video recording, java, flash in the browser, enhanced bluetooth profiles (keyboards and stereo headsets) are all key pieces to what I look for and need. I often keep applications (other than email and music) running in the background. Cut and Paste are also things I use many times a day …

The browser of course still remains the golden ticket for the iPhone. The manner in which pages load and render on the large auto-rotating screen is excellent and has yet to be contested on a phone in my experience. The iPhone’s email client with HTML is also very strong.

While the application store is going to be a big deal, the trick for the iPhone will be how to prevent the user from getting in the way. What I mean by this is how do you manage more than a handful of icons in the iPhone UI. Looking at my father’s iPhone recently he had two full screens of icons for all of his bookmarks, I mean web apps. My wife’s device has been handled by the kids and is a mess as well. When additional applications arrive the desire to try will be high for many. The more you add the more complicated it gets and the less bullet-proof the experience becomes.

The iPhone’s greatest success has been the broad mass awareness (and relative adoption) of mobile connectivity and I am grateful for that. I hope that the next generation continues to push things as we all stand to benefit.

Things might change on Monday … I’ll be watching just like everyone else!

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Google Reader for iPhone running on the N810

Tonight I learned from Gerry Moth and Matt Stevens that Google Reader has been updated for the iPhone … which of course means it works great on the S60 Platform as well as the Nokia Tablets running the MicroB (mozilla) browser. I tried this tonigh on the N82 using the S60 webkit browser but as soon as I saw it in action I knew I wanted to use the tablet instead.

I shot this quick video on the N82 in my kitchen so I apologize for the out of focus text. I think the point is still quite clear … this is a great way for anyone to enjoy Google Reader on the go!

I’m definitely switching from the standard /m site which only offers a single item at a time. This is MUCH more efficient and works well even over EDGE.

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What’s happening with the S60 browser?

I just caught a post in my reader, which is a bit alarming and rather disappointing if true.

There has not been a checkin to the S60 port in over 8 months… As far as I can tell, the port is dead… Does anyone know the status of the port? If the port is in fact dead, I would like to suggest that we tag (with some keyword, or component) all of the remaining S60 bugs and close them.

As I think back to the Mobile World Congress briefings and hands on time I had with the upcoming Nokia handsets, I don’t actually recall seeing anything new or different in the browser. I even saw some FP2 things, but nothing around the browser than would make you think there’s anything new to expect on that froont.

Has Nokia conceded mobile browsing to Apple? Aside from bringing the minimap, there’s not much going on here. Bookmarklets are missing as is the very basic ability to manually launch a new window – which is something I’ve griped about many times. The potential is there and the newer devices have enough horsepower, but we are left wanting more …

I’d love to hear what if anything is going on here …

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Apple Going WiMax – Doubtful

xohm + Apple

Not like Valleywag has ever been a keen source for Mac information.

“Our sources tell us that Apple may include WiMax, the high-speed, long-range wireless broadband technology, in an ultraportable 13′ notebook computer, and possibly across the entire MacBook Pro line. Just part of the rumor mill flying in preparation for Steve Jobs’s Macworld keynote next week in San Francisco, of course, but our source gives it a ’60 percent chance.’ AppleInsider has pictures of Apple’s banners inside the Moscone center with ‘There’s something in the air’ as a slogan. If true, this could be a risky move for Apple. [Valleywag]

A couple of considerations …

  • Apple chose NOT to go with 3G for the iPhone because it’s not in wide enough distribution.
  • Apple has chosen NOT to release a Blu Ray drive machine yet even though they’ve been in that camp for a very long time.
  • Apple did add ethernet, Wifi and Firewire before anyone and killed the floppy so you never know.

It just seems high risk to me to bet on WiMax as much as I’ve been starting to like the idea. The interesting angle with WiMax is the bring your own device. You just buy network access… not quite as simple as the iPhone all you can eat plan which is currently part of purchase, but considerably more open sounding than your standard voice+data plan. And of course there’s no reason why Apple could not shake that up as they’ve done to date with the mobile market.

ZDNet thinks there’s the opportunity for a few WiMax enabled devices. If this is happening, I’d really like to see an OSX Multi-touch MID much more than a WiMax iPod…

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Single or Multiple Device?

I’m clearly in the two piece camp at this stage of my mobile life.  Andy talks about the Camps of One or Many today  and links to another post written by Alan Reiter on the same topic.  Today I use the N95 with the N800.  I recognize the benefits of each as well as the overlaps but choose to use one of the other to maximize my enjoyment or enhance the experience across the two.  I’ve tried all in one with the iPhone and lasted a few months … A few years ago, I was a heavy Treo user and pushed that to the limits as well.

While I really see the enhanced benefits of browsing, reading and viewing photos and video on a larger screen, I also use my devices so heavily that having a second thing ready to back me up when the battery in one fades is quite helpful.  As we see the release of MIDs with embedded WWAN like the WiMax units shown at CES or the alluded to but not yet seen WiMax N810 from Nokia things will get even more interesting.

My normal day works something like this:

  • Wake up with the N95 alarm, and then check email and Jaiku on the phone right out of bed.
  • On the one hourtrain into NYC, I fire of the N95’s music player and listen to music or podcasts (which I update over the air through the day)
  • The N800 usually then slides out of my pocket and I tether to the N95 to start diving into my feed reading.  I usually also fire up IM, Email and Mauku, a Jaiku client.
  • Depending on which device happens to be capturing my attention at the time, I check in with Jaiku, Gmail, Twitter and Google Reader.
  • During the day I swap the N800 for a work issued blackberry as the second device in my pocket but really only use it for email as it actually sucks (yes sucks) at most other things.
  • My return trip is pretty similar to the morning though I’ve watching a fair bit of video over the past few months instead of feed reading on the N800.  I do multi-task with the N95 and find myself staying connected with Jaiku and email.

I also sporadically snap photos, shoot video (which upload or stream as they are captured).  3G service (ATT) kicks in after about 20 minutes in my ride towards NYC and substantially enhances the overall online experience…

I could probably do all of this on the N95, though it is actually more convenient to have two, in the same way it’s more ideal to work on two monitors.

When I had the N810, I was actually writing posts on the go, not just consuming them and that’s purely a factor of having a built in keyboard and the availability of applications like Maemo WordPy which is offline blog editor for the tablet.

Maybe it’s that I miss my Nokia N810 (still waiting to get a release version swapped with the proto I tested) or maybe it’s the sheer lack of excitement from this year’s CES, but now I really want to get a MID.  The Intel booth showed off all kinds of cool devices and for me this really is a category of interest.  I know MIDs are not likely to become mainstream in the next year (or two) but for the power user, they really fill a beautiful spot in my mobile life.

Typically  a MID is pocketable vs. a UMPC which is something you need a bag to carry.  This distinction is something that makes the experience for a mobile power user like myself.  I can’t see going to a single device anytime soon.  I think the SDK and pending apps for the iPhone are a very interesting thing to watch here, but more interesting to me would actually be a slightly larger connected tablet from Apple …

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All Nokia Media

I decided last week that I wanted to simplify my mobile media experience and ordered a 6GB microSD card so i could my N95-3 and N810 for evrything instead of also carrying my iPhone just for a few albums and podcasts. I’ve had an iPod since it was first released and have had my computer media experiece live inside iTunes. The full Apple ecosystem is strong and I’m a firm advocate of sync and go … Or at least I was.

For the most part the songs and albums stay the same on my ipod and it’s really podcasts that change with any real frequency – daily to weekly as things update. I thouht the 6GB card would be mainly in the tablet vs the phone as I started planning this but thus far (day 3) my plan has shifted a bit back to the phone. I’ve actually ordered a second 6GB card to use in the tablet so I don’t have to share and so each device can focus on some key pieces of the experience. A surprise arrived on Friday as well in the form of the Nokia N81 8GB which is designed to optimize the mobile music experience and I’ve been playing with that along with the N95.

Music and Video

Right now I have music on both phones and a limited amount of converted video on the tablet. The phones serve as really nice music players – quality seems solid on both. I have yet to do an A/B test as my recently updated iPhone (1.1.2) has not been reactivated… I’ve yet to swap its sim back from the N95 to complete the activation process!

The Nokia podcasting application does a great job importing my opml from iTunes and is able to update on a schedule or manually with a wifi connection or via cellular data. I’ve been manually switching things between wifi at home and cell on the go so I can get the latest stuff for my commute. Since I am unable to install anything on the work machine and do not have an itunes there’s no way to get an updated set of podcasts … Or even a quick download during the day on the iPhone. The Nokia phones however easily take care of business without the assistance of a computer which has really been quite awesome.

The N81 integrates podcasts directly into the music player which is something I’m hoping makes it back upstream to the N95 with a firmware update. In either case you can access podcasts as a genre and using the keypad you can live search through your collection of both music and podcasts. The Nokia Podcasting app also supports video which works nicely too though I’ve gone into the app to playback rather than use the music player which does not show video. When there’s an update to the Nokia Video Center application for the latest tablet OS2008, I will also subscribe there and predict my viewing preference will be the tablet’s larger screen.

Movies and TV shows are pretty easy to convert for the N810. Unfortunately video does have to be converted which takes time, but is relatively straight forward with the right tools. MediaConverter is probably the simplest to use and with the promise of making a file the tablet can play it’s hard to pass on it. Handbrake and (if you use Windows) Nokia’s new video conversion application also work well though if Hanbrake is your preference you might want to copy the settings from one of the other apps to make sure you get playable files.

Phone + Media Player

Like you would expect the Nokia phones pause and resume playback for phone calls much like the iPhone… So there’s no magic there, but it works relieably and well. The N81 has a dedicated music button next to the naviwheel and the N95’s multimedia key serves the same purpose. I discorvered today that a press and hold which brings up the music player on the N95, can also bring you right back to your previous application … A nice and I am sure not well known function.

The more I’ve used the phones as media players I can really see the potential benefit to an A2DP headset which would deliver stereo sound and also let me handle calls without switching things around my ear. My Shure E4C earphones are great but if I knew or needed the flexibility daily a wireless single unit would be killer.

What’s missing?

Amazingly the N81 is not supported by Nokia’s recently updated Multimedia Transfer application which would let me take advantage of playlist syncing as well as photos through iPhoto (though I use Aperture). While the N95 is supported, I’ve chosen to maintain a parallel experience and did a bulk copy (~4GB) using mass transfer mode on the N81 and a card reader for the N95. As it happens my mac mini media server crapped out at home so I had the external media drive on my desk and did a hunt and find to then drag over on both devices. This process took considerably longer than it would in iTunes to find what I first wanted and then actually to copy over. The Mac finder estimated over 2hours and after about 30 min I walked away. When I returned both were ready to roll. Sync is a really great thing to have and I hope that the Nokia Multimedia Transfer application (which has also been brutally slow for me) supports the N81 or that Nokia develops an actual plugin for itunes much like they did for iSync.

Copying video to the N810 was also done through a card reader and I will continue to do that as the video files I am using for my mobile needs are not really things I want clogging up iTunes.

Final thoughts

Outside of the initial bulk load, day to day use has been a pleasure. Music and podcasts are easy to access and update and video podcasts as well as converted video on the tablet all play well. Since I am already well converted as a two-piece mobile user, this plan works great for me though there’s no reason why the phone alone would not also do a lot of good. Of course you can’t playback any iTunes Store content as there is no Apple DRM access on anything other than their mobile devices, but that’s far from a deal breaker for me. Most of my content is from my own physical media collection and Amazon’s MP3 has an excellent DRM-free collection for “need it now” moments. I’ll probably dabble with the Nokia Music store when it eventually works in the US, but I’m less of a fan of Windows DRM.

Just as a sidenote, this entire post was written on the N810. That’s definitely not something I ever considered with the iPhone.

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iPhone SIM DUN Access Solved!

iPhone SIM Removed

Free your SIM for a faster data connection!

I honestly have no idea why this is working now but it is, and I’m very happy!! I know I ranted about this earlier this week and I still think that there is something wonky with the iPhone SIM. I had a lot of trouble getting my MacBookPro’s Bluetooth Internet Connection to stabilize but thanks to some coaching from David Pitkin I finally just nuked the pairing with the N95 and started fresh. I had to reboot a few times in the process of sorting this out due to my Mac automatically going into disconnecting mode with the phone even though a connection had not been activated. Quite frustrating!

If you’ve connected with Cingular or ATT in the past with other devices this will look familiar as it’s the standard setting

Network Control Panel

The Password for Cingular / ATT is CINGULAR1 (all caps). I believe the settings are case sensitive so be sure things are ALL CAPS! While you can’t see it, I have TCP Header compression on in PPP options. This should be a default setting…

Bluetooth Modem

Error correction is on and I am using the Nokia 3G CID1 script which can be found on Russ Barkman’s excellent site. When you download the modem scripts they need to go in /Library/Modem Scripts – that’s the machine level, not your user folder.

From there it’s a matter of just connecting either from your Menubar or from the Internet Connect and you should be online with your phone – in my case the Nokia N95-3.

Internet Connect

This has been seriously harder than any other DUN connection I’ve tried to get working and yet amazingly it’s using the standard settings. I was given a glimmer of hope earlier in the week when the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet connected after I tried adding a fresh setting. That did not have the same initial impact on the Mac. I’m 99.9% sure I was typing everything correctly based on the number of times I’ve tried to get this going. I think I would have hit it at least once! I still don’t seem to have MMS working, but I can let that slide in exchange for DUN.

Anyway… it’s working and I am ready to rock my 3G Bluetooth DUN connection when I travel. Who needs airport wifi?

David – I definitely owe you a beer in San Francisco this week!

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This iPhone Lockdown is Ridiculous!

iphone-lockThis has nothing to do with the Applications issue…

The iPhone is a completely locked device. Both the device itself as well as the SIM card from AT&T are locked. Of course, hackers have broken these things, but if you don’t want to have to break it to “fix it” you are pretty much out of luck in enabling features that are quite common for phones today.

Currently the iPhone does not support MMS or DUN and AT&T’s SIM is locked and prevented from offering these services to another device should you switch devices for the day (or longer). You can choose to have AT&T deactivate this SIM and activate a new (and different) SIM card for your other devices but this is both ridiculous and cumbersome since you would have to reverse the process in order to then use the iPhone. There’s nothing you can do except pay more money to use features most any other smart or feature phone offers. If you want the iPhone this is how it is. If you want another device in conjunction, AT&T is more than happy to sell you an additional line … and data plan!

I tend to use a lot of devices. I enjoy being with a GSM carrier so I can move between devices as the mood strikes me and usually choose the device that suits the need for that day or a particular trip. The Nokia N95-3 is an awesome (and open) device and the phone I currently want to be able to take full advantage. While I can use the 3G services AT&T offers on the phone with the iPhone SIM inside, I cannot send (wonder if I can receive) an MMS or use the phone as a bluetooth modem for my laptop or internet tablet. This is something I have long done (and paid for the privilege) with previous devices before the special iPhone plan was created. This special plan by the way includes unlimited data! I know even unlimited is limited (xxGB) in the TOS, but I should still be able to use (or even pay more if I must, to use) the device I want on the network I am paying to access.

I’m very frustrated by this situation and am not about to pay for a second phone plan or cancel the iPhone one and give AT&T and Apple the satisfaction of an ETF (~$170). I just want my 3G service in the N95 shared with my personal network of devices and when I want the iPhone for the day I am more than happy to deal with EDGE and WiFi. Is there an actual logical (not because Steve Jobs said so) explanation behind why this is impossible?

I’ve heard that PAN works with a Blackjack and iPhone SIM, but there’s no support for PAN in the Nokia’s that I’ve found… There’s a very interesting proxy access hack for the iPhone that seems like it would work on the N95, but there’s no proxyserver application that I’ve found. GNUBox looks promising, but is unsigned and rather complex to deal with.

Image found on Google… borrowed from ZDNet.

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Sharing your iPhone’s SIM card…? No DUN or MMS for you!

I use a variety of devices as I am sure you’ve gathered by now and I’ve encountered some interesting things when using the iPhone’s SIM card with my Nokia N95…

Because you’ve got Visual Voicemail set up from the iPhone, there’s no easy way to call the ATT number and get your messages. It’s an entirely different system. The trick is to call your own number from your cell and you’ll be right in your inbox.

You get a txt message when a voicemail comes through which looks like this:

Visual Voicemail Notice NOT on the iPhone

The first time I missed a call it admittedly took a few moments to realize what I was looking at. I’ve blanked out my phone number above, but otherwise that’s what you get. I just delete them now and call in for the message. Sometimes a second txt arrives after you’ve listened and deleted… This is clearly not Visual Voicemail.

As I’ve mentioned a few times in a some recent posts, the iPhone does not support the 3.5G services ATT offers but the SIM does not prevent that speed from coming through to the handset of your choice… No changes are required to enjoy this, just plug it in and roll!

The rub with regard to data is that there does not seem to be a way to use your non-iPhone on the iPhone plan as a bluetooth modem via Dial-Up Networking (DUN). I’ve tried my laptop (which immediately recognized the N95 and was ready to go with ATT) as well as my Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, but neither device was able to actually connect.

MMS also does not work at all.

Mms blocked! Mms blocked!

My guess is that the SIM has locked out these features since the iPhone does not offer them. I am having trouble accepting this on principle that I have unlimited data plan with messaging (and ATT can bill incrementally for MMS if they want). DUN I can accept as a slightly different deal, but should still be made to work as it always has before the iPhone.

If anyone has a working shared iPhone SIM DUN connection, please let me know! I know I fall into the minority here, but there’s got to be a way to get this working … before I have to call ATT.

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Nokia N95 or Apple iPhone?

The iPhone and Nokia N95 are constantly compared these days as they represent the über device from both Nokia and Apple. Aside from this detail they really target very different audiences. The iPhone is a more mass oriented unit while the N95 goes for the higher end prosumer mobilista. The gadget lust associated with the iPhone however, has attracted plenty of geeks and potentially higher end users… Since I have both and have extended experience using them over a good amount of time, I thought I’d share my views on how they stack up.

Smartphone or Feature Phone?

As reluctant as I was perhaps initially to say this, the iPhone is not a smartphone. It is however, a truly fantastic feature phone and one that all phones and handheld devices will be measured against based on some fantastic software engineering. The browser is amazing to use and media playback is outstanding. If you are an iTunes user it does not get any easier to sync your photo, video and music content. Apple has also made it very simple and straightforward to sync your contacts, calendar and bookmarks. Bookmarks are of particular interest given how strong the browser experience really is.

The N95 is able to do all that I’ve mentioned so far with the iPhone, though configuring sync takes a bit more effort and it’s not possible on Mac to sync bookmarks… PC Users can use Nokia’s PC Suite. That said, the N95 really takes it up a notch with regard to applications. While this is a particular sore point for the iPhone community after the latest firmware release, the latest iPhone apps still did not compare to what can be done with the N95.

At the basic level of things, the iPhone can only send SMS messages to a single recipient; disables the ability to forward an SMS to another person and offers no MMS. I tend to email pics over MMS, but it’s nice to at least have the option of receiving an MMS message which has happened more than a few time with family picture sharing. The iPhone can also only use purchased tracks from iTunes as ringtones. The N95 can do it all here including using any sound file you like for a ringtone.

Marketing can really create the perception that something is more than it is and it would be hard to find fault in the Apple strategy which to date has been executed flawlessly. Because Apple is targeting a mass audience they have developed the popular perception that the iPhone is everything that you need in a beautiful simple package. They are right too — assuming you fit in the demographic set. Nokia on the other hand has taken a very different approach with their devices in general and more specifically here in the US where the carriers tend to own the relationship with the consumer. The current Open campaign has had a few bigger impressions (spreads in the NYT) but is for the most part a more targeted approach designed to appeal to the more intense mobile user. The best way I can sum this up is something quite a few of the mobile blogging community has shared:

The iPhone is for consuming content, while the N95 is for creating it.

Another way might be to say one is for passive use (predominately reading) while the other is far more active (sharing back). The N95 can of course be used to consume content and does a very good job, though when compared to the Apple ecosystem it falters a bit. This is not to slight the Nokia effort, but more to compliment the Apple one. When you control the entire flow, you can do special things not available to someone working with a number of different components from different parties. The N95 does have some very cool tricks. Using the video center application, you can browse, download and view video from a variety of sources like YouTube and beyond. The upcoming release of Flash Lite 3 will support .flv files which means we’ll be able to view video on a web page. Of course the iPhone can do this today – but only for h.264 content.

The N95’s 5MP Camera and flash shoot gorgeous still and 30fps video at a very high resolution. Nokia likes to say DVD-Quality which is a stretch in my opinion, but the results are seriously good and something that plays very well on a large screen. Out of the box, the N95 is ready to post fullsize (EXIF included) images to Flickr as well as video to Vox. With the addition of third party apps you can post content to an array of sites which enables you to live blog or lifestream as you go. The iPhones 2MP camera takes pretty good shots in well lit environments, but no video and when you choose to send a picture, the iPhone automatically forces things to scale to 640×480 and simultaneously strips the EXIF data out.

Speed baby, Speed!

While I am sure we’ve all heard the line that the cost to the battery of 3G did not make sense for the iPhone, it’s hard to ignore if you live in a covered area. Having now truly experienced 3G(UMTS) and even 3.5G(HSPDA) it’s hard to go back to EDGE which is simply pokey by comparison. Both the N95 and iPhone have 802.11 G WiFi connections, but when you download or stream content over 3G on a train or in a car,you start to expect more than what you can get from WiFi. Of course if you really just want to be able to glance down and see that the latest email is in your inbox, EDGE is just fine.

The N95 can also be used as bluetooth modem for your laptop or Internet Tablet if you like which is something that cannot be said for the iPhone. It’s when you start to really explore online or transfer larger files that you really want the speed.

Webkit does not equal Safari…

While both the N95 and the iPhone use webkit as the core engine for their browsers, the iPhone has pushed things much closer to a desktop experience. The focus on enabling tabbed browsing really makes the iPhone infinitely more useful. I usually leave a tab open to Gmail and another to Jaiku. Links from email (I also use POP and IMAP) open in a fresh tab which does not disturb existing sessions. Safari on the iPhone is also smart enough to restore my tabs if it should happen to crash – or even if you restart the device. The N95 cannot open a second tab or window even though the N95-3 has enough RAM to enable multiple window surfing, it is not possible – yet. Perhaps a candidate for a future beta labs release….

The Full Internet Myth

Sure you can choose to browse the full version of a sites on either device, but the best (as in most efficient use of your time) is still through the mobile web. This is my opinion of course, not a fact, but I’ve spent enough time reading on the small screen to believe that a mobilized site can deliver the meat of what you want / need without the BS associated from the larger view. Aside from vastly improved load times on EDGE, fewer system resources are used to render the page as well so it can really seem quite speedy.

The iPhone does offer some slick tricks with the screen rotation and tap zooming but I tend to only take advantage of that on a WiFi connection as it’s annoying to wait when on the go.

Open or Closed?

The iPhone was hacked to enable applications, but it seems destined to be a hack for the time being (once the latest firmware is again hacked) rather than being an open system for applications and owner freedom. While I enjoyed using AppTapp to download and play with the applications that were available to iPhones, they were in no way competitive with the current roster of applications for the S60 platform. Sure some of this can just be based on the maturity of S60 over the few months old iPhone system, but it really comes down to how both companies view their devices.

The proper path to develop for the iPhone is through the Safari browser which currently limits you to online only services without local storage, access to basic phone features like contacts or calendar let alone more advanced ideas with presence or easy access to the phone’s data connection. There is no current API for more serious development.

On the N95, it is quite easy to add applications that suit your need. I regularly snap pictures and videos and as noted above usually opt to lifestream them to flickr on the go using a variety of tools. Zonetag can access my location data which can be shared along with the EXIF data in the full scale image as it uploads. I run a version of Gmail built in Java that gives me a very similar experience to the fuller web version (archive, delete, spam, tag views and search…). Jaiku integrates with my contacts to share presence status and enables me to easily maintain contact within my social network. I use Handy Weather to download forecasts automatically every few hours and use the information as my screen saver so at a quick glance I get an idea of what tomorrow will be like. I can choose from a selection of mapping applications that can take advantage of storing content locally on a memory card and using the GPS features as I like. There are countless other examples.

Beyond applications, the N95 is sold as an unbranded unlocked device while the iPhone is sold only with a contract for ATT service. An unlocked and unbranded device means you get to choose what you do with it and what (GSM) carrier you want. If you travel, you can easily swap the SIM card for another and pay local rates or use a pre-pay if you want. You make a plan decision on the iPhone during activation and need to stick it out for the term of your contract. I was already and ATT customer so it was not a big deal, but this is something to definitely consider…

What device is for you?

I am asked frequently which is better and that’s a really hard call because it really comes down to how you think you might use the device moving forward. The iPhone’s strength is that it offers an easy way to do more than most people have ever considered on a handset. Advanced users may soon see past the UI beauty and yearn for more power and there’s only one way to go there. I’m hoping that Nokia is paying enough attention (as I believe they are) and makes a few adjustments through either the beta labs or just directly in future firmware to the browsing experience which is the only current weakness in the N95-3.

For now I am still actively using both, though with a single SIM card I have to decide daily based on what I think I need. The N95 is currently in my pocket …

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Nokia Delivers with the US Nokia N95!

Nokia - N95

Nokia’s Unlocked Campaign is enjoying some magical timing right now. While there’s no way to have predicted that Apple would become so greedy with regard to apps on the iPhone – sometimes you just score.

As I mentioned in my Unlock LA recap, Nokia has committed some substantial resources to the US market and finally delivered a very high end device to take specific advantage of the available 3G network. The N95-3 is an amazing release and represents everything that the N-Seres platform has to offer. While physically it look like the original, substantial enhancements have been made that deliver on the promise we initially heard.

In specs, the N95 in all it’s flavors (there are now three) is a very powerful device that delivers great voice and data capabilities, robust multimedia creation and consumption ability and looks and feels great in your hand as well. That said, my initial experiences while cool from a geek perspective, was also disappointing by some actual limitations as well. There are quite a few software related bugs that got in the way causing either input or low memory errors or both; an overtaxed and anemic battery tends to cap out after only a few short hours; and even some reports of poor build quality.

I don’t think I can emphasize enough that Nokia shorted the original N95 in RAM making it difficult to impossible to multitask efficiently — at least the way I want to use things. I could never snap an in the moment picture if anything was open and running…

Those days are over.

The N95-3 is exactly what should have been released initially making it truly the “multimedia computer” Nokia touted. With about 80MB of RAM available to the user along with the new 1200mAh BL-6F Battery AND the addition of US HSPDA, the N95-3 is a force to be reckoned with!

Now that's what I'm talking about!

It was impossible to really appreciate the changes to the N95 in LA. Even though there was plenty of time to play, it’s not the same experience as when you are able to load your own applications and use things over the course of a day. As you can see in the screenshot above, I have plenty of things running simultaneously and almost 58MB of RAM free. For non-S60 users, this is a metric-assload and something you just don’t see. It also means that I don’t have to worry about deciding to snap a picture or shoot a video and seeing an out of memory error or worry that something will have been shut down in the background – both regular experiences on the previous edition.

Over the past two days I’ve been really using this device pretty actively – though the way I usually do as well. Jaiku has been loaded and active the entire day along with the browser and a number of other apps which I use on and off as needed. I’ve made liberal use of WiFI as well as cellular data and a few applications (Nokia Maps, Zonetag, Jaiku and Earthcomber) have tapped the location capabilities of the GPS (as well as through A-GPS) and my battery has easily made it from morning until dinnertime and beyond. Aside from the fact that it is impossible to run everything at once on the original model, the battery would certainly have been drained by lunchtime.

I can’t say I really have any real gripes here. The Multimedia Key was initially unresponsive but was fixed by powering down and removing the battery for a few minutes. I already knew (but forgot courtesy of the iPhone) that the S60 browser does not easily handle multiple windows – something that would be amazing now with all this memory. Shozu refuses to run reliably, but that’s not Nokia’s fault and Yahoo’s Zonetag’s S60v3 release seems to be filling that need nicely.

I do have an issue with ATT… get the 3G service to Northern Westchester, STAT!! I had a taste (all over NYC and in Southern Westchester) of 3G – actually 3.5G according to the N95 and wow!! EDGE, while adequate for email and mobile optimized browsing is nothing in comparison to the speed of the faster network. It’s equivalent to the upgrade from dial-up to broadband.

Even though much of the N95 is familiar, this latest release is like a new experience and I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface. Having so many capabilities in such a small package and essentially no limit on what you can do is seriously empowering. I will certainly have more to add soon…

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Sip. Buy. Repeat … another day perhaps

Apple - iTunes - Starbucks

I tried the Starbucks iTunes store yesterday at a few Starbucks in NYC but failed to get to work at all. I was able to connect to the T-Mobile HotSpot which directed me to the Starbucks captive portal page, referencing the music, but the iTunes application repeatedly failed to connect.

The store was supposed to be live yesterday and seems to be referenced on the portal page… just no luck getting through. I’m not sure whether it’s not really live in all Starbucks or if they were just having some technical difficulties yesterday.

I shot some admittedly poorly focused video below via N95 as I was hoping to bring home the goods on how it worked… instead, I failed at each store.

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iPhone successfully updated to 1.1.1

I took the plunge and restored and reflashed my iPhone yesterday. I had previously downloaded the update to 1.1.1 but waited to get home from my trip to take care of the update. Fortunately, things went smoothly and I was able to re-activate and restore my data as it was…. minus my apps and custom ringtones and previously stored photos, which I expected based on previous updates.

For the record, I used AppTapp and had installed a slew of new applications as well as used SendSong to make a purchased iTunes track a ringtone. My screenshots taken with the Dock app are long gone, but the ones I wanted to share are posted on Flickr. While I had installed AnySIM, I did not run it to try an unlock my SIM card, which I think helped in smoothing out the process.

With the update to the iPhone I am back to the store ringtones, no new apps and of course the release of the WiFi Itunes store. Here’s a quick overview on how it works … and yes it’s WiFi, you cannot connect to it over EDGE.

iTunes - Purchased on iPhone

After you purchase and re-sync, you’ll see this in iTunes…

In general the update is very solid. The basics as you’ve probably read elsewhere by now are that you can program the home button to double-tap into the iPod and when locked a doubletap floats the playback controls which is super handy. There’s also the addition of auto-punctuation with a double space after a word which is a nice tweak and something that will please those coming from Blackberries.

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More details on the Truphone for Iphone

I was able to speak with Alistair Campbell, the CTO of Truphone earlier this week and am excited by what lies ahead for the iPhone as well as TruPhone in general. For starters, you should check the video out at Andy Abramson’s blog that I linked to last night. It’s a bit blurry at times, but they are clearly making a Truphone call from the iPhone.

If you’ve read the news from yesterday on this you know that TruPhone is installing a SIP stack and then enabling the hardware on the iPhone (without damage) to make a VOIP call over WiFi. The plan is to release a beta within weeks… maybe a month or so which will let people try this out and also appreciate the ability to switch to VOIP as they choose. There are other interesting features coming as well …

Truphone is working to enable the ability to choose which number is shown on your outbound CallerID so you can either reveal or conceal your numbers as you like which is very cool and usually the kind of trick you can get from a click to call experience (at least from what I’ve seen) via the web. Alistair also mentioned Truphone is looking into MVNO deals so they can offer their own SIM card which will let you maximize your truphone experience and save some good money while roaming

I am really looking forward to the initial iPhone trial…

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TruPhone to Launch VoIP for iPhone

Truphone Logo

Oliver Starr rocking some sweet news via Blognation!!

To say the application isn’t yet ready for prime time would be a pretty major understatement as it currently requires the use of terminal on the iPhone to tell the iPhone to use its on-board SIP stack to place the call over WiFi instead of via the SIM card. To use the terminal application, in turn requires that you first Jailbreak the phone using an application like iBrickr or iFuntastic.

This is not an application for the inexperienced or the faint of heart.That will all change however as the company tells me that it intends to finish development on the application which will include simplifying the activation and adding seamless switching back and forth between VoIP when open WiFi is available and the use of the SIM card when out of WiFi range. It is important to note that it is NOT NECESSARY to break the SIM lock to use TruPhone’s iPhone VoIP application. [blognation USA]

I have confidence (yes without seeing it in action) that this will be a very solid solution when it arrives and I welcome the opportunity to test it out. My previous experience with TruPhone on the Nokia N-Series has been excellent. Their software auto-switches easily between networks (not with an active call) but makes sure you can make the lowest cost call wherever you are. International travelers and people with limited cell coverage will rejoice at this. TruPhone just needs to wait out the pending iPhone software update to make sure they can still get apps installed without breaking things.

Andy Abramson has a video of this! Wish I cold figure out how to embed hipcast, but you can just click over to see it in action.

A quick sidenote… If you have a Grandcentral account, you can share that number linked to your Truphone and cell (and others) and be sure to receive a call wherever you happen to be on whatever network your devices happen to know about…

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Gmail Mobile Updated!

There’s a very nice update to Gmail’s Mobile web version today which I just noticed on the iPhone.

New gmail mobile

As you can see there’s FINALLY a check-box next to each message so you can select a bunch of messages and then act upon them at once. For some reason this was only available in the full or HTML version’s of Gmail and is not something you can even do in the java version. Seems to work the same on my Nokia N800 and N95.

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