Katonah Cam Activated. For your snow fall viewing pleasure. I even removed the screen from the window…
Technorati Tags: Katonah, NY, Webcam, Snow
Carman for Nokia Tablets!
Carman for Maemo looks amazing
I discovered Carman on Maemo Garage last night…
I am pretty sure that most cars built in the US after 2000 have the required connector under the hood to send the data to your Nokia Tablet with an additional bluetooth device. I’m not that much of a car geek, but I could see myself becoming one very quickly with this…
Makes me want to revisit integrating GPS, Music and Phone (now telemetry) through a nice touch screen. Carputer here I come!
I honestly have no idea how much the OBD-II device costs, but I am off to investigate!
Nokia N800 – Maemo Mapper
I had posted a screenshot of Maemo Mapper earlier this week, but thought it might be quite a bit more interesting to see it in action. I was successful in configuring three different map sources – Google Maps (Streets and Satellite), Virtual Earth (Streets and Satellite) and Terraserver. There are differences between all of them:
- Terraserver only provides topographical information
- Google Maps seems more up to date than
- Virtual Earth which seems to have the simplest and easiest to read map
I’ve used both cellular data (EDGE) from my Nokia N73 and home wifi connection to download maps and use the Nokia LD-1W GPS, which is very small and easily fits in a pocket. You can capture full tracks and export as well as import .GPX files which is cool so you can share trip data with other applications like Google Earth or import POIs from Geo Caching sites.
Technorati Tags: Maemo, N-Series, WiFi, Nokia, GPS, Google Maps, N770, Bluetooth, N800, Internet Tablet, Maemo Mapper
Snowy drive
Maemo Mapper in Action!
I snapped a screen shot of maemo mapper downloading… and then uploaded to Flickr from the N800!
If you have a bluetooth GPS (I use the Nokia LD-1W) you can get a mobile GPS with Google Maps running pretty easily. The main limitations are the speed of your connection (you download as you go, but can save for future reference) and the strength of your GPS.
I believe a SIRF III device would connect much more quickly than my current GPS, but it works VERY well once it’s active and in sight. It took stopping the car for Maemo Mapper to agree the GPS found us, but from looking at the screenshot Maemo Mapper was tracking my course anyway… very slick.
Technorati Tags: Google Maps, GPS, Maemo Mapper, N-Series, N770, N800, Nokia, Navigation
Grand Central Station Holiday Lights
Here are a few pics of the Holiday Lights in Grand Central from last night… taken with the Nokia N73
Technorati Tags: Flickr, Grand Central Station, Holiday Lights, N-Series, N73, New York, Nokia, Shozu
Low Battery!
The low battery message is unfortunately something I’ve seen on all the Nokia mobile phones I’ve used (E61, N91, N80) that have WiFi except the N93, which I suspect is because it has the largest battery. It seems it’s just something you need to understand how to limit in order to maximize the battery, but it’s still something that makes we wary about having a full day ahead and no charge capability. Tomorrow I’ll be on the go for the day and expect to use my phone for a few important calls, a lot of email (GMail Mobile) and probably a bunch of other things like Shozu and SMS.
Today I was a bit heavy on Gmail, had 2 calls and tried to take a few pictures and was in the process of uploading to Flickr with Shozu when I got the low battery message — it was only 2:30pm. I had charged the N80 overnight as I do almost every day with all my in rotation phones and was not psyched to see this…
The only thing that comes to mind immediately here is the Smartroaming app which I have set to use Wifi if I am in range at home. WiFi scanning is set to off… GMail does not auto-refresh so it’s unlikely that this is the demon, but man something is seriously draining the battery.
Given my current comfort with the N80i this week I’ve decided to bring the N73 instead. I recently spent the better part of the weekend with Gmail, SMS, Shozu and some calls without a recharge … It feels like a few days to a few hours. Not good.
Technorati Tags: Nokia, N80, Gmail, Shozu, Flickr, WiFi, N-Series, N73
Nokia On Board GPS
If you’ve yet to consider how helpful it might be to have an on board GPS system in your mobile, check this out…
Sure there’s a small glitch at the end, but this is a soon to be released product that will most certainly improve. I like that Nokia has built in a content store beyond just the installed POI which should make for some nice incremental sales as people travel about.
Got Gear Will Travel
As I read Oliver’s post on MobileCrunch, I realized that I am not alone in packing gadgets and accessories for a trip. As I packed for my recent trip to Iceland I geared up for the adventure specifically (mainly with International adapters), but actually carry a similar load on most days. Here’s the core gear I brought along:
- Nokia E61 – My main work device. I use it for Exchange sync via MailforExchange, calls, browsing and the occasional VOIP call. I use the mobile Gmail client to check my personal mail as well as
- Nokia N73 – I swap my SIM to this baby for my personal use and actually consider it the current champ in Nokia’s arsenal of devices. I love the size, camera and connectivity – amazing reception! On my trip I bailed on the E61 once I realized that there was not an abundance of WiFi (as in none) and used this to snap pics which were then auto-uploaded to Flickr via Shozu.
- Nokia N93 – The camera is definitely better than the N73 and takes larger size images and videos, but the size is less comfortable in my pocket. Also as a Cingular customer, I am lacking the 850 band which enables far better reception on the N73. I do really like what this device can do, but given the choice as I have been, I prefer the N73. I still brought it thinking I would have a chance to do some video capture as we toured around…
- Nokia BH-800 – My Bluetooth headset
- Nokia 770 Internet Tablet – This is one of my favorite devices. While I wish there was a slide out keyboard, it’s great for what I use it for which is reading news feeds, listening to streaming audio, reading email (short replies via stylus) and VOIP calls via Gizmo — I was able to call my wife from the airport in Reykjavik through Gizmo which worked great.. It’s quite small considering all that it packs and can easily connect via bluetooth to any of my phones or use WiFi when it’s around.
- Nokia LD1W GPS – Awesome for Wayfinder on the phones as well as Maemo Mapper on the 770
- Nikon D70s – I knew going to Iceland was not something you get to do every week so I brought this excellent camera along to capture some high res keepers.
- Nintendo DS – Games!
- 60GB 5G iPod – I actually watched my first movie from the ITMS on the way home… Cars.
I recently removed both the N70 and N90 from my backpack which I don’t actually find myself using much these days but had them in there for comparison with some of the newer NSeries units. I also carry a pretty vast array of cables and connectors and a Sprint EVDO card along with a Powerbook (no work issue MacBookPro yet).
As you might expect, I’m used to getting stopped at security and having everything swabbed for explosives. I don’t think the TSA appreciates seeing so much gear at one time in a single bag. Interestingly one of my colleagues was traveling with two laptops and did not get stopped so I’ve concluded it’s the cables and smaller things that make them nervous. I’m sure it’s odd to see someone with 3+ phones and an internet tablet (a what!?) but it’s all normal for me… 😉
Technorati Tags: E-Series, E61, N-Series, N70, N73, N90, N93, Travel, VOIP
Things I learned in Iceland
- The people are very nice…
- There are only about 300,000 of them
- It’s apparently temperate most of the time and had not really snowed since like 1998
- You’d never believe that looking at my pictures since there’s currently a ton of snow everywhere and it’s pretty damn cold
- The flight time is similar to heading to the west coast but…
- The 5 hour time difference and considerably less sunlight make that first day a bear
- There’s a great deal more to see and experience than I was able to get to in a day and a half … volcanos, hot springs, whales and of course the aurora borealis. I’m hoping for a next time if my business pans out.
Hamilton College Gilded Bicycle Guild
There is a new free bike service – actually a Guild – which has been created by students so everyone can share and use 20 golden bikes to move about campus at Hamilton. Very cool!
The Gilded Bicycle Guild consists of a fleet of 20 used bikes, mostly classic 50’s-era one- and three- speeds. With funding from the Student Assembly, bikes were purchased from Welch’s Bike Shop in Utica for $40 dollars each and are now property of Hamilton College.
In late October a group of students got together to spray paint the bikes gold on what LaFiandra called “a really fun day.†After being painted, the bikes were all named by the students. LaFiandra wanted the names to “reflect the people who got the bikes here and the obscure and fun things behind the Guild.†The names cover a broad range and are derived from five languages including Chinese, French and Italian. They include “Bucephalus,†Alexander the Great’s horse, Horton, Buttons, Checkers, and more. According to LaFiandra, “the names reflect the sweetness of the Gilded Bicycle Guild.â€
Although there are no specific rules for the Gilded Bicycle Guild, the system runs on the community taking responsibility and being respectful of the bikes. LaFiandra wants it to be understood that “they are your bikes but they are also everyone else’s bikes.†According to LaFiandra, the bicycles are “fair game†and “are there for you to take them where you want.†If you see a bike you can hop on and pedal to wherever you need to go. This also means that if you ride a bike to the library it might not be there when you come out. [Hamilton College]
Technorati Tags: Bicycle, Hamilton College
Heading North loaded with VOIP options
I have a trip pending for this Sunday afternoon to Iceland on business… I’ve never been and actually will only be there for a night due to a combination of meetings and Thanksgiving week.
This is the first time I’ve been overseas without an international capable phone so I’ve been making a few tech plans to handle matters through VOIP.
I’ve got Gizmo on my Nokia 770 and Powerbook which can also do Skype and iChat. My Nokia E61 can do TruPhone and SipPhone, but since I reset the device last night I’ve only installed Truphone — which is running great btw and automatically is chosen as the callout option when I walk into my house…slick.
Since I’ll be looking to chat with my wife, only Gizmo/Sipphone and Truphone make sense so I can call the home phone and not have her have to be tethered to the computer far from practical with two kids running around…
I’m hoping I’ll be able to get Wifi so I can do things over the E61, but worst case, I’ll have to sit in the room near my computer to call out over a cable connection. Airport access should not be much of an issue either actually as there’s usually Wifi in the international terminals.
Technorati Tags: Gizmo Project, E61, Skype, VOIP, Truphone
Driving to work
Mobile Business News
Two new mobile bookmarks for business readers… WSJ and BusinessWeek. Interestingly, both are sponsored by Microsoft Windows Mobile. BusinessWeek even sprung for a new .mobi domain.
http://mobile2.wsj.com/
http://businessweek.mobi/
Technorati Tags: BusinessWeek, E61, Marketing, Microsoft, Mobile, Travel, WSJ
Smartroaming on the E61
The Nokia E61 has very rapidly become my favorite device. It’s got a great (if a tad stiff) keyboard, connectivity galore, tons of memory for apps and a fantastic web browser! There’s a great feature built in which let’s you set up access groups, which means you can define a sort-through order for connections to assure for example that a WIFI access point is checked before cellular data. Many apps can take advantage of this but for some reason a few like Mail for Exchange cannot.
As I was browsing the Nokia support forums for other users who may have noticed this slight inconvenience, I found a note suggesting a browse through the catalogs (the built in download library) app for the Smartroaming app. As it turns out this is the very same application, I can previously noted with my N91, but had forgotten about… Birdstep Smartroaming solves the problem by allowing you to configure a stack of connection options (or multiple sets) which show up as single access points so any app can access them. Based on your preferences you can be assured that your device is cruising at high speed.
I’ll have to run through this for a bit while the demo is still open to be sure before purchase, but so far it’s quite excellent. Moving through Exchange and IMAP email is vastly improved on WIFI. I’m sure there’s a nice battery tax to pay, but I charge at night, in the car and even at my desk at work so it’s not going to kill me to run the battery a bit harder in the day.
Technorati Tags: Birdstep, e-series, Nokia, E61, Smartroaming
Rocking the mobile tech
I received a Nokia E61 this week and will definitely post more on how much I am loving it but for now let me just say – well done!
i am posting this on the train from the amazing Nokia (webkit) browser and can’t believe how good the overall experience really can be from a small device.
i did not really do much river of news reading before but that’s´quite handy as well.
more to come…
Sprint EVDO – Very Usable
Just got a Sprint EVDO card for work and so far so good! Testing this from the side of the Merritt Parkway.
Speakeasy – Speed Test
Download Speed: 1062 kbps (132.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 114 kbps (14.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
Orbitz Mobile
Orbitz Mobile – what took you so long!?
I had seen a commercial for this actually in the past week and have been meaning to blog it. I’ve certainly had my share of real-time travel changes and this could have come in handy many times instead of having to wait it out with travel on the phone.
Technorati Tags: Mobile, Opera Mini, Nokia, Travel
eLens
The eLens system sounds and looks very cool, but has to be actually integrated into the device in order to get some real traction.
The eLens matches electronic information with the physical environment in an innovative way. For example, eLens users can post lasting messages in physical locations, tag buildings and places, or create social networks based on interest and social affinities. eLens interactions combine the physical environment with formal and institutional information and the annotations from users’ personal experiences.
Ultimately the eLens enhances the value of the city for its citizens by making their environments more accessible, more culturally vibrant, more socially just. The eLens fosters communication among people and between institutions; as a result citizens are now better able to navigate the social, institutional and physical urban space.“ [picturephoning.com]
Technorati Tags: Marketing, Mobile, Nokia, moblog, eLens, MIT, Travel
Verizon’s EVDO ExpressCard For MacBook Pro
Bring it on! This is great news for Mac users seeking reliable WLAN access.
“This is the way things are supposed to work. I took Verizon Wireless’ new V640 EVDO ExpressCard down to the Apple Store in SoHo, installed the drivers from the included CD, and popped it into a MacBook Pro. Within a few seconds, I had high-speed, go-anywhere Internet access, completely integrated into Mac OS 10.4.7 – check out the photo at left. (Click on it for a bigger image.) A reception indicator appears in the MacBook Pro’s task bar; you pop a menu down to connect, and then you’re online. It couldn’t be easier.” [
Gearlog ]