Darla Mack - Nokia S60 News and Reviews

Can Cell Phones Do The Job of Pro Cams?

In an interesting article by Robert Scoble, I quote: 

"The worst photo you’ll ever take is the one you don’t take because you didn’t have your camera with you."

Robert shares his views on the comparison of images taken with the Nokia N82 and his Canon 5D and you should see the comparison!

I have to agree with Robert that camera phone image qualities are getting much better, but since I've never owned a real digital cam I can't base that opinion on images that I've taken but on images that I've seen.

I love his quote because on a daily basis we are more likely to have our camera equipped mobile phones at our side, unless of course you happen to be in the business of carrying expensive camera and/or video equipment with you.

I also have to agree that the cam on the Nokia N82 is unquestionably better than that of the Nokia N95.  But we knew that didn't we. :)

Sharing Your Life Around the World - A Successful Pangea Day

So, what did you do this past Saturday?  Much different question then "how was your weekend".  As for myself, I participated in the first ever Pangea Day from the comfort of my living room recliner.  I laughed, cried, felt strong communications in the lives of others across the globe. 

May 10th marked the first ever Pangea Day and I must say that even if you didn't want to pay attention to the videos on the screen and the heartfelt stories that were being shared, it was hard to turn away.  So I guess you can say that I hosted my own Pangea Day event in my living room. 

We usually take for granted what happens outside of our own comfort zone that we call "home" to see how others live.  The news only gives us brief clips of what they usually brainwash us into believing... but did you ever stop to think that what we may consider different is a way of life and survival for others? 

I think Pangea Day can help us build character and possible appreciation for what makes us all unique.  The one thing that I did regret was the fact that I couldn't share it with my kids.  Unfortunately, they were at the grandparents and they don't get the channel.  But being able to teach them what goes on outside of our backyard is important to me. 

Nokia offered major support and sponsorship in this global event, and I'm sure many of you OVI users had seen the announcement of Pangea Day on the OVI site. 

Are Service Providers Hurting Developers?

One thing that I don't understand is the role that carriers play when it comes to content developers.  I can't speak of any goings-on outside of the US, so if someone can enlighten me to other regions please do.

Being a HUGE fan of Law and Order I went on my search of an episode that I missed last week and surfing the NBC site I came across the Law and Order Mobile game.  Since the site makes no mention of what devices can download the game, I attempted to purchase the game using the shortcode provided.

Of course, as with past attempts to get certain content on my mobile, AT&T denied my device access to its "precious" MEdia Mall stating that my device was not supported.  GRRRR!!

What is the relationship and how does it work?  I've done my own studies using an N75 on Cingular/AT&T and non-supported devices and it seems that there is some hidden boundary which cannot be broken.  So we who are armed with non-supported devices are left holding money in our hands wondering... who calls the shots here?

Do the developers know that there is a bigger market out there?  Or are they convinced that the proper chain of protocol is solely through the service providers?  And they wonder why consumers look for "alternative methods" of getting certain software.  It isn't because they don't want to pay for it, sometimes its because they just can't access it through valid channels.

The game is provided by a site called Limelife.  No where on the site is a list of supported devices, and even though it says that you must have either AT&T or T-Mobile in order to download the game, I can't help but think that if content were directed at different channels consumers, developers & providers could be happy.  The providers would be happy because in order to get the content consumers would have to use the service of data.  Couldn't that be enough for them?

While this is just a personal rant I know there are others in the mobile world that both may agree and disagree with me.  But does anyone have a solution or a more clearer view on how this actually works?  Who wins in all of this? 

Curiosity Kills the Diva

One thing I've never inquired about during my many years of blogging was the sex of my readers.  I've never been a big stats person, but I figured by reading through the comments I could get a general idea of who I reach. 

Then the idea of a poll was presented to me.  So, included in this post and in my sidebar is my poll, and I would appreciate if you would take the time to answer it for me.

In the future you might see a few more polls go up, but this is only to gather some information.  Lol, I want to know you more!!!  Hehe

PollPub.com Vote

Male or Female?

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Female

   

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Thank you :)

Nokia Music Adds to the Bloat

Nokia released Nokia Music to Beta Labs Tuesday. The application is a paltry 64MB addition to PC Suite, yet another sign that Nokia continues to develop applications that have increasing become bloatware. If Nokia Music were a standalone application such as iTunes (~75MB installed + ~75MB for QuickTime) I wouldn't complain however Nokia Music requires Microsoft's .Net. Putting aside the issue about Nokia's move to .Net, PC Suite which has grown from requiring 150MB to 250MB for the standard PC Suite install. NSeries PC Suite 2 is even worst at over 500MB with all the components installed. None of this accounts for the .Net installations approaching 500MB for .Net 2.0 SP1 and 3.0 SP1. Together with .Net the cost of NSeries PC Suite is 1GB. My install of Microsoft Office 2007 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) is only 280MB. Can Nokia honestly say that PC Suite is more useful and functional that MS Office?

The iPhone Effect

The iPhone effect has on the market place is undeniable. For the first time in the US, mobile carriers have seen subscribers willing to pay, top dollar even, for a mobile device. The iPhone has also affected the internet. S60 and Internet Tablet users alike can benefit from the popularity (real or hyped) and the customization many sites are offering and promoting as an "iPhone site." Google Reader is yet another site to fall under the iPhone spell. nokiAAdict tells us that Google Reader is now available in an iPhone version which works well on the Internet Tablet. I found GReader equally functional on the N95-3. Internet Tablet users have long been frustrated with the usability of GReaders' traditional site on their devices. GReader as great as it might be doesn't load particularly well on the N8X0, although semi-usable if patient enough to let it load. With the likely-hood of an iPhone being purchased in our house being somewhere between hell freezing over and none we can at least benefit from the special attention web developers want to give. My only regret is this attention isn't being given to the third screen in general rather than marketed toward a specific device, i.e. iPhone.

Link http://www.google.com/reader/i/

Link: Google Reader for the iPhone on the N8×0 « nokiAAddict.com.

 

Congratulations to Connect Winners

Thanks to the help of my assistances for their random number selection. Everyone that left a comment was assigned a number, 1 to 26, in order posted skipping any duplicates or multiple entries. There was one disqualification for not sharing how Connect would be used only stating it would save them money. I'll be in touch with the winners for your license. Continue reading for the video.

How Did I Live Without Spinvox?

One of my many bad "mobile"habits include my etiquette or (lack there of) in dealing with voicemail.  My theory has always been, when my phone rings and I can't get to it I have a callback number that pops up in my call log.  Thus, removing the need to check my voicemail other than to get rid of the little icon on my standby screen.  With the numbers in the call log I know who has called, who is top priority on calling back, and for the calls that I missed... well I'll just get to them later.  Then again of course... that famous saying "if its important, they'll call back".

SpinVox has entered my life and has provided a more efficient solution for voicemail.  Since I never get time to listen to my voiceail , SpinVox helps by converting all of my messages into text and sends them to my mobile via SMS and to my inbox via email. Since I mostly rely more on text messaging (and can't live without email), there is no way that I can mess up on voicemails now!

Congratulations Henry Needle!

Although Henry Needle's career and Great Pockets business was short-lived due to the introduction on the N95, his name and reputation was around long enough for him to win a webby! 

This year, Great Pockets was selected as a winner in the category of Rich Media Advertising:Promotional!  CONGRATULATIONS!!

Why am I so proud?  Because to me, it was marketing at its best! 

Nokia's Jealous Computers was also nominated in the category of Online Campaigns for 2007.

To see the list of winners of this years Webby's please click here.   

AT&T Prepaid 3G Data

Earlier this week AT&T began offering unlimited data on a prepaid basis. For a flat rate of $19.99 per month AT&T Prepaid users can select unlimited data. Better yet this data package takes advantage of their 3G network. On Friday I purchased the cheapest mobile I could find at a local store, a Motorola C168i. The phone comes with a SIM and $10 credit. I would have preferred another phone and if you have the patience or time I would recommend of the online specials. An added bonus AT&T currently gives a bonus $10 credit when $25 or more is added within 7 days of activation.