Mobile and Wireless

2007-12-24T13:11:00.001+02:00

SE files gesture-based controls patent

Sony Ericsson has filed a patent for its cellphones that require you to wave your hand at a phone to answer it, or perhaps to even increase/decrease the volume with a corresponding gesture. Imagine having to signal your gesture correctly, wait for the program to identify it, generating a control command and transmitting it, and voila! The device performs the desired action. And to think you can save yourself all that trouble by simply pressing a button. No thanks, I'll pass on this one. I wonder whether Sony Ericsson will actually use this patent sometime down the road.

Porsche phone

2007-09-16T21:48:00.000+02:00

Porsche branded a Sagem phone...its made out of aluminium....feels kinda heavy...it has 3.2mpgx camera. the woman there said it's selling very well...I doubt it...but who knows...

Phone integrated in the Mercedes S600

2007-09-16T21:44:00.000+02:00

Here is a phone integrated in the limousine Mercedes S600

Nokia Go Play TODAY

2007-08-29T11:19:00.000+03:00

Check out this cool website http://www.nokia.com/A4486939 and stay tuned for some new cool models

Copy & paste with an S60 phone

2007-08-13T17:11:00.001+03:00

Nokia 7500 Prism commercial

2007-08-08T19:09:00.001+03:00

What a cool phone! I saw a red version is awesome!

Concept Phone with triple touch screen

2007-08-07T11:26:00.000+03:00

The phone has been built by KDDI au, the second largest operator in Japan.

It seems like a very interesting technology

I want to be back in the external world!!!

2007-08-06T16:28:00.000+03:00

I haven't been blogging externally because I have been taken by an internal blog (62 blog posts since July)...but I haven't forgotten!

Indeed now I want to be back in the external world!!!

N93i becomes an evil transformer

2007-07-17T19:26:00.000+03:00

Here is my mobile becoming an evil transformer monster

iPhone megafreaks

2007-06-27T01:15:00.000+03:00

Another typo in a Nokia article

2007-06-18T12:07:00.000+03:00

Recently I have founds a few typos in Nokia's articles and even in an official publication.....

the latest one is in here http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/13062007/399/technophile-love-nightless-nights.html

it is www.widsets.com and NOT www.widset.com

I actually found the typo last week on Thursday while reading the Financial Times on plane on my way to Helsinki...I felt weird thinking about all those people who went to their browsers and typed in the wrong address

hopefully more people used google which provides the www.widsets.com address even if you type wiset

btw if you have an s60 symbian Nokia phone GO NOW TO www.widsets.com

Dell selling Nokias...unlocked

2007-06-18T10:35:00.000+03:00

This is a great strategic move to break the monopoly power of US carriers, but also to empower US consumers with some of the best smartphones in the world that can really make life simpler.

I believe that in the long term consumers end up paying much more for mediocre cellphones and it is only an illusion that prices are lower.

Finally US consumers will have a choice when they will have to buy an first generation iPhone with only 2 megapixel camera and no 3G nor GPS versus a N95 with 5 megapixel, GPS, HSDPA and more....

Here is the preview...

if you don't believe me go to the Dell website and type Nokia in the search box

Issues with Nokia's calendar and time zone changes

2007-06-05T00:37:00.000+03:00

Ok I'm really sick of this

I have a huge problem with my Nokia (I guess it happens with other phones though I couldn't care less)

which I solved in a way

basically I use the calendar application a lot

then I travel as well

so I change the time zone

why the hell the whole calendar changes????

If I am in Helsinki and I type on my phone an event for the day after at h.20 in Milano and I fly there the day after......then if I have the bright idea of changing the time zone the event will be moved (one hour earlier/later doesn't matter)
why the hell is that!!!!

one solution is that u never change the time zones but only the clock

another solution is that Nokia provides the opportunity to specify a time zone and location for a certain event.

Now I was just synchronizing my Mac with my Nokia and one event was moved of one hour for no reason.....drives me mad

did anyone out there experience the same type of issues?

Mobile code for my blog from http://mobilecodes.nokia.com/

2007-06-03T22:20:00.000+03:00

Mobile code for my blog from http://mobilecodes.nokia.com/

Do you think they are useful?

How would you mobilize and motivate millions of people to use them?

N95 Commercial...great in English...wonder how it is going to work in Italian

2007-06-03T11:55:00.001+03:00

I love this ad though now that I was just back in Italy I saw a N95 ad on a magazine which does not really that much sense to me, or at least not as much as in English.

Also I'm sorry but can "It's what computers have become" translate to "il computer multimediale"?
Wouldn't "E' ciò che i computers sono diventati" be better?

Is Nokia Finnish? Is Motorola American? Does it Matter? Probably not

2007-05-26T10:36:00.000+03:00

Survey: 42% of college students think Motorola is a Japanese company

Young consumers tend to know little about the brands behind the products they use, including wireless brands, according to a study from market-research firm done in the US by Anderson Analytics.

Cellphones topped the list of products for which students misidentified the manufacturers' country of origin, said the company.

More than half of college students surveyed by the company believed Nokia is a Japanese company, with only 4.4% correctly identifying the company as Finnish. Forty-two percent of students believed Motorola Inc. is Japanese. Motorola is based in Schaumburg, Ill.

"We found for cellphones, country of origin didn't seem to affect students' perception of the brand, since Motorola was ranked equally well whether students thought it was from America or Japan," said Tom H. C. Anderson, managing partner of Anderson Analytics. "This has allowed Korean brands, like LG and Samsung, to compete on a par with companies like Nokia and Motorola."

http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/FREE/70525003/1008

Survey shows how EU prefers Nokia over iPhone, but...

2007-05-17T10:16:00.000+03:00

I'm not surprised by a survey conducted by Canalys has shown that the European mobile phone buyers are indeed interested in checking out the upcoming Apple iPhone mobile phone, but people in Europe still prefer Nokia over other brands.

The survey was conducted in April among more than 2,000 employed, adult mobile phone users in the big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK).

Some key findings:
■ 51% of those surveyed expressed some interest in mobile TV, but a diverse range of content is required

■ Consumers are more open to advertising-supported services around location and communication than TV
■ 62% want GPS into their mobile phone
■ Almost half the iPod lovers said iPhone likely to be considered for their next mobile phone
■ 84% of the surveyed people said that they had like to upgrade to another Nokia phone from their current one.

Sony Ericsson was the second most popular brand followed by Samsung and Motorola. Apple is yet to come out with their first mobile phone but they were still ahead of well-known smart mobile device vendors like RIM, HP and Palm....obviously their marketing is nothing compared to Apple

Like iPod? Love Mac
but also
Like iPod? Love iPhone

Pete Cunningham from Canalys added: “Apple’s rating improves dramatically when you talk to existing iPod owners. Almost half the respondents who owned an iPod rated Apple as more likely than not be considered for their next phone, compared to just 20% for those who didn’t have an iPod, and they were five times as likely to give Apple the highest rating. There is a lot of loyalty there that Apple can tap into.”

As I heard saying even from a Nokia executive....Apple's customers are not just customers...they are fans!!! that's so true and I am one of them...though being a Nokia fan just as much (if not more) I'm not so sure about the iPhone....not sure about:
- NO 3G
- No GPS
- Big scratchable display
- Need to try UI and if I could ever use it with one hand
- Quality (for which you need some time)

My comment on "Mobile Internet is Dead"

2007-05-16T19:52:00.000+03:00

I was attracted by a post on Ari Jaaksi's Blog (http://jaaksi.blogspot.com/) on mobile Internet is dead (quite a catchy title)...he's the Nokia Head of Open Source software operations (so Internet tablets and maemo.org)

this is my comment to his post

I think mobile web is not dead....I simply think it never existed!!! I actually never saw it that way...."mobile web"...I just always thought there is just one internet....and mobile phones would able to access it....
WAP was just a wannabe a Internet...that's why it failed
...in a way mobile widgets are a perfect representation of a successful way of going on the Internet in a mobile way. But stil....going on the ONE and ONLY internet

what do you think?
Maybe I'm looking it from the eyes of a digital native or simply a newcomer in TLC or an idiot...who knows...

Another attempt by Nokia to implement sort of Web 2.0 concepts on its website

2007-05-15T17:46:00.000+03:00

Web 2.0 is rather poor on Nokia websites....unfortunately. I have seen a few attempts for instance the Nseries website (http://www.nseries.com/index.html) that integrates RSS, Digg, Delicious, Link to this page, send to a friend functionalities...

though today I came across another one...inspired by Second Life in a way, but lacking web 2.0 (social networking, bookmarking, tagging, interaction, etc)...it's a sort of virtual store for the US (http://www.nokiausa.com/experience)

I found out that tablets are just accessories...and that you cant even click on them....wondering what the hell tablets are...look at the bottom right corner in the following picture

10 Things a Blogger Learned at Mobile 2.0

2007-05-15T11:44:00.000+03:00

http://www.blueflavor.com/blog/mobile/10_things_i_learned_at_mobile_20.php

Interesting link

Joost Rocks!!!!! Internet TV amazing!

2007-05-10T21:23:00.000+03:00

Hello out there! I know this is not so mobile and wireless....but it's super tech....I just got an invitation for Joost (www.joost.com) which is described as "a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping...."
you also have the possibility to rate stuff and chat with people watching a channel....you actually can see quite well...it's quick...it doesn't make your Mac too slow....I'm amazed!

Check out some pictures

Here is how a music video looks:

....audio quality is also quite good

Here are how it looks when you select channels:

and then under each channel you can see a small thumbnail for each program

Try to get an invitation and check it out it's soo cool....I'm gonna play the Ministry of Sound all the time to workout

iPhone displays prove once again Apple's marketing strenght and efforts

2007-05-07T21:05:00.000+03:00

Again Apple shows its real strenght is in marketing and communication to consumers, not really in technology itself...

A post from Engadget (http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/05/07/details-on-iphones-display-case-emerge/1#c4809248) states how iPhone displays are "seven-foot tall, three-foot wide displays that will require a dedicated power supply and network connectivity" and not just sticking a RFID security tag and placing it on some shelf.

So not only technology that is simple to use and that works well (actully this applies to the iPod and Mac OS...still need to see whether the iPhone follows this logic) BUT also WELL ADVERTISED PRODUCTS (just like those amazing "Hello I'm a Mac and I'm a PC")

BTW are the displays actually gonna look like this?

Nokia in BizWeek Most Innovative Companies Ranking

2007-05-05T19:12:00.000+03:00

Nokia went down from no8 to no13 in the ranking due to 5 companies that gained positions (Walt Disney, IBM (what??!), Sony, Wal-Mart and Honda Motors),

Though Nokia still deserved an article in the report "First Mover in Mobile:How Nokia is selling cell phones to the developing world" which shows not only a very innovative side (Nokia has many) of the company but also its strong CSR concerns and practices. Biz Week forgot to mention Nokia's innovation in NSeries is top-of-the-league in many aspects.

Apple managed to keep the first position for the third year in a row mainly thanks to the iPhone which shows up on the right of the ranking for the most innovative companies in technology/telecom. Notice how the two terms are stuck together which proves even further how relevant is convergence.

Source: BusinessWeek http://www.businessweek.com/go/innovativecompanies

How cool and hilarious is the Nokia bus in India to teach people how to use their mobile phones?
I think it's amazing....also from a CSR perspective

An example of Mobile Advertising

2007-05-02T09:53:00.000+03:00

I would love to see more of these ads around!

Qwikker announces Pepsi's Bluetooth marketing campaign
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-qwikker-announces-pepsis-bluetooth-marketing-campaign-/2007/04/30/2565248.htm

(Tele.com Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Qwikker, a direct-to-mobile location content network, has announced that a Bluetooth marketing campaign has been launched in the US by Pepsi, a beverage company.

Qwikker said the campaign, which is reportedly the US's first multi-network, multi-city Bluetooth marketing campaign, is running for two months in outdoor advertising locations, delivering viral video clips. Locations include bus shelters in Washington DC, Denver, Los Angeles and Orange County and pay phone kiosks in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Qwikker said that out-of-home media networks have integrated its Bluetooth content distribution technology into their street furniture, enabling Bluetooth-enabled phone users to download free clips from Pepsi Smash advertisements. It confirmed CBS Outdoor, CBS/Decaux, Prime Point Media and Clear Channel Outdoor are participating in the campaign and said 'Pass The Mic' clips of freestyle hip hop, provided by Yahoo! Music, are being distributed as the video clips.

Prime Point Media said it has enabled 700,000 phone kiosk locations with Qwikker Bluetooth technology, while CBS Outdoor said the technology allows brands to connect with consumers, via outdoor displays.

2007-05-01T23:40:00.001+03:00

Technorati Profile

Skype on Nokia Mobile Phones (&Symbian)

2007-05-01T23:15:00.000+03:00

Why was Skype still not able to make the Symbian version? Was it possibly not willing to do so?

CES 2007 - Nokia N800 Tablet PC

2007-04-30T16:35:00.000+03:00

I think it's a great commercial showing how when we make the real and virtual worlds run parallel opportunities can be fully maximized.

Survey: iPhone biggest threat to Motorola...only?

2007-04-25T18:18:00.000+02:00

This articles (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/04/24/iphone_boosting_interest_in_cingular_att_scarring_motorola.html) (http://www.blackberrycool.com/2007/04/24/004156/)
discuss a recent survey on the iPhone emphasizing its threatening impact on Motorola.
Yet Motorola is doing poorly also now, without the iPhone around. Sometimes I wonder wheter the iPhone can be a bigger threat to Nokia Nseries since they are more similar to Apple's upcoming product.
Surely when the iPhone will come out in June Motorola's sales and shares will hardly skyrocket.

Samsung&Beyonce Commercial of mp3+phone

2007-04-25T17:59:00.000+02:00

Trying my social bookmarking button!

2007-04-24T20:49:00.000+02:00

Trying my social bookmarking button!

Nokia Smartphones Finally in Sync with Mac

2007-04-21T08:43:00.000+02:00

Being a huge Mac and Nokia fan this news made me rather happy

http://www.nokia.com/A4299040

Yet...
- No support for my Nokia 9500
- Is Nokia responding to the unsatisfied needs of Apple users (that could not sync with the "Nokia PC Suite") only in the light of the arrival of the iPhone (which apart from looking like the coolest device ever it would also solve at once all the issues of synchronization with a mobile phone for Mac users (which usually have enough cash to buy an iPhone)???

Imagine working like this...

2007-04-20T22:45:00.000+02:00

New S-XGen™ Ultra Mobile Personal Computer and...

2007-03-30T01:14:00.001+02:00

This device is ridiculous! and it's also soooo ugly!

Top 10 Concept Phones!

2007-03-29T13:39:00.001+02:00

http://www.cellphonebeat.com/entry/top-10-concept-phones/

One possible future for mobile advertising

2007-02-25T11:42:00.001+02:00

although I am sure that there are many others...the only limit is imagination

How to choose your Nokia...it takes a few clicks

2007-02-25T11:16:00.000+02:00

by selecting certain criterias it tells you what new Nokia you should buy!
It actually did work for me!!!

1. E90 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------->>>

2. N95 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------->>>

3. E61i ----------------------------------------------------------------------->>>

those are actually my favorite!!!

to check out if works for you as well go here http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/grid.htm

M-Payment in poor countries

2007-02-16T17:46:00.000+02:00

http://www.vodafone.com/article_with_thumbnail/0,3038,OPCO%253D40000%2526CATEGORY_ID%253D200%2526MT_ID%253Dpr%2526LANGUAGE_ID%253D0%2526CONTENT_ID%253D294947,00.html

Interesting

SOLAR POWER FOR BETTER RURAL CELLPHONE ACCESS

2007-02-16T17:40:00.000+02:00

MALAWI - SOLAR POWER FOR BETTER RURAL CELLPHONE ACCESS

Siemens Communications has developed a solar-powered base station for cellular network operators operating in remote areas that lack electricity supplies. The first base station, in Chiringa, Malawi, has been supplied to Celtel, which operates in 13 African countries.

Siemens account manager Hannes Moolman says cellular base stations were usually powered from the electricity grid with a diesel-powered generator as a back-up in case of power cuts.

The diesel generators have high capital and operational overheads that can make it uneconomical to provide cellular coverage in remote regions.

"Mobile networks have to be highly reliable to allow operators to deliver an appropriate level of service to their customers," he says. The solar-powered base station does not rely on either mains power or a diesel generator for back-up, so each site will be significantly cheaper to operate and maintain.

The design is also environmentally friendly. Above all, the solar powered sites give operators the freedom to place sites wherever they want, rather than where the local infrastructure is available, says Moolman.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

Best kind of innovations

2007-02-16T15:28:00.001+02:00

Beauty over Functions in Mobile Phones

2007-02-06T21:11:00.000+02:00

You should never stop reminding technology-enthusiast managers of IT products how most people want products that look cool, although I hope that number of people that realizes the power and possibilities to Symbian (and for some aspects Pocket PCs) are immense.

Today a girl in my university showed her Sony Ericsson z610i (what an unpronounceable name) saying how ugly Nokia phones are. Being rather attached to the Nokia brand I was a bit shocked by her statement, yet while looking at the phone I was slowly admitting to myself the beauty of the phone I was touching.

Even touching the phone is a rather pleasant sensation, since its very sleek and smooth. Most importantly all narcissists can mirror their visage in the phone and check that everything is ok. Guys can choose black or blue and girls of course get it bright pink.

On top of that you can even read the time, network reception, messages, battery with an innovative, smart and cool to look at LED.

Mobile TV

2007-02-06T00:18:00.000+02:00

These are just first posts to create categories...as well as add some hot news and bookmarks

Open industry consortium to deliver mobile TV devices in North America. The alliance includes Intel, Microsoft, Modeo, Motorola, Nokia and Texas Instruments.

http://www.mdtvalliance.org/en/resources/index.asp
Interesting White paper on economics

Nokia on Mobile TV

http://www.mobiletv.nokia.com