Posts Tagged ‘Nokia’

Should Nokia release a Netbook?

by Steve O'Hear

January 29th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | CommentsNo Comments

If 2008 was the year of the Netbook, is it too late for Nokia to jump on the bandwagon? Mikey Bee of NokNok.tv doesn’t thing so, noting that while the company talked up its recently announced N97 smartphone for its Netbook-like qualities (despite featuring a comparatively small 3.5 inch screen), it also fazed out the WiMAX version of its rather long in the tooth N810 Internet Tablet, perhaps paving the way for a new Nokia device designed primarily for surfing the web.

See also: Hands-on: Nokia’s N810 Internet Tablet

How might a Nokia ‘Netbook’ shape up? Were the company to release such a device, I’d expect it to follow many of the design lines of its existing Internet Tablet range, powered by the Linux-based Maemo OS but featuring a larger screen (topping out at 7 inches). Rather than a slide out keyboard, I think a more traditional clam shell design should be incorporated, a major part of the appeal of existing Netbooks (as apposed to less popular tablet PCs or UMPCs). Software-wise, the device would tie into all of the company’s web services, including Share on Ovi, along with support for third-party social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, which could easily be added through widgets on the home screen, just like the existing N810 User Interface and that used on the upcoming N97.

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Who has the most to fear from Palm's "New-ness"?

by Steve O'Hear

January 15th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | CommentsNo Comments

Pandora CTO Tom Conrad put it best: “I can’t think of much that’s harder in the world than building a modern, mobile operating system and integrating it with a fantastic piece of hardware”, he tells Palm Info Center.

“We see companies take a swing and miss at this time after time – I really think Palm has hit a home run on this one.”

And Conrad should know.

Not only has his company ported its music streaming and discovery service to over 40 different handsets, “everything from J2ME and Windows Mobile to the iPhone”, but Pandora was also chosen by Palm to get an early hands-on peak at the webOS and Pre and begin bringing their app over to the company’s new platform.

At the same time, Conrad rightfully reminds us that Palm is still very much the underdog. Of course, underdogs should rarely be underestimated.

On that note, who should have the most to fear from Palm’s “New-ness”?

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Nokia announces Internet radio and music streamer

by Steve O'Hear

December 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Audio | CommentsNo Comments

The new flagship N97 smartphone wasn’t Nokia’s only product announcement today, with the company unveiling a standalone Internet radio and music streaming device.

Dubbed the Nokia Home Music, the device connects to the net via WiFi or Ethernet to stream music from Internet radio stations and access podcasts, and can also stream music from a PC, mobile phone or alternatively any UPnP device (see our DLNA guide) on your home network. Alternatively, there’s a USB port provided so that, presumably, you can also plug in an external hard drive or MP3 player. There’s also an auxiliary line-in and good old fashioned FM tuner, providing further music playback options. To get sound out, there’s a built-in 10 watt speaker, SPDIF Optical output, RCA line-out, and a 3.5 inch head phone jack.

No word yet on pricing or availability but it’s interesting nonetheless to see Nokia continue to expand its consumer electronics remit beyond cell phones.

Update: Interestingly, the Nokia Home Music device also supports Windows Media DRM so that it’s compatible with Nokia’s Comes With Music all-you-can-eat music subscription service.

See also: “MusicPal”, Freecom’s new portable Internet radio

Nokia N97 – I want one already

by Steve O'Hear

December 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments13 Comments

Let me get this out of the way first. I want one of these things.

I’m talking about the upcoming Nokia N97, which the Finnish handset maker unveiled this morning at its annual shindig, Nokia World, in Barcelona. For a long time now Nokia has been telling consumers not to think of its Nseries line of smartphones as phones at all. Instead, they’re ‘multimedia computers’, says the company. With today’s introduction of the N97, a device that’s designed to not only compete hard against consumer-friendly smartphones from the likes of Apple, HTC and RIM but also has a bit of the Netbook appeal in its sights, that pitch is sounding a lot less lofty.

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Video demo: Nokia XpressMusic 5800's media playback features

by Steve O'Hear

November 26th, 2008 | Posted in Audio, Mobile, Net TV | Comments1 Comment

Nokia’s new touchscreen phone, the XpressMusic 5800, is being pitched as an affordable music and video centric phone — it’s the third handset to support the company’s all-you-can-eat music subscription service, Comes With Music — rather than being an outright iPhone killer (it isn’t). On that note, after playing with the device for a few weeks — see my first impressions — here’s a hands-on video I shot walking through the 5800’s media playback features.

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Why the latest iPhone update should worry the competition

by Steve O'Hear

November 21st, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments1 Comment

Upon first unveiling the iPhone, Apple CEO Steve Jobs proclaimed that the company was five years ahead of the competition. And while that is debatable — although I think he had a point — the latest iPhone software update, and those than came before it, prove one thing for sure.

However far ahead the iPhone was when it first launched, Apple isn’t resting on its laurels, with the company continually improving the phone’s software at a pace that the competition can’t keep up with. This is in no small part due to Apple’s unique relationship with its partner carriers, which enable both incremental improvements and major new features to be delivered direct to customers without the networks getting in the way.

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Nokia's Comes With Music is everywhere, but is the message getting through?

by Steve O'Hear

November 19th, 2008 | Posted in Audio, Mobile | CommentsNo Comments

Having spent a fair amount of time driving around London over the last few days, one thing is evident: Comes With Music, Nokia’s all-you-can-eat music service, has definitely launched in the UK, backed by a costly ad campaign and a big holiday season push by retail partner Carphone Warehouse (prime time TV ads shown during X Factor, if I recall correctly). But how well is the message getting through?

On that note, I decided to pop into one of Carphone’s larger stores to take a closer peek at the display advertising for Comes With Music — there was plenty of it — and to ask a few subtle questions about how well the concept is resonating with consumers.

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I've been playing with Nokia's new touchscreen phone – the 5800 XpressMusic (aka the Tube)

by Steve O'Hear

November 10th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments28 Comments

Hands-on: Nokia XpressMusic tube 5800

See also: Video demo: Nokia XpressMusic 5800’s media playback features

Ever since Nokia officially announced its new consumer touchscreen smartphone, the 5800 XpressMusic (aka the “Tube”), I’ve been dying to get my hands on the device. Not because I was expecting an iPhone killer — it isn’t and probably wasn’t really intended to be — but because I was curious to see how well Nokia could adapt its S60 user interface for a touchscreen phone. After a few days playing with the 5800, albeit a ‘prototype’, here are my initial impressions.

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Netflix streaming to Mac courtesy of Microsoft! Could Nokia phones be next?

by Steve O'Hear

October 27th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV | CommentsNo Comments

Oh the irony

Netflix has finally began rolling out a version of its video streaming service for Mac users, and it comes courtesy of Microsoft. Although only available initially to “a small percentage of new Netflix subscribers”, with a full roll-out anticipated by the end of the year, the new PC-based version of the company’s ‘Watch Now’ service is powered by Microsoft’s Flash competitor Silverlight, a technology that crucially includes its own cross-platform ‘studio approved’ DRM solution, thus enabling Netflix to support both Windows-based PCs and now those running MacOS (Intel only).

Along with adding Mac support, Netflix says the adoption of Silverlight delivers a number of usability improvements too, including “a faster, easier connection” and “a breakthrough in timeline navigation that vastly improves the use of fast-forwarding and rewinding.” Yes you read that right, fast-forwarding and rewinding. Who said the revolution wouldn’t be televised?

In the future, it’s very possible that Neflix’s use of Silverlight could see its streaming service reach even more devices beyond PCs and set-top boxes currectly supported. In particular I’m thinking of mobile phones and Internet tablets from Nokia. The Finnish handset maker has already announced that it plans to support Silverlight on future handsets, starting with those powered by S60, with S40 and Maemo devices to follow. And from a marketing perspective, a partnership with Netflix would make a lot of sense as it would surely help the company shift more handsets in the US. In this regard, Nokia has previous form too. The company’s flagship smartphone, the N96, is in part being sold in the UK based on its support for the BBC’s iPlayer service.

Hands-on: BBC iPlayer for Nokia N96

by Steve O'Hear

October 13th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV, Review | Comments2 Comments

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the BBC’s TV catch-up service iPlayer (UK-only), which I regularly access on my laptop, cable television set-top box, and of course my trusty iPod touch. The problem with the latter version, however, is that it offers streaming only not downloads, which doesn’t sit well for a mobile device as it prohibits off-line access such as when traveling on a plane or train or anywhere without WiFi access. It isn’t the BBC’s fault but the fact that Apple doesn’t license the iPod and iPhone’s proprietary DRM solution – so-called FairPlay – to third-parties. DRM is a necessary evil, says the public broadcaster, in order to meet its obligations to copyright holders who require that programs only be made available for up to seven days after broadcast.

In contrast, the newly released version of iPlayer for Nokia’s latest flagship handset, the N96, doesn’t suffer the same problem, offering both streaming and downloads. Earlier this afternoon I got some hands-on time with iPlayer on the Nokia N96.

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