S60 Open to new features

While I don't work for S60 Marketing, I have obviously been "helping" in that area promoting Nokia and S60 through this blog as well as my own blogs. Unfortunately, I've been unable to attend any of these cool S60 parties.

However, the upcoming event in San Francisco couldn't have happened at a better time. I'm way overdue for a visit to the home office in Mountain View--just down the 101 from San Francisco--and it's a great fit into my personal schedule.

I am very excited that I can make this work. I wouldn't miss this party. If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area or can make it there on the 23rd of October, get on the guest list now! I look forward to meeting all you S60 fans in the Bay Area.

I do wonder, though, when we'll see an Evening with S60 event up here in Seattle?

Something that comes up frequently when we start talking about convergence is the idea of both form and function. How does the device physically manifest itself? What does the device do? How can an optimal balance be achieved between these two goals?

I was going to start off by asking if you had to pick form or function, which would you pick. However, in thinking about how I myself might answer that question, I quickly realized that you cannot have one without the other. For example, I get much of the functionality I need in my MacBook, but can I put my MacBook in my pocket? Also, the form factor of a Nokia N95 precludes precludes a usable QWERTY keyboard. Or a better than 2mp camera in the Nokia E61i.

Each person has pain points. For example, the touch screen interface that makes a certain competitors product so appealing to so many would drive me absolutely insane to use day-to-day. I need the tactile feedback when I push buttons. Heck, I need buttons.

But not just any buttons. The keyboard layout has to make sense, especially if it's QWERTY. I am playing with a competitors product right now--different from the one mentioned above--and I have to say using the slide-out keyboard on it is an exercise in frustration. Many forms of punctuation require a shift key, and I frequently can't hit the proper shift key on this device.

And then there are folks like my wife who just want a phone that is small enough to carry in her purse. She doesn't need/want all that extra functionality that I regularly use. And she wants it small. She liked the size of the Nokia N76, for instance.

What are your favorite devices? How do they fit on the form versus function spectrum? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

One of the people in my feed reader is SIPphone CEO Michael Robertson. SIPphone is the company behind Gizmo Project, a Voice/IM application available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and our Nseries and Eseries devices.

Clearly, Michael sees the value in our devices and is not blinded by Apple's hype machine. When the Apple iPhone was released, he posted a comparison between the iPhone and the E61i. Today, he posts a list of 9 things an iPhone can't do that his E61i can.

Devices are more than just a pretty interface. In a world where convergence is imminent, functionality is important, too. And you can use that functionality with any GSM carrier, even if your operator doesn't sell the phone.

An occupational hazard of working at Nokia for as long as I have is that I've collected a ton of phones. Not too long ago, I took advantage of our recycling program and recycled many of my older, non-prototype phones. This brought the number of phones down substantially, but I can't bear to part with some of my handsets. And I do loan/gift handsets from time to time as well.

Meanwhile, I needed a new clock for next to my bed. It seems my son needs a digital clock for his room. I took my old, Fairchild digital clock from the 1970s, and put it in his room. Meanwhile, I needed something.

After trying--and failing--to find something that was free and did what I needed on S60 3rd Edition, I pulled out an pre-S60 3rd Edition device--a Nokia 6260--and loaded Sevenball Big Clock on it. It shows the clock and will keep the backlight on full time. That's exactly what I need.

Incidently, the Nokia 6260 requires a SIM to operate. I have plenty of previously used SIMs that I keep around for these older handsets that won't operate without one. Sure, I can't make calls, but in this case, I don't care. I'm using it as a clock.

Now if only there was something like BigClock for S60 3rd Edition handsets. If you know of anything, leave a note in the comments.