S60 Open to new features

We recently had a meeting with everyone working on the S60 blogs in the Americas. As the meeting was early in the morning--during a time where I need to make sure my son gets ready for school--it meant being outside my home office. Fortunately, I have a work laptop and, of course, my mobile phone--a Nokia N95. The laptop was to view the presentation given remotely, the phone was to listen and participate.

This got me thinking. Is it possible to do all of this with a mobile device? Could it be possible for me to view a remote presentation and be on a conference call? Here are some of the challenges today:

1. Screen Size: I was having difficulty viewing the slides on a 1024x768 screen on my laptop. How would slides look on a smaller screen?
2. Dual Mode Connectivity: Certainly, 3G handsets with a 3G network support being connected with data and voice at the same time. The same can be said for WiFi-enabled handsets as well.
3. Battery Life: Being connected to voice and data simultaneously can be quite a drain on the battery.
4. Enterprise Connectivity: Since this presentation was being shared inside the firewall, the handset would need to be able to connect into the corporate network in order to view the presentation. Nokia has a solution for this problem, fortunately, but I do not have it installed on this handset.
5. Cross-Platform Screen Sharing With S60 Support: Do any of the common methods for sharing screens and presentations include S60 support?

Is it even possible to do this today, even if the experience is sub-optimal? Do you want this kind of functionality? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

While I was fairly silent here on the introduction of a certain phone by a certain company based in Cupertino, California, I will comment on the news that a certain GPS manufacturer is incorporating mobile phone functionality into their GPS units. The end result: the nüvifone, which initiallysome compared to that other phone.

There are still lots of unanswered questions about this device. For the purposes of this discussion, my main question is: where will the device be sold? Will it be sold along side conventional GPSes with an unlocked GSM radio, or will it be sold with the mobile phones? Maybe both?

No matter how it's sold, I view it as validation of Nokia's strategy to build GPS functionality into mobile phones. A strategy taken a step further by the introduction of four different GPS-enabled phones at Mobile World Congress and the introduction of Nokia Maps 2.0.

A connected GPS is more valuable than one that is not. A GPS that is with you is more valuable than one that might only be in the car. By giving the GPS a connection to the mobile network (and WiFi), you now have the ability to augment it with real time information, such as traffic data, road closures, or even newer maps.

That's just the stuff we can think of today. Put a GPS into a device with an open platform like S60, and who knows what we'll end up with in the not-to-distant future.

Andy Abramson over at VoIP Watch points to an interesting piece about how there is some value in diverged devices, i.e. a device that's good at fewer things rather than adequate at many. Which is right? I think they both are.

In a sense, even the most basic mobile phone Nokia sells is a converged device. Since I don't have any of our current low-end phones, I'll reach back into the back of my phone drawer and pull out my Cingular (now AT&T)-branded Nokia 3120, a small candybar phone from about 4 years ago. The phone was fairly cheap or even free with a two year contract. Even this phone includes many features:

• An address book (beyond just names and phone numbers)
• An alarm clock
• A (very basic) Internet browser
• A calendar (complete with reminders)
• A (basic) game machine. This particular phone has bowling, darts, Football (the American type), and a driving game.
• A 4-function calculator
• Stopwatch/Timer
• Voice recorder
• Instant Messaging

Of course, it's primary function is as a phone, and it works well as that. But it has way more functionality than, say, my cordless phone at home, which is truly just a phone, except that it has a way to record speed dials.

Even a "converged" device that has a primary function, and it had better do that well. Therefore, I expect my Nokia N95 to function well as a phone. I think what separates, say, a Nokia N95 from a Nokia 3120 or similar phones is that the secondary function(s) are compelling, easy to use, and approaching the quality of a similar "unconverged" device that performs the same function.

Using the Nokia N95 as an example, the camera and the music player--two of the "secondary" functions of the N95 I use daily--aren't as good in some ways as a standalone digital snapshot camera and a digital media player respectively, but they are good enough for my everyday use and they are always with me.

Because of this convergence, I don't have to mess with multiple devices at places like the YMCA. I notice that other people are carrying about both a cell phone and their portable media player. Meanwhile, I have my Nokia N95 with me, which serves as both. My music player stops when an incoming call comes in. I don't have to pick up another device, my headphones are in, and I can easily take a call without skipping a beat or missing a stride on the elliptical.

While I can talk about how great convergence is for me, or how great it might be for you, at the end of the day, it's a matter of personal choice. Do you want to carry one device or many? What do you carry? Let me know in the comments!

I have to highlight this fantastic post that Rita El Khoury (a.k.a. Dotsisx) put together that shows what things a Nokia N95 8GB replaces in her life. The pictures she posts really tells the story. Kind of reminds me of the Great Pockets campaign we did.

What things does your S60 device replace? Does your S60 device replace more things than it does for Dotsisx? I'd love to see those pictures!

I've seen articles that diss the whole idea that camera phones will replace dedicated cameras. While I don't think that will ever completely happen, much like television never replaced radio or mobile phones haven't replaced landlines, I do believe they will eventually become dominant for one simple reason: it's the camera you'll have most and, in some cases, it's already good enough.

My wife has a Nikon D50. It takes fantastic pictures. It's not something that gets used day-to-day because it's a big camera. It's impractical to bring it on your daily travels unless you know you're going to use it.

Certainly there are smaller cameras you can slip into your pocket, but let's face it: how many people outside of us geeks like the idea of carrying around more than one electronic gadget in your pocket or purse?

Mobile phones are the one thing that people tend to carry--if they have them. They are usually compact and fit into a pocket or purse very easily. It's almost always within earshot, making it easy to get to. If it can take decent pictures, it's easy to use, and easy to share, will consumers use it? You bet!

If you have a Nokia N95 in one of it's many variations, you already know what it means to have a great, easy-to-use camera on your mobile phone that can share photos with your friends in near real-time, available data connection permitting. Heck, there's services out there that let you stream video in real-time from your device!

I know that my colleagues at Nokia are working on improving the cameras that go into not only flagship devices like the N95, but all of the camera-equipped phones Nokia will sell in the future. That means the camera you have--your mobile phone--will be that much better. It may never be as a good as a standalone camera in some respects, but it will be in the most important respect: it's with you.

It's funny, I've heard the marketing stories about how our products give you access to the right information at the right time so you can act right now. I have three recent examples of that from my own life I'd like to share that illustrate this.

A week ago, my wife was traveling into the U-district in Seattle. She ended up on the Express Lanes on I5 and the exit she needed was closed. She ended up taking the next exit and had no idea where she was. She called me, asking if I could pull up a map from my phone and guide her to where she needed to go. Unfortunately, I didn't hear the phone ring when she called. Fortunately, she remembered enough streets to get where she needed.

On the way back home, she had to deal with a major traffic event: an explosion at the Atlas Foundry in Tacoma shut down the I5/SR16 interchange. It is, of course, possible to drive around this on surface streets, but without a map, if you don't know where you're going, it's tough. Fortunately, her friend's husband knew the way around that traffic mess.

In these first two examples, my wife was lucky. She had other people around that could help. Having that information at her fingertips would have saved her time and money, or at least given her some piece of mind. Even if she didn't have the information, she was aware that I did, no matter where I was. That's a powerful thing.

Now for the business example. I was making breakfast for my son this morning and reading email on my Nokia E61i. I noticed an email had come in related to a customer I am responsible for supporting. I needed to contact the Sales Engineer for the customer, but I did not have his number handy. Normally, it'd be the wrong time of day to call him, but I had also read from the email he was in Europe. Perfect timing.

I looked him up in the corporate phone book--from my handset--and added him into my mobile phone book. I sent him a quick SMS saying to call me regarding this issue. A few minutes later, I received a call from him and discussed the issue. Problem solved.

Of course, because I work in a support organization, I have to update our CRM system with that information. Since the CRM system generally requires using Internet Explorer on a desktop computer, and I was in the middle of trying to get my son out the door for school, I didn't have the time to go through all the steps necessary to do that.

I instead called our Technical Assistance Center. While I was on the phone with TAC, I read them the ticket number in question. While on the phone, I switched over to the email application. I read the ticket number directly from my handset. I gave them the other information they needed to update the ticket on my behalf. And my son managed to get out the door for school on time.

This entire exercise was enabled an executed using devices and services by Nokia. I got the information I needed right when I needed to. I was able to take action--right away. And while I was at home trying to get my kids to school in the process, I could have been anywhere with GSM coverage and done the same thing.

Having these "converged" devices with everything in your pocket is a game changer. It's truly information at your fingertips. Not only can you get information others have generated, you can easily capture or create your own. When you're ready to act on that information, you can do it--right now. Right from your mobile device.

How has Nokia products and services enabled you to get access to the information you need right now? Leave your feedback in the comments.

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.

In writing for another blog, I came across an article about how South Koreans are concerned their kids are spending too much time on the Internet via their phone. They are looking to buy phones without Internet access to curb this. Apparently, in South Korea, this is hard.

I'd say it's hard in most developed countries. As more and more of our handsets get more and more powerful--and more and more connected--the issue of what happens when these devices are in the hands of children is very relevant.

How does the handset know it's in the hands of a child? How does the handset restrict or prevent access to material that you as the parent find objectionable? Who decides what's objectionable in the first place? Content issues aside, what about preventing the device from being overused for phone calls or text messages?

I don't have any answers as to what the best approach is here. You can be certain I will be watching these developments closely as I have a couple of kids of my own that will be toting mobile phones soon enough. If you have any thoughts on this, share them in the comments!