The blog world seems to be a little upset by the (allegedly) poor battery life of the current über-phones Apple iPhone and Nokia N95. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out:

The Apple Blog: Dvorak: iPhone battery dead after 40 minutes
Mobhappy: How To Shoot Your World-Beating Mobile Phone In The Foot

I don't want to get into this debate again, as we have already had great discussions about battery life in this blog. And as we concluded, there won't be easy answers in the future because:
- all the wonderful stuff in mobile devices improves exponentially
- battery technology improves more slowly (linearly)

Anyway, something odd struck me yesterday: the battery life dilemma might, paradoxically, be a good thing too. In a way.

Let me explain.

Charlie Schick wrote last December about something we all have experienced:

Like at all 'Net conferences, the folks at Le Web 3 were calling out for flat rate wireless data. Sounds great, but I don't think most operators are prepared for flat rate data from all their customers. I think for the most part, their networks are not designed to have a ton of folks sucking bandwidth from a single cell.

Jyri Engesrtöm referred to 'flat-rate hell' (or something like that) - what happened to AOL when everyone started 'getting' online life and dialing up in droves.

As a counterpoint, Orange was the provider of wifi services for the 1000 delegates at Le Web 3. The network was really flaky (I was one of the few actually posting photos - off my N73 via GPRS). I think it was the number of base stations and all the folks trying to get on that was the problem.

Ready for that in the real world?

The parable demonstrates how free access and unrestricted demand for a finite resource ultimately dooms the resource through over-exploitation. This occurs because the benefits of exploitation accrue to individuals, each of which is motivated to maximize his or her own use of the resource, while the costs of exploitation are distributed between all those to whom the resource is available (which may be a wider class of individuals than those who are exploiting it).

For such problems, there are typically no easy answers. As the flat-fee plans come mainstream, the horror scenario would be that some ultra-heavy users could clog the whole network. After all, it wouldn't hurt you in any way if you to keep your data connections always on.

Now, as the battery life is likely to remain a major challenge in connected mobile devices, it sets up natural limits on how much individual people want to use the network. People will learn to use the network sparingly, despite having a flat-fee plan. And everybody wins, in a sense.

Heh. Always look on the bright side of life. Ta-dam-di-dam-di-dam.

(Ps. people struggling with battery life problems: apologies if this sounded like I was downplaying your distress. No intentions to do that. I think battery life is one of the most important things to take good care of nowadays.)

About a month ago, Stefan posted a provocative rant in Ring Nokia: Colors are off on the Nokia N95? Tests show the answer is undoubtedly yes. I looked at the pictures and agreed whole-heartedly. So I forwarded the link to the N95 team, and asked them to check it out. After listening the feedback carefully, they answered confidently that I shouldn't worry; it's just precommercial stuff.

Now, Nokia has started shipping the final products, and there has been a huge improvement in colors. Check the comparison and some example pictures that James Burland has posted in his The Creative Life Blog.

Moral of the story: let's remember that protos are, well, just protos.

Via Ring Nokia

N95 support pages became available today. Any wild guesses what it could possibly mean?

Update (22 March): Nokia press release answers: Nokia N95 multimedia computer starts shipping

Wow! Thanks for your questions. Here are my quick answers, based on 3 days of intensive N95 usage:

Is it good?

Oh, yeah.

Why?

Of course, N95 has all kinds of new functionality that makes gadget-freaks drool, but I think that's not the point. More importantly, N95 is everything that advertisers have promised us during the last decade. Sure, Nokia 7110 gave us Internet in 1999, Nokia 5510 gave us music and entertainment in 2001, and Nokia 7650 gave us camera in 2001. But now, finally, it's really here, and it's really good.

Could you please shoot some pictures/video, so I can see how it works in real life?

Sorry, no. It's a proto, and I'm not sure if it has the final hardware. Based on my experiences, the quality is absolutely great, but I want to be sure not to give you false impressions. Please wait for real reviews, from independent reviewers.

I'd also be interested in your trying VOIP

Ok, I'll try.

Which version of 1) Symbian OS 2) S60 3) ARM processor they have? Do they have RealPlayer? What multimedia formats they support and what resolutions?

Check the fact sheets here, here and here.

It would be interesting to understand their battery life in the real world.

Again, this is a proto, so nothing definite can be said. During the testing period, however, I have charged it once a day.

The battery life sure is a tricky question. N95 is an absolutely marvelous device, and it attracts you use it more than any other device I have used before. Naturally, the more you use it, the faster it runs out of battery. Let me put it this way: when you buy a car, do you ask how long, time-wise, does the gas tank last? Probably not, because it depends on how much you drive and the way you drive. Using the car analogy, I would say that N95 is an energy-efficient sports car, which makes you want to drive, and drive fast. That is, the gas tank lasts relatively long, considering the amount of driving.

Were the bananas included in the package or do they come as an accessory?

The banana is available as an accessory for $24.99. Just send me your credit card details.

Is it true that 3rd party applications can't use gps in gps enabled smartphones?

No. As Jukka explains, it's just that some 3rd party apps have been done in a wrong way, and they try to locate the GPS device through Bluetooth. Update: Alexander says that 3rd party applications that are not Symbian-signed can't use built-in GPS. I'm not an expert on this topic; sorry if my comment was inaccurate.

Does it have continuous autofocus video?

Based on quick testing, I think it does. But I might be wrong. Anyone to confirm?Update: I did Stefan's test: the video quality was good, but I think it didn't do continuous autofocus. In any case, I think we shouldn't have this level of discussions with proto devices...

How much should I beg and to whom to get those for testing too?

Heh, I have no idea. I think some bloggers get the devices for test drive through Nokia blogger relations program, which I think is somehow related to Nseries WOM world blog. But as a developer, I would ask Forum Nokia.

Jukka Eklund, the original S60 Multimedia blogger, heard me begging gadgets and sent me a little gift:

From left: my afternoon snack, Nokia 6110 Navigator, N75, N76 (with my nose reflecting from the mirror), and N95.

Thank you Jukka!!

Heh, LazyWeb seemed to work this time. But I'll try to get officially into the proto loop asap, so that we can have more enlightened discussions about the latest S60 devices in the future.

Anything you would like to know about these particular devices?

I was asked to comment these rants by two well-known bloggers and self-confessed Nokia/S60 fans, who are starting to get desperate about the lack of availability of Nokia/S60 devices in the USA:
- Symbian Guru: Nokia Might As Well Pull Out Of The US Market
- Darla Mack: Are US Consumers Not Smart Enough For A Smartphone?

Sigh... What can I say? Frankly, I think the situation sucks. Nokia wants to sell devices in the US, and people in the US want to buy our devices - but the seller and the buyer don't meet. But why? Honestly, I don't understand why. Of course, I have heard all kinds of reasons, but still, my mind refuses to understand it.

Somebody wiser than me: please comment. Ricky and Darla are among our best customers in the USA, and I think they would deserve a proper answer.

Ps. both Ricky and Darla made an appeal to our CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. Most probably, OPK doesn't have time to engage in blog conversations, but I'd like to see if somebody in higher ranks could comment.

A first-time S60 user called Steven Wittens has written an insightful Nokia N73 review. Nokia people: go check it out. The author defines himself as web developer, engineer, and geek. So if he finds something in our devices or in S60 awkward, I think we should listen.

Via Ring Nokia

Christian Linholm (former Nokia director, former Yahoo! VP) just posted an excellent piece titled "Nokia N95 is really a leap ahead for the mobile industry", in which he captures the significance of N95:

...as an exciting device:

it is the most existing mobile device I have used in years. It has everything. ... It does produce spontaneous WOWs.

...as an engineering effort:

For anyone who makes phones, the N95 must be a source of stress. The sheer level of complexity to engineer this device would make most engineers have sweat pearls in the forehead. This is the most sophisticated gizmo at 120g ever engineered. Congrats guys, my hat off.

...and as a manifestation of a bigger revolution:

As an outsider I am constantly surprised by the seemingly acceleration of utility in some many domains. When I put the N95 next to my wife’s 6682, they seem to be from a different decade, and it is only two years ago. The N95 to me is yet again proof that we are living a mobile revolution that is about to transform society in a profound way.

Me. One. Thank you.

I thought I was doing just fine with my N73, but I'm increasingly starting to miss WiFi, as I need to test the latest wonderful - but data hungry - S60 applications. The latest one was pitched by Florian:

I think it might interest you and other eddicteds that FON (you know, this huge WiFi Community out there) has launched a beta testing for their Symbian smart client that will connect you to all FONspots which are already over 75.000 worldwide! If you are interested, send an email to client-betatesting (at) fon.com.

LazyWeb request: dear Nokia proto-overlords and word-of-mouth marketers: would you have an extra N95 to loan me? And if I'm a really nice boy, would you be willing to loan me (and other S60 bloggers) test units of our latest gadgets in the future?

I have tried to avoid this overly-talked-about subject, but can't help since Jari asked so kindly:

It would be fantastic to hear a bit more about your thoughts on the iPhone, the (positive) challenge it throws on S60 and Symbian to innovate and improve intuitivity etc.

Sure.

However, I have to be extra careful with my words, for three reasons:
- It's not polite (nor wise) to bad-mouth your competitors
- I'm not allowed to comment about Nokia's competitive response, strategical or tactical
- I don't want to make a fool of myself by doing false predictions

Moreover, I think all that needs to be said about iPhone (at this stage) has already been said, and said well. Here's my shortlist of great posts to get you started: Engadget and Engadget Mobile, Mobile Opportunity, MobileCrunch, Open Gardens, and iLounge (the last quoting Mr. Jobs saying: “You don’t want your phone to be an open platform”, about which some of us might disagree).

Question: what do I think about this myself?

As I commented in Jouni's MRKTNGman blog, I consider iPhone as one of the greatest things that has happened in a while for the whole mobile ecosystem - including Nokia and S60. I don't know if it's going to be successful or not, but at least the ripple effects will be huge.

Question: who will win?

Since I'm very much biased here, I have to refer to authorities. My favorite strategy thinker, the legendary Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, said in his 2003 book Innovator's Solution (page 34):

A sustaining innovation targets demanding, high-end customers with better performance that was previously available. Some sustaining innovations are the incremental year-by-year improvements that all good companies grind out. Other sustaining innovations are breakthrough, leapfrog-beyond-the-competition products. It doesn't matter how technologically difficult the innovation is, however: The established competitors almost always win the battles of sustaining technology. Because this strategy entails making a better product that they can sell for higher profit margins to their best customers, the established competitors have powerful motivations to fight sustaining battles. And they have the resources to win.

Powerful words.

Apple iPhone if clearly a sustaining innovation, using Mr. Christensen's terminology. And if he's right, the dynamics of innovation are on our side. Let's see what we can do :-)

Question: aren't you tempted to do at least some mockery?

Yes, I'm tempted. For example, I would like to quote what my favorite venture capitalist thinks about "1% strategies". But I won't. Apple has created a remarkable product, i.e. something worth making a remark about. I like to have such a worthy competitor around - makes things more interesting around here.

Watch this space.