Fruit phone again

The nexus 6 really needs to be a killer device. I've recently had a note 3, lg 3 and now z2. All hardware specs are great on paper but the android implementations are riddled with bugs and hardware that fails. Note 3 the gps borked by samsungs latest iupdate, g3 that overheats then you can't remove device administrators bug and now the z2 another device that overheats when using the camera and now the settings app fails to load to enable me to move apps to sd which did look like its a missing option. 

To date I still have my nexus 4 as a spare, nexus 5 with my work sim which I still believe is underpowered and finally my xiaomi mi2sc. 

I know tomorrow if i spend £700 on the high end fruit phone it will work, can run and store over 100s over apps and the hardware is good. Albeit the 5s with 1gb is not enough. 

For android I can't find any decent comparison and am just disappointed because I love the vanilla os but somewhere along the line I find a reason not to keep it. 

Both the lg g3 and z2 might do 4k or have a really good camera but this is pointless if it overheats. It's like a Ferrari I can only drive 100m at a time. 

Samsung really need to cut down on their bloat and get back to basics rather than bundling junk that just slows the device down. 

Yes I can apply roms or root but even that doesn't help if the device overheats. 

So back to the fruit phone iat least for the next 3 months until the note 4, nexus 6 and fruit phone 6. 

2012 My Year in a mini - review

2012 has now gone and we are officially in 2013 narrowly avoiding the end if the world on the 21st of December - End of the world – as it didn't happen | Science | guardian.co.uk I wrote this piece a month ago and thought I'd better post it.

• For technology in the Apple world we have seen the iPhone 5, IPad 4th generation and iPad mini and I expect to see Apple release the same products again with minor iterations in 2013. They will be billed with the usual hype that its the best thing ever, you need it and like sheep I will notably follow and but them.
• I tried the Galaxy note last year and it was a good experiment and whilst android had moved on with the number of applications available. I still found there were bugs with Bluetooth car kits, I needed to root the phone to use it to its full potential with Tasker and it was plagued with battery life issues. Whilst certain people sweat they can get a full day on a Note; I cannot and need two batteries.
• The iPhone 5 turned up only to find IOS 6 is plagued with the same Bluetooth bugs as android when connecting to a car kit. The battery life isn't remarkable but iOS 6.02 killed it, thus required a downgrade.
• The iPad 4th generation was a shock and unexpected and has totally rebooted how quick I will now update this device.
• The Nexus 7 whist a great form factor and tablet still lacked tablet based applications and was sold when the iPad mini turned up.
• The iPad mini was a shocker as it use it daily instead of my iPad 3. I will certainly be looking out for one with beefier specs in the future.
• The Mac mini server was a disappointment requiring a new monitor to work correctly on thunderbolt and Mountain Lion Server is just unreliable, bloated and a comparison to Vista.
• The Nokia Lumia 800 was a surprise as I have really enjoyed using Windows 7. However after it was effectively killed off Microsoft casts out loyal Nokia Lumia customers - Computer Business Review

In 2012 I renewed my interest in photography again and have decided to take part in the Project i365 and post a new picture a day using my iPhone. I also purchased an excellent course on using Snapseed -The Magic of Snapseed by Justin Balog This has shown me how powerful the product is as now my go to product for any photo editing on my iPad or iPhone.

 

Kickstarter had also been another interest where I have invested in the following projects

• Pebble watch
• Cookoo watch
• Mobiclip
• Bridge
• Wacca Wicca battery
• Storm fly
• Iexpandr case
• iPhone Led notifications
• Hilo lens
• Zopro case

To name a few....

 

I expect 2013 to be another year like 2012 with a new ipad and iPhone but am really looking forward to the kickstarter projects when they arrive. But I envisage getting rid of the larger ipad and sticking with the mini.

 

So we are well into 2013 now in February so lets see how the year pans out.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

The App police at it again!

I have already in a previous post talked extensively about my contempt for apple a lately pulling apps not long after approving them. Again this week we find quickpick and imame being added to this list .

I wasn't so worried about imame as its just an emulator for arcade machines and whilst it can open Roms it may be useful in the future. But quickpick a bit similar to launch centre again was pulled as it didn't meet the guidelines for the notification centre, then launch centre itself was not approved for same reason and was rewritten purely as a standalone application. TUAW explains more here.  I was luckily to get quickpick and have set up some shortcuts to enable me to get to settings quicker until apple stops this when the next version of IOS is released. 

What is actually getting up my back is these applications are being approved, I buy them as they are useful, the media catches on then before we know it apple retracts them. I am allowed to continue using the application but need to ensure it has been backed up to iTunes because if I ever delete it without doing this I will lose it forever. When the app is pulled you are no longer able to download it, it is removed form iCloud for backing up and restore. If there are bugs and unless the developer changes the app, resubmit and gets it approved. You are totally screwed as it can never be fixed and you will need to find an alternative. 

I have bought other applications such as which allowed me to clear my ram on the iPad. This is no longer available to purchase and I can't get an updates, all because apple thought the ram clear process was unnecessary.  Although I have found and bought an alternative how long will this one last for?

I accept that they have rules and these should be adhered to, but all I ask is don't approve the applications in the first place as I buy them, you pull them then I am totally fucked because the whole support structure with the application just disappears. 

I have paid a lot of money for some applications such as Navigon where i spent over £80 on the additions or offers and for full western europe maps. This scenario may never happen but what if apple either brings their own navigation and decide to cancel all other sat nav apps I the app store? Or a feature that is used in an upgrade they refuse to accept. Effectively each time I purchase something I am taking a chance that it will still exist tomorrow. 

 

Backup and Restore

I am away next week in London on training and I want to travel light instead of taking my mac book, work laptop and iPad. I figured the iPad will do all of the functions I need on trip. It's preloaded with media, my course material and can certainly cope with my Internet activities. However one thought came to mind what ignite crashes. The same with my iPhone what if it crashes. I am stumped as I need a PC or mac with iTunes to restore.

Both devices are jailbroken and I use pkgbackup on both devices to backup and restore from Dropbox which works flawlessly. However if the devices die I cannot rejailbreak as I need a Pc or mac. I cannot restore as I need iTunes. I don't know what apps I have installed so I mentally need to keep a note.

Anyone who follows me on twitter I have been an android and Symbian fan.

Now I have found with psion, windows mobile, symbian on nokia and android I can take on device backups. This would either use built in functionality or a new application. I can then restore and all without the need of then Pc or mac.

So I have a dilemma, although I am enjoying iOS, have all the applications I want, can work without the Pc or mac that is until shit hits the fan.

It's as this point I get a reality check and am considering the Galaxy Tab or an android device as a backup.

Apple restores using iTunes work great but if you don't have the luxury of being able to tether or do online backups to the cloud.

You are stuffed until you can hook up again.

The Pharmaceutical Race

My first tablet computer was an Archos 5 Internet Tablet 5 towards the end of 2009  which ran android 1.5 and also played a variety of media due to the Archos's extensive codec library.  It was during the short time of me having this tablet that I could see the potential of having a hand held computer that was not windows based, could be instantly powered on, had a large screen and could take the place of laptop, desktop or even smart phone for my daily internet activities.  This story was short lived when the Archos 5 decided to die on me, reset itself and lose all of my files and settings.  This left a sour taste in my mouth if I  could rely on this device when at any minute it could potentially do this again.

In January 2010 I saw the Ipad, laughed like other people at Apple's arrogance that they just invented the world again but still thought that it would be an android based table that I would end up with.   I purchased a cheap table from Hong Kong via Ebay for about £130 called an Eken M001 which was 7", ran Android 1.6 and had a resistive screen.  The technical specifications were similar to other tablets that are coming from the far east and are now available for about £100 over here.  Although this tablet was okay for ebook reading, minor browsing or reading your emails, again this was short lived because the keyboard was terrible for typing on.

It was after these two instances and after  recently purchasing an Iphone that I decided to purchase the Ipad.  The purchasing itself was not easy after being nearly ripped off on Ebay and after reserving one in PC World to only turn up and find out it was not in stock that I nearly gave up.  Although at the  end of January Apple showed the world that they had invented Tablet computing, my perception was they just brought a device to the market that worked, was well specced and had lots of applications that would differentiate it from calling it a large iphone.

Towards the end of 2010 we have seen the release of the Samsung Galaxy Tab at around £450, many have called an Ipad competitor and more recently the Advent Vega at £250.  I got hold of the Vega from Pc World because the specification was good, it was running Android 2.2 and had a capacitive screen.  My conclucisons on this device are it is a steal for £250 compared to the £100 tablets mentioned ealrler.  But you really need to apply the Performance Pack supplied by modaco to extend the device to include the Google Market and other services.  I would have kept the device if it wasn't for a bad episode with a 16gb SD Card which would not just work in the device.  After 3 formats and and rebuilds of the Vega I had enough, it was wiped, photographed and boxed to be sold on Ebay.  It sold within 12 hours.  Although this would could have been conisdered a bad memory card issue, it was very similar to my Nokia 5800 problem again with a 16gb SD card back in January 2008 of which I concluded was a hardware issue.  After dealing with this problem for several months I got shut of the 5800 and likewise I thought I am not being a slave to this problem with the Vega so subsequently sold this.

I was considering the Samsung Galaxy Tab and saw the device in the flesh, briefly used a colleagues and liked the keyboard but I settled on a second Ipad due to a video I saw on youtube of the Google Mail application on the Tab.  Unlike the Ipad, the Tab, like the vega, like the Eken and the Archos 5 do not use the screen real estate where ultimately the applications available for Android are all geared towards 800x400 or smaller.  You can argue the Ipad which can use IPhone applications at 2x the resolution looks terrible but there are more Ipad applications available that make use of the higher  resolution.

So , since December 2009 Android hasn't really developed on tablets and even google had said that until version 3 of Android it will not really be ready.  Whilst Samsung have done a sterling job with the TAB,  with a 1024x600 resolution the size of text on the screen in poroporiton to the screen size make it look like a childrens book with large writing.  Also the price of £450 approx is ridiculous and personally I wanted a product I know that will work for me, has a plether of applicaitons that are tablet aware and offers a welll rounded package.

The next version of Android needs to be an evolution, not lose its phone roots but show a distinct difference between a tablet os and phone os.  Google need to remove the restrictions of not allowing manufacturers  to use the market place because a tablet with Google is about as functional  as an etch a sketch.  Whilst "WIth Google" is an important trademark, it shows consuimers that this is a virgin device with no manufacturer tweaks, it needs to be freely available for any tablet that is to be launched.

Applications, applications and more applications need to be released that can take advantage of the screen real estate and offer more funcitonality than theiir smartphone os based versions. Sadly I dont believe this will happen until mid 2011 until the new version of Android is released that will allow higher resolutions and allow more diversity in devices so that they can make use of the Google services.

The hardware of the Advent Vega is the beginning of this evolution  but the OS desperately needs to catch up.  The Samsung Galaxy TAB shows what can be achieved with the right mix of hardware and Software, but it could be better as it is  shameful that you have to rely on Samsung to enhance the OS with a skin to supply a well rounded product.  This is  reminiscent of the HTC Sense on WIndows Mobile 6.5 where a skin was required to provide additional functionality.  This also the starting point of where Windows Mobile started to go wrong with manufacturers skinning the core OS, trying to hide the ugliness and lack of features which would always fall foul of when the OS was upgraded as it would mean  you need to either purchase the new model of hardware to get the new OS or wait endlessly for the manufacturer to update their skin.

In 2011 I dont know what devices I will have, but wouldn't have said in January 2010 that I would be typing up this blog on a macbook, use an iphone and own 2 ipads.  Whilst Android was and is still a market leader in mobile OS, Apple with have caught up on the hardware and OS and have certainly overtaken on the tablet front.

CES 2011 will be happening soon and this will set the scene for the rest of the year where one does not have to think hard that there will be a plethora of tablets on show.  However I do believe that unless Google changes the way they are developing  Android, restricting the minimum specification that allows manufacturers to use the whole Google package or begin to encourage developers to create a tablet version of their software; that android  could over time certainly go the way that Microsoft WIndows Mobile went; if they are not already heading down that path.

As with all races this is not just a two horse dash, there is the Blackberry and Palm offerings where I believe the Blackerry Pad will be business focused and the Palm We OS offering whilst technically fantastic will  also fall foul of here being no applications due to lack of developers and low uptake of the Palm Web OS just like the Pre now.

But as with any race we will not know until the end of the year to see who has won and who has fallen by the way side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow the ISheep

I have decided to put my nexus, n900 and android tablet on EBay to buy some new kit but to also remove the pain these devices are giving me at the moment.

The Nexus with Froyo doesn't work for me because all of my apps aren't available in the App Store or just don't work.

The N900 is still too rough around the edges 6 months on and I believe Nokia alately seem to be distancing themselves from it thus making it a niche product.

The android table whilst cheap needs a higher specification to be of any use.

@gerrymoth on twitter asked well what phone next?

To be honest the HTC Desire looks interesting but I am waiting to see what Apple delivers in the Iphone 4G. I am expecting my gadget sale to be able to fund an Ipad but I am still wary of Iphone OS. Maemo, Symbian and Android have meant I have been PC free for 2 years but the Iphone since the 2G doesn't seem to have moved on because it requires Itunes.

So I am challenging anyone reading this to convert me to Iphone OS and find me applications that allow me to still be independent:

Podcatcher - an application to download podcasts over 3G and be able to play them locally without ever seeing an itunes installation

SMB/WIFI network browser - To allow me to side load files through SMB network browsing that I can use locally on the phone in applications again without the need of a PC and off device conversion

USB Disk Mounting - the ability to mount the local phone storage as a USB disk on a PC without the need for Itunes

I know a simple form of multitasking is coming and I know that Cydia store is available if I jail broke, but out of the box using the stock rom can IPhone OS do this?

The bells and whistles of the UI are great but when you start peeling back can it work how I want rather than having to convert myself back to a PC dependent world.

My fear if I was to revisit IPhone OS again after getting a 2G phone several years ago is whilst it has lots of applications and great hardware I will be expected to conform again rather than the device confirming to what I want.

Knowing that I have expectations of which I don't think are our too extravagant can the IPhone OS do what I want or do I have to become another clone?

N900 - To be or not to be?

There are a lot of n900 reviews online talking about specifications of the hardware/software and how all of the applications work to the nth degree of detail. My post is from using the n900 as my main device for a period of 4 weeks (the length of time will become significant later).

Before Christmas 2009, after much deliberation I decided to purchase an N900. The phone was bought through a reseller where the price was competitive with what they where being sold for on eBay. When the phone arrived I promptly unpacked it and charged it up but within 1 hour of use it rebooted. I over looked this and promptly set about configuring the exchange sync, my email accounts and looking at what applications were available. I used various sources from NokiaAddict.com to allow me to access all of the development and testing resources and twitter for recommendations which gave me access to more applications. Previously being an N810 user I was aware of the issues around using test applications and that you might cause the device to become unstable, but I didn't care. For my N810 I have completely repartitioned the internal disk to increase the available installation space which has lead to the device being more usable. Considering I usually push things to the limit the enabling of these repositories was just another "walk in the park" for me.

Over the first few days I began experiencing several reboots a day which initially because the device was new I wasn't worried about but it got the point of becoming annoying. Doing investigations through searching on the web and posting to twitter wasn't really conclusive as there were two camps. People who were returning their n900s for replacements as they believed it was a hardware fault. This went to the extent of people commenting on how long they charged the battery from when the device was first switched on to discussions of battery replacements, battery charging voltages, what types of chargers were being used, the variety and quality of components inside the n900 and even people suggesting it was applications from the testing repositories. Other people were suggesting it was something to do with the device being in the middle of a process and trying to go into idle mode where it would force it to reboot.

The error I was getting of which could be displayed in a command prompt using "cat /proc/bootreason" was wd32_to.


Through following the link I was able to disable enable_off_mode which whilst reduced the battery life as power management had effectively been switched off it made the reboots from 8 a day to 0.

After 12 hours use I also came across another issue related to the reboot count where each time the device reboots due to the above it adds a value of 3 onto the reboot count. When the reboot counts goes over 50 and the phone reboots it will not load the OS, merely sitting at "2nd dot " of the "5 dots". Effectively the n900 was bricked where I had to reload the firmware to restore it. Again there was a fix for the reboot count. Recently I have managed to brick the device again but used this link to resurrect the device without the need for a reflash.

So whilst all of this was happening up until the first week of January 2010 through trying to use the device daily, I had come to the decision that should a fix not be released shortly then the device would be on EBay.

On January 12, a small fix was released that essentially allow the larger update to be done over the air when this would be released. Sadly, this fix didn't resolve the reboot issues and I had to resort to the workarounds mentioned above. Again, I was of the same opinion if no reboot fix was to be issued then the device was bound for EBay. It was fun trying to get this firmware on due to the fact I had filled the root filesystem so had to remove applications to make space in order to load the new firmware on.

PR1.1 firmware was released on 14 January, again this would not go on so was forced to take a backup, reflash using a cable and restore from backup. Firstly, the backup/restore was flawless in that it both restored all of my data and reinstalled my applications - although it had to download these again. This was nice to see bearing in mind I had seen some concoctions over the years claiming to me mobile backup solutions but wasn't any good. I had to laugh about the application reinstall because to my horror it needed to download 670mb of data so there is no wonder I filled up the root filesystem. The other advantage was any garbage that had been installed previously had been removed and my root filesystem is now back to a reasonable size although I do question the partitioning considering there is over 32gb on board and to only use a minimal amount for rootfs is ridiculous. In the forums it has been said my rootfs has gone due to me installing test applications of which are not installing to the correct partitions but this is just an excuse. Should someone repartition the n900 and provide instructions in a similar vain to my n810 then I will do this.

Now to the question did it fixed the reboots?

After reading up on the issues around the reboots I came to the conclusion it looked like a software bug as the workaround was to disable power managment. I also had assumed that this could be fixed through software. My conclusions were correct, the device since the firmware updates is getting zero reboots to the extent I was proud to publish an up time of over 24 hours on my twitter.

Daily I am enjoying using the n900 for Internet web browsing, Instant Messaging, Twitter. Email - in fact everything it was intended to be used for. The keyboard and form factor are great and as a two handed device it really works for me especially considering I am a fan of the Nokia Communicators. It could be used in portrait mode and there is movement to make more applications and the OS to work in this form factor but I am not convinced. Other than the phone application I see no need for this feature as it is just as easy to pull out the keyboard and work in landscape.

The main issue with the n900 is lack applications even though the device is new. Whilst there is a back catalog of Maemo 4 applications these all need porting. Because the web browser is full featured you can use this instead of applications for example you can use Google Docs, Google Maps, Twitter and edit your blogs without the need for dedicated applications. But because the browser can be resourceful having several windows of web open can slow the device down and ultimately when web crashes it closes all of the windows. Whilst the screen resolution is wide enough for browsing again everything within an application can seem cramped so you either have to zoom in/out. But until applications are released you have an alternative available.

After spending over two years gradually converting form windows to Linux through having to find alternative solutions to things that I naturally accept within windows I can be patient with the n900. Through this approach should I not be able to find an application I know there will always be an online alternative that I can use within the web browser. On this basis, I am keen to tell people who are looking at the n900, that should they accept this shortcoming, realise the device is a work in progress still then they will enjoy using the n900. If they are looking for something to work out of the box and do everything an iPhone currently does then n900 isn't for them. Whereas if you are looking for a device that has the potential to do everything an iPhone can and are prepared to wait then the n900 is for you.

I have found that you begin using the n900 for example Twitter, I can tweet, post pictures, post vide, post audio and complete searches but I am using a combination of the built in conversation/IM app, a python application called Witter, another application called MAKU and the web browser. Not exactly seamless but working. So you can begin doing something on the n900 but suddenly find you cannot complete because there is some missing functionality in your current approach so you have to find a workaround.

Another example of this is the OVI Maps solution. This isn't a satellite or personal navigation application on the n900 as it is on other symbian solutions. Currently there is no other navigation application available, however Sygic are making an application to fulfill this void. Hopefully this will be released soon. Google maps can be used with real time GPS navigation using this guide where I had to use this yesterday because OVI Maps was completely useless. Again, in time this will change.

There is an argument that the n900 is not a phone it is an Internet tablet. I have avoided using the reference to phone within this post as I believe it is a new breed of device. The n900 being one of the first devices with this blend of phone, Mobile Internet Device, Navigation Device with a high specification that can genuinely multitask has the opportunity to set the bar from which other devices will be judged. It can be compared and will be compared to the IPhone but they are aimed at two different markets. The n900 can hold its own without connection to a PC whilst the IPhone needs Itunes to benefit using all of its features. For example, I can take 350mb encoded divx file, put it on the n900 and it plays whereas the IPhone needs conversion to be done. Being niche is where the n900 might not be as successful because people want simplicity where lack of functionality and customisabiilty can occur. Most people want to be told what they can do within an application for example, send as an email or mms, whereas the n900 offers more choice share over bluetooth and share via a pipe where they can be extended without having to wait for the manufacturer to build in the functionality. Therefore the N900 has the opportunity to set the bar for this breed of device it also at the very beginning of a new open culture for Mobile Technology which needs to be embraced or it will fail. Android, Windows mobile and Symbian are very similar in that they can potentially and already do everything the n900 does but if you use the n900, look at the possibility that device can be a fully functional computer in your hand and wait (the key factor) here for the applications to be developed then you will recognise the potential and how far beyond the other mobile OSes this
can take you.

However, remember this is the future and not now.

Multitasking or switching

I can recall the first time I used a HP UNIX computer at De Montfort University back in 1991. The screens were huge at 21" where for back then both these machines and screens would have cost thousands of pounds. The workstations themselves had a RISC processor and 32mb of ram and a hard drive. Previously I had used a PC with Windows 3, an Atari ST and Apple MAC. All except the atari could run multiple applications concurrently but unless you had enough memory on the PC, like the apple mac it would task switch. This meant the application in the foreground would run and other applications in the background would sit and wait until they were brought to the front to continue processing. Windows had a 386 enhanced mode which would allow mutlitasking and you could set the priority times for dos applications. The HP UNIX boxes at university could multitask properly with all of the applications. I could be compiling, on IRC, doing FTP downloads, emailing and possibly some text editing all together over a 9600 baud link that was shared with several 1000s of computers at the university. Back then I could see the benefit of multitasking and when Psion brought out the 3a I eventually got my first PDA (a psion 3c) and was running many applications at once.

I recently posted on twitter that I run 12 applications concurrently on my phone. I also had to chuckle when I read Engadget where the editor was struggling to do several things on his iphone. Possibly if he had several phones with him he would have been able to accomplish his tasks more easily and quickly.

If I look at my usage I will always focus on the one task and occasionally switch between applications if I know an email has arrived or twitter has updated. But there are times such as when I am using flyingmoney to reconcile my accounts whilst the web browser is open. Or, if I am in the middle of doing something else and I don't want distrurbing then my call handling software will take control - all happening in the background and without the need to close down applications.

Apple's recent idea of using push notifications is good in principle but after hearing that people are stopped in the middle of their current task. They then have to manage the notice, then can carry on. But if they receive for example several messages they have to deal with each one separately whereas I can just ignore them.

There are many reasons why we should not multitask because not focusing on one task makes us unproductive. Reasons not to multitask. I find having the flexibility of being able to do several things together I can still focus on the task at hand and switch as the need dictates.

Mac os used to task switch where background tasks used to stay still until they were brought to the foreground. Whereas windows applications would in a round about way multitask but not really properly until windows 95. Before Windows I also tried Os/2 which was definitely more grown up. As some of you are aware some of this technology underpinned Windows Nt. I also recall seeing a piece of software called Deskview X which would allow you to run concurrent Os way back in the early 90s and I decided back then that this would be useful but was sadly too expensive for me. It is only in the last few years with virtual machine technology that has allowed me to do this properly. I would envisage that we will also will be able to do this on our mobile devices in the near future.

Many commentators have been knocking Nokia for the S60 UI saying it is outdated and not as intuitive or elegant as the iphone. Whilst there is some degree of truth behind this, I do believe that the UI of S60 can and will evolve into something better if not comparable to the iphone. Again symbian the underlying OS like the iphones OS both are very powerful, can multitask if allowed and are very robust. Whilst I would welcome changes in the S60 ui I would hate to see it limit the devices just like the iphone has, to the extent that it was too simple and it reduced the functionality of not being able to multitask. While I understand Apples approach in trying to limit the number of applications running to ensure the consumer experience and battery life are not affected. Should this ever happen to Symbian then I will be moving to another platform.

In a way the current mobile market is like history repeating itself. In the early days the Psion was the technical superior device. Because it did not evolve and change as the consumer wanted colour screens and form factors such as the palm this could contribute to Nokia's and ultimately Symbians stagnation. At this moment in time I will avoid the word downfall as both Nokia and Symbian are larger players in the market than Psion ever was. They are making structural changes to their organisations and to the partnerships for example the Symbian Foundation, Nokia and Intel partnership, Maemo and QT, Open sourcing (not Saucing.) and Horizon for application development. But what we are not seeing are new and innovative devices just rehashes of old technology.

Nokia have always had two major lines of products with E series and N series. These at some point in time may converge but again I would hope to see that any converged devices whilst simple to use, still allow power users to multitask and work with the machines internals and not like the iphone where the walled garden approach is nice to look at but you are not allowed to stray beyond the fence or walk on the grass.

The next generation

June is slowly becoming a month like christmas where everyone is waiting for announcements on the next generation of phones. This June already we have seen the release of the nokia N97, the Palm Pre and will shortly see the Apple Iphone 3GS.

Initially when the N97 was announced last year I had thought this was the ultimate Nokia to have. However after having a 5800 and almost killing the device expecting too much. My appetite for the N97 has been waviering. Initially I heard rumours of a slow processor and then memory issues. This in addition to me using an E63 influenced me to look at the e series devices again. I have had an E90 for over two years and recently blew the dust off it to use instead of the 5800 and before I got the E63 then the E75. It is still set up to go as a backup handset as soon as the newer ones fail me.

However looking at the recent next generation handsets the specs of a keyboard, hsdpa, built in gps and 3 megapixel autofocus camera are almost exactly the same. So when I look at the G2, the phone 3GS and Pre I find myself asking what else have they to offer. My E75 has the same specification and I am enjoying using this device because of the form factor plus it is smaller than the E90 for everyday use.

I have already mentioned that I have avoided the N97 due to memory and I am not prepared to part with my cash for disappointment.

The iphone 3GS whilst better specs with hsdpa, video recording and finally cut and paste is of no use as I need multitasking. What also surprises me is if you jailbreak an old iphone it can do video recording, mms and cut and paste. Why do apple force people to upgrade for new features when the current versions can do it?

The G2 whilst it looks interesting the number of applications for Android is too small.

Nokia haved just updated the e71 with the e72 which is of a similar form factor has a 5 megapixel camera, s60v3.2, a slightly modified keyboard, 3.5mm jack and a digital compass. It is a real shame this device wasn't announced a few weeks ago as I would have got this instead of my e75. I really do like the form factor and the spec of the device is excellent.

This then leaves the Pre. I am following this one closely and am hoping a gsm version will be released some time soon. Stuff magazine believe we will see this device in September 2009. Palm have been around for many years and have reinvented themselves with this device which will hopefully see them as pioneers again. Whilst the pre has a similar spec to the e75 and iphone 3gs minus 32gb of storage. The new webos in the phone is based on linux, can multitask and has a new gesture control system for driving the phone.

The pre has already been jailbroken and it will be interesting to see if palm follows other people's route of plugging the holes. Whilst there are security issues because of issues like this, I believe that the process of jailbreaking the iphone has contributed immensely to the application markets. Also with the pre being based on linux I am hoping just like the nokia internet tables such as the n800 and n810 that updates to the OS will be dynamic just as in linux, without the need to completely reflash the phone.

For me, the pre offers great web browsing, multitasking, ability to install 3rd party applications and is feature packed hardware and best of all has a keyboard. I loved the iphone web browsing but the rest of the device was too restrictive and there was no multitasking. I am expecting the pre to deliver the same experience and plug these shortfalls.

I have heard there are some technical issues with the pre and before I look at parting with my money I will investigate. I did this before the n97 and am glad I didn't jump in first and be disappointed.

Synergy on pre sounds really cool where it takes all of the contacts and calendars from google, exchange and facebook etc. It then consolidates these on the phone as one list. Again Palm is leading the way but it will be good to see if other manufacturers come up with something similar.

Being a multiple device user I am keen to see how the pre copes with updating and managing my exchange calendar and contacts alongside my nokias.

I recently tried the google sync for S60 again now it syncs calendar and contacts using mail4exchange. However it didn't want to work on the E75 so I canned the idea after an hour. I switched back to exchange and it just worked seamless. However my hosted exchange provider mail2web is now on exchange 2007 which does not work with evolution via owa. Owa only runs as the light interface via firefox. This has left me now running Outlook 2007 under crossover professional on Ubuntu using RPC over Http. Whilst I can view entries I cannot amend them. So one problem of syncing all my phones goes away so I am not tied to a Pc. But now I cannot view my info directly on the Pc without a half baked solution.

Anyway, after that digression I believe the Pre could be bigger than google android this year but could make or break palm.

Apple, Nokia and Android will continue to get stronger because they are big players. Palm has the potential to be big again but a gsm version of the pre needs to come out soon so the rest of us can try it. Should Palm not be successful with the Pre they should open source the web OS then hopefully this might help it take off. Failing that android and web os might merge but that is just wishful thinking.

Now looking to the second half the year I hope Nokia provide a touch screen version of the communicator with 8 megapixels and 32 gb storage. Hopefully Palm will increase the storage on the pre or add an SD slot. Possibly apple might crack the Iphone with multitasking through their push notifications.

Either way 2010 looks an interesting year already.

E90

Well after some deliberation and the recent issues with the 5800XM I have blown the dust off my Nokia E90 (over 18 months old), reflashed it and then spent three days reinstalling it after two bundled attempts.

The previous atempts failed due to the memory card where I had similar issues to my 16gb card. I had previously used the 16gb in the 5800 but it would not work and became corrupt. A similar issue happened in the E90 the first time. I then tried a 8gb card and the same issue here happened.

Looking at both card they were both class 2, so I tried a class 4, 8gb card on the third attempt and everything now works. When I had the class 2, 8gb card in a N95 it slowed the response of the phone right down. So the moral is, class 2 for devices like ebook readers, cameras or mp3 machines. Class 4 for pdas or mobiles. The 16gb has gone in my camera and the 8gb in my N810 for extra storage.

The E90 is like holding a shoe to your ear when making calls. However it has lots of memory, quite fast processor, can multitask, has a keyboard, large screen, gps, 3.2 megapixel camera, stereo, ad2p, wifi, bluetooth and ip telephony, Whilst the 5800 has all of this minus the hardware keyboard, the 5800 really slows down when doing too much.

You may ask what have I got running on the phone:

Push email
Ip telephony
Gravity for twitter
Push sync to exchange
Sms filter
Call filter
Call recorder
Sms gmail sync

Even with this running it still leaves enough ram for web browsing, blogging and the odd phone call.

The iphone can only do one thing at a time according to apple, however when I jailbroke my 2g iphone I was running ssh, php, web server, call notification software in the background and other apps in the foreground.

I have heard that apple will be be allowing push notifications to the phone where by rather than the phone periodically checking for updates or having a constant connection to the server, apple will notify the phone when something has updated so the phone can connect and make the updates. If this works, it will be a new way of doing push notification and will reduce on data being transferred from having to keep open a constant connection.

So whilst I have been looking for a phone that does everything I want I have had it for the past 18 months stuck in a drawer!

However, looking at new handsets at the moment the contenders are now E90, E71 , N97 or the palm pre. Matt Miller reports the keyboard on the N97 is poor in comparison to the E75 the device he is now favoring. You cannot use a virtual keyboard to input on the N97 as there is no software keyboard unlike the 5800, so you have to flip open the device. Whilst like my E90 I have to do this in order to type it would be good to see both options available like on the N810.

So whilst I am waiting and reading the reviews, I am typing this blog using wavelogger on the E90 as I know I have the yardstick in my hands. Should there be another communicator announcement from Nokia then the N97 will be ball parked until the communicator comes out for comparison.

As the phones cost a lot it will be worth the wait as they do stand the test of time - or at least me!

Which phone next?

Well the nokia 5800xm has reached the point of another hard reset. Web has died where it will not even load mobile versions of websites. There are two other browsers available such as BOLT or OPERA MINI but these either crash or are too cumbersome with a touch screen

I am pondering the 3g iphone now it has grown up and will finally be able to do copy and paste, mms and sat nav later this year. But I will probably want to jailbreak and then it will be on ebay for sale.

The N97 is due soon and whilst I like the form factor it still has the bad s60 browser. I will need to see the reviews before I jump as I am getting tiered of buying stuff that just doesn't work.

There is windows mobile but there is not much to say on that
The G1 or G2 but again lack of software or memory kills this for me.
I have tried two devices but find it impractical and the n810 I have again has a bad web experience.
Netbooks are too large to carry around all of the time to just get out and use.

So I am on a fence as to what to do?

Some people cannot understand why the phones just fail me. Ultimately I just use their features, buy software and run it on the device as this is what they are designed to do.

So will it be an iphone? At this moment it is a hot candidate as I just want something that works. However I will look at the new phones mentioned above over the next few months before I jump!

So do you touch or point?

I have now had my nokia 5800 for 3 weeks but it has been an up road struggle.

I have always enjoyed touch screen phones where my first was a p800. Before this I had a catalogue of touch pdas such as the psion 5,7 , the palm v, the handspring visor, hp jornada 629, compaq ipaq, hp jornada phone/pda so I have some experience when it comes to tapping a screen.

I got an iphone last year shortly after they came out in the uk to see if I would like it. For me, this felt like a heavy weight boxing game as I hadn't had an apple device before, I have big expectations from mobile devices as I am a heavy user and there was a question if the iphone could cope with me. Lets just say it was short lived and after 2 months it was back on eBay.

I loved the interface, the web browsing was perfect and it was great to type on. I hated the closed environment where you were locked into Itunes and the Apple way of doing things. With my other devices such as Windows Mobile or Symbian I am somewhat free of this and can choose my own route on how I want to accomplish things. I jailbroke my iphone, installed a web server with php, ssh server and ftp server so I could shuttle files forwards and backwards. The only other issue I had was Linux where I would have to connect both the PC and iphone to a wireless network, ssh onto the iphone then mount the iphone filesystem over ssh in order to copy files onto it. Sounds great technically but a total headache in reality. I eventually got rid of the iphone after it decided to wipe my data from its disk even though itunes knew it had several gigabytes of "other data", but could not access it. Only a reflash would fix this issue and this is when it was packed up and flogged on ebay.

The thing that Apple got right and set a bench mark was the touch interface. They have always been at the forefront of GUI interfaces with MAC OS X and carried this over to the iphone. I have to admit after years of using point and click interfaces on psion, palm and windows mobile with a stylus, it was both novel and practical to be able to use a finger and thumb to get things done.

I enjoyed my time using Palm PDAs such as the Handspring Visor because I loved the simplicity of Graffiti for the entering of text. This was carried over onto the Sony Ericsson UIQ phones such as the P800 - P990 (this was a total disaster) . However both UIQ and Palm have totally dried up in terms of current hardware and Windows Mobile is the old elephant on top of a mini and it just a fudge. Even with the current crop of phones such as the HTC Touch or Touch HD whilst the Flow interface masks most of the windows mobile junk underneath you still cannot get away from the legacy interface.

As I like symbian, I needed a phone then S60 was a good choice. I previously had an S80 device such as the Nokia 9500 which if used today is like putting a shoe to your ear. I upgraded to a N95 running S60 which got me used to this new OS and its limitation in time for me getting my Nokia E90. This to date is my favorite all in one device with a keyboard and whilst it does not have touch it is a great workhorse. Because Nokia have been slow to bring out further high end devices - the N95 8GB and N96 weren't really upgrades in terms of hardware I got a Samsung Innov8. In terms of spec 3G HSDPA, GPS, 8M Camera, WIFI 3" screem and 16GB on board all running under S60 then this is the dream phone. However the big mistake here is the compatibility with current Nokia S60 software that is free due to the certificates not being available. All About Symbian have recently discussed this on a podcast and have said that they are looking to developers to provide the correctly signed software so it runs under Samsung S60. This has been an issue since the phone came out in August 2008 and it is still not resolved. Needless to say this phone is now on ebay as I had enough of contacting suppliers just to ask when are they bringing out a version for the Innov8. This coupled with samsung#s reluctance to release firmware to fix annoying bugs was too much and this is when I began looking elsewhere.

So in summary, I now want a device that has a keyboard, is compatible with S60 and a touch screen. ........

Now enter from stage left the Nokia 5800XM aka Tube. I got mine from ebay which originally had been sourced from Hong Kong. The phone has already been reflashed by me with the new v11 firmware and the product code changed. Again, I cannot understand why Nokia insist on phase releasing firmware at different times and areas across the globe. Again, take a leaf out of Apple's book who just get on with it and release it worldwide at the same time. I understand Nokia have a huge catalogue of phones but why should I wait several months for something.......

Since having the phone it has been hard reset four times and now I can reinstall it under two hours. However it does refuse to boot with the memory card in so this has to be removed and inserted when the phone has booted. I know there is something on the memory card stopping it but cannot be bothered to fault find as I just want it to work and have a workaround. Also the Web Feeds within the browser have screwed up with no fix in sight other than to wipe the phone again. Luckily Google reader works quite well albeit the touch interface on the web browser sometimes finds you reaching for the hammer!

So do you touch or point? Well with S60v5 it is a question of both. Whilst it is S60 underneath and the menus and buttons have been resized so you can use your finger there is still a lot of work. The S60 browser might be able to show flash unlike the iphone, however it is both slow when zooming in and out with your finger and rendering a page. Thus when you try and move the page about the screen with your finger it frequently does not happen and will move when it is ready to catch up.

The onscreen keyboard is great but I miss the auto correct feature as on the iphone. It is also
annoying to have to keep rotating the phone to type on the full size qwerty keyboard. There are occasions you need to resort to using the stylus (point) that comes with the phone to select things or use the tip of your finger nail if you have any!

But looking past these small things that can be fixed in software upgrades it has a better camera, and can record video and is more open so I can do more with it. For example SymSMB allows me to both connect to Microsoft networks or share folders on the phone. This means I can hook up my linux laptop and copy my podcasts over wifi, access my pictures or MP3s all without a cable or pc suite. It will be great when they finally get the OTA updates working so finally the cables can be burned other than for charging.

This phone will be a transition similar when I went from the 9500, to N95 to E90. I will be moving to the N97 where I am hoping this should do me as an E90 replacement. It has the keyboard, the camera, the capacity and the screen/interface.

If it will be the iphone killer, all I will say is - there is an opportunity but at the moment Nokia have a lot to fix and need to start innovating rather than following. Palm have recently done this with the pre - another contender of which I will be looking at

Lets hope they can remove the need to point and improve on the touch.