My disturbing Nokia obsession

I just noticed this announcement : http://maemo.org/news/announcements/first_maemo_5_sdk_release_targeting_platform_developers/
Which is the first drop of the core OS that will run on Nokia’s next internet tablet.

I find that the extent to which I’m becoming a Nokia fan-boy getting worse as the years progress. In the beginning I just found they made the best quality mobile phones hands down.
I’ve owned at least 5 Nokia phones, the last two of which have been the e61 and the e71. Both of which are very good phones particularly for what I want. Oddly enough I still carry my e61 in my jacket to use on occasion, mainly to act as a wireless hotspot in emergency ‘no wifi’ situations.

But my love for Nokia products has grown to alarming proportions with their internet tablets.

First I bought a Nokia 770, to be fair I bought it quite long after its initial release. I was tipped off by a friend that somewhere was selling them for £75…I mean £75!! For a touch screen, wifi enabled computer-in-your-hand. I couldn’t say no.

The reviews of that device had not been great..too slow, not enough memory etc etc. And for their RRP those where valid concerns but for £75 none of that mattered. And for 12 months itg didn’t leave my side.

Then I decided it was time to justify an upgrade. Clearly this was a type of device that suited me well. I love the Linux core, the functionality, the community about it… so I got myself a Nokia 810 the top of the line. Like the 770 but better in every way.

In the last few months I’ve had the 810 beside me as my constant companion. I’m using it to write this post from bed. Whilst keeping up with twitter and e-mail and rss feeds etc. I also use it as a remote to my myth tv box with mythetomer.

However as with the 770 it’s not perfect and most of that is a desire for a little more power, mainly for slightly more powerful apps…I’d love to see navit running in 3d mode..(come to think of I’d love to see a navit update for 810 fullstop)

And with this first sign of maemo 5 I already know I will get the new one when it comes out. And the fact that they are releasing pre-alpha chunks for the community to review, and working with opensource is all key to my own worrying obsession with my internet tablet. Nokia must be doing something right, as here I sit just waiting to find out when I can lay my hands on one… I’m such a fan-boy perhaps I should actually look at what other products exist in this space..

New E71 and broadband dongle

Three gadgets in two weeks!
After some considerable time chewing over the various options for connectivity I had been failing to figure out the right combination of phone, tariff, signal at work & sensible fair use.
That was until a friend at work lent me his 3 broadband dongle. I’d seen these but not given much thought to how they work. What he showed me was that they have a sim inside. Importantly a sim which can just as easily go in a phone and provide a 3g connection to that.

So I tried it in my Nokia E61. And I found something else out…I get a signal at my desk, and at several key places at work (e.g. the coffee bar)

With the sim in my phone I can run JoikuSpot which uses the wifi to create an ad-hoc hotspot that uses the 3g connection to provide data access.

And with that I can connect anything, and importantly my N810. And even more importantly, do so anywhere I get a 3g signal.

The broadband dongle plans also start at 1G cap, and fair use is not restricted to basic browsing. After all they expect you to use it with a computer.

So I went to the 3 site…and then talked myself into looking at the E71… On a basic plan for £20 a month with no upfront cost. Plus the broadband dongle is then half price.

And that clinched it, so now I have a shiny new Nokia E71 and a 3G dongle I can use either directly with my laptop or put the sim in either of my E series phones.
So £25 a month is a little more that I initially wanted to spend. But I’ve got a combination that is right for me. When Nokia finally bring out the next internet tablet with 3g support, I can pop my sim in that…

Next thing is probably to buy JoikuSpot pro (I’ve been using the ‘lite’ edition to prove it works)

As for how awesome my new E71 is… I’ll write about it next week, after a full week of using it.

It’s time to try my new connections on a trip…off to Southampton I think.