Symbian in Motion

Ok, ok… I’ll weigh in on this one. Plenty is being said around the Nokia blogosphere today with regards to the new firmware update that the N73 received today. Ricky (Symbian-Guru), Mark (The Nokia Blog) and Jeremiah (Nokia Users) each posted about it and seem pretty upset. Do I blame them? No, but I do have a slightly different point of view.

So what’s all the commotion? Nokia today released a firmware update for the N73, a very well-loved phone that is also no spring chicken. At this point the N73 is kind of the “village bicycle” of the S60 line up. Old, outdated and everyone’s had a ride. Fast forward to the N95. The original variant has had a few substantial updates, the Euro-spec N95 8GB has had a substantial update - yet the N95 NAM seems to apparently been tossed aside. To be fair, there was one update but it neglected to add much-desired features such as demand paging and superior Flash integration. Each of the other aforementioned N95 models was serviced with those goodies some time ago.

Long story short, the qualm is that Nokia seems to be disregarding the US version of its flagship handset - the handset that [temporarily] silenced US critics by bringing AT&T-compatible 3G / HSDPA to S60 - while the gray-haired Euro N73 continues to get updates.

Here are my thoughts: The N95 NAM firmware update that we’re all waiting for is coming. Of course it is - Nokia has no plans of tossing the N95 NAM in the trash as the picture above might suggest. Multiple unconfirmed reports from several sources even go so far as to suggest that the new firmware we’re all waiting for has been floating around amongst internal testers for a month or two. So what’s the holdup then? I pose two possibilities…

1. Bugs. This possibility, albeit unlikely in this case, could certainly prevent the release of a firmware upgrade. Bugs are a given for any firmware of course, but it could be that the dev team is having a particularly hard time ironing out the kinks on this release.
2. Preoccupation with other matters. The rumor that AT&T will be picking up the N95 NAM is quickly gaining ground. If it turns out to be true (which is looking likely) and we’re just starting to hear about it now, then Nokia and AT&T have certainly already been working on it for a while. If this is the case, it’s quite possible that the dev team has far more pressing matters at hand. Handsets go through arduous testing processes prior to carrier approval and I’m sure that the team responsible for N95 firmware development has their hands full.

I’m not saying that either of the two scenarios above are the case, but we can safely assume that Nokia hasn’t forgotten our precious N95 NAM. The only way that would be a possibility is if Nokia has decided to pull its S60 effort out of the US market. After the S60 NAM devices that Nokia just announced (and knowing some of the NAM devices Nokia will be announcing), that’s just not the case.

My personal guess is that number 2 above is the case. If so, good for you Nokia. All available resources should indeed be focused on getting the N95 out on AT&T store shelves. This would be a MASSIVE victory for Nokia - placing its current flagship handset with the largest carrier in the US at contract-discounted prices. And don’t cry “carrier crippling” just yet; love it or hate it, the iPhone has changed the game at AT&T. Odds are good that an N95 NAM from AT&T could be near-unbranded in terms of functionality. One small step for AT&T, one giant leap for Nokia.

So what am I trying to say in all of this? Firstly, we are not Waiting for Godot. New N95 NAM firmware is coming. Will it be worth the wait? I think people make a bit more out of demand paging than they should but hey, any improvement to battery life and OS speed will be much appreciated. Secondly, Nokia is a gigantic global corporation and it has plenty on its plate at all times. Nokia is moving S60 into the US, but it will taking time. I still disagree with the way Nokia has handled some aspects of this long process but things are changing. It’s not easy - but patience is a virtue.

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The wonderful guys at WOMWorld have kindly sent me the Nokia N82 for a 2 week trial. I’m hoping to do 2 reviews of it, mostly concentrating on the 5 Megapixel camera, comparing it with my Nokia N95’s. Of course the usual build quality and general usability issues will also be scrutinized.

My aim is to do a review after each week that I have it, but may find myself posting random pictures and other features at a whim. If you have any requests on any specific feature to cover or want any sort of tests done, please do let me know.

Stay tuned for my first post before the end of the week.

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Olly just gave me some news that REALLY brightened up my Saturday. S60 3rd Edition users have been clamoring for a portal into the vast musical experience that is Last.fm, well, since the release of S60 3rd Edition. Windows Mobile devices have a Last.fm client, iPhone users have the amazing MobileScrobbler application and now S60 users get get their first taste of Last.fm functionality thanks to aspyplayer. Douglas Fernando da Silva, developer and author of the Random Thoughts About Nothing (Usually) So Simple blog, has released an early beta version of his open python app that allows users to scrobble tracks to Last.fm as they play on an S60 device. Woo hoo! As mentioned earlier, the app is still in very early stages. Currently, it only supports scrobbling so we can only hope that da Silva works towards integrating Last.fm radio functionality at a later point in time. Fingers crossed! da Silva is currently working on the UI so rest assured that the screen shots above don’t represent the finished product. To make use of aspyplayer, you’ll need to first install Python for S60. Then just sign and install the aspyplayer installer package and you’re good to go.

Check it out!

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