Symbian in Motion

Google Maps has been updated to include limited support for Transit directions. The service is available to a few selected regions around the world, for the full list of supported areas see the Google Transit site.
The latest version of Google Maps (2.2) is available for S60 (3rd Editions and later) and Windows Mobile (2005 or later) handsets as well as Blackberry devices which had this feature previously.

Users of Window Mobile and S60 will also get a few more features with this latest version, which include:

star-ratings for businesses will help you get a feel for what other people think, your search results show up faster than ever, and user-generated content will now surface in your search results — opening up a whole new world of geo content on your phone. Look for the blue result markers when you search for “ruins in london,” for example.

To get this latest version of Google Maps for mobile with Transit, simply point your mobile browser to google.com/gmm. Also note the new icon for Google Maps. Nice!

For more info check out the Official Google Mobile Blog.

Looking back at my previous posts on the Nokia E71; The Initial Impression, The Lowdown and The Letdown it’s time to put the final thoughts and conclusion on this topsy turvy review of this device.

Firstly I’d like to point all the reviews I do are unbiased and I personally think you need to highlight both the positives of the device and the negatives equally, although there are levels of both that need to be taken into account. I’d like to finish this review on a positive note, because this is what the E71 deserves! Even with it’s downfalls of having a poor camera, 2.5mm jack and no support for Blackberry Connect it is still a fabulous device. It’s in my personal opinion the second best device Nokia have made (from which of those I’ve played with), my all time favourite is the N82 btw!

The Nokia E71 does many things with ease! With it’s fast processor you don’t get any lag in operation and comparing it to my N95 now it’s obviously clear how slow it is in comparison to the E71. The E71 has enough RAM installed to run multiple applications with ease, the battery life on it is extraordinary! Running SEVEN on my N95 now just shows how good that battery life is! I’ve had to charge the N95 twice today already because of SEVEN running. The E71 removed my inhibitions of watching out for battery life left, it was always there! I never had to think about charging it before going out, or how much was left on the trip home, it didn’t matter!

One other major thing the E71 does well and you’d never notice until it happened - a reboot! Yes, I had it for 3 weeks almost and had one crash on it, mainly due to installing some beta software on it, but other than that I took for granted the sheer stability of the device’s OS!

Physically it’s a great piece of machinery, it oozes class with touches of metal, the slenderness of it all, it’s the envy of anyone that saw it, always getting comments like “Wow, that is so thin!” “Ooh look how sleek it is!” These were but a few of the comments drawn from admiring the device without touching it or playing with it. Blackberry owners were jealous of the stunning E71, because that’s what it is - a stunner!

So who would this handset appeal to? Those that need a qwerty device - yes, those that want e-mail on the go - yes, those that want a sophisticated device - yes, those that want long battery life - yes, those that don’t want any hassle - yes, those that want to upgrade their E Series - yes, those that want to upgrade their N Series - perhaps. For those that want all the aforementioned - YES!
This device is awesome, just go out and buy it!

It’s been a just over  a month since I brought you the news that Nokia had acquired Plazes. Eager to see what it was all about and how it worked I quickly began to test it out by signing up and using the service. Having tried for a week or two it seemed nothing special but did what it was built to do all though it was slightly slow and got lost when entering a post code in London, something I find silly as that is what it was designed to do! Get people together to socialise!

Having lost interest in the service I gave up after a week, it wasn’t ready for my  needs yet. Moving forward a month I’m back because someone had added me on Plazes as a contact / friend, fine I logged in and accepted. As it happens I’ve got 2 social events happening (there are more but for the sake of argument, I’m highlighting these two) a colleague’s leaving do and Mobile Geeks of London IV.  So here I am entering the details and such just in case someone wanted to know what I was doing or might want to join me, Mobile Geeks of London entered - fine, Leaving do location entered using Post Code - fine, or so I thought! Looking at my Radar I see that the leaving do has been marked on the Map somewhere near Embankment (see picture below, which is half way across the City. Now this isn’t something new, this was already a problem before, Plazes failed to recognise my Post Code for my office and put me again - across town somewhere. So here’s my problem - Plazes isn’t doing what it’s essentially designed to do - get people together, how can people get together if Plazes tells me my friends are somewhere they are clearly not? How can Plazes function if it cannot recognise something simple like Post Codes and place them on a map? Google Maps has no problem (see picture below) and from what I can see Plazes is using Google Maps to place where you are - so how is this possible!?

Plazes - FAIL!

Google Maps - Pass

Looking at the site, the website has had a facelift and the menu’s etc have been moved around, but yet there are issues with the site not working (see picture below) which I can understand, but essentially not being able to do something simple as putting a post code on a map? Plazes Right Place, Right Time - FAIL!

Moving very unsteadily along from my previous post - Nokia E71 - the Lowdown, I’ll highlight some of the features on the E71 that don’t either make sense or just aren’t good enough, yes this is the E71’s letdowns. I’ll start by warning that some of these features I haven’t exhausted in testing them out myself (in particular the Mail for Exchange feature.)

Let’s take a look at that 3.2 Megapixel camera - even tho it’s a 3.2 Megapixel camera I was expecting at least relatively half decent pictures, especially as it’s got auto focus and flash it looks promising on paper in reality although it’s rather poor. Comparing it with a Sony Ericsson K800’s which also has a 3.2 Megapixel camera it’s clear to see the difference in the quality of the picture. Both pictures were taken with the settings for close up activated, that’s “close up”for the E71 and “Macro Mode” for the K800.

The Nokia E71 fails to focus on the letters on the keyboard, how it’s supposed to use the autofocus I’m not sure, as there isn’t a dedicated touch sensitive camera button. So we get a picture captured as seen below:
EDIT: replaced picture with focused version.

The Sony Ericsson K800 with it’s Cybershot technology and dedicated camera button makes easy work on focusing on those keyboard letters.

Essentially what we’ve got here on the E71 is inferior hardware and software to have the ability to capture any decent pictures. My question is why is it here? I don’t see how it can be any use and think it’s there more for marketing reasons than anything else. The 3.2 Megapixel camera could be there for the pure purpose of sales, it’s one of those features that get ticked on “features required” when going to purchase a handset from your local Carphone Warehouse or any other mobile retailer. This just goes to show features and specifications can be the same on paper, but in reality it’s very different.

Moving swiftly on to the 2.5mm headphone jack. Yes it’s a 2.5mm headphone jack why? Yes I’m puzzled yet again! Now I know it comes with a pair of 2.5mm headphones, but these are from Nokia and something I’ve found most of the time is they’re headphones suck! Compare the £16 Sennheiser CX300 and the Sony Ericsson HPM-75 both of these give out great bass and response and are very cheap. The Sony Ericsson one’s come bundled with their Walkman range, but can be bought for around £15, the point here being they’re both 3.5mm (the Sony Ericsson’s also come with their propriety connector) and won’t fit into this 2.5mm jack. If you follow me on Last.fm, you’ll see that I’ve had minimal updates on what music I’m listening to, this is due to my utter refusal to use Nokia Headphones, quality of music appeals to me and thus I won’t listen to anything with a pair of rubbish headphones, it doesn’t do the artist justice. So I’m still trying to figure out why the 2.5mm headphone jack is still there, and my music to listen to pile is growing.

Moving onto the Mail for Exchange support and the lack of Blackberry Connect. This main complaint is based on a comment by Nicky PNicky P on my previous post on the Nokia E71. He mentions the inefficiency on the E71’s part using Mail for Exchange and data leaks which are mounting up huge bills. I suspect this is more on the software side than the E71, but yet he does state the E61i did a much better job on that front. Now I’m wondering (yet again) this is an E Series device aimed at the professional which I would assume is Nokia’s main target audience but yet they have messed up one of the Main features on this device and are lacking another Enterprise feature in not having support for Blackberry Connect. There are a lot of companies out there that still use Blackberry connect and haven’t made the move from Lotus Notes to Microsoft Office and Exchange, mainly due to the fact the old system works and they can’t afford to move over yet. My opinion is that most companies who do move over and use Mail for Exchange on a Nokia E Series device and rack up huge bills are going to quickly move over to a Blackberry device.
The professional industry is still stuck in Blackberry mode, their opinion of a Blackberry is not the fact it’s a Blackberry device, no it’s one of a function. If a device with a qwerty keypad is seen in public, the first question is “Is that a Blackberry? I didn’t know Nokia’s made Blackberrys! Where is the rollerball?” These are the questions I almost always faced when showing off the E71. This goes to show the professional does not care about brand, they need a device which will do one thing and that’s get them their e-mail to them whenever wherever, the fact that everything is referred to as a Blackberry shows the image Blackberry have built up over time with their monopolising of the market. If Nokia is to make any grounds on eating this share up and changing the conception they will have to get the basics right first. Nokia needs to figure out what the E series stands for, who are they aiming at and what that audience wants. I know many Nokia enthusiasts would love to see an N Series hybrid with E Series functionality, but is that where the E Series is going? From the looks of it, it seems Nokia has blurred the lines between E and N series and is aiming at two targets with on bullet.
My feeling is that it should look at the E Series and aim for that sector, one that will compete with the Blackberry market and stick to that. Sure add features to the N Series for the mass market and enthusiasts but keep that to the N Series. An ideal device between E and N series is not in Nokia’s interests. They need two different models for two different markets.

Looks like that last point is more of a rant than anything else! But it’s one I have to make I think. Overall I would still urge anyone to get the E71 it’s by far the best hybrid device available, mixing some of the N Series features with E is a great mix for those non professionals who want a bit of both worlds. It won’t replace your Blackberry nor your N95 etc… But it will replace your current E Series device easily. Beware if you hate fingerprints or are scared of putting dents on your devices it’s shiny and the fingerprints and scratches are easily noticeable!

Apparently some people were a bit confused by my last post entitled The S60 Browser Just Doesn’t Cut it Anymore. Despite my post-publishing addition, several people thought that my qualm was with a particular site that continuously caused the S60 Browser to crash. To clarify, it’s not.

My qualm is the fact that the S60 Browser does not keep up with internet technology. Of course, it’s “just” a mobile browser so I would never expect it to be able to handle cutting edge elements and overly complex code. Websites built on technologies that have been popular for five years or more however, should be accommodated. This is my opinion. Nokia / S60 innovated by bringing “the real web” to the mobile phone masses, this is true. The problem is they left too much of it behind. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I visit several site each week that don’t work properly in the S60 Browser; sites that really should work.

So just now, I picked another site. I thought to myself, “Ok. I want to try a popular site, also built on Drupal, that doesn’t do anything too fancy.” The first site that popped in my head was NowPublic. Here are the results:

What’s my point? My point is that this should be a huge focus right now for S60. In case you haven’t noticed, the web is big business. People spend more time on the internet now than ever before and a new popular web service seems to pop up every 15 seconds. It’s staggering! The S60 Browser on the other hand, now supports Flash.

Mobile browsers will never keep up with desktop browsers

Of course this is true. Does that mean we should be content having a browser that is 10 years behind the curve? No.

Android, as little as I care about it right now, is going to be interesting in this regard. A truly open mobile platform built by a real Internet Company. Quite intriguing indeed…