Symbian in Motion

Think he’ll like it?

Thanks to this blog, I have been able to develop great relationships with countless mobile developers over the past year and a half. Anyone who knows me knows that I am extremely pro-developer; Symbian developers are, after all, the very thing that makes S60 such a terrific platform.

An issue came up this past Wednesday that you’ve all read about already. I dubbed it “N-Gagegate” over on BGR but it really isn’t a laughing matter. On the one hand, it’s a stunning testament to just how responsive Nokia can be in some situations. Two sentence recap: It was discovered that N-Gage games were locked to a device IMEI so if the purchaser acquires a new handset, all games are lost forever. Two days later, a solution was announced to be in the works. Awesome job Nokia - users (and press) spoke, you listened.

I did want to comment on James’ post from Nokia Conversations however. Here’s a quote:

As it stands, you can transfer your profile and associated info, but due to piracy issues, not the games.

I’m not shooting the messenger here but Nokia, this is not only a bad excuse, it’s a terrible one. Rookie, even. Rule number 1: Don’t damage your relationship with paying customers in order to prevent “non-paying customers”. Never. There is no question that this issue came up many times during the N-Gage development process; if we tie games to the IMEI, piracy will be made more difficult but users will be pissed! The fact that the N-Gage product was ever released in this fashion is inexcusable in my opinion.

As I’ve discussed with many developers, 95% of “pirates” would not have paid to use your application even if a pirated option was not available. To be honest, I’ve yet to find a developer who would disagree with that statement. Developers need to focus on potential business, not a bunch of children with no money who are using pirated copies of their software. Yes, of course you should implement a certain level of security - no need to tempt real customers over to the dark side. To take the route that Nokia did with N-Gage though and attempt to make games disposable is a joke. But…

The interesting thing now is that this will be a change for mobile gaming. More often than not, games and apps are tied to a specific device and can’t be transferred to a new one.

No. Not good enough. Nokia is supposed to revolutionize! Furthermore, the system itself dictates game portability. Let’s not get crazy here. Thankfully, James goes on to say:

As N-Gage games are tied to a profile and a device, it’s more realistic to be able to port them. That said, it isn’t without it’s challenges, but thankfully those are being figured out. Finally.

In the end, I’m glad that Nokia found a solution to the problem [that they should have never created]. Response time was fantastic, so kudos for that. Project Management should have thought this one through a bit better though because we all know how news is - 75% of the sites who posted “the bad news” won’t post this “good news”. Rightfully so, perhaps, if a lesson is learned.

Ok, ok… I’m not really getting rid of my new N95 8GB NAM. I am sending it back to Dell though. Why? My new handset has a problem where the ear speaker clips (crackles) when the volume gets to a certain level. Unfortunately it’s not a very high level, in fact it even clips constantly with the volume set to 50% - 60%. Definitely unacceptable.

But that’s not the real reason I’m posting this. I’ve had limited interactions with Dell in the past but ever since I first heard the news that Dell would be outsourcing its customer service to India, I’ve heard / read a lot of people complain about poor customer service. Well I’m not sure where the person I spoke to last night was located, but I literally could not be happier with my experience. The customer care rep was polite and helpful, and the policies that applied to my problem were nothing short of perfect.

My call to Dell customer service lasted about 10 minutes. When all was said and done, the rep had initiated the shipment of a new N95 8GB to my house. The package will include a return shipping label and instructions on how to send my defective handset back. If I so choose, I can even have UPS pick my return package up from my house at Dell’s expense. I had email confirmations regarding all arrangements in my inbox this morning, done and done.

A+ Dell - fantastic job. I would certainly not hesitate to give them my business again. In fact, I’m positive that I’ll be giving them my business again. I’ll recommend them as well: The N95 8GB NAM is down to $580 shipped on the Dell Small Business site. No coupon needed; best price I’ve seen. Also, the red N95 NAM (N95-3) is $522.21 shipped which isn’t bad at all.

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Remember what I said about passing on the N95 8GB? I lied.

I had every intention of passing but the need for a new handset gave me the need to go back on my word. If I was a bit more excited about some of the handsets coming out in the near future I likely would have waited, but we’re looking at [least] until year-end before Nokia dishes some new goodies that will find their way to my pockets. To clarify that, I am pretty interested in the N96. It’s still unclear if AT&T-compatible UMTS will be present however, and I’m not at all comfortable with the battery size.

I should get it soon and while I’m not looking forward to getting all my apps moved over or the snail-like USB 1.1 transfer speeds, there’s no question that the N95 8GB NAM is a looker. No more waiting for that firmware update either. Anyone in the US shopping around for an N95 8GB of their own, shoot me an email. I have a Dell code that drops the price to $570 shipped - best price I’ve come across by far.

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Ahh the age of technology. The days of annoying photographers and coffee table wedding albums with pasted sepia photographs are long gone. In their place; digital cameras, live streaming video and S60.

Mr. Ricky Cadden of Symbian-Guru, MobileBurn and most recently S60 is getting married today and his guest list is comprised of tens of thousands of people. No, he isn’t having an ostentatious celebrity event in a massive arena. Ricky is having a ceremony and reception powered by technology. Guest photos will be uploaded instantly to Flickr using ShoZu, attendee perspectives will be micro-blogged to Jaiku and live video will be streaming in real-time thanks to four Nokia N82 handsets, the Flixwagon app / service and a special page set up on Flixwagon’s site.

The N82 is billed as a storytelling device and today it will be pushed to the limits in order to tell one hell of a story. I’ll be attending the old fashioned way - in person - but I wonder if my experience will be any more “real” than that of the virtual guests. If you think about it, I will likely miss out on a great number of experiences that online followers will be able to enjoy as I only have one set of eyes and one vantage point. Virtual guests will see and hear things through the eyes of two, four, maybe even 10 people at a time. Using Jaiku they can interact with several guests simultaneously and watch as images pop up in Flickr feeds. Using Flixwagon they can comment live during a video stream and their comments will be seen instantly on the screens of guests operating the N82s

So if you’re a fan of Symbian-Guru, MobileBurn or just a passer-by with a penchant for technology, and you want some amazing insight into this very special day in the life of a well-respected Symbian blogger - you don’t need an invitation or a plain ticket. All you need is an internet connection, a computer and a web browser. “Times they are ‘a changing.”

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