Life blog

Putting stuff on YouTube - Nokia Conversations' Channel

For the past year or so, Nokia has been posting product and other videos (and other media) onto the Web, albeit, here and there. Now, as part of my new role, I'll be posting a lot of things to the Web, too.

Indeed, even though we are building a site to put up some of our own content, we're going to make use of tools out there to provide multiple channels for folks to find and recombine the material we produce. We will also, of course, scour the Web for cool things produced by others and link to them from our site.

We don't have a name for the site, but you can guess what we're thinking. We also don't have a site, though we are in the process of getting it up and running.

In the mean time, we are still making and finding and pointing to stuff already out there.

Today we put up our first videos from the team (one of them embedded below), showcasing two phones that were launched today. As we produce more, I expect things to look better, feel better, sound better, and smell better.

Enjoy.

Link: YouTube - NokiaConversations's Channel:

This is the YouTube channel for the Social Media Communications team at Nokia. We'll be posting as many videos on Nokia stories, products, services, and people as we can get our hands on or produce ourselves.

Aggregating your social network - a list of services

Ah, a nice day browsing ideas on the Web, taking me forward and backwards.

I found this nice list (below) from last summer on a bunch of services (many I knew already) for helping users manage multiple social networks. These services do it in different ways, which is good, since it samples the possibility space for me.

Yeah, my head had been deep in this area for a long time and I'm now particularly interested in one facet of it (almost frantic about it).

Alas, the most I will be able to do is pass on the thinking to the Ovi.com team as I wrap things up (hopefully this week).

Link: 20 Ways To Aggregate Your Social Networking Profiles:

In an inspired blog post, Jason Kottke said that social networks aren’t helping us organize; since all of them require different credentials to log in, they’re just adding to the noise. He just might be up to something there. It’s getting harder and harder to remember all those logins, passwords, and most importantly to remember which of your friends are using what network.

Social network aggregators is a relatively new breed of applications which try to consolidate all your various social networking profiles into one, with varying success. Let’s check out 20 biggest competitors in this field.

Where you at?

Funny video. [via Peter B]

Google Calendar for iPhone

Stumbled upon this yesterday. So pretty.

Sigh.

And, yes, there is One Web, but if you can tailor the experience, then do it.

Link: Google Calendar:

Just launched!

Stay on task with Google Calendar on your iPhone
With an easy-to-read interface, Google Calendar now works (and looks) better on your iPhone. Enhanced 'touch-screen' buttons and color-coded events make keeping track of your schedule - and viewing others' calendars - even easier while you're on the go. Learn more.

Nokia Lifeblog on Wikipedia!

Heh, Hugo vK tipped me off that Lifeblog has a wiki page. And on that page you can find setting to your heart's content.

I think these settings can also be used in the web uploader on some Nseries devices, as well.

Way to go, Hugo!

Filtering the noise on Twitter

Just heard about a new feature in Twitter that lets you ignore the noise and get alerted to the signal, albeit a signal you choose.

In my ramble on noise, this is the kind of thing I was thinking about, but this is the current digital version of it, whereby you still need to specify the filter, so nothing new there.

Alas, the signal comes in the usual form - a Twitter message. I wonder how that could come a different way.

Also, if everyone understood that their Twitter streams were being watched, how long before folks modified how they 'tagged' their twits to be caught by these filters (ugh, maybe even causing signal spam)?

It'd be interesting to get some stats on this after a while.

Link: [hat tip, alexdc] Twitter Blog: Tracking Twitter:

You can create as many of these as you want, so send "track drinking tea", "track iphone", "track walking san francisco" and you'll receive matches for all. Want to get a list of what you're currently tracking? Send "track" alone (or "stats"). Turn them all off by sending "track off".

The veil between Web and Desktop becomes even less defined.

I don't know when it was launched, but I am sure all of you do.

One of the biggest downsides of going completely online with all these rich internet apps was that when you were not connected - a fair chance these days - then you were unable to do anything with your fancy rich internet app: no catching up with your email, no working on a document, no messing with your spreadsheet, no updating or accessing your calendar.

Of course, I expected there to be a day when the internet-only folks realized that they needed an offline version of their popular apps. Our team here at least understands that it's not an either-or proposition, but that there is continuum between full Web app to various mixtures of internet and desktop to some full desktop app. The internet is the network behind it all, but various degrees of local storage can do wonders.*

I'm gonna install it as soon as I have the time.

Link: Google Gears (BETA):

Google Gears (BETA) is an open source browser extension that enables web applications to provide offline functionality using the following JavaScript APIs

• Store and serve application resources locally
• Store data locally in a fully-searchable relational database
• Run asynchronous Javascript to improve application responsiveness

*Heh, this seems to be recapitulating the whole transition from dummy terminal to networked desktop computing.

A Nokia Mac app! Hooray! Nokia Media Transfer is now out!

I've been using this for a while and it really is nice. It plugs a gap between my phone and my Mac.

Dare I say Nokia is finally playing properly with Apple? Well, I don't know, but I do know that Nokia phones are no longer second class citizens in the Mac universe. This is indeed a step in the right direction. Together with iSync, you can now transfer contacts, calendar, photos, videos, and music between your dearly paid for Mac and your dearly paid for Nokia phone (alas, only Nseries phones).*

This app makes it easier to transfer music from iTunes to your phone. It also makes it easier to get photos and videos into iPhoto (and back). It doesn't work on DRM'd (hiss, Apple FairPlay) music and videos, but free stuff will be properly converted to play on your device (assuming you have the right device, yada yada). UPDATE [10jun]: It can also transfer iTunes Plus (purchased but not DRMed music). See Nokia Media Transfer FAQ on Music for more info.

Yes, you can have your cake and eat it!

Link: Nokia - Download - Main - Download software - Get support and software:

The Nokia Media Transfer application enables you to transfer pictures, videos, podcasts, music, and files between your Nokia mobile device and your Mac.

*ah, but I also want to synch my to-dos and notes and bookmarks, too. sigh.

Man, Google is smooth (Google Calendar)

I've been using Google Calendar at home for the joint family calendar. Makes it easier than me manually typing the calendar ever week or so.

Being the mobile guy, I kept looking for any hint that there's a mobile version.

Well, after looking at some of the mobile-savvy URLs that Google has, I was able to guess the URL for Google Calendar Mobile: <http://www.google.com/calendar/m>.

It really works well, quite mobile-savvy.

Google has constantly been delivering quality mobile apps that make great use of the Internet. We could all learn a lot from watching them.

Download the Nokia N73 Time Zone Upgrader

Go figure. I had recently heard of the new Daylight Savings Time rules in the US (at least) and saw some discussion regarding Apple and such.

Well, at least my companie's hands are sort of clean. :-) Here (link below) is a file to update the time zones on an N73. I guess there are other ones for other Nokia phones. At least the S60 ones.

This makes me proud.

I'm curious to know who else had been making such files available - Apple? Sony Ericsson? Microsoft? Please let me know.

Link: Nokia - Smartphone - Phone software - Nokia N73 - Product support - Get support and software:

Nokia Time Zone Upgrader
Nokia_N73_TimeZone_upgrader.SIS
23-Feb-2007 | 15.30 KB | English

The date of the "Daylight saving time" will be changing in certain countries during 2007. This application updates database in the device containing the daylight saving time dates. This will help e.g. in avoiding a conflict in calendar synchronisation if the device and PC are having a different time. Please restart your device after installation for the changes to take effect.

Update: While I was posting this, I was doing an SW Update check and, lo!, Apple is also offering a Time Zone update. Yeah!

Forwarding wids in WidSets

Anina, who knows more about how to hack mobiles than I ever will, was surprised when I told her she could easily forward a wid from WidSets. Of course, she malevolently cackled about sending her 360 Fashion wid to all her friends.

Basically, you select a wid, go to the options->widget->send, enter the phone number or select from your address book, and off it goes.

If the person already has a WidSets account, it will show up in their main WidSets wid (that is, if they have it on their phone still), from which they can then add it to their collection.

But, here is another place where WidSets kicks butt - if the person doesn't have an account, WidSets sends them an SMS to download the app with the wid already in it. AND WidSets also sends them a temporary username and password, making it really easy for them to start using WidSets.

That's clever.

Indeed, if you haven't used it in a while, go check it out again. There is now more interactivity, such as entering tagnames or search terms, finding new wids from the phone and loading them, and so on. Heck, you really don't need to go to the desktop version much.

And BTW, this is Anina's wid that she made for her 360 Fashion. I think she hacked WidSets to get it to do what she wanted it to do or look like.

Click the button if you want to get it on your phone.

Mobile Le Web 3 pages - get 'em to your phone from here

I set up a link on my WINKsite to the Le Web 3 feed so that you can read it from your mobile.

On your mobile, type in the URL: http://winksite.com/cschick/mobile.

Or, if you live in the US, send MOBILECHARLIE via SMS to 41411 (courtesy of TextMarks).

Or, WINKsite can send an SMS to your phone (more countries) - click here.

Oh, and there's a WidSet, too. Use the button below to get it to your phone.

Heh heh, let me know if any of these aren't working.

I'm not dead yet! Lifeblog Mania!

Robert Price has silently been using Lifeblog for a while. He recently let me know of some things he'd discovered about changes in the Lifeblog Posting Protocol.

Alas, the Great, All-Seeing, All-Knowing, and All-Around Great Guy, Hugo vK left us some great comments, re-posted below, of some stuff around the Web regarding the techie aspects of Lifeblog.

Go figure.

And the real kicker is this site (see way at end, below) with a ton of tips. I'm now trying to find out who writes it.

Whoda thunk?

Link: Lifeblog: Robert Price on: Nokia Lifeblog Posting Protocol Update.

The Lifeblog posting spec has been updated (rather quietly) on the Nokia Lifeblog website, so spread the word! It shows how Online Sharing posts (i.e. Gallery's posting component), as well as S60 and PC Lifeblog, and shows the differences. It also mentions the nonce and timestamp things that Robert Price discovered for himself.
http://r2.nokia.com/nokia/0,,71754,00.html and http://r2.nokia.com/BaseProject/Sites/lifeblog_54603/CDA/Categories/NokiaLifeblogTrilobiteEN/Blog/_Content/_Static_Files/lifeblog_posting_protocol_specification_1.0.pdf

Or in case those permalinks change, go to http://www.nokia.com/lifeblog and click on the "Blogging" tab.

Get a WordPress plugin here, it's in German but you can still download the relevant lifeblog.php file. http://blog.keydown.de/2006/11/18/mit-dem-nokia-in-der-hand-durch-die-wand/

Some other WordPress notes:
http://wordpress.org/support/topic/27701

Get a Movable Type plugin here: http://www.ocasta.co.uk/mt/archives/lifeblog/

Whilst I'm here, there's a bevvie of Lifeblog tips n tricks here: http://lifeb.wordpress.com/2006/09/ and some cameraphone tips including a Lifeblog recommendation here: http://www.lifehacker.com/software/cameraphone/geek-to-live-take-better-cameraphone-photos-214781.php

Thanks, Hugo!

Robert Price on: Nokia Lifeblog Posting Protocol Update

Robert Price is a great guy who posted a while back on how to set up Movable Type to receive a post from Nokia Lifeblog. Indeed, he's been keeping an eye on Lifeblog and just upgraded to an N93. There, he found some new inconsistencies in the Lifeblog posting protocol.

If you use MT and Lifeblog*, then go read what he has to say (link below). He has the code and a drop in replacement for MT's AtomServer.pm.

Way to go, Rob.

Link: Robert Price - Nokia Lifeblog Posting Protocol Update.

Nokia seem to have updated their Atom upload protocol in recent versions of their phones.

I've just got hold of a Nokia N93 and tried posting to this blog using Lifeblog and the new Web Upload functionality in the Gallery with use the Atom protocol.

These postings were failing with a bad password error. I know my username and password are correct and they worked using my old phone.

As I had written my own blogging software, and it's Atom upload functionality I was able to debug the messages being sent from the phone to the server.

It turns out that newer versions of Nokia Lifeblog encrypt their passwords differently to older versions.

*Ok, so maybe Lifeblog isn't the hottest thing (if it ever was). But, I can tell you that the Lifeblog Posting Protocol is the same code used by the Web Uploader that now comes integrated into the Gallery on all recent (and, I expect, future) Nseries phones. So, if you want to have an Nseries phone post items to your server via Atom, then learn this posting protocol. TypePad does it (partly my doing). Flickr does it (partly my doing), but oddly (not my doing). Rob did it (all his doing). And Vox does it (all their doing).

Playing with the Gmail Java app

I was checking out the Gmail Java app on my N73 today. I use the WAP version of Gmail quite a bit and really like it.

The UI is pretty slick (reminiscent of the Gmaps Java app - did you make this one, too, Gummi?). One thing that bugs me with the WAP version is that it's hard to traverse a single conversation. It's doable, but multi-step. In the Java app, messages are organized, similar to the way it is done in the desktop browser. Really nice.

The app also uses nifty long key presses as quick commands. But, it doesn't look like they are using the same key presses as in the WAP version. Hey, Google, harmonize the menu key presses as much as you can.

One interaction I kinda expected was a left-right navigation through messages. Eh, they didn't implement it. It is something that the Java app could do that the WAP version can't. So, like the WAP version, you need to dip into individual messages and then pop back up to the main menu to go to the next message (there isn't even a menu item to do it from within the menu).

Another thing I noticed is that by default, the app downloads unread messages. It really speeds up interaction, but, of course, can potentially waste data (i.e. money, for some). You can turn it off, though. And it really doesn't look like the app uses more data than the WAP version when you take this into account.

Hmm, might this be also helpful as an offline mode? But, it's not far off from the Google Maps Java app I used which used gobs of data. I think Google is ignoring data price at the moment. And why not?

One more thing I want to bring up is that when you open a link in the email, it still seems to go through the Google transcoder. Geez.

The last thing I want to comment on is: why a Java app for a smartphone?

Carlo at MobHappy doesn't see much use on a smartphone with a fuller-featured client (see link below). Yeah, you miss some of the integration into contacts and sending. But, based on my experience setting Gmail up on my phone, it was way easier to use the Java app (I had no luck with POP and Gmail and gave up a long time ago).

Gmail is just catering to the whole range of users - those with browsers, those with Java, and those with fuller-featured POP clients. But, also, it's a continuum of experience, simpler in the browser and more integrated on the smartphone POP client. The Java app fits in that continuum and fits well, providing a richer, if still not integrated, mobile email experience.

Well done, Google.

Link: Google Drops Gmail Mobile App at MobHappy

But it’s doubtful this is intended to replace the relatively full-featured email clients on smartphones, or push email apps, or be the best solution for heavy mobile email users. However, for featurephones, this looks pretty slick.

How to post to different services using the Nseries uploader

The N93 came out with a nifty little uploader that is integrated into the send function on the phone (I now use it on an N73). I'm not going to get into the plusses or minuses of the uploader, but now that I work with a lot of the folks involved in it, I expect I can give some direct input into its evolution.

The uploader uses the same Atom protocol developed for the Lifeblog posting protocol. Hence, just as with Lifeblog, you can point the uploader to any service that understands the posting protocol.

The key thing is to know the Atom API entry point. You can set this URL in the uploader Setting, under Advanced. There you can set all the service provider entry points (see the ones I know of below).

Here are the services I have used the uploader for:

flickr
It comes preset with the flickr settings. On your side, you need to get the special password to do the posting (go to the flickr Lifeblog page).

Username: your login email you use for flickr Password: the special 'Lifeblog', Atom password you can find on the flickr Lifeblog page Web address: http://www.flickr.com/services/atom/

The Web address that is used as default is to post only to your flickr account. But, I like to post to flickr and then have flickr send it to my website. You set this in flickr somewhere, where it lets you determine where to automatically post your uploaded or emailed images. It's called 'flickr to blog'.

To set your uploader to use flickr to blog (or any of the other ones I mention below), you need to set up a new service provider in your uploader settings.

flickr to blog

Username: your login email you use for flickr
Password: the special 'Lifeblog', Atom password
Web address: http://www.flickr.com/services/atom2blog/

Since the whole Lifeblog protocol was worked out with the folks at Six Apart, you can also use the uploader to post to TypePad and Vox (I've never figured out how to do it to MoveableType, though).

TypePad

Username: your TypePad username
Password: your TypePad password (now, that makes sense)
Web address: http://www.typepad.com/t/atom/weblog/ (the same one preset in Lifeblog, natch)

Vox

Username: your login email you use for Vox
Password: your Vox password
Web address: http://www.vox.com/atom/

The uploader is smart enough to resolve all the sites you might have on your TypePad account. Also, I think it's cute how the Vox account comes back named (for me) 'charlie's playground'.

A tip:
You can get to the uploader (at least on the N73) via the Gallery. There's a 'Open online service' way down the Gallery Options menu.

Lifeblog or the uploader?
It depends.

Lifeblog is more 'after the fact', while the uploader kicks-butt in that it's integrated into the camera 'send' menu item. So, the uploader makes it really easy to send up a photo, just after you've taken it.

But, the uploader doesn't let you change the orientation of the photo before you upload - you need to actually edit the image first in the Gallery before uploading it. That's not fun.

I'm used to Lifeblog which makes it really easy to rotate the image (easier than Gallery) and then upload a bunch of images at once. If you just want to upload a bunch of images at once, then you can do that from Gallery.

So, I guess, it depends on what photo you took, how you want to upload it.

That's all for now. Feel free to comment and add other services and Atom entry points (them Web addresses), too. Just remember, I'm not providing support here (though I'll try to help if I can). I'm just writing this stuff down because I had a hard time finding all this info and would like to have it in one place. And you can read up on how to do stuff with this uploader on flickr's site. They have some nice guides.

BTW, these Web addresses also apply for Lifeblog. So, you can also set up Lifeblog to post to flickr and Vox in the same way.

A physical to virtual connection for a mobile device (GPS) game

I will soon be getting a nifty tiny GPS receiver to hook up via Bluetooth to my phone. I'm going to be doing some deep testing and reviewing of an app (and if I get permission, will post it here) that ... well, you'll have to wait for that.

In the process of reading about GPS devices, I remembered Geocaching*. I then did the usual, googling around, and found Geocaching, the site, which seems to be the grandmama of all geocaching groups.

The cool thing is that they have a live link (a KML file) that you can put into Google Earth that will show you the approximate locations and link to the detailed Geocaching cache page. That means that you can rapidly and graphically find caches in an area (there are a few within a kilometer or two of my home - you bet I'm going to look for them).

Sure beats search forms and lists, right? Heck, it's a damn good link between the physical world and virtual information. That's a great fusion between a mobile device and Web and PC tools. Now if we could do something about a viewer for the phone, the fusion would be complete.

Read the article below for a light take on the subject of Google Earth being used to help people explore the real Earth.

Link: Future Boy: Google moves into virtual worlds - May. 12, 2006.

You can already download user-generated layers that sit on top of Google's 3-D Earth and show you, for example, the location of celebrity houses or hiking trails or famous landmarks. One dating service has even started showing people looking for partners as a Google Earth layer.

Real estate companies have started showing off virtual versions of their buildings (for sale in the real world) on Google Earth. SketchUp allows them to build entire models of their apartments, right down to the microwave oven.

*[from Wikipedia] Geocaching, is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which participants (called "geocachers") use a Global Positioning System
receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers
(called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache
(pronounced /kæʃ/ like the English word cash)
is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure"
(usually toys or trinkets of little monetary value). Some variations of
the game include a point system to enhance game play.

Avec Mobile on: How to upload video clips from a camera phone to YouTube

Link: Avec Mobile: Practical advice on mobile devices.

Sharing pictures on Internet photo albums has quickly become popular among camera phone and digital camera owners. And why not? It's fun to let friends and people on the other side of the world see our pictures, and maybe get feedback from them. It's not a huge surprise that we might want to share our video clips as well. Maybe it's even more fun. Let's take a look at techniques for posting camera phone videos on YouTube.

WINKsite: fusing the mobile and Web worlds through barcodes

You all know my fascination with WINKsite, a really versatile service for building mobile Web sites that fits into the mobile lifestyle. It's simple, easy to adapt to any region, makes it easy for folks to connect (and there's more it can do there, still), is fueled by the users, and works on a wide range of devices (from PCs to basic phones to advanced phones). And, what is really important to me, it caters to something that previously could not be done – it lets regular folks easily build their own mobile world and interact with other similar mobile people.

I've been using an N93 for a few months now and I was a bit disappointed that my WINKsite (http://winksite.com/cschick/mobile) wasn't working in my new souped-up phone browser. This wasn't unexpected, since new phones usually send out different headers and such, causing mobile sites to cough at the unknown browser. But, in this case, I knew I could do something about it and started troubleshooting with Dave Harper, the big kahoona at WINKsite.

Well, suffice it to say, with tips from Nokia browser guru, Franklin Davis, we were able to get it all back in line. But, an off-hand comment from Dave regarding barcodes really got us rolling.

Barcodes, anyone?
As you may remember, WINKsite has been doing some interesting stuff with barcodes. Well, it so happens that the N93 comes with a barcode reader.

Of course, Dave and I needed to test it out.

He sent me two 2D codes (QR and Datamatrix, left and right below), and not just any codes, but the very codes that would open up my WINKsite.

Bada bing bada boom, it worked so well:

- flip open the phone and start the barcode scanning app
- select 'scan code'
- then up comes a really cool view finder that uses the main high-res camera
- bang, it took a blink of an eye to catch the code (it actually zooms in if it is too small)
- then it shows me the link, all selected and ready to click
- click and boom, the browser opens up

That's so cool so cool so cool.

Here are some screen shots. These are in the wrong view. You actually use the app in landscape (phone in main camera imaging mode), but my screen grabber only works in portrait (keypad dependency, long story).

And here's what's cooler: You know that taking a pic of a regular CRT monitor gets those black raster bars (point any digital camera at a TV and you'll know what I mean)? Well, the barcode reader changes the refresh of the camera to minimize the lines (they become light gray) to better catch the code. Takes a bit longer, but it works. The QR code was picked up no problem. I had to do the Datamatrix code twice before it caught.

So kewl!

Ok, so you gotta be a geek to like that trick. But, it means that codes can be read from practically any source – TV, computer, poster, biz card, t-shirt, and maybe tattoo.

Now you're seeing what I'm seeing. Now you can start to see what Dave is up to.

The real story
Why are barcodes important to the mobile world? First of all, barcodes are everywhere. They are used for making things easily machine readable. Second, cameraphones are proliferating at a prodigious pace. The quality of the cameras is good enough to read barcodes. Put those two together and you get, the third, more relevant, point, barcodes provide a link between the physical and digital world. Scott Shaffer has a bazillion examples, such as this one. Go browse his site for more.

So what does it mean for the WINKsite user, like, uh, me?

It's a great way for me to promote my mobile site from the physical world, to provide access in a way that doesn't require me to forward a link or have someone type it out. Dave has a great review of how QR codes are used in Japan. As he says, 'QR Codes have become the door to the mobile Internet for the average mobile user'.

WINKsite is providing tools that make it easy for WINKsite publishers to create a barcode and display it, either on their website or on printed materials. Like Dave says, it completes the cycle from digital to real and back – ‘create mobile space, distribute code, people see code, scan and visit’.

WINKsite already has a widget for TypePad the displays the WINKsite chat rooms and such. A widget for TypePad with the barcodes will be huge! (exclamation point from Dave) Right now I have a link on the upper right of my site that opens up my WINKsite in a small window for a PC-based browser. But, I want to get my link into someone's phone, not PC. If I had a code folks could just point to and scan (and now I do, but put in manually), that would be so much easier.

It's all about the fusion of the mobile with the Web and this is a great example. Dave calls it 'Converging "Realspace" and "Mobilespace"'.

WINKsite is now a universally accessible mobile site that's connected to the physical world through barcodes. To me, the hardest part was how to build the mobile site that gets visited once someone scanned in a URL via a barcode. WINKsite now solves that, leading to a long list of ideas of what can be done (listening Monty?):

Taken from Dave's list of suggestions:

    * linking print articles to RSS feeds and blogs
    * delivering product or tourist information
    * linking "lost pet" flyers to contact forms
    * dating - use your imagination on that one
    * "find me" maps
    * promoting an event or concert on flyers/postcards
    * connecting geocachers to mobile logbooks
    * creating museum exhibits and street tours
    * building scavenger hunts or "collect-them-all" games
    * downloading ringtones, music, wallpapers or video (think indie artists)
    * ticket sales for clubs
    * directing people to your mobile site or storefront
    * enabling mobile sales from catalogs or flyers
    * distributing coupons
    * conference badges connected to profiles
    * business cards connected to company sites
    * signing up to text alert services
    * running competitions
    * connecting mix tapes to podcasts or vidcasts
    * connecting posters to podcasts or vidcasts
    * enabling community interaction at public locations

The next steps
So, Dave is taking care of the problem of how to create the barcodes and what they point to (the mobile sites). The next hurdle will be to get folks to be able to read them. QR codes are popular in Japan because the readers are already integrated with the phone. I had tried before to load the apps from Semacode and others, trying to turn my phone into a barcode reader. But I had little luck. Now that Nokia is basically rolling in a universal (or at least versatile) barcode reader into their phones (I don’t know which others), the clever use of barcodes should increase.

Users and providers still need information how to use the code, such as what size can be used, some demos, info and demo links, and usability issues. I am sure Dave would be more than willing (as would I) to help folks, such as print publishers like Burda Media, Time Inc., or McGraw-Hill (to name a few), make that physical to digital connection via mobile phones for their customers. Mabe that's fodder for futher posts here.

Parting thoughts
Dave is all excited. He’s experimenting to see what happens when you mix easy to create mobile sites, with easy to create barcodes, with easy to use mobile phones with barcode readers.

'What will happen now,' Dave asks, and I think he nails it, 'when we let winksiters create micro content embedded in barcodes that they can distribute via secret codes?'

Secret codes. Indeed.

That should be interesting.

New phones from Nokia

Not that I am enamored with phone launches (you get kinda jaded after many years of changing phones every 6 months), but today Nokia launched 3 new Nseries phones.

The funny thing, which is why I am mentioning it, is that I had no idea when or which phones would be launched. Darla and others let me know. Also, I don't think I've ever seen the N72 or N73, but rumors were that one of them was coming out.

I do think the N72 will be the next big seller for Nokia. The N70, which I had the good fortune to use for many months (and recommend highly to many), apparently was the best selling 3G phone last quarter.

As for the N93, I've been using it for a while now. The funny thing there is that up to now, I have been using a cover to hide the phone prior to launch. Because of Darla's tip-off yesterday, I left the cover at home, expecting the N93 to be launched today.

And it was.

Now I can use it and show it off.

How is it like?

Yes, there are some unexpected changes, but for the most part, it's a damn good device. I think most people will do more than fine using it. And, for those who know the Series 60 UI well, like me :-), there are a ton of really useful changes that were pleasant surprises.

Yes, the device is larger than your average RAZR, but it seems the same size, if not slightly smaller, than my niece's camcorder. So, I think this is the one that is giving camcorders a run for their money.* And I think that's the intent.

Another plus is the WiFi. Oh, it's so nice to be home and surfing, downloading, or uploading stuff over WiFi. You then realize how slow GPRS or even 3G really is. Can't wait for the Skype client to come out.

A few other things:**
- I haven't tried the integration with Window Media Player - I use iTunes.
- I have played a bit with the flickr uploader. Pretty nifty, especially if you know how to point it to other services, like TypePad.
- For you geek browser types, the OSS browser is really nice, though I am not sure if it identifies itself properly to sites as a mobile browser (yo, Dave, now we can work out the user agents!).
- The 3-D Snakes game is really cool.
- And, of course, Lifeblog 2.0 rocks.

*Heck, digital cameras are so 2005, so no need to say anything more there.
** Of course, this is not a real review. Others will have more in-depth reviews, so go read them. This is just a 'hey, check this out' kinda review. :-D

Darla Mack on: My Contribution to Series 60

She is the Diva of Mobile, for sure.

When will Nokia wake up and shower her with gifts? I would, if I could.

Link [via Phil]: Darla Mack: My Contribution to Series 60.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile then you might be familiar with some of the tips and tricks that I've written about or come across since my s60 usage.

I decided to resurface those links for new users out there but please pay attention to the devices mentioned.  Most of these tricks work with Series 60 2nd edition handsets and have not been tested with 3rd edition.  Since I currently don't have a 3rd edition device to test it out, please understand that if you are willing to try them on your own I am not responsible for any faults that you encounter.  First and foremost, PLEASE remember to back-up your device with Nokia's PC Suite before trying any of this.

Avec Mobile on: The best Internet service for sharing photos from a camera phone

Here's a good review that might be of interest to many.

Link: Avec Mobile: The best Internet service for sharing photos from a camera phone.

There are so many fabulous photos saved on our megapixel camera phone that we simply have to share some of them with the world. Fortunately, photo-sharing services on the Internet provide us with exactly what we want. But what if we wanted to post photos, view, and comment on them using our camera phone alone - without using a PC or a Mac? Which online photo album provides the best service for a camera phone?

anti-mega: Flickr off - overview of Flickr uploaders

Chris had written a great overview of Flickr uploaders, and I am glad he has published it publicly.

Enjoy!

Link: anti-mega: Flickr off.

As Tommi was coerced into adding me into his links list, I felt that I should write about something to do with mobile for once.

If you’ve been paying attention to my Flickr stream, I’ve been playing with various auto photo uploaders, transferring pictures I take with my phone directly to Flickr at full resolution. MMS often downscales the pictures; direct email can work (I can’t be bothered to set up email on my phone), but you get at most a title or description attached to the photo.

A break in our normal program - my WLAN phone

I normally don't indulge here in gadget bliss, but I wanted to share one thought:

I've been playing with one of Nokia's WLAN phones with the new open source browser (OSS Browser). It's so cool. Browsing is so fast and I can use a ton of services that use AJAX. I don't have the software, but I want to try VoIP over WLAN with the phone.

With that in mind:
Just now I was transferring some podcasts onto my memory card and had my phone offline. When I went to put my phone back online, I wondered if I could turn on the WLAN without having to turn on the cell network radio. And indeed I could.*

Wouldn't it be nifty to use something like Skype or Gizmo from a plane over WLAN?

Can't wait to try it out.

But then again, I haven't even been on a plane with a WLAN.

Sigh.

*You can also turn on the Bluetooth in offline mode, but it's not approved on planes. But, do you think if I made a fake cable for my Bluetooth keyboard, I could maybe get away with it? :-)

AAS Feature: The Twenty Five Coolest Things To Do With Your S60 Smartphone

Link [via Phil]: AAS Feature: The Twenty Five Coolest Things To Do With Your S60 Smartphone.

Steve Litchfield and Ewan Spence brainstorm the 25 coolest things you can do on your Series 60 smartphone. There would have been an order, but fisticuffs couldn't produce a consensus, so in the end we picked the order out of a hat!

Is this the first mobile tag cloud?

If you go to winksite.com/chat from your mobile and select "Browse Chat Tags" you can view the tag cloud for all the chats on WINKsite. And it loads pretty fast.

Might this be the very first tag cloud that works well on a mobile? I haven't seen any before.

Call for comments: It works fine on my super-duper, top-of-the-line, whizz-bang phone. Does it work on yours? Let me know! Put phone make and model at the bottom and tell me what you see, regardless if it works or not.

Phone videos on a video iPod?

I noticed a while back that some of my feeds in iTunes had videos. Of course, they wouldn't load into my iPod. But, they did play on my PC. So, I played around with a feed that contained videos from my Nokia N70 posted to TypePad via Lifeblog.

It worked - my phone videos played from a feed in iTunes, just like any other feed with video.

Now that's a really simple way to make a mobile video blog podcast thingy (what to call it?), though I haven't tried all the permutations.

But, with the new video iPods: will those same videos play on the video iPod? That would be cool.

If anyone finds out, please let me know.

Alas, the N70 does not record audio to MP3 or WAV, so there's no simple way to also do a traditional audio-only podcast from the phone (I've been looking for an MP3 recorder app since). I know there are services that do this, but I was trying to do it all from my phone without anything other than a TypePad account. Really just a simple experiment.

MobHappy: Free Mobile RSS Reader Loaded with 14 Essential Mobile Blogs

Link: MobHappy: Free Mobile RSS Reader Loaded with 14 Essential Mobile Blogs.

So we've teamed up with the guys behind Free News and come up with our very own RSS Reader - FREE to all MobHappy readers - the full version costs $20 a year. Instructions for downloading are at the end of this post.

via Darla

oreilly.com -- Online Catalog: Nokia Smartphone Hacks, First Edition

I'd be willing to read it, rate it, and review it if someone were to give me a copy. ;-)

Link: oreilly.com -- Online Catalog: Nokia Smartphone Hacks, First Edition.

Now you can learn how to take full advantage of Nokia's powerful mobile devices, known as "smartphones." Learn how to take screen shots, access Internet content, use email and messaging, and so much more. It's the only guide available today that lets you unlock all of Nokia's time-saving secrets.

Qualifications: I have been using Nokia smartphones for 5 years (9110, 9210, 7650, 3650, N-Gage, 6600, 7610, 6670, 6630, 6680, N70 - have I missed any? - and I've played with practically all the other ones). I also have written many reviews over the past 10 or so years.

Joi Ito's Web: Where am I?

Ahh, if I could do something similar with those 'Where am I?' photos I always do. Click a picture, post it with the coordinates. I bet Chris can rig something up.

Link: Joi Ito's Web: Where am I?.

Plazes has a cool new feature called "Where is". So you can see "Where is Joi Ito?". It relies on Google maps which is a bit sketchy with addresses for Japan, but otherwise it seems to work quite well. On the other hand, it doesn't show the routing as well as the old map using IndyJunior.

Hmm, also realized I haven't been anywhere lately.

Sigh.