Folks we have started a new Video Blog , called Tech On Tv

Tech On Tv had been on our agenda for long but due to one factor or another we were missing it , finally it’s up and running and even posted the first video

Nokia 1661 -  Made for Pakistan

Do visit it and tell us what we are missing and what we need to put up there as it’s your feedback which counts the most for us

Regards

Farhan

Soon the phrase , damn my battery is dying will be no more viable on your Nokia Phone . 

New Scientist reports that Nokia has filed for a US Patent for a phone that rechages by Kinetic energy , yes you move and it charges .

The major components like the circuit and battery are mounted on a movable frame which moves up and down with piezoelectric crystal strips on either side generating power when compressed by the frame keeping the battery recharged at all times .

Standby times depends on phone battery and soon the major hot mobile accessory in the market will be mobile swings on which you can put your phone in the night so it keeps on moving it so you get a full battery charge in the morning , now id they also get powered by piezoelectric crystals , it will be green tech all around

I missed it in all the clutter , just the day after Nokia and Intel announced the launch of their joint OS MeeGo , LG announced that their GW990 will be the first phone to feature this OS .  ( source Electronista)

( pic source Engadget)

• LG GW990 is not ordinary phone and features
• 4.8 Inch 1020 x 480 resolution display
• 16 GB of Internal Memory
• 512mb Ram
• 720 p Video Output
• 5 Mega Pixel Camera
• GPS
• HSDPA and HSUPA Support
• and the best of all powered by Intel Moorestown processor

So Nokia what you have to say on that , any MeeGo powered Intel processor devices in works or not ? We are waiting for an answer

Over at Google Mobile Blog , Google has a new freebie for Android 2.0 and above users , Gesture Search at Google Labs  . All the user has to do is open Gesture Search and draw the corresponding letter , like if I want to search Andy , al I have to do is draw the letter A and I will get all the contacts,  installed applications , bookmarks and music tracks starting with A .

For those with a sloppy handwriting like me , it will even return matches which starts with letters which are closer to what I’ve drawn like if my A looks like H I will get both A and H results. Enter the second alphabet for a more refined search so on and so forth . The Gesture Search also keeps track of your favorites which will show up as first next time you run the query .

You can download the application from  Android Market.and more information can be obtained from Google Labs page where Google would like to have your feedback

In my opinion it’s a good approach but need improvement , why run gesture search , can’t it be always running my default so at any screen just drawing a gesture will bring out the search .  On a second thought is it the start of new hand writing recognition system for Android -  just thinking

Yesterday I bought my first application from OVI Store , the QIK Premium video streaming application and paid Rs 233.99 for it or approximately USD 2.75 in Pakistan

My Online friend and fellow blogger @MickyFin bought the same app some hours before me and paid Euro 5 / $ 6.78 for it while All About Symbian another blogger Steve ___ reported it to be $5.00 and I wonder what the price in UK will be 5 British Pounds ?

Mr Niklas Savander -  Executive Vice President Nokia Services  talked about Nokia having different prices on OVI Store as per the purchasing power of the counntry so I guess it pays to live in a developing country while @MickyFin sitting in Finland is picking up my tab and people in US are paying the intended price i.e  $5.00

Is this differentiated pricing  justified ?

I think Nokia should charge everyone the same as Mikey can understand me sitting in Pakistan paying a lower price but people in USA also paying lower than him , now that could cause some customer satisfaction issues . Beside people in developed countries especially the Euro Zone may try to bypass the country detection by using IP Changing software to change their IP to Pakistan and India and buy their software at a lower price causing losses to Nokia and developer alike .

Nokia just released a new promotional Video titled Splash in the Desert , showing how a guy navigates his way into an uncharted territory in the desert uses OVI Maps Navigation to find an Oasis to dive into .  Interesting concept but alas they forgot to check out the coordinates . The coordinates shown in the back ground at 7:34 am were 48 51 N  02 21 E , plug them in Google Maps and I got St Germain – Paris

If that’s not fail enough for you , in the beginning of the video , the background animation is showing the same 48 51 N  02 21 E coordinates with travelling at 110kmph while on screen the coordinates are 23’53’43’ N at 50 Kmph

From 7:34 am to 7:52 am to 8:26 am the background coordinates remain the same at 48 51 N  02 21 E .

Nokia next time check before you release else someday I’ll end up in Hell -  Michigan while going to Aruba

Today marks the first day I’ve bought anything from the OVI Store and also the first software I ever bought for my mobile phone . The software I bought was QIK Premium and the purchase process was very simple and user friendly . You just have to Choose , Enter Payment Information and Confirm and you’ll be all set as shown below

I started with choosing the application I wanted to purchase from the OVI Store

Once the Application page opened click on BUY

Re-Enter your password for purchase confirmation

Choose Credit Card to make purchase

Enter Credit Card Information

Confirm payment

Payment will get processed and you will be able to download the application

Download will automatically start followed by installation

Nokia wanted to keep my credit card information on file which I refused and they also sent me an email confirmation of the purchase . Now if I erase my phone , which I do often , I can easily go back to the OVI Store and download the purchased application .

Have you purchased from OVI Store before , how was your experience , share in comments

Golla , a Finland based design house , has a mission , protect our gadgets and that too in style .  What started as a furniture manufacturer in 1994 is now a Tech Fashion Premium brand , featured in  Cosmopolitan Finland ,  Stuff Russia , Wohn Idee German , Lounge Austria and New Design UK  to name a few .  Golla now has bag for every tech be it netbook or a mobile phone , Digital Camera or a GPS device and even the upcoming iPad , whatever your tech , there is a Golla to add colors and design to it .

I stumbled upon Golla at the last day of Mobile World Congress when I entered hall 8 and stopped in my tracks with a beautiful display with rows and rows of colorful  bags and pouches  for every gadget possible from Netbooks to iPhone /  iPod ,  Mobile Phones to Cameras  and every other gadget I had in my pockets and in my bag .

( not the actual image I was so awestruck that I forgot to take the stall snap , but it will give the idea how it was like)

Golla people were very helpful and Miss  Lothner, the Trade Marketing Director  gave me an overview of what Golla is about and how they are protecting technology without compromising on style .  She graciously gave me a Golla Gavin Pouch for Nokia N900 which I’d been using for the past 15 days and here is what I think about it .

The Looks

Golla is not wrong when they talk about Style and Design, the Golla Gavin sure looks good whether I hook it on my belt while travelling or in casual dressing or inside my coat when I’m in business attire and the Velcro fastened  flap  protects my N900 inside .

The pouch is multipurpose with a large pouch to easily slide in and out the N900 , it also has slots to hold credit cards and a zippered  pocket by the belt loop which I used to keep my passport while travelling and in regular use to hold my money .

Usability

Golla has taken utmost care in keeping the content of the pouches safe .  There is a soft polyester lining inside the pouch where it keeps the N900 safe from scratches , the same material is also used inside the Credit Card slots and back pocket to protect the content .  Although it looks like the design aspect, Golla ingeniously put rubber edging on the credit card slots to keep them soft and smooth and don’t damage the magnetic strip when inserting the card . If that was not enough , the zipper on the back pocket is covered both ways , from the front it slides into the top lining to avoid it protruding our and damage the trousers and inside it’s covered by thick lining for it to be segregated from the content . 

On design side the Golla Gavin   is accented with  rubber printing on the top flap and also the same design in repeated underneath by the Credit Card slots also giving protection to the card’s magnetic strip

On durability , I almost abused the case in the 15 days I had it with me , travelling with it , throwing it in my bag with all the knickknacks with my N900 inside and it protected the phone like a shell .

What happened to the Golla Gavin , well even after all the abuse including twisting the flap from middle countless times , Golla Gavin retained it’s shape . The materials used are strong enough to handle daily use and even the belt loops refuse to tear off when pulled with ordinary strength . My only quip which I also mentioned at the Golla booth at Mobile World Congress is the Velcro , it has started to given out the fiber , although it’s natural for Velcro to do that over a longer period of use and the much abuse I’ve given it , still Golla can work out some other way to hold the flap .

In conclusion , Golla Gavin is meant for Generation mobile , it’s trendy , it’s durable and it’s protective of the things inside . Golla has taken utmost care in it’s design like segregating the zipper from the content to avoid it ripping apart the paper or notes inside but I do have some suggestions for Golla

The Design of the Gavin is great but can the rubber printing be optional or customized ?

I’m saying this because I can use it when in Jeans and T-Shirt , change me into a Suit and the Gavin goes in my pocket , with the design I , part of Gen X , don’t feel comfortable neither do I look a serious business man placing it on the table .  On the other hand , what Golla can do is to provide heat sticking rubber pad with one side removable butter paper  ( if available and possible ) on which creative users can make their own design , cut it out and paste it on their Gavin .

Change the Velcro , can Golla go for a magnetic lock ?

In 15 days the fiber is coming out of my Velcro , and may be in the next 3 months it may be rendered useless , Golla has to look for alternate closing mechanisms to make it workout

I hope Golla find my suggestions helpful  in coming up with the next best thing and I’d like them for giving me an opportunity to review their Gavin case 

Nokia Conversations , the official Nokia Blog has given a detailed overview of Nokia’s Naming Convention

Nokia is working on Four Device Categories and the naming convention has been made to make it easier for consumers to identify the specific functions

• E  :  Covering Business and Productivity Phones
• N  :  Mutimedia and Entertainment High End Flagship Phones
• X :  Launched with X 3 and X 6 last year covers Social Entertaiment and Music Phones formerly known as Xpress Music
• C :  The Core range of phones usually the Mid Tier range

As per Nokia Conversations each Category may get up to 9 phones from 1 to 9 , but I don’t agree here with E and N series already in the double Digit models , transforming them into single digit will cause confusion among the consumers .

So what you think did you like the earlier naming convention lke 5800 Xpress Music ,  6303 Classic or the more ‘European Approach as in BMW and Mercedes the C5 and X6 etc.

Nokia wanted to ‘C us at Cebit ‘ and now they are being C’en . Today Nokia announced their latest Candybar Smartphone the Nokia C 5 optimized for Social Networking and Sharing .

The Euro 135 Phone includes

• Free Navigation on OVI Maps
• 2.2 Inch Display
• 3.2 MP Camera
• 2 GB Memory Card with support for up to 16 GB Card
• Candy Bar Design
• Powered by S60  V 3
• FM Radio
• 3.5 mm AV Connecter
• Stereo IHF Speakers
• Dimensions at 12 mm thin , with 46mm Width and 112 mm height .
• 12 hrs talk time on GSM and 26 Days standby
• Probably Stainless Steel body with Plastic back cover

The key feature  of the phone is it’s Social Networking integration , want to know you Friend’s update check it out in your phone book where it will be constantly updated , want to update your location , use OVI Maps 3.0 for that . 

The Home Screen keeps you close to the top 3 of your hoomies and powered by Nokia Messaging you can keep in touch with them and many others through OVI Chat , GTalk , MSN and Yahoo Messenger, along with full suite of OVI Services from Email to Messanger , OVI Store to OVI Music all builtin

The phone is not only practical but beautiful too available in Grey and White Colors it’s sure to replace the 6303 classic series phones . Expect it to be launched in Q2 2010 every where around the world except US at only Euro 135 ,