Isolating benzoic acid using a grignard reaction rocks so hard! </sarcasm>

What did you guys do today?

22:29 in Texas

06:29 in Finland

Hyvää huomenta!

Tommi wrote about it a little more than a month ago. Of course I blogged about it.

Darla Mack and All About Symbian are reminding us of this fantastic news today … so I figure I would remind you guys too!

I get at least 1 email, everyday, asking me how to upgrade an N80/N73 to another edition.

There is a demand and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) appears to be listening.

Good Stuff!

It is almost 16:00 and I just finished my lunch. I hate Wednesdays. As soon as I get home, around 21:00, expect me to pass out immediatley.

Tomorrow on the other hand, will be a very special day for me; Nokia related.

I’ll let you guys figure that one out on your own

Huge, loads of details, check it out over at Develop Mag.

Some things I found interesting:

You mention distribution - is it mostly going to be done through the N-Gage service and via the internet? Is it fair to say it’s mostly digital distribution?

GS: Hmm… mostly. It’s all digital, however, the technology, the platform, and the DRM doesn’t prevent anyone from doing physical distribution either. The majority of sales will be over the air - cellular operators will be a key part of the platform moving forward and we expect the majority of content to go over the air and we also see a fair amount going over the internet which could be through the operator channels. So it’s really up to the publisher in terms of how they want to distribute it - but it’s digital and we have some unique things on the DRM side so it allows for content to be distributed just about any way you want to.

If that’s the case, how sophisticated can the games get in terms of what’s possible or how it might compare to previous games platforms?

PN: Well, it’s as much up to what a publisher or developer wants to do as what is possible. Given that we are focusing on distribution there is a 32MB file limit so, content wise, if they wanted to convert old titles they’ll have to realise that they can’t take all 20 levels of a PSone game across. There’s a similar limitation when it comes to the memory for games - studios will have to squeeze it and make some sacrifices that way. But that is when we look at from a console perspective and moving those games to mobile. If you look at the existing mobile base and what’s out there what can be done now with N-Gage means the complexity can radically go up from what was achievable in the past.

You say it’s a premium platform - does that mean people will have to pay to access it, like Xbox Live?

GS: It’s a bit of a combination between the open mobile phone platforms we have now and a console platform.

It’s like a console platform because it is Nokia (NYSE: NOK)-run and we have a number of community features and there’s the client application that is embedded on our devices. We run the platform, which means an SDK you get from us and our certification requirements to maintain quality - and by quality we don’t just mean game quality we mean ensuring that the user experience is good when they get a phone call or a text message, and that the network runs properly, etc. So it is controlled in that way.

On the other side, at GDC we’ll be talking in detail about the N-Gage application which is embedded in the device. It has all of the community functions and features there in order to communicate with friends, build friend lists, create tournaments and play with your gaming friends. So there is a lot of community built into it - that’s the core of it. At Nokia our ethos is ‘Connecting People’ and that’s what we’re doing for gaming. The way it works is that the minute you have the N-Gage application on you are in the experience and with the community as opposed to this thing that you log onto, which was how we operated N-Gage Arena. Straight away you have access to reviews of games and so on and so forth.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I’ve just scratched the surface of this interview. Read the whole thing.

I’m still a cynic when it comes to N-Gage, it will really have to prove itself at GDC next week.

However the more I read about it, the more I want it to succeed. I can’t explain it.

Another little tidbit: N-Gage games will be written in C++ not Symbian!

Business Week:

2006 was the year of the converged device with 80 million smart phones shipped worldwide, according to analysts - and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) remains the unequivocal leader selling almost one in two smart mobiles.

A new report from research company IDC has found that during 2006, converged device sales rose by 42 per cent, bolstered by falling prices. Some phones are now below $200, encouraging the clever phones to spread beyond corporate users and into early adopters in the consumer market, according to the analysts.

During the year, Nokia remained top converged device vendor with market share of 48 per cent and 38 million devices shipped, despite underperforming in North America and the enterprise market, which the company hopes to counter with a number of fresh devices which debuted earlier this year.

RIM was the Finnish phone company’s nearest competitor, shifting six million phones and cornering 7.5 per cent of the market.

However, the biggest expansion came from relative smart phone newbie Motorola (NYSE: MOT) which launched two new Windows Mobile devices earlier this month. Year on year, Motorola saw growth of more than 104 per cent, putting it in the number three position in terms of 2006 sales - shifting a total of 4.9 million devices.

As well as its Q range, Motorola has seen its smart phone presence upped with the launch of the Ming in China, which the company hopes will also prove popular in the Latin America market.

Congratulations!

Warning: The following links auto play

NokiaCast 15 - 3GSM, Barcelona and Nokia E90

Nokiacast 16 - 3GSM, Barcelona and Nokia E65

I heard the E90 episode a while ago and didn’t think it was worthy enough of being posted. Darla Mack just found the E65 episode today and says she enjoys the podcast so much she subscribed.

These are pure marketing. If you’re a technical person then be prepared to yawn. No offense to AME Info … I just want more information.

I’ll let you decide.

Look at how cheap this thing is:

I am asking Nokia once again: Please make a phone that supports SDHC. These prices are too good to pass up!

S40 or S60, doesn’t matter, thin, SDHC slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack, mini usb. That is all.

S60v3FP2 is built on top of Symbian 9.3 according to official Nokia documentation (PDF Document):

S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2, runs on the Symbian OS version 9.3, which is a common core of Symbian APIs and operating system technology. In addition to the common UI components and standard application suite, it contains all the interfaces to the dynamic link libraries, executables and device drivers for controlling the keyboard, display, RTC, Bluetooth, IR, and Flash file devices.

What can we learn from this?

Here are some things the official Symbian press release announcing version 9.3 contains:

Symbian OS v9.3 includes:

Improved phone performance

• Shorter start-up times for phones and key applications
• Improved memory management resulting in more responsive applications and phone features ensuring smartphones work as quickly with better quality features as mid-range phones

Reduced development and ownership cost, and time to market

• New development tools
  • Symbian OS awareness for the Eclipse/CDT IDE framework and Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s Carbide.c++ Development Tools for Symbian OS v9.3 phones
  • Configuration tools to easily create and customise Symbian OS variants
  • The Symbian Verification Suite to support compatibility and phone integration for creating Symbian OS variants, reducing time taken to customize phones for operators targeting different market segments
  • A fully searchable on-line edition of the Symbian OS Library including a significant amount of new content
• Backwards compatibility from v9.1, easy migration for phone vendors, technology and third party software providers
• Reference design for Symbian OS v9.3 with Freescale and Nokia S60
• Hindi and Vietnamese language support for improved market coverage

Support for new hardware

• Native support for WiFi
• USB 2.0 on-the-go, allowing faster device connectivity

Support for key operator services and requirements

• Firmware over the air (FOTA) provisioning, FOTA allows network operators to provide OTA software upgrades or fixes lowering cost of ownership
• HSDPA support
• Introduction of IPSec for UMA service (Voice over IP)
• Improved 3GPP R5 support
• Native support for Push To Talk
• Java JSR 248 support

Summary: Improved memory management, faster boot up time, native support for wifi, native support for USB on-the-go, a reference design for Freescale w/ S60, HSDPA support and a whole lot of other things.

So what does that mean Stefan?

Native support for wifi will probably mean better performance.

Native support for USB on-the-go is tricky. I don’t know anything that uses that. Here is what wikipedia has to say:

USB On-The-Go (normally abbreviated USB OTG) is a supplement to the USB 2.0(or USB 1.0) specifications that allows USB devices to have more flexibility in managing USB connection.

The standard USB (USB 1.1/2.0) uses a Master/Slave architecture: a USB host acts as a Master and a USB peripheral (aka USB Device) acts as a Slave. Only the USB Host can schedule the configuration and data transfers over the link. The USB peripherals cannot initiate data transfers, they only respond to instructions given by a Host.

The USB OTG changes that situation. The USB-OTG compatible devices are able to initiate the session, control the connection and exchange Host/Peripheral roles between each other.

In plain English: it is going to be a way for devices to talk to each other via USB.

Faster boot up times and better memory management are pretty self explanatory. Improved responsiveness will be a welcome addition to S60.

A reference design with Freescale for S60 is quite interesting. For those of you who don’t know anything about Freescale, wikipedia to the rescue:

Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is an American semiconductor manufacturer. It was created from the semiconductor product sector of Motorola (NYSE: MOT) during 2004. Freescale focuses on the embedded and communications markets for their chips. Freescale is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders.

So what kind of semiconductors do they make?

Here are the specs of the flagship MXC300-30:

• StarCore SC140 DSP up to 250 MHz
• ARM11â„¢ applications processor up to 532 MHz
• Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• WCDMA tri-band 850/1900/2100 MHz
• Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) data rates (max)— DL 384 Kbps, UL 384 Kbps
• HSDPA 1.8 Mbps (DL)
• GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) data rates (max)— DL 236 Kbps, UL 118 Kbps
• GPRS/EGPRS (EDGE) slot up to class 12 (4d/4u)
• Optimized for open operating systems like Linux and Symbian without the addition of any processor or accelerator
• Single antenna interference cancellation for Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK)
• Integrated Imaging Processing Unit (IPU) video accelerator
• Wireless connectivity features
  • A-GPS (network assisted) interface support
  • Bluetooth interface support
  • Wireless local area network (WLAN) 802.11a/b/g interface support
  • Digital Video Broadcasting-Handhelds (DVB-H) interface support

Can you say powerful!

I doubt anyone at Nokia will confirm that they are looking in to using Freescale chips. It is a possibility I’m throwing out there based on deductive reasoning.

Nokia hates Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) right now, but they certainly don’t have any beef with Freescale that I’m aware of.

Will this mean triband wcdma Nokia products by the end of this year?

One can only hope.

UPDATE: Check out this press release from February 2006:

Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has joined forces with Nokia and Symbian to offer later this year a 3G handset reference design. It will run Nokia’s S60 software on Symbian operating system, using Freescale’s single core modem.

Elektrobit Group Plc, a Finnish company specialized in wireless technology design and testing, is implementing this reference design.

Elektrobit is separately developing a 3G S60 “reference phone” running on Symbian OS, scheduled for introduction in the second quarter of 2007. The reference phone will be pre-tested for full type approval and interoperability testing.

Cammal estimated that OEMs, using the new reference design, can ship to operators a 3G phone at a cost “less than $150.”

Conformation that Nokia and Freescale are definitely working together!

The official PR from Nokia

It took them a year but we’ll finally see some devices based on this reference platform in 2007.

UPDATE: Mobile Review has a technical document on this topic as well.

I read too fast this morning. I thought the trial was about to take place on the 5th of March 2007.

Apparently it’s been indefinitely delayed.

TIP: Don’t blog before your first cup of coffee.

Symbian Freak is definitely creative:

Hopefully we’ll have a Nokia (NYSE: NOK) in less than 3 years that has HDMI out! That would be ultra wicked.

The Internet Walk

You control someone walking with an N800. First thing you do is select a soundtrack, the infamous Moby song that I love to hate is back. Then you find a picture of a crab on Flickr. After that you look up the location of the nearest pharmacy on google (NSDQ: GOOG) maps. Once that is done you use Wikipedia. Now you look up the weather. Last but not least you make a video call to Mommy.

Very creative. I like it.

I found out about this site on Howard Forums by the way.