Jacek Wojciechowski's Forum Nokia Blog

Floating cell towers...

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:25:54 +0300

Lately, I was busy reviewing chapters of an upcoming Symbian book - I hope I did a great job and I'll have more time for blogging now, so...

I was inspired to write this post by the idea presented in WSJ's article. Floating cells may be an excellent way to increase coverage in specific geographic areas (e.g. Africa), during some events where there're a large number of cellphone users gathering (e.g. Olympic Games, Mobile World Congress, ...) - after the event, floating cells may be used somewhere else. The risk is worth the gamble, but maybe not with balloons (OK, it's an inexpensive solution, but has some drawbacks - works only 24 hours, needs 'launch crew', probably won't work in bad weather conditions - strong wind, hail, etc.). I'd rather use some kind of small robo-planes (which may use solar energy) that will return to home station for refuel and maintenance. Such solution could be fully controlled by the software and work more than a day. On the other hand, I think it's worth considering mixing some solutions on the ground with described idea to make it more reliable, like cell repeaters or peer-to-peer mobile phone network.

I'm curious about other solutions that improve floating cells concept... (and I don't work at Google!)

Developing 3rd party accessories for Nokia devices...

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:45:35 +0200

Lately, I've noticed (possibly new) interesting section on Forum Nokia pages that describes Wired Interfaces on Nokia mobile devices and dedicated forum. The page introduces the following interfaces:

USB (with USB On-The-Go description)
Nokia AV 2.5mm/3.5mm Connector (for audio and/or TV out)
Nokia Pop-Port
Nokia 2-mm Charging Interface.

I'm a software engineer, but I like to know how sth is done and how it works in reality. If you're an electronic engineer, you'll know how to use described pin layouts and functions to create something new. IMHO, it opens a way for 3rd party innovative mobile accessories that will work with Nokia devices (iPod alike, e.g. docking alarm clocks, speaker systems, universal docks with remote, and others with music control). Maybe Nokia should create a special brand for compatible accessories named 'NAccessory' or 'NSeries Compatible/Certified device' like we have 'Designed for S60 Devices' logo for S60 apps...

World's first in-flight mobile phone service launched

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:20:10 +0200

Although I expected that Ryanair will be the first to offer in-flight mobile phone service on international flights, it looks that Air France has become the first airline to offer the service on select international flights. As stated, using the Mobile OnAir system, when the new "no mobiles" light is switched off, passengers travelling on board of one of the Airbus A318 aircraft operating European routes can now send and receive SMS and MMS messages as well as send and receive e-mails via all phones with internet access. During the second half of the six month trial, passengers will also be able to make and receive phone calls, with the service being regulated to maintain passengers' comfort and well-being.

How does it work?

Mobile phones connect to a miniature cellular network installed inside this aircraft. A modem transmits data and calls to a satellite that routes them to a ground station. Data and calls are then routed to the passenger’s usual telephone network. This network is located inside the aircraft. Passengers’ mobile phones only emit at minimum power, which does not risk harming interference with aircraft avionics or ground telecoms network.
As you can expect, phones are used just like on the ground. To make a call on board the aircraft, passengers simply dial the international prefix (+) or 00 + country code + full number (without the 0). The cost of data exchanges are invoiced by the customers’ telephone operator and are comparable to those used for normal international mobile phone calls.

OnAir system supports 2.5G, but let's hope they will upgrade it to 3G soon (and in-flight wi-fi?) and that the network is really safe (not like this one).

Have you already used described service? Your thoughts are welcome...

A great present (not only) for Christmas - FN Launchpad for 25% less

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:00:40 +0200

I was wondering if I could give my readers a Christmas present... As it turned out, I can. There's something, that some of you - serious mobile developers - may find attractive.

Some facts...

As you probably know, Nokia has launched a new membership program for developers this year - Forum Nokia Launchpad. It's open to all mobile developer companies. Members need only provide a valid Publisher ID, sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), and pay an annual membership fee of 800 euros per company. In return, they will receive the same access to technical resources, tools and SDKs, platform roadmaps and documentation as do members of the by-invitation-only Forum Nokia PRO program. In addition, Launchpad members also receive a free copy of Nokia's Carbide development tool, discounts on application signing, ASD certificates, Symbian books and access to Nokia's Discounted Device program, which lets members purchase Nokia devices for development and testing purposes at subsidized prices.

What's more, membership in Forum Nokia Launchpad also provides developers a unique opportunity to be screened by Forum Nokia's Business Development team. This team constantly seeks new, innovative developers and applications from among Launchpad's members. Forum Nokia Launchpad members can also take advantage of live events, at which they can share information, network with others in the mobile community, and demonstrate their applications and content.

And the gift is...

As a Forum Nokia Champion I was given a possibility to offer you a 25% discount on a Forum Nokia Launchpad membership (that way you save 200 Euro). If you think that the program is right for you, and the benefits will be useful in your work, and finally - you want to pay less, use the following promotional code - SAVE200 - when applying for membership (the last field in the Launchpad membership application is called 'Promotional code' and that is where you should enter the discount code). And there's more - Santa is so good that the expiration of the code is the end of February 2008! Santa also says: Merry Christmas and best wishes for a happy New Year!

Everyone wants its own mobile OS...

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:57:55 +0300

Competition in mobile operating systems area is getting stronger. Apart from Symbian OS, MS Windows Mobile family, there are plenty of Linux based mobile platforms: Maemo (Nokia), Open Moko (e.g. Neo1973 phone), LiMo (Vodafone, NTT Docomo, Motorola, Samsung, Nec and Panasonic partnership), ACCESS Linux Platform to mention a few. According to CNN Money ("Motorola Unveils MOTOMAGX Mobile Linux Platform" article), Motorola announced its next generation mobile Linux platform - MOTOMAGX. New platform is supposed to "lay the foundation to deliver new levels of openness, flexibility, and support for third-party applications on Motorola mobile devices". In the next few years, up to 60% of Motorola's handset portfolio is expected to be based on Linux, with the MOTOMAGX platform playing a key role in supporting this strategy.
"Motorola's MOTOMAGX platform is designed to support a broad array of content created by third-party developers. Today, MOTOMAGX supports applications developed in Java ME(TM), with plans to introduce new WebUI (featuring web technology to enable widgets and Web 2.0 experiences) and native Linux application environments in upcoming releases. These three application environments, combined with the relevant tools available through Motorola's MOTODEV Studio integrated development environment, will help enable MOTODEV developers to innovate and accelerate time to market for their applications."

I see that Linux will soon be a major competitor to Symbian and Windows Mobile. If Linux based platforms don't have a program similar to Symbian Signed and complicated Platform Security, they may become better platform for mobile developers (Linux is widely accepted by opensource)... It's also worth noting that widgets have become accepted in mobile world and now are spreading around many mobile platforms.

Japanese vs European smartphone features

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 22:52:32 +0300

Lately, Symbian has published a list of top 20 Japanese smartphone features (http://www.symbian.com/j20/).

Here is the list:

mobile wallet
MANGA on mobile
mobile check-in at airports
mobile keys for door
mobile employee badges
mobile cinema tickets
mobile transport passes
fingerprint authentication
face recognition/authentication
mobile discount/promotion coupons
scented phones
mobile fashion consultant
mobile live TV
wii-like mobile phones (motion-sensor)
physical bookmarks for mobiles (shops)
privacy screens
1D and 2D codes for marketing and even on fruit and veg labels
mobile GPS navigation for pedestrians
electric wave posters (uses RFiD)
waterproof phones

As you can see the list is very impressive. I'm beginning to wonder why we don't have some of such advanced services in Europe (OK, I don't mean specific one like MANGA). Some of them are starting to appear, but this process is very slow! Where is the problem? Maybe Europeans aren't 'early adopters' or they are afraid that they will become dependent on smartphone too much or maybe there're some problems with standardization. IMHO, technology isn't the main problem, but rather 'the way of everyday life' and how we currrently use our devices. Personally, I'd have some concerns about using my smartphone as door's keys (although it sounds promising), but I'm more open to use it as mobile wallet (the latter is even natural for me). My conclusion is simple - there's no other way that taking small steps to achieve these targets ;-)