Todays community member we’re highlighting is Mike Macias, Editor-in-Chief of the The Mobile Fanatics, a long time favorite blog of any Nokia follower or fan.

So, Mike, what’s on your home screen?

Mike Macias:

As a longtime Symbian user who was comfortable with widgets and multiple homescreens, I was a bit reluctant to give Windows Phone a shot. I saw screenshots of the Windows Phone operating system when it first came out and initially felt like a single page of tiles was too restricted and simple.

But once I tried Windows Phone on the Nokia Lumia 800 I was surprised at how useful these squares can be.

Because of my great experience I had with the Lumia 800, I decided to keep Windows Phone as my main device and now I use the Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T full time.

Live Tiles from great 3rd party apps

Windows Phone has some great built-in widgets that come preloaded on the Nokia Lumia 900. Most of these are self-explanatory and can be tested out on Nokia’s Facebook demo page for Windows Phone. 

What I really want to get into is the good stuff; third-party applications!

Now let me give you a little bit of information before I start the list. Some of these tiles are simply shortcuts to the application. No frills or thrills. But Windows Phone has a great feature for app developers which allows you to pin specific areas inside your application to the homescreen.

Now let’s see which 3rd party apps are important enough to be on my homescreen.

• NextGen Reader – This is my favorite Google Reader app for Windows Phone for many reasons besides the live tile. But save those reasons for another day. We’re here to talk about homescreens! I can pin specific folders to the homescreen and even single feeds. 

• Toggle – This application allows me to pin tiles that take me to specific connectivity settings of my phone. Other shortcuts you can pin include data, bluetooth, airplane mode, and reminders. Toggle is highly useful and free in the marketplace.

• INRIX – This is the traffic application that I mentioned at the beginning of this section. Living in Southern California makes quick access to these map views extremely helpful. My “trip to work” map view is pinned to the homescreen so that when I launch the app I don’t have to navigate around or zoom in and out to see the freeway I’m going to travel on. INRIX is very accurate for traffic conditions and has many more features to check out. You can find INRIX free in the Marketplace.

• iHeartRadio – This is another app which I don’t just pin to the homescreen as a basic shortcut. I was able to pin a specific radio station which I listen to more than once per day. When I touch this tile I’m able to start my favorite radio station instantly! The great thing about iHeartRadio is that the app uses default music controls in Windows Phone so that I can pause and start the station whenever I want, even from the lock screen.

• Fandora – This is a Pandora app for Windows Phone that works great. I have only been using it for a few weeks but I absolutely love that I can pin my favorite Pandora station to the homescreen. 

• SuperTimer – If you’re looking for an advanced timer application for your Nokia Lumia device look no further.  I can setup multiple timers with specific functions. I have my “Laundry” timer pinned to the homescreen. The instant I tap it the countdown timer starts from 1 hour and 10 minutes. When the time is up an alarm goes off! SuperTimer runs in the background so you can do other tasks and your timer won’t stop.

• OneNote – If you need a note-taking app for Windows Phone look no further than your Office icon that comes preloaded on the phone. OneNote by Microsoft lets you sync notes in the cloud so that they are accessible from a computer, phone, and tablet. I have a shortcut pinned to my homescreen that allows me to start a new note instantly. It’s saved to the cloud while I work so I don’t have to worry about hitting a “save” button every few minutes.

• Flashlight-X – A basic flashlight app for Windows Phone that turns on the dual-LED flashlight the instant I tap the tile. Very handy when you need to find your keyhole in the dark!

• 4th & Mayor – Need to check-in to Foursquare quickly? Tapping this tile quickly brings up a list of nearby locations that I can check-in to. 

That’s it for the tiles that are deep-linked to specific tasks and functions within applications. The rest are a few more apps that I like to have quick access to and are pinned to my homescreen.

ESPN ScoreCenter 
WeatherView 
Nokia Drive 
Microsoft Office 
WordPress 
Gchat+ 

Plus a couple of bookmark links to my favorite sites.

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AUSTIN, TX, USA

Top of the list for most trees planted is one WIlliam Daroff (@daroff) who, thanks to his network of friends on Twitter has generated 6,073 trees to plant. He’s only just ahead of Andru Edwards (@andruedwards) who’s responsible for 6,024 trees. Dave Peck (@davepeck) and Alison Sudol (@afinefrenzy) both posted over 5,000 trees each. 

TheNextWeb‘s Brad McCarty was one of those involved in the campaign. He enjoyed the Nokia Lumia 800 he’s been playing with, but he’s also made a contribution to the campaign by tweeting about #ijustplantedatree. 

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

We’re super excited about being able to play a significant role at this year’s SXSW, not just attending the show, but engaging our friends to help raise awareness of the help that’s needed in Texas, and make a contribution towards restoring the state.

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AUSTIN, TX, USA

One of the biggest questions surrounding privacy, particularly when it comes to location is who’s the gatekeeper of that information? Your device contains the GPS which actually enables it to understand where in the world you are right now. Your operating system can make that information available to applications in a common language. Your applications will make that information useful to you, enabling you to figure out where you are, or get 50 cents off a slice of pizza. 

The panel Joe hosted, Location Tracking – threatening or Value-added?, included a range of speakers, including our own Christopher Peralta, who is head of location and advertising services for Nokia in North America. He was joined by Cameron Clayton VP of digital services at The Weather Channel, FourSquare product manager Siobhan Quinn and VP of Mobile at CNN, Louis Gump. 

So who’s in charge?

There’s a healthy benefit to having data surrounding your location, be it in helping you to find your way home, or getting cheaper food thanks to location-aware advertising. But, with myriad parties playing a role in making that information useful, exactly who should be responsible for the safekeeping of that information? 

This much we know: We want the information about where we are at any given point in time (or at least, I do) but we don’t want it abused by anyone.

During the (pretty heated) panel discussion, Joe got radical and suggested we might need to think about privacy in a new way. I’d personally go one further and suggest that we already are, given the propensity of large portions of the global population to share the most inane details of their day (particularly annoying are the ones who only share their location when they’re somewhere their friends or peers might deem impressive). 

The big debate

But there’s a more serious issue at stake here and that is simply who is responsible for respecting people’s privacy and ensuring that data captured, particularly around location is treated with respect. Not only are there multiple agendas at play, given that hardware needs one thing, operating systems something else, app developers something different again.

On top of that we have multiple platforms to think about – what might be regarded as a definition of ‘place’ on one platform, could well mean something totally different on another platform. And that’s without even thinking about apps.

One of the main points raised during today’s talk, and a very good one I thought, was the need for a common language and common practice around the capturing and handling of location-based data. Particularly when it comes to people’s privacy.

Things are moving fast, new apps are coming out on different platforms on a daily basis and we’re rapidly moving towards a location-aware world where everything around us is coming to life not just in front of our eyes, but on our devices too.

Joe Brown is applying his own radical thinking to the question of privacy. But let us know what you think in the comments below.

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AUSTIN, TX, USA

It’s about 20 years since I first stepped into the workplace. Back then people were allowed to smoke at their desks, nobody had mobile phones and timekeeping was something to respect. Bring a dog to the office? You’ve got to be kidding. Free fruit or food? Buy your own. Tell your boss what you really think of them? See. You. Later. 

How the world has changed. Over the last 12 months there’s been a seismic shift in the culture inside Nokia. Stephen Elop has introduced the concept of accountability to everyone in the business and getting products and innovation to market quickly and brilliantly is the new guidebook by which everyone operates (Nokia Lumia 900 or Nokia 808 Pureview, anyone?). 

Shifting sands

How he’s managed to change the outlook of so many people, in such a short space of time is actually quite mind-boggling. But much of it is simply about having the right culture.

This morning’s session was chaired by Dan Patterson, a former ABC journalist who last year left the comfort of a large corporation to strike out on his own and create something new. He was joined by three nice ladies from different start-ups across the United States (Dee Anna McPherson from Yammer, Emily Peters from Practice Fusion and Jennifer Crystal from Opower). 

Between them the offerings given to them and their start-up colleagues were as varied and eclectic as the people and weather of Austin. Free fruit, bring your dog to work (one company has as many as 20 dogs in the office) and free iPads for beating the stretched targets. All are a far cry from my experience of being told I spent too long on the phone 20 years ago.

Beyond the fruity frivolities though was common ground and that word, “culture”. All of this morning’s talk was about creating the right culture. It’s that, and not the pay or frivolities which the panelists defined as being the embrace of the very modern workplace.

It’s a mobile world

Mobility has changed how we work immeasurably. I can do a very large part of my everyday work through my Nokia Lumia 800. Like many others, my phone is my lifeline offering me access to the most important aspects of my work communication and melding them seamlessly with the most important aspects of my personal communication. 

On my phone, I’m as active in mail as I am on Facebook (less so on Twitter) and reading and editing documents is as much a part of my mobile day as taking and sharing photos.

The very notion of mobility spreads as deep as it does wide across the modern work day. Over the last 20 years it has transformed how millions, or actually billions, of people work. Whether you’re a farmer in asia or a trader in New York, the very notion of mobility has enabled a very different approach to work.

And so it’s my argument that the modern day office, whilst defined by the culture in which individual companies and people work, has actually been most influenced by the very notion of mobility. It’s this which has enabled ourselves to be unshackled from our desks, work remotely, communicate on the go, travel the world and ultimately, do better business.

We’re in a very different place to where we were 12 months ago and that in itself is vastly different from 12 or 20 years ago. Working cultures across the world have transformed beyond all recognition. Is it more than a coincidence that at the same time, the world has also become mobile beyond all recognition? Discuss.

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AUSTIN, TX, USA

In the staff briefing prior to the opening, Nokia’s US marketing chief Valerie Buckingham rallied the troops whilst reminding everyone just why Nokia is present at SXSW. “We’re opening the laboratory kimono” was Valerie’s description of bringing a little part of Nokia’s R&D lab to Austin. But pitching a tent and filling it with cool demos is just the physical manifestation of Nokia’s presence at SXSW.

More than anything, this is a celebration. It’s a celebration of a pretty powerful turnaround, in a relatively short space of time. It’s a celebration coming on the back of two amazingly successful product unveilings for Nokia (Nokia Lumia 900 best in show at CES and Nokia 808 Pureview award winner at Mobile World Congress). It’s a celebration of the fact that Nokia is very much back.

The atmosphere in the Nokia Lab is a direct reflection of what’s been felt inside, and outside the company right now. A new dawn of excitement and enthusiasm has very much broken cover. The Nokia Lab brings a ton of cool to SXSW but it’s really, just like the Nokia Lumia 900 and Nokia 808 Pureview, a statement of intent. This is the new baseline. From here, everything just gets better.

On my way to Austin I flew from Heathrow with British Airways. Back at Nokia World in October, when the Nokia Lumia 800 was unveiled, we were shown the British Airways app for Windows. This was my first opportunity to try a mobile boarding pass (I had a paper one as a backup) and it worked a treat. Setting aside the mini-thrill of using a mobile boarding pass for the first time, it was the security guard’s reaction when I handed him the phone that struck a chord. “What’s that?” The new Nokia Lumia 800 came my reply. “Wow. That’s nice. I’ve always loved Nokia phones”.

Why does any of this matter? For me it’s a sense of pride. Being attached to and involved in something which is positive. Which is changing rapidly. Which is offering genuine innovation. Creating products which one person described to me yesterday as boasting better industrial design than that phone which has become the bastion of industrial design. 

Whilst this post might have more than a little dose of self indulgence about it, I’m not ashamed. Why can’t we celebrate all that’s good right now? Like the security guard said, I’ve always loved Nokia. And after last night’s party at Nokia Lab, I’ve got the hangover to prove it.

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AUSTIN, TX, USA

Step forward The Hood Internet. Alongside mashing up Hip Hop and Indie Rock mixes, this production duo also specialise in mashing up classic album covers with pictures of tacos. I’m not sure if they’ll be showing off any of their creations when they rock the Nokia Lab tomorrow (Sunday) night, but we can be certain that ABX and Stv Slv (Steve Sleeve) will be rocking the tent from 11.30pm until the early hours. 

All through this week a host of artists will be entertaining folks in the Nokia Lab. SXSW attendees can check out the ins and outs of the Nokia Lab, getting hands on with the latest phones and some pretty cool innovations from Nokia whilst their ears get regaled by a mix of musical treats.

Sunday evening will see the Nokia and gdgt.com party kicking at the Nokia Lab and before The Hood Internet take to the stage Deniro Farrar and Frankie Rose will be doing their things.

Monday evening looks like another rocking night with top rapper XV taking to the stage before top DJ Gigamesh turns on some tunes. Tuesday continues in much the same vein with four more acts rocking out from mid afternoon until 8pm. 

If you’re at SXSW, be sure to stop by. You can see the full entertainment line up at our Nokia at SXSW 2012 page. If you’re plugging in from afar, then stay tuned into Conversations where we’ll be bringing you thoughts and opinions from some of the more interesting talks taking place here in Austin.

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Las Vegas, USA - Nokia CEO Stephen Elop announces the new Nokia Lumia 900. Dan McGrath catches up with Chris Weber, Head of Nokia US and chats to Chanse Arrington, Head of Developer & Content Marketing for North America who talks Nokia Lumia 900 and Apps.

LONDON, United Kingdom – Nokia has a canny knack of getting under the skin of what users want, and delivering it for them. Mary McDowell, executive vice president of mobile phones at Nokia, believes this is because understanding the consumer shouldn’t just be the responsibility of the marketing department. How much does she believe this? Well, she’s just got off the plane from India, where she’d brought 100 of her top managers, about 65 per cent of whom work in R&D.

“The more real consumers you meet, understanding their lifestyles understanding their pain points, the better equipped you are to solve those pain points” says McDowell. She doesn’t believe in asking consumers what they want, either. For McDowell, success is driven by understanding and interpreting what the needs are, and then coming up with solutions.

Take the recent trip to India, where the network environment is what McDowell describes as “challenging”. Having someone from R&D, who understands network and antenna technology, experience what it’s really like will make all the difference when it comes to finding solutions. It’s already happened with a focus on delivering longer battery life for those who have difficulty accessing electricity, or louder speakers for cities where background noise is a big issue.

Nokia Asha ushers in new era of innovation

Historically, Nokia’s had a strong presence in growth economies with superior levels of efficiency in manufacturing and unrivaled scale when it comes to distribution. But consumers wanted more innovation, driven largely by what was happening in the smartphone market. Influenced by the featureset of smartphones (which were out of their reach financially) they wanted more from their devices. With Asha, Nokia’s responding, delivering a raft of smartphone-like functionality on very affordable phones. QWERTY? Check. Apps? Check. Internet? Check. Touch? Check. And all on a phone people can actually afford.

The big driver in growth economies recently has been dual SIM. McDowell owns up to Nokia being slow to respond with that one, but is delighted with the 18 million dual SIM phones sold in the last quarter, from pretty much a standing start. 

Those consumer insights come into play here again, enabling Nokia to leapfrog the competition with innovations such as Easy SWAP, which enables users to skip from one SIM card to another without having to switch the device off. What’s even better is that McDowell tells us dual SIM is now business as usual and pretty much every (budget) mobile phone going forward will have both single and dual SIM variants.

Where does Asha come from?

But what of that name, Asha? Where did that come from? McDowell tells us that choosing a name for a global brand is incredibly challenging. Leave aside the legal process, it’s the “connotation check”, where specific names are translated into myriad languages to see if they mean anything they shouldn’t which causes serious challenge. 

While Asha means “hope” in hindi, it’s also a distinct reflection of the aspirations consumers in growth economies have. One of the first names on the list before legal and connotation checking started, McDowell was pleased to learn it passed both tests with flying colors, enabling it to be chosen as the new name. 

Now Asha represents the family of phones at the budget end of the market, where there are in excess of one billion people waiting to get online. With a selection of devices boasting smartphone-rivaling features, Asha’s delivering a lot more than just hope.

Photo by md111 on a Nokia N95

GLOBAL

One persistent issue online has been lottery scams. Whilst awareness of them has grown, the perpetrators continue to try new and interesting ways to con innocent folk out of their hard-earned money. The Nokia Lottery Scam has been going on and off for a few years now. And we’re not the only brand to be tarnished with this particularly hideous brush.

All the details: Nokia Lumia 800

All about our stunning new smartphone.

The specs; the price; the facts

Back in 2006, Volkswagen issued an official statement on its website warning existing and potential customers of a lottery scam offering wads of cash and free cars. Dutch brewery Heineken had to offer similar advice to its customers. Fedex are another well-known, global brand which has created an excellent section on its website providing plenty of useful info to help protect its customers.

Scammers have even started to emulate sites set up to help people report online scams. Scampatrol.org reports on its website that users should be vigilant from illegitimate emails from scampatrol.org offering, of all things, a money recovery scam.

We’ve written about the Nokia Lottery scam a number of times. Whilst the teams behind the scenes work hard to get it stopped, it’s much
harder than you might imagine. This work will continue, but meanwhile we’ll continue to help raise awareness and provide information for
those who need it. Meanwhile, we’d welcome your thoughts and comments on what else we should be doing to stop this. And of course, urge you to help spread the word. Nokia doesn’t do lotteries. Ever.

Check out the Stay Safe Online website for more info on staying safe online and also take a look at Action Fraud in the UK for more local information.

Image credit: DaveBleasdale.

LONDON, England

Of course I’ve tried alternatives. It’s part of the job here on Conversations that we get to play with every new handset. Sometimes for an hour, other times for longer. When we find one we like, we tend to hog it. So it was with the E6 prototype that landed a while back. It’s hardly left my side since (save for a couple of days with a shiny new Finnish-keyboard version, which I’ve got in reserve).

All the details: Nokia Lumia 800

All about our stunning new smartphone.

The specs; the price; the facts

Most of my messages are typed using my right hand whilst my left does something else (usually of its own accord). If I know I’ve got longer messages, I’ll revert to two-thumb typing. My E6 enables me to take either approach effortlessly. Even for my small digits, reaching across the keyboard with a right thumb to hit the Q, A or Z keys is a doddle. The weight and balance of the device, not to mention the camera ridge on the back, help even more.

Pretty much every smartphone released by Nokia has passed through my hands at some stage. Naturally, the bulk of the more recent ones have been touchscreen devices. I’ve tended to swerve the few that have slide out keyboards on the grounds of size (I have small pockets…) or usability (…because I have small hands).

For the touchscreen only devices I’ve never had enough gratification from typing on screen to stick with it. As the bulk of my mobile use involves messaging, it’s difficult to ignore this point. Don’t get me wrong. I like touchscreen, it’s a great way of interacting with a device. But when it comes to messaging, you simply cannot beat solid keys.

When I first heard about the E6 and the introduction of touch and type to a serious business QWERTY, it was like someone had created the perfect device, just for me. Now I get all the benefits of bouncing round the OS with the touchscreen whilst rapid-fire messaging anyone and everyone with a solid keyboard. It’s bliss. And in my book, unbeatable.

Adam might well still prefer T9 but until they come up with a way to read my mind so I don’t have to type anything at all, I’m sticking with a full set of solid QWERTY keys. Who’s with me?