ESPOO, Finland – People spend most of their time indoors (up to 90 per cent, according to research). GPS only works outside. Indoor positioning then could prove to be one of those killer apps that could change the way we interact with the world. Kimmo Kalliola, research leader for Wireless Systems and Services, gave us an update on Indoor Positioning, which was first shown off last year.
GLOBAL – In early August we spoke to Boston-based Andrew Mahon, one of the key people responsible for Nokia Email beta, to get an inside perspective on it and where it’s headed. Since then we also caught up with Tommi Vilkamo, the driving force behind Beta Labs, to get an interesting lowdown on the future of Nokia’s open R&D feedback service. So it’s great to see the collaboration between the Nokia Email team and Beta Labs continues to flourish away from the pure feedback facility, with Davis Fields this week posting heaps of handy tips for the app on the Beta Labs blog for anyone to soak up.
GLOBAL – I recently chatted with Tommi Vilkamo, the modest man heading up Nokia’s equally modest Beta Labs division, and was intrigued to discover the vision behind it and what the future holds for Beta Labs.
INTERNATIONAL – Beta Labs is one of those rare online destinations that buzzes with a raw sense of pioneering motivation. It modestly circles the confines of a traditional corporate development environment, creating an unsnippable umbilical link between the people making new apps and a dedicated unfiltered brigade of Nokia users who help make them even better. A pretty potent combination, and a genuinely encouraging foundation to build upon.
GLOBAL – There’s no shortage of function-extending applications that’ll help your Nokia do more than you thought possible. From the Download! application on your device, to Beta Labs, to third party providers, the list is as wide ranging as it is extensive. What’s more, they don’t face the same restrictions that some other device/app mixtures might. In a recent article on Forbes, writer Brian Caulfield highlighted this as a big plus point for Nokia.
INTERNATIONAL – Totally revamping the way Nokia does email on the move is by no means an overnight change. It’s one of those exciting and delicate developments that obviously requires smart thinking, and a seriously committed team to create what we, as users, want. A couple of weeks back I chatted in depth to the man heading up the new Nokia Email service, Andrew Mahon, to get a better idea of the vision behind the fresh-faced emailing app – it was clear that the nuts and bolts are done, but the refinement process is key and just about to hit a higher gear.
INTERNATIONAL – Recently we’ve been a little obsessed with getting under the skin of Nokia Chat, the new beta app for instant messaging with GPS elements mixed in for good measure. On my mission to understand this sliver of software inside-out I spoke in depth to the man behind it, product manager Kristian Luoma. Well, now he’s popped up on the Beta Labs blog as a guest author to teach us how to configure Nokia Chat to your favourite IM client on PC.
BOSTON, USA – Despite being Nokia’s most dynamic email service to date, Nokia Email beta is still hiding in the shadows, only available on a beta site tucked away on Nokia’s website. Why? Simple, it’s a work in progress, and one that the team behind Nokia Email is working furiously hard to get spot on. Soon it will be rearing its head on Beta Labs, and that’s when the serious attention, scrutinizing and tidal waves of feedback will start flooding in. With that in mind (and before the controlled chaos begins) I spoke to the man heading up Nokia Email, Andrew Mahon, to get a better understanding of the thinking behind the evolution of email for Nokia devices.
INTERNATIONAL – Last week I got talking to Nokia Chat product manager, Kristian Luoma, to get a deeper understanding of what led to the creation of this new breed of bite-size app. Having ticked off where the inspiration and vision for the software emerged from, I asked Luoma about the app in its current beta guise, the challenges and where it’s headed.
At the tail end of last week Charlie wrote a piece on co-creation and Conversations. Basically a piece on how sites like ours and ongoing projects such as Nokia Beta Labs are hoping to bridge a gap between big old Nokia and anyone out there interested in having an influence and being heard. Sure, it’s small acorns at the moment, but momentum is beginning to grow on this front which is hugely exciting for all involved.
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