GLOBAL – It’s been another mammoth week for comments on Conversations with hundreds of great new opinions scrawled across our walls. The most commented story being tell us what to do the Nokia N900, closely followed by another N900 piece focused on a new in-depth video exploring the Maemo browser and some smart tips and tricks. Read on to find out who has earned comment of the week and a copy of the Gravity Twitter app.
BOSTON, USA – While it is true that I am no longer the Big Kahuna here at Nokia Conversations, I’ll still be writing (hopefully more) for the next few months as I transition my duties over to the new guy (officially coming on-board 01 Aug). What’s more, James and Mike urged me to get back to my (occasional) round-ups of what’s happening in the industry. Indeed, this is a good idea, since I have just returned from holiday and really have no idea what’s transpired in the past four weeks.
Some of this stuff might be old to you, but I think it worthwhile to point out what has caught our eye and maybe give a comment or two. Many things have happened over July, from buyouts, to spinoffs, to thinking, to worrying. Over the next few days, I’ll do some catch up and show you some things we thought significant.
Interested? Then read on for my first batch of links.
MUMBAI, India – Earlier this month we were stoked that one of our favourite Nokia services, Nokia Life Tools, officially touched down in India. Following its successful pilot scheme in Maharashtra, Life Tools has now officially launched via the Nokia 2323 classic and Nokia 2330 classic devices, and will be later become available on other Nokia devices and extend its reach to many more rural areas in India.
If you’re new to Nokia Life Tools, the concept is to deliver valuable and up-to-date information on the core topics of agriculture and education, providing rural communities without access to the internet, with timely information via SMS at a low cost. Perhaps the best example of this in practice is the agriculture tool that has been designed to deliver farmers with precise commodity prices on from a network of 291 local mandis (marketyards), meaning farmers don’t need to travel often long distances to the nearest town to arm themselves with these details, saving them time and money and enabling them to improve their quality of life.
We’ve gathered together a few initial reactions to the launch of Nokia Life Tools from a handful of Indian websites, so read on to see what others are saying, plus if you find any other reactions or want to voice your opinions, share them here as we’re keen to hear your thoughts.
LONDON, England – I feel somewhat like a werewolf trapped outdoors on a full moon, only the transformation I’m currently undergoing is fully consensual and I’m not howling.
Back in December I posed the question “N97. Will it change me?” sparking a heap of comments and debate from many of you on the topic of anticipation versus reality when it comes to new devices, and how we often think and hope that our mobile behavior might alter (for the better) with a new product. And how it often does change our behavior, but not necessarily how we think it might. Especially a flagship product of the stature and near unparalleled expectancy of the N97.
I was lucky enough to get hold of an early N97 last Friday, and in less than 72 hours my new device has indeed triggered a rapid metamorphosis in my mobile behavior. One I may not (and hope not) to recover from.
HELSINKI, Finland – I’m not shy of the fact that I spend a lot of time on my Nokia E71 each month, but likewise I’m aware that the amount of time spent chatting to people has decreased drastically over the past couple of years as I increasingly communicate via SMS, email and more recently Twitter.
Last week, whilst sat in a hotel lobby in Helsinki, where I was meeting fellow Conversations writer James, I decided to check my call log in a moment of aching boredom. On checking I was met with a very surprising number – I’d spent over 24 hours speaking on my phone in the last 30 days. An entire day chatting in a month where I’d probably only spent just over six of those days sleeping, and two days eating. I asked James to check his (he likes to talk), and he was mildly alarmed to see he’d broken the 50-hour mark.
Have you ever checked how much you talk on your phone each month? All you have to do is go into your phone menu, select the log, and call duration. It should be set to the last 30 days. Check it out and share your stats and thoughts on whether your findings were surprising or what you expected.
Click through to start sharing in the comments section.
GLOBAL – There have been a ton of reports recently that scam artists are once more sending out hoax SMS and emails, purportedly from Nokia, that offer some sort of money if one were to respond, faux lottery style. Sorry folks, those are not coming from us. We don’t do money lotteries, so beware the scam.
I’ve been seeing comments coming in asking if they are true, but have to delete them from our system since they look very much like the real thing, and hence look like comment spam.
If you do receive something fishy like these, do NOT reply to these messages or pass them on. The thing to do is to delete the message without responding. You might also consider contacting your local authorities to report such hoax messages.
I have listed the more common forms of these hoaxes after the jump. Click through to make sure you don’t get hoaxed.
LONDON, England – Developing new technologies is vital, but implementing older ones well is equally important. We’ve just registered at a new dentist only to find our appointments are to be confirmed (and reminded) by SMS. I’m surprised, and a touch amazed, as it’s the first time I’ve seen or experienced technology being implemented in such a useful way. It appears that even in our lonely little outpost in South East London, mobile phone penetration has reached such a point that such a service can be implemented, and relied upon. But that isn’t really the point here. I’ve since done a little digging to find that a similar service was first tried in Helsinki back in 2007, and another service has been run by the Swedish National Health service since 2003. Continue reading>>
GLOBAL – One of the most rewarding aspects of being a writer on Conversations is that we get to bring you the smaller stories that often slip through the cracks of the main stage – worthy tales of the unsung heroes working both within Nokia and outside, with Nokia’s support. YouthActionNet is one such example, a program set up to support young social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for social and sustainable projects across the globe. Backed by Nokia, already a number of interesting stories have emerged, including support for one young person looking to combat pharmaceutical fraud in Africa via a phone-based drug authentication system.
ESPOO, Finland – Now that the year-end holidays are over, we here at Nokia Conversations are back in full force. We have a thing or two cooking in the kitchen, and we’re thinking of our plans for the year. More of that as it develops.
Right now, I’d like to empty out some open tabs in my browser. I can’t say I caught everything since the last time we shared links. And I’m a bit silent on other things as I mull how best I can usefully add to the conversations. But, this is a nice set to start the year with.
To the list!
INDIA – As we watch and experience first-hand the evolution of mobile technology, the focus naturally falls on how improved hardware and smarter software push the envelope and attempt to improve our lives on the go.
The thing about Nokia Life Tools, and why we’ve selected it in our Best of 2008 list, is that it defies this tradition, instead harnessing existing technology (SMS in this case), but uses it in an innovative fashion to offer a new breed of service that is easily accessible, valuable and simple to use. Surely the core ingredients of any of the best services out there.
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