All About Maemo

TV Out on the Nokia N900: A beginner's guide

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:01:04 +0100

If you haven't already tried it, the TV Out feature of the N900 is potentially very useful and quite a neat party trick too. Despite its analogue signal, the output still looks reasonably good on a large screen. All About Maemo has done a short video aimed at beginners illustrating the basics, embedded below.

Nokia Q4 2009 results, smartphone world market share up 5%

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:24:42 +0100

Nokia has released their Q4 2009 results, reporting an operating profit of EUR 1.141 billion, with net sales EUR 12 billion (down 5% YoY). Nokia's device and service division's profits were EUR 1.14 billion, up 130% year on year. Margins in devices and services were 14.9% (up 5.5% YoY and 3.5% QoQ). Converged devices sales (smartphone) were 20.8 million, compared with 15.1 million units in Q4 2008 and 16.4 million units in Q3 2009. As such, worldwide converged device ('smartphone') marketshare increased from 35% to 40% sequentially.

IDC puts Symbian still significantly ahead in 2013

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:37:00 +0100

Coming on the eve of Apple's big tablet release and Nokia's Q4 09 results announcement, IDC gathered all their numbers, analysts and (ahem) runes and produced a forecast for the smartphone market in 2013. Unusually, for an American data analysis firm, there's surprising understanding of the worldwide scene, with the headline stat being that the smartphone market will exceed 390 million units per year by 2013, with Symbian holding on to its world marketshare lead over the next three years. Quotes from the IDC press release and my own predictions below.

N900 advertising in the mainstream (Times and Tube)

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:18:35 +0100

A number of adverts, featuring the N900, have started to appear in the mainstream UK media and poster locations. The most prominent advert highlights to multi-tasking capabilities of the device and shows six applications running on the N900's dashboard. Such advertising is likely to reach a more mainstream audience and increase awareness of the N900. Read on for more.

Maemo and free Ovi Maps Navigation

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:49:18 +0100

Yesterday Nokia announced that Ovi Maps navigation was going free for all it smartphones. Initially this is available for Nokia's Symbian device models. However, Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President of Nokia, speaking at the London event said, "we will also be increasing support for this.. and certainly moving forward it will also support Maemo". However no commitment was made for specific Maemo models.

Coming soon: N900 as a WiFi hotspot with JoikuSpot

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:53:28 +0100

Software developer Joikusoft has announced, via their Facebook page, that 'JoikuSpot for Maemo OS' will be published soon. The software, which is already available for Nokia's Symbian devices, turns your N900 into a WiFi hotspot. Other devices, such as a laptops, connect to the N900 over WiFi, with the connection to the Internet provided the N900's cellular (3G) connection.

How to create music playlists on the Nokia N900

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:46:07 +0100

The N900's built in media player has a slightly eccentric way of handling playlists, but it is fairly easy once you get used to it. We've done a brief video to show you how it works, you can watch it embedded below.

Apple ask ITC to ban Nokia from selling phones in the US

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:06:43 +0100

Continuing the ping pong legal battle between Apple and Nokia over patents and IP, Apple have filed with the International Trade Commission asking for a US import ban on Nokia products... mirroring the complaint Nokia made to ITC about Apple. While escalating quickly, this progression of claim and counter-claim is to be expected as both companies legal departments engage in brinkmanship before negotiation.

Built-in one-touch contact access on the Nokia N900 desktop

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:43:49 +0100

A very short but useful hint which not everyone knows: you can access your contacts directly from the N900 desktop by just typing them on the keyboard. You don't even need to have the Contacts app open, it will open automatically at the correct section when you start typing. See the video embedded below for a demonstration.

More extensive Nokia N900 firmware update goes live (PR1.1 / 2.2009.51-1)

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:31:39 +0100

The N900's minor firmware update earlier this week (PR1.0.1) was to prepare for a larger update, and that larger update (PR1.1) is now being rolled out country-by-country. You can find the full technical details on the maemo.org wiki. There have been quite a number of bug fixes and feature improvements, including support for Microsoft Exchange 2003. The new firmware version should become available worldwide over the next couple of days, so if you can't see it yet try again tomorrow.

A beginner's guide to customising the desktop on the Nokia N900

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:07:08 +0100

Yes, it's another AAM tutorial video for those who are new to the Nokia N900. This video shows how to customise the N900's four-screen desktop, and also includes an example layout at the end. The video can be viewed below.

User testing observations from QuirksBlog

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:17:31 +0100

Peter-Paul Koch, writing on the QuirksBlog, shares the results of a usability test comparing 10 different phones. What's most interesting is that the user in question might be considered the 'average' user rather than a tech-influencer (as is typical in online media). Consequently many of the observations offer insight into what matters in the real world compared to rarefied atmosphere of the 'media bubble'. Read on for more.

Ovi Store (mobile site) working on N900

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:02:27 +0100

Ahead of an official availability announcement it seems that the mobile site version of the Ovi Store (store.ovi.mobi) is operational on N900's running the recently released firmware update (1.2009.44.1). A number of application and games are currently available for download. Content is installed via the Application manager, which is automatically launched when you tap a 'Download' button on the store. Read on for further details and screenshots.

N900 minor firmware update (1.2009.44.1) available

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:05:10 +0100

A minor firmware update for the Nokia N900 is now available. The update contains only minor changes. However it does include enablers that makes the device ready for its first major firmware update (PR 1.1). PR 1.1 is expected to fix a number of bugs and add a number of features including improved portrait mode support in select applications.

Should third party apps be relied on to fix a smartphone?

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:19:43 +0100

I want to take a little break away from the major Nokia X6 review I'm doing just now to directly address one of the issues that I'm seeing in the comments both of the X6 review and in other products that are reviewed both here on AAS and on other tech sites: the use of third party software to compensate for a manufacturer's omissions.