News From The Future...

N97 v20 Firmware Update

It's nice, but I'm thinking it didn't really justify the long wait for it. This is how the N97 should have performed from day one.

N-Gage Ends September 2010

Was flawed from day one, and may be better off integrated with Ovi anyway. Let's just hope Ovi lasts long enough for it to even matter.

Sony Ericsson Rachael/Infinity?

This may very well be my next mobile device. I've had a lasting boycott of all things Sony since the days of the Playstation 2 era, but this may be the first step (albeit a large one) towards ending the boycott.

Layar For Symbian In 2010

Was wondering if this would ever happen. I may have a very different device by the time Layar makes its way to the N97 and other Nokia devices though, so this is not as exciting as it could have been.

Adobe Flash 10.1 In 2010

This is gonna be epic...see you in the near future!

NET9 News Bites

Augmented Reality

In AR news, Mobilizy recently proposed Augmented Reality Markup Language [ARML] specification to the AR Consortium. I think this is a great move and one that will provide part of the foundation for augmented reality in the future.

Meanwhile, Layar Reality Browser has added 3D to its platform. It will be interesting to see how this new feature will be utilized, but I'm sure it will make the mobile AR experience more rich as developers start building upon it.

Imaging And Video

Picasa 3.5 brings face recognition and geotagging to your photos. This makes organizing photos that much better. All those family photos can now have more information than ever before. I can skip all those genealogy programs and have the names right in the images. The geotag feature is also handy for remembering where that mysterious image was taken.

Vitamin D launches object recognition for video. Talk about a breakthrough. This type of technology will be key to home and business surveillance as well as online video search. I look forward to testing the software this fall.

Mobile Web

Opera Mini 5 has officially replaced my original mobile web browser. Everything from the tabbed browsing and speed dial feature to the touchscreen support and virtual keypad have made me spoiled to the point of no return. The best part about Opera Mini 5 is the speed. It's like they threw a ton of magic in the development of this awesome mobile browser. Way to go Opera.

Rumor

Nokia set to buy Palm? Maybe, maybe not. Could change the mobile industry in ways I can't even begin to imagine.

Why Google Needs To Do Mobile Augmented Reality

Google Maps for mobile is growing and developing nicely. However, there has been a huge and sudden interest in the idea of augmented reality. Even more interesting is that augmented reality (or AR) is going mobile in a big way. Mobile AR is already making its way to Android devices with apps like Layar and Wikitude leading the movement. iPhone isn't too far behind with AR integration after the Yelp application easter egg. Even Nokia is working feverishly on AR projects in its labs. It seems only logical for Google to bring some form of AR to the mobile space. So let's look into why it would be important for Google to get in to the mobile AR game, how they might approach the idea, and where mobile AR could take Google into the future.

Augmented Search And Advertisements

There is a new data trend starting to make its way around the web and it has quickly become a mobile phenomenon. This new trend is mobile augmented reality. Augmented Reality is a relatively old concept, but mobile AR is a relatively new concept that is set to be the next frontier in the mobile space. Mobile AR is just recently beginning to develop because of the rapid convergence of sensors, cameras, antennas, and high resolution touch-screens into mobile devices that are more pocketable than ever before. The computational power of these mobile devices are no longer a limitation to 3D graphics and video. The only current limitation is still the massive amount of power these devices require, but power saving tech and other neat low power component solutions will eventually push this last limitation aside. There are a lot of big players in the mobile industry that are making strides in the direction of a mobile AR future. Companies like Nokia are showing that there are a lot of ways mobile AR could benefit the mobile user, and companies like Layar and Wikitude are making strides to bring mobile AR to the world. It would seem like an excellent idea for Google to get in on the mobile AR scene soon and in a very big way. Google would immediately benefit from mobile AR through local search and advertisements, while people the world over would gain from having a rich platform for layering the web onto the real world in real-time. However, Google can't wait for too long. It's only a matter of time before the likes of Microsoft or Yahoo! realize the earning potential of mobile AR.

Google Maps Integration Vs. Separate App

So, there are numerous reasons for why Google needs to do mobile AR. The next question would be how should they approach the scene. Some might think Google would be better off adding AR functionality to Google Maps for mobile and save on unnecessary development time and cost. The inclusion of digital compass support and the tweaking of Layers and Latitude to allow personal and public tags to be shared sounds feasible for a company like Google. I would even go as far as to say Street View could potentially be enhanced greatly with user submitted images or images already online that have been geotagged. With these and other creative tools at Google's disposal, it would be to their advantage to add AR features to Google Maps for mobile.

It may also prove to be more advantageous for Google to develop a specific mobile AR application that Google Maps and other Google services could plug into. Imagine integrating not only Google Maps, but using a Google Voice layer to call a local restaurant for what the latest lunch special is, or a local news layer for staying up to date on current events in your immediate area. How about a weather layer that shows you where that storm is and where it's headed. It would also be awesome to have a translation feature that can recognize an image of text and translate it into your native language in real-time (great for that first trip to Japan). Another interesting plug-in would be for the SketchUp application. One could design an add-on to an old building and have it shown how it would look in real-time by the viewer as they walk around. I could go on forever listing the potential uses for a Google made mobile AR app, but until they actually decide to develop one, all we have are hopes and dreams of the future.

From Smartphones To Google Eyes
Which brings us to what could be the future of mobile computing as we do not yet know it. Augmented reality started on the TV and PC, is moving to mobile devices like phones and web tablets, but I have a strong feeling AR will get even closer to us through eyewear. It will likely happen first through eyeglasses and eventually make its way into contact lenses and stand alone implants. No one can predict when or where computing, Internet connectivity, and communications will end up, but if mobile AR takes off like I think it will, the web could look very interesting through our newly enhanced eyes.

First Look: Nokia Booklet 3G

Well, here it is. A first look of Nokia's new Booklet 3G. I'm still in shock that Nokia is actually coming out with a netbook-like product in the first place, but to have it running Windows?!

I'm sure Nokia has a good explanation for this interesting device, but we'll have to wait for Nokia World 09 for that. It looks like there are some big changes coming for Nokia before year's end. It's all so very exciting.

N97 Update v12.2.024

Yesterday, we got a new firmware update for the Nokia N97. No official word on the change log, but I can honestly say the device performs much more smoothly than before. Also, the UI transitions seem substantially faster. Even the web browser feels snappier.

This update is a good step in making the device a worthwhile purchase. I'm hoping I won't have anymore corrupt image problems from now on too. Like others out there that are just getting a taste of this latest firmware update, I have yet to see any other noticeable changes. I will continue searching around for anything new, and we'll keep you updated on our findings as well as official announcements.

N The World - Alabama

Day One [08.14.2009]
We got in town and checked into the La Quinta Inn, went swimming (the pool was great by the way). Stopped by Chocodelphia to see what was good. Ate a late lunch/early dinner at Jose's Cantina, went shopping at Wal-Mart, Michael's, and a few other shops in town. Back at the hotel room, we planned out the next day and got some much needed rest...

Day Two [08.15.2009]
We ate a nice La Quinta Inn breakfast while getting info on Jasmine Hill Gardens. We found out they are closed on weekends, but they were nice enough to let us come anyway. All you have to do is watch the videos and look at the pics to see how beautiful the gardens were (we had to sacrifice our bodies to many ruthless mosquitoes to get this footage). Next, we went to the Riverside Entertainment Center for the casino action. We didn't win, but we didn't loose a lot either. It was a lot of fun anyhow. Afterwards, we went back to Cracker Barrel for a late lunch, got cleaned up and took a nice dip in the pool again. And a good rest for a very eventful day. That night, I would discover how the N97 had failed me. A large number of my photos taken at the gardens were corrupt. What a disappointment. Fortunately, we got a lot of video footage.

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Day Three [08.16.2009]

We ate a quick breakfast and took a dip in the pool. Then we take a trip to Eastdale Mall where we watch G.I. Joe at the mall cinema and shop around for a bit. The movie was great and the mall wasn't too crowded. Then, we went to Red Lobster for dinner. The weather was just starting to get nasty too. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the trip home.

Day Four [08.17.2009]

On the way home, we stopped by Quincy's 777 Casino for a last minute gambling session and won back what we started playing with, so we headed out. It rained most of the way back, but we had a beautiful time in Alabama and were sad to leave so soon. We're back home now and are excited about figuring out where to go next.

This N The World trip was quite enjoyable, and couldn't have gone smoother if it were not for the N97 and the Google Maps application. We managed to save time, money, and energy by finding the best routes to all our destinations while in Alabama. We also were able to use sites like Montgomery Gas Prices to find the cheapest gas in town.

So, even though we lost a lot of nice pictures with the N97, the device more than made up for it. We'll keep refining our techniques in bringing you the world as we make the journey through it. We're continuing to build our N The World concept, and are constantly thinking of ways to enhance the experience. We'd love to hear your ideas as well.

N The World Logo And Thoughts On The N900

First off, we'd like to introduce our new logo for N The World. You'll see this logo whenever we show videos, images, and more from places we travel to. Our next trip is to Alabama for some casino action. We'll have lots of pics and video when we return.


I've been a huge fan of Nokia's Internet Tablets from day one, and purchased the Nokia 770 as soon as I could affor it. I did a little application development and testing for the first two tablets. Then I migrated to Nokia phones. The N95 was perfect for my mobile needs. Then came the N97, which apears to be more computer than phone. But alas, the low amount of memory and the unrefined UI has me once again in search of another device. Nokia's new tablet may just be what I'm looking for. Sure, I'll miss the ability to have the screen tilt and all the great Symbian apps, but I think I can manage without causing too much damage to my mobile productivity. I can't wait to trial this new Internet Tablet. It will be a very exciting Fall after all.

N The World - Savannah, GA

We've just returned from our first documented "N The World" trip to Savannah, Georgia. Wehad a great time, and didn't get a whole lot of pics and video, but it was definitely a trip to remember. Being this is our first NET9 sponsored trip, we first would like to explain the "N The World" concept. Then we'll give our initial thoughts on the wonderful trip through Savannah.

N The World is our fresh new series where we utilize various media tools to capture the sights, sounds, and other events in different parts of the world. We'll use text, photos, video, etc. to bring our audience with us on our unique mobile journeys in various places around the world. We are starting off locally to prove the financial feasibility of the concept, and will expand to more far reaching areas of the globe as we receive more funding. Also, we are playing with a lot of developing web technologies, location centric technologies, and many other new tools to enhance the N The World experience.

I know some of our readers will be asking "what's with the name?" Well, we've left it vague enough for anyone to come up with their own idea of what the N stands for (NET9, Nokia, NSeries...). Really, it's just a name we came up with that feels like it fits our new concept perfectly. Anyway, we'll talk more about N The World as we visit additional locations. On to Savannah.

Savannah, Georgia is a very lovely place, with its vast historic architecture and romantic scenery. Some notable places of interest are the beautiful Forsyth Park, The First African Baptist Church, and the unmistakable Talmadge Memorial Bridge. There are also a lot of locations where various movies were filmed, such as Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Forest Gump.

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We chose to take the trolley tour through Savannah to cover as much ground as possible, and that we did. Our lovely tour guide was very knowledgable and also very witty. There are 8 video clips of the tour and some pictures as well. We truely enjoyed this trip, and we hope you enjoy what we brought back. We can't wait for the next N The World trip. Stay tuned...

Zeemote Review

We've just received our new Zeemote bluetooth controller and are excited to bring you our initial thoughts about the cool little device. Ironically, there's a lot to cover for such a simple little device, so let's get started.

A Little History...
About three months ago I read about the Zeemote on a mobile phone blog, and at first glance I had doubts about its usefulness. So, i did a little research and found some video of the Zeemote in action. Then it hit me how important such an accessory was for mobile devices. Gaming aside, this little thing changes the entire mobile experience of the modern smartphone and mobile computer. I decided I needed one for the NET9 lab, but it wasn't sold in my region. Fast forward to about a week ago and I had located one being sold on eBay. Now I've always been a little nervous about buying anything on eBay, and twenty bucks would be the maximum I would spend on something like the Zeemote at the time. So I bought it, got it, and it's worth more than I could have ever expected.

Gaming
Originally the Zeemote was designed to offer mobiles a more comfortable or natural gaming experience. Some smart people noticed how complex and also limiting the mobile phone was for gaming and decided to make a wireless controller that most gamers would be use to. With the re-introduction of Nokia's N-Gage gaming platform, and the explosive growth of mobile gaming in general, the Zeemote couldn't have been introduced at a better time. Gaming with the Zeemote brings back memories of my old PlayStation days, except now the console and controller both fit in my pockets. This thing was designed with gamers in mind, and does an excellent job as a wireless mobile game controller.

Beyond Game Control
The Zeemote's usefulness reaches far beyond just game control. Navigating menus is a fluid process and in some cases more comfortable than using the mobile device's own navigation controls. Perhaps it's due to its smaller size or lighter weight than a typical phone. Whatever the case may be, it is definitely a more enjoyable experience to use the Zeemote to move around on a mobile device.

The Perfect External Input Device
For a device like the Nokia N97, the Zeemote shines brightly. Paired with the TV-out feature and multimedia capabilities of the N97, it's the perfect mobile setup when you're not mobile. The mobile device becomes so much more than a personal computer at this point. Also, there's a big advantage to reducing the "wear & tear" of the buttons and touchscreen by using the Zeemote. Of course devices like the N97 have advantages such as accelerometers, magnetometers, GPS, cameras, and other sensors built-in that the Zeemote obviously lacks. This brings a bit of a dilemma for developers as to how to support external input devices along with the features of the mobile device. Like any accessory out there, the Zeemote is limited in its uses, but is only limited by the capabilities of the device it connects to.

It will be interesting to see the Zeemote really take off, and I look forward to updated versions of the Zeemote in the future. The Zeemote team have recently expanded support to more mobile devices including the N97, and I suspect there will be a lot more news about Zeemote in the near future. We will continue playing with the Zeemote and bring you more thoughts and ideas on this cool new mobile controller.