Posted in Applications at 11:21 pm by Jonathan Greene
Nokia Chat is a new beta labs release from Nokia for their handsets, but because it’s a jabber based chat system, you can easily take advantage of the basic features on your tablet as well. In my case, I’m extending my usage on the E71 through my desktop (Adium and Digsby) and also on the N810.
With your account created, you can simply add a new jabber IM account on the tablet using chat.ovi.com as the server and stay in touch just like any other IM account. Nokia chat offers some very cool location based stuff along with address book integration which unfortunately does not extend to the Tablet just yet. I have no idea if we’ll get to see anything connect with the pretty limited contact list on the tablet, but certainly the location settings would be very cool to use. On the handset, you can use Landmarks saved from either Nokia Maps or Google Maps. I’d imagine we’ll have to wait until the launch of Nokia Maps on the web which will hopefully also include Plazes integration.
I’m atmasphere [at] ovi.com if you’d like to connect.
Tonight I decided to reflash my N810 … I don’t normally decide to reflash a device too easily as the re-install process is always a pain. With the arrival of 2008, that process has gotten easier, but finally with Diablo dare I say it’s almost friendly.
I had to reflash in order to get video playback working again. Apparently either the rotate or Android hacks I’ve installed (no idea which) caused a glitch that made clear video impossible. Since I use my tablet for movie viewing on planes, this was a non-starter.
My process tonight was to remove the things I did not want restored (5 min), run a backup (5 min) and then reflash (< 1min). After setting the date and time, I followed the prompts on startup to restore from backup and choose the one I'd just made. The restore process too somewhere between 5-7 minutes and I would have been quicker if I'd just clicked "yes to all," but I prefer to watch what's going on a bit during these times. From there the tablet prompted me to restore my applications. I chose update all and it then proceeded to download everything and install in sequence. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that my custom folders from my prior build were ready to receive my freshly installed apps. This used to just add even more time to the process of rebuilding ...
My wireless connection failed at one point during the restore process which stopped the installations. The fail was on my router not the tablet and when it was ready for connections again, I simply choose, Tools / Restore Applications and the installation process resumed.
I’m back up running without worrying about anything for my trip tomorrow. No time wasted getting things back in order, just a fresh tablet yet familiar with all my apps, settings and prefs restored! This is great work by the Maemo Team!!
BTW – If you’ve been waiting to get an Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, Amazon (and others) have them as low as $299 which is a great price!
Posted in Applications at 10:10 am by Jonathan Greene
Just tried to rotate my screen to see an iphone web app and … whoa. I found the menu’s were in order over on the left side, but I had to “use the force” to figure out where to click to get things restored.
File this under experimental but very cool … There’s a great thread on ITT which describes how to install Android on your tablet. So far it’s pretty simple and straight forward. I had to reboot to get Android to actually launch, but otherwise it’s all there … at least what’s available. Much more to try and will see about installing some apps soon as well.
This is such a simple tip I can’t believe I did not discover it sooner, but thanks to reader Mobiledivide, I’ve learned how you can very easily enable graphics in the Modest mail client. This should work for Diablo as well as pre-Diablo installs of Modest.
Via the Maemo Extras repository, download an application called gconf-editor, which will let you control all kinds of interest settings for various apps. I imagine you might be able to do some damage if you are not too careful, but for this purpose, all should be fine.
Once installed, fire it up and navigate to Apps / Modest. You should see something that looks like this:
I’ve already checked the fetch external images option which is what you need to check in order to get HTML mail fully enabled. That’s it. Enjoy!
After a day of use I am feeling that my N810 has received a serious tune up! System performance is a bit faster but the browser, has received a big boost. Scrolling and flash performance have been great for me as I moved through wifi and DUN connections alike. Given the amount of time I tend to spend in the browser, I am very pleased.
The email client has been updated quite substantially as well. While I’ve been using Modest since it was initially released, having it as the default system preference is great. IMAP performance is stellar on my gmail account and the settings wizard certainly makes it easy to get going very quickly. My only nit is that there is still no support for graphics in HTML mail which renders very well otherwise.
I noticed some excellent updates to the Applications Manager also which now not only proactively reports that updates are available, but can also update multiple things at once. I look forward to putting this to a more serious test when the next OS update hits and I don?t have to reflash my device.
As to be expected with any update there are a few bits worth watching for like repositories that are now seeking Diablo when Chinook might still work. I’ve just tweaked the Mauku repository setting and have that back running without issue.
All told this seems like a great step forward for our Nokia Tablets. With non-destructible firmware installed we can finally start moving more mass. Though I’ll still probably have to help my dad update things on his N800 …
While many still question the need for a device like the Nokia Tablet the converted, like myself, see no way but up for this platform.
While it’s been floating around for a while “behind the scenes” Diablo has finally arrived officially for the tablet:
Nokia has published the OS2008 Feature Upgrade for the N810 and N800 Internet Tablets. This release is based on Maemo 4.1 (codename Diablo) and provides the Seamless Software Update feature.
Users still need to reflash the device in order to install this release. Further OS updates will be made available over-the-air, without needing to reflash. Now users will get automatic notifications in the home screen about the availability of OS updates or single applications, including those installed from third parties. This works only over WLAN connections. It is still possible to check for updates manually from the Application manager.
This release brings a new open source email application based on Modest and the tinymail framework. Users will find a simplified account setup and presets for various service providers. Another major improvement is the introduction to Chinese character rendering support in Email, Browser and RSS feed reader. There are numerous issues fixed all over the operating system including updated openssl. Smaller improvements have also been introduced to several areas such improved browser panning performance. [Maemo.org]
I was just about to mess with screen rotation hacks, but this seems like a slightly more substantial change. I’ll try to report back after flashing today if possible.
I just caught this video which highlights some UX ideas around the potential for Firefox Mobile and I really like what I’m seeing! It’s a near-future version of Fennec which you can run today on the tablet. While I’m not sure how this would work on a non-touch device, that’s not really something we tableteer’s have to worry about. Note there’s no Chrome and how optimized the experience is around enabling actions on the page and in the key interaction areas like the location bar.
Posted in Applications at 11:38 pm by Jonathan Greene
I got an email about the release of the new beta (2) for the Palm Garnet VM and checked it out briefly tonight. The main features seem to be functioning in full screen mode in either portrait or landscape which is slick. You’ll of course have access to the full library of Palm applications which is nice, though honestly as interesting as that seems the low-res nature of things compared to how my Maemo apps view on the N810 kills this for me … that and it’s been several years since I actively cared about Palm OS.
I did a quick install of ChatterMail and connected to my Gmail IMAP account. Seemed to generally work as expected though between the richer native web UI or Modest this still remains a proof of concept.
Tonight I learned from Gerry Moth and Matt Stevens that Google Reader has been updated for the iPhone … which of course means it works great on the S60 Platform as well as the Nokia Tablets running the MicroB (mozilla) browser. I tried this tonigh on the N82 using the S60 webkit browser but as soon as I saw it in action I knew I wanted to use the tablet instead.
I shot this quick video on the N82 in my kitchen so I apologize for the out of focus text. I think the point is still quite clear … this is a great way for anyone to enjoy Google Reader on the go!
I’m definitely switching from the standard /m site which only offers a single item at a time. This is MUCH more efficient and works well even over EDGE.
(and others) have them as low as $299 which is a great price!
