To sum it up, Nokia simply did not maximize their touch interface. Primarily because pre-existing patents limit the functionality the Finnish company could provide, and emphasis on the old way of doing things.

Applying the Old to the New

In other words, Nokia applied what worked so well with physical buttons to virtual ones. The process of selecting and activating the 5800’s features is more or less similar to other mid- to high-end Nokia smartphones. Right down the emulation of the alphanumeric keypad on the lower part of the phone’s large display.

That is actually a great touch (pun intended), as it allows people who are used to the “normal” kind of phone to enter text without much trouble. But tapping numerous times to access something gets pretty tedious after a while. For some reason, this doesn’t seem as cumbersome with physical buttons and keys; touch interfaces make this kind of frustration easier to achieve.

Touch Screen Creativity

The whole point of a touch-screen is that since the interface is virtual, the chance to get more things done with less interaction with the device is greater. The interface can change to suit the situation, conceivably to provide a more straightforward experience for the user—unlimited by the traditional constraints of physical buttons. The 5800’s quick access menu is a great (but not revolutionary) example of this so-called interface creativity.

Unfortunately, it seems that Nokia did not consider these possibilities fully (or they did but couldn’t execute it). That’s why using the 5800 is actually a very familiar experience for long-time Nokia users, who have accepted and work with the limitations of a physical control-scheme.

Of course, it’s good that Nokia is quite consistent with its interfaces, even if they’ve gotten rid of most of the buttons in the case of the 5800. Familiarity is always crucial to getting loyalists to switch to the new product and make the company more money. Yet, with a little bit of creativity, Nokia’s developers could’ve taken what made traditional Nokia interfaces work, and add some new elements, all without losing the Nokia “feel”.

Some Examples

For instance, for the main menu of the device, a scroll bar on the right side of the screen allows the user to scroll through the icons (touching an icon selects it). While the scroll bar is functional, it would’ve made more sense to place relatively large up and down buttons on the top and button of the menu screen. These would’ve been easier to press than the thin scroll bar.

The same solution also works on the Nokia’s media browser. The video playback controls, which fade away from view anyway to provide a full view of the movie, could’ve also included prominent next and previous buttons. Users are forced to exit the video player and select the next item—just like on most high-end Nokia models.

My example and proposed solution are definitely not the best one, and that’s the point. The Nokia 5800’s generously-sized screen offered a world of interface-improvements to its engineering team. It’s too bad that an opportunity was missed here.

Sure, certain factors may have limited Nokia from adapting gesture-driven comands, or considering unorthodox interface layouts. But if the company wants a big piece of the touch-interface market, it should consider those for its next touch-driven offering.

A full review of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic to follow.

(Images from Technograph)

Post from: The Gadget Blog

And in an earlier scene, it was made sure that the Nokia logo shimmered, right around here:

Which begs the question: will we see more Nokia-Britney collaborations? Britney’s record as an endorser is tainted, mainly because she was caught drinking Coke while Pepsi paid her millions. In any case, I don’t think so. This was probably a one-shot deal for Nokia, who are traditionally quiet regarding celebrity endorsements, yet want to push the 5800—their new unofficial flagship for the youth market—as much as possible

Post from: The Gadget Blog

Post from: The Gadget Blog

I do apologize if I’m perpetuating racial stereotypes. Just try to understand this Asian mongrel’s wonder at meeting a full-blooded Scandanavian woman in person for the first time. Nokia’s Tuula Rytilä-Uotila was literally a larger-than-life figure. It’s rare for my six-footer self to talk to a woman without looking down.

Rytilä-Uotila was perhaps known throughout the web as the PR voice behind the Nokia 6630 Music Edition, when it came out way back in 2005. She was the director, Imaging EMEA. Looks like she’s moved up the corporate ladder since then, as she was introduced as the Vice President for Live, GoToMarket during the 5800 XpressMusic launch.

Will we see more of her in the future? Perhaps as Nokia continues shifting some of its focus to applications and services, we will see Tuula rallying to media masses with her commanding voice. A writer friend who accompanied me to Singapore for the 5800 launch only had this to say about her: “I want my music LOUDER!”, mimicking the authority with which she pointed the 5800’s loud speakers. Music-oriented services and features seem to play a big part in Tuula’s corporate career at Nokia. That’s why I’m sure she’ll be at the forefront of Nokia’s offensive to maintain its relevance in the increasingly convergent world.

by Rico Mossesgeld

Post from: The Gadget Blog

More videos available.

Post from: The Gadget Blog

Well, it’s not like details about the upcoming “Tube” were a sealed secret. Turns out the leaked details were a bit off though. Continue reading to see the updated specs and some of the slides Nokia’s reps used in a presentation secretly held a few hours ago.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the full slides of the pertinent details:

So, combining, the slides, the notes we took, and the word on the street, here are the updated specs:

• A 640 x 360 (16:9) 3.2″ 16-million color display
• the Symbian S60 OS, 5th Edition
• An accelerometer for auto screen rotation
• A 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl-Zeiss lens dual LED flash
• WiFi (b/g)
• Bluetooth 2.0
• HSDPA
• GPS
• a 3.5mm jack for audio and video output (includes TV-out!)
• 140MB of internal memory
• a microSD slot that accepts up to 16GB (SDHC)
• 1320mAh of battery power via the Nokia BL-5J
• a length of 115mm, width of 52mm, thickness of 14.55mm, and a weight of 104 grams

Noteworthy tidbits revealed during the presentation were Nokia’s claimed music playback time of 35 hours, support for TV-out [which was used to demonstrate the phones abilities on an HDTV], and the use of a standard 3.5mm jack for audio and video output. Then of course, you’ve got the pricing and availability info, which we’ll spell out for emphasis’ sake:

• “Basic edition: consumer retail price 279 euros before subsidies and taxes”
• “3G version available in Q4 2008 in several big youth markets, worldwide in Q1 2009″
• “850 [Mhz] & 2G version available in Q1 2009″

The 5th edition of S60 was packaged as the 3rd edition with low-level support for touch-driven interfaces. Nokia also promised that each 5800 will be shipped with an 8GB microSD bundled.

Lastly, the manufacturer also promised a well-stocked app store, revealing that they made the SDK available to select developers over two weeks ago. We’ll be making some pertinent videos available as soon as uploading’s complete!

Post from: The Gadget Blog

Looks like the Nokia 5800 will be part of the XpressMusic line of phones, which include luminaries like the 5310. At least according to the leak by the Chinese peeps, though why the new moniker “XpressMedia” wasn’t used will be a question.

According to the source, The upcoming Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone feature:

• A 640 x 360 (16:9) 3.2″ 16-million color display
• the Symbian S60 “5th Edition” OS
• An accelerometer for auto screen rotation
• A 3 megapixel camera with Carl-Zeiss lens dual LED flash
• some GPS, WiFi (b/g), and Bluetooth 2.0
• a 3.5mm jack for audio and video output (includes TV-out!)
• 140MB of internal memory
• a microSD that accepts up to 8GB (SDHC)
• 1320mAh of battery power via the Nokia BL-5J. W00t!
• a length of 115mm, width of 52mm, thickness of 14.55mm, and a weight of 104 grams

Continue to see more pics and a bit of trivia.

This was the phone featured on The Dark Knight.

Post from: The Gadget Blog