Dude, where's my firmware update?

Now that my main phone is the iPhone 4, I can't really tell of any iOS update that took to long to get to my device. I almost got to think that was how things really are, but then, I also got a Nokia N8 I mainly use for the offline maps and the camera... And as I can recall, I've been waiting for Symbian^3 PR2.0 aka "Anna" since February... And I'm still waiting.

Yesterday, Nokia released the first two devices shipping with Anna, and announced other devices including the N8 would update to it in the coming months, not even this month, and much less this week... Which at this point makes me think if it'll ever be updated. I'm still waiting for the promised update for the N97mini so if the story repeats itself the N8 may also be beyond hope...

I really had forgot the bad story of updates I had from Nokia... Maybe it's they have a zillion unnecessary variants of the same device. As an example, last year my n97 got an update to 12.2.121... And ever since NSU and Ovi Suite don't even let me reinstall it. What happened? I don't know. My N97 mini's product code is 0585508 and I updated via device. As I've found out lately, 12.2.121 is now only available to 0585509. Priceless, ain't it?

Let's just hope Nokia decides to release Anna for the N8 soon. It already is late for the ones who as me were forced to other platforms by the problems with the most expensive Symbian^1 devices...

iPhone4 / N8 - To Twitt or not to twitt

I am currently using an Apple iPhone4 as my main mobile and a Nokia N8, too. I have data plans for both and I also try to keep at least some Chat, 4Square, Facebook and Twitter clients installed on both, and up to now, I've preferred to always rely on the iPhone for the social networks experience. And even if I don't actively use the Nokia N8 for social networks because of the lack of Japanese support, I still go check my timelines there a few times a day.

To be completely fair, I have to say that even if there was a completely perfect, beautiful, simple to use twitter client for the Nokia N8 which was the best of all the experiences, I wouldn't switch back from the iPhone to it for social networks because for me the lack of japanese input and display support is a huge limitation. Nevertheless, I still think I can be fair in comparing some twitter clients here.


In the iPhone4, I'm using the official Twitter client. In the N9 I have the official (Nokia branded) "Social" application, a version of "Gravity" and  "Different Tack" to compare.


iPhone4 - Twitter

Here the application looks like almost any iOS application. The operation is quite intuitive and there is nothing I do usually I haven't found how to do in seconds. In the end, I always choose the iPhone for twitter even with the official twitter client only, because it's fast, looks great, and supports all the languages I need to write-in and read.


Nokia N8 - Social

This is the application that comes preinstalled with the N8. The looks are pretty simple and completely in tune with all the Nokia-provided applications (like the Ovi Store and now IM for Nokia, too). Even if I think it is too slow (maybe because it seems to be WRT-based), it is a quite usable application with a very pleasant look. Most of the things I use to do on twitter are directly available and it also features facebook support, though without notifications or chat.

In all, the Social app's Twitter client is quite straightforward to use, though a bit slow. But it is free and it features direct connection to your Contact List (which is also true for Facebook)

Nokia N8 - Gravity

Though Gravity's main target seems to be Twitter, it also features support for other Networks like Facebook and Foursquare. I personally like the way it works, though I can't get to completely like the looks. None of the two available themes in the demo fits my need of simplicity and minimalism. That said, Gravity is the client with the most features of the 3 symbian ones here:

• twitter
• facebook
• slide to change source (timeline, friends, mentions) in twitter
• foursquare - and I have to say this is faster than the official foursquare application for Symbian^3, so if you like to be posting your location you want to give it a try
• embedded youtube (maybe also others) video watching in twitter - which doesn't come in Social and definitely doesn't come in the iPhone's Twitter client.

Nokia N8 - Different Tack

The whole idea of how the application works here is really innovative, though, I think it is too slow and too complex for real day-to-day usage: The complete user interface paradigm is based on a wheel you rotate to select among different options. That is completely OK for the application's menu, but for the rest, like for browsing your timeline, it can prove a bit too complex. I rather prefer to "pull" the timeline  to go up and down than be rolling a wheel until I find what I want. I may change my mind on this, too, but right now, having used both gravity and different tack for 1 day or so, I can't get used to the latter easily.



Conclusion

If your main device is an iPhone or an iPod, I wouldn't switch platforms to Symbian just for the twitter client. Specially not if you depend on asian languages. The official Twiter client for the iPhone provides all the completely-required features already, but there's plenty of paid applications if you want something the official client doesn't provide.

If instead you have a Nokia N8, you definitely want to have Social installed and running. Maybe not using a widget on your home screen, but you want it for associating your contacts to facebook and twitter. May come in hand sometimes.

Regarding "Different Tack" it is something worth trying, but I think it still needs a couple more rounds before it is usable as a day-to-day on-the-go twitter client. Given you have some disk space left, you may want to try it, too.

Finally, if you will depend on the N8 for twitter,... you have to think of buying Gravity. You can give it a chance for 10 days in demo mode before deciding if you need or want it.

The promise of WiFi

I am just coming back from vacation. I went with my family to the country just east of us... Nice place to visit.

But the important issue for this note is the place where we stayed for one complete week offered -as every single hotel does now-, free WiFi access, which is a must if you travel by plane: searching for a place where to check-in for your flight at the very last minute is something I wouldn't want for myself.

Though the place was very nice, and there was WiFi, the signal wouldn't reach the rooms. I found that you could get a signal in the bathroom, but that's a very uncomfortable place for using a laptop...

So then, does any WiFi access qualify as WiFi access? I mean, you'd have expected WiFi access from the rooms, not just from the small lounge near the counter.

I guess next time I'll double check for room access to WiFi.

iPhone4 / N8 - maps overview

I've been saying this since I had the n95, and I still think the same: Nokia's maps solution is better because you can freely use it when roaming. You may need to wait much longer than with access to the internet, but you still can use the maps application without using a single byte of data connection. In the iPhone, instead, you depend on the internet connection, not only for AGPS but also because there is no local copy of any maps on the mobile.

In summary:

• iPhone currently needs to be always connected to the internet to make any use of the Maps application
• Nokia devices instead, using Ovi Maps, can store maps locally in the device, thus avoiding connecting to the internet.
• As it seems, the iPhone's maps are much more complete than Nokia's -- As an example, Apple has maps for Ecuador.

Then again, it's all about what you really need. I prefer trying Ovi Maps on the N8 for traveling, though I've had issues when roaming with the N97mini and the 5800xm because the GPS wouldn't find a fix in a very long time (over 1hr) without access to the internet. I finally solved it by buying SIM cards for both and buying some minutes for using the internet / calling. I hope this time the N8 will not really need internet for locating me, though I'm still going to use a local SIM card on my next travel.

iPhone4 - GYE

N8 / Ovi Maps - GYE

iPhone4 / N8 - overview of the cameras

There's not much to say here. The N8's camera is way superior to the iPhone4's. It is not just an image size issue: The iPhone4 is a smartphone with a camera for taking very good "day to day", "close enough" photos. The N8's camera instead has much better optics, a great flash and the camera application is much more complete than the iPhone's.

Still, there's room for both cameras in the market, for different applications, though. I have seen many people with lower machines who really don't care if their photos will be printable, and much less if they'll be able to print it in an A3 sheet or  bigger: Most people I know, which are PC/Windows users won't even notice the quality difference between an 1.2Mpx and a 5Mpx or 12Mpx photo until they decide they need a print, and most of them, the ones with the lower mobiles will never ever want a print.

So here are the facts:

- iPhone4

• generic or otherwise non-branded optics as it looks
• no "shutter" button. You have to press *in* the display to take the photo
• no face recognition
• no control over the camera besides zoom and autofocus AFAIK
• automatic uploading not available. Pixelpipe exists for the iPhone but it's not as seamless as the Symbian^3 version.
• 5Mpx photos. HD video.

- N8

• scene modes
• control over sensitivity, color balance, exposition compensation, etc.
• "shutter button", but you can touch on the screen to take the photo, too
• face recognition
• automatic uploading to a number of photo storage services is not available on Symbian^3 but Pixelpipe seems to work just fine.
• Up to 12Mpx photos, HD video

In short, for taking great quality photos, I'll stay with the N8. The iPhone4's camera is also a very good camera, but is not as controllable as the N8's and so is best suited to more casual situations only.

iPhone4/N8 - social networking readiness

When I first received my N97mini, it came with a facebook widget installed. It was slow, but it always showed me the last statuses from my friends. Then it came the NM for Social Networks and NM for Chat that were available for the N97mini for a while. By that time I was using twitter and facebook in my former iPod Touch and they worked just fine. Nothing too fancy but they both were very responsive applications with enough features to make you of actually using them instead of waiting to get to your laptop or desktop computers.

The thing is, those applications are no longer available for the n97mini. And even if they were, they were slow, and had too little features. I recall having bought the n97mini because it was social-networks-ready. It was, somehow, but not enough to depend on it.

Currently, I'm using

• Twitter's, twitter for iPhone client in my iPhone4
• Facebook's facebook app in my iPhone4
• The N8-provided "Social Networks" client

all three applications provided either by the network itself of the phone manufacturer. I know there are possibly better payed clients in both sides, but I'm talking about the ones I was able to get in  a few minues, not the ones you may spend your life looking for.

The iPhone's twitter client allowed me to register (and use at the same time) all my twitter accounts: mine, my band's, my comic strip project's...  The Facebook client for the iPhone4 wouldn't let me neither register 2 facebook accounts nor manage mi band's artist page, but it allowed me to chat with my friends and update my status including photos.

The N8's social networks client... well, it' just the same I saw before in the n97mini: slow, no chat, no multiple twitter accounts at the same time, and I think that was what made my n97mini run out of battery so quickly when I was using it.

In short, my social networks experience is still much better with the iPhone4. I am using only the official twitter and facebook clients there and they're pretty much enough for all my needs, including reading and posting in japanese, too.  I still feel the N8 can provide something similar, if not better than the iPhone4's experience on that topic, but the correct, Nokia or Twitter/Facebook-provided client doesn't yet exist. I can only hope for it to become available soon enough. The hardware is enough for that (my daughter's old first generation iPod Touch can run the iPhone apps for social networks pretty good, too, and that's less powerful than the N8's), so it's not impossible.

iPhone4 / N8 - what if you lose signal while on the internet?

Since the n95, I started to heavily depend on the ability to check and answer my email while on the go,   so all my mobiles ever since have been smartphones. Once you taste complete mobility, you won't go back. Promise. My wife also switched to smartphone and she won't go back either.

Here in Santiago, while on the subway, it's quite common that if you're not with the mobile company that has monopolized the existence of subway-placed antennas, you're on your own. Your milleage may vary, some will say. The fact is, you may completely lose signal while on the train.

With no signal, and a number of internet-based applications running on your phone, your applications get disconnected while working. That *will* happen, and what I'l compare here what happens when both the iPhone4 and the N8 get disconnected. 

iPhone running applications when signal failed:

• iPod
• Skype
• Twitter
• Skype
• Facebook
• Daily Booth

N8 running applications when the signal failed:

• Skype (trying to log in)
• Ovi Store
• E-Mail (mail for exchange account)

Observed behavior:

• iPhone applications handled the disconnection. Phone keep responsive during the signal loss, even though connected applications wouldn't work.
• N8 became unresponsive. 

While I love the N8, it has exactly the same issues I've reported elsewhere about the n97mini and the 5800xm: The mobile depends too much on the internet connection. The"Ovi Chat" could hang the 5800xm when getting disconnected. NM for Email keeps leaving the n97mini unresponsive for some time when entering the subway because of the signal loss. I admit, though, that skype may not be the best behaved internet-usage application, but still, the iPhone4 won't freeze the way the N8 did. 

That said, if I compare the N8 against the N97mini and the 5800xm, its behavior is already much better, though it still doesn't behave the way the iPhone4 does. There's still room for improvement on the N8's internet-disconnection handling or in how it still lets some processes take over the whole device's CPU queue while trying to connect.

So, which one is better? Well that still depends on what you want to do with your mobile and how good is the signal level in the places you connect to the internet. I love both devices for different reasons, and I think the overall handling of the situation was better with the iPhone4, but that's my take, and the N8 can still fix that.