Nokia Unlocked event - Mini Wrap--Up

First order of business: I want to thank WOM World and Nokia for making my trip down here possible and thank all of the wonderful bloggers, media and industry folks who made for fascinating discussion. An extra special thanks goes to Reggie, mastermind of InternetTabletTalk, for helping me make the connections I needed to get here. Stay tuned for all the pictures and videos.

I also want to thank Bill Plummer (Nokia VP) and others in the company for their dedication to the platform. While no new devices were announced tonight, they were very cordial in my pressing of the earlier FCC filing. The only real comment (evidenced in a video I will upload this weekend) was that the third Internet Tablet will be a device farther from the hacker market of the 770 and more consumer oriented. I don't think this will take away any of the hackability of the tablets but will rather extend the tablet into hands of non-hackers as well. In an aside conversation, he did tell me that he owes the expansion and dedication of the tablets to the hackers who showed Nokia that it is a viable platform. By this, I assume he means both a n0n-phone device and an open source initiative.

Now - what was the purpose of all this?

Mr. Plummer's speech was about how the Nseries is about communicating and sharing media in ways never before. I find if wonderfully ironic that I was blogging about it just as he said that. Indeed, I wouldn't be a blogger today if Nokia didn't release a little Linux handheld back in 2005. The evidence put forth to support this was, of course, the Nseries line. The N95, rightfully a flagship, combines high-quality camera and video functions, high-quality media functions, a real HTML web browser, and a darn good phone.

In a conversation with another attendee, I realized WHY I wanted a Nokia N95. It is not the best at everything it does. The N800 blows it away in browsing. While I haven't done a side-by-side, I bet I'd still prefer my iPod touch as an MP3 player. A digital SLR will give much better pictures. A good solid camcorder will beat it in video recording.

All of that - plus a phone - are five devices total. Several of them will never fit in your pocket. If I wanted to go out for a night on a down and find something I want to save and blog right away, I'd better hope I packed my camera, tablet, phone, and more. The N95 is ONE device that will satisfy all those needs far better than other convergence devices out there.

I'll stop talking about my love affair with the N95 for now since I am stuck in a contract with a CDMA provider and this is "tablet blog dot com" after all. The N800 was featured prominantly and it was nice to watch people play with it. The improvement requests that others had (better Flash video playback, more purpose for the camera, etc.) are the same things we've been discussing here since January. Nokia hears it all.

Next time an event like this happens, I'd love to take part in training the on-site demo staff because, while polite and skilled with the basic functions of the device, didn't know the N800's full potential. Nokia: You know how to find me! I can even prepare something from home!

While we're on the subject of the tablet's full potential, I was involved in another conversation about the iPhone, the N800, and third party apps. While one is open and the other is closed, both have a common problem when it comes to "potential."

The N800 is advertised as a web browsing, chatting, Email, news reader, media player, and VOIP device. All that together is impressive enough but it is not even half of what the machine CAN do. Third party applications skyrocket the N800's functionality. Why doesn't Nokia show off all that? Look at the iPhone. It's closed. There's no SDK. If there is a developer relations program, we haven't heard of it. Apple is doing everything they can to make sure only THEIR apps make it on to the device. Why?

The answer to both questions: Support. If Nokia advertises the functionality of third party programs in a consumer electronics device, they are obligated to verify and offer that functionality. If Apple permits just any program to be installed, they are obligated to support that as well. Consumer electronics buyers treat these things very differently than computers. They (the average buyer - not the wonderful geeks who normally read this blog) don't realize that a badly installed program can permanently break a device like this. Computers can be formatted and reinstalled. Parts can be replaced. What happens when you brick your iPhone? Apple has to spend time and resources supporting it.

Then I realized - that's why WE are here. The bloggers. The people. The community. We are here to help Nokia and others deliver the full potential of these devices. There's something in it for us, too: It keeps the ecosystem going and growing. It's about manufacturers releasing a device to the world, the consumers improving on it and taking it to the limits, and the manufacturers, in turn, expanding those limits.

That's it. That's both sharing and BEING the media. That's both enjoying and creating the future. That's the point of this whole trip. I get it. Thanks!

P.S. Any rumors of my dancing are greatly exaggerated.