A lot has been happening in-house here at Mobility Nigeria. The site keeps growing, our team are in more demand than ever before, and we have to keep adapting and evolving.

Currently, the outlook of Mobility Nigeria is summarised as “Mobile technology & culture in Nigeria“. That means a specific focus on Nigeria and events related only to Nigeria. It cuts off anything that does not have a specific relevance to Nigeria.

However, we are considering a modification to our outlook and approach, to be summarised as “Mobile technology – from a Nigerian perspective“. This is a more all-embracing approach. It lets us cover anything mobility happening anywhere in the world even if it has no direct relevance to Nigeria, but address it from our viewpoint where we live and stand.

The goal with the revised focus is to turn Mobility Nigeria into a global voice on the mobile scene, not just a voice to Nigerians. We are pretty clear about what we want to do, but your insights are likely to be helpful.

You are our readers. Please ask your questions about this proposed revision, and/or tell us what you think of it.

Question: Which of these two Blackberry smartphones would you recomend for me between BB 9780 & BB 9800 in terms of battery life screen resolution, weight, Facebook integration, etc

The two Berries in this comparison have the same processor (624 MHz), camera (5 megapixel), and connectivity options. One significant difference is the internal storage of the devices. The 9780 has a meagre 256 MB of space while the 9800 has 4 GB storage built-in. Both of them have a microUSB slot though, so you can expand your storage.

Lets look at the areas specified by the enquirer:
Battery Life: The 9780 has a 1500mAh battery while the 9800 has a smaller capacity 1300mAh battery. Touch displays generally also consume more power than non-touch displays, so you can imagine that in terms of battery consumption, with similar usage patterns the 9780 (also with the smaller screen) will last longer on a full charge than the 9800.

Screen Resolution: This is a draw, as both devices have similar specs here. The 9780 has a 480 x 360 pixel display measuring 2.44 inches, while the 9800 has a 360 x 480 pixel display measuring 3.2 inches. The significant difference is that the 9800′s display is larger.

Weight: 9780 weighs 121g; 9800 weighs 161g.

Facebook Integration: Facebook integration is similar on both devices. Both run BlackBerry OS 6.0 and so have the same app versions for Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo messenger et al running. The user experience will differ slightly because the 9780 has a non-touch display while the 9800 is touchscreen, but in all integration is similar.

Our Recommendations
The differences are not earth-shattering. If battery life is more important to you, the 9780 is the sure device to go for. It is also more compact and lighter to carry, but gives you a slightly smaller display than the 9800.

If however, you find a 2.4-inch display a tad too small, are into touchscreens, or really need to make a statement, go splurge the cash on the more expensive 9800.

PS: Need some advice in choosing between two or more phones you are planning on buying? Mail your request to mobility[@]mobility.com.ng

In a recent interview, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has said that his company is working on a tablet. Here are key points from Stephen’s responses -

• he wants Nokia to produce something unique
• he doesn’t believe that a tablet stands a chance of succeedding if it doesn’t stand out from the crowd of similar products
• he considers Android to be the biggest challenger and not Apple’s iOS
• the design team are weighing options of what OS to use – MeeGo or Windows?

Watch the full interview (video is in English); via GSMArena Blog

More pictures from the Nokia Developers’ Day event hosted here in Lagos earlier this month (the Mobility Nigeria team was also hosted to lunch with the guest lectrurer and senior Nokia executives).

ITNewsAfrica carries the news that “the Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered telecommunications companies in the country to begin offering mobile money transfer services“.

While the CBN is in a position to auuthorise money transfer services, we are not quite sure that the CBN is in a position to “order” operators to do it, as the operators are not banks or financial institutions under the supervision of the apex bank.

However, if the road is now indeed clear for telecoms operators to offer money transfer on their networks, we are glad that the CBN has finally woken up from a deep slumber. If we want mobile money to succeed in Nigeria, the operators are key.

We will bring you more details as this unfolds.

BlackBerry v6.1 was the evolutionary upgrade to BlackBerry v6 announced by Research In Motion (RIM) earlier in the year.

BlackBerry v7 has been rumored as the OS version that would bring QNX (the OS that the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet runs on) to BlackBerry smartphones.

Are you with us so far?

The guys at CrackBerry now have it on good authority that v6.1 is going to be unveiled as v7 next week at BlackBerry World – and no; it won’t run QNX. Apparently, RIM decided against calling the upcoming update v6.1 because it will not be quite compatible with the current crop of BB smartphones because of certain hardware requirements – hence dubbing it version 7.

Anyway, we hear that the coming update is a very sweet one (and we already think that v6 is sweet, so you can salivate a bit). Just so you have an idea, here is a list of features to expect in the upcoming v7:

• Faster User Experience – In addition to the snappier experience of more CPU power in the next generation of BlackBerry hardware, RIM is implementing something they have dubbed “Liquid Graphics” which optimizes the graphics pipeline and BlackBery Java apps to offer increases in frames per second performance with instant UI action/response, fluid animations, etc. It should be the best touchscreen experience yet. In 6.1 it supports high resolution (24 bit color) graphics across all apps, and it leverages the hardware and architecture to reduce UI Lag and Latency.
• Improved Web Browsing – The new browser will leverage the increased processing power and hardware-enabled graphics acceleration to provide what RIM is touting to be industry leading performance.
• More Powerful Search – The Universal Search of BlackBerry 6 is going to be extended to now enable Voice-enabled Universal Search. There will also be graphical tweaks here to improve US.
• Greater Personalization – You’ll be able to manage the Home Screen panes of BlackBerry 6 (disable/hide different views like Media, Favorites, etc. as you wish.
• Enhanced Virtual Keyboard on Touchscreen Devices – Expect a better virtual keyboard with single entry point for numbers/symbols from alphabetical mode, and improved visuals to show temporary states and to hide the keyboard.

On the hardware side, you can expect BlackBerry smartphones with faster processors, HD video recording, 3D graphics support, higher resolution displays and memory upgrades.

Source 1 | Source 2

Airtel Nigeria has stated that they are expanding their 3G infrastructure to cover nearly 80 percent of Nigeria’s population by 2012. This is in a bid to deliver reliable and affordable Internet services to customers.

Before now, Airtel had the poorest coverage of the existing UMTS networks in the ccountry. Already, the expansion can be felt by subscribers, some of who are now seeing a 3G signal on their Airtel lines for the first time in years.

Airtel is targetting 2 million active 3G subscribers out of their total active mobile subscribers of 16 million. Airtel’s plans are a stark variance to the situation on ground with other operators. The default is that 3G is offered in only a few select cities while GPRS/EDGE is deployed in the remaining vast majority of the country.

If well implemented and supported with adequate capacity, this will make Airtel the network of choice for mobile broadband in Nigeria.

Nokia has announced the movement of 3,000 of their Symbian developers to Accenture, an outsourcing company that has worked with Nokia in the past. This means that all Symbian development work is now from Accenture on behalf of Nokia. Accenture will be behind the mobile OS and its future versions, helping to drive the next 150 million Symbian devices in Nokia’s roadmap, as well as also be providing some Windowsphone development for the Finnish company.

In related news, Nokia is laying off another 4,000 developers.

Discuss this subject in the Mobility Nigeria Forums.

Source

One of the major problems of using a SmartPhone as an ALMOST complete replacement for a laptop is the screen size – and by extension – the size/legibility of the characters displayed. Some applications recognize this problem by providing the option to choose font size as embarrassingly big as you wish. After all, it is your eyes!

There is no way (yet) to increase the screen size without a corresponding increase in the overall size / girth of your mobile device (sliders partially address that, at the expense of the phone thickness).

Also – all things being equal, the bigger the screen size, the greater the battery consumption.

Staring at tiny characters would be uncomfortable (and probably have a long-term strenuous effect on the eyes. the eye doctors would know better!).

One way I addressed this problem (when I was using a Symbian 60 Version 3 – Nokia 3250 twister) was through the use of an application called Psiloc Font Manager. That application allows you specify the typestyle and font size of the characters on your phone. This is done at the Systems level so that the font characteristics thus chosen – apply throughout all applications on that phone.

Problem is, Psiloc Font Mnager has an s60v5 versio, but it does not seem to work well for me.

I have been searching for a while for a replacement app for S60V5. I recently came across an application that performs this function very well – with no issues.

This is called ‘Font Zoomer’. Like older-school ‘Psiloc Font manager’ , it allows you set system-wide font size and character type, and additionally- character transparency.

Font Zoomer is available as a paid application on the Ovi Store for US $3.89. The trial version is available with some limitations (just 3 font style available…)

You can also download ‘Font Zoomer’ from here. If you own a Symbian 60 Version 3 / Version 5 phone, give this a try (I have – it is GOOD!) and give your poor eyeballs a break from those tiny letters.

Now, I have a good reason to use Opera Mini6 more. The tiny fonts (even when set to maximum) – have always been a pain in my eyeballs (neck too).

Nokia Trailers is a Qt-based application that lets you find and download movie trailers for current and upcoming movies to your Symbian^3 smartphone. It enables you to keep up-to-date with the latest films, download your favourites in HD, and share recommendations with friends!

The interface is clean and fluid. Downloads are fast and available in two options – standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD). Of course Symbian^3 devices handle some of the widest range of video codecs available on mobile devices.

Here is an example of a well-done mobile application.

Don’t forget that if you are going to be using Nokia Trailers, you are best off on a fixed monthly data plan. If you own a Nokia C6-01,C7, N8, or E7, you can download Nokia Trailers from the Ovi Store.

Did you know that though the Nokia E7′s 4-row hardware QWERTY keyboard does not have dedicated numeric keys, entering numbers is extremely easy on this highly anticipated business smartphone?

To enter a number, simply press and hold the key on which it is printed. Of course, you can also use Alt + the key, so you have options. Having options is always good.

Some more useful E7 keyboard shortcuts include:

For general text entry (including SMS)

• Copy – Ctrl + C
• Cut – Ctrl + X
• Paste – Ctrl + V
• Select All – Ctrl + A
• Change the language – Shift + Sym

Shortcuts specifically for email

• Reply – R
• Reply to all – A
• Compose New message – C
• Delete a message D
• Forward a message – F
• Mark a message as read or unread – U
• Sync to your mail account – Z
• Save message to Drafts – Ctrl + S
• Zoom In – #
• Zoom Out – +

Did you know that you can win a free Nokia E7 on this blog. All you need to do is tell us the most creative thing you have ever done with your Nokia phone.

Take a look at the white Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 above. We think its one of the sexiest smartphones in the market after the sleek, silver Nokia E7 that we have been drooling over.

What do you think?