I am one of the priviledged few people in the world to own and use the exclusive and elusive Nokia N9. This is the wonder device with an amazing OS embedded in one of the most amazing hardware on mobile ever.

That OS has been branded MeeGo. However, the N9 does not really run MeeGo, because MeeGo wasn’t quite ready.

The N9 Is Not MeeGo

The Nokia N9 runs Maemo/Harmattan. Maemo was Nokia’s purpose built OS for tablets. It has powered a number of iterations of Nokia touchscreen tablets for years, the last being the N900, which I also reviewed here some time ago.

The N9 does not run MeeGo.

So, note: MeeGo wasn’t ready. On that, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was right. Let us settle that once and for all. I have used the N9 till today, and I am convinced of that.

Even Maemo/Harmattan Isn’t Quite Ready

So, Nokia came up with an amazing device that runs Maemo/Harmattan branded as MeeGo. Problem solved. Who cares; right?

If you have been reading Mobility blog for a few months, you will have read my raving reviews and commentaries on the N9. All those positives remain valid. But here are the kind of issues that suggest to me that Maemo/Harmattan is not quite ready for mainstream consumers.

Take a look at these instructions:

Activate “Developer mode” by going to: Settings > Security > Developer mode. It’s OFF by default. Turn it ON.

After having it activated, you will find a “Terminal” app button under application menu.

Open it and you need to execute these commands (one command per line):

gconftool –recursive-unset /system/http_proxy
gconftool –recursive-unset /system/proxy
gconftool –recursive-unset /system/osso

I am betting my salary that if you are not a computer gizmo, you have no clue what those instructions are. I am betting that you have no interest in typing those Linux commands on your phone, except you live on command line instructions.

Well, those instructions are the only known way to solve a problem with the built-in Twitter app not working on the N9. Go figure.

For a long time, everything worked fine on my N9, then suddenly Twitter stopped connecting. Nothing I did worked. I restarted the device, checked my connections and even spoke to it (who knows?). Nada.

Finally, I got on the internet, and found that the only solution was the above steps. Now, I am more computer and mobile savvy than most people, but I can assure you that I didn’t feel any happier that I had found a solution. This solution sucks for the average consumer. It sucks for me too. Honest.

There are users with similar issues with the built-in Facebook app as well. There are some indications that adding multiple Google accounts on the N9 seems to corrupt the something somewhere (I’m deliberately avoiding geek-speak here).

Maemo, MeeGo, Mini, Mo

I love the Swipe UI of the Nokia N9, and thankfully Nokia say that they are implementing that on other devices. The N9 works well in almost every other way. But do ask yourself, “Do I want to become a Linux enthusiast in order to troubleshoot my smartphone?”

I’m betting that your answer is a big No – at least for most of you.

Troubleshooting Maemo/MeeGo devices will thrill geeks and nerds. But not the mainstream consumer. I am finally believing that Nokia made a good call dumping this platform.

Windows Phone, Anyone?

Windows Phone has a sleek, elegant user interface, but lacks too many functionality that Nokia fans have been used to. Too many.

as such, Nokia fans are caught in a tough place – Maemo/MeeGo not quite ready, Symbian has been pronounced dead (though it has stubbornly refused to die, the developer apathy to the platform is serious), and Windows Phone is so, so different.

Get Over It

Let’s get over it, guys: while the Nokia N9 is an amazing device and gets the job done, if and when you have issues, you know you don’t want to do the gobbledegook that is required to solve those problems.

Oh, plus, there are just too few apps available for the platform. It simply would be an uphill task getting apps to flood the market for it.

Running with Maemo/MeeGo simply would have been a strenous, uphill task for Nokia.

Still, I must commend the great job done by the small team that came up with the N9. Pulling this off in a matter of months, even after your CEO had declared your work as destined for the labs was amazing. Hat tip, guys.

But truth be told, this baby is not ready for mainstream consumerism yet.

Should You Get The N9?

Sure; it just depends on who you are. If you are a hardcore mobile enthusiast; yes do get it. If you love to use an exclusive device and stand out like I do, yes; do get one.

If you are also not an app junkie, by all means do get one.

Fortunately, I am both a hardcore mobile person and a lover of the finest in exclusivity. Plus, I use the barest minimum of 3rd party apps on my mobiles. As such, I am covered on all ends.

Now, do excuse me while I [grudgingly] go do the gobbledegook instructions required to get my Twitter account working on my N9 again. Don’t beef.

Comments please!

Recently, I wrote about Blackberry BlackBerry Messenger As A Social Network.

One of the responses that I got to that article was from a gentleman who referred to BBM as the 3rd social network after Facebook and Twitter. he also added that he did more social networking via BBM than via the fore-mentioned two.

In addition, we now have an active Mobility blog BBM Group with 21 members. That number was achieved within four (4) days.

Recently, I found the display picture of one of my BBM contacts to my liking, but I didn’t feel like saying anything though I really wanted to appreciate it in some way. I found myself wishing for a “Like” button similar to what obtains on Facebook. That way, a user can like a Display Picture or Personal Message belonging to any BBM contact.

Any others?

It is possible that BBM can be further enhanced as a social network. Do you have any other ideas?

PS: In the meantime, if you want to hookup on BBM, here’s my PIN: 285A12BB (PIN no longer valid).

The last time I was this excited about Facebook on Symbian was when fMobi was launched. Like fMobi, Facinate is a Qt-based Facebook app for Symbian smartphones.

I downloaded and installed it on my Nokia E7 this morning, and it instantly wowed me. It has got everything built in, and best of all, the developers say that it is free for life.

The UI is sweet and fluid, and you can scroll vertically or swipe horizontally. Yes; you heard me right. Swipe has come to Symbian via Qt! Now, you can now try out some of those fancy N9 moves that I make on your Symbian smartphone.

The first thing I did was look for the settings, because that’s where I was likely to get a clear picture of how functional the app was. In the settings, you can:

• pick between two theme options: light or dark
• enable tips
• enable PUSH notifications, including for birthdays, new messages, so you don’t miss anything
• select what time of the day you want to receive notifications (cool!)
• select the intervals for the checking of notifications
• enable either or both of audio and light notifications

Here is a comprehensive list of features and functionality:

• News feed
• Friends
• Messages
• Chat
• Birthdays
• Notifications
• My Wall
• Photos
• Events
• Info – this displays your profile info, wall and photo albums (swipe horizontally to navigate through)
• Settings
• About
• Logout
• Exit

PUSH notifications are delivered via both a homescreen pop-up and audio alert (depending on your settings). Tap on a notification and the appropriate menu is launched in the app.

Probably the best news here is that Facinate supports both S60 5th Edition devices and SymbianNext devices.

Facinate Download Link

In March this year, Facebook acquired Snaptu, the popular social media app specifically targeted low-processor mobile devices. It was clear that it was only a matter of time before support for other services was dropped.

Shortly after the acquisition, Facebook for Every Phone, a mobile app based on Snaptu, was released.

Now effective Nov. 11, support for other apps that ran on Snaptu, including Twitter, Cricinfo and LinkedIn, has been discontinued. Snaptu is Facebook.

Source

The popular Facebook app for Symbian smartphones, fMobi, has been updated to version 2.3.

Features of this version include:

- Unified messaging with replying (single recipient)
- More actions to feed (e.q “x is now friend with y”)
- Haptic feedback to buttons
- More languages (Chinese traditional, Greek)
- Exit confirmation as an option
- UI tweaking

Download this fMobi update from the Nokia Store.

Social networking is the buzz these days. It’s what powers a huge chunk of Internet usage today – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Skype, et al. Yes; one big global village.

If social networking is your thing, you’d be wondering if the N9 cuts it, especially considering the dearth of 3rd party apps for the MeeGo platform.

One outstanding trait of the N9 is that it comes with built-in support for almost every social networking service on the planet. Here’s the list:

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. LinkedIn
4. Skype
5. Flickr
6. Picasa
7. YouTube
8. SIP

If you used it’s older cousin, the N900, you will remember how tightly integrated some of these services were on Maemo. Well, it’s just as good here.

When you create an account for any of the above services, your contacts on each service are integrated into your contacts and call menu on the N9.

It’s all so nifty and convenient. Still, we must take a closer look at the most popular services, Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook

The built-in Facebook app is quite good. You get your notifications, news feed, profile, friends, messages, events, photos, and chat.

You are able to accept friend requests, search your friends list, access friends’ info, wall and photos. It’s the complete experience minus a mundane thing like pokes.

Twitter

If you have used Twitter on web or mobile, and are comfortable with the features, you will be okay with the built-in Twitter client on the N9.

It lacks the more advanced features of lots of other mobile Twitter apps, but it’s fully Twitter. There’s your Twitter Line, mentions, direct messages, search, and you can reply, retweet and favourite tweets.

It also let’s you view profiles, including yours. Plus, you can edit your own profile. You are able to follow and unfollow as well. And should some pesky spammers hit you, the ability to block an individual is there too.

Homescreen Feeds

Your Facebook and Twitter feeds can be configured for display on the N9′s notification screen, such that you can follow what’s going on on both services in one place. Tap on an item and the respective application launches for you to interact.

Others

There is also a built-in Skype application and your Skype contacts are also integrated into your Contacts. You can send messages and chat via Skype, as well as make Skype calls.

Flickr and Picasa integration allows you to upload your pictures right from inside the Gallery. Video uploading is also possible via Facebook, Flickr, and Youtube from inside the Video app – so long as you have signed in to those services.

Conclusions

All in all, social networking integration on the N9 is quite good and tight. The basics are covered very well. Staying connected with your online communities with the N9 is a cinch.

The popular Facebook app for Nokia devices, fMobi, is now available on trial for MeeGo devices.

If you have a Nokia N9 or N950, you might want to give this a go.

Download fMobi

You must be aware of the big battle going on between Facebook and Google’s new G+ (Google plus). I have heard so many speculations, especially from Facebook addicts, that Google cannot shake Facebook in any way. However, the reverse may very well be the case.

As of today, Facebook is doing all they can to avoid obscurity. As a result of this, there have been numerous updates to the FB platform recently. So, many new features have been added to Facebook within the last few days. It is worthy of note that these features are actually “Twitter-like” and “G+ like”, if you understand what I mean.

Yesterday, I stumbled on Mark Zuckerberg’s (the founder of Facebook) Facebook page and I noticed his last post (posted on Sunday) “Getting ready for f8 — at Facebook HQ.”

I took some time to check the comments and I spotted one major point. Check it out on the screenshot below:

Taking a look at how many people like the comment (1,258 likes), it’s obvious that the guy is making a point that Facebook probably isn’t aware of. Friends, my point of view is that facebook is releasing too many new features at a time in response to the arrival of G+.

Facebook needs to consider the effects this has on it’s users. I know many people who are still finding it very difficult to work with the current features. I have lost count of how many times I have been called upon to perform certain FB tasks for numerous people. Ny concern is how these set of people will be able to adapt to the new features being rolled out everyday.

I almost got confused yesterday when I opened my FB profile in a browser. So many things have changed. Features like the new side bar notifications which displays all the actions of your friends in real-time, the removal of the status update box from the News Feed, and many others. I am not in any way saying that these new features are not good. My concern is just how users respond to the sudden flood of changes.

I am still expecting more features to be rolled out from Facebook in the coming days (like the new buttons and others). In my opinion, the new features will retain facebook as the top Social Networking site if and only if they:

• are simpler to use than before.
• promote the users’ objective of connectivity.
• don’t make Facebook kind of complicated and too chocked for simple users to understand.

Those are key things that I think Mark and the FB team need to consider before rolling out more.

If you have seen the newly added features on Facebook, what do you feel about them? If you haven’t, why not check them out? This weekend, I’ll be on the street and one of my missions is to sample people’s opinion about FB and G+. Stay tuned.

Chit Chat for Facebook (Blackberry) is a Facebook chat messaging application. Chit Chat offers the following:

• Easy To Use: An attractive easy to use interface
• Manage Lots Of Conversations – The tabbed interface means that many conversations can easily be handled at once
• Searchable Buddy List – Search your Facebook friends to find the one your looking for
• Customisable – Customize your instant messaging window

You can find out much more about Chit Chat for Facebook (Blackberry) by visiting blackberry.chitchat.org.uk.

I had a brief playtime with the HTC ChaCha Android smartphone last week, and thought I’d post some vital statistics about the device and pictures that I took.

Some quick specifications:

• Released June 2011
• 2.6 inch, 480 x 320 pixel, TFT capacitive touchscreen, with Gorilla Glass
• Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 800 MHz processor
• HTC Sense 2.1 UI
• 512 MB RAM
• QWERTY keyboard
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

In hand, the ChaCha gives the impression of a well-built device. It felt really sturdy. The QWERTY keyboard is very usable with large keys and good tactile feedback. I do think that the placement of the Facebook button is off though.

I also loved the user interface – lots of white space in a clean, elegant way.

Typical of HTC devices, audio reproduction was tinny. I did a comparison with the N8 for a few people present and the difference was as clear as night and day. If HTC’s reputation is anything to go by, I wouldn’t bet on the camera shining either. HTC has never stood out in the multimedia space. If interested in multimedia, you are better off with a Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson or Samsung device.

I enjoyed the short time that I spent with the ChaCha. It is a lovely QWERTY device. Here are some pictures:

The ChaCha is in the same price range and class as the Nokia E6, another QWERTY candybar. Audio music quality apart, I’d take this one over the E6.

fMobi, the popular Facebook app for Symbian devices, has been updated to v1.4. The app is now available in the Ovi Store for a modest fee of US $1.59. I think its worth the price too, so get out your Master/VISA cards and support the developer.

Download for Symbian^3 / Anna / Belle (v1.4)

You can download an unsigned limited time version for free.

Popular Facebook mobile application for Symbian^3 and Maemo smartphones, fMobi, has now been made available for Symbian S60 5th Edition smartphones as well.

You can download fMobi for S60v5 here.