It is fast becoming the age of the smartphone. Smartphones are selling like hotcakes and taking more bites out of phone sales statistics. Still, one sore issue that is observed is that of battery life.

What do we expect? 4-inch touchscreen displays, always-on data, multi-tasking, +1GHz processors and a host of other features all mean that there is a greater demand on our smartphones’ batteries.

Android OS is one of the greatest culprit in this regard. Apparently, we need to make our robots more energy-efficient. Those droids simply guzzle power like mad.

Another power-inefficient mobile OS at the moment is Windows Phone. I have used two WP7 devices, and they both suck badly with regards to battery consumption.

Another battery sucker is Maemo (evolving into MeeGo). As much as I loved the N900, I had to let it go because of the battery life.

I also owned and used a Palm Pre running WebOS, and it was disastrous, battery-wise. It certainly was the worst case of poor battery life that I had ever encountered. Whether this is a WebOS trait in general or it was an isolated case, I have no idea.

The Winners
It is no news that Symbian has remained legendary with regards energy efficiency. That old horse just can’t be beat. Devices running Symbian keep going long after the average Android, Windows Phone and Maemo toy has given up.

Sadly, Symbian is on the way out, though not until 2016. I will repeat – Symbian OS is too good to dump. It does so many things well and has improved so fast and markedly that it should be retained. It doesn’t seem to make much sense dumping it now when it’s just getting better and better.

PS: In adopting WP as a primary smartphone platform, do we take it that there should be a secondary? Why not? Retain Symbian as secondary, and problem solved.

Anyway, life goes on. Moving away from Symbian, there is only one other major smartphone OS that delivers exemplary battery life that I am aware of. Yes; iOS.

iOS has come a long way in terms of battery life. The first generations of iPhones had piss-poor battery life, but things have changed dramatically.

With more features now, iOS has been optimised to deliver even better battery life across both iPhones and iPad ranges.

For those that want to stay truly mobile i.e. Not tied to carrying a cable around and looking for something to plug their smartphones to by mid-day, you are better off looking in the direction of Symbian or iOS. That’s just the way it is. For now.

Hopefully, we shall see better power optimisation on other platforms in a little while. In the meantime, if I had no Symbian device that meets my needs, and I had to look elsewhere right now, I am afraid it would have to be in the direction of Steve Job’s reality distortion field. Battery life is at the top of my mobile requirements. It just doesn’t matter what a mobile device can do if it doesn’t let me do it away from a charger.

Your thoughts, guys?

Congratulations to the developers and all lovers of the Angry Birds game, as the game took home two Appy awards. Angry birds is a puzzle video game developed by Finland-based Rovio Mobile.

Rovio’s Angry Birds won the best game app and the main award for best app of the year at London’s Appy awards.

The public voted Angry Birds for best game, while the judges voted it the app of the year.

Facebook and Google were also among winners of the day.

Angry Birds is available on Symbian, Android, iOS, and Maemo mobile platforms.

Have you played Angry Birds? On what mobile device? How do you rate it? Is it one of your favourite mobile games?

Can’t get no satisfaction from the mobile Web? Then you will fall head over heels for the new Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers launched today, now also available to cherish on tablets. Opera’s mobile browsers are the world’s most popular, the weapon of choice for 100 million people worldwide, used on more than 3000 devices. If you still haven’t found what you are looking for, there is an Opera out there available for you. Download to your phone from: m.opera.com and don’t stop til you get enough.

What’s new, pussycat?

Smooth operator

Improved scrolling, panning and zooming make the Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers the sweetest thing to hit mobile devices since the Opera Mini 5 browser.

Pinch-to-zoom

Feel free to twist and shout now that Opera’s features include true pinch-to-zoom on devices that support pinch.

Sharing

When you find something, let it be … shared. The new versions feature a share button, so you can easily post, Tweet (twiddly-diddly-deet), or just shout it out loud on Facebook, vKontakte or My Opera.

Now also optimized for tablets

Is it any wonder? Opera for tablets brings smooth browsing to your tablet PC with a brand new interface that is sure to rock you like a hurricane.

What we say

“If you’ve lost that loving feeling for the Web on your phone or tablet, don’t let it bring you down. Just try one of our browsers,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “The sun always shines on TV, but the Opera browser shines on more than 3000 devices.”

Who are you? The difference between the Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers

• The Opera Mini browser uses Opera’s servers to shake, rattle and roll webpages down to a tenth of their original size before sending them to your phone. Because the data transferred is smaller, pages arrive faster than the speed of sound. On a pay-as-you-go plan, the Opera Mini browser dramatically cuts the price you pay, because the data you use is greatly reduced. The Opera Mini browser makes any device Internet savvy.
• The Opera Mobile browser gives you the whole of the moon on smartphones and tablets. The strange magic of HTML5? Check. Full, high fidelity web browsing? Check. Sharing the same Opera Presto browser engine found in Opera’s desktop browser, the Opera Mobile browser is the premier option for fast, powerful browsing when on unlimited Internet data plans or Wi-Fi.

Availability

• The Opera Mini 6 browser brings the fireworks to J2ME, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian/S60 phones.
• The Opera Mobile 11 browser sings hallelujah on the Android, Symbian, Windows 7 desktop (labs release), MeeGo (labs release) and Maemo (labs release) platforms.

What you waiting for? Walk this way with your mobile device: m.opera.com.

What do you do when you have over 3.5GB of video files on a device and need to copy them to another? Try Bluetooth – that takes forever. Use a memory card to copy from one device to the other? Not bad. How about if you have USB-on-the-go on one of the devices? Perfect.

That is exactly what I did when I needed to copy my videos from the USB-on-the-go enabled N8 to the N900. The N900 too is capable of USB-on-the-go but the app to enable it is not quite finnished yet.

Here are a few pictures, and then the video for download.

The video was recorded at night using a Blackberry 9650 device.

Download the Video: N8 to N900 with USB-on-the-go 4.8MB MP4

For those who prefer YouTube, here you go:

It isn’t everyday that one gets the opportunity to carry about two of the most capable devices on the planet. The Nokia N8 is the latest device in Nokia’s N-series range. It is a pure touchscreen Symbian-powered device. The N900, on the other hand, has been around for over a year, but this QWERTY slider device running Maemo 5 is still very much a capable device in the smartphone market.

When I recently announced that the N900 is my smartphone of the year 2010, there were cries of “foul” from Nokia N8 fans – and that is testament to how much the N8 has come to be loved and regarded in the mobile space. Nokia certainly has hit a home run with the N8. It is indeed a lovable, capable device that meets the needs of lots of people.

Same Father; Different Strengths

Children of the same parents often have different strengths. Having used both devices extensively, I am qualified to present to you in what areas one outshines the other. This will help people in understanding how to choose devices that cater to their specific needs.

Note that this is not a detailed comparison, but a quick list of areas where the differences of the two excellent devices stand out.

Browser: While we are still waiting for the new Symbian browser that Nokia promised us (and I am hoping that Nokia will copy the N900′s browser to the dot), the N900′s Mozilla-based MicroB browser clinched the spot as the best mobile browser at its release and holds that spot till date. The Symbian browser on the N8 pales in comparison so badly that it is an uneven match.

Camera: The tide is turned immediately here. The N8′s stunning 12 -megapixel camera simply leaves the N900′s 5 megapixel camera in the dust for both still shots and video capture. The N8 does HD/720p video capture. No contest here too.

I took my wife out on a Friday night date yesterday and we took some shots. The N900 generally was left in the dust. Glad I took the N8 along with me.

Display: The N8 has a brighter, more colourful display, while the N900 has the greater resolution. Both of them work well in sunlight. Most people will opt for the N8′s display for video playback, but for web browsing and reading documents, the N900′s greater resolution makes it the preferred display.

Also, the N900′s resistive display is almost as responsive as any capacitive, but you will notice the difference.

Video Playback: Both devices handle playback well. The N8′s AMOLED display produces brighter colours, but the N900 has the better WVGA resolution of 800 × 480 pixels against the N8′s 360 x 640 pixels. Also, the N900 handles more video codecs than the N8 does, especially with DviX and Xvid files. There were video files that I could not watch on the N8 but the N900 handles them fine.

Customisation: Symbian has much more applications available than Maemo. Yet Maemo is much more highly tweakable via plugins, scripts and apps than Symbian. For example, the N900 is easily overclocked just by installing an app, and can have Linux desktop apps installed on it. Other mobile OSes e.g. Android, have also been installed and run on the N900.

UI and Multi-tasking: The N8 handles this like a champ, but my impressions are that the N900 does it better with more resources and a better UI. The N8 sports 256MB RAM, but the N900 takes it a step further with 256MB RAM and an extra 768 MB of virtual memory. This means that the N900 has a total of 1GHz application memory at its disposal.

The N900′s PC-like approach to tasks makes it the better user interface in every way. The N8′s UI is not bad; the N900′s is simply better. Having used iOS, Android and Symbian devices, the Maemo 5 UI is the closest thing to iOS’s sleekness, simplicity and ease of use. In my opinion, the Maemo UI actually matches iOS in user experience.

Mass Storage: N900 has 32GB and N8 has 16GB. No contest.

Maps: Simply put, the Ovi maps application on the N8 is miles better than that on the N900. No contest.

Social Networking Integration: Out of the box, the N900 has Skype and GoogleTalk integrated into the contacts and conversations applications. Install a few more plugins and you add Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook, and lots more. These are not separate apps, but plugins running right in your Contacts and Conversations apps.

Your chats show up in your Conversations as threaded messages. Your Contacts can be arranged according to online availability, so your available contacts show up at the top when you open the app.

It is simply incredible.

Text Entry: The N900 offers you the best of both worlds – an onscreen keyboard and a slide-out hardware QWERTY keyboard.

Battery Life: Of the two, the N8 has the better battery life. Linux-powered devices tend to consume more resources than Symbian. In this case, the N900′s battery life is prey to this as well. The N8 simply keeps going after the N900 has given up.

Conclusions

Slider QWERTY devices have never been top sellers in the market. They have always been niche devices. Naturally, the majority of people will opt for the N8. Form factor aside, the N8 is the device that you need to buy if you are looking for media content creation. You simply cannot go wrong with buying a Nokia N8 if that is what you are after.

The N900 is a mixed bag and has a much smaller targeted audience – people who are looking for a more PC-like experience on a small device, a better social networking and web experience, as well as office content viewing, creation and editing. That’s where I fall. That’s why the N900 is my smartphone of the year 2010.

Firefox 4 Beta 2 for Android and Maemo is now here. Firefox for mobile has been around for a while, offering desktop-grade browsing on mobile devices.

What’s New in Firefox 4 Beta?

Firefox 4 Beta brings the following features and improvements:

The amazing Maemo-powered Nokia N900 has a new update available. From Nokia Conversations:

The update adds Ovi Suite support to your N900 and makes it even easier to access and sync files and messages between your device and your desktop. In addition, we’ve added hundreds of tweaks and fixes that will make your N900 run faster and smoother than ever. You’ll know that the software update is ready to install when you see a white exclamation mark in a yellow box appear on your device’s screen. Just touch on that icon and follow the instructions.

If you own an N900 (and I know that there’s a small community of N900 users who regularly read this site), this is for you. Enjoy!

Source: Nokia Conversations

Here’s the most anticipated news item on MobilityNigeria till date – our WIN-a-smartphone promo announcement.

We are giving away one brand new top-end smartphone and two others. Count it: that’s three (3) devices!

PS: If you are attending mobiFEST2010 today, feel free to walk up to our desk/stand to have a chat with members of the MobilityNigeria team. We’ll be on ground for the full-day event.

Find more details and enter for the promo at www.mobilitynigeria.com/promo

This promo is valid till 30th September 2010.

I just got my hands on a HTC Touch Pro2, a device that is very much like the Nokia N900. Of course, the logical thing was to do a face-off between the two mobile computers.

Summary
Right off the bat -

1. N900 has the better camera
2. N900 has better built-in web browser – MicroB (also has the best 3rd party browser – Firefox Mobile)
3. N900 has better internal memory – 32GB
4. N900 has a 3.5mm audio jack
5. N900 has more vibrant display

On the other hand –

1. TP2 has the better keyboard
2. TP2 has the better battery life
3. TP2 has better and louder stereo speakers
4. TP2 has built-in full Office editing suite
5. TP2 has a slightly larger display
6. TP2 is slightly more compact and lighter

Your Choice?
If you were presented with an opportunity to own either of the devices, looking at the table and summary of advantages above, which of them will be your choice?

We now have official screenshots of what MeeGo will look like on mobile devices. Here are a few landscape shots:

Handset Home

Handset Launcher

Task Switcher

Handset People

There are also screenshots available for portrait mode. You can view the full gallery over at the MeeGo website. What do you think?

Thanks to an application called H-E-N, the Maemo-powered mobile computer, the Nokia N900, now has USB-On-The-Go functionality. And about time too.

USB On-The-Go allows users to connect USB drives, pendrive, storage drives, and other phones to the Nokia N900 and such devices are recognised as external drives. You can also use USB hubs to connect big drives and devices to the N900. That is just sweet.

USB on-the-Go on the N900 supports connection to USB drives with power consumption below 200mA.

The application is still under development, though, so you can expect errors. The project H-E-N homepage is at Maemo.org, if you are interested.

The N900 just became much more versatile with this! N900 users can now put that built-in 32GB of memory to better use. Can’t wait to see this out of development stage.

Via

Nokia has announced that the long-awaited update for the N900 is available and already being released to UK users. The global release will be tomorrow (May 26), so you N900 users based in Nigeria should be on the lookout. Before this, the most up-to-date firmware was version 3.2010.02-8.002.

Some of the new features and improvements that come with this update (version 10.2010.19-1) include:

• Qt 4.6.2 is now preinstalled on the OS.
• Improvements to email
• Mail widget
• Changes for the video recording in the Camera Application
• Can dial USSD Codes
• Improved Ovi Maps user interface
• File Manager is now able to share any file and/or folder
• Portrait mode now available in MicroB web browser
• Status area is now reachable in portrait mode
• Re-arrangeable application menu
• Video calling can be accessed through contacts
• Modified Virtual Keyboard

A number of new games have also been released for the N900, including: Jurassic 3D Rollercoaster, Zen-bound, Angry Birds (level pack), Sygic, Kroll, Weatherbug, and GoGadget. Ovi Store is also got updated on this firmware.

From Nokia Conversations:

Email has been improved with the ability to accept or decline an event invitation right there in your inbox, and Facebook IM chat has also been bundled in. The release also brings with it video calling, allowing users face-to-face chatting anywhere.

An additional update you will be pleased to hear about is portrait browsing on the internet is a-go on the N900. Ovi Maps also gets the update treatment with changes to the UI, improving the experience of finding your way around. And finally, there’s also a change to the menu system UI with the first level now customisable.

Nokia has now also finally put an end to hopes for the N900 eventually running MeeGo, the replacement OS for Maemo that is the product of a collaboration betweeen Nokia and Intel. Sorry, folks, MeeGo will not be available for your beloved N900:

Many of you have been asking whether the new MeeGo platform will be supported on the N900 once it’s device-ready. Although Nokia N900 devices are being used for platform development and testing purposes by those involved in the MeeGo project, we don’t have plans for a full scale commercial MeeGo upgrade on the Nokia N900.

That settles the MeeGo for N900 angle; doesn’t it?

Back to the update, this sounds promising, and I am looking forward to downloading and installing the update OTA tomorrow. If you own an N900 and get it on your device, let’s know what you think of the new features.

PS: OTA upgrade should not delete any of your files, but just to be sure, please backup your phone before going ahead.