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

It is a potential nightmare situation – where your phone tracks every keypress, message and location (even when you disable GPS location services). A nightmare, yes. But it is with us already.

A researcher named Trevor Eckhart found that a logging software from a company named Carrier IQ is installed on a number smartphones from multiple manufacturers and carriers, and it tracks every keypress, message and location and sends this information out – all without the user’s knowledge.

Trevor’s research using his Android-running HTC EVO 4G smartphone led to the discovery of this software from Carrier IQ.

You can watch the video of his demonstration below:

Carrier IQ claims that the information collected is to help improve the user experience on mobile devices.

Who Is Guilty?

Carrier IQ is not built into any mobile OS, but is installed at the point of customisation or manufacture by either the carrier or device manufacturer.

HTC have come out to say that they run an opt-in system and have no direct involvement in installing Carrier IQ ion their devices. They point at the carriers.

Microsoft have boldly stated that Carrier IQ is not installed on any Windows Phone. See tweet by Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore.

Apple, who have been recently hit by a privacy storm, have stated that they stopped supporting Carrier IQ in iOS 5, and would completely remove it in future updates.

Through its Blackberry Advisor, Mark Sohm, RIM has stated that it does not pre-install the CarrierIQ application on BlackBerry smartphones and has never done so or authorised its installation.

TechCrunch says:

Eckhart’s original report has shown that Carrier IQ has been discovered on HTC and Samsung devices, and that CarrierIQ counts Sprint among their domestic carrier clients. AT&T also appears to use Carrier IQ on their devices: a member of the XDA-dev forums called AT&T and was told that Carrier IQ is indeed preloaded on the HTC Vivid. Other carriers, including Verizon, Vodafone, and O2 have all denied that they use Carrier IQ on their devices.

Nokia and RIM were also among the companies that Eckhart claimed CarrierIQ provided their “mobile intelligence” services to, but they have vociferously denied the connection. The Verge also reports that the three devices in Google’s Nexus line are free of the logging service, so Nexus devotees can rest easy.

RIM has responded that “If the CarrierIQ application is present on a BlackBerry smartphone, it does not mean that the CarrierIQ application has “hacked” the BlackBerry platform. It means that either the BlackBerry smartphone user or the user’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin explicitly installed the application and authorized it to run“.

The whole Carrier IQ scandal seems to be a US-only issue, so not everyone in the world has to worry about it. Of course, if your phone was imported from the US, especially if branded by one of the fingered carriers, chances are that you are in the picture too.

Stay In the Know

If you use an Android phone – and it is rooted or you are willing to root it – you can run a quick check to find out if Carrier IQ is installed on your phone.

Download Eckhart’s free Logging Test app. Once installed, hit ‘CIQ Checks’ to run the test.

Wrapping Up

If manufacturers and carriers need user feedback, it should be an opt-in system, not something that runs hidden in the system. Also, exactly who is the info sent to, and what is it used for? How safe are the users from exposure?

Questions. Questions.

The US justice department has shown interest in this, and talks of lawsuits are already in the air. This can get very messy, but in my opinion, the public has a right to know what is going on.

This will certainly get more interesting. Comments welcome!

I have been meaning to write this article for a long time now.

Looking at the mobile services market here in Nigeria, I am both amused and sad (though how that combination is possible is beyond me) at how everything seems to boil down to price.

The operators are in a nasty price war – and I daresay that we all are the worse for it. Here is what may have escaped us – every time a network operator has further crashed tariffs, quality of service (QoS) on that network has followed in tow.

Unfortunately, the consumers, who cry foul every time that happens, are as much to blame for the scenario.

But an industry that is price-driven alone is a dangerous thing. Note that I said “alone”.

I wish that one network operator would dare to stand out and offer significantly higher tariffs and superb, stellar services. For example, I’d like to see a network where I can upload 2GB of data without breaking a sweat in a matter of minutes. Every single time. I wouldn’t mind paying more for that service.

That would be serious differentiation based on value, not just price. People who need that kind of reliability are sure to be willing to pay for it.

Let’s take a look at the device market. Apple introduced a device that offered much less features than the competition, but that also cost significantly more. This was at a time that the global economy was going down the drain. Did Apple fail?

No; they didn’t. As a matter of fact, Apple has performed exceptionally well by refusing to compete on price. The iPhone range offers less features than others, but because it does well those things that it offers, it could be sold successfully at a premium price.

That’s market differentiation. Apple was not trying to produce another Symbian or BlackBerry copy back then. While they have since implemented some more features, they are still not producing just another smartphone.

I hope we get the picture. As consumers, we need to accept that all networks do not have to offer low tariffs – if they can offer superb value. We need options, and right now, those options do not exist.

Paying More for Less

While we now have much lower tariffs than we had many months and years ago, the fact that we have to maintain multiple lines and devices means that we may not necesarilly be spending less.

We are probably just going round in circles.

Options and Choices

I want to see the people’s network – one that offers the lowest tariffs. But then, I wouldn’t expect the most reliable services from such a network in comparison with a network offering premium services.

I also want to see the turbo (premium) network – one that offers the most rock solid connections for both voice and data, but perhaps at significantly higher tariffs.

There would also be room in the middle – for those who want a bit of this and a bit of that.

That way, consumers can make real choices. With a market as large as Nigeria, operators should have no fear of standing out from the crowd.

The Present is Mediocrity

Unfortunately, right now, there is no differentiation in the market. Absolutely none. There is no competition, for competition based on price alone is not healthy competition.

Dear network operators, where are your balls? You are all hiding in your comfort zones.

Right now, all you are offering are the same things at more or less the same prices. You are valueless brands. Waterless wells. Tasteless salt.

Your so-called brands only exist on TV and on the pages of newspapers. I know that your brand managers will blacklist me for saying this, but its been said. Go break a leg.

All you have here in the Nigerian market are business names, not brands. You are all the same.

And when someone dares to attempt to glorify this mediocrity with a statement like, “Only in Nigeria is this possible“, yes; I agree – only in Nigeria can anyone make millions daily from offering such poor, tasteless services like our networks operators offer.

In 2011, and in a country of over 150 million people, that’s shameful.

Mobile reviews have been at the core of the mobility blog. This was our primary focus at inception, and you loved it and kept coming back for more. Of course, you love the tips and help articles too, as well as the bits and pieces of information that we provided.

We are renewing our focus on mobile phone and app reviews here. This means that you can expect great articles about devices and apps on your favourite OS platform, or budget range. It means that you will also get more help articles on how to make the best of whatever devices you choose to purchase.

In the last few days, I have made contact with key organisations who can provide us devices. We are hopeful for devices running Android and WindowsPhone. We already have ongoing support from Nokia, so you can expect reviews of devices running Symbian, MeeGo, WindowsPhone and S40. RIM are currently setting up office in Lagos, and we hope to reach out to them as soon as they are on the ground as well.

Have you heard of Mi-fone? I heard that they produce excellent devices for the African market. Their range includes both feature phones and Android smartphones.

We hope that we can connect with Samsung Nigeria (our Android fanbase here would be ecstatic, I can imagine).

We are also trying to reach Huawei and others.

In the meantime, some reviews are already underway. Low-end, mid-range and high-end devices are all covered. It can only get better. And more exciting.

Comments welcome!

We are witnesses to the gradual transition from SIM cards to microSIM cards. Possibly, SIM cards will still be further shrunk down. However, beyond size, I envisage that the SIM of the future will be significantly different in how it works too.

As at today, each SIM is locked to a specific mobile network. In mobile number portability, we observe that it is possible for a SIM that is programmed to a specific network to be migrated to another network. Pushing this idea further along its logical path, we can envisage something of the SIM of the future.

Imagine for a moment SIM cards that are non-operator specific, but that scan for available networks from which you can pick a network of your choice and then load airtime to use that network – very much the way Wifi works now. Yet; your SIM number does not change.

Since the subscriber’s unique identifier does not change, I would imagine that the issues of identity and security are pretty much taken care of.

Imagine the competition to provide better QoS, as on the whim of the moment, a subscriber can switch from network A to B and lose nothing.

Imagine the convenience of having just one SIM and never being stranded – if your everyday network does not cover an area you are travelling to, simply lock on to an alternative network and you are good to go.

I call this the smartSIM. Imagine the possibilities.

Celebrating the essence of the Mobility blog

Early this morning, a reader by the name Dan submitted a comment that included a statement that encapsulates my vision for the Mobility blog. Here is the statement in question:

This is a great website. You don’t bash, you just review for everyone. Thanks.

Year after year, despite the popular trend of bashing phones, brands, and platforms in the mobile space, I have insisted that this blog will not join that bandwagon.

Rather, it has been my objective to see that facts and figures are presented. Fanboyism is something that I don’t tolerate among our staff, and no rabid fanboy piece gets published. I always exercise my right as head honcho here to trash any fanboy articles sent in for publication.

I am a man of strong convictions, so I run a tight ship – and have no apologies for this. This world has been moulded only by men who dare to take a firm position, and not by those who dance to the blowing of every wind.

With regards mobility, here are principles that I stand by:

1. Every phone, every brand, and every mobile OS have their strengths and weaknesses. No platform is perfect.
2. There is no best phone or OS out there in the blanket sense. “Best” is relative to each individual’s needs and personal preferences.

I expect our team members and writers to abide by the above guidelines in their writings and presentations. This way, we are able to present useful information for all and sundry.

That way, users of all platforms and all types of mobiles immediately feel comfortable on the Mobility blog. We have everyone covered.

Commenters are free to be as rabid as they choose, but what we publish must be factual. That is my position.

Of course, each writer, myself inclusive, has personal preferences which show through in our writings, but even those preferences must be built on facts and information, not rabid Fanboyism.

To reiterate: We review and publish information for everyone here: Symbian, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone, iOS, and any others that our resources enable us to lay our hands on.

Thank you, Dan, for that precious comment, and thank you for reminding me of what makes the Mobility blog unique in a world so full of hype.

In the meantime, anybody wants to celebrate…. one leg up!

I was involved in a Twitter conversation in which someone mentioned that he ran into 5 or 6 Nokia N8 users with their devices still on PR1 or 1.2 firmware. I also mentioned that the average BlackBerry user here in Nigeria does not install any apps besides those that come with the phone, update apps, not to mention update their devices’ firmware. Evidence before me says the same is true for most iOS and Android users.

In my opinion, device manufacturers and OS developers should make app and firmware update notifications more intrusive or in-your-face. And it should be totally OTA. No-one should ever have to connect a mobile to PC in order to update it in this day and age.

So, why should you ever bother about updating your mobile? No long stories.

One, some of the complaints you have about your mobile have been taken care of through newer firmware. Update, and the problems go away.

Two, some new features and functionality may be available through newer firmware. Update to enjoy those features.

Three, newer firmware may bring cool, fancy, tricks to your phone. We geeks call it eye-candy. In other words, everything looks better. Upgrade and you may fall in love afresh with how your mobile’s user interface looks.

Examples
I carry three phones around with me these days – Nokias N8 and N9, and a BlackBerry 9300 Curve 3G.

I updated my N8 to enjoy the new benefits of Anna, and also flashed it unofficially to enjoy the benefits of Symbian Belle (which will be officially released soon). Belle is a totally different beast and as a result, my N8 is a different device entirely from what it was.

The N8 is so different that I can’t leave it at home while I have the N9 with me, so I carry both.

I also updated the firmware of the Curve 3G from BlackBerry OS5 to OS6, and the improvements are superb. Thank God for firmware updates.

How To
Install your device’s PC software on your system, connect your device and click through the menu to check for any available updates. If one is available and you have a fast Internet connection, you should be done in some minutes (except you are updating an iOS device, in which case, go watch a movie while the update is downloaded).

Have you updated your mobile? Is your device any better after the update? If you haven’t, go get it done now.

I have used scores of phones in the course of my work here at The Mobility Company. The Nokia N9, which I currently use, is number 67.

I also have a SIM card for every GSM network in the country, so I am able to interchange SIMs in each and every one of the phones I handle so as to compare performances.

That experience cannot be purchased in the market and comes in handy. I’ll use something that happened with the N9 in the last few days as an example.

Because I have an MTN SIM that had been cut down to microSIM size months back for iPad use, it was this SIM that I initally put in the N9. During that period, because I wasn’t subscribed to an MTN internet bundle, all data connectivity on the N9 was via Wifi (I have a Mifi device running Etisalat Easyblaze).

All through that time, the N9 performed fluidly. No hiccups. No slowdowns. All activity was zippy.

Suddenly, the Picture Changed
However, a few days ago, I noticed occasional slowdowns and pauses while using the N9. I wondered what could be wrong. Earlier today, I had to share my Glo HSI via the built-in hotspot app, but found that the connection kept breaking.

That was when I remembered. I had gotten my Glo SIM trimmed down to microSIM size and put it in the N9 some days back and was using Glo’s internet service on the device.

Here’s the catch: Glo’s data service has been troublesome for a while. The connection terminates at random, and even just hybernates as well.

Now, here was what was happening: with all of two email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, and Skype always looking for a connection at the same time, and the connection breaking and disappearing at will, this resulted in the pauses and slowdowns that I observed on the N9.

Switching back to the more stable Wifi connection solved the problem. The N9 went back to being zippy. I remember experiencing this with every other device that I have reviewed.

The Point
Your network data stability affects the performance of your phone, affects how fast your email is fetched or sent, affects how fast or at times how well web pages are rendered, and affects how long the device runs for.

If you want to arrive at sound conclusions concerning a device, especially one that depends on an always-on connection for multiple services and apps, try out the device on connections from multiple sources. You will be surprised at the variations in performance that you will notice.

Your network data stability affects the performance of your phone, affects how fast your email is fetched or sent, affects how fast or at times how well web pages are rendered, and affects how long the device runs for.

Device Comparisons
When comparing two devices that rely on an internet connection, it is better to share the same Wifi connection between them to get more accurate results. Different SIMs in the devices will likely result in slightly skewed statistics. Even SIMs from the same network (believe it or not) may result in skewed statistics.

In A Nutshell
Don’t be quick to conclude that an internet-connected mobile device is bad because it is being sluggish or freezing if you haven’t tried it out with alternative stable internet connections. For all you care, it could simply be that it is your network operator who is messing with your head.

You won’t need any form of spiritual revelation to accept that the world has witnessed an unprecedented rise in the development of technology in recent times. Above all is the emergence of mobile technology. Gone were the days when we were “libraries away from information”. Later things changed to “cybercafe away” from information.

I remember those old days of visiting cyber cafes (Some still do) just to check my mail. Not too long after this, mobile phones manufacturers rolled out internet-enabled phones into the Nigerian market. This made things easier. Those were the days when people bought a mobile phone simply because “it can browse”.

From all this, I begin to wonder, things have really changed indeed! Just this afternoon, I took a journey into my “old analog” lifestyle and I tried as much as possible to compare those days with today’s reality.

With this revolution in web and mobile technology, I have been able to:

• Increase my knowledge bank: Google links me with the information I need. Through this, I have been able to read Gigabytes of ebooks and several pages of information. This is the most important to me.
• Connect with my old friends: Honestly, I did not bother to search for my old secondary school friends on Facebook when I  joined…but thank God they did and found me. Now, I am connected with a handful of them.
• Connect with potential clients (Facebook has connected me with numerous people who end up becoming clients).
• Make more Impact: via SelfGrowth.com, my Blogs and through my FB updates.
• Stay connected with Friends, Families, and most especially my Mentors. (via email, FB, and phone calls).
• Make more money (by fixing systems, designing websites and offering various  tech services).

I have been able to do more with technology, especially in recent times, but I have decided to limit it to the above.

So, what have you been able to do with technology (either mobile or any other form of digital product)? Comment below please.

Google’s new social networking site, Google+ (GooglePlus), has finally been opened up to the public. G+ has been on a field test for the past 12 weeks, and was accessible only via invites from existing members.

The official launch anouncement was made today on the Official G+ blog. As such, anyone can now register for a Google+ account by visiting plus.google.com to signup.

Also, for those already on Google+, there’s now a search tab. I once looked out for this feature, but it was missing then. But now, you can search for people you want to connect with. This feature also allows you to save your searches. On the screenshot, you can see a saved search for “Larry Page” just below the “Left Stream Navigation”. The screenshot is a search for Mobility blog.

I was also successful in creating a  Google+ profile for VDrive Technologies without an invite and it was  successful.

Want Google+ for mobile?

Don’t forget that Google+ is also available on mobile. Simply visit this URL in your phone’s browser: m.google.com/plus.

I got this sms a couple of minutes ago on my MTN sim:100 MTN-2-MTN SMS for only N50. Simply text SMS to 321 to buy. Start texting! SMS Offer valid till 18 Sept. So, that’s it from MTN. There seems to be a strong competition among Nigeria’s Network Providers. That’s one of the advantages of having many players in a sector. It forces out what’s really obtainable in such sector. So, start texting!

Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! to ANDROID OS and all current users and fans. As for those who are still waiting to accept that Android is the best OS, we’ll be ready to accept you as a fan once you decide. In a couple of “posts” from this, I will be reviewing some mobile phones and Tablets that run the  Android OS.

Meanwhile, let me share a few reason why I doff my cap for the Great Android OS. I recently told my friends that “I can’t buy any smartphone if it doesn’t run on Android”. Find out why below:

• It’s OpenSource: Android being opensource means that anyone (manufacturers or even you) who wants to use Android (for product development) doesn’t need any to pay for the usually expensive license fee from Google to further develop and customize it for his own use. The advantage of this is that the improvement and development of Android is open to “all”. Meanwhile, I am an Opensource person, anyway.
• Android gives room for choice: Unlike our friends who use Blackberry, iTouch and many others. All these are strictly tied to the their makers (e.g. iOs runs on Apple products only, bbOS runs on RIM products only and many others. On the other hand, there are many phone manufacturers that power their smartphone and tablets with Android e.g. Samsung, Motorola, Sony, Huaiwei even Chinese phone makers (Chinko) – Expect an article on this soon. The advantage of this is that it gives room for Choice. Take for instance, I may not like phones made by a particular manufacturer due to some technical lapses on  their part. I can easily switch to a better manufacturer and still enjoy my Great Android features as long as the new manufacturer has an android powered phone. (e.g. Mr. S dislike maker Y because their batteries do no last lnog…he then switches to maker Z and continues enjoying his android OS).
• Great App Market: Due to the opensource status of Android, many developers are being encouraged to develop their apps and upload on the Android Market. This in turns mean more apps  for users. As at April, 2011 there were there were 206,143 android apps with over 3Billion Downloads. The statistics have changed since then, though.
• It enjoys great Support from the Great Google.