As many of you know that nowadays I’m using HTC Desire as my primary phone ( my Nokia’s are all in my drawer)  , the other day I was wondering if I can extend it’s functionality and make it behave like my N97 Mini with Ext GPS and Joiku Spot. with my iPad 16 GB WiFi

Accessing the net through Desire to the iPAd was easy as I already have Froyo ( Android 2.2) installed on my HTC Desire it was as simple as clicking WiFi Hotspot on Desire and make it a portable WiFI Hotspot.

What’s difficult was to make the Desire act as a Bluetooth GPS for my iPad and extend it’s functionality .

I searched around a little and found a nifty application , Bluetooth GPS ( Available on Android Market ) by Meowsbox 

This application as the name says convert my Desire into a Bluetooth GPS out device which the iPAd can access.  I ‘m using the trial version with functionality extended to 10 min and after that I have to restart the application .  The full version code can be obtained after donation of $1.99 or more and is applicable on 5 phones and can be purchased from Meowsbox. Alas it only uses PayPal so I can’t buy it from Pakistan.

The next step was to access GPS coordinates on the iPad -  here Cydia came into play .  Remember you need a Jail Broken iPad to access and install Cydia Applications .  Download and install BTstack GPS 1.5  from repository ,  start the application , connect it to HTC Desire ( you have to have iPad bluetooth turned off from settings )   and within minutes you will get a GPS fix on your iPad.

It’s better if you buy BTstack GPS from Cydia store for USD4.99 as the trial version will not send coordinated to other applications.

Just two applications and an investment of USD 6.98 ,  I can easily convert my iPAd 16 GB WiFI to iPad 16GB 3G , just a note on the side constant use of WiFi and Bluetooth will eat up your Desire’s battery so have a charger handy

Nokia thorough it’smobile portal www.nokia.mobi has extended it’s offerings by launching Hereand Now , www.Nokia.mobi/hereandnow , developed by 12snaps as a part of Nokia Interactive Advertising is integral in Nokia’s strategy of focusing on revenues as outlined by Mr Olli Pekka Kallasvuo – CEO Nokia and will provide a platform for Nokia to form strategic partnerships with advertisers to reach a global audience of 3.3 billion users of mobile phones .

The portal covers World News , Music , Celebrity Buzz and of course information about Nokia and it’s products and services divided into the following sections

• Start  – main page with snapshot offerings of other pages
• Listen  covering Music courtesy Rolling Stones  with suitbcategories including Music News ,  Downloads (nothing significant a Kylie making of Video , some Wall Papers and Animations ) , Album Reviews and Accessories ( only by Nokia)
• Know  covering news in collaboration with Reuters with subcategories including Top News , World News , Business , Sports , Technology , Internet , Science and Oddly Enough
• Buzz  covering Celebrity Gossip , Movie News , Top Movies , Nokia Vine , 
• Grab  with downloads in Games covering N-Gage games , Applications offering nothing earth shattering  only Widsets , Widgets and Mosh  .  Movies with exclusive trailers of Dark Knight and Wall papers of Narnia. Sports offering SMS tones , Videos and Wallpapers . Fun with funny video clips and one wallpaper Real Life with videos of real people   LifeStyles  latest trends covered in Wallpapers and Ringtones and a Personalized Wallpaper with name on it
• Spy  covers the movie Twilight , Nokia offerings including headset competition winners , navigation , Super Nova phone range , Nokia Vine , N-Gage , Mapsters , Nokia 5800 etc mostly about their upcoming concepts.
• Browse  covers other 3rd part sites as Guide to GO , Daily Telegraph , You Tube and X17 Mobile
• Discover  covers Nokia’s applications and Phones as 5800 and SuperNova

Nokia’s aim is to target the 18-35 year old crowd for the Here and Now and is already have BMW, American Express and Universal Pictures .

“By providing quality content to consumers from partners such as Reuters and Rollingstone.com, Here and Now allows consumers to get more out of Nokia.mobi and mobile services in general,” said Juha Rytkönen, Director Nokia.mobi.

As a push campaign , all new Nokia handsets have www.nokia.mobi pre-bookmarked on the browser and is bound to be noticed and visited by the consumer offering advertisers millions of views per day .

Nokia is currently looking for advertisers , sponsorships and ad campaigns to run across the site . For long Nokia had been showing banner ads on their Nokia mobile site and Widsets applications but the banner ads were mostly limited to their own offerings and campaigns .

Why advertisers should advertise on Nokia Here and Now ?

Content is the key , by offering quality content Nokia can lure the consumer to return back and encourage advertisers to promote their brand .

As said byTom Henriksson, Head of Nokia Interactive Advertising.  “Here and now will encourage users to come back more often and spend more time on Nokia.mobi which is great news for the growing number of advertisers that have been using Nokia.mobi as the launchpad for their mobile advertising campaigns,”

My views on Nokia Here and Now

I’ve used the Nokia Here and Now portal , it does offers interesting stuff like the news from Rolling Stones and Reuters , Application Downloads , and content for the phone . There were no outside ads on the site except by Nokia itself featuring their own products and services mainly Nokia 5800 and Mapsters /  Nokia Vine.

I like the layout but the content was stale , much already available through previous downloads , some was new and I liked it  but the most important missing part is personalization , I don’t always want to see what Nokia wants me to see I want to be able to add my own RSS content , the more consumer gets to personalize it the more the charm to come back to it .

On other note on Nokia.mobi site the link / banner is given in the bottom not visible on the first look and I’ve to scroll down after the usual options . If Nokia wants to promote it , they should have it right on the top . If I didn’t knew about the site being present there I would have clicked somewhere else . The back link is also to Nokia.mobi not to the main page of Here and Now

My other suggestions to Nokia are

• Try gathering user information through forms and login information , it assist the advertisers better to position their market strategy .
• Nokia can display ads as per the user information as if I say I’m a 31 year old , professional background , Graduate Degree in a certain income bracket , Kraft Cheese ads will not appeal to me now if Nokia uses the information I’ve provided to show me a BMW or a Tag Heuer ad , I’ll be more inclined to click it
• IP based advertising campaigns as if I connect from Pakistan , I should see ads relevant to my market . Although I used Pakistan as my example , imagine what a huge market like India and China will do for advertisers such as Airtel ( already in talk with Nokia ) or Vodafone’s local offerings for the region.
• Having a local advertising network will create a niche marketing strategy for Nokia be it Pakistan or Bolivia , large local corporations will not only advertise but will also market their portals on Nokia’s mobi site creating a synergistic effect.
• Social Networking could also be incorporated . Nokia can use the portal as a social networking site made for mobile usage , with more people using their phones then computers , it will be a huge success success . Nokia can also incorporate their upcoming location based services to keep member’s status updated and be searchable by approved list of friends . These services can also be marketed to advertisers for their ads and creation of groups within the community with their offerings and also giveaways for users.
• Offer applications in connection with Advertisers , say a Tag Heuer branded / sponsored stop watch or step counter etc

These are my two cents on Nokia Here and Now , it’s a good start and hopefully Nokia will improve it with time based on customer feedback

Farhan

I love my radio , not the 12 station preset I got on my truck but Internet Radio installed on my Nokia E71 , on it I can  listen the songs of 80’s and 90’s to my heart fill , On my car I have a DIY setup to play Internet radio , I connect the Phone to a 2.5mm to 3.5mm jack which connects to 3.5mm to 2.5mm jack of my FM Transmitter hooked on the Car Lighter and I listen to my songs on the preset frequency . Very cumbersome I say but not for long Balupunkt has the answer.

Blaupunkt in collaboration with Australian outfit miRoamer is offering the world’s first internet car radio. Powered by 3G GSM chip ( SIM CARD ) this radio  can access thousands of Radio Stations across the internet or local terrestrial radios .

“The move to develop an Internet car radio solution is a new paradigm and a real starting point for in-car digital media,” said Robert Demian, Head of Global Sales, miRoamer. “miRoamer was the first and remains the only true digital media platform. By partnering with Blaupunkt, who has always been recognized as the first to introduce new and innovative products to the car audio markets, consumers now have access to all of the great benefits of Internet radio in their car, while experiencing unparalleled sound quality and reliability that is far superior to what they are accustomed.”

But the catch is Blaupunkt Internet car radio stereos, driven by miRoamer, will be rolled out as built-in original equipment

SO I have to wait for r the car with inbuilt or go to the grey market of Karachi to find a stolen one

Farhan

What’s the first thing your kid do when going to school .

Get On The Bus unless if they commute in their own car but soon students in Arkansas will prefer the bus over the car

Now Government of Arkansas is running a pilot program called Aspirnaut meaning a student who aspires, seeks, and achieves. In this program they will provide internet access on school buses to elevate the Mathematics and Science  achievements of Rural Community K-12 students taking long bus rides to school

As per the program selected high performing students are provided with video iPods and Laptops to study and take Distant Learning Classes on their way home . 

I wonder when we’ll have program like these for our buses my ride used to take 2 hours which I used to spend doing my homework and taking a nap only if I had a laptop then