Omio

Great Moments In Product Placement : Nokia Phones

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

Fresh from the news of Nokia’s Tube phone in the Dark Knight (which they vehemently denied of course), we thought it only right to start this new feature with the company that turned selling stuff into an art form.

Nokia’s presence in today’s music videos is unparalleled, and their occasional moments in the cinematic spotlight have been equally memorable. Say what you like about innovation, but the way in which Nokia leaks info on a new handset is far cooler than “OMG I gotz da new W950i!” on an unofficial blog site, or such blatant product insertion that it brings the whole experience down (’Sony Presents: Casino Royale’).

Join us for some of the best Nokia cameos, complete with timecodes in a handy ‘Mr. Skin’ fashion to ensure that you can get to the best bits without too much filler…

1. Pharrell - That Girl feat. Snoop Dogg

One of the most impressive cameos of all time, where not only is the twisty multimedia-based Nokia N93i integral throughout, but they even manage to open the entire video with the Nokia ringtone. Truly it is the Citizen Kane of product placement. Pretty sure that’s not the real user interface though…

Money Moment : Take Your Pick!

Check after the jump for some less subtle moments…

Read the rest of this entry »

Nokia Tube Makes Dark Knight Cameo?

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

It seems like the new Nokia touchscreen handset isn’t afraid of the limelight, with a major role in the newest film in the Batman franchise, the Dark Knight.

In one scene, Lucius Fox (played by Morgan Freeman) uses what looks like the Nokia 5800 Tube to perform all manner of cool surveillance-related things, unfortunately the majority of those functions will be confined to the big screen. Don’t want to release any spoilers ahead of release, but suffice to say it looks pretty amazing!

These grainy images from Cellular show the Tube in yet another scene, as we are pretty sure those aren’t Morgan’s dainty fingers…

As for a release date of the real thing, Nokia are definitely planning their assault on the tactile screen market for 2008, so expect some further news regarding this in the coming months. Very exciting gadget news nonetheless, and judging by the rave reviews and No.1 status on IMDB, looks like the movie isn’t too bad either.

Nokia : Sales Up, Profits Down

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

Nokia seem to be on their way to their poorhouse after posting their Q2 reports, showing sales of a mere €13.2 billion, up 4% on last year. Net income is through the floor, down to €1.1 billion, less than half of the previous year.

This spiral into abject failure has been due to the closure of their factory in Bochum, a move which made them awfully unpopular with residents of the German town, for whom this source of work was integral. The 2,000 jobs were lost in an effort to make savings by shifting production to Romania, but Nokia still had to settle with a €300 million payoff for the German unions and workers, in addition to the €61 million in tax relief and grants that the government wants back. That is going to dent the profit margins of any company.

Nokia also shipped a trifling 122 million mobile phones, estimated as approximately 40% of the entire market share. With Apple aiming to gain one percent of the market by selling 10 million handsets in 2008, what some percieve as Nokia’s current ‘woes’ put all this iPhone hoopla into perspective… Apple has some ways to go before they reach the big leagues.

Source:Cellular News

Google Phone Rumours Gathering Ammunition

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

A huge rumour regarding Google’s entry to the mobile phone market has been resurrected, igniting interest in the future plans of the search company.

Their open source Android operating system has been developed as a low-cost alternative for manufacturers, allowing them to offer iPhone-esque bespoke functionality for their handsets without a protracted development time and costs. Due to be released on a number of devices by the end of the year, the unveiling of Android as a product Google was not keeping to themselves quashed speculation of them making a phone for the market.

However, a press conference held by Google’s co-founders this week has rekindled the fires of suspicion regarding a ‘gPhone’ to counter Apple’s new dominance in the smartphone sector. An apparent misquote in an article from Dan Cox of the Hollywood Reporter got the community revved again about the possibility of the phone’s development, rumours quickly debunked by Google themselves.

TechCrunch still won’t let this rumour lie though, with word that San Francisco product design firm Ammunition are working hard on designing the new handset for Google. A quick peek at their site proves the pedigree of the former Pentagram employees, with a number of concept designs for heavyweights such as Dell, Microsoft, Logitech and mobile phone company Sprint. These certainly look like the go-to guys for designing something like the gPhone.

Oh, and Ammunition’s founder? One Robert Brunner, Director of Industrial Design at Apple Inc. until 1997. Yes, he was succeeded by the amazing Jonathon Ive who went on to design everything Apple is now famous for, but he Brunner wasn’t shabby himself, designing the original Powerbook.

Silicon Valley Insider has a great piece on exactly why Google shouldn’t make a phone, especially now. Going for the masses with a software based solution is far more likely to prove successful than attempting to break off a piece of an already fractured market with hardware.

It could all just be conjecture and speculation, but TechCrunch spies often turn out to be right on the money. Time will tell as Google moves towards releasing the Android platform, as they will have to disclose their own plans to other manufacturers. Exciting times ahead, with Nokia’s Symbian architecture soon to be the choice for most mobile makers and the iPhone’s supremacy being cemented with 3G, Android will have to prove to be something special.

iPhone3G + C905 + N96 = Hot Handset Threeway

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

Electric Pig has done the sensible thing ahead of the big launch on Friday, organising a head to head to head with the three front-runners in the phone race.

The iPhone 3G is greased up and thrown into a pit with the 8 megapixel-toting Sony Ericsson C905 and the hotly anticipated Nokia N96, and like Highlander, there can be only one.

The breakdown is pretty comprehensive, with the three set against each other across a variety of aspects including memory capacity, multimedia features and added extras. It isn’t quite the victory one might expect, with each phone offering a real strong suit in certain areas. Their piece makes for some food for thought, and makes the iPhone’s future a lot more exciting as worthy challengers line up to take a pop…

We’ve put their impressive rap sheets side-by-side on the Omio Compare page, feel free to chuck your own favourite in there to see how it rates.

Nokia N96 : Crouching Tiger, Soaring Interest

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

Best. Marketing. Campaign. Ever.

Not only is the N96 an awesome handset but Nokia are fully aware of this fact, and have managed to blow the GDP of a developing nation combining all the best things ever on their new website.

Without trying to spoil it, ninjas, kung-fu and your face features prominently. All it would need is a giant robot to be the only site the interweb required. Oh, and they are giving away one-of-a-kind N96s to some lucky blighters. They come in a wooden box, are numbered, and are limited edition. Limited Edition.

Just when you think they are a soulless conglomerate looking to grab you with fancy ads and rarities, Nokia presents a more humane way to get your hands on one. By donating 759 EUR (£604) to the WWF (the nature people, not the men in tights), they will give you one of the 96 limited edition N96s and you will be giving the red pandas in Nepal a chance at survival.

You can also donate other, more palatable sums of money, but will only receive a warm feeling and the eternal respect of the bamboo-eating community.

Omio’s interest in this phone (and saving the pandas) has just skyrocketed from ‘lots’ to ‘prepared to infiltrate an underground fighting league, risking death by the hand of a shaolin master to get an N96′.

Nokia Gets An All-In-One With 6220 Classic

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

The good thing about Nokia releasing approximately eleventy million handsets a year into the market is that sometimes, just sometimes, when the stars are in alignment on a vernal equinox, they release a phone that does everything right. That phone is the 6220 Classic.

This handset is a picture of understated elegance. An unassuming candybar that didn’t necessarily wow anyone upon its unveiling at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Fast forward five months and this phone is set to be an industry assassin, sneaking up behind and snapping the necks of all comers.

The 6220 is equipped with a Carl Zeiss optics 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and a xenon flash, usually the preserve of high-class numbers like the Nokia N82. Combine that with the full fat Nokia Maps 2.0 GPS functionality, and you have a handset fully ready to “geotag” photos based on location, as well as offering a handy alternative to a sat nav with full turn-by turn directions…

Then you have the 3G high-speed connection to allow these pictures to be uploaded to sites like Flickr or Nokia’s proprietary site Ovi in a flash, directly from the phone. These features are all pretty good, but currently exist on other phones. What the 6220 Classic does is incorporates it all into a tidy little package which is gorgeous and most importantly cheap!

Nokia have recognised the amount of convergence in this handset, and as such are putting a lot of time and effort into showcasing the 6220 for what it is. The ‘WidSets’ addition of mini applications lend a bespoke feel, similar to the way in which the Samsung Tocco allows feature priority based on personal preference. Nokia have recognised that not everyone wants a phone made of calfskin and encrusted in diamonds, and have managed to fill a mid-range handset with top drawer features.

Released soon on major networks under a smokescreen of clamour for tactile wonders, Nokia has been clever to sidestep and go for a competitively priced, feature-rich panacea to the iPhone 3G chatter. A review to follow soon…

O2 Redefines ‘Push To Talk’ With Pedal Charger

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

Not to be beaten by Orange’s innovative mobile phone festival solutions for Glastonbury with their Dance Charger and mobile charge tent, o2 have unveiled their gimmick for the upcoming Wireless Festival this weekend. Eschewing solar power with the fickle nature of the British summer, they will offer specially equipped bikes which turn pedal power into phone juice.

In Hyde Park from the 3rd to the 6th of July, o2 will be turning revellers into Chopper lovers and BMX bandits in order to charge their handsets. However, they won’t be getting very far.

Not least that it is a difficult environment to stand upright let alone pedal about, the bike will be secured to the ground much like an exercise machine. Probably to dissuade light-fingered music fans from riding clean out of the park with a bunch of expensive tech.

Not the most fun alternative to watching your favourite band, sweating in a field to charge your phone. But at least the real-world implications for this technology is far more practical than Orange’s efforts, with that deadly commute to work being less pointless if boosting your mobile was a byproduct of push power.

Could even turn those exercise bikes in homes across the country into something other than a coat rack.

Obviously, o2 have no plans at present to release it commercially. That would make too much sense. As easy as it is to power the headlamp on a Raleigh with these things, charging a drained Nokia N95 might require a trip to the Cairngorms…

Nokia ‘Comes With Music’ Adds Warner To Roster

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

Nokia mobile music solution ‘Comes With Music’ is on its way in the third quarter of this year, alongside the first phones to take advantage.

Before the release however, is a lot of behind the scenes alignment with the big names in the music industry to ensure that the system is furnished with a diverse roster. Adding to Universal and Sony BMG, Nokia have announced today they have secured Warner Music Group, the home of everyone from Eric Clapton to Missy Elliott by way of rock group Stone Sour.

A $2.9 billion market in 2007, the music download sector is an area the labels are looking to recoup from as CD sales fall dramatically year on year.

A robust alternative to iTunes, Comes With Music is an effort to placate the labels, offering a network where for an annual fee users are given access to a vast resource of music via audio stream or download. At the end of the twelve months, users are able to retain all downloaded music from the site. Sounds like commercial suicide, but Nokia made a good point for the sense behind it. If you can legally download as much music as you want for a year, and keep it forever, why would you bother pirating at all?

With the holy trinity of the the largest labels on board and a revenue structure that challenges the pay-per-track iTunes template, Nokia’s Comes With Music could pose a serious threat to Apple’s superiority. This gives Nokia the flexibility to attract small labels who will be guaranteed to see money as opposed to a cut of limited sales, as well as the majors who have never seen eye-to-eye with Apple over pricing.

Let’s just hope that Apple don’t overtake Nokia in handset sales whilst they set their sights on the music download market. With approximately 435 million Nokias sold in 2007 alone, Apple certainly have their work cut out…

Source: Warner Music Group

Nokia N96 Interactive Demo!

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (240)

Here it is, some virtual entertainment for you N96 lovers out there! An in-depth guide for every single facet of the new media monster, from how to take out the SIM to watching TV on it. Feast! Gorge! Enjoy! There’s plenty of meat on these bones to go around…

Only caveat, do be quick as who’s to say how long the demo will be up for. It seems to be hidden down the back of the interweb’s sofa, but Symbian Freak was clever enough to fish it out. Looks pretty good!