http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/ Engadget Comments for Nokia N97 firmware 2.0 looks to squash major pain points http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/Sep 8th 2009 3:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/Sep 9th 2009 6:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/
"UpgRRadability kinda kinda usability."]]>Sep 8th 2009 10:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/Sep 8th 2009 10:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/Sep 8th 2009 11:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/Sep 8th 2009 9:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/for his demo of the new firmware!]]>Sep 8th 2009 12:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/
Tell me, software developers, is there nobody who checks up on you when it comes to "number of clicks"? Haven't you got a drive or internal "wanting" or general rule to always try to minimize the number of clicks and the number of button presses to get to what you want the device to do? I heard that at Apple Mac they appoint a guy specifically to check the number of clicks, and in the iPOD for example, if you need to press a button or tap the screen more than 3 times to get to any function of the device, the developer is sent back to redo and get it right. Well, to me it feels as if the developers at Nokia have absolutely no regards for this. I sometimes get the idea that they are under the impression that they need to build in more interaction steps to keep the user busy with.

The screen gets clogged with useless and outdated style information that nobody wants and nobody can switch of. When I make a call, a little notification message pops (just as the phone starts to ring). This message says: "You have active call diverts". Woop-dee-doo! I really, really needed to know that! Every time I make a call! Since 1998 when I started to use a cell phone!!!!!!???? And this comes up because, like EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE WORLD, when I don't answer my phone, the call "is diverted" to my voice mailbox - I'd say this is pretty much standard for any mobile user on the planet, why remind you of this fact with every call made? And this not-ever-updated software from Nokia needs to notify me of this EVERY TIME I MAKE A CALL - and the real reason that this frustrates me, is because a) I can not switch this little piece of irritating notification off AND b) for the duration (of 3 seconds in the case of the N97) that this is displayed on my screen, I can not do anything on my phone. Many times one need to quickly "alter" what you started of to do - such as: You make a call, and just as it starts to ring you realize you need to first make a different call, or you need to quickly open another application because the person on the other side need you to read a number back to him from your phone book or whatever. In my case I also receive a lot of calls. Many times, just as my outgoing call starts to ring, my phone shows an incoming call - I always rush against time, so I try to answer that call (while the outgoing call rings) and quickly asks "Hi Suzy, I'm on another call, can you hold a few secs or must I call back?" usually, I get an answer just in the nick of time and I can swap back to my outgoing call as the other person answers. That is functionality man!! And I actually had this in my previous models. Your finger knows the route and the menu and you can do it blindfolded almost - but no, this little unnecessary notification message renders everything inactive for you for 3 seconds. And what is the result? I must ignore the incoming call because the obstructing notification message brings down my speed and forces me out of "effective range" to manage it as I always did - i.e., I need to spend money to call the person back. Can't drop my outgoing call either, cause it already started ringing, if I drop it and answer the incoming call, chances are that in 80% of the cases, that person phones back to ask "I've got a missed call from you. Are you looking for me?" Cute, only problem is, I am on the line with the other call that I dropped that call for. Major loss of functionality and effectiveness. Thanks Nokia, for placing that piece of irritation in my path. This is a software issue in most all Nokia phones. With some it is not a problem, because the reaction of the processor is fast and crisp and accurate and always the same. You quickly learn that if I just press on the screen or on the "c" key or maybe on any digit key, this message disappear and my automated fingers can rush through the desired steps to get to the application I want or answer the other call before my colleague on the other side answers. (Just don't press the red phone symbol button - this will not only remove the unwanted notification, it will also end your call prematurely. And boy if this happens, you need to wait many seconds extra for the phone to make peace with itself before you can just press redial. More steps, more sequences, more buttons, and more frustration.) And with this issue the N97 is EXTA slow to respond. After every action, it needs time to make piece with itself, to re-orientate the screen, the memory. It needs time to make available to you the option to press buttons that you are anxiously waiting to press, if this phone can just "keep up". But it can't, unfortunately. To think that the E90 that I have been using for 3 years now, which already frustrated me in many of these same issues, are light years ahead in speed (in terms of reaction time) and reception and battery life and operating system stability, than this super-dooper-top-notch "flag-ship" device that is supposed to have 4 years newer technical performance and capabilities.
I can go on and on and on about my frustrations here. But, I need to get back to work now. I am so disgruntled. I so much wish for Nokia to be the best. It is possible. Everything is out there. The hardware can make it. The software can make it. There are very good processors and memory capabilities out there. Even battery technology. Jeepers, have you seen the improvements made in this field as of late? Why not take in the best of everything that there is? Why not strike a deal with Window to use Win mobile? Face it, Symbian do have the stability and capability, but you don't have the zest to bring it to its rights, Nokia. Get Windows mobile or get left behind. OR, get your bloody lazy buts in gear and develop Symbian to what it really can be - it can be even better than Windows.
Nokia, let me just drop a note on your PC suite quickly - while I'm at it. Man, is that one piece of potential fantasticness that you have been slow to come around to! Do you know what PC SUITE is supposed to be for me? It is should be "my phone on my computer". To really be this, PC SUITE should become a little Symbian operating system (exact replica of the phone connected at any given moment) on top of my Windows Desktop Operating system. I should be able to do everything from within PC Suite that I do on my phone. Not just access telephone numbers and calendar and messages! From within PC suite I should be able to operate all software on my phone - because PC Suite should actually become my phone on my computer when connected. But where is PC SUITE now? Lets take a simple thing like "default number". I have more +1300 contacts on my phone. Most of them got more than one number - fax, landline, mobile, email etc. What happens when I want to call someone? I get asked which number I wish to call. Usually you always call someone by a preferred number (default number). Now to select a contact number as default number, you need to open the contact, select 'Defaults' from the options menu and pick which contact detail to use for what function. This may seem all OK to the user getting started with a new phone and systematically adding your contacts. But even to these individuals, this is a cumbersome issue with a lot of button issues on the phone. One can not set defaults on PC SUITE. With your mouse and keyboard in PC SUITE, this would be much less painful. Further more if the Nokia developers should come around to this some day in the distant future, they would be so near sighted (an assumption made from experience) that they would not think of "mass default settings" - where you should be able to select a number of contacts in your phone book (or maybe all - whatever you want) and for all of the selections, change default phone number to 'mobile' or whatever. Wouldn't that be effective? Especially for a guy with 1300 contacts in his address book? And now the real bummer on this issue: Just as you've got this set up, you change your handset, you upgrade or the thing broke or gets stolen or whatever. You've made your phone back-ups religiously and you receive your new handset and transfer all of your data back to your new device. Guess what; yes you guessed right, the defaults are gone. There is no way to transfer default settings or save them or retain them in any manner. The cumbersome process of setting it up needs to start all over again.
Phone developers, get one thing straight please: These gadgets are but one of many tools in our toolboxes. The percentage of population who uses them for farting around is actually very low. We work with these things. It's not a toy although it can be used as one. But its use is important. Its function is critical. SO MAKE THE FREAKIN THING AS FUNCTIONAL AS POSSIBLE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! I NEED A QUALITY TOOL. I KNOW HOW TO APPRECIATE A QUALITY TOOL. I WILL LOVE IT, AND TAKE CARE OF IT - I PROMISE!

Sorry for shouting there, just needed to get that of my chest.

Do you know what would be the best phone for me? Take my old E90, give it the same 5MP camera and lens and related photo software of the N97, give it the fastest processor on the market, make the internal screen touch screen, leave the keyboard as is, change to Windows Mobile latest & greatest, leave the outer screen & keys as is, add the same hard drive sizes and additional memory stick capabilities than the N97. Man! That would have been a beaut of a phone! I can daydream about that. I will be willing to take out a lone to buy a thing like that.

Well, that’s it from me. I will go to sleep now for 20 years and see if you’ve caught up when I wake UP.


]]>Sep 10th 2009 7:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/Sep 12th 2009 8:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/Oct 7th 2009 8:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/nokia-n97-firmware-2-0-looks-to-squash-major-pain-points/- I am a people connector and have more than 6,000 contacts on my E90, but this N97 can store not more than 4,200 contacts to be exact!!! How come!!!??? I have stored these 6k contacts in my Nokia 6681 and could sync with my laptop no problem, but not now with this N97!!! Always I got this warning "Memory full" and that's the end of my sync. How can I use a phone without contact???? On, Nokia...
Now I keep this phone in my bag just because I could use it as a camera. What a pain!
But Nokia has been very good at cheating consumers like me by very good marketing campaign that made me queuing for days to be the first ones owning this!

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