Thinking of creating an app or widget for the Nokia N900? The official Maemo 5 User Interface docs are now at forum.nokia.com detailing usability principles, device orientation, controls, icons, dialogs, etc. There is also a GUI design interface template in PSD format, so User Interface / Experience designers out there can start mocking up apps.
The docs are in three parts:
Additional documentation is also at the maemo.org wiki.
You’ve seen Ari Jaaksi and Peter Scheider’s interviews. This time, Jussi Makinen, Nokia Maemo Devices Marketing Manager, along with Andrew Flegg and Gary Birkett of maemo.org, answer questions from bloggers, including Maemo Talk’s Roger Sperberg, during the onedotzero_advetures in motion event in London.
My good pal Jay Montano of My Nokia Blog, posted a 52-minute(!) video of the session. If you don’t feel like watching the video, Jay has summarized the Q&A session, emphasizing the important points on his blog (link).
Full video:
I wish there was a video of Nokia VP for Maemo Devices, Ari Jaaksi’s presentation at OSIM World 2009. His nine slides (below) talk about making Open Source more user friendly, how Maemo is inspired by the consumer’s insights, and how Nokia is working with the community from day one. The last slide summarizes it perfectly though:
“We want to concentrate on user experience and work together on things that are generic.
This is how we can create value for our customers.”
Full Slides:
EDIT: It looks like it’s either Amazon made a mistake or the N900 is all sold-out. That was fast!
EDIT #2: It’s back!
EDIT #3: Now $6 lower at $582.99 (from $588.99).
For anyone in the U.S. looking for a good deal on the Nokia N900, Amazon.com has the N900 listed right now for only $588.99 $582.99 (no taxes with free 2-day shipping). This saves you about $60 from the original price plus it’s tax-free, but you don’t get the free Bluetooth headset that the Nokia online store offers.
Need to take wide-angle photos and videos with the Nokia N900? All you need is an inexpensive fisheye lens and a rubber band (link).
Sample video:
If you are into hacking and modding, here’s the chance for you to start thinking on how you can connect the Nokia N900 to any device that you love, and possibly get your project funded by Nokia.
On the onedotzero_adventures in motion event in London, Nokia launched a PUSH project called Nokia PUSH N900 (@PUSHN900):
The brief is simple: tell us how you would hack and mod the N900 & Maemo to connect the N900 to something you love. An expert judging panel will be selecting winning submissions and the groups behind them will receive N900 devices, funding and support to develop their PUSH idea. And once they’re complete, we’ll share them with the rest of the world with a series of installations in Nokia Flagship Stores across the globe.
During the London event, sample projects were on display, connecting the Nokia N900 to the Arduino, Speak and Spell, Rolodex, Last.fm, and a View-Master. Checkout PSFK’s coverage.
Nokia is now accepting PUSH N900 submissions until October 5. An expert panel will judge the submissions, and the winners will be announced on October 25. Submit your idea now.
EDIT: Download the Hacker’s Guide.
Discuss this at talk.maemo.org.
*Photo courtesy of PSFK
U.S. folks, if you have been wanting to get some hands-on time with the Nokia N900 before you pre-order one, it looks like the Nokia flagship stores in New York and Chicago now have test drive units.
The New York Nokia store is located at 5E 5th Ave, while the Chicago Nokia store is at 543 N Michigan Ave.
If you happen to try out the Nokia N900, let us know what you think by adding your first impressions on this talk.maemo.org thread.
There has been a lot of buzz going around about Nokia, not planning to allow carrier customization for the Maemo phones (e.g. Nokia N900). Here’s a post at Nokia Conversations that clears things up (link).
Some quotes from the post:
“Many reports have erroneously suggested that Nokia will not support operator customization for Maemo devices – a fact that is simply incorrect.”
…
“While we have not announced immediate plans to offer an operator variant for the N900, there are many customization points for operators on the N900. It would be absolutely incorrect to assume that we will not offer operators the ability to tailor future Maemo devices to suit their needs.”
…
“…we wanted to clear up these few important details that appear to have been misunderstood.”
The British Film Institute (BFI) onedotzero_adventures in motion event kicked off at London last night and as earlier reported, the Nokia N900 made its appearance by wirelessly controlling the display, projected on to the 50m BFI Southbank’s facade.
From the looks of it, if you are at the event, you can look for the Nokia folks and play with the Nokia N900 that lets you spin, zoom, and pause what is displayed on the gigantic screen. Jussi Makinen, Nokia Maemo Devices Marketing Manager, tweeted that he was doing just that.
We have heard that some key people from Nokia will be at the event. Maemo Talk will be there this weekend to cover the Maemo specific events as it unfolds, so expect more pics and vids.
Here’s the latest video from onedotzero:
If you’ve been wondering what the ‘Experience Lounge’ looked like during the recently concluded Nokia World 2009 at Stuttgart, Germany, my good pal Rafe Blanford of All About Symbian has produced two short videos, as he goes around the show floor. You can expect to see all the newly announced Nokia products, plus a short clip of the Nokia N900’s Bounce Revolution game on part II at about the 1:55 mark.
Oh, here’s an interesting quote from Rafe regarding the Nokia N97 mini and the N900:
“Well it is a bit controversial to say this, with so many geeks listening to this, this N97 mini will out sell the N900 because it’s a more accessible device. You’ve heard it here first.”
…
“This is gonna be the device to watch, not for all the geeks because they will be playing with their N900s…”
Part I:
Part II: