Nokia,N900 and 3rd Party developer incentives....

[darlomrh]

Hi,

I have never seen what the fuss is about Nokia phones until I had the E71 and I loved it. Time to move on and I now have the N900 and I'm loving this device too.

However there are some applications here in the UK that I used on the E71 that I'm missing on my shiny new N900.

Last.FM Radio(mobbler),BBC iPlayer and Sky Anytime mobile.

Now I know there is a Last.FM for N900 but to get it to work I need to sign up for an API key and so on.

My question is this: Have Nokia gone out to service providers and said we have a new device we want you to develop the popular apps for it?

I look on the pages of SKY TV and Last.FM and see that there are clients for Symbian s60, Android and iPhone platforms.

I really hope that Nokia haven't taken the approach "Build it and they will come" :)

Thoughts comments welcome.

[MrGrim]

They shouldn't take the 'build it and they will come' approach because 'they' have no reason to 'come' to a new platform with questionable success and future (well, i believe in it's success, but others have no reason to)
Then again, nokia seems very hung-up on the 'step 5/6' thing, so they may well be preserving their resources to make a big splash on the next device

[darlomrh]

That is my concern. I'm sure that if I emailed the likes of Sky, Last.FM etc I'm betting the answer will be "sorry we develop for A,B and C platforms we have no time or resources for another platform" :(

Hence I would have assumed Nokia would done some smoozing and said come and develop for this great new platform.

I would have compiled a list of the best apps around on the other platforms and gone to the developers and said here is the N900 and we will help you port it.

Let's face it: OVI store vs other app stores? No contest, content is king

[RipTorn]

Canola2 has a Last.fm plugin for diablo. Canola hasn't made it to the N900 as of yet. I'd expect that to get last.fm etc.

[zwer]

www.last.fm - that's all you need to play last.fm, unlike other platforms, the site will fully work in N900s browser. Granted, it may take more resources than a standalone app, but if you miss it that much...

As I'm not a last.fm user, I don't know how are they providing outside streams, but if they are using standard streaming service, you can add it in your media player under internet stations...

[darlomrh]

Thanks for the Last.FM tips.

[ndi]

Personally, If I were Nokia I'd run weekly contests basted on user votes and work on prizes of some kind. Competition never hurt anyone and frankly a small shell script that does what users want has a better chance then an app like Candle.

The Push was a nice idea, it shouldn't die off. Perhaps donating N900 is a bit steep, I have no idea how funds are allocated back there, but even a little help to pay off coffee and a T-shirt could spark them.

Remember, it's not companies that do the software, it's the people who push for them.

It worked for Mozilla/Firefox.

[darlomrh]

Here is an example of what I mean:




Thank you for your email regarding Sky Mobile.



We are sorry to advise you that your phone is not a supported handset for Sky Mobile. We are always working to update this service, however we cannot advise on when or if a particular handset will be supported.

If you visit http://p.wecomm.com/sky - this site provides the most up to date information and if your phone becomes compatible you will see it there.

You may still be able receive Mobile TV; please contact your network provider for more information.



We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.



I trust this information assists, however, should you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact our team on the above email address

[SubCore]

Canola2 has a Last.fm plugin for diablo. Canola hasn't made it to the N900 as of yet. I'd expect that to get last.fm etc.

hm, i thought it already made it to the N900? :)

http://maemo.org/packages/view/canola2/
http://maemo.org/packages/view/canola2-lastfm-plugin/

[Rocketman]

There is a installable package for Canola for the N900, but it hasn't really been updated to work well with Fremantle (Maemo 5). The only way to minimize the program is via ctrl + backspace. I've encountered frequent graphical glitches with the program, occasional lockups, misc sounds issues and it doesn't sync with the underlying system volume controls. I would really like to see a polished version for the N900, but right now it is in an extremely alpha state.

[SubCore]

I would really like to see a polished version for the N900, but right now it is in an extremely alpha state.

ah, alright. i haven't used it much, only for the occasional mp3, and didn't encounter any problems.
good to know, though :)

[darlomrh]

This thread is not really about application X, more the query have Nokia gone out to service providers and asked them to develop for the new device and gave them the help they need, or are they taking the approach "Well we have made the device, we have done our bit now go develop for it"

If it's the latter, the likes of BBC,SKY and so on may turn around and say "sorry we support enough of the popular platforms we will not be developing for this platform"