Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Hi all,

We at Nokia Care would like to hear your feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides and Get started guide. Your feedback will be valuable when making User guide updates for the next software releases and also when planning the User guide content for the next Maemo device. This is purely an informal feedback thread, as I'm also interested in learning how the Maemo community sees the role of end-user documentation in general for Maemo devices.

My questions are the following:

1. How would you rate the current support offering for N900, in your own words? Please give your evaluation separately for a) the printed Get started guide, b) the in-device User guide (you can access it through File manager > Documents > User guides), and c) the User guide PDF on the Nokia Support site.
2. What’s your opinion on the current concept of providing end user documentation, that is, a short, printed get started guide in the sales box, and the longer guides available on the web and in-device? Do you expect Nokia to provide a longer User guide in the sales box, or is the Get started guide enough?
3. Maemo 5 doesn't have a help framework. What’s your opinion, should there be one for Maemo 6? What would an ideal help system be in your opinion?
4. And finally, how do you see the role of the Maemo community in providing end-user support? Do you think the community could be more involved in the process of making the User guides (for example, as a content reviewer)? What would, in your opinion, be a good solution for the community to get involved? :)

Of course, any other feedback (or suggestion) is very welcome : )

Thank you very much for your feedback!

Best regards,

Harri Suhonen
Nokia Care

PS. Please note that if you find any bugs in the User guide or Get started guide, please report them in Bugzilla (Under User guide & Help content), so that we get all the possible bugs fixed in time.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Mods? Sticky this?

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

I didn't even see the on device user guide. I don't need a big printed guide (the one included seemed ok enough--I barely looked at it honestly though). What I did look at a bit was a long PDF that was pretty hard to track down. It was on third party sites then eventually seemed to appear in Nokia's webspace.

Longer guides available online. :) More technical docs that are typically only available to service centers should be made available publicly.

More docs on the wiki with lots of HOWTOs. This could be tied more directly into the browser. Perhaps a N900/microb theme for the wiki could be made as well (e.g. one with far less clutter than a wiki usually has).

It seems the Maemo community is doing the end user support already. They definitely are going to review your User guides, so you might as well let them review *before* you print. Just slap "beta" on the cover. Works for google.

Also, any and all technical docs should be made public!

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Thanks for posting this. I do believe this kind of post is a win-win for Nokia and the Community.

1)
I dont know about the get started guides really. When I encounter a problem with the phone I proceed as follows A) search talk.maemo.org. If that doesn't help I B) ask the community. If I still can't figure out the solution I either give or try to hack together something myself to solve the problem. The thought of reading the user guide never occured to me.

2)
The getting started video is all that is needed really. Together with detailed specifications of the capabilities of the device, both software and hardware.

3)
As in press F1 for help? I dont think it is needed. I am a little annoyed that there is no man pages in the terminal though. In graphical programs I think it can be done in using the browser and implemented by the programs that need a help system.

4)
The Maemo community is providing the end-user support already. That is fine. I think Nokia should focus on supporting the community. Nokia could make an effort monitoring the forums and clearing up questions where the community get stuck or fail to reach consensus.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Hello,

First i would like to thank you for coming here and showing some interest to this community. I think we would really appreciate more communication from your side. As you are part of this community or at least some kind of mother figure on background :)

1)
I noticed printed Get started guide and after trying to open my phone i had to read it because i was really afraid that i would break something. Besides that didn't pay much attention to it.

I do not anymore remember what default icons i had on my desktops but if there was no link to user guide then there really should be. Actually i haven't even seen anyone to mention here that there is user guide in phone. Actually there should be link to it from system default icons. Since you had to tell/describe to us where it is i think that already tells something about how hard it is to find.

Getting started animation/guide was quite nice, but maybe it should go little deeper. Clicking more tutorials will take you to http://maemo.nokia.com/ which is bit confusing. You can find some hints about things you can do from features, but i think that more this getting started kind animations for example about browser and its gestures etc. would make thing easier/faster to learn. I think that Nokia conversations youtube channels 30 seconds videos are quite nice and informative so maybe something like that also.

2)
I think that getting started is quite nice. It should only contain some troubleshooting and really basic guides on how to put your phone ready. Maybe how to transfer data from your old phone and how to connect to pc. Links to different webpages including this one.

I do not have it right here so I will give more detailed review when i have found it.

3)
I think that help system consist different kind of sources. Nokias own pages, this page and off course your stores and people selling your products.

There is already brainstorm about this:
http://maemo.org/community/brainstor...ion_framework/
I think that wiki base system could be way to go, but right now wiki on this page is quite constricted and simple. Problems with wiki might be seamless integration between n900 (offline/online), maemo.org, apps.

4)
Right now people are doing wonderful work here by trying to help users again and again. In my opinion Nokias role is to make quality of hw and provided default software as high as possible and constantly listen community to keep things evolving and making maemo better. You guys there should be toughest ones to satisfy and should demand more from you product than what users want :D

Community should be involved in the process of making users guides. Maybe in way that you provide default templates. As it looks like you have already provided and we make additions to them and make crosslinkin between different pages. Off course after you give those guides to community you are not responsible for them anymore. Maybe you could have couple of reviewers from your company who give accreditation to wiki pages that you qualify as good and reliable.

Problem would be that I´m here thinking only English pages and I have no idea how this should be done on different languages. Duplicate wiki?

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Intro: I've had N810 for quite a while now so I have lots of background. I also may not be your typical manual reader anyway and so not the target audience. On the other hand there are probably lots of people like me among Maemo 5 users...


How would you rate the current support offering for N900, in your own words?

When I opened the box I did leaf through the get started guide and read it a bit more while letting the device get some charge before booting. It served its purpose and contained some good info. From 1 to 5, 4+.

While I've now flipped through the manual on device, I don't consider reading it seriously enough to rate it.

Is the Get started guide enough?

I would say there is no need for heavy manual in package. You can't carry it around and it gets out of date. What I really would have wanted would have been a separate quicksheet of somesort with shortcuts and browser gestures. This would have been really nice when getting to know the device. It combines much of the stuff you can't figure out yourself and can't bother to browse through the manual for.

Also, while I now remember reading about it, I had forgotten the manual inside the device. The info of "Where to get more info" on a starter manual could be printed on the back cover with large, friendly letters "Don't panic! Full manual can be found at ....". Also an icon in start menu might be in order.

What would an ideal help system be in your opinion?

I think most important feature is the search. If it is not as easy and quick as Google on an internet tablet turned to phone, don't bother.

Still, because M6 will probably be way more mainstream, some sort of quick guide attached to the each of the basic apps would be good I think. Maybe the help framework could have an easy way to continue searching info online. Maemo should be the ideal environment for that.

What would, in your opinion, be a good solution for the community to get involved?

Two things come to my mind. First is some sort of filtered searchable question answer database. Make this available from the help framework and community could create and/or improve the questions and answers.

Second is simply by reviewing manuals if they are made available before hand. It certainly isn't the strong point of most opensource communities, but you could give it a try :)

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

a) The guide is alright, i must say I've read so much about this device before that i barely looked it up (and actually did that with the pdf prior to getting the device)

b) I know it's there, don't really think it's going to be used but it's a nice touch.

c) That's probably the one i read through a forum link... It'll probably only serve with the troubleshooting if i ever need any.

Actually a simple 2 pages schematic/graphical appealing sheet would be even nicer with a small booklet for troubleshooting as you can't use the device for that.

Lots and lots of docs... No real opinion here, I trust my forum rather than anything else.

As other have said, we need a lot more integration with the community which is doing most of the support work for Nokia...
But we need to have info about upcoming feature to prepare for, we need to have more granular updates and we need Nokia to answer us when questions are raised on the forum.

cheers!

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

What a great thread. Thank you for asking our opinion. ;)

a) the printed Get started guide
I didn't find it first in the box. ;)
My box (bought in Vienna, Austria) also contained both the English and the German version. I have to admit my first impression was that this has to be an error and the English version had been put in there instead of the real handbook that I expected. Which pretty much describes my problem with the quick start guide... see your next question.

It is a good quick start guide. Where to open the device, how to insert the SIM-card... basic usage... all very clear and helpful. There was not one single thing that I was uncertain about.

b) the in-device User guide

To be honest, although I've owned each Maemo device from the 770 to the N900, I never opened those files (if they were there in the early devices at all - I don't know).
I tried to read it now so I could answer your question, but I stopped after a few clicks. It's like an endless ocean of words. When I'm on a page, I don't know where I am, if it's the beginning or the end of a chapter... I cannot quickly scan through it if I want to find a certain table again ("What was the meaning of the yellow exclamation mark again? I've seen it somewhere here.")
I cannot imagine having to use this, ever. Not because of the content. Because of the way it's presented.

c) the User guide PDF on the Nokia Support site

Again, I didn't read it when I got the device. I never knew it was there! I had to search a few minutes on the nokia.at site until I found it, it's not easy to find.
I love it. Of all three, it's the one I should have had from the beginning. Example? I was curious about which LED-signals to expect. I had seen yellow, green and blue. Was there a red signal maybe? I asked here in the forum. Hey, it's all in this PDF!
It's these things that make a manual useful... Buttons in applications you just tap on and see what happens. But sometimes the options aren't as evident. And sometimes you just don't search for them because you couldn't imagine they exist at all.

Oh, yes, and in comparison to other Nokia manuals: It has screenshots/photos! At least some! As much as I like Nokia products, I hate their manuals that are usually full of text and only a few very abstract drawings. You own a shiny new toy and the manual shows a a blue rectangle instead. There's a pretty menu with icons and the manual shows its items as text. A lot of this you still find in the N900-PDF, but the section about the camera really shows a pretty screenshot in color! A good start. ;)

Some input:
Sometimes the manual gets a bit carried away with Maemospeak. "Sharing" is a concept that works beautifully once you discovered it, but when people want to know how to send files via bluetooth, they'll probably quickly scan such a manual for words like "send via..." and skip a "sharing" section. Also, the word "Avatar" in the chapter about the contacts seemed a bit out of place. These could both be translation problems though. Maybe it's completely OK for a native English speaker in the English version.

On an emotional level, as someone who just (could have) spent €600,- on this thing, I expected something that at least tells me 2 or 3 of the tricks it does and confirms that it was a good thing to buy it. "Look how easy it is to take a picture, geotag and tag it, then finally upload to Ovi! Oh, while you read this, why not register the account and we'll show you how to set up the chat later? And here, see, there's a demo video on the device to show off the media player. Try internet radio while you're there. And then there's the FM transmitter, you must try the FM transmitter!" See what I mean? Describing how to operate the kickstand is nice, too, but it's not quite the €600-experience I was looking for in the box. (And that was only me. I knew as a member of this community what the N900 could do. Still I wanted this re-assuring feeling of an official "Look what your toy can do"-brochure. Now imagine other customers who really don't know about sharing on Ovi and VoIP and geotagging and whatnot.)

Actually, I even expect more. I expect the full handbook as it is for download on the support site in printed form. I typically unpack, play with the device, then take the manual when I go to bed and read. Really. So that I know next day what a blinking blue light means and why I sometimes see 3G and sometimes 3.5G. No, online files are not a replacement. They're not fun. And, as stated above, about the PDF on the web I didn't even know.


I come from the S60 world. I got my current phone in 2007. And: I still use its built in, context-sensitive help every now and then. Sometimes you just don't know what applications expect in a certain field in the settings. Full XMPP-account including domain? Or username only? That's when you're glad to have context sensitive help, small snippets of information that cover this one settings dialogue only. Like in Maemo, when you set up a new GTalk account and click on "advanced": What's a "resource" again? Is this important? Do I have to set it? It would help a lot having information like "Chose different values here if you're using the same account from two devices." available in an online help system.

Have translations checked. Nokia and translations don't go together well.
Other than that, I'm not sure. It would be cool if, say, somebody who recently got the device and remembers what wasn't clear to him in the beginning could check and tell you if this one topic is sufficiently explained in the manual - nice idea, but then it's too late. You should have your documentation ready before this user buys his device.
No, I really don't have a good idea here.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Before answering the questions I would point out that by FAR the best support offering and indeed the only one I have used have been this forum.

1a) I quickly browsed through it looking for something I couldn't quite work out (I have forgotten what it was) and haven't looked at it since.

1b) I had no idea it was there.

1c) I saw a pre-release version of it and browsed through it but I have not seen it since. Didn't check.

2) Fine by me. Spend the money making a better device or sell it cheaper. The quick start guide is enough. One thing though. It's not that long ago that I bought the 5800 and price wise the 5800 is sort of mid range whereas the N900 is definitely expensive. It seem slightly odd that the 5800 box is packed with stuff - including a quite big printed manual whereas the N900 is quite sparse. I am not asking for a printed manual - but don't make customers feel you just want to pocket more money. You could have included screen protector, extra battery, extra stylus (ala the 5800) and a headset that was at least as good as the 5800 or better. In other words - do not waste money on printed manuals but do let the customer share that saving somehow.

3) Ideal help is an active forum combined with google. In-device help ala Windows Mobile/Symbian is complete waste of space and energy (I have had 2-3 symbian 60 devices and I have never ever used the built-in help). Put the energy into making a good intuitive user interface instead.

4) Oh - I answered that one already and I would rather see it the other way around. I might be wrong but I haven't seen any nokia staff participate in the forum on this site and there has been discussions where I think Nokia aught to have kicked in a few remarks (for example the reboot and dead pixel discusions).

Other feedback as requested:

Ha, ha - TWO then - now you ask:

1. Portrait/landscape switch ala 5800 - with same on-display input possibilities (specially the alphanumeric keypad so you can use it one handed)

2. SyncML Over IP

3. OVI maps at least as capable as 5800 (actually that's probably the only thing where I feel Nokia promised more than they kept - I knew from the forum but checking the marketing material there was no hint that it was a different ovi maps than I knew from symbian)

4. (and I do realize this is not really up to Nokia but perhaps Nokia could work with Google on it) Google Mobile Maps

But that is about it - it's already quite a nice device.

Lars...

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Hi Harri,

Thanks for the initiative!

As I mentioned to you in private previously, I really like the user guide. It's well written and nicely structured. Especially the HTML version on the device.

It is a pity that it's not available in HTML somewhere where we can link to it from forum threads and wiki pages. There is a lot of duplicated effort (and, dare I say, sub-standard answers which have been answered better in the user guide) which could be avoided if the user guide were available as HTML online, or as wiki pages.

I can understand a need for quality control for documents which will be printed & included with devices by Nokia.

Like others I didn't know the user guide was on the device until it was pointed out to me.

I would love to see a searchable & indexed version of the user guide on Maemo 6 devices. Unlike some other posters here, I use on-tablet help a fair bit, my first instinct when I have a problem on my computer with something I can't figure out is to hit F1 or Help->Contents, I'd like something similar on the devices. Especially since I'm offline often when I want to use the device.

Thanks for asking!
Dave.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

wow thanks for this ;; jeas i have been *****ing about you guys for ages.

i havent used any user giuide whatso ever- i have just come on here to deal with everythng tbh.

i think printed guides should die- its a waste of trees, lets be honest- you dont buy a phone like this and not know how to use google or use a pdf/html/whatever help. perhaps the phone should have an specific app pre installed that updates over interent with a help search.

i think the community at maemo allready do a better job than you guys tbh, and your lucky they are here. if it wasnt for them you would have had alot more sent back units.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Thank you for posting here!

I think it would be amazing to have a way to link to a community-maintained wiki from the applications. That is, a help-key press launches the browser and takes the user to the maemo.org wiki page associated with that app.

Maemo devices are supposed to be always-online devices, this would be directly in line with that belief, and also the link to the wiki would be in-line with the open-source belief.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; put your content online (in the wiki) and give us a chance to edit it for a while before you publish it. You'll see; it will work!

The added benefit of putting it in the wiki ahead of time to let the community edit it for you is that you can then just use that online content as your online help (see above).

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Hi,

Thank you all for the feedback given so far. Here are some comments from me for some of the issues raised in this thread (I'll keep checking this thread anyway to gather all the feedback given):

If you have any examples of the translation quality not being good enough in some products, please let me know and I'll forward your feedback to the localisation team. If you find language bugs in the N900 User guides, please report them in Bugzilla (grammatical errors etc.) Please do keep in mind that some language issues are matters of taste, so we should really focus on the language errors that really make it more difficult for the user to actually understand the instructions in the guide (such as wrong word choices).

As to writing the User guides, it's good to keep in mind that the User guides have to be ready well before the actual sales start, and this is what makes writing the guides particularly challenging. The content has to be translated and the guides printed and published, and so on, and this takes time.

This is an idea that's well worth investigating. Of course, there are confidentiality issues when giving out material before the product is on sale but I'll keep this idea in mind and find out if something like this could be achieved.

The overall trend in recent years has been cutting down the number of pages in the printed guide, and as you say, it's more eco-friendly also. However, whether a printed guide is needed also depends on the local legislation in any given country, as well as the consumer protection laws that in many countries require a printed manual in the sales box.

This is a good idea. However, we need to keep in mind that the device is not intended for English-speaking users only, so the users whose native language is not English should be given the opportunity to get support primarily in their own language, in my opinion. So this aspect needs to be carefully thought, but I do see potential in your idea :)

Many of you have also brought up the idea of Nokia Wikis, and also having more content on the web and in-device (eg. tutorials, videos, web-browsable content). These are very good points, and I'll see what could be done to further extend the Nokia support offering.

Thank you!

Best regards,

Harri Suhonen
Nokia Care

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Hey everyone
I live in India and one of my friend is currently in New York. I wanted to purchase a N900 and that too real fast as my friend will return to India in a day or two.
I just wanted to know whether my friend can purchase the phone instantly from the NY flagship store or they would take some time. In other words will my friend be able to just walk in the flagship store and come out with a N900 in his hand? If not then what is the probable waiting period at flagship stores.

Kindly help me out folks

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Printed start guide in the box is enough.

Built-in platform Help never seems to be good enough. Electronic of the full DOCs on the device might be helpful though when offline - make it an app so that it gets updated automatically.

Put the full Nokia documentation in a wiki and let the community add to it. There needs to be an editor to keep the quality up. Pay attention to structure and SEO so the search engines do a good job of finding the material.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

I think there should be a section in the manual about reflashing the device, from Windows and from Linux (at least), and covering all aspects and pitfalls. There's a description on the wiki, but in my opinion that's not good enough (and the version there isn't complete enough).

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Psst... don't tell anyone, but it is a wiki.

What are you missing from the wiki article? I assume you're talking about this one?

Dave.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

I know. The wiki can be updated. That was not the point at all of course: The point is that essential information should be in the USER MANUAL, not just online.

Yes. That procedure doesn't work if the system is corrupted, i.e. the boot loader (or whatever) isn't working. If it is, then the device will not go into flashing mode (heck, it won't even produce an USB event), and it must be cold-flashed.

Cold-flashing is described in http://wiki.maemo.org/Flasher, but unfortunately it's not entirely correct and won't work as described.

I wrote about my experience (and how I dealt with it) in http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...5&postcount=51
and I can update the wiki next week (more time then..), but of course someone else could do it in the meantime.

Again: This should be in the printed user manual.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

I disagree about putting this in the user manual - concretely, the N900 is the first phone I've ever owned where reflashing was an option.

For flashing, thanks for the information - there should definitely be links to Flasher (or the page it points to) from Flashoing (or the page it points to).

If you can update Flasher with more accurate information, that would be great!

Cheers,
Dave.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

What get started guide? I don't remember having seen one. It certainly wasn't on the top of the box, where it ought to be.

The user guide is hidden well. The "Getting started" video is kinda OK, but...

I will read the PDF later.
no-one reads manuals, least of all geeks. And, let's face it, this is a geek / nerd portable computer with some phone functionality attached. Documentation is essential, but manuals would not really help and only drive the price up. Don't need.

The connectivity of the phone implies an on-line help system. Basic information locally, further info online - much like MSOffice 2007 does.

I like the idea, but who is authoritative? And how are they "encouraged" to find all the issues?
Nokia's own docs in a usable format online would be great. I would also strongly suggest running multiple language versions in parallel and including something like the "these applications are in the QA queue" ... implying that these articles are waiting for review from someone.

Bret

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

The printed guide was brilliant when it came to getting the back cover off to insert the battery ... havn't looked at it since!

but been on maemo.org woith plenty of questions and everyone is soo helpful.... thanks you experts!

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

But it's not only an option, it's been a necessity as well, considering how easy it is to end up in a situation where you're forced to reflash. Just look at all those threads ending up with reflashing being the only option to recover the device, and often it's not really because the user has done anything silly.

I had to reflash myself, even though I'm an experienced user, didn't have anything 'risky/untested' installed, and followed the right steps for the 1.1 upgrade. I ended up with an N900 with a destroyed boot loader (thus needing a cold flash, so even the "simple" reflash procedure wouldn't do).

If it's not documented in the manual, and the user isn't aware of, or familiar with this site, then the _only_ option would be to send the device to Nokia for "repair", which would be pretty bad in my opinion.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

IMHO, I love to find a full manual in the box. No web and no downloadable stuff can give the feeling of reading a paper manual. And While the device is charging, or you're in the bathroom or in the bed or whenever the battery runs out, why not read the good manual of the last toy? But i look at it like I do for the CD's booklets. It enhance the experience, it make your money well spent, and often is the only feeling that you're doing right avoiding piracy or theft. Dunno. I like to find one manual big and geeky. I Still feel deluded by the shipping package... for 600Eur!!!!!
Btw I understand your pov on saving the nature. This is a dilemma.
The helps? community does it best
the quick guide? it's ok.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

what do you mean ???

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

The inbox manual seems fine to me, as long as the digital manual is easily accessible.
The in-device manual was somehow not obvious to find (I accidentally ran into it when looking at the contents of the drive from my PC). It ought to have a link on the first view with the Get Started applet.
The in-device manual is missing a few things, such as how to edit or delete radio streams, the limitations of the video player (nothing over 848x480 gets played), a picture of the special characters map (so it's easier to find by just browsing the manual).
Info on Manage views needs to added that states that turning of a view deletes its apps/widgets contents permanently (so turning a view back on results in an empty view apart from background image).
The manual ought to have a reference section pointing to maemo.org, maemo.nokia.com, ovi.com and nokia.com for further info as appropriate. In fact on complex topics like the video coder support, links could be added in the relevant manual section to the appropriate support-subforums.
It could also do with a link to the latest version of the manual (preferably on the first page), so people can trivially get the latest if OS updates warrant any changes.
I'd also like to have the pdf version on the phone instead of just the html version.
Multi-language manuals in the same pdf are however not my thing (the American English one comes with Spanish in one file).

The above naturally all from memory from when I just got the N900.

The community doesn't seem particularly well suited to check manuals, since most members are way too advanced users to notice the obvious missing stuff that somebody who is upgrading a phone after 3-4 years without being familiar with the support forums would be scratching his head over. At any rate, it'd be a bit too late for the on-device manuals anyway.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Hi,

The short guide in the box was sufficient.

I never used the help on the device itself, because it is not easy to read and navigate.

I downloaded and read the pdf. I don't know if it was insufficient, or that I am a bad reader, but I did not pick up much extra information from it. E.g. swiping the calendar to get next or previous months was something I found out by accident, six weeks after I got the device.

The wiki is badly organized. I cannot really find what I need, although it possibly resides somewhere. Someone here suggested adding HOWTOs; that looks like a good idea.

Most information I collected from talk.maemo.org. Again, it could be better organized, especially the search function. It should point to individual posts in stead of threads.

What I miss most: howtos and information for people in between the power user and the hardcore programmer.

paai

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Oh, another thing. It is not at all clear if instructions and howtos for the other Nokia devices can be followed safely on the N900.

paai

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Very nice. Just enough to get started, no more, no less. Given the price premium on the N900 it was nice to see the the GS guide was in colour.

This is too hard to find. There should be an icon linking to this in the UI somewhere (maybe to a multilingual landing page).

Fine. Easy to find on the site. The manual is well laid out and comprehensive. The language is clear and easy to follow. (English manual)

This is the trend in the hi-tech industry - large manuals in digital format. I think this is fine. I suspect most of the contributors here would agree. Perhaps we are not a good representative of the general user though. We are more likely to be technically adept and motivated to find solutions. I doubt many here would actually read through a UG anyway.

The N900 packaging is very much reduced from what would have been shipped in previous years. It would not make sense to add a door stop of a manual to this.

I think for general users you really do need an integrated help mechanism. Qt has a framework http://doc.trolltech.com/4.6/qthelp-framework.html - I don't know if it is any good though...

Since you are authoring in a structured format you would probably want to single source your help and doc.

The community is good at helping motivated individuals to find solutions to complex problems and to share knowledge with those willing to learn. General support questions are probably better handled in a Nokia forum. Use the community as a font of knowledge and source of information. Wiki's are a great way for the community to come together and present this knowledge.

I am not sure you are going to get more than high level feedback on the UGs here. Most of the forum contributors are unlikely to have read the Guide exhaustively. Really the target audience is totally different.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

have STK support (SIM Toolkit)

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

hi i got my n900 abt 2 weeks ago and i want to update it...after i go to app manager i click on maemo 5 to start updating...then it says update failed...the update is 3.2010.02-8.003 and it is 92.7 MB...furthermore i cant open any pages on the WLAN someone plz plz helpp

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

@mederyt: Please don't hijack a thread. Your issue is utterly off-topic for this thread. Please open a separate thread, or, even better, search any of the many threads describing upgrade issues.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Nooooooo heeeeeeyyyyy i got a big troubleeeee...
My n900 doenst work is like some virus got into...........how can i restar the device somebody helpppp meeeeeeeeeeeee pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Search for 'reflash' or similar in the wiki. (wiki.maemo.org)

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Hey guys. I have a question.
I wanna reflash the eMMC with vanilla image.
Somewhere in the d/l page it sais: DON'T REBOOT betwin FIASCO AND eMMC.
On wiki, in update FW tutorial, the command line ends with -R. Witch means REBOOT. What if i remove the -R command, and after he finishes to update, i enter the command for eMMC?
This is how should i do, or this is a bad ideea?
Best wishes.
Maxy

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

:) I didn't even need it for that. I watched the sales advisor in the shop open the demo model. :p
I'm normally pretty proficient at finding my way around a new gadget with very little time spent with my head buried in the manual.

I did download the user guide to print out for future reference. Now just saving up for the printer cartridges.

It's certainly not a device for technophobes who just can't be bothered to read the first page though. (Like my dad) :p

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

I don't know if this feedback is still necessary, but i will give it anyway.

a) my phone didn't had a printed user guide. i can understand why, but it would be good to have one. it is still a different to have something printed or in digital form.
b) if you don't know that there is an user guide you won't find it. there have to be either a dedicated help menu or at least a short cut to it on the home screen and in the program menu (or somewhere else in addition to the home screen).
c) that just let me ask why doesn't you serve the phone with a cd and the user guide on it? i know it will be outdated somewhen but it would be cool to have something to search in with an PDF viewer

you should add both or at least allow the customer to order the longer user guide for free in printed form.
I can understand that nowadays only a limited number of people read these long guides, but for some of them it is important to have it. even the short starter guide is mostly ignored, but it is still better then nothing.

yes there is a need for that. the system should be integrated into the system, not a stand alone program. maybe something that is customisable. i could think of a daemon that runs at the background and wait till the user stops at some point where some kind of input is expected. then (after a user selectable time) some help text pops up and display a text message of what is expected now or what could be done now by the user... in addition to that there should also be a searchable database where the user can enter either single words or whole questions to get an answer to his problem.

a community is clearly not there to replace a proper customer help desk. a community is to help users with unusual problems and to inspire the producing company with ideas for new products or how the existing products can be improved. in case of the Maemo community for example to show what kind of programs are needed by the users.
the community can also give feedbacks where problem exists. if you read for example 3 times a week "heck how can i turn off this blinking light at the corner of the screen?" then there is a clear lack of knowledge what this light is good for. this could be solved by a proper help system inside the product or by writing and drawing it into a quick starter guide.
letting the community act as a reviewer of a manual is maybe the wrong way. inside a community are normally interested users who have some sort of knowledge about the product and the number of new users who doesn't know anything about the product (the people who should read the manual) are either not present, or they think they doesn't have enough experience to participate in such a review process.
_BUT_ if new user are ask specifically and directly some days after applying to a community they could give some feed back about the user guide. if they read it, if they found something confusing or what they miss in it.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Tervehdys !


N900 päivitystarpeet

Ohjelmat

1. Flash Player 10
2. Java
3. Office ohjelma
4. Navigaattori jossa on opasteet ja Suomen kielinen opastus
5. Ohjelmien automaattinen päivitysohjelma
6. Omien ohjelmien latausmahdollisuus


Käyttö

1. Tekstiviestin vastaanottajan etsintä. samanlaiseksi kuin puhelin
numeron etsintä puhelimen ollessa pystyasennossa.
2. Pikakuvakkeiden koon suurentamismahdollisuus
3. Puhelutietojen tarkistusmahdollisuus samanlaiseksi kuin normi kännyköissä.
Soittokerrat ja ajat, tallennetun puhelinnumeron ja tietojen muokkausmahdollisuus.
4. Puhelutietojen fontin koon suurentamisen mahdollisuus. kts. mihin aikaan
joku oli soittanut sinulle.
5. Puhelutiedot pitää eritellä omiin ns. kansioihin saapuneet, vastatut ja vastaamatta jääneet.
Nyt lista menee pitkäksi ja sekaiseksi.
6. Ohjelman automaattikäynnistys tiedostonimeä klikkaamalla. esim. sähköpostin
liitetiedosto. koffice wiever ei käynnisty (doc tiedosto).
7. Päivitysohjelmapaketin lataus pitää ohjelmoida niin että käyttäjän asetukset eivät tuhoudu.
Nyt viime päivityspaketti poisti kaikki.

Tuki

1. Mihin numeroon voi soittaa tai mihin sähköpostiosoitteeseen voi lähettää, jos on kysyttävää puhelimesta. Vastaavanlailla kuin Microsoftilla.
2. Ladattavien ohjelmien käyttöohjeet. Mistä ne on saatavissa Suomeksi.
3. Mistä saa tietää tärkeiden päivitysten aikataulun ja mitä on tulossa.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

Printed "Get Started Guide"
Well done.
In-Device User Guide
I don't like reading pdfs on a micro-display. I prefer printed manuals or/and downloadable pdfs for my PC.
Concept
I don't like this concept. If I purchase a high-priced device I expect a complete handbook to read during times where no technical device is available.
For me this is part of the emotional experience. I like the feeling of paper and a heavy-weight handbook.
Help Framework
No need for this. I don't like and use inline help on mobile devices. Same argument as for In-Device-User-Guide. I even don't use onlinehelp at the PC - since I got internet over a decade ago ;) Google is faster (and for the most part more informative) than any onlinehelp.
Applications for mobile devices should be designed with ease of use in focus - there simply should be no need for onlinehelp.
Btw. this doesn't exclude printed handbooks. These handbooks could explain the more advanced _workflows_ (and include the simple step-by-step-approach for new users).
Maemo Community
Active communities are the best source of information. A good wiki is more valuable than any handbook or could be a good enhancement.

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

HI Harri,

I have recently purchased a N900 - but my e-mail isnt working.
I have a msn e-mail account.
Do you have any ideas or advise to get this working?

Please e-mail me back on farukhhussain@msn.com

Thank you
Farukh

Re: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
 

I´m sorry. As you can probably see from the topic we are discussing here about offical user guides. You can post your question here:
http://discussions.europe.nokia.com/...ces/bd-p/maemo
Offical Nokia support channel or you can try your luck here maemo (unoffical community based forum):
http://talk.maemo.org/forumdisplay.php?f=41

But I would advise to at least include following to your next posting:
- What device you have
- What do you mean by your e-mail is not working? Do you mean e-mail client on your device is not working and if so what have you already done and what happens when you try to use it.