yodude

Updating Your N900’s Firmware..

Friday, 4. December 2009, 01:06:10

How to update your N900's Firmware

Nokia releases updates to Maemo devices OTA (over the air), using SSU (Seamless Software Update). This will show as a small orange box blinking in your tray, and will update different parts of your device, without the need for a computer and without erasing any of your data.

However, if you find the need to "re-flash" the device there are options available.

First you need the latest soft/firmware image that can be found here >> http://tablets-dev.nokia.com/nokia_N900.php

In order to download the software, you will need to provide your device's 15-digit IMEI number and accept the end-user software agreement. If you agree, you have 1 hours of time to download the software after which the acceptance must be renewed.

Next you will need software to "flash" this image to your device.

The Nokia Software Updater can be used for this however, the NSU will update only if there is a version newer than the one installed on the device. Instead you are going to have to go commando and use the appropriate flasher utility found here >>The proper steps to complete the procedure can be found in maemo.org's WiKi >> http://wiki.maemo.org/Updating_the_firmware and the Flasher documentation found here >> http://wiki.maemo.org/Flasher

Disclaimer

This software is work-in-progress and use of this software requires special skills and knowledge. The software and the instructions provided herein or with the software may not be complete. Improper use or installation of this software may harm the device you are installing it into, or the device you are using it with. By accepting the License Agreement delivered together with this software you also agree to use this software at your own risk and accept that Nokia assumes no liability and does not provide any warranties, support or services related to the software.Disclaimer This software is work-in-progress and use of this software requires special skills and knowledge. The software and the instructions provided herein or with the software may not be complete. Improper use or installation of this software may harm the device you are installing it into, or the device you are using it with. By accepting the License Agreement delivered together with this software you also agree to use this software at your own risk and accept that Nokia assumes no liability and does not provide any warranties, support or services related to the software.
-maemo.org

As you can see, the current tools were meant for developers and are not for the faint at heart. The best advice is to head the warnings and DO NOT INSTALL programs from the developer repositories in the first place.

Also, flashing a new image on your device will reset the device back to factory defaults and remove all data not on the memory card: preferences, bookmarks, installed applications, with a single exception that any previously-set lock code will be kept and not reset to the factory-default of "12345".

And finally:

Nokia N900 with Fremantle image, flashing mode can be enabled by following these steps:

1. Turn off Maemo device
2. Press and hold down key 'u'
3. Connect USB cable between Maemo device and host PC while holding down key 'u'
4. When USB cable gets connected it powers Maemo device and set's it to flashing mode
5. When USB icon appears on right upper corner Maemo device is in flashing mode
6. You can release key 'u'

***

This post is not meant to encourage new users to FUBAR their expensive N900. Rather, it is here to be used as a reference and to show that it is possible to do a recovery. However, If you are new user with a sales unit and feel you have the need to reflash your device, you should contact Nokia Care.

Lack of portrait UI a major oversight?

Sunday, 1. November 2009, 01:54:07

Reply to a question on Howards... http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?p=13170292#post13170292

Twaelti's Maemap

Thursday, 29. October 2009, 01:21:50

Originally posted by twaelti;360266:

maeMaps ["myMaps"] is a simple Google Maps / Geosearch webpage optimized for fullscreen touch usage on a 800x480 screen. It's primary purpose is to quickly find a location and be able to zoom/pan around it on the N900, without having to activate cursor mode.

It is a self contained webpage that you can get from my server. Simply open it in the Maemo Webbrowser, start typing and hit ENTER to launch the search. The text entry field will be autoselected after each action, so you can always just type another search and press ENTER to get there.

For more independence, you can download it to your device and store it locally in MyDocs, then launch it through the File Manager and bookmark it from inside the Browser (Sometime in the future, I might package it for installation through the App manager). It also works on OS2008, as the location bar only covers the bottom line of the page.

It uses the Google Maps API v3, so no need for an API key.

Glad for feedback, as this is an untested initial release.

This^ is a very tweakable, locally stored page that calls up a Google map in the flavor of your choice for a location specified. Excellent use of Googles geocoder. You can also simply enter a Zip Code and go to that location.

Here^ is a tweak I did for us stylus users on N8**'s. It shows a bit more map.

maemap2.htm

More tweaks using Google' directions...

maemap3.html

Even more tweaks for GeraldKo in Seattle...

Momap2.zip

images ...

Sunday, 18. October 2009, 19:41:06

A collection of images... Some of them mine.

N900 specs...

Saturday, 17. October 2009, 14:47:21

Announced Date
27 August 2009

Device Description:
The Nokia N900 brings the power of computer to mobile devices. It’s a high performance mobile computer with advanced Maemo 5 software on Linux. Explore Nokia N900 features like multitasking on a live Dashboard, wide screen video capture, 3,5“ WVGA touch display (800 x 480 pixels), QWERTY keyboard and personalisable panorama desktop. The Nokia N900 also features 1 GB of application memory and up to 48GB of storage. Maemo browser is powered by Mozilla Technology and includes Adobe Flash 9.4 and full AJAX support. Wi-Fi and 3.5G connectivity provides fast access to Internet. Take high quality photos and wide screen videos using 5Mpix camera with Carl Zeiss optics. Tag photos and browse them using the tag cloud, and see where images were taken with the automatic geotagging. Merge your phone book, Skype contacts and other contacts into an all-in-one address book. And naturally, N900 has a phone application for voice calls.

General
Screen Resolution 800 x 480
Device Size 110.9 x 59.8 x 18 [1] mm
Volume 113 cc
Weight 181 g
Input Method Touch Screen
Keypad Slide-out QWERTY Keyboard
Other Keys Camera Key
Volume Keys
Frequency Bands GSM 1800
GSM 1900
GSM 850
GSM 900
WCDMA 1700
WCDMA 2100
WCDMA 900
Data Bearers Dual Transfer Mode (MSC 11)
EDGE Class A
GPRS Class A
HSDPA [2]
HSUPA [3]
WCDMA
Regional Availability Europe, Middle East, North America
CPU Count Single CPU
CPU Type ARM Cortex-A8
Processor, TI OMAP 3430
CPU Clock Rate 600 MHz
Graphics Processor PowerVR SGX with OpenGL ES 2.0 support
Consumer Link Device Home Page
Developer Page Link Developer Home Page
Remote Device Access Service Link to the Service

Notes:
[1] 19.55mm at camera area.
[2] Maximum speed up to 10 Mbps (DL).
[3] Maximum speed up to 2 Mbps (UL).

Extra Features
3D Accelerometer
Ambient Light Sensor
Maemo Update
Nokia Maps
Ovi Files
Ovi Share
Proximity Sensor
Stereo Handsfree Speakers
Still Image Editor
Themes
TV Out
A-GPS

Browser Details
CSS
HTML over TCP/IP
Javascript 1.8
Mozilla Based
XHTML over TCP/IP
XML
Adobe Flash 9.4

Multimedia
Camera Resolution 2584 x 1938
CMOS Sensor 5.0 Megapixel
Camera Digital Zoom 3 x
Camera Focal length 5.2 mm
Camera F-Stop/Aperture f/2.8
Camera Focus range 10 cm to infinity
Camera Image Formats JPEG/Exif
Camera Features Auto Exposure, Auto Focus, Carl Zeiss Optics, Exposure Compensation, Flash [1], Full Screen Viewfinder, Self Timer, Sequence Mode, Tessar™ Lens
Video Recording Resolution 848 x 480
Video Recording Frame Rate 25 fps
Video Digital Zoom 4 x
Video Recording Formats MPEG-4
Video Features Video Player
Video Recorder
Video Streaming
Video Playback Formats 3GPP formats (H.263), AVI, Flash Video, H.264/AVC, MPEG-4, WMV
Video Playback Frame Rate 30 [2] fps
Graphic Formats BMP, EXIF, GIF87a, GIF89a, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WBMP, WMF
Audio Features Audio Recording AAC stereo, 48kHz
Audio Streaming
Bluetooth Stereo
FM Transmitter (88.1 - 107.9 MHz)
Music Player
Audio Formats AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, M4A, MP3, WAV, WMA
Secondary Camera Resolution 640 x 480
Secondary Camera CMOS Sensor 300000 px
Secondary Camera F-Stop/Aperture f/2.8
Secondary Camera Image Formats JPEG
Secondary Camera Video Recording Resolution 640 x 480
Secondary Camera Video Recording Format H.263
Supported Tag Formats IPTC, XMP

Notes:
[1] Dual LED flash.
[2] WVGA (800x480) up to 25fps.

Memory Functions
Maximum User Storage 32 GB
NAND Memory 768 MB
SDRAM Memory 256 MB
Memory Card type Micro SD
Memory Card Features Hot Swap
Maximum Memory Card Size 16 GB

Local Connectivity
Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR
Bluetooth Stereo Audio
DLNA Certification
Micro USB
Nokia AV 3.5mm
UPnP
USB 2.0 High-Speed
USB Mass Storage

Bluetooth Profiles
A2DP, AVRCP, FTP, HFP, HSP, OPP

WLAN support
802.11b/g
WEP
WPA
WPA2 (AES/TKIP)

Messaging
IM, SMS

Email Solutions
Mail for Exchange
Nokia Messaging

Supported Email Protocols
IMAP4, POP3, SMTP

Supported Document Formats
Excel, PDF, Powerpoint, Word [1]

Notes:
[1] Document format support via installable application (Dataviz).

Power Management
USB Charging

Battery model
BL-5J 3.7V 1320mAh

Synchronization
ActiveSync
SyncML [1]

Notes:
[1] Over BT and USB.

(As always, all these N900 specs from Nokia can change without notice.

)

More HTML...

Tuesday, 29. September 2009, 10:47:20

Another way locally stored web pages are useful on my N800 is as finger friendly link directories.

Bookmark management on the NIT's leaves a lot to be desired. I find it difficult to go to favorite sites quickly with out using the stylus. To help do this I made up template pages that I use to link to web sites and other locally stored HTML. This also includes locally stored Flash or SWF files as well as saved playlist files. Anything that the MicroB browser can open or view can be included on these link pages.

I categorize content per page and cross link to other pages. I store these pages on the tablets memory card and link to them using Personal Menu. By limiting the number of links per page to 8 or 10 and increasing the link font size, these pages become finger friendly.

The first four items under "web" point to link directories. For instance "Local" opens...

"Utilities" opens...

and "Travel" opens...

I usually make the last link on each page a cross link to another page.

When a I have to many items for one page I use the last link to open additional pages...

To see how this can be useful on your tablet I have attached a ZIP file. Unpack this file and place the "games" directory on your memory card. Open Games.html found in that directory with your tablets browser. Save that opened site as a "Favorite" and enjoy.

BTW, all the included games are free for personal use. They were not sold to you and you do not have the right to sell them to others. All work well on the NIT's.

Games.zip

Prototype N00 Picture^ courtesy of http://my-symbian.com/other/preview_n900.php

HTML and You!

Sunday, 12. April 2009, 16:27:02

How the N800 has become useful for me.

I am just a hobbyist and am not a coder by trade. However, I do need to manage my day to day schedule like everyone else. What I do, how I do it, or who I direct to do it is often weather dependent. Having readily available, and current weather data at my disposal helps me make more effective decisions.

For this (as well as other data that I use)I put together some easy to navigate Browser pages that I store locally on the tablet. I overlay a transparent image map over an updated image. When I touch one of the pre-defined blocks on that transparent overlay, the browser navigates to where it is directed by the HTML code. The new page also contains code that can lead to another page or back to the original.

For instance I start by tapping an icon in Personal Launcher found on my "Home" screen:

This takes me to Doppler.htm that is stored on a memory card on my N800:

This image refreshes every 60 seconds and has a Transparent image map overlain. The map is divided into 3 vertical, side by side, equal sections with the middle section divided into an upper and lower half. These 4 image blocks navigate to 4 separate pages also found on the memory card. Touching the upper half of the middle section takes you to a zoomed view of the northern area of the original image:

Touching that image anywhere, navigates back to the updated original. Touching the right section of the original navigates to a zoomed view of the city:

Touching that image anywhere, navigates back to the updated original. Touching the lower half of the middle section takes you to a zoomed view of the southern area of the original image:

Touching that image anywhere, navigates back to the updated original. Touching the left section of the original navigates to a wider composite satalite view of an area resposible for future weather:

Touching that image anywhere, navigates to an even wider view of the USA. (Keep on eye on that image update time though. It looks like these guys took the week end off.

)

And finaly: Touching on that^ image anywhere brings you back to the original Doppler page.

Now this code is hardly clean. In fact it doesn't work on IE7. I did it on a simple text editor and may have left out some standard tags. However, it loads fast and runs very well on the NIT's. The border of the image map is visible when viewed in full screen mode. I don't know how to easily scale the transparent image map so touching outside that border does nothing.

<html 
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">

<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"><meta http-equiv=Refresh content=60>

<title>Philly Doppler</title>
</head>



<div>

<p>
<span style='mso-ignore:
vglayout;position:absolute;z-index:1;margin-left:0px;margin-top:0px;width:674px;
height:377px'><map name=YoDudeQuadMap0><area shape=Rect
coords="192, 0, 482, 187" href="DopplerN.htm"><area shape=Rect
coords="0, 0, 192, 375" href="DopplerWide.htm"><area shape=Rect
coords="482, 0, 674, 375" href="DopplerCity.htm"><area shape=Rect
coords="192, 187, 482, 375" href="DopplerS.htm"></map><img border=0 width=674
height=375 usemap="#YoDudeQuadMap0"
v:shapes="_x0000_s1033 _x0000_s1030 _x0000_s1032 _x0000_s1028 _x0000_s1029 _x0000_s1031"></span>
<img
width=100% height=100% id="_x0000_i1025"
src="http://a.abclocal.go.com/three/wpvi/weather/16_9/max8_frame1.jpg"
alt="A large JPEG Image"></p>

</div>

</body>

</html>

I have attached a zipped folder with these files in it to this post >>http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=279177#post279177

If you just want to see how this works, point your tablet's browser >>HERE<<

I also have Philly and NYC traffic cam directories that I can upload to this thread if anyone is interested.

Weather images are made available by:

http://abclocal.go.com/mediakit/index.html
http://www.accuweather.com/
http://images.intellicast.com/

Nokia sparrow??

Friday, 27. February 2009, 21:02:17

Nokia Sparrow multi-core computer running Linux
ARM’s multi-core Sparrow chip has just been announced last week, and Nokia is already working on it’s first compact mobile computer with some blow-out specs, running Linux OS on this CPU. But don’t get your hopes up – this Nokia device is slated only for 2011 release.

Eldar got to play some with the early prototype and found it mighty interesting.

The design of Nokia Sparrow device does not follow the current netbook trend, going more the MID way, with some passing resemblance to Nokia N800 internet tablet.

It will have multi-slide keyboard, with different layouts/keys revealed as you slide it in different directions. The display also slides in several directions for different functions – think Nokia N97 tilting display.

The new Nokia computer has a very interesting keyboard with diamond shaped, elevated keys inverted to each other. At first glance it seems very uncomfortable – the keys are pretty small (about half the size of normal key), actually the device itself is rather small. But when you start typing on it, it works very well. It is very difficult to hit multiple keys with a finger, even on purpose.

The Nokia Sparrow computer has a novel, transparent widget based interface. Each running application gets it’s own semi-transparent widget to put it’s content in. Multiple applications can be stored in memory “for months”. E.g. when you are writing a document or e-mail, just swipe the finger through the screen and semi-transparent panels with active or pre-set applications and their content pop-up. Select one and you can start working with it at once.

Well, that’s about it for now. I asked our Ilinca to draw up something from the musings above. What with all the things lost in translation, and not really very exhaustive visual description from Eldar, I’m sure it’s pretty far off the real thing. But one needs to start somewhere:

>> http://www.unwiredview.com/2009/02/25/secrets-mwc09-nokia-sparrow-android-30-luxury-android-from-motorola-and-more/

Argggg! That's CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow.

This is how I roll...

Thursday, 4. December 2008, 13:54:12

I like the quality of the icons available for the Iphone. With so many people using that dang thing some of the stock images are rapidly being absorbed into our visual lexicon associated with the function they represent. They pro'ly will soon start popping up on more common items like TV remotes and toaster ovens or suttin'...

Because Maemo uses the full 64 x 64 dimensions of an icon, I always felt that the ones used for the panel functions on the home screen gave that screen a crowded look. In the above image I kept the 64 x 64 icon canvas but reduced the image it contained to 40 x 40. This gives a transparent border around the image , reducing the cluter... IMHO

In personal Menu to cut down on clutter, I reduced the image to 48 x 48 within the 64 x 64 icon canvas.

The second panel that I use for utilities and such is good 'ol Command Navigator...

The third panel that I use is the stock Task Manager.

icons.rar

Motorola i776

Sunday, 30. November 2008, 18:24:52

(Guess who I got that^ image from?

)

I have been using an i776 for some awhile now and I thought I would jot down some of my impressions...

First, lets get the specs and features out of the way as reported in /\/\oto's press release:

Motorola i776 Specs

Network: iDEN® 800/900 MHz for Nextel Direct Connect, interconnect and data
Weight: 3.56 oz.
Dimensions: 3.39 x 1.80 x 0.80 inches
Internal Display: 65,536 colors, 128 x 160 pixels, TFT LCD
External Display: 65,536 colors, 128 x 32 pixels, TFT LCD
Talk Time: 3.40 hours
Phonebook Capacity: 600 numbers

Motorola i776 Features

Bluetooth
640x480 VGA camera, w/Self-timer, & night mode
WiDEN Data Capable (Carrier dependent)
Games
GPS
Headset Jack
Java
MMS Multimedia Messaging (Carrier dependent)
T9 Predictive Text
Push To Talk (iDEN only)
Ringer ID's
Speakerphone
Text Messaging
USB
Vibrate
Voice Dialing
Voice Memo
Wireless Internet (Carrier dependent)

Out of the box I was impressed with fit and finish. The front face plate appears as if it is aluminum as it sports fine engine turning around the central /\/\. It would not surprise me however, if it turns out to be painted plastic. Plastic finish technologies have advanced through the years in an effort to lower material costs. Mercedes Benz wheel covers in the 90's are a good example. Another good example is the "Rubberized" texture of the plastic battery door cover on the back of this phone. This texture gives the phone a more secure feel while handling it.

Motorola calls the phone's color "Deep Red" and closer examination finds it to be metallic. The sub body and antenna are a silver color that matches the face plate.
Overall the look is "business" and it would not look out of place in the hands of that executive guy who was on the cover of the old i90 box, LoL.

The internal display is the same aspect ratio of the i880 but at about 3/4 the size. Setting the font size to "compressed" yields the same amount of text per screen as the i880 at "standard". MIDP 2.0 JAVA apps developed for the i860 do work and display correctly. Only smaller. Unfortunately MIDP 1.0 apps like my favorite calculator (the one that uses the directional buttons as function keys) do not scale and have a clipped display. This is a function of the JAVA app and not a problem with the phone.

As far as included JAVA apps go, Nextel has abandoned their cheesy practice of removing the Motorola supplied "Calculator suite" in order to force you to use and purchase from their Download apps store. The "Calculator Suite" is now included along with the useful "Alarm Plus" and "Sprint Mobile Email" apps. Nascar and Telenav demo's are also factory preloaded.

The external display is the best thing about the i776, IMHO. It yields the date and time and all of the information icons as the i880 but without that dang "Nextel" banner or the poor quality caller ID pic. One annoyance some might have is that the external display never completely shuts down. It reduces to a faint dim state instead. This may have been the result of usability studies that found that although customers liked the "One Touch" PTT feature, their bosses or expectant girl friends didn't like to be chirped in the middle of the night every time they rolled over to check the time on their dang phone.

I also suspect that the energy consumed by the dimmed display is less than the energy used to fire up the full display over the number of times a user checks his phone during the day. Now all you have to do is look at the outside of the phone for the time, date and signal strength, no buttons to push, no short duration voltage hits to the battery. It pro'ly adds to the battery's expected service life too.

Added features to this phone as well as the i576 are two indicator lights on the outside face. An amber one can be set to silently announce the receipt of voice and text messages and a blue one to indicate blue tooth pairing. An undocumented feature is the inclusion of an Autopairing Exception List for the Motorola IHF 1000 car kit and the i.Tech BlueBAND stereo headphones. This may have something to do with Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and Audio Video Remote Control Profiles (AVRCP)that are now supported. (BTW, for you HexHeads out there, these^ are about the only additions to the same 'ol gravy, "S" file, 0x006F CP.)

Because of the lack of the automagical, open flip button that was first introduced on the i860, the old i60/90/95 habit of opening the flip with your thumb must be used. And like the i60/90/95, this action is intuitive and natural. Not like the clumsiness of the the i730 or the i580. In fact, the solid feel of this phone reminds me often of the old i90... Perhaps the i776 is what the i730 should have been.

****

(The above pic is spliced from two shots to compare size and camera quality. The left side was taken with the i776's embedded VGA-quality camera and the right side was taken using an i880's 2 meg camera... A bit of a difference; don'tcha think?)

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