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Thursday, January 6, 2011

24 hours with the Google Nexus S: part two

Mark Bridge writes:

So there I was with my Nexus S, a cup of tea and the challenge of synchronising calendar, contacts, tasks and notes from Microsoft Outlook. I’d found Syncdroid.net and its list of suggestions… and then an email arrived on my phone from the ‘Android Team’

“Welcome to Nexus S” it said.

Nice work, I thought. You’ve noticed that I’ve set up my phone with my Google account and sent me a message. Could this be serendipitous?

Google and Samsung have partnered to bring you Nexus S, a pure Google experience phone. Learn more:

Register your Nexus S for access to premium support from Samsung
Visit our
Nexus S Help page for a full list of help resources
Watch Nexus S on our
YouTube channel

Once registered, you can contact Samsung directly at +1 855-EZ2NEXUSS (+1 855-392-6398) for support.

Sign up to to receive updates and promotions about Nexus S.

Enjoy!

A shame it’s so obviously aimed at the US market but, what the heck, let’s give it a go. Tap the help link and… see a page that invites me to visit the Nexus S Help site. Okay, try again. Tap the link… and, no, that’s not very helpful. An on-screen circular device with Call Us, Email Us, Twitter, Hot Deals, Videos and Mobile Pulse options. Doesn’t seem very mobile-friendly. Still, let’s try Mobile Pulse.

Good guess. “Google and Samsung Nexus S Resource Center”. Hit Nexus S FAQs and…

Oh, dear me.

How Do I Charge The Battery On My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

What Items Come With My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

How Do I Insert Or Remove The Battery Cover, Battery, Or SIM Card From My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

What Do The Different Icons Mean On My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

Where & How Do I Obtain A Copy Of Samsung Kies For My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

…and many more in a similar vein.

Horribly depressing. You’d think someone could have done better. In fact, I know someone could have done better. Even the person who did it could have done better.

Let’s pop back to Syncdroid.net and continue with my Outlook challenge. Companionlink.com looks like the best bet for what I’m after – but its nothing like as straightforward as my old Windows Mobile device. That’s a shame.

As a quick fix, I’ve synchronised my Outlook calendar with the Google calendar – and I’ve imported my Outlook contacts into Gmail. (Selecting the CSV DOS export option from Outlook works nicely). That’ll do for now.

And I’ve added a few more apps: well, I had to see what all the Angry Birds fuss was about, plus there’s Foursquare, Friendroid (a FriendFeed client), Gowalla, Kitchen Timer, Last.fm, the LinkedIn beta, OI Safe for a few passwords, TweetDeck and my first paid app: HiFiCorder.

I appreciate the warning with every app that explains which services and features it’s able to access

In fact, I’m enjoying most aspects of the phone. I’m even inclined to offer that much-abused description: ‘intuitive’.

But I really should have thought more about the Microsoft Outlook issues. As someone who tends to rely on Outlook for email, contacts, calendar, tasks and notes, I’m struggling to find a sync solution I’m happy with. Mind you, I’ve only been using the phone for a day. I’ll let you know how my searching goes!

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Opinion Articles

RIM boss ignores the questions when asked about BlackBerry difficulties and competitors

What went wrong? What did you learn from the iPhone?

Mark Bridge writes:

Live TV and radio interviews. They can be worrying things, even when you’re not expecting to be challenged too much. I know this from experience. So when your company is launching a much-delayed operating system, you’d expect a few difficult questions… and you’d be ready with a response.

The official response of RIM is apparently to ignore the questions.

Author: The Fonecast
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Mobile phones transform lives in Africa

Jennifer Lazuta of voanews.com writes:

Rene Mendy, a street vendor in Dakar, has never had enough money to open a bank account. But now, thanks to an emerging mobile phone banking service, he has access to many financial services.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 28th January 2013

Figuring out the figures

Mark Bridge writes:

I didn’t study economics at college, which is probably one of the reasons I have a very simple perspective on quarterly results. As far as I’m concerned, they fall into one of three categories: much as expected, better than expected or worse than expected. Anyway, it’s the time of year when some of the biggest names in the mobile telecoms industry publish their financial results – so here we go.

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We interview Shankar Meembat about the UTuneMe radio app

Mark Bridge writes:

Targeted advertising on mobile devices is something we’re all getting increasingly familiar with. Visit a web site and there’s a good chance you’ll see an advertisement that’s aimed directly at you, perhaps using information about the sites you’ve previously visited, the type of smartphone you’re using or even your location.

Yet listen to the radio or stream music on your smartphone and that same level of personalisation hasn’t been aavailable. That’s all changing now, with help from a new service called UTuneMe.

Author: The Fonecast
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Why Huawei should get out of the mobile handset market

Why Huawei should get out of the mobile handset market

or why Huawei need to spend their £1.6 billion profit on marketing

James Rosewell writes:

Huawei is a company one can’t miss at Mobile World Congress. They bring their own building!  Plus last year a wonderful “Pegasus” flying horse sculpture made using Ascend handsets was proudly displayed next to the main fountain to hail the launch of the Ascend series of handsets.

Huawei has been busy following MWC12. They now run major parts of Everything Everywhere, Three and O2’s network in the UK. On a less positive note they’re not welcome in the US.

But how has the devices side of the business performed?

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