The world of touchscreen mobile phones is starting to get exciting, as the biggest brand in the business has waded in with not one, but TWO mobile phones: the sexy Nokia 5800 and the utterly awesome Nokia N97.
Early attempts – woeful touchscreen phones!
Many people are under the false impression that the Nokia 5800 is the first touchscreen mobile phone Nokia have ever made. It isn’t. The opposite’s true, because there have been several touch-based phones released under the Nokia brand. Beginning at the 7700, there have been a few Nokia mobile phones that work by touch. They had a relatively big (for the time) touchscreen in common, but but unfortunately, they shared something else: they were irredeemably hideous. Only one of those devices, the 6708, showed any potential, but it was destined exclusively to be sold in China, and thus, it wasn’t meant for us in the UK. The mobile phones WE got were, and I use this phrase with much feeling, total, and complete garbage.
However, those unpleasant memories have now been removed because of the launch of a pair of new Nokia mobile phones, both of which have touchscreens, and both of which are much, much nicer…
Nokia 5800 – rockin’ in the free world
The first phone up is a totally new entrant into Nokia’s Xpress range of music mobile phones, the stunning Nokia 5800. This one’s quite obviously designed for music and video; you can tell by the separate XpressMedia button that opens a list of links to music, videos, the internet, and so on. Then, of course, the Nokia 5800 has a 3.2 inch touchscreen, to let you play with those different media files. Basically, the Nokia 5800 was designed to be a teeny portable jukebox and movie player, and as music phones go, this is just about the sweetest. The Nokia 5800 has also got a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA data access and sat-nav, making it a wonderful all-rounder, as well as a superb media gadget. Oh, and it has a lanyard to fasten on an imitation guitar plectrum. That’s pretty cool, that.
However, the Nokia 5800 is very definitely a mid-range phone; it isn’t, nor will it ever be, an absolute powerhouse. That role falls to a separate device…
Nokia N97 – a mobile multimedia monster!
With the Nokia 5800 all set to bring touch-based mobile phones to the mid-range market, that leaves a great big gap at the very top-end, and yes, there IS a touchscreen mobile phone waiting to be unleashed to fill that gap: the frankly awesome Nokia N97. This uses the same Symbian S60 Touch interface and packages it into the frame of a proper, full-tilt smartphone. Which means it has an even more huge, 3.5 inch screen, a slide out QWERTY keypad, and the camera now weighs in at a meaty 5 megapixels. The Nokia N97 is, in a very definite way, destined to be the new flagship Nseries mobile phone, and it really is as hyper-powered as the rumours said, with HSDPA, sat-nav, digital compass, and integrated Flash, meaning you get an internet experience that tops any other mobile phones! Put it like this: the Nokia N97 is simple incredible. It gleefully relieves itself over other mobile phones and as the Nokia 5800 angles to take over the mid-range, I’m predicting that the Nokia N97 will utterly DOMINATE the world next year!
Expert on mobile phones, having worked in the industry for over 7 years.
Copyright 2005 Elaine Currie
Free Internet advertising is sought after by most Internet
marketers and one readily available source of free Internet
advertising is the Internet forum. For Internet marketing
novices, I’ll briefly explain how free Internet advertising is
obtained from Internet forums.
Basically, Internet forums are message boards where members can
exchange information, obtain advice or just chat. There are
Internet forums to cater for every topic you would care to
imagine (and a few you would probably prefer not to dwell on).
The Internet marketer advertises his product simply by posting
messages on the forums. There are some Internet forums that
forbid the posting of advertisements but, on many of these
forums, it is still possible to obtain free Internet advertising
by use of a signature file. The signature file is a short piece
of text which can contain a link to a website and which can be
annexed to every posting a member makes on a forum message
board.
If you have never tried forums as a source of free Internet
advertising, you should bear in mind that there is an unwritten
code of etiquette which need to be observed. The following are
some of the unwritten rules which need to be followed if you
intend to use forums for free Internet advertising for your
business.
Read the Forum Rules
You need to read the rules of any Internet forum before you try
to post a message there. I know this sounds obvious but it is
clear that many forum users don’t bother to read the rules,
despite the fact that the forum registration process inevitably
includes a requirement for the applicant to check a box
indicating that the forum rules have been read and will be
adhered to. Don’t just sign up with the idea of getting as much
free Internet advertising as possible from the forum. Many
forums prohibit the posting of affiliate urls anywhere apart
from in the members’ forum signature file. If you become a
member of one of these forums without reading the rules and
start posting your affiliate urls in messages, you will quickly
find yourself labelled a “spammer”. In case you didn’t know,
spammers are considered to be the lowest of the low on the
Internet. If there was a virtual prison for Internet crime,
Internet advertising spammers would have to be kept in solitary
confinement for their own protection.
Lurk Before You Leap
Internet forum etiquette demands that you spend a little time
“lurking” ie logging in at the forum and reading previous and
current threads before you even think of starting to use the
forum for free Internet advertising. Although lurking is not an
official rule of Internet forums, it is largely accepted as an
essential part of the unwritten code of behaviour. The practice
is very useful. Lurking will enable you to get the feel of how a
forum works, you will be able to ascertain the tone of the
messages, the type of subject matter which is welcomed and the
level of expertise of other forum members. You might even find
that a particular forum is not for you and this could save you
the embarrassment of posting an inappropriate message on the
forum.
Be Subtle
You know that you are visiting the forum merely for the free
Internet advertising for your website but it is better not to
make this obvious if you want other members to react well to
your advertising. Forums are rather like private clubs where
members strike up friendships and make business deals. If you
rush in waving your “FREE INTERNET ADVERTISING” placard you will
not become popular, other members will consider you to be an
abuser of their “club”. You will do much better if you quietly
introduce yourself and keep the free Internet advertising down
to a whisper in your signature file.
Remember Your Manners
How hard is it to say “thank you”? If you visit a forum and
receive valuable advice which helps you in some way, take a
moment to post a brief message of thanks to your advisor. If
someone helped you out of a spot in the bricks and mortar world
you would thank them. Remember that people who post on Internet
forums are real too and they are under no obligation to help
you. It is as easy to make a friend with a warm word as it is to
create an enemy with a harsh word and you never know when you
might meet these people again.
Help Whenever You Can
Help other people whenever you can. Even if you don’t have any
specialist knowledge, you will find occasions when you can pass
on good advice. If you received advice that took you to a
solution, post a message to say how the advice helped and what
steps you followed to sort things out, this will act as a
signpost for other people who might find themselves in similar
difficulties. Even though you joined the forum with the idea of
using it merely as a form of free Internet advertising, make
time to give something back. People will be more inclined to
take an interest in your advertising if you become known as a
helpful type. What goes around comes around and, in any event,
the reputation of being a problem-solver is a bit of free
Internet advertising in its own right.
Be Moderate
The majority of Internet forums have moderators to ensure that
members stick to the rules. The job of a forum moderator is to
keep the content of the forum appropriate. Remember, it is not
just a place where you can indulge in free Internet advertising,
so keep your messages within the forum rules. Any graffiti
posted by members will be cleaned up by the moderators so that
the forum environment is preserved for all members to enjoy. If
you wish to retain the respect of your fellow forum members,
make sure your posts never need to be cleaned up, be your own
moderator. As well as sticking to the forum rules on content,
you should also keep your messages moderate in tone. The
Chambers dictionary includes the following definitions of
“moderate”: kept within measure or bounds; not excessive or
extreme; temperate. If you avoid drama and pathos in your forum
posting and keep your messages moderate, you will not attract
“flamers” and you can quietly enjoy your free Internet
advertising.
Ration Your Reading
Internet forums can be addictive. There is a serious danger that
you might log in to a forum with the idea of posting a message
or two in order to get your daily ration of free Internet
advertising but, the next thing you know is that half an hour
has passed by while you have been engrossed in reading. There is
nothing inherently wrong with spending time reading posts made
by other forum members, it’s free entertainment and that’s fine.
The problem is that, if you are trying to run an Internet
marketing business and you lose yourself on forums for half an
hour every day, you will be wasting something like half a day
during the course of each week for the sake of posting a couple
of links back to your website. That is not an economical use of
your time. In fact, if you account for the value of your time,
you will find you are actually paying a high price for your free
Internet advertising on forums.
Elaine Currie has a Work From Home Directory and Survey Review at her Plug In Profit Site: http://www.huntingvenus.com for people who want to make money at home.