N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Got a call from this guy, who claimed he works for an organisation that is carrying out a group discussion/session type for Nokia's device N900. Apparently those who filled out the Nokia survey (on their website?) are being contacted to see if they would like to contribute to this panel.

Basically its next wednesday (30th June) - in the evening for 90 Mins somewhere in London. There will be a group of ten N900 users from across the city who will join to discuss the highs and lows, their experience of the device and any other general discussions that come up.

I think this is a fantastic opportunity. Regardless of the method Nokia implement, I think actual N900 users getting together to voice their opinions, ideas and feedback is vital - especially if this is being taken back to Nokia.

Why are they doing this?
- Getting ready for Meego?
- Seeing how Maemo was received?
- Feel for the type of people who use this device, and their expectations?

Anyway i'll be going - and im going to prepare some notes before I go. Sounds nerdy, but id rather have a solid list of things to discuss rather than discuss how cool my lock screen looks. So if you guys have any particular areas of discussion, concerns (plenty im sure), compliments? post them here.


(P.S. i'll be getting £50 for contributing ;))

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

I hope they get objective unbiased people in the mix, otherwise they won't find out what's "wrong" with the N900 :D

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

please emphasize that while the hardware is really good, the follow through support sucks - highlight lack of communication, Ovi store/map delays, schedule of future bug fixes and flash 10.1 where the N900 is gradually losing access to web flash content, which was supposed to one of the strongest selling point of this device.

i.e. Google Street View - could use it before, now cannot because flash 10.1 is req and that if the N900 is to fulfil its promise of providing access to flash content, an upgrade is needed.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

I think there will probably be a breakdown for me over:

- Experience with Maemo/N900 as it is now
E.g. What I knew the device could do and how well it does it (Email, MicroB, Ovi Maps, Customisation etc)

and

- My expectations over the device
E.g. The potential it had in Dec 2009 when the road plan for Maemo was clear, momentum was building and the user base was growing.

and

- Future of N900
And now what the path with Meego is announced - the possibility of receiving further updates to the OS, bug fixes etc and any enhancements (Flash 10.1?)

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Hey,

I also got the phone call but couldn't make the two dates he offered. Would love to hear what sort of comments were discussed when you get back...

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

I would stress the importance of a hardware keyboard and resistive touchscreen(or resistive+capacitive hybrid)

And tell them they should still support the N900 with software updates like Flash 10.1 since it's still less than a year old.

And as a curveball ask if they could make a wrapper for Android apps to run on Meego :eek:

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Mind asking if they are willing to open up some of their drivers... for example; camera/video recording, there is room for improvement without overclocking.

The community could probably then impliment something better.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

True. I think as an OS, we have been given a very open one but i'm not sure how much of Meego they will open for us - especially the camera etc. This pretty much makes us their developers (for free?).

I will raise the point about my own expectation, and slight disappointment that certain areas were not open for us. I dont expect Nokia to listen to this point but at least I can reaffirm the demand from consumers wanting complete open source code.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

- A Keyboard is a big plus with the N900. Must remember that this focus group isnt about Meego specifically but about Maemo/N900 - so yes re-iterating that the keyboard was a big factor in the decision to purchase the N900 might push the point that not everyone wants capacitive devices with no physical keyboard.
(Why not have capactive touch and a keyboard?)

- Why not. Il throw it out there. If for no other reason but to get a glare from the note takers. :cool:

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Would it possible to bring up the "slowing down" of N900 issue? There are discussions going on in this forum as well as in bugzilla. If you are interested, I can summarize the issues reported and their bug reports and post it here. Personally, I want this issue to get attention as it is one of the most visible issues in N900.

As someone else mentioned, GPS/Maps are a problem. There is no easy way to load maps to N900 for offline usage? The maploader is unstable for me on Windows and it is not available in Linux platforms. Would be great if there is a way to directly download them to N900. I am sure this would help future MeeGo devices as well.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Afaq,

Thanks for sharing. This sounds like a great opportunity. Thank you for asking for other contributions. Here is my perspective:


1) I love the 'phone, but I hate that there is not an integrated spellchecker. Predictive typing does not help. I view this 'phone as a business device, and I don't want to create a bad impression when communicating with colleagues and clients. Spellcheck provides a level of comfort that I expect in a 'phone/computer like this.

2) Flash 10.1. Already several of the sites that I use for work and entertainment have upgraded to to Flash 10.1. I would like to be able to use these sites on my N900.

3) Front facing camera / Skype. PR1.2 has not resulted in me being able to videoconference to other Skype users (particularly those with the Mac client). This is maybe not a Nokia issue, but I would love to have this functionality "just work."

4) Email. The client is slow and poorly designed. I can deal with it, but this is worth sharing.

5) Address book is slow. Admittedly I have over 2,000 contacts, but over devices (iPhone, Blackberry) don't slow down on me as much as the N900.

6) Headphone port is inconvenient. Particularly if you are listening to music as you type on the keyboard. Earphones with a banana plug (not a straight one) would make this less inconvenient. There is a compromise with position (since the N900 operates in both portrait and landscape), but I think this could be handled better.

7) Keyboard is cramped. If the keyboard opened out more, then typing would be easier. The top row of keys is difficult to reach as it abuts to the screen.

8) Mac client. Some of us Mac users did not buy iPhones. Show us a little love.

9) Ovi Maps. Turn-by-turn navigation would make this product usable. Why can't I look up addresses from my address book? Why can't I add POIs?

10) Ovi Store. Just plain embarrassing at the moment. Some days it works, some days it does not. Product descriptions are anemic or incorrect. Purchasing can be difficult. Search is haphazard.

11) Back cover. The snap on back cover just feels plain wrong. Scared that I am going to break it.....

Hope that this is of use!

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

These are excellent points. Well made and im sure widely felt by most users.

It cannot be emphasised enough how *important* a good email client is. In 2010 to not have an efficient email client on a top of the range device is not acceptable (First implementation of HTML and this poor?).

Spellcheck - a great function. Predictive texting is annoying for me. I turned it off immediately.

Ovi Maps - POI. I still cannot imagine why we dont have these. I have a landmarks file saved from my N97 that I built over the years on my Symbian phones. Favourite eateries, friends addressess etc. To have this information now redundant is a shame. We need a solution.

HTML 10. A device with an excellent browser cannot be left behind as the www updates to the new flash.

Thank you again, I will use all of these points.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Afaq,

Thanks! Looks like great minds think alike. ;-)

There are so many points in the day when I notice something good about my N900 (being able to listen to radio, reading ebooks via FBReader, browsing the Web, running OpenOffice, etc.) that I could not easily accomplish in the same way on a competing device. But then there the annoying issues and discrepancies that detract from the joy......

Good luck with the chaps from Nokia!

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

I just hope that when they abandon the H900, as they inevitably will (they have no (real) revenue stream post-sale) they open-up the core source-code and provide documentation, so that the community can keep he device alive.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Good luck! :)

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Thanks.

A few hours to go. Any other burning issue anyone needs to raise please post here.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

3G video calling? lol...

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Mail for exchange is not the the same as on symbian devices, expectation was that it could be used for corporates that nearly all require provisional devices which mfe for symbian supports.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Well lets hope they did not manage to get hold of any ***.... err fanboys :) to contribute to this.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Great we are given a further chance to contribute our views.
Here are mine:

- Ovi Maps. Nokia can't forget one of their most expensive devices when delivering the turn-by-turn navigation. Plus, apart from that, the current client is still very slow at start up. And it should work just fine without GPS fix/phone signal to browse maps, and search for POIs

- Video-recording offers very poor performance, despite the homepage of Nokia N900's website stating: "Capture vivid images and DVD-quality widescreen video". A bug report was filled about this. At one point it was stated that the Nokia team would work on this after PR1.2. Now it's "WONTFIX". Why?

- We love multi-tasking, but some bits of it are irritating if priorities among applications are not sorted. I don't like my phone to become unresponsible if I'm receiving an email notification, or if I'm installing an app

- More flexibility in releasing software updates: bug fixing should not require 3-4 months wait once the bug is sorted. It makes users frustrated for no good reason. And I don't mean rolling out new functionalities, I mean fixing existing problems. A number of problems introduced by PR1.2 are now reportedly fixed, but who knows when PR1.3 will be released

- More consistent portrait support: if the browser works in portrait mode, than we need a portrait keyboard for entering a url, for example.

- whatever Nokia doesn't want to improve further, they should make it fully open source


For future products:
- better battery performance
- reduce weight and thickness of the device
- agreed on providing different headphones not interfering with typing
- add another shift button on the right side of the keyboard and make it four rows

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

What is everyone whining on the flash 10.1 issue?? it requires 800+ mHz to run smooth so it wont happen... thats the end of story!

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Flash 10.1 beta seems to run fine on nitdroid...

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

I don't know about "running smoothly" - but the fact is that it doesn't require anything like this, as I remeber that a new Android phone was annouced (I don't remember which model and which brand) which supports Flash 10.1, and its stock CPU is 550Mhz...

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

@afaq:

Thanks for sharing this and listening to opinions expressed by others -they have covered my concerns with N900 as it stands.

I've attended a couple of focus groups before and doubt if anyone from Nokia will actually be present - that could lead to a discussion and I think they'll just be wanting to gather data and opinion.

They may well use psychometric evaluation techniques to get at what they need, so whilst I'm sure you'll want to represent the wider views expressed on this thread it'd probably be best to get your own (personal) views clear in advance and concentrate on those - one individual can make a difference if his weapon is the truth.

If they say things at the start like 'there are no right or wrong answers' or 'be as honest as possible' you can bet they're using psychometric processes. Be as honest and frank as possible because questions that follow will validate/disprove earlier questions.

I recently took part in a simple text survey on N900, so Nokia are clearly curious about the people who have bought this device for some reason. One thing that struck me was the question "Would you recommend N900 to a friend?" followed by "Why not?" They are obviously concerned by the N900 episode.

Reading between the lines I think they realise they dropped the ball on N900/Maemo and do not want to repeat the mistake with Meego.

IMO all this 'N900 review' work will not make much difference to N900 but will be implemented on the first Meego device and maybe N8/N9 - the timing is right for those devices, but it does not make sense to make expensive changes to a device that will be replaced shortly anyway.

Enjoy the session - you have the chance to help shape the future of Nokia devices.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

This was last night (Wed 30th), right? Any update? It'll be interesting to hear what happened :)

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

*bump* Still no update?

It would be interesting to hear what happened and what you discussed about.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

I second that!

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Thanks for the bump, been meaning to do this but work's been a little crazy.

The focus group date changed for me once as they had too many people turn up. So this also added to a delay in posting this.

I arrived 10 mins early - got handed an envelope with £50 and a clipboard with 2 pages of questions to complete before the session began.

Questions - if I remember them correctly:

1. What do you use your N900 for (tick as appropriate)
- Taking Photos
- Making Videos
- Playing Video Games
- Listening to Music
- Sending SMS
- Sending MMS
- Sending Emails
- Social Sites

They also asked the frequency with which I would use these features. I answered as applicable to me. However thought it funny that they mentioned MMS - which was convincing evidence that even though Nokia itself wasn't running this session, they had not even bothered inputting anything into it. Anyone at Nokia would know that the N900 is missing the native MMS functionality.

2. What are your favourite features of the N900? (open ended)
I wrote
- Customisation
- Open
- Hardware Keyboard
- Multi tasking
- MicroB
..etc

3. Name 3 other of your other favourite gadgets and explain why you like them.

- PS3
- Surround System (integration with all my hardware)
- Laptop

Everyone struggled with this question - at first glance it's an easy question but once I got thinking I realised the N900 is actually a combination of a lot of my fav gadgets. I struggled to put down three. Surround System was a desperate attempt. Someone even wrote Microwave. Can you think of 3 gadgets that you would put down on this list?


NokTokDaddy was spot on with his observations. No one from Nokia was present there.
A small room with a table in the middle and two video camera's filmed us for 90 mins.

I was very surprised to hear the views of other people. Questions were based around the experience of the N900 in respects to:

- What do you think of the Hardware?
- What do you think of Maemo?
- Why did you buy N900?
- What are your favourite features of the N900?, and what are your least favourite features?
- Do you use the qwerty keyboard or the onscreen keyboard?

These led into random tangents and discussions. Some interesting perspectives from other users and some shocking. I was very surprised that most of the people who attended were not very fond of the device.
When asked who liked the device there was silence and people looked around. I raised my hand immediately and everyone laughed.

I think 9 months after the release of the N900 a lot of people's opinions have shifted. In my mind Android's advancement into the phone market has made a lot of new joiners questions their choice. Everyone liked the customisable nature of Maemo but the lack of App's was a popular point.
The browser kicked *** - the phone was too fat and heavy, but it def was a unique device that made everyone proud. Battery life was a common theme and not everyone knew the in's and out's of Overclocking and basic mod's to the phone (e.g. Changing fonts).

I managed to get all my concerns and frustrations across. Most of the points mentioned here in this post were shared by me anyway so I believed in them and def pushed them hard but also made sure that It was clear that this annoyance came out of love, and I really wanted to see the next device, no, even this device supported by Nokia for the long term. To which everyone nodded.

Someone asked who would be looking to buy a Meego device on it's release. No one said they would. N900 was too expensive and people would wait around for a better option without being early adapters again.

That pretty much sums it up. The other N900 owners of course raised more points none of which are new to us here on TMO. Everyone seemed cool and we shared contact details. I think this was perhaps the most densely populated crowd of N900 users in the UK during those 90 mins :D

So no Nokia representation - but thats ok. We all got our points across. Hopefully this, combined with all the survey's we've filled online can get some basic points into the empty heads of Nokia that we might be enthusiasts for great gadgets but we will not stick around to be guinea pigs if we are not respected with our choices.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

I could easily list three other gadgets if I had an N900 (I have an N800, feel burned enough by lack of customer support and closed-source in Fremantle that I won't get an N900). Bluetooth headphones, folding bluetooth keyboard, wiimote (which I use with my N800 and Motorola Droid for games) and so on.

I think you could, too. Maybe.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

There are a LOT of great gadgets out there. I have tried to stay very minimalist - been thinking of getting bluetooth headphones, bluetooth keyboard etc

So i guess maybe im alone in this. I just bought a digi camcorder so thats something to add to the list i guess.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

@afaq:

Thanks for reporting back - very interesting.

Nokia are clearly investing cold, hard cash in this research, so let's hope it leads to something productive!

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

thanks afaq, i really hope that it wasnt for nothing. i am often overwhelmed by nokia's silence regarding this device, could be resolutions for the n900 but also could be resolutions for devices to come, so i wont hold my breath about it. :)
The thing that striking me is the oddest is the fact to nokia is actually investing money and manpower on devaloping meego for us, with moorestone just around the corner, n900 isnt the only test device anymore.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Be sure and mention how bad the email client on this thing is.
http://maemo.org/community/brainstor..._email_client/

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

I would like to create shortcut icons to Phone dial on every desktop. Right not I have to move to the home desktop where I have the phone icon. It would be nice if I could create multiple shortcuts of the phone dialer icon. Instant access to phone from every desktop would be a huge benefit.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

yeah video would be nice

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

i'm sure it will for there next product

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Thanks for your offer. (I hope it extends to me). (EDIT: sorry, didn't realize you weren't going.)

Did you post a link to the survey?

It would be very nice if someone could make it known to Nokia that some people would like to run other window-managers and or desktop-environments. Especially ones that are already built for n8xx.

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=58090 (alternate window manager (n900 specific) - blackbox or fluxbox )

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=56506 (Alternative desktop for N900)

To me this is very, very important, and the most pressing design flaw currently, I hope I'm not alone in this.

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

@Afaq: Thanks very much for sharing the bits of info from the meeting. It's very interesting!

May I ask a few questions...

1. What was the demographic of the users like? Age range? Any females?
2. Do you mind sharing the bit about 'some interesting perspective from other people and some shocking'? That sounds like it could be new input for us here..
3. How has the experience affected you? Did it change your opinion on anything?

Cheers!

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Remember, be honest. This is for posterity. ;)

Re: N900 Users Discussion Panel, Set up by Nokia (London)
 

Thanks ysss,

Il answer these questions as accurately as I can.

Demographics
- No Female participants (one can hope!)
- Age Range (19-35). Average age i would estimate to be around 25.
- 5 White, 2 Black, 2 Asian (South Asian).


Why was I shocked? I think I perhaps went in thinking that most of the participants would love and appreciate the concept behind Maemo - an Open, truly customisable device with a Linux OS that allows some pretty unlimited possibilities. What, in reality, most participants were expecting from N900 was a pretty flashy, up-to-date device that just did everything. I might not be giving them enough credit but I felt the general mood in the air was of frustration - Which I believe was mostly unfounded or unfair on N900 ( a 9 month old device ).
I'm the first one to raise negative points against N900 - even to my android and iphone friends but thats what I like about Maemo - I can openly write negative views on it but still stand by it as the only device thats on the market that meets my needs. I criticise its random reboots, its lack of a great mapping software, it's bulky weight and USB port problems but I also dont let these define the experience for me. You dont own a ferrari and complain about the lack of a good sound system or adjustable seats. N900 is not, as I understood it, built to be used by teens to socialise and grandma's to video conference with their grand kids with (as apple would have u believe facetime is).

The interesting perspective's I gained were around how everyone uses their device. Some dont have a clue about extra development catalogues, some have no clue that you are able to access the Root and modify files within it, and most did not follow TMO closely to be aware of the upcoming applications and mod's that the users here are working on (e.. Ubuntu on N900, USB Host most, NITDroid, Overclocking).

I think overall the views shouldnt have surprised me as they are not very different from people who use this forum - except that I got to hear these in person and debate and discuss them. One participant even went out of his way to demonstrate that resistive is a must - and a physical keyboard is essential for a device like this. Refreshing to hear people don't think capacitive is the only technology.

How has this experience affected me?

Meeting people face to face who own the N900 and want to talk about it has made me even more enthusiastic about this device. A strange solidarity is formed when you meet like minded people. It re-affirms certain beliefs that N900 in fact is a great device that with the right attention it can continue to wow everyone who sees it. 9 months from it's first release I can still proudly pull out the kick stand, rest the device on my desk and have people turning their necks to see what this device is. Evo 4G is not out in the UK, so the kick stand function along with a rich video playback codec library means I can always view and impress anyone around me.