maemo.org - Talk - 770 Improvement Ideas Found on Blogs

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770 Improvement Ideas Found on Blogs

I keep running over all sorts of 770 improvement ideas by accident, via blogs and such, and decided ... why not just go ahead and have the ideas collected in one place here on the ITTF? I will try to omit those ideas I have seen here more than once, if I can, unless the comments are so creative I just have to use them anyway. These are basically anonymous blogs, so if it was your idea, KUDOS to you and your genius. It will be kept alive here, and we want to know the other new ideas you've had since then! If there are more ideas that I missed (and I will miss a lot, I'm sure), please go ahead and update this post!

If Nokia should happen to stop by to read our posts here some day, we want to be ready for them (wink) ;) !!
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1) Increase battery life.

Quote:

Give us a separate battery pack that can be worn by the user and connects to the 770, powering it through a full day of work.

I doubt that anyone reading the 770 blogs will agree that these two things are necessary but people who would otherwise be able to use a 770 in their work will not be able to if it cannot maintain power all day long and if it cannot keep an X session as the 770 moves from one wireless access point to the next, exactly the way in which a cell phone keeps its connection as it moves from one cell tower to the next.

If you do these things then the working people of the world will find the 770 useful but if you will have missed the biggest opportunity that the 770 represents. I, for one, could not build any vertical market software for the working people if it won't run all day. A working person would not think twice about wearing a separate, day-long battery pack if it allowed them to use the 770 throughout an entire work shift.

The PSP15 Sony PSP Battery works with the 770 and at 6000 mAh, it's 4 times the capacity of the built-in battery. It's not too expensive either. http://www.batterygeek.net/Batteryge..._100_black.htm
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2) Drop Mmc, Add Mini-drive.

Quote:

A 5th-gen iPod is one-third the size of the 770 yet it has 30 gigs of hard drive space! Why should people have to anguish that their 2 Gig-cards aren't working with 2006 OS when they could have something similar to an iPod 30-Gig HD on board? If 2 Gigs is good, then 30 Gigs is better. And we don't need an external card at all, since we can just email docs, notes, URL's to ourselves anyway. Free up that space, or else use it wiser.

ThoughtFix offered this idea on his blog: "Theoretical hack - iPod nano as self-powered external hard drive:I can get 3.3 volts from my iPod nano by following this guide on hackaday. However I don't know if that will be enough to tell the Nokia 770 that there is a USB device there and to go into host mode. Judging by post 17 here, it appears the USB chip may be powered by the 5V from the USB line so it may not turn on with only 3.3. I'd be afraid to try it without knowing more about the chips.
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3) Remote Control Features.

Quote:

A little piece of software I'd love to see in it is a universal remote control software. It would fit even better in my living room with this. Plus it would be less "geeky" and more open to everyone. I'm not sure the bluetooth port enables IR though...

It'd be nice if someone designed a remote-control designer App that would allow us to take a snapshot of an actual remote control, input the device's IR pin code, and then draw all the buttons on a layer space overtop of the image. And then have the software map all the IR signals to those buttons, and allow us to save the final Remote Control as a User-defined finished remote we could then upload to the Tableteer website for download. We could walk into any house, anywhere, and simply load up the remote(s) for their device(s), and control it(them). People might even have fun simply designing the Remote Controls, let alone using them.

Are there any Bluetooth IR devices like a spy-like gadget pen? The 770 could pair to that and send the infared out from such a device in your pocket.

I actually found a Bluetooth-to-Infrared device made for PDA use here! Here is a brief snippet:

Quote:

Butterfly Remote contains a Bluetooth-to-infrared link unit and a remote control software running on Symbian Series60 devices, such as Nokia 6600 and NGage QD game phone....The Bluetooth link is built into a small box, which can be mounted on wall or ceiling...Butterfly Remote turns inputs from the mobile phone over the Bluetooth link to infrared commands.

It works on NOKIA devices! Haahaha! What irony!
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4)Stop the Pop Ups.

Quote:

Mail browser: I wish I could stop the popup windows from showing up like in Mozilla/Firefox. This is a small annoyance on a desktop, but a very time consuming task on the Nokia 770. More than that, some popup windows have this animated stuff (probably flash) that make the browser crash.

There is an application now for the 770 called Privoxy that seeks to do just that. At this time, however, it is not designed for mass consumption. It doesn't install, you must be root. Most people don't understand root, nor do they want to take the risks to figure it out. Once Privoxy is made for mass consumption instead of the 770 elite, you will have your wish.
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5) Tabbed Browsing.

Quote:

Another important feature I wish we had would be tabbed browsing. Why load another instance of Opera on the 770's already cramped resources when we could just load another window? Only use the icons and interface once, just have the screens change?

This feature is now possible through a nearly-complete port of Minimo for the 770. The 770 version of Minimo now has tabbed browsing! It works better than Opera in most cases, too, and is more efficient memory wise! The first mass-consumption release will be out fairly soon.
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6) Better Alarm Support.

Quote:

All the PIM applications fail to utilize a proper alarm. What I miss most is not being able to set up an alarm for my appointments (GPE crashes when you set this up and they claim it does not work anyway because of kernel/hardware limitations). I cannot not even set up an alarm on the basic 770 clock!! And it won't work with the cover on.

KERNEL CONCEPTS, makers of the GPE Calendar, state the following at this time: "The Nokia 770 doesn't ship with an AT daemon, so alerts don't work so far. "

The "Handhelds, Linux and Heroes" website also writes (June 11th) that "It is able to handle alarms on its own as long it is running - but there is hope for an alarm feature because OS 2006 ships an alarm clock supporting alarms while the device is off already."
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7) Change How Joystick Works in Browser!
Does anyone really want to use the stylus for everything? I'm afraid to inadvertantly click on a link so I always use the slider and my 770's mesh overlay is starting to actually fray apart along the path the Stylus travels as I scroll up and down web pages unto ad nauseum!

Another Anonymous Poster writes:

Quote:

Why can't we use the nav button to scroll through pages like a scroll wheel? Most people reading stuff want to hold it with one hand (left) and read, not have to use the right hand to scroll. It could be done with 1 hand, if there were an option to scroll with the nav. Does anyone really want to use the nav the way it is now- bumbling from link to link???

Who does like the joystick's function in Opera? This joystick requires pressing in short or long presses to kind of amble and lurch along the page in invalidic proportions and it gets tiring, and is quite ineffective. We should be able to:

A) Scroll in realtime using the joystick buttons (like you're flying over the page).
B) Set in the Control Panel how fast we can scroll right/left only.
C) Set how fast we can scroll up/down only. Both of options B and C should have tension controls built in to slow us down as we reach the edge of each border for a smoother feel, more controlled experience.
D) Clicking the inside button instantly brings up the "FIND ON PAGE" function and keyboard. Pressing enter after choosing our word automatically drops keyboard, then you fly over the page like Google Earth to your item and highlights it. In search mode, clicking the up/down buttons causes the search to instantly travel up/down respectively to the former/next incidence of the word requested. Clicking the inside button again returns you to the non-search Regular mode.
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8) Make 770's Internal Files Accessible From USB

Quote:

Why can't I access the files that are stored on the 770's internal memory (not on the mmc) with usb mass storage? Once I plug in my device, I lose access to those files. Kind of dumb. That then requires enormous reshuffling efforts to transfer here and there and back again when it could be made to work RIGHT.

END of PART 1
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START of PART 2

9) Hardware Fixes For Future Units.
-Mark A. Davis; Norfolk, VA

Quote:

Hardware I wish the 770 had included:

A) IR port to use as a universal remote

B) Expandible RAM

C) Larger screen (keep the case the same size, expand to the top and right by 1/4th inch each (even if Nokia has to move their name somewhere else, haaa!)

D) Ports on the side, not the bottom. {Edit: user does not say why... }

E) Ability to remove/insert the stylus without removing the slid-on back cover. {Edit: Unless this was intentional to prevent stylus from falling out somehow.}

F) Ability to use the left function of the nav button (joystick) with the slide cover turned around and slid onto the backside of 770. The cover slid on this way prevents us from reaching that leftmost key.

G) Scroll wheel added to right side instead of using stylus for up/down in Opera.

H) Hard/dedicated volume control (not software/screen driven).
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These further additions by CEklund:

I) A stand that actually works, even with the cover on the back side. OR... possibly ... some holes in the bottom to snap in some other kind of stand so we can orient the 770's screen to eye level however we desire. Nokia, you could make money selling stand options to cater to all whims. Currently, the 770 will not snap into anything relevant for our use. www.semens.com (makers of the i-blue GPS) sell a Free Arkon Vent Mount that ratchets down over it okay, but it's not elegant or user friendly.

J) A joystick with more height rounding up from the center. The edges of each button should be higher up off the casing for better feedback when depressed.

K) Move the power button 1" away from the zooms keys. How many times have I nearly shut off the device just trying to zoom in and out?

L) Make the USB Master/Slave capable through the Control Panel after a brief tutorial educating us dummies as to why we can't plug in certain USB devices etc... since Nokia assumes we are idiots about this. Fine, train us then, but give us the option! Wouldn't you like to be able to upload your Mp3's into your iPod without another computer handy? I would!

M) Add a hole in the bottom of the front-cover case so that when it's turned around and slid on the backside, you then have somewhere to later attach a Bluetooth webcam device. You can be sure they are coming; let's get prepared for that eventuality. Make a spot to attach a webcam so that it snaps down safely into the case but rests atop the device, centered, facing the user, as it should be.

N) If possible, create a left-handed (a flipped) version (maybe not of this 1st version, but for the next version up) for the left handed people out there, if the production costs are worth the number of sales achievable. It seems unlikely that it is, but perhaps Nokia could ask for all of the interested left-handers to vote in a poll ... so they can see how many ARE interested in a left-handed version of the 770 #2 (780?) before they go through the effort.

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10) Increase 770 Potential For Meetings/Conferences

Quote:

I currently use a Newton 2100 and a Sony Minidisc recorder to go to meetings. As an engineer, I need to take good notes so the active handwriting recognition of the Newton combined with the ability to search all my text on the Newton is key.

As an active meeting goer, I need a voice record of the meeting to update my notes and get them right. As a parent of 2 college students (I bought them Sony recorders as well), I have come to appreciate the value of extended voice recording, as well as being able to search through them later.

To make the 770 a truly indispensable students' machine - whether for undergraduate or graduate students (or for an engineers notebook and calendar) - you need to somehow add 4 things:

A) improve the handwriting recognition (x 3) etc etc etc... <Edit: Maemopad+ works great as a note taker in lieu of handwriting recognition not being up to snuff at this time! --Ceklund>
B) Add voice recording and a 2 gig mmc so it can record all day for going to long conferences. Create option of adding notes (embedded into the audio timeline after the fact) to our recordings so we can search through our recordings and have it queue to that moment automatically.
C) Add an active indexing of text entries so that the contents can be quickly globally searched like they are on the Newton.
D) Develop active desktop sync programs for linux, MacOS and Windows which would synchronize files, perhaps through Bluetooth not a clunky cable system.

Some of these things mentioned here ARE what has made a lot of folks keep using their Newtons 10 years after it has been discontinued by Apple. You might want to think about that, Nokia.

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11) PDF Page Scrolling Not Zooming.

Quote:

My 770 lies idle due to the lack of a good PDF reader. I was really hoping this would get better with the 2006 OS. It seems a bit faster but otherwise still has weaknesses, including one fundamental flaw - the zoom in/out buttons should skip pages instead. Page turning is the common use case scenario; not zooming.

Also, PDF should precache pages onto the mmc so when you DO get ready to turn the page, it does so quickly.
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12) Make Less Hard to Click Links.

Quote:

I can't get over how beautiful and brilliant the screen is. Of course, super-high-resolution on a tablet device means you need good aim with the stylus.

I agree. It takes good aim, and it's ultra frustrating at times. I've spent 10 seconds retapping on the same link before it saw my tap! Why can't Opera listen for fast-clicks (as opposed to click and drags to move the screen) and when you make a fast-click near a URL (with no other URL's close to where you tapped) why can't it assume you're aiming for that link and just ask you if that's why you mean? If there are two links equidistant apart, it could pop up a window with 3 options: a) First URL b) Second URL c) Cancel You choose one and continue on. There should be an option the Control Panel to turn this feature on/off.
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START OF PART 3 )
13) Add Floating Point Unit to Next Hardware.

Quote:

I really suspect that the sluggishness of PDF viewing is because floating point is emulated in software.

Clearly Nokia is using hardware, specifically the OMAP-1710, for which they already have a volume purchasing agreement, until they can figure out how successful the product will be. And I suspect strongly that the OMAP-1710 lacks floating point. The next model should have a faster processor, with floating point, and more RAM. The OMAP-3430 (550 MHz) has it (and how much is TI going to charge for that monster?) I think the OMAP-2430 doesn't.

Notice that I'm not saying the machine is a slug. It takes slightly longer for the stripped-down Opera web browser on the ITB to start and display an easy page, than for the full Opera to do the same on my laptop (Pentium-M 1.6 GHz). That means that the processor is [probably] properly scaled for the software it's running and for the storage device available. But there's this one issue that really holds back an important class of applications, that needs to be improved in the next model.

Now that we all know how successful the 770 is already, let's see that FPU power in the next version, along with the increased CPU speed and more RAM (for the same price, naturally! heh).
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14) Fingerprint Lock.

Quote:

Recent Compaq (HP) iPaqs have a fingerprint reader. If reliable this would be a whole lot more convenient than the numeric lock code. Some business uses of a PDA necessarily involve sensitive information, and it's important to keep it out of enemy hands, enemies who steal your PDA.

BIOS PASS NUMBER: If a casual thief re-flashes the filesystem image and BIOS, does this reset the BIOS pass number, resulting in a working ITB? --James F. Carter <jimc@math.ucla.edu>

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15) Firewall.

Quote:

You can't hack what isn't there. In this context, if the ITB isn't running any inet daemons, those daemons can't be hacked. But it's inevitable that it's going to be used for peer-to-peer connections, or other uses that nobody has thought of yet. I would feel a whole lot more comfortable with a complete firewall. I went to put my standard firewall on the ITB and was told (for the nat table), "Table does not exist." (Do you need to insmod?) Perhaps iptables or your kernel needs to be upgraded? The iptables utility has a complete set of setting modules; I'd really like to see a complete set of runtime kernel modules to go with them. --James F. Carter <jimc@math.ucla.edu>

As of a few days ago, the P2P software "Nicotine" was released for the 770. A Firewall is now definitely needed, if what you said is true.
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16) Add SKYPE Support.

Quote:

Nokia should grease the wheels for a port of the Skype VOIP software to Maemo. It may not be happening, however. Skype is one of the leading reasons people give for buying a Nokia 770, until they find out there's no software for it. The recommendation for Skype is not to be interpreted as discouraging porting other VOIP software. But Skype's advantage is that for a very modest fee, they will bridge your call to PSTN land lines or mobile phones. While I encourage do-it-yourself VOIP users to make such a bridge for themselves, I believe this capability is rare.

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17) Every Software Should Have Backup/Restore

Quote:

Backing Up Everything
It should be possible to find and back up all relevant data. When I horked my root filesystem I was able to restore most settings. The ones which I've noticed are missing so far are these:

A) Web bookmarks, in /usr/share/osso-
B)Bookmarks/bookmarks/MyBookmarks.xml, mode 666, hiss, boo.
C) The glyphs themselves seemed to have been restored, but not the Handwriting Shortcut CONTENT.
D) X.509 certificates, in /usr/share/certs/certman.cst

Everything involved with user data or user preferences in applications, like bookmarks and glyphs, should be in the user's home directory; everything changeable that's involved with machine configuration, such as the display brightness and the WLAN connection list, should be in a well-defined directory, probably a subdirectory of /etc, such as /etc/osso.

In addition to this, I believe EVERY DEVELOPER & APPLICATION AUTHOR should include, as a standard, one extra tab in their programs dedicated to their own Backup/Restores (since the 2006 Backup/Restore does not capture any of the Free installable software for download.....) Everything in each program can be saved also in the user's Backup folder on their MMC. When an OS revision is sent out, when we upgrade, we could then select "Restore" from inside each software app and have all of the previous settings be reloaded.------------------------

18) Better Video Player.

Quote:

Take some hints from the guys that did TCPMP. They managed to turn a Treo into a video playing device. It is just amazing. The 770 hardware should be capable of so much more.

I agree. Why do we have only 5 codecs that barely run the videos its supposed to without being recompiled by the Media Converter? This defeats the ability to download videos and play them off the net instead of your computer!

Quote:

Well, my expectations & hopes for the video player are partially based on a potential bit of information on the 770 video controller. It seems that it may use the Epson SD13472 controller and thus it may possibly allow for setting the full screen mode to 400×240 for video, and double buffering the image. Since any video playback on the 770 is currently much less than 400×240, there is some potential there for significant improvement - IMHO ---ubergEEk

But I also want more native codecs, like Realplayer, Quicktime, and Divx. I would understand if Apple doesn't license the codecs to Nokia, but the others stand a chance, don't they?
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This is all I had for now. Maybe you all can add to this. I found dozens of so-called 770 "wishlists" that were nothing more than 3 ideas and dead ended. Perhaps this one can be the de-facto. That depends on you. Since I believe in going out with a bang.... here's a cool image I found while surfing 770 sites.... it's not about the 770, but it's too cool not to add on the way out of this massive effort.

[IMG]Cool New Screen Courtesy of Polymer Vision[/IMG]

Thanks for your time!

classifications of wishes

I think that there are 4 sorts of improvement ideas:
1. Nokia hardware
2. Other hardware
3. Maemo/Nokia software
4. Other software

1. Anything related to Nokia Hardware:
built-in Infrared, bigger screen, other connectors/storage media...
Basically that's an idea for the next Maemo-compatible device, son-of-770. Difficult to participate from the ouside.

2. Anything related to other hardware:
a bluetooth-to-infrared converter, an adjustable stand, an ebony case inlayed with mother-of-pearl "don't panic", extended battery, bluetooth headset connection...
So a third-party, commercial provider steps in , like what happened to I-pod speakers and stands. Or is already there : bluetooth headsets. There may be a compatibility issue when it comes to drivers, to be solved either by Nokia, or by an open source partner, or by a good hacker (who volunteers to write the bluetooth headset driver?).

3. Anything related to basic, internal Maemo/Nokia software.
Just to add my my own: I want to have the strength of the WIFI connection shown as 1 to 4 bars in the icon. I really don't understand why this is shown for the light intensity, the speaker volume, the battery, but not for the WIFI signal strength? In particular since they re-designed the icon for OS2006. It's more beautiful now, but nor more useful.
These things are best kept on a wishlist indended to be read by decision-makers at Nokia. Yes, someone else might write a small program or extension, but that kind of features should go to the core.

4. Anything related to other software that can be provided - in principle - by anyone who is just good at writing code.
Like my own wish: a multi-source, automatic localization platform, taking the info either from GPS (see Maemo Mapper), or from the known location of the phone connected via bluetooth, or from the best guess location of the wireless hotspot, or from manual input. And then sending this info to any other program that might use it.
This is the "usual" scenario. Limited by reources of people willing to give away their expertise for free, or trying to generate some income from open source / shareware / beggarware, or service.

Quote:

Originally Posted by christianhauck

I want to have the strength of the WIFI connection shown as 1 to 4 bars in the icon

Also Bluetooth - I believe this is possible if the associated device supports it, however it could be problematic if the 770 is associated with more than one Bluetooth device (show the connection strength of the weakest device?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by christianhauck

These things are best kept on a wishlist indended to be read by decision-makers at Nokia.

That would be https://maemo.org/bugzilla/ filed under "Enhancement".