1.2 out tomorrow

1.2. You should have it tomorrow the latest.

In a nutshell,

- The world's first phone with Skype video calls
- Google and SIP video calls, too
- Other stuff like browser, exchange, browser etc improvements
- Qt 4.6 for developers ... this is very important. This now bridges us to the forthcoming MeeGo apps that will then run also on you N900.

So with all the above, with full Flash, Mozilla browser, and a lot of cool apps at Nokia OVI store and Maemo repositories, a very compelling little computer. And a phone, too.

More info here.

Competition is good .. it makes things happen!

I've been working with software, computers, user interfaces and all that since late 80s. I've seen interesting development and several paradigm shifts happening. But I feel that we are in the middle of the most significant one!

It is happening now!
We are right in the middle of a very interesting era. Mobile phones are in the center of high tech innovation. The most of new interesting user interface paradigms originate from mobile space. Laptops and other are borrowing connectivity and other features from mobile phones. And, Moore's law has made it possible for mobile phones to run full operating systems without any limitations thus killing limited "mobile operating systems". If I ever had a doubt now I'm sure! Now we have full computers in our pockets. No wonder mobile phones and their software are in the center of innovation.

Competition
And competition is fierce. Competition is good because only through competition can we ensure continuous development and added value to consumers. PC operating systems have lost this competitiveness after somebody won. Now innovation has moved elsewhere -- increasingly to mobile space.

This is why I follow up and value highly our tough competitors. This is why I think about the industry as a whole. I want to learn from our competitors, copy them, collaborate with them, and try to be better than them. We can commonly do so much more than a single dominant player could do. Competition boosts innovation and makes things possible.

So what is happening right now. A lot!

Apple will come up with their new iPhone OS 4. It will be great, I believe. And even if it wasn't the will make it sound great!

I've been using Google Nexus One a lot lately. It is such a great device. The way they've integrated Google services sets the bar for all of us.

I used to use a Palm Pre a lot. What a great device. What an astounding software. I was so disappointed to see it not getting the traction it deserves. I really hope that now that it has found a new home @ HP it will rise again! And by the way, I have an extra sweet spot for Pre. It shares a lot of stuff with Maemo and N900.

Nokia just announced N8, the first device running Symbian^3. It is a great device with a very nice user interface. And together with the new Qt SDK, the application development environment for Nokia devices is one of the best in the industry!

And of course MeeGo and Maemo. A true computer software running in a mobile phone. Developed as an open source project with Intel, Nokia, and others.

My biased N900 view
As you know, we are selling the first Maemo phone, the N900. I'm biased, but I claim we have the best Flash implementation anybody has. We optimized full Flash to run with an open Mozilla browser. And it works very well!. (These are merely excuses, I think.)


We have the best browser based on the open Mozilla engine. We have the best multitasking implementation.


And --just try it -- we have a brilliant audio quality. Go ahead, plug the best possible studio headphones into you N900, and listen. To my ears, the best in the industry!

So competition is good. It is so exciting to see all this development.

P.S.

I'm running a 1.2 release candidate on this phone now. And this is the best phone ever to write blog posts!