If you have a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, and have been fed up with the slow GPS lock times, then there is a solution.  Firstly, you need to install the new OS firmware (Diablo) onto your machine using the Nokia Internet Tablet Firmware Updater (Windows only).  Then, you need to install the A-GPS additional program. The A-GPS program, will help locate you whilst the GPS continues to try to lock.  You give the application a very rough location in the world (by clicking on a map), and it will then use an internet connection to improve that link.  However, as well as supporting a link via Bluetooth to a mobile phone (which will use the phone’s cell tower IDs to locate you), it’s also possible to locate you via WiFi.  It achieves this by feeding the initial GPS data back to a central computer at Nokia which helps process those fragments of GPS information to produce a location faster than the lock.

This update makes the Diablo update well worth applying.  Although things are perfect yet (most apps need the author to confirm compatibility and provide their applications to the new application repositories), you can still access the old “Chinook” software respositories (unlike the last major OS jump, everything is binary compatible this time).

Now the only thing remaining is for Nokia to have a word with Wayfinder and get them to update the actual maps.  The maps included with the tablet are from 2006/7, and since then Nokia have updated the Nokia Maps (for Symbian) a couple of times, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t sort this out.  In the meantime, you may want to look at Maemo-Mapper, which uses OpenStreetMap map data, which is constantly being added to and updated, and because Maemo-Mapper uses the built in GPS support, it also benefits from the new A-GPS faster lock times.

As predicted a week ago, Nokia have announced the E66 and E71 phones.

The E71 has a built in GPS, QWERTY keyboard, a 3.2megapixel camera, is 114mm x 57mm x10mm and weighs 126g.  It should be with us in Q2 or Q3, and features a new Calendar application, which we’re certainly interested to learn more about.

The E66 is the successor to the E65, and is a slider.  It features a 2.4″ screen, but packs HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, and also has a 3.2megapixel camera. Both phones support the latest Ovi sharing tools Nokia is promoting, ie Nokia Maps (both features A-GPS), as well as music and media sharing, features that might more traditionally have been only seen on the Nseries range of handsets.  As part of their Eseries Enterprise capabilities, both can encrypt both their internal memory and memory cards, both can access Microsoft Exchange Servers, and both feature the MobileVPN client.  Some security settings can be managed centrally as well, which will make them even more popular with large corporate customers.

Here’s a roundup of a few additional points and information that have been released since the initial launch earlier this week.

Firstly, there are rumours that O2 are going to allow the iPhone 3G to be tethered to a laptop via Bluetooth, ie you can get access to the internet from the laptop via the iPhone. This is unconfirmed, and some people have indicated that the early iPhone 2.0 firmwares do not contain this functionality, so unless Apple pull something out of the hat at the last minute, this may not happen. Of course, many people argue that the iPhone has enough capability that you won’t want or need to use your laptop at all!

On the more positive, Unlimited WiFi will be available on the iPhone 3G at 9,500 hotspots covering both The Cloud and BT’s OpenZone network, which will be added in on 11th July, the iPhone launch date.

There’s no front facing camera, despite what a few people are claiming, so no 3G video calling.  Whether this was something that was dropped from the development to meet the timescales, or whether it was a purposeful decision (after all, how many of us make regular video calls, compared to voice calls…?) we’ll never know, but for now, there’s no capability.

There’s some questions over navigation apps, with some people claiming that companies like TomTom will not be able to release SatNav software because of a clause which prevents real-time navigation apps.  We believe that this clause relates to the use of the SDK to access the Google Maps data, which, of course, TomTom will not be using.  As such, we doubt this clause will prevent a wide raft of SatNav applications becoming available.

All in all, we suspect there will be a lot more news about the iPhone between now and a month’s time.

Here’s the newest device from HTC, the Touch Pro, adding a sliding keyboard to the overall Touch design look and feel (it’s mainly based on the Touch Diamond). The Touch Pro has a good all round spec:

• HSDPA, Bluetooth and WiFi
• 2.8″ VGA screen
• Windows Mobile 6.1 featuring HTC’s TouchFLO 3D interface,
• QWERTY keyboard, including the fifth number row
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• microSD slot
• GPS built in
• 512MB ROM and 288MB RAM

A good spec, and with HTC’s keen followers, it’s likely to sell very well. The first versions should use the European 3G frequencies and be available in the “late Summer”.

Although we’re waiting for the Computex show to formally open and the news to filter back to the UK, this is the best guess at the spec of the new Asus Eee Box PC they are launching today:

• 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor
• a choice of 80, 120, 160, and 250GB hard drives
• GMA 950 integrated graphics set
• Gigabit wired ethernet, plus WiFi
• Optional Bluetooth
• Multicard reader
• a choice of 512MB, 1GB, or 2GB of DDR2 RAM
• Azalia ALC888 audio chip
• Two USB 2.0 ports, DVI out and a headphone jack
• No CD / DVD optical drive
• a choice of Windows XP or Linux

We should have confirmation of the exact spec soon.

Although not available at every coffee shop location due to site limitations, Coffee Republic have announced that the majority of their sites now have free WiFi available. This is good; we’ve had McDonald’s and now Coffee Republic realise that free WiFi will draw in customers, and is a selling point, not a way to make a small amount of money. Many hotel chains are realising the same thing, although many of them need to provide better coverage throughout their hotels.

Coffee Republic story and picture courtesy of SMS Text News.

Here’s a picture of the latest BlackBerry, just announced by RIM. The specs are:

• Tri-band HSDPA
• GPS
• WiFi
• 624MHz mobile processor
• 1GB of memory
• 128MB of Flash
• microSD/SDHC memory card slot
• 2 megapixel camera
• 480×320 screen resolution

An interesting new device from RIM, although it will appeal to BlackBerry fans, it’s still not got the specs of the high end smartphones, such as the N95 8Gb, although it’s getting close.

In other news, RIM has announced a deal with Microsoft to bring Windows Live Messenger to the BlackBerry platform, which finally provides an instant messaging solution that spreads wider than just the BlackBerry community. What’s not clear is whether this will work with companies who use the internal Windows Live Messenger service, or whether it’s only linked to the public MSN service.

9000 story and picture courtesy of Berble.com.

Londonist has added a map which shows the free wifi spots in London. Ewan at SMS Text News thinks it’s not complete, and missing some hotspots, but if you are visiting London, you may want to check to see if there is any free wireless in the area you are going to be in.

Story courtesy of SMS Text News.

Toshiba announced a number of new laptops in Paris today. Firstly, the 13.3″ Portégé M800 in white, with 2GHz Core 2 Duo T5750, 1GB RAM, a WXGA (1,280 x 800) screen, Intel’s GMA X3100 graphics set, DVD burner, three USB2 ports, FireWire / VGA / headphone sockets, 802.11a/g/n WiFi, modem, Ethernet, Bluetooth and Vista Home Premium. Toshiba also announced several limited edition Satellite P300 Toshibas, although right now these designer laptops are only available in France.

However, a number of website are already pointing out the lack of an Asus Eee-equivalent in their range, suggesting that although these lightweight smaller screen units are nice, they are still missing out on a new key consumer sector in laptops.

Thanks to talktoshiba.com for the heads up on this release.

Here’s the new HTC Touch Diamond. HTC have redesigned their TouchFlo interface, and hope that many users won’t even realise it’s Windows Mobile 6 underneath their interface. The specs are:

• Windows Mobile 6.1
• Triband GSM/GPRS/EDGE at 900/1800/1900 MHz
• Qualcomm 528 MHz CPU
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• WiFi b/g
• eGPS
• FM Radio
• 128 MB RAM
• 256 MB ROM
• 4 GB flash
• 2.8″ VGA display(640×480)
• Front and rear cameras (rear 3.2 Megapixel)

O2 have confirmed they will be releasing the XDA Diamond. It’s also likely that the Touch Diamond will ship with TomTom Navigator 7, and a single downloadable City Map, with the ability to purchase further maps.

If you like the idea of a nice new interface, but already have a Windows Mobile device, or don’t want to buy a Touch Diamond, then head over to Pointui, who have produced their own interface for Windows Mobile, which may be a suitable candidate. Thanks to Mark at AutomatedHome for alerting us to this option.

Psiloc have just released their latest S60 application, it’s called Psiloc Connect, and as the name implies (just), it’s a connection manager for your phone. Once configured with all your details, it creates an additional AP connection called Psiloc Connect. Simply use this within your application and it will do everything else for you. It will search through all available WiFi access points, and connect to one of them if available. Failing that, it can either not connect at all, or if you have a good unlimited data connection, it will happily use a 3G / GPRS connection to connect the phone with the Internet. It costs €9.95, so is well worth a look.

More details here.

Here’s an interesting article; running Leopard (Mac OS X) on an OQO ultra portable device. Most functions work fine (WiFi, Bluetooth, sound, power management), with just a few more tweaks needed to get the last few bits working. As well as a forum post, there’s also a video.

Story courtesy of Engadget.

BT has announced that it will be helping it’s BT Business Total Broadband customers to turn their premises into WiFi Hotspots, allowing visitors to be able to access the Internet without having access to the business customer’s network. The press release mentions the BT FON community, and we wonder whether they are planning to offer the BT FON community offering currently only available to home users. Interestingly, the press release even makes mention of these visitors being able to make VOIP calls, an interesting statement from a company historically reliant upon call revenue…

More information as we can obtain it.

Thanks to Mark at Automated Home for alerting us to this article.

After a long wait, Skype have released a beta version of their mobile client. This is a Java app, which gives them a good range of compatibility across many handsets, but does not provide an integrated solution for Symbian or Windows Mobile users that many would like. Also, although it uses the internet data connection for presence and IM messaging, it makes a traditional phone call to connect into the Skype infrastructure to get VOIP connectivity, so there is still a real cost to these calls (if only that they will come out of your inclusive minutes). Skype even advertise it as “no WiFi needed”, but fail to mention that it really can’t take true advantage of a WiFi connection, even if you have one. Overall, Skype themselves hint that the 3 SkypePhone might be a better solution for many, and right now, I think I agree.

More details direct from Skype.

On Friday O2 finally launched their competition to Vodafone and 3’s Mobile Broadband. For £20 a month you get a 3Gb allowance (with a handy text message at 2Gb warning you the allowance is running out). Over that, it’s 20p per MB. However, you do also get unlimited WiFi via The Cloud. One limitation - you must be an existing O2 customer, and it’s an 18 month contract. There’s a month-by-month option (a bit like PAYG) which is still £20 per month, but you’ll need to buy the USB modem at £120 first.

Unlike 3, the max speed on offer today is 1.8mbps, with O2’s 3.6mbps rolling out in June.

Certainly the unlimited WiFi deal is a bit of a differentiator, but compared to 3’s offer of half price broadband to existing customers; and with the trick of getting a 3 Skypephone on a 6 month contract just to become a customer, it’s not necessarily the cheapest way of getting online for everyone.

Some content courtesy of SMS Text News.

According to Tech Digest, Coffee Republic are breaking away from the current mould, and moving to the pricing model most coffee drinkers want: free!

Coffee Republic will be offering it’s customers (ie you’ll need to buy something first) free WiFi access. The service will only operate during opening hours, and is likely to be limited to inside their coffee shops, but they are promoting that people who use it for an hour a week could save up to £234 per year.

This above picture comes from Symbian Freak, a picture of the new Nokia Tube, which will be the first 5th generation S60 device with a touchscreen. This model should be available in early 2009, and will be a mid-spec model, with a high spec model shipping later next year. Having said that, the spec of it is still impressive; a high resolution screen, which is at least 3″ and 16:9 format, a camera (though unlikely to be 5 megapixel), a front facing camera for video calling, 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi, built in GPS (with geotagging support), all in a device roughly the size of the N73. It won’t, apparently, feature multi touch, but will have haptic feedback.

Information and picture courtesy of Symbian Freak.

Along with a range of other manufacturers, HP have launched a mini notebook, called the Mini. This has the following specs:

• Via C7-M processor
• 1280×768 8.9″ screen
• Full QWERTY keyboard (just 8 percent smaller than normal)
• 512MB to 2Gb of memory options
• SuSE Linux OS (Vista Home or Business also options)
• 4Gb Flash Drive to 160Gb Hard Disk Drive
• VGA Camera
• WiFi Standard, Bluetooth on higher spec models

Full specs are available here on the HP US Website.

No information on UK pricing or availability, although we don’t suspect it’ll be long before it’s available.

As we predicted, JoikuSoft has been updated again to include WEP support, which now adds a simple level of security to the connection. This may not be enough security for many, but it is at least a start. Another new feature is the ability for the software to shutdown when the battery gets too low. As always, the software can be downloaded from here.

Nokia has released details of it’s newest Internet Tablet, the N810 WME (WiMax Edition). Although it will only be available (for 2008 at least) in the US, it still brings some interesting features to the current range. It’s based on the N810, so still features the QWERTY keyboard and built in GPS added with the N810. On top of that, Nokia have added WiMax (which adds a little extra depth to the back of the unit to accommodate the WiMax antenna). Nokia have managed to keep the WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity options for when WiMax isn’t available (or you are at home /work, and want to utilise your own existing connections).

The most interesting features, though, come with the new version of the OS. This includes a number of bug fixes and an improved email client. However, it also features “Seamless Software Update” which Nokia claims to remove the need for periodic system updates. It’s not clear whether this is an automated version of the current Application Manager update process, or whether it’s similar to the User Data Preservation feature of some of the newer Nokia N-Series devices. The new OS should be available in the Summer for both the N800 and N810 devices.