No 5th generation DEVICE announced, but here are platform announcements:

• Enabling cellular connectivity over HSPA. (!!!)
• Higher speed Ti OMAP3.
• High definition cameras for content creation.

Software:

• Gold sponsor of The Linux Foundation
• 3G code already contributed this morning.
• Stay tuned for more.

Answers to the Q/A:

• Long-term commitment to maemo: "Yes"
• Enhancements to software: They're working on it.
• 5th Gen device: Will announce when they're ready to announce it.
• Primary focus: Create great devices, but contribute code upstream.
• Role of Trolltech in maemo: Eventual plans to support Qt AND GTK - Working to fight against fragmentation.
  

Dr. Ari Jaaksi just started talking.
News to follow.

Major changes are on the way for the Nokia Internet Tablet line. Here's the partial scoop: The "Internet Tablet" line may be ending in name but the maemo platform is going strong. Wait a few hours, watch this space, and there will be more.

The above screenshot is from Nseries.com. I decided to take a look at the latest official marketing materials, drool over the new Nokia N96, and cry on the inside for the continued lack of US 3G version of the Nokia N82. In that site visit, I realized how heavily "mouseover" effects are used in navigation.

This isn't the first time I've noticed growing extensive use of information that pops up on mouseover. A good number of sites I visit regularly have "info-boxes" that pull up extended information on a highlighted word.

On the tablet, however, the site navigation is quite different. There are no popping info boxes, automatically expanding menus, or smooth mouse-following effects. This is because the tablet does not know where a non-clicking cursor is hovering at any given time. Since active digitizers (the ones on high-end tablet PCs with the special hover-aware stylus) are not an option on this device, perhaps an emulation of "hover mode" will help. For example: holding down the Fn key while moving the stylus around the screen could behave as normal mouse movement instead of the click-and-drag default.

Food for thought.

"Prestwick" of InternetTabletTalk forums (the best place for Internet Tablet users) asked other forum members to post photos. The conversation goes on for a number of pages and truly shows the diversity, humor, and good-hearted nature of the Internet Tablet community. I asked "wazd" (who also has the maemo UI Improvements blog) for permission to re-post the photo above. That's Moscow!

How many times must I say it? The Internet Tablet community is - by far - the most interesting, fun, insightful, and colorful bunch of people I've ever had the honor of knowing.

Someone may have noticed that WiMAX was falling off the press radar, making it a convenient time to leak some documents on the upcoming service. The N810 WiMAX Edition is featured throughout, so vaporware is not an option. Read all about it on Engadget Mobile. We still need prices and coverage maps, Sprint!

Apparently, Sprint has more planned for XOHM than just WiMAX internet access. They're working with partners to send location-specific data to XOHM customers through the WiMAX network. This includes Google, uLocate, and NAVTEQ.

Thanks to cashless in InternetTabletTalk forums for sharing the Mobile Tech Today article. Here's a quote from that article:

John Polivka, spokesperson at Sprint, explained the difference between the XOHM user experience and using the Internet. "With Internet access you could go to each vendor now as a separate interaction; but with XOHM, the services are aggregated into a service package that correlates them due to the intelligence in the network; for example, plotting friend locations on a map, identifying a restaurant or entertainment venue from local search, and sharing plans to convene with the benefit of weather, traffic or ticket-purchase convenience."

On one hand, this could be a boon to a specific user and partner set. On the other hand, it would have to be implemented just right or else face backlash in reliability, privacy, and usefulness. It also needs to be translated from "marketing jibber-jabber" to real application demonstrations before the high-tech population can overcome the current cynicism with wireless providers.

Tablet owners are thrilled about Nokia's new Ntropic (pronounced 'entropic' - a concept of thermodynamics) software product for Nokia Internet Tablets running OS2008 "Diablo" and Nseries S60 phones. The open-source, exstensible software is currently available as a free download for Internet Tablet and Nseries phone owners.

Ntropic's features are exciting:

• Ntropic Sync: Message, address book, and media synchronization between tablet and phone.
  
• Ntropic Connect: Automatic wireless managent on the tablet (switching to HSDPA when WiFi is unavailable)
• Ntropic Awareness: Enhanced mapping features with location awareness, allowing users to find local businesses based on their location. Locations with phone numbers available will have the option to call the business.
  
• Ntropic Location: GPS assist, allowing N800 users to use their phone's GPS for map software or allowing N810 users to extend the accuracy and speed up satellite locks.
• Ntropic Image: Lightweight photo editor for downloading photos from the phone, minor editing (cropping, rotating, annotating) and automatic upload to major photo sharing sites.

This new software finally puts Internet Tablets in the spotlight as the premiere Mobile Internet Device and raises the bar on what competing companies must offer. The only reported flaw with the software is that it simply doesn't exist beyond this blog post. Ntropic is a piece of wishful thinking -- but maybe it will be reality one day. We can hope.

Last December, we were asking what effects Nokia's purchase of NAVTEQ would have on Internet Tablet owners. Today, we get a partial answer:

Wayfinder decided to expand use of NAVTEQ maps. With an even closer relationship between Wayfinder and NAVTEQ (now Nokia) we can hope to get all the latest map data and Wayfinder software on our tablets.

On a related note: NAVTEQ is working with Loopt to develop social map applications as well. I wonder if this means they can leverage the Nokia name on their compatible products page. Not a single Nokia phone appears there!

The beta is done and the results are good: The HAVA client is now available for public download. Live TV is now available on your tablet. Here's a video of it in action:


Thanks to the people at Monsoon Multimedia, I am testing another HAVA box. This time, it's the Hava Wireless HD. The integrated tuner means I can watch my analog cable channels without having to patch the box to a cable tuner or DVR. It's live and all in one box.

Installation: So easy a kitten can do it.

The HAVA Wireless HD device (I see it's $179 this week with a coupon code) was easy to set up. There is a photo set in my Flickr stream showing several of the steps: Download, run the installer, detect the HAVA, and scan for channels. Then the HAVA gets a "friendly" name that registers the player on the network. All you have to remember is the friendly name of your tuner/streamer and can configure your player on any machine. That's nice: No IP addresses to fiddle with.

After it is configured and viewable on the PC (sorry - no Mac or Linux options for initial set-up) Internet Tablet users can download the HAVA player .deb directly. After setting up the HAVA box name and password in the player, the rest is shown in the video above. One thing the video does not show: Full screen mode. The player uses the maximize button to go into fullscreen and has an option to disable backlight dimming while streaming. Well done, Monsoon!