Khweeteur is a great twitter and identi.ca client for Maemo. One feature I particularly like is its support for queuing of status updates, which is useful when connectivity is poor or non-existent (which, for me, is typically when something tweet-worthy happens). It also supports multiple accounts, e.g., a twitter account and an identi.ca account.

Khwetteur can automatically download updates and notify you when something happens. Enabling this option causes Khwetteur to periodically perform updates whenever there is an internet connection---whether it is a WiFi connection or via cellular. This is unfortunate for those, who like me, have limited data transfer budgets.

Deciding when to transfer updates is exactly what Woodchuck was designed for, and recently, I added Woodchuck support to Khweeteur. Now, if Woodchuck is found, Khweeteur will rely on it to determine when to schedule updates (of course, you can still manually force an update whenever you like!).

While modifying the code, I also made a few bug fixes and some small enhancements. Two improvements that, I think, are noteworthy are: displaying unread messages in a different color from read messages, and indicating when the last update attempt occured.

You can install the Woodchuck-enabled version of Khweeteur on your N900 using this installer. You'll also need to install the Woodchuck server, to profit from the Woodchuck support. Hopefully, the version in Maemo extras will be updated soon!

Other Woodchuck-enabled software for the N900 include:

• FeedingIt: An RSS reader
• APT Woodchuck: A software update scheduler for Maemo5

If you are interested in adding Woodchuck support to your software, let me know either via email or join #woodchuck on irc.freenode.net.

I've recently been asked again about the games I wrote for mobile devices, so here it is: The post with an overview of the games, with some not-so-well-known backstories and information on where to get them for different devices. Plus a little teaser hidden somewhere.

In my last post about the Nokia N9, we went through a customary unboxing and a quick overview of the device. I also shared a few initial impressions.

This time, we delve a little deeper into the N9’s Swipe UI, go over some of its settings and look at the best ways to setup the N9 for daily use.

I also look at two must have applications for the N9, Swipe Manager and Shortcuts. Swipe Manager brings consistency to your swipes and with the ability to define what action each directional swipe does. For example, you can set it to open the app drawer if you swipe from bottom to top, events view if you swipe from right to left and so on. This makes sure that no matter what you want to do, close an app, goto the launcher, the app switcher or the events view, everything is just a single swipe away.

Next is Shortcuts, it lets you change the four default quick access app on the N9, which the phone won’t let you change otherwise.

What follows is the ten minutes with the Nokia N9 video:

Want me to cover something specifically? Let me know in the comments section below!

Nokia has released its Q3 2011 results, reporting an operating loss of -€71 million, with net sales of €8.980 billion (down 13% YoY). Nokia's Devices and Services division's profits were €132 million. Margins in devices and services were 2.4% (down from 11.3 % in Q3 2010 and up from -4.2% in Q2 2011). Total smartphone device sales were 16.8 million, compared with 27.2 million units in Q3 2010 (down 34% YoY) and 16.7 million units in Q2 2011 (up 1%, QoQ). The results were ahead of expectations and suggest the company has started on the road to recovery.

NFC, widely touted to be one of the 'next big things' is here already in the Nokia C7, Google Nexus S and Blackberry Bold 9900, plus all the new Symbian Belle handsets have it built-in and other manufacturers and platforms are sure to follow. But what actually is Near Field Communications and how does it work? What can you do with it right now and what will it enable in the future? Here's a bookmark-able primer that should answer all your questions.

gPodder 2.20 has been released. New packages are already available for Maemo 4 (in Extras) and Maemo 5 (in Extras-Testing). If you are using gPodder on Maemo 5, please test the package and vote for it on the package page, so it can get promoted to Extras when it has been tested by the community.

For all N950/N9 users: The Harmattan build of the gPodder QML UI is available for free in Ovi Store. The version available in Ovi Store is a development snapshot of the "tres" branch, where we will have an official release soon. I'm using it on a daily basis, and it's very stable and usable - new features will be added as we go along, so check out the new gPodder! You can grab the source code from the harmattan branch in our Git repository.

A few months ago the Apple Store accumulated more than 500,000
approved applications available for download. This is a very
remarkable fact for a relatively new platform using somewhat obscure
technologies. It is, also, a very profitable situation for Apple.

The N9 is here, I have the black 64 GB variant and I can tell you that the moment you lay your eyes on it, you will be able to say that the N9 in a class of its own. It is easily the best looking device on the market today, truly a pinnacle of Nokia’s design prowess. It feels very premium, the curved display looks spectacular and the whole distraction free (read button free) surface is a real pleasure to look at.

With that in mind, I put together a little unboxing video (available in HD) for you. In addition to the obvious unboxing, I give you a bit of an overview of the product along with a look at the rubber case that Nokia ships with it. Also included in the box are brand new accessories that Nokia specially designed for the N9, all of which look great.

That aside here a few quick initial impressions as precursor to the detailed review which will follow:

• The N9, owing to the unibody design and the polycarbonate finish feels incredibly solid in the hand. Since there are literally no moving parts, it feels great in the hand.

• The display on the N9 is terrific, the screen very close to the surface of the glass and it feels as if you’re touching it directly; almost makes you feel like its floating on top. Easily gives the Super AMOLED Plus on the Galaxy S2 a run for its money, and because its almost the same resolution on a smaller screen (3.9″ v 4.3″), its a lot more crisp.

• The phone feels responsive, and you’re at home with the Swipe UI in a matter of minutes. Its very intuitive and makes you wonder why nobody else thought of it before. Enabling swipe down to close an app from the settings is recommended, it makes the experience better. There are two more apps that help tremendously, Swipe Manager and My Moves, more on them later.

• The camera is FAST. The shot to shot time is incredible and you want to keep taking pictures once you get going.

• The pre-loaded Twitter and Facebook apps are capable, they cover all the bases. The only thing missing is the ability to share pictures on Twitter and that ability is apparently coming in a future update.

• The out of box service support is great, you can directly upload to Flickr or YouTube. Have multiple Mail for Exchange accounts, other email accounts, and even make Skype calls from the dialer itself. There is also support for IMs on Facebook, Skype and Gtalk.

• The N9 makes it hard for you to find a fault with it, if you forget the direction Nokia is going in for a minute.

Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section below, or on Twitter @v4ibhav.

Front Page

Software update coming for N950 to more closely align with N9 Harmattan release

Nokia's "N9 developer" blog shared the interesting news that "the N9 team is in the final stages of preparing an update to the Nokia N950 image, which will align the software more with the Nokia N9 product image."

No clarification as to when the release could be expected (beyond "soon") was given; however it will be an in-place, SSU-style, upgrade if the device has already been reflashed with the beta2 firmware.

Read more (developer.nokia.com)

In this edition (Download)...

1. Front Page
   • Software update coming for N950 to more closely align with N9 Harmattan release
2. Applications
   • MyMoves - gesture control for Harmattan - available in Nokia Store
   • ClipMan, clipboard manager, is now available for Harmattan
3. Development
   • Technical information on Harmattan browser
   • Packages for Python on Harmattan updated
   • Developer outreach blog from N9 and N950 developer offering team
   • First "real" Qt app available for Android, MeeGo and Symbian (no Maemo?)
   • First alpha release of Cordia HD available
4. Community
   • Minutes from Maemo community meeting
   • Poll to rename MeeGo Community Edition (as part of move to base on Mer) open
   • Scope/breadth of Mer
5. Devices
   • Konttori's thoughts on past few months in the Harmattan team
   • IdeasProject for Nokia N9 challenges for ideas to improve Swipe UI
6. Announcements
   • SketchIt - simple sketching for Harmattan devices

A Quick Look at Extras in Bugzilla
2011-10-10 through 2011-10-16