The Ovi Store for Maemo just arrived for the Nokia N900 and some users already found a way to bypass the payment gateway. An example is that users were able install the extra level for Angry Birds that costs $3 directly from the Nokia N900 for free. I’m assuming Nokia found about the security breach right away because the extra level is no longer listed at the store.

Developer of Angry Birds concerned about the Ovi Store problem

I actually purchased the extra level for Angry Birds while it was still available because I love the game! I discourage piracy and will not share how these users were able to download it for free, but here’s the ongoing discussion from the Maemo community where this issue was brought up.

The Ovi Store is clearly labeled as beta, but I hope this incident does not discourage other developers from creating awesome apps for the Maemo platform. I also hope Nokia sorts this out as soon as possible because I know plenty of Nokia N900 users want to get that extra level for Angry Birds!

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One major thing missing from the Nokia N900 is an official Google Maps application. Fortunately, the mobile version of their website looks like a good solution until Google decides to release a native app for Maemo and the Nokia N900. I’ve created a video to show you how it looks.

You can also watch this video in HD on Youtube. Subscribe to the channel to preview the latest videos before they get published on the blog.

Simply go to google.com/maps/m on the Nokia N900’s web browser. The browser have the Hover and Manipulation modes that are handy on the Google maps mobile website. You can use these modes in order to move and zoom on the map.

The Google Maps mobile website allows users to search, view traffic, satellite view, and even call places. This solution isn’t perfect and a proper application should make the experience better. The web browser does not know your current location, so you have to double tap many times to zoom in from world view to to street. Have a Nokia N900? Go check it out and let us know what you think.

Update: Thanks to a tip by @dsawhney, installing the maemo-geolocation plugin from Application manager enables the web browser to find my location for Google Maps! Awesome!

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Google announced on Tuesday that they are rolling out the ability to upload and store any type of file in Google Docs over the next few weeks. It’s cool that Nokia N900 users will be able to take advantage of this service directly from their device by using the Petrovich and Pixelpipe apps.

Upload files other than pics or vids with Petrovich

The Petrovich app on the N900 allows you to send a file of your choosing via Bluetooth, E-mail, or a “Sharing service”. Add Google Docs as one of your Pixelpipe pipes and you’ll be able to store any type of files on Google’s servers.

Let’s break it up in simple steps:

• Install Petrovich
• Install Pixelpipe
• Add Google Docs to Pixelpipe
• Take note of the routing tag. Default is “@gdocs”
• Open Petrovich on Nokia N900
• Select the file you want to upload and choose “Share via Service”
• Type title or description, then add the “@gdocs” tag.
• Make sure the account showing is Pixelpipe.
• Click Share.
• That’s it!

Nokia N900’s Share feature makes this possible

Google says, “you’ll have 1GB of free storage for files you don’t convert into one of the Google Docs formats (i.e. Google documents, spreadsheets, and presentations), and if you need more space, you can buy additional storage for $0.25 per GB per year.” File size limit is 250MB. This feature is not enabled for me yet, but it will be available in the next couple of weeks. Will you be using it with the Nokia N900?

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Nokia N900 users who updated to 1.2009.44-1 earlier today and clicked on the Ovi store icon were met with the same old “coming soon” page. However, going to store.ovi.mobi directly on the web browser now actually lets you install apps, games, audios, videos, themes, and wallpapers. If you don’t have a Nokia N900, I’ve made a video to show you how it looks.

You can also watch this video in HD on Youtube. Subscribe to the channel
to preview the latest videos before they get published on the blog.

There were no official announcements made by Nokia about the Ovi Store’s opening, so we’re not sure if this is temporary. I recommend making Angry Birds your first must-have download.

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Mark/Space partnered with Nokia to release GoGadget for the Nokia N900 Friday afternoon. It enables synchronization of music, photos, ringtones, video, and documents from a Mac to a Nokia N900 connected through a USB cable. It works similar to Nokia Multimedia Transfer, but offers a couple more features.

GoGadget for N900 works with iTunes to transfer whole playlists of music, with album art, genre and artist info. Save photos you snap with your Nokia N900 to your computer, into iPhoto. Transfer photos from your computer too – to make an N900 a digital photo album that’s always with you. Drag a video to GoGadget and it is converted to fit the phone’s screen size for a great viewing experience. These three features, however, are already offered for free using Nokia Multimedia Transfer.

Two things GoGadget has that NMT doesn’t are synchronization of ringtones and files/documents. The ringtone editor is pretty cool. Choose a song, trim, and name it. The audio meter also guides you with the trimming. Ringtones are transferred on the Nokia N900 the next time it is synced.

GoGadget’s ringtone editor

GoGadget for Nokia N900 is available today, free to try for 7 days and to purchase for $19.95 USD. Try it out and let us know what you think.

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In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Google Nexus One was announced, available for purchase, and shipped at the same time just a couple of days ago. Mine was just delivered and the first thing I wanted to do is compare it in size with Nokia’s own super-phone, the Nokia N900. Take a look.

Photos

Nexus One First Impressions

So far, I’m blown away by the size and display of the Nexus One. It’s more pocketable than the Nokia N900 because of its thickness. The colors on the display are richer and appear to stand out more than the N900 too.

I still need to get used to not having a real hardware keyboard on the Nexus because I’ve already misspelled plenty of messages. Correcting myself was annoying.

I don’t have any complaints about the web browser after some quick browsing, but I didn’t like it when websites forced me to use their mobile version.

Setting up the Nexus One was very fast. My Google mail, calendar, contacts were all synced right away after entering my email address. The Nokia N900 cannot currently sync all these three services using Exchange. As expected, there were also much more apps available on the Android device over Maemo.

I’ll have a full review of the Google Nexus One soon after more usage. This is primarily a Nokia blog, so I’ll place a lot of emphasis on comparing it with other Nokia devices especially the Nokia N900.

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Use coupon code 8Q3R8HBT5HNWMD at Dell SB to get $120.99 off the Nokia N900. The total comes to $479 with free shipping. You may have to pay sales tax depending on where you live. This offer expires January 9th, 2010 while supplies last. I believe this is the current lowest price if you need to get one now.

If you haven’t read it yet, check out my Nokia N900 review. It’s currently my favorite device because of its excellent web browser and killer camera. However, it’s not perfect. Its lack applications compared to other platforms may turn off potential buyers. Read the review for more details.

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T-Mobile has completely upgraded its entire 3G network to HSPA 7.2Mbps today according to Phonescoop. I busted out my Nokia N900 to test the speeds here in New York City and I was able to get about 6Mbps downloads and at least 1Mbps uploads!

Here are three consecutive speed tests from Speedtest.net. Yes… the Nokia N900 can actually run that website in the web browser unlike most, if not all, current phones in the market.

Does this mean AT&T have to stop saying they have the nation’s fastest 3G network?

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My current favorite device, the Nokia N900, is plastered all over one of our favorite tech sites today, Gizmodo. During my routine browsing, I noticed Gizmodo nicely themed with a huge collapsing rectangle ad at the header, skyscraper ad on sidebar, another giant ad in between content, as well as matching the logo and side panels.

According to Gizmodo’s advertising page, they are dedicated to gadgets, gizmos, and cutting-edge consumer electronics with an audience of 6.1 million monthly tech-hungry reader. I think that’s the right audience to expose Nokia’s latest and greatest Nokia N900, right?

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Foursquare just launched a native app on Palm, joining the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android OS. Nokia users don’t have any apps for Symbian or Maemo, so we have to rely on the mobile site instead. Fortunately, a developer named Chris B has written on his blog that he started work on a Maemo app for the Nokia N900 using Foursquare’s public API.

If you haven’t heard of Foursquare, several analysts predicted that it will be this year’s Twitter. Check this page from their website to learn more about the service.

At its current state, Chris says BarrioSquare is still “an alpha version, not quite stable and polished enough for release yet.” There are many things on his to-do list but he wrote down what is currently implemented:

• Sign in using OAuth
• Get nearby venues based on the location of the device
• Search for venue nearby based on keywords
• Get basic venue details
• Basic check-in for a venue

Here are some screenshots from the alpha version:

I know it looks rough right now, but I’m definitely going to keep a close eye on the development of BarrioSquare. Chris is looking for people who are interested in collaborating to create this app, so let him know on Twitter @pablohoneyNYC, or use the contact page on his blog. I could definitely use a native Foursquare app for my Nokia N900. Do you feel the same way?

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