Firefox 4 Beta for mobile is built on the same technology platform as Firefox 4 for the desktop, optimized for browsing on a mobile device. Here’s a summary of what’s new in this update:

• There are now over 100 add-ons, and counting.
• Startup speed has improved visibly.
• JavaScript is much faster – almost 15% performance improvement in Beta 4 compared to Beta 3.
• Memory and CPU usage is reduced, making the browser more responsive and stable.
• Added an option to resize text to fit the screen when you double-tap to zoom in, to optimize the reading experience.

You can read the complete release notes for Firefox 4 Beta 4 here.

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MohammedAG says this app is more of a proof of concept for now. Head over to the Maemo forum thread for installation and feedback.

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The Nokia N900 started shipping in the US last November. The data from these lists came from January 1st, 2010 to December 15th, 2010. When I reviewed the N900, I liked its web browser and camera. The lack of polished apps and the introduction of newer, slimmer devices made me stop using it though. Do you still have your Nokia N900? How many of you got it as gifts from Amazon?

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TwimGo is a clean and simple Twitter client for your Maemo-based Nokia N900. Tommi Laukkanen, the developer of the app, says that it runs on Qt Web Runtime and we might see it running on other devices in the future. Download the app if you haven’t tried it yet and let us know what you think.

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We used an app called GPXView on the Nokia N900. I don’t know if there are geocaching apps for Symbian, but there are definitely apps for Android and iPhone. GPXView is available for the Nokia N900 in the Application manager.

GPXView told us there were many caches nearby. The nearest one was only a couple minutes away. The app gave us the GPS coordinate, comments by others who previously found it, and even some hints. None of us had local SIM cards, but the app worked flawlessly on the streets of Dublin after preloading maps data with hotel wifi.

The first cache we found was attached to a green box in a random street. Inside was a log of people who found the item. After placing it back for another person to find, we went hunting for other caches. Another cache we found was under a bench with a great view of the Grand Canal Docks.

Geocaching is really fun and I’ll be playing it now every time I travel. I’ve included more photos below. Have you geocached yet?

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The PR 1.3 update is about 200MB. I don’t notice major changes so far, but I’ll update this post if a changelog pops up. On the backend, the Maemo team mentioned on their blog that this update aligns the Qt application and UI framework with the planned version for the MeeGo 1.1 platform (Wt 4.7). It includes Qt Mobility 1.0.2 APIs too. Make sure to read their post if you’re a developer.

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Ari Jaaksi taking a photo with the Nokia N900 at Maemo Summit 2009

Maemo is the OS running on the Nokia N900. It was released late last year. Meego is the new platform Nokia has co-developed with Intel. We’re expecting to see Nokia’s Meego device, the Nokia N9, by the end of 2010 or early 2011.

There’s no official confirmation yet, but All things Digital cites sources close to Palm. On a sidenote, Ari Jaaksi’s blog and twitter account haven’t been updated yet. The profile still says, “I run MeeGo and Maemo @ Nokia.”

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Here’s a quote from the official Meego blog:

On the Maemo side, there have been interesting, supporting developments going on, as well. The PR 1.3 update is quite close now, and with that you can easily dual boot between Maemo and Meego on your N900. There is also a possibility of developing applications supporting both operating systems, based on Qt and Qt Mobility APIs on the Maemo side. It means that you can develop once in PC with Qt Creator, and test your applications on both Maemo and MeeGo, directly on your N900 device!

This is exciting news since a lot of Nokia fans are looking forward to the new Meego OS. We also love getting firmware updates on our devices, so Maemo fans are going to be happy. Dual booting different OS sounds great too. That means we can change the user experience if we don’t like one of them. We’ll keep our eyes open for updates on this development.

UPDATE I asked Nokia for a statement regarding this topic and here’s their response:

The Nokia N900 is used as development hardware for platform developers working with MeeGo on ARM hardware architecture. While the software from the MeeGo project runs on the Nokia N900 for development purposes, Nokia does not intend to provide a dual-boot OS option to consumers in upcoming N900 commercial software releases as we want to ensure that we provide the best possible experience designed for that device. The meego.com blog post was primarily targeted to the audience reading the blog: MeeGo developers.

So there you have it. No dual boot option to consumers.

Thanks Ivan for submitting the tip!

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Video is embedded below. Click here if it’s not visible in your RSS reader.

The face tracker use landmarks on the face using a technique known as the Active Appearance Model. The positions of these landmarks relative to each other define the shape of your face and indicate where you are looking, your expression and who you are. As you can see in the video, the tracker does a pretty good job following the face even when the phone pans or rotates. Let’s hope this technology evolves from the Nokia N900 into other mobile phones as well.

For more information on this video, see this page from Dr. Philip A. Tresadern.

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Joikuspot for the Nokia N900 costs $9.99 and is definitely worth it. The only question I have is, “why did it take 3 months to show up at the Ovi Store?”

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Hermes is a must-have app for the Nokia N900. I’m glad I had the opportunity to speak with the developer, Andrew Flegg, when the app was still in early development. You can watch that video below if you haven’t seen it yet.

Find-as-you-type contact matching makes it much faster to connect the dots between your unmatched friends and their online profiles. After Hermes does its magic, there might be a few people in your contacts list that remain unmatched. All you need to do in the new version is start typing at the screen with the online profiles. The N900 will try to filter the list for right person, and the user selects which profile matches the contact.

In the example below, I have a contact in my phonebook named Norm. Hermes could not automatically match it with an online profile. I start typing “Norman” and now the list shows 2 possible matches from my Facebook friends list. I click on the right person then click Update.

Now Norm from my contacts list gets a photo, birthday info, and even a webpage link instead of just the telephone number that was initially there.

Hermes is available for download within the Application Manager on the Nokia N900. It is also free.

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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.

When you first open the application, it asks you for the location either by zip code or city. You can enter more than one and toggle through them on the main panel.

There are four panels on the right that can display maps, forecasts, video, and even a photo outside your nearest weather station. The Weatherbug application gives more information than I really need, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Weatherbug for the Nokia N900 is available for download at the Ovi Store free of charge.

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Here’s a video overview from last year’s competition.

The contest started last February and the winners will be announced at the Nokia Developer Summit alongside Nokia World on September 15th, 2010. More details are available at the competition’s site, but here’s a summary of the prizes:

• Grand Prize: 30,000 USD in cash.
• 2nd Prize: 15,000 USD in cash.
• 3rd Prize: 5,000 USD in cash.
• Best application for the Nokia N900: $50,000 (USD) in cash.
• Best cross-platform application using Qt: $50,000 (USD) in cash.
• Best mobile computing application: $50,000 (USD) in cash, plus the winner of this special prize will be included in a multi-million dollar global marketing campaign that will be used to help promote the winning app.
• Best locally relevant application with global potential: $15,000 (USD) in cash.

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Payments are handled via credit card connected to your Ovi account. First time buyers need to fill out their card information, but the purchases after that just require you to login.

Paid apps have shown up previously at the Ovi Store for the Nokia N900, but have been pulled out when users found a way to bypass the payment gateway. I assume the security hole has been patched and paid apps are here to stay.

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Twitter user @JJKLEE suggested to replace my T-Mobile USA SIM card with another card to see Nokia Messaging as an email option on the Nokia N900. I inserted my AT&T SIM and there it was back on the list. I thought I was imagining things, so I put the T-mobile SIM card back on. Nokia Messaging disappeared again!

This could mean Nokia Messaging doesn’t like T-mobile USA… the only provider that can provide 3G for the N900 in the USA! The workaround is to insert a different SIM card, set up Nokia Messaging, then put the T-mobile card back on.

Anyone else experiencing this issue on their Nokia N900 with T-mobile or any other SIM cards?

Update: Davis Fields from the Nokia Messaging team confirmed the issue and assures us they are working on it. Here’s the note he sent:

We are aware (and currently resolving) the fact that you cannot create a new Nokia Messaging account using a US T-Mobile SIM. Should have a fix by next month – realize that’s not a great answer, but, would rather tell you what’s going on than leave you in the dark.

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Detailed instructions for flashing updates are available at the Maemo.org community wiki, but I’ll point out just the important things you need to get Maemo 1.2 on your Nokia N900. This requires entering text commands. I followed the instructions for Windows, but guides for other platforms are also available in the wiki.

• Download and install the latest version of Maemo Flasher
• Download the latest firmware .BIN file. It is called PR 1.2 version 10.2010.19-1.
• Download the latest Vanilla version of the eMMC content for Nokia N900. It is called eMMC content 10.2010.13-2.
• Place both files in the same folder as the installed Flasher app from step 1.
• Ensure the battery is at least half full. Unplug charger cable and switch off the device.
• Open the Command Prompt (Start then Run or Windows Logo key + R) and type cmd then press Enter.
• Change the directory to the Flasher’s path. You can do this with the cd command. cd .. takes you out of the current folder, while cd nameoffolder gets you inside of that folder.
• Hold the u key on the device keyboard and connect the USB cable at the same time
• Run the following command: flasher-3.5.exe -F RX-51_2009SE_10.2010.19-1.002_PR_COMBINED_002_ARM.bin -f
• Hint: pressing the tab button after the first few letters, autocompletes commands or file names.
• If done correctly, it should say flashed successfully after a few minutes.
• Without unplugging the phone, run the next command: flasher-3.5.exe -F RX-51_2009SE_10.2010.13-2.VANILLA_PR_EMMC_MR0_ARM.bin -f -R
• It should also say flashed successfully after a minute or two.
• That’s it! The Nokia N900 will reboot with a fresh firmware.

Details of what’s new on Maemo 1.2 and the bugs fixed are described in the Maemo wiki. New features include portrait browsing, option not to automatically add contacts when replying to emails, Ovi Maps UI update, customizable menu icons, and more. New games are also expected to show up in the Ovi store this week. We’ll keep our eyes open.

Thanks Recombu for supporting the blog and sponsoring this post. Compare mobile phone deals in the UK using their price comparison engine.

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How big is that screen?

Closer look at Meego 1.0

These buttons remind me of Android

We’re not sure when or if this Meego device will be announced, but it’s cool that we get a sneak peek now. The cameraman messed up with the exposure settings so the screen on the device looks washed out. Take a look at the video below.

The devices shown on the video seem to work together really well. I’m not blown away yet, but I do look forward to seeing more sneak peeks from Meego. How do you feel so far?

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Video

Noticed how responsive it was? 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.

Download

Raemote is currently available for download in the application manager of the Nokia N900 under the Extras-testing repository. If you have no idea what that means, check out my guide to Maemo Extras.

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The image above is what you’ll see after the installation according to the Maemo forums.

I’m sure developers are excited over this announcement, but those like me who just care about using mobile devices should move along. Nothing to see here… yet. What I want on my Nokia N900 yesterday right now is the next major software update also known as PR1.2.

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I wish there was an actual Nokia N900 next to the HD2 for comparison so we can see the big difference in size of the screen. Check this comparison done by Engadget between a 3.5, 3.7, and 4.3 inches displays.

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