Nokia World 09: New beta services target N97 owners, Facebook parts are confusing

We all know that Nokia is focusing on services as much as they are hardware and we saw three services focused on during the opening keynote. Ovi Maps gets an update, Ovi Lifecasting integrates Facebook, and Nokia Messaging - Social Messaging Beta does too. I have to admit I am confused by the distinction between [...]

We all know that Nokia is focusing on services as much as they are hardware and we saw three services focused on during the opening keynote. Ovi Maps gets an update, Ovi Lifecasting integrates Facebook, and Nokia Messaging - Social Messaging Beta does too. I have to admit I am confused by the distinction between the last two services and think the Nokia Messaging brand is becoming more confusing as it evolves. I tried reading the FAQ (copied below) to distinguish the two and have to admit to still being a bit confused:

What’s the difference between the current Facebook client on my Nokia N97, the Ovi lifecasting widget and Nokia Messaging Social Messaging application?

The current Facebook experience is a client downloaded onto the phone and accessible through a homescreen widget. The experience is focused on consumption of Facebook community content. The Social Messaging beta will deliver a similar, though more integrated experience for Facebook as well as other social network communities through a single client as service extension of Nokia Messaging with one predictable and low price for email, IM and social messaging activity.

Can any readers explain to me why there should be separate clients for Facebook rather than just a single amazing client like the iPhone has now with Facebook 3.x?

Ovi lifecasting widget

The new Ovi lifecasting widget (limited beta availability) is designed for N97 owners. From what I can figure out on the Ovi lifecasting page it is a Facebook application that is more heavily focused on the location sharing aspects and functions in Nokia devices. I downloaded it and will be trying it out to see what it is all about on my N97.

Ovi Maps Beta for mobile

The latest version of Ovi Maps just came out of beta and now we have another version going right back into beta. This version of Ovi Maps Beta includes the following improvements over the previous version, but is only compatible with the N97, N97 mini, 5800 XM and 5800 Navigation Edition.

• Improved application start up
• Brand new menu with one touch access to content and services
• New and improved one-box search
• New features in car navigation service: ‘Drive home’ and ‘Track me’,
• New features in the pedestrian navigation service: ‘Walk home’ and ‘Track me’,
• Text-to-speech for voice guidance in car and pedestrian navigation, currently available for English and German. More languages will follow for the commercial release.

Nokia Messaging - Social Messaging Beta

Reading through the description on the Nokia Messaging - Social Messaging site I thought this was a client that integrates IM, text messaging, and email services with a homescreen widget. However, after watching the video I see that it is an updated Facebook client, which then confuses me as I explained earlier. I guess I am also confused by Nokia using the Nokia Messaging label since that has always been associated with email in the past and is now expanding into other messaging methods.

I plan to try these services and look forward to an improved Ovi Maps experience. I don’t think the Facebook client on the N97 is all that great, especially after you have tried the latest iPhone client, and would love to see the developer of Gravity come out with a full Facebook client rather than these piecemeal parts of Facebook sprinkled around the platform.

Source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nokiaexperts/~3/vby...