What's new: NOKIA PUSH

This week’s recommendation for an ‘obscure but addictive website which qualifies as research’ has to be the Nokia PUSH blog - documenting a new project which will reward the most creative 'hacks' of its new flagship N900 Smart Phone.

http://blogs.nokia.com/pushn900/

Once the preserve of techies with questionable social skills and itchy programming fingers, this hacking process has now been made legit thanks to the completely open-source Maemo software on which the N900 operates. Essentially a reduced-fat version of the Debian Linux PC operating system, Maemo allows users to freely modify and continually develop the software. Need we draw comparisons between this approach and that of Apple - a company famous for its proprietary stance on both hardware and software? Thought not...

Nokia PUSH is inviting designers and engineers to get creative with code and find ways of modding the handset so that it can control a number of different external products - the more retro and/or quirky - the better. Digital agency Hyper (part of the Naked network) and tech-biased design consultancy Tinker.it have got things started by each developing a selection of obscure hacks. These include a new 3D version of the classic Viewmaster slide viewer, and a modded Seek 'n Spell toy which can now send SMS messages.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuBEn2odoz8

Hidden beneath this selection of bizarre retro delights is actually something quite brave on the part of Nokia - a surrendering to the masses of what could well be one of its most pivotal products this year. Nokia’s share of the Smart Phone market currently stands at 41% - down 62% from 2005. Clearly this has an awful lot to do with a certain Apple product - er, and the proliferation of BlackBerry devices into the mainstream! However, rather than try and beat the iPhone at its own aesthetic game, Nokia has chosen to hit Apple where it is oft-criticised - this being the closed nature of its products. Launching a range-topping handset which runs entirely on open-source software is a bold move and only time will tell whether it sufficiently empowers consumers enough to persuade more to convert. Nokia PUSH is not only a smart embodiment of this philosophy but should also be a great way to showcase the creative potential of the platform.
Source: http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/