- Today NMT brings you an exclusive interview with Norman from the SymbianWorld.org another premiere Symbian blog.
Tell us a little bit about your background and what lead you to start blogging about Nokia?
- My name is Norman John and I’m living in Germany. I’m 19 years old and like almost everybody in my age I’m still going to school. Actually, it’s a long story how I finally came to my current blog. My interest for mobiles phones started with the Nokia 7610. Back then, in 2004, it was Nokia’s first 1 megapixel device. I was crazy about this device and, after I bought it, I started in a 7610 forum. There I learned my basic knowledge about Nokia and mobiles phones. After a short period I was one of the ‘best’ forum members. Time went by and in the meantime I bought a 6680. In 2006 I saw leaked pictures of the N95, the first multimedia computer, and I started to read English blogs and forums like AAS or SF. These were the first English related mobile blogs/sites I’ve read and they really influenced me. An idea began to grow in my mind and I stared a blog. Back then, I had no idea how a blog should look like, how to manage it and so on. However, time passing by I got more into the blogosphere so that started a English blog at April of 2007. This was a great opportunity as I could reach more people. A great effect was, that I improved my English mark from a 5 (which is really bad in Germany) to a 2 (good). I built up a community and had quite a few contacts. Than in summer of 2008, a friend of mine helped me to host my blog by my own and to move to wordpress.org which gave me big freedom. Since then I made some changes such as a new design and a new forum http://symbianworld.org/forum/ . Long story short, it was a long way.
- What are your favorite Symbian applications can you list your top 5 and why you like them?
- I have installed a bunch of applications on my phones but here are my three favorite applications.
- Shazam ID – If I hear a song I like but which I don’t know I just open Shazam ID, record the song and Shazam ID tells me the title and artist.
- Nokia Podcasting – I’ve subscribed to a bunch of podcast. Before driving to school I just download a podcast I like and listen to it on my way to school.
- JoikuSpot – It turns my 5800 into a Wi-Fi hotspot for my laptop. Really useful when I’m on vacation.
- What’s your favorite theme and themer?
- To be honest, I’m using the default theme since some years. My last theme I downloaded was in 2005 so that I cannot answer this question that good. However, recently I created a theme section (http://symbianworld.org/s60-5th-edition-themes-for-nokia-n97-nokia-5800-and-samsung-i8910-omnia-hd/) on my blog and I really like themes by Pizero.
- What advice can you give to new bloggers in general not necessarily in this niche?
- Well, first of all you should have fun when blogging. If blogging is a pain for you than you won’t have any success. Moreover, you should keep your blog unique. Write about things nobody else is writing about. These are the most essential things. Sometimes speed is an important factor to get in everybody’s mouth. Posting breaking news, doing SEO is important if you want to increase your readers.
- Which Nokia phones have you used in the past?
- This is a hard one. I’ve used pretty much all recent S60 devices from Nokia being the E75, E90, N85, N95, 6220, 5320 and so on. I also used some UIQ handsets as well as the G1. However, these were mostly loan devices so that I had them for a few weeks only. Devices, I’ve spent a lot time with are: N95, N82, N96 and finally the 5800 XpressMusic
- What are your two favorite Nokia smartphones of all time and which Nokia smartphone are looking forward to use.
- I think the Nokia N95 and the N97 are the two devices which changed the whole market. The N95 was the first device to combine all features such as a camera, GPS and internet into one device. Now, the Nokia N97 is the next big step forward. This device shows that software and internet are as important as hardware.
- Are you an N86 or N97 kind off guy?
- Nokia N97 of course. I want a big screen, a sexy design and a full qwerty keyboard!
- Recent rumors, confirmed or not, have alluded to Nokia using the Maemo OS in upcoming phones in 2010-2011, what are you thoughts?
- I’ve used the N800 and the N810, which are running on Maemo, in the past .As Maemo is based on Linux this would be a further step into an open OS. Having two big Operation Systems, Symbian and Maemo, Nokia would be prepared for a ‘fight’ against the other Operation Systems, Mac and Android. However, if you ask me, I wouldn’t go for a Maemo powered device. My heart sticks to S60.
- What is your favorite color, movie, music band, and sport?
- Colour: Blue
- Movie: Matrix
- Music band: I do not a specific band I listen the whole day long. I listen to everything besides of rock
- Sport: Hockey, Soccer and Basketball.
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