Summary: I can get a couple of Series 40 developer devices for
contributors of Wikimedia mobile projects for this platform.
Most of the discussion about Wikimedia mobile projects tends to default
to high-end devices. We definitely need to address those, but we
shouldn't forget about Internet enabled devices pointing to lower price
points.
A good example of this distortion is Nokia Series 40. It's the platform
selling by far more mobile devices in the world (hundreds of millions),
yet it hardly gets a decent page in Wikipedia ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_40
Anyway, there are some good developer news coming from this platform:
Ovi Browser - a proxy browser for efficient data usage
http://www.forum.nokia.com/Develop/Web/Ovi_Browser/
Series 40 Web Apps
http://www.forum.nokia.com/Develop/Web/Series_40_web_apps/ &
http://www.forum.nokia.com/Develop/Web/
Our work in the new mobile gateway should pay attention to this browser
and Opera mini, the main choices of Series 40 Internet users. It would
be also great if web developers (HTML/CSS/Javascript) would step in with
ideas for mobile apps targeting Series 40 (this morning I was thinking
how trivial would be to develop a Wikinews app).
If you have a convincing plan I can help you getting a developer device
for your work.
For those of you not knowing Series 40 check this gallery:
http://www.forum.nokia.com/Devices/Device_specifications/?filter2=s40
We are talking about devices with mobile browser, many of them location
aware, equipped with camera, with support for dozens of languages also
in Asia and Africa, able to play music and video (Ogg support might be
tricky though). The price range is very diverse but to give you an idea
the price of the Internet enabled devices goes around 100€ (full price,
no contract). For many people these devices are the first (and
frequently only) tool to access the Internet.
Nokia plans to sell a billion Series 40 Internet enabled devices, and
other companies (most Europeans and Americans have never heard of) are
also incresing the sales in this competitive segment in countries like
India, China and surroundings. The good news is that (with some tuning)
your web apps will probably work on those as well, as well as on the
higher end platforms.
--
Quim