At Menorca Tech talk, Loic Le Meur showed us how he used a wifi radio embedded within an SD card, that you can insert in a standard camera: then with a one-time config of the software on the web, it can automatically upload your pix to Flickr !
Awesome gadget.
A new version is coming out too on June 6th. I'm getting the Share version. Now it also supports triangulation. I wish it supported GPS as well :) and they should be doing a deal with FON too !
I was tonight at a SUPER crowded event tonight for the launch of the FON / Neuf deal !
600.000 set top boxes with WiFi capability were activated tonight with the FON firmware !
Our good friends at LaChaineTechno.com (check their full screen TV at lachainetechno.tv) did a great interview of Martin today, and discuss this agreeement at further length; and I believe Emilie Levêque from JDN is doing another tomorrow morning :) Jean-Michel Billaut filmed everything tonight, coming up tomorrow morning on vpod.tv.
We went to dinner with Martin and Tariq later on, and we talked about many more things coming up at FON.
We at vpod.tv are glad to be close to this community ! Lots of stuff happening :)
I saw no notice of this anywhere, maybe I missed it. One of the great features of recent Nokia smartphones (Nseries) is that they are Wifi-enabled as well. Hence, instead of paying heavy data fees, you can switch to a wifi network and surf the net, upload videos / pictures, watch videos, call using Voice over IP, etc.
But configuring a wifi access is cumbersome at best, complicated usually.
FON is buiding a global network of wifi coverage. Logging onto a FON network was complicated on a phone. The problem is now solved on most phones I use, as they've developped a little app that makes it so simple to login to a FON network.
Update: the offer is still GOOD. I'll update the post when the subscribers reach 500.
vpod.tv had announced a partnership with FON France just before Christmas last year; I am now delighted to relay this offer of an almost 15,000€ value ! :
vpod.tv and FON France are offering 500 free Foneras (a modern wi-fi router, a c. 30€ value each) to the first 500 new registered users in France on vpod.tv ; a number of restrictions apply however:
- only ONE fonera per person: we shall use all available means to verify your identity and any of your existing vpod.tv accounts
- you have to be a FRENCH resident, with an address in France. We are working with FON to try to expand this partnership to other territories.
- this offer is only valid for INDIVIDUALS, not corporations. You have to be a physical person. We might ask for a copy of your ID.
- you have to be a NEW registered user to vpod.tv. This offer is not compatible with our current Panasonic sweepstake, or other offers. It's one or the other! We are however constantly working with partners to bring you the best deals.
- once we reach 500 registered new French users of vpod.tv, we shall give the list to FON France which will process the logistics of the offer. They will use the email you provide us to contact you. Make you the email is correct and that your name and last name also are correct.
How to sign up ? Go to this page http://portal.vpod.tv/#page:register, and make sure you enter the code VPODFONRODRIGO in the promocode field. Unless you enter it, you will not qualify.
Join today the greatest Video Publishing service online and start experiencing the benefits of a wi-fi community ! Join fast, as the foneras will go very quickly !
You can now start celebrating even with your friends, as FON is now enabling its community base in Europe and in the USA to start giving away Foneras to their own friends !
Sometimes you feel that telecom operators still do not understand the net. Whenever you are in a hotspot, you need to connect quickly. Ideally peer to your home account, or home country operator account (I have a number of Orange Accounts).
Why is it that here in Sao Paulo I've spent 25 min to try to login before succeeding ?
* here when you register on both operators (Vex and Telefonica), you need to give your PASSPORT number + home address + home phone + date of birth ???
* they only accept VISA from Brasil. Hence you have to have another card with you
* On Telefonica, although I paid online, I then got a PAGE ERROR. Impossible to retrieve the login / password I paid for
* Hence I just had to pay a 24h pass (the only option on Vex) so that I would login for the next hour or so. Thieves!
Not a good experience. And I had a hard time finding an AC plug. What are these airports / wifi operators thinking... ?
I'll be in 'Dam this week from Tuesday evening till Thursday. If by any chance you drop by Nokia's event, send me an email or leave a comment :) I'll be blogging a bit from over there. From their site:
"The Mobility Event of the Year
You are warmly welcome to join us in Amsterdam this November at Nokia World, one of the world's premier forums for the mobility industry. Nokia World, formerly called Nokia Mobility Conference, is your chance to explore new products, services and ideas in the mobility field, achieve business goals and find new perspectives, live exciting new experiences and connect to Nokia and other major players in the mobile industry."
The program looks interesting, with a good mix between market analysis, devices, usage patterns, etc.
Sometimes I totally recognize I'm a geek. Hence when Nokia releases a new phone that has a 5 MP camera (yeah I know Samsung has a 10MP cameraphone), that carries GPS, and supports mobile broadband (HSDPA, EDGE, WLAN, WCDMA...), I get excited.
Martin Varsavsky attended the amazing launch party and published a video here.
Last night here at Picnic'06, we had dinner and drinks with fellow vloggers, and we ALL wanted one: so Gabe McIntyre from xolo.tv, his team, my team, the other folks...
Nokia ? Interested in having geek proAm vloggers test it out on the field ? Our N90s feel so last century by now :) ... We could use a N93 though...
15:30 - 17:30 Cities as Digital Communities
Location:
CABIN (meeting room in Ketelhuis)
Open, low-cost access to digital networks could encourage people in cities to develop new local media formats. How can cities promote grass roots media?
Moderator: • Sylvia Paull, Founder, Berkeley Cybersalon (United States)
Speakers:
• Joaquin Alvarado, Director, San Francisco State University's Institute for Next Generation Internet, and co-founder of the Digital Sister Cities Initiative (United States)
• Chris Vein, Acting Executive Director, Department of Telecommunications and Information Services, City of San Francisco (United States)
• Esme Guzman de Vos, Founder, Muniwireless.com (the Netherlands)
• Eckart Wintzen, serial entrepreneur, Founder of Ex'tent Green Venture Capital (the Netherlands)
• Erik Fackeldey, Project Manager - IT Sector, Paris Development Agency (France)
The Fonera is now shipping as of today in Europe and in the USA! And presented in video by fon's CEO, Martin Varsavsky:
To understand the title, please link here, to Martin's blog.
