Nokia gets excited about lifecasting with Ovi and Facebook
At its annual conference, Nokia has announced a new feature that will be added to its Ovi platform next month and showcased on the new N97 mini mobile handset.
Nokia claims that “Lifecasting with Ovi” is the first service that allows users to update their Facebook status directly from the home screen of their cellphone.
Don’t get too excited — this isn’t 24/7 lifecasting allowing you to strap the phone to your head and broadcast everything you’re doing in realtime video. In reality, it’s simply making it easier to update your Facebook status while on the move.
Nokia NSeries’ VP, Jonas Geust, said, “People want to bring their physical and online worlds together via the internet. The Nokia N97 mini is designed for this new social internet and to help navigate people and places. With lifecasting, the Nokia N97 mini and Ovi usher in the next chapter of personal and location-aware internet.”
I’m not suggesting that this announcement is insignificant, but I see it more as an evolution of mobile services rather than something super-amazing.
Nokia, and other mobile manufacturers, have been pushing their location-aware services — made possible thanks to GPS now being built in to many handsets — for some time now, and this is just another step to making it possible to let everyone know exactly where you are all the time… should you want to, that is.
If you don’t mind pressing a few extra buttons, you’ll find most modern handsets will allow you to publish your status to Facebook, even if it’s via Twitter and a text message. Nevertheless, expect Nokia to shout a lot about lifecasting from now on.
Andy Merrett is a London-based full-time blogger writing for several Shiny Media technology blogs and various other projects. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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