Syncing Nokia N9 with Windows Live [UPDATED 26.10.2012]

This way of syncing Nokia N9 is probably my favourite as it keeps full backup of all contacts and calendar in both Windows Live cloud and Outlook 2010, and Outlook 2013 (preview at the moment), and the entries are kept updated no matter where you change them. The possibilities to access your mail, calendar and contacts are plenty. You can e.g. add calendar entries in Windows Live (Hotmail) Calendar, Outlook on your PC, or your Nokia N9. Everything syncs as soon as you sync the Mail for Exchange account.

Nokia N9 screen artifacts

Mobile phone AMOLED displays are great in many respects, as they are able to render high contrast image and saturated colors. There is just a minor flaw that's reported by more and more users of AMOLED users around the world. It does not only happen in Nokia AMOLED, but also in Samsung, LG, HTC, and many other manufacturers' devices.

All-new Ubuntu + Nokia N9 cloud access

The all-new Canonical Ubuntu 12.10 operating system is out now. Go to the official project website to find out more. According to the developing team, Ubuntu is Fast, free and incredibly easy to use. Ubuntu operating system powers millions of desktop PCs, laptops and servers around the world. Ubuntu will work with your existing PC files, printers, cameras, music players and smartphones - and it comes with thousands of free apps.

Before you buy: Top 8 Most Comprehensive reviews of Nokia N9

It's been over a year since Nokia N9 was released in September 2011. I've personally owned the phone for just about 11 months and must admit I'm still far from finding myself another phone. There have been ups and downs, but Nokia N9 just seems to do the job. I do not want to sound like a Nokia geek, but N9 has a number of advantages that make it a perfect phone.

Album art the easy way

You have probably wondered why some of the albums do not have proper covers on Nokia N9 and whether it is possible to make your Nokia N9 music player display all album covers correctly. Nokia N9 reads the album art embedded in mp3 files, so to make the album artwork display correctly in the music player, you must either:

Phone in water - Nokia N9 emergency procedure

In terms of phone+water accidents, Nokia N9 users actually have a problem, because you can not "immediately" remove the battery and dry the inside of the phone without special tools. I'm not particularly experienced in this topic as I've drowned my mobile just once in my life and it was a Sony Ericsson. Anyways, let's have a look at a few basic steps that should be taken when anything like this happens.

Nokia N9 sample photos

Many people keep asking me (as a phone gadgetboy) whether it's actually possible to go on holiday without a Canon compact camera, and just take your cameraphone with you. Well, it is. I just did so while travelling around France and Switzerland in the summer of 2012. So, let's take a closer look at the sample photos I took and some information on Nokia N9's camera then.

Nokia N9 + Outlook 2013 Preview + 365 Account

I guess every Nokia N9 user might be a bit interested in Office 365 mailbox as it is the easiest way to get a relatively cheap Exchange Mail with your own company domain, together will all its benefits, i.e. mail, calendar, to-do's, and contacts, everything cross-synced in all your mobile devices and desktop computer.

Well, truth be said, Google Apps for Business also offers similar benefits, but it uses ActiveSync, which does not allow you simple syncing with Outlook 2010/2013 and your Nokia N9.

How to use Nokia N9 to control YouTube on your TV

Playback of YouTube videos is available on a variety of TV sets and other WiFi and/or LAN enabled multimedia players, like my DENON DBP-1611UD Blu-Ray. On top of that, YouTube has introduced a possibility to control your TV YouTube with a mobile phone. Let's have look at how to enable it for your Nokia N9.

Removing native Nokia N9 apps from home screen

Basically to remove any apps from Nokia N9, you need to go to the applications list view, touch and hold, and press the red "x" button next to an app you want to remove.

This method, however, does not allow you to remove particular apps e.g. YouTube (which is basically just a link to m.youtube.com). To remove all the native apps which do not allow uninstalling via "touch and hold", follow these instructions.

Alternatives to native Facebook app on Nokia N9

Nokia N9 offers nice integration with social networks, i.e. all messages from Facebook, Twitter and Skype are displayed in one screen in the phone's news feed. The native Facebook app on Nokia N9 isn't exactly
up to scratch and you might be better off using... the regulare mobile Facebook in your phone browser.

Changing default QML Facebook app to HTML5

How to substitute your native Facebook QML app with a link to HTML5 Facebook Touch link (touch.facebook.com)? Follow these instructions.

Nokia N9 gets taken apart on video

Almost a year after its premiere back in 2011, it might be about time the users of the phone start wondering if its even possible to replace the battery, the scratched touchscreen, or any other components yourself. Nokia N9, which is essentially a non self-serviceable device, poses a challenge in terms of any home repairs, even minor replacements. Nothing is impossible though. The video below features a comprehensive set of instructions on how to take your phone apart and then assemble it back again without any screws remaining.

FasterN9 will make your Nokia N9 silky smooth

There are two ways to make your Nokia N9 less laggy at the moment, OPPtimizer overclocking app and FasterN9. While OPPtimizer tampers with processor's frequency and I wouldn't recommend it to beginners, the FasterN9 installation is very easy and yields much better effects than OPPtimizer overclocking your 1GHz clock to 1,2GHz.

Nokia Drive Automatic Night Mode and Live Traffic Information

This entry will show you how to introduce two small tweaks to Nokia Drive on Nokia N9. The modifications will give you traffic information and automatic day/night mode. These are available in other Nokia devices out-of-the-box, but are somehow missing on our Nokia N9.

Changing default SMS message for rejecting calls

In Nokia N9, just like in Symbian phones, you may reply to a call with a text message.

How to do that?

1. When a call arrives, select Mute > Headset icon , and edit the message, informing that you
cannot answer the call.
2. To send the message, select Send.

  

LED Notifications for Nokia N9

LED Notifications mod for Nokia N9 is a modification developed by arcean, the founding member of www.meegoforum.pl, who is also active on www.maemo.org. The modification, as the name suggests, introduces LED modifications to Nokia N9. And yes, your N9 does have a white LED light in the bottom left corner. You've phobably never paid much attention to it as it only glows while charging or starting the device.

The mod allows you to make the LED lamp in the corner flash on missed calls, new instant messages, new text messages, voicemail, email, Facebook events, Twitter and calendar reminders. All of which can be set on and off, individually.

For any additional help and discussion with the author: link to the mod's thread on www.maemo.org.

Community PowerPack for Nokia N9

It's amazing that the seemingly stillborn Nokia N9 is still getting such big support from the community. The eponymous PowerPack serves a great example of the power of Nokia N9 community.

The PowerPack is a collection of performance and usability fixes that, while don't change your world around, are still very valuable. The pack mostly improves the performance and interface of Qt-based components. It also introduces landscape mode to settings menu. The pack has been prepared by arcean, an active member of www.maemo.org and founding member of Polish www.meegoforum.pl.

Qt Drumkit for Nokia N9

Qt Drumkit is one of the Nokia Developer projects that are available for testing at Nokia Developer website. I've already posted a YouTube presentation of the apps capabilities. This application is truly remarkable as it's one of few official Nokia Developer projects we've witnessed in a long time. The application allows you to play finger drums on your Nokia N9, it uses multitouch and offers two views: realistic drumset and convenient black pads for touch-drumming. You can also record your beats and play them back later. It is also possible to play on top of your last recording.

How to install non-Store applications

The easiest and definitely most convenient way to install applications for Nokia N9 is obviously visiting the Nokia Store and pressing Buy or Download on particular application screen.

There are, however, some applications that did not make it to the Nokia Store, i.e. such that are in early development stage or involve potentially risky modifications to the phone's system and thus aren't widely available to the public. Installing the software may then require a completely different procedure.