The N97 24/7 team made a stop in Chicago yesterday and hosted another of the MobileCamps that they’ve been appearing at around the country. Chicago being just a “quick” four hour trip away from me, I decided to buzz over for the day and meet the guys.
In 2007 I made my way to LA’s first MobileCamp. While the event’s schedule in Chicago over the weekend was much different than the first round of MobileCamps, the concept was the same- enthusiasts, geeks and bloggers getting together to discuss their passion for mobile and share their vision for the future of mobility. The event was again sponsored by Nokia, but with the shift to a heavy focus on showcasing a product this time; their new flagship device, the N97.
This was the first time I’ve had a chance to get a close look at the N97, so I didn’t mind the blatant marketing of the new handset at the event. The day’s schedule was filled with presentations by a group of N97 users that have really been putting the device through the wringer. Over the last week and a half, Nokia has had four bloggers have been trekking across the country hosting MobileCamps in LA, San Francisco, and Chicago. Outside of the MobileCamps the team has been chronicling their journey with the N97; posting images and video to the web on Flicker and Share on Ovi, streaming live video from the handset to the Internet via Qik… I believe they were even SportsTracking text over the cities they visit- that’s right, Stavros style. They’ve really been beating the devices up- hammering away at them all day long. As bloggers do, they’ve been ‘tweeting’ away night and day as well as employing the services of other social networks by way of the N97- and of course with this adventure they’ve been on, there’s been a good fair bit of navigating around several cities with the new version of Maps- so they were really able to properly showcase the device at the MobileCamp from the perspective of a power user, and I was grateful to have been able to get this impression of the device first hand from them.
Despite the title of the campaign (“N97 24/7″), this MobileCamp wasn’t all about the N97. Attendees brought handsets from other makers- there was certainly many other Nokia devices around- and heavy discussion was laid down on who else is doing what with mobility and what competition the N97 has in the marketplace today and down the road. Plenty of discussion was devoted to Nokia’s odd and curious presence in North America- which of course led to plenty of frustrated sighs being passed around the room. From here the group’s discussion flowed from various platforms to open source standards, to mobile imaging and gaming and other brilliant topics. While the turnout wasn’t tremendous, the small group helped facilitate some very good conversation and kept everyone engaged throughout the day. Personally, it was great to put a few more faces to some of the posts I’ve been reading over the last couple of years.
Next time a MobileCamp comes to your area (check barcamp.org/MobileCamps for dates and other info) I definitely recommend you stop by.
Thanks to WOM World and Nokia for hosting the MobileCamp events this summer- and thanks to Andrew, Jonny, Matt and George for so aptly showing me around the N97.
