Mobile Ministry Magazine

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A friend of mine has been debating when to get the Nokia N810. He basically wants it to replace his laptop for the lighter ministry tasks that he does. He's been doing his homework, looking at his budget, and basically learning all that he can about it before he makes the jump, but the question that he has is "when?" You see, for him it is not so much that its there, but when should he get it is the more important question.

For those who follow technology of any kind, you know that there is planned obsolescence for all of it. Nothing seems to be meant to last forever, and in some cases, not much longer than the 5 minutes that passed since your purchased it. However, being a good steward over our resources means that we have to take a proactive approach towards attaining mobile technology, and for many of us that leaves us in a constant wait pattern.

So how do you decide to pull the trigger? Here are some things that have helped me in the past on this side of decision making:

• Have you prayed about it or just told God that you wish that you had it?
• In investigating the device or software, have you noticed complaints for basic functionality or advanced features?
• Has the device had a major recall during its product life? Or is there a standing glitch that has not had any communication from the manufacturer that it will be addressed at some point and time?
• What devices/services are planned to come after this? How long from this point until that new device/service is released?
• Have you checked the Buy/Sell threads at the fan sites for this item (usually used, but the price is a lot lower than purchasing new)?

What about you, what kinds of decisions do you go through before making a purchase?

Labels: mobile accessories, mobiles, mobility, N810, Nokia, purchasing, tech

I have been sitting in my usual coffeehouse office for this afternoon, and in reading announcements about the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet with WiMax, I started thinking a bit more about how possible it will be for believers to take computing and the task of [managing] ministry on the road.

Much like I chatted about last week with my pastors seeing the N800 as a viable ministry solution. The addition of WiMax networks takes this to more attainable possibilities.

Let me explain a bit about WiMax. Think of it as WiFi (hotspots) but instead of confined to a small area (300ft) this is something that can cover miles and miles, similar to a cellular connection. Except, unlike a cellular connection, the ability to do rich media is greater because the "pipe" that info is carried on is much bigger.

Now, that being said, imagine a situation where one can have their "office" in their pocket. When WiMax is official (mostly in larger metros initially) and more devices hit, this is something that will not just be a possibility, but could be an option.

Related Articles:

• Internet Tablet Talk Announcement of N810 Internet Tablet WiMax Edition
• N810 WiMax Edition Demo at Nokia
• N810 WiMax Edition Specs from Nokia

Labels: internet tablet, mobile, mobility, N810, Nokia

As much as I harp on my Internet Tablet and what doesn't work, I like to also talk about when things come along that are just neat, and have the benefit of having a positive effect on ministry pursuits.

Here's the news, in a few posts, we'll chat about how this has implications for one particular area of ministry where mobile tech and affluence tend to leave behind.

Here's the snippet from Internet Tablet Talk:

The opposite trend has started in the Smartphone world. The desire is to have more content, more details, thus more pixels on the display. The human eyes, especially of elderly people are limited in useable pixel-density. Thus, the size of the display increases. The physical dimensions of mobile devices are not allowed to increase further due to the pocketability constraint. Therefore the display resolution of the built-in display will remain limited. This leads in comparison Smartphone to PC to a disappointing feeling: Overview is still too limited! Alternative form factors such as rollable, foldable and any other kind of flexible display still need to mature for future deployment.

noBounds demonstrates the optimal way out of this dilemma to have a tiny Smartphone, AND utilize high definition (HD) displays by introducing a versatile and highly efficient interaction with external high resolution displays!

Read the rest at Internet Tablet Talk and watch the video below.

Labels: internet tablet, mobile, mobile accessories, N800, N810, Nokia, tech