10 May 2005
See and Be Seen - Nokia Sensor
 Is it a game?
Is it mobile social networking?
Well, it's what you make it. Stake your claim in mobile space - create your own personal pages on your compatible phone with Nokia Sensor. Check out the pages of people nearby, exchange Sensor messages, and share files using Bluetooth wireless technology within a range of up to 10 meters. The Nokia Sensor application is free and compatible with ten Nokia phone models.
Nokia Sensor is Symbian series 60 application that allow people to express themselves to others in their proximity, using DigiDress identity pages.
Nokia tested thoroughly the social implications of having discoverable identities on mobile phones, in particular with respect to:
- the identification of people you'd like to meet in a proximity situation;
- the use of identity information for breaking the ice;
- the further use of the mobile phone for increasing interaction by sharing content, etc.; and,
- the archiving of exchanged identities and instant messaging for later recall.
However, the focus groups they ran raised a number of issues, including reluctance to share identity information in a proximity discoverable situation, as well as the good point that "if you need an application to communicate with others, you might as well not communicate at all." So the application was simplified and different types of security features were built in, in particular to comply with legal and copyright restrictions.
Overall, it will be exciting to see this application in use, although it is heavily dependent on the penetration it achieves. In other words, it is of no use if only one person in a party has the application.
Developer Notes:
Nokia Sensor is a spontaneous, sociable application for spontaneous, sociable people. With Nokia Sensor you can create your own personal pages - called a folio - on your phone. Then you can check out the folios of other Sensor users nearby, exchange messages, and share files.
Connect on the Spot
Nokia Sensor uses Bluetooth wireless technology, which means that it works within a 'circle' of up to 10 meters around your phone.
When other Sensor phones come within this circle, your phone can 'sense' them and you can see their folios and send them messages. As soon as you step out of each other's circles, you are no longer able to communicate via Sensor.
Connect for Free
Because phones running the Sensor application communicate directly without going through an operator network service, communication is free of charge.
However, if you send SMS or MMS messages to other Nokia Sensor users, regular operator fees apply.
* However it worth checking out even if it does take a while to find another Sensor user...
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