{"id":15554,"date":"2011-10-20T20:27:09","date_gmt":"2011-10-21T03:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.wapreview.com\/?p=15554"},"modified":"2023-07-21T16:22:36","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T23:22:36","slug":"nokia-n9-meegoharmattan-swipe-ui-tips-and-tricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wapreview.com\/15554\/","title":{"rendered":"Nokia N9 MeeGo\/Harmattan Swipe UI Tips and Tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m really enjoying my N9 loaner from NokiaConnects. It’s one of the most innovative new phones I’ve used in a long time. The “Swipe” UI is very efficient, there’s obviously been a lot of thought put into making it easy to get things done. Still it is like no other phone before it and users coming from another platform, even Maemo, will need a little time to get up to speed. Thankfully. the learning curve is shallow and after only a week I feel I’m able to use the full power of the Swipe interface with confidence, something that took me months with Symbian and Android. Here are some of the discoveries I’ve made in the process of learning my way around the N9. Hopefully they will be useful to others.<\/p>\n

\"Nokia<\/a> \"Nokia<\/a> \"Nokia<\/a><\/p>\n

How to power on the N9:<\/strong> Press and hold the silver button below the volume rocket on right side (image above, left). When you press the button the white led at the bottom left of the screen should light up. Keep holding the button until “NOKIA” appears on the screen. If you are power cycling the phone you need to wait at least 10 seconds after turning the phone off before it will let you turn it back on.<\/p>\n

How to unlock the N9:<\/strong>\u00a0When locked, the N9 screensaver displays a large clock. If you have unread emails, Twitter Direct Messages, event notifications\u00a0or missed calls they will be indicated by an icon. The (image above, center) shows an @ sign icon indicating unread emails.<\/p>\n

To unlock tap the power button and the lock screen (image above, right) will display (you can also double tap the locked N9 to display the lock\u00a0screen). With the lock screen showing swipe your finger from any edge (left, right, top or bottom) of the phone toward the center of the screen. This is MeeGo\/Harmattan’s signature “swipe<\/em>” gesture and you will be using it a lot on the N9. The swipe is a genius innovation and makes the N9 very easy to use. Just remember that a swipe always begins off screen from the edge of the phone. If you try to start a swipe from within the visible part of the screen it will scroll the screen rather than registering as a swipe.\u00a0Conversely, if you are scrolling\u00a0within\u00a0an app, start you drag action within the confines of the screen otherwise it will be\u00a0interpreted\u00a0as a swipe and take you to a homescreen.<\/p>\n

\"N9<\/a> \"Nokia<\/a> \"Nokia<\/a><\/p>\n

How to quickly change the N9’s ringer volume or set silent or beep mode: <\/strong>Tap\u00a0the volume down rocker and the top status bar will show you a volume control (image above, left). Keep tapping to cycle though three ringer volume levels \u00a0plus beep and silent mode. You can also tap the status bar, which is visible on all screens \u00a0when the phone is unlocked, and tap the volume control to set the ringer volume or mode.<\/p>\n

Use the status bar to control connections and IM\u00a0availabilty: <\/strong>\u00a0From any screen tap the top status bar to see what data connections the phone is using (Mobile network, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) as well as your availability (online, offline, busy, etc. on Facebook, Skype and other IM networks you have configured) (image above, center). Tap a connection to disconnect it or switch between the mobile network and Wi-Fi (image above, right). Tap “Availability” to change your availability or post a status message and optionally, your location to your networks (image below, left).<\/p>\n

\"Nokia<\/a> \"Nokia<\/a> \"Nokia<\/a><\/p>\n

Navigating the N9’s three homescreens: <\/strong>The N9 has three home screens, but unlike with Symbian, iOS or Android they aren’t just app launchers. Nokia calls the three screens “Events<\/em>” (image above, center), “Applications”<\/em> (image above, right)\u00a0and “Open Applications<\/em>” (image below, left) but I prefer to think of them as Notifications<\/em>, Launcher<\/em> and Task Manager<\/em>. \u00a0To get to the home screens from within a running app, swipe from any edge of the phone toward the center of the screen. \u00a0To switch between home screens swipe from the left or right edge of the phone.<\/p>\n

\"Nokia<\/a> \"Nokia<\/a> \"Nokia<\/a><\/p>\n

Understanding the N9’s\u00a0Events: <\/strong>When important events (such as a \u00a0new\u00a0email, text message, Twitter direct message or a calendar event) occur the N9 will sound an alert tone and notify you in several other ways.<\/p>\n