Nokia N9 - a smart move by Nokia

Well, June 21st is coming up next week, and everybody is eagerly waiting for Nokia to announce the N9/N950.





The phone is supposed to run MeeGo and have a 12MP camera just like the N8. The slider keyboard is for those heavy messaging people and the 4 inch screen, expected to be ClearBlack, should be more than enough for anyone.





I think this is a great move by Nokia, one that will assure everyone that Nokia has not abandoned MeeGo. Furthermore, this new device, running a Linux based OS opens up the possibility to have Android on a Nokia device. It happened before with the N900, but this time we're not talking resistive 3.5 inch screen, but a real 4 inch contender.

Even though Nokia did not adopt Android as a smartphone platform, they can't ignore it's potential. I believe Nokia will release this device for two purposes: first, to test the waters withe MeeGo and see how it pins itself against the smartphone big boys, and second, to see how well Android can run on it. There will be people who will start porting Android to the N9, and hence spare Nokia the efforts of doing it themselves(if they haven't already).

Call me a dreamer, but I will love to see Nokia releasing Android phones in the future, even if they have already stated out loud that they will concentrate in Windows Phone. I'm sure that if the N9 and it's MeeGo brothers will succeed on Android, we may see a shift in Nokia's vision of the smartphone future.

What can I say, I can't wait to get my hands on one.

Is the Ender's Game Move Dead?

I keep getting asked this question, so I figured I should put up a post about it.

Is the Ender's Game Movie dead? Well, not completely. It currently is not in pre-production at any studio. There isn't a director attached. So, don't go lining up for tickets any time soon. It's going to be years before its in theaters.

However, Orson Scott Card is still working on the script and hasn't given up wanting Ender on the big screen.

On his blog at Hatrack, OSC said in February of 2009:

I'm finishing up the screenplay for the Ender's Game movie.

The Ender's Game comics continue to be published by Marvel, and the success of these could be key to the movie eventually being made. The problem is that a movie with the number of special effects that Ender's Game would need would make it expensive. And movie studios won't give out that amount of money without knowing that the finished product is going to be profitable. Seeing the movie visually is important, especially since so much of the book is dependent on what Ender is thinking and feeling.

In 2008, OSC said in an interview to Marvel.com, "I'm hoping Marvel will show [Hollywood] how it's done, because you guys know how to put the story down in a visual way so that it comes to life."

The Ender's Game comic is being written by Marvel Animation producer & writer Christopher Yost.

Many fans have been wanting an animated Ender's Game film, rather than live action. Perhaps this be something Marvel Animation might be interested in?

As a sidenote, Disney acquired Marvel last year, but no word yet on how this could impact Ender's Game. OSC has been closely associated with Marvel Comics, and other than the Ender's Game and Alvin Makercomics, he has written Ultimate Iron Man.

So, in short, the movie isn't quite dead. It's just a matter of getting a studio interested in making it again. The comics will wrap up this spring, and hopefully that will attract some interest.