There are plenty of reports of firmware updates for Nokia smartphones over the last few days from various world regions, watch this space for more. New today (screengrab below) is v20.0.080 for the Nokia 5530 Xpress Music (you know, the smallest S60 5th Edition one), weighing in at 140MB via Nokia Software Update and rolling out Over The Air as I write this. All these Nokia devices should preserve all data, apps and settings, but an extra sync/backup might be a good idea, as usual?
If you have one of Nokia's S60 5th Edition phones and feel both social and brave, there's a whole new beta of "Nokia Messaging for Social Networks" to play with over on Beta Labs today, now including Twitter integration. Video and details below. Is it only me wishing we could just get to the end of the road where all this stuff was just finished and stable and we could use it without caveats?
In October Nokia announced it was suing Apple over patent infringements with regards to the iPhone and GSM, UTMS and WLAN technologies. Today Apple announced that it had filed a counter-suit against Nokia. In the counter-suit, which has been filed in US District Court of Delaware, Apples denies all claims of infringement against it and further alleges that Nokia 'chose to copy the iPhone' and as a result has infringed on 13 of Apple's own patents. Such counter suits are common in patent disputes where each side tries to establish as strong as negotiating position as possible.
One million downloads a day. That's the popularity of the Ovi Store, reports ME News from a Nokia round-table this week. Although still in its first iteration, with a new version of the store due early in 2010, and many will comment that ring-tones and wallpapers as well as applications will be included in that number, it's a significant number.
With Symbian taking a right royal bashing in the tech industry gossip columns in recent months, I was determined to get Symbian's side of the story. Heading to their HQ in London, I collared Executive Director Lee Williams for a 20 minute interview, putting over my (and your questions). Here's the interview, transcribed in full (grab a coffee first). And, if you prefer, embedded below is a condensed 9 minute video version, forming the lion's share of my Phones Show programme 97.
Skype has released the first beta of its own native Skype client for Symbian phones. The Symbian Skype client supports a full range of Skype functionality including Skype to Skype calls, Skype Out calls, instant messaging, file transfer, credit top-up, voice mail access and more. In the beta phase, a limited number of S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 and 2 phones are being supported. Compatibility will be extended to other phones in due course. Read on for screenshots and additional information.
Looks like Gravity just got a major competitor. Nimbuzz has released a new version of its free Symbian client with "industry-first Homescreen Notifications and sophisticated Twitter functionality". The new version 2.2 also has full kinetic scrolling on all touchscreen phones, a number of layout improvements and ties in with the NimbuzzOut rate calculator for international calls. Full details, screens and links below.
Just a quick note about the widespread reporting of Nokia's intent to close the three flagship stores (in London, New York and Chicago) - e.g. Chris's analysis here. Rafe is investigating the story behind Nokia's strategy, so watch this space for his report. In the meantime, yes, I agree that the flagship stores were about more than just making a profit and it's a shame to see them go. But, putting them into perspective, Nokia has pointed out that have (ahem) 600,000 other relevant retail outlets around the world.
Thanks to Micky Aldridge for pointing out that Nokia is giving away one week's free Drive navigation for Ovi Maps 3.0 at the moment, as a trial of their service. Worth grabbing the code for typing in and trialling over the Christmas and New Year break? To get your code, head here and fill out your details. Of course, it would be even better if Nokia changed the whole sat-nav game in an instant and made the thing free for all, but....
Symbian is starting to crank up its presence at Mobile World Congress 2010, there's a new article here detailing the ways in which you can both help Symbian and help yourself. As a company, by cross-promoting your own products, as a developer by taking part in the BoF sessions, and as a general enthusiast by attending the Symbian party during the show (sponsors needed, if your company would like to promote itself at this evening event). And free MWC entry tickets are available in exchange for volunteer efforts on the Symbian booth. It's all kicking off in Barcelona, 15-18th Feb, 2009, so email Symbian if you want to get involved.
The Nokia Booklet 3G, a 'mini-laptop' running Microsoft Windows 7, represents a new direction for Nokia and its expanding product portfolio. In part 1 of our Nokia Booklet 3G review, Rafe offers a short introduction and look at the overall design and hardware. Part 2 will examine the Booklet's performance and software, before considering the Booklet 3G's market positioning and drawing some overall conclusions.
More Q3 2009 phone sales figures have appeared, this time from IDC, tabled below and looking purely at the Western Europe market. In summary, the market grew 5% year-on-year, with over 46 million handsets sold. Smartphone sales weren't quite as strong, with touchscreens now making their way into the traditional 'feature phone' space. Nokia's still the market leader, at 35% (down 1%), and Symbian OS still leads the smartphone platforms at 48% marketshare (though down from 59% in Q2). More details below.
So what do you do when you're one of the targets of the network operators in France? This week I saw round the technology labs at Orange France to see a few minutes into the future. Under the guidance of Communications Director Eric Barilland, the “Orange Apartment” was my home for a few hours. Read on....
It's tempting to look at the Nokia E72 as just a variation on the popular E71, but looking at it in detail, there are a surprising number of detailed improvements. With only a couple of software gotchas, and despite its necessarily-small screen, the E72 looks to be one of the most desirable candybar smartphones for 2010. Here's part 1 of my Nokia E72 review.
