As mobile phone sales have exploded and handset prices have tumbled, even people in the poorest parts of the world usually either own a mobile phone or have easy access to one in their community. The latest estimates from CGAP suggest that by 2012 there will be 1.7 billion people who have access to a mobile network but not a physical bank, and that the developing world's mobile banking sector may be worth US$5 billion by then. Could banking be the way forward for network operators who don't just want to be "dumb pipes"? And could this be a key weapon in the war against poverty?
Dev Week is back after a couple of week’s absence and I hope to keep it truly weekly from now on (despite the best attempts of Telecom New Zealand to deprive me of an internet connection). This week: getting started with the widget development tools, changes in FleaC licensing, and a new API for haptics.
Nokia's next-gen Photo Browser utility has just received a big update, adding faster operation, easier access to the menu, folder sorting, send functionality and image rotation. This release is for all S60 devices, but future updates will be focussed on S60 5th Edition and touch-screen phones. Via Nokia Beta Labs.
Nokia today announced the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, a music-focused, touchscreen phone running S60 5th Edition. It will be available from Q3 2009 at a cost of €200. It has 2.9 inch (640 x 360) touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, accelerometer, 3.5 mm audio jack, FM radio and will ship with a 4 GB memory card. The homescreen features a 20 person contact thumbnails carousel with communication and conversation history just a touch away. The drop down media bar gives fast access to key phone functionality including music, photos, video, web and share. Effectively the 5530 is a cut down version of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic with a smaller screen, no 3G connectivity, and no GPS. Read on for more.
Today, at the Nokia Connections Event in Singapore, Nokia announced its latest Eseries device - the Nokia E72. This is an updated version of the Nokia E71, which was launched a year ago. The Nokia E72 has an updated version of S60 (3rd Edition Feature Pack 2) and improved messaging software suite. There are a number of small hardware changes, including a camera upgrade to 5.0 megapixels, a tweaked keyboard layout, an Optical Navi Key (trackpad) in the centre of the D-pad, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The E72 will be available from Q3 2009 at a cost of €350 (before taxes and subsidies). Read on for more.
ZOMGitsCJ.com is reporting that the Nokia N79 has received a firmware update to v30.011 which apparently includes improved stability and tighter Ovi integration. The update should be available OTA (type *#0000# on the standby screen) or through the Nokia Software Updater application.
On the official Nokia Conversations YouTube Channel there's a promotional video [update: temporarily withdrawn] for the presumably imminent Nokia E72. The device is a follow up to the popular Nokia E71, it shares the same form factor and basic design. However it has an updated keyboard with a redesigned control cluster area and redesigned layout for the bottom row of the QWERTY. There is also a 5 megapixel camera (up from 3.2 megapixels) and it runs an updated version of S60 (S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2) with the latest version of Nokia's messaging and email software. We're expecting an official announcement shortly and will post more details at that time (update: now officially announced).
Ovi Store has been updated again, and it seems the latest content push has added about 79 new titles to Ovi as well as more apps and other content. The list of new games is below, and you can see these for yourself by going to store.ovi.com and selecting the "Any Phone" option, then "Games", then "Newest - Oldest" from the drop down menu. By our reckoning Ovi Store has around 350+ different titles now available, with lots more still waiting to be added for various technical reasons. Note that not every game works on every phone, so if you select a particular model on Ovi Store you probably won't see every game on offer. As always, you can find out more about Ovi Store on our Unofficial FAQ page.
Those Vesuvius software chappies sure like cranking out the Java-based S60 5th Edition apps - just released are Hack Proof Password Manager (go on, guess what it does...), MindBreaker (a rearranging tile puzzle) and Komikj (a comic reader - needs a PC to do conversion from Internet comic standards though). Might be worth these guys discovering the Ovi Store? Anyway, all their apps seem to be free, so what are you waiting for?
While Steve and Rafe are working on the full review of the Nokia N97 (initial impressions and multimedia thoughts are already posted), Ewan has been working on a little something for the weekend. An N97p for every AAS reader. Admittedly it's mainly made from paper (hence the p) and has limited electronics in it, but with the judicious use of a printer, scissors and glue, you to can appear to join in the revolution this weekend. See below. You will of course need a Bluetooth keyboard since the N97p doesn't have a sliding hinged qwerty keyboard. We'd be interested to see who can come up with the best "action shot" of their N97 (p) in action, so let us know where to find the pictures!
One of the seemingly vast number of Java game titles that have been put up by Nokia in their Ovi Store, The Sims 3 doesn't seem too bad - it's playable and well thought out, once you look past the lowest-common-denominator interface. Here's Ewan's Sims 3 review, right here on Ovi Gaming (used to be All About N-Gage).
NAVTEQ have supplied us with a comprehensive overview of their activities at this year’s CommunicAsia show, running 16 to 19 June in Singapore. The development of location based services in and for the APAC region remains strong and NAVTEQ is hoping to capitalise on this growth with its portfolio of map data and developers tools.
A new beta version of Ovi Maps 3.0 has been released via Nokia's Beta Labs website. Ovi Maps is the new name for the application previously known as Nokia Maps. The new beta adds a number of new features including weather information, premium POIs and, in selected countries, safety camera information.
Additionally the number of countries covered by traffic data has been increased, the underlying map data set has been updated, zooming and panning performance improved, numerous bugs have been fixed and overall stability improved. The new beta includes support for S60 5th Edition (Nokia N97 and 5800) in addition to the existing compatibility with S60 3.1 and 3.2. Read on for more details and screenshots.
