Over on ZDnet, Matthew Millar has taken a look at the four main Smartphone application stores, specifically the issue of what the stores will allow in terms of re-downloading previously purchased content, installing on multiple devices and the returns policy of the store. Alongside the newly launched Ovi Store, he considers the Apple App Store, the Android Market Place and Blackberry's App World.
In All About Symbian Insight 73 (AAS Podcast 132) Steve, Ewan and Rafe discuss SkyFire's 1.0 release, introduce Ovi Gaming and offer some perspective on the Ovi Store 3 days after the formal launch. In the second part of the show Rafe talks about the launch of the Sony Ericsson Satio (formerly Idou) and then the team discuss the E75 in 60 seconds. You can listen to AAS Insight 73 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Nokia today announced the BH-905, a high end stereo Bluetooth headset with active noise cancellation. The headset has a 'band-over-the head' with ear-muffs' form factor with music, volume and calling controls on the two ear pieces. The headset has ten microphones; two for capturing speech and eight for capturing sound for the active noise cancellation functionality. The headset can be connected via Bluetooth or a wired 3.5mm connection with adaptors for 2.5mm, 6.5mm and airplane connectors included in the box.
Today, June 2nd, marks the official shipping date of the N97, but, as usual, it will take a few weeks for it to get into most retail stores. In the UK the N97 will go on sale Friday 19th June, via the Nokia Regent Street store and at the Nokia Shop (Black N97 and White N97) for £499 SIM free. The Nokia N97 will also be distributed by 3, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U from Friday 26th June, i.e. a week later.
For all those bemoaning the lack of a Facebook client for S60, the void has now been filled with an official Facebook application for S60 5th Edition, now live in the Ovi Store (mobile link). Implemented as a Web Runtime widget, it's not the speediest thing in the world, but hey, it's official and it's here and it's free. Read on for loads of screenshots and additional comments.
One of the most commonly-asked questions about the 5800 from advanced users is "Where the flipping heck is that flipping blue blistering blarndarsted flipping Sync flipping application on this flipping thing?" Well you'll be glad to know there is Sync on the 5800, and it is also very easy to access but you have to know where to look. As a special tip-of-the-day we've got a guide to finding Sync on the 5800 below.
Bobba, the mobile online virtual world from the makers of Habbo, has added all non-Nokia S60 2nd and 3rd Edition devices to its official compatibility list. Practically every Nokia S60 2nd and 3rd Edition phone is on the list, and now so are Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Lenovo S60 models. There are no S60 5th Edition devices on the list yet, but the publishers Sulake say they are working on this and should have a rough version out soon, with a more touch-optimised version later.
Today the Symbian Foundation has announced two key additions to its management team: Larry Berkin, formerly a VP at ACCESS, who will head Symbian's US office and act as Head of Alliance Management and Dietmar Tallroth, formerly Director of Legal for Nokia's Open Source and Java, who will serve as Symbian's General Counsel. The Symbian Foundation continues to recruit staff as it grows towards it goal of around 200 employees by the end of 2009.
You choose the right tool for the job. That's as true with carpentry as it is with software. After all, if you want to sing “I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing” then you choose Karen Carpenter, and not a bandsaw. It's the same with online smartphone stores. Ewan has some thoughts about where the success of the Ovi Store will lie.
If you click on the Ovi Gaming site's menu bar item labelled Ovi Store Games, you'll see it now contains pages and brief info about all of the games currently in Ovi Store, along with reviews and screenshots for a few of them. Over time we'll be adding a lot more reviews, screenshots and perhaps even some videos too, slowly building up a comprehensive guide to Ovi's gaming world.
It’s the final month before Forum Nokia’s Calling All Innovators competition closes. The competition offers a significant opportunity for developers to get global exposure for their innovative application or widget. In this developer section feature, I talk to Srikanth Raju, head of marketing for Forum Nokia, to find out more.
My smartphones are usually geared around helping me work - email, web, IM, and so on. But every once in a while, real life intervenes, with family visits (in this case) demanding a complete break from work activity. And yet my Nokia 5800 turned out to be a star performer in everyone's eyes rather than a geeky 'Steve's trying to work when he should be chatting' electronic toy. Somewhat surprisingly.
If you've just been itching to get to grips with the Nokia N97's user manual - or if you just want to take heart from the fact that there's an official Support page for it on Nokia's web site now (meaning that the device is about to ship), then knock yourself out (via Vaibhav). In other N97 news, there's a detailed look at its insides here (gulp).
Ovi Store can be accessed from almost any Nokia phone by just going to store.ovi.com on the phone's web browser, but certain phones also have an Ovi Store application available which lets you use Ovi Store much more easily. Some people have managed to find the Ovi Store application available through the Download! icon, but it now appears that you can also download the app directly from the store.ovi.com website. The availability of the app seems to currently vary depending on which model you have and which country you live in, and the easiest way to find out if you can get it is to visit the Ovi Store mobile site and see if the link appears for you. See the screens below for details.
Nokia and Vodafone today unveiled a new S60 device that will be exclusive to the Vodafone network. The Nokia 6730 Classic, which will be available from June, runs on S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2, has a 3.2 megapixel camera, 2.2 inch QVGA screen and integrated GPS. It continues the push of S60 into mid-tier devices, using the platform to take services to the mass market. Read on for more.
