Google's desktop web site has been offering the text of public domain and other licensed books for a while, but they've just launched a mobile version as well, books.google.com/m . Ostensibly formatted for Android devices and the iPhone, it works after a fashion on S60 devices too, with their Webkit-based browsers. Some screenshots below to show how it works...
Previously it was a race to get as many people to buy your phone as possible. Now the name of the game is to get as many people to register and use your software as possible – and if they happen to buy a phone as well that's perfect. How does the strategy work out? Let's find out.
PhotoFlow, from Scalado, is a piece of software that can be used to view, and zoom-in on, images stored on the phone. While Gallery ties in with the rest of the phone (e.g. send as MMS) PhotoFlow is a better performer if you are simply interested in viewing images; as our video demonstrates, you are able to browse through images and zoom in much faster than the standard Gallery application. Read on for more and to view the video.
Quite a lot of people think you need a computer to subscribe to podcasts, but you don't. In another in our series of Nokia 5800 beginner's tutorials, Tzer2 explains how to browse, subscribe and download podcasts straight onto the phone, with absolutely no need for any kind of PC or Mac. The tutorial is, of course, equally useful and valid for using Nokia's Podcasting application on any other S60 phone. Also, see our new index page to Tzer's excellent tutorial series for the 5800 XpressMusic.
The guys over at Herocraft have been busy for the last couple of weeks. After releasing their long awaited title Travel Genius, they have updated two of their more recent offerings: Hexxagon Labs and 8 in 1 Arcade Park. You will be happy to know that both of these updates are available for existing owners of the games for free, it is definitely worth checking them out. Read on for details.
Yup, Google Maps for Mobile, the native S60 version, just hit v3.00 an hour ago. The main change is the addition of Google Latitude, a way of finding your friends on the map. More details, screenshots and the high-res version of the Latitude launch video below. To grab your own copy of v3.00, go to m.google.com and click on 'More' and then 'Maps'.
NS Basic, the hybrid (and cross-platform) Basic/object-oriented development system has officially added "support for Symbian OS S60 5th Edition". The new v1.1 of the NS Basic SDK also features "an improved user interface for applications created with the tool". See the NS Basic release for pricing and more. (via Symbian One)
Everyone is looking for the next thing in technology. Many companies and smartphone prototypes are made to test out radical ideas to see if they work. Power users are hoping that the next phone will do the 27 things they need it to do; regular users want it to make calls; and half of us wonder why the IrDA port is still there. I reckon it's all about the different directions people try to pull their smartphones, and ultimately all this pulling ends up determining the true direction of change. Read on...
The Phones Show 75 is now live, with something of a personal essay on device convergence, demonstrated on the Nokia N82 (though a few other devices could have filled the same role as well). Plus a hands-on review of Noka E71 rival, the Blackberry Bold 9000.
In this, part 12 of my long running series on smartphone cameras, I look at whether any or all of Nokia's fancy scene modes and adjustments make any significant difference and I work out which ones you should ignore and which ones you should remember.... Can you just leave everything on 'Automatic'?
Kudos to SymbianpOp and getting there first with a detailed and illustrated look at the new version of Buddycloud. This free software (for Java, S60, etc. and with special emphasis here on touch and S60 5th Edition) lets you interact with friends, with full status and (favourite) location updates, derived from GPS, cell towers and Wi-Fi, plus there's interoperability with the likes of Twitter and Facebook. An interesting read!
Not exactly current news, but perhaps this might cheer someone up who's having a bad day: digging through AAS's archives reveals a series of predictions made in June 2002 by a venture capitalist giving a speech at a mobile developers conference. You can read some of these gems below, and I think you'll agree it's pretty amazing how "on the money" his forecasts have been...
Yup, BBC iPlayer just appeared in Download! for UK users of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Some screens below the break. Technically it's only a streaming solution, though. Despite prompts from the widget to 'Save' a file after watching, you're not saving the video stream itself. A little messy. Comments welcome!
With news that a single application for the iPhone will 'crack open' any iTunes purchased app, the spectre of mass piracy arrives on the latest platform. It's a problem that every mature platform has to deal with, and it boils down to a simple phrase. Read on...
To promote the N-Gage game Resident Evil: Degeneration, Nokia and Capcom have set up a dating site for the undead called Zombie Singles, which invites people to upload a photo and then "zombify" it with the site's online zombification tool. All Zombie Singles profiles are automatically entered into a contest to win a trip for two to the Tokyo Game Show in Japan, along with two Nokia N96s and a visit to Capcom.
