Mac owners who enjoy bullet-proof syncing from iCal and Address Book with their Nokia/Symbian smartphone(s) should note that upgrading to the latest (and new) OS X Lion operating system will yield at least one unpleasant surprise: Apple has removed all trace of iSync, the phone-sync application that has had wide manufacturer compatibility. Happily there's a workaround.
Nokia has announced that it plans to close web-based access to Ovi Calendar at the end of August. The sync service will continue to be available, but will now only operate as a backup for data. This means it will no longer be possible to view or edit calendar information through the Ovi.com website. Nokia says this was a business decision and that it "will help us to concentrate on our core service offerings". In reality, the decision is likely driven by the low numbers of active users of the web-based portion of the service.
Quickoffice has announced an update to its office suite for Symbian^3. Quickoffice Pro 7, renamed from Quickoffice Premier, adds support for accessing files from cloud storage services (Google Docs, Dropbox, box.net and SugarSync). This means that a file can be downloaded from any of the supported services, edited and saved back to the cloud from within the application.
A minor firmware update for the Nokia E6 and Nokia X7, version 22.014, is now being rolled out. It is a minor firmware update consisting of bug fixes and small performance improvements. These include small updates to the Web and Social applications, USB connectivity and Mail for Exchange configuration fixes and reduced lag when opening Application manager. The update is currently only available via the Nokia Software Updater portion of Ovi Suite.
Nokia in conjunction with Sumo Science at Aardman have shot the world's largest stop-motion animation short film. Gulp was shot on an N8 at Pendine Beach in South Wales, with the largest scene in the filmed stretched over 11,000 square feet. Gulp follows on from Dot, the world's smallest stop-motion animation film, which was also shot on a Nokia N8.
When it comes to comparing smartphone cameras, I've got a bit of a reputation. But so has my counterpart in the States, Myriam Joire, and she's just put up her review of the latest and greatest Android phone being marketed over in the USA with the (manufacturer's) tagline "the most advanced camera of any smartphone". I mention all this because, Myriam being Myriam, she naturally did a detailed set of head to heads with other leading smartphone cameras, plus a standalone specialist device. Including our beloved Nokia N8. And she's one tech reviewer whow knows about subtleties like... keeping the phone steady as the shutter comes down! Links, examples and comments below.
You may remember me enthusing over CameraPro (written in native Symbian C++) a while back, with only a few caveats? Well, the developer, Harald Meyer, has been hard at work producing a version in Qt, Camera Plus, with the benefits that it will better support the upcoming camera firmware tweaks for the N8, plus other models going forwards. Plus there are other tweaks, see below for details. And yes, a few restrictions too...
Good news for XBMC media centre users, there is now a Symbian^3 remote control application in the works! Despite being at a young version (0.92), “SemperXBMC” packs in most of the features you would expect from a XBMC remote control. It's available directly from the author's website, from which you will also have to install an additional SIS file for Qt Components. SemperXBMC requires Qt 4.7.3 and Qt Quick, which are installed automatically. Read on to find out more!
Nokia has launched a new Symbian Anna-powered mass market smartphone, the Nokia 500, at 150 Euros (plus taxes) all-in, with 1 GHz processor, interchangeable back covers, 3.2" capacitive nHD touchscreen, pentaband 3G, WiFi, GPS, 5 megapixel camera (EDoF) and 2GB of internal memory plus microSD expansion. Impressively, the Nokia 500 only weighs 93g, making it the lightest Symbian^3 device so far. The device will be available in retail channel within the next 60 days.
Nokia have updated the dedicated Foursquare application to version 1.02 (9). You can pick up the update from the Ovi Store either through the updates tab, or going to the Foursquare app page and selecting the update option from there. The major change in this version is to accommodate the new Foursquare API methodology.
Although we haven't seen a new version of Google Maps for Mobile (for Symbian) for an eternity now (it's frozen at v4.1.1), it doesn't mean that we Symbian users aren't benefitting from Google's back-end improvements, not least the ever-growing place and business databases, transit lines, better satellite and street views etc. Shown below is a recent addition, of real time traffic status for a whopping 13 extra countries across the world.
Just noticed this in the Ovi Store, HWKey is a small and free utility to launch any designated application from your phone's camera (hardware) button. For anyone more interested in launching PhoneTorch or Gravity (etc) than Camera, this is a great little addition to your smartphone. Screens below...
Reviewed over a year ago here when they were a surprisingly high £40 a pop, Nokia's portable MD-6 stereo speakers are now being sold off on Amazon for between £5 and £9 (depending on the time of day you look) - in the UK store, at least. I picked up a set and have put my own mini-review thoughts and some new photos below. Rock on!
Nokia's Ovi Store recently recorded 7.62 million downloads in a single day. This follows on from June's announcement that Ovi Store was averaging more than 6 million downloads a day. The greater than expected jump between June and July is primarily due to the "removal of the registration and log-in requirement for free items in the mobile web channel".
Nokia has launched NFC Hub, to help businesses begin using Near Field Communications solutions. Businesses (or, indeed, anyone) can buy generic NFC-tagged posters which direct users with NFC-enabled phones to Facebook, Foursquare, etc, as needed. NFC tags start at £3 each, business cards at £11 each, and posters and stickers with tags embedded run from £20 to £25 each, all ordered through the Hub.
