We mentioned the availability of early versions of this a few weeks ago, but Handy Safe Professional Edition has now been formally released for all S60 3rd Edition phones, with a slicker desktop companion application. Features, changelog and links below the break.
Boom Blox has arrived on the N-Gage and is available for download. The EA helmed game is famous for having Steven Spielberg as part of the development process. Many were surprised at the appearance of this mixed puzzle/strategy game, but the initial Wii version gained critical acclaim. Now it's available on the N-Gage.
Jaako Kaidesoja, N-Gage VP, was collared at Nokia World and made to sit down and spill the beans over N-Gage's future. The result is two videos, embedded below. Subjects covered include touch-based gaming, audio-tie-ins and upcoming titles. Enjoy.
In an All About Symbian exclusive, I present part 1 of my two part review of Samsung's brand new S60 3rd Edition FP2-powered i7110. An OLED-screened candy bar, it's incredibly well built and spoilt only by a silly video bug and a strange control key design. In this, part 1, I look at its hardware. In part 2, I'll go through its software and present my overall opinion of this latest device.
As a fellow mobile video show host(!), I can appreciate the efforts of others in the field. Stuff.TV's last two shows have some interesting bits for the Symbian world. The very latest show has a feature on the best mobile games, with the N82 shown many times and Reset Generation on the N96 starring as well, plus the last but one has a big head to head between the Samsung INNOV8 and Sony Ericsson C905. I've already slated the INNOV8's reflective display in our video podcast and Stuff.TV agreed - it's the single biggest downside of the Samsung flagship.
Popular IM client deluxe Palringo has had an S60 client for a while, but as of now (v0.97) it's properly Symbian Signed, it's got cell tower location, GPS support and Wi-fi beacon detection built-in, plus a mountain of bugs have been fixed, settings added and the interface has been massively overhauled. Screenshots and download link below the break.
While not directly S60 powered, the accessories announced at Nokia World yesterday certainly would sit happily alongside any smartphone. With a focus on 'enhancing the mobile experience,' the Finns presented a Home Music Station, the Internet Stick and the Nokia Extra Power DC-11.
Nokia's in-house Conversations team are doing a good job of outing the Nokia promotional videos. The one embedded below shows 'the future of Nokia Maps' and seems to promote the 'social location' theme from yesterday, with concept screens showing real time presence of your contacts, on both the phone and on Maps on Ovi. It remains to be seen whether Nokia Chat or FriendView are used in the implementation, or whether Maps is growing its own presence code... Video after the break.
Rafe Blandford will be reporting back in detail from Nokia World over the next few days, but in the meantime, watching the coverage across the Internet of the new Nokia N97, Ewan's apprehensive that there's a fight brewing now that the Nseries has a touch champion and that the battle field is becoming more level.
Announced by Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo at Nokia World this morning was the news that the acquisition of Symbian, Ltd has been completed, and therefore the plans for the Symbian Foundation move away from the theoretical discussions that happened at the Symbian Smartphone Show and into reality.
Nokia today announced the launch of the Nokia N97. It is the first touch-enabled Nseries device and has a horizontal tilt-slide form factor. It transforms from a touch slate to a landscape QWERTY device. The device, which has an Internet and entertainment focus, runs on S60 5th Edition, has a customisable, widget-based, home screen and full support for Ovi services.
It features a 3.5 inch (360 x 640 resolution) touchscreen with haptic feedback, 5 megapixel camera (with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash), A-GPS and compass sensors, comprehensive connectivity options (WiFi, tri-band HSDPA, Bluetooth and USB), and 32GB of internal flash memory. Read on for more.
Today at Nokia World 2008, Nokia has released (via Beta Labs) the latest version of Nokia Maps, v3.0, as well as a full personalized 'online mapping experience' on Ovi (also now available). The combination of Nokia Maps 3.0 plus Ovi is claimed to be "the first free service that allows people to pre-plan a journey at home and synchronize with their phone, giving access to pre-planned routes and favourite destinations while on the move." Nokia Maps has also been updated to include higher resolution aerial images, 3D landmarks for 216 cities across the world and terrain maps. Screenshots, info, download link (for selected devices) and notes below.
The Nokia Messaging Service, announced this morning at Nokia World in Barcelona, will open up popular email and instant messaging services and make them easily accessible both on your handset and via the Ovi web site. The on-device version of the Mail on Ovi service is due to go into beta before the end of 2008, with the web based version to follow in early 2009. Update; now with added YouTube demo video.
Store Number 12 for the Nokia Music service has gone live, and it's a first for the Middle East as the Finns bring their store to the United Arab Emirates (reports Marktoob Business). Alongside the Big 4 music labels of Universal, Sony BMG, Warners and EMI will be regional publisher Rotana and content aggregator Qanawat.
Ewan's well into his long term Nokia N85 review period now, and here he brings us a chatty overview of his experience with its hardware, looking in particular at the OLED screen, the fingerprint-attracting styling and the slightly hit and miss d-pad. Read his N85 review - part 1. Subsequent parts will take a look at some of the newer (FP2) features in S60, the camera and multimedia capabilities.
