Nokia's NW 2008 home page is filling out nicely, with video slots, a live video feed and a discussion board. Most intriguingly, the 'Countdown' link is attached a panel branded 'Nseries 2009' - surely this means that there's an Nseries device about to be launched? I was half expecting something in the Eseries line, but maybe Nokia is about to surprise everybody! Am I reading too much into this?
In Insight number 50 (woohoo!), Rafe, Steve and Ewan discuss the latest news from the Symbian World. Steve talks about his overall N79 experience, Ewan has been playing with an N85 and Rafe waffles about the state of the open platform market. Plus, we look forward to Nokia World 2008 (tomorrow)....
I've just found out that BBC iPlayer's (UK-only) streaming TV programmes work in the beta Skyfire browser for all S60 phones, there are comments and some screenshots below of it working on my Nokia N82. Previously, iPlayer access had only been possible on the N96 or via hacked versions of the iPlayer widget on selected other devices.
No, that's not a misprint for 5mp (i.e. 5 megapixels), it's SMP - Symmetric Multiprocessing. You may remember that Nokia's flagships, the N95 and N82, both have dual CPUs? This didn't really have as much effect on performance as their (also unique) graphics acceleration, but every little helps. However, SMP seems to be a technology that will make a bigger difference in the future, according to an interesting interview with Symbian's Jason Parker, over at SymbianOne.
Carnival of the Mobilists 152 is over at another of my stomping grounds, All About iPhone (no relation!). Leading off with a few homegrown AAS pieces, there are also some thought provoking items from other Carnival newcomers and regulars.
As usual for such events, there are a number of online resources with which to follow Nokia World 2008. The main landing page links to a Tangler discussion group, plus there's a link to any press releases and live video will appear from 8.15am (GMT / UTC) on Tuesday. If you need reminding to 'tune in', there's even a countdown timer and automated email system. Rafe will be reporting live from Barcelona - watch this space.
In the concluding part of his very detailed hands-on (p)review of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, based on almost a month of day-to-day running with Nokia's 'Tube', Rafe Blandford brings us a report on the rest of its applications and on third party software compatibility, plus, of course, he sums up the device. Why is it unique and just how well will it do worldwide?
Dennis Bournique has done a great job here of writing a full critical review of the new Skyfire browser for S60. It seems that, despite still being in beta, it's the best for viewing web video, but that there are still some day to day usability problems that need addressing.
If you're a Python tinkerer like me then you'll be interested in a summary post over at Forum Nokia by Daniel Crocha, talking about possible reasons why Python for S60 doesn't often make for easy development of full, commercial (read polished) applications. He also links to a possible solution for making building all-in SIS install files easier.
Kudos to Symbian Guru (the developer, not the blogger) for introducing a new genre of S60 utility. GPS-Action uses GPS and/or cell ID to fire alarms, switch profiles, open applications, etc. according to where you are rather than the time of day. So, for example, you could be reminded to look for a particular product the next time you get to the shopping mall. Lots more other examples and information at the main GPS-Action page.
Released a few days ago was Nokia's latest Mac suite, 'Nokia Multimedia Transfer 1.4'. Labelled beta software, it looks to be holding the fort and preparing the ground for a full Ovi Suite for Mac in the next month. v1.4 requires the latest version of Leopard and features 'a new method for selecting the content to be transferred, various performance improvements and a new user interface for settings'. I've put together some screenshots from v1.4 below, for your delectation.
Nokia's just put out a press release that the 5800 XpressMusic is now shipping in selected countries (with other countries to follow in 2009 apparently). As always, "shipping" can mean the devices are on the way to the shops, so you may not see them actually on sale for a week or two. Full release follows below.
Another of Nokia's latest wave of S60 3rd Edition FP2 phones goes under Steve Litchfield's scrutiny. This time it's the Nokia N79, which, like the N96 before it, though full of 'toys', is ultimately not powerful enough when compared to the older N82 and N95 variants. A lack of graphics acceleration and poor video capture are two aspects which Steve felt disappointed with, but the all-in-one, slim, fashionable form factor will, I feel, ensure mainstream success.
Nokia will be demonstrating their Home Control Centre at the upcoming Nokia World event (which All About Symbian will be attending). Geared towards networking your home services and equipment so they can be controlled by a PC or smartphone, either locally or remotely. It is expected to be commercially available in the second half of 2009.
Good to see some response from Nokia's Friend View team, fielding questions about map caching, lack of Nokia Maps compatibility and GPS/battery efficiency. Sounds like they're serious about this particular Beta Labs project after all...
