A short note to all Sony Ericsson G900 users. You can now use Fring, the free application that lets you interact with all your Fring and IM buddies with "free calls, live chat, file transfer and much more"... So get fringing and let us know how you go!
Smartphone game publisher Astraware has let us know that they're looking for more S60 owners to take part in their beta testing. Their S60 version of shoot-em-up Platypus had some compatibility snags when it launched recently, so if you want to help fix this kind of thing and get games free in the process head on over to the Astraware beta testing forum to find out more. They also do games for UIQ3 and most other smartphone platforms too so you may want to apply even if you're not an S60 owner.
ProfiMail has been around on all the Symbian OS sub-platforms for longer than I can remember. But did you know that the developers have been making great strides recently with full on IMAP Idle support and better integrated file and attachment browsers? Nick Anstee's been using ProfiMail for ages on his Nokia E90 and presents details of his personal email client quest, together with a detailed list of pros and cons for this quirky application from Lonely Cat Games.
As reported in other international blogs, the Nokia N96's first firmware update, to v11.018, is now available to the wider world, via Nokia Software Update [at least, it's now live in the UK]. No huge feature changes. As with v11 for the N95 almost 18 months ago, this is just to fix early shipping bugs. Also, thanks to AAS regular James Burland for setting up a N96 Flickr User Group. Worth noting even if you haven't got a device, in order to see the quality of its photos...
Even before Apple's iPhone App Store and Google's Android Marketplace Nokia's Download! service was mediocre. Now it looks decidedly sub-standard. In this feature article Tzer2 takes a detailed look at what's wrong with Download, asks whether a third party could step in and gives some pointers about the right way to do things.
AAS member macwhu has started a "Hello N96" blog detailing experiences with a brand new N96 bought on day of release, with a quick look at various features including the BBC iPlayer and a "fat test" against the N95.
Platypus is a quirky side-scrolling shoot 'em up that's done well on other platforms. Astraware has got in touch to say that it's now available for S60 and UIQ smartphones. Screens and description over on the main Platypus product page etc.
A new type of SIM for a new type of roaming? Sounds like a job for Ewan. So we packed him off to Las Vegas on AAS expenses someone else's tab to try the MaxRoam SIM out for real. Seems like it could make significant savings for anyone travelling regularly.
Video conversation site Seemsic has released a beta N95 client for the service. It allows you to record and subsequently upload a video to the site either as a new post or as a reply to an existing conversation. The service is free to join (as is Seesmic itself) and you can download it by pointing you N95 at http://m.seesmic.com/.
The Nokia N96 is now in stock on the Finnish electronics website Verkkokauppa.com, with the unlocked SIM-free version retailing for about 600 euros plus taxes. We've also heard from the forums that the N96 is also available in Britain, with the British version preloaded with the BBC's iPlayer and three programmes. Nokia UK's shop does indeed show the N96 as "In Stock - Ready to Ship". Looking at Nokia's other shops, it seems to be in stock in France and Italy, with other countries marking it as coming soon, so this is presumably a continent-wide rollout.
Nokia's next regular Connected Worlds event in Second Life will be held on Sept 25th, at 11am Second Life time (so 7pm for UK readers). The focuses this time around will be on Virtual Communities, with five of the top communities in Second Life joining the attendees in the Wulfenbach airship, which is conveniently moored to Nokia's Island.
In the third part of my Camera 'Nitty Gritty' series, I look at the so-called Megapixel Myth. Are more 'mp' necessarily better in a camera phone? What other factors are involved and what's the base specification that I'd recommend? I illustrate my points with test photos from 2, 3, 5 and 8 megapixel S60-powered phones.
In an appropriately 'over the air' day (ref the HTC G1 announcement), Tzer2 looks closely at how divorced S60 is from a desktop computer. In other words, do you need to be tied to a PC or Mac at all these days? The answer is largely 'No'. Tzer2's article will make you think and challenge the way you've viewed Symbian OS and S60 phones up until now.
Greenpeace has released the 9th Edition of its 'Guide to Greener Electronics'. The latest edition sees Nokia reclaim its number one ranking with a score of 7 out of 10. It leads ahead of Samsung on 5.7, Sony Ericsson on 5.3 and Motorola on 3.7. Greenpeace says Nokia's improved ranking is largely down to improved take-back practices in India.
NeuroSky has demonstrated, in the USA, using a Bluetooth mind sensor to control software on a Nokia N95 8GB, by detecting changes in brain wave patterns. Game interaction has been shown to be possible, too. (via The Earth Times)
