Six hours to go. Nokia are holding a big business-focussed launch today in London and Rafe and I will be here doing interviews and capturing video and photos. We're expecting two new Eseries phones and I'll be publishing an exhaustive review of one of them immediately. Doubtless there will be more than just devices though - watch AAS throughout the day for more.
Well, we haven't seen the hoped-for releases of Sims 2 or Pro Series Golf, but there have been one or two N-Gage-related developments this week. Click on the news headline to see a complete rundown.
If you've been watching Nokia Beta Labs, you'll have seen Nokia's attempt to expand Download! into a web shop. All very well and good, but hardly unique and it's ultimately just another place to download commercial demos and a few Nokia utilities from, before side-loading them in from a PC. Why has Nokia bothered, given that they already have a far better distribution system in Download! on each device? Read on for my thoughts...
Google has decided to remove the gadgets from its mobile homepage and place them in the separate iGoogle page. This means that weather information and your Gmail summary no longer slow down the homepage. In addition, Google cache's the homepage code on your phone, so provided you bookmark this homepage, then returning to Google Mobile using the bookmark is almost instantaneous. (via Google OS)
Rafe's been taking a long look at the Nokia N78, the recently released 'entry-level' handset into the world of Nseries. Intended as a replacement for the N73, the N78 brings together many of Nokia's Ovi elements, alongside the latest software in S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. In this first part of an extensive review, he examines the hardware and connectivity options in the monoblock handset.
Kudos to Ricky Cadden for scoring a review sample of the LG KT610, the smallest S60 clamshell, here presenting his hands-on photo gallery. What do you think of the form factor? - comments welcome. We're down for reviewing this new messaging-focussed phone in a week or so's time, so look for more AAS coverage then.
Mobitubia developer Sittiphol is a ruddy genius. A genius. Not that his new project NeuScreen is terribly practical - you'll have to watch the video on his Forum Nokia submission to see what I mean. Essentially he turns a humble Nokia N95 into a full-size classroom-style Smart Board, armed with some sticky tape, a film negative, two light pens and a big TV. Jaw droppingly impressive, if incredibly niche!
Ah yes, the irresistable urge to make a play on words for a review of a utility with this sort of name. Quite appropriate really as, ultimately, Hi-n-Bye is more of a geek-toy/tech demonstrator. Still, within its niche, this accelerometer-driven telephony aid is immaculately programmed, a model app in many ways - and it's battery-sensitive too.
Google are gradually ramping up access to their iGoogle (think personalised web home page) system from mobile phones. They just added a drag and drop set-up page for you to use on your desktop in order to pick what you want to see when you go to iGoogle on your phone. See below for the legendary picture that's worth a thousand words...
If you're subscribed to the All About Symbian audio podcasts (and if not, why not?), you'll have heard a final report from the recent S60 Summit at Barcelona, in which Ewan Spence chats with Mikko Rontynen, from Nokia's Customer Spearhead Project, on a wide range of issues in the world of S60. To listen directly, here's the page for AAS podcast number 78.
As part of the promotion for the game, Nokia's N-Gage team has designed a dedicated theme for Snakes Subsonic for any S60 3rd Edition device, to remind you of the game. What a good idea - maybe they'll do one for every other N-Gage game? Mine's the Pro Golf one in the corner...
Over on All About N-Gage, we've just published a special in-depth article looking at the pros and cons of touchscreen phone gaming, and we ponder whether Nokia should start making touch-based N-Gage games. Is touchscreen gaming the mainstream future or just a niche market? And does it matter either way?
Nine months ago, Steve looked at the then-new Apple iPhone, pitched against the also-new Nokia N95 8GB flagship - with the release of the iPhone 3G, it's high time for a rematch. It's evident that the iPhone 3G has closed the gap and wins in some areas, but there are still holes in its functionality that you could drive a motorhome through, leading to another overall N95 8GB victory.
Nokia's Share on Ovi just got prettier, with a new PicLens function (requiring a download and plug-in, mind you) that allows Mac-like fluid photo browsing, plus extra image sizes for viewing, including 'Original'. There's also a new intro tutorial video.
Nokia E90 fans might want to note that the latest Smartphones Show, no. 60, includes a hands-on review with the Toshiba Portege G910, gunning for exactly the same target market with a fairly similar form factor. There's also my thoughts on the iPhone 3G and a mini-rant on phone contracts.
