Here is the AAS Week in Review. Recognising that it's easy to miss a few days and fall behind with what's new on All About Symbian, we do a weekly round-up of new content and news on the site in the last 7 or so days. If you're really pushed for time, this is the weekly list of articles and links to check out.
The web site of Symbian's annual Smartphone Show is now more or less fully online. It's the 17th-18th October, of course, with the AllAboutSymbian meet on the evening of the 16th. New to the Show this year are extra developer sessions and admission to all for the main CEO keynote sessions - perhaps in an attempt to liven up what was quite a staid spectacle last year. The main floor is also extended, so there's more to see.
Steve shows how easy it is to publish your thoughts to the world with this 'How to' on blogging from your smartphone, using nothing more than the built-in Contacts and Messaging applications.
In search of new Communicator software, I spotted HighBowling, a brand new bowling game. Unfortunately, it lacks realism and excitement and is more than a little schizophrenic. Here's my review.
It seems that DVB-H digital TV is still some way off yet, dashing hopes that (for example) the Nokia N92 might arrive late summer. Nokia has announced yet another trial, this time in Sweden, in the last quarter of 2006. We're guessing that implementing country-wide DVB-H isn't as straightforward as we first thought. Press release follows...
W3C, the standards body behind the Web, have released new guidelines, dubbed "Mobile Web Best Practices" and signed off by many major names, including Microsoft and Nokia. The document is a must-read for anyone producing smartphone/PDA-friendly web content.
Steve reviews TrafficTV, which claims to give any smartphone owner in the UK access to traffic hold-up information and exclusive roadside CCTV images from trouble spots. Summary: surprisingly useful and genuinely clever, but only within its coverage area.
Widely regarded as the pinnacle of S60 2nd Edition hardware and the biggest selling smartphone of all time, the Nokia N70's also now won a major industry award, as 'Best Mobile Entertainment Handset'. Details in the press release below.
Wayfinder is now availale for S60 3rd Edition devices. Wayfinder is a GPS navigation and mapping solution for mobile phones. In contrast to other navigation system Wayfinder downloads mapping data and routing information over the air. This means Wayfinder requires far less installation space and maps are often more up to date. However a 3G, WiFi or GPRS connection is required to download data. A free 5 day trial is available from the Wayfinder web site.
Route 66 Mobile 7, a GPS navigation and mapping solution, is now available for S60 3rd Edition devices. Route 66 allows you to navigate by following on screen directions/maps and spoken prompts. Features include free real time traffic information, automatic re-routing when you diverge from pre-planned route, and an address book look-up with fuzzy search and (in theory) full postcode support at last. We will be reviewing Route 66 on S60 3rd Edition next week.
The rise and rise in demand for memory cards for smartphones seems to have sparked a huge industry in fake 'brand name' memory cards, mainly originating from the Far East. if you're about to buy a card, it's worth reading my advice about this over on 3-Lib. Feel free to name drop reputable local suppliers in the comments below this item.
N70Torch is a piece of software that allows you to use the N70's built in flash for illumination. Normally the LED/photo light on rear of the device is only activated when taking pictures. N70Torch allows the LED to be switched on and used for illumination. The software can be used with the video capture functionality of the phone to enable you to take videos in very low light conditions.
Openbit Ltd, a well known Symbian developer and service provider, is to concentrate efforts on its on-device mobile payment and digital rights management solution - Openbit License Manager. Openbit's other business operations wll be divested to other companies, Packet Video has acquired Openbit's Multimedia business and it's Software Market (Nokia's online software shop) has been trasnferred to Soft Invest Oy.
Although completely underwhelmed by Sony Ericsson's Support pages for the brand new (UIQ 3-powered) M600i, we've spotted that the full user guide is freely downloadable. So, if nothing else, those waiting for UIQ 3 can swot up on the new interface and tweaked apps.
Bill Ray, over at El Reg, has penned a useful editorial on the problems facing Nokia and Sony Ericsson as new users pick up version 3 handsets and find that a large proportion of 'Series 60' and 'UIQ' software doesn't work. As ever, user education is the key here and both manufacturers and developers need to spell the third party software situation out for beginners, in my opinion.
