Samsung have announced their latest S60 phone at 3GSM. It's a GSM / UMTS (3G) phone operating on the 850/900/1800/1900/2100 Mhz bands in a flip form factor. It runs Symbian 8.1 and S60 2nd Edition, has a two megapxiel camera on the rear, a VGA camera on the front for video calling and a microSD memory card slot. Read on for pictures and summary specifications.
One of the initial ‘bullet points’ of Series 60 was that it could be seen as a widely adopted platform (on top of the widely available Symbian OS) across the market, with Nokia licensing to other manufacturers, such as Siemens, Sendo, Samsung and Panasonic. That strategy seems to have been diluted (as have Siemens and Sendo) but today’s announcement is that one of the world’s largest carriers, Vodafone, is pushing Series 60 as a ‘preferred device software platform.’ Which is a nice public acknowledgement of the same plan, but tweaked slightly to put an onus on the carriers.
Symbian's David Wood talks up Symbian's prospects (with good reason) and seems positive about the Sony Ericsson M600i ('wider appeal', although without a camera, some would disagree), in his latest Insight article.
There's a curious new title from Symbian press. 'How smartphones work' appears to be mainly aimed at people already in the industry, or on the fringes of it. If you're just a casual user, see my prototype Smartphones for Dummies instead...
Yes, we know Psion is now consigned to Symbian's history, but this recent Series 7 review puts their sub-notebook up against the best of today. A testament to Psion's hardware design and Symbian's (nee Psion Software) operating system.
Zi has announced details of the latest version of its Decuma product, available on UIQ phones as Decuma Alphabetic. New in version 4 is predictive input, more supported languages, dual language support (use more than one language at once), used word dictionary (tracks, learns and prioritise words you write), personal dictionary, and user defined shortcuts.
Zi Corporation has announced that it has extened its Qix service is now available on UIQ. Zi will be demonstrating Qix on UIQ 2.1 devices at 3GSM and plans to support UIQ 3 devices later in the year. Qix is an innovative service that helps users 'discover' services on their phone. Users start dialing a number or a word and Qix shows a list of matching contacts, services and programs.
If you thought Nokia were resting on their Sync laurels, then you'd be wrong. Last year's move for Intellisync has been completed, so expect to see the technology brought to the Nokia Phone Suite at some point in the future.
UIQ today announced a new level of membership for its developer program. The new 'Premium' level, which costs $500, includes 5 technical support tickets, early access to content and SDKs, additional content, discounted offers and co-marketing opportunities.
Rafe Blandford's been poring over the information available on UIQ 3 - here's his take on the implications of the changes made in UIQ 3 and what they mean for developers and third party applications.
Nokia has produced a 'Mobile Guide to 3GSM'. "Schedules, maps, launch information", but all focussed around Nokia, naturally.... The mobile URL is nokia.mobi/3gsm. Or send an SMS with the message "3GSM" to +358407799890. Telemap are providing, at no cost, Telmap Navigator with Lonely Planet for Barcelona which should enable delegates to find their way around.
One by one the wires and devices are disappearing from your living room. Engadget reports on FCC approval of Nokia's AD-42W Wireless Audio Gateway", which lets the Nokia N91 and other future smartphones supporting Advanced Audio Distribution Profile send music over Bluetooth straight to your hi-fi.
Forum Nokia has announced the first few members of its Forum Nokia Champion reward program. The Forum Nokia Champion reward program is an invitation-only program that honors Forum Nokia members for their activities and contributions to Forum Nokia and the mobile industry. Benefits include rights to the title, showcasing their achievements in Forum Nokia channels and twice yearly meetings.
Nokia today announced that the Bluetooth SIM Access Profile would be a standard part of S60 3rd Edition. This means that certain car phone kits (for example, the Nokia 616) can access ID data stored on the SIM card of phones such as the Nokia N91, N92, N80, N71, E60, E61, E70 and 3250. This resolves the need for a second sim card and eases switching in dual sim card situations.
Is Python a replacement for OPL on Series 60? Is Nokia on the right track by backing it? Is it easy to get started? And can you produce full standalone applications using Python? Steve Litchfield answers these questions and produces an application as concrete proof.
