Three new phones have been announced by Nokia. The N71 is the all-round multimedia device, with FM Radio, MP3 and audio support; the N80 is a slider phone with WiFi support; and the N92 is a TV focussed device, with DVB-H support and a QVGA screen. See below for details.
Perception is everything when looking at the relations between companies. Ed Colligan (Palm, inc) is putting more distance between Palm and Symbian - after all, he sees Nokia as 'owning' Symbian, and the American carriers all wanted Microsoft enterprise devices. And Symbian's thoughts? "Microsoft is more of a distraction factor," said David Wood, Symbian executive VP of research - naturally, as Symbian are pushing into the mid-range now (report from Datamonitor).
Macromedia have made the runtime available for FlashLite on both Series 60 and UIQ available to anyone who wants it - just nip over to their website, pop in your IMEI and away you go. If you're looking for applciations that use it, then Macromedia's FlashLite Exchange is a good a place as any to start looking (Update: It appears the free promotion is now over. Pity).
Steve Litchfield road tests ROK TV, finds it works fabulously well and then discovers the chasm it could make in your monthly GPRS data bill... Summary: great technology demonstrator but the network operators need a rethink.
Throwing around quotes about the damage Music Phones might possibly do to the mainstream music ("If piracy on the internet was a tidal wave, this is going to be a tsunami") really doesn't explain the problem. The Guardian reports on the next evil to infest our phones from a number of music executives. Obviously they're forgeting that a 5mb mp3 file over GPRS will probably cost more than buying the next Clone Boy Band album. Further commentary at MoCoNews and Ringtonia.
So are the problems facing the Mobile Games Industry (see Mobhappy) simply down to not treating mobiles games as seperate from console games? Tom Hume thinks so, and addresses the original points over at his blog: "Mobile device will always be an inferior game platform. Sorry, I don't buy that; or has my chess-set been obsoleted by my Gamecube because it's only got a resolution of 8 x 8?"
If you owned a Psion palmtop back in the late 1990s, you'll have heard of the Psion-sponsored PocketInfo web site, with useful spreadsheet 'applications' and documents. It has now been relaunched, with a large proportion of the content now available in native Nokia 9300 and 9500 Communicator format. More over at PocketInfo.
Thomas Boys draws the curtains and gets personal with the iTech Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard, with keys drawn by lasers. Don your dark glasses now and read the review.
ScummVM has been released for the Nokia 9300 and 9500. ScummVM is an opensource program which allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games (such as Monkey Isalnd), provided you already have their data files.
As noted by SymbianOne it looks like the Series 60 brand may bet getting a face lift. Series60.com is showing off this new brand, with a new logo, and references to S60. There is a new bolder colour scheme (very bold compared to the old blue highlights). The Series60.com website can now also be reached via S60.com.
Nokia have launched a new 'Press To Print' (PDF link) system, aimed at operators but then coming at the man in the street via the operator's services. Press To Print should make it a little easier for non-PC-literate smartphone owners to get their snaps as hard copy.
Ewan gives Jewelrumble a good workout in his review and finds a Bejewelled clone that's well implemented, has some bonus features and is compatible with a large number of Symbian smartphones.
The American FCC, which approves telecommunications devices, is one of the greatest leaks of new phones, and this time, the Nokia RM-67(N71-1), possibly codenamed "Gromit" after the beloved claymation dog (Update: we're told Gromit is the N90). With references to both flip modes, and a slider feature, there's hints of both the N71 and the N80 in the posted User's Manual. We'll probably see these models announced at next week's Nokia Mobility Conference, where All About Symbian will be reporting live from the exhibiton floor.
