When it's using Skype! While it's not the standalone Skype client a lot of people are hoping turns up for the Wi-Fi enabled N91, Useful Skype Phone allows you to use a small number of Series 60 handsets (the 6630, 6680 and 6681) as a Skype handset. The secret sauce is in a bluetooth based server on your PC, so you'll still need to be close to your desktop, but it could be a lot more comfortable than some dodgy music speakers and flakey microphone.
RMRLock from RMR Software is a small utility for Communicator owners, which will provide a password protection system when you close, open, or leave your smartphone unattended.
Thanks to our spies at SendoSmartphones.com, it's interesting to note that the Sendo web site now shows the X2 in high resolution imagery. Sendo have also removed all the old Sendo X themes from their site, paving the way (probably) for a new, X2-compatible firmware update for Sendo X owners.
The man who took the standard BASIC program of Snake and put it on the Nokia 6610 as "Nokia Snake" has recieved a Special Recognition Award at the Mobile Entertainment Forum for destroying the lives of millions of Snake addicts the world over. Congratualtions - now how about a head to head with the original Tetris...
Series 60 smartphone users might like to note that Ewan's Vexed is no longer the only game for the platform that's written in OPL. Also running on the 'alpha' OPL runtime is my new "Hangman", designed for keeping kids and adults diverted on long journeys. More over here.
Not quite Symbian, but kicking up a fuss is the Nokia 770 Linux Tablet. Nancy Gohring has posted a review on the demo units over on Mobile Pipeline (summary, it;'s a bit slow), and Matt Croydon, who's been doing some public conversion work on Linux apps to Maemo, comes to the Tablet's Defence (summary, it is early in the production cycle).
Ewan caught up with Rob Hendry fom Ideaworks 3D recently, and while the interview was meant to be about System Rush, it's turned out to be a nice tour of what companies go through when making an N-Gage game. Well worth a read. As for System Rush, we'll have a review shortly!
Epocware have started up the beta program for the full Handy Safe system (i.e. PC client syncing with Communicator app) for the Nokia 9300/9500. Even better, using their standard import/export format, you can move across all your old Nokia 9210 Handy Safe data, with 100% success rate. You can join in the beta here.
An overdue focus on education: New author Thomas Boys (be gentle with him) writes about the multitude of ways in which a Series 60 smartphone (e.g. Nokia 3650, Sendo X, N-Gage) can help you be more effective in your studies and in your research. Many of the tips apply equally to other Symbian OS platforms. Read the full feature article here.
Skulls (you know, that program that politely asks if it can infect your phone before installing itself) pulls a classic ploy straight out of "The A-Team" and reports that it is an application called "F-Secure Antivirus" (reports The Register). Naturally F-Secure aren't too pleased about this, and are reminding people to only download their application from their own server, or the short link that refers to them phoneav.com.
Long time Symbian supporter, Russ Beattie, has rwecently picked up a Nokia 6680. Over on his blog he's posted a list of the built in and third party applications he's been using on the 6680. An interesting read and a good starting point for new users.
Age of Fantasy is a real time, massive multiplayer online role-playing game. If you're paying data rates by the kilobyte, it might get a bit pricey, but flat rate plans and those with deep pockets should be okay. Running as a Java Midlet, it should be compatible across the majority of Symbian devices. Lots of talking to other players, trading, combat, magic and experience levels - it hits all the traditional RPG spots dead on.
Perhaps mindful that the sixth Harry Potter book is due out in July, Sony Ericsson failed to launch the P1000 "Hermione" this morning, as a number of people were expecting. From what we see here at All About Symbian, a September launch is still very much likely.
