Third party web browser Skyfire has released their latest version for Symbian smartphones. Version 1.5 updates the user interface for a smoother experience both in the updated UI and in the rendering engine, as well as making its debut on 5th edition devices.
Opera have announced their acquisition of Californian based AdMarvel this morning. Founded in 2006, AdMarvel brings together advertisers, publishers and networks to deliver contextual advertising while browsing. While the value of the deal was not announced (although Techcrunch are reporting it as being in the region of $8 million), the usefulness of the deal for Opera should be apparent.
Ewan continues his multipart look at the new Nokia X6 Comes with Music. Part 1 of this review looked at the X6's externals, while part 2 was heavily critical of the core Music player and performance and part 3 looked at the X6's camera and photography functions. In this, (the final) part 4, Ewan rounds up the X6's general applications and interface odds and bobs.
Well known, cross-platform, games developer Polarbit has, for a limited time only, made four of its games titles available on Ovi Store for free. (previously £3). Raging Thunder, a car racing game, is available for both some S60 3rd Edition (E72) and S60 5th Edition (5800, N97 etc.) devices. Wave Blazer (power boat racing), Armageddon Squadron (arcade flight sim / shooter) and ToonWarz (3D first person Shooter) are available for S60 5th Edition only.
Having spent over eight weeks in the testing sandbox, users of the Twitter client Gravity can now update to the alpha of version 1.30. New features include integration of Twitter Lists, a quick look set of dashboard icons, a user profile tab and new screen transitions. You can move up to the new version from inside Gravity itself, or download from Mobileways.
When launched in early 2009, the Samsung i8910 HD (a.k.a. Omnia HD in some markets) had eye-watering specifications, certainly ahead of anything else in the Symbian world and, arguably, ahead of anything in the world in general. Bit by bit the wider market is embracing the same technology though, with Google's new Nexus One offering an almost identical specification and form factor. Which can only mean one thing: - time to get them both in-house, photographed and tested, head to head.
Yes, yes, there should probably be no such word as 'webinar' - but Quickoffice is using it anyway, to describe a new series of free video, online seminars centred around their office suite for Symbian/S60. If you have questions about an aspect of Quickoffice, or simply fancy learning a few new tricks, then check out the series. The first one is on January 20th at 8pm GMT (2pm CST) for half an hour. Each webinar will also apparently be recorded and an edited version made available for download later.
Carbide.c++ is again available as a download from Forum Nokia, adding to the options for obtaining this Symbian development tool. The latest version adds support for the Eclipse p2 update system, Qt code styling, and single file compiles on Raptor.
Time to play 'spot that phone' in another Nokia factory/test centre video, this time from Nokia Conversations, embedded below, intended to show Nokia's state of the art design, manufacturing and testing centre in Beijing. There's a section with a load of white N86s, but what else can you spot? Was anything confidential filmed by mistake? Somehow I doubt it, but it does make for a good game!
Two cracking posts on the Symbian blog today about application development and the story behind the applications. Mobbler, the music tracking web service; and Mobilyze, and in-development app to help patients undergoing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Nokia have announced that their Beta Labs are closing the online portion of the Mobile Web Server (MWS) product, launched some two and a half years ago, is closing at the end of this month. By allowing your mobile phone to act as a web server for the content it carried, MWS was an alternative ad-hoc style connectivity option for a number of users. Nokia have stressed that the local parts of the application will continue to work, and are reminding people that not all Beta Lab products have a happy firmware ending.
Escarpod, the third party Open Source podcast gatherer and player, originally written for UIQ and available for S60 in beta form for a while, is now the source of a Contribution Proposal to the main Symbian Foundation code base. Effectively, this means that future Symbian devices should have a podcast client, in the wake of Nokia choosing not to contribute their own proprietary Podcasting application. Read on for links and more information.
Proporta have been touting their Gadget Bag for a while now and I decided it was high time to give this accessory the ultimate test - give it to road warrior Ewan to fill/destroy. Here's his write-up, highlighting just how much stuff can be packed into the bag but also bemoaning the lack of internal loops and ties to stop your bits from rattling around. It's a positive review overall though and a road warrior won't argue with the price.
In All About Symbian Insight 101 (AAS Podcast 165), we round up the weeks news including updates to Ovi Suite, Samsung's 32 GB microSD card announcement, firmware updates for the 5800, N86, E72 and E75 and the release of Betalab's Gig Finder. We also discuss the UI concept proposal from Nokia for Symbian^4, before Ewan gives us some concluding thoughts on the X6. You can listen to AAS Insight 101 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
I just thought I'd announce that The Phones Show (born The Smartphones Show) has just reached programme 100, which just went live. This latest show contains my attempt to bust some 'Mobile Myths', along with a Blackberry Top 10 and some heavily-Symbian-centric (it seems) user stories.
