Interesting to see Nokia still developing their Friend View application in the light of the elephant in the room, Google Latitude (though as even that can't seem to get traction, what hope has Friend View got? - discuss). The latest build of Friend View has background notification features, in that you can leave it lurking away in the background and it will ping you when a friend gets within a customisable distance from your current location. See this Beta Labs Friend View post for the full explanation and some handy shortcuts.
Nokia's Ovi Mail just moved one step closer to other popular webmail systems by adding better message formatting, auto-URL creation and auto-complete for contact emails. There's still no integration with Ovi Contacts though (i.e. the module with your actual contact details in), so consider this still very much a beta.
Manikantan is a keen (Python and) Flash developer and has produced a prototype app, Translator, for S60 3rd Edition phones that leverages Google's recently updated language translation engine. A nice Web 2.0 example, even if it's not very polished yet. See below for screenshot and download link.
Yesterday marked 'day one' of the Symbian Foundation. This announced the commencement of the beta testing of its new web site and that 81 companies have applied for membership (50 of which are first time endorsers). The new logo of the Symbian Foundation was also unveiled: Symbian, in stylised letters, underlain by a yellow heart. Read on for more.
Ricky Cadden, on Symbian-Guru has published an interview with Symbian's David Wood, covering all aspects of the Symbian Foundation set up, plans for the future and much, much more. This has been a big week for Symbian, it's 'Week One' for the Foundation and there will be some in depth coverage coming from Rafe very shortly.
Yet more from the BBC, who are on something of an April roll this week.... You may remember that we were first to bring you news of their next-gen mobile home page revamp, accessible for the last month through a 'beta' URL? Well, this has now been tidied up and made official. Some quotes from the BBC below, but all you really need to do is go to bbc.co.uk/mobile in your phone browser and follow your nose from there. All the beta functions are there, including iPlayer integration (and live TV links, see above news item) for UK residents owning compatible phones and connecting over Wi-fi.
Only for UK residents (it seems), the BBC has now started streaming live TV for compatible handsets (currently the Nokia N96 and 5800) at mobile resolutions, 24 hours a day. The quality's currently not brilliant, seemingly a frame size of 176 by 144 pixels, though RealPlayer on S60 phones will sample this up to fit, of course. But - it is TV, it is the real deal and you get the full range of BBC channels. including those normally only available via Freeview or cable/Sky. Screenshot proof, link, handy S60 widget and tips, all below.
From the Symbian Foundation and Texas Instruments comes the news that the Zoom OMAP34x-II mobile development platform will be the first reference platform for the Symbian Foundation. This is a test device, capable of running various mobile operating systems, that can be used, to test code, by those wishing to contribute to the open source platform. It is also useful for developers wanting to explore and conduct tests on upcoming Symbian platform releases.
In this comment piece, 'Should Gravity come down?', James Whatley shares his thoughts on mobile application prices. Have on-device stores, such as iPhone's App Store and Android's Marketplace, changed consumer's perception of the pricing of mobile applications? What constitutes reasonable value? Read our first Whatley Wednesday, then share your thoughts in the comments thread.
Yahoo! may make blunders elsewhere in the computing world, but they've always had their head screwed on when it comes to mobile. Yahoo! has just launched its next-gen mobile home page, which you can find at new.m.yahoo.com in your phone's web browser. Some screens below to give you a flavour, but on first look they seem to have done a good job integrating news sources, weather and traditional mobile information with a new 'Social pulse' panel, in which feeds from the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Friendster can be amalgamated and presented in chronological order.
Just before the deadline we want to point out a few more April exclusives. There's the Symbian Foundation powered toaster (Smart Toaster X, from Hussel & Robbs, the first Symbian^2 appliance) and the TEXT'N'WALK application from Looflirpa (innovative camera usage).
In this video, embedded in the story below, we exclusively preview a new Samsung Omnia HD feature - personal inductive charging. The Samsung Omnia Personal-ORiented Interface For Inductive Charging (SOPORIFIC) uses the electrical field generated by your own body to re-charge the phone's battery. All you have to is hold the phone and it recharges before your eyes. Apparently you get one minute's talk time for ten minutes of skin contact. Obviously there are limits to this technology, but it is great to see the technical barriers being pushed back.
Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic has sold fairly well, but where does Nokia go from there? Well, you're about to find out as All About Symbian takes a look at the latest variant model: the Nokia 5800 Sauna Edition. Coated with a special humidity-resistant plastic and preloaded with a thermometer/hygrometer application, this is aimed squarely at the consumer market.
