Nimbuzz, the all-in-one communication software which we mentioned a few weeks ago, has now formally launched. In addition to its own network, Nimbuzz supports instant messaging and voice calls for Skype, Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AIM and Jabber. Recent additions include support for true VoIP when making voice calls on S60 devices. The functionality is used when you use NimBuzz to make a voice call to one of your IM contacts. Read on for screens and more.
GooSync's beta test for full Contacts sync through to Google Contacts just went live. It's a closed beta, so please don't email me for extra links or privileges. Below, I've tried to illustrate how it all works and some of the implications of syncing with the big G. The beta test, if the Tasks beta was anything to go by, should last a month or so.
Nokia Music PC Client is now available in early beta form from the Nokia Beta Labs website. The application is designed to help you manage your music collection on your PC and then transfer it your mobile device. The software has been designed with mobile users in mind and includes the ability to directly rip a CD to a mobile device, to easily sideload music from a PC and to use bi-directional playlists and music sync.
Opera has formally updated Opera Mini, the proxy-based web browser, to version 4.1. With a speed increase compared to v4.0, and the addition of URL completion and the saving of web pages, the little browser that lets the server at the end of the connection do all the heavy lifting continues to improve in leaps and bounds. While the built in browsers on S60 handsets have significantly improved over the years, Opera Mini, while targetted at lower-powered phones, still packs a feature set that makes it a contender.
Yesterday at Where 2.0, Nokia announced Maps on Ovi, a Web component designed to to complement Nokia Maps 2.0. As part of the Ovi brand, Maps on Ovi will allow users to plan their trips on their desktop and then synchronize (automatically or manually) it with their smartphones. Conversely, if you're already out on the road, you can record routes and points of interest on your handset and then upload them to the Ovi service when you return home to share with family and friends. More details and a screenshot below. Comments welcome!
It's... Insight number 24, aka AAS audio podcast 73, in which the usual team discuss the news of the week, including N-Gage and Nokia Communication Center (sic), three new S60 3rd Edition smartphones (black N82, Samsung i450, Nokia 6122c) and we introduce the idea and state of play in the world of Location Based Search.
Guest writer Arjen Broeze has been trialling the new Route 66 Mobile 8 for over a month now and here's his very detailed review. The only real problem seems to be over-stubborn clinging to originally-calculated routes - apart from that Arjen gives this sat-nav solution a green light on all fronts. I was sceptical about the way search matches are still shown in alphabetical order, but Arjen argues that the search match filtering is good enough to do without location-sorted results.
Thanks to bery95 for spotting this surprisingly attractive/fun iPhone theme for S60 3rd Edition. I know, I know, I usually hate this sort of thing, but this one has iPhone icons in surprising depth and works well on many levels under S60 (240 by 320 pixel screens, at least).
Shout me out if this is old news and I've somehow been sleeping, but I noticed that there was a new version of Nokia's (Download!) utility for uploading and sharing photos and video. Share Online is now up to v3.08(7) and, importantly, it seems that support for Microsoft's Live Spaces is back, having been removed for early variants of v3.0. The Share Online rollcall now reads: Ovi, Spaces, Flickr and Vox.
Yesterday Adobe announced the details of the Open Screen Project. This will see Adobe, in conjunction with partners, create a consistent 'rich Internet experience' across televisions, PCs, mobile devices and other consumer electronics using future evolutions of its Flash and Air platforms. Adobe will open up Flash and Air by releasing more technical information and removing license fees and format restrictions for Air and Flash.
Thanks to (the other) Ewan for pointing out the existence of Nimbuzz, which hasn't actually formally launched yet. It's yet another VoIP/IM client for phones, but it's distinguished so far by having a native S60 client (kudos) already, by supporting Skype chat (yay for the AAS office) and by having the slickest and smoothest Web 2.0 download, sign-up and install I think I've ever experienced. Mobile VoIP isn't truly there yet though. As with Skype Mobile, a chargable gateway is used, though full VoIP is apparently on the way, as per Fring.
There's an interesting article on Business Week about Nokia's unexpected success with their free Sports Tracker utility/service/web site, with users generating content based around uses that were far wider than Nokia originally expected. In related news, Nokia has now released their 'urbanista' (Sports Tracker) widget for general embedding in other people's sites and blogs. Here's the info page and here's a (blogged) test photo-walk I did yesterday to try it out. Make sure you have the very latest version of Sports Tracker, v1.71. There's a full AAS tutorial in the making too, watch this space.
DDH Software, developers of HanDBase, the cross-platform (including S60) database solution, have launched a competition, rewarding the best two 'Applets' (i.e. designed databases, such as Pet Health or CD tracker) with full commercial runtime licenses, 'enabling the winners to turn their entries into commercially-available standalone mobile applications'. Importantly, the 30 day trial version is fine for creating the applets. Press release below the break.
DivX Mobile has now apparently been updated to support DivX VOD (Video On Demand), reports Ricky Cadden. Although you still have to use the desktop client to convert the files for your smartphone - perhaps a sensible step in any case to reduce bandwidth and file storage issues.
