Over on ZDnet, Matthew Millar has taken a look at the four main Smartphone application stores, specifically the issue of what the stores will allow in terms of re-downloading previously purchased content, installing on multiple devices and the returns policy of the store. Alongside the newly launched Ovi Store, he considers the Apple App Store, the Android Market Place and Blackberry's App World.
In All About Symbian Insight 73 (AAS Podcast 132) Steve, Ewan and Rafe discuss SkyFire's 1.0 release, introduce Ovi Gaming and offer some perspective on the Ovi Store 3 days after the formal launch. In the second part of the show Rafe talks about the launch of the Sony Ericsson Satio (formerly Idou) and then the team discuss the E75 in 60 seconds. You can listen to AAS Insight 73 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Nokia today announced the BH-905, a high end stereo Bluetooth headset with active noise cancellation. The headset has a 'band-over-the head' with ear-muffs' form factor with music, volume and calling controls on the two ear pieces. The headset has ten microphones; two for capturing speech and eight for capturing sound for the active noise cancellation functionality. The headset can be connected via Bluetooth or a wired 3.5mm connection with adaptors for 2.5mm, 6.5mm and airplane connectors included in the box.
Bobba, the mobile online virtual world from the makers of Habbo, has added all non-Nokia S60 2nd and 3rd Edition devices to its official compatibility list. Practically every Nokia S60 2nd and 3rd Edition phone is on the list, and now so are Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Lenovo S60 models. There are no S60 5th Edition devices on the list yet, but the publishers Sulake say they are working on this and should have a rough version out soon, with a more touch-optimised version later.
Today the Symbian Foundation has announced two key additions to its management team: Larry Berkin, formerly a VP at ACCESS, who will head Symbian's US office and act as Head of Alliance Management and Dietmar Tallroth, formerly Director of Legal for Nokia's Open Source and Java, who will serve as Symbian's General Counsel. The Symbian Foundation continues to recruit staff as it grows towards it goal of around 200 employees by the end of 2009.
You choose the right tool for the job. That's as true with carpentry as it is with software. After all, if you want to sing “I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing” then you choose Karen Carpenter, and not a bandsaw. It's the same with online smartphone stores. Ewan has some thoughts about where the success of the Ovi Store will lie.
If you click on the Ovi Gaming site's menu bar item labelled Ovi Store Games, you'll see it now contains pages and brief info about all of the games currently in Ovi Store, along with reviews and screenshots for a few of them. Over time we'll be adding a lot more reviews, screenshots and perhaps even some videos too, slowly building up a comprehensive guide to Ovi's gaming world.
It’s the final month before Forum Nokia’s Calling All Innovators competition closes. The competition offers a significant opportunity for developers to get global exposure for their innovative application or widget. In this developer section feature, I talk to Srikanth Raju, head of marketing for Forum Nokia, to find out more.
Ovi Store can be accessed from almost any Nokia phone by just going to store.ovi.com on the phone's web browser, but certain phones also have an Ovi Store application available which lets you use Ovi Store much more easily. Some people have managed to find the Ovi Store application available through the Download! icon, but it now appears that you can also download the app directly from the store.ovi.com website. The availability of the app seems to currently vary depending on which model you have and which country you live in, and the easiest way to find out if you can get it is to visit the Ovi Store mobile site and see if the link appears for you. See the screens below for details.
Nokia and Vodafone today unveiled a new S60 device that will be exclusive to the Vodafone network. The Nokia 6730 Classic, which will be available from June, runs on S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2, has a 3.2 megapixel camera, 2.2 inch QVGA screen and integrated GPS. It continues the push of S60 into mid-tier devices, using the platform to take services to the mass market. Read on for more.
Kudos to AAS friend Matthew Miller for putting together a gloriously techy article on how to rid your S60 3rd Edition FP2-toting (ho yes) AT&T-branded Nokia E71x of all of its Java trialware and bloatware. Bottom line: an hour of effort and you've got yourself a lean and fit smartphone that's more advanced in many ways than the E71 the rest of the world is enjoying.
Possibly as part of the whole Ovi server shake-up, possibly as part of the new Ovi Maps server architecture, Nokia's Maps servers have now been 'fixed' and will, after a frustrating couple of months of being broken, successfully match full seven character UK postcodes. Phew - just thought you'd like to know.
Yesterday Rafe had the opportunity to attend Nokia's Design Day: The Inside Story. The event, held at Nokia's London design studio, offers a closer look at a number of design projects. This year the topics included iconography (a global design language), gestures (future interaction methods), homescreens (empowering users through personalisation), and the Nokia N97 (merging the physical and online world). We'll have more detailed coverage next week, but, as a taster, here are a few images from the day.
In All About Symbian Insight 72 (AAS Podcast 131) Steve, Ewan and Rafe round up an eclectic collection of news including Google Calendar Sync, Spore, recent MOAP devices, recent stats and Omnia HD availability. In the second part of the show discuss moments of change - times when we've seen a device of technology that marks a significant shift. You can listen to AAS Insight 72 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
After a lengthy (but evidently productive) beta period, the Skyfire (cross-platform) web browser has now been released as a full v1.0. You may remember that Skyfire, like Opera Mini, is a proxy-based browser, in that all web content is parsed and compressed before making its way to your phone, saving time and bandwidth. Skyfire's main advantages over Opera Mini are that it offers full multimedia (including Silverlight, Flash video, RealMedia, etc) and Ajax support, meaning that it should work with just about any web site. Skyfire's Raj Singh claims that Skyfire have effectively reduced 'click fear'. Read on for screens, what's new, video from The Phones Show 81 (out today) and some useful links.