It is just a matter of time before the Nokia Music Store (purchase per track) goes DRM free, but reports from Nokia's 'Comes with Music' launch in Singapore cite Adam Mirabella, Director of Global Digital Music Retail at Nokia, as saying DRM free music is also 'on the roadmap for the future integration of Comes With Music'. Clearly such a move is still some time away and the statement is not definitive, but it's a sign of how keen Nokia is to push its music offerings.
In All About Symbian Insight 61 (AAS Podcast 117) we look back at some of the software highlights of MWC (including a quick N97 mention), discuss the Nokia Netbook rumours / ideas, talk about Ovi Contacts and go over the latest N-Gage developments. You can listen to AAS Insight 55 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Mobile Royale would like developers to work on a decent Twitter interface for S60 devices. They've posted their challenge on-line, and are pointing to the interface that the Google Search plug-in, and asking for 'something like that' so people can tweet directly from the stand-by screen. There are a number of Twitter clients for S60 available, and a number that are in development, so will anyone take up the challenge?
UK networks Orange and O2 may not carry the latest Nseries devices, including the N97, if Nokia insist on placing Skype on their hardware (reports MoCoNews and others). While other networks have had success with the Skype infrastructure (notably 3 in the UK), the idea of being able to route calls over the internet and not the GSM services has struck fear into others.
Rafe's been busy sorting through his snaps again - in these three gorgeous galleries he brings us close-up photos of the Nokia N86 8MP (great build materials, arguably best camera ever in a phone), the 6710 Navigator (GPS, compass, zoom strip) and the 6720 Classic (active noise cancellation), all launched at the event. Click through and enjoy each of these. And then buy Rafe a humungous beer the next time you see him.
Thanks to a clever developer DOSBox, a DOS emualtor, has been ported to S60. This could potentially give you access to an essential applications from the past as well as a variety of games such as Tank Wars or Prince of Persia. Less usefully, given the speeds involved, it also means is now possible to run Windows 3.1 (and possibly Windows 95 too) on your phone.
The beta of Ovi Contacts (the service formerly known as Contacts on Ovi, which was formerly known as Nokia Chat...!) has been updated for S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 phones (e.g. the Nokia N96 and N85). For existing users, there are no major feature additions, but a number of bugs have been fixed and the application and service is more stable, which should broaden its appeal. Read on for a quick look at Ovi Contacts.
In contravention of the prevailing spirit of the age, I find myself unconvinced by a touch interface on a phone, having tried using both Apple iPhone and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, both of which I've rejected as my main device for different reasons. And, for a change, there's survey data (see the postscript) to back up my crazed(!) opinions - it seems that the majority of the great unwashed also prefer physical buttons to touch...
Rafe's back from the Mobile Word Congress, so this is Steve and Ewan's first chance to quiz him on what he found out. In an extended Insight, we look at the hardware and services from the phone manufacturers that were on show in Barcelona.
Ewan, proud owner of the Nokia N85, has decided to do a direct comparison of his phone with the new N86 8MP, widely leaked as originally intended on being the N85 8MP. What are the essential differences between the two devices, how significant are they, and were Nokia right to go with the new model number? Ewan says 'Yes', and Rafe agrees, in a special editorial postscript, although their reasons for agreeing are somewhat different - as you'll see.
It seems that Samsung Mobile Innovator's team signed a version of Python for S60 a few weeks ago - and then forgot to tell anyone. You can grab it here, look for post no. 10. Note that this isn't a complete system, in that there's no signed 'Script shell', so you can't run scripts directly. However, Python apps packaged properly as SIS files should now work OK on the Samsung INNOV8 and i7110, which is a good start. Screens below the break. Now, Samsung programming wizards, how about a working firmware update mechanism, eh?
One of the more interesting demos at MWC was Google's demonstration of off-line access to Gmail through browsers based on Webkit (thanks to Mobile Crunch for the reminder). Of course the demonstration was with the Apple iPhone, but other browsers, including the S60 browser should be able to run the system. It's still in the labs, but could prove an interesting counter-point if released to Nokia's Ovi Mail.
Nokia have recieved a loan from the European Investment Bank to support Research and Development in the Finnish company. Spread over five years, the 500 million euro loan will be used by Nokia to "make Symbian-based smartphones more competitive." While not directly for the Symbian Foundation the work will benefit the Foundation and other Open Source initiatives.
