Well, this is very late news, but better late than never: There's been an update to the Mobipad application, which allows you to wirelessly control S60 devices through a standard Nintendo Wii controller (particularly useful if you've got your phone connected to a television through TV Out). The new Mobipad 1.2 beta lets you customise all the buttons to your own liking, which should solve the control problems that were experienced by previous Mobipad users. The catch is that you have to make a 5 euro donation to the developers to get the new version (previous donors get the new version free). The old version 1.0 is still free though.
Rafe's still pounding the floor at MWC 2009, of course, but he took time with MIR's Ben Smith yesterday to give his opinions of Nokia's latest camera flagship, the N86 8MP, in great detail. Below the break is the full six minute video interview, enjoy.
Working on the venerable Nokia N95, N82 and E90 (and compatibles - but not the newer devices with different chipsets), Nokia Magnifier is a new free utility that automates the use of a smartphone camera in focussing 'close-up' mode to provide a virtual magnifying glass, for looking at small print, for example. Video below the break.
At last night's GSMA awards, Nokia walked away with the inaugural award for Outstanding Environmental Contribution for their global environmental program that includes a recycling scheme for unwanted phones operating in 86 countries. Sports Tracker, while still a beta product, took the prize for Best Mobile Internet Service. Since the full launch in July 2008, it has seen over 2.5 million downloads, allowing users to track and share their daily fitness routines while out and about.
Steve and I continue to look over the stories from Barcelona in the second of three planned podcasts discussing the MWC, before a full blown Insight Podcast when Rafe returns. More after the break.
Today sees an announcement from Qualcomm that they will be working with Nokia in developing UMTS devices, initially for the North American market. Given that, up until a few months ago, the two companies were at legal loggerheads over the licensing of IP over 3G implementations and chipsets, we'll read this as an amicable end to the disagreement (helped, no doubt, by Nokia's one time payment of close to 2.3 billion dollars to Qualcomm in October 2008).
Slightly different format for the podcast this week as Rafe is in Barcelona. Steve and Ewan pick up the reins to talk about the announcements and products on show at the Mobile World Congress in the AAS Podcast #113. In Monday's recap, they set the scene, talk about the annoncements from Sony Ericsson, and discuss Nokia's Monday morning press conference.
Nokia has now officially announced the N86 8MP, its latest imaging champion, with 'SLR-like optics'. The N86 8MP features an 8 megapixel camera with variable aperture, large sensor and mechanical shutter. The device has plenty of metal detailing, a N96-like kickstand for video watching, AMOLED screen, N-Gage compatibility, 'scratch resistant' glass, GPS, Compass and the usual S60 connectivity specs. More details, photos and high-quality video below, plus hands-on time through the morning.
Forum Nokia has published the official technical specifications of the Nokia E55, Nokia E75, 6710 Navigator and 6720 Classic. Interesting to note that the E55, 6710 and 6720 all have single processors running at 600mhz (as does last week's 5630 XpressMusic) which is a big step up from the 369mhz speed of most previous single processor S60 models. However, the amount of free RAM available for user applications isn't listed for any device.
Not launched from the stage but merely leaked out by press releases were the 6710 Navigator and 6720 Classic. The first features pre-licensed Nokia Maps (of course), a dedicated navigator key, plus a 'touch area for easy zooming'. The 6720 Classic is a candy bar design and its innovation is 'active noise cancellation' for voice calls, a S60 first. Both devices have the usual 5mp camera and S60 spec level, including TV out. More details and photos below.
The Ovi Store, announced by Nokia today at MWC, is the Finnish entry into the rapidly growing market for on-device software stores. Promoting their reach of 50 million devices and a simple route to market for developers, Nokia's presentation hit all the right notes. The revenue split of 70% to developers was also clearly announced, along with publish.ovi.com, which is open for developers to register from today (and upload from next month). More thoughts below.
Possibly the most leaked (not by us, though) Nokia smartphone ever, the E75 finally got official just now after being introduced on stage at MWC, priced at 375 Euros. Billed as the best messaging smartphone ever and a direct descendant of the 9300i, the E75 has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard beneath a standard Eseries frontplate. Official images, videos, comment and details below.
