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.
In the last of his video diaries with the Nokia E75, embedded below, Ewan chats at length about its multimedia capabilities - camera, music, recording, and so on. It's fair to say that he still likes the device and considers it well above average. Your comments welcome on both the E75's multimedia and also on the video diary format. Which device would you like to see Ewan tackle next?
In response to popular demand, I've added the Samsung i8910 (Omnia HD) to my 'choose your perfect smartphone' Grid, along with the HTC Touch Pro 2 and the HTC Touch Diamond 2. How does the Grid perform for you now? It chooses the Nokia E71 for me, followed by the 5800 XpressMusic, which isn't a million miles out. Comments welcome!
Always interesting to see the latest figures coming out, this time from Gartner for Q1 2009. Nokia's market share in the smartphone world had fallen slightly, to 41%, but they still sold more devices (15 million) than the next four manufacturers put together. The 5800 in particular was pointed out as a success story. Behind Nokia in the stats were RIM with 20% of the market, and Apple at 11% with their iPhone. In terms of smartphone OS, Symbian powered just under 50% of devices sold. Comments welcome!
Hopefully pulling no punches, I've been mulling over all the different form factors seen in the smartphone world in the last half dozen years. Is there a common consensus 'perfect' form factor? No. Could there be one in the future? Yes, I argue in The Quest for the Perfect Form Factor. And, to the point, at least one of 2009's smartphone contenders is achingly close, at least in terms of hardware, to the ideal. This being something of a contentious subject, your comments more than welcome of course!
In All About Symbian Insight 70 (AAS Podcast 128) Steve and Rafe talk about the upcoming N97 and the return of Comes with Music to the UK. However the main part of the show is taken up with answering questions from listeners. We touch on Ovi Store, Nseries branding, screen resolution and more. You can listen to AAS Insight 71 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Following on the heels of the Nokia N96, the Nokia N85 and Nokia N79 have both received significant firmware upgrades, to version 20.175. There are the usual small fixes and application updates, which seem to have squashed most of the major bugs. The major additions are turning controls (flip to silent for incoming calls and alarms) and Nokia's email wizard, together with email notifications on the active idle screen (homescreen). Read on for details, screens and comment.
Ho yes. A huge dollup of Nokia E75 goodness for mid-week here on All About Symbian. Firstly I'm happy to present part two of our big Nokia E75 review, this time looking at its multimedia capabilities - I reckon it has the best camera ever put into an Eseries device. Then Ewan pops up with the fifth part in his E75 video blog, embedded below, this time reporting on it live from Eurovision in Moscow, highlighting its quick and unobtrusive nature, along with just about every feature being 'above average'.
In All About Symbian Insight 70 (AAS Podcast 128) Rafe, Ewan and Steve talk about the recently released Nokia E52, the N96's firmware upgrade to version 20, the newly released Pandemonium and the N97's processor and specifications. Rafe also reports on UI changes proposed for Symbian^4. You can listen to AAS Insight 70 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
The AAS review of the Nokia E75 may not be the first in the world, but it's hopefully the most insightful and comprehensive. In the first part the review, Rafe considers the hardware and general design on the latest Eseries device. There's a detailed look at the keyboard, musings on this cross-over device and much more. Part two will follow next week.
Nokia has recently made available a major firmware update for the Nokia N96. The new firmware, version 20.050, improves email support (including an email shortcut on the homescreen), adds personalisation settings for Audio Themes, slide handling and slide show wallpaper. There also improvements to WiFi support, camera image quality, Flash Lite video support and more. The firmware can be updated over the air or via Nokia Software Updater. Read on for more details and screenshots.
Hot off the press is Nokia's new E52, with specs, photos and video embedded below. The E52 can either be thought of as a massive update to the popular E51 or a traditional number-key candybar version of the bigger E75. Highlights include S60 3rd Edition FP2, GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera, Ovi, Nokia Messaging, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB charging, noise cancellation, Nokia's 1500mAh mega-battery for a full 8 hours talk time, and more. Read on for more.
In All About Symbian Insight 69 (AAS Podcast 127) Rafe, Ewan and Steve talk about Bobba, operating billing on the Ovi Store, v21 firmware for the Nokia 5800 and the new N-Gage game - Age of Empires III. Rafe then reports back in detail from the Nokia Developer Summit 2009. You can listen to AAS Insight 69 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
