It all started when I updated my Smartphone Grid, deleting a couple of devices which I considered too old to recommend to people. Somewhat foolishly, I used the word 'obsolete' in my Twitter conversations with readers and this led to a (ahem) stimulating exchange of ideas around the whole idea of what happens when a smartphone is no longer sold and/or no longer updated. Read on for my thoughts on the subject of what happens when our beloved devices get to three score years and ten (in machine years!)
In All About Symbian Insight 127, we open with a discussion of Nokia's Terminal Mode, which is seeking to create an industry standard for the next generation of integration between cars and mobile phones. We follow this up with news of the Opera 10.1 beta, a sale of games in the Ovi Store, the announcement of furtiv's support for DropBox, the addition of Maps Reporter to Ovi Maps, and the opening of the Qt Developer Network. There's also a brief discussion of the number of software releases for S60 3rd Edition phones versus S60 5th Edition phones. You can listen to AAS Insight 127 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
In leaps and bounds, the term 'smartphone' is being bandied about by manufacturers, analysts, journalists, developers and end users across the world. Which would normally be a good thing, except that there are many definitions, all totally different. What exactly defines a smartphone in 2010? What did it used to mean in 2007? Or 2003? With reports regularly quoting the word, it would be good to all agree what the word means, surely?
The popular QWERTY slider E75 has had a firmware update today, to v211.12 (from v210.12), not available over the air for me, but there via Ovi Suite and Nokia Software Update, as a 146MB download. The E75 has User Data Preservation, but backup anyway, just in case, beforehand. The update is mainly bug fixes, listed below.
The popular misconception about camera phones is that the higher the spec level, the better the photos you'll take. While I'll accept that there is correlation there, another big factor is the skill (or, more accurately, imagination and common sense) of the user. In truth, you don't have to own the current top-rated camera smartphone costing megabucks in order to turn out pleasing photos. Check out the sample photos at the top of this feature - I've got a mini-quiz for you...
Playing devil's advocate, but only to a degree, Steve Litchfield turns the entire smartphone world on its head by rejecting its latest darling - large touchscreens. Ask any pundit in the mobile world about smartphones and you'll get the answer that it's all about touch. About large displays that can be caressed and programmed and manipulated with your fingers. Except that traditional, non-touch form factors have these 2010 'flagships' well and truly beat in many ways - here are the Top 10 Reasons Why Touchscreens Suck.
We tend to ignore Nokia's cheap and cheerful Series 40 platform phones here on All About Symbian, but the launch of the new C3 brought, in theory, a handset slap bang into contention with a Symbian-powered smartphone, in this case the E63, itself over a year old now. Which means that a blow by blow comparison should be very interesting - can the £80 C3 (currently a Vodafone exclusive in the UK) threaten the lowly (for the smartphone world) E63?
In All About Symbian Insight 125, we welcome David Gilson to the podcast for the first time. This week we round up a lot of news including a rallying cry from Nokia's Anssi Vanjoki, details on SEE 2010, firmware updates for the E71, E66, N97 and N97 mini, SkyFire's market retreat, Nokia 5230 pricing and more. In the main part of the podcast David tell us about his experiences with the Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro, Ewan talks about The Big Roll in Paradise and Rafe reports back from a 3UK briefing. You can listen to AAS Insight 125 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Another day, more major firmware updates from Nokia, this time for even older devices, again rolling Maps 3.3 with free navigation into the ROMs - excellent to have. v500.21.009 for the two year old E71 and E66 also brings the very latest editing version of Quickoffice and latest Ovi Store client, plus bumps to Music player and to Lotus Notes Traveler, among the usual minor improvements and fixes.
With my tongue slightly in cheek and with the news that sheds(!) are now firmly back in fashion, I wanted to mention a growing trend in the tech world - that of fiddling, customising and tweaking. Of devices, of their firmware and of their software. It's all huge fun, of course, but if you want to keep your life on track and blood pressure down then I'd suggest having a second, fallback device, also synced to everything you know and love...
In these times of recession, it's more vital than ever to watch your pounds (or Euros) - if you need (or lust after) a new(ish) Symbian-powered smartphone then why not think of getting something second-hand, on eBay, at a fraction of the new price? Or if you're trying to raise cash by reducing your smartphone stash that's been gathering dust under the desk, then read on for some comments and example selling prices as at the end of June 2010.
Nokia's quoted comments regarding the future of its Nseries devices have been causing much comment in the media in last few days. This editorial puts some perspective into the story - Nseries devices only represent around 12% of Nokia's Symbian portfolio and the evolution of the brand towards Maemo/MeeGo had been signposted since Autumn 2009. Moreover it is vital to understand that MeeGo and Symbian are complimentary parts of Nokia's overall software strategy. Read on for further analysis of the evolution of Nseries and a number of salient facts.
Nokia’s online USA store has started a new promotional offer, with “Drivers Editions” of the major handsets. You can pick up the N97 mini, X6, 5230, 5800 or E72 from the store, and you’ll also receive a free power convertor (for your foreign trips), an in-car cradle, a chance to win a trip to Paris, and free voice guided navigation for 70 countries via Ovi Maps.
