The Ovi Store client has been updated today, with v2.06.00042 being enforced for Symbian^3-powered phones, and v1.9.008 for S60 3rd Edition and 5th Edition phones. The new version is to maintain compatibility with architecture changes at Nokia's end and also provides performance improvements on all devices.
Digia, a Finnish software company, has signed an agreement with Nokia to acquire the commercial licensing and professional services arm of Nokia's Qt. The major portion of Qt, including all core development and LGPL licensing remains with Nokia. Nokia plans to continue to invest in the future development of Qt, which remains core to its Symbian (150 million additional devices) and MeeGo (future disruptions) activities. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the month; neither company are disclosing cost details.
For all Symbian/S60 3rd Edition/5th Edition phones, SPB TV has been re-launched with a new version number, v2.0, adding higher quality TV streams, better performance and wider device compatibility. As before, SPB TV is marketing and advert-driven, with a registration process and with occasional static adverts displayed during channel loading pauses. Some screens and a link below.
Layar, an augmented reality browser, is now available in Ovi Store. Layar provides an augmented view of the world around you by overlaying information ('layers') on to your smartphone's field of vision (as seen through the camera). For example, this can be used to visualise local search (overlay local businesses), orientate the position of nearby landmarks and attractions and see nearby social activity (Twitter, YouTube, etc). Layar is available for all Symbian^3 devices, plus the N97 and N97 mini.
The Qt SDK beta 1.1 was launched today. While the SDK is a beta release, the Qt (4.7.2) and Qt Creator (2.1) releases within it are final (i.e. not beta or previews). This means that Qt Quick can now be considered to have been officially released. Qt Quick is a crucial step forward for Qt, bringing easy UI creation, which allows developers and designers to work together more easily to create applications with great user experience.
Nokia Beta Lab have released an update to Ovi Maps, taking it to version 3.06. While still in beta, it’s available through the Ovi Store or direct from the labs. This is a small update from the main 3.06 release last week, with the addition of two check-in services, Qype and Foursquare taking centre stage. This version is specifically for touch devices only. That is, the Symbian^3 devices: N8-00, C6-01, C7-00, and E7-00; and S60 5th Edition handsets. S60 3rd Edition are not supported in this release.
After a year of development, Podcatcher (originally Escarpod) is now in the Ovi Store for all S60 3rd Edition, 5th Edition and Symbian^3 Nokia devices. Of course, it's not necessarily needed for phones with Nokia Podcasting on board, but it's a boon for the increasing number of devices which haven't. Screenshots below. Note that if you've been using the free distribution, at v1.10, this is much the same, but with a few less minor bugs.
We recently reported about a new beta version for Mobbler, having been updated for Symbian^3 and support for Last.fm's Scrobbling 2.0 API. Today the Mobbler team announced via Twitter that the very latest version of Mobbler is available for free download in the Ovi Store. This news means that the features listed for this new version at Mobbler's Wiki for the beta version we already reported on, have now graduated to Mobbler's official release.
Please excuse the original story on this address, I was going by item numbers in Ovi Store URLs - it turns out that there isn't a strict one to-one correspondance between URL numbers and actual content items. The store simply now has over 100,000 allocated item IDs, many of which never materialised into content. Watch this space for some fuller Ovi Store statistics.
Nimbuzz has announced that it is exclusively releasing an ad-free version of its instant messaging client on the Ovi Store. In addition to waiving advertisements in exchange for a one-off fee of £3.00, premium users also get several new aesthetic settings not available in the ad-supported version. These options are viewing instant message conversations in a chat bubble style, custom colours or images for chat screen backgrounds, and custom font colours for the chat screen. Read on for more.
Two days after its investor-focused Strategy and Financial meeting, much covered in previous stories, Nokia held a more consumer-focussed press conference just before Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. While the overall message was no different to Friday's event, Nokia did provide some additional details on its short-term Symbian plans. These include a wave of new devices and significant software updates for Symbian^3. [Story updated after Rafe got back from the event]
At its Strategy and Financial Briefing event today in London, Nokia has outlined its "new strategic direction, including changes in leadership and operational structure to accelerate the company's speed of execution in a dynamic competitive environment". Some more quotes below, but in short this means a reorganisation into "Smart Devices" and "Mobile Phones", and adding a new OS platform to its portfolio, with Windows Phone becoming Nokia's "primary smartphone platform" and Symbian becoming "a franchise platform, leveraging previous investments to harvest additional value". More below, and more through the day, of course. Rafe's on the ground, see the other Coveritlive news item.
At a Strategy and Financial Briefing, which takes place at 10 am GMT on February 11th Nokia's CEO, Stephen Elop, is expected to outline his vision for the future strategy of the company. Rafe will be reporting live from Intercontinental Park Lane Hotel, London, where the event is taking place. You can follow our live coverage using this story or via our Twitter accounts (@aas and @allaboutmeego).
Mbuntu is a flash based application launcher available for all flavours of Symbian, aimed squarely at Ubuntu fans. The application simulates the GNOME-based Ubuntu desktop, with the Jaunty Jackalope wallpaper. From the Ubuntu application menu, users can access all of the phone's core applications, such as: contacts, messages, Bluetooth, USB mode, Web, etc. There are also indicators for WiFi and battery level. Read on to find out more.
While the BBC News App in the Ovi Store is little more than a web shortcut to open up the mobile site in your browser, it’s a good decision to make an application like this available. Yes, it doesn’t take much to type in “B B C” in the browser, but providing an icon on the screen and in the Ovi search engine, reinforces the idea of content on the phone. It’s also a potential first step to a dedicated BBC News application to sit alongside the iPlayer integration in the UK.
