Via CJ comes news of a new version of Nokia's Energy Profiler (Forum Nokia login required). New in this version 1.2 (for all S60 variants), in addition to the existing energy profiling features, are a graphing feature and plotting of Wi-Fi signal strength in real time. It has an element of 'cool' about, but can also be used to help troubleshoot problems. Rafe says this is a must have tool for every developer and explains more in the full story.
The Nokia Events site is showcasing an upcoming Nokia virtual launch (online only) event, which is related to music. It's likely we'll hear about new XpressMusic device(s), as well well as updates around Nokia's music strategy. The announcement will be made at 10am CET (9am GMT). DRM-free music in the Nokia Music Store, updates to Comes with Music, new market roll out plans, price cuts? Let the speculation begin!
As S-F points out, we've been waiting for flashlight functionality to return to our phones ever since the Nokia N93. The new E63 also has this and I've been wondering why Nokia doesn't implement a Torch application in most smartphone firmware. Anyway, Harald Meyer has come to the rescue with PhoneTorch for S60 5th Edition, in full Symbian Signed form. As the author points out, it might be best not to run the dual LEDs for long periods, but this is sure going to be a boon coming back from the pub/theatre late at night. Photo proof below...
Another (perhaps derivative) free painting application for the Nokia 5800 has appeared, this time on Nokia Hong Kong's site. It's native S60 and has lots more painting options than the original Forum Nokia example, including import of an existing photo for doodling on. (via S-F)
The upcoming Ovi Store application is due to replace Nokia's existing Download!, MOSH and Software Market services, and there has been speculation about what else it might absorb. However, Nokia has now gone on record to say the N-Gage application will be kept as a separate service, at least for the moment, though they also said that their medium term goal is to "converge everything into a single distribution channel".
The full version, 1.0, of the S60 5th Edition SDK is now available for download from Forum Nokia (previously available was version 0.9). Changes include support for keypad-off display in the emulator, support for additional languages, a start-up progress indicator for the emulator and fixes for a number issues and deficiencies. A number of new plug-ins are also now available for the SDK.
Forum Nokia recently published an implementation of the card games Solitaire as their latest 
S60 5th Edition code example. For consumers it is a nice bit of extra freeware. For developers it is an example of an application fully optimised for touch; it demonstrates handling of pointer events of custom made UI controls and tactile feedback.
When the N97 was announced at Nokia World last year, some 8 months ahead of its retail release, it was clear that the software was a work in progress. At MWC, it was equally clear that progress had been made. For example, Nokia were showing off a number of fully operational homescreen widgets, including one for Facebook. A new addition, which caught my attention, was the implementation of kinetic scrolling (finger flick) in the browser, which improves its usability. Read on for (extensive) further discussion and example video.
Ah. Merely days after dismissing Fring (VoIP, Skype, other IM, etc) as not ready for inclusion in my 'top freeware for the Nokia 5800' piece, the guys in Israel go and formally release it! C'est la vie, and you can be sure that Fring will make the next iteration of my roundup. In the meantime, here's Fring's official blog announcing availability. And there's a video after the break. What are you waiting for, go download...
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.
Continuing a fine and longstanding tradition, I bring you what will be a regularly updated top pick of the very best freeware for S60 5th Edition. At this moment in time, this means the Top Ten freeware for the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. OK, OK, so I relent after 10 and give you a bonus 'next 10', bubbling under. Hopefully there are some items in here that you hadn't considered until now!
Without wishing to harp on about a small third party utility too much, this one's rather popular. Dr Jukka's Y-Browser is now at v0.89(2) and the author has managed to significantly improve the support for touch, including proper 'multi-selection' in dialogs. You can grab version 0.89(2) at the venerable Dr Jukka's web site, along with all the optional companion plug-ins.
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.
In all the rush of innovation and new devices, we missed the announcement by F-Secure that they are the first anti-virus company to support S60 5th Edition. Their Mobile Security 5 product is now available via F-Secure or Nokia Download, if you feel the need for some extra strength protection.