Nokia today announced the Nokia 603, a low cost Symbian Belle handset, which the company says is designed to appeal to first time smartphone users and those upgrading from older devices. Key features include a 1GHz processor, 3.5" ClearBlack Display touchscreen, durable design designed to "withstand the knocks of everyday life", and comprehensive connectivity options (pentaband 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and NFC). The 603 is expected to start shipping this quarter at a cost of €200 before taxes and subsidies.
The Ovi Store and other Ovi services have been transitioning to the new name, i.e. just "Nokia" for a few weeks now, but it's important to note that there's a new URL for the main storefront on the web. Yes, store.nokia.com just went live, though obviously the old store.ovi.com will be supported for a long time to come.
After months in private beta, Nokia Beta Labs has widened access to its 'type and you shall find' Universal Search system for Symbian^3 and above. Initial compatibility is quoted only for the E7 and N8 (though I don't see why it shouldn't work on other devices). Screenshots, comments and the launch video below...
Now revamped to use Qt, Nokia's Music Explorer has the latest UI look, with the squircle icons to fit in with Anna, and the latest navigation bars top and bottom all ready for Belle devices. But fundamentally it's the same app we looked at last year, and it still has the same flaws. More below.
Remember Nokia Conversations were asking for people to create a new ringtone for Nokia to ship on their handsets? They've announced a winner, Italian DJ Valerio Alessandro Sizzi and his twenty-four second dub-step reimagining of Tarrega's Grande Valse. You can have a listen to it below, or just wait for it to be one of the default ringtones on the new Nokia handsets.
We shouldn't really be reporting on every beta, but hey, this is a crucial part of Symbian^3 and these are major bug fixes. With that in mind, you'll remember that a new Qt-ified version of the Nokia Store client was released in beta form a week ago? There's now another 'important' (i.e. bug fix) update available, v3.16.036, go grab it here. This is for Symbian^3/Anna smartphones only, as before. [edit] Well, that was a short beta - it seems that some regions are seeing this version rolled out officially to anyone launching the normal client.
Swype, a company which has developed a finger-slide style input technology, which is used in millions of mobile devices is set to be acquired by Nuance, according to Uncrunched. Swype is currently available for Symbian and Android, but not Windows Phone, but with Nokia as one of its early investors and key industry partners it is possible this could change in the future.
As every other news outlet is reporting this morning, we awoke with the announcement that Steve Jobs had passed away after a long battle with cancer. Although not a Symbian story per-se, there's a lot about Jobs which affected the way the industry and even the world of Symbian in recent years. Here are a few short thoughts.
As many people will know, the Apple iPhone 4S was announced last night, with one of the chief improvements being a better camera with better Back Side Illumination, wider aperture and an extra optical element. Leaving aside other elements of the iPhone 4S (which, interestingly, retained its 3.5" screen), such as the Siri voice control, I thought you might be interested in a comment or three on the 4S's camera, as it compares to some of Nokia's camera phone units.
You'll remember that a new Qt-ified version of the Nokia Store client was released in beta form a week ago? There's now an 'important' (i.e. bug fix) update available, v3.16.034, go grab it here. This is for Symbian^3/Anna smartphones only, as before.
I was very interested in a Nokia utility that's appeared in the Ovi Store for most regions, promising location of, and information on, the various Nokia Care Centres around us. Most impressively, there's a full Qt-written, glossy interface and there's clearly been a lot of work gone into the project. Screenshots below. Unfortunately, it's (so far) only for Nokia KSA, i.e. for Saudi Arabia. Here's hoping the work can be extended to other countries and regions!
Nokia has completed the 'transaction to outsource its Symbian software development and support activities to Accenture'. The original announcement was made in April and the agreement finalised in June. As a result, approximately 2300 employees of Nokia will transfer to Accenture, 700 less than originally envisioned. Accenture will provide Symbian-based software development and support services to Nokia until at least 2016.
Another week, another camera-toting smartphone comparison, this time from Hannah Bouckley of 'recombu', comparing the Nokia N8 to the Samsung Galaxy S II, the iPhone 4, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and (for some reason) the Samsung Omnia 7. Despite the author seemingly failing to understand how to use the N8 after dark*, the N8 was given the overall verdict of winner across the different test shots.
The rollout of Nokia's rebrand of Ovi continues apace. Following the new store client for S60 3rd Edition and 5th Edition handsets a few days ago, the web-based store has had its identity subtly changed, with the blue Nokia logo up front. Most interestingly of all, there's a brand new Store client for Symbian^3 handsets (other than the E6), via Beta Labs, a big update, from v2.12.042 to v3.6.030 - with the main changes being written in Qt/QML rather than (part) WRT, a big UI revamp to fit in with the upcoming Symbian Belle interface, a cosmetic overhaul to suit Nokia (blue) colorations rather than Ovi (green), plus the aforementioned name change. Screens and comments below.
One of the problems with the Nokia Ovi Store is that the sheer number of (ahem) novelties and other incidental items that get approved means that finding the good stuff isn't easy. What's needed is a storefront that's a hundred times smaller. But has the 1% of content that's really good. This is what I've attempted over on my 3-Lib site in 'The Curated Symbian Application Store'. Hopefully newcomers to Symbian will find it a good time-saver.
