At the WIMA conference, currently under way in Monaco, Nokia and Rovio unveiled a preview of Angry Birds Magic, a version of the hit game that will be used to help promote NFC (Near Field Communication). The game, which continues the avian-porcine conflict, has levels that can only be unlocked by touching another NFC phone or NFC tag. The game will be pre-installed on Nokia C7's as part of the Symbian Anna update.
As Easter approaches, the time is right for chocolate eggs - but what's this? The eggs have been stolen by those dastardly pigs? Yes, it's the same story, as the Angy Birds need to take back Easter. Angry Birds Seasons has received another update for the April, providing you more levels, more frustration and more physics-based feather-throwing fun.
Ovi Maps 3.7 (3.07) for Symbian^3 devices is now available for testing via the Nokia Beta Labs website. The biggest change is the modularisation of Ovi Maps into four key components: Maps, Drive, Check-in and Guides. Other updates include improvements to search, a redesign for the Places pages, the addition of location-based advertising, integration of weather into the Guides module, new voice files for navigation and easier view switching in Drive mode.
Although in theory linked to Nokia's 'Shorts' competition, N8 owners may be interested in Ari Partinen's nice blog post, "8 expert movie making tips for your Nokia N8", which echoes many of the things I've been saying over the last year and, bar a few small typos, is a nice bookmarkable piece that should improve anyone's N8 video capture.
The wonderfully named Maximiliano Firtman, over at his Mobile Web Programming blog, has been testing Symbian Anna's web browser (on the new Nokia X7) and here reports positively on its speed and interface, but he also raises questions about the relative lack of HTML5 support, supposedly critical for a 2011 browser.
Nokia announced yesterday that the Ovi Store now reaches up to five million downloads per day. Ovi Store now contains more than 40,000 content items, representing an eight fold increase in the catalogue since last year, with approximately 1,000 additional items being added every week. Symbian^3 devices (N8, C6-01, C7 and E7) are responsible for 15% of daily downloads (750,000 per day). Read on for charts and analysis.
The Nokia E6 is finally out of the bag, and with it comes a particular practical consideration for developers. While all other Symbian^3 devices have the same 640x360 (nHD) screen resolution, the E6 stays true to its 4:3 messenger roots, having a screen resolution of 640x480 (VGA). This means that any applications written with the nHD resolution hard coded in will be incompatible with this new E71-style Symbian^3 QWERTY-toting enterprise device. Read on for advice and examples of how to get it right.
There are two items of interest for All About Symbian readers in Phones Show 136, out today. Firstly, (nearly) the whole thing was shot on the Nokia E7, small EDoF camera and all, demonstrating that for even semi-pro video capture, these EDoF lenses do a darned fine job, better in good light even than the large-sensored Nokia N8. Also of interest is that the show starts with a five minute tour of my own person N8/Symbian setup. Intended for people who aren't AAS geeks, you may still be curious to see what I've got loaded at the moment and why.
Nokia today announced the forthcoming availability of Symbian Anna, a software upgrade for all Symbian^3 devices. The update is focused around three key objectives: delivering improved usability, enhancing enterprise functionality and improving developer productivity. The update underlines the importance of, and Nokia's ongoing commitment to, Symbian. Symbian Anna will ship with new devices later this quarter and be available to all existing Symbian^3 devices in a similar time frame.
Nokia today introduced its fifth Symbian^3 device, the Nokia E6-00, a business and communication-focussed smartphone. With its 2.46 inch, VGA resolution capacitive touchscreen and accompanying full QWERTY keyboard it represents a continuation of the popular Nokia E71 and E72 line.
The E6 features a 8 megapixel EDoF camera, with the ability to record 720p (HD) videos, 8GB of mass memory, a microSD card slot, (the very popular) 1500 mAh BP-4L battery, integrated GPS and comprehensive connectivity options (pentaband 3G, Bluetooth, microUSB and b/g/n WiFi). It will be available, in three colour variants (Black, Silver and White) this quarter (Q2), at a cost of €340 (£300/$490) before taxes and subsidies.
Nokia today announced the X7, a Symbian smartphone with an entertainment focus and premium design. It features a four inch AMOLED touchscreen, well suited for video playback and gaming, an 8 megapixel EDoF camera, comprehensive connectivity options and a full range of social and entertainment software. It has a premium design, which mixes glass and stainless steel, to give a distinctive style with diagonally inset corners and a gently curved back. The X7 will be available in Q2 at a cost of €380 (£335/$548) before taxes and subsidies.
Along with the Nokia E6, it will be one of the first devices to ship with the Symbian 'Anna' software update. This update brings enhanced text entry capabilities (portrait QWERTY and split screen text entry), an improved browser, a fresh icon set and numerous other performance and usability improvements.
Every so often, Rafe lets us 'moonlight' over at other sites, in this case the Ovi Daily App blog. Which is where I've been reviewing Headlines, an innovative way of subscribing to and presenting news feeds in a visual and user friendly manner. It's fair to say that I encountered a number of limitations along the way, but at least some of these can be fixed in a future version and my review is, overall, optimistic.
Qt is the open source application framework that Nokia has been promoting for over a year. While more and more Symbian applications are being built in Qt (pronounced "cute"), you may or may not realise quite how many you're actually using. Indeed, some are more apparent than others. However, thanks to a list compiled by Rita El Khoury over at Fonearena, you can find out how many high-profile applications are actually made in the Qt framework. Read on for more details.
Is it a marketing tie in for the School Holidays in the UK? Is it the third title in a long line of addiction? Is it a pretty smart game in its own right? Angry Birds Rio is all that and more. Now available in the Ovi Store, Rovio’s latest release promises a continuation of the adventures of the feathered fury, as well as showing 21st century marketeers an interesting angle in promoting a motion picture.
Updated for the 2011 Season, the official F1 timing application is one of those must-have applications for a niche group – the smartphone users who are also Formula 1 fans. Last year’s review (here) covers all the relevant ground, but with Symbian^3 handsets now available, can you still keep up to date with the hectic pace, fastest sectors and lap times during a race weekend?
