As I write this, Jason Hawkes, one of "the world’s most respected aerial photographers", is flying round some of the UK's most stunning (large) locations on a 5 day 'shoot', attempting to capture some innovative aerial photos using just the Nokia N8, to show what can be achieved with "the phone that's always with you". Well, yes, if you also have a helicopter chartered, in this case! Embedded below is an intro video to the project, plus some quotes from the press release. We'll have more from the 'HD Horizons' project in a week or so's time, complete with some of the photos captured on Jason's N8.
Every year Ewan disappears to South by South West (SXSW) in Texas with his podcaster's hat on - and every year we give him something interesting to road test. This year, the kilted road warrior is taking his turn with the Nokia E7 Communicator and in this first video in the series (embedded below), he looks at typing, music and video playback. All delivered in inimitable Ewan style. Fans of Emu will be disappointed to learn that his feathered friend's passport had expired and so doesn't join him in the videos.
Nokia UK has just launched a photo competition for UK residents based around its N8 smartphone, with the theme of 'Life through your Nokia N8' and with the grand prize a 'huge' version of your winning photo on a billboard near your home. Plus - ahem - £1000 to spend, so not too shabby. Details are listed at Nokia UK's Facebook page and photos (as many as you like) can be sent in by email.
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.
I'm with Devin (at The Nokia Guide) all the way when he lists his '13 Reasons Why I Love The N8', giving an overwhelming vote of confidence in the N8's build, specification and functionality, based on his usage of the device over the last few months. Worth a read, even if you're already an N8 fan.
Those interested in buying the Nokia E7, wanting to see more of the device before spending their money, should head over to my blog. Following on from writing part 4 and part 5 of our extensive E7 review, I held an impromptu photo shoot of the E7, along with some other devices. There are twenty seven photos, showing the E7 from all angles. Read on for a preview.
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.
Read on For Four Fabulous Friday links of interest, for perusal over your morning coffee or orange juice. Firstly, over at the somewhat prolific Ovi Daily App blog, you may have noticed a few AAS writers guesting in recent months? It's my turn now with my comprehensive review of Sparkle. You'll recognise it - shooting coloured balls from a cannon - but don't switch off, as it's also one of the best implemented games I've ever played. Yes, EVER.
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.
Well done to James Burland for not only coordinating the rise and rise of the various Nokia Creative photo awards but also arranging prize sponsorship, starting from this month's Nokia N8 Photo Awards, with a new Nokia N8 for a friend and a large framed print of your winning photo, should you be picked out by James. The N8-shot photos submitted are stunning, really, one is shown below - and that one didn't even win.... Why not get involved?
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.
Symbian^3 users should keep an eye on their Software Update application over the next few days as we have just become aware of an update for the Quick Search application and widget. The update is said to improve the user experience of the Quick Search widget, and other updates for 'organising conversations and sending images'. So far, among the review units we have at All About Symbian, the update has appeared on our C7-00 and C6-01.
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.
