Not content with making Opera Mini 3, the hands-down best way to browse real world sites on a slow GPRS connection, the folks at Opera want beta testers for their newest project, a complete rewrite of Opera Mini to make it faster and richer, code-named Dimension. You can sign up here.
emoze, the popular and free push email and Calendar service for S60 and UIQ smartphones, has been given a major update to v1.4, with much increased efficiency top of the list of improvements, meaning a smaller hit on battery life. Here's the press release and here's the download page.
In response to criticism in PC Pro magazine(!) and lots of (well, ok, two) emails, I've added Windows Mobile smartphones back into my Grid of smartphone solutions. Now you can compare the best from the Symbian OS world and its main competitor. As ever, plug in your preferences and watch the magic 8-ball Javascript decide!
...In which I review the Proporta Wireless FM Stereo Transmitter, to let you play your smartphone's music tracks over your car radio. It's built down to a price and isn't unique in the gadget world, but it's small, stylish, works quite well and is unbeatable value.
Ah, those endearingly crazy Russians, eschewing good English and web page design in favour of sheer, unadulterated detail. Mobile Review has produced a long and exhaustive look at the new MOTORiZR Z8 smartphone, running a version of UIQ 3 on Symbian OS.
"So here I am in Monaco, and reading the tea leaves..." Ewan muses below on the 'next big thing' for the mobile industry. On the one hand, messaging stalwarts are already doing it and without the networks help. On the other, new users face a confusion on all sides due to the many types of IM. Read on...
Symbian has announced their 2007 Smartphone Show, at the usual ExceL centre, on Oct 16/17th, along with a new web site for the event. All About Symbian will be there in force, of course, with an extra gathering, details to be announced.
DreamConnect 3 is an alternative contact manager for UIQ 3 smartphones. The developer just announced v3.02, with improved speed and a number of bug fixes. Review coming shortly from me. The press release is below.
Projekt, already available for every other Symbian-based interface, has finally hit S60 3rd Edition, with a full spread of compatibility. One of the most mature third party applications in the Symbian OS world, Projekt is an outliner at heart, but with links, notes, import and export options, it can be used to manage projects too.
Asri al-Baker examines the 'Today'/Home screen in a succession of devices, from the Sendo X to the MOTORiZR Z8 (developed by much of the ex-Sendo team), asking why Sony Ericsson messed up so badly with the P990 Home screen. Asri also doesn't sound that convinced with the P1i Home screen (although of course it's still early days for this).
Apologies to those of you who read my recent review of the BH-501 Bluetooth stereo headphones, I made a large error. It turns out that they CAN automatically connect to a paired phone, but (unlike some Bluetooth headphones) you have to press their main button a second time after using it to switch them on. For more details, and an improved score, see the updated BH-501 review.
It seems that smartphone maker Sony Ericsson has joined the hundreds of other companies already in the WiMAX forum. Looks like this high speed data technology could finally take off in the next few years. And it certainly beats wandering cities in search of temporary Wi-Fi hotspots 8-) (Via IM)
Two previews of the Sony Ericsson P1 based on the prototypes have appeared on the internet, on my-symbian.com and on mobile-review.com. Bear in mind the production model P1 which actually gets to the shops may be significantly different to the prototype. The estimated release date is August 2007.
...In which I review the Proporta Wireless FM Stereo Transmitter, to let you play your smartphone's music tracks over your car radio. It's built down to a price and isn't unique in the gadget world, but it's small, stylish, works quite well and is unbeatable value.