Just to note that Smartphones Show 30 is now live, with a hands-on preview of the Nokia N77 (thanks Rafe), interview snippets with a couple of Forum Oxford speakers (more from these in AAS video podcasts next week), a demo of the Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger and a rant on the subject of touchscreens on smartphones.
Jackpot Casino is fully featured casino game, ported from other handheld platforms and now available for UIQ 3 smartphones. Ewan's been reviewing it, here. Summary: well implemented and good use of the touchscreen, though perhaps winning against the 'house' is just a little too easy...
In case you haven't subscribed to the RSS feed yet, make sure you don't miss this one. I was at Forum Oxford's Future Technologies conference last week, where David Wood from Symbian (architect of Psion's EPOC and much of Symbian OS) was speaking on 'Browsers and Beyond'. Here's his talk, in AAS audio podcast 20, even more appropiate in the light of S60's Widgets announcement, of course. See also Tomi's blog post here and Russell's here, for more description of what went on at the conference, and see Smartphones Show 30 (out later this week) for video interviews and footage from the event.
A major new firmware for the Sony Ericsson P990i was released at the start of this week. Organizer version R5A17, with a faster interface, fewer bugs and better RAM use, should be offered when you connect your P990i to Sony Ericsson's Update Service. Any problems or questions, see the forum.
Here's your chance to win your very own W950i. We're just looking for a little feedback and an entertaining and creative comment - if you'd like to win this UIQ 3 Walkman phone, see the competition page.
In How To Build Your Own Web Home Page Ewan describes how you can create a custom start page for your phone's web browser. Intended for novices this feature explains the basics of page construction and how to get the page set up on your phone.
The MOTORIZR Z8, Motorola's recently announced UIQ powered multimedia smartphone, will be climbing Everest in the company of Mark Baber as part of a Motorola sponsored expedition to make a phone call from the top of the worlds tallest mountain. The Z8 will be available in shops towards the end of May.
Google has rolled out a new version of its mobile optimized search site, including a simpler interface, new result page layouts, location awareness, quick links to build a mobile customized homepage and easy access to Gmail mobile. In your smartphone's web browser, type google.com/m
Ewan's been in the USA, as you may have gathered, but he's been keeping up with stories from around the world on his Nokia N91. Here he reviews NewsCopier, a Java applet for any smartphone, presenting you with RSS-fed news simply and effectively.
The BBC has announced plan to begin a 12 month trial to syndicate its TV channels over 3G mobile phone networks in the UK with operators 3, Orange and Vodafone. A number of radio channels will also be available. Separately the BBC has also announced an enhanced version of the BBC Mobile site.
AAS friends and accessory specialists Proporta have asked for help with a poll that they're running. Check out their voting page, essentially to tell them which of the two case styles you prefer (in general) - don't be put off by the specific device shown in the pictures, by the way. There's a good travel pack up for grabs for 5 lucky voters.
You probably didn't make CTIA 2007 and the Symbian-sponsored Smartphone Summit, but don't worry - Symbian CEO Nigel Clifford's keynote and various interviews are all online for viewing at your convenience. Video quality isn't perfect, but still well worth a look.
An increasing number of basic but widely-used applications, including email clients, word processors and calendars are becoming available as web-based applications. In the future, Krisse asks will a smartphone need any on-board apps except the browser?
