Nokia are not confirming the numbers of Comes with Music users, but in the UK at least, analysts Music Ally has come up with a number for active users... 23,000 people. It should be noted that this only represents sales of a specially branded new Series 40 handset (plus the ageing N95 8GB) in the Carphone Warehouse, but with a huge marketing campaign those numbers (which are backed up by the music labels, so it must be in the ballpark) must be seen as a disappointment. Read on for my thoughts.
In a move that will surprise absolutely nobody, Nokia's Java-based proto-widget system Widsets is to be closed and the widgets rolled into more generalised form as part of Ovi Store (for both S60 and Series 40 phones). June 1st is given as the Widsets closure date. This move follows similar announcements about Nokia's MOSH file sharing service and (implied) the Download! client on every device.
Nice find by Mike Macias here - FreeTimeBox is a Symbian Signed utility that adds the current time to the E71's menu bar, E71x-style. You can also apparently blacklist certain apps where you don't want the time to appear at this location on the screen, thankfully.
Time for me to turn the clock back to 1981 and get down and sweaty with a pinball table. Except that this time it's virtual and on my S60 smartphone. MicroPinball Casino is smooth and authentic, especially on fast devices like the Nokia N95, with both vertical and side-scrolling that's intuitively handled. With challenging gameplay, MicroPinball is ultimately limited only by the fact that it's a single table.
A couple of quick links to desk clock utilities that have cropped up in the last few days: DesignClock offers, time, a background, a calendar and message counts, and works on both S60 3rd Edition and 5th. While Desk Flicker Clock is exactly as it sounds, running on S60 5th Edition only.
Nokia's Ovi team are looking for independent voices to give them direct feedback about what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong with Ovi. With research centres in New York, London and Helsinki, anyone in the USA, UK or Finland can apply to be considered. If picked, Nokia will pay travel to the centre within your country and $100 on top.
You've heard from Rafe, Ewan and myself on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, the first S60 5th Edition smartphone. But, it now being April 2009, it's time for the fourth AAS team member to weigh in. Tzer2 reports back with terrifically detailed thoughts on this device after a solid three months of use, day in and day out. How did the 5800 stand up to such intense real world pressure? Surprisingly well, it seems that the only role the 5800 disappointed in was that of camera phone.
Apologies to those who already know this, but it was news to me and perhaps to other people too: if you run an internet radio station you can add it to Nokia's online directory of stations for free by visiting this link. The directory is used by Nokia's Internet Radio application currently available on Symbian S60 3rd Edition phones and Maemo internet tablets, and allows people to browse and listen to listed stations on their devices through wi-fi or the phone network. The directory accepts both internet-only stations and internet streams of conventional broadcast radio stations.
DChoc Cafe Hold Em Poker is now available in the N-Gage application's showroom section. Just go to the N-Gage application on your device, go to the Showroom tab, select "Options" and then "Update Now" to see it in the latest games list (alternatively you can select "Show All Games"). To find out more about the N-Gage platform including a list of compatible phones, try reading the All About N-Gage FAQ.
Following our observation that the 'price/payment' fields in Download! on all devices had been upgraded and made more sensible, it seems that the main 'Applications' folder in Download! (i.e. the bit that doesn't involve paying Jamster) has now acquired sub-folders, to whit: 'Business', 'Entertainment', 'Social networks', 'Reference', 'Utilities' and 'Widgets'. All interesting stuff, but that Ovi client can't come soon enough for us, with as wide a compatibility as possible. No new apps at this point, but to see the changes, just go into Download! - Applications on your phone.
How important is the OS in your smartphone? This has always been a strong discussion topic, as David Wood points out on the Symbian Foundation blog, but it's not the only issue around Operating Systems. Should we not be asking how important the perception of your OS is, to help drive the market? If that's the case, then Symbian OS and the Symbian Foundation need to make some hard business decisions in the next year to ensure the public know who they are. Read on for my analysis and suggestions.
The Nokia Beta Labs blog recently announced Nokia's latest beta offering - 'Here and now'. This is a context-aware (location) shortcut to services. Currently 'Here and now' provides local weather and events listings. It currently works only with S60 3.2 devices (N79, N85, 6220c etc.), and is currently still in development, but will be pre-installed on a number of upcoming Nokia devices. Beta Labs is asking for your feedback to help shape the future direction of the application. See below for screens and thoughts.
Thanks to CJ for reminding me that there's an official Nokia messaging YouTube channel, worth subscribing to. New on this channel is a four minute guide to the keypad shortcuts for Nokia Messaging, and it's also embedded in HQ form below.
Ewan returns to a familiar theme (for long time AASers) in the second part of his video diary with the qwerty-side-sliding Nokia E75, pointing out the apparent complexity of S60's application menu for new users. He's also found inconsistencies in this area that are new to the E75. Some of his concerns are addressed in S60 5th Edition, of course, but that's not going to help those who buy the E75. Video below.
