Today the Symbian Foundation announced that it has completed the move to open source. The platform, which runs on more than 330 million devices and has been developed over the last 10 years is now freely available to all under the EPL (Eclipse Public License). The process, which was delivered four months ahead of schedule, is the largest transition from proprietary code to open source in software history.
The completion of the open source transition marks a critical milestone for Symbian as it seeks to build the enablers for the future of mobile, based on openness and innovation. Read on to view our video interview with Lee Williams and for further information.
With Mobile World Congress just 10 days away, it's time to share some of our plans with you. This year All About Symbian (AAS) is teaming up with Mobile Industry Review (MIR) to bring you in-depth video coverage direct from Barcelona. We're combining our resources to bring you in-depth content that we hope will inform, educate and entertain. In addition, you can expect our usual flow of live updates and editorial from all the All About Symbian team.
Are you in Kuala Lumpur in early February? Or are you planning to be there? Asri al-Baker is organising the first KLSS (Kuala Lumpur Symbian Stammtisch) and would like to call all Symbian enthusiasts in Kuala Lumpur and the nearby places to attend. Full details below. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Stammtisch is apparently German for 'regular get together' or 'pub meet', and is a term you'll start to see quite a bit in the Symbian Foundation's activities.
In All About Symbian Insight 102 (AAS Podcast 166), the team start with news of Sony Ericsson's Vivaz and its continuous focus HD video capture capabilities. We move on to an in-depth discussion of Nokia's Ovi Maps announcement last week. The final item in this weeks podcast is a quick mention for the new beta version of Ovi Suite. You can listen to AAS Insight 102 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Ewan takes a sideways look at the addition of Lifecasting to Ovi Maps this morning - what implications are there for bringing this social element into a mapping and navigation product? And what challenges remain in this area for Nokia? How will this release change the world? Read on in his Lifecasting editorial.
Nokia today announced that it is releasing a new version of Ovi Maps with free walk (pedestrian) and driving (car) turn-by-turn, voice guided navigation functionality. Ovi Maps has global coverage, with 74 countries covered by its navigation services. Maps for all regions will be available, for free, for loading over the air or pre-loading via a desktop computer. Traffic information and city guides, from Lonely Planet and Michelin, will also be made available at no extra cost. There's an initial set of devices, in terms of availability, with more compatible devices to follow. See below.
This is an industry-shifting move; Nokia is essentially changing the economics of the consumer GPS navigation market overnight. It will give its phones a significant differentiator on shop shelves and has long term strategic implications for the future of location services. Read on for further details and analysis.
Yes, yes, there should probably be no such word as 'webinar' - but Quickoffice is using it anyway, to describe a new series of free video, online seminars centred around their office suite for Symbian/S60. If you have questions about an aspect of Quickoffice, or simply fancy learning a few new tricks, then check out the series. The first one is on January 20th at 8pm GMT (2pm CST) for half an hour. Each webinar will also apparently be recorded and an edited version made available for download later.
At CES, the huge Las Vegas event happening this week, Nokia has a big stand and you can see some of the setup behind it in a video, embedded below. In addition to the Climate Mission game (see previous news item), Nokia has announced (but not made available yet) Ovi Maps Racing, another homegrown title, integrating the real world streets around your position (or another destination of your choice) with a virtual racetrack - so, effectively, you can race around your own local roads. I've also embedded the trailer for Ovi Maps Racing below, for your interest.
I asked an eclectic selection of 20 luminaries, bloggers and power users from the Symbian ecosystem: "Which is the Symbian-powered smartphone of the Decade? Which one was most significant, the most memorable, the most game-changing and the most loved?" Here are their answers, for your interest and amusement - and yes, a clear winner emerged...
As part of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in two weeks time, 20 mobile apps have been selected to compete in the Mobile App Showdown. Perennial Symbian favourite Gravity (here's the AAS Review of the Twitter client) is currently running fifth in the public vote, which continues until Friday 8th January.
In All About Symbian Insight 99 (AAS Podcast 163), we discuss recent news including Nokia's presence at MWC, Ewan's Le Web trip and recent Apple legal activity. Then there's discussion of the Nokia Booklet 3G and the future direction of such mobile devices and software platforms. Finally there some special Christmas related content making for a longer-then-usual podcast. You can listen to AAS Insight 99 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
A couple of Phones Show-related links for you: show 98 is now live, with my video review of the Nokia E72 and a walkthrough of Nimbuzz with Twitter on the Nokia N97. And if you're anywhere near Berkshire in the UK on the 6th of January 2010, there's an informal Phones Show pub meet - anyone welcome, though my offer of 'free beer' might need a caveat if too many people want to attend... 8-)
As suspected, (Norman John is reporting that) Nokia is holding its own partner event in Barcelona in February, within walking distance of Mobile World Congress. Open just for the 15th and 16th, Nokia promise that "invited guests can relax on comfy sofas, enjoy delicious food and drinks as they discuss the industry and network with their peers". And, no doubt, a few tasty new Symbian-powered smartphones? We'll see.
Smaato are a name you've probably never heard of - even if you're a developer. Yet, if the latter, it's a name that should be well and truly on your radar - Smaato serve up over 3 billion ads each month, in both mobile applications and in mobile web sites. I found all this out when I interviewed Ragnar Kruse, Smaato's founder and serial entrepreneur, a few days ago in London, just after the Heroes of the Mobile Screen event and not that long after Google bought out Admob, one of Smaato's partners - an aspect I was keen to chat about. The full 20 minute video interview is embedded below - recommending watching for all, but especially for developers.
