Recent News Headlines - Hardware
The Nokia E63 hits v200
Just a short note to say that, as expected, the E71's cheaper sister, the E63, has also gotten itself a firmware update, this time to v200 firmware update (via Nokia Software Updater), adding in Ovi Contacts. Screens and comment over at The Symbian Blog.
Nokia E71 and E66 v300.21.012 firmware update now available
An updated firmware, version 300.21.012, is now available for both the Nokia E71 and E66 (previous version was 210.xx.xxx). This is a major firmware update for the Nokia E71 and E66, it includes updates to Mail for Exchange software and email wizard, adds Internet Radio and social networking bookmark widgets, and improves overall performance. The new firmware can be downloaded and installed via Nokia Software Updater.
A tale of three smartphones: Rescuing a dead battery
Faced with a dead Nokia N86 that refused to charge, I didn't panic - armed with the luxury of some of other devices to hand, I was able to get the N86 and its battery revived and working properly. And, in the process, learned that all Nokia's batteries are electrically interchangeable. Maybe these concept will save the day when your precious S60 phone appears to have died? At the very least, add this to your 'Things to try' check list!
The Nokia E51 hits v400
Nokia has also released v400.34.011 firmware for the diminutive E51, bringing "improvements and increased stability in Mail for Exchange and SMS reception". It also "improves stability and usability for VoIP and WLAN" and "robustness improvements when pressing the Home key". 'Stability improvements' and 'Robustness improvements' are of course Nokia speak for fixing bugs(!), but we're not complaining. Do note that the E51 is old enough not to have User Data Preservation, so do a full backup to memory card before using Nokia Software Update and then restore again afterwards. And make a note of any critical email or application settings - you know the drill.
The Phones Show 84 with Symbian interview and N86 review
The Phones Show 84 is now public (embedded below too), with a reprise commentary on the Nokia E75, a hands-on review of the Nokia N86 8MP and a interview with the Symbian Foundation's Executive Director Lee Williams, asking him some of your questions, on the subjects of robot duck overlords, LTE, touchscreens, open source OS and, of course, which phone does he personally use(!)
The Nokia N96 also gets a big bump - to v30.033 firmware
Not as sexy as the N97's update, no doubt, but the Nokia N96 has always underperformed and I'm hoping that v30.033 firmware, also released today, will help the beleaguered flagship-of-2008 come up to par. v30 is a 6MB over-the-air update and installed smoothly on my N96. The previous firmware version was v20, by the way. Some brief comments below.
The Nokia N97 firmware v11 goes live
For many people anyway, e.g. here at N97 enthusiast Gerry Moth's. See also his Twitter feed for his comments through the day. Rafe and Tzer2 both have N97s here at AAS and I'll try to get some comments out of them through the day!
AAS Insight 77 - Truphone, Intel, HTC Hero, Developers
In All About Symbian Insight 77 (AAS Podcast 137), there is news of Truphone's extended support for Nokia and the 5800 continues its best selling streak. Rafe talks about Nokia and Intel's strategic tie up and reports back from the launch of the HTC Hero. Ewan shares news of AdSense for applications, which leads to a general monetisation discussion. You can listen to AAS Insight 77 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Nokia N86 8MP Review - Part 2 - The Camera/Camcorder
Rafe and I present part 2 of our extended review of the new Nokia N86 8MP, in which I look in detail at the improvements made in the camera hardware, directly affecting still photo and video capture in a wide range of lighting conditions, and with special reference to the output of the N95, of which the N86 is something of a spiritual successor. See also our Nokia N86 8MP Review - Part 1 - Overview
In search of the QWERTY king
After being struck by an informed comment by Symbian's Executive Director, Lee Williams, that the touchscreen market would top out at about 30%, i.e. that at least 70% of phones will continue to be keypad or qwerty-driven, I wanted to get to the bottom of which smartphone keyboard, in the Symbian world, at least, was the best, in terms of size, feel, capability and efficiency. Oh, and I wasn't allowed to include any obsolete models... [Ouch.]
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