In the second part of this music-focussed look at the latest Walkman smartphone, the Sony Ericsson W960, Ewan's been picking apart the new Media Manager suite that's bundled on CD with the device. Is it polished enough for real world use? Ewan's not entirely convinced...
Will the Micro version of this Proporta travel charger kit be as big a hit as the original? Is it just as 'drop dead useful' and will it also win awards? And will you get mermerised by those curvy LEDs? Find out in my exclusive review of the Mobile Survival Kit Micro.
Here's the first part of Rafe's definitive review of the Nokia N82 , looking at the form factor, the connectivity and (of course) the camera. Loads of close-up and sample photos and masses of considered opinions. Watch this space for part 2, coming shortly!
A new firmware update for the Nokia N82 is now available (from 10.0.046 to 11.0.117). The update appears to be relatively minor with a number of bug fixes and stability improvements. However it is notable for being the first Nseries firmware updates that supports User Data Preservation (UDP).
No, don't get too excited, this isn't an official device. And we don't normally go overboard on fan-made concept devices. But Nikolay Andreev has gone to significant lengths to mock-up and explain his ideas for a Nokia nWAVE smartphone , taking design cues from Nokia's 7710 and Apple's iPhone, allied with N95-level hardware spec. Well worth a watch and comments welcome.
Symbian today announced that at the end of November 2007 cumulative Symbian OS phone shipments reached 30 million. It took 10 months to go from 10 million to 20 million phones, but has only taken a further 8 months to reach 30 million. Japan is a mature market so this growth is likely on the back on increased market share (50% to 65% year on year as of June 2007).
More from me on the UIQ 3 front in Smartphones Show 51, with my video review of the Sony Ericsson W960i, plus (non-Symbian) iPhone tips from fellow AAS-er Matt Radford. View the Smartphones Show via YouTube here, or grab the MP4, or subscribe via RSS or iTunes.
The first firmware update for the N82 is going to have a subtle change we've been looking for; the preservation of User Data (writes Kevin at the S60 blog). The plan is that when you do upgrade the firmware, your applications and settings will remain intact . Three caveats; 1) you should still back up your data first; 2) It's only for the N82; 3) you'll need to wait a bit longer for the first N82 firmware upgrade to arrive.
Steve's been thinking about battery life and discusses how long your smartphone really needs to last to be useful. As long as you can get through a working day, any excess battery life is a bonus. All your phone needs to do is "cross that battery threshold"...
In AAS Insight # 8 (AAS podcast 56) Rafe, Steve and Ewan discuss some of the news out of CES: the announcement of the Motorola Z10 and Nokia N95 8GB North American version. There's also information on the recent firmware update for the N95 8GB and the importance of runtime technologies for the Symbian platform.
