It's worth noting that, though we haven't linked to it for ages, the Carnival of the Mobilists is still going strong, here's Carnival 228 over at MSearchGroove, featuring one of our own posts from last week. Always worth keeping track of for some generic mobile reading. Follow future Carnival posts and news on Twitter @COTMobilists
No, not a video editor, as the name might suggest, but rather an experimental way of jumping around your video collection. Working on any S60 5th Edition phone but so far only tested on the N97 and 5800, Nokia Video Cuts is available for trial and feedback now. I've included screenshots, links and an intro video below. If you like or dislike the app then please feedback to Nokia Beta Labs using the links they provide.
Skyfire, the proxy-based web browser which can handle Flash video, is reportedly tightening its belt, closing down its support, availability and operations in most countries from Thursday (1st July), according to Mobile Royale. A shutdown notice, curiously worded to only apply to Windows Mobile and Symbian users, is presented when attempting to use the browser [updated] anywhere other than the USA, the UK or Canada. [further update] There has now been an official Skyfire blog article on this, albeit with some mixed messages.
PhoneTorch has been one of the most popular utilities for S60 5th Edition for the last year - and users like myself have been pleading with the author Harald Meyer to say the magic words and sacrifice the necessary goats to the masters of Symbian Signed in order to get it working for S60 3rd Edition FP2 too. And it's finally here, using the dual LED flash lights to revolutionise your walk home from the pub or find your way around the house in the dark without waking everyone else by turning on the main lights. Links and more below.
Nokia has quietly updated its Ovi Suite desktop connectivity suite, from v2.1 to v2.2(.0.241), adding simplified navigation, Office 2010 support, awareness for newer devices and a new 'full-screen' photo and video viewer. You'll be prompted when you next start Ovi Suite - or you can 'Check for updates' manually. It's a 69MB download.
Nokia Conversations have announced their results from the poll they opened last week, asking how users back up their phones. While Nokia Conversations did not publish a full set of results, it appears that around 55% of those who responded are not using the cloud, but instead using Nokia's desktop software. This 55% of desktop users is made up by the first and second places in the poll. Ovi Suite came in first with 36% and 19% answered 'Nokia PC Desktop'. It's good to see that more desktop users are using the more up to date Ovi Suite than the older desktop software.
Sports Tracking Technologies, the company behind Sports Tracker, has opened an online shop where you can buy a 'Polar WearLink transmitter with Bluetooth' (a heart rate monitor) for €69.99. If you're serious about tracking your exercise regime it is the must have accessory for Sports Tracker. The Sports Tracker application lets you track exercise activities and turns your Nokia smartphone into a GPS sports computer is available for S60 3rd Edition and S60 5th Edition devices (compatible with more than 100 million Nokia phones).
As you'll have been aware, HyperX and his team have been pumping out various Samsung i8910 HD 'alternative' firmware updates for many months now. 'HX6-Speed', released today in 'Public beta' form, effectively gives you the fastest Symbian touchscreen experience available - at least until the Nokia N8 arrives to challenge. There's a feature summary below, plus links and other comments.
Remember my review of Exclusion and the closing line of "I'm not yet convinced that collecting swirls to reveal a hidden picture adds anything to the game..." Turns out that this is only part of the bigger picture, as the Nokia Ovi Blog now reveal Exclusion is a gateway drug game into the Conspiracy for Good project. Developed by Nokia and Tim Kring, the writer of US TV series “Heroes”, it’s going to mix Alternative Reality Gaming (ARG) music, storytelling and other elements to “effect social change.”
Following on from previous discussions of the dropping of “unlimited” data in smartphone contracts, CEO of UK network O2 Ronan Dunne blogs about the changes and why he believes they are fair and transparent. In any unmetered system, there will be heavy users consuming the most resource – it’s the nature of the arithmetic – but is this a long term plan, a quick fix, or a grab for more income?
Fujitsu, the second biggest manufacturer of Symbian based phones, and Toshiba have signed a memorandum of understanding to merge their respective phones businesses. Toshiba will transfer its mobile phone business into a new company and Fujitsu will acquire a majority of shares in the new company (suggesting Fujitsu is the dominant partner in this deal). The companies hope to take the number one spot in the domestic Japanese market, but will also be developing handsets for the world market.
Zahir Mahmood is, I suspect, a big Phones Show fan, partly because he links to my video podcast, but also not least because he's come up with his own take on the idea of postulating a number of smartphone use cases and then delivering a winner (or, in his case, a winner, a mid-level alternative and a budget suggestion) for each. His use cases are 'Photography and media capture', 'Entertainment and games', 'Office and work' and 'Internet world'. So familiar territory for me then, but his choices are both interesting and very Symbian-relevant.
With a greater focus on video in upcoming smartphones, and editing on the device coming into the public consciousness, there’s going to be a lot of amateur footage around that could be improved. So let’s see what the BBC’s Multimedia trainer, Rama Sharma suggests, as she shares her advice on shooting video on pocket sized devices.
Multiple IM client application Nimbuzz has been updated to v2.4. This client now has closer ties with your smartphone’s address book, adds kinetic scrolling throughout the interface for touch enabled devices, has finer options to control Twitter update, and the ability to limit usage while roaming. More below.
Nokia Conversations are running a poll to find out how users backup the data on their phones. Of course, some of the options are for Nokia's own services, although it's good to see plenty of scope in the options for third party solutions. Now could be a good time to cast your vote if you've had a bad experience with the likes of Ovi Sync. More below, including some constructive criticism for the pollsters!
