Nokia has placed a number of full page ads in UK newspapers (see photo, below, in full story) promoting the Ovi Store on what the ad says is 'a big day for news' (it is election day here in the UK). The AP News, Evening Standard and Reuters apps are mentioned by name. The advert is notable because it is one of the few Nokia print ads I've seen dedicated solely to the Ovi Store.
Probably a minor bug-fix update (unless eagle-eyed readers can spot something I haven't), but note that Google Maps for Symbian just got an small bump from v4.1.0 to v4.1.1. As usual, grab it from m.google.com. Google Maps for Android also got a 4.1.1 update a couple of weeks ago, and this was given a big boost by a server-side switch-on of real time route instructions and voice navigation. Here's hoping we're just a few days away from the same being true of Symbian/S60?
Nokia Beta Labs have released a new version of the Ovi Calendar. Ovi Calendar is the online calendar service provided through Ovi.com; users can sync their phone to the calendar and vice versa using Ovi Sync. Calendar 1.6 features support for multiple calendars, and the sharing of these with other Ovi users.
When Nokia decided to make Ovi Maps free, including the navigation and route planning, there was a lot of discussion about what this would mean for companies like Tom Tom, who make dedicated GPS units. Well now TomTom’s chief, Harold Goodijn, has announced their intention to have an “App Store” on the units, to go along with the new Operating System software powering the device.
Always of interest are the quarterly stats summaries from the market analysts. The first figures are in, with Nokia and Apple making gains at the expense of 'others' in the smartphone world, and with Nokia losing out slightly in the battle for generic 'phones'. More info below.
Ovi Music Unlimited, which is branded as Comes with Music in some markets, has launched in India. The service, which can only be purchased with a new device, allows unlimited music downloads from the Ovi Music Store for 12 months. Music is DRM protected, but users are able to keep the music after their subscription period has ended. The service has been customised for India with a smaller Ovi Player (desktop client), local content from more than 150 labels and the ability to download music using different PCs.
While outside the Symbian world, the news that the returning warhorse of Palm has been bought by HP could be good news for the industry as a whole. The merger values Palm at $5.70 per share, which works out to be around $1.2 billion. There’s been a huge amount of chatter online as to a suitor for Palm, with HTC, Lenovo or even Research in Motion, but the HP name is a bit out of left field. But there does seem to be some sense in this move.
Nokia have released sample images and a video captured on the Nokia N8. They demonstrate multimedia capture capabilities, which are on the cutting edge. They offer the illustrative evidence to accompany Steve's features on the N8's camera heritage and the story behind the N8's camera, which give you all the details you need on the technology, ancestry and design decisions behind the N8's 12 megapixel camera.
As part of their launch communications Nokia have uploaded a series of videos to YouTube showing off some of the key elements on the Nokia N8. Plus there's a video showcasing the N8's design with the help of a hands freestyler and another telling you about Nokia's 'Make My App' competition, through which you could win your own N8 and a trip to London. We have rounded up all these videos up into a single post - read on to see the videos and additional details.
The Bluetooth SIG has announced that the 'much anticipated' v4.0 update to the Bluetooth protocol (incorporating the Bluetooth low energy technology pioneered by Nokia in Wibree) will be finalized and sent to manufacturers by the end of June. Bluetooth 4.0 could theoretically be powered for years by a coin-celled battery, has faster transfer rates, and has an increased range that can extend up to 200 feet and beyond (at higher power, obviously). Bluetooth v4.0-enabled devices should come on sale around the end of 2010.
It is Steve's turn for a guest editorial slot on Nokia Conversations. In 'What makes a good cameraphone?' he considers what's needed to take great photos in all conditions. The editorial is part of the blog's Design by Community season, which aims to create a concept product via community input. This weeks focus is on the specifications of the camera and related components.
Offscreen Technologies, who have released a wide portfolio of games, applications and eBooks on Ovi Store, have announced that their content has been downloaded more than 25 million times. Offscreen has focussed on providing content for Nokia's touchscreen devices, including the Nokia 5800, N97, X6 and N900. They currently have around 100 titles in the Ovi Store; some of the applications, including Level Touch, Bright Light Touch and Labyrinth Lite Touch have been downloaded more than a million times each. More below.
If you're in the 'why can't Nokia do a camera phone with 18 megapixels and 10x optical zoom?' camp then Nokia imaging supremo Damian Dinning (the guy behind the N73, N82 and N86) waxes lyrical here on the impracticalities of fitting such optics, sensor and supporting elements into a phone form factor. These things, as you'll see, are always a lot more complicated than meets the eye!
The Nokia Conversations blog has just released a poll asking users about the features they use least in their phones. In addition to the Design by Community project, which is looking for which features users want in their phones, Nokia Conversations want to know which features people are using the least on their smart phones. Options for the poll are shown below, and votes should be made here.
On Friday Sony Ericcsson announced its Q1 2010 results, which saw the company reports its first profitable quarter since Q2 2008. While sales fell 19%, to €1.4 billion, the average selling price increased to €134 (from €120 a year ago). Bert Nordberg, President of Sony Ericsson, highlighted the positive impact of the company's cost cutting program and the launches of the Symbian powered Vivaz and Android powered Xperia X10.
