You can't help fail to notice the news around the net that the music service Spotify is now available on the iPhone. What you might not (yet) have picked up on is this subscription based mobile service will soon be on S60. Just to keep everyone happy and eager, the team (based in Stockholm and London) have debuted a video of the client.
The newest (err... first) addition to the Symbian Foundation's Goodies page is unfortunately not Tim Brooke-Taylor, but a Twitter powered screensaver. From an initial look at the screensaver, it pulls in any mention of Symbian on Twitter, and pops it into an on-screen comic-like bubble. For once the Symbian Foundation's wacky artwork theme is put to good use!
[updated] Nokia Beta Labs has quietly issued an update to Ovi Maps 3.3 - 'subversion' 54 for S60 5th Edition (only) is now available on the main Ovi Maps page. There's still no opportunity to install to mass memory, and v3.3 is still English-only, but at least some more of the rough edges have been knocked off. 'GPS data lost' no longer sounds every few minutes(!), but at the expense of laggy screen updates - it seems the GPS interruptions are being averaged out behind the scenes. Ultimately, the N97's communications software subsystems simply need a big update. v20 firmware can't come soon enough for me.
Last week, in the developer section, I posted an interview with Christopher David, Head of Developer and Partner Engagement on Sony Ericsson’s plans to re-engage with Symbian developers for the Satio launch. It seems to have been quite timely, as additional information is starting to break cover.
For completeness, following on from the inclusion here of the official Nokia-produced summary of day 1 of their event last week, here (embedded below) is the summary of day 2, edited in similar 'party line' fashion, but interesting nonetheless.
As reported around the web over the weekend, Nokia Messaging for S60 5th Edition has now received full HTML support. As usual, you’ll need to go to email.nokia.com in Web on your phone (a 2MB download). Version 10.1.0.13 will automatically replace your previous installation and will also keep all email accounts and emails. You may remember the issues I've had with Nokia Messaging - at the very least take the usual backups, syncs and precautions before installation.
There's a nice long video from SymbianWorld, recorded at Nokia World 09, looking in detail at the upcoming Nokia N97 v20 firmware update (kinetic scrolling in all lists, more memory and much more), the same as the launch firmware in the N97 mini. The video is embedded below in high quality mode, for your convenience.
You may remember that the Nokia N86 and photographer had a well publicised coming together recently, with the aim of shooting interesting characters and stories through the London night, armed only with a Nokia N86 8MP? Well, although the physical exhibition of these photos has now closed, the full set of 169 'Alive at night' photos are now online, with headlines, quotes and stories for each - interesting for these, and not just to see what the N86 can do. [updated: looks like the general public aren't being allowed access yet. Watch this space!]
Over on Ovi Gaming we've sighted the first video of a hardware-accelerated version of Bounce (on the N900), and reviewed a selection of games from Ovi Store for the 5800 and N95. See below for links.
Just for completeness, note that The Phones Show 89 is now live, with video coverage of the news of the last month, plus critical hands-on reviews of the Nokia E52 and E55. Note also the iTunes subscribe links, here's the right one for the VGA (high res) version.
Tzer2 goes all provocative in a piece on our sister site, OviGaming.com, asking what on earth Nokia are up to with their games strategy. On the one hand, with parts of the ecosystem stalling and people leaving, on the other with new initiatives, URLs and game titles. It does seem a mystery, so get involved with the discussion.
More updates from Nokia (although there seem to be more betas than Google to be honest!) as Ovi Suite 2.0 receives an updated beta. It now includes support for installing applications on your smartphone via .jar or .sisx files on your PC, better use of memory and various tweaks and fixes to the syncing of photos and music.
More betas in from Nokia World, with Communities, billed as a 'Social Messaging' beta. The idea is that this can handle all your friends and updates for all social networks - an über client. This early version is quite limited though and only compatible with Facebook and the N97. I've explored it with screenshots below and there's also an official video to enjoy.
The Progress Project is a new initiative between Nokia and Lonely Planet, dedicated to promoting projects across the world that demonstrate technology making a difference in people's lives. There are a handful of examples up on the rather swish, heavily-video-enabled Flash site at the moment, well worth checking out and bookmarking.
Quietly launching yesterday during Nokia World is the Forum Nokia powered My Daily App, which will be showcasing a new application in the Ovi Store every day. Yes it is a list decided by Nokia, "let's be honest: We're biased. OK, we admit it. We have a point of view, and we're not afraid to use it." but why not shout about the third party support of their devices? And they're so hip it hurts, because they're on Twitter as well (@mydailyapp). Seriously though, great idea, chaps.
