Canalys have chipped in with their version of the worldwide Q1 2010 figures for phones and smartphones. Most numbers are similar to the IDC/Gartner ones (e.g. Nokia 38.8% world smartphone marketshare, RIM 19.2%, Apple 15.9%), but there are extra numbers brought out, such as breaking down the different interfaces and form factors. See below.
You'll have been followingmy adventures keeping the Samsung i8910 HD on the crest of an unofficial hardware wave by installing each of the 'HX' firmwares? Just over a week ago saw the release of what is by far the most adventurous HX release yet. I try to summarise (and comment on) the changelog below, for any other owners of what (for the next couple of months, at least) is still the most powerful Symbian phone in the world bar none.
At every turn in the mobile world, you see online services being launched, and applications that tie into existing services. Examine the top ten things that a typical iPhone or Android phone owner does and I'd bet that over half (if not 7 or 8) involved Internet access. The number's arguably lower in the Symbian world (more built-in/local functionality), but the trend is clear - software and service designers are assuming that mobile Internet access is a given. But what happens when the (signal) bars run out?
HipLogic has been a name that has floated around S60 circles for the last year or so. Ostensibly a Web-aware homescreen replacement, it turns out to be something more ambitious, albeit with a few minor caveats. I set out last week to intercept HipLogic's 'Chief Action Figure', Mark Anderson, and quiz him on the vision behind, and the implementation of, HipLogic on Symbian. Read on for more.
This morning's announcement of the Nokia N8 marks, for me, the end point of a five year journey that Nokia has taken us on in the smartphone world. Yes, other manufacturers pop up in this field every now and then, but Nokia's path has been more consistent. Read on for more, including my thoughts on how the N8 finally replaces every previous smartphone camera champion. Xenon flash, stereo audio capture, intelligent digital zoom and more...
Now online is the second of my beginner's guides to smartphones - Getting started with the Nokia 5530. Again, it's not aimed at hard core AAS readers. This is one to point new 5530 owner/friends to. Also updated is 'Getting started with the Nokia 5230', following your comments and feedback. I hope this growing series will prove useful to newbies throughout 2010.
In All About Symbian Insight 114 Ewan, Steve and Rafe share their thoughts on Nokia's announcement of the Nokia C6 and Nokia E6. We also shares news of Sony Ericsson's Q1 2010 results, the renewal of Sports Tracker, firmware updates for various phones and Numo Solution's Ovi Store success. You can listen to AAS Insight 114 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
There's a wonderful article up on CrunchGear at the moment by Devin Coldewey, entitled the The User’s Manifesto: in defense of hacking, modding, and jailbreaking, in which the author presents a very intelligent and well-reasoned analysis of the scene, pointing out all the legal pros and cons from every angle. True, the article is USA-centric and doesn't mention Symbian, but all the same points apply equally to the modding scene on our devices in the rest of the world (e.g. my own i8910 HD HX adventures). Worth a read.
As if any more proof was needed of Symbian OS's multitasking prowess (following the 62 apps on the i8910 HD last week), Jay spotted this YouTube video, embedded below, showing 66 full apps running at the same time on an unmodified Nokia N82. It was going to be 65, but there was still 11MB of RAM left and the videographer spotted an app that he had installed which wasn't running yet 8-) If a few more apps had been physically installed, surely we could have been up to 70 or more? And, impressively, the interface still seemed to be running smoothly. So.... any advance on 66?
Tim Salmon and I (in Phones Show Chat) often remark that if the perfect smartphone came along then we'd have nothing to debate and nothing to write about - but the current situation in terms of what I've tried and rejected is starting to get ridiculous. Am I too fussy in wanting something that's remotely close to perfect? Having seen, tried and rejected 101 smartphones, what the heck do I recommend to others?
