In All About Symbian Insight 111 (AAS Podcast 175), Rafe and Steve talk about the outstanding value provided by the Nokia 5230 (highlighting T-Mobile's recent offer). We also look at Mobile Documents, with an emphasis on its file streaming technology, as well as Shazam's 1 million downloads from Ovi Store, the Nokia 6788i and MM-Ovi Store before considering some listener questions. You can listen to AAS Insight 111 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Nokia have tweaked the Ovi Store with some changes that should prove popular to most users; clearer information about the content you are browsing, more stars when rating applications, and review devices noted. Read on for more about these changes, including screens and info on a new Ovi Store client.
Nokia Beta Labs today released Nokia Bots, a collection of 'mini-utilities' which monitor how you use your phone and try to improve your user experience either by making suggestions or automatically changing configurations. Or as Nokia puts it 'add-ons that make daily routines easier by learning from your behavior'. Nokia Bots, which runs as a homescreen widget, is available for the Nokia N97 and N97 mini from Beta Labs. Read on for further information and screenshots.
Here and Now has formally graduated from Beta Labs and is now available for selected devices. Here and Now finds weather, movies and restaurants (etc) around you and has been in an extremely long Beta Labs test, but has now been released for S60 5th Edition and selected 3rd Edition smartphones via Ovi Store and Software Update, restricted because of the version of Web needed. Wider device compatibility in the future is promised. Some details below.
Shazam announced today that its music recognition application has been downloaded by over one million Nokia users from the Ovi Store since its launch in August last year. The Shazam app has been downloaded in more than 200 different markets onto over 40 different handsets. Read on for further details, a video interview and a demo with Shazam's Iain Dendle at MWC 2010, together with some additional App Store commentary.
Mobile Documents was one of the star performers at today's DEMO conference. Richard Bloor takes a first look at this mobile email and documents solution from Sweden’s Visiarc. The application implements patent pending “cherry picking” technology, which promises a better way to manage email and their attachments on your mobile device. Read on, in our feature article, for more details.
In All About Symbian Insight 110 (AAS Podcast 174), Rafe and Steve share news of the arrival of Ovi Map's free navigation on the N86, and the release of the Silverlight for Symbian Beta. Steve tells us about a community firmware release for the Samsung i8910 and introduces a discussion on the death of Wayfinder; Rafe talks about Navteq True (next generation digital mapping data collection) and shares some initial thoughts on Windows Phone 7 Series. You can listen to AAS Insight 110 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
OK, so Steve has a new favourite theme - and it seems that PiZero is experimenting with new ways of distributing his excellent themes: Earth is a new addition to the Nokia Ovi Store and appears for S60 5th Edition (touch) phones only. It's artistic and yet lightweight, with default icons to save RAM. Worth a look - there's a graphical preview below.
Navteq, at Mobile World Congress 2010, showed off their new mapping collection system called Navteq True. The system, which is placed on top of a vehicle, combines a LIDAR system, multiple panoramic cameras, and positioning (GPS and IMU) sensors. Navteq is part of Nokia and its digital mapping products underlie numerous location products and services, including Ovi Maps. In this video we get a closer look at the system, see some of the data it collects and find out what implications it has for digital maps.
Thanks to Norman John for spotting online that at least one of the existing holes in the functionality of the Sony Ericsson Satio and Vivaz has now been plugged, semi-officially. 'Equaliser' is now a free download in the PlayNow store and is a tiny 17kb standalone utility whose music chip presets are honoured by the main Media/Music player. Hopefully this will become more integrated in future firmwares?
Ovi Maps 3.3, with free navigation, is now available for the Nokia N86. The new version is available via the SW Update application (listed as 'Ovi Maps with free navigation') and is 8240kb in size. As stated previously, Nokia are making Ovi Maps 3.3 available across selected S60 3.2 devices, step-by-step, either via direct download or via firmware updates. Read on for a few screenshots and a compass tip.
Having linked your YouTube and Google accounts last year, YouTube has now enforced the use of the latter's password for signing into YouTube from mobile clients such as the Symbian/S60 version (available in, for example, the Ovi Store and on m.google.com). Screens and more info below.
Our latest MWC video is a tour around the Qt stand, looking at some of the Qt-enabled devices - from phones to printers and appliances. Mobile developers and users have been hearing more and more about Qt in the last 18 months. It is the future application framework for both Symbian and MeeGo (Nokia's two open platforms going forward). However, as this video demonstrates, Qt is already a well established technology and the 'Qt everywhere' slogan has already been realised.
In this video interview, recorded just before MWC, we speak to Scott Weiss (User Interface Technology Manager at the Symbian Foundation and Chair of the Symbian Foundation UI Council) about the Symbian Foundation UI and some of the initiatives and projects that Symbian is undertaking around UI topics. You'll hear about some of t
he key user experience changes, the UI workshops and the UI pattern library.
