Following on from the news that the BBC iPlayer is available for older Nokia S60 devices we can now also report that the BBC iPlayer is also now available for the Nokia N97. It uses the same widget as the Nokia 5800 and can also be downloaded from www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/iplayer. The N97 version includes full download capabilities.
The BBC has just launched a standalone iPlayer S60 application (v1.0.0!) for the Nokia N95 and E71. iPlayer lets UK users catch up on BBC programmes that have been broadcast in the last week or so and has previously been exclusive to the Nokia N85, N96 and 5800, available as a Web Runtime widget. Although no formal announcement has been made by the BBC as I write this, it's as good as a done deal, as this BBC blog post strongly hints.
Nokia's exclusive strategy game Reset Generation was originally made available as a free online game for Windows PCs at resetgeneration.com, and the site has now been revamped to also be compatible with computers running Macintosh OS X and CentOS Linux. If you have a computer running any of these operating systems, all you have to do is visit the site to play the game, it's the full version including four-way online multiplayer and it's totally free. If you also want Reset Generation on your phone, it can be purchased through the N-Gage application. (via The Official N-Gage Blog)
The adventure game Mystery Mania has been reviewed by Ovi Gaming, and we've also done a ten minute gameplay video and lots of screenshots too. We've reviewed it on the Nokia 5800 but it is available for other phones too. You can get it right now from Ovi Store either through the website or the Ovi Store client. (Mystery Mania has been developed for EA by Danish company Progressive Media, who also did the absolutely excellent Sola Rola which won our very rare Mega Game award.)
Nokia Beta Labs has a graduate! Gizmo for S60 an application that allowed you to access the Gizmo5 service for IM and VOIP functionality on your handset is no longer in beta test – it's all grown up, left the program and is now available as a regular application in the Nokia Download! Store, although interestingly it is not yet in the Ovi Store.
The exclusive first-party music game Dance Fabulous is out now on the N-Gage platform (we all know Nokia never sticks to launch dates, this is two days early!). To get the game, open your phone's N-Gage application, go to the Showroom tab, select "Options" and then "Update Now". The download file is 31 megabytes and the price should be around 5 euros, which is interestingly in line with the average pricing on Ovi Store.
Ovi Store had capacity problems on the day it launched as demand for the service apparently far exceeded Nokia's estimates, but they seem to have cured that and Ovi Store now loads reliably. However, another problem has appeared which is rather annoying and frustrating: some items seem to be disappearing and reappearing at random. All too often people click on a game, app or other content and are greeted with the message "Sorry, this item is no longer available." even when it should be available. Let's take a look at the availability problems one by one, hopefully someone high up at Nokia is reading this.
In All About Symbian Insight 74 (AAS Podcast 134) Steve, Ewan and Rafe round up recent news from the Symbian world including ST-Ericsson's SMP demo, Google's 'new' S60 Mobile App, the commencement of Nokia 5630 shipping and more. In the second part of the show Steve gives a few N97 impressions and the team answer a few listener questions. You can listen to AAS Insight 74 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
Another Ovi Store game, this time surreal gather-em-up Java title Katamari Mobile has been reviewed by Ovi Gaming, and wins a Recommended award (the review also includes a 10 minute gameplay video of it running on the 5800 and lots of screenshots too). The mobile version of Katamari is perfect for anyone longing for a return to the simpler days of abstract arcade gameplay, and it also provides a nice slice of unhinged Japanese humour.
In browsing the Ovi Store, Ewan has come across some new (to him) applications and lots of indications that the the Store is “more than just apps” and that it will prove to be one of the most useful resources to developers and consumers alike. So what delights has he found? Read on for a 'magnificent seven' of examples from the Ovi Store.
Another new batch of games has appeared in Ovi Store, the full list is below. (Incidentally, if anyone from Nokia is reading this, could you please take a look at the Ovi Store servers and find out why some games are constantly appearing and disappearing!) Anyway, on with the new games, you can see them listed below in alphabetical order. Most of the new games seem to be from the publisher Playfon, who are apparently making their Ovi Store debut.
The quirky and charming Java-based arcade puzzle game Go! Go! Rescue Squad! is available in Ovi Store and we've been taking a look at it on the Nokia 5800. To see our review, along with a ten minute gameplay video and lots of screenshots, head on over to the Go! Go! Rescue Squad! game page on Ovi Gaming.
We've added a review, screens and a video to ZingMagic's WordSearch game page on Ovi Gaming. We've based the review on the installment called Alphabet WordSearch, but it applies to all the WordSearch games as they're practically the same with just different word packs to distinguish them from each other. Alphabet WordSearch and Starts With WordSearch are free while the other editions cost 2 euros each, so this is very much a low-budget impulse purchase game series.
Google's incredibly popular social network, Orkut, is now available through a java based smartphone client, which is optimised for S60 phones. Orkut has a presence with as much, if not more, impact than Facebook or MySpace in both Brazil and India and providing greater access to the network.
If you have a look at the Cooking Mama game page on Ovi Gaming, you'll see we've added a brief review of the game, several screenshots and a 7 minute video of the game in action on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. We'll be gradually adding more and more to the game pages over time, so that they build up into a place where you can find out what Ovi Store games are really like.
