It seems that Nokia Map Loader has 'graduated' from Nokia Beta Labs and has been updated to boot, it's now at v2.0.2 and ensconced on the main Maps page (click on 'Download' etc). I doubt there's more to the new version than bug fixes, but it's still great to see the whole Maps (/Chat/Share online) ecosystem all finally come together. The Flash intro video for Maps isn't that new, but is worth a watch and quite well done for getting the message across.
Nokia are, theoretically, doing their bit for the environment with the release of we:offset, a Carbon footprint calculator, along with a facility to donate an appropriate amount to projects that aim to balance your footprint out. It's a worthy release, although (over on my personal blog) I can't help think it's way too little way too late in the grand scheme of things...
It's... another All About Symbian Insight podcast, number 34, with Rafe and myself discussing Google Maps 2.2, Skyfire, Missing Sync for Symbian, plus the Samsung i560 and G810. Then we move onto the Nokia 6650 and the Samsung L870 and INNOV8.
Guest writer Tim Salmon brings us a timely review of Psiloc's GSync utility, designed to automatically archive your text and MMS messages to labelled GMail. After a few recent glitches (in part caused by Google), GSync now appears to be working well.
Facebook regulars might like to note a new version of the FindMe application, now available and in beta for S60. You can find instructions on grabbing it here on FindMe's Facebook page. It seems as though it uses a similar white-list location system to Nokia Chat, although it uses cell location rather than GPS. Comments welcome.
The biggest mobile mapping app in the world (sorry, Nokia Maps, we love you too) just got a new S60 release, to version 2.2, with public transport timetables in 60 cities worldwide, faster search results, star ratings for businesses and other user-generated content. What are you waiting for? Read on for some illustrated example of new functionality.
Skyfire, which aims to give a PC-like browsing experience on your phone, is now available as a limited access beta for S60. Skyfire uses compression and a proxy-based technology to deliver full featured (Flash 9, Quicktime, Java, AJAX) web pages to phones. Their aim is to deliver exactly the same page to your phone that you would see on your PC. We've got 100 instant access beta invitations to give away for our US readers. Read on for more details.
Mac developers Mark/Space have released Missing Sync for Symbian, providing (among other things) automatic Bluetooth syncing of data between phone and Mac. Here's the TUAW write-up. More on this next week when I'll be starting a new series of features looking at S60-Mac connectivity and compatibility.
As we bid Ewan farewell as he girds his loins and heads off into the thick of the Edinburgh Fringe for another year, he explains some of his must-have phone apps and services to help get him through 25 days of mobile journalism. Good thing he's got a meaty data tariff, I say...
It's good to see Samsung S60 handsets now getting more compatibility love - Fring has just announced that their chat and VoIP solution is now available for the i550, which I reviewed a few months ago. More Samsung S60 devices to follow, surely.
You may remember GyPSii, a GPS-aware photo and text social utility, from a few months ago? It has now been partnered with Samsung worldwide, according to Unwired, for use in their smartphones, meaning that we should see GyPSii preloaded on several forthcoming Samsung S60 phones, including the Innov8.
StyleTap have now confirmed that their Palm OS emulation system is now in private beta for Symbian OS - I didn't get an invite into this stage, but by applying to be a beta tester, you might be lucky. After a short while, it will be opened up to all beta testers, etc. The significance of StyleTap is that there are still many people in the world who are hanging onto ancient Palm handhelds and Treos because they depend on one or more specific Palm OS-only apps - StyleTap will help them move fairly seamlessly onto S60 and Symbian.
Widgets on mobile seem to be a hot topic this year; we have already covered the technology several times on AAS. But now that the first S60 Widgets are becoming available what is the reality like? In this feature Ewan takes a look at some of the Widgets he finds most useful.
If you have an N-Gage-compatible phone (at the moment that means the N81, N81 8GB, N82, N95 or N95 8GB) you may like to take a look at this article over on AAN which details an ultra-simple method for installing the N-Gage application. It works entirely through the phone's browser, and doesn't require a computer at all. We've mentioned this method before in other articles, but it seems a lot of people missed it and Nokia doesn't really publicise it either, so here it is again in greater detail.
