Mobile banking seems to be one of the last few frontiers that are not well catered for here in the UK. There are many money managers, but few official applications, for our high street banks. Lloyds TSB has stepped up to provide Symbian users with access to online banking and the ability to find nearby branches and ATMs. One catch though – the mobile banking element is handed off to a mobile website. Which is... something of a fail...
Traditional newspapers and new media are still trying to work out their differences, but The Guardian in the UK has been forward looking. It has resisted the temptation to create a paywall and seeks to engage the smartphone market by creating an app for every platform, including Symbian (reviewed here, below) and Windows Phone 7. This well designed application not only delivers the latest news, but also provides Guardian podcasts, photo galleries and offline reading.
Arctica has got me sussed. Throw in 3D action with plenty of particle physics and a sci-fi theme and I'm basically putty in its hands. In this case detailing a review of the latest particle experience, SpeedFest. If you're into seat-of-the-pants action games then I think you too will love it. Read on for a wealth of screenshots and a video that will give you a great idea of the gameplay on offer.
Cricket remains, I contend, a sport that's extremely tricky to simulate in any enjoyable way on a phone screen. The sport timings, complexity, atmosphere - you name it - are all just... wrong. Which hasn't stopped a number of publishers writing a cricket game anyway and Ashes Cricket is, like the others I've tried, ultimately doomed to disappoint. Here's my full review.
You may remember the developer's name from Mobile Darts, which I reviewed last year? This has now been updated but, in case you're wondering, many of the same criticisms apply to the new version. But while Darts Scorer stays with the same theme, it's an application designed to help you play the real world game. And, although somewhat primitive in interface, may be helpful to those for whom mental maths is not their strongpoint.
One of the simplest and most addictive games I've seen yet on Symbian, a combined puzzler/arcader that works absolutely superbly as a 'one more go' casual title. On your own, or against a friend, you guide your car towards refuelling points and service centres, and away from hazards. The further you get, the higher you score. A game for one or more players (via Bluetooth), it's an insanely good way to while away a few minutes here and there during your day.
Either Christmas is season for small utilities or perhaps now is the time of year when I finally get round to looking at them? Either way, here's a look at Decibel Meter, an ultimate one trick pony application that works surprisingly well. Go on, have a guess what it does...
Yes, yes, I know the OS is supposed to handle RAM for me. And, on the whole, it does a fine job. But I wish Nokia/Symbian would trust me with the salient statistic of how full my phone's RAM is. It's a statistic that only an uber-geek would want, but then that's me. In the past I've installed task managers or file managers, just for an incidental RAM reporting menu option, but this is much easier. One tiny and simple (and free) widget and I can now see exactly how much RAM is left with once glance at my home screen.
Lock screen customisation has so far been the preserve of Android devices. However LockScreen for Symbian is looking to redress the balance. With this application you can add five shortcuts, including Music player controls, to the lock screen that comes up after you press the menu key. Read on to find out how well it works in practice.
Yes, yes, talk about mundane - apps to log fuel fill-ups and calculate economy have been around since the dawn of PDA time (1993). But every time you fill up your car, don't you get a tiny twinge of guilt that maybe, just maybe, you should still be still logging all this petrol or diesel? Maybe you should get a feel for how much your metal steed is costing you each week? Fuel Manager is one of the latest entries in the Nokia Store to claim to help...
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