All About Symbian - S60 Content

Nokia Social updated to fix Belle update Gallery incompatibility

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:32:43 GMT

You may recall from last week that the Belle update for existing Symbian devices had an unintentional incompatibilty with a core Nokia piece of software - Social Networking. The then current release of Social, v1.5(214), didn't get kicked into action when you tried to 'share' an image from your phone's Gallery, producing an error instead. With the update to v1.5(215) this has now been fixed.

Not forgotten: S60 5th Edition gets a new Ovi Store client

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:26:16 GMT

With the new QML version of the Ovi Store client now standard on Symbian^3 and upwards, it's interesting to see a brand new version of the Store client for S60 5th Edition now available, v1.22 (the previous latest was 1.16). There's no official changelog, but following new versions of the QML Store, it's likely that the new client is better 'aligned' with changes to the Nokia Store back-end.

The Nokia E6 and Belle - a step forwards? Or backwards?

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:01:00 GMT

The Nokia E6 was always going to be the odd one out of the Symbian^3/Anna stable - just as the E90 was back in the day, by virtue of having a different form factor and different screen resolution to all its sister devices. Moreover, the screen wasn't just different - it was physically much smaller, presenting Nokia/Symbian/Accenture with a unique challenge in how to implement the next big OS update - Belle. Here are some of the issues involved... for better or worse.

Nokia says "get ready to capture a pure view"

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:48:08 GMT

Nokia has published a video on YouTube, which in its description urges people to "stay tuned for the latest news from Nokia at Mobile World Congress". The video doesn't give much away, but with captions like "pure detail", "pure depth", "pure definition" and a title of "get ready to capture a pure view" speculation will inevitably focus around a high-end camera phone successor to the N8.

Review: Sheep Mania - Barnyard Dash

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:04:00 GMT

Pitched as "Succeed as the ultimate sports-sheep! Run in the top leagues, earn prize money and buy your way into sheep boot camp", what we have here is a one-button casual game that impresses for its presentation, challenge and sense of fun. While commendable, all this isn't enough to raise Barnyard Dash into the top flight of Symbian gaming.

Nokia Drop gets big new version, Belle notifications compatibility

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:43:26 GMT

Nokia Drop, a desktop browser-based system for pushing content to your smartphone, has just received a big update, detailed below, with silent installations of apps from the Nokia Store and integration with the status drop-down pane in Belle. There's also a welcome tutorial to help new users.

How to: Pimp the Nokia Belle homescreen system

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:58:00 GMT

Nokia Belle brought with it a massive change in the look of Symbian, and introduced much less constrained widgets to fill even more homescreens than before. The built-in widgets are not the limit of its flexibility though. There are many applications that can greatly add to the functionality of the Nokia Belle homescreen. In this guide, I take a look at how you can extend the widget set to make the most of your brand new Nokia Belle homescreens.

AAS Insight #203: Belle, Maps Suite 2.0

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

In All About Symbian Insight number 203, we share our thoughts on the Nokia Belle software upgrade after a week of use. Steve offers some solutions for common Belle upgrade problems, David compares the Java version of the game TinTin to the Symbian version, Rafe talks about what's new in the latest beta release of the Nokia Maps Suite 2.0 and the team share some concluding thoughts on the Nokia 500.

Review: Nokia Dual USB Car Charger (DC-20)

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:23:00 GMT

Power hungry smartphones are always looking for a recharge. So a car charger is going to be high on the priority for a lot of people. But which one should you get? One option is Nokia's DC-20 unit, which initially draws the eye with its twin USB charging ports. And while USB car chargers are never going to generate much excitement, the Nokia DC-20 is a diamond amongst the rough competition.

Review: Juice Rider

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:02:00 GMT

LowRiders bounce – apparently. I wouldn’t know about such things because I’m English, but I know enough to not drink while riding in a bouncing car. That’s exactly what Vimto’s latest ad-campaign is showing with its line of fruity characters – you know, the one where the fruits bounce their car until they smash together and shower everyone in Vimto? This ad-campaign has been turned into a game for Symbian, “JuiceRider”, where you have to shake your phone and quickly draw shapes. Will it make you work up enough of a thirst to pop out to the shops though?

Review: Alt Reader

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Portable Document Format (PDF) may not be an open standard, but it is a defacto standard. Being able to send a file which shows a page exactly as intended for print, and that cannot be edited (in most cases) is a must for those aspiring to have a paperless office. On Symbian, PDF readers are few and far between, and have not provided the best possible user experience. Today we have a review of Alt Reader for PDF and DejaVu files. Does it succeed where others have failed?

Nokia Store client 'alignment' update goes official

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:02:25 GMT

The Beta Labs and official release versions of the Nokia Store client continue to leapfrog each other, with v3.22.054 released a few hours ago for all Symbian^3/Anna/Belle smartphones. This includes bug fixes and better 'alignment' with the Store back-end. Although it's not a compulsory client update, it's strongly recommended.

Belle rolls out for the Nokia 500 too

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:48:11 GMT

We thought that the somewhat underpowered Nokia 500 wouldn't get the Belle OS update for some weeks or even months, but it seems that Belle's rolling out for this device from today, possibly even giving the phone a new burst of performance. Some details and quotes from Nokia below.

Nokia's MWC mini-site and keynote details

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:03:51 GMT

Nokia has announced details of its Mobile World Congress activities on Nokia.com. Exactly what Nokia is announcing is open to speculation (strictly no comment from the AAS team, as usual!), but the company is set to hold a press event on Monday 27th. There's also a developer day and, as part of the GSMA conference program, keynotes from Thom Brenner (VP Applications) and Stephen Elop (CEO).

Xperia S wins out over N8? Not so fast. A better methodology needed, methinks...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:06:19 GMT

It was interesting to see various sites round the web today linking to dial-a-phone's comparison of the camera results from the new Sony Xperia S and the Nokia N8, especially given the conclusion that the newcomer is the 'clear winner'. However, such comparisons are more than a little misleading - there's far more to testing out a phone camera than shots of still subjects in bright....

Review: Crystal Mountain

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:23:00 GMT

Keeping up their very high standard, the programmers at Arctica have produced something quite different to their normal (excellent) arcade fare. This one combines Sokoban with Labyrinth, with a touch of Doom-style 3D. Sprinkle in ice monsters and flighty rabbits, plus some mind mangling variations and you've got yourself a 3D treat for puzzle fans.

Review: The Adventures of Tintin HD

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:26:00 GMT

Tintin, the Belgium reporter-come-adventurer, has been regularly refreshed in popular culture over the years; a case in point being the computer-enhanced “The Adventures of Tintin” movie. We recently reviewed the Java based game tie-in. However, even that game has had a refresh with this HD version. Do 3D graphics and a sumptuous John Williams soundtrack add to the original formula?

Review: Nokia 500

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:05:00 GMT

Following on from Rafe's introductory look, on video, at the Nokia 500, the cheapest Symbian smartphone of the modern era, I look in more detail and its form, function and performance. It's worlds away from flagships like the N8, but does it still have a place on today's phone market? And if you pick one up as a backup smartphone or for a family member, what compromises will you/they hit?

AAS Insight #202: Nokia Belle update arrives

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:04:00 GMT

In All About Symbian Insight number 202, we start with a few notes on the Nokia 500, with Steve and Rafe comparing their first impressions of the device. The major part of the podcast is devoted to the release of Nokia Belle for the N8, C7, C6-01, E7, E6 and X7. We share our experience of the update, discuss some of the initial problems and detail our personal highlights

How to: overcome or work around some common Belle update issues

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:15:10 GMT

Like most of you, I upgraded my Nokia N8 to Belle as soon as it was available. And hit a number of small (and not so small) issues. I realise that this won't cover the full scope of items that others may have run across, but hopefully some of the topics below may help somebody, from working out whether you've got new email to getting a more responsive UI.