All About Symbian - News

E71 gets a big thumbs up from The Register

Well, at least they didn't give the E71 to Nokia-hater Andrew O.... Writer Dave Oliver gives the new E71 his seal of approval, concluding that it's "a brilliantly efficient piece of technology that does pretty much everything you might want it to do and it does it all extremely well. Like a technological servant of sorts, it serves up its many excellent facilities and a host of other titbits with a minimum of fuss - and no small amount of style."

UK rail times to Calendar

Lifted from the comments to a previous story, I wanted to highlight an addition to the excellent traintimes.org.uk. When accessed from your phone browser, the site now has the facility to add a UK train journey (via a vCal file, don't worry, it all happens seamlessly) into your phone's Calendar. Very cool, and the site only needs just over 100K of data per lookup, much less than the full Nation Rail equivalent.

A really really easy way to install N-Gage on a compatible phone

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.

Automating Open Signed Online

Non-programmers look away now. Budding Python wizards might like to note Arkadiusz's scripts here that automate the building of an Open Signed SIS file, saving you having to do everything manually every time you change something in your code and want to build a new SIS for installation on your test device. (via Forum Nokia)

Get Quickoffice 5.0 for S60 for $1

Quickoffice are offering the chance, for one day only (July 22nd), to buy Quickoffice Premier 5 for just $1. [Offer now ended] The usual price is around $70 (or less if you buy via your phone). Quickoffice enables the reading, editing and creation of Microsoft Office files on your S60 phone. You can read our full review of software here.

N-Gage client queue gets hijacked

In a not unsurprising move, Nokia's XpressMusic 5320, Nokia N78 and Nokia N96 are now listed as receiving a compatible version of the N-Gage games client ahead of the older Nokia N73, Nokia N93i and Nokia N93. Let's hope the latter three don't drop off Nokia's to-do list completely.... [mutter]

A dozen Real World Tasks - the Nokia N95 8GB takes on all-comers

Spec-sheet comparisons are all very well, but how good are the Nokia N95 8GB, the Apple iPhone 3G and the HTC Diamond in real life? The AAS team has come up with a dozen things that we all like to do with our phones and Steve was then set to accomplishing all of them on all three devices. Can the sheer usability and likeability of the iPhone triumph over Nokia's N95 design and S60? Is the HTC Touch Diamond a competitor here? Find out in the full usability feature.

AAS Podcast - Interview with Alfie Dennen from Moblog.net

It's another interview podcast, this time with Ewan speaking to Alfie Dennen from Moblog.net, which launched a new version of the popular platform late last week. We cover the history of the Moblog company, how to deal with upstart services such as Ovi(!) and what makes a service like this 'sticky' in podcast #85.

The N96 to be available in September on 3

Network operator '3' just held a big launch event, showing off what's coming up on contract, and SMS Text News' Ewan (always entertaining) was there. In the absence of any actual releases on the '3' web site, he's our lifeline to news and video from the event, showing off the Nokia N96 (to be available in September) and white E71 (available now), among others. There's also a well-placed rant about the sheer uselessness of mainstream media and some of the freeloaders in that world - worth a read if only to reinforce why you read AAS and SMST!

Tweak Peaks UIQ 3 version 1.30

These guys dont know how to stop! CellPhoneSoft are still actively releasing new and interesting UIQ 3 apps, despite the prevailing mood in the industry. If you think your P1 or P990 is starting to be slow and can't cope with daily chores, then it’s time to get Tweak Peaks into action. Screen and notes below.

Open Source Goes Mobile, Free San Francisco Developers Event

Forum Nokia are organising an "Open Source Goes Mobile" workshop at the upcoming LinuxWorld conference being held in San Francisco's Moscone Centre on August 6th. The event is free to all developers, and Forum Nokia are also providing a fee one-day pass to Linux World. Places are limited, so if you are interested the sign-up page is here.

Qik Now Available to All As It Moves to Public Beta

'Cool in the Valley' company Qik who's Qik application allows you to live stream video from your S60 handset, has today moved the service from private (invite only) beta to a full public beta status. In practice this means that anyone can sign up for the site and download the software for their mobile phone. While there are a number of live video services already out there, very few of them have a component that runs on a mobile phone - and Qik is one of the fastest of those providing mobile. More at www.qik.com.

The Nokia E66 - Business, Multimedia and conclusions

In the second and final part of Rafe's definitive review of the new Nokia E66, he looks at the device's business credentials and multimedia capabilities, before wrapping things up with the AAS verdict. See also part 1 of his E66 review.

Some super USPs but still unfinished - the MOTO Z10

After four review parts from Ewan, prodding the new Motorola MOTO Z10 from most angles, I finish off with a detailed test of its crowning glory, its camera. Although, mid-2008, this isn't as cutting edge as it once would have been. Despite this, there are numerous unique selling points, including a fabulously fast multishot mode and an initial focus in video recording mode. Plus, I summarise the Z10 as a whole: it might still be great, but needs a lot more work on its firmware.

N-Gage News Round-up

It's been a busy week over on All About N-Gage, with videos, polls, sales charts, themes, the big Brothers In Arms review, and other assorted gubbins. For those of you who haven't been following AAN lately, we present a quick round-up.