All About Symbian - Series 90 News

The Quest for the Perfect Form Factor

Hopefully pulling no punches, I've been mulling over all the different form factors seen in the smartphone world in the last half dozen years. Is there a common consensus 'perfect' form factor? No. Could there be one in the future? Yes, I argue in The Quest for the Perfect Form Factor. And, to the point, at least one of 2009's smartphone contenders is achingly close, at least in terms of hardware, to the ideal. This being something of a contentious subject, your comments more than welcome of course!

Trivopaedia 2008

I know quite a few of you rely on my definitive pub-quiz-helper, Trivopaedia. It's now been brought up to 2008 levels, with up to date stats for v2.3 . It's available in Mobipocket reader and iSilo formats (i.e. compatible with any portable device or any platform), in addition to being fully online as well - and of course it's still free.

Eggstreme: Sizzler Supremacy - a free Symbian game for Easter

The makers of the free Xmas game Snowed In have come up with a similar Easter-themed free game called Eggstreme: Sizzler Supremacy. It's available for every Symbian platform (S60 3rd, S60 1st/2nd, UIQ3, UIQ2, Series 80 and Series 90). The S60 3rd version supports all screen resolutions including the N80 and E90. You can download the relevant game file by going here, and you can get the free unlock code by going here.

Last chance to get Snowed In 6 for free

Twelfth Night has come and gone so Xmas is well and truly over, but you can still get Snowed In 6: Deep Freeze for free if you hurry. Simply download the game from this page (click on the relevant "try" button), install it on your Symbian device, and then head on over to the unlock code page to get your free key. SI6 is available for all Symbian platforms, and the offer ends on the 15th of January.

Merry Christmas to all our readers!

All About Symbian would like to wish all its visitors a very happy Christmas. If you're hankering after some Xmas-related Symbian action while defrosting or digesting the turkey, don't forget to check out our recent features on Symbian Christmas Games and S60 3rd Edition Christmas Themes.

A Symbian Christmas

Ah yes, Krisse does like to roundup Christmas/wintery games each year, with a couple of new entrants this time round. There are games for all Symbian platforms, most of them are free, and at the very least they should keep you going until Nokia decides to throw the switch on their N-Gage store...

Blazar - cheap enough and cheerful?

It's been around for a while for S60 and UIQ (in all varieties), but Krisse brings us a detailed review of scrolling shoot 'em up Blazar in the modern age. That'll be the 'we're all kicking our heels, seeing what else is out there, waiting for N-Gage to be properly available' age, then....

International (lack of) warranty and phones, phones, phones

A couple of interesting links from IM's Stefan Constantinescu, spotted yesterday. Firstly a tale and mini-rant on Nokia needing to honour warranties globally in this global age. And secondly a super-hi-res poster showing Nokia's phone range from the very start until 2006. Well worth a download.

Your Friday game, whatever your smartphone

We do love featuring game reviews on a Friday - Krisse brings us a review of a veritable Symbian classic - S-Tris 2, freeware for just about every Symbian OS-based smartphone in existence!

Mippin under the microscope

Web portal, proxy service or online RSS reader? Sometimes the boundaries can get a little blurred. Ewan takes a detailed look at Mippin, launched yesterday, and finds it surprisingly useful.

Reminder: AAS Pub Meet next Monday

Next Monday, the day before the Symbian Smartphone Show, is the All About Symbian Pub Meet. It is a completely free and open event and everybody is very welcome to come along and join in. We'll be giving away a Sony Ericsson W950 and a Nokia E61i along with a raft of other prizes. There's also going to be two lightning talks, one from the people behind WOM World (about what they do) and one from Robert Harmsen (Trends in Mobility).

10 things that have really puzzled me

If you've ever looked at an aspect of the Symbian or smartphone world and asked 'Why?', then you know exactly how I sometimes feel. This being Friday, here are some of my puzzlers for weekend pontification....

Announcing the AAS Pub Meet 2007!

Ho yes. Another year has flown by and we present the All About Symbian As-Official-As-It-Gets 2007 Pub Meet. Prizes, Demos, Speakers, Chit-chat and good beer. In case you haven't been to one before, here's AAS video podcast 21, in which I waffle on about what to expect from the pub meet and some other minor event happening the next day over in Docklands...

The Symbian Smartphone Show goes 'final'

Symbian has finalised its agenda and show layout for its annual Smartphone Show in London, on 16-17th October at the ExCeL centre. Listed below are some of the last minute speaker sign ups and some thumbnails, plus links. The show is free to attend, as is the AAS pub meet on the evening of the 15th, details to be announced, but the prize list is pretty impressive....(!) Oh, and keep the evening of the 16th free as well - watch this space.

Opera Mini goes landscape!

The best loved (and free) phone browser in the world just got better. Opera Mini 4 has just hit beta 2, with a mountain of changes, including 'landscape' mode, detailed below. The usual caveats about it using Java and being RAM hungry apply, but that aside, it's just about perfect!