All About Symbian - UIQ News

Files on Ovi now available in beta

2008-07-03T16:39:08+01:00

Files on Ovi, which provides access to files on remote computers, is the latest Ovi service and is now available in beta form. After installing a software 'connector' on your PC you can then access files on your computer from any web enabled device (e.g. another PC or your phone). Files on Ovi is the results of last year's acquisition of Avevnu by Nokia.

Browsing the files on my PC from my phone.

Files on Ovi acts as a bridge allowing you to access files on your own PC from any remote device. Access is through the Files on Ovi website which displays a file and folder structure similar to Windows Explorer (see screenshots below). You can preview certain file types before downloading them (Word, Excel, PDF, images). You can also upload files from the remote device to your PC (e.g. upload a document from your phone which means it will be sitting in your My Documents folder when you return to your PC).

Image listings and a preview of an Excel spreadsheet.

A key feature of Files on Ovi is the ability to access files even if the host PC is switched off. In order to do this files or folders must be marked as 'anytime files' (you do this on the website), the connector software will then upload these files from the host PC to be stored in the cloud (Files on Ovi server). As you add, update or remove files on the host PC they will be automatically synced up to the cloud. Each Files on Ovi subscription comes with 10GB of storage.

Anytime files can thus be accessed even if the your PC is switched off. If you upload files from a remote device when your PC is switched off they will be downloaded to the host PC the next time it is switched on.

The ability to share files and folder with others is another important feature. You can opt to share a file or folder for a given length of time by sending a sharing message, by email, to anyone you like. You can, optionally, revoke sharing privileges at any time.

On a mobile device most operations take place on the page for each file / folder:

Note the links at the bottom for sending (to others), downloading and adding to anytime files. You can also see how the image has been resized (previewed) to give the optimium display on the mobile device.

Files on Ovi is the first Ovi service to use the new unified Nokia / Ovi login (account.nokia.com). It may be worth signing up for an account now to ensure you get the username you want.

Files on Ovi is currently in Beta. In the future the anytime files function will be a premium service for which you will have to pay a fee. Using the service using only the connector shoudl remina free (if the Avvenu model continues to apply). However the anytime file functionality is where the most value is; for the time being you can sign up and receive a 90 day trial.

You can download files (or folders) from Files on Ovi or Upload files from your phone to your PC. If you
upload a file from another device it will automatically be downloaded to local storage on the host PC.

You can search for files on your PC (if you have Google Desktop Search installed).

You can also access Files on Ovi from a PC browser. This more cloesly replicates the experience of using a file manager on a PC.

Viewing the contents of a folder full of pictures.

Showing a preview of an image.

Previewing an Excel Spredsheet

The connector software runs silently in the background.
Here it shows the anytime files that have been updated.

Although branded under to Ovi name Files on Ovi, like Share on Ovi, can be used on a wide variety of devices. There's currently no on-board client software for viewing and downloading files - all you need is access to a web browser - as such it should run on most recent phones.

Currently the PC component (the connector software) in Windows only, but Nokia intend to extend this to other platforms in the future.

Thanks to Taskussa (a Finnish blog) for informing us of the availability of Files on Ovi.

Process Explorer hits for UIQ3

2008-07-02T16:27:17+01:00

Cellphonesoft, those brilliant UIQ 3 developers, strike again with the release of Process Explorer, for all UIQ 3 smartphones (including the new SE G900 and Moto Z10). It's a utility to list all programs running on the phone, including server processes that (normally) run invisibly in the background and are not shown by task managers. And Process Explorer gives users the ability to terminate unwanted processes (ouch!!!). Screenshot after the jump.

Detailed information is presented on each process, including child threads and windows, that was never before available. Process Explorer can terminate any process, provided platform security enforcement is disabled on the phone. The Cleanup command performs automated multiple termination which may lead to free memory amounts previously unprecedented.

While Process Explorer is most useful on early UIQ3 phones with notoriously low memory, it is also a valuable general tool on any UIQ3 device, for analytical purposes and for killing the occasional "stray process".

Major features:
- Lists all running programs, including server processes not shown by task managers.
- Detailed technical information about processes, threads and windows.
- Cleanup command to maximize available memory.
- Ability to terminate individual processes (available when platform security is disabled).

The AAS Insight #31 - Here Comes The Symbian Foundation

2008-07-01T14:55:18+01:00

There was always going to be one big topic for in-depth discussion in the latest AAS Insight Podcast - the announcement of the Symbian Foundation. Rafe and Steve are joined by Stefan and Ewan to talk over the ground-breaking news, and shoot a bit of Midnight Pool into the bargain.

In this podcast we cover:

N-Gage - Midnight Pool and state of play
The Symbian Foundation - of course
You'll find the podcast here.

Got a question or a topic you would like us to ponder and discuss in the next podcast? Want to be a guest on the show (recordings take place via Skype on Friday)? Got some feedback from us (love it or hate it)? Get in touch and let us know.

Motorola MOTO Z10 - Form and function get a qualified thumbs up

2008-06-27T17:41:04+01:00

The Motorola MOTO Z10 represents a very different side of UIQ 3 (and Symbian) to the more familiar devices from Sony Ericsson. In his inimitable style, and in part 1 of our full review, Ewan looks at the Z10's form and general design, finding quite a bit to like in the process. Future review parts will cover built-in software, media handling and camera functions.

"The Motorola Z10 certainly looks like an aggressive phone. Lots of silver metal, a black reflective plastic front, and the return of the banana slider form factor that was introduced in the Z8. I don’t think that the inclusion of a speaker grille that wouldn’t look out of place in a 1970’s Ford Cortina necessarily spoils the look and feel of this phone at all. It screams “I should belong to man who wears aftershave, opens bottles with his teeth, and can make a pub stop just by walking in the door.”"

Read on

The Commoditisation of the Smartphone

2008-06-26T17:55:56+01:00

Something we've heard and talked about over and over again recently is that Nokia and others have all recognised that the future belongs to 'services and software' and that the hardware has become 'a commodity'. This is all a bit jargonistic and in this feature Steve explains these phrases in plain english from the point of view of the consumer.

From 2000 to 2008, it has all been about the technology - devices playing catch-up, which gadgets can do which jobs, comparing bullet spec lists, etc. But what happens next, when all devices can do all everything? What's left to do? It's a problem that all the major players are either addressing now or starting to address.

Read on in the full feature.

AAS Podcast #82: David Wood (Symbian EVP) on the Symbian Foundation

2008-06-26T07:07:16+01:00

In another of our regular podcast interviews, Ewan Spence talks to David Wood, EVP Symbian, on some of the finer details on the Symbian Foundation. Launched ten years to the day after the announcement of Symbian, Wood discusses a number of issues around the new strategy of the Symbian partners.

Insight 30 - E71, E66, Z10 and more...

2008-06-25T11:29:45+01:00

As Ewan puts it, it's another madcap show - All About Symbian Insight number 30 right here, in which we talk about Missing Sync for Symbian, the launch of the Nokia E71 and E66, plus first thoughts on the Motorola MOTO Z10. Note that this show was recorded last Thursday and so predates Tuesday's Symbian announcements - we'll bring you audio content to do with this very shortly.

UIQ Announce Plans To Layoff 200 Employees

2008-06-24T10:29:46+01:00

In the wake of today's news of the Symbian Foundation being set up, UI company UIQ have announced plans to layoff of 200 employees (reports BLT.se). Currently the majority of the 375 staff are employed in the Ronneby offices, with the balance of staff in two foreign offices in London and Budapest. These offices will probably close. Further details will be announced by UIQ this afternoon.

Symbian Foundation Says "Open Source Over The Next Two Years"

2008-06-24T09:41:51+01:00

The Symbian Foundation website is now online, and carries a few more details on the project. The big news is the commitment to move the platform to be open source (using the Eclipse Public Licence) and have this freely available to all. The foundation itself is set to commence operations in the first half of 2009, and the annual membership fee will be $1500. Until the open sourcing, membership will be the route to obtain the platform royalty free for device manufacturers. Naturally, membership is not required to develop for the platform, that remains open to all, just as it is now.

A white paper is also available from the site, and provides a time line of the five major events to come:

1: Nokia to acquire Symbian, with all the paperwork signed off by the end of 2008. Symbian employees will become employees of Nokia.

2. The independent and non-profit Symbian Foundation can then be set up, in the first half of 2009, with a clear mission to develop a unified platform from the technologies of S60, UIQ and MOAP.

3. Symbian Foundation then officially launches, with a royalty-free licence available to all members.

4. The unified platform will then be available to all foundation members at some point in the first half of 2010 (so Expect to see devices with this new platform from around Q3 of 2010 perhaps?) Until that point the existing Symbian OS 9.x platforms will be available to members under the royalty-free licence.

5. Over the next two years, expect to see more and more elements of the Symbian ecosystem available as Open Source under the Eclipse Public Licence 1.0; with the eventual goal of all the platform code being freely available to members and non-members alike.

More at the Symbian Foundation or download the White Paper (PDF).

Symbian Foundation to be created

2008-06-24T08:04:58+01:00

The future of Symbian is the the Symbian Foundation. Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DOCOMO have announced their intent to unite Symbian OS, S60, UIQ and MOAP to create one open mobile software platform. Partnering together with AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone they plan to establish the Symbian Foundation to extend the appeal of this unified software platform. The platform will be provided under a royalty-free license to all members of the Symbian Foundation.

This moves sees a re-unification of the Symbian OS UIs (S60, UIQ and MOAP-S). While the new platform will use elements of all three UIs the core technology will be derived from S60. A key intention is to provide a complete, consistent and compatible open software platform. More details below.

Membership of this non-profit Foundation will be open to all organizations. This initiative is supported by current shareholders and management of Symbian Limited, who have been actively involved in its development. Plans for the Foundation have already received wide support from other industry leaders.

To enable the Foundation, Nokia today announced plans to acquire the remaining shares of Symbian Limited that Nokia does not already own and then contribute the Symbian and S60 software to the Foundation. Sony Ericsson and Motorola today announced their intention to contribute technology from UIQ and DOCOMO has also indicated its willingness to contribute its MOAP(S) assets. From these contributions, the Foundation will provide a unified platform with common UI framework. A full platform will be available for all Foundation members under a royalty-free license, from the Foundation's first day of operations.

Contributions from Foundation members through open collaboration will be integrated to further enhance the platform. The Foundation will make selected components available as open source at launch. It will then work to establish the most complete mobile software offering available in open source. This will be made available over the next two years and is intended to be released under Eclipse Public License (EPL) 1.0.

The Symbian Foundation is supported by all 5 of the biggest (in volume terms: Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, LG and Sony Ericsson) of the mobile phone manufacturers. This is a unique distinction (OHA and LiMo both have 3 out of 5) and reflects Symbian's current market share position (around 60%). There is also support from chipset manufactuersr (Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Freesacle, and ST Microelectronics) and operators (Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and DoCoMo).

There an archived version of live webcast explaining the announcement here.

Gomoku surfaces for UIQ 3

2008-06-22T13:03:38+01:00

Originally written back in March as an exercise project for the Symbian Academy, Gomoku, also known as "Connect Five" or "Pente", is now available for free to anyone with a UIQ 3 smartphone - with full source code if you're that way inclined. The game offers a rather challenging AI to play against - in addition to a mode to play against another human opponent on the same device.

From Freecell to Klondike via Clock

2008-06-20T15:20:12+01:00

Surely one of the most popular game genres in the mobile world is that of solitaire collections - Astraware Solitaire is the very latest and looks to be comprehensive and slick. Ewan's been reviewing the S60 3rd Edition version, but it looks exactly the same under UIQ 3 for all those of you with compatible phones, and I've included try/buy links for both platforms.

Read on

Up close and personal with the MOTO Z10

2008-06-20T09:18:31+01:00

Yup, at long last the Motorola Z10 is in the house and here's the first fruits: a hands-on Gallery for this camera/camcorder-focussed UIQ 3 smartphone. I'll be shooting my video review for the Smartphones Show and then this is going to Ewan for an in-depth review: is the Z10 too late to make a splash in the smartphone market? The hardware's certainly of high quality, as you can see in the MOTO Z10 gallery itself.

Digia @Web first beta available

2008-06-20T03:22:18+01:00

This new Webkit-based internet browser for UIQ 3 is now available for download from the developer's official web site (free registration required). Digia @Web is bringing a new level of web experience to UIQ 3 as the first finger-optimised web-browser for the platform. More information and screenshots after the break.

Digia @Web Portrait showing AAS frontpage

With the release of the first beta, Digia also made available the support page for @Web which contains useful information about the application. The @Web conformance report is a test comparison table comparing @Web, Opera 8.65 (default UIQ 3 browser) and S60 Browser. @Web user guide is the user guide for the application which explains how to use it (e.g. accessing zoom and settings functions), and last but not least, they made available the @Web FAQ in which they explain the decision to use Webkit instead of Gecko (Firefox rendering engine). Good stuff to read.

We will publish our initial thoughts about this interesting web-browser in the coming days. Stay tuned!

Digia @Web Landscape showing the AAS front page

Slingplayer UIQ Client Looking For Beta Testers

2008-06-19T10:38:21+01:00

TV on the move has many solutions, and one of them that we've looked at before is the Slingplayer. They are currently developing a new UIQ client, but the problem the team is having is that the people with UIQ devices aren't matching up with people who have Slingboxes. So they're putting out a general call for beta testers of the upcoming UIQ client. Can you help?

It has been hard to recruit additional testers with Slingboxes and UIQ devices to test the software. We'd like to expand the beta program to get a broader base of feedback before release. So this is another call for testers. If you have a Symbian UIQ device and access to a Slingbox to use in testing, we invite you to sign up for the beta.

More at the Sling Community Blog.