All About Symbian - Editorial News

AAS Insight 93 - SEE 2009, Q3 Canalys, N-Gage

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:13:08 +0100

In All About Symbian Insight 93 (AAS Podcast 157) we discuss the Q3 smartphone figures from Canalys and Rafe explains that Fujitsu and Quic have joined the board of the Symbian Foundation. We move on to a retrospective of SEE 2009 with discussion of the media reaction (which send Rafe into rant mode). We finish with thoughts on N97 PR 2.0 and the closure of N-Gage (sniff). You can listen to AAS Insight 93 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.

Rafe's SEE 2009 walkabout (part 1)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:37:55 +0100

SEE 2009 (Symbian Exchange and Exposium) is Symbian's annual big show. In the video below you can join me on a walkabout around the show floor at SEE 2009. I share my impressions and analysis in an unscripted, one-take, walk and talk. As well as covering many of the Symbian related consultancy and developer tool companies there's also a quick look at the Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung stands.

Nokia N86 8MP to N97 mini: The reluctant baton hand-over?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:33:33 +0100

In which I muse on the seemingly unstoppable handover in all parts of the phone world from traditional phone form factors to large touchscreens and wonder, in particular, just how far the Nokia N97 mini actually is a step forwards from the last (and best) of the mainstream S60 3rd Edition line, the Nokia N86 8MP...

Symbian UI concept video from SEE 2009

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:10:15 +0100

At last week's Symbian Exchange and Exposition, Lee Williams (Executive Director of the Symbian Foundation) showed, during the keynote, a concept video of what a future Symbian UI might look like. The video shows a typical use case: accepting an invite to a party via Facebook and, the next day, attending the party. There's a glimpse of a new look homescreen, complete with social web integration, navigation and mapping features enhanced by augmented reality functionality. Read on to view the video and my comments.

Powerboat Challenge sums up N-Gage

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:12:18 +0100

And so the final N-Gage game slips out the harbour. Perhaps Nokia were hoping for a quiet maiden voyage for Powerboat Challenge? Whoops. Despite a solid game structure and good enough graphics, this title just - in Ewan's words - isn't fun. Read the illustrated review here on Ovi Gaming.

When is a phone not a phone any longer?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:24:24 +0100

In this feature, I look at the creeping size increases in modern 'phones' - at what point do they cease to become phones and turn into media 'tablets'? I postulate a definition that refers to the way in which these devices are used - proving that the Nokia N900 and HTC HD2 definitely aren't phones at all and throwing doubt on the N97 and iPhone in the process. Controversial? Moi?

An Obituary for the N-Gage

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:57:09 +0100

With the announcement that Nokia are closing the N-Gage service, Ewan has been looking back at the troubled gaming strategy from Finland, from its launch in 2003 to today's ticket to Dignitas in an Obituary for the Nokia N-Gage (2003-2009). We'll pass on any messages of condolence to Finland you may wish to leave.

Farewell N-Gage - Nokia to shutter gaming service

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:46:18 +0100

In a low key announcement, via the N-Gage blog, comes the news that Nokia plans to shutter its N-Gage gaming service. Nokia say they will 'no longer publish new games for the N-Gage platform'; instead games will be provided via its Ovi Store service. Current N-Gage games can be purchased until September 2010 and the N-Gage website and Arena service (online elements) will be available throughout 2010.

Fujitsu appointed to the Symbian Foundation board of directors

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:54:31 +0100

Fujitsu has been appointed to the board of directors of the Symbian Foundation. As a result, Fujitsu will, as an OEM Board Member, contribute to the funding of the Symbian Foundation and take an active role in all four Symbian Foundation councils (features and roadmap, architecture, user interface and release). Fujitsu have more than 8 years of Symbian experience and have released more than 20 Symbian handsets, second only to Nokia, including the first videophone.

QuIC joins Symbian Foundation, appointed to board of directors

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:07:06 +0100

Qualcomm Innovation Center (QuIC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, has joined the Symbian Foundation and been appointed to the Symbian Foundation board of directors. By joining the board of directors, QuIC will be taking an active role in the governance of the Symbian Foundation and will likely join a number of the Symbian Foundation councils. The announcement represents a very significant endorsement of the Symbian Foundation by a key player in the mobile space.

AAS Podcast 154, 'live' from SEE 2009, rounding up Day One

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:16:08 +0100

It's the official All About Symbian 'live' podcast from the SEE 2009 show, including: Ewan interviews with Lee Williams, a virtual audio tour of the show floor, Rafe interviews Jan Ole Suhr, the guy behind Gravity, Ewan interviews Bill Ray, from the Register, about the challenges facing the Symbian Foundation, plus Ewan, Steve, Rafe and Stuart (Clark) round up Day One of the show.

The Camera Gap turns out bigger than expected

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:32:00 +0100

In the run-up to SEE 2009, I'd been mulling over which smartphones to take for blogging purposes - and one of my requirements, obviously, had to be something with a camera that was good enough. Below are my thoughts and findings, in which I discover that one of my own theories wasn't necessarily true...

Spotify shows Nokia how to do innovative music smartphones

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:08:26 +0100

Spotify, the music consumption service, has made another move into the mobile space. Following on from their iPhone app (and tantalising hint they are working on a Symbian version) their next move outflanks Nokia and their plans for music yet again. The launch of a monthly tariff and handset (HTC Hero), which has Spotify bundled, is going to be attractive to music lovers – not because it's better than Nokia's Comes With Music, but because it is more loved online, so the passionate users will do the evangelising.

AAS Insight 91 - Nokia Q3, Ovi Suite and more

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:03:19 +0100

In All About Symbian Insight 91 (AAS Podcast 153), Steve expands on his N97 camera and GPS experience from last weeks podcast. Rafe and Steve then discuss Nokia's Q3 2009 result in details, before Steve asks Rafe about his initial N900 versus N97 impressions. Our final topic is Steve's experience with Ovi Suite 2.0. You can listen to AAS Insight 91 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.

Nokia Q3 2009 results, converged device shipments slip slightly

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:08:33 +0100

Nokia has released their Q3 2009 results, reporting an operating loss of EUR 426 million, but this was primarily due to a write down in the value of Nokia Siemens Network. Nokia's device and service division's profits were EUR 785 million, up 3% from the previous quarter, but down 50% year on year. Converged devices sales (smartphone) were down slightly (though up year-on-year) at 16.4 million, compared with 15.5 million units in Q3 2008 and 16.9 million units in Q2 2009. As such, converged device volumes were, perhaps, lower than expected.