All About Symbian - S60 News

AAS Insight 104 - Symbian goes open source

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:59:00 +0100

In All About Symbian Insight 104 (AAS Podcast 168), Rafe and Steve start with a quick look ahead to Mobile World Congress and then round up a number of small news items, including multiple firmware updates (N97 mini, X6, 5730, E52), details of a new version of the Ovi Store client, information on Greystripe and the Ovi Store and the lowdown on 1.4 million Ovi Maps downloads. In the second half of the podcast we discuss the big news that the the open sourcing (EPL) of the Symbian platform (40 million lines of code) has been completed four months ahead of schedule. You can listen to AAS Insight 104 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.

IDC figures confirm SA and Tomi figures

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:22:56 +0100

Following on from Strategy Analytics and Tomi's stats for smartphone sales in the whole of 2009, summarised here by me last week, we now have confirmation, courtesy of the USA-based IDC, of the very latest Q4 2009 smartphone world unit sales: again, Nokia lead the market with 38% for its S60-based smartphones, while RIM's Blackberrys are in second place with 20%. Q1 2010 results will be even more interesting, expect these in the first week of April.

Shot by fans: N95 8GB, N86, 5800

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:43:00 +0100

What do you get when you decide to shoot a UK music video using only phones? Specifically, Nokia's N95 8GB, N86 and 5800? Well, rubbish, in the case of the third one just mentioned, but the N95 and N86 in the hands of a couple of hundred fans, shooting around the band (Noisettes), should provide something interesting, the full story is told in the brief documentary embedded below. (Even riskier, the video is being edited (all 140 hours of footage) by the fans themselves, online at shotbyfans.com, if you want to take a look there as well.)

Extended Twitter Round-Up (Ultra Plus Pro Deluxe)

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:10:27 +0100

David Gilson recently performed a big feature on Twitter applications on Symbian and S60. Mind you, thanks to the feedback of AAS readers, he has now expanded his survey to now cover an eye watering seventeen Twitter options for S60 users wanting to get more out Twitter. Gulp. Read on!

Review: Snaptu

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:31:21 +0100

Something of an oddball in the mobile world, Snaptu is a Java application that attempts to provide a cosy environment into which you can bring a plethora of online services (Flickr, Facebook, TV listings, News, etc). Ewan, as the main reviewer, wasn't too impressed by the limited functionality within each service or by the clunky Java text input. I was somewhat more positive, as you'll see from my 'PS' - but your comments welcome - are you a Snaptu fan?

YouTube for S60 gets a minor (and patchy) update...

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:53:31 +0100

Google's YouTube client for S60 has had very patchy availability recently. The official version on m.google.com was 2.2.17, while the version on the Ovi Store varied from 2.2.21 to 2.2.29, depending on which device you were downloading it for. Version 2.2.30 has now popped up on m.google.com for most devices. There are no feature additions that I can see and there's still no explicit N97 version on the web (though 2.2.29 is available for the N97 on the Ovi Store), but completists may want to install it anyway. Phew! Wish Google would just maintain the one version/SIS file... (via Mauku)

The Nokia 5730 XpressMusic gets the big v200 update

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:20:41 +0100

Thanks to Norman John for the heads-up on a big v200 firmware update to the Nokia 5730 XpressMusic. v200.12.87 is available both over the air and via NSU for unbranded phones in most parts of the world. As ever, network-branded phones may take a lot longer. Changes from the old v101 firmware include the Next-Gen version of Web and a multitude of performance tweaks.

Video: Symbian's journey to EPL

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:59:00 +0100

Continuing our coverage of Symbian EPL news we offer this video were we talk to Chris Davidson, a Program Manager at the Symbian Foundation, about the journey to EPL. Chris talks about the processes involved in the transition, some of the challenges and the opportunities for device manufacturers and developers. We've also added an extra bonus video where Chris explains the #symbiancountdown and the story behind it.

Symbian Foundation completes move to open source

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:01:00 +0100

Today the Symbian Foundation announced that it has completed the move to open source. The platform, which runs on more than 330 million devices and has been developed over the last 10 years is now freely available to all under the EPL (Eclipse Public License). The process, which was delivered four months ahead of schedule, is the largest transition from proprietary code to open source in software history.

The completion of the open source transition marks a critical milestone for Symbian as it seeks to build the enablers for the future of mobile, based on openness and innovation. Read on to view our video interview with Lee Williams and for further information.

Review: SMS Chat

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:09:15 +0100

David Gilson reviews SMS Chat, an SMS manager application which shows you your text messages in a conversation view, and throws in a lot more features too. If you are tired of the same-old S60 SMS manager and want something new, then you might like to check out his review of this actively-supported utility.

The Ovi Store gets 'tabs'...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:31:03 +0100

Several improvements have been made to the Ovi Store application for Nokia phones today. The first is that content area pages now include sort tabs for 'Top Free', 'Best Sellers' and 'New' - a new version of the client - v1.5 (611) - is obviously involved, but it should prompt you to download the update. More later when we've all woken up in the UK and tried the new client out!

Nokia E52 v31.012 firmware now available

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:10:16 +0100

A new firmware update, version 31.012, is now available for the Nokia E52. The update is currently only available via Nokia Software Updater (PC). We've not noticed any major changes, but a number of bug fixes and small version updates to built in applications (Web, Email, Music Store, Maps) are included. The phone's noise cancellation parameters have also been updated, which should improve audio quality of calls.

Mobile World Congress 2010: The Plan

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:40:00 +0100

With Mobile World Congress just 10 days away, it's time to share some of our plans with you. This year All About Symbian (AAS) is teaming up with Mobile Industry Review (MIR) to bring you in-depth video coverage direct from Barcelona. We're combining our resources to bring you in-depth content that we hope will inform, educate and entertain. In addition, you can expect our usual flow of live updates and editorial from all the All About Symbian team.

Ovi Maps, with free navigation, downloaded 1.4 million times

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:01:00 +0100

Nokia has today announced that the new version of Ovi Maps, which was announced on Thursday 21st January, has been downloaded 1.4 million times. The 1 million downloads figure was reached just one week after the launch. The new version of Ovi Maps offers worldwide pedestrian and car navigation, along with other premium features including traffic information, city guides and more, all for free, forever.

2009 Smartphone Stats Worldwide, Nokia and Symbian dominate but competition is fierce

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:47:00 +0100

Now that figures from (almost) all smartphone manufacturers are 'in' for Q4 2009, it's possible to look back over the entire year just finished. Was it an 'annus horribilis' for Nokia and for Symbian? Or was it a case of the market heading for a new equilibrium, in the face of new competition? Using figures collated by TomiAhonen Consulting and Strategy Analytics, I deliver my verdict.