|
» Subscribe » Favorite Links » What is S60? » Freeware & Trials » S60 devices » Hints and tips » About this blog |
» Application Reviews (6) » Commentary (67) » Device Previews (14) » Freeware (12) » Fun (8) » Hints & Tips (32) » Multimedia (25) » Quiz (2) » S60 Events (48) » S60 News (61) » Software development (4) » User Experience (3) |
|
Subscribe RSS 2.0 feed |
Subscribe Atom feed If you wish to receive email notification, please here » |
....are the ones that you don't notice - the ones that just simply work with no fuss. Well, perhaps a bit exaggerated, but today I'd like to bring up one of the core benefits of S60 - Application Interworking (AIW).
First, what is AIW? Basically, it is the ability of one application to utilise the services of other applications. The development of AIW is quite essential for the mobile device environment....
One simple use case is the ability to activate the phone or messaging application from Contacts. Another one is the ability to dial a number or send a message to a number featured in an SMS or e-mail. A third one (illustrated below) is the ability to (for instance) send an image from the options menu in gallery/images.
Now, before closing down for this week - I'd like to hear what sort of AIW scenarios that you have come across - use cases that you have been especially happy with, or ones that you would like to see in future S60 devices.
Have a great Vappu (the upcoming week-end in Finland is Vappu, featuring student parties and real culture shocks for foreigners visiting the country on April 30th)!
BWi.
The support pages are up, and you know the rest :) Finnish web stores are listing this at just above 400€, not bad I think?
I'm glad to see that S60 device makers like Nokia release these less expensive phones, so S60 becomes more accessible to a wider audience. So why is the N72 coming equiped with 2nd Edition instead of 3rd Edition? I think it was a wise decision and let me tell you why...
- 2nd Edition is a rock solid platform that has been going strong for years now.
- Lots of information concerning 2nd Edition online, millions of other 2nd Edition users in the market already.
- Although the 3rd Edition application library is expanding rapidly, 2nd Edition boasts an application library in the thousands, much more than 3rd Edition currently has.
- Since the N72 is geared toward average consumers rather than high-end phone users, these people aren't as interested in cutting edge technology, and would be more comfortable with something that's been around longer. I'm the same way, I rarely upgrade right away, I let the newbies work out all the kinks then I jump on board.
Which one would you choose: A 3rd Edition device with all the latest features, or a 2nd Edition device with the huge content and application offering? It's a tough call.
3.2 megapixel cameras with Carl Zeiss optics in the N73 and N93, DVD-quality video coming from the N93 to bring us the first real "camcorder phone". The N72 is due out in June, N72 and N93 out in July! - And - now if Nokia could just release all their other S60 devices they announced some months ago - and why is the N72 using 2nd Edition while N73 and N93 are using 3rd Edition..?!?
Introducing the S60 Blogs front door...
Here you'll find the latest posts from all our blogs onto one single page, as well as a single feed that aggregates all S60 blogs together. Other features include a comprehensive search engine which looks through all our blogs, the latest press releases, and a couple teasers which will change periodically and highlights campaigns on the s60.com website.
Please take a minute check it out, if you have any thoughts or comments, I'd love to hear them!! I hope everyone enjoys the new page!
Adobe has now updated their web pages with information on new devices that are supporting Flash Lite 1.1. This page contains information about the currently announced Nokia devices based on S60 3rd Edition that will ship with a pre-installed version of Flash Lite 1.1.
- BWi
This is excellent, S60 software developer Antony Pranata has introduced the S60Tips.com blog, "Tips, tricks and tutorial of using S60 Phones"...
S60Tips.com is a weblog that provides tutorial, tips and tricks of using S60 phones. If you don’t know what S60 phones are, please read this introduction.The contents of this weblog varies from very simple tutorial, tips or tricks to the advanced ones. Some of them are actually covered in the manual book of S60 phones.
Link via All About Symbian
As always, it might not mean anything or then it just might be that those products are shipping.
Nokia E60 support
Nokia N71 support
PS. Phil, am I allowed to post in this blog? :)
There's always that bit of uncertainty when you put the largest memory card available in a new-to-the-market device. But the 2GB SanDisk miniSD card (cost me 99 euros) that I just stuck in my Nokia E61 worked like a charm. (Be careful, the Nokia 3250 takes microSD, not miniSD) Installing a new memory card into a S60 3rd Edition device took me just seconds...
1. Insert card - in my E61 I didn't even have to turn it off or take out the battery.
2. Goto TOOLS -> MEMORY -> OPTIONS -> FORMAT MEM. CARD
Five seconds later it's ready. Simple!
She's dug through her archives and put together a list of all the original tips and tricks she's brought to the S60 world. Visit her blog to check them out!
If you've been reading this blog for awhile then you might be familiar with some of the tips and tricks that I've written about or come across since my s60 usage. I decided to resurface those links for new users out there but please pay attention to the devices mentioned.
The first S60 3rd Edition device, the Nokia 3250, just shipped a few weeks ago and we're alread seeing some great 3rd Edition applications, even freeware!
MobiSystems Diets S60 3rd Edition
MobiSystems® Diets is specially designed to facilitate your dieting and life-style needs on the go. Do you need to lose weight, get in shape, or simply watch what you eat? MobiSystems Diets enables you to set up a weight loss program and begin the journey towards the body you want.
Pocket Oxford English Dictionary (and other languages)
This is a smartphone reissue of the ninth edition of the world's longest-established pocket English dictionary by Oxford University Press. It is one of the new generation Oxford dictionaries derived from the database of the highly acclaimed New Oxford Dictionary of English and is particularly user friendly with its elegant open design, with different elements starting on new lines. It offers excellent coverage of English as an international language and thousands of examples illustrate idiomatic usage. All irregular noun, verb, and adjectival inflections are spelled out in full, while guidance on grammar and good usage is provided by in-text notes. Additional features include Wordbuilder boxes giving information on related words and thematic tables on subjects such as countries, chemical elements, and nationalities.
And the first 3rd Edition freeware. From Simon Judge, SExplorer file explorer
Simon Judge, a freelance mobile developer, has released the first piece of (native) freeware for S60 3rd Edition. SExplorer (available in beta) is a file explorer utility. Features include the browsing of all drives (but not the folders protected by the Symbian 9 security model), creating, moving, and renaming of folders and files and opening files according to their file type.
Epocware's Handy Weather
All you need is wireless Internet compatibility to get weather news and forecast for 40 000+ preset cities worldwide and for any arbitrary location by coordinates (latitude and longitude). No more complicated menus to scroll through to find the info you need. You’ll wonder how you ever got by without it!
Mobile Search is the first complete search application for the Symbian platform. After entering any search string, the native C++ application searches for results in the following areas:* Contacts, search is processed in any field
* Calendar, inclusive notes, appointments and anniverseries
* Todo application
* SMS in all folders and custom subfolders
* Email in all folders and custom subfolders, searches in body as well as subject line
* Notepad 1)
* complete file system regarding filenames, found files can be viewed in associated application
And here's some open source - Internet Radio for S60
The S60 Internet Radio reference application is a fully working example of an audio application developed for the S60 3.x platform. The application supports SHOUTcast streaming audio playback. Currently, MP3 and AAC+ streams are supported.
And here's a bunch more from Nokia Software Market.
More open source apps, PuTTY v1.4 - I'm not going to write a description, you should know what this is. ;-)
Here's a Symbian-signed freeware app called "Screenshot 2" from Antony Pranata
Screenshot for Symbian OS is a FREE program to take screenshot on your Symbian OS mobile phones (UIQ or S60). You can capture screenshot and save it to a file in JPEG, BMP or MBM format (the S60 version supports PNG format too). The screenshot can be sent directly to a PC via Bluetooth or infrared and another mobile phone. Furthermore, you can customize the shortcut key, file name and delay of capturing. This new version supports continuous mode that allows you to capture screenshot every a few seconds
...What else am I missing?
Links via My-Symbian and All About Symbian
The city of Nokia in Finland where Nokia tires (and eventually Nokia phones) was founded, is now abandoning land lines for its staff members- 1,800 employees must use a mobile phone...
The Finnish municipality of Nokia - the birthplace of the giant company bearing its name - said Thursday that its entire staff would soon use only mobile phones. The first landline phones have already been removed from offices and the last should be gone by the summer. "The aim is that people can call directly into an official's mobile," said Martin Andersson, an ICT specialist leading the project.
Since the Flash lite love fest has started on this blog, it might also be good to know which of the more immediate S60 3rd Edition devices that come with the Flash Lite 1.1 player pre-installed:
Nokia 3250
Nokia N91
Nokia N80
Nokia N71
Nokia E60
Nokia E61
Nokia E70
... So, to conclude, the S60/Flash Lite ecosystem is about to kick-start....
Wow. Impressive stuff folks. Now, since many of you apparently are developing Flash lite apps and content, it would be nice to hear what you think about the evolution of this technology. Flash Lite 2 is around the corner - what kind of feedback do you have about it? Also, what are the things you'd like to see in future versions of Flash Lite?
Keep'em coming!
-BWi
There has been great enthusiasm from Flash developers following the news that the first S60-enabled devices will ship with Flash Lite 1.1. It seems as if there is a huge community out there just waiting for the opportunity to kick-start a Flash Lite/S60 ecosystem. At the 3GSM, I met with 20+ developers that were developing Flash Lite content and applications, or were planning to do so in the near future.
Now, I'd like to ping you guys for links to sites where one can download and sample Flash Lite 1.1 applications. One site that I frequently visit is Flash Lite Exchange site , but it would be nice to see if there are additional locations from where to try out new applications/content...
(Note that you need to have a Flash Lite 1.1 player on your device to be able to consume content/apps. If you don't, you may be able to purchase/download a standalone player from here, given that your device supports Flash lite 1.1.
Then there is of course Flash Lite 2, but that's another cup of coffee that needs its own tasting.
:-)
Have a great week
-BWi.
