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The good: Yahoo Go for Mobile is a great way to keep in touch with your Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger contacts. In addition to regular Yahoo Search and mobile portal services, you can easily sync your address book, calendar, and photos with your Yahoo account. Plus, it's free.The bad: Yahoo Go for Mobile only works on Nokia Series 60 phones, and you of course need to have a Yahoo account.
The bottom line: If you're an existing Yahoo user and you have a Nokia Series 60 phone, Yahoo Go for Mobile is an excellent free addition to your mobile experience.
Yay!
Thanks Heikki for the tip - and congrats, great start for a Vappu!
---
Update: I forgot to mention that you can download the application for free from http://go.connect.yahoo.com/go/mobile. The list of compatible devices is here.
Ahh... Another nice example of the power of blogs:
This morning, I wrote about the Mobile Search app by SEPT-solutions. In the afternoon, All About 91 commented about a possible bug. And now, as I'm leaving the office, I receive a comment:
Hi Tommi,thanks a lot for promoting my app, this is really great.
I think I fixed the trial version bug and have uploaded a new version.
If it does not work with this version, the msearch.cfg file must be deleted first, it is in \private\A00005B2\.
As most people won't have access to this folder, please uninstall and then reinstall the application.I am very sorry for the unconvenience.
Best regards
Max
Wow!
(I tried it quickly and the bug really is gone - impressive or what?)
No, I'm not talking about Mobile Search by Nokia, but the solution by Odendahl SEPT-Solutions.
Odendahl SEPT-Solutions is proud to announce Mobile Search 2.06 for S60 3rd edition devices. It is therefore now also compatible with Nokia 3250, N91, N80, N92, N71, E60, E70 and E61.You can search in the following sections:
- Contacts, search is processed in any field
- Calendar, inclusive notes, appointments and anniverseries
- todo
- SMS in all folders and custom subfolders
- email in all folders and custom subfolders, searches in body as well as subject line
- complete file system regarding filenames, found files can be viewed in associated applicationWith the integrated option dialog, you can define in which sections of the mobile the search should be processed to get your results as fast as possible. After successful search, you 'll get a list with all found results, which can be directly viewed. You can also switch to the associated application and selected listbox entry is also copied to clipboard automatically.
With the improved speed of the new devices, it is now even more fun and convenient to search for any data on your mobile.
Download demo an full version from: http://www.sept-solutions.de/searchS60_3rd.sis
We still think this function should be part of the OS, but until that day, this is a good stop-gap.
Strange problem on N91, wouldn't install on HDD.
The new features of ShoZu include:
- upload also videos
- add descriptions and tags
- view and reply to comments directly from your phone
- contacts/phonebook back-up
Read more from MobileCrunch or try this cool application/service for free yourself:
http://www.shozu.com
InfoSync World has just published their Nokia N80 review - go check it out: http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/n/6614.html
They gave it an even 80% saying in conclusion:
ConclusionStarting off on a high note, the Nokia N80 camera phone lines up a brilliant high-resolution screen and 3 Megapixel-pushing camera only to put its foot in its mouth seconds later through the absence of an autofocus, which hampers its ability to produce quality stills with predictive consistency. Although it also includes the most extensive line-up of printing, publishing and image management services of any camera phone to date, it still falls marginally short of its N90 predecessor - yet retains broader overall appeal due to its music, business and wireless photo streaming functionality, rendering it a superb 3G phone.
What's positive:Camera resolution; comprehensive image management and connectivity; good battery life
What's negative:Lacks autofocus; anemic camera interface
Last Sunday, SymbianOne's Richard Bloor published an article called "Voice Recognition: Speak And You Shall Be Recognized", in which he compared two voice recognition systems: the one from Nokia and the other from VoiceSignal.
VoiceSignal has done an excellent job with VSuite, combining both quality voice recognition with an intelligently designed recognition process. It is a practical solution for initiation of phone calls and SMS messages or controlling a S60 devices in a wide variety of environments. By contrast the only charitable thing I can say about Voice Command is that it adds a tick to the N90's feature list.
Ouch.
I just wonder why SymbianOne reached quite an opposite conclusion than the majority of product reviewers, who have given us pretty good feedback:
"All contacts from the phonebook can be dialed by voice. You do not need to make a record of your own voice tag as Nokia 3250 recognizes any voice. This application is spectacular, indeed."
The Nokia N90 experience - Mobility Today
"The voice dialing feature is also very good"
Nokia N90 review - PC Magazine:
"Speaker-independent voice dialing worked fine, although we were disappointed there was no way to digit-dial by voice: You can only call contacts in your phone book or issue commands."
"All contact names from the phonebook can be dialled by voice. The good news is that you do not need to make your own voice record. The phone is said to recognize any voice. In my case, its performance was brilliant."
Infosync - Review of Nokia N70:
"...we're thrilled to see Nokia finally introducing speaker independent name dialling - which performed expertly except for an expected decline in recognition in increasingly noisy environments."
You might know these already, but I thought these would be worth a mention:
S60Tips.com - tips, tricks and tutorial for S60 Smartphones, written by Antony Pranata
S60 Freeware - reviews of free S60 apps, written by Marco Casario
Ivan Kuznetsov - Lifeblog S60 development manager in Nokia
Source: Alexa
Looking at reader statistics with Google Analytics, I noticed that my third blog post ever, Freeware mania, still attracts the highest number of readers of my all blog posts.
Freeware you want? Freeware you get.
Here is my shortlist of the best freeware directories out there:
- 3-Lib's directory of S60 freeware
- S60 Freeware - composed by Simon Judge
- S60 Freeware - SymbianWiki
- SymbianOne's S60 freeware repository
- Gadget17 list of freeware for S60
- Symbian Themes - free themes, wallpapers, and ringtones
If I forgot some good freeware directory, just drop a comment and I'll add it to the list.
Now, which ones are any good? When I was using Nokia 6680, my favorites used to include Fexplorer, OggPlay, Opera Mini, Shozu, Yahoo Go! Mobile, some of the free add-on Nokia apps such as Mobile Search, and of course the Star Wreck movie. You can also check out Phil's favorites, Antony's favorites, Rafe's new S60 Freeware Roundup, his original round-up, and the comments I received to my previous Freeware mania blog post.
As most of you know, the old S60 applications do not work, as such, in S60 3rd Edition (Nokia 3250, N71, N80, N91, E60, E61, E70, etc.). Luckily, the first freeware applications for S60 3rd Edition are starting to pop up, including SExplorer, Screenshot 2.0, and Lifeblog.
I'm sure there will be many more freeware apps and directories available for S60 3rd Edition in the near future. I'll let you know as soon as such emerge. Stay tuned...
--
ps. any freeware developers out there - feel free to give feedback about how we could make your life easier. I know that many people from Nokia and Symbian are silently listening to this conversation :-)
To reduce comment spam (gambling, porn, etc.) that we receive huge amounts each day, we have just installed a security plugin that asks you to type a security code whenever you write a comment. Unfortunately, I noticed that many of today's commenters didn't type the code, and I had to rescue them from the spam filter.
What do you think - should we keep this spam plugin or not? If it discourages you from writing comments, or gives too many "false positives", I think we should consider removing it. Otherwise, it's a keeper.
Ewan asks in All About Symbian:
So here’s a question for you all – how should we review a phone? Should we assume the bleeding edge user, who’s not going to be happy unless every box is ticked (and a few new ones are created), or should we aim slightly lower, to the person upgrading their phone, looking for that certain something and happy to stick with what they buy for a couple of years?
Good point. You guys at AAS and your typical readers do not represent the mainstream market. You are what Geoffrey Moore and Everett Rogers call Innovators and Early Adopters.
I have heard the same question over and over again from another angle: aren't product reviews misleading feedback for us in Nokia, as they are written by mobile enthusiasts and not by regular people?
In a sense, they are, but I think there are two really good reasons why everybody in Nokia should occasionally read product reviews from Allaboutsymbian, My-Symbian, GSMArena, infoSync World, Mobileburn, Mobile-Review.com, etc.
1. The sites listed above have millions of readers. And if somebody, for example, searches for "Nokia 3250 review" from Google, you can guess whose words they see.
2. The product reviewers are very knowledgeable about Nokia devices and our competitors' devices. In fact, they probably understand more about the pros and cons of each device in the market, than an average Nokia employee ever could. The feedback from product reviews is typically very constructive.
I think this is something that Eric von Hippel coined two decades ago as "Lead user method". Here is a quote from his 1986 paper "Lead Users: A Source of Novel Product Concepts"
Accurate marketing research depends on accurate user judgments regarding their needs. However, for very novel products or in product categories characterized by rapid change - such as "high technology" products - most potential users will not have the real-world experience needed to problem solve and provide accurate data to inquiring market researchers. In this paper I explore the problem and propose a solution: Marketing research analyses which focus on what I term the "lead users" of a product or process.
Lead users are users whose present strong needs will become general in a marketplace months or years in the future.
To conclude, we should not blindly implement what the early adopters (= product reviewers, bloggers, etc) ask us. We should try to figure out which of the needs will become general in a marketplace in the near future. And it ain't always easy...
Last week, infoSync World reviewed Nokia 3250. They gave it an even 70% - not a particularly bad, but not a particularly good figure either. Read the full Nokia 3250 review for details.
I would like to highlight again the one feature close to my heart:
Still, the 3250 synchronizes flawlessly and effortlessly with Windows Media Player 10 or higher on a desktop courtesy of USB support, and can even be configured to function as a removable drive for added convenience.
Other highlights:
ConclusionThe embodiment of mediocrity, Nokia's 3250 isn't a particularly bad music phone - it's just not a very good one, either. Mediocre audio quality and music management evoke a feeling of music functionality having been an afterthought, yet the handset surprisingly shines with regard to synchronization. 512 MB of memory is a decent amount at the time of writing, and the stereo FM radio is a nice touch - but nothing to write home about. In fact, the most attractive aspect of the 3250 is its ability to run powerful 3rd party applications and games, as well as its innovative yet bulky design. €350 EUR, available throughout Europe.
What's positive:
Innovative design; 2 Megapixel camera; EDGE; stereo FM radioWhat's negative:
Mediocre audio quality and music management; bulky
Niko Nyman is having troubles installing Lifeblog 2.0 to his Nokia N90.
It sounds like a valid problem. Could somebody go and take a look at this?
Seems that the "Coming soon" sign under Nokia N91 and N80 has finally disappeared from our main Nokia.com site. Yeah!
(I think I'm not allowed to announce when Nokia devices start shipping, but I'm sure you'll get the point.)
On last Monday, Antony Pranata announced in his blog a new great freeware utility for S60 3rd Edition (Nokia 3250, N71, N80, N91, E60, E61, E70, etc.):
Today I would like to announce my freeware to the community of S60, i.e. Screenshot 2.0 for Symbian OS (S60 3rd Edition). The software allows you to capture screenshot for your phones and then transfer it to the PC. It is a very simple application, but many of us need it for various purposes.
Thank you Antony - you got yourself a loyal user!
I have read about the troubles you have faced during the Symbian Signing process. I sincerely hope that the signing gets easier in the near future.
Hi Phil (and also for other S60 team), do you know why S60 does not include screenshot capturing feature in the platform? I think it is a feature that many users need. I am just curious…
Thanks for Hugo and Jukka for pointing out that the phone software for Nokia Lifeblog 2.0 now exclusively available for Nseries devices (Nokia N70, N71, N80, N90, N91). For Nokia 3250, you can get the version 1.8.
Somewhat old news, but Michal Jerz from My-Symbian has published a great review of Nokia E61. Go check it out!
By the way, Michal, I can't see this review with my RSS reader. Was there some reason why the review was not included in My-Symbian RSS feed?
Mandatory highlights:
First impressions are VERY GOOD.
The device is simply VERY FAST.
VERDICT: If you like devices of this size, just get it! It's the most powerful S60 smartphone ever made. Highly recommended.
Breaking news from OpenSource.Nokia.com:
The latest project, Internet Radio for S60, has been posted as a learning tool to facilitate the development of S60 multimedia applications. Right now, there isn't an open source community around this work but if there is interest, we could consider supporting one.
Yay!
Downloads:
- source code and documentation
- program files (for S60 3rd Edition) and user instructions
The team behind the Internet Radio initiative is eagerly waiting for developer feedback - let's give them some!
Interestingly, the Internet Radio for S60 page says in the end:
For more information about this and other S60 Multimedia applications, or to read the latest ideas and information about multimedia development for S60, you can read Jukka Eklund's S60 Multimedia Blog.
"How's your blog thing going" is a question I hear quite often nowadays. Last time I heard it in a workshop that we had yesterday with Steve Crescenzo and Jim Ylisela. Inspired by the workshop, I decided to write this recap of what has happened so far.
On November 9th 2005, we started small and launched our S60.com blogs with three blogs: See into S60, MRKTNGman, and mine. A little later, Jukka started his S60 Multimedia blog and the Idean Research team their S60 User Experience blog.
So far I have written 61 entries and received 296 comments. Big thanks for everybody, especially Darla, Antony Pranata, AkBoom, Steve Litchfield, Rafe Blandford, Jim Hughes, Erik Smartt, Hugo, Janne Jalkanen, Martin Sauter, Greg Taieb, Glenn Letham, Alexandre Silva, Marco Casario, and Nicolas Fogelholm. Sorry if I forgot someone. Anyway, the comments have been really insightful and valuable for our S60 development. Interestingly, I haven't had to delete a single inappropriate comment. My apologies if your comment has been caught and forgotten in the spam filter.
Here are some reader statistics for my blog for the last month (not including RSS readers):
(click to enlarge the image)
Hmm... Seems that ordinary S60 users do not read my blog. But many of the most important online journalists, S60 influencers (inside and outside Nokia) and prosumers do.
My Technorati rank is currently 38,338 with 107 incoming links from 55 sites. And if you search for "S60 Applications", this blog ranks #3 in Google, #1 in MSN, and #1 in Yahoo.
What has this required?
- 5-10 % of my time
- a little bit of spirit for experimentation and adventure
I have also tried to stretch carefully the corporate membrane by writing about controversial topics, such as Skype, outrageous data bills, and incompatibility problems between Nokia S60 devices. However, nobody has asked me to shut up or change the tone of voice. Not even Nokia's legal or corporate communications people. None. Nada. This makes me feel Nokia is kind of cool company to work for. And it makes me feel that we should have had this conversation going all along.
Finally, I'd like to thank my bosses for supporting my blogging experiment, and letting me spend 5-10% of my time reading and writing blogs. Big thanks to Janne and Mika!!
Russell Beattie writes about his coworker Jonathan Strauss receiving a nasty $1,154.99 bill from mobile data.
Ouch... But stop whining, you are not the first:
- $3500 bill for Joi Ito in 2004 => story ends up in Wired Magazine and Wall Street Journal.
- $3800 bill for 16-year-old boy from South Korea => killed himself
Russell says:
I wouldn't be surprised to see a class action suit on this topic some day here in the U.S.
GSM Arena has just published their Nokia 3250 review. Check it out! I think the review was pretty good and fairly accurate. However, I would like to make some comments and minor corrections about the built-in applications.
GSM Arena says:
That is why Nokia has developed an application called Instructions, which should get started directly from the right context button (we cannot confirm this information as the device we tested had been used by somebody else before it got to our office) and explain the basic work steps with Nokia 3250.
I think they mean our Tutorial application. As far as I know, we didn't put it as default in Nokia 3250 right soft key.
GSM Arena says:
Regrettably, Nokia 3250 shares one annoying feature with Nokia N70, that is, a single press on the red receiver button closes running applications instead of taking the user back to the main display. Such a function is extremely unpleasant as you may find yourself with a closed ICQ client in the middle of an important conversation, for example.
Really? Not in my Nokia 3250. Pressing the red button takes me to the main display, leaving the current application running in the background.
GSM Arena says:
Nokia 3250 works with standard Mass Storage and thus appears as a new drive once connected to a PC. The phone provides direct access to the memory card structure. I was wondering where to save music files without using PC Suite. ...
Didn't you notice that you can synchronize the music easily with Windows Media Player? If so, I guess we should promote this functionality more... (see Allaboutsymbian review about synching music)
GSM Arena says:
Try to guess where in the phone the memory card slot - microSD (TransFlash), the tiniest memory card in the world - is hidden. When we obtained Nokia 3250 pack and took out the handset, our entire team put heads together plenty of times looking for the memory card, but we would not manage to find it. Eventually, embarrassed, we had to open phone's manual.
GSM Arena says:
All contacts from the phonebook can be dialed by voice. You do not need to make a record of your own voice tag as Nokia 3250 recognizes any voice. This application is spectacular, indeed. (read more for details)
GSM Arena says:
The problem I see in Nokia's new smartphone is the incompatibility of its programs with current Symbian applications.
Seems that FlexiSPY crossed the line.
Flexispy.A is a commercial spying application written for the Symbian OS. It records details of voice call information, SMS information and contents, and sends the details to a remote server.
Security TechPlanet: Symbian phone spyware selling for US$50
MobileCrunch: Meet FlexiSpy; the Keylogging, Spying, Mobile Phone Tapping, SMS Header Rendering Trojan for Your Mobile
