N80 GEEK

Making Music With the N80

2006-11-21T17:59:00.000+08:00

Darla Mack has just posted an interview with Omri Levy, a musician who has created a an album titled "about:blank". It is a collection of demos he made using his N80 and Alon MP3 Dictafone. In the interview, she asks him why he decided to record his EP this way. He says:-

"It happened to me when i first got my first Symbian phone and found a great recording app called "Alon mp3 Dictaphone'. I recorded the first songs on Nokia 6680 and a few weeks ago i've upgraded to N80 and recorded the whole thing again in a few hours."

More power to the N80.

Upgrade For Nokia PC Suite 6.82

2006-11-21T12:13:00.000+08:00

A little late I know, but I just spotted this piece of news from Symbian Watch. Nokia has released the latest version of the PC Suite 6.82. Changes include:-
- Stability fixes for backup and restore
- Improved mobile music experience with Nokia Music Manager
- Update your phone software with Nokia Software Updater
- Added fluency in information exchange between Nokia phones and Microsoft applications (such as Windows Media Player 11) with Windows Portable Device (WPD) driver support

I'm quite keen to see what new improvements have taken place in the Nokia Music Manager. While the current build is alright, improvements could be made on exporting of playlists and conversions to the M4A format. Download it here.

More Rumours and Sincere Apologies

2006-11-20T10:52:00.000+08:00

Darla Mack has posted about another possible Nokia Multimedia Device, the N97. Her scoop comes courtesy of Mobile Whack. The N97 is rumoured to be equipped with a "3-inch display, might have a 5 megapixel camera with 20x digital zoom and include a miniSD card and 20GB of internal memory." Next year is going to be an exciting year for Symbian, with a plethora of new devices coming out!

I would now like to extend my sincerest apologies to everyone who has been reading this blog. I know I have not updated it for the last two weeks. It almost the year end so I have been caught up working on my company's reports and 2007 plans, so I am quite worn out. I'm going to try to post at least twice a week from now onwards, so that I don't get too lazy.

New WLAN Wizard Now Available For N80

2006-11-05T22:17:00.000+08:00

Nokia has released the new version of their WLAN Wizard available for download at the N80 Internet Edition support page. With htis application, you can now quickly and easily search for available Wifi networks, store the confiqurations and launch the Web browser quickly from your idle screen. As Nokia says -

"Is there a WLAN network out there? The WLAN Wizard will tell you, store it and launch it for you! WLAN Wizard shows the available WLANs in the range of N80 Internet Edition directly on the idle screen and it is possible to start web browsing immediately. WLAN Wizard also automatically creates the needed WLAN settings making WLAN usage extremely easy."

Thanks to AAS for the heads up.

Poscasting Application Formally Released!

2006-11-02T21:27:00.000+08:00

All About Symbian and Darla Mack have put up posts announcing that the Nokia Podcasting application is finally out from Beta and is now ready as a final release. Get the application from the Nokia Podcasting Blog.

AAS goes so far as to put some pointers as to how to install the application and preserve your current podcasts and settings. Enjoy!

"Before upgrading your Podcasting app:
1.If you don't want to preserve your subscribed podcasts and episodes:
a. Uninstall Podcast app from App manager before installing ver 1.00.0.
b. Find the Podcasting icon on your device. (For example, in the MY OWN folder on the N91).
c. Click "Options" and choose "Remove"
d. Install the 1.00.0 version of Nokia Podcasting

2. If you would like to preserve your subscribed podcasts and episodes:
a. Simply install ver 1.00.0 on top of the Beta version, you will see a warning message that ver 0.93.(6) will be replaced by ver 1.00.(0).
b. Select OK to proceed with the installation and use the same location where Beta version is installed when asked where do you want to install ver 1.00.0.
If you are not sure where Beta version was installed, open App Manager and check whether there is a memory icon shown besides Podcast. If yes, your Podcast Beta version is installed on memory card (or hard drive); otherwise, it is installed on phone memory.

3.After upgrading your Podcasting app:If you did not remove (uninstall) Podcast Beta version before upgrading to ver 1.00.0, your default directories will not be updated to the one comes with ver 1.00.0.
In order to show the new default directories, open "Directory" view, select "Options" then select "Restore Default." The new Directories should now show."

Search And Download Google Video For Your N80

2006-11-01T11:10:00.000+08:00

I noticed over at the s60 Multimedia blog, an article regarding how to watch Google Video directly over your NSeries device without the need to download to the file a PC first and do a video conversion.

Scott Robbin has developed an application which allows users to search and download videos to your mobile device. It works for both AVI and MP4 devices, so should be playable over Realplayer.

If you have a non-Symbian devices but are interested in trying out the application, the general requirements are that:
-Your phone has an XHTML-compliant browser
-You have enough storage on your phone to hold large files
-Your phone’s connection is fast
-You have an application on your phone capable of playing AVI or MP4 files

Point your Web browser over to Srobbin Mobile website and let the application do the rest. Do note that due to large file sizes, all search results are limited to videos less than 4 minutes long. Thanks for the effort Scott!

The Next Communicator?

2006-11-01T10:55:00.000+08:00

Darla Mack has posted an interesting update from Softpedia regarding what is rumoured to be a possible successor to Nokia's Communicator range of devices. Softpedia has provided sketches of what is possible the next generation device the E90, a slide based QWERTY keyboard based device. I was a big Psion and Communicator user back in the old days, so the possibility of a cutting edge keyboard based Symbian device is really exciting for me.

The rumours go so far as to say that this device will provide connectivity via HSPDA, UMTS, EDGE and Wi-Fi capabilities.... and may include a 2 megapixel digital camera and the miniUSB connectivity support.

As these are still unconfirmed, please take the information with a pinch of salt.

Malaysia's Premier Mobile Publication

2006-10-30T18:31:00.000+08:00

During my trip to 3GSM, I happened to bump into Kash, the chief editor of Mobile World Magazine. MW Magazine, for those of you who may not know, is Malaysia's premier English language mobile phone magazine. I was pleased to be able to compliment him and his team for turning in such an entertaining, informative publication, month after month. I am quite happy to admit that I'm one of their avid readers.

I took the time to visit their website recently and noticed that there are a number of interesting articles. You might find their insights into the Malaysian mobile industry interesting so go ahead and check out the site. If you are in Malaysia get a copy of the magazine, you won't be disappointed!

Download BitTorrent Files With Your N80

2006-10-30T10:51:00.000+08:00

Symbian Watch has posted an annoucement that SymTorrent, a BitTorrent client for S60 3rd edition devices is now available for download. According to them, the application allows "downloading and uploading with resuming. You can also check the status of each file inside a torrent along with several other statistics and properties during download."

SymTorrent is free (and open source) software and is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Read more here.

I am testing the application at the moment, and will update you soon.

Who Is Adding Value To Your N80 Experience?

2006-10-27T14:43:00.000+08:00

I noticed an interesting post on the Tommi's s60 Application Blog regarding an article from the MobileUserExperience.com. The article talks about how mobile operators were not providing the author with true value added services.

The author recently purchased an N80 and the crux of the article is about where he derives the true value add from the mobile user experience (ie: not from his mobile operator). Not to miss the point of the entire discussion, I noted that the author also included a number of examples on how he currently uses his N80. Thought you might find this interesting reading. Find out more here.

N80 Comes In Twice In Top Symbian Smartphone List

2006-10-26T17:15:00.000+08:00

InfoSyncWorld has a compiled a list of Top 10 Symbian smartphones for your consideration. The list is surprising in that it also includes devices that have yet to be launched, hence the N80 is represented twice on the list, firstly the regular, plain vanilla N80 and secondly the N80 Internet Edition. They even go so far as to say this about the N80 Internet Edition-

"Offering a Wi-Fi wizard, a new Download! client and a mobile search application powered by Yahoo, the Nokia N80 Internet Edition aims to simplify both the connection process as well as the use of internet on mobile phones. Support of third party VoIP clients is also supported, however, Skype users should look elsewhere as the N80 only support a competing protocol. Another disappointment is the lack of autofocus and VGA recording just like with the original N80; additions that could have lead it to be the first phone in infoSync's history getting full score (100%) in testing. Still, the N80 Internet Edition should be seen as one of few überphones this fall."

Each device featured comes with a nice little write up and review, so check out the link here.

Small N80 Firmware Update Announced

2006-10-23T23:09:00.000+08:00

Symbian Freak reports that there will be another Firmware Update for the N80. Read about it here. Firmware v4.0623.0.42 seems to be a very minor update, key changes being several fixes for the camera forward compatibility fix and Sync agent forward compatibility fix, both for FOTA update. There is also a fix for SMS sending delays. The update should be available from your local Nokia service centers soon, and for the Nokia Software Updater later.

As far as I am concerned, my N80 seems to be running pretty smooth after the last update. I don't have any camera or SMS problems, so I don't think I will be going through the hassle of upgrading until a major fix is announced. Also, after getting feedback from other users about their upgrading experience, I must admit to being a little hesitant about the whole process myself. If you still want to go through with it later, please remember to BACKUP your data and SYNC your contacts to Outlook. Better safe than sorry.

Essential Readers For Your NSeries

2006-10-20T23:02:00.000+08:00

As previously spotlighted by Steve over at All About Symbian, there are a number of applications that allow one to do offline reading from your N80 and NSeries device. I thought I would spotlight a few applications on my own. If you have any additional suggestions, please feel free to add your comments.

MOBIPOCKET READER
In my personal opinion, Mobipocket Reader is one of the killer apps for the N80, allowing me to catch up on my reading even while offline, without the use of an internet connection. Not only can you purchase new eBooks from their store, the application allows you to convert your existing documents, be it in Word, PDF, text or other office formats and take them anywhere with you safely tucked in your mobile device. It even has a built in RSS Reader, which gives you the chance to download the feeds from your favorite websites or bogs (such as N80Geek!) and browser though the headlines at your own leisure. You are going to need to have the Windows version installed in your PC first, so that you can download and convert these documents before transferring them to your mobile.

QREADER
QReader is another free eBook reader for 3rd Edition devices. It’s a simple, no frills application which does its job simply and effectively. It allows you to easily read plain text files and has a basic user interface built in.

MOBIZINES
This is isn’t an eBook reader per se. Rather; it’s a cute little Java App that allows you to view articles and other snippets from established magazines. I use it to catch up on news from the BBC, T3, GQ, TOTAL Film, Maxim etc. It has a nice user interface although a little slow when updating magazines.

WIDSETS
Widsets is a simple RSS service that provides useful information available on the Internet directly to your NSeries Device. There are two parts to Widsets - the application you load on your device and a web service you set up and configure on the Internet. Try it, the interface is beautiful and it’s a pretty fun application to use when downloading feeds and such.

CARNIVAL OF MOBILIST
This neat little application is great because it compiles the best writing from all over the web and compiles all these articles to be viewed offline. The feeds are very Web 2.0 and mobile centric but some of you might find the information interesting.

Where to start looking for e-books:
Project Gutenburg – This site is hosts an incredible collection of literary classics. Most of the books here are classic stories from the collected works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Somerset Maugham, HG Wells and many more legendary authors. Other good sites include the Free EBook Library and Manybooks.net. Finally, the BBC has a site for classic Dr. Who fiction. Check it out here.

Video Broadcasting Via Your NSeries

2006-10-19T23:54:00.000+08:00

At the s60 booth, I witnessed what the s60 team were trying hard to incorporate to open more possiblities for us users. Oren of s60 Multimedia Blog fame, demonstrated Pocketcaster, a live video broadcast service for 3G mobile phones and other portable platforms. Pocketcaster is available from the folks at Comvu, who's goal it is to allow us to instantly post videos to our webcast page, blog or favorite video sharing site. At this point, the application is only available for Windows devices but the s60 team is testing a trial Symbian version to be used for NSeries devices. By the way, the picture shows an N93 capturing a video, broadcasting the said video real time over the web (as show on the laptop) and streaming the image over the LCD display above.

Finally, I got the chance to tinker with the Tune My s60! demo booth. See Phil's post in See into s60 blog to learn more . Essentially, the booth allows you to customise your s60 device by giving you a selection of themes, ringtones, wallpapers and allows you to customize your phone by sending the items over Bluetooth or over the air via SMS. The team even had some nice giveaways like tiny screen cleaners, stickers and labels to help customise your s60 device and make it more unique. The concept is kinda like MTV's Pimp My Ride! Loads of fun.

Symbian VS s60

2006-10-19T22:32:00.000+08:00

Visiting the s60 booth was an enlightening event for me, a real learning experience. For example, I was initially under the impression that s60 and Symbian were one and the same. Poor foolish me. Apparently they are NOT. The Symbian OS is the core mobile operating system, based on open standards which drives advanced mobile devices such as smartphones.

S60 on the other hand, is the UI or the User Interface, which represents the front end of your mobile device, s60 provides us the intuitive, full-color user interface that's both simple and good-looking. s60 flexibility allows for various hardware designs and software configurations. It's this streamlined personalisable interface that allows us to organise ourselves, browse the web, message each other with our NSeries devices using only the keypad interface.

If you are happy (or unhappy) with the user interface of your device so far, leave a compliment or comment. I'm sure the guys will appreciate it.

I got a chance to try out some of the new aspects of s60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 (Whew! what a mouthful!). the Internet browsers are no longer two browsers, web and services. Instead it is now single browser which can support both the complete web pages and mobile-optimized content. New elements include an auto complete feature, password manager and a floating toolbar for favourite features. Other features include auto lock for sliding devices (such as the N95), A2DP bluetooth stereo profiles, audio messaging, video ringtones, animated screensaver and multiple alarms. On the whole, very, very impresive.

New Symbian Devices From LG and Samsung

2006-10-19T18:22:00.000+08:00

I missed out on the Smartphone Show which is happening in London so I have had to rely on the guys over at All About Symbian to keep updated. LG and Samsung have announced new Symbian devices running on the s60 UI. The first being the LG JoY and Samsung with it's SGH i520 (Pictures thanks to AAS). This can only be a good thing, as with competition come innovation, and with diveristy, more choices for those who may prefer non-Nokia devices.

For example, my wife is a huge Samsung fan and while she's seen the things I can do with my N80, she would not part with her Samsung as she adores the sleek form factor. Like my wife, many Malaysians are smitten with the fancy designs of Samsung and LG mobiles but miss out on the many benefits of a symbian smartphone. The JoY and the SGH i520 should prove popular with the buying public. This can only be a good thing for the s60 developers and for users as this should mean more applications and content to play with.

At this point, both devices look extremely appealing and feature attractive specs. In the case of the SGH i520, it's equipped with:-
- HSDPA / UTMS and EDGE/GPRS
- 2 MP Camera + VGA
- 2.3" QVGA (320 x 240) 262K TFT Screen
- Symbian OS 9.2, S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1
- MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA
- MPEG4 (H.263 and H.264), WMV
- Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR) and A2DP (Bluetooth Stereo)
- Flash Lite 2.0
- Full HTML Browser (S60 Browser version 2.0)
- 45MB User Memory and microSD memory card slot

Good to see that they have incorporated, A2DP and WMV profiles into the device.

Nokia NSeries Blog

2006-10-19T15:59:00.000+08:00

Just noticed a new blog called Nokia NSeries. It's an unofficial site being maintained by Jay3GSM and features hardware previews, comments and notes on cool applications for your NSeries device. Check out the link here.

Back from 3GSM Singapore

2006-10-19T13:39:00.000+08:00

Well, I'm back in the game after spending some time in the lion city. I found 3GSM to be a nice intimate affair and I managed to take away some insight into new innovations and developments within the mobile space. I was particularly delighted at having the opportunity to meet up with my fellow bloggers over at S60 blogs, Oren, who writes for the s60 Multimedia Blog and Jouni who does his thing over at MRKTGMan. Guys, thanks for the chance to catch up and fill me in on the latest developments in the s60 platform.

I also got some time to play around with some prototype of the N92 and the N95. The N92 seems to be able to do its primary job impressively, namely play videos and movies. It has a large beautiful screen and it runs crystal clear videos 30 frames per second. I am almost certain that this is because it operates with a dedicated hardware accelerator, although I may be wrong. The other thing that I liked about the device was that one is able to text at a pretty decent pace using the landscape configuration. Almost like a mini laptop. I can see myself utilizing this feature extensively for web surfing and blogging.

The N95 was very obviously a key attraction at the s60 booth. Unfortunately, the big draw for me, the GPS functionality was not available for trial at that time. I was however, able to play around with most of the other features. The device itself is fairly slim (for a Symbian device), has a gorgeous 2.6' screen and runs on S60 Feature pack 1. I toyed around with the new and improved multimedia button (which has now been allocated a position of greater prominence on the face of the device) and the U shaped scrolling menu system should make it much easier for users to access their applications. The other outstanding physical feature was the soft multimedia keys. Easy to use and very accessible.

I must admit that I am no expert in reviewing mobiles nor do I have enough expertise to properly judge on the merits of these devices. But based on what I have seen, I must say that I walked away suitably impressed. Stay tuned for futher news!

How to Get Mobile TV On Your NSeries For Free

2006-10-16T22:06:00.000+08:00

Thanks to the guys at Web and Blog, I recently discovered a cool site called ZooVision to watch streaming media on your NSeries device. In their own words -

"ZooVision is a mobile video 3gp / Windows Media streaming content aggregator that is changing the way people use their wireless phones and access entertainment. We stream on-demand videos and audio customized to the mobile experience. We believe that the mobile customer demands a video experience that is delivered quickly and of the highest quality. Our on-demand model lets subscribers view music videos, cartoons and niche content right on their mobile phones and wireless PDAs. ZooVision partners with content owners and creators to create a comprehensive offering."

It's pretty easy to get started. Point your devices web browser over at http://www.zoovision.com/ and select the "I'm using a mobile device link. Pick a program that you'd like to view (News, Weather, cartoons etc) and it will activate your Real player application and you are good to go. Remember to choose the right Rreal player connection/settings otherwise the video might not stream correctly. They have a pretty good collection of content from news, weather, classic B & W movies, cartoons (think Popeye) , as well as a Internet radio station.

I have tested out their services and it works pretty smoothly on my N80 (slight artefact's but okay visuals and audio). You do need have a unlimited 3G plan or wifi connectivity to view the content otherwise expect to incur a bomb in traffic fees.

UPDATE: Some users have mentioned that they have had troubles trying to connect to the service. Apparently. some operators do not allow support streaming services and may block the required ports. For more information, please go to the comments page.)

Off to 3GSM Singapore!

2006-10-16T15:35:00.000+08:00

I'll be heading down to Singapore tommorrow for 3GSM World Congress Asia, one of the regions the premier telecommunication events. Hopefully, I'll be able to check out some of the highlights and developments in s60 and the mobile space. I will report back with all the latest news when I return. Cheers!

Win Papyrus For S60

2006-10-13T16:19:00.000+08:00

"Papyrus turns your Smartphone into a powerful time management system. Papyrus offers innovative and compelling tools to manage and keep track of your schedule, plus advanced views, category coloring, and icons far beyond the ability of the default Smartphone Calendar and Tasks programs. What's more, Papyrus is highly customizable, so it works the way you work while keeping the intuitive and user-friendly interface you expect of your Smartphone."

Papyrus together with Darla Mack is offering all of us an opportunity to win their productivity suite for S60 devices. Just head over to this link and post a comment on what you like most about Papyrus and stand a chance to win the software! You can download a trial copy here to give you a taste of the product and give your remarks later. Thanks Darla!!

Upgrade Your Quickoffice

2006-10-13T16:06:00.000+08:00

As most of you know, Quickoffice has been updated to version 3.1 . You can update your version by pointing your browser here.

"With Quickoffice 3.1, users not only benefit from the industry's leading document solution, but can also receive many useful product upgrades that will improve their mobile productivity," said Paul Moreton, VP, Product Management at Quickoffice. "Building on the key concept of offering our users software updates and upgrades without having to search the Web, Quickmanager delivers immediate access to powerful new tools on-demand, regardless of a user's location. As an easy to use, powerful and secure download mechanism, Quickmanager also offers global carriers increased revenue through on-device Premium SMS billing revenues."

New enhancements include:
- improvements in speed and memory usage, allowing users to work with larger documents.
- Access to all Microsoft Word® documents, Excel® spreadsheets, PowerPoint®presentations .
- Email attachments can be saved to a phone memory or memory card for action at a later time. - Ability to instantly update the Quickoffice application
- Ability to upgrade to the editing version of Quickoffice directly from their smartphone.
- Over-the-air billing and installation;
- Automatically refreshes itself ensuring most current ver. of available updates and upgrades

How to Get Podcast on Your NSeries Device

2006-10-13T11:02:00.000+08:00

All About Symbian has posted an article on Podcasting for Beginners on N60 devices. If you have'nt got the application yet, you can download it here.

Personally, I find the podcasting application to be one of the most useful tools and an application that I use, almost on a daily basis. It's pretty convenient to hear the news or listen to tech updates while on the move. The only real bugbear is that most podcast files are pretty large (typically between 5 to 20mb) and video podcasts even larger (try 50 to 70mb!). So a fast wifi connection is an absolute pre-requisite. The built in search application isn't so great at tracking down podcasts, so I have left a link of some of my favourite shows on the side of this blog for your reference. Have fun!

Good Things Come SoonR Or Later

2006-10-12T18:38:00.000+08:00

With regards to my earlier post about offline desktop search via Orb, I should highlight that there is a similar service from SoonR, a competing application that claims to be able to do the same via almost any phone. SoonR is a unique application which allows you to connect your mobile phone to your Skype account, Outlook, and remote PCs. SoonR allows you to do all this without the need to install on your phone, the application only needs to be installed on the PC.

I have managed to use SoonR to access my Outlook email, calendar and contacts from my mobile phone. This is pretty convenient as I can check my inbox, respond to my emails remotely. Another interesting feature is that it allows me to search, view, share files on my PC. Documents and pictures are apparently optimized for that particular handset although pictures and images tend to be displayed a little smaller than what I'd like. New features include AJAX implementation which provides a faster user experience with background loading that allows rich web applications to be experienced properly. For more info, please go to this link.

Nokia Adds Orb MyCasting Service To Nokia N80 Internet Edition

2006-10-12T10:07:00.001+08:00

Nokia has made a press announcement today announcing that they will work with Orb Networks to integrate Orb MyCasting into the Nokia N80 Internet Edition.

"Orb MyCasting offers a single solution that allows you to enjoy all of your digital media stored on your home computer, remotely. It will allow you to instantly access your home photos, videos, music, and even TV, where and when you want. Orb's intuitive solution simply streams your content from your home PC using the Web browser and player on your Nokia N80 Internet Edition, creating your own "personal media portal". You can also remotely record TV programs using Orb's Digital Video Recorder (DVR) function and then play back those recorded programs to you N80. For more info on Orb check out their corporate site .

The Nokia N80 Internet Edition is the first multimedia computer that bringstogether wireless LAN (WLAN), UPnP, and quadband GSM coverage, and alsoprovides an easy to use WLAN wizard (to make connecting to the interneteasy), support for internet calls, a robust browser, along with a3-megapixel camera and a host of other internet related services. The Nokia N80 Internet Edition will be available November 2006." Thankfully, Nokia is beginning to put applications that maximize the N80's connectivity and Internet capabilities. Hopefully, this transalates to more users and more fans.