The Symbian Blog

Dear Nokia, Vaibhav Should Go To #SXSW 2010

Vaibhav Sharma — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:08:35 +0000

WOM World Nokia is currently having a series of giveaways, over the last week they gave away two Nokia N900’s and trips to the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. The giveaway is still on and you should keep your eyes peeled on http://www.womworld.com/nokia/ and to make sure you do not miss out.

Over the weekend, they also had a competition where you had to make a video entitled ‘Dear Nokia, I should go to SXSW because…’ giving reasons why they should take you to #SXSW. Based on these videos, Nokia will pick three winners. The catch is that a part of their decision will be based on how the community responds to these entries.

The deadline to enter passed away three hours ago, but I was able to submit an entry of my own at the last minute. If you think I should go/deserve to go/don’t deserve but still should go – then please let Nokia know. Kindly leave a comment on the video, tweet about it with the #nokiacomp hashtag or just give @WOMWorldNokia a shout. You can follow me @TheSymbianBlog.

Your support is greatly appreciated!

Nokia Music Becomes DRM Free – Turns Into Ovi Music In The Process

Vaibhav Sharma — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:03:52 +0000

I have just received an awesome email from the Nokia India Music store with the much awaited news that Nokia Music is finally going DRM free and that it will soon merge into the Ovi brand. The email carries no specific date for the transition to occur, we can only hope it happens soon.

DRM free means that you can use the music you downloaded from the Nokia store on any device, be it your computer, mobile phone or mp3 player. After Ovi Maps going free, Nokia saw a lot of traction for the service. Will going DRM free do the same for ‘Ovi Music’? Time will tell.

Nokia is turning things around! This development also means that we should soon see Ovi Music support Macs and move away from the IE only interface, something that will make me and many others people happy.

Nokia Music will soon become Ovi Music. This means all the tracks you download will be DRM-free, MP3 files that you can now play on a PC, Mac or any personal music player! Plus, as part of the change to Ovi, we’ve enhanced our search capability so it’s easier than ever to find the music you want.

What you need to do:
Absolutely nothing. We will create a Nokia Account for you and send you an email when we become Ovi music. Until then, try to avoid changing any of your Nokia Music account details such as password, email address and mobile number.

As part of the move to Ovi Music we will be creating a Nokia Account for you. If you do not wish to use Ovi Music and no longer wish to have a Nokia Account you can email us in next 5 days. By using these services, you accept the Ovi Music Terms, Ovi Service Terms and the Privacy Policy. You may not use the services if you don’t accept the terms.

Truphone Adds E52, E55, E72, E75 & N86 To The Compatibility List

Vaibhav Sharma — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:45:25 +0000

Truphone, one of my favorite VOIP providers has added support for four new Eseries devices, the E52, E55, E72, and the E75. The update also brings WIFI calling support for the N86, which was previously restricted to Truphone’s Anywhere plan in which ‘international calls dialled on a Truphone Anywhere enabled handset are connected as local calls to the Truphone network, then routed to their destinations at Truphone’s low rates’.

This new release takes Truphone’s Nokia compatibility list to 30 devices, most with WIFI calling support and some with the Truphone’s Anywhere plan. I’m specially pleased to see two of my current favorite devices, the E72 and the N86 supported. You can read my E72 review here.

You can download the new Truphone client from this page.

Demo Of Nokia’s High Speed Wireless Transfer Concept – Explore & Share From My Visit To TWWLN

Vaibhav Sharma — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:33:40 +0000

As I have told you before, I had gone to Helsinki for The Way We Live Next event last year and Nokia had some really interesting demos from the work being done at the Nokia Research Center. There I was fortunate to witness and be able to witness, interview and film a demo of the Explore & Share concept that allows wireless data transfer at very high speeds.

The setup is based on a new radio technology built from a scratch. At Nokia house it was being demoed on a specially modded N900 and as you can see in the video below, an entire album was bought and transferred in under 10 seconds. For some reason I missed publishing this video before, and was reminded by Nokia Conversation’s post about Explore & Share today.

This demo unit sees you place your device on a ‘writer’ which is connected to a separate touchscreen monitor. This new radio tech forms a short-range connection between the writer and the device, and doesn’t use any other radio networks – the writer is immediately paired with and recognizes your handset, and instantly brings up relevant content that is available for it on the large touchscreen monitor. From here you simply tap to transfer the apps, music albums, games, apps, videos and other extras you fancy, direct to your phone in a flash.

Of all the demos that we have seen from the Nokia research Center, this is one I’d really like to see go mainstream.

Anssi Vanjoki – ‘The N97 Has Been A Tremendous Disappointment In Terms Of The Experience Quality For The Consumers’

Vaibhav Sharma — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:01:40 +0000

In an ’speaking from the heart’ interview to Rafe and Ewan at the Mobile World Congress, Anssi Vanjoki bit the bullet and talked about the N97, what went wrong and how it has been a huge nightmare for Nokia.

It is unheard of for a company to acknowledge their faux pas so openly but such an acknowledgement and a promise that they have learnt from their mistakes was heartning to see.

He promises that Nokia will make sure that Symbian^3 will be ‘perfect’. Whether or not they deliever time will tell, but Nokia’s not announcing something at the MWC shows that they are not rushing things.

While this is no compensation for the people who bought the N97 when it first came out, it still says something.

The Nokia E72 Review

Vaibhav Sharma — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:15:07 +0000

After the unparalleled success of the E71 for Nokia, they knew that they had a recipe for success in their hands. Symbian is still the number one OS for non touch devices, its stable, its fast and there is a plethora of applications for users to choose from. So the task for them was cut out – make a device that’s not too different from the E71, but improved enough that people want to jump on it.

When I bought the E71, I despised its camera and the 2.5mm jack for me was a huge pain. Invariably when I need to a camera or a decent media player, I’d have to switch SIM cards or carry a second device. Not cool. This is what Nokia had to fix, and out came the E72, all runs blazing, a solid marketing campaign behind it. I have been using this device for a solid two months now and its time to ask the question, is it worth the update? Should you consider buying it if you are in the market for a new device?

BASIC SPECS

The E72 packs a 5 Megapixel camera with a LED flash, an AGPS, a 3.5 mm jack for audio out, a ARM 11 600 MHz processor, 128 MB of RAM, a 2.4″ screen with a 320 x 240 resolution and a full QWERTY keyboard. It runs S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 and comes with an optical navi-wheel which can be turned off if you choose.

Due to the fact that the E72 is the first Nokia device to have an Optical Navi key, here’s a video showing off just how it works. It takes a little getting used to, but you will find it to be pretty convenient at a latter stage.

PERFORMANCE

The E71 was one of the fastest Symbian devices on the market so expectations from its successor were high. But as was the case with most Feature Pack 2 devices that came out prior to the E72, the OS’s animations and eye candy usually pulled the performance back a notch. Thankfully that is not the case with the E72, and the phone screams through animations, open/closing applications and such is the performance level that even turning off the animations will not result in a considerable boost.

The E72 also carries on the 128 MB of RAM from its predecessor, but with optimizations to the OS, it presents no problems. You can still multitask with ease and the phone doesn’t begin to slow down. I’ve put together a video showing off E72’s multitasking skills:

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS

Being an Eseries device, the build quality on it is good. There is no major creak although the plastic around the Navi pad sometimes becomes a cause for concern but I’d still give it an ‘A’ overall. It feels good in the hand and because of its slim profile and a negligible bulge, it is a great for times when you need to be wearing a suit.

The keyboard is fantastic to type on and even with large hands you shouldn’t have much problem working up a reasonable speed.

Battery life with the 1500 mAh battery is nothing short of phenomenal and the device can go upto 2 days with constant email, regular web browsing and an hour of calls. Basically, no matter what you do, if you leave home with a fully charged battery in the morning, you will come back in the evening with some juice still left.

The E72 is also a recipient of the Nokia’s free Ovi Maps navigation offering and with its well performing inbuilt AGPS you can think about ditching your dedicated GPS unit. Getting a lock usually doesn’t take much time and if you have data support, in most cases you will get it under a minute.

EMAIL

Email at is the core of the Nokia E72 with support for both Nokia Messaging and Mail for Exchange. It has Nokia Messaging pre-installed into the place of the default S60 email client and that’s a huge plus. Devices like the E75 which also had this implementation suffered with slow email loading times, specially when there were a large number of mails in the inbox. The client on the E72 does not suffer from such issues and is pretty speedy.

Setting up your email account is a simple matter of putting in your email address and password and the phone does the rest for you. The following video should give you a better idea of how all of this works:

WEB

Feature Pack 2 brings a number of improvements to the E72, but the major plus for me is its impact on the web browser. The default browser on the E71 was unable to download files that the phone did not recognize, so if someone sent you a .rar archive over email, you wouldn’t be able to download it. This and much more is fixed on the E72, you still cannot open a new window through the menu, but once they open up through links, the browser handles them much better. If you have used a higher resolution device earlier, the E72’s limited screen resolution will get in the way of a pleasant browsing experience otherwise, you should be able to get along just fine.

Additionally a few tweaks have been made to the settings that the browser offers, greater scope for customizations being one. The following video should give you a better idea of what to expect.

CAMERA

The 5MP camera on the E72 is surprisingly good and performs reasonably well even in dark conditions. It does not feature a dedicated camera capture button so it uses the optical navi key to focus. Incase you turn it off, pressing the navi pad makes the camera focus and releasing the key captures the shot.

The UI that you see here is identical to the one on Nseries devices and this is great to see. Another awesome addition is the Panorama mode, something which only one Nseries device (N86) has. On the video front, it can capture video at the VGA resolution, but sadly only at 15 frames a second. This was Nokia’s way of perhaps giving the Nseries a slight edge.

CALL QUALITY

In most reviews, talk about call quality often gets left out as we have grown to expect Nokia to deliver on this front. The E72 however deserves a special mention because it takes call clarity to a new level. The ‘active noise cancellation’ technology that Nokia has implemented actually works and going back to another device becomes difficult after talking on the E72.

MULTIMEDIA

The E72 also has an FM radio that supports RDS, the reception is good – comparable any Nseries device. In terms of audio output via the 3.5 mm jack, it rivals any Nseries device and seemed to be a little louder than a few other them. It is a great MP3 player, albeit without dedicated media keys.

The E72 does not come with a Podcasting or Internet Radio client out of the box, but if you are willing to work a little these tutorials should help you in getting both the Internet Radio and Podcasting to work.

E71 v/s E72

If you are torn between whether you should get a E71 now that its going cheap, or invest a little more and snag the E72, this comparison should help you out. Have a look at the key improvements as well:

A 5MP Camera with panorama mode and VGA video capture at 15 FPS.
Faster 600 Mhz processor but the same amount of RAM although much better optimisation.
Feature Pack 2.
Much faster data transfer in the ‘Mass Storage’ mode.
Accelerometer for turning controls and a built in compass for Navigation.
250 MB of internal memory so you can install applications to the phone memory without thinking twice.
Navi Pad and a reworked keyboard with additional dedicated keys.
Noise Cancellation in calls
The ability to use the LED as a flashlight.

CONCLUSION

Two months and two firmwares later, is it worth the buy?

As you could have probably guessed from the video above and the review in general, I really like the E72. It is one smartphone that can helps me get through a day in office or even outdoors partying with the same amount of ease and this kind of flexibility is rarely found these days. I miss functionality such as an FM transmitter but its a small compromise which I am happy to make.

The E72 with its improved camera and music capability has taken away the need to carry two devices and that is almost priceless. The good part about it is that you need not be a business centric person to pick this device up – music, a decent camera, QWERTY, email and WIFI is all there, its everything an average individual could want.

The Nokia E72 for me, is without a doubt, the best Symbian device on the market today.

Overall Score: 9/10.

Note: You can get the complete E72 spec sheet here.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Processor Is Coming To A Nokia Near You

Vaibhav Sharma — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:46:54 +0000

We have all cribbed that Nokia’s Symbian devices are underpowered, that they need faster processors, that there is just not enough juice in them. That is about to change, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs in an interview to the Helsingin Sanomat has said that we will see a Nokia Symbian device running on the Snapdragon processor by the end of this year. Awesome.

In case you are wondering what all the fuss about Snapdragon is, have a look at the following quote from the Wikipedia:

The Snapdragon platform is designed for real time ubiquitous computing with low power consumption for day-long battery life. The first chipsets in the Snapdragon family were the QSD8650 and the QSD8250, available since the fourth quarter of 2008, both integrating a 1 GHz applications processor, a cellular modem and GPS.

The Snapdragon application processor core is called Scorpion and is similar to the ARM Cortex-A8 core. All Snapdragon processors contain the circuitry to decode High-Definition (HD) video at 720p resolution.The latest QSD8672 chip (to be sampled in the second half of 2009) uses 45 nm technology and includes two CPU cores running at up to 1.5 GHz. QSD8672 product targets advanced mobile computing devices and includes integrated HSPA+, GPS, Bluetooth, full high definition video recording and playback, Wi-Fi and mobile TV technologies (MediaFLO, DVB-H and ISDB-T).^[3] Mobile devices using the QSD8672 are expected to become available in the second half of 2010.

Hat tip to IntoMobile for the find.

Skype Out Of Beta – Compatible With S60 5th Edition Devices

Vaibhav Sharma — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:38:53 +0000

Skype has finally come out of beta and now not only supports S60 3rd Edition (both FP1 and FP2) devices but also S60 5th Edition smartphones like the N97, N97 Mini, 5800 and so on. This means that the N97 finally has Skype support, something that was promised the day it shipped.

You can download Skype by going to skype.com/m from your phone’s browser. According to Steve over at AAS, the client for S60 5th Edition has been revamped and is a lot more demanding when it comes system resources like the RAM. So you can expect slowdowns when the application starts and loads contacts, chats etc. Apart from that call quality is good, so this is still a must install.

The compatibility list now includes a most devices starting with S60 3rd Edition, but some FP2 devices like the N86 and E72 seem to be missing, while other FP2 phones like the N96 are listed as compatible. I will try the application on my E72 and N86 and update this post with the results.

[Update: It works on both the E72 and the N86 as well].

Nokia Starts Nokia Money Pilot In India – Dubbs It Mobile Money Services

Vaibhav Sharma — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:11:25 +0000

Nokia has just started in the first pilot of Nokia Money in Pune, India in collaboration with YES BANK and the name they’ve given the project is Mobile Money Service. Nokia also plans to roll out Nokia Money in all major Indian cities within the next months.

As of now the pilot is limited to allowing people to easily transfer money to another person by using the person’s mobile phone number and also pay utility bills and top up prepaid SIM cards. But you can soon look forward to paying for goods and services with your Nokia device.

The Nokia Money application is a small java client that works with SMS, so you need not have a high end data capable device for this to work. Here is a video that will tell you a little more about Nokia Money:

[via: Nokia Conversations]

What Is MeeGo?

Vaibhav Sharma — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:56:05 +0000

What is MeeGo? A new OS? The name of a very important partnership? What happens to Maemo after this? Is Symbian still in the picture for Nokia? Maemo 6?

MeeGo is the result of Intel and Nokia’s broad strategic collaboration announced in June 2009. Today, they have come together to create MeeGo, a Linux-based software platform that will support multiple hardware architectures across the broadest range of device segments, including pocketable mobile computers, netbooks, tablets, mediaphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems.

Maemo 6 will be MeeGo compatible, consider Maemo6 already a MeeGo instance. Nokia has not yet taken a branding decision on what to call Maemo 6 yet, MeeGo something or Maemo 6 itself.

Yes, Symbian is still very relevant. It will continue to be the OS of choice for a very large section of Nokia’s smartphones. Symbian^3 was just announced today and Nokia already has a video showing how it will look on their devices.

MeeGo is probably the first OS to target multiple platforms right from the start and that will give it a distinct edge over others. This becomes even more awesome when you can switch devices (not just mobile phones, but say from a Nokia to a in-car infotainment system from a different manufacturer) and still enjoy the same apps.

While on the topic of apps, the Ovi Store will be the channel to market for apps and content for all Nokia devices, including MeeGo and Symbian-based while the Intel AppUpSM Center will be the path to market for Intel-based MeeGo devices from other device manufacturers.

MeeGo version 1 is expected the second quarter of 2010.

MeeGo builds upon the Moblin core software platform and reference user experiences, adding the Qt UI toolkit from Maemo.

MeeGo is an open source project hosted by the Linux Foundation that encourages community contributions in accordance with the best practices of the open source development model.

Maemo was based on ARM, while Moblin is for X86. This merger will mean that users get the best of both worlds.

According to Ari Jaaksi, VP Nokia “We will put all our force behind making MeeGo THE operating system” and “Nokia will ship tons of MeeGo devices, Intel, too. And others will use MeeGo in their devices. It is open, free, powerful and compatible.”

Intel & Nokia Merge Maemo With Moblin – Call It MeeGo

Vaibhav Sharma — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:51:30 +0000

In a significant development in the convergence of communications and computing, Intel Corporation and Nokia are merging their popular Moblin and Maemo software platforms. This will create a unified Linux-based platform that will run on multiple hardware platforms across a wide range of computing devices, including pocketable mobile computers, netbooks, tablets, mediaphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems. Called MeeGo, the open software platform will accelerate industry innovation and time-to-market for a wealth of new Internet-based applications and services and exciting user experiences. MeeGo-based devices from Nokia and other manufacturers are expected to be launched later this year.

This announcement strengthens the Nokia and Intel relationship, and builds on the companies’ broad strategic collaboration announced in June 2009. Intel and Nokia now invite participation in MeeGo from existing Maemo and Moblin global communities and across the communications and computing industries.

“Our vision for seamlessly communicating between computing devices from the home, auto, office or your pocket is taking a big step forward today with the introduction of MeeGo,” said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. “This is a foundational step in our evolving relationship with Nokia. The merging of these two important assets into an open source platform is critical toward providing a terrific experience across a variety of devices and gaining cross- industry support.”

“MeeGo will drive an even wider range of Internet computing and communication experiences for consumers, on new types of mobile devices,” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO, Nokia. “Through open innovation, MeeGo will create an ecosystem that is second to none, drawing in players from different industries. It will support a range of business models across the value chain, building on the experience and expertise of Nokia, Intel and all those who will join us. Simply put, MeeGo heralds a new era of mobile computing.”

MeeGo blends the best of Maemo with the best of Moblin to create an open platform for multiple processor architectures. MeeGo builds on the capabilities of the Moblin core OS and its support for a wide range of device types and reference user experiences, combined with the momentum of Maemo in the mobile industry and the broadly adopted Qt application and UI framework for software developers.

MeeGo also unites the robust worldwide Maemo and Moblin applications ecosystems and open source communities. For developers, MeeGo extends the range of target device segments for their applications. Using Qt for application development means that they can write applications once and easily deploy them on MeeGo and across other platforms, for example, on Symbian.

The Ovi Store will be the channel to market for apps and content for all Nokia devices, including MeeGo and Symbian-based, with Forum Nokia providing developer support across all Nokia device platforms. The Intel AppUpSM Center will be the path to market for Intel-based MeeGo devices from other device manufacturers, with the Intel® AtomTM Developer Program providing support for applications targeting devices in a variety of categories.

The MeeGo software platform, running on high-performance devices, will deliver a range of Internet, computing and communication experiences, with visually rich graphics, multitasking and multimedia capabilities and the best application performance. Since MeeGo runs on multiple device types, people can keep their favorite applications when they change devices, so they are not locked into one kind of device or those from any individual manufacturer.

MeeGo Hosted by the Linux Foundation

The MeeGo software platform will be hosted by the Linux Foundation as a fully open source project, encouraging community participation in line with the best practices of the open source development model. Intel and Nokia invite the respective members of Maemo.org and Moblin.org to join the combined community at MeeGo.com, as well as encouraging wider participation from the communications, computing and related industries. Developers can begin writing applications for MeeGo in Qt immediately. The first release of MeeGo is targeted for the second quarter of this year.

[via: Intomobile]

Video Demo Of Nokia’s Symbian ^3 UI

Vaibhav Sharma — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:30:06 +0000

Nokia Conversations has just published a video showing off how Symbian ^3 will look on upcoming Nokia devices. At first glance there seems to be a hint of familiarity with the UI that you may have seen on Nokia’s current touch devices like the N97, but that quickly goes away when you look at the sheer number of optimizations and enhancements that have been done to the UI.

There is multitouch (pinch and zoom), multiple homescreens, support for hardware accelerated graphics, single tap across the entire UI, complete kinetic scrolling, a new visual task manager and so on. All in all a pretty impressive picture. Complete with the right hardware, Symbian ^3 itself could be something and you won’t have to wait for Symbian ^4 to stop bickering over the ‘old’ Symbian UI.

What do you think? Maemo-ish? (That isn’t a bad thing though!)

Nokia Messaging Rolls Out Updates For S60 5th Edition Devices

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:50:13 +0000

The Nokia Messaging team has just rolled out an update for the S60 5th Edition client in the form of version 10.2, available via the in the Software Update application on your phone. An update for S60 3rd Edition devices will follow soon. The current update focuses on faster email deletion, support of destinations so that email can be pulled using your favorite access point and easier on device setup.

Here are the highlights of the client release:

Localized in 38 languages
Support for Destinations on S60 5^th edition devices
Improvements to on-device-setup wizard
Deleted items folder now automatically empties itself, faster client deletions
Various bug fixes

Get Nokia Diagnostics On Your S60 5th Edition Device

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:24:03 +0000

The Nokia Beta labs has just churned out a seemingly very useful application called ‘Nokia Diagnostics‘. The application has been created with an aim to help users diagnose, troubleshoot, and configure their devices with ease on their own. This application will let you find out if you are roaming, the signal strength of your device, help setup new access point, configure your WLAN setup and so on. Watch this video to get a better idea:

Currently the application offers:

Network Coverage test. You can get all the network related information and detect offline status & SIM card presence.
Internet Connectivity test. Perform a real-time Internet connectivity test and identify the setting with which you can have a seamless internet access.
Battery Charger test. Check if your device charges properly with the charger connected.
Loudspeaker, Earpiece test. Check your loudspeaker & earpiece functionality.

If this experimental application takes off, we can expect even more tests to be included in the application. You can download the application from here (requires a sign in) or use this direct link.

Huge: Symbian Is Now Free & Completely Open Source

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:13:35 +0000

You remember the countdown we told you about? The reason for it is now out – As of today the Symbian OS is free and a 100% open source. This means that manufacturers will no longer have to pay for using the OS on their devices and because of its open source nature, the doors to speedy innovation have now been truly opened.

As a consumer this will have little impact on you in the short term, but come 2011 and you will start seeing the awesome fruits of this labour. The Symbian Foundation has managed to completely this huge task an impressive four months ahead of schedule, this means that companies such as Nokia and Samsung will now have even more time to work on and tweak the OS to their needs and release devices a little quicker.

Similar as it may sound to Android’s promise, there are major differences, says Lee Williams, executive director of the Symbian Foundation. “About a third of the Android code base is open and nothing more, and what is open is a collection of middleware. Everything else is closed or proprietary.” Symbian on the other hand is one hundred percent open.

This development will also give developers a much needed push as it will free them of intellectual property issues and give them complete access to the inner workings of the OS. This process had started in 2008 when Nokia, one of Symbian’s largest shareholders, bought out the others and created the Symbian Foundation to distribute the platform as an open source project. Till date Nokia has been the major contributor of the code, but by 2011 the foundation plans to restrict its contribution to not more than 50% of the code. This will be done to help other players also have a say in the development of the OS.

Huge congratulations to the team at the Symbian Foundation for their hard work that helped complete this months in advance. I can’t wait to see what S^3 and S^4 devices bring to the table. Keep up the great work!

[via: Wired]

Nokia E52 Updated To v31.012

Vaibhav Sharma — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:49:22 +0000

Nokia sure seems to like doling out firmware updates in batches, following in the heels of the X6, the Nokia E52 also has received a new firmware in the form of v31.012. The update is currently only available via the Nokia Software Updater and is a release with a focus on bug fixes and performance enhancements.

Apart from this there are small updates to the Web, Email, Music Store and Maps applications. The E52 features user data preservation so you can update without having to loose data or settings.

Now that the E52’s been updated, expect a similar update for the E55 soon.

[via: AAS]

Nokia X6 v12.0.091 Firmware Now Available OTA

Vaibhav Sharma — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:40:42 +0000

The Nokia X6, the first Nokia Xseries device has received a seemingly minor update in the form of the v12.0.091 firmware, up from the older v12.0.088. The firmware is available via the Nokia Software Updater as well as over-the-air, you can hit *#0000# on your X6’s keypad and then search for updates to get this release.

The X6 like most modern Nokia devices features user data preservation, so you can update without the fear of losing data. There is no changelog currently available and my guess is that this release will concentrate on bug fixing and optimizations.

Let us know if you notice any changes.

[Image via @acaPAWN7]

The N97 Mini Gets Updated To 11.0.045

Vaibhav Sharma — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:59:31 +0000

Following in the footsteps of its elder sibling, the N97, the N97 Mini has also received a firmware update. The new v11 firmware brings changes similar to the original N97’s v21 firmware that include better call reliability, a better touch scrolling experience, improvements to the web browser and music player and improved image and video stability.

The biggest bonus apart from the usual bug fixes and performance tweaks is the addition of an extra 5-6 MB RAM at boot. The update is currently only available via the Nokia Software Updater, as well as over-the-air (OTA).

The N97 Mini supports user data preservation so you can update without the fear of losing data. I did not notice any overt changes after updating the device as this is primarily a performance enhancing update.

The Nokia N97 Gets Updated To v21

Vaibhav Sharma — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:32:10 +0000

The N97 has just received some love from Nokia in the form of the v 21.0.045 (v 21.2.045 for some) firmware update, labeled at PR 2.1. This update builds on the improvements brought by the previous v20 (PR 2.0) update and will improve call reliability and provide a better touch scrolling experience. The web browser and music player also get improvements; the new firmware also promises improved image and video stability.

Apart from these changes, expect other under the hood optimizations, bug fixes and a new theme. The update will only be available via the Nokia Software Updater at first, due to the large number of improvements. Nokia promises an over-the-air update after a period of testing.

As you may be aware, you can update the N97 without losing data. However, a backup never hurt. I will update this post incase I notice any other changes/improvements.

If you do not see the update via the NSU, it means that the rollout has not reached your product code/region as yet.

Nokia Fumes At Apple’s Claim Of Being The Largest Mobile Company

Vaibhav Sharma — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:51:51 +0000

At the iPad keynote, Steve Jobs made a statement that has set-off another round of Nokia v/s Apple action. He called Apple the largest mobile company in the world, even bigger than Nokia when it came to revenue. Needless to say, this did not go down well with Nokia, not one bit, and today they shot back on the official Nokia Conversations blog with a provocative, ‘A Fruit Confused?‘.

Mark Squires, Head of Social Media at Nokia called for an ‘apples-to-apples’ comparison where laptop computers could not be included in the generally accepted definition of ‘mobile devices’. With in play, Nokia’s devices and services business from Oct-Dec was shown as €8,18 billion while Apple’s turnover for “newly defined” mobile devices was €7,25 billion.

Now there is no right/legally accepted definition of ‘mobile devices’ so I would expect the give and take to continue. Nokia and Apple are already embroiled in litigation, may I suggest they setup an arbitral panel to rule over this as well. What is important to note is the hard tone of that Nokia has adopted in its effort to set the record straight. Here is an extract:

“Well you don’t see me putting pen to paper a great deal but sometimes there are articles floating around on the sphere that get my blood pressure rising to what my doctor is prone to call an ‘unreasonable level for a man of your years/weight/physical condition’. Reading coverage of one of our competitor’s much hyped web pad event this week, I was surprised to see that, by revenue, they were claiming in their leader’s keynote to be “the largest mobile devices company in the world.”

The difference between the two companies is even larger if you use the more common measure: the number of devices sold. By that comparison, Nokia has been the largest mobile devices company in the world for a dozen consecutive years.

What do you think? Does a Macbook fall under the category of a ‘mobile device’?

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