The Symbian Blog

How To: Sign Unsigned Files On A S60 3rd/5th Edition Device Itself

Vaibhav Sharma — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:30:43 +0000

Following on from the previous tutorial which showed you how to get a developer certificate (to sign unsigned applications) quickly, is this guide which shows you how to sign it on the phone itself without the need of a computer.

This should especially be useful for people like me who own a Mac, for which there is no signing application, or for those who appreciate the convenience. I will be using a N97 to demonstrate the application, but the process remains exactly the same for any other 3rd Edition or 5th Edition device.

HOW TO SIGN UNSIGNED APPS ON YOUR S60 3rd/5th EDITION DEVICE LIKE E71 OR N97

REQUIRMENTS:

A S60 3rd Edition or 5th Edition device.

A freeware called ‘Free Signer’ which you can download here.

INITIAL SETUP:

Transfer the .cer and the .key file to your phone. If you don’t already have them, here’s how you can get them.

Install the application on the phone memory or the memory card/inbuilt storage.

Open ‘Free Signer‘, select options and then Settings.

Come to the fourth option, ‘Sign Cert’ and click on it, then navigate to where you have placed the .cer file on your phone and select it.

Do the same for the .key file. You should now see a screen like the following one.

Next simply hit ‘Back’. You are now ready to sign unsigned applications on the phone itself. Please note that you will need to do the above only once.

SIGNING APPLICATIONS:

In order to sign a unsigned file present on the phone, click on ‘Add Task’ and navigate to where the application is located. Once you reach the file, hit ‘Options’ and select ‘Add’.

You will then be presented with the following screen, simply select ‘Sign Sis’ from the options.

The file will show up, waiting to be signed. To sign it, simply hit ‘Options’ and then ‘Go!’.

That’s it, your unsigned application will now be signed without you needing to use a computer. You will be able to find the signed file in the same location as the original application. A ‘_signed.sisx’ extension would have been added so that you can easily identify the file you can now install.

To sign another application you will only need to follow the steps under ‘Signing Applications’ and not have to do the ‘Initial Setup’ again.

Really Cool Nokia N97 Promo Videos

Vaibhav Sharma — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:44:06 +0000

Three new N97 promo videos have just popped up over on the N97’s Facebook page. One basically highlights the Ovi on the N97 the store, share and maps. The second nicely shows off the N97, but the third is by far my favourite. It features some really slick editing and is a definite must watch, infact its the reason I wrote this post.

Starting with my favourite, please note that the cool quotient goes down as you move down the list.

Video I - Click here if this video doesn’t show up in your reader.

Video II - Click here if this video doesn’t show up in your reader.

Video III - Click here if this video doesn’t show up in your reader.

New Nokia E63 Firmware v200.21.012 Now Available

Vaibhav Sharma — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:01:18 +0000

The Nokia E63 too has joined the group of Nokia devices that have recently been given an update. The new v200 firmware brings speed and stability improvements along with bug fixes. The update also brings new pre-embedded applications like Ovi Contacts and Files on Ovi along with visual bookmarks to Facebook and Youtube.

Another thing that Nokia has been doing recently is to block the various ‘hacking’ methods, so if that is something you are interested in, you might want to reconsider updating.

The update is a 108.9 MB download from the Nokia Software Updater (windows only) and as always if you do not see the update in the NSU, it means that the update is not yet available for your product code. The update is currently not available for E63 NAM as well. The E63 does not support user data preservation, so you should create a backup before you update.

[via]

How To Quickly Get A Certificate To Sign Unsigned S60 Apps

Vaibhav Sharma — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:21:48 +0000

There are a lot of ‘unsigned’ applications floating around the web, partly because part time developers either do not have the time or money to get their applications signed via the Symbian Signed program. While quite a bit of such applications can be signed via the Open Signed website, some cannot be and quite frankly there are times when we are simply lazy.

For all such reasons it is best to have a developer certificate with which you can sign the files on the phone itself and install without having to bother with any other method. The following tutorial will show you how to get a certificate (generally within three hours) and is much easier than the OPDA method.

HOW TO GET A CERTIFICATE FOR YOUR S60 DEVICE

Simply visit http://isign.imobile.com.cn and sign up for an account.

Fill in the required details, use can even use a fake address. Just keep the username and password in mind.

Follow the directions in the screenshot.

Now enter your IMEI number.

The website will display a confirmation.

Now the wait begins. When I tried, I got my certificate in about 3 hours time. If you are not already logged in, login to see if your certificate is ready.

If you see a screen like the following, it means your certificate is ready for download.

Thats it, now simply unzip the file and get signing. There is no need of a Sign Key pass code.

The best part was that I could do all of this lying in bed, right from my N97’s browser. The bottomline being that I got a developer certificate in less that 3 hours without needing a computer. The next step is to sign the application from the phone itself, guide coming soon. So make sure you subscribe via RSS or Twitter.

Thanks Simran!

PS: I or the The Symbian Blog will not be responsible for any damage or liability that results from the use of the above tutorial. Please do so at your own risk.

How To Recover Phone Memory On Your Nokia N97

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:34:30 +0000

One major oversight on Nokia’s part when they created the N97 was the paltry phone memory on the handset. I am not talking about the 32GB storage, but the actual phone memory where contacts, notes, email, messages and other things are stored. The phone memory is limited to a grand 74 MB, out of which only about 45 MB is available because the rest is taken up by the pre-installed application and so on.

Next if you install some applications or themes of your own, you will find yourself with very little storage left. Within a few days you will notice that the free memory has fallen even further and you are getting low memory warnings. Therefore I felt the need to write this guide to help recover some of your phone memory.

If you use Nokia Messaging and MFE on your handset, or even have a normal mailbox configured you will be loosing phone memory pretty fast. The solution is to uninstall/reinstall or delete and reconfigure your mailboxes. This will usually get you at least 10MB back, possibly more depending on your usage.

If you use POP email, which you shouldn’t since there is IMAP, then go into your mailbox settings and set it to enable POP for email that arrives from ‘Now’ on, this will reduce the number of old emails it downloads. I know this seems petty.

Next, install a third part file manager like Y-Browser and delete the ‘Cache’ folder in C:/System. This will really help.

Follow that up by deleting the ‘dmgr’ folder in C:/System. That folder holds the files that are downloaded by the Browser, on most occasions it is automatically cleared but sometimes files get stuck.

Now lets move on to the pre-installed applications and widgets, uninstall as many as you do not need. On most occasions you will be able to find the ones you really need again, then simply install them to the 32GB drive on the N97. For example, I wanted the ‘Psiloc Traveller’ application, so I simply downloaded it from the Ovi Store, same with widgets.

Open the Ovi Store application settings and make sure it is set to install applications on your E: drive. To do this navigate to Options>Account>Settings>Installation Preferences.

If you install any application/theme, make sure you install it onto the E: drive. However, if you are going to be using a particular theme install it onto the phone memory. This is so that your phone doesn’t switch to the default theme everytime you connect it in the ‘Mass Storage’ mode. Same for ringtones. Make sure you keep it down to one theme only.

You may also change your default ‘Messaging’ memory to either the 32GB inbuilt storage or a Memory Card. To do this, enter ‘Messaging’, hit Options>Settings>Other>’Memory In Use’.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to reclaim quite a bit of the phone memory on your N97 and keep if working without it having to bother you about the phone memory. Have any other tip? Please share in the comments below.

New Nokia E66 Firmware v300.21.012 Now Available

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:43:12 +0000

They just keep coming in! Right after the E71 firmware update, comes news that the E66 has also been given the new v300.21.012 firmware. Like was the case with the E71 firmware, there’s no word about the changes that have been incorporated.

The E66 firmware is available via the Nokia Software Updater and there is no over the air download ability for this Feature Pack 1 device. Please bear in mind, you will also loose all data on your phone memory when you update so make sure you create a backup before you fire up the NSU.

Nokia has been blocking the ‘hack’ through new firmwares for various devices, so if you are into that sort of things, it might be a good idea to hold on, else fire up the NSU and see if its available for your product code.

New Nokia E71 Firmware v300.21.012 Now Available

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:31:59 +0000

Nokia is really on a firmware rollout spree. The Nokia E71 is the latest device to get a new firmware in the form of v300.21.012, up from v200, which is available via the Nokia Software Updater. Unfortunately there’s no changlog available yet, but I’ll update this post as soon as we find out.

Since the E71 doesn’t support user data preservation, you will loose all data on your phone memory when you update, so might be wise to hang on for a little to know what you are in for before updating. If you, fire up the NSU and see if its available for your product code yet.

[Image via: Spaziocellulare]

Ovi Maps 3.0 Graduates - New Maps Data For India: Chandigarh, Jaipur, Surat Amongst Others Get Maps

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:24:55 +0000

The usually busy Nokia Beta Labs has another great news for us today. Ovi Maps 3.0 has now graduated from Beta is is directly available from www.nokia.com/maps. The new release incorporated bug fixes and interface adjustments along with maps data updates for different countries and traffic info for those of you in North America.

I am glad to say that the map data for India has also been finally updated and we have support for quite a few new cities. At 65MB, new cities like Chandigarh, Jaipur, Surat, Gandhinagar have been added to the existing list of New Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore amongst others. Please keep in mind that I have not been able to check each and every supported city for India, so your city may still have been added to the supported list.

I encourage you to give the update a go and let us know if your city now has maps. Unfortunately, Nokia has made the support for Ovi Maps currently PC only, as the installation of the Maps application is done through a PC application. However, Ricky over at S-G has got hold of the installation files and uploaded them for all.

New Nokia E51 Firmware v400.34.011 Now Available

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:13:17 +0000

Nokia surely believes in the maxim, ‘when it rains, it pours’. Following on from the N97 and the N96, the E51 has also been given a new firmware in the form of v400.34.011. According to the release notes, this software release brings improvements and increased stability in Mail for Exchange and SMS reception. It also improves stability and usability for VoIP and WLAN. The release also mentiones ‘robustness improvements when pressing the Home key’, translating to better responsiveness perhaps.

Thus, the update brings more of bug fixes than anything else, flash is the the same old at 2.1. If you are concerned, the update also makes the device ‘unhackable’ for now. Since the E51 does not support over the air downloads or user data preservation, you will have to use the NSU to update and will loose all data on the phone memory.

How To Change The Product Code On A N97 & Nokia 5800

Vaibhav Sharma — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:58:19 +0000

Following on from my previous post about the Nemesis Service Suite (NSS) update which brings compatibility with the latest Nokia devices including S60 5th Edition and Windows 7 is this brief tutorial which explains how to change the product code on a Nokia device in order to update the firmware.

This tutorial should be valid for all Nokia devices and not just the N97, which I have used to demo the procedure. In order to get started, all you need is:

A Windows machine.
A copy of the NSS Suite which you can get here, or use this direct link.
A USB cable to connect the phone to the computer.
The device itself.

HOW TO CHANGE THE PRODUCT CODE

Simply connect your device to the computer in the ‘PC Suite’ mode.
Install (use the default configuration, i.e. just keep clicking next during installation) and fire up NSS. You should see the following screen.

Simply click the lens as shown in the picture above.

You will see the above screen, next click on ‘Phone Info’ situated next to the top left corner.

In the ‘Phone Info’ screen, click ‘Read’ to bring up your current product code, HW version etc.

Next simply click ‘Enable’ next to the product code.

Fill in the desired product code, I have used a fictitious ‘111111′. Please make sure you fill in the right product code e.g. filling in a NAM product code when your device is a Euro model can cause serious damage when you update. Now press ‘Write’.

Nothing will appear to have happened, but your product code would have been changed. To verify hit ‘Read’ once again.

That’s it. You have now changed your product code and can fire up the Nokia Software Updater to get the latest firmware.

Please note that I or The Symbian Blog will not be responsible for any damage or liability that results from the above procedure. Please do so at your own risk. Happy updating! If you are wondering about the advantages or disadvantages of updating, look this post up.

NSS Now Supports Nokia S60 5th Edition - Makes Changing The Product Code On Your 5800 Or N97 A Breeze

Vaibhav Sharma — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:16:53 +0000

In what comes as great news for enthusiasts that can’t wait for Nokia to release a firmware for their region/product code, Nemesis Service Suite (NSS) has been updated to include compatibility with all the latest Nokia devices, including ones based on S60 5th Edition.

The advantages of changing a product code and updating are that you can change to a product code that has the firmware available and update, without waiting for Nokia to bring it to your region. It is also helpful in debranding your devices or when you need a firmware with different language packs. The downside is that you may loose warranty or even end up bricking your device if the process is not done properly.

This release also adds supports for the Windows 7 operating system. Download here, or use this direct link. The tutorial on how to use NSS to change the product code and update is here.

[via: Gerrymoth]

New Nokia N96 Firmware v30.033 Now Available

Vaibhav Sharma — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:42:35 +0000

As has been the practice with Nokia recently, when a firmware comes out for one device, a few others get new firmwares too. After the N97, the N96 has been blessed with the v30 firmware. This release is a 6MB over the air download and makes the device faster and fixes a few bugs. Nevertheless, it is good to see Nokia not neglecting an old device which failed to take off.

The new firmware is available over-the-air (OTA) by simply pressing *#0000# from the standby screen and checking for updates. (Detailed guide on how to update OTA here). The phone features user data preservation (UDP) so your data should be fine even after the update, however a backup never hurts. The update should also be available via the windows only Nokia Software Updater.

[via: AAS]

N97 Firmware v11.0.021 Now Available

Vaibhav Sharma — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:27:22 +0000

Keeping their promise of a July 1 release, Nokia has rolled out the new v. 11.0.021 firmware for the N97, up from the existing v 10.0.012. Going by the changelog that came out yesterday, the firmware should fix major bugs, bring much needed stability and hopefully free some RAM. The first production firmware v10 was somewhat of a disaster and hopefully this should take the N97 to the level it should have been when the device first started shipping.

Major fixes include more stable USB charging, new facebook widget and a fix for the forced number input in it, along with general widget stability. The UI should be much faster and responsive now, transitions should be faster too. Nokia has also apparently tried to fix the lock/unlock no light illumination bug, the funny things is that the changelog mentions a ‘partial’ fix.

The new firmware is available over-the-air (OTA) by pressing *#0000# from the dialer and checking for updates. (Here is a guide on how to update OTA, the guide is written for FP2 devices but the process is similar on the N97 as well). The phone features user data preservation (UDP) so your data should be fine even after the update, however a backup never hurts. The update should also be available via the windows only Nokia Software Updater. Sadly, the firmware still isn’t available for all product codes, mine included.

UPDATE: If, like me, the v11 update is not available to you OTA for some reason, try updating through the NSU. Your data will still be safe, it’ll just be a bigger download (143.1MB) and a more cumbersome process. I am updating as I write this.

I have already reviewed the N97 Hardware and with this update live, expect the software review soon. If you notice something interesting, please let us know in the comments section.

N-Gage Deals In Million Dollar Poker

Vaibhav Sharma — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:38:14 +0000

This one’s for you if you are a Poker fan, Million Dollar Poker feat. Gus Hansen is now available on N-Gage. This is the third poker based game on N-Gage after World Series of Poker Pro Challenge and Cafe Hold’em Poker, but the only one that supports online multiplayer gaming.

The game weighs in at just 1MB and is available via the showroom tab in the N-Gage application. The game also has a website of its own where you can get ringtones and a custom theme for your handset.

Here are a few ‘game features’ from the official site:

The only poker game on N-Gage with Online Multiplayer!
Face others around the world in several game modes
New generation of Artificial Intelligence developed with the poker legend, Gus Hansen
Regardless of your ability, you’ll face a multitude of challenging opponents with many different profiles, toying with your nerves by using advanced poker techniques (slow play, check-raise, etc.)
Launch your Pro Career with tips from the legend himself, Gus Hansen

ChangeLog For The New N97 Firmware v11.0.021

Vaibhav Sharma — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:34:04 +0000

One day before the first firmware update is suppossed to come out for the N97, the changelog for v11 is already out. As expected, the update brings loads of bug fixes and nothing more. This update should enable the N97 to function without crashes and improve stability.

Major fixes include more stable USB charging, new facebook widget and a fix for the forced number input in it, along with general widget stability. The UI should be much faster and responsive now, transitions should be faster too. Nokia has also apparently tried to fix the lock/unlock no light illumination bug, the funny things is that the changelog mentions a ‘partial’ fix.

All in all this is a must do update, I can’t wait for July 1. The Nokia N97 Review is here.

CHANGELOG

USB detection error fix
-PC does not detect N97 or USB charging connection not detected.

Widget
-Home screen online/offline widget crash fix
-Fix for “Alphabetical and Number input are mixed in facebook until end key is pressed.
-Widget UI improvement – New facebook widget fixes a problem of Home Screen background visible on soft-key area.
-Browser fixes to improve widgets stability.

MfE related fixes
-Partial fix for Messaging/calendar entry lost.
-Mail for exchange calendar entry synchronization error fix.

UI transition error fixes

-(Portrait <-> landscape transition, there is a home screen corruption.)
-UI transition (Slowness and bad effects)
-Slow Touch UI response
-Picture of the device lock appears half of the screen when transitioning the UI sometimes
-Landscape: in some cases the soft buttons on touch (right hand) show the Home Screen in background (install maps.google.com)

Photos thumbnail performance and stability improvements

-Device performance deteriorates when lots of content in the device - especially photos
-Partial fix no display backlight illumination when unlocking lock-key – CAP Genius reported already
-New version of Accueweather to improve the “Connection error” situation
-Device reset when browsing with high speed packet access (for Malaysia)
-“Browser soft key UI doesn’t work after putting Chinese character with qwerty keyboard”
-Java fixes (TCK, Pre-install app disappearing, *#7370#*)
-Operator fixes (CMCC, Hutchson and Telefonica, Vodafone)
-Ovi store client now embedded in the core image

[via: Serie-N & AAS]

Part I: The Nokia N97 Review

Vaibhav Sharma — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:17:34 +0000

The Nokia N97 has finally arrived in stores, six months after it was first announced and right from that day the anticipation for Nokia’s Nseries flagship was at an all time high. The period from December to June saw Nokia release killer videos and campaigns to keep the interest alive and alive it remained, we were given glimpses of what to expect and with each glimpse the excitement levels further shot up.

This was a phone which Nokia was able to market well, perhaps even near the levels of what Apple can achieve, the buzz, the hype, the expectation was all there, the only things Nokia needed to do was deliver. It is now finally time to take a call on whether they were able to do just that, starting with the design, build quality, touch screen, keyboard and other hardware aspects of this device in Part I of the TSB review.

THE DESIGN

Nokia made the N97 into a full touch plus keyboard device, such that if required you could use the N97 as a touch only device without ever sliding out the keyboard and also just use the keyboard and never have to touch in order to navigate. This in my book was a huge plus right from the start. Another thing that works well for the N97 is that it is capable of complete single handed operation.

Apart from the QWERTY keyboard and the Navi Pad, the N97 only has a handful of other physical keys. The volume rocker on the right hand side along with the camera button, a dedicated lock/unlock switch on the left, a power button on the top and the menu key on the face. The call and end key are touch sensitive.

The N97 packs a 3.5″ resistive touchscreen that slides up at an angle to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard and therein lies the beauty of its design. The angle of the slide makes using the N97 in the ‘laptop mode’ an absolute joy, what it does is that it allows you to use your thumbs to not only keep typing but also be able to easily reach across and touch the screen should you need to select something.

The left hand side positioning of the Navi Pad has been criticised to a large extent and in my book it is complete unwarranted, infact its position is a major win for the design team. The reason I say that is because of the way S60 5th Edition is designed. Most of the control of an application takes place through the right hand menus and because of the angled slide, the right thumb is in a very easy position to reach the menu. Now had the Navi Pad also been on the right side, you would have to choose between using that or touch in order to navigate, however with it being on the left the other thumb comes into play and gives you an option of either using the Navi Pad or touch. I have found myself using both modes in combination with each other and the best part was that it took me barely a day to adjust to the design.

THE BUILD QUALITY

In recent times Nseries devices have taken flak over their build quality but the N97 changes that. The device actually feels rich and the materials of high quality. The metal border around the screen is also a nice touch despite it being somewhat of a fingerprint magnet. All three, the power button, the volume rocker and the camera offer great feedback and are perfectly placed, not too recessed nor too obtrusive.

The unlock/lock switch though conveniently located, is a very small chink in the N97’s armour. If you have the vibrate feedback turned off, you can hear the switch creak when slid across. The touch sensitive call/end keys are responsive and help maintain the ‘all touch’ feel of the device. Practically they are useful as because of them you need not put additional pressure on the hinge when using them in the ‘laptop mode’. The menu button, despite being a physical key, does not put pressure on the hinge on account of being in the corner.

Moving onto one of the most crucial aspects of the N97, the hinge. It is indeed very sturdy and seems robust, there is no play in the slide and the phone snaps into each position with such firmness that you feel as if it only belongs there and cannot slide.
At the N97 blogger meetup in New Delhi Axel Meyer, head of design Nokia Nseries, challenged anyone to make such a hinge and I have got to say that Nokia has every reason to be so confident. The slide experience on the N97 is so good that I find myself playing with it often and so far it is as firm as it was on day one.

Lastly, the camera cover is very pleasant to use and a really nice thing is that underneath it is small cloth which wipes the lens everytime you open and close it.

THE TOUCHSCREEN & THE KEYBOARD

The touchscreen of the N97 has come a long way since the 5800 Xpress Music and is a lot more responsive. Finger touch as well as input from the stylus is registered easily and this is perhaps as good as resistive touchscreens will ever be. The experience while typing with T9 using the alphanumeric keyboard is close to typing with physical keys and the screen doesn’t miss a letter even at high speeds, this again is a far cry from the 5800. The brightness on it is good and the screen remains fairly readable even in sunlight. A slight negative is that on a white background you can see thin lines across the screen, those lines probably make up the sensor framework.

In my initial impressions post about the N97, here is what I had to say about the keyboard:

The first time I wrote a sentence on it, it took ages. The next sentence was faster and so on. Its basically a question of the mind adapting to the layout. When I played with the N97 again today, I coped much better with the keyboard and infact found the spacebar to be nicely placed, in the same position where my thumb would usually rest since this is a thumboard and not a keyboard where you would be able to use fingers.

A few days down the line, I’m glad to say that I have adapted nicely to the N97’s keyboard and can type fairly quickly on it. If Nokia can fix some of the software issues around it (long press for numerals, predictive text) I am sure I will be able to get to the same speeds which I got on my E71. When you first start using the N97, the tactile feedback or rather the lack of it is somewhat of an issue, but with time and a little practice it ceases to be a concern. Also, in my usage I have found that if you leave the keypad tones on, they go a long way in supplementing the physical feedback with audio which makes for a much better experience.

The bottomline being that there is nothing to worry about the side placed spacebar and that the keyboard on the N97 is pretty good and will deliver once you have a bit of practise under your belt.

THE MUSIC

This is one of the first areas where the N97 disappointed me a little, not because the quality wasn’t good enough but because I expected more. On the loudspeaker front, I was hoping that the N97 would pack the same punch that the 5800 does, however that was not to be and the stereo speakers barely manage to attain the N95 levels.

As far as output from the 3.5mm jack goes, I was hoping that the quality will reach the N91 level but again that was not to be. That being said, the audio quality that the N97 offers is pretty good with there being no hiss or clicks while the music is playing. If I were to rate the playback I’d have to say it was better than the N85/N82/N79 and closer to the N96.

The N97 also comes with a RDS capable FM radio that is capable of seriously loud output, unfortunately we still don’t have an equalizer controls for the radio. Also, since the internet radio application has not been ported over to S60 5th Edition, it is missing from the N97.

THE BATTERY LIFE

The N97 is power by the 1500 mAh Nokia BP-4L battery, the same one that powers the E71 and the E90. According to Nokia the device has a GSM talk time of upto 9.5 hours, video playback time of upto 4.5 hours, video capture time of upto 3.6 hours and music playback time of upto 40 hours, all very impressive numbers. The 32GB of inbuilt memory makes sure that you will have a variety of media to watch/listen to or capture and all those hours will be put to good use.

In real world usage I have found the N97 to last a complete day with fairly heavy usage that incldes web browsing over both WIFI and EDGE, music playback, Nokia Messaging and Gravity running in the background along with a few calls and messages. If you go out with a full battery in the morning, you should still have some juice left when you get back in the evening despite constant N97 usage.

If you don’t consider yourself to be a power user, the N97 should last for two days without trouble. If you currently use a device which doesn’t pack the BP-4L then you are in for a major treat. The N97 can be charged via the microUSB port which is situated on the left hand side, right next to it is a small light which illuminates when the N97 is charging. Although the N97 can charge while it is connected to the computer via the microUSB cable, I get the feeling that this process is much slower than the conventional charging via the wall outlet. Thankfully Nokia has bundled in an adapter to convert the older Nokia chargers into the microUSB head along with the new microUSB wall charger.

THE CONCLUSION

The one thing that Nokia has really nailed with the N97 is its design, it is very well thought out. With a 5MP camera, AGPS with compass, WIFI, a 3.5″ touchscreen, 32GB of inbuilt memory, a FM transmitter amongst other things there is hardly anything you can complain about.

The hardware based criticism that the N97 has received is because of the 434 mhz processor and the 128 MB of RAM, out of which only about 45MB is free at bootup. The reason I did not cover this aspect in Part I of the review is because at the end of the day what effect these factors have will boil down to the v11 firmware that is coming out tomorrow. So hold on for Part II of this series which will look at the software aspect of the N97. If you have any particular areas you’d like me to look at, just drop a note below.

VERDICT: Based on hardware - Recommended BUY.

Make sure you follow me on Twitter for more N97 coverage!

New Nokia N85 NAM Firmware v20.175 Now Available

Vaibhav Sharma — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:40:08 +0000

HoFo is abuzz with news that the Nokia N85 NAM has also received the v20 firmware, albeit after a month of its Euro/APAC siblings. The NAM firmware is expected to mirror the changes/improvements that the v20.175 had brought for the Euro variants. Therefore, the v20.175 firmware, up from v11, should bring in bug fixes and improvements along with the standby email plugin to show your emails on the standby screen. Other expected additions include turning controls which allow you to flip to silence incoming calls alarms, internet telephony set up and an email wizard to setup your Nokia Email or Nokia Messaging. Also present in the Dictionary application that Nokia now seems to be putting on all its devices.

Here’s How Nokia Can Make The N97 Better

Vaibhav Sharma — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:15:23 +0000

Having used the N97 for a few days now, I have come to the conclusion that the N97 has huge potential. Nokia has done a good job putting all the hardware in, (the RAM and processor groans aside) what actually needs some work is the software. In this post I will not be crying about the initial the firmware that Nokia has shipped the device with, but look at certain software tweaks that can help improve the N97 experience to a very large extent.

As far as the bugs, stability and performance issues go, I am hoping that the v11 firmware that comes out on July 1st will take care of them. Here are a few suggestions that I sincerely hope people churning out the next firmware take into account.

KEYPAD: The keypad must allow us to ‘long press’ in order to get numerals. It might not be a bad idea to enable the long press for other keys as well. Having to hit the blue arrow each time in order to enter numbers or a symbol is a pain.

PREDICTIVE TEXT: I’ve mentioned that predictive text actually improves the N97 typing experience, but only when writing a message. On all other occasions it actually hampers free typing, specially when writing in a text box where the difference between the typed and suggested word is not shown. Other gripes are here; basically we need the E71 module to be put in here, pronto.

HOMESCREEN WIDGET MANAGEMENT: When I currently try and add a widget to the homescreen which is already full, instead of telling me its full and giving an error, it would be much nicer if I were given the option to replace a widget there and then. Most people will have all 5 slots full all the time, so instead of having to edit, remove and then add, the above would make it a much more pleasant experience. I would also like a second widgetised homescreen which we could access by swiping a finger across the screen, however I’m not very hopeful given the RAM situation on the N97.

SHORTCUTS I: Moving onto shortcuts. In the landscape mode, with the keyboard out the first four keys in all three lines should act as shortcuts to the menu items being displayed. This was true for older devices but it seems to have been overlooked in Nokia’s first S60 5th Edition non touch only device.

SHORTCUTS II: Another place where the keyboard needs to provide shortcuts is in the Web Browser. When it has loaded a website in the full screen mode, it takes me three steps to reach the ‘Bookmarks’, wouldn’t it be nice if I could hit ‘1′ for ‘Bookmarks’, ‘2′ for ‘Find’ and so on, exactly like what used to happen on a N95. If I’m not wrong, I think even the E90 could do it with its QWERTY.

TEXT SELECTION: The next thing that needs a bit of work is the copy/paste function. In my experience, the device can use the keyboard (Shift+Navi Pad) to select text, however the same is only true for apps such as Notes and Messaging. This did not work for me in the web browser while entering text, needless to say, this is something that should work across all applications. The next thing is that there is no ‘Select All’ functionality and this becomes even more irritating because the keys that are used to select text are next to each other. It would be much more ergonomic if we could select with the blue arrow (last key third row) and the Navi Pad. On the other hand, ‘Shift’ should support the usual Ctrl+A/X/C/V functionality with the corresponding letter.

These were some of the points I could thing of while using the N97, I’m sure you have many more ideas which will go a long way in improving the N97, please put them down in the comments section and I’ll periodically keep updating this post so that it can serve as a ready reckoner.

Your Chance To Win A N-Gage Device Is Coming Soon

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:26:08 +0000

In what should come as great news for you dear readers, we have partnered with Nokia and Million Dollar Poker to organise an exclusive contest for the readers of The Symbian Blog. In order to enter the contest, all you will need to do is answer the question that will go online in a few days. The lucky winner will walk away with a N-Gage device along with a heap of cool Nokia merchandise.

If you are a poker fan, there’s even more good news for you as the handset will come pre-loaded with ‘Million Dollar Poker feat. Gus Hansen‘. Million Dollar Poker will be out very soon and it will be the only poker game on N-Gage with a multiplayer mode that allows you to play online against other N-Gage Players. It also boasts of a new generation of artificial intelligence developed with poker legend Gus Hansen. Find the game page here.

In order to make sure you don’t miss out when the contest opens, follows us via RSS, Email or Twitter!

Contest: Zombify Your Way To Two N96’s & The Tokyo Games Show

Vaibhav Sharma — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:08:43 +0000

Nokia and Capcom have come together to create Zombie Singles, a dating website for zombies which is based on the N-Gage game Resident Evil Degeneration. Apart from the concept, what is really interesting is the contest they have running. The winner chosen by a panel of ‘zombie experts’ will win a fully paid trip for two to Japan as well as two N96 handsets, a Capcom prize pack that include passes to the Toyko Games Summit, and the chance to meet some of the creative genius behind the Resident Evil franchises. Now that’s a lot.

All you need to do in order to enter is upload or create an awesome zombie using ‘The Zombifier’ on the website and create a profile. Entries will be judged on the basis of the ‘Gore-factor’ and the creativity of your photo along with the number of fiends and your ‘bore or gore’ rating.

Remember the last date to enter is July 1st, so you better hurry! Click here to get started!

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