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Google Maps and Street View on the Nokia N97 Mini

Phil B — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:30:17 +0000

With the introduction of Ovi Maps 3.03, and the free turn-by-turn navigation that accompanies it, Google has a fight on its hand if it wants to keep Google Maps competitive. As such, the introduction of Street View makes a big change, but is it any good? We try out Google Maps and Street View on our Nokia N97 Mini…

Google Maps set the standard for free mapping when it was introduced a few years ago, but it now struggles to compete with the excellent Ovi Maps 3.03, which offers a premium service for free.

One thing Google Maps does have that Nokia’s app fails to offer is Street View, however, a handy feature that provides 360-degree images of the street you want to look at, making it easier to find out where you are.

To get Street View in Google Maps on your Nokia N97 Mini, open the application and go to the area you want to view. The click and hold on the area itself, which will load up a nearby address. Tap this and it’ll come up with more options – one of which is Street View.

The service itself works in exactly the same way as it does on your computer and regular web browser – once you have street view open simply drag to the left or right to swivel the view, or click on the forward arrow to go down the street.

The images on our Nokia N97 Mini offered excellent detail and clarity, and the software really does come into its own if you’re unsure of what street you’re on or what direction you’re walking in.

Overall, Street View on the Nokia N97 Mini really adds another dimension to Google Maps. We still wouldn’t pick it over Ovi Maps 3.03, but it definitely works well alongside it.

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Nokia X9 Incoming

Phil B — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:30:20 +0000

Following on from the mid-range Nokia X6, we could be about to see the launch of the high-end Nokia X9 – a similar device in terms of form factor, but packing in the latest features. With concepts offering a stunning design, it could be the perfect handset to take over the mantle from the Nokia 5800. To find out more about the Nokia X9, read on after the jump…

Looking at the concept photographs for the Nokia X9, and this device could be one of Nokia’s most stylish to date. The screen in the images stretches right to the very edge of the handset, giving it a sleek appearance, and rounded edges to the handset also give it a contemporary appearance.

Details of the Nokia X9 appeared on Techie Buzz, along with the image above, and if they’re correct then the Nokia X9 will feature a capacitive touchscreen display. This falls in line with the Nokia X6, although according to Techie Buzz you can also expect to find a camera capable of recording in HD 720p, and a quad LED flash for night time use.

If the Nokia X9 is launched after the appearance of the upcoming Symbian ^3 operating system, there’s even the chance that this could be the first handset to take advantage of the new OS, setting it apart from existing touchscreen Nokia devices.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any further details on the Nokia X9, but check out the concept images below, courtesy of Pestaola.

Via Techie Buzz

MeeGo Available on the Nokia N900?

Phil B — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:00:07 +0000

Rumours have been flying round the internet as to whether or not we can expect the new MeeGo operating system on the Nokia N900, with a lot of excitement over the idea that it will be available, and contrasting reports that say it won’t. The Nokia N900 – which runs Maemo as standard – is one of our favourite smartphones, so we’d certainly like to see it get the newer OS. Read on to find out whether this is likely or not…

With MeeGo a product of both Nokia and Intel, and a result of merging the Nokia N900’s Maemo operating system with Moblin, it was widely assumed that the new OS would indeed be available on the Nokia N900 when it’s released later this year.

Initial reports aren’t looking good, however, with Nokia informing CNET that “Maemo on Nokia N900 is not upgradable to MeeGo. The first MeeGo device is targeted to be released during the second half of 2010.”

Don’t get too disappointed, however, as it looks like there may be a twist in the tail. According to tech website TFTS, Valtteri Halla, a manager in the MeeGo technical group posted the following information on a Nokia blog: “N900 is a natural tool for Nokia to drive MeeGo support for our designs.” He went on to say “That said, please do not take this yet as a commitment to fully productise [sic] MeeGo on N900”.

Does this mean we WILL or WON’T be seeing MeeGo on the Nokia N900? Either way, with the ability to install the likes of Mac OS X or Android on the Nokia N900, we’re sure that a lack of official support won’t stop some clever hackers from installing MeeGo once it’s available.

Would you like to install it on your Nokia N900? Leave a comment and let us know.

Via TFTS

Nokia X6: Contacts not showing and what to do

Mikey Bee — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:30:14 +0000

The Nokia X6 is a fantastic smartphone with a 3.2-inch screen that uses the Symbian S60 operating system. No matter whether you’ve plumbed for the Nokia X6 16GB or the high-end Nokia X6 32GB you’ll find setting them up works in exactly the same way. Here we look at how you get your Contacts to show on the Nokia X6…

Contacts not showing up in your spanking new Nokia X6 smartphone? The solution is fairly straightforward. Start by pressing the Menu key and going to Contacts. If this is the first time you have used the phone, it will ask you ‘Copy new SIM contacts to Contacts?’, tap ‘Yes’.

Check out our Nokia X6 review

If this doesn’t happen then choose Contacts>Open>Options>Settings> Contacts to display. You’ll need to tap each contact you wish to display, press OK once you’ve worked your way down the list.

Now, press Back and you’ll find that your contacts from the SIM card will now show up on your Nokia X6.

If you find this approach doesn’t work then you always follow the steps presented by one ingenious NokNok reader, Chana, who suggested this work around: ‘Menu>Settings>Connectivity>Data Transfer>Phone Switch and transferred my contacts via Bluetooth from my old phone (with the SIM still in it). You can also copy texts and other info.’

Thanks Chana, it’s a great tip and well worth people checking out.

Nokia 5230: Top Ten Free Games

Mikey Bee — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:30:07 +0000

The Nokia 5230 may be an entry-level smartphone but that doesn’t mean you can’t play the latest games. The 3.2-inch screen is bright and clear, making it perfect for puzzle games and reliable for racing. Check out the top ten free games for the Nokia 5230 and see if you agree with our choices…

The Nokia 5230 is a neat little touchscreen smartphone that uses the same Symbian S60 OS as the larger and more high-end devices, such as the Nokia X6, Nokia 5800 and even the Nokia N97 Mini. Here we take a look at the latest free games available for the newest member of the Nokia Touchscreen family.

Check out the Nokia 5230 Top Ten Free Apps

Ovi Maps Racing
Type:Arcade
Size: 8.50MB
Ovi Maps Racing is a completely new racing experience as it uses the GPS in your Nokia 5230 to allow you to use the streets around your own home town as a race track. For that matter, you can use any street anywhere in the world. It’s a simple idea and we wonder why no one has thought of it before, still we’re glad the boffins at Nokia did as this is a great game.

High Speed 3D Lite
Type: Action
Size: 1.25MB
Want to hit the streets in 3D and show off your racing prowess, then this is the game for you. With 20 tracks to race, nine cars to choose from and a whole host of customisations there’s plenty here for the road racer to get to grips with. Real driving physics, nitrous boosts and some of the most visually stunning locations to drive around, High Speed 3D has it all.

Dungeon Quest
Type: Adventure
Size: 2.77MB
The first RPG that connects the Nokia 5230 and Facebook, Dungeon Quest is a fantasy-based RPG filled with unusual challenges, thrilling fights, unique weapons and ingenious ways to advance your standing within the realm. This game requires you to select a Wi-Fi or data connection.

BioShock Lite
Type: Action
Size: 2.50MB
BioShock on the PC rocks, plunging you into an aquatic world where mystery is the norm and the thought of a small girl and a hulking giant in a diving suit isn’t seen as odd at all. Sure, it lacks the graphic prowess of the original but we reckon this handheld version has all the playability you’re after.

Sudoku Cube Lite
Type: Puzzle
Size: 1.18MB
Sudoku Cube allows you to get to grips with the mystery of the nine-cube game before asking you to stump up cash for the full version. This edition supports the touchscreen of the Nokia 5230 as well as all non-touch Nokia handsets.

M.U.M.U. Judgement day Free
Type: Arcade
Size: 0.69MB
The Large Hadron Collider crash has burnt our world down in a doomsday fire and the new era has begun. Civilizations have fallen, cities lie in ruins, people transforms into animals and animals becomes humans. M.U.M.U. Judgement day is a story of a man who tries to escape the mortal trap set by semi-intelligent mutant dogs headed by his ex-beloved pet that turned into a cunning monster.

m:Mafia
Type: Adventure
Size: 2.04MB
This RPG allows you to embrace your inner gangster! Join m:Mafia to fight your friends and do jobs for the Don. Case, Fix and Enforce your way to the top. You’ll need a Wi-Fi or 3G connection to make the most of the game but if you want to keep it in the family, then this game allows you to keep tabs in-game as well as through Facebook.

Cube Touch: Match
Type: Puzzle
Size: 0.17MB
Cube Touch: Match wants you to make the most of the touchscreen on your Nokia 5230 by forcing you to match the coloured cubes in this highly addictive but thoroughly absorbing puzzle game. The more you play, the better you’ll get, so Cube Touch ramps up the challenge.

ZumZum
Type: Puzzle
Size: 0.32MB
Zum-zum is one another of those tougher than it first seems puzzle games that forces you to match and destroy a chain of multi-coloured balls. You do this by creating lines that contain at least three pieces of the same colour before the scarab, who is a pyramid’s guardian, takes a chain away to his lair.

Checkers Touch
Type: Strategy
Size: 0.42MB
This is the traditional checkers board game but designed specifically for touchscreen devices like the Nokia 5230. You can play the single player game against your smartphone or you can challenge your friend in two player mode over Wi-Fi or 3G.

Got a favourite free game for your Nokia 5230 that isn’t on our list? Let us know all about it in the Comments below.

Watch DVDs On Your Nokia N97 Mini

Phil B — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:30:16 +0000

Smartphones such as the Nokia N97 Mini are the perfect platforms for watching films on, but getting your movies from your PC or a DVD disc to your handset itself can be a daunting task. Thankfully, it’s a lot easier than you may think. We’ve put together this handy guide to show you exactly what you’ll need to do to get your films from a disk or digital file onto your Nokia N97 Mini.

For a start, you’ll need to download some third-party software to rip your DVDs to your computer’s hard drive. This is because Windows doesn’t provide software to copy DVDs as standard – unlike CDs. It’s very tricky to find free software from manufacturers you’ll have heard of, so you’ll either have to pay, risk using little-known applications, or use trial versions.

Magic DVD Ripper is one option, costing $35 for the full version, but also available as a free trial package. That said, when paying it’s worth opting for a more comprehensive software package – such as Roxio Creator 2010 Pro – which also lets you burn CDs and DVDs, along with converting your DVDs into all manner of digital files, and at screen resolutions to suit any mobile device. At £42 (inc. VAT) from Amazon, it’s not a great deal more expensive, and offers a lot more functionality.

Once you’ve ripped your DVD into a digital file, or you already have existing movie collections on your laptop, it’s easy to turn it into the correct format for your Nokia N97 Mini using Nokia’s PC Suite.

Open the Nokia PC Suite, make sure your Nokia N97 Mini is connected in PC Suite mode, and click on the Transfer Videos icon. This will open the Nokia Video Manager application, a simple and intuitive piece of software for converting video files. Click on the arrow in the bottom right to continue.

You’ll then be asked to select a My Video Collection folder – this is a folder for your converted videos. It makes sense to store your movies here as well as on your phone, in case you make any changes, or you update your phone. Create a folder to put the films in, and place it somewhere easy to find, such as on your desktop.

You’ll then be asked to define the folder with your videos in. Select the folder you’ve copied your movie to, or an existing video folder on your PC, and click the OK button at the bottom.

Your PC will then scan this folder, along with the phone. If there are already videos on your Nokia N97 Mini, the software will ask you if you want to copy them to your PC – again it makes sense to do so in case anything happens to your phone.

It’s then just a simple case of clicking the video you want to convert, and pressing one of the icons at the bottom right of the software. Click Transfer to Phone and Copy to My Video Collection. It takes a fair while to convert files – especially if you’ve selected a lot of them – so it makes sense to start at the beginning of the day or when you go to bed, and leave your PC to convert the files as you get on with working or sleeping.

Design Your Own Smartphone With Design by Community

Phil B — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:46 +0000

Are you tired of mobile phones getting close to your idea of the perfect handset yet always missing out on something? If so, the chance to join in the design process may appeal, with Nokia working on a Design by Community concept to come up with the ideal smartphone. To find out more, read on after the jump…

When it comes to the design of smartphones, its not very often you get to have your say one what you’d like to see on a handset. That’s why Nokia’s Design by Community concept looks like the perfect opportunity, letting you help to create a smartphone that really does meet the needs of the users.

The concept is being run in conjunction with Nokia Conversations, and will give you the chance to select from a host of different options. The votes will be counted every week, with a data sheet displaying the features you’ve opted for.

At present you can choose different screen sizes and type – from resistive panels such as those found on the Nokia N97 Mini, to capacitive screens like the Nokia X6’s, whether a keyboard or QWERTY keyboard is included, other buttons and the screen ratio, and you can also have a say over the amount of features that are included.

It couldn’t be easier to keep track of the concept’s progress – with the initiative running between March and May 2010, and once a final design has been picked – with the winner selected via public vote – a proper design concept render will be created by Nokia.

Although the handset itself won’t go into production, it’s well worth taking part, as it’ll help to give Nokia an insight into what you guys actually want. To join in the initiative, head on over to Nokia Conversations.

In the meantime, leave a comment below and tell us what your ideal Nokia smartphone will be, the features and the form factor it’ll take.

Via Nokia Conversations

Nokia X6: Top Ten Free Games

Mikey Bee — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:30:36 +0000

The Nokia X6 may not be a Nokia N-Gage device but that doesn’t mean you can’t take full advantage of the Nokia Ovi Store to kill a little time with the latest puzzle or action games. Here we look at the top ten free games for the Nokia X6…

High Speed 3D Lite
Type: Action
Size: 1.25MB
Want to hit the streets in 3D and show off your racing prowess, then this is the game for you. With 20 tracks to race, nine cars to choose from and a whole host of customisations there’s plenty here for the petrol-head to tinker with. Real driving physics, insane drifts and nitrous boosts and some of the most visually stunning locations to drive around, High Speed 3D has it all.

Ovi Maps Racing
Type:Arcade
Size: 8.50MB
Ovi Maps Racing is a completely new racing experience as it users the GPS in your Nokia X6 to allow you to use the streets around your own home town as a race track. For that matter, you can use any street anywhere in the world. This app is free for now but Nokia is claiming that a fuller version will be charged for at some point in the future.

Cube Touch: Match
Type: Puzzle
Size: 0.17MB
Cube Touch: Match wants you to make the most of the touchscreen on your Nokia X6 by forcing you to match the coloured cubes in this highly addictive but thoroughly absorbing puzzle game. The more you play, the better you’ll get, so Cube Touch ramps up the toughness level .

ZumZum
Type: Puzzle
Size: 0.32MB
Zum-zum is one another of those tougher than leather puzzle games that forces you to match and destroy a chain of multi-colored balls creating lines which contain at least three pieces of the same colour before the scarab, who is a pyramid’s guardian, takes a chain away to his lair.

Checkers Touch
Type: Strategy
Size: 0.42MB
This is the traditional checkers board game but designed specifically for touchscreen devices like the Nokia X6. You can play the single player game against your smartphone or you can challenge your friend in two player mode over Wi-Fi or 3G.

Dungeon Quest
Type: Adventure
Size: 2.77MB
The first RPG that connects the Nokia X6 and Facebook, Dungeon Quest is a fantasy-based RPG filled with unusual challenges, thrilling fights, unique weapons and ingenious ways to advance your standing within the realm. This game requires you to select a Wi-Fi or data connection.

BioShock Lite
Type: Action
Size: 2.50MB
BioShock on the PC rocks, there is no denying the mix of action, under-water and the mysterious little girl and man in diving suit combination has its appeal. This port for the Nokia smartphone lacks the delicate colour pallete but it offers the same level of playability and watery backdrop.

m:Mafia
Type: Adventure
Size:2.04MB
This RPG allows you to embrace your inner gangster! Join m:Mafia to fight your friends and do jobs for the Don. Case, Fix and Enforce your way to the top. You’ll need a Wi-Fi or 3G connection to make the most of the game but if you want to keep it in the family, then this game allows you to keep tabs in-game as well as through Facebook.

Nokia X6: Copying Contacts from Phone Memory to SIM card

Mikey Bee — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:30:55 +0000

The Nokia X6 is the latest touchscreen smartphone to be unleashed and whether you’ve bagged the 32GB Comes With Music or the slightly trimmed down Nokia X6 16GB edition getting the most out of them is easy and trouble free. However, first time users may be looking for a quick way to move their Contacts from the SIM card to the Nokia X6 in one easy step? Join us, as we show you how to copy Contacts from your Nokia X6 memory to the SIM card?

By default the Nokia X6 saves all contacts to the Phone memory. However, there may be occasions when you want to switch it to your SIM card memory instead. To change this go to Options>Settings>Default Saving Memory and choose where you want your contacts to be saved to.

Check out our Nokia X6 review

If you already have Contacts in the phone memory and want to copy them over to the SIM card, there is no direct button to move these over. However, there is a workaround and it’s a relatively straightforward one to carry out.

Go to Contacts on your Nokia X6 and then choose Options and find Mark/Unmark. Select Mark All and you’ll find a tick is placed against each of your contacts. Now, go back to Options and choose Copy from the menu. A dialogue box will pop up asking if you wish to send the selected contacts to your SIM card. Press OK and you’ll find they will be moved over.

Once you’ve copied all your contacts to the SIM card you’ll find that all entries now appear twice in the Contacts folder. This is because, by default, it shows the contents of both the phone and SIM card memories. To change this go to Options>Settings>Contacts to Display and choose which version you’d like to see.

Celebrate St Patrick’s Day For Free With Nokia

Mikey Bee — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:30:45 +0000

Whether you’re of Irish decent, or just enjoy celebrating the fact that the 17th March is St Patrick’s Day with a few pints of Guiness and a slab of the ‘the crack’, you’ll be looking for ways to make the most of the festivities. Well, Nokia’s Ovi Store is here to help you with a selection of free Irish-themed apps to help you make the most of the day. Read on to find out more about celebrating St Patrick’s Day for free with your Nokia…

Nokia has got into the spirit of St Patrick’s Day by offering up four Irish-themed apps up for free over at the Nokia Ovi Store. Now, we’d like to point out that while apps like Focal Me, which is a Gaelic translation tool and Slainte, the Irish Pub Finder, will certainly come in handy for the day, apps such as the Leprechaun Detector, which helps you find the mischievous little blighters, and the Irish Mobile Flag are only offered by in fun.

You can find and download the St Patrick’s Day apps over at Nokia Ovi Store for a host of devices and platforms. With a little less than 24 hours before the festivities being, we think we’ll be making the most of the Slainte app to find the nearest Murphy’s, O’Neils, O’Flaherty’s once we’ve been thrown out of the Toucan in Soho for being a little too ‘in the mood’.