In an attempt to remedy this drawback in the Symbian UI, I’ve been using a handy little system tool called Free iSMS, ever since it was an unsigned and barely functioning beta. For each new release the app has grown, and now with the newly released version 1.08 it has evolved into a great replacement for Symbian’s built-in text messaging. On top of that, the application is now signed, so it can be installed without any hassle.

When you first launch iSMS, the application will gather all your current messages, and you’ll be greeted by a view similar to that of the text messaging on Android devices. If you have  pictures for your contacts, those will be displayed as well.  Version 1.08 of Free iSMS introduces an interface that better integrates with Symbian 5th Edition’s native UI, gives you more room for customization and has MMS support. You can now also send messages to a recipient that isn’t already in your list of conversations, without having to go to the built-in messaging app.

Another nice feature worth mentioning is that Free iSMS has the option to display a stylish pop-up window with incoming messages. You can mark the messages as read straight from the pop-up, which is both quick and convenient.

The irony of Free iSMS is that it unfortunately no longer is free. In fact, the Free-iSMS v1.08 Business Edition will set you back $12:  a price that might seem a bit too steep for some people. And the purchasing procedure will perhaps come across as less professional:  PayPal via a hard-to-comprehend Chinese website, which might scare some people off as well. But I do think Free iSMS is worth its 12 bucks, and you will get all future upgrades for free (for your current IMEI). It’s a shame that such a great application isn’t available in the OVI Store, especially since the store is full of so many titles of  lesser quality.

Thus far I haven’t encountered any glitches (the kinetic scrolling option doesn’t work), and personally I count Free iSMS 1.08 as one of the most valuable applications on my Nokia N97. There’s a (severely) limited trial version available if you want to give the application a try yourself. Just head over to the official website to grab your copy, and the full version of the software can be purchased here.

Update: The developer contacted me and pointed out that there is indeed a free version of the application available: Free iSMS 1.03 (unsigned) can of course still be used without any limitations.

Since I’m interested in design, I also try to make my phones both functional and a delight to the eye. I have always enjoyed the look of the hands-on videos and screen shots of the Samsung Omnia HD i8910, with the huge yellow flower against a dark background. Here’s not only that image, but the entire standard Omnia HD i8910 wallpaper collection. All the images have the nHD (360×640) resolution, and contrary to what one could think, they look pretty good on HVGA Android devices as well.

Most of the tutorials I’ve read have been erroneous at one point or the other, and I hope that this article will iron out all potential pitfalls. For those unfamiliar with Quake, it is id Software’s FPS classic from 1996 that was preceded by Doom.

The Symbian ports are made by Hinkka, and since they are intended for 3rd Edition devices, the key remapping software Virtual Key is needed in order to run them on Symbian^1 phones with hardware QWERTY keyboards. Virtual Key must be signed before you can install it. You will also need the original game files in order to play Quake on your phone. If you don’t have access to the files that come with the full games, the .pak-files from the Shareware versions will work as well.

It’s a bit of a shame that the Nokia N97 doesn’t have hardware accelerated graphics, because it would have made Quake run silky smooth and look awesome, but the games are still playable and have a decent frame rate. I noticed that I still knew all the Quake maps by heart, since playing the game on my PC back in 1996. If anyone rocking the N97 Mini decides to try this, let me know how it goes!

•   1. Install P.I.P.S
•   2. Install the Quake Ports
•   3. Copy the Game Files to Your N97’s Mass Memory
•   4. Sign, Install and Configure Virtual Key
•   5. The Game Controls
•   6. Troubleshooting
•   7. Leave a Comment

The Short, Five Minute Guide

1. Install P.I.P.S

In order to run any of the Quake ports, you need to have the Symbian P.I.P.S. C-Runtime library installed on your device. It can be downloaded here. You will not be able to select where to install P.I.P.S., since it will automatically install itself to the phone memory.

2. Install the Quake Ports

Next up is installing the actual ports. For running Quake on a device like the Nokia N97, quake_v105_armv6_fpu.sisx should be used, and for Quake 2 install quake2_v102_armv6_fpu.sisx. Please note that both files must be installed to the mass memory and not to the memory card, unlike what most guides claim.

This detail initially kept Quake from starting on my N97, until I figured out what was wrong. This is probably due to the fact that the memory card is E: on most devices, but on the N97 the mass memory is E:, and consequently the memory card is F:. It may however differ from one N97 to another, so if installing the files to the mass memory doesn’t work for you, try the memory card instead.

3. Copy the Game Files to Your N97’s Mass Memory

To be able to play Quake, you need the original game files. If you don’t have the full games, you can always download the shareware versions from id Software’s website, and use those files instead (the number of maps will then be limited, of course).

FOR QUAKE:

• Create a folder called Quake1 in the root of your phone’s mass memory.
• If you have the full version of Quake, copy the entire ID1 folder from the game’s installation directory to the Quake1 folder on your mass memory. If you just have .pak-files from the shareware release, create a folder named ID1 in the Quake1 folder on your phone, and copy the .pak-files there.



• If you want to hear music while playing, create a folder titled cdaudio in the Quake1 folder, and copy ten MP3 songs to that location. They should be named 1.mp3, 2.mp3 and so forth up to 10. All the tracks must be named correctly, or the music won’t play.

FOR QUAKE II:

• Create a folder called Quake2 in the root of your phone’s mass memory.
• Create another folder called baseq2 inside the Quake2 folder.
• Copy the .pak-file(s), the video and players folders from the original Quake 2 installation disc to the Quake2/baseq2 folder. If you have the shareware version, copy the .pak-files to the same location. Apparently, the screen will likely stay black for about 30 seconds when you launch Quake 2 if you use the shareware files.



• In case you want to hear music while playing, create a folder titled cdaudio in the Quake2 folder, and copy ten MP3 songs to that location. They should be named 1.mp3, 2.mp3 and so forth up to 10, or the music won’t play.

4. Sign, Install and Configure Virtual Key

Now it’s time to install Virtual Key, that will allow you to control the game with your QWERTY keyboard.

• Download Virtual Key, sign the application, then install it to the mass memory.
• If you don’t know how to sign unsigned Symbian applications, check out this guide to learn how.
• Next step is copying a custom keymap for Virtual Key. Download VirtualKey_Quake_Keymap.rar, and place custom1.keymap in the folder Private/e7d61da9 on your mass memory. If the folder doesn’t exist, create it.
• Launch Virtual Key and tap Options > Load Mode > Custom mode 1. This will load the custom keymap, and it should look something like this:



• Now press the right button on the D-pad (or tap on the arrow at the top of the display) to go to the Include screen. If the title says “Exclude” instead of “Include”, go to Options > Change mode > Include, to change it to Include mode. Quake and Quake 2 (if you installed both of them) should already be listed here. If not, tap Options > Add from Installed and select Quake/Quake 2 from the list.



• Tap Back to make Virtual Key run in the background.
• Launch Quake or Quake 2 and enjoy the action!

5. The Game Controls

Pressing the Backspace/Erase button will bring up Quake’s main menu, and Enter is used to select a menu item. Games can be both saved and loaded from the ordinary menus. If you copy my custom Quake & Quake 2 configuration files, you can use the keys below to control the gameplay. Always Run is on. The configuration file for Quake should be placed in the Quake1/ID1 folder, and the one for Quake II should be copied to Quake2/baseq2. You can select your own keys as well from the Controls menu. Look at the image below to see which buttons you can choose from.

Additional Keys for Quake 2

6. Troubleshooting

If you have installed the Quake ports and copied the game files to the mass memory, and the games won’t start, try installing them to the memory card instead.

On my Nokia N73, I loved the Sega Master System/Game Gear emulator MasterGear. I’ve been in contact with Marat Fayzullin, the developer of the emulator, on several occasions. And even though he says he’s working on a release of MasterGear that’s compatible with 5th Edition devices, it has yet to see the light of day. Fortunately, another Sega emulator called PicoDrive works great! It may not be as advanced as MasterGear, but it has the benefit of actually working. PicoDrive supports Sega Mega Drive/Genesis games, but it doesn’t have Game Gear support. Here’s how you get it started on the Nokia N97, N97 Mini or any other Symbian^1 device with a hardware QWERTY keyboard. Unlike Vampent’s Nintendo emulators, it’s much less ticklish to get PicoDrive running. Next up in the series of gaming tutorials at TechCredo.com, is trying to write a fail-safe guide to playing Quake on Symbian^1.

• Download PicoDrive and install it to your mass memory. I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to install PicoDrive to the memory card as well, if you prefer that.
• Connect your Symbian^1 device to your computer and create a specific folder for your Sega Mega Drive/Genesis ROMs, on either the mass storage or on your memory card. Sega Mega Drive ROMs are all over the interwebs, and those who Google shall find. Here’s a great list of the Top 25 Genesis Games for inspiration.
• Place your ROMs in the folder you just created. The ROM files can be in ZIP-archives, but no other compression than ZIP will work. You can of course also copy the Sega ROMs to the folder uncompressed, and the ROM files should have a .bin or .smd filename extension.
• Launch PicoDrive in landscape mode with the keyboard out, and configure the gaming keys by selecting Configure Controls in the menu.
• When you’re done configuring the keys, select Configure Screen from the main menu and choose the Portrait stretched option. This will allow you to play the games in full screen.
• Now you’re ready to launch a game! Select Load ROM from the top of the menu, locate your ROM folder and select the game you want to play. Once you have a game running, you can go back to the main menu by pressing the Backspace/Erase key.
• That’s it! Sweet 16-bit Sega Mega Drive gaming will ensue. If you encounter any problems (I haven’t been able to try this on the N97 Mini), please let me know and I’ll try to work something out. Thanks!

Since PicoDrive’s menu options are accessed by pressing the OK button, you can’t use the menus on devices that don’t have this particular key, without using a program like Virtual Keyboard or Virtual Key. The workarounds are quite smooth, but you need to be able to sign applications before they can be installed. This might scare some people off, but signing Symbian apps is easier than it might seem. And once you have your certificate (it’s free), it only takes a couple of seconds to sign applications. Getting your certificate is definitely worth the bother, since you from then on can use a whole range of unsigned Symbian software – not just Virtual Keyboard and Virtual Key. Here is an excellent guide to signing unsigned applications at Symbian-Guru.com. Thanks to Yap for helping me out with testing on the N97 Mini.

There are two methods of emulating the OK button, and the first one is probably the most convenient.

•   N97 Mini Workaround Using Virtual Key
•   N97 Mini Workaround Using Virtual Keyboard

Using Virtual Key

Using Virtual Keyboard

]]> http://www.techcredo.com/symbian/sega-emulation-on-the-nokia-n97-mini-symbian/feed 2 http://www.techcredo.com/symbian/sega-emulation-on-the-nokia-n97-mini-symbian http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcredo/~3/4DdJTAlKvGQ/three-user-interfaces-to-keep-an-eye-on http://www.techcredo.com/android/three-user-interfaces-to-keep-an-eye-on#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:07:21 +0000 techcredo http://www.techcredo.com/?p=2470 Installing a new user interface on a smartphone can be a quick and easy way to change the look and feel of it, add more functionality or just make it feel like a different device. Windows Mobile is of course the smartphone OS that has attracted the widest variety of user interfaces over the years. Partly because the system has allowed it, and partly because Microsoft’s own UI has been in the dire need of some polishing. That will all change with Windows Phone 7 Series, though, since it will have an UI that cannot be customized by third parties. I think that’s a good thing in way, since it will make the Windows Phone experience more coherent and less schizophrenic.

Android also has its fair share of different user interfaces, and Symbian is starting to get a few as well. Here are three upcoming UIs for Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile that I think is worth keeping an eye on.

TAT Home

First up is the Android UI TAT Home, by Swedish technology and design company The Astonishing Tribe. Judging from the demo video, I think TAT Home shows great promise, and I will definitely give it a try on my HTC Hero when it’s out of beta. You can actually apply for beta testing at their website, but it seems as if they currently have all the beta testers they need. I especially enjoy how widgets can be folded and unfolded, a feature they call TAT Cascades.

TouchXperience

Next up is the Windows Mobile UI TouchXperience by Julien Schapman, who also has developed the excellent tweaking tool Advanced Config. This particular UI has been in closed beta ever since I got my first WinMo device in the fall of 2008, and I’m starting to doubt that it ever will be released to the public. Though to his credit, it appears that he’s made some progress lately, and if all goes well we’ll hopefully see a public beta before too long. TouchXperience appears to be an unusually advanced user interface that goes deep, and it all look very flashy, but whether or not it actually will be useful remains to be seen.

SPB Mobile Shell 5

It was as recently as in early October last year that mobile software giant SPB released version 3.5 of their immensely popular user interface Mobile Shell. A couple of weeks ago, I received a press-release from SPB announcing version 5 of Mobile Shell, and that thanks to a “new portable SPB UI Engine”, it would bring along support for Symbian and Android devices as well. Even though that’s excellent news, I’m uncertain whether or not Mobile Shell 5 will be able to bring an equal amount of functionality to each platform, and I’m very curious to find out how it will perform on current Nokia Symbian^1 handsets.

Some of the improvements include a new 3D engine with various sweet eye candy effects. How these will be handled by the N97 that lacks hardware accelerated graphics is somewhat of a question-mark, especially since the UI seems to lag a bit even on the hardware monster HD2. Version 5 also has better social networking integration, with message, contacts, photo and status sync with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. No word yet on when all this actually will be released, though. In the meantime, here’s a video of Mobile Shell 5 running on Windows Mobile and Android.