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Symbian Rejected Again…by Nokia??

Zealot — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:29:33 +0000

This has been a tough few weeks for Symbian. A few days ago it was given the old heave-ho from Samsung smartphones in favor of bada, a new OS they haven’t even RELEASED yet, and now this. For a decade Nokia and Symbian have been practically synonymous, but the beginning of the end of that partnership is now official.

Nokia has confirmed what many people, myself included, suspected and backed the Linux-based Maemo operating system as it’s high end OS of the future. According to The Really Mobile Project, Tanja Sauvola from the Maemo marketing team informed bloggers in London that as of 2012, Maemo would replace Symbian S60 on all high end N-series devices for Nokia.

For the foreseeable future, Symbian will continue to run Nokia’s video-focused X-series and enterprise-focused E-series handsets according to Nokia. However with the high end now placed out of Symbian’s reach, the writing is on the wall. The movement in handsets is towards application, multimedia rich operating systems, so as feature phones lose relevance Symbian will slowly lose market share in favor of more capable systems.

Of course the announcement elicited a chorus in the blogosphere saying “Why bother with Maemo, be original and run Android, like all the rest of us!” While I see their point, I do applaud Nokia for continuing to walk their own path regarding software and am becoming a little nervous about this widespread anointing of Android as the one true smartphone OS. While Maemo, like bada, may be a bit quixotic, the effort to preserve diversity in mobile software is still a good thing.

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Symbian gets Popped by Samsung, bada bing

Zealot — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:59:53 +0000

The first ramification of Samsung’s bada OS has been confirmed, as Samsung senior VP Don Joo Lee today announced what everyone already knew…either WinMo or Symbian was going to have to be dropped to make room for bada alongside Android in Samsung’s bag of tricks with many rooting for Redmond to take the fall.

According to Lee, Windows Mobile dodged a bullet however and Symbian will be completely phased out at Samsung before the end of 2010.

Windows Mobile is not out of the woods yet, as reports have WInMo phones dropping significantly at Samsung in 2010, to be just a minority beside Android and bada phones by 2012….unless of course Windows Mobile 7 is a hit. Then all bets are off.

This is hardly the end of the world for Symbian, who after all, will always have Nokia. However it is a blow, leaving only Nokia, Sony Ericsson and NTT DoCoMo selling Symbian based handsets, and there is still no clear indication how Nokia’s use of Maemo for it’s top tier handsets will affect Symbian’s bottom line. Time will tell, but Symbian has been on top of the worldwide marketshare list for a LONG time? Could we be seeing the first signs of that ending in a few years?

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Try doing this 2 or 3 years ago on your phone…

Adam Wyss — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:58:32 +0000

This weekend, I recorded a short 8 second video clip on my iPhone 3GS. Sure, 3 years ago we had cell phones that had video capabilities back then unless you were an early adopter and picked up a 1st gen iPhone and kept it stock but that’s a different story. Back then I was using either an LG CU500, Cingular 3125, or a Cingular 8125. While drafting this, I had thought it was the AT&T Tilt, however that was not released until October 2007. What I did with that video was I uploaded it to Facebook. Sure, not anything special but I was able to do it without the use of a PC. There was no way we’d have been doing this 3 years ago with our cell phones! Back then we’d have had to get it on our computer somehow and then upload it directly to the site from a web browser. Now that we have the iPhone 3GS with it’s video recording capabilities and tight YouTube integration and the Facebook app’s amazing feature set we can do things we weren’t doing 2 or 3 years ago. When you stop to think about it, it’s truly amazing how fast technology is moving. Before you know it, we won’t even have a need for a computer any more. We’ll carry everything on our mobile devices that have 500 GB storage and 5 day battery life in a device the size of the iPhone 3G/3GS or even smaller.

Sure, as an iPhone blogger this seems like an ordinary thing as opposed to an extraordinary thing but when you really step back, take a breath, and look at what our mobile devices are doing for us these days, you will really be amazed. So I’m going to ask you all to do one thing for me today, I don’t care if you use an iPhone, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, a regular “dumb phone”, Symbian, it does matter. Take a step back today from your normal routine, look at what your phone is doing for you now that it couldn’t do 2 or 3 years ago and really appreciate all the hard work people have put into these devices and the services that go with them. Sure we bash AT&T for having spotty coverage, but what mobile network have you built lately that surpasses theirs? Oh wait, that’s right, unless you work for Verizon, you probably haven’t built a better network. So take a second and really be thankful for what all these companies and people have done to make or lives easier and more mobile than ever before.

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Android, Android Everywhere

Zealot — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:04:28 +0000

Randall Boggs: Shh. Shh. Shh. Shh. Do you hear that? [pause] It’s the winds…of change.

It seems that there has been a bellweather change in the days since the burst of enthusiasm right before the release of Windows Mobile 6.5. Even though a number of cool new phones were released or are on the way utilizing the newest version of WinMo (yes HTC Leo, I see you there in the back), a wave of disappointment and hopelessness has plagued the faithful.

Even though we were warned that 6.5 was a maintenance release pending the changes in Windows Mobile 7, we still expected more from it and WinMo 7 seems so far away. We had all though it would be here long ago. I remember posting a year ago that Microsoft could make some marketing hay out of releasing Windows Mobile 7 alongside Windows 7 as a commenter scoffed that MS couldn’t afford to wait until Q3/09 to release Windows Mobile 7.

Well, now the best we can hope for with WinMo 7 is sometime in 2010. How bad has it gotten? Steve Ballmer is publicly admitting error regarding Windows Mobile and MobilitySite’s Managing Editor Chris Leckness is utterly besotted with his new iPhone. THAT BAD. Even worse…vendors continue to defect from Windows Mobile and Android is gaining yet more momentum…

(...) Read the rest of Android, Android Everywhere (465 words)

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Open Source Revolution? It’s on the Phone.

Zealot — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:01:07 +0000

About five years ago companies like Sun and Oracle were declaring that the age of the Open Source desktop was just around the corner and that the days of both Microsoft and Apple were numbered. Then last year, Linux based netbooks were supposed to make Open Source software the leader in portable computing as the easy to use devices finally popularized the Linux desktop with consumers.

Neither of those revolutions exactly came to pass…no one expects Open Source software to be a serious contender on desktop or notebook computers anytime soon. However Open Source has quietly come to dominate another vital area of mobile computing…phones. Leading that charge is not Linux or some exotic home brew OS, but Symbian. People tend to forget that due to the Symbian Foundation, Nokia’s OS of choice is Open Source…and expected to double it’s penetration over the next few years.

(...) Read the rest of Open Source Revolution? It’s on the Phone. (230 words)

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Nokia Confirms Dual Mobile OS Route

Zealot — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 07:00:04 +0000

In remarks reported by Digitimes, Nokia’s Multimedia Vice President Jonas Geust (who last made a splash way back in 2007 when he predicted the iPhone would tank) indicated that Nokia was planning on taking the Dual OS road for their smartphones and mobile devices.

As I conjectured last week, Nokia will be using Symbian S60 for their “mass market” smartphones and Maemo for “mobile Internet devices (MIDs) for the high-end mobile computing segment”. Have we really reached the point we can talk about Mass Market Smartphones? This follows both Google (Android and Chrome OS) and Microsoft (WinMo 6.5 and 7) indicating they will use two operating systems in upcoming mobile devices, one for mid level and one for high level devices.

He also stressed that Nokia will NOT be dabbling in any software beyond Symbian, Maemo and Windows 7 for Netbooks, clearly attempting to squash once and for all lingering rumors of a Nokia Android handset in the works.

In addition, Geust stated that as far as Nokia is concerned, there is room for “four or five” Smartphone OS in the marketplace, including S60 and Maemo of course. He also mentioned that there was room for Android and Windows Mobile in the mobile world. Gee, funny that he didn’t mention the iPhone OS, but I guess Nokia sees Apple taking up that “or five” position…if the iPhone ever pans out.

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The Nokia E75 – Thoughts and Impressions

Jack Cook — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:48:57 +0000

There are an immense number of phone choices out there to fit the needs and desires of virtually everyone. For me, my choice has always been a Windows Mobile device because I have always found the OS to be the best for my needs. I have been pretty adamant about that choice and rarely have a desire to wander away that is until I had the opportunity to check out several Nokia devices over the past several years.

I have used a half dozen or so of the N-series devices and frankly have liked each one. The quality has always been outstanding and the functionality of each device has more than met any expectation that I have had for a device. A couple of weeks ago I was asked if I would like to try out the Nokia E75 and with all the positive experiences I have had with the N-series, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to check out an E-series device … and boy am I glad I did!

(...) Read the rest of The Nokia E75 – Thoughts and Impressions (2,366 words)

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A 1st Look at the Nokia E75

Jack Cook — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:34:08 +0000

Nokia has a slew of devices that can meet the needs of virtually everyone. The E75 is a device designed for the Business user with a variety of very cool features. The following two videos were taken while on the road on a visit to Amish Country in Pennsylvania. The review box arrived as I was pulling out the driveway so I had to wait until I got to Pennsylvania to check it out for the first time.

Part 1 gives you the same experience I got as I opened the box for the first time.

Forgive the shakiness in this second video as I tried to show some of the features. I was not planning on doing a video when I packed before the trip and unfortunately I did not pack a tripod.

An interesting aspect about this device is that it has two distinct modes: one for work and the other for personal use; a neat feature for folks that want to distinguish between the two. Navigation, Communication, Applications and email all coupled with Photography, Internet, Music and Video make this device a terrific addition to the Nokia line.

My Impressions of the Nokia E75 will come tomorrow.

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Nokia Surge Available July 19th

Marilyn Torres — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:44:33 +0000

Nokia’s latest AT&T release is basically a feature phone built to feed the social media affected. With a 2-megapixel camera, a full slide-out QWERTY, and Symbian S60 interface, the Nokia Surge doesn’t wander too far from the basics but instead of a generic WAP browser check this out:

In addition to an impressive suite of messaging capabilities, the Nokia Surge offers a powerful browsing experience, including Flash support to view most sites in full HTML or watch YouTube videos. Nokia Surge allows users to post messages, images, videos, and comments to web sites like Facebook on-the-go with the pre-installed JuiceCaster application.

The Surge seems to be a respectable intro to smartphones while still remaining simple and affordable. Internal storage straggles on the low end at 128 MB, expandable to 8 GB via memory card, although it’s capable of reading PDFs, creating and editing Microsoft Office documents with Quickoffice, and GPS service at HSDPA speeds where available. At the $79.99 price point with two-year contract and after a mail-in rebate, AT&T customers have another affordable slide-out QWERTY option and another Symbian S60 handset wrapped into one. Check out a commercial for the Nokia E71x’s newest AT&T cousin below:

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Source: Nokia

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SkyFire Software Update

Marilyn Torres — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:24:16 +0000

A small upgrade has been made by the SkyFire team to their 1.0 release of the mobile browser this week. The most significant improvement of the browser, now at version 1.0.0.12113 for Windows Mobile touch and non-touch handsets with a newer version for our Symbian kindred, is a reduced memory footprint. For those of us with handsets that are showing their age via lack of capacity, the SkyFire team has streamlined their browser to eliminate those pesky low memory errors.

I’m also ecstatic over reconnections being more reliable! Even after browser runs in the background for a while, the moment I switch back to SkyFire it has reconnected to that same site instantly. It beats the beta version where the browser would return to the SkyFire homepage after an accidental disconnect.

The zoom buttons disappearing and reappearing in a timely fashion was never a stand-out issue for me, but I’m glad that the general 1.0 release fixed the navigation buttons hanging out in the top right corner even when they shouldn’t be. Plus, SkyFire is now more reliable in maintaining the all-haloed Default Browser spot on my handset. No more accidental sojourns with Pocket Internet Explorer. Sorry Microsoft.

Download the latest version of SkyFire here: http://get.skyfire.com

More information on the upgrade can be found at the SkyFire.com blog.

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SkyFire Mobile Browser: After the Install

Marilyn Torres — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:35:40 +0000

One of the first things i do with a mobile browser after download and installation, is run it through a site gauntlet, that is, a mix of sites with oodles of embedded media. The first browser to push daises during this test was Pocket IE, which almost goes without saying. Detected as a mobile browser by most sites, limited settings, and non-existent Flash or Javascript support, Microsoft’s browser has long been overdue for an overhaul.

The second browser, which immediately became my only browser, was SkyFire Beta. I ran the beta version of this browser on my AT&T Tilt (HTC Kaiser) for over a year, first on WinMo 6.0 Professional and then after the 6.1 ROM upgrade. It worked flawlessly except for the occasional user error, as in, having too many programs open at the same time. When I started using this browser, I realized that I didn’t need to subscribe to the “There’s An App For That” mentality.

Even before I upgraded to SkyFire 1.0, functions such as browsing Flash, Silverlight, or Javascript enabled sites work without a hitch. Bouncing between Twitter-recommended links to videos, news sites, et cetera, couldn’t be more user friendly. Essential user settings like setting SkyFire as the default browser, browsing history, adding bookmarks, toggling audio, and browsing backward several pages are easily accessible. I can also save photos, post to Twitter or a blog, and also share website through SMS or email via cut and paste. Although, two buttons I still wish for are a “Stop” and “Forward” button.

Opera Mobile 9.7 Beta was the next stop on my browser odyssey but not my last. Apparently, about 85 MB of free memory was not enough for Opera to do all the things that SkyFire does so well. The variety of features in the Opera browser outshine Skyfire, such as password, caching, privacy settings, et cetera, which are all fantastic if you have the space and speeds necessary to accommodate them on your handset. The tabbed browsing is especially appealing only if your phone can handle the automated feature working in the background. My Tilt, on the other hand, would just display the “Out of Memory” error and force me to close programs and/or tabs.

So back to SkyFire 1.0 I went, and with a 679 KB CAB file versus Opera Mobile’s 4.65 MB file, SkyFire seems to be an ideal fit for any solid Windows Mobile or Symbian smartphone that’s showing its age but still has several good years left.

Download SkyFire 1.0 at: http://get.skyfire.com/

Download Opera Mobile 9.7 at: http://www.opera.com/mobile/

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I Want a New Drug

Steve Laser — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:20:43 +0000

I’ve had a Windows Mobile (WM) device for 8 years, as I’m sure many of you have. I feel so comfortable with it. I know its capabilities, I have tons of great software, and best of all, I have support from this excellent forum and others like it. If I want to find how to do nearly anything a Windows Mobile device is capable of, all I need do is ask.

But my comfort has grown into boredom. I’ve done many things to alleviate this boredom and make my device more exciting and user friendly, such as upgrading the ROM to WM6.1, and adding Winterface, ZoomBoard and other modern applications. But when it comes to using the device, ultimately I have to pull out a stylus, and that’s where my frustration lies. When a customer calls and I need to look at the notes in his contact information or look up product information in my device, I get very frustrated by having to pull out the tight-fitting stylus and navigating a bunch of menus. (...) Read the rest of I Want a New Drug (653 words)

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Skyfire … try it, you will like it!

Jack Cook — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:04:08 +0000

I’m sure you have heard of Skyfire and I’ll bet many of you have already tried an initial beta. I saw today that there was another beta that has been released and according to jkOnTheRun, Skyfire promises no waiting to get invited to this beta version.

So give it a try …. I have and I have liked it Skyfire is only supported in the US on Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms and you need a Windows Mobile (5 or 6), or a Nokia N or E series (3rd edition) phone.

Check out Skyfire and Register here

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The NEW Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Jack Cook — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:07:34 +0000

Innovative ‘Media Bar’ and ‘Contacts Bar’ add human touch to music experience

Nokia turned up the volume on its music offering today by unveiling the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, a mobile device for music that brings innovative new features to the mass market. Delivering on Nokia’s vision to provide the best total music experience possible, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be among the first devices to support Comes With Music, Nokia’s groundbreaking service which offers one year of unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue.

When it comes to music phones, people all over the world want a device that is a great music experience – with more memory, loud and powerful speakers, easy synchronization – and must still work well as a mobile phone with direct access to important contacts and content. The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic delivers on all counts and allows consumers to access and share content.

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Nokia Releases the N96

Jack Cook — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:39:39 +0000

The flagship of Nokia’s devices has just been released in Europe and it is looking mighty fine although fineness comes with a hefty price tag (about $800 US). 40 Hours of video, 16GB of internal memory that can be increased to 24GB and an advanced music offering top this device for features. We have not heard anything on the US launch but I would expect we will see it soon. Below is the text of the press release.

The Nokia N96 offers the most personalized mobile internet experience to date

Nokia announced the availability of the much anticipated Nokia N96, its flagship multimedia computer in the iconic Nokia Nseries range. It boasts live TV, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, turn-by-turn voice navigation, 16GB of internal memory that can be increased to 24GB with an optional microSD card, superior sound and music, N-Gage gaming and a stunning 2.8″ display. First shipments of the Nokia N96 have started and it will be available with an estimated retail price of EUR 550 before taxes and subsidies.

“The Nokia N96 is mobile entertainment at its best, a fitting flagship for our Nseries range. It defines convergence by blending phone and multimedia options seamlessly with the unique Nokia Nseries dual slider that makes discovering and sharing experiences easy. Watch live TV and video, take high quality photos and geotag them to specific locations or directly upload them online via the fast internet connection – it is all about taking mobile entertainment and communication to the next level,” says Jonas Geust, Vice President, Nokia Nseries.

Click Read More below for the rest of the Press Release

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