N95 gets yet another FW update!

After much waiting it seems Nokia has at last given the Nokia N95 its Flash Lite 3/Web runtime firmware update. Ofcourse we alrady got the utility wares for seeing youtube videos through alternate updates, atleast it's Betterlate than never. It's nowhere near as huge an update as the v20 which introduced demand paging and transformed the performance of the device turning the lowly N95 into as powerfull a machine as the N95 8GB especially with the 16 GB microSD that has since been released. The v21.0.016 is still a major firmware and well worth installing, but i wouldn't recommend it if you are fed up of the Backup&Restore formality.

What's new for v21.0.016 (over and above v20 firmware):

• Flash Lite 3 is included, so Flash video sites will work, including YouTube (just as on the N95 8GB v15 firmware from a couple of months ago)
• The Web runtime is included, meaning that standalone widgets are now possible
• Greater Bluetooth headset compatibility
• Better handling of entering lots of text into web page dialogs
• Speedier Gallery in every way
• Faster Java runtime, so Java apps start faster
• plus the usual miscellaneous bug fixes and tweaks, no doubt!

Ofcourse they still haven't included the full app of the NGage service, so I guess we ain't going to see it in the near future(even though release had been slated for X'mas '07).

More details and screens at AllAboutSymbian.

S60 3rd Edition FP2?!!

The s60 3rd Feature Pack 2 seems to be the next best OS available for SmartPhones of the like of the Nokia NSeries - that is phones that are packed with multiple processors, stand alone graphic processors and huge amounts of RAM (128 in the case of the N95-2). With Feature Pack 2 you get features in your phone that were until recently available only through expensive 3rd Party software. Moreover it increases the User Interface of the phone making it more efficient and usable.

First of all, with FP2, the MultiTasking ability of the phone has been more concentrated upon which I believe will make it more competitive against other mobile OS and also bridging the gap between SmartPhone and Computer(which Nokia seems to love doing..remember "This is what Computers have become!"). From FP2 onwards the Multi Tasking Menu can be activated from the options menu as well. Before, this was possible only by an extended press on the menu button.

More intuitive UI has been another priority ofS60 3rd Edition Feature Pack with the addition of a labeled middle softkey, for more work with less clicks. Another UI update is the Active Idle Toolbar, which now also has a option for being Vertically placed. This results in better screen space utilization for the active app.

The Messaging application is much more smarter than before. You just select create a message and bearer(SMS,MMS,Email) is selected automatically. If the final message has only text, it's SMS. If there are other media components included to message, such as pictures or video, message type is MMS. Small, but it's nice.

Functions that until now were available only through 3rd Party Software which have been built-in into the OS now are as follows:

1. There is RSS/Atom feed support so selected news feed can scroll on the bottom of the idle screen. This is similar to the Nokia Gallery's scroller.
2. FSCaller's full screen caller image has now been included as a built-in feature. This makes caller identification easier. Besides it looks cooler!
3. Personal pictures can be used to personalize your theme. There is a neat slideshow screensaver.,which allows you to select your favorite pics from the gallery. Also the wallpaper has similar slideshow functionality. I don't remember the name of the app that used to support this.
   
4. Users of S60 are very aware of BestProfiles in which you can set time limits and alarms for your profiles to change. This also has been embedded into FP2, you can set a timer for profiles, so the phone for silent for one hour and then it goes back to general profile automatically. Very use full.
5. Web Browsers are the most used application in S60, as browsing is extremely popular and everyone loves to download media files. Currently if you download a music or video file, you have to wait until file is completely downloaded and only then can you open and play it. FP2 supports progressive downloading from browser which allows for instant playback during downloading. Sort of like streaming links. I've never seen these features, especially the streaming download, in a SmartPhone app before! It's more like it was brought from the DAP software for Windows!!
6. As if that wasn't enough Downloading function has also other improvements. When for example a mp3 is downloaded, you'll get a "Save as" option so it's easy to set it as ringing tone. And if it's a picture download you can set it as wallpaper straight away. Cool eH? :)
   

All these features make for a great mobile computing experience, I only hope they bundle in a high capacity battery along as well - high power apps such as these will have little mileage when it comes to battery consumption!

Internet Radio v1.2

Listen to the world through internet radio. Explore the universe of mobile Internet radio. Browse hundreds of stations and find your favorite show. Listen to music and news from all over the world. Choose from a large variety of stations and shows, including news, sporting events and music. Browse for your favorite radio programs by genre, language, or country, or search by station name. Explore the most popular stations and stay in touch with the mobile Internet radio community. Nokia Internet Radio service is supported by both packet data and WLAN connections. Enhance your mobile device and your life with Nokia Internet Radio (Beta). Download and use the Nokia Internet Radio Player (Beta) application for free* and get started with music and news broadcasts. The following tips may be useful as you start using the Nokia Internet Radio Player (Beta). To best enjoy high-quality content, we recommend using the Nokia Internet Radio Player (Beta) with a WLAN access point. If you already know the name of a specific station, you can easily find that name using the "Search" option. Use "Station Directory" to discover new Internet radio stations, by choosing your favorite genre, country or language. Use the "Top stations" menu to find the most popular choices of other Nokia Internet Radio (Beta) users (Station Directory > Top stations). Use the "Settings" menu to configure the default Internet access point and the audio quality available for different data bearers (Options > Settings). Use "Help" to get extra instructions from the application main page (Options > Help). Setup of WLAN is not managed through the Nokia Internet Radio Player. Refer to your Nseries device user guide for instructions to set up WLAN access points. Supported devices: Nokia 6110 Navigator, N73, N75, N76, N77, N82, N91, N91 8GB, N93i, N95 and N95 8GB.

Expenses 2.0

SymbianGuru has updated its expense tracking software and released Expenses 2.0. The update has following new features implemented:-
Now application is password protected, and secures your expenses from unauthorised access
- The font and colour of the on screen reports became customizable
- User now can create own expenses categories, for sorting the expenses according to the needs
- Bug with big numbers import was fixed

Expenses for Series 60.3 organizes private and business expenses in quick and easy way. Comprehensible interface, quick but password protected access to
all expenses make Expenses to beloved tool for budget optimization.

Expenses 2.0 for Series 60 3rd edition track all kinds of expenses, create customized on-screen reports and export expenses records into CSV format for
MS Excel.

Expenses for Series 60.3 save your time and save your money, optimizing your budget. It is unbearable tool for home and business finance.

Key Features of Expenses 2.0 include:

1. Customizable list view of all your expenses, also with the personal notes
2. Secure password protection
3. Application options lets user personalize the main page view, report view, all used expenses types, currencies and payment methods
4. When recording a new expense, the most used expenses types will come first in the list to avoid much scrolling
5. Unlimited number of expenses categories can be created for keeping separately different expenses types
6. User can make a personal note to every expense
7. User can get the total of all expenses just with one click
8. Report on screen can be made, with custom data chosen for the certain period and fully customizable report view
9. Easy export MS Excel (universal CSV format)

NokMote in action!

Our beloved Samir, the creator of RotateMe is going to bring out yet another great app, and this one too is based on the newly found 3d accelerometer of the N95 and other similar smart phones running the S60 V3 platform. This app allows you to control your phone completely using shakes and turns. Really nice way to get things done when your alone, but in public, people may laugh at you.. ;)

It's called the NokMote..(rolling drums)...




http://www.bysamir.fr
http://www.forummobiles.com

Nokia N96??!

Symbian Freak has got it's hands on a load of pics of the N96 that's been leaked into their inbox, but they don't seem to be too happy with the phone. One of the reasons touted being that it has a crappy LED flash - but there are 2 crappy LED flashes actually, so I think I wouldn't mind that ;) Anyways the handset does look cool in a N81 kinda way,.. Honestly I don't think it's good enough to be with the N9* series - it belongs with the N8*. Wonder who takes care of naming these sets over at Nokia..?

Another speciality of this set is that it runs on Series60 3rd Edition FP2 - now that's more than good enough reason to go for this phone I'm sure. I'll be posting a review about the FP2 OS soon..watch this space for a link!
Read more about the N96 here.

Courtesy Symbian-freak.