Tommi’s S60 Application blog:

Last Friday, Hasseraze Chamamod asked kindly:

I have a nokia (NYSE: NOK) N73 and I would be grateful to you if
you could suggest me some more extra applications that can be valuable
to me

Sure thing. (sorry about the late reply)

To begin with, I have divided this shortlist of add-on applications
and services to 7 categories. A couple of years ago, the category (b) 3rd party consumer apps
was probably the most interesting one. For some reason, however, I find
myself using stuff from the other categories, especially the (a) Nokia add-on stuff and (c) Internet stuff much more than traditional 3rd party apps. I wonder is it just me or is this a trend?

Very impressive, almost complete, list.

I would have to add Opera Mini and Opera for S60. The difference is Opera Mini is free and uses a proxy server to compress a website for you; it also has an RSS reader that supports images and full HTML. It is absolutely fantastic if you’re in North America like me where 3G is still something relatively new and you’re stuck with EDGE.

Opera for S60 is $30 and it has become my browser of choice when connected to a WLAN or when I really need the full web experience. No offense to the web browser developers at S60, I love your work. It’s just that your updates are tied to Feature Pack releases.

Feature Pack releases are tied to new phones.

When Opera comes out with version 9 of their S60 browser I just have to download it, install it and I’m good to go.

Voice of S60:

This week I’m joined by Jure Sustersic, Product Manager for Native
Development Environments at S60, and he’s on to discuss Open C on the
S60 platform. What it means for consumers, what it means for
developers, what it means for enterprise users, what it means for
operators, and what it means for the open source community. You might
Jure from Barcelona a couple weeks ago where he showed his Open C demo on YouTube.

Enjoy the podcast!

Download in MP3 64kbps Format | (19:32 – 9.1 MB)
Download in AAC+ 24kbps Format | (19:32 – 3.4 MB)

Notes I took while listening:

Open C will let people write applications in straight C as opposed to using Symbian C++

"The main target of this release is for developers."

What this means for end users is more S60 applications should be developed. Makes porting easier.

"Open C is opening up S60 even more."

Open C has the same performance as Symbian C++, some functions however perform better.

Phil: What are the advantages of using Open C over Symbian C++?

Jure: Open C is meant to compliment Symbian C++. It’s an extension. It’s not meant to be a replacement.

Phil: What will this mean to the open source community?

Jure: People can start building their current applications for S60. It is easy and a lot code can be reused.

Phil: Availability?

Jure: A part of S60v3FP2. It will be also be compatible with every S60v3 and S60v3FP1 device via a plugin. Plugin will launch at the end of March. Summer time is the expected time frame to see applications using Open C.

<Lots of talk about how this will benefit the enterprise. Applications people are used to on their desktop could be ported to their S60 phone.>

Phil: What will Open C mean for operators?

Jure: Operators will be able to enhance their devices even more then they previously could with just S60 alone.

<Lots of talk about Open C road show>

Jure: forum.nokia.com is where you need to go for more Open C info.

Road show will also be in Brazil, China, Europe and Asian regions.

Jure: I’m going to the road show in Brazil.

Have fun Jure! Bring the sun screen.

Straight from Phil’s blog:

Hey all you S60 enthusiasts in and around New York City! I’m writing
to announce the very first "An evening with S60" to be held at the Nokia Flagship Store in New York City
on March 15th from 6:30pm – 8:30pm (they’re closing the store early for
us!). It’s a very exclusive event just for you readers of the S60 Blogs
and S60 enthusiasts.

On the agenda for the evening…

- Food & Drinks
- Networking with Nokia (NYSE: NOK)/S60 crew and S60 enthusiasts in the NYC area.
- Dean Andrews, author of "101 Cool Smartphone Techniques", to launch his new S60 Blog.
- Hands-on with all the new S60 devices including the Nokia N95, E61i, E65, E90 Communicator, and 6110 Navigator.
- Demonstration and hands-on with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 hosted by Mikko Röntynen, Head of S60 Platform Marketing.
- A short presentation (TBD) hosted by yours truly.
- More details to come…

So if you’re in the New York City metropolitan area, we’d love to
have you! Apologies in advance but attendance is limited, so please
RSVP as soon as you can to: phillip dot schwarzmann -at- nokia dot com

Looking forward to seeing you there!!

I have 3 options:

1. Drive: I love driving. On $30 of gas I usually get 350 miles. 1600 miles one way would mean a total of around $280 round trip. Not to mention an oil change when I get back.

   Pros: I won’t have to share the car with anyone, it will be just me and the machine. I know that sounds depressing to some people, but when I’m behind the wheel of a car I just feel so peaceful and "zen like."

   Cons: Parking in NYC is something I detest beyond the realm of imagination. I’ll probably get a few speeding tickets.

2. Greyhound: Bus ride. $198 round trip.

   Pros: I can sleep or have conversations with my fellow riders. I can get video of peoples reactions to S60 devices from all different parts of America.

   Cons: For 35 hours I won’t take a shower, the bathroom is small and I can’t stop and eat at a diner whenever my stomach starts rumbling.

3. Fly: Flying rocks! I just looked it up on Expedia: $260 round trip.

   Pros: Plane ride is less than 6 hours long. Free bag of peanuts.

   Cons: My last name is Constantinescu. I always seem to make the list when it comes to "random" security checks. Since when does being Romanian make me a terrorist?

Hotel: No need. Remember Greg from CES? He lives in NYC and has already granted me the honor of the couch!

I sent Phil my RSVP but I’m not making any guarantees that I’ll be able to make it.

Do I want to? Heck yes!

Time will tell. I’ll let you guys know as we get closer and closer to the ides of March.

Horribly off topic. It’s just something I want to throw out there before I go to sleep.

I’ve been wearing Puma’s exclusively, as my daily sneakers, for over half a decade. I’m about to order a new pair online (you try finding size 13 (47 in Europe) in stores) but I’m having a hard time deciding which model to purchase.

I’m assuming boots are more popular than kicks over there, but I’ve made many false assumptions in the past!

Source: TechEBlog

Why would you want to make Doom look like Counter Strike? That’s just not right.

Barron’s:

Tim Long, an analyst at Bank of America, wrote a couple of useful research notes today based on a conference call he hosted yesterday with Nokia (NYSE: NOK) VP of Multimedia Computers Jonas Geust. The Nokia exec told Long and his clients that Nokia believes the market for converged devices – phones with music, cameras, Web access and video – was 90 million units in 2006, heading to 250 million in 2008.

According to Long, Geust said that about 60% of users who have MP3 players on their phone actually use them.

Perhaps the most interesting comments from Geust involved his thoughts on key features of the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone.

• Touch screens: Geust said that Nokia has heard some positive feedback, but also noted that some people have issues with keeping them clean, and that some people dislike the fact that they are hard to use with one hand. (Which makes them hard to use while driving.)
• Bandwidth: Geust says he does not think 2.5G technology (which is what the first iPhone will use) will be fast enough. He says devices should have 3G and/or wi-fi access for a rich user experience.
• Cameras: The Nokia exec said the sweet spot will be 3-5 megapixels.
• Storage: Geust says 4GB to 8 GB of storage should be enough for music alone but that 16GB or even 32 will be needed to store music, photos and video.

I’ll be honest with you. I’m not going to buy an iPhone, but I sure as hell will make an effort to stop by an Apple store and give it a good once over.

All About Symbian:

The E65 may not have the glamour of the E90 or the popularity of the E61i, but it should not be underestimated and I think it is the dark horse of the Eseries range. It is a reasonably well specified, but competitively priced enterprise focused device, which is ideal for office workers looking for strong voice features and a read only mobile email solution. It makes a compelling addition to the overall Eseries portfolio, slotting in between the E60 and the E50.  Outside of the enterprise focus, the multimedia features are mediocre in comparison to Nseries phones, but they’re still better than much of the competition. Thus the E65 may also appeal to general consumers as its size and design will attract those looking for a little extra from their day to day phone.

The E65 is available in red and mocha (brown), is available immediately and costs approximately 370 Euros unsubsidised.

Not even one bad thing to say. I’m impressed. Do you like it that much?

I agree the E65 will probably unseat the E61 as the most popular E series device, but my favorite 3GSM Nokia (NYSE: NOK) release had to be the 6110 Navigator.

Are we going to get a review on that?

Infoworld:

Nokia (NYSE: NOK), one of the first handset makers outside Japan to turn a phone into a wallet, now wants to sell services that will make these kinds of devices useful.

But the Finnish mobile equipment giant isn’t doing so directly. Instead, it has formed what it calls an independent third party, a joint venture with Germany’s Giesecke & Devrient, which makes smart cards. The venture, Venyon Oy, based in Helsinki, was launched in December and is about to open a Singapore office to complement locations in Munich and Dallas, according to Chief Executive Officer Lauri Pesonen.

The mobile phone payments Venyon wants to facilitate are based on NFC (near-field communication), which uses an RFID (radio-frequency identification) chip and antenna to exchange information with a payment station from a range of a few centimeters. Typically it would involve tapping the phone against a subway turnstile, a vending machine, a payment device at a checkout stand, or another phone, Pesonen said.

Phones are perfect for payment because people carry them almost everywhere, Pesonen told journalists at an event in San Francisco on Wednesday. NFC is already available on some credit and debit cards, and NFC phones will get cheaper when they no longer need a separate smart card for the feature. Such phones should hit the market next year, he said.

Venyon isn’t aiming at the hardware end of the problem but at the need for an infrastructure through which retailers and financial services companies can work with carriers and handset makers. Although standards bodies are working on specifications for this, Venyon is worried that the market will be in full swing by the time those standards are finished. If each set of partners develops its own technology, fragmentation would slow down adoption, Pesonen said.

NFC is going to take quite a while to hit mainstream America. I can’t wait for that day to happen.

Buy an unlocked 5300 if you want a 5300. Seriously.

Gizmodo attended a T-Mobile party and got to play around with the device:

They also got their hands on some leaked documentation.

I hope the next XpressMusic phone actually has a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

It just came to me as I was typing my previous post covering those 4 N800 reviews.

Imagine if the next Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Internet Tablet had a hardware keyboard. You install a little VNC type application on your S60 device and now you have the huge 800×400 screen + keyboard at your full disposal!

I would love to have such a solution. My main mobile phone would be an N76 (in black) and in my rucksack/briefcase I would have the Internet Tablet for when I need a more robust input mechanism and more screen real estate.

Is it possible Dr. Jaaksi?

Please say yes!