All About Symbian - Feature Articles - S60 3rd Edition

Features - S60 3rd Edition - Software

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Accessibility and Nokia Screen Reader

In this guest feature, the 'almost blind' Nickus de Vos tackles an area that's often ignored: accessibility, looking at Nokia Screen Reader (NSR), enabling anybody with visual impairment to still use the main functions of a Symbian smartphone. If you have the right model, that is - NSR is currently only supported on the Nokia C5-00, Nokia C5 5MP, Nokia 700 and Nokia 701. What can NSR do, how well does it work and are there any caveats?

# Posted by Steve in Software at 7:10 UTC, Jan 19th || Comments

Voice recognition and control on a budget - and all the things which can go wrong!

We've all been impressed by Apple's launch of their 'Siri' voice interrogation technology in the new iPhone 4S. But it should be borne in mind that something along the same lines (though admittedly nowhere near as adaptable) has been possible for ages on Symbian, even on extreme budget hardware. Just as a reminder, and with some comments on whether this is the way forward for smartphones generally, here's a demo of the free Vlingo in action on an old S60 3rd Edition handset.

# Posted by Steve in How To, Comment, Software at 6:37 UTC, Oct 19th || Comments

Gravity - the Facebook client you didn't know you had

We all know and love Gravity as a Twitter client par excellence - and most of us probably had an idea that it could 'do' Facebook too. But, following my look at the top standalone Facebook clients, I was curious as to how far Gravity went, in terms of covering the same functionality. Surprisingly far, as it turns out, though there are still Facebook core functions which you'll need a separate client for. Read on for my walkthrough and summary.

# Posted by Steve in How To, Software at 12:29 UTC, Sep 22nd || Comments

Bible options on Symbian^3

Large reference texts have long been something ideally suited to carrying around in electronic form and I've had several requests for a round up of ways to take the Bible with you. It has, in fact, been something I'd been meaning to research for ages, so here goes. It's true that Bible options on Symbian^3 are somewhat more limited than on other mobile platforms (even than on earlier Symbian versions, e.g. S60 3rd Edition), but that's no reason to lose faith in the idea....

# Posted by Steve in Software at 11:33 UTC, Aug 14th || Comments

How much faster is the Symbian Anna (Web 7.3) browser?

A new version (7.3) of the Web application ships with Symbian Anna and is also available for selected older devices, via firmware updates. The UI updates are easy to see, but what about the performance improvements from the updated browser engine and other under-the-hood changes? In this feature article we look at how much faster Web 7.3 is compared to Web 7.2 by sharing the results of some comparative browsing tests between the Nokia C7 and the Nokia X7.

# Posted by Rafe in Software at 6:00 UTC, Jul 15th || Comments

Pimping the Nokia N86 8MP

This is the biggest and most comprehensive - and last - in my series of "Pimping" features - for S60 3rd Edition smartphones. And as such, I've saved the best until last, as they say. The Nokia N86 featured here is one of my all time favourite phones and the ultimate incarnation of the original N95 dual slide concept. Just read the list of unique selling points below and you'll see what I mean. Can the N86 still 'cut it' in 2011? It depends what your smartphone needs are, to be sure. Certainly it's a great second hand bargain these days and hopefully this feature will show any new users some tricks and tips for setting it up.

# Posted by Steve in How To, Software, Hardware at 14:56 UTC, Jun 8th || Comments

How to: sidestep Nokia Messaging on the Nokia E52, E55 and E72

Nokia Messaging (/'Email') as a server-side push system works very well when it works. But what happens when, as for me, it's completely and utterly broken? On recent devices, you can simply 'decline' the terms of service at set-up time and IMAP access to your mailbox is used instead - problem solved. On the S60 3rd Edition phones, there's no such question screen and things are less trivial. But there is a way forward. Read on...

# Posted by Steve in How To, Software at 6:20 UTC, May 31st || Comments

Pimping the Nokia E72 - software for 2011

You'll recall that last year I wrote about 'pimping' the Nokia E55 (and E52), in terms of the software needed to bring them up to 2011 standards? Quite a bit of this feature is also relevant to their qwerty candbar cousin, the E72, but I thought that, in the light of my recent hardware pimping of the editorial E72, it would be handy to bring the feature right up to date and to explicitly talk about what works and what doesn't work on the landscape screen and different form factor.

# Posted by Steve in How To, Software at 6:02 UTC, Apr 28th || Comments

House of cards syndrome and putting your faith in a company like Nokia

As writers who often seem to be taking Nokia's side, against the prevailing mood in the world tech press, I'd like to justify why our faith isn't misplaced. Specifically, in the context of updates and stability. It's at this point that I have to acknowledge the few who have bought specific network-branded, locked Nokia smartphones in some countries and been left high and dry, but on the whole Nokia's firmware and application update programme has been relatively impressive. Read on for my thoughts and a cautionary tale or three.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Software, Hardware at 10:05 UTC, Jan 20th || Comments

Pimping the Nokia N96

I just can't resist the challenge of taking something old and unloved and making it useful. And my latest target is the much misunderstood Nokia N96, from 2008, still one of the largest-screened non-touch Nokia smartphones and with more gadgets than you can count - yet a device that was panned on release, plagued with performance problems and never sold as well as it should have done. In the latest in my series of 'pimping' articles, I look back at the Nokia N96 and what's needed to keep it topped up and current.

# Posted by Steve in How To, Software at 14:32 UTC, Dec 16th || Comments

Pimping the Nokia E55 (and E52)

The current wave of all-singing, all dancing capacitive touchscreen Symbian phones have their attractions, surely. But we shouldn't write off some of the classic S60 3rd Edition FP2 phones, some of which still have world beating characteristics and, with a little tweaking here and there, make a smartphone to be reckoned with. As evidence of this, here's the latest in my 'Pimping' series of tutorials: Pimping the Nokia E55. As you might expect, virtually all of this also applies to its sister device, the E52.

# Posted by Steve in How To, Comment, Software, Hardware at 7:29 UTC, Nov 20th || Comments

Ovi Store, the sweet spot in the life cycle of a content library, and a to-do list for Nokia

I've written before about most people only needing a handful of really good applications on their smartphone, but I've also cheerfully acknowledged that it's good to have a reasonable choice as well. Having watched Nokia's Download! get neglected and then Apple's iPhone App Store grow, with Nokia's new Ovi Store also now reasonable mature, it occurs to me that the latter is now at something of an optimal size and growth rate. Which is all the more reason why Nokia need to pay attention to some of the other expectations and gripes from their Ovi Store users...

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Software at 9:26 UTC, Nov 2nd || Comments

Five apps on my smartphone... and I'm still rolling along...

You'll remember that, exactly a year ago, I published a piece here, 'Three apps on my smartphone...', looking at what I reckoned was a common fallacy when looking at smartphone app stores and the numbers quoted? Presenting a 2010 take on the matter, with a slight upgrade from three to (ahem) five, with a semi-serious suggestion for a premium download store or area, and, yes, with an even sharper tone of ridicule at some of the stats and opinions being quoted in the popular press.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Software at 9:30 UTC, Sep 9th || Comments

Never too old for a wedding - a Day in the Life of the Nokia N82

David Gilson turns blogger in this Day in the Life of the Nokia N82, bought by him for camera duties and becoming his tool of choice for an all day wedding event. Read on for his impressions of this three year old device and its Xenon flash, sample photos and even a battery report - it seems that rumours of the N82's demise have been greatly exagerated...

# Posted by David in How To, Comment, Software at 8:02 UTC, Jul 27th || 13 Comments

How to: Use the mobile web - There's a Bookmark for that!

Over the last few years, I've had a burning conviction that's been growing and growing as I watch the current craze for 'Apps' blossom. Now, I've nothing against genuine applications or games, but it has to be said that a large number of so-called 'Apps' are simply scraping or managing exactly the same data as you get right now, on any phone, for free. And my way there are no installations, no complications and no hassle. Apps? Pah - I've a new slogan to rival Apple's. "There's a Bookmark for that!"

# Posted by Steve in How To, Comment, Software at 9:41 UTC, Jun 22nd || 21 Comments

The top GTD and time management applications for your Symbian smartphone

In this feature, Ewan summarises a variety of ways of using your Symbian smartphone to marshall the ever-growing list of 'things you've got to do' - some apps, some widgets and some cloud-based solutions, so something here should take your fancy?

# Posted by Ewan in Software at 15:16 UTC, Jun 15th

Pimping the Nokia N82

Here's the latest in my series about taking older, classic (2008 or before) hardware and finding out how far it can be taken to work to best effect in the modern day. You'll have seen the features on the Nokia E61i and E90 - now here's Pimping the Nokia N82 - a quirkily styled candybar that sat at the top of Nokia's hardware tree for ages - and in some ways still does.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Software, Hardware at 14:21 UTC, May 27th || 22 Comments

My Top 10 Reasons for Staying with Symbian

I was asked a very good question last week: "Why do you stay with Symbian when there's a world of wonder with iPhone and Android?" I have to admit to finding a number of positives in these other platforms, sometimes accompanied by positives in their hardware, but it's true that I do keep coming back to Symbian as the OS powering my smartphone-of-choice. Investigating my own leanings and trying to justify them, read on for the top 10 reasons why I stay with Symbian.

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Software at 8:41 UTC, May 13th || 56 Comments

How to: Use Google Reader to deliver podcasts to S60

Nokia's Podcasting is a wonderful media consumption tool. But, aside from its own somewhat limited 'Directory', Nokia doesn't make it simple to get new podcasts into Podcasting's feed 'system'. In this tutorial, David Gilson looks at way of using Google reader on your desktop computer to harvest interesting podcasts and import their feeds into your smartphone.

# Posted by David in How To, Software at 9:52 UTC, May 12th

Pimping the Nokia E90 and replacing the N97?

You'll have seen my previous 'retro' article, looking at pimping the Nokia E61i, an early 2007 device that can now be picked up for pocket money but which still has a unique form factor. The same applies, but 'in spades', to the Nokia E90, released only a few months after the E61i but sporting the full Communicator form and also S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, plus SDHC support. Like the E61i, it too had a number of performance bottlenecks, so how did I get on pimping the Nokia E90 to 2010 standards and might it possibly challenge the mighty (ahem) N97? Read on....

# Posted by Steve in Comment, Software, Hardware at 7:56 UTC, Mar 29th || 28 Comments

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