Although I'm not an avid fan or user of Google Calendar, I still find it an immensely useful tool - I can set up meeting times and appointments with other Google services users and groups. Getting it on to your N82, however, is another matter.

Developer Petteri Muilu has written this excellent application, CalSyncS60, to allow for two-way synchronisation for your built-in calendar and Google Calendar. Although still in beta stages, it supports all Symbian S60 v3 devices, and requires only an internet connection (as well as a Google account so you can sync to something).

Being a beta application, it's always recommended to back up all your data first before trying this out. Some features aren't available yet (such as synchronisation of recurring events), but it's only been developed recently, so I see plenty of potential for this app.

And I should make a note that it's NOT tedious to install; it only requires the downloading of the SIS file, transferring that to your phone via Bluetooth/Memory Stick/PC Suite, and following the instructions to install.

Why not try it out now?

Remember a while ago when I reviewed emTube? Well, I'm pretty sure right after Youtube saw the software, they were so impressed that they decided to come up with their own, fully supported Youtube Mobile Beta.

Although it's only released for Nokia N73, E65, N95, 6120c and 6110n (as well as the Sony Ericsson K800 and W880), I managed to use a little hack via Firefox to obtain the Java application - which is available here. Simply install it, and you're good to go with Youtube Mobile on your N82.

Apart from a much more familiar looking interface to Youtube (and the mobile site, m.youtube.com) you can now basically search, upload, flag, and even access your own account using this nifty app. Despite being programmed in Java, which is synonymous to 'lag' and 'slow', it does offer quite a decent performance, allowing for Cover Flow like scrolling if a search for a video is done.


Similar to emTube, it accesses the normal Youtube site rather than the WAP version, which means virtually the entire catalog of Youtube videos are readily available via this mobile application.

Uploading is extremely well integrated with the smart phone - you can preview the videos before you upload, and with HSDPA/WiFi you can pretty much expect uploading to be done rather quickly. With everything seemingly well connected, from searching to uploading, I won't be surprised if many users switch from emTube to Youtube's official application.

With the N95 in mind, rotation of the app is also supported, so you can view cover-flow like effects whilst searching as well when you turn your phone horizontally. Videos are zoomed out to full screen mode when it starts playing, and there is also the ability to fast forward or to rewind, perhaps even bettering the features on emTube.

Even though it's still in Beta, it's definitely one of my favourite apps on the N82. And future beta releases (or maybe even the final release) are promising the added feature of rating and commenting from your smart phone, so I'm pretty sure this software should spread like wildfire within the S60 community.

Although it's meant for the N95, there is no reason why it doesn't work on the N82 - the phones are essentially alike, and both are flagship models. Hardware-wise, they're more or less the same; so click here to download Youtube Mobile Beta!

Note: if you use other Nokia S60 phones, you should still be able to download this application, providing you have the same screen resolution (320 x 240), run the same Java version as the N95, and have a valid GPRS/EDGE/3G connection.

Update: Make sure the access point setting is set to your WiFi access point in the Realplayer app if you want to use WiFi to watch video via YouTube; otherwise you'll get "Could not connect to server" errors.

Just been getting news that Opera has indeed released a minor update for mobile phone users - Opera Mini version 4.1. The new update includes a few major features (which should have been there from the start, but I'm not complaining) such as: no longer triggering the default S60 browser for downloads and uploads, but rerouting all of it to work under Opera Mini; Saving webpages for offline viewing; and searching for text.

Also included are claims that surfing on the Opera Mini 4.1 beta are much, much faster. In fact, up to 50% faster, thanks to "server upgrades" from Opera's end. Definitely worth some testing to see if there's any truth in this...

What are you waiting for? Head over to http://www.operamini.com/beta/ and give it a try! The beta version does not overwrite your original Opera Mini 4 release, so you can test both simultaneously and see how it fairs with the older release.

Conversation is an app developed by Nokia Labs which allows for your text messages to be organised in threads, similar to the concept created by Apple. Rather than grouping all your text messages by the time received, which was the traditional method of organising SMS's, the messages are now grouped by contact - thereby allowing you to view your exchange with a particular person.

So far the application is still in beta, but we can definitely expect big things from it. And it's being pushed forward by the Nokia Labs, a funded R&D division from Nokia, so it's well supported and integrated for S60 phones.

A must get for all N82 enthusiasts. Something to show off for all your mates...

If you tend to use Nokia's own Maps software for GPS tracking and navigation, then there's some good news for you. Nokia released the new version 2 of their Maps software, bringing some eagerly anticipated updates to the already impressive mapping app.

I've had the liberty of testing this on the N82 since it was released 2 weeks ago, and I can tell you that it looks alot better than the original version 1 of Maps. The new black colour scheme seems to fit alot better than the white one, and the larger text definitely benefits the user in seeing where they are and the satellite status.

Moving on to AGPS - upon startup each time, the software now prompts for whether the user wants a data connection or not. While some may consider it a hassle, it really is a much better option for the majority of us users - data plans in Hong Kong are really expensive, so I wouldn't want to get charged for not knowing that Maps went online without my knowledge. Plus, if you do opt to connect online, you can choose to connect to a different connection each time - i.e. if I'm at home then I can get on my WiFi and so on. Excellent cost saving option there :)

Getting a satellite fix is also much faster than before. Using the previous Maps application, even if I had a clear view of the sky, it still took something like to 10 minutes to get a fix from a cold start (a cold start meaning no previous GPS readings, and the GPS has been off for over 72 hours). Using Maps 2.0, I got a fix from a cold start in less than 30 seconds - mind you, without any network assistance - so it really is a great fix to the previous issue.

Another new feature is that Maps 2.0 now supports downloading of satellite imagery, so you can have your map overlapping a satellite image - something that looks like the Google Maps application, where you can opt to have just the normal map or a satellite image. Definitely looks much better.

Moving on to the negatives, I have to say that Nokia's new app only supports English. Usually this isn't a problem - however when Nokia gets the names of the area all wrong, as seen in the image below - then it's a huge issue, as I have no idea where I am.

(For god's sake, the road has a English name "Island-East corridor/highway", after all Hong Kong used to be a colony of the U.K. The bottom line should read "Hong Kong SAR" instead of a direct phonetically translated name of Hong Kong, read in Putonghua/Manderin.)

And there is no option for one to download the maps in their local language yet. But I presume that it's not a huge issue, as Nokia Maps is still in beta so far, so the problems should be ironed out when it's finally released (which I hope will be really soon).

So if you live in a place where English is the only language then you probably will enjoy Nokia Maps 2.0 a lot. Otherwise, be prepared for a poor translation of road and place names (every single place in Hong Kong is displayed as a phonetic reading of the place in Manderin, i.e. "Ying Huang Dao" instead of "King's Road") for some specific regions.

You can get the new Nokia Maps 2.0 from Nokia Labs.