For those Olympics enthusiasts, keeping track of the events happening on different days is already a challenge within itself. So here's an excellent application developed by GameDreams to keep track all the events starting from the 6th of August (Football Qualifiers) to the ending ceremony on the 24th of August.
The application shows the events occuring on a specific day, followed by the location and the round that occurs on the day. The times for the events (local time) are also listed as well.
Although the UI could be slightly improved in this case of events to allow for more customisation, I'm not really complaining much as it's a free application. A slightly larger issue would be the fact that the developers did not build in a function to allow for updating of scores and results as well as upcoming schedule changes, should any occur. And with the event's times stuck to the local Beijing time, you've also got to do a tedious conversion each time before you can figure out when it's happening at your local time.
Nonetheless, it's a pretty polished app ready for use, and it's surely a must-have for those who are hardcore Olympics fans - particularly if you've got tickets to watch it live at the stadium too.
I'm not such a big fan of Nokia's automatic keylock system. The main flaw is that the automatic keylock only activates if your phone is on the standby screen; incidentally, I suppose most of us might have our screens stuck in the Music Player or perhaps the browser. Since the Nokia N82 has no media buttons, staying in the Music Player Now Playing menu is always nice as I can switch songs readily in a few clicks, but without a keylock in the music player I usually end up nudging the buttons.
Autolock can solve this dilemma by allowing the user to set the timeout period before the automatic keylock kicks in for all applications. It's very nifty and runs in the background unobstrusively while getting the job done. This app is particularly well for those who use their N82 as their Music Player as a timeout of 15 seconds is just about enough time to choose your song and shove it back in your pocket without the problem of nudging buttons when playing music.
Since the announcement of the accelerometer on the N95 and the games that appeared to take advantage of the iPhone's accelerometer, I've decided to compile a list of games that works on the Nokia N82 and utilises the built-in accelerometer so more of us can be aware of the N82's full potential. Granted, not all games are free, and not all are problem-free; but here's just a preliminary list:
- Marble Maze is a labyrinth game that includes over 40 different labyrinths to solve. 3 difficulty levels are present in the game, by the means of using 3 different 'types' of balls to solve the labyrinths.
It's a great idea, and definitely rivals the labyrinth game available on the iPhone - but it comes at a cost. 
BallGame is another labyrinth game - but a free, Java version. Although it lacks the graphics muscle of Marble Maze, the very reason that it's free should be able to entice you to give it a go.- Groove Labyrinth is the one listed on the Nokia website and has been around since the age of the Nokia 5500 (for which it was developed for). Fast forward 3 years, and here we are trying it out on the Nokia N82 - but it suffers from resolution issues because it was developed for a much smaller screen resolution in mind. Not recommended as the screen resolution problem is really hard to swallow.
- Space Invaders has just been redesigned for accelerometer supported phones, and it doesn't get any better than Accelerinvaders.
It's a good way to kill off boredom in those long commutes, especially since it's free. But it might get a bit repetitive at times... - If the above games aren't your taste, you might want to try this questing game called PandaManda. Basically, you're using your accelerometer to try and find an escape route for the main protagonist, the Panda. Despite being similar in aim to a labyrinth game, it offers a lot more; for example, collecting diamonds/coins (similar to Super Mario), defeating the panda's enemies, clearing various other obstructions, etc.
A new revolutionary concept for gaming, and it's going only for 7 Euros. Dirt cheap for a game of this calibre, in my opinion. 
PySnake is a Snake game with added accelerometer support. Although it's not the same as the 3D Snakes game that comes included with your Nokia smartphone, simplicity is the key to success in this case. It's a free game so kudos to the developer ariek44!
Remember the game 15-Puzzle, where you would scramble up a picture and then try and shuffle and jiggle up the pieces so you end up with the complete picture, save for the square on the corner? It's been recreated for the Symbian S60 smart phone, along with accelerometer support so now you can just twist and turn your phone to solve the puzzle. Another one of those brilliantly done free (and open source) softwares!
If you've been a long time user of Nokia phones, then you might know what Active Standby plugins are. Currently an exclusive feature to the Nokia E-Series S60 phones, it's basically an option within the Control Panel to allow to user to control what they want to see on the Active Standby screen.
For example, if you're using an E-Series phone, you could opt to disable showing your To-Do list, or your WLAN scanning in the Active Standby Screen if you don't find a use for those features. Any aspect of the Active Standby screen can be changed to your personal taste and preferences.
So it is a crying shame that Nokia decided not to include this feature on the N-Series smartphones. In my opinion, it should be a standard feature across all Symbian S60 smartphones - it allows for greater personalisation and general aesthetics, especially if you don't want to see a certain feature on the Active Standby home screen.
But I digress. There is a method for N-Series users to change your Active Standby screen and strip out the elements you dislike; in the screenshot below, I took out the Search feature in the home screen, along with the WLAN scanning as an example.
It's not a very complex procedure to get this done: all you need is ROMPatcher (Only for S60v3 FP1 Smartphones) and the CleanActiveStandby Patches, and follow the instructions below. Oh yes, and you need a Windows PC too (sorry to all Mac users). It's a completely safe and reversible process.
- Unzip the 2 files
- Transfer s60_3_1_app_trk_2_7.sisx from the ROMPatcher package to your phone via Data Transfer Mode, then run it. Don't install it using your PC Suite.
- Connect your phone in the PC Suite mode with your computer.
- Execute TRK from your applications folder. By default it will try to turn on your Bluetooth; just cancel that. Go to Options >> Settings and set the Connection to be "USB".
- Now find the Port number that your phone is connected to. Open up Device Manager in the Control Panel (or Start Menu >> Run >> devmgmt.msc). It should be under COM & LPT or an option like that.
- Now run RPInstaller.exe from the ROMPatcher package and enter the correct COM port number. Click on "Install" and let it do its job. When you see the following, then the process is done.
- Check your Applications folder. There should be a new application called ROMPatcher sitting there, if no errors occurred during the installation process.
- Close RPInstaller on your PC, the TRK application from your phone, and connect your phone in the Data Transfer mode.
- Make the folder /Patches/ in the root menu of the memory stick. Throw the 4 files from the CleanActiveStandby Patch in there.
- Turn off Active Standby on your N-Series smartphone.
- Open up ROMPatcher - you should see the following screen:
Select the patches which you wish to apply - you can apply all 4 if you want - and then minimise ROMPatcher. Don't click on "Exit" because there is a problem of it restarting your phone once you click on the button "Exit". If the patch correctly applies you should see a green tick as the icon next to it. Likewise, if there's a problem, you should see an icon with an exclamation mark. - Turn on Active Standby again and it should be complete. If, for any reason, you wish to get your normal screen back, just reboot your phone.
The Nokia N78's newest firmware has just been released - however, what's unique about this firmware update is that it's the first update offered by Nokia that can be done over-the-air; rather than requiring you to go to your PC and open up Nokia PC Suite to update, it can now be done if you can access the Internet (via WLAN/3G/EDGE/GPRS).
This would probably mean that future N-series S60 updates can also be done directly on your N-series phone rather than requiring a Windows PC connection. Looks like Nokia finally understood that many of it's N-series users also use Macs, making firmware updates extremely inconvenient for them...
I've been trying out this software called PanoMan lately, which enables the user to take panoramic photos on your mobile phone. This software, paired with the Nokia N82 which has a beast of a camera, unlocks another dimension for N82 users; even though the Nokia N82 is marketed as the "crème de la crème" camera phone, it sorely lacks what most Sony Ericsson phones include - the ability to take panoramic photos.
What's great about the Symbian S60 platform is that even if a particular feature is sorely lacking on a Nokia phone, there's always software (freeware or shareware) to make up for it. Again, taking panoramic photos is no exception - PanoMan costs roughly 10 Euros, which may seem quite a large sum for a feature that should have been included in the phone, but I would think of it as money well spent, as it does an excellent job of taking panoramic photos.
It's extremely simple to use. As soon as you start the application, choose the resolution and quality you want your photos taken in, and where it should be saved, you can start snapping away. Using it's unique algorithm in stitching photos together, all the user needs to do is start the "capture" button, then move your camera across the subject or landscape they're capturing. At the end, click on the "finish" button and save your photo - there is no need to take individual frames and ensure you stitch them together accurately, the software automatically does all that for you.
If you want to see more photos before purchasing the application (which is always a good idea), there's also a Flickr group dedicated for photos taken using PanoMan.
If the Nokia N78 was released at just about the same time as the N82 was, I'd have a hard time in choosing which Symbian smartphone to get. Here's just some pros and cons of both phones for those who are considering getting one or the other:
Pros of the Nokia N82:
- Xenon Flash, as opposed the LED flash on the N78
- 5 Megapixels vs. 3 Megapixels
- TV-Out cable support (the 3.5mm jack to the Component cable, so you can show the N82 screen on a TV)
- Accelerometer - potential for accelerometer-supported games on N-Gage? RotateMe and ShakeLock support. Coolness factor :)
- Symbian S60 FP2 - which provides new features, such as nice looking transition animations, a larger range of standby screens, a more convenient interface in general.
- A larger capacity battery - 1200mAh against the N82's 1050mAh. This should translate to a longer standby time.
- Built-in FM Transmitter, so you can beam all those tunes to a empty radio station and annoy all the other cars around you on the highway.
- Up to 24 hours of Music Playback (quoted by Nokia) vs. N82's max of 12 hours or so
And an indication of the prices:
Suggested retail price of the Nokia N82: HK$4188 (US$536, GBP 272, 344 Euros)
Suggested retail price of the Nokia N78: HK$3988 (US$511, GBP 259, 328 Euros)
Recently a video of Google's OS Android running on the Nokia N95 has surfaced; would this mean that it's also possible to get Android running on other Symbian smartphones?
With the iPhone's release, more and more people are now aware of how a 'good' interface could be on the mobile phone. The Symbian S60 platform is extremely versatile and powerful; but if you asked any average user, they wouldn't be able to customise or change things as much as they wanted to as the options are nested deep within the different menus.
Google's Android is reminiscent of the iPhone's simple but effective interface where everything can just be accessed via a few clicks rather than being nested within menu after menu - perhaps this will see a change in Nokia's S60 platform, such as creating a overlying application like HTC's TouchFLO technology which allows everything to be accessed in a few clicks (on the WM platform)?
If Android could be allowed to run alongside the Symbian S60 platform (i.e. "dual-booting" the mobile phone) I would definitely be in favour of it; after all, the S60 platform has a huge number of applications, is extremely powerful (and relatively more complex to use), while the Android platform can make up the shortcomings of the S60 platform (such as browsing experience compared to the iPhone, and ease of use of the platform).
What's your take on the matter?
It doesn't matter if you have no idea how to create your own, personalised themes for your Nokia N82, as long as you have the images you want for the background. OwnSkin is an online tool which allows users to upload their images to create their own personal theme. It's fairly easy to use, and virtually every aspect of the theme can be edited, from the battery icon colours, to individual icons lying in the main menu.
The process only relies on the user clicking on each part of the theme that they want to change and from then on they can choose the colour, the image that be used to replace the icon, etc. It's extremely nifty and intuitive. When you're all done, the theme can be downloaded to the PC or either sent to your phone by providing your telephone number.
The online tool comes free of charge (which is quite a steal, as it's extremely customisable), so why not try it out now via this link.
After several weeks to months of use of your brand new N82, you might be finding that accessing your memory stick is no longer as fast as it used to be when you just got your phone. If you regularly take photos, transfer videos and music on and off your phone, this is a particularly frustrating issue.
A solution to the issue would be to defragment the external memory of which you store all these files every few weeks to a few months, depending on how often you delete and replace files on the memory stick. Defragmentation sorts the data on the external memory in to a sequential order, thus improving read performance of the external memory as data is now grouped together in chunks.
It's also beneficial to check the external memory for errors to ensure that your memory stick doesn't have any problems or bad clusters/sectors which may cause data on the memory to screw up or go missing / end up corrupted.
This can be done in Windows XP by going to My Computer (after connecting your phone as a USB Mass Storage Device, or by taking the memory stick out and putting it in a card reader), right clicking on the external microSDHC card, going to Properties >> Tools >> Error Checking or Defragment.
Nokia has finally graduated Nokia Maps 2.0 from Nokia Labs as a beta application, and you can get the final release here from Nokia.
To sum up some of the changes made the software since the beta, bugs from the beta version has been cleaned so it's much more polished now. A wider range of phones is now supported, rather than being exclusive to the higher end Nokia N-series; and Nokia will also support the transfer of Navigation licenses for those users who previously purchased it from them.
The Nokia Map Loader application has also been updated to version 1.3.8 in the meantime, so be sure to update yours to get the newest maps and voices for your continent. Localisation is still an issue for those who aren't situated in Europe - localised versions of maps are still unavailable, so that should be on the main priorities for the Nokia team. Otherwise, it's a very polished, solid piece of software that deserves to be commended.
I'll be doing a comparison of this version of Nokia Maps with other mapping software such as MapKing, and perhaps TomTom 6 in the short term future. If you've got any suggestions please let me know as well!
For the drivers out there, ever wondered how steep you're going on the road? Yes I know, this particular feature seems pretty useless to me, but here's another use of the built-in accelerometer within the N82 - as an Inclinometer. It's a good idea, but pretty useless for drivers; I mean, who's going to glance at their phone to see the information as they drive?
The inclinometer also measures whether the phone is tilted or if it's fully horizontal - which seems to be a more useful feature as you can use it to measure surfaces, etc. But all in all, it's just a gimmick - a gimmick worth getting though. It's free and who knows if it'll come in handy in the future?
Although the integrated search client does a good job of searching, it's mostly local (perhaps this is a region thing?) - that is, it searches your phone only. Google's released a S60 version search application to make it easier for us S60 users to go online and search; instead of opening up your browser, heading over to www.google.com and typing in your search phrase and then waiting for the results to load, you can now simply type your search phrase to the application and wait for everything else to be done for you - no need to open your browser or browse through those few pages to get to Google.
As opposed to the version for the Nokia N95, the version offered for the Nokia N82 doesn't allow for the user to access the application using a shortcut key. This is because the N82 doesn't have the "Pencil/Edit" button, which the N95 does have - and this means that you have to access it via the Application Launcher.
There's a workaround to this problem; you can set one of the Active Standby applications to be the Google Search app, but it does take one of the precious spaces on your standby screen.
The application allows you to set whether you want to view "Mobile" results or the full HTML "Desktop" result, which is definitely a welcome addition compared to manually searching by browsing to Google and having the page defaulted to "mobile optimised" view.
Can't think of how this application is a pain to the user; on the contrary, I think that if you're keen on doing some web surfing on your N82, then this is a must get. It speeds up the entire surfing process, and makes it really easy for you to do searches on Google. And with Google being the first to release a S60 native search application, you can probably expect the other major search engine (Yahoo!) following suit.
You can get the S60 Google Search client via Google Mobile.
After updating to the new firmware on my Nokia N82, I think I can say that Flash Lite 3.0 is definitely not overrated or just a hype. It's an awesome addition to the S60 v3 Feature Pack 1 platform, and it's definitely one of those features where one stops to wonder 'how did I live without it?'
First up is YouTube performance, which I think is the concern of most people. Well I'm happy to say that YouTube performance is definitely up there. When clicking on a video link, Realplayer automatically opens, and the video starts streaming - very nice feature. Playback is smooth but the quality of the videos are scaled down to fit the 320 x 240 resolution, and this means that overall the video is blurrier than its desktop counterpart. Well, to be honest, there isn't anything to moan about - it's a 2.4 inch screen, so such a high quality doesn't help much except add to the file size of the video file.
I also tested the new Flash performance on streaming some high definition Flash file, such as Diggnation. This is where the lag comes in - I get desynchronised audio and video, and huge amounts of lag every 10 - 15 seconds. It's not exactly bearable, so I really don't suggest watching high quality Flash media on the phone. Preferably, set the settings so it's low or medium most of the time to get optimal performance on the N82 or the N95.
The lag probably stems from the fact that the CPU of the phone is only an ARM 11 332 Mhz processor - and decoding the high definition streaming media file requires something faster.
Nevertheless, Flash streaming is quite impressive on the N82 and the S60 platform. It's far from perfect (I would like to see some optimisation for HD Flash media files) but it's quite usable for the average user, given that they set the streaming file on medium-low settings.
What's you experience on Flash on the S60 platform like? Feel free to share your joys and pains...
If you've played Bejeweled before, then this game should come as no stranger to you. Based on the Bejeweled concept, Diamond Twister builds on that with a plot - the player has to hunt for precious diamonds for clients. It's not exactly the best plot, but again, does anyone pay alot of attention to a plot like that?
Gameplay is very smooth, and the aim is to create combos of 3 or more of those precious stones via making a swap with another stone. This nets you "money", and you must reach a targeted amount before the set period of time is up. Sounds complicated, but trust me, it's easy to get a grasp of once you try it out. It's very intuitive; at no time did I have to look at the instructions or anything.
The game is rather repetitive in that it's basically completing missions and unlocking more missions via creating these combos. But it takes a while to get boring - and during that time I supposed you've already reached your destination (assuming you're playing while you're travelling) or have something else to complete. And it's definitely worth purchasing - for US$3 it's a steal, as you're basically buying a new addiction. Payment can be done via Paypal, Credit card, or even just through your service provider, so it's very convenient for the user.
Pros: Addictive, intuitive gameplay, fast and clean to play (no need to save halfway), Cheap
Cons: Repetitive, not the most action packed game
Verdict:
The pros outweigh the cons. It's cheap and excellent to play, so go and buy it!
Now that my region's Nokia N82 v20.0.062 update has been released, I've been very excited to try out the Web Runtime (WRT) Widgets. A lot of news has been generated on this new technology, with some claiming that it might even kickstart a new revolution for mobile phone services and applications. It's all been writing and talk so far, so here's a first take on Nokia WRT Widgets and the sort of potential it holds for the future.
First off, where can one get S60 WRT Widgets? Googling doesn't really reveal much - it's all news and information on WRT widgets, rather than the widgets themselves.
I downloaded Nokia's MOSH Client - a tool that allows users and developers to share all sorts of applications. A quick search of "widget" under the "Applications" category yielded at least 50 hits, and I took the time to test out a few that most users would use.
The currency conversion widget (WorldExchange) shows signs that WRT widgets is still in its early stages. Maybe it's just me, but it just feels very unpolished right now. It's got plenty of potential though, and I find it quite useful. There's a couple of bugs, including the lack of support for the accelerometer, but that should change quite soon with updates from the developer.
Another terrific widget is the weather widget (Mobiweather). It's only in it's beta stage, and again looks a bit unpolished and in it's early stages, but the basic idea is there. There's also a very nice feature of autodetecting the user's location, and considering it's simplicity and user friendliness, it's one of the more well designed widgets out there. Hopefully when it turns final we can see it integrate even better with the browser/phone, in having a full screen, numbered shortcuts, and whatever else the developer can think of.
And so we have here a first look at Nokia's S60 Web Runtime (WRT) Widgets. It displays plenty of potential to be expanded, and since it's more or less a combination of HTML, Ajax, Javascript - I can see a huge developer base for this type of application. Think of it as a more casual application - it doesn't have to be Symbian Signed, it can be easily created and tested - and we'll probably see more of these Widgets in the short term future.
And with Nokia's MOSH acting as a platform to distribute applications and widgets, I see a bright future for the S60 platform.
This clip on YouTube illustrates a very interesting idea - not to mention a very clever use of the camera too!
I think there's quite a potential for this sort of control. For example, specific hand gestures could be programmed to trigger actions on the phone, such as quick dialing, receiving or hanging up calls, or even for the music player. I'm not sure how far this would go or whether the application is for release yet, but I'm definitely interested in seeing how far the idea would go.
What do you think?
Seems like the Mobile YouTube applications really took off after it debuted on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. First there was emTube - which was then taken down due to legal threats from YouTube, who subsequently released a Java client for selected phones (not including the N82, but there's a solution for that). Now joining in the race is Mobitubia, another free app which allows for the user "to play EVERY clip from the popular site YouTube". It's also the winner of the "Open C Challenge" software design competition, netting in the grand prize of 10,000 dollars for student developer Sittiphol Phanvilai. Kudos to you, my friend.
Over at the Symbian Web Blog there's a fully packed Mobitubia review, detailing all the features and every aspect of the app. Believe me, it's worth the download - and you can get it from Sittiphol's official site.
Oh, and by the way, the current release is the last release that will be free to the public (according to AllAboutSymbian), so there's no knowing when the file will be taken offline. Better get it now before it's too late!
Skype has just released their long awaited client for VoIP services for normal mobile phones as a beta software earlier today. It's available for a range of Nokia phones, and since it's something new I decided to take a first look at this Skype client on my Nokia N82 and see if it really lives up to our expectations.
The application is coded in Java, so don't expect really spectacular speeds from the software. Not that I'm against Java or anything, but for the time being it's just not as nifty compared to native C++ coded applications.
Okay, enough about programming jargon. Rather than using data connections (3G/EDGE/WiFi) to process calls, this is stated on the official Skype page:
How Much Does It Cost?
Call Skype contacts
The cost of a local or national call on your mobile (or use your inclusive minutes).
IM and being online
There’s a data charge from your operator. A person with 20 contacts, who’s online for 1 hour, IMs for 10 minutes and has a 20 minute call each day will use about 1MB of data per month. The more data you use, the higher your charges may be.
Receive calls from Skype contacts
If you receive a call in the UK, you pay our SkypeOut rate for a call to a UK mobile. If you're in Estonia, you pay our rate for a call to an Estonia mobile and so on.
Receive calls to your SkypeIn number
Same as above.
This basically means that Skype-Skype calls are based on your phone plan's minutes rather than being a 'free and unlimited' call, as it is on the Desktop. And suppose that a relative or friend from abroad calls you via Skype - you've got to pay for the incoming call at the SkypeOut rate too! It sounds like a deal between Skype and local operators, and I think this might be just a bit too much for consumers to accept...
Now to the interface:
Looking familiar? It's quite simple but very effective - there really isn't any need to put so much information, as space is basically real estate on screens that have a 320 x 240 resolution.
Clicking on a user gives a few options: "Chat" or "View Profile". No "Call" option. Yes, in this beta you can only receive calls from others via your service provider, and the lack of ability to call others really hampers the usefulness of this software. I honestly can't see myself using this if I'm only allowed to receive calls on it.
And that's about all the special features on the official Skype client. Eagerly awaited by the masses - but I think it's somewhat of a disappointment considering the fact that you can't make outgoing calls, it uses your phone plan minutes rather than data for receiving calls, and calls from abroad are charged at SkypeOut rates. There's still plenty of potential for improvements before the final release, so I hope more is done in the meantime.
You can get the client here!
Here's a very useful free application for all N82 owners for taking those screenshots of your phone's screen - it's called 'Screenshot' and there really isn't much to say about it except that it's extremely intuitive and easy to use.
The download link is available here; just an extra note: the software uses the "Pencil" key as the hotkey to take screenshots. Since the N82 does not have the "Pencil" key, remember to map the screen capture hotkey to some other button, such as the "C" (Delete) key.
This can be done via Screenshot >> Options >> Settings >> Shortcut and changing the shortcut of the image capture to the delete button.
