Thursday, May 29, 2008

Mozilla Shooting for Download World Record With Firefox 3

Sure, Firefox 3 is the bee's knees (and has been since Beta 3), but will it go down in history books? It will if it sets a world record! Mozilla's taking the quick and easy path to everlasting glory (until someone beats it anyway) by planning to set the world record for most software downloads in 24 hours on Firefox 3's official launch day. The exact day isn't posted, but it'll be sometime next month. I hope they've got some Stark Industries-powered servers running this show. Check out the super-cute Firefox 3 download badge:

foxkeh_dday_badge_stages.png[Spread Firefox via /.]


Windows Live client now available for Nokia S60 phones

Windows Live client now available for Nokia S60 phonesMicrosoft has made its Windows Live client available for Nokia S60 smartphone users. Earlier we saw the Redmond giant announcing the same client for the BlackBerry platform, and now they're bringing the same offering to Nokia's smartphone platform, to provide S60 users with quick access to such Microsoft's services as Hotmail, MSN instant messaging, Windows Live Spaces and Live Search.

"Official" Espoo and Redmond never been so close, despite the fact Nokia competes with Microsoft in mobile OS arena. However, Nokia is using Microsoft's DRM for its music store, pushes Silverlight to its smartphones, and Windows Live client has a dedicated page on Nokia's website.

The Windows Live client is available from Download! application (Internet -> Mail and IM) in select countries — including U.S., Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel, Poland, Romania and the USA.

[Via: Eseries]

BREW Mobile Platform Integrates Adobe Flash

Today Qualcomm and Adobe announced that the BREW Mobile Platform will be integrated with Adobe Flash technology and new platform features, you can read this article get more.

http://www.symbianer.com
http://www.adobe-flashlite.com

iPhone SDK Beta 6 Now Available, OS X 10.5.3 Needed


iPhone's sixth SDK has just been released, adding support for the latest iPhone OS and fixing various bugs. You'll have to update to Leopard 10.5.3, which was released earlier today. That's right, you HAVE TO. Not sure why, but that's what Apple's saying. [Apple]

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Firefox 3 to get at least one more release candidate

Firefox 3 RC1If you've been holding your breath waiting for Mozilla to release the final build of Firefox 3, you might want to take a break before you pass out. It looks like we're going to have at least one more release candidate before Firefox 3 final is released.

Firefox 3 RC2 will likely be released sometime in June. The update will address several dozen bugs found in Firefox 3 RC1, including one widely reported bug that can cause Firefox to essentially render some Linux systems temporarily unusable.

We won't know whether there will be a Firefox 3 RC3 until some time after RC2 is released and beta testers have had a chance to kick the tires a bit. For the most part, Firefox 3 RC1 perfectly usable. It renders many pages faster than Firefox 2, has vastly improved bookmark and add-on managers, and has a multi-purpose location bar. But if you're not the sort of person who likes to rely on beta software (or release candidate software as the case may be) for day to day usage, you may want to wait another month or two or more until Firefox 3 final is released.

[via Mozilla Links]

Samsung L870 Symbian S60 smartphone officially announced

told you about the upcoming Samsung L870 Symbian S60 smartphone more then a month ago.

And it seems that we were wrong about L870 getting an interact pad and a Soul facelift. I guess mobile.cz had some other Samsung slider there.

Samsung did not wait for a number of tradeshows happening next month in Asia, and officially announced Samsung SGH-L870 Symbian S60 smartphone today, during S60 Summit in Barcelona.

SGH-L870 slider still got that traditional Samsung Soul'ish steely look, but is pretty much unchanged since  it's first Dutch demo:

Samsung L870 specs include:

  • GSM (900/18001900), UMTS 2100, GPRS, EDGE, 3.6 Mbps HSDPA connectivity
  • 2.4″ QVGA Display
  • Symbian 9.3 OS with S60 3.2
  • Full HTML browsing support
  • FM Radio
  • Bluetooth 2. +EDR/ USB 2.0 Full Speed
  • 100 MB of internal memory, MicroSD memory card slot
  • Dimensions: 102×50×13.55mm

Samsung L870 will start shipping in Europe this August, with world wide availability to follow soon.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

iPhone Firmware 2.0 To Add Geotagging? [Rumor]

iphonebeta5A292g.gifAccording to some allegedly leaked screens from the new iPhone software beta, the iPhone camera is now asking permission to transmit the user's location before loading. The screen in question certainly implies geotagging with the message "'Camera' would like to use your current location," but it doesn't outright confirm an iPhone 2 with GPS, since the iPhone's current Skyhook service could be used for geotagging just as easily. And since Skyhook could work, then all current iPhones could get geotagging, too.

Just remember, these kinds of screenshots can be made in one minute with the SDK or the independent Toolchain. [appleinsider]


Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Linux-Nokia becomes true


When does Nokia not tell yet, Linux based the mobile phones will come onto the market.

Nokia prepares to bring the Linux based mobiles to market.

Director of finance Rick Simonson said the company on Monday JP in seminar of Morgan Chase in Boston, that "we proceed absolutely in that direction".

Simonson did not take a stand to it what Linux version it will be come to use. - I leave it on the ones making a decision on the technique he it said.

He did not take a stand on it either Nokia along Linux based Google to launch to the Android architecture project. Simonsonin along the use of Linux will be extremely important. The company sells a already Linux based one Internet devices, such as Nokia 800 and 810 -hand-held computers.

Arrival of Linux mobiles however, to precede Symbian Series wholesale new 60-based Nokia mobiles. Nokia is a big owner, Symbian. Symbian has lowered its software licences lately prices. Google intends to divide own into its Android base free.

source

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

SE confirms there will be UIQ Xperia devices

I´ve been saying this all over the place, its something my sources have told me before. But there are people that still think SE will only launch Xperia branded devices powered by Windows Mobile.

Well, Mobifrance managed to get a direct answer on this from Pierre Perron,  Sony Ericsson France General Manger:

"Mobifrance : Xperia X1 embarque Windows Mobile. Est-ce que tous les modèles de cette gamme fonctionneront avec ce système d'exploitation ?

Pierre Perron : Pas uniquement, nous travaillons
avec tous les systèmes d'exploitation. Nous avons même des parts
importantes dans la plateforme UIQ. Toutefois, avec Xperia, nous
adresserons les utilisateurs « Experiencers ». Cette clientèle
exigeante qui souhaite toute la technologie et les innovations dans
leur terminal mobile sans compromis. La gamme Xperia sera donc enrichie
d'autres smartphones sous Windows Mobile ou Symbian ou UIQ
ou autres
qui viendront compléter cette gamme."

For those that do not understand french, Pierre Perron confirmed that future Xperia devices will be powered by WM, UIQ, or even another OS.

[via SymbianFrance - tks to ilias1974 for the heads up]

Monday, May 19, 2008

Sid Meier's Civilization IV goes mobile; There goes my free time!


Civilization IV goes mobile

In a move that is obviously designed to make us all slaves to our mobile devices (like we already aren't), Oasys Mobile recently announced the launch of Sid Meier's Civilization IV: War of Two Cities, a mobile strategy game based on the Sid Meier's popular franchise.

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: War of Two Cities takes classic aspects of Civilization and pulls them into a new strategic game, allowing players to engage in world domination via their mobile phone. Using technology development, army building and combat, players will nurture and expand an empire while progressing from the birth of civilization to modern times. Within this casual format, players will advance through the game revealing new features and strategies.

Commenting on the announcement, Oasys Mobile's CEO Doug Dyer said, "Our goal is to have this product be the first of several mobile games which will be based around the successful Sid Meier's franchise. Oasys Mobile's fresh, new twist on Civilization IV should help successfully introduce the series to a whole new realm of mobile players in addition to tantalizing classic Civilization fans." Hear that? More Sid Meier's games are coming!

GooSync adds Contacts support, now out of beta

I reported last week that GooSync was testing Contacts sync with GMail Contacts - it just came out of beta and now anyone with a GooSync Premium account can do the same contact sync. Do note some of the caveats from my original article though.

Funambol Provides Push Email For The Masses

Funambol Provides Push Email For The Masses

Funambol develops an open source server that mimics Blackberry's push/sync functionalities that interfaces with any email server like Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes. They have also developed a client software that works on most mobile phones.

The great thing is that the Funambol community is very active and quick porting the client to more and more mobile phones, like the Blackberry, though why anybody would want it on the Blackberry is another issue. Its also supported on the iPhone and Google's Android platform.

The company has a fairly simple demo site at MyFunambol.com that users can point their cellphones to, to try out the push/sync functions. Hopefully all this will see more push email for everybody.

Yet Another Mobile VoIP App - Nimbuzz


Yet Another Mobile VoIP App - Nimbuzz

Nimbuzz is an all-in-one communication software that has just been formally launched. Aside from its own network, it also supports instant messaging and voice calls for popular clients such as, Skype, Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AIM and Jabber. Recent additions include support for true VoIP when making voice calls on S60 devices. Nimbuzz has also created a Communicator widget which allows people to contact mobile Nimbuzz users from a web page.

This certainly looks like a worthwhile app to check out, especially for the VoIP calls.

TreoSpot Gives Users Location Based Reminders

TreoSpot Gives Users Location Based Reminders

Palm Centro owners have a new reason to rejoice! A new freeware app that utilizes current location information for reminders! TreoSpot, the program, uses cellular towers to determine the current user's location, and allows the user to set reminders based on the present location.

First off, users define the towers, and then create reminders for when they enter a certain area. This is very handy, especially for those situations that the user wants a specific reminder for the location. Such as setting up a reminder to do the laundry when the user is nearing their home, though some may not find that reminder pleasant!

On a slighter sour note, TreoSpot needs to be installed in the internal memory to work properly, which isn't really a serious issue, until Centro users are reminded of their phone's limited internal memory.

Rumoured V30 firmware brings new UI to the N95


Rumours have been spreading around Symbian Related websites that the Nokia N95 will be getting yet another firmware updater, bringing the N95's firmware up to version 30! The supposed change log sounds VERY interesting and there's one feature that stands out...

Joelcito of Tododsymbian posted that these new features should be arriving in the proposed V30 firmware:

• Full NGI
• Video content
• Maps 2.0
• Kastor UI
• Share online 3.0 with Ovi
• Nokia search with Google plug in
• Changes to music Shop and player
• Automatic screen Rotation
• Download 3.1

I'm sure most of you are asking yourselves "What's full NGI and Kastor UI?" Well, I don't know what full NGI is either but there is some info on Kastor UI available... Check out this video:
Popout
Impressive, isn't it? You can find more info about Kastor here at TAT's site.

Could you imagine this sort of UI on your S60 device? I for one would love something like this on my N95 8GB. However, none of this is confirmed and there are some things that lead me to believe that this firmware update doesn't exist or atleast won't include Kastor...

1)This Kastor UI seems too good to be true, so good in fact that it looks even better than the FP2 UI... Surely Nokia wouldn't allow their old devices to have superior UIs to their new flagships such as the N96?

2) That video above seems to have been made all the way back in 2005, I even checked TAT's site using the wayback machine and there were mentions of Kastor and Symbian back in 2005! Why would Nokia wait a whole 3 years to implement Kastor?

I may of course be wrong and the firmware may truly exist, but we'll have to wait and see...

If anyone has any more info on Kastor or the firmware update, please let us know!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Jarpa

jarpa.gifFelipe Andrade and Alessandro Pace have created Jarpa, "Java Packaging for Flash Lite Developers".

The latest S60 phones support both Java ME and Flash Lite. Jarpa allows Flash Lite Developers to deliver their content as Java ME applications. The Java and Flash Lite can communicate via either files or a custom Symbian Server.

jarpadiagram.gif

I have had a quick look and the current source code shows how to extract a Flash Lite file from Java resources and run it. There's also an example demonstration application .jar.

It will be great when the source also shows how to communicate via files (and/or C++ server) both from the Java and Flash Lite sides.

This looks similar to Sony Ericsson's Capuchin project except this is for Nokia S60.

Blabnote - voice-activated social networking

bn.jpgMobile social networking is a great idea, but using a keypad to navigate most social sites can be a bit of a chore.

Blabnote hopes to change that by offering a social networking service that is controlled entirely by speech.

It's a closed beta at the moment, so all we have to go on is the contents of the promotional site, but essentially this is about calling a number and manipulating contacts and creating 'events' by saying things like 'Invite Dave and Sue to Dinner' or 'Join the group called East Midlands Pigeon Fanciers'.

t's a nice idea, but this kind of servic4 will stand or fall on the software's ability to recognise your voice commands. Its no good launching a national service if it is going to be confounded by some of the more - ah - idiosyncratic regional accents and require power users to learn Received Pronunciation.

The other factor that might hinder uptake is the same one that means that texting is so popular - you can do it silently in public places and use a shorthand to communicate concisely. If people are going to actually have to say LOL and WTF things are going to get strange.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Nokia launches new business related site

Nokia is pleased to unveil the new nokiaforbusiness.com! The new version of the site provides you, as business and IT decision makers, with the information you need to successfully plan and implement a mobility strategy within your own company.

We've redesigned the site to shift the focus from individual products to a holistic view of business mobility: the software, security components, and devices that, when combined, can provide an end-to-end solution enabling greater productivity and employee satisfaction.

We've listened to your requests and are responding by giving you more of what you need: up-to-date content, a guide to solutions, compelling thought-leadership content, deta... .. .

Read more:
Nokia launches new business related site - full story

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

AdMob launches free mobile analytics suite

AdMob Mobile Analytics

AdMob has announced AdMob Mobile Analytics to deliver a "comprehensive solution for understanding user behavior and makes it easy to measure the usage of mobile websites and advertising campaigns."

AdMob Mobile Analytics, which runs independent of the company's other services, can be set up in less than 10 minutes and does not require advertising spend or publishing activity with the company's flagship product, the AdMob mobile advertising network. AdMob Analytics will offer businesses a free, simple solution to maximize commerce, advertising and content on the mobile Internet and to improve the overall user experience.

Similarly to other, "desktop web" products, users of the AdMob Analytics suite will be able to track site performance metrics such as unique visitors, duration of visit, page performance, as well as user details including geography, operator and device specifics. Additionally, AdMob Mobile Analytics will also provide visibility into a site's sources of traffic including search engines, direct traffic and advertising — as well as track conversion of the specific events and actions that the campaign seeks to drive, thus enabling measurement of campaign performance.

PC Application: Nokia Music PC Client



Nokia Music lets you play and organise your music, discover and download new music, all seamlessly integrated with your PC and your Nokia device.

Give every day a soundtrack with Nokia Music. Move your favourite CDs to your Nokia device with one simple click. Create and share playlists with your friends and family. A complete music experience in one easy to use application.

Note: Nokia Music Store is still deactivated from this beta release.

Compatible devices: Nokia N95, N95 8GB, N82, 5610 XpressMusic, N81 (more to come)

Minimum PC system requirements:

  1. Operating system: Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows XP with SP2
  2. Processor: 1.5 GHz (recommended: 2.5 GHz, or 1.5 GHz dual core)
  3. Memory: 512 MB (recommended: 2 GB)
  4. Free disk space: 500 MB (recommended: 40 GB)
  5. Graphics: 32 MB integrated (recommended: 128 MB dedicated)
  6. Screen resolution: 1024×768 pixels
  7. Audio: Sound card and required drivers, connected speakers or headphones

Download (EXE, 63 MB)

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Office for Mac 2008 Service Pack 1 Out Today

Office_Mac_08_SP1.jpgToday Microsoft is hooking up all Office for Mac 2008 users with Service Pack 1. The company is also announcing the return of Visual Basic for Applications—in the next version, though, so no specified date yet. Hey, at least they heard your concerns, right? Here's a link to the SP1 download, which is said to provide "increased stability, security and performance enhancements to the suite." After the jump, there's a press release with details on all the particular bug fixes.

Microsoft Mac BU Delivers Strongest Launch in History of Office for Mac

Group releases Service Pack 1, announces the return of Visual Basic for Applications in next version.

REDMOND, Wash. — May 13, 2008 — Microsoft Corp.'s Macintosh Business Unit (Mac BU) today announced details about the success of Office 2008 for Mac and reaffirms its commitment to future products for the Mac. Office 2008 launched at Macworld Expo 2008, and sales for the productivity suite continue to soar, selling faster than any previous version of Office for Mac in the past 19 years. The Mac BU developed Office 2008 to help Mac users simplify their work with a Mac-like interface, tools to easily create professional documents, and, most notably, the most cross-platform compatible suite on the market for the Mac. The Mac BU today is releasing Service Pack 1 (SP1) that provides increased stability, security and performance enhancements to the suite. The group also is providing a glimpse at the road map of Office for Mac by announcing the return of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in the next version.

"The response has been amazing — since we launched in January, the velocity of sales for Office 2008 is nearly three times what we saw after the launch of Office 2004," said Craig Eisler, general manager of the Mac BU at Microsoft. "As we set our course for future versions, we are working closely with customers and will also expand our staff to ensure that Office for Mac remains the most powerful and compatible productivity suite for Mac customers."

Office 2008 for Mac Gets Updates Requested by Users

The Mac BU consistently seeks and uses customer feedback to identify, prioritize and then improve its products through beta programs in pre-release stages. The team looks to user forums and tools such as the Microsoft Error Reporting Protocol (MERP), which allows customers to anonymously communicate issue reports, once a product is launched. With the launch of SP1, the Mac BU is addressing the top issues as reported by customers via MERP and other feedback channels. Office 2008 for Mac SP1 features key suitewide updates for increased stability, increased security and overall performance improvements. Users also will find application-specific updates, including the following:

Microsoft Office Excel

· Compatibility. Improved compatibility with files exchanged between Excel 2008 for Mac and Excel 2003 and Excel 2007 for Windows

· Custom Error Bars. Restored formatting option on the Error Bars panel for data series

· Printing. More reliable printing for elements on Excel 2008 workbooks

Microsoft Entourage

· Calendar. Significant enhancements to improve calendar view and all-day reminders with reoccurrence

· Exchange Server support. Overall improvement to synchronization support, including removing attachments from Exchange Server messages and synchronizing to the server, as well as support for editing the contents of Exchange Server messages via AppleScript and synchronizing the changes to the server

· E-mail images. Ability to send and view images in Entourage from third-party tools

Microsoft Office Word

· Printing. Improved accuracy when orienting tables with cell shading

· Document map. Improved reliability and responsiveness to select items

· Notebook layout. Updated formatting, recording status and a variety of display options

Microsoft Office PowerPoint

· Printing. Improvements to eliminate crashing when printing documents to high-dpi printers and increased overall printing speed by 10 times on some large presentations

· Mobile viewing. Ability to view Mac .PPTX files on Windows Mobile phones

· AppleScript. Ability to use the PowerPoint selection object in AppleScript to implement custom scripts that operate on the current selection in PowerPoint

Customers can download the update for free at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx1, and it will be also available from Microsoft Auto Update.

VBA Returns to Future Versions of Office for Mac

The Mac BU also announced it is bringing VBA-language support back to the next version of Office for Mac. Sharing information with customers as early as possible continues to be a priority for the Mac BU to allow customers to plan for their software needs.2 Although the Mac BU increased support in Office 2008 with alternate scripting tools such as Automator and AppleScript — and also worked with MacTech Magazine to create a reference guide, available at http://www.mactech.com/vba-transition-guide — the team recognizes that VBA-language support is important to a select group of customers who rely on sharing macros across platforms. The Mac BU is always working to meet customers' needs and already is hard at work on the next version of Office for Mac.

Google Friend Connect: a social network for every site

On Monday night, Google launched its entry into the growing field of programs that attempt to share your "social graph" -- your collection of friends and relationships -- across many social networks. The program is called Friend Connect, and it's starting with a handful of sites, including Facebook, Plaxo and Hi5. Friend Connect is also going to support applications under OpenSocial, Google's social network application platform that has been around since last November.

For the average web user, Friend Connect means you're going to see social data cropping up on a whole bunch of websites that never included social networks before. You'll basically be able to plug in your information from any of the participating networks where you have a profile, and then you can interact with other users of the site who do the same. It's basically like a mini-Facebook built into any site.

What does this mean for site owners? Well, Google is promising to make setting up Friend Connect on your site ridiculously easy -- which is why we think you're going to start seeing it everywhere on the web. It basically generates the entire code for you, to be pasted into your existing site. If you're interested in trying it out, you can apply to Google now.

Continue reading Google Friend Connect: a social network for every site

RIM and Microsoft announce Windows Live services for Blackberry handsets

windows live search develop for crackberry
RIM and Microsoft have announced a deal that will officially bring Windows Live Services -- specifically Hotmail and Messenger -- to Blackberry handsets. Has hell frozen over? We wouldn't know. What we do know is the two companies have been rivals in the mobile industry up until now, but they both gain significantly from agreement.

Microsoft is no stranger to the idea of playing in a competitor's sandbox (remember Office for Mac?). By making Windows Live Messenger and Hotmail more accessible on the Crackberry, the company further pushes its communications services towards mass standardization especially in the business world. RIM also benefits from the agreement in the same way Apple benefits from Office for Mac: an OS is only as good as the software on it.

Messenger on Blackberry should retain most of its functions. It looks like users will be able to do the usual: IM, set status, pull up buddy lists, save conversations, use emoticons, and even send and receive files. While it looks like users can join group chats, creating group chats seems to be absent from the feature list.

Google joins Bloglines with iPhone version of Reader

Google Reader iPhone

Monday Google unveiled yet another beta site. Google Reader is now formatted for the iPhone. iPhone users tired of pinching and stretching and tapping text only links in the normal version of Reader or dealing with the plain Classic mobile version of Reader can head over to http://www.google.com/reader/i/ to check out the new beta site.

With the iPhone-enabled web-app, Google joins Ask.com in the web-based RSS reader marketplace. Ask.com's Bloglines has had an iPhone version available to users since July 19, 2007. iBloglines was created with less than a 1000 lines of code on a lark by an internal developer who bought an iPhone and wanted better access to the site.

Continue reading Google joins Bloglines with iPhone version of Reader

Microsoft launches WorldWide Telescope public beta

WorldWide Telescope

Microsoft has launched a public beta of its WorldWide Telescope software. Basically, WorldWide Telescope is like Google Earth or Virtual Earth for the sky. It's a desktop application that lets you browse astronomical photos stitched together.

There's more than a terabyte of high resolution imagery available, but you don't need a massive hard drive to access it since WorldWide Telescope connects to an internet server and just downloads the images you need. If you have a broadband connection, the downloads are quick enough to make you feel like you're scrolling across one large image. You can also zoom in and out to get a better look at the nebula of your choosing.

But WorldWide Telescope has a few more tricks up its sleeve. You can take guided tours, which are narrated by astronomers and teachers. You can join "communities," which are currently maintained by several astronomy magazines. Community members will have access to exclusive tours and other content. And if you have your own telescope, you can connect to to your computer and control it with WorldWide Telescope.

[via CNet]

Fedora 9 released

Fedora 9

Fedora 9 is out today. The latest version of the popular Linux distro packs a bunch of updated and new features. Like Ubuntu 8.04, Fedora 9 includes the latest updates to the KDE and GNOME desktop environments, PulseAudio, and Firefox 3 beta. But unlike Ubuntu, the Fedora 9 LiveDVD weighs in at a hefty 3.33GB. Ubuntu distros typically fit on a single CD.

Fedora 9 also has several other major improvements, including:

  • Experimental support for the Ext4 file system
  • Spins, which are different versions of Fedora built with specific groups of software
  • You can now download installation media using Jigdo
  • Gnome 2.22, KDE 4.0.3 and Xfce 4.4.2 available on the LiveDVD
  • Anaconda installer now supports resizing ext2, ext3, and NTFS file systems a well as creating and installing the OS to encrypted file systems
  • Live USB installer now supports persistence, so you can run Fedora 9 from a USB flash drive and save your changes
  • OpenJDK 6, an open source Java enironment is installed by default

Fedora 9 also comes with OpenOffice.org 2.4 and Firefox 3 beta 5.

ReadAir: Google Reader app built on Adobe AIR


ReadAir

Love Google Reader, but wish there was a desktop version of the RSS reader so you didn't have to open a web browser every time you want read your feeds? ReadAir is an Adobe AIR-based utility that lets you launch Google Reader as a standalone application. Since it's built on AIR, ReadAir runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Currently the program's default skin has an OS X look and feel, but the program will be skinnable in the future.

Overall, ReadAir does a pretty good job of making Google Reader feel like even more of a desktop application than it already does. But there's one major feature missing: keyboard shortcuts. We kept finding ourselves clicking J hoping we could view the next story without grabbing our mouse. But no dice. Future versions of ReadAir will include keyboard shortcuts and the ability to view more than 20 items per feed. And at that point it my actually be worth downloading and using ReadAir. For now it's pretty much a pretty proof of concept.

[via freshAIRapps]

Nokia phone maps will get Webbed feet

Nokia is extending its mobile navigation system to the Web via its Ovi.com site, where people will be able to save map locations and routes and then synchronize them with their phones.

Maps on Ovi, unveiled Monday at the Where 2.0 conference in Burlingame, California, builds on Nokia's next generation of mobile-phone navigation technology, Nokia Maps 2.0. It also signals Nokia's growing focus on software and services, even for use independent of its mobile phones.

Ovi is a Nokia Web portal for Internet services such as content sharing. Maps on Ovi will let people use and mark up maps on the Web and then upload their changes to a cell pho... .. .

Read more:
Nokia phone maps will get Webbed feet - full story

Monday, May 12, 2008

Review: Guardian For S60 v3 - Application Launched


Guardian - Share on Ovi

I have been playing with the 3rd Edition version of the hugely successful application Guardian, by Marco Bellino. What are my reactions? I am very pleased. There is just so much this small piece of software can do. As the name suggests, the software is basically meant to protect your phone from unauthorised usage, if it gets stolen or even otherwise. It comes in three different variants, a free basic version, a Gold and a Platinum version; naturally functionality keeps increasing with each higher version. For the purpose of this review I will be running the full blown Platinum.

It has been a while since S60 devices started shipping with an inbuilt GPS and it has also been a while since we have been losing devices. Since GPS can virtually pinpoint our exact location on the map, how cool would it be if we could use the phone's GPS remotely to track it anywhere in the world? This is exactly what Guardian does, it enables us to pin point our phone anywhere on the planet even if we have lost it. This feature alone deserves a WOW! However, Guardian is just getting started, read on for more.

It is an application which barely takes a minute to set up and then hides itself from the menu while continuing to run in the background. The application running indicator is also not displayed next to it, even if it is enabled.

Guardian - Share on Ovi Guardian - Share on Ovi

The setup, like I said is pretty straightforward. There is an option to 'Enable' or 'Disable' Guardian, followed by the option to enter the phone number to which notifications would be sent in case of loss. The software automatically registers the current SIM in the phone and authorises it, the ability to authorise additional SIM cards is present in the Gold and Platinum versions.

Guardian - Share on Ovi Guardian - Share on Ovi

APPLICATION LOCK

Next in line, is the ability to password protect the various applications in the phone. (3rd party and Default both). As I recall, even entry level Motorolas' have the ability to not only password protect the whole phone but also individual applications, sadly this feature has been missing on S60 for a long time and I see no plans to include it. There are many occasions when a person needs to lock only a particular section of the phone e.g. lock Messages when you give your phone to someone to make a call, lock the Gallery when you do not want your peers/family to see certain pictures/video. I could go on.

Guardian also brings this wonderful feature, by simply selecting the applications we want to lock and enabling Guardian we can rest, assured. If someone tries to open the Gallery, he will be prompted to input the password, if he/she fails to, access will be blocked. Using this feature we can even prevent unauthorised installation of this or any other application by locking the 'Application Manager'. Neat!

Guardian - Share on Ovi Guardian - Share on Ovi

The above dealt with the time the phone (thankfully) was with you and not lost or stolen. The following deals with what you can do once you have lost the phone.

As soon as another (unauthorised) SIM card is inserted in the phone, Guardian will send you a text on the number you enter in the Recepient option with the following details:

Guardian - Share on Ovi

This will give you the phone number of the 'Theif' and all commands can now be executed by sending a message to this number. Playing with this software gives quite a empowered feel, with all the commands present, have a look.

GET GPS COORDINATES

Guardian - Share on Ovi

The number 12345678 represents the password or the secret code for Guardian and sending this SMS to the theif's number you just got, gives you:

Guardian - Share on Ovi Guardian - Share on Ovi

The exact Latitude and Longitude along with a link to Google Maps that opens up in the phone's browser itself. Mighty cool. I was trying this application out with my E90 that was inside my room, placed not very near to the windown and still it got a lock. (A positive for the phone and not necessarily the application, but the better the GPS, the more effective the application)

ALARM

Now that GPS lets you get close to the phone, how about a command that makes the phone let out a loud noise for as long as you want, after all this way you will locate it easier?

Guardian - Share on Ovi

Once this command is sent, the result is that the phone emits a loud noise no matter what profile it was set on. The duration is determined by the 'time=" dialog. The number represents seconds. This function might not have exactly the use I suggested above, however it is useful in one more area. Many a time we put the phone on silent/vibrate and forget where it was kept. It is in those situations too that this feature will be handy.

LOGS / DELETE

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Guardian also allows us to recover as well as delete personal data from the phone. In case you want the last outgoing calls, sms, contacts from the phonebook, everything can be pulled. A different set of completely customisable commands allows us to delete received and sent sms, phonebook entries, photos, videos and voice records in any combination or individually.

FAKE SMS

Sending a Fake SMS on the theif's number is also a fun feature of this application.

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Now in practical life, I doubt anyone of us will send such a message, however as with this application's other features, this has a parallel use too. Using the two phones in conjunction a person can make a false message with the sender as a friend/foe whatever and write anything inside to use it for his/her benefit! Neat!

COMMANDS

This is one of the biggest issues with the great application. How are we expected to remember all these different commands? We are not. The developer Marco has made it is easier for us here too. If I write "*12345*commands*" and send it to the theif's number I will receive a complete set of customised commands ready to be sent as a forward!

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VERDICT

Whether or not can this software allow you to get your phone back is not for sure at all, inspite of the GPS tracking. (A smart theif may flash the phone first. but then there are a lot of dumb people in the world too). However, that is only one dimension of the program, there are so many other things it can do; lock applications, send Fake SMS, locate phone with a sound and so on. It is also not heavy on the RAM or the battery. In light of these factors it comes out as an application that makies the phone seem complete.