Hands-on video of Sony Ericsson's Idou, its first S60/Symbian Foundation smartphone

With the official start of the Mobile World Congress 2009 only hours away, Sony Ericsson announced its Idou smartphone at a press event in Barcelona. We sat down with a few Sony Ericsson execs to talk about the new smartphone, which will be the first device from Sony Ericsson to run on the new Symbian Foundation(INFO) platform. The open-source Symbian Foundation OS is being built upon Nokia's S60(INFO) user interface and the Symbian OS(INFO), and will look very much like the current Nokia S60 5th Edition that runs on the Nokia 5800 XpressMedia, if our sources are to believed.

Since the Idou is a prototype, and doesn't even have an official name yet, we were unable to get video of the smartphone actually powered up. But we did get a chance to play around with the hardware enough to at least be able to imagine what is coming.

For being such early hardware, the Idou felt solidly built. We could see the 12.1 megapixel camera's autofocus lens and Xenon flash, and the signage on the device told us that it will feature DLNA compatible WiFi and GPS as well. The display measures 3.5 inches across and is in a wide screen format, though we don't know what the actual pixel resolution will be.
In terms of the look and feel of the user interface, we can expect it to be fairly true to the stock Symbian Foundation UI, which is expected to look much like S60 5th Edition. Sony Ericsson reps did say that we should expect to see the same kind of Sony Ericsson user experience type apps on the Idou as we see on Sony Ericsson's feature phones and its Xperia X1, though there was no mention specifically of the Xperia panels, which we are not expecting.

We have been told that the full announcement for the Idou, which will contain its final name, full specs, and expected availability date, will come to us by early Summer of 2009. We're looking forward to it. For now, enjoy the photos and the HD video we shot of the device.

[via MobileBurn]

Silverlight comes to Nokia, S60

With the way things are going, it looks like the S60 platform is well on its way in securing its dominance as the premier mobile phone software development platform of today.

Aside from the numerous applications already available, Nokia announced that S60 devices will soon be able to work with Microsoft’s Silverlight plug-in which will allow users to enjoy a more dynamic, media-rich internet experience. Some of the more popular websites that run Silverlight applications are Entertainment Tonight, NBA and NBC Universal. By making S60 devices compatible with this application, it now becomes more versatile and comes even closer to how a desktop browser works albeit the lack of a mouse and full keyboard. It also paves the way for developers to work with a wider range of development environments which already include C++ (using native Symbian OS APIs and Open C providing subset of standard POSIX libraries), S60 Web Run-time (supporting standards-based web technologies such as Ajax, JavaScript, CSS and HTML), Java language, Flash Lite from Adobe, and Python.

According to Nokia, Silverlight will also be made available for Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet Tablets at a later date.

Source

Nokia S60 Touch MWC demo: Apple lose no sleep

One of the most disappointing announcements at the Mobile World Congress, to my mind, was Nokia’s S60 Touch platform. Having seen the preview videos from several months ago, suggesting an iPhone-rival handset, I was expecting a strong showing intended to cement S60’s position as the most implemented smartphone OS. What Nokia actually demonstrated was a generic touchscreen tablet device attached to a PC emulator, which - from the look of this video by MobileBurn’s Michael Oryl - responded patchily to touch input and failed to create any excitement about the new version.

The problem is, without knowing more about the hardware it’s difficult to say whether it’s that at fault for poor touch response, or the OS itself. What is clear is that Nokia is still lagging considerably behind Apple and even Microsoft in their touchscreen development; gestures, scrolling and panning are all pretty rudimentary, perhaps due to Nokia’s intention to make just one version of the software for both touchscreen and non-touchscreen devices.

I’m not sure what to think, now, really; I want to still be excited about Nokia’s OS, but on the basis of their showing at the MWC it all seems a bit half-assed.

[via Phonemag]

10 Apps To Have For Your Symbian S60 Phone

Nokia’s E series and N Series phones are attractive options for mobile phone consumers. Nokia openly goes after other handset makers and telcos for crippling features and stripping out functionality such as fully enabled Bluetooth, Wi-Fi access and so on. Nokia and their use of the Symbian operating system create a fertile ground for mobile application developers.
We, the users, benefit by getting highly functional and useful applications that enhance our mobile phone experience. Below are some of the best applications for taking advantage of all your Nokia phone has to offer.

1) Gmail — Gmail for Mobile is a fantastic Java-based application for accessing your Google Mail account on your mobile phone. They’ve made a great effort to use numeric keypad shortcuts to easily manage your mail. Though it’s a little buggy, overall it’s a great Gmail extension for your mobile phone.

2) GooSync – Your Symbian S60 phone has a calendar application, but what if you use Google Calendar as your main calendar? There are a few open source options for syncing the two, but when it comes to easily doing two-way sync, GooSync is the way to go. GooSync gives users two options: a free account and a pay account, with the main differences being that the pay account allows you to sync up to 365 days in advance and syncs your Gmail contacts as well.

3) Qik — If you’re familiar with Justin.tv, you’ve seen life-casting. Now you can conduct live Net broadcasts directly from your Symbian phone using Qik, a tool that utilizes the Nokia handset’s camera and either the cellular data connection or a Wi-Fi data connection. Using it over an EDGE data connection will cause video lag, but Qik streaming over Wi-Fi is very cool. If I’m filming something on my Nokia phone on Qik, I can see comments that viewers leave on the Qik web site as they’re entered.

4) Jaiku — A presence application similar to Twitter, Jaiku differs with features that include threaded conversations and topic-based channels. Jaiku has embraced the Nokia S60 operating system and has launched a native application to enable you to view friend’s Jaikus and post your own. Also if a Jaiku friend has the S60 client installed, you can see when they were last on their phone and where in the world they’re currently located. It’s also possible to see other Jaiku contacts that are in close proximity to you on the Symbian Jaiku client.

5) Fring — A multi-protocol IM client that currently supports AIM, Skype, Yahoo, MSN, Google Talk and Twitter, and features a SIP client. Fring seamlessly uses your data connection to allow you to IM or call contacts if they are on Google Talk or Skype. Fring also recently launched a feature that allows you to send files over Wi-Fi and 3G connection to your contacts. Very cool.

6) Nokia Sports Tracker — Using the N95’s built-in GPS module, Nokia Sports Tracker is a beta application that allows runners, walkers and cyclists to track and keep statistics of their workouts. Users can see stats such as average speed, total distance, altitude, and so on. Also, you can export your workouts into a KML file and map your workout routes in Google Earth. In addition, Nokia created a Facebook application that allows you to compare your workout details with your social circle.

7) Handy TaskMan — Sometimes you want to peek under the hood of your Symbian phone. Perhaps you want to see how memory much is left, or you’d like to see detailed information on all the running applications. Handy Taskman is the utility that gives you all this information and more. Additionally, if you have an application or task that is you want to easily terminate, Handy Taskman will allow you to exit the application with the click of a button.

8) ShoZu — The Nokia NSeries phones are made to create digital content, including great-looking videos and photos. But how to easily get all these media items onto your favorite media-sharing web service? Whether you want to upload video to YouTube/Blip.tv or put photos up on Flickr/SmugMug, ShoZu is the application for you. ShoZu lets you tag, categorize, and upload your media to these popular service providers in the background, and allows you to send a text message or surf the web in the process.

9) Nokia Podcasting — How do you manage your podcast library? Most people use iTunes or a Juice receiver. But wouldn’t it be great to manage your podcasts directly on the device you’re using to listen to them? With the Nokia podcasting application you can add, delete and manage your podcast subscriptions. In fact, you can download directly to the Nokia Symbian mobile phone over either Wi-Fi or your phone’s data connection. The functionality is very convenient, especially if you like being able to manage your podcast subscriptions without having to interface with your computer.

10) Google Maps — As a mobile warrior, I’m constantly finding myself in need of a map. Google Maps is by far the best mapping application. And it recently released a native Symbian application, allowing it to not only mesh well with the Symbian look and feel but creating a fast, seamless mobile map experience. Google Maps also features My Location, which is a poor man’s GPS, using cell phone triangulation to show your approximate location on a map. This is exceptionally handy if you’re trying to draw easy directions on the go or find a pizza place within a few miles of your current location.

Source

LG's KT610 S60 smartphone with GPS: sounds good, looks like something

While Sony Ericsson has the tongues wagging over at the Mobile World Congress, LG has quietly loosed its LG-KT610 without any photos. We know it's a 2.4-inch QVGA flip with QWERTY based on Symbian v9.2 and S60 3rd edition feature pack 1.



That's a damn good start before adding 3.6Mbps HSDPA and GPS navigation. As to the looks it's said to be "sleek" and "uniquely designed." Thanks LG, but that isn't quit enough information to form a mental picture now is it? We'll slap in some pics as soon as they roll in.



Update: Found itty bitty pic and more specs: 2.4-inch QVGA main, 1.45-inch 160 x 64 pixel external display; 2 megapixel camera; Bluetooth 2.0; and May 2008 availability.



Source: engadget

The Horror: iPhone theme created in Flash Lite for S60 3rd Edition

Want to make your N95 look like that other phone on the market?

Darla Mack has some screenshots from the man who is so insane to actually want that to happen.

What is funny about this is the fact that this proves just how consumer friendly the N95 is in terms of customization and expandability, while the iPhone is what Steve Jobs wants you to have in your pocket, period.

Yes this is a slow weekend if you can’t tell.