Saturday, October 29, 2011

Kik Messenger is Coming to Symbian!


The popular cross-platform Kik Messenger app is coming to Symbian platform soon! I love the developer of this app. Here's what they say about the platform...

"We know why you love Symbian – it’s fast, smooth, and open. Our developers love it too! We think that the millions of Symbian users deserve beautiful, high quality apps, despite the platform’s uncertain future (and the press’ gleeful predictions of its demise)."


"We think it’s a great example of how polished and powerful Symbian apps can be when they’re made by people who love the platform."


As for the features, no worries. They've got us covered. All features are there.


"It has pictures, group, read receipts, and the same crazy speed as Kik on Android, iOS, WP7, and BlackBerry."


Now I just hope that all cross-platform and developers from other platforms is thinking of the same. We deserve apps. Quality apps. Make love for Symbian and people will love your products.

Expect the first version of the app to be released in the next few weeks.

Source: Kik Blog

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone: Specs, Price, Release Date


Nokia has finally announced their new series of Lumia Windows Phones. This one is the Nokia Lumia 800. It is basically a Nokia N9 but with a different OS. It has a 1.4GHz Snapdragon Processor, 3.7" 480x800 pixels ClearBlack AMOLED Display, 512MB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, and it is just 12.1mm thick, and is powered by a 1450mAh battery.

As for the release dates, the Nokia Lumia 800 is already shipping and up for pre-orders in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. It will also be available in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore, and Taiwan before the year ends. As for the other markets including the Philippines, it is scheduled for early 2012 launch. It will retail for about €420 or about P25,000 before taxes and subsidies.

Specifications:
  • 3.7-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display (480×800 pixels, 252ppi)
  • 1.4 GHz processor
  • Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
  • Qualcomm MSM8255 chipset
  • 3D Graphics HW Accelerator
  • 512MB RAM
  • 16GB  storage
  • HSDPA 14.4Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps
  • WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1
  • 8 megapixels camera with Carl Zeiss optics, auto focus and flash
  • 720p video recording
  • FM Radio tuner
  • GPS with aGPS support
  • Li-Ion 1450mAh battery


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Nokia Lumia 800 Announced!

The Nokia Lumia 800.

Nokia Asha Series Announced!

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has announced four new Nokia phones. They call it Nokia Asha series. It consists of the Nokia 200, 201, 300, and 303. Asha means 'Hope' in Hindi. More on this later.

Nokia 200
Dual SIM
Swipe
The Nokia Asha 200

Nokia 201
Single SIM version
Swipe

Nokia 300
Touch and Type
5 megapixel camera
Capacitive touchscreen
WiFi
3G
1GHz Processor
The Nokia Asha 300
Nokia 303
Touch and Type
Capacitive touchscreen
1GHz Processor.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

More Leak! Nokia 800 in Magenta


Nokia World is just around the corner and that has not stopped TheNextWeb to leak more. They have managed to obtain two more spyshots of the rumoured Nokia 800 (a.k.a Sea Ray), this time coated in Magenta. Looks like it's the long-lost twin of the N9, with only some difference like the newly positioned LED flash and a dedicated camera key.




Now can they just wait and stop all these leaks? They spoils the excitement of the people.

Source: TheNextWeb
Via: WMPowerUser

Monday, October 24, 2011

Updates: Symbian Anna Finally Available in the US



NokiaCareUS said in a tweet that the long-overdue and highly-anticipated Symbian Anna update is now available in the land of US of A.

The Symbian Anna that arrived in the US is the latest released v025.007. Check if your product code appears in the list below.


Generic North America Vanilla variants:
C6-01     059C3W3 / 059C3W4 / 059C3P6 / 059C3P9
E7           059C996 / 059C997 / 059C998 / 059C999 / 059C9B0
N8          059G196 / 0599218 / 0599222 / 0599226 / 0599230 / 0599236

US Customized variants:
E7           059F6L7 / 059F6L8
N8          059D111 / 059C8T6 / 059D110 / 059D112 / 059G700 / 059D0V2

Changelog:

•  Fresher, renewed look with new icons and wallpapers, and split screen view for Messaging, Mail, Browser, Phonebook, Calendar, and Maps.
• Improved full QWERTY virtual keypad with split screen view and faster access to special characters.
• New, faster and easier-to-use browser, with new search features, and most used features available with one tap.
• New Maps version, with improved search, a public transport network view, and a new Check-in feature for sharing info about places through social networking services.
• Improved calendar, enabling you to create and accept meeting invitations through.
• Mail Microsoft Communicator Mobile available.
• Improved information and communication security.
• New versions of Ovi Store and QuickOffice.
• Performance and usability improvements.

So if you're living in the stateside, or have a Symbian^3 phone with US product code and are waiting for this update, it's time to check Nokia Suite or you can just dial *#0000# on your phone then press Options > Check for updates to download it OTA.

Source: http://twitter.com/NokiaCareUS/status/128450855514021888 | http://mynokiablog.com/2011/10/24/symbian-anna-officially-available-in-usa-n8e7c6-01/

New Game: Real Football 2012 for Java Devices


Gameloft released a new football game for Java devices today. Real Football 2012 here guys with David Villa as the player.

Here are some info about the game:

Who is David Villa?
  • Currently a striker for FC Barcelona
  • But also played for the Spanish National Football Team
  • And scored the most goals for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and led the Spain to victory!
Features
  • True football atmosphere with improved graphics, animations and cleaner menus
  • Over 240 teams and hundreds of real players thanks to the FIFPro license
  • Many game modes including cups, leagues and a History mode
  • Pick a European national team, play the qualifier round & lead it to victory!
  • Play against friends locally via Bluetooth
  • Tons of achievements to earn & dynamic loading screens with trivia
Real Football 2012 for Mobile – Download Football Game | Gameloft Philippines Real Football 2012 for Mobile – Download Football Game | Gameloft Philippines

Gameplay

There are 8 game modes to choose from!

Club Master:
Start with your team in a low division and lead it to glory
World Tour:
Travel around the world to face the best teams
Enter the Legend:
Play as only one player and reach the circle of best football players
League:
Select a national team or a club and play a whole season
Cup:
Take part of an International Cup, European Cup, or a Club Cup
Challenge:
Relive 20 of the best moments in football history, such as the Champions League final in 2005 with Milan vs. Liverpool
Exhibition:
Select your team and the opponent. Enjoy!
Training:
Work out different skills to improve your level

Real Football 2012 for Mobile – Download Football Game | Gameloft Philippines Real Football 2012 for Mobile – Download Football Game | Gameloft Philippines

Multi-player is also present, so it's better that you tell your friends about this game too! Multi-player requires bluetooth enabled phones.


Download Real Football 2012 now! Refer for the links below. This game costs P50 and it will be deducted on your prepaid account or will be billed on top of your postpaid account. No credit cards needed! :D


In case that you're a reader outside the Philippines, you may want to check out http://wapshop.gameloft.com or http://gameloft.com if it is available.

This game will work on most Java-enabled devices (Nokia - S40, S60, Symbian^1, Symbian^3 | Samsung | LG | Sony Ericsson | Others). Note that this game is a non-HD one though.

Enjoy!


Review: One Year with Nokia N8

It's been one year now since I got my first hands on with the camera king Nokia N8. And now for the first time, I'm now sharing my review for this mighty phone. Let's start with the packaging, then on the hardware part, and the software.

Part 1: Packaging




When I picked-up my Nokia N8 at the Nokia Store back on October 24, 2010, it's got a special bag for the people who pre-ordered the phone. Nothing special but it adds a "premium" look when you get it. And the box is inside. Take it out and you will see a flat, rectangular, blue, and "almost" plain box. Yeah, almost plain. Nokia just added a silver outline drawing of the phone on the box.







What's included:
Nokia N8
Charger
Micro-USB Cable
HDMI Out Adapter
USB on-the-go
Nokia WH-701 Stereo Headset
User Guides and other documents

The sales package of the N8 is fully loaded. It has everything that you will need to use all functions of the phone.



It has a very small and compact travel charger that you can take anywhere. Fits just right in our pocket. It charges the N8 fast too. My N8 is fully charged after 1 and a half hour. That's really good when you're on the go.



This is the micro-USB cable that you will need to sync your phone contents on your PC. The cable is of really good quality, unlike the cables that comes with Apple's iDevices that breaks easily over time.



This is the HDMI adapter. This cable serves as the converter from the small HDMI port on your N8 to and connects on the other end of the cable on the TV. This is good when watching HD movies on your HD TV! Sum it up with a 3D TV and you now have a homemade cinema! ;)



And then we have here the super nice WH-701 stereo headset. You know what, the bass of this thing is just mind booming! Don't just play up your music with the loudspeaker, use this baby! :)

Notice what's missing? Yeah right, the USB on-the-go cable. That short and nice-looking piece of thing is the most productive in-box accessory that I've ever seen. It lets you do many things from transfering files from a USB drive, either a flash drive or an external hard drive will do (for larger external hdd, it will work provided that it has it's own power source), to using a USB keyboard or mouse. Yeah it just works.



Oops! This one is not included in the package but our cat showed up on the pictorial of the phone. He's cute eh?



And this is the paper stuffs, user guides, tips & tricks and etc. The user guide is a bit of thin, because the full user guide can be found on the phone. Eco-friendly right? Thmubs up for Nokia here!



I also received a free 16Gb Nokia flash drive when I got my phone. Perfect for the USB on-the-go! I store up my movies here and copy it to the phone. You can also use this if your mass memory is already full. :)

Part 2: Hardware



The Nokia N8 comes in a unibody design that makes it feel more sturdier than other phones. It's a bit heavy but I like it. It gives you a feeling that you are not holding a cheap, plasticky phone. The anodized aluminum back even adds more premium feel to it, but be warned though, it's very slippery in hands! I almost dropped my N8 multiple times but thanks God I always managed to grab it quickly. Just get a case. It comes with a 3.5 inch AMOLED screen which is just right back in 2010. Most smartphones now comes with a 4 inch of screen and some even more. The screen is notably bright, but I don't like the way it act when it has changed the angle. The screen will become dim if the ambient light sensor receives little to no light. And that is pretty annoying. There should be a setting to disable ambient light sensor. And by the way, the front of the N8 consists of the 3.5 inch screen again, then there's the three sensors above just beside the Nokia logo, the ambien light sensor, proximity sensor, and the front-facing camera. Above it is the earpiece used when having a phone call or whatever. On the bottom is the one and only physical key, the Menu key. It's positioned awkwardly on the bottom left part, so I'm pretty sure you'll have a hard time pressing it when you're in one-handed operation. The microphone is located a little far beside the Menu key.



Turning on the back, the big camera part will easily catch your attention. The Xenon flash is big located just left of the 12 megapixel camera sensor, and then to the right is the badly placed loudspeakers! When you let your N8 lie down on the sofa or bed, you will not hear anything from it. Bad Nokia. You should've just put it on the bottom instead. You will also see the anodized alumimum body, the metallic Nseries logo which feels very nice. Oh I almost forgot the secondary microphone used for active noise cancellation. The top and bottom ends of the N8 is made of plastic be ause the cellular and WiFi antennas are located there. I have experience WiFi atennuation while holding your N8 in landscape mode.



On the left side of the N8, in order, is the micro-SD card slot which can hold for up to 32GB cards, next is the SIM card slot. If you have an N8 you may know that you may not open the SIM card slot without opening the micro-SD card slot first. Next is the LED(?) notification light that lits up when you charge your phone either via the ordinary charger or USB charger. Next up is the micro-USB port, which is self-explanatory. You will also jotice the tiny screw there, that is used for opening the lower part of the N8, i.e. when changing the battery.



On the right side you will find the volume rocker which is very easy to press since it has a raised portion for you to recognize it. Then the lock switch, used for locking and unlocking the screen. Then the camera button. The camera button is a 2-stage button. Half press it and the camera focuses on the subject, fully press it and it takes the photo. You may just also press the camera button all the way down without focusing it first. They call it the hyperfocal blah blah. :D And then the other screw.



On the top you will find the 3.5mm audio jack which you can use for headsets, portable speakers and other functions too. Then next is the HDMI port, used for mirroring what is displayed on your N8's scree. Finally the Power button. It is self-explanatory again but it has other functions too, you can use it to change your active profile. Oh and in case your N8 hangs up or suddenly is jammed, press the Power key for 8 seconds until it vibrates. That simulates the removal of the battery. Press it again to turn the phone on.



On the bottom you will see the charger port, and lanyard hole. There's also some labels on it, Made in China etc etc.



This is the close up photo of the Nseries logo on the back of the N8.



Close-up photo of the camera section of the N8. From above, the Xenon flash, the large camera sensor, and the loudspeaker. On the edge of the protruding camera section is the secondary microphone.

PART 3: Software

To view my review on the Symbian Anna software, please visit my Nokia E6 review. It has the complete review of the Symbian Anna (with some exceptions).

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Review: TV Patrol App

TV Patrol
by ABS-CBN

Are you the type of person who always want to be upated, who always read newpaper, or watch news on TV? Checking news while on the go may be not that easy. You don't want to carry a newspaper or your TV everytime you go around, right? So what's the other way to stay updated? Of course, use your mobile phone! Here I present you the official TV Patrol news application developed for by ABS-CBN. Let's see if it this can make your everyday life easy.




Once you launch the TV Patrol app, you are presented the latest news with their thumbnails in a coverflow style a-la iPod. Scrolling here is not buttery smooth, it has a 1 second delay which may seem not too long but when you have actually tried it, it's not good. It's like the old Symbian^3 homescreen that will only move after the gesture has been made. And then there's the news title above every thumbnail presented in a bold text style for easy reading.


Tapping on a news item will take you here, the description view. What I noticed here is that the description is rather incomplete, it is more of like a script that the TV hosts actually say on-air. There is also a slew of sharing options just below the big thumbnail, which lets you share it on your Facebook or Twitter, via SMS and email.


Tapping on one of the sharing option, in this case via SMS, will open the said app with a text already typed. Another wrong thing here is they did not make it to also include lets say a link to the article on their website, or the video itself. It's just a plain text. It will be only useful to notify people, otherwise it's of no use.


If you try to watch a video, it will result in this error. I don't know why this error shows up but upon checking the user reviews on the Nokia Store for this app, it seems it's not only me. Something's wrong on the app itself. And the error message is not attractive, it looks like the default Qt dialogs.


This is what the video player looks like. There's the progress bar on the bottom left, though I don't know if you can scrub as the videos doesn't play. The volume slider is on the right of it, you can manually slide it to adjust the volume, or tap the icon to mute and unmute the video. I tried to adjust it using the volume rocker on the side of the N8, but it doesn't adjust. Too bad. I tapped the close button in disappointment.



There's also the handy search function which is very useful if you're looking for a video aired on a particular date. Selecting a month is very hard because you have to tap the arrow icon many times, or you can tap the Month name (October in this screen) and you can scroll down and up, which is even more frustrating. Pressing on the Search button will give you the list of videos on the right side. Again, scrolling is very hard. They have included an unintuitive down and up arrow buttons which is also hard to use because tapping those icons will either select the video name underneath it.



The above photos represent the Help section of the app. There are 6 categories and tapping them will show the appropriate topic.


The About screen where it shows the heavily and repeatedly used logo.


Tapping the Close button will show the confirmation dialog box asking you if you really want to exit. It is presented in a not-so-beautiful way.

CONCLUSION


The TV Patrol app has a great potential of helping people easily know the latest news. But alas, it seems the developer hurried and forgot some stuffs here. The app is not optimized. They should release an update soon or else they will continue to receive negative feedback. Overall, I cannot recommend download this app at this moment.

Nokia Store Link: http://store.nokia.com/content/135338
Price: Free

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Engadget's Nokia N9 Review


The people at Engadget may has been not-so-nice in the past on their Nokia-related posts, from insisting that Symbian is dead, comparing the N8 camera without even knowing how to poperly use it, etc... But today it has changed. What it seems is they are very positive about the Nokia N9 now.

Updates: Symbian Anna Service Pack


A new optional update has been released for all Symbian Anna devices today. It's called Symbian Anna Service Pack and is 1040 kB in size.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Nokia Sabre Gets Pictured in the Wild



Remember the Nokia Sabre that was leaked by Microsoft Canada? Well, it gets pictured today thanks to a pocketnow.com tipster. The tipster said that it will have a 3.5 inch screen with WVGA resolution, 1.4GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 5 megapixel camera and is said to have a price tag around €300 - €350 ($400 - $480). Now I'm really excited to see what Nokia has for us on their Nokia World 2011 event. Oh by the way, Nokia Sabre appears to be the Windows Phone version of the Nokia 603 Symbian Belle device, just like the Nokia SeaRay which is the Windows Phone version of the N9. It also appears to have Nokia Maps pre-installed on it, just as expected.


Source: Pocketnow.com

Review: Nokia E6 - Bringing the Best of Both Worlds



You may have already seen and read our unboxing and first impressions about the Nokia E6 here. And now, I am here to review it.