SDK 1.0 for Symbian^3 released

Symbian was announced as an open-source platform, but a negative feedback of the platform led to the taking back of the decision by the Symbian Foundation. A number of SDKs (Software Development Kit) were released for different versions of the platform, and now we have another one for the latest Symbian^3 platform.

• VGA resolution screen support, to enable software development for the Nokia E6.
• Support for Qt 4.7 and Qt Mobility 1.1 APIs.
• Updated Browser, now at v7.3.1.1.
• The Three Plane Comms architecture , offering improved data flow performance.
• Stub implementation of Mobile Broadcast Service API for Handheld Terminals 1.0 (JSR-272).
• Several additional Symbian APIs for features such as OpenWF support, SQLite 3, XML parsing, and others.
• Support for Korean and Chinese languages in the SDK.

Nokia C7 in a new Leather and Gold Avatar

Nokia has launched Nokia ORO, which is a C7 patched up with leather and gold. It kind of reminds us of the premium range of 8800 series feature-phones that Nokia has. Nokia did a similar modification with the N97 mini and launched a gold version of it last year.

The features and specs of the phone are same as the C7 with a few visual changes. The ORO has its frame and keys covered in 18K gold and the front three keys are made of scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. The screen of the device is covered by Gorilla Glass and the back is wrapped in real Bridge of Weir leather which is one of the finest leathers available.



The price for all that gold and leather around the C7 ? Well, it may be a little heavy on your pocket at $1635 ! It is being sold by Svyaznoy, a retailer in Russia. No news of the availability in other countries, and it could be a limited edition smart phone.

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Fancy a Nokia N8 in Pink ?

Nokia’s flagship device, the N8 has been a successful smart phone for the company. It not only offers amazing features but is also available in a variety of colours like blue, black, silver, green and orange. Well now there is an addition to the N8 colours, yes it is pink. However, Nokia has not mentioned as to when the new colour will be available.

Rachael Bell, Senior Designer, Nokia adds “Following the fantastic response to the range of colors we launched for the Nokia N8, it seemed a natural step to extend this choice. The Nokia N8 in pink complements the original line up well with its expressive, intense hue.”

The Pink N8 is said to be released with PR2.0 update aka Symbian Anna and will also feature the Little Pink Diva Theme , a Pink Neon Clock and the ELLE fashion app that will keep you up-to-date with the latest fashion, beauty and celebrity news.

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Nokia to Outsource Symbian activities to Accenture

Nokia has partnered with Accenture, the leader in global management consulting, technology consulting and technology outsourcing, to outsource its Symbian software activities. Accenture and Nokia have been working together since 1994 and now Accenture will be providing Nokia with mobility software services for future smart phones. The deal will enable Nokia to cut business research and development costs by 1 billion euros that is 18%, by 2013 from 5.65 billion which was in the year 2010.

Nokia and Microsoft sign a Definitive Agreement, Windows Phones not far away

After the successful announcement of the partnership between Microsoft and Nokia, they have now signed a definitive agreement on a partnership that will result in a new global mobile ecosystem, utilizing the very complementary assets of both companies. The companies say that they're working hard to develop a portfolio of Nokia Windows Phone devices, which will start shipping in 2012, and we just might even see a few devices by the end of 2011.

"At the highest level, we have entered into a win-win partnership," said Stephen Elop, President and CEO of Nokia Corporation. "It is the complementary nature of our assets, and the overall competitiveness of that combined offering, that is the foundation of our relationship."

"Our agreement is good for the industry, together Nokia and Microsoft will innovate with greater speed, and provide enhanced opportunities for consumers and our partners to share in the success of our ecosystem," said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.

The definitive agreement is based on the following 4 key points:

1. A combination of complementary assets, which make the partnership truly unique, including:
- Nokia to deliver mapping, navigation, and certain location-based services to the Windows Phone ecosystem. Nokia will build innovation on top of the Windows Phone platform in areas such as imaging, while contributing expertise on hardware design and language support, and helping to drive the development of the Windows Phone platform. Microsoft will provide Bing search services across the Nokia device portfolio as well as contributing strength in productivity, advertising, gaming, social media and a variety of other services. The combination of navigation with advertising and search will enable better monetization of Nokia's navigation assets and completely new forms of advertising revenue.

- Joint developer outreach and application sourcing, to support the creation of new local and global applications, including making Windows Phone developer registration free for all Nokia developers.

- Opening a new Nokia-branded global application store that leverages the Windows Marketplace infrastructure. Developers will be able to publish and distribute applications through a single developer portal to hundreds of millions of consumers that use Windows Phone, Symbian and Series 40 devices.

- Contribution of Nokia's expertise in operator billing to ensure participants in the Windows Phone ecosystem can take advantage of Nokia's billing agreements with 112 operators in 36 markets.

2. Microsoft will receive a running royalty from Nokia for the Windows Phone platform, starting when the first Nokia products incorporating Windows Phone ship. The royalty payments are competitive and reflect the large volumes that Nokia expects to ship, as well as a variety of other considerations related to engineering work to which both companies are committed. Microsoft delivering the Windows Phone platform to Nokia will enable Nokia to significantly reduce operating expenses.

3. In recognition of the unique nature of Nokia's agreement with Microsoft and the contributions that Nokia is providing, Nokia will receive payments measured in the billions of dollars.
 
4. An agreement that recognizes the value of intellectual property and puts in place mechanisms for exchanging rights to intellectual property. Nokia will receive substantial payments under the agreement.

Nokia launches Beta version of Ovi Maps 3D

The web version of Ovi Maps has received an update which gives a 3-dimensional feel to the maps and lets users explore places on a whole new level. Nokia has joined hands with ‘C3’ which is the leading provider of 3D mapping solutions, offering photo-realistic models of the world. Users can now scale up and down and move around objects buildings and structures experiencing a virtual perspective of new places from bird-eye view. The beta service for now features 20 metropolitan areas, and is said to increase over time.

Low-budgeted Nokia C2 Touch and Type Slider leaks in India

A glossy looking slider phone by Nokia has been leaked in India. It will fall in the C series and is speculated that it will be called the C2-06. It is said to feature the Series 40 6th Edition platform, a 2 MP camera, Bluetooth, etc. It won’t feature high-end features so don’t expect it connect through Wi-Fi or 3G connections. Dual-SIM and a resistive touch screen with a slide out keypad seem pretty slick, and will surely be appreciated on a low-end phone. Prices or release date are not out yet but expect it to be out soon in the Indian market.

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Will Symbian Anna change Nokia’s image?

So I have been a Nokia Fanboy for a while now and I’ve experienced various versions of the Symbian Platform. It has evolved and upgraded with the introduction of new mobile phones and new mobile hardware. But I clearly remember there was a time when Nokia’s smart phones were the only ones that had the capability to have third party apps/softwares. Symbian has ‘taught’ other mobile platform developers how to develop an appealing mobile platform which is intuitive, easy, and robust.

Today things have changed. With a number of smart phone manufacturers and various platforms available, the competition is stiff. So where is Symbian on the platform map of 2011? Developers say that it is dead, and it can’t be revived. Almost every mobile manufacturing company has dumped Symbian leaving their core manufacturer, Nokia, in great dismay. The ‘dying’ platform has left Nokia on the de-merit list. The disappointed company has joined hands with Microsoft, and has somewhat ditched Symbian, or have they not? Nokia claimed that they will not be totally leaving Symbian, they have promised that there weill be new Symbian devices this year before they land their Windows Phone smart phones in the market. They will be supporting Symbian in the long run and decisions will be made after the roll out of WP7 phones in 2011-2012.

So after all that, we have the all new Symbian Anna OS. It is the latest offering by Symbian and Nokia which is said to be a matured and a smoother version of the Symbian^3 platform. New browser, new icons, faster UI, new split screen typing and more. Let’s go back to where it all began; the first Symbian 60 touch interface. Nokia rolled out the 5800 and the N97 all in a hurry as the world was shifting to touch screen devices. It could have been better, way better. The S60 v5 was terribly slow, less responsive and well in one word un-acceptable. I still own an N97, the so called flagship device. I guess Nokia did a good job with the hardware; however the firmware wasn’t as good. I am using a custom firmware and believe me it is much better than the official and latest updated firmware. Then we tasted the S^3, and it was sweeter. The S^3 platform has laid the foundation for Symbian Anna and the Nokia N8, C6-01, C7 and the E7 have proved that Symbian can be efficient and can be matured.

The question still remains. Will the new Symbian Anna change Nokia’s Image? Google’s Android has officially taken a lead leaving the Symbian platform behind. Nokia has to have a strong foundation to just keep up in the platform race, leave alone leading the list.

Coming to the new platform; it seems fresh, updated, faster, smoother, good looking and off course the good old Symbian feel. The first thing you’ll notice is the new icons. They seem a bit same as the S^3 icons only with chopped off edges. The home screen is the same (except on the E6) with multiple home screen options. The UI is responsive and the kinetic scrolling and capacitive touch screen seem smooth and quick. A new split screened text input has been added, which enables you to type on a QWERTY keyboard layout and see the text at the same time in the portrait mode.



The new browser (v7.3) is said to be 3 times faster than its predecessors. The visual changes include a URL bar on the top also the Go Back button will be visible at all times. You’ll also see a search integrated address field, the new split screened typing as mentioned above, faster history navigation and faster page loading. The new browser supports HTML5 with a few limitations, which I am sure will be improved as updates roll in. New Ovi Maps will be included with Facebook and Twitter integrated and the usual Ovi Map features. An added feature will be the ability to download Maps directly through Wi-Fi. The Ovi Store, Nokia Social, and Ovi Suite will also be updated.

Nokia can surely make this a promising platform through further updates and improvements. For now, I believe Nokia has improved and learned a lot through their past failures. Surely looking forward to more Symbian Anna device releases with much better hardware and better updates.

Cheers Nokia!

DoT tells Nokia to stop Pushmail service

The Department of Telecom has asked Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia to stop their Pushmail service because of security reasons. Nokia has been providing push email services for companies and consumers through compatible Nokia mobile phones and helps them to manage multiple email accounts from widely used email services like Yahoo, Gmail, MSN, etc. Now they have been asked to temporarily shut down the service until they have a legal monitoring system.