Symbian in Motion

This my dear Nokia, is a good start. For a while now I’ve been blogging and ranting in various places regarding the fact that Nokia doesn’t make a big enough deal about the S60 platform and its capabilities. ‘Well times they are a-changin’…

“Open” is a huge aspect of Nokia’s advertising campaign connected to the launch of the N95-3. Take a look at the ad above:

“On top of that, we’ve left the Nokia N95 open to enhancement, experimentation and evolution so its potential is truly unlimited.”

The neries.com/open link takes you to a page with a tad bit more of the same concept. While I don’t think they’ve quite ‘hit the nail on the head’ yet at least they’re beginning to address one of the main reasons that Nseries (and Eseries for that matter) devices are truly superior devices.

Sure, if I was putting this ad campaign together I might have approached it a bit differently but this is the right direction, Nokia ad-guys. I mean, we get what you’re saying but will the masses get it? There’s a limited amount of time left before the iPhone’s platform truly opens up and believe me when I tell you that Apple will do a MUCH better job of making their customers aware of the plethora of apps and possibilities that will become available quite quickly.

In the meantime, hit ‘em where it hurts! Do some research, find out what all of the iPhone users are complaining about and use that knowledge to your advantage. It’s not hard; since the honeymoon ended iPhone users have been doing plenty of complaining. The ads don’t have to literally “fight dirty” but they can sure make use of some better allusions…

Regardless, I applaud whoever worked on this campaign. The concept is there, now refine it!

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Symbian users have been anxiously awaiting this day for quite some time now and the wait is finally over… Sling Media has officially announced the public availability of their newly ported SlingPlayer Mobile application for compatible S60 3rd devices! SlingPlayer Mobile allows you to connect via WLAN or 3G and watch/control your home TV, DVR, TiVo, digital cable box or satellite receiver from anywhere in the world. Symbian users can now make use of their Slingbox with certain QVGA devices (additional device support is in the works). Initial compatibility is listed in the US for the Nokia N95, N75, and E65 (3G and/or WiFi). In Europe and ROW, the Nokia N95, E65, N73, and 6120 are listed as compatible devices.

Thanks to Dave Zatz of Sling Media I’ve had the pleasure of playing with this app for a while now and I have to say that I couldn’t be enjoying it more! Before I get into the review I feel obligated to tell you that if you plan on using 3G to stream to your device, an unlimited data plan is absolutely essential! Ignore that advice and before you know it you’ll be surrendering your home to the taxman for not being able to pay your phone bill… That said, let’s check out SlingPlayer Mobile:

Setup is extremely easy and worked flawlessly for me. You can add your Slingbox using an IP address or your box ID. I opted for the latter and my box was detected in a matter of seconds.

The Settings screen of the app allows you to define a default access point so that SlingPlayer will automatically connect when you select your box. If your default connection is unavailable, the app quickly recognizes this and prompts you to select from a list of available APs. The only other notable settings are Audio Settings (stereo/mono, high/low quality), Audio Channel (stereo, right only, left only) and Full Screen Video Quality (normal or high) which will determine your video quality when viewing in landscape mode. Once you’ve added your box and tweaked the settings to your liking you’re ready to start streaming!

Now those of you who have used a Slingbox before know that SlingPlayer isn’t just for watching your TV; it’s for controlling your TV. Access the SlingPlayer remote from within options and you can perform a whole host of functions - adjust your channel, power the system on and off, control guides and menus, etc. You can even configure a variety of custom configurable functions if a specific operation that you need isn’t preconfigured in the app. Note that there’s a bit of a pause as you send each command with SlingPlayer Mobile so you should definitely make use of the favorites feature for quick and easy access to your most-watched channels.

Beyond that you can even control your DVR/Tivo using SlingPlayer Mobile! Access your recorded shows, rewind, pause, view guides and menus, and even set it up to record new shows. It’s as if you’re sitting in front of your (tiny) TV! ;)

Despite the screen shots, don’t think that you’re confined to a tiny portrait-orientation viewing area. Simply toggle to fullscreen mode and enjoy a nice big landscape viewing experience just as you would with a mobile video player.

In terms of navigation, Sling gives you plenty of functionality using the remote but of course there are few options for easy channel surfing and access to 16 of your favorite channels. To flip to a specific channel while watching TV simply dial in the channel number and you’re there. Favorites on the other hand provide visual shortcuts on your display that you can toggle on and off with the # key. Adding a favorite is simple: With your favorites bar open move right and left to an empty favorites slot (or one you’d like to overwrite) and hold the select key. You’ll now be able to enter any channel number and even browse through the channel that have logos included.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet - I love SlingPlayer Mobile! It works extremely well over 3G or WLAN and looks great on the display of my N95. The audio quality is decent on the lower setting and more than adequate on the higher setting. The freedom that this app provides is wonderful - entertainment anytime, anywhere! If you’re a current Slingbox owner then you already know the value and freedom that SlingPlayer provides. Add the mobility of SlingPlayer Mobile for S60 device and you’ve got yourself solid gold. With a launch price of $29.99 (US), $34.99 (Canada) and £19.99 (UK), this is one app that is without a doubt worth the cost of admission. If you currently have a Slingbox, download the trial and prepare to be impressed. If you were waiting for this release to make your Slingbox purchase, the wait is over!

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Well it looks like my last post was just in time! Just as many have predicated and I had reported in a post last week, the N95-3 with US HSDPA and a boat-load of RAM/internal memory has been officially released today! I haven’t gotten my call from the Flagship store yet but Ricky has received word that it’s now available from a few different sources. Woo hoo - I can finally get the new battery.

AT&T users rejoice! I’m sure my throughput will start dropping any minute now as N95-3s flood the streets. If you’re in the market for an N95, not on AT&T, and don’t care about the extra RAM/internal storage; prepare to see eBay flooded with old N95s that will keep getting cheaper and cheaper.

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As many speculated (and as I had been told) the browser image display bug is a result of certain issues involving AT&T proxy servers. As such, T-Mobile users wouldn’t have any issue with it, but now AT&T users don’t have to worry about this bug either!

Thanks to the help of Chance Arrington, I’m now looking at crystal clear images in my N95-3 browser and I couldn’t be happier. Chanse commented on my original post but I still had some issues after following his instructions. Thankfully he contacted me directly and walked me through a few more suggestions. Viola! Problem solved.

Future N95-3 owners be aware, this is the first thing you should do once you receive your new phone if you plan to use it on AT&T networks and have a MEdiaNet plan. This should also resolve the issue for users of any other device that are experiencing this problem. Make sure that you clear your cache before following the instructions below.

Go to Settings -> Connections -> Acces points and highlight MEdiaNet. Press Options -> Duplicate access point. In the settings of the duplicate AP (which will be named MEdiaNet(01) by default, which is fine), press Options -> Advanced settings. Now scroll to the bottom and delete both the Proxy server address and the Proxy port number.

Now simply save your new AP, reboot and you’re set! You should use this AP for all apps that maintain a data connection. As Chanse and I discovered, even if you set this new AP as the default bowser AP other apps using your original MEdiaNet AP can cause the browser bug to resurface. The only possible downside is that you will not be able to access the MEdiaNet homepage while connected via your new AP, but who really uses the MEdiaNet homepage?

A big thanks to Chanse Arrington for all of his help! He has also brought it to my attention that starting with the N95 8GB, non-branded devices will automatically create three APs when used on AT&T networks: one for MEdiaNet, one for MMS and a third proxyless MEdiaNet AP like the one you’ve created by following the instructions above. Brilliant! :)

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Lately I’ve had a thing for blue themes and after you check out these sweet free themes, you will too! All of them are compiled either mostly or entirely of SVG graphics so they should play nicely with all resolutions. Enjoy!

WhiteCurve by lillium (includes custom and default icon versions)

eclipse by giambi (includes custom and default icon versions)

Blue Sphere by Roman Keller

Water Experience by giambi (includes custom and default icon versions)

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