Symbian in Motion

Whenever I pass by a thread on a forum asking members to list their “essential apps” for S60 I’m always shocked that not many people mention any security apps. S60 devices are among the most expensive devices on the market and I don’t know about you but I always try to protect my investments, especially one as important as my mobile phone. More importantly, my phone is home to a huge amount of data that I can’t afford to let fall into just anyone’s hands. In the event that my phone is lost or stolen I need to know that my data is secure.

The solution that I now use to ensure that my data is secure in the event that my phone is lost or stolen is Txt2Lock. This app/service provides the core functionality that you need in order to protect your phone and more importantly, your data. As the name might suggest, Txt2Lock allows you to lock your device remotely by sending a simple SMS containing your secret password and a lock command. Once your device is locked successfully you receive a lock alert confirmation and you can rest a bit easier.

Txt2Lock supports two different types of locking. The first is the “Lite Lock” which can be your first line of defense. Using the Lite Lock you still have the ability to attempt to contact your device in an effort to recover it. When the Lite lock is applied all outgoing voice and SMS communications are instantly cut off but incoming calls and SMS messages are allowed though. A Lite Lock can only be lifted by entering the Txt2Lock app, inputting your secret password and changing the lock status to Off.

The second type is the “Max Lock” and when applied your device becomes completely unusable. All communications and applications are unaccessible and the screen displays the Txt2Lock notification image.

Once a Max Lock is applied the device becomes completely useless until the device is unlocked using a combination of button presses and your secret password. Leaving inbound communication lines open in the event that the SIM is switched would be useless so the Max lock is also automatically applied in the event that the SIM card is switched. It should also be noted that both the Max Lock and Lite Lock automatically encrypt your memory card so your images/personal files/etc will be safe.

Taking up a mere 29.6KB of RAM, the Txt2Lock server process is hardly a drain on any of your precious resources unlike most other options available. Since installing the app I’ve noticed absolutely no difference in battery life which is a welcome change from other options I’ve tested. Granted, there are a few features that I would like to see added to future versions of the app but even when they are added it will still be the least cumbersome option available.

A nice bonus that is most definitely worth mentioning is that with each purchase of the Txt2Lock app you also are entitled to a free premium mobyko account! I won’t go too far into explaining mobyko but essentially it’s a service that allows you to store all of your images, videos and SMS messages remotely via any data connection. Beyond that it lets you take advantage of the integrated S60 Sync app to back up all of your contact data remotely! There are a few other nice features as well such as photo sharing, content downloading and you can even send SMS messages from your PC via your device.

Add the usefulness and convenience of mobyko to the security and reliability of Txt2Lock and you’ve got a winning combination. When you consider the fact that the tandem can be had for a mere £7.00, you really can’t afford to pass by this deal. Click through to learn more or to purchase Txt2Lock and get your free premium mobyko account.

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I just wanted to post one last reminder that the 1,000 Words contest ends tomorrow at the stroke of midnight so if you haven’t gotten your entries in by then you can kiss that E90 goodbye! We’ve been getting some really great entries since the very beginning of the contest and a big thanks to all who have participated so far. If you haven’t submitted any entries so far, what are you waiting for? With Halloween tomorrow we should have a busy final day so be sure to put your thinking cap on. I can’t wait to go through all of the entries and pick a winner!

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Samir, developer of one of our favorite freeware apps has recently emerged from his most recent project with news of a forthcoming update to his beloved rotateMe app. There will be a some updates for various devices but by far the feature that we’ll be looking forward to most is an auto-rotate feature ‘a la iPhone’ that will be compatible only with the N95. That’s right, rotateMe 2.0 makes use of the internal sensors in the N95 to automatically adjust the screen orientation depending on how the device is positioned in your hand! If you don’t believe me, just check out the vid:

click here to watch the video

The app is scheduled for a release toward the end of November and will be unsigned.

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http://shop.psiloc.com/en/Application,262308,Psiloc+irRemote+Beta

If you are a current licensed user of any Psiloc app you can install the s60 3rd irRemote beta which will be free and fully functional until November 15th.

Enjoy :)

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It’s no mystery that I’m a big fan of Skyestream due simply to the fact that they develop outstanding applications, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that their latest offering blew me away. After only a few minutes with this app Skyestream’s stock catapulted to the top of my “app portfolio” and I don’t think that I could possibly own a phone without this app. If by the end of this review you don’t agree with me, then I clearly haven’t done my job.

SkyeQuiKey in a nutshell allows you to quickly and easily access contacts, apps, web bookmarks and messaging center elements from your standby screen. When I say ‘quickly’ I mean that it literally couldn’t be easier. This app instantly replaced about five other applications that I have on my N95! Enough build up… This app speaks for itself.

Essentially this app gives you an ‘always-on’ search utility that is accessible from your standby screen. In its current form it searches for four types of content: Contacts, apps, browser bookmarks and messaging center. Once you find what you’re looking for, the app allows you to launch it (app/bookmark) or initiate communications with it (contact) quickly and easily. To search from your standby screen you simply start typing (T9 style) and the app automatically and instantly comes to the foreground. In the example below I wanted to call my fiancee Melissa, so I simply typed “M, E, L” in T9 and there she is. I then pressed [send] and SkyeQuiKey allows me to chose on of her numbers and then connects the call. If there is one number that is dialed most often you can also set it as the default number and the [send] key will simply connect the call to that number.

If I had chosen to do so, I could have also initiated an SMS, MMS or email to Melissa or even opened up her contact entry using SkyeQuiKey. In fact within the app options you can configure shortcuts for [right] and [left] presses on the directional pad. So for example I can highlight Melissa and press [left] to open a new email addressed to her or [right] to send an MMS! Also note that you can search by first name, surname or company when looking for contacts.

So that’s contacts, but SkyeQuiKey goes further than that. What if you want to launch an application or game? Why should you have to dig through my menus to find it? Well using this app you don’t! Simply start typing the name of the app and press the center directional pad key to launch it.

The same goes for browser bookmarks. Don’t bother opening your browser and scrolling through your bookmarks, that’s for Windows Mobile users. ;) Just start typing out a bookmark name from your standby screen and select it from the SkyeQuiKey list to launch it in your S60 Browser.

Last but not least is your Messaging Center. Simply start typing out “Inbox”/”Outbox”/”Sent”/”Drafts” and the app gives you instant access to the relevant messaging folder. You can also type “new” for fast and easy access to a blank new SMS/MMS/Email.

Now I know exactly what you’re thinking at this point; if SkyeQuiKey is initiated when I start pressing keys what happens if i want to just dial a number and make a call? Don’t worry about it! Simply dial the full number as you would if SkyeQuiKey wasn’t even there. When you’re done dialing press [send] just like you would normally and your call is completed just as it always would be.

The app interface itself is merely a few simple settings that help determine some options that you have when interfacing with the app. Of course SkyeQuiKey autostarts but here you can disable the app and it won’t appear again until you enable it. You can also change the display order of contact names (first, last or last, first) and configure your right and left shortcuts as I described above. “Screen size” allows you to toggle normal (as seen above) and full screen modes. Full screen mode lists your search results from top to bottom as opposed to having the app icon/battery/signal/etc at the top of the screen. The last setting option here is your search history. You can set the app to remember your last 10, 20 or 30 searches, or no history at all.

SkyeQuiKey is compatible with a huge range of S60 3rd devices and it should be noted that it works slightly differently on full-keyboard devices. On qwerty keyboards you must press a button to bring the app to the foreground before you start typing your search, but clearly SkyeQuiKey is equally as useful on 1-9 and on full keyboards. As much as I love the app now I know that Skyestream already has a few very interesting items in the development pipeline and believe me when I tell you that SkyeQuiKey is going to get better and better. As always, Skyestream provides a brief free trial period with this app because no one likes to pay before they play. My advice? Click over to their site and start playing as soon as you can. Act soon and you can even take advantage of their limited time 25% off offer that surely won’t be around for very long.

Note: Thanks to SiMo readers, a few bugs have been identified in this version. Skyestream will have an updated version released by the end of this week (barring Symbian Signing) and I’ll post an update once it’s available.

UPDATE: Version 1.01 is now available here and should resolve the issues found in the comments below. Wow that was fast! 

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