Symbian in Motion

Nokia Beta Labs has been busy updating a few of the applications since the start of the New Year.

First up is Nokia Nseries PC Suite. What’s the difference between the Nseries and the Normal PC Suite? Apart from the graphical interface I can’t say as;

1. I can’t install it, there is no support for Windows XP SP1 users, (I have left feedback in regards to this before the update but still no cigar here)
2. There is no list on the download page of the features it provides.

I’m going to guess it does the same as the Normal PC Suite and it’s just a beta testing application which will replace the Normal PC Suite as the N Series grows. I’d like to give a nice glance over it but as I say I can’t install it as XP SP2 is required to install, so for now here is an overview and download link:

Overview
Nokia Nseries PC Suite is a collection of Nokia Nseries and third-party PC applications that seamlessly tie together your Nokia Nseries multimedia device and your PC. Use the applications to transfer photos or videos from your device to your PC, to copy your favourite music from your PC to your device or to synchronize your calendar and contact information. And much more.

If you already have the old Nseries PC Suite 2.0 in your PC, it is recommended to manually uninstall the old version before running the NEW improved version of Nseries PC Suite.

Download Nseries PC Suite

Next up is Conversation, this is a neat application which takes a different approach with how you use SMS on your handset. It displays you’re SMS’s in a IM style conversation view (hence the name), I’ve tried it but initially had problems with sending messages whilst the application was installed on my N95. Seems like this issue has been fixed and is now available again for N95 users. The application also supports many other handsets, for more info and to download the appropriate version just head over to the Conversation download page.

Overview
Conversation is a messaging application that allows you to follow your conversations, organized by individual contact. In addition, the application provides an easy way to reply to messages, and continue the conversations.

After installation, the application will appear in your device as an application shortcut, and as a new tab in your Contacts application.

subscribe to comments made about this post

It’s been a long time coming and finally there is an Official Youtube application for your mobile. We are aware of many great Youtube applications created by 3rd Part developers, and some are probably better as they are native S60 applications but this one is Official so it deserves some recognition.

The one factor going for this is the fact you can login with your normal Youtube ID and have your favourites, uploads etc at your fingertips. You can also upload your own clips to your normal Youtube account. First glances at the application shows the interface is pretty slick and looks clean. There is also a handy help section for those unsure about the features and functions regarding Youtube and the application itself. Being a video streaming application you should be warned it will require a large amount of data being transferred, so a Wi-Fi or HSDPA connection with no data limits would be advisable.

Searching and viewing clips and their details is also pretty smooth, there is a nice side scrolling feature with information about the clip, ratings, popularity etc all shown as you navigate through.

The application is Java based and in theory should be available for most handsets that support Java but the site does state that it’s only available for Nokia’s N73, N95, E65, 6110, 6120 and SonyEricsson K800 and W880. Using my genius intuition I’d say any handset that supports Java and has a resolution of 240 x 320 should be good to go.

Just go ahead and give it a try.

Installing the application

• 1. Using your phone browser go to: m.youtube.com/app
• 2. Follow the instructions to download YouTube
• 3. Exit your phone browser
• 4. Find the YouTube icon on your phone and start watching videos

UPDATE: I see Youtube are using detection to only allow the officially supported models so you can’t download the Jar file from them, but I’ve taken it off my phone and you can (at your own risk) give it a go by downloading it from HERE!.

subscribe to comments made about this post

This is just a quick note to let everyone know that commenting here on SiMo has been fixed. Woo hoo! Unfortunately you’ll have to retype some text that you see in a small window (I hate that) but it’s better than not being able to comment, right? ;) If the text in the window isn’t clear you can reload new text or even click the speaker icon to have the text read to you.

Thanks to all of my readers for your patience and thanks again to Jeroen for pointing out the problem. If you’ve posted a comment in the past month and not seen it published on the site, I do apologize. Hopefully we won’t have any more issues…

subscribe to comments made about this post 

Sometimes, there’s nothing like an original. Many, many companies have developed security and device recovery applications for the S60 3rd platform but the simple fact is that each and every one left us wanting more. Whether there was essential functionality missing or it was just a case of too many useless features gobbling up resources, the ideal app has yet to be released. While that is still true, I’m glad to let you know that we’re much closer than you might think! Marco Bellino, Forum Nokia Champion and head developer of Symbian Toys, was kind enough to share the latest beta of their upcoming security solution with me and I’ve been impressed from start to finish.

In a nutshell, Guardian is exactly what other S60 3rd security solutions have tried to be; with a twist. It is designed to perform two core functions:

1. Greatly assist in the recovery of a device that has been lost or stolen
2. Restrict unauthorized access to any or all applications on a device

Light on resources and heavy on performance, Guardian 3rd really does attack each of the items above better than any other app I’ve seen. It’s remarkably easy to set up and my testing has gone phenomenally well. But as is my motto, talk is cheap. Let’s have a look:

In terms of setup, there are two main items that I’d like to highlight above all else. Why? Simply because they will give you a good idea of what this app is all about. It’s the little things and the attention to detail that really set Symbian Toys’ solution apart from the pack.

Firstly, as with several other competitive apps, Guardian 3rd has the ability to trigger an alarm and notification messages if the SIM is switched at any time. Of course this is essential functionality but what if you’re like me and you have several phones and just as many SIM cards? This app allows you to register multiple authorized SIM cards so dealing with changes is no longer a drill that involves punching keys as fast as possible, deafening alarms and needless SMS notifications.

The second item is with regards to application access restriction. Yes there are a few other apps that provide similar functionality, letting you scroll through a list and select each app that you would like to protect. All selected apps will then require the user to enter a password at launch before it can be utilized. The problem with these solutions is that if you use several protected apps in one sitting, you must continually enter the password as you open each app. If a user enters the password properly once, then obviously they will be able to enter it successfully for each other app. Why make it a PIA?

As you can see above, Symbian Toys has implemented an inactivity timer. Thank you! Now if you open one restricted app by successfully inputting the password, you will not be prompted for the password again when opening subsequent protected apps. This allows you to use all of the apps on your device without interruption as if Guardian 3rd wasn’t even installed on your device. When you’re done using the device and it becomes inactive, Guardian 3rd will automatically reinstate application protection after the defined amount of time has passed. Above you can see that I have it set for two minutes so once I enter my password correctly once, I won’t have to enter it again until my phone has been inactive for two minutes.

In terms of device recovery, no other app can come close to touching the effectiveness of Guardian 3rd. It supports a variety of remote SMS commands just as competitive apps do, in terms of operation at least. Specially formatted messages come in to the device silently so that a thief is not alerted to their arrival. Let’s take a look at the current list of commands:

• Delete: Deletes SMS/videos/pictures/records/contacts
• FakeSMS: Receives an SMS using a fake sender as specified
  
• Forward: Forwards sent/received SMS and the incoming/outgoing calls list
  
• Alarm: Sounds a loud siren
  
• Config: Modify Guardian’s configuration parameters
  
• Localize: Continuously sends (at a defined interval) the device’s current GPS location or the device’s cell-id retrieved from network.

Each of the above commands is quite useful but wait, what was that last one? That’s right, Guardian 3rd is capable of utilizing your device’s internal GPS (or external if available) to transmit the current location of the device at time intervals that you specify! Plug the data into Google Maps or a similar service and you can see the exact location of your device. But what if the device is indoors or does not have access to GPS, internal or otherwise? Guardian 3rd will instead utilize cell-id data to determine approximate position and transmit that data. Even still, the app will continuously attempt to retrieve GPS data and once it becomes available it will transmit; even if that is hours after the command has been sent! Also noteworthy, cell-id data will also be transmitted automatically with the initial SMS in the event of a SIM change.

Once available, Guardian 3rd will be offered in three different variants. Platinum (includes all available functionality), Gold (some limitations) and Free (basic functionality). For a better idea of what each version entails, check out the December 16 entry on the Guardian 3rd page. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If you have the option to spend a small amount of money on a security utility this advanced and it will assist in protecting your investment of $400 - $800+ along with all of your private data, you would be crazy not to take advantage of it. Guardian 3rd is still in private beta but I’m fairly confident that we’ll see a public release soon enough. Once this great app does become available, rest assured I’ll post a notice.

subscribe to comments made about this post

Our favourite Youtube S60 3rd client has been update to version 1.0.10. The main reason is to fix the 404 error that plagued the previous version. Although that is the main fix, that’s not all, there are many other additions which have been added and updated which includes an update for the support of Spanish, Bulgarian and Hebrew, now that’s multi-lingual love. A more thorough list can be found below:

Changelog:

• Fixed the infamous 404 error.
• New: emTube searches now include restricted content.
• New: added Spanish, Bulgarian and Hebrew translations.
• New: added “sort by” option to the search view, also available as an settings option.
• Fixed problems with playback of FLV files generated by SUPER conversion program.
• Fixed: download percentage on the navigation pane wasn’t updated in some circumstances.
• New: Saved clips view now includes an option to scan your phone memory / memory card for flash video files.
• Fixed: A lot of bug fixes and small changes suggested by users to improve usability.

As usual you can get yourself a copy by going to the emTube site and downloading the appropriate version.

subscribe to comments made about this post