Symbian in Motion

Thanks to Gerry Moth, a man I’m loving more with each passing minute, I am in the process of trying what looks to be the first functional Last.fm player for S60. It’s called Blastfm and it was built in Python. Sure, it’s not the optimal solution but beggers can’t be choosers! The app is in beta so be kind, but it allows you to stream various Last.fm stations and that is exactly what we’ve been looking for.

The problem - so far I’m not having any luck with it at all on my N95 8GB NAM. The app crashes with a System error (-2) as soon as I hit OK after entering my Last.fm credentials. I’m going to keep trying though because I’ve been waiting for this functionality forever…

Try it out, the download link is in the Nokia Addict post. Also, be sure to pay homage to M3 Solutions for putting this puppy together - if you can get it working! Make sure you read the Nokia Addict post before you try to install it!

UPDATE: Still not working for me guys. I’m giving up for now - let me know how it works out for you!

If I had a dollar for every time I begged and pleaded for this functionality in S60, well, I could have paid Psiloc to make this app a long time ago…

Psiloc Connect is an app that needs little introduction. Suffice it to say, you need this app. In my opinion, Access Points (AP) are handled very, very poorly by S60. Each app that makes use of a data connection must have its own default AP defined. This is just silly. As done on other OSes, the device should worry about connecting via the fastest available AP and apps should just call to which ever AP is currently active. Period.

Thanks to Psiloc, your S60 3rd handset can now use data as nature intended - intelligently. Psiloc Connect is a utility that you’ll install, configure and then never look at again. Huh? It’s not because you won’t like it, but rather because once configured it will constantly be doing its job with no user intervention whatsoever. In a nutshell, this app will add a new AP to your device called “Psiloc Connect”. Any app using this AP will first attempt to connect to the internet via available WLAN networks. If no WLAN is available, the new AP will automatically drop back to 3G / EDGE / GPRS. Done!

Do you live in a country where data is expensive? No worries, Psiloc Connect is still an app you need. You can configure it to connect via WLAN - and it will look for ALL of your WLAN networks as opposed to just one - and if no WLAN network is available, the app will not connect. No surprise astronomical bills, no worries.

As for battery life, of course using WiFi will affect your time between charges. The app itself is incredibly light-weight though. The Connect daemon only eats up 42KB in fact.

My advice? Head over to the Psiloc Shop and download this app ASAP. Again, this is how S60 should work. That’s the beauty of S60 though, isn’t it? There are so many phenomenal developers like Psiloc who take the bull by the horns, listen to end-users and crank out awesome apps that pick up where S60 left off. Psiloc offers a free trial as with all of its apps but believe me, once you have a taste there’s no way you’ll be able to go a minute without this app.

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I’ve been waiting for a loooooong time for this update and I couldn’t be happier to let you all know that it’s finally here! My favorite music player / recommendation service Social Player has just received a major revision and trust me when I tell you, you can’t get it installed soon enough. Check out Gabriel’s post on the Strands Blog for more details, but here are my highlights:

• Native S60 app and Java app (S40-optimized) released!
• New Player UI - vastly improved interface, better controls
• Scrobbling support! Send track data to Last.fm as you listen

The post on the Strands Blog includes links to download both the native S60 app as well as the Java app. Now there’s really no reason why you can’t enjoy the complete interactive experience that Social Player provides on any device. Kudos to Strands!

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For years now I’ve wondered why my PC couldn’t replace my mobile phone while I’m sitting at my desk. Let me explain: When I’m at work, I’m sitting at my PC 90% of the time and it becomes my main method of communications. Whether I’m in Outlook, some form of instant messenger (I use four different IM apps unfortunately) or making calls using Skype. When my office phone rings, it annoys me. Convergence, people. I want one point of focus that handles all of my work and communications needs. I’m on my PC, I have a bluetooth headset in my ear connected to my PC, call me on Skype! Likewise, when people call or text me on my mobile it draws my attention away from my PC and forces my to use my handset if I want to interact. Sure I can forward my mobile to my Skype number and ignore my SMS if I so choose, but why should I have to? When I’m within range of my PC, I wish it would automatically connect to my handset and take over all communications. An email widget, an SMS / MMS widget and a voice comms widget - at least.

BlueText is a step in that direction. Like Nokia’s Text Messenger beta, it is a PC-based SMS interface that allows you to send and receive SMS via your mobile phone. Of course BlueText isn’t the first piece of software to afford users this functionality, but it is the first to do it with S60 3rd and Windows XP. As neat as Nokia’s Text Messenger is, it’s Vista only I’m afraid. If you’re like me then you avoid Vista like the plague so Text Messenger just isn’t an option.

The PC app is very Vista-like in terms of appearance. It has a nice semi-transparent UI that is nice and minimal. Sending an SMS is quite simple as shown above. Select your recipient, type your message, hit send and be on your way. Notifications will pop up directly on your screen when new SMS messages arrive and you can reply in just two clicks.

The device-side app is quite simple as well, as you can see above. After installation, license activation and set up, you’ll only access the app to enable and disable the service.

BlueText is the first app from Psiloc to make use of their new PC-based installation wizard which makes installation a breeze for inexperienced users. Psiloc’s new system is self-contained and once installed on the PC, it deposits the SIS and launches it at the appropriate time.

What will you need to use BlueText? An S60 3rd handset and a bluetooth enabled PC with Windows or Widcomm bluetooth drivers. Price of admission: Just north of $15 depending on the strength of the US dollar (price is 9.95€) and there is a trial period as with all Psiloc apps. SiMo readers are in luck however! Of course there’s no app like a free app and five lucky commenters will enjoy a free unlimited BlueText license code courtesy of Psiloc. Woo hoo! Just post a comment below and I’ll pick five at random on Friday March 14. Those selected will receive their license codes via email on Friday.

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In an announcement today by Tommi from Nokia Beta Labs, Share Online 3.0 has graduated from Beta school to a full fledged application. I want to congratulate the Nokia Beta Labs guys on creating this application. Personally it’s one of my daily applications I use regularly to upload and view my pictures on Flickr.

Share Online 3.0 allows users to keep up to date with their Flickr and Vox accounts on the go. Sharing your pictures on Flickr and having the ability to blog directly to Vox are great features which has kept this application going and eventually allowed it to be a success. With the latest release it also now supports Ovi, Nokia’s new sharing service which let’s you upload and share pictures, videos and music using your handset. The new version also integrates a new addition to your active desktop screen displaying any new activity on your Flickr, Vox and Ovi accounts respectively (see screenshot below).

Do note that Ovi is only supported in the following countries:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South-Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, U.S.A., Venezuela, Vietnam.

You can download the new application and find more information on the Nokia Sharing and Blogging site.

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