Symbian in Motion

I’ve made no secret of my love for SkyeQuiKey. Hit one of those links if you haven’t heard of the app yet. If you have heard of the app, odds are pretty good that you’re using a copy on your handset. Good news! A new update was just issued today that covers much of the feedback I’ve been seeing about the app. Change log:

• Missing softkeys / idle screen ‘hang’ bug fixed.
• Closing slider can sometime cause softkeys to disappear from idle screen bug fixed.
• Improved history support added, smarter and faster.
• Support for adding new phone numbers added.
• Support added for S60 3rd Edition FP2 phones e.g. N78.
• Longer phone numbers now permitted (up to 32 digits).
• Interference with Bluetooth PIN entry and System Lock bug fixed.
• Improved support for emergency call dialling.
• Support added for creating new message (SMS/MMS/E-mail) from a manually entered number/email address.
• Improved support for defaults: Email, SMS and MMS defaults are now used with shortcuts.
• Pressing the green button from a list of options is now equivalent to OK.
• Support for pause and wait in dialled numbers e.g. +4420844223311p123p333w435.
• Improved interoperability with other 3rd party applications e.g. Google Search.
• Improved screen layout.

Get it!

Update: If you haven’t seen the app in person, here’s a great walkthrough from Mark at The Nokia Blog:

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Kudos to Joikusoft! One of my favorite apps (in fact, it just might be included in the Five Apps series) has just been updated and it is no longer in beta. I’m sure you already know all about this great app so I won’t get into the nuts and bolts of it. Just head on over and download version 2.00. Release notes:

• Landing page works with all operators
• Encryption support with WEP including 128bit key generator
• Battery threshold shutting down the client when battery level is too low
• Default Access point setting
• Support for secure SSH tunnels with Putty
• GPS location with Google Maps integration for extended mapping services at joikuspot.com landing page

JoikuSpot Light Page

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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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Handy Weather by Epocware is probably one of the apps that I use most often on my S60 devices, and yet I haven’t ever reviewed it here on SiMo. Odd perhaps, but I suppose my assumption was simply that everyone already knew about it since Epocware advertises the app very well on sites like S60.com and Handango. In any event, there’s really only one thing you need to know. If you want weather data on your S60 device, you want Handy Weather.

As with most Epocware apps, the UI and performance are top-notch with Handy Weather. It’s easy to set up, easy to use, it updates automatically in the background at defined intervals and it packs a terrific feature set. In the latest version 5.01, Epocware has added three new views that give a wider scope than had previously been available.

• Temperature map - Displays a weather chart of the selected zone shown by shades of blue, yellow and green
• Pressure map - Displays pressure space and depression area
• Satellite map - Displays satellite imagery of various parts of the world

I haven’t installed the update yet myself, but I hope they’ve also fixed the bug that prevented the weather screen saver from displaying temperatures in Fahrenheit. Here’s a great video walk through including all of the newest features:

If you’ve already purchased Handy Weather, definitely click through and download the update. If you’re not already a Handy Weather user, enjoy the generous 14-day free trial.

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That’s right people; the app that everyone knows and loves should be released for S60 3rd devices by the end of February! Smart Settings by Mobifun Software was hugely popular for older S60 variants and I expect that it will see similar success with 9.x.

For newcomers to S60 or those who somehow have never heard of this great app, it essentially provides two main functions. The first is a quick app launcher added to your home screen. One of your softkeys becomes a launcher (you can add custom text to display on the softkey) that will display a list of up to nine apps / games / etc. Each app in the list also has a corresponding speed key (1 - 9) assigned to it. So to launch an app, you simply hit your softkey followed by the appropriate speed key number and you’re done. You can also of course scroll through the list if you desire. The other main functions bring added control and customization to lock, unlock and security settings.

There are a few apps on the market that offer similar functionality but no app does it quite like Smart Settings, and no app combines the same features into one neat package. Smart Settings is currently in private beta but Mobifun believes it will be ready for prime time within the next few weeks. Woo hoo!

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