TamsS60 - the S60 Blog

The folks at Symbian-Freak have managed to obtain a detailed changelog for the latest firmware update that hit the N95 8GB a few days ago:

Changes/improvements made from MCU SW 11.0.026 to version 15.0.015

New Features:

• Flash lite 3

Browser:

General stability improvements for browser

Messaging:

• Mailbox wizard correction

Improvements to email viewer

Connectivity:

• Bluetooth remote volume control improvements
• WLAN connectivity improvements when power save enabled
• Improvements to WLAN connectivity
• WLAN stability improvements

Telephony:

• MT call improvements

Others:

• Improvements to maps startup and closing
• Music player maturity improved
• Headset stability improvements
• Correction to Chinese input in search application
• Improvements to power consumption (sleep activation)
• Improvements to memory handling in boot up
• Stability improvements to gallery
• Correction to video center thumbnail creation
• Improvements to applications installer
• Improvements to find function in music library
• Night mode improvements in Camera
• Correction to FDN (SIM initialization)
• Improvements to switch application
• Performance improvements to eMMC access
• Startup settings data updated
• Default input method changed to BPMF when using Chinese language
• Improvements to call history in call logs
• Localization corrections

P.S. I really wonder why Nokia doesn’t put a detailed list of changelogs online…

A recent data-theft incident made me start to think about safety on mobile devices…our small computerized helpers contain tons of personal data. Palm OS/Windows Mobile devices can lock themselves; but S60 can not - can Advanced Device Locks fix this?

Advanced Device Locks is modeled like a Settings panel- the various modules can be toggled on and off here. Scrolling to the left allows you to configure the numeric unlock code:

Autolock locks the phone after some idle time - the time can be set in multiples of one minute using the menu:

The lock screen is very well-done; it covers up all on-screen data. As Advanced Device Locks supports numeric unlock codes only, unlocking the phone is painless even on a t9 multitap phone:

Last but not least, Application-level locks can be used to protect specific apps from unauthorized use. For example, the bluetooth and IRDA applets can be ‘protected” so that the master password is needed in order to access them(even if the phone is unlocked):

This review looked at v1.06(67) of Advanced Device Locks on a Nokia N71. The program needs 108KB of RAM and must be installed into phone memory for security reasons.

Overall, Advanced Device Locks is the king of automatic locking programs for S60 phones - and it’s the one I use. The program is small, stable and does an excellent job at keeping your phone’s data safe(even the data currently on screen) - if you have important data on your phone, use the discount code SAVEME to get 20% off this must-have title in the TamsShop!

Engadget has managed to get a Motorola Z10 into its hands after its official release. The pictures show little more than we already knew before; it looks like this is the silver version we saw at the Smartphone Show rather than a black version - the blackness of the pictures at their web site IMHO caused by the ambient light.

Engadget states that the device will probably not be released in the states, but goes on to praise the touchscreenless user interface.

For me, this does not come as a surprise - but should IMHO not be seen as an invitation to bet one’s house on touchscreenless UIQ devices. The industry currently is abuzz about touchscreens; rumors of touchscreened devices from Motorola have already materialized.

If you have a spare developer hour or two, a quick buck can probably made here due to the few applications available. However, I would not do any long-term investing here currently; as the plateau still is way too slippery for my taste(Cobalt, anyone?)…