TamsS60 - the S60 Blog

A German web site called NokiaPort.de has uploaded the following image claiming it to be a fake:

I personally do not know how to classify it; as the folks at NokiaPort aren’t quite sure about what to do with it. However, the following things speak for the image’s authenticity:

The c button
The C button has a weird little distortion at the right side. This reminds me of my N71’s keys - the text on the keys eventually rubs off…especially on a prototype device!

Lens distortions
Looking at the black bottom rim, one can clearly see orange color abberations - this could well mean that we are looking at a real device.

As no similar Nokia device currently is on the market and the E65 is being sold off, it’s very probable that this is a real device. But - as said - no confirmation for now…

Fake or not? Please let us know!

Developers who read OpenSource code sometimes probably know the SDL - cutting a long story short, the SDL is a multimedia library that is intended for easy porting. Once SDL is ported to a new platform, porting SDL-based applications is very easy(if the rest of the code is portable).

Anyways, S60 developers are now in luck if the information on this web site is correct - the rather bold promise is as following:

S60 SDL is a Simple DirectMedia Layer adaptation for S60. SDL is a cross-platform multimedia library: Applications and libraries built on SDL can easily be ported to another operating systems. Usage of S60 SDL is not restricted to porting; S60 multimedia applications can be implemented without deep knowledge of Symbian C++ native API and a developer can use SDL and standard C interfaces. The SDL development supports both Nokia OpenC and Symbian stdlib (ESTLIB) C implementations.

With S60 SDL it is possible to port applications to S60 without a single code change. However S60 SDL has a special S60 API that makes integration to mobile platform easier. In practice S60 devices usually has a small screen and limited input posibilities, and CSDL interface helps to do adaptation without changes to the original code base.

The S60 SDL supports OpenGL ES development. Its possible to create SDL Surface for OpenGL ES content and manage that with SDL’s platform independent OpenGL API. In S60 devices that dont have hardware accelerated OpenGL, a software rendered is used automatically.

Anyone of you has further information? Please let us know!

Before we start this article: I am not an enemy of UIQ by any means. However, I come from the Palm OS side - and have seen platforms die before. For me, it looks like UIQ is going down - Palm OS Cobalt also looked beautiful on the draftboard!

UIQ Technology has recently released a new version of UIQ 3.3 - the basic tenor seems to be about hitting the mass market. It is said to be better compatible with Carrier’s certification process; and also brings along a consistent 5way navigation.

The company also hopes that this release will unite the “forks” between the versions UIQ 3.0(used by Sony Ericsson) and 3.1/3.2(used by Motorola) - UIQ 3.3 is said to be software-compatible with existing applications.

So far, so good. But who is left in the UIQ boat:
Motorola
Motorola currently offers two touchscreenless devices running UIQ - namely the now-dead Z8 and the Z10. A touchscreen device was rumored a few months ago, but was not heard from since. Things generally look dull inside of the big M; especially seeing that the company plans to split off its cellphone division.

Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson - once manufactured lovely cutting-edge UIQ phones. However, the current high-end models are starting to get old, and the Windows Mobile powered XPERIA is more-less round the corner.

The current UIQ lineup consists of consumer-centric devices that IMHO will not generate much third party software sales - developers should not expect much here.

Where do you think that UIQ is heading? Please let us know!

In case anyone of you is interested in any of the three devices mentioned in the title - they are all available for less than 300$ as of this writing:

Motorola Z8
In case you feel adventurous and want to put your bets on non-touchscreened UIQ devices now that Motorola has broken up, Amazon Austria currently sells these boxen for just 250€.

Nokia E65
The E65 is a rather solid Nokia S60 phone - take a grab at the shops below:

Amazon AT: 270€
Expansys US: 299$

Sony Ericsson m600i
Last but not least, the classic m600i(UIQ, touchscreen) is now available again. While the prices aren’t quite as low as they were some time ago, the box still is affordably priced at just 230$ at Expansys’s.

All egoshooter fans with a S60V3 FP1 device(nope, my N71 is out of the game) will rejoice - they can now enjoy the virtues of Quake and Quake II on the go.

People owning devices with an ARMv6 CPU and at least 28MB of free storage RAM can download the game; it comes in a hardware-rendered and a software-rendered version. N95-users are advised to stay clear from the hardware-rendering version as it needs too much memory..

Last but not least, here are two screenshots that the developer made on an N95 8GB - they show the software and hardware-accelerated versions next to one another(the developer did not state which is which):

Get the program here:
http://koti.mbnet.fi/hinkka/index.html

P.S: Got it running? Failed? Please let us know - commenting is free and anonymous!

The folks at TheNokiaBlog have reported that the 6620 has just cleared the FCC - this means that the device could ship to the USA any time.

Get the full scoop(and a few photos of the pink 6220 the FCC analyzed) here:
http://thenokiablog.com/2008/03/23/nokia-6220-classic-passes-fcc-approval-why-not-an-nseries-phone/

Here’s the latest bit of news on cutting-edge S60 devices:

Samsung G810
While we already handled the Samsung G810 at the CeBit, we didn’t have an opportunity to perform a full review so far. The folks at GSMArena already got their box and made a review - enjoy:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_g810-review-231.php

Nokia N96
Mobile-Review’s review of the N96 has now been translated to English - enjoy:
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/nokia-n96-en.shtml

Finally, someone has managed to give Nokia phones support for DNG/RAW capture. For all those of you new to the term, a DNG or RAW file is an exact copy of the information found in the sensor - which allows for further flexibility when “interpreting” the image on a scitex workstation.

Anyways, visit Tea Vui Huang’s web site to download a Java application that lets you capture RAW files.

P.S. The folks at Symbian-Freak have a somewhat detailed writeup about the program.

The folks at Mobile-Review.com have yet again managed to make the impossible possible - and bring along a review of the yet-unreleased Nokia N96. Even though the review’s text is all Russian as of now(an English translation is likely to follow soon); definitely give them a click for a few awesome pictures:

http://www.mobile-review.com/review/nokia-n96.shtml

People who have followed our sister site TamsPalm have witnessed a lot of controller reuse in the past - now, two Austrian students from the University of Applied Sciences Hagenberg have decided to take it all one step further.

Their program mobiPad allows you to link up your S60 phone with a Nintendo Wii controller via bluetooth - and then use that controller to interact with a game of your choice. The folks tested their program with S60 Quake, Doom Legacy and vBag; but promise compatibility with all “well-written” programs and games.

In case you are interested - pay them a visit here:
http://www.mobi-pad.com/info.html