TamsS60 - the S60 Blog

Nokia’s Snake SubSonic recently got a very lukewarm review - thus, the team decided to release a free theme compatible with all S60v3 handsets(even with handsets that can’t run the game itself). Does it stack up on a N71?

At first glance, the theme looks stunning:

Unfortunately, the “Settings” app of my N71 didn’t get skinned:

Nokia’s Skinning team made a huge mistake. The gradients do all the way to black - since many system dialog boxes use black fonts, the bottom part of the text becomes unreadable:

The theme takes 3771KB of memory when installed(and is unsigned - apparently, not even the folks at Nokia’s feel a need for app signage). Unfortunately, Nokia provides a zip file only - it can be downloaded here.

In the end, the theme looks lovely - but fails the every-day usability test. The mistake with the gradients is unforgivable even for a freeware theme: sorry, but Nokia definitely can do better.

Arkanoid, the game of paddle+ball+brick, has always been a very popular game ever since Taito made it popular with its famous Arkanoid of DOH series. S60 has had its fair share of Arkanoids over the years…and MobileStream’s Meteor Breakout wants to be the best. But can it stack up?

Meteor’s interface is very well-done. The splash screen takes you to a level selection toggle, where one of the nine available campaigns can be chosen:

After starting a game, one immediately notices the creativity of the game designers. Levels look really cool, and none is similar to the one before it. The engine supports a huge variety of brick types, leading to a very interesting overall gameplay experience:

A variety of powerups is available to spice up the game like in every other Arkanoid clone. For all who are new to Arkanoid, a powerup changes the behavior of the paddle if you touch it.

The variety of powerups is astonishing. For example, there are two different ’shoot’ powerups and three ball modifiers - more than I ever saw before:

Meteor’s levels are spiced up with enemies that can be destroyed by hitting them a few times with a ball. Some enemies survive more than one hit, and some of them even fire back:

Last but not least, the game has excellent sound effects. Unfortunately, the excellent background music seen in the Palm OS version was removed due to space constraints - mobile-stream is ready to reimplement it if sufficient demand turns up.

This review looked at version 1.4 of Meteor on a Nokia N71. The game was stable in the testing period, it needs 1848KB of memory and can be run from an external memory card.

Overall, congratulations to MobileStream. Meteor Breakout is the new king of Arkanoid clones for the S60. The game has extremely interesting gameplay and looks damn cool - a must have for every Arkanoid lover with an S60 phone…

Meteor costs 14.95$ in the TamsPalm store. Use the discount code ARKANOIDNOW to get 20% off the price for a week!

As expected, a WiMax version of the N810 internet tablet has debuted - here is a stock image of the box:

The color of the device was changed to black - that’s all that can be discerned from the outside. On the inside, nothing seems changed either except for the addition of WiMax - and a operating system update that also is available for the N800 and N810:

Also being introduced with the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition is the newest Internet Tablet operating system. This new upgraded OS2008 introduces useful new features to the platform, including an enhanced e-mail client, support for Chinese character rendering in the browser and RSS feeds and Seamless Software Update functionality to eliminate manual software updates, making periodic updates of the operating system quick and easy. While standard on the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition, current owners of Nokia N810 and N800 Internet Tablets with earlier operating systems will be able to upgrade their device to the revised operating system for free during the second quarter of 2008.

P.S. The folks at Engadget have a few hands-on shots…

On my dual-screen workstation, I permanently have task manager open in order to show me how much of my CPU capacity is being used. With S60 being a multitasking OS, compiling similar numbers should be ultra-easy…but my task manager’s programmer apparently didn’t find it worth the effort. Can CpuMonitor satisfy me?

Once the application is started, it starts to draw a chart showing CPU and RAM usage. Unfortunately, the time base cannot be changed:

The image below shows Resco Neeews starting up and updating a few feeds. Interestingly, the program does not show free but rather used memory - a higher line means less free memory:

Last but not least, the application also shows the CPU type and its frequency:

This review looked at version 1.10 of the program on a Nokia N71. It needs 73KB of memory and can be installed onto an external memory card. The program’s Chinese homepage(you can’t find anything here) is here, version 1.10 can be downloaded from tamoggemon.com for your convenience.

In the end, CpuMonitor is an absolute must-have for every power user. If you don’t have this cool bit of freeware on your phone right now, get it from the link above. What are you waiting for?

Use the discount code CHEAPWRITE3 in the TamsShop for a 20% rebate on the list price!
Entering texts on devices with MultiTap keyboards has always been a royal pain in the butt - even the oh-so-famous T9 utility cannot change much about this. MobileSystem’s QuickWrite plans to do something different in order to speed up your typing - instead of forcing you to enter a full word and then guess what you meant, their application lets you enter the first letters and tries to guess the rest. Can it stack up?

After installing the application, you are presented with a slightly confusing screen asking you to choose a “text engine”. A text engine is a special “driver program” that converts key presses into characters - AknFEP is the default S60 one, while QuickWrite is MobiSystem’s improved version:

Once QuickWrite is the active text engine, various settings can be configured in a fashion similar to the various Settings panels of the operating systems:

QuickWrite can be enabled/disabled via the Shift key(#) - if it is enabled, three horizontal lines are shown next to the input mode indicator:

Here’s an example of the program in use:

After having tested QuickWrite in the Note Pad, I decided to torture it a bit with Opera - no issues whatsoever. Entering long URL’s and other stuff not contained in the dictionary is no problem whatsoever - you just keep on typing and ignore the suggestion box:

This review looked at QuickWrite v2.50 on a Nokia N71. The program needs approximately 2MB of RAM and CAN NOT be installed onto an external memory card.

In the end, QuickWrite is a true must-have for every MultiTap-keyboarded device. While the price of 30$ before our discount looks a bit hefty, rest assured that it is worth every penny if you enter a lot of text. Save yourself time and frustration - get the free trial and see if you can live without it(hint: you can’t).

When I began testing the N71’s LED flash, I was very disappointed with its range. However, further testing has made me think about using it as a torch - a feature that some Samsung phones have had years ago. Since Nokia omitted that feature from the N71, I was full of hope that NiceLight helps…but can it?

NiceLight’s menu is very simple. You click the desired choice, and get a screen announcing what the phone does:

Keeping the screen backlight up was a no-brainer - but the program’s developers apparently had a different perception of the meaning of camera LED. For them, camera LED means the useless red thingy that lights up whenever the N71 is filming:

As an added bonus, the product also contains a ‘night clock’ mode. It keeps the backlight on(at a configurable level) and displays a clock. While this can be useful for some, I recommend everyone with insomnia or other sleep problems to refrain from using it:

This review looked at version 1.0 of NiceLight on a Nokia N71. The program needs whooping 506 KB of memory and can luckily be run from an external memory card.

In the end, I am a very disappointed with. The white flash LED of my N71 can emit significantly brighter and stronger light bursts than the small red video LED used by NiceLight. The program basically is a night clock combined with a program that keeps the backlight on permanently(which is decently useful on my N71, but can probably also be achieved by pressing a key repeatedly). Get the free trial to find out if the app is worth its asking price of 9$…

Back in the age of the Siemens SX1, file managers for S60 devices were dime a dozen. When S60v3 came along, many manufacturers stopped to maintain their applications due to Symbian refusing to certify file managers for the ‘allfiles’ capability giving access to system folders. Lonely Cat Games’s X-plore is one of the few file managers still around - can it beat Nokia’s included one?

After starting up X-plore for the first time, the product displays its tree view interface. Unlike Nokia’s included file manager, X-plore always shows the full directory tree….a big plus:

Most ‘advanced’ operations are launched from the main menu accessible with the left soft key:

X-plore truly excels at handling zip archives. Zip archives are treated as ‘folders’ - and can be created easily on the go:

The program can also search for files(it always searches the contents of the currently selected folder):

An unique concept called ‘Favorite folders’ allows you to define folders that you frequently use. You can then visit them via the menu - without having to traverse the entire file system:

Incoming files can be analyzed by using the ‘messaging’ option:

Hidden/System files can be masked or shown:

Last but not least, the program features Lonely Cat’s classic scalable user interface - changing the size of the font affects the whole application:

This review looked at version 1.20 of X-plore on a Nokia N71. The program needs 416KB of memory and can be installed to an external memory card.

In the end, X-plore is an excellent file manager and can be considered a must-have for power users. The zip support alone is worth the small price of 10€; the additional features and excellent UI make managing files pleasant. Get this app now - you will not regret it!

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!

As the cost per SMS has begun to droop lower and lower, SMS spam starts to become a significant problem for many users. Webgate’s SMS Spam Manager promises to be a spam filter for your S60 phone’s short messaging service inbox - can it stack up?

The Active Mode toggle allows you to configure he filter mode. The program can accept or block all incoming messages. Additionally, it can accept SMS only from people in the phonebook - or use a filter list:

Filters can be set up using the Rules tab. Filters can target specific phone numbers, number ranges(e.g. no calls from Zimbabwe for me) or specific text passages in the message body(e.g. no SMS from the ex for me):

SMS Spam Manager can lock itself as a “system service’, and can automatically start whenever your phone is powered up. Additionally, it can display a small icon whenever it is active:

Incoming spam messages are absorbed silently - they can be analyzed in the log tab. False positives can be moved to the inbox manually:

This review looked at version 1.05(70) of SMS Spam Manager on a Nokia N71. The program needs 121KB of RAM and can be installed onto a memory card.

In the end, WebGate’s SMS Spam Manager is a killer tool against all kinds of SMS spam. Should your phone ever come under attack, get this application by all means. The price of 10$ is a small fee to pay for total peace of mind…

A recent case of personal data being stolen off one of my mobile devices has made me think about ways to protect the data on them. While my Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices have had some sort of data guard right from delivery, my S60 phone still cannot lock itself after a short period of inactivity. Phone Guardian is marketed as universal security suite - but can it stack up?

After installing Phone Guardian, a master password must be set. This password is then needed for all Guardian operations - it must not be lost under any circumstances:

The application’ main menu is modeled after a Settings panel - most of the options are relevant only for the theft-protection features:

The item at the very bottom of the list allows you to specify a ‘timeout’; after which the phone gets locked automatically. Unfortunately, time is measured in hh:mm - and the shortest lock interval is a minute.

When the phone is idle for the specified time, a password entry dialog is popped up over the currently-running application. While this dialog does a great job at blocking the arsonist from interacting with the phone; the data currently on-screen is left unprotected:

Phone Guardian can also be remote-controlled by sending SMS to the mobile phone, allowing you to find the phone’s current location,…. The program also keeps you updated whenever the SIM card in your phone is changed.

Last but not least, Phone Guardian contains a very detailed help system explaining both local and remote operations in considerable detail:

This review looked at version 2.0 of the program on a Nokia N71. It must be installed to RAM by all means, taking up 200KB of storage space.

Overall, Phone Guardian does lock your phone automatically after some delay. While the autolock system definitely still has its quirks(e.g. long minimum time; password dialog); it nevertheless manages to keep your phone safe. As for the thief-tracking features…while I am not sure of their practical value against professionals(they format phones IMHO); they definitely can help tracking down semiprofessional arsonists. The price of 13$ is well-invested money; especially considering all the phone numbers, private messages and photos/videos on your phone!