1. Frankly, I’m excited to see news regarding Symbian^4 development and although it is still months away from release, the Foundation worked very hard to deliver it.

2. Designing UI is not easy. There are many considerations to be made. Furthermore, the trend nowadays is towards flashy, swooshy and elegant interfaces.

Video 1 – Homescreen Concept

Video 2 – Photo Gallery Concept

3. These are concepts. Symbian^4 is months away and changes will be implemented.

4. Lets just take them with a pinch of salt and dont be carried away ok

Cheers!

Where?

Kelantan Delights
1-5, Level 1, Sooka Sentral
Jalan Stesen Sentral
50470 Kuala Lumpur

When?

February 10th 2010 (Wednesday
5.00 to 7.00 PM

Who should come?
- Symbian users
- Symbian and other developers
- Symbian Enthusiasts
- If you are in KL or near KL
- Just for fun

What is the Agenda?
- Talk
- Eat
- Have fun!

Why I should come?
- Meet cool people
- Talk about Symbian and it’s ecosystem
- Discussing ideas to improve Symbian
- Have fun!

There will be some official SYMBIAN goodies up for grab for early birds. Come!!! Places are limited.

“I think the Kuala Lumpur Stammtisch is a great idea!” – Sebastian Brannstrom, Symbian Foundation.

More information about Symbian Stammtisch at : http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Symbian_Stammtisch

You can also follow the event’s progress on Facebook : First KLSS

If you are on Twitter (who doesnt?), watch out for the hashtag #klss

Note
===

1. KLSS – Kuala Lumpur Symbian Stammtisch is a community effort towards a more vibrant and active Symbian community in Malaysia in conjunction with Symbian Foundation’s continuous effort in getting more feedback from Symbian community all over the world.

2. We hope this first KLSS will be a landmark and history in promoting and bringing more awareness regarding Symbian’s open nature. Whether you are an individual or a company, you are welcomed to contribute and together building a global brand name with Symbian Foundation.

3. Thanks to Symbian Foundation, which fully supports this initiative. Lee Williams, Haydn Shaughnessy, Sebastian Brannstrom, Susana Posada, Lauren Sarno, Ashlee Godwin, Annabelle Cooke in which, this event wont be possible.

4. Should there be anyone who are willing to contribute to this event, please email me asri at i-symbian dot com.

1. If you are in KL you will be in KL in the very near future, something is cooking.

2. After reading a post by Sebastian Brannstrom at the official Symbian Foundation Blog, I thought, why not!!!

3. In the past few months, Symbian Stammtisch was held in London and I feel it would be interesting to answer to Sebastian’s call and I decided to organise one in KL.

4. I am currently getting some stuff together to organise the first KLSS (Kuala Lumpur Symbian Stammtisch), hopefully somewhere in early February.

5. I will post more details soon when things are shaping.

6. More information about Symbian Stammtisch can be found at :

http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Delivery_Team_Stammtisch

http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Stammtisch_Ideas

WATCH THIS SPACE!!!

“We want to make using your mobile for navigation as familiar as using it to send a text or take a picture. We believe that making the best maps with voice guided navigation available for free will be the catalyst to do this,” explained Vlasta Berka, General Manager, Nokia Singapore/Malaysia & Brunei. “Why have multiple devices that work in only one country or region? Put it all together, make it free, make it global and you have something that is truly useful and can help you get round almost any city in the world whether you’re on foot or driving.”

Five key features that sets Ovi Maps apart:

No hidden costs

The new version of Ovi Maps comes with all the maps and high-end, car grade navigation features you need for free and is yours to keep for the life of the smartphone. No additional licenses needed for extra countries, regions or services like traffic information or city guides. Data charges from network operators may apply.

Best global coverage

You take your mobile with you wherever you go in the world so, as standard, voice guided navigation for both pedestrians and drivers is available for 74 countries in 46 different languages and there are maps for over 180 countries. This gives you the best maps with the largest global coverage for free.

No network connection required when navigating

Avoid expensive, battery-draining network connections with Nokia’s unique hybrid technology. Maps can be pre-loaded on to your Nokia smartphone so you can set Ovi Maps to offline mode, saving battery power, and the navigation system will still work. This is particularly useful for those worried about data connection costs when travelling abroad or when you are travelling through areas with little or no network coverage.

Unique hybrid-graphics technology

Ovi Maps is built on an advanced technology called hybrid vector maps. Vector maps are high quality but less data intensive and allow you to continue to navigate even if you lose your network connection. This means that maps downloaded or updated across a network connection are about half the size of bulky bitmaps used by other mobile map providers. The hybrid technology ensures that, unlike other providers, any downloaded map data is stored on the device for future use.

Voice guidance & traffic information

Turn-by-turn, voice guided navigation comes free for both drivers and pedestrians. For drivers this includes lane assistance, traffic information, safety camera and speed warnings. For pedestrians this includes shortcuts through parks and pedestrian-only zones for over 100 cities around the world as well as 6000 3D landmarks in over 200 cities to help you find exactly where you are.

Ovi Maps is immediately available for download for 10 Nokia handsets, including the popular Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia E72, with more Nokia smartphones expected to be added in the coming weeks. In the meantime, current owners of Nokia smartphones that are compatible with the new Ovi Maps can download it free of charge from www.nokia.com/maps.

Current list of compatible Nokia devices: Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition, Nokia E52, Nokia E55, Nokia E72, Nokia 5230, Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia 6730 classic and Nokia X6. For the latest device list, please go to http://www.nokia.com/maps.

Data transmission charges may apply. Please contact network operator for information about the data transmission charges.

My note :
———-
1. The move is seen as aggressively countering Google’s free navigation on Android (Droid & Milestone)
2. With this announcement, nokia will become the biggest mobile satnav operator in the world with over 50 million devices
3. One question, will Ovi Maps’ API open for developers to integrate with other applications?

1. Here is the link to the product page : Vivaz

2. It was known as Kurara when the prototype photos leaked.

3. The specification looks great.

4. Enjoy some videos of Vivaz!

1. I received a VIP invitation yesterday to a Nokia online event which is scheduled to be online today (January 21st 2010) at 6.30 pm my local time.

2. I dont know whether it will be related to Symbian or not. My hunch tells me it will be something about Ovi and also Symbian^3. I might be wrong though…

3. If you visit http://events.nokia.com/countdown, there’s a countdown timer, with some bloggers’ name on it. And my name is also there

4. At the time of writing this post, I have to wait another 4 hours… Anybody knows what will be announced?

5. It is killing me!

2. Opera Mobile 10 Beta 2 has been updated to Build 353. If you are using an older version, you can check the Build number by entering opera:about in the address bar.

3. According to a forum post at Opera Community, the new Build adds S60 native input, much like typing on other S60 applications and it does support T9.

4. The full forum post is reproduced here :

Update to Opera Mobile 10 beta 2 available with S60 native input support

We have now released an updated beta 2 release for S60 with full native input support (also known as FEP support). This means that when typing in Opera Mobile 10, you can use any input mode that is supported on your phone, in the same way as when e.g. typing text messages.

Get the Opera Mobile 10 beta 2 update from www.opera.com/mobile/download , or go to m.opera.com/next/ with your mobile phone. As before, remember to choose the International version if you want support for Asian characters.

Supporting different input types and methods is a complex matter, so we’d appreciate your feedback to improve this further for the next release. Please post all input-related feedback in this thread!
And thanks again for all your valuable input so far

Known issues:
-Not all input modes have a visual indicator.
-For some devices with non-latin input mode, you need to manually set the input language to English to input a web address in the address bar.
-On touch devices, the enter key does not work as an action key. For cases where an action is required (e.g. when adding a bookmark folder), we recommend using the Opera keyboard (available from advanced settings).
-Cut in context menu does not work on keypad devices.
-Some issues when using predictive input in the url field.

5. I have tested it on my E63, and it is very easy to use. To paste text (URL) from the clipboard into the address bar, just highlight the address bar, press and hold the OK (D-Pad center) and a context menu with “Paste” will appear. Really useful!

6. Have you used this latest version yet? If yes, what is your opinion?

7. Point your browser to http://www.opera.com/mobile/download/ or http://m.opera.com/next to download it.

2. “We will continue to invest in Symbian as our dominant smart-phone platform in the foreseeable future,” said Nokia Chief Executive Olli Pekka-Kallasvuo.

3. “Let me be clear. Symbian is our platform of choice. Today, and in the future,” added Dr. Kai Oistamo, Nokia Executive Vice President, Devices.”

4. During the presentation from Dr. Kai Oistamo, some screenshot mockups of what is to be believed as the redesigned Symbian^3 UI made an appearance. You can view the video HERE.

5. AllAboutSymbian and Engadget did some coverage and pretty much summed everything up.

6. I want to share what I think of the new mockup. I understand this doesnt mean anything because what we see now are only mockups and designs. Not the real thing running on real hardware and available for public. But what the heck I am excited to see Symbian’s overhauled.

Symbian^3 UI Multiple Home Screens

My comment
- Probably, this is Symbian^3. It does look similar to the current homescreen implementation on Nokia N97 and N97 Mini (both are Symbian^1).
- The little dots at the bottom of the screen indicates the multiple screens and which one is displayed.
- The left softkey area is still labelled as “Options” and the right softkey is labelled “Calls”. Meaning it is still using design reference from S60.

Concept - Probably Symbian^4 UI Home Screen Landscape

Concept - Probably Symbian^4 UI Home Screen Portrait

My comment
- This looks like a new home screen for Symbian^4.
- Notice how the battery and network indicator are placed together on the top-left to optimise screen real estate and give space to Application launcher (aka S60 Menu), and a dropdown arrow which indicates a sensitive context menu which will change according to applications.
- The widgets on the home screen also looks more organic and blends with the system. They comes in different sizes and shapes and different levels of transparency. This, together with the multiple home screens reminds me a lot of Maemo 5 on N900

Concept - Probably Symbian^4 UI Photo Gallery Portrait

Concept - Probably Symbian^4 UI Photo Gallery Landscape

My comments
- The photo gallery shows some interesting concepts. Notice the “Back” button on the top right? It reminisce me of UIQ 3′s back button
- The Application launcher shortcut is not displayed. Probably to make more space.
- There’s also a dropdown arrow next to the “Back” button, probably will be used to host options and menu.
- 4 shortcuts to the most used functions are present. This includes sharing, or posting it to online services. Meaning direct access without digging into menu.
- The display is also optimised and you can see photos inside photo for easy browsing and jumping from one photo to another.
- The landscape screenshot mockup shows the battery and network indocator are grouped together to the left of the screen and the 4 shortcuts.

Concept - Probably Symbian^4 UI Music Album Browser

Concept - Probably Symbian^4 UI Video Player

My comments
- The music player looks like implementing the popular Coverflow idea made famous by Apple
- This kind of thing require more powerful graphics technology. I guess, Symbian’s Screenplay is used.
- The Video player, also has some special laver for controlling buttons. Probably the controls only appear when the video is paused or when the screen is touched.
- I’m not saying this is good or bad but designing a new and intuuitive and iconic User Interface is not an easy thing to do. Nokia, among others, should be applauded with its effort in redesigning Symbian’s UI.

Final thought
1. It’s great to see Nokia emphasizing on it’s long term Symbian support

2. From the mockups, there’s not much to be excited. But I can see some design consistencies and unified philosophy. This is important to make the UI consistent in all aspects.

3. Again, please bear in mind that what we see now are just mockups. From now to the end of 2010, there’s a plenty of time and things may change.

4. These mockups are showing touch screen UI only. Which is great but I think, there are many things that Nokia and Symbian have not revealed to us public.

5. I believe Nokia and Symbian are also cooking a new UI for non-touch smartphones.

Oh my… The next 1 year gonna be very interesting with regards to the Symbian world…

- Asri al-Baker

2. Lo and behold! New E63 firmware v400.21.013 is there!

3. I dont need to backup my data because all my PIM and important stuff are kept somewhere in the cloud. I also keep the sis & sisx installation files for my favourite applications inside the memory card. Nothing to worry

4. Then I took the plunge and hit the updatee button, using my wife’s Vista laptop. It took me less than half an hour to complete the process.

5. After the update, I noticed the following applications are included in the Installation folder :-

- Ovi Contacts (non-removable). The previous firmware also included Ovi Contacts
- Files On Ovi (removable)
- Ovi Store (removable)
- Nokia Messaging Chat (removable)

6. And these widget (link to mobile websites) scattered all over the places :

- Youtube
- Facebook
- My Space

7. Nokia Messaging Email (v9.5 – not the latest version, if you download from http://email.nokia.com, the latest version is 9.6) is also included as well as Mail For Exchange. However, I didnt install them because I use RoadSync.

8. Nokia Podcasting and Internet Radio are still there. But I havent got chance to test them yet.

9. Overall, the performance is improved. I noticed, it’s slightly faster. RAM is also improved (not that E63 suffers lack of RAM in previous firmware, it’s RAM is a lot). And general operations is also smoother.

10. After startup, the amount of free RAM is around 74MB which is huge. It goes down to around 70MB after the phone fully loads all the processes in the background.

11. I love it! You know why? Because this mean E63 is still supported and not left rusty. Thank you Nokia!

12. Have you updated your E63 yet? What is your experience?

-Asri al-Baker

2. Yes, there are some third party applications which can connect to facebook. J2ME (like Snaptu) and also native (Gravity). But until now, S60 3rd Edition users are left with almost NO choice for real facebook application that integrates well with S60.

3. The facebook Widget was previously available for S60 5th Edition touchscreen smartphones (N97 & 5800) but today, it is also made available for S60 3rd Edition FP1 & FP2 non-touch which supports WRT, specifically for E71 & E72!!!

4. Other S60 3rd Edition devices are not supported at the moment. Hopefully more devices will be supported in the near future. BUT… I MANAGED TO INSTALL IT ON MY E63!!!

5. I am very excited now, and really liked the interface. But since it’s developed using WRT, it’s not as smooth as a native application in some parts. But the UI is consistent. The menu is logically placed and most importantly, IT REALLY WORKS!!!

6. There’s a Home button where you can view the latest newsfeeds from your Facebook friends. There’s also a Profile button, Friends, Photo gallery, and Inbox. Just move the your phone’s D-Pad right and left to jump from one button to another.

7. Updating status is also possible. And another cool function is the ability to upload photos either from the device’s storage or take new ones. Cool eh!

8. You can post comments to your friend’s status as well BUT, you CANNOT Like any comments. Lets hope it will be included in the future version.

9. I cant wait to use it more. For the time being, enjoy some screenshots!!!

10. Have you tried this new widget and what do you think? Is it cool?…  What are the things that you dont like about it?

11. Get this cool widget from Ovi Store now!!!

- Asri al-Baker