ArcSoft, CleNET Technologies, fring™, Google, i-skoot and Mobica are new partners in the UIQ Alliance Partner Program. The agreements basically mean that UIQ Technology will support the partner companies in their development of mobile applications and services on UIQ and Symbian OS for future product releases. The new partners are given access to UIQ roadmap updates, joint marketing, technical support and also have the option to receive early access to UIQ releases.
After announcement of Android, Google has tied up with UIQ. It seems Google is aggressively participating in Mobile domain.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Google's entry in Symbian
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
N95 as mouse!!
NiiMe is a software programed in Python that use the accelerometers built in a few mobile phones (like N95, 5500, ...). Using this software, one can use N95 as mouse :)
To get this software you only need to install Python for S60 in your phone, a bluetooth adapter and the NiiMe software in your PC. This software is under the GNU/GPL license.
Video demonstrations are available here.
You can download application here.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
S60 Programming Competition
Forum Nokia has launched a new competition for S60 developers. There will be a new programming challenge on a monthly basis and the best solutions will be awarded.
For discussion visit Forum Nokia's newest discussion board.
Problem for January:S60 supports multiple different runtimes and programming languages. The aim in this months competion is to come up with the glue that combines different runtimes. We're asking you to design and implement a framework that unifies the S60 runtimes. The goal is intercommunication of runtimes (f.ex. Symbian C++, Java, Flash, Python, Web Runtimes, you name it…). With this kind of runtime interaction it is possible to access totally new features and re-use existing solutions in a manner that is unheard of. Please provide us with your framework implementation and also atleast one working example of runtimes interworking. If you don't have time to implement all the needed parts let us know your ideas and planned design to score more points in the contest.
The January's competion is open until 15th of February (15.2.2008) and we hope to have the best solutions published by the end of February.
See the contest web site for Contest Rules and Informtion
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Samsung: World's No. 2 handset maker
Samsung Electronics were known for bad news - alleged bribery scheme implicating powerful sectors of the country's society, and its money-spinning memory-chip business is in the worst slump in five years. Now here is good news for Samsung. With Motorola struggling for more than a year, Samsung overtook its American rival in 2007 to become the world's second-largest handset maker after Nokia
New Strategy
Samsung's new strategy is to make cheap phones to target emerging markets like India, China. Another reason for its success its changes in supply chain management. Samsung changed it to provide real-time information on which products are selling and where, so marketers could redirect shipments to the markets where demand is strongest.
Racing for No.1 position in Europe
In Europe, Samsung is closing the gap as well, and it even rose to No. 1 in France in October, with a 33.9% share vs. Nokia's 22.6%. It also chalked up gains in Britain, Germany, and Italy from the beginning of this year, data from researcher GFK show.
If it keeps going, Samsung's challenge of Nokia's dominance might not be far off.
NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge
NAVTEQ, a global leader in premium-quality digital map data, invites Asia-Pacific’s most talented developers and entrepreneurs to enter the premier event in the wireless location-based services (LBS) industry. Since its inception in 2003, the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge has dared developers to build innovative LBS applications that work with mobile phones and/or wireless handheld devices using dynamic positioning technology and NAVTEQ® map data.
This is the first time NAVTEQ will bring a dedicated Global LBS Challenge event to the Asia-Pacific region, in addition to The Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa).
This year’s NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge features a global prize pool valued at $3 million (US) in cash, map data licenses, sponsor licenses and services, and mobile devices. Winners are chosen by a panel of distinguished judges comprised of executives from wireless carriers, handset manufacturers and venture capitalists.
Eight previous Global LBS Challenge participants have received venture capital funding
Nine past Global LBS Challenge winners have launched commercial applications on major wireless carriers, including Verizon Wireless and Sprint.
Registration for Asia-Pacific is open from 29 October 2007 to 29 February 2008. An awards ceremony announcing Asia-Pacific winners will be held at CommunicAsia in June 2008 in Singapore.
Enter to win the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge in any of five categories (upon registration, we can help you decide which category is right for your application):
To register or for more information, visit www.LBSChallenge.com or email info@LBSChallenge.com. This is your program. And, yes, this could be your year. |
Important Dates:
APAC
29 October 2007
APAC Registration Opens
29 February 2008
APAC Registration Closes
28 March 2008
APAC Solution Submissions Due
23-24 April 2008
APAC Semifinal Judging
18 June 2008
APAC NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony, Asia-Pacific - CommunicAsia, Singapore
Monday, January 14, 2008
Touch Me Not!!
As expected, everybody wants to be iPhone lately.
Recently motorola announced their ROKR E8 phone at CES 2008. It's a touch-driven phone. The coolest feature that I found is that it doesn't have a physical keyboard, but it dynamically shows always the relevant keys based on what feature/program is being used at the moment.
Nokia has recently submitted another patent application for multi-touch user interface. It's named Nokia S60 Touch.
Key highlights for S60 touch interface will include:
- It will be able to support devices with and without keyboard, stylus and finger inputs
- It will provide tactile feedback via haptics technologies
- The interface will be multilingual with support Asian languages as well
- Advanced sensor framework and UI acceleration toolkit will be provided for developers for easier adoption
- Multiple gestures will be supported. Possibility for users and developers to customize them provided
- It will be backwards compatible with older S60 applications
- Embedded Flash Lite 3 for desktop like video experience
- First products with touch support will become available in 2008
Off course, Microsoft doesn't want to lag behind in this race. It is doing the same thing with its Windows Mobile 7 version.
Where is Android?
You can get full technical details from Unwired View.
Nokia patent is available here.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Shotgun damaged E90 is sold on ebay...any takers?
Sometimes I come across some funny articles. And here is one of them:
I can't believe this guy damaged his E90 with shotgun :O
Yes! He has killed his E90 :P
Interestingly, it is sold on ebay. Funny part is still not over. If you see this page closely, you can also see E90 specifications mentioned on it. God knows what I am going to do with those details, if I can't use a shot-gun damaged mobile phone.
ShakerRacer - control cars by N95 accelerometer
In racing games to play RC cars, one needs game controller or keyboard..........na you actually need N95 :)
Yes! using ShakerRacer application, one can control RC cars
How does it work:
The car used is based on a standard €90 RC car bought from a toy shop. We modded it to accept Bluetooth instead of the proprietary wireless module that it was shipped with. A small microcontroller and a Bluetooth module replace the original wireless components. On the side of the mobile phone, a Python script translates the input of the acceleration sensor to commands that the microcontroller can understand in order to manage the steering servo as well as the main motor.
Demo:
First UIQ v3.2 phone is launched!
Motorola has just officially announced the MOTO Z10, an upgrade to the Z8 and the first phone based on UIQ 3.2. Compared to Z8, the Z10 has HSDPA (3.6 Mbps), support for up to 32 GB microSD cards (in addition to 90 MB of internal storage memory), 3.2 Megapixel camera (3 shots per second) with 30 fps video recording (QVGA only though) and a video editing software preinstalled. Sadly, the specs do not mention any trace of WiFi, so most probably it's still not there. This dual mode, quadband phone (UMTS 2100, HSDPA 3.6Mbps Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE Class 12) weighs 115 g and measures 109x15.5 / 16.5mm and retains Z8's "banana" design. Li-Ion 1030 mAh battery provides approximately 5 hours of 3G talk time, 5 hours of video playback and 12 hours of music playback. 2.2" QVGA 16 million colors TFT display provides 30 frames per second video playback. Read more @ Motorola.com and UIQ.com. Learn more about UIQ 3.2 here.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Ask the Expert about Symbian Platform Security, manufacturing grantable capabilities and Java verified.
Forum Nokia has taken initiatives to resolve developers issues regarding new symbian signing process, if any. It is going to devote one week to answering questions on a specific topic on our discussion boards.
So if you have any questions about Symbian Platform Security, manufacturer grantable capabilities and Java signing please ask them. However, Symbian Signed questions are to be asked at the web site set up for Sybmian Signed questions and not in Forum Nokia.
A new complete guide explaining the changes to Symbian Signed and the signing process is also available.
World's First In-Flight Mobile Phone Service on Board International Flights is launched!
Finally dream comes true for Air France. Air France has become the first airline in the world to offer an in-flight mobile phone service on international flights. At the beginning of new year, frequent air-travelers have good news.....they can use mobiles in airplane :-) Currently OnAir supports 2.5 G so data transfer may not be fast. We hope they will upgrade to 3G very soon.
What can passenger do?
Using to the Mobile OnAir system, passengers travelling on board one of the Airbus A318 aircraft operating European routes can now:
- Send and receive sms and mms messages
- Send and receive emails via all phones with Internet access
How does it work?
- Mobile phones connect to a miniature cellular network installed inside this aircraft.
A modem transmits data and calls to a satellite that routes them to a ground station. Data and calls are then routed to the passenger’s usual telephone network. This network is located inside the aircraft. Passengers’ mobile phones only emit at minimum power, which does not risk harming interference with aircraft avionics or ground telecoms network. - Phones are used just like on the ground. To make a call on board the aircraft, passengers simply dial the international prefix (+) or 00 + country code + full number (without the 0).
The cost of data exchanges are invoiced by the customers’ telephone operator and are comparable to those used for normal international mobile phone calls.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
NFC Forum Global Competition
The NFC Forum (www.nfc-forum.org), a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, today announced a call for entries for Touching the Future: NFC Forum Global Competition. In the competition, developers in a commercial track vie for the honor of having their solutions named "The Best NFC Service of the Year 2008," while a research track recognizes "The Most Innovative NFC Research Project of the Year 2008."
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a standards-based, short-range wireless connectivity technology that enables simple and safe two-way interactions among electronic devices. NFC technology allows consumers to perform contactless transactions, access digital content and connect devices with the simplicity of a single touch. NFC technology provides global interoperability of contactless identification and interconnection technologies.
Focusing on the theme "Innovation at Your Fingertips," the competition is intended to promote the development and deployment of innovative and exemplary NFC services. Entries will be judged on their innovation, commercial potential and usability, as well as quality of design and implementation. The competition's Organizing Committee is now accepting submissions; all final proposals must be received by February 15, 2008. Twenty finalists will be judged on April 29, 2008 at the NFC Developers Summit, held in Monaco during the WIMA event (www.wima.mc). The winners will be selected by a jury composed of professionals and experts from sponsoring companies. Entry fees are $150 per submission for commercial entrants, and $50 per submission for research entrants. Entry forms and competition details are available now from www.nfc-forum.org/competition.
"One of the most exciting things about NFC technology is how organizations are applying it to the broadest range of applications in new and imaginative ways," said Christophe Duverne, chairman of the NFC Forum. "This competition recognizes the top innovators in the world while supporting networking in the NFC community to exchange ideas and create new business models."
The competition is divided into two tracks: a Commercial Track for NFC services based on a business case; and a Research Track open to university students and research institutions.
Commercial Track submissions require a business case and prototype; entries will be evaluated on how successfully and innovatively their solutions meet the needs of key vertical market segments. Research Track submissions require a prototype and will be judged on creativity and innovativeness. The Pre-selection Committee will evaluate each entry, and 20 finalists will be announced on March 17, 2008. Each team of finalists will be asked to deliver a presentation and live demonstration at the WIMA event on April 29, 2008, after which the jury will vote to select first-, second- and third-place winners for each track.
Further details about the competition can be found at www.nfc-forum.org/competition.
Gold sponsors of the competition are NFC Forum members Nokia, Over-C and SCM Microsystems. Silver sponsors are NFC Forum members Inside Contactless, Innovision Research &Technology plc, Stollman E+V GmbH and WIMA. Sponsorship is open to both NFC Forum members and non-members. Sponsors may not enter the competition. Organizations interested in sponsoring the competition may contact sponsorship@nfc-forum.org.
Questions about the competition may be sent to competition@nfc-forum.org.
Reference: NFC Forum Global CompetitionSymbian Platform Security - hacked?
Well, I can't believe it, symbian security is hacked. First I thought it was the case only with Nokia phones but I saw application selling this hack on UIQ phones, too :0
We can learn about the big security vulnerability of our Nokia and Sony Ericsson Symbian 9 smartphones. We need to do following steps:
- Take an update firmware package (currently supported only by Nokia for S60 smartphones).
- Edit some part of it, where all those capabilities are listed that a user can grant to a 3rd party application upon installation.
- Update these capabilities.
- Flash this modified firmware.
I think we all now can watch DRM ontent for free on S60 devices like N95 or N73. This will be the big surprise for all content providers. Also we can browse all files in our smartphones including Private folders!
References:- Symbian Platform Security - Hacked?
- Goodbye S60 Platform Security, Hello CAPABILITIES!
- Exploring S60 with AllFiles
- Security Hack on UIQ
- Policy file on Symbian phones
- Hacking S60 3rd edition firmware - Unlimited permissions for untrusted midlets
Thursday, January 3, 2008
S60 3rd Edition SDK for Symbian OS, for C++, supporting Feature Pack 2, Beta
An Extensions plug-in for S60 3rd Edition SDK for Symbian OS, for C++, supporting Feature Pack 2, Beta is released. Details about the content of this package as well as example applications can be found in Forum Nokia's Wiki page for the SDK API Plug-in.
PLEASE NOTICE THE FOLLOWING ISSUES WITH THESE APIs:
1. Nokia is not giving any binary compatibility promise for these APIs; neither between platform versions or within a platform version.
2. You must test your application with each device that the application can be installed on. This is needed to ensure the best possible user experience. To prevent application installation on other than tested devices, define the Product ID/s (also known as Machine UID) in the .pkg file. More information can be found in the document S60 Platform: Identification Codes available on the Forum Nokia Web site.
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