Category: apps

Tip: Quickly Toggle Bluetooth And Screen Rotation On Symbian^3

One of the things that boggles my mind beyond belief on Symbian^3 is that there still is no way to quickly toggle Data, Wifi, Bluetooth and the automatic screen Rotation. Sure you can click next to the battery, then on the connection symbol, then choose what method you want, then turn it on/off, but does it have to be this ridiculously tedious? Seriously, would it have been THAT difficult to build a widget with 4 icons that allows you with a single press on each of them to toggle these 4 options on/off? SPB Software includes a connection widget in their SPB Mobile Shell so it sure must be easy for Symbian to do it themselves, ‘ight?

Anyway, ranting aside, we must be thankful to independent developers who, like with MusicBar, fill the void on Symbian. Two nice toggles have lately appeared with compatibility for Symbian^3, one for Bluetooth and the other for the screen rotation, and are both incredible handy additions to the Symbian^3 homescreen shortcuts widget.

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MusicBar Updated For Symbian^3, Camera Compatible Now

You might recall a few days ago I talked to you about an application called MusicBar that allowed you to set a specific button on your Symbian device to access music playback controls on your screen, no matter what application you’re using without disrupting your workflow. The main problem with MusicBar was that it had to use the Camera button on the Nokia N8 for example, hence preventing you from autofocusing while taking an image. Well Nicholas Usanov-Kornilov has updated MusicBar to 1.0.1 to fix this issue.

The new version of MusicBar brings a few improvements amongst which the support for the Symbian^3 selection UI. Now, when setting up the application, as previously explained in my first post, the Exceptions menu have been fixed and you can finally scroll down to the middle of the list and tick the Camera. By doing so, you prevent MusicBar from launching only when the Camera is active, that way you can use the Autofocus key to get your music controls in all applications, yet still use that to focus on an image while in the Camera. It’s perfect. Of course, if you want to disable MusicBar in other apps, you can also do so.

If you were previously doubting the usefulness of MusicBar, you shouldn’t even flinch with this update. It makes it a killer tool to add to your N8 or C7 or other Symbian^3 phones without the problem of messing with the camera functions.

You can download the new version from Nicholas’ website (russian page or Google translated page), but remember you have to register to download and you need to sign it before installing it.

Nimbuzz Launches v3 For Symbian, Brings Support To Symbian^3

Ever since I got a Nokia N8 unit for trial, I tried installing Nimbuzz on it, and the experience wasn’t quite optimized for the device. I ended up testing a beta version of their v3 which brings full support for Symbian^3 and many other nifty features and improvements. Just today, this new version has been announced and is live on m.nimbuzz.com so I can talk to you about it. First of all, these are the new features highlighted by Nimbuzz for their v3 release:

  • Customizable tabs: select which tabs you want to see and in which order.
  • NimbuzzOut call rates are displayed in real time before placing the call.
  • Recent calls tab: see all your received, missed and outgoing calls.
  • 2 new chat styles: with avatars and without.
  • 3 options to view the Contact List.
  • My info tab: gives you quick access to your profile, NimbuzzOut credits, accounts,  suggested friends and friend invites.
  • Facebook Connect: removes the 400 contacts limit and connectivity issues
  • Sort contacts by status.

One of the first improvements you will notice in this new version is that the screen estate is better used in landscape mode and is suited for Symbian^3 devices.

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Need For Speed coming to Windows Phone 7 + Screenshots , Video

Need for Speed is one of the most popular of racing games in the world, and they entered mobile phone gaming platform a few years ago. Need for Speed or NFS is available on other platforms and Now EA Mobile is planning to launch the game for Windows Phone 7 as they already shared some screenshots on their Twitter Continue reading “Need For Speed coming to Windows Phone 7 + Screenshots , Video”

Tip: Control Your Music From Anywhere On The Nokia N8 In One Click

If you’ve ever used your Symbian Nokia touchscreen device to listen to music, like the N8 for example, you might have noticed that there is no easy way to control music playback from other applications. You could plug in the earphones to use the included remote control for that, but if you’re not carrying them around, you have to stop what you’re doing, use the task switcher, scroll to wherever the Music Player icon is, click it, pray that the last time you had it open you were on the Now Playing screen then Pause/FF/RW. Or you could stop what you’re doing, hit the Menu button to go back to the homescreen, pray that the last time you were there, it was on the homescreen that has the Music widget (or install that widget on all 3 homescreens), and then control your music.

Not. Fun.

Well, no one is the Symbian Foundation apparently thought of simplifying the process (how about integrating a Play/RW/FF bar in the Options menu that pops up when you press the Power button for example?) but luckily, we got cool developers who know exactly what the world needs. Enter Music Bar by Nikolay Usanov-Kornilov (Russian page, English translated version here), an app for S60 5th Edition that also works on the N8.


See the Music Bar controls on top of Gravity?

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Download Opera Mini 5.1 Symbian Edition

Good news for all of you using Opera Mini on your Symbian Phone. Opera has announced a beta version of Opera Mini 5.1 optimized for Symbian smartphones. Till now we were stuck with using the Java based Opera mini even on high-end Symbian phones like the recently launched Nokia N8. One alternative was Opera Mobile which is available for Symbian but many users find Opera Mini faster . Continue reading “Download Opera Mini 5.1 Symbian Edition”

A Byte of Apple : Back to the Mac

A Byte of Apple is back after an almost Steve-Jobs-esque hiatus (we kid, really!), a time where Apple kept us more than busy with a slew of announcements and new products that threaten our already fragile bank balances!

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Socially application for Nokia N8 allows user to sync their friends Facebook profile pics and birthdays

If you recently bought a Nokia N8, then you may need an application to sync with your Facebook friends information and pictures. If you want the app, then head over to Ovi Store and download the free application known as Socially. Socially is an app which allows Continue reading “Socially application for Nokia N8 allows user to sync their friends Facebook profile pics and birthdays”

Facebook App for Windows Phone 7 now available

Facebook is the most fastest growing social network in the world, with more than 500 Million users, Facebook has become an important part of everyone life. Facebook Application is available on all major operating systems, and now the application is also Continue reading “Facebook App for Windows Phone 7 now available”

MTS users in India can now download Opera Mini

OperaMini MTS

After partenering in various other countries, MTS and Opera Software have signed a deal to bring the OperaMini browser to MTS users in India. Users can download Opera Mini from the MY MTS Zone in their compatible handsets such as Samsung, ZTE, Haier,Huawei, Micromax and Hisense.

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Crackle app for Android now available

If you are a big movie or drama fanatic, then you may know about Crackle. Crackle is actually a website where you can watch full movies and television shows. And now they are bringing the same fun to your Android powered phone. Crackle is actually owned by Sony, and they have Continue reading “Crackle app for Android now available”

PrivacyStar Android App can Block SMS , Calls and Anonymous Callers

privacy-star-android

Privacy Star is an app for Android phones which lets you tackle those unwanted calls from people you have never expecting a call from.The app was initially available for Blackberry phones and is pretty popular.  The updated version of the Android app supports even Blocking of unwanted SMS or Text Messages.

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Update: Nokia Internet Radio Finally Comes To TouchScreen Phones

Update: a few minutes after I published this article, the application went live on the Ovi Store. It’s free, go download it here.

It’s been an eternity since Nokia started releasing touchscreen S60 v5 phones with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, yet one of their stellar home-brewed entertainment applications, Nokia Internet Radio, was never ported to these devices, to the dismay of many Internet Radio addicts.

Well, it seems the wait might be finally over, as I stumbled across a yet-non-legit version of Nokia Internet Radio today for S60 v5 or Symbian^1 if you prefer, that works perfectly well. It’s dubbed version 1.01(0) and it’s provided by Nokia so my guess is that it’s only a matter of time until we see this released officially by Nokia, since as of right now, the Internet Radio page only supports S60 v3. Continue reading “Update: Nokia Internet Radio Finally Comes To TouchScreen Phones”