The firmware that promises to reinvent the N97 experience is now available via the Nokia Software Updater in the from of a 134 MB download and you should waste no time in starting the update. If you’ve not been able to catch up with all the buzz surrounding the firmware, here is a small recap:
- Kinetic Scrolling throughout the device – yes I said throughout, in every list.
- More free RAM and better RAM management.
- Greater Internal storage.
- Long press for symbols/numbers on the keyboard.
- New shortcuts, pre-installed Ovi Contacts and so on.
There is no official changelog available yet, but based on demoes we have seen, it is a major update and a must for any N97 owner. The N97 features user data preservation, so you do not need to backup your data before updating. The update is currently only availble via the NSU and we should start seeing the over the air rollout soon as well. I can happily confirm that the update is available for Indian product codes as well.
By now we are all aware of how powerful the N900 is in terms of hardware, but the following video demonstration shows us exactly how that awesome power can be tapped into for some ultra cool gaming fun. The video shows the N900 running an SNES emulator with the help of which it is running the universal favorite Mario. The game works perfectly on the N900, but for some added fun the Wiimote is connected to the device for a much better gaming experience.
Then to take the experience even higher, the TV out functionality in the N900 is used to turn it into a gaming console. Awesome. I can’t wait to duplicate this setup when I get my own N900.
There are loads of occasions when you want to run an application for a fixed duration and then automatically shut off, unfortunately that isn’t possible natively. Enter Music Stopper, an application that can turn off your music player, radio or any other application after a fixed number of minutes that you specify. This is specially handy for times when you want to go to bed listen to your favourite tracks but don’t want to risk draining your battery completely in case you sleep before turning the application off.
The application is compatible with S60 5th Edition handsets and that includes the 5800 and the N97. Download here.
Nokia Music India is really in a festive mood these days. First they offered 5 free tracks of your choice which you can download by click through via this link and now they are offering 100 tracks from across genres like bollywood, international and devotional. You can get to these tracks by clicking on this link.
Unlike most occasions where the collection of songs on offer isn’t too great, this selection features quite a bit of popular tracks. So if you have a compatible Music Store Compatible Nokia device, get downloading now!
The Ovi Suite, Nokia’s all in one PC software, has now graduated from Beta Labs and is available for download. From now on the Ovi Suite will also be bundled with retail boxes and Nokia will do away with all its different versions of PC software like Nokia PC Suite, Nokia Ovi Suite 1.0/1.1, Nokia Nseries PC Suite, Nokia Music, Nokia Software Updater, Nokia Map Loader, Nokia PC Suite Enterprise Edition etc and the Ovi Suite will become the one stop shop for all such applications.
But graduating does not mean that the team has stopped working on the software and the above screenshot is based on some of their plans for upcoming beta releases. If you do not use a Windows machine, there is hope, according to this post on the Beta Labs blog, the “change into Qt framework makes it easier from developer point of view and gives us possibility to support other operating systems, like Mac OSX in future”.
Diwali is round the corner and Nokia has already gotten into the festive spirit. While browsing the Nokia India site today I noticed this huge Diwali promotion. On purchase of the devices shown below (includes the N97, 5800, 6700 Classic, E71 and E63 amongst others) you have a change of getting cashback upto 10 lakhs. Since I am never that lucky, I am more interested in the free Applications, Games etc that are also on offer.
There is an application called ‘Shubh Diwali’ which you can send Diwali wallpapers, recipes and greetings. An application called ‘Virtual Crackers’ is also present to help you enjoy the festival of lights without pollution. There are two more applications applications included and I am glad to say that they pack great utility.
Earlier today Nokia announced the official Qt port to Maemo 5. What this means is that developers can now use Qt to target the upcoming Nokia N900 device and because of this, applications can be easily ported to all Qt’s supported platforms including the next Maemo 6 release as well as Symbian and Windows Mobile.
Nokia current supports both Symbian and Maemo (S30 and S40 as well) and with Qt they are aiming to introduce a framework that will make development across platforms easier and thus entice developers to create applications for their devices. All of this can only mean one thing for you – more applications and that can never be a bad thing, right?
