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The N95 Classic (N95-1) continues to prove itself worthy as Nokia releases another firmware update for this legendary device. There have been many great updates for the N95 that brought it up from a crappy, memory lacking device to one of the greatest Nseires devices released, but this firmware doesn't provide much new changes. In fact this firmware comes with strings attached - it's NOT HACKABLE.
Similar to the latest N95 8GB, N82 and FP2 devices, Nokia has effectively plugged the hole on Symbian platfrom security issues, which previously allowed users to "hack" their phones and gain access to sensitive system files. Hacking allowed many of us to install a wider range of cracked applications, as well as tweak system files and customise our devices in ways one could never imagine. Sure, this is great fun for us, but practically nightmare for Nokia and developers.
It's probably a little late that I'm posting about this update now, but I wanted to wait for a change log to be released, just so you can judge yourself whether it's worth the update. As usual there are bug fixes and tiny tweaks here and there, but for me all these aren't enough to move me into a none-hackable firmware.
Change log for N95-1 V31.0.014 (User Observations)
1. the most important (for me): Random hang and reset caused by D5000 ASIC COMBO memory problem solved
2. Phone runs quicker, more memory available (might just be due to the fresh install)
3. Better photo quality
4. Bold fonts in the menu
5. Icons don't flash at phone startup
6. WLAN connectivity problems solved, better signal sensing
7. Quicker GPS connection creating
8. Browser stability improved (also, it works much faster)
9. FULL N-Gage app. 3 new games for free tryout
10. No more connenction interrupted message on cable disconnect in data storage mode
11. Seems to me that the speakers are louder than with v30
12. Better battery life
...So long "Open To Anything" Nokia phones....
Personally i have not and do not plan to update yet. I'll be sitting at the side line patiently to see how it all plays out, whether the crackers can find a loophole in this firmware. but till then i'm happy with v30.
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EDIT: Nokia has just removed this firmware last week. LOL... i think they realised these petty tweaks aren't enough to tempt users into updating a none-hackable firmware! I'm curious to see what's to come. Perhaps a nice little christmas surprise for us all. :D
To the present date, N-Gage game developers had been limited by Nokia in their ability to develop 3D-accelerated games, in an attempt to maintain compatibility across all the range of N-Gage supported phones, which includes largely dissimilar devices. But this seems bound to change.
Nokia started a site (http://ngage.uservoice.com), through which, users of the N-Gage service could make themselves heard by making suggestions or supporting other members.
Time went by and the majority of N-Gage users continued to show their support for this feature, until last week, an announcement was made by an official spokesperson in the site, that the suggestion had been accepted and 3D acceleration support, including OpenGL ES 1.1, would be included in the next version of the N-Gage SDK.
Although there will be some learning to do, the inclusion of 3D hardware acceleration into the next version of the N-Gage Software Development Kit (SDK) provides developers a reduction in the time and effort required to develop 3D games for the S60 platform.
This should mean that in a not-so-far future, we should be getting a breakthrough in graphics quality, by games making use of the full potential of phones powered by Texas Instruments' 3D-accelerated OMAP 2420 chipset (N93, N93i, N95, N958Gb and N82), and Nokia devices freaturing any future OpenGL ES compliant hardware.
As much as I'm happy to hear about this, i think it would be in Nokia's best interest to encourage developers to create 2 versions of games. A regular version, and an enhanced version for 3D accelerated devices.
It was roughly 1pm on Friday before we left for KL and I was juggling whether or not to bring my D60 along.. was really not a fan of the extra weight but the opportunity to really test the D60 out in the field finally caved in on me. I did not regret bringing it one bit.
Headed over to Taylor's College first to settle the fees for my college education next year and check out the apartment I'll be living in. Being at Taylor's was a real slap in the face as to how soon I'd need to start studying again. The day to day routines, classes, tedious exams, peer pressure etc. all over again, and it's been only 4 days since i had finished my SPM exams. Quite the bummer. The strangest part of it all - I wasn't even the slightest bit excited that I was about to step foot into college.
Things started looking up when we went to check out the apartment. It was much, much better than what I had in mind and I absolutely loved the facilities! The room itself wasn't too shabby either, but of course it was just a show room. What my room will really look like god only knows.
After clearing out all the official business it was off to Sunway Pyramid to chill a little and get some essentials for the Beijing Trip to come. In there I was pretty glad i brought the D60 along. Spotted a Nokia store and I fiddled with the N78, N79, N85 and N96 for a bit. Holding the N85 and N96 in hand and I really begin to understand why Nokia choose the N96 as their flagship instead of the N85.
Yes, arguably the N85 does have better features and a more powerful processor than the N96, but it feels rather tiny in the palm of my hands. Don't get me wrong, the N85 is a great device but i felt it was lacking the "Ummpph!" factor a flagship device should have. In fact I wasn't convinced that was the real deal until I picked it up and used it, by Jove that thing was small! I was also rather disappointed with the fact that the N85 on demo did not have a working Navi Wheel, nor did it have smooth transitions as the prototype N85 showed over the Internet. The N85 button were also rather stiff and hard to press compared to many other Nseries devices, I believe they may soften up after progressive use. The N85 looked much better than originally thought, especially since the front was made of plastic material instead of glossy glass-like substance as per N96 and N78.
All the models on demo there did not have working Navi Wheels, even though in the settings the Navi Wheel is set to "On", this was rather disappointing. Anyway, after holding those devices I understand why Nokia chose the N96 as their flagship model instead of the others. I won't sugarcoat it, the N96 is full with bugs and it's features are not what I'd expect from a flagship device set to replace the N95, but it definitely has the "Ummpph!" needed to be one. To many users who aren't techno geeks, the N96 will seem like a great device. The feels of the device is great and solid, the keys are relatively easy and comfortable to press, and the keypad is generously large too.
I think these things are what set aside the N96 from the N85. Sure, the N96 doesn't quite pack the same punch as the N85 or N95 under the hood, but Nokia has wrapped up all it's little flaws in a beautifully designed package.. and that's why i say it will do better for Nokia as their flagship device, sales-wise of course. The N96 feels beefy, yet not too fat to disgust. I love my phones that way. The heck with slim and flimsy phones, the N96 feels like a real power house!
I won't say much about the N78 and N79, mainly cause there's nothing much to be said. Out of the four devices, i'd still stick with the N85, no questions asked. But going out there and having a play with all those devices, it's clear to me what Nokia's strategy has been for this year's Nseries product line. Nothing to really nudge me out from my N95 yet, but 2009's lineup with the N97 does indeed look promising.
Well's that's about it. Took some night shots too at the car park. ...and as I said, I'm glad I brought the D60 along, it is an excellent camera indeed. :-)
Thought The Bro Code was nothing more than a cheap piece of article made up by the produces of How I Met Your Mother? Well time to change that thought, the Bro Code is actually for sale on Amazon!
So what is this "Bro Code"?
A code much higher than any law.. A set of rules meant to be a guideline to live by between Bro's, a set of Do's and Dont's for all bro's. The rules began as unwritten rules to follow but because of the Pussification of America haven't been followed properly and for some men they needed to be spelled out in bold print
If you haven't heard the term "Bro Code", you've probably at least heard of the 1st article of the Bro Code.
Bro Code Article 1:
Bros before hoes.
I cannot stress this enough. Always remember, girlfriends come and go, but your boys are always there. Breaking this rule is to commit the cardinal sin against Team Testosterone.
Sounds familiar now eh? So, wanna be a good Bro? Then be sure to check back as I shall quote more articles from this sacred code and guide you on the path to being Legen... wait for it....................dary. LEGENDARY.
If you have some extra dough lying around, you can also purchase the Bro Code at Amazon, awesome.
Mmmmmm... I just love the smell of justice in the morning air. Remember how Nokia shut down Telexy and sacked two of it's employees due to legal issues in Nokia's contract? Well I'm pleased to inform you that Telexy is now back on track and will continue the development of SymSMB.
"For the past two months Nokia ignored all Telexy's inquires to finalize SymSMB issue. Nokia has not confirmed, directly or indirectly, initial demand for rights over SymSMB.
Based on customer feedback SymSMB is extremely demanded application. Many customers consider SymSMB product as one of the key features of Nokia S60 platform that helps Nokia to stay a leader in the highly competitive market.
To satisfy numerous customer requests Telexy has decided to resume support and distribution of SymSMB.
Sincerely yours,
Telexy Networks, Inc."
I couldn't agree more. SymSMB file transfer via WiFi is my number 1 priority for file transfer. Nokia's cable, feh.. Bluetooth via PC suite, too slow! The ease and simplicity of SymSMB has made file transfer between PC and my N95 so graceful, it really goes to show how much room there is for Nokia to improve on their software innovation instead of just raining down relatively similar Nokia phones to the market.
Regarding further details as to how Telexy got back on its feet, the admin said
"Why they changed it I can't say
People just liked it better that way"
(C) Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
I don't really get it either but the important the important thing is that users will be able to enjoy the benefits of having this piece of great software on their phones, and look forward to more innovative wireless solutions from this company.
Till next time, visit Telexy's web site for updates on their softwares
You just love your torrents don't you? You know you do. Well now there's all more reason to celebrate and go crazy with torrents downloads because you can download torrents easily on your mobile device!
SymTorrent just received a 'major' update last week, bringing it to v1.41. SymTorrent has been around for some time, designed with the sole purpose of being a reliable torrent client for users on the go. Let's admit it, whether it's music or movies, software or games, we all love the high speed downloads we get from the torrent network.
I didn't pay much attention to SymTorrent before, mainly because the default browser on Nseries devices could not recognise torrent files, and therefore were unable to download them. Users still had to download torrents on their PC first, then transfer the torrent to their mobile and start the download. ...Not exactly much fun nor convenient for a mobile traveler.
Well the developers of SymTorrent has now fixed that, by using a plug-in which seems to 'listen' in the background for torrent files. So when the default browser downloads a torrent file, it will automatically launch the torrent file in SymTorrent, preventing the browser from trying to open the file by itself. I truly applaud them for coming up with this ingenious solution and because of their efforts SymTorrent v1.4 can be used completely independent on mobile devices.
It is really a walk in the park to download torrents on the go with SymTorrent. Speeds and seeds are good, file downloads are smooth and the application itself is very easy to use. It even includes all the little functions you'd expect form a PC torrent client such as download statistics, options to select which files to download/leave out in a torrent, as well as tracker URLs. SymTorrent can even handle multiple torrents at once, no problem. The only problem I find with downloading torrents on your mobile is the battery issue. Torrents are often big files and require quite some time to finish downloading, and for the average Nseries phone this is a huge setback. We all know most Nseries devices can barely make it through a day with gaming and music, let alone leaving 3G of WiFi on all the time to download torrents.
Nonetheless, if you need a torrent badly and find yourself stranded with only your mobile device in your hand, SymTorrent is a very viable way of downloading those torrents and files onto your phone. A necessity for every media hungry mobile user. Time to get the latest Killers album then!
Get SymTorrent from the official website.
*Trust me when I say that SymTorrent is able to download up to 60kbps or more in my experience, the screenshots below are just samples I took to give you a rough idea of the application interface. Notice how in the first screenshot the default browser can't identify the file as a torrent file.
Grab your accelerometer enabled Nokia and chuck away the ice-cream cones boy, Frozen Bubble has just been brought into the 21st century! Samir and his gang are at it again and this time they've created something that's a cross between past and present.
We all know this classic arcade game, how it took over our lives and made us mindlessly shoot coloured balls before... Now it's back, and you can sure as heck count on this game to distract you from your daily routines, entertain you while your girlfriend's doing her shopping, keep you awake at night when you know there's a big test tomorrow..y'know, the usual. ;D
Alright, jokes aside, i haven't tried this version the game yet but I'm not a big fan of accelerometer games. Their always too fiddly to handle, and have limited gameplay. Usually the player only gets to control the direction of the character in accelerometer games. Frozen Bubble is a game that requires precision and i can already imagine how annoying it will be to tilt my phone left and right just to get the right angle, while the people around me think i've gone crazy checking for scratches on my N95.
Nevertheless i am very glad to see Samir and his crew being active again in software development for Symbian s60 devices and he countinues on his line of creativity using the accelerometer and other aspects of mobile phones to make even the simplest application or game seem refreshing again, i salute you, Samir!
Be sure to try the game out for yourself at AikonLab.com, it's free.
Ahh, it took Samir 60 days more than her originally promised, but here it is -right in front of us like standing taller and prouder than ever- HandWave. HaveWave is very promising but of course there is still lots of room for improvement.
HandWave is a touchless interface for S60 3rd Editon.
It use your front camera to control your S60 by Hand-Waving.
Press Back to launch HandWave
Then Hand Wave from left to right, or right to left, to simulate left or right keypress.
Use the viewfinder and check the ambient light for best results.
This beta work only on portrait orientation.
I have just finished testing our this new application from Samir and straight out i can say - I'm impressed!
Despite many attempts to copy his idea, i believe Samir has beaten those Python version of AlertMe, DontTouch and AntiTouch flat out. Perhaps because written in Symbian code instead of Python, Samir's nAlertMe is definitely much more comfortable to use than other previous applications.
In fact, ease of use is only one of the plus sides of this app that impresses me. Samir's creativity really shines in this application. When the phone is locked (alarm activated), it makes a cute "beep" like a car would; and when the alarm is deactivated it makes another. Little details like this really make a difference for users, and in my opinion it adds to the overall user friendliness of this application.
The interface is simple, straight forward, and clean - much like his website AIkonLab. nAlertMe is well configured and requires no messy tinkering, it just works! No flashy graphics or confusing pop-up menus either, just pure fun and functionality out of the box. I think quality developers like Samir who give their work out for free and becoming more and more difficult to find these days, considering how easy Python is to master it seems amatuer developers are all going for python instead of Symbian. So call me old fashioned, but i instantly fell in love with nAlertMe, a true winner.
The great wait has finally come to an end. All the controversy and doubts about Samir are suddenly just swept away as AikonLab opens its doors to the world.
The website itself looks promising, simple and sophisticated. Though it is a little slow, probably due to the huge traffic loads flowing its way.
While HandWave, a much anticipated application is yet to be available, a simpler -but equally anticipated- application is now available for download. nAlertMe was Samir's original idea who was copied and developed by the likes of Ahmed Yildrim (Mclightning) and several the developers after him.
Thankfully Samir seems to have made his glorious comeback by releasing a proper .sis application, not the limited Python version that came before him.
Lets have a look at some of the features.
nAlertMe Beta 1 (v 0.1)
nAlertMe is an accelerometer-based freeware application that sounds a loud alarm when any movement is detected.
Usage
Press Options -> Activate alarm.
Then you have few seconds to drop your phone before alarm activation.
To deactivate alarm you must put your phone in defined positions sequences.
To-do
This is a first beta and it need some improvements like:
Be sure to visit AikonLab.com regularly for updates.
If you have any problems with the application or want to voice out your opinions, feel free to post a comment here and i will try my best to assist you.
Feeling a little down with your N95-1 as newer devices such as the N85 cave in? Don't be!
Why not refresh your N95-1's look with one of the 11 colours now available for the N95 classic? Forget cheap and flimsy fascia's on eBay, these are the real deal. Wrap one of thse OEM covers on your baby and it's be like the day your first got your N95 - all over again!
Possibly the most colourful Nseries device ever, Nokia's decision to further expand the array of colours for the N95-1 just shows how well it's doing, with a wide fan-base and sales still going strong. This is something we have not seen for a long time since XpressOn covers on Nokia devices were out of production, and I'm just dying to get the white and frost green OEM covers for my N95, but it seems that they are only available in certain regions for now.
Check it out for yourself on the official Nseries website.
Wondering how i spent my prize money from the photo competition? Well i donated a small sum to a French Developer known as R4p43l who has been working on a promising new music player called My'Sound! I got an early preview of Beta 2 which was still for donators only, and frankly speaking i was rather disappointed with the application.
After installing it i was just bursting with excitement, only to be greeted by fonts that look like little boxes in the application, like this "E[][][][][]". First thing i did was contact the developer, R4ph43l of course, but he seemed puzzled as hell and denied it was a problem with his application.
Ahh, that's when i realised R4ph43l didn't take into consideration that APAC region phones use APAC fonts with Chinese support, a little different from the Euro region fonts. I'd like to thank bidboy from Symbian Freak for being so helpful and sending me a copy of the Euro fonts and CK for downloading them. What i did was route them with using FontRouter LT to replace the default fonts and poof! My'Sound worked just fine.
Still, compared to the Hype Symbian Freak created about this application, this application will disappoint some users. First of all, even after i talked to R4ph43l about this problem and sent him a copy of the APAC fonts it seems he still hasn't solved the fonts problem in Beta 3. Users with APAC phones of APAC fonts will have the "[][][][][][]" box problem.
Secondly, it seems as though this "Public" version is no full version. Once you open the application it will pop up asking for a full licence code. Even for donators like me my old code does not work and i had to reactivate my IMEI. Not a problem thanks to R4ph43l's easy reactivation method available on his web site. The trial version does not allow : Mood, Folders, Shake-Me!, Themes, Disable red key and 10s mode. R4ph43l expects a donation of no less than 3€ for a complete version.
The application is rather basic i would say, and you need to have the album art JPEGs ready if you want it to look good. My'Sound, supposedly focused on music itself isn't even able to read the album art embedded in all my music files. JPEGs 
of the album art need to be put in the same folder as the song albums for My'Sound to pick them up, a rather troublesome task for users who have their entire song collection chucked on their phones.
The Shake-Me! function is more for showing of than being practical considering it is so sensitive. A slight tilt of the phone changes the tracks and in the real world the only time you'll keep your N95 in a perfectly horizontal manner is when it's on the table. I would take Samir's ShakeMe application and Nokia's built in music player any day of the year compared to My'Sound if i wanted to "shake-to-change" tracks practically.
On a more positive note, i really like the fact that R4ph43l has made several 
improvements to Beta 3. For instance in beta 2 My'Sound was only able to scan a predefined number of folders in the phone. If you had your music elsewhere in personal folders the application wouldn't be able to pick it up. R4ph43l fixed this problem by incorperating a simple file browser into beta 3 so you can manually select and play music from your personal folders.
My'Sound also has neat little features like gorgeous themes, MoodMe functions, crossfading (which i would really like to see in Nokia's default music player), sleep mode and several other little bells and whistles that make it a promising music player if R4ph43l fixes most of the bugs. It would also be nice if he could add multimedia keys support for devices such as the N95 and N96.
In a nutshell My'Sound isn't really what i expected but there is a promising future for this application. Many improvements need to be made but i'd say this french developer has made a good start to changing the way we look at mobile music players. The thing i like most about My'Sound - .wma support!
Do try out this Python written music player, click on the link below to download.
..and why not visit R4ph43l's website for more information.
Here are more screenshots taken from my phone, there are two other theme, one green and one blue but i did not include them in the screenshots.
For those of you who have been waiting month after month for this game, wait no more!
Hey guys, i apologise for the lack of presence lately, as this will be the final hurdle for me to cross in my high school days. Big, no wait, HUGE exam coming up next month so blogging isn't really my priority at the moment.
Unless you've been living under a rock the past few weeks, you'd know that Apple released a "new iPhone" with added 3G support. Essentially it's the same iPhone with added 3G support, but still, no MMS, same crappy camera, no flash, no video recording, no copy/paste function, no changeable battery.... and so many more. -probably not even worth wasting the space in this post to list it all out.
Let's have a look at the best iPhone 3G comparison out there, courtesy of kylepsp from N95users.
I think even a stone's texture feels better than the iPhone's touchscreen.. but nah, i'll let Steve have this one. ;D
Oh wait there is good news though, you can get a white edition of the iPhone 3G for only a hundred dollars more! :D
Samir Oueldi, a highly acclaimed Symbian developer stole the limelight last month, when he announced his new website aikonlab dedicated to the development and testing of revolutionary symbian s60 applications. Along with the release of his website, Samir posted 2 videos of his new concepts, boldly publishing a release date at the end of the videos. Supposedly released at 13th september, his applications Handwave and nAlertMe instantly became subject of symbian and Nokia discussions throughout the world, and excited pretty much every Nseries user out there. 2 days after that, the added subject of "opening in a few hours" on Samir's new website got users even more excited, and practically checking his website very hour.
...but after 3 grueling long weeks, i think the world is tired of waiting for Samir. Perhaps Handwave was just a cheap gimmick done using a bluetooth keyboard, to survey the acceptance of such an application, perhaps Samir still hasn't gotten over his divorce, perhaps Samir just needs more time to code the programs? We will never know. But one thing is certain, users out there have gotten so sick and tired of Samir's delays that they have literally taken matters into their own hands and started coding applications that mimic Samir's concept.
I'm proud to announce AlertMe by Ahmed Yildrim(a.k.a. Mclightning) and DontTouch by zoellner86. Both applications are theft alarms that utilise the built in accelerometer of the N95 and N82, much like Samir's concept. Basically the phone records a set position by taking in data from the accelerometer. When the phone is moved, or disturbed by even the slightest movement, the accelerometer will detect the change and immediately trigger an alarm. The thing i absolutely love about both apps is the ability to run these applications in the background with the keypad locked. Not only does this give you more time in an event of a phone theft, it also "child-proofs" your phone from unwanted itchy fingers. Well enough chit-chat, here are the applications, and what the developers had to say:
1.AlertMe by Ahmed Yildrim (Mclightning)
Mclightning: As u can know we wait so long time for nAlertMe and i get bored of this. i created an app. like nAlertMe 3 days ago and i wrote a topic to get help about making sis file from py files.then today i solved how to make sis from python files and thanks JimmPoo and pocketsly for helps.
How To use:
First of all you need to save the position of the phone from the "Save Pos." menu
Then when you press start button it will start the protection
if phone moves it will start to alarming
You can change the sensitivity from the menu by writing a number between 0 and 10.but Please dont write numbers lower than 5.write 10 for low sensitivity. 5 is default
My personal opinion: This came before DontTouch, so it is a little unstable, most i
mportantly AlertMe is overly sensitive.
Zoellner86: 4 People who can never wait for Samir's nAlertMe,..
This is my try to make a "clone".
U can feel free 2 use it.
Ahmet YILDIRIM (AlertMe) was quicker than me, but i think my one is ok too.
u need MegaPyModulePack and PyS60
have fun.
How To Use?
My personal opinion: This was just released today and is a much more stable version. I'm also digging this background image. I highly recommend you try this one.
Additional installation notes:
Download Links
**Update: AlertMe v2.0 (Improved source code, collaboration of the two developers, password protection added. Default password is "0")
