Although not exactly going to break the bank at £3, Maps Booster is a very useful program to provide your Symbian phone with a fast cell ID / Wi-Fi based positioning information, and unlike the latest Ovi Maps (which offers a similar solution), it’s available to all apps on the phone through the OS’ positioning features.

However, right now (in the UK at least), Maps Booster is on sale in the Ovi Store, and is only £1; well worth it in our opinion.

Whilst you are there in the Ovi Store, why not download the UK Gadgeteer app as well, which provides access to the news stories directly on your phone; just search for “UK Gadgeteer” within the store and you should find versions for both S60 3rd Edition as well as S60 5th Edition.

A couple of fairly major changes have recently happened with Nokia’s Sports Tracker application, which might actually benefit those who like and use the application in the long term.  A while ago, Nokia sold the application off to a new company (which does appear to be staffed by some ex-Nokia people) and they have established a new website and a new application.  Right now, you can’t use the full service in the way you could with the old Nokia based solution, but it’s coming.

As of 30 June 2010, Nokia will shut down the old Sports Tracker website.  However, you can pre-register at the new website, and there’s an option to import your journeys and records from Nokia.  Right now, you can’t view them, or do anything else with the website, but it will come.

The new team have released new versions of Sports Tracker for both S60 3rd and 5th Edition, and although these will in time have the capability to upload your details to allowed them to be viewed and shared on the website, again, this needs the website to be fully functional.

However, good news; at one point, Nokia offered one phone with a bundle of a Heart Rate Monitor (via Bluetooth).  At the time, everybody pointed out that it would be good if the heart rate monitor was also available to those who already had that phone (or any other supported phone); well, although Nokia never managed it, Sports Tracking Technologies have done so, and have this week created an online store where you can buy a heart rate monitor for €69.90 + delivery (they accept PayPal as well as credit cards), although shipments won’t start until 1st July, so even if you order today, you’ll have to wait a couple of weeks for it to arrive.

From a personal viewpoint, I note this version uses OpenStreetMap for the maps, and I think that’s a wise (if only short term) approach. The Nokia solution used maps which had to be downloaded (even though many devices had local Ovi Maps installations); although towards the end, it did at least share this download map cache with Nokia FriendView.  I think moving to OpenStreetMap is a good idea, as it reduces any costs of providing commercial mapping, although I do hope that in time Sports Tracking Technologies are able to link into the Ovi Maps SDK and use the maps where present on the device.

It’s nice to see this application being developed further and the support of a heart rate monitor will make the whole solution more attractive to many sports enthusiasts; however, if you have ever used the old Sports Tracker website don’t forget you need to register and import your old information within the next week.

According to Symbian World, a French Symbian site is claiming that the new Nokia N8 will support the ability to play DivX / XVid movies.  To me, this is either interesting, nothing new, or just plain wrong, and I really can’t decide which.  Nothing appears to have been announced by Nokia, nor by Symbian, which would seem to imply it’s wrong.  However, in the past DivX.com themselves have produced a S60 3rd Edition DivX player, so it’s not unreasonable to assume they may plan, or have developed either for themselves, or for Symbian, a DivX player.  However, anything developed by DivX would be DivX only, and not support xVid.  However, some users who have had access to pre-production Nokia N8 devices have claimed that the device will play DivX files out of the box.  Finally, a local country Nokia representative seems a strange place to announce a major first for a Nokia phone.

However, on balance, I think it’s likely that Nokia will move towards DivX support, it’s simply a question as to whether it will be arriving with the Nokia N8, which, in the shadow of the iPhone 4 launch, will apparently have some impressive video editing facilities returning to the Symbian platform again.  This post on the Nokia Conversations website details the range of photo and video tools that will be available on the Nokia N8.  Looking back, this was previously announced, so I think this article is a reaction to the iPhone 4, as opposed to suddenly announcing new functionality that wasn’t known about before, and that’s the problem with the DivX information; it’s not like Nokia to quietly announce a new feature for a key device, especially so late after launch (and so close to delivery).

Time will tell, but it’s fair to say the Nokia N8 remains a critical device for Nokia over the coming months; it may not be an ultimate flagship device, but it’s important to show that Nokia has learnt the lessons of the Nokia N95, Nokia N96 and Nokia N97 launch firmwares…

Update: It’s look like Nokia have confirmed the Nokia N8 will not support DivX.

July 2010 Update: Well, it looks like Nokia have now confirmed that there will be DivX (but not XVid) support in the Nokia N8 after all…

This is a new homescreen widget available from Nokia Beta Labs, and this one seems to be very useful.  Along with the self learning Nokia Bots (see here), it’s actually possible Nokia are starting to provide that little extra innovation that’s going to be needed to keep users from defecting to other platforms.  This notification widget adopts a similar idea to the S60 3rd Edition E-Series notification area of the screen (where all notifications for missed calls / voicemails / texts all appear at the bottom of the homescreen).

In fact this widget takes things a little further for S60 5th Edition devices (which support homescreen widgets).  It brings together all missed calls, voicemails, texts and missed calendar alarms into one area for the user.

This is only going to be a short beta according to Nokia Beta Labs, when it will get released into the Ovi Store for general use.  One can only hope this is a pre-cursor to actually bringing S60 5th Edition to the E-Series range.

This week Socially App have released v1.40 of their Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIN client, and added the following features:

• Ability to geotweet (ie include your location within a twitter message), although you do need to enable this within your twitter account too before it will be visible to others.
• Ability to search on twitter limiting the search to “nearby” people.
• Ability to define the preferred WiFi and Data access point to use; the app will use WiFi whenever within range, but will then use the GPRS / 3G network when necessary.

I’m really impressed with Socially App, especially as it’s free.  Whereas Gravity is still struggling to implement full GPS access under S60 3rd Edition FP1 (think Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia E71), Socially App has managed it just fine (I should add Gravity also supports the use of the Google Maps API to locate you via WiFi or cell ID, so still offers location services on FP1), and I really like the way that when you want to see your current position, Socially App fires up the local Ovi Maps to show you where you are (see below); it would be nice, in time, to see even more use of Ovi Maps integrated into the application.

As before, Socially App can be downloaded direct on your phone from their website at m.sociallyapp.com

I’ve been a fan of OpenTable for some while.  Although not a regular user of the service, it’s a service I know about and have in the back of my mind should I suddenly need a restaurant at short notice, especially when travelling.  Once you have an account with OpenTable (no money involved), you can then use their website to search for restaurants in your area and book a table, either for now, or in the future.  You can select the type of cuisine, and even see the rough pricing of the establishment (obviously it only covers places that take reservations, and only those linked to OpenTable, which can mean in some areas it’s only the pricier places).  Although they have the ubiquitous iPhone app, for other platforms such as Nokia they have a handy mobile optimised website to use instead.

Oh, and the advantage of booking through OpenTable? Although you will pay the restaurant as usual, you earn Rewards Points which can build up into cheques to spend at these restaurants.

Even though the mobile optimised website works fine, OpenTable have just announced that they have released a Touch device based app into the Ovi Store to give an even better experience.  This app will allow you to book tables in the US, UK & Ireland, Canada and Mexico, which is a nice range of countries, especially for a transatlantic business traveller (who, if they have any sense, will also have a TruPhone Local Anywhere SIM in their phone giving them a local UK and US phone number terminating on the same handset; see here for more details).

What’s even nicer about this announcement is that OpenTable have realised that Nokia is not moving all devices to the S60 5th Edition, and hence touch devices; we’ve already seen the launch of the Nokia C5 and Nokia C3, showing non-touch devices are here to stay for a while, and OpenTable recognise this, and have stated they will have a non-touch version available “in the coming weeks”.

The features of the app include:

• Search for restaurants by name
• Find nearby restaurants (ie based on your current location) and see real-time table availability
• View restaurant profile pages with detailed information such as photos, menus, maps and OpenTable diner reviews
• Refine by cuisine, price, points and availability
• Send Reservation details via SMS to friends

If you are interested in OpenTable, head to the OpenTable website, or download their touch app from here.  If, of course, you have another platform, then head here for details of their Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, and Palm applications.

In the last week or so, Nokia has released a fair few firmware updates.  As always, these updates generally only apply initially to the EURO generic models, and UK and UK mobile network operator specific firmwares will follow (with the latter taking the longest).  Some highlights of these firmware updates include:

• New firmware (v410) for the Nokia E71, Nokia E66 and Nokia E63
• Nokia E72 now at v31
• Nokia 5800 XpressMusic at v50
• Nokia X6 moves to v20
• Nokia N86 8MP now at v30

Although the majority of these devices are S60 5th Edition or S60 3rd Edition FP2, there are a few S60 3rd Edition FP1 devices in there too, although we do wonder if this may be their last firmware update (technically there’s no reason why Nokia couldn’t continue producing new firmwares integrating updated software applications, but I do think they will start to dry up for FP1 devices soon).

Many of these particular firmwares do seem quite major updates, and should be worth the pain and hassle of applying to your device, although do remember it’s best to take a full backup of all your data before you start.

Having already covered the Nokia C6 a couple of times, there’s not a lot to say about this device, except it does appear to be a very interesting proposition…

Featuring the S60 5th Edition touchscreen, including the N97-style homescreen widgets, this device combines the feature spec of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, adds a sliding QWERTY keyboard, upgrades the camera to 5 megapixel, and does so without adding too much extra weight or volume.  This device, as I have already said, it likely to sell very well, especially as Nokia are looking at a €220 SIM free price (that’s about £200), so we can expect it less than that on PAYG, and I would expect as little as free on 18-month contracts.

I could repeat all the specs of this device, but it’s best to head to the Nokia PDF Datasheet for the best information (here).

Even better, the phone is due to be actually available in Q2; showing Nokia has finally moved towards reducing the time between announcement and availability, which is a good move.  Of course, as it features a GPS, that means free navigation software too. One thing to be aware of; although it will launch in Black and White, in time there will be additional colours, such as Blue.

Nokia also released the Nokia C3 (below), which is a S40 QWERTY device.  This will have a SIM free price of €90 (£80)

Although being S40, this phone features email, chat, information on the homescreen (posting and status updates).  Looking at the spec, it seems to rival the INQ Chat 3G, so this should be a popular device too for those wanting QWERTY, but with the Nokia badge. This will also be available in Q2.  Again, more information on the spec is available direct from Nokia here.

Finally, Nokia announced the Nokia E5, which will not be out until Q3, and will most likely replace the Nokia E63 (which makes sense as the Nokia E63 is S60 3rd Edition FP1, whereas the Nokia E5 is S60 3rd Edition FP2).

This, again, is  QWERTY device, and will feature a GPS with free navigation (a step up from the Nokia E63), and increase the camera to 5megapixels too.  At €180 (£160) SIM free, again, this is competitively priced to be even more popular than the Nokia E63.  Given this will be aimed more at the business market (although I would expect certain UK networks to pick it up and release it for everyone), the extra delay between now and release is unlikely to be a big issue.

I’m really impressed by these phones, I’m not going to rush out and buy them all, but for the mid-market they are aimed at, these devices will sell really well.  My only criticism is that the C-Series now has an S40, a S60 3rd Edition and a S60 5th Edition device, making it difficult to associate one OS with a range, but that’s not so different from the old 4 number range, which covered all 3 OSes as well.  For those who are looking for a top spec flagship phone, these aren’t it, and that should be announced in the coming months…

Firstly, the Good News! Nokia has this week released Ovi Maps v3.03 for the Nokia E71 and Nokia E66, allowing these two phones to be added to the original list of phones that now have Free Navigation.  Nokia also pointed out that the Nokia N86 has been added to the list too since the initial list was issued.

It should be pointed out that these two E-Series phones won’t have the Michelin or Lonely Planet guides available, but at least they now have free navigation, especially with the popularity of the Nokia E71 in the UK, this is a very sensible move by Nokia.

However, now for the Bad News Nokia also announced that these will be the last S60 3rd Edition FP1 devices that the new free navigation Ovi Maps will be released for; so if you have a Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB, or a Nokia N82 etc. then based on this statement you won’t be seeing free navigation ever.

It’s nice to see Nokia respond to requests for the Nokia E71, and it’s a shame that we won’t be seeing more FP1 devices supported, but maybe, just maybe, 2010 is the year to move to a newer device…

This, apparently, maybe the new Nokia C6, from the same mid-range family as the Nokia C5 we covered a week or so back.  The interesting thing about this device, though, is obvious in the picture (this appears to be a leaked official Nokia press photo); the Nokia C6 combines a QWERTY keyboard (in the style of the Nokia E75 and the Nokia N810 before that) with the touchscreen of the latest S60 5th Edition.  That’s a very nice combination; the touchscreen for access to all the latest applications (eg Brightkite, which is S60 5th Edition only), but also offering a QWERTY keyboard for those who want to type a little more (and the additional of a cursor D-pad is a nice touch too)…

This device should have GPS too (and hence free Navigation), making it a nice all round device.  However, as a C-Series device, it is likely to be missing WiFi (like the recently announced Nokia 5230), which may be a challenge for some whilst at home; I know my data usage only stays within the limits set by the mobile networks due to WiFi usage at home.

Having said that, this looks very interesting, especially if it is priced as keenly as the Nokia C5…

If it’s a real device, it should be out in time for the Summer Holidays in the UK.