Nokia have released, via the Nokia Beta Labs, an update to the Free Ovi Maps solution, now at v3.04.  The new features are:

• Improved positioning speed and accuracy
• Map zooming with faster speed
• Improved search for cities with zoom out to city level

This is good to see, and if you want to try it out (remember it’s a beta version, so may not be perfect), then head over to the Nokia Beta Labs to download this new version.  If you think your device (whether S60 3rd Edition FP2 or S60 5th Edition) is not supported, it’s worth trying one of the other similar models (within the same OS group); eg if you are using a Nokia N86 or Nokia E75, then try the 3rd Edition FP2 version even though your model is not explicitly listed; strangely some people seem to have had success with this method, and others not, so it’s not clear whether or not other devices of the same OS (other than the original 10 or so Nokia announced) can access this software or not.

One word of warning; if you are using a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, you need at least v31 firmware, which is still not available for some Orange models and all 3UK Nokia 5800 XpressMusic devices, and this despite 3UK giving assurances last month that they were working at fast as possible to get this update out to their users.

Now, about all those of us with S60 3rd Edition FP1 devices; Nokia released a statement (via a Q&A session) about supporting existing and elder devices with the Free Ovi Maps service.  They said they were working to extend the compatibility to other current devices (although I believe they meant FP2 devices), and from now on, all GPS enabled devices will be supported with Free Ovi Maps, but could not give any timelines or guarantees over elder devices; although a ray of hope was that their exact comment was “We can’t say when it will be available”, which seems to imply there is still a chance it will happen.

What I can say is that the Beta of v3.04 isn’t available in an FP1 version, so it’s fair to say it’s going to be a while longer before it comes out, if it ever does…

We’re hearing that Vodafone will be removing the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic from their range by the end of the week, and it’s likely as we progress into March that the other networks will follow suit.  As the phone has been out for a while, it seems it’s being replaced by the Nokia 5230, which although is a nice phone, has some less features compared to the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

Firstly, it’s got a 2 megapixel camera, compared to the 3.2 megapixel on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, and it doesn’t have WiFi (not a problem for many people, but still worth pointing out; whilst at home, my phones often download larger files and data, which would quickly cut into the data limits placed on phone contracts).  It does, however, have built in social networking features (although adding a copy of Gravity to a Symbian phone only costs around £8, and is well worth it in my opinion).  It does also have more flexibility when it comes to the home screen layout, which may appeal to many.  With the move to Ovi Maps v3 now being free for S60 5th Edition phones, both can have free Navigation, although with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic you may well need to update the software and maps before you get free navigation, whereas it’s more likely (although not confirmed) that the Nokia 5230 will ship with the free version out of the box.

So, if you are after a new phone, the Nokia 5230 is worth a look, but if the lack of WiFi will be an issue, then you might want to act quickly before the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic disappears from the shelves for good!

Yes, finally, after all these years… Nokia (well Nokia Beta Labs) have released a Custom Dictionary Editor, which allows you to read, edit and delete the words in the customer dictionary on your phone.  Of course, as with all things Nokia, it’s not that simple, so read on before you head off to install the software…

Firstly, it’s mainly aimed at the latest phones, so devices like the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and the Nokia X6 are fine, and there’s a dedicated version for the Nokia E71 and Nokia E63 which works fine too, but most other devices will struggle in one way or another, and not have the full functionality, which includes…

• View all the words in your custom dictionary
• Add new words to it
• Edit and Delete existing words
• Export the dictionary as xml file
• Import words from an xml file
• Scan text files to import all the words
• Transfer your dictionary to another phone

Although many devices are generally supported (most S60 3rd Edition and S60 5th Edition devices should be able to run the application, although most S60 3rd Edition FP1 phones will have limited functionality), the best support is limited to the 4 supported phones (even devices like the Nokia N97, Nokia E72 and Nokia E75 are listed as having “minor issues”).

This is a good forward step by Nokia though; many people, myself included, have been annoyed by the lack of edit capability of the dictionary over the years.  One useful piece of advice Nokia have now provided though; the dictionary is limited in size, and, once full, when it adds a word, it deletes the least used word from the dictionary.  This will explain for many why some words disappear over time.

As always, if you want to try it out, head over to the Nokia Beta Labs to see it, and the support for your phone.  Also, if you hadn’t visited the Nokia Beta Labs site recently, you’ll need a Nokia Account (you’ll already have one if you use the Ovi features) to download the application.

Last week I attended an event hosted by 3UK.  In attendance were a variety of 3UK staff from Marketing & PR, Products & Services, Customer Services, and the Networks team.  I had a chance to chat with people for each area and was able to ask a wide range of questions, especially those that you had added as comments to my request last week.  As a result, I’m able to provide a glimpse into what 2010 holds for 3UK (although nothing truly exclusive and brand new was announced, there was some useful information provided)…

Please read the questions and answers after the break…

(more…)

Brightkite have released their Symbian app (we first talked about it here over a year ago!), and it’s available in the Ovi Store here right now.  As you may work out from the screenshot, it’s for the touchscreen devices, and so is limited to S60 5th Edition devices (Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia N97, Nokia N97 Mini etc.) but even so, it’s an interesting step in the right direction.

In fact, maybe combining this with the Maps Booster application I discussed this morning would provide that nice alternative to Google Latitude I was looking for…

When Nokia made Ovi Maps free for a whole range of devices last week, one thing which wasn’t so strongly mentioned was the minimum firmware versions needed for certain devices.  Take the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic for example; although many devices shipped with v11 (and since then Nokia has released v20, v21, v30, v31 and v40 firmwares), you actually need a minimum of v31 to be able to install this latest version of Ovi Maps.

Obviously for anyone with a generic unbranded device, this is easy; a quick firmware check on the device, or using Nokia Software Updater on your Windows PC will soon confirm that there is a v40 firmware, and you can easily install it; but what about the UK network operators?  If you have a branded device, are you in luck?

Well, generally, the good news is yes, you are in luck.  It looks like the majority of UK branded product codes have had v31 released (although none that I checked actually had v40 released yet), so overall, you have a good chance of being able to upgrade the firmware in your phone, and then install the new free to use Ovi Maps.

However, all is not perfect; I did say “the majority”, and I’m sorry to say, the Orange product code for a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Blue edition (the early devices Orange first sold) seems to be stuck on v30, and hence, although fairly up to date, not sufficiently up to date to allow the new Ovi Maps to work.  Ironically, the Black variant, which, being newer, has strangely always faired better for firmware updates seems to have v31 available, so those users are fine.

If my research is correct, that’s a silly situation to be in; depending when you bought your phone determines which colour you have, and with Orange, that can mean the difference between being able to install Ovi Maps or not.  Let’s hope Orange resolve this with some speed given the amount of advertising Nokia is putting behind their new Ovi Maps versions.

However, that’s not the end of the story; it appears 3UK are also stuck on v30, and hence anyone with a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic from 3UK will not be able to run the latest Ovi Maps either.

Obviously, I am not able to check every single colour and operator variant, but I checked over 10 different product codes to write this article; if you have a device from Orange or 3UK that has access to the v31 or v40 firmware (without changing the product code), then please add a comment and let me know the product code (from underneath the battery in the form of 0559360) and what firmware version you have access to…

So, to recap; well done to most UK operators (T-Mobile, O2, Virgin, Vodafone), and not so well done to Orange and 3UK for either not having v31 available, or having a mix of firmware versions.

This is only just been announced, so I’ll provide more comment later, but if you own, or are planning to buy one of these Nokia models:

• Nokia N97 Mini
• Nokia E72
• Nokia E52
• Nokia E55
• Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
• Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition
• Nokia 6710 Navigator
• Nokia 6730
• Nokia 5230
• Nokia X6

then as from today, you should be able to download a new version of Ovi Maps, which not just offers free GPS Navigation in over 70 countries, but offers more too…

• Free Drive navigation
• Free Walk navigation
• Free maps and map updates
• Free Events guides
• Free Lonely Planet guides
• Free Michelin guides
• Free Weather updates

That’s an impressive list, especially the guides and weather being free too.  This is obviously a reaction to Google announcing plans to make navigation free for all, but with Nokia supporting offline navigation (with all the maps and routing being stored on the device) this is likely to be a much preferred solution for many (especially those travelling abroad where roaming data charges would make Google’s solution impractical for many).

We’re also hearing that traffic and safety camera information will be free too!

Nokia have stated they plan to increase the range of devices further in the future (I, like many others have already commented on the lack of the original Nokia N97).

For more information, head to the Free Navigation Forever page from Nokia.

Update: We understand the Nokia N97 is likely to need a firmware update first to be able to support the new version of the Ovi Maps (this is more about a lack of free space on the C: drive than anything in particular within the firmware), and it’s possible that the new Ovi Maps will be included within the firmware itself, and that we may see that firmware before the end of the month.

Update: We have seen a number of comments from Nokia that imply more of their “older” devices will soon be included within this Free Navigation programme, and we hope it covers the majority of S60 3rd Edition FP1 devices, especially those like the Nokia E71 which are still on sale today as brand new devices.

Update: It appears there will be a Free version for the Nokia N900 Maemo device, but this is some way off.

I’ve covered Swim before, a tool for automating syncs on your Nokia (Symbian) phone.  I use it every day with GooSync to keep my Google Calendar and my local Symbian calendar in sync with each other, but one problem was that Swim only worked on S60 3rd Edition FP1 phones.

Well, the team behind Swim have apparently been working direct with the Symbian Foundation to resolve the issues, which they have managed to do succesfully, so they have now released an updated version with S60 3rd Edition FP2 support (eg Nokia E72) and S60 5th Edition (Nokia N97, Nokia N97 Mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic) too.  It should be noted that the updated version only supports these new platforms, and for regular FP1 users, there is no new version at this stage.

This is one of those utilities you really should consider with Symbian, and it’s a shame it’s still not included automatically by Symbian; if, for example, you go and buy an Android phone (especially a Google Experience one), you simply enter your Google details, and your calendar (even multiple claendars, if you are a power user of Goolge Calendar) will be automatically kept up to date with your device with no further intervention by you… it’s these little integration points that make Android so popular at the moment…

Just like buses, you wait for ages and then two come along together…

It’s been a bit of a week for firmware updates, and many recent devices have seen updates this week.  The Nokia E72 has now got the v22 firmware, The Nokia N86 gets v21, and the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic gets v40.  Each of these offers improvements for the device, and are worthy of investigation if you own these devices.  Of course, the operator-specific branded firmwares will take a little longer to be released.

For example, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic changelog includes:

• Additional Kinetic Scrolling
• Changed UI in the homescreen similar to the 5530XM
• Updated Nokia Messaging
• OVI Contacts pre-installed
• New screen alarm when locked
• Keyboard updated: when in vertical mode it’s alpha-numeric, if you turn your phone to landscape mode, it automatically changes to full qwerty
• Keyboard updated: when you press a “key” the key that appears on top is now bigger
• Software updater is now updated and has some more options
• When phone key lock is on and you receive a call you see a slide to unlock and a slide to answer bar

However, the Maemo based Nokia N900 has had an even better week…

Earlier in the week, a small minor firmware update was released, which allowed the Ovi Store to become available for the Maemo platform, and then over the next day or so, the PR1.1 first major firmware release will start appearing on devices for applying.  This brings many little minor fixes to the platform, many of which were reported via the Maemo bug tracker direct to the developers, but probably the single biggest bugfix that is directly relevant to the UK is that 3UK SIMs are now supported by this firmware update.  So, if you have a 3UK SIM you want to use with a Nokia N900, then apply this update (2.2009.51-1) and then you should no longer suffer from “SIM card rejected” messages.

If you are yet to buy a Nokia N900, and have been put off by the high SIM-free price of the device, then Vodafone have announced they will be selling the phone soon.  There are rumours that stocks are already in store, but sales are being held to prevent it impacting on the launch of the iPhone on Vodafone, but I doubt whether anyone will be swayed from one to the other, as they seem to attract a very different customer.  Either way, this new firmware will be well worth applying to your Nokia N900 as soon as it’s available for you.

If you want to access this major update as an OTA (Over The Air) upgrade, you’ll need to apply the more minor upgrade from earlier in the week first, and then shortly afterwards this new firmware should become visible, however, if you use Nokia’s PC based Software Updater, you are able to jump straight to the latest firmware without the intermediate step.

The only issue with this firmware update is that is does not bring the portrait-mode support that was expected, so it’s likely we’ll see another firmware update for the Nokia N900 in the coming months to address that oft-requested feature; also, MMS is still missing, although there is a third party app providing MMS support if you really need it (see here for more details, and here for another program by the same author which allows a secondary APN to be defined on the device, which is often needed to be able to send MMS).  However, we should point out that Nokia and Maemo are aware that the OTA firmware update will not work if certain other software is installed (especially applications from the extras-devel repository, which is not enabled by default on the Nokia N900).  If you are directed to perform the firmware update via your PC, one option is to turn off this repository, and uninstall any applications installed from it, and see if that fixed the “under-the-covers” software problems.

If you really want to see a fairly complete list of fixes, then head to the Maemo PR1.1 release information, although be warned, it’s quite technical, and quite long too!

Finally, if you want to get the latest version of Vagalume (the Maemo Last.fm / Libre.fm client) streaming Last.fm on your Nokia N900, then nokiAAddict has also written up the information on how to achieve this here.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Changelog courtesy of nokiAAddict.

Nokia BetaLabs have released an update to their Nokia Messaging for Social Networks beta product, which now features improved Facebook access, and also adds the first round of Twitter support.  Nokia have also commented that they will be adding other Social Networking sites over time.

As well as the initial version, which offered to let people view, post, and comment on messages, share their location and status while keeping up with their Facebook friends, the new version adds the following Facebook features:

• Upload pictures and videos
• Events: View upcoming events, birthdays and import to device calendar
• Search friends
• Click-to-call / click-to-SMS / click-to-FB Email

In terms of the Twitter support, it includes the ability to see your friends’ tweets, reply to them, and open links in their tweets, but more advanced functions like Direct Messages, Trends, and Follower information all have placeholders, but are marked as coming soon.

The application also has some location sharing features, which are built on top of Ovi Maps, and it also offers a Homescreen widget.  This app is, however, limited to the Nokia N97, Nokia N97 Mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and the Nokia X6 right now.

This does look an interesting application, and may, over time, become a useful tool for those wanting to keep online from their device.  This is the sort of functionality we are seeing built directly into other phones as they ship (eg the INQ Mini 3G, and the INQ Chat 3G), so it will be nice when Nokia are shipping this by default on their phones to offer a similar experience as other manufacturers are managing.

Since it’s initial launch we’ve had the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone, then we had the Comes with Music version released, and now we have the Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition.  This new version of the phone concentrates on providing a SatNav experience on the device, and to that end, ships with a lifetime voice guided Drive and Walk navigation license.  Of course, Nokia provide map updates for free for their devices, and software updates are free too, so this really does look like a good deal, and certainly could work out cheaper than buying a phone and navigation license separately (as long as you keep the phone for at least 2 years).  The Navigation Edition also features a slightly modified housing, with the silver effect instead of the red or blue colour band.

Unlike earlier devices in the range, this version will ship with the latest Ovi Maps pre-installed, although it’s not clear what mapping will be included on the device (additional maps can either be download Over-The-Air, or via a PC, which is often more convenient).

Just in case you thought that wasn’t enough, Nokia have also included within the box a car holder, easy mount (windscreen suction mount) and swivel adaptor, allowing you to mount the phone conveniently for use.  The box will also feature a car charger, a key component when using phones as a SatNav due to the additional battery drain of the GPS, the data connection (if used), and keeping the screen display lit.

This version of the device will retail for around £250, which is a good price given the accessories and navigation license that’s included, and will be available during Q3 (err, that means September we suspect), although if you can’t wait, you can either get the original Nokia 5800 XpressMusic from Vodafone, or, as from today, it is now also available from 3UK as well (with their usual additional apps).

If you do buy the original device, you should be able to buy the Car Holder / Swivel Adaptor / Windscreen Mount as accessories (often sold separately so watch out you know what you are purchasing!), and of course, you can purchase Nokia Navigation Licenses either from the internet (normally cheaper) or direct on the device itself, giving you the same overall experience, just without the silver colour!

Nokia have this week released a new firmware for the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone (v30).  As this phone has UDP (User Data Preservation), normally no applications or data would be lost in installing a firmware update, but this firmware isn’t quite like that…

Along with a range of stability and bug fixes, Nokia have added the ability for Nokia Messaging to add email notifications onto the homescreen.  However, this additional feature requires a hard reset of the device to become activated, thereby losing all installed applications and data.  So, although we normally still recommend taking a backup before performing a firmware update, this particular firmware update will involve starting afresh to get the most out of it.

As always, this firmware update is not yet available to all branded firmwares, we’ll keep an eye on the situation and report back as to how quickly each UK network operator makes this firmware available…

Over at “The Nokia Phone Blog“, Ang has put together a nice complete step by step process for how to encode video for best viewing on these devices, namely the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and the Nokia N97, and it’s well worth a read if you are looking to ensure you use the optimal settings for the correct quality to allow good video without taking more than necessary disk space.

There’s been quite a lot of activity over the last couple of weeks within the Symbian marketplace, mainly related to the release of the Nokia N97, and many people releasing new or upgraded apps to support the new range of touchscreen devices, so we thought we summarise some of those activities that we haven’t already mentioned…

last.fm and mobbler

Firstly, to one of our favourite S60 apps; mobbler.  mobbler, a last.fm client has been through a vetting process with last.fm and has been given the seal of approval, such that it can continue to use the new API for accessing streaming music to S60 mobiles.  To clarify, you need to pay a subscription to access this though.  A few months ago, when last.fm first talked about the new API, they said users in the UK (Germany and the US) would not need to pay due to last.fm receiving sufficient ad revenue in these countries; so why the need to pay?  Simply, because mobbler doesn’t show you ads; if you “only” use the last.fm desktop application (which does show ads), then last.fm are happy you don’t need to pay, but as mobbler doesn’t offer last.fm ads, last.fm feel it’s fair to charge (and at £3 per month, it’s only a small outlay).

If you don’t want to pay and don’t want access to streamed music, there is an alternative to mobbler; the Vodafone last.fm client, but, having seen both, we still prefer mobbler (although if you have a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic it appears mobbler cannot record the music you listen to yet, whereas the Vodafone client can).

Nokia E75 IM Beta application

Nokia Beta Labs have released an IM client.  At this stage, it only support Yahoo and Ovi chat, but Nokia have stated it will support more IM platforms in time, and of course, they will extend support beyond the Nokia E75.  Our only comment on this is that it’s a Java application, and not a native S60 app, which seems a little strange for Nokia.

Other Ovi updates

Nokia also announced this week that Ovi Maps 3.0 (aka Nokia Maps v3.0) has moved from Beta to being released.  This brings with a range of new features within the mapping client, and offers the ability to sync your favourites between your phone and your Ovi online account (as this is both ways, it allows you find and record destinations on the PC, and then download to your mobile).  This, although only just released looks an interesting proposition.  Unfortunately, the Map Loader application remains Windows only, although the actual SIS files for the map clients are already available on the internet.

Nokia has also updated their Ovi Contacts application to support the Symbian S60 5th Edition touch devices.  Included with this new version, for Nokia N97 users only, is integration with the homescreen; you can integrate your contacts with the Contacts addressbook on the phone, such that you can see their status within the standard addressbook, and if you have that contact in your favourites on the homescreen, their IM status will appear there too.  Symbian S60 3rd Edition users shouldn’t feel left out; Nokia have updated this version too, although without the homescreen integration.

Pixelpipe support for the Nokia N97

Pixelpipe, a service we’ve recently been supported, have also released a QuickPost widget beta too.  “The widget aims to provide a simple and efficient method of updating your status or posting to blogs/micro-blogs while on the go.  Just keep it running in the background, pop it open when you have something to say and post it to any of Pixelpipe’s 95 supported services.  You can even use our Routing Tags feature to selectively post to specific services or groups (eg. @twitter, @facebook, @friends).”

It’s available now and can be downloaded OTA directly to your handset or desktop at http://tr.im/qGxu, although Pixelpipe would be grateful for any feedback to beta@pixelpipe.com.

Mippin Homescreen Widgets

Finally, Mippin have produced a number of widgets for Symbian S60 5th Edition devices *and* Android phones.  They have released 4 “Buzz widgets”;

• Buzz Widget – the very latest up-to-date news

• Gossip Buzz Widget – the latest celebrity news

• Gaming Buzz Widget – the latest gaming news

• Tech Buzz Widget – the latest technology news

These widgets will work on all S60 5th Edition devices, and can also be incoporated onto the homescreen on the Nokia N97, and you can control some elements of the content (eg selecting UK news) and the refresh rate.  As a default, they only collect new news every 30 minutes, but as they store the data locally, they will still work in areas of no signal coverage, or when the phone has been put into Flight Mode.

Right now, only the News Buzz widget is available from Nokia’s Ovi Store, so if you want, you can download the widgets direct from Mippin via these links…

Downloads for Nokia N97, 5800 / 5530

• Download News Buzz widget

• Download Gossip Buzz widget

• Download Gaming Buzz widget

• Download Tech Buzz widget

Truphone have announced their low cost international calling solution is now available on 12 new handsets, which includes the Symbian S60 5th Edition models (both the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and the Nokia N97), as well as a range of additional S60 3rd Edition handsets.

Not just that, but Truphone have now got their application into the Ovi Store for many of the supported phones too.

Some of the new phones aren’t yet able to work over Wi-Fi (but will work over 3G).  Adding these new phones to their existing iPhone, iPod Touch and Android support shows Truphone to be a valid option to consider irrespective of your choice of platform.

Nokia have released what they are claiming should be the final beta version of the new Nokia Maps v3, AKA Maps 3.0 with Ovi Maps.  This new release has a number of new features, including:

• Additional features such as weather information, safety spot warners in selected countries, extended country coverage for traffic info service and premium POI (Point of Interest) content for travel, selected events and cinema
• New maps data version
• Quicker zooming & panning
• New “Shop & Licenses” format
• Also, a number of fixes and enhancements onto both Maps Updater and Map Loader have also been implemented – with Maps Updater supporting 21 different languages
• Last but not least, many bugs have been fixed!

This new version is also compatible with Symbian S60 5th Edition devices, so the list now includes:

S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 (E63, E66, E71, E90 Communicator, N81, N81 8GB, N82, N95, N95 8GB)
S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 (E55, E75, N78, N79, N85, N86 8MP, N96, 5320 XpressMusic, 5630 XpressMusic, 5730 XpressMusic, 6210 Navigator, 6220 Classic, 6650, 6710 Navigator, 6720 Classic)
S60 5th Edition (5800 XpressMusic & N97)

To use this, you’ll need to head off to Nokia Beta Labs and download and install the new Map Updater and Map Loader.  If you use SpeedCam on your Nokia to get alerts for speed cameras, the author tells us it should still be compatible with this version (on S60 3rd Edition FP1 and FP2 only; he is still looking into S60 5th Edition support).

Update: If you are a Mac user, then N97Geeks have managed to work out the Map Updater simply downloads a .SIS file and sends it to your phone, and they have intercepted this process and released the .SIS file for Mac users to download and directly send to their Symbian phones.

We’ve seen Nokia’s Facebook app as one of the headline features of the Nokia N97, and now Nokia have released the S60 5th Edition Facebook application in their new Ovi Store.  Update your status, see what your friends are up to, upload photos, check messages and lookup phone numbers when you need them anytime and anywhere; the Facebook app allows you to comment on your friend’s statuses, RSVP to event invites and confirm or deny friend requests.

This works fine on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, although as this phone does not yet feature the Standby Screen widgets of the Nokia N97 (although there are rumours some functionality may come in a future firmware update), and so will never be quite as powerful as the Nokia N97.

It’s been a busy few weeks for firmware updates from Nokia, so we thought we should recap where we are with branded firmware updates, and, yet again, in nearly all cases it’s not as good as we would like, but… there is hope… read on…

A few weeks after the Nokia N96 v20 firmware has been released, it’s not yet been picked up by any of the UK networks, who are all still providing v11 or v12 via the Nokia Software Updater website.

However, some good news for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic users; the new v21 firmware was only released a few weeks back (we covered the news here), but we’re pleased to say that most networks are already offering this version (O2, T-Mobile, Virgin, and some Orange and Vodafone models).  Orange are a little bizarre with this, as they have hardly released any firmware updates for the Blue variant, but have already released v21 for the Black variant (their new exclusive colour with the Comes with Music service).

For all the other devices we keep an eye on (and the list grows each week), we’ve seen little activity at all from the network operators this month.

Orange UK have launched the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Comes with Music edition, and will be selling the phone in an exlusive Black and Silver colour.  The phone will be available in about 2 weeks time on price plans from £25 per month (most of which the phone will be free too).  However, we’ll note Orange still haven’t really got their Mobile Internet data sorted out, and are still charging too much for too little when it comes to getting online with your phone (eg many plans offer free evening and weekend internet for 2 months only; come on Orange; you’re competititors are including between 500MB and 1GB of data for use anytime for free for equivalent price plans).

However, the Comes with Music element means that you can access the Nokia Music Store and “download as much music as you like over the course of the 24 month contract” (we’re not sure what happens with Comes with Music if you only take an 18-month contract), although we suspect you’ll need to download via your PC and your Home Broadband connection, and not directly on your Orange phone to save breaking the terms of the service.

Orange have an exclusive on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Comes with Music.

Firstly, here are some highlights of software releases that have happened over the last few weeks that we haven’t already covered (interestingly many of them focused on the new S60 5th Edition):

• Nokia have released a Friend View version for S60 5th Edition devices (ie the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and the Nokia N97); if you previously installed the S60 3rd Edition (which did pretty much work, but wasn’t optimised for touch input), then you need to fully uninstall it before installing the new software.  To download it, simply head here on your mobile.

• Nimbuzz have updated their multi-IM client (now v2.0) with S60 5th Edition support too. Nimbuzz includes IM support for Google Talk and MSN, SIP support and even Skype (with SkypeOUT too), and it’s available to directly download to your phone from here.

• Nokia Beta Labs have updated their S60 3rd Edition (original and FP1 versions) Ovi Contacts application, which should now feature more reliable voice messages and location sending features.  With some server side changes, you are now able to search for contacts (with the ability for individuals to opt-out of appearing the searches), and this client should now be available via Download! (until it’s replaced by the Nokia Ovi Store) and via nokia.mobi.  Head to here for more details.

• Nokia have released a new Beta application; Nokia Point & Find, which is designed to provide you with real time information on things you point the phone’s camera out.  Right now, it mainly works well with movie posters and barcodes but Nokia has put some clever thought into this; if you select a movie poster it not just show details, including reviews, ratings, but will use the GPS location to provide additional information such as show times, the closest cinema showing the movie, and (limited to the UK) may even offer to allow you to purchase tickets there and then.  More information is available from here.

• Nokia have released a beta version of their Nokia Messaging application for S60 5th Edition, and more information can be found about this version here.

• Gerry over at nokiAAddict has confirmed that the BBC have fixed their iPlayer client on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, such that you can now download TV onto your device for later viewing again (this problem seemed to mainly affect those who had upgraded to the latest v21 firmware).

Since we released our last Branded firmware update where we requested help on providing product codes for various devices, we received a number of helpful comments from various people, and now appear to have a full set of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic operator product codes for the UK (we’re still missing a couple of product codes for the Nokia E71, so if you have a Nokia E71, we’d be grateful for a quick comment including the product code (found under the battery) and which network the device came from).  However, we can now confirm that the situation with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic looks like this:

• v21 was released a couple of weeks ago, having replaced v20 (compared to the v10 or v11 that most devices originally shipped with)
• We can confirm that T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2  and even Virgin (the first Virgin phone we’ve tracked!) should all now have access to v20, however
• Orange devices are still stuck back at v11

It appears that for different networks, different phones seem to suffer from greater delays with firmware updates, and we’d like to see the networks providing more timely updates.