Ever since the advent of the iPhone in 2007, the mobile landscape changed drastically, with buttons and keys no longer exciting, and mobiles moving more and more towards minimalist designs with as little physical buttons as possible. The form factor that has suffered from this shift, is the communicator-like style: with a big screen and a full QWERTY keyboard, these devices that were always considered the epitome of mobility, are now looked at as bulky, heavy and more fragile offers.
However, 2 recent devices have set out to change the public's perception on full-QWERTY devices: the Nokia E7 with its solid design, and the Desire Z with its relatively compact size. How do they compare to each other? Follow us after the break to find out.
The Nokia E7 is a Symbian
Qt (pronounced "cute") has been waved by Nokia for over a year as the next best thing since sliced bread, and the ultimate savior of Symbian. Despite Nokia's decision to move to Windows Phone as a main smartphone platform, developers seem to stay committed to Qt now, producing some wonderful applications.
I have to admit, I was dubious at first, I mean we were once promised the moon with Web Runtime Widgets and we all know how that went: slow, clunky. So Qt wasn't flying in my books until I decided to give Qt apps the benefit of the doubt. And lo-and-behold: they are actually good. Yes, yes, I kid ye not! Below, you will find a list of the best 30 applications based on Qt that you can get and install in order to enjoy a breath of fresh air on your Symbian phone and show off to your friends.
Social
- TwimGo (free, download) : a Twitter client with all the bells and whistles, timeline, replies, direct messages, users, search, lists, trends, and even image previews.
- Kasvopus (free, download) : the cleanest and fastest Facebook application I've seen, with timeline, friend walls, photo albums, comments and likes, and even events.
- FriendChat (free, download) : an instant messaging application for Facebook Chat. Simply log in and connect to your friends anywhere.
- AudioBoo (free, download) : the official AudioBoo app for Symbian, based on Qt, with recording, uploading, and following popular boos and friends.
- Different Tack (free, download) : another Twitter client with a twist, literally. You spin your finger on the bottom half of the screen and you move through tweets, options, and timeline or replies or messages.
- NewsFlow (free, download) : there aren't many Google Reader clients on Symbian, and NewsFlow doesn't aim very high. Basic features, but it works, and it looks good at it.
- Gmail Apps Browser (free, download) : although the name hints at Gmail, this application lets you access the mobile version of Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Tasks and Google Buzz.
- WordPress (free, download) : if you're a blogger, then you probably heard of WordPress. This app will let you access multiple blogs, manage comments, write posts, add images and follow your stats.
Location
- Wikitude (free, download) : spin around and view Wikipedia articles on locations around you, Flickr images taken by others, or really hundreds of other content categories in this augmented reality application.
- Layar (free, download) : quite similar to Wikitude, Layar has been a hit on Android & iOS, and this is no exception. View restaurants, shops, touristic spots and much more around you.
- Poynt (free, download) : Poynt leaves the augmented reality aspect, but focuses on showing you points of interests around you, and guiding you to them with Ovi Maps.
Utilities
- Flake (free, download) : a weather application with support for multiple locations, 5-day forecast, temperature graphs and a world map view of the weather.
- Toshl (free, download) : a personal expense tracker that lets you add your daily expenses, see the categories you spent most on, and control your spending habits.
- Dropian (free, download) : one of the first decent Dropbox clients for Symbian: lets you access your Dropbox folders and files, upload new ones, and download what you need.
- Nokia Drop (free, download) : a BetaLabs application, that lets you push links and images from your computer's browser to your phone.
- Qt Quick Shopping List (free, download) : create multiple shopping lists, add and remove items in them, and specify the quantity of each. Then you can check/uncheck items as you go to the market and start buying them.
- ESPN F1 (free, download) : a Formula 1 app for the fans that lets you read the latest news, track the races, look at drivers statistics, and more.
- Calculator Qt (free, download) : a simple calculator with a memory function, but looks and works much better than the built-in calculator.
- Timer Qt (free, download) : it's a lap timer, with unlimited laps, and the ability to start and stop the recording when you want.
- Converter Qt (free, download) : a stylish converter, that works on weight, length, volume, temperature, and other categories, with the essential units in each.
- QuickStocks (free, download) : a beautiful stocks app, with summary view, the ability to add your own stocks, and a detailed view with weekly, monthly, yearly statistics and more.
Photography
- Molo.Me (free, download) : the Instagram-equivalent for Symbian. Snap a picture, apply effects like retro camera looks, color picking, different tones, and then share them to Twitter and Facebook.
- ColorizIt (0.80$, download) : make the colors in your photos pop, by letting them shine while the rest of the image goes black and white. Share to Twitter and Facebook too.
- QuickPanorama Pro (2.29$, download) : a panorama application that automatically stitches photos together, with sharing to Twitter or Facebook enabled.
- QuickFlickr (free, download) : a Flickr browser application that lets you view your friends pictures, favorite them, and check their details.
- Lapsed (free, download) : make time-lapsed videos from photos shot every few minutes. Perfect for sunrises, sunsets, and other events that last a few hours.
Multimedia
- PanoWallpaper (free, download) : this application lets you split your widescreen photos into 2 or 3 separate images that you can later set as panoramic wallpapers for you different homescreens.
- Moodagent (free, download) : create music playlists based on your mood. Angry? Sad? Happy? Set your mood sliders and Moodagent will pick your music and share it on Twitter or Facebook.
- Geeky Avatar (0.80$, download) : create avatars with many skin tones, hair and accessories, and assign them as contact pictures in your phonebook.
- Voice Recorder Qt (free, download) : a simple voice recorder that lets you save multiple recordings and listen to them when you want.
What's Your Best Qt App?
So that's my list. I didn't include any games, because there are many based on Qt out there. However, I might have missed a couple of apps out there. What is your favorite Qt app for Symbian? Is it anywhere on this list? Or did I miss it?
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It was all the way back in September of 2010 that we first got wind of Race After 1977 [$4.99] which at the time was "nearing release." Of course things never go as planned, and after many months of delays later, the game if currently live on the App Store. Included is 10 tracks which spread across 5 environments with 9 cars to race. Unlocking all of this content involves competing in tournaments, and placing well.
Xpect Games spent so long on this game tweaking their home-grown game engine to provide the exact kind of crazy physics that you can find in Race After 1977. Jumps are everywhere, crashes are plentiful, and like any arcade racer, you'll almost always be drifting while turning. Check out the launch trailer:
A lite version is planned as well as an iPad version which will be enhanced for the iPad 2. People on our forums seem happy with the game, so if you've been waiting for this once since its initial announcement, now's your time to smash that download button.
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BSNL has revised it's 3G data tariffs and also introduced 2 new plans for both Prepaid and Postpaid users. For Prepaid users there is a new plan offering 250MB of free usage at Rs.100 and 22GB of free usage at Rs.2000. Both data plans comes with a validity of 30 days.
The revised prepaid plans are Rs.200 for 500MB and Rs.400 for 1GB . Postpaid users can get 250MB at Rs.80 per month and 22GB at Rs.1819 per month. The revised postpaid� plans are Rs.189for 500MB and Rs.369 for 1GB
[via MobiGyaan]
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If you've got an iPad you've likely at least dabbled in the various magazines available on the App Store. The Daily [Free] made the biggest splash with its launch, but there are a number of other iPad-formatted magazines ranging all the way from Popular Science [Free] to Elle [Free]. But, what if you don't particularly care about world events, science, or fashion and you're looking for something that focuses entirely on video games? Well, Area 5 has answered the call with the just-launched Atomix Mag [Free].
Issues are attractively priced at 99� each, with subscription options coming in the future. I've been enjoying the first issue, as it really feels like consuming this kind of content in this fashion is one of the things the iPad is amazing for. It really feels like the future too. If I showed this to my 1988 self sitting on the toilet reading Nintendo Power, to say my mind would be blown would be an understatement.
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Long-time TouchArcade favorite Harbor Master [$1.99 / Free] was recently updated to add complete Game Center support, transitioning away from Imangi Studio's own proprietary scoring system. Online scoring mostly remains the same, aside from being piped through Game Center now. What Harbor Master didn't have before is achievements, and now there are 38 in all for achievement fanatics to farm up. These achievements range from being simply score based to difficult challenges such as reaching a certain score on Pirate Passage without killing any pirates.
In addition, the controversial rewind feature from Harbor Master HD [Free] has made it over to the iPhone version of the game. Unlike the iPad game, these rewinds aren't IAP, and are simply earned by playing the game.
If you haven't had Harbor Master on your device in a while, this is the perfect opportunity to give the game a spin as shooting for the achievements gives a fantastically tangible goal to a previously endless game. Similarly, if you haven't yet given Harbor Master a try, it's really worth at least checking out a free version of the game especially if you haven't dabbled in the chaos management genre in a while.
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If Jeopardy [$4.99 / HD] and Trivial Pursuit [$.99] got together after a drunken night spent staring at YouTube football-in-the-crotch videos, popular culture rags, and irreverent comedy routines, the fruits of that night of passion and drunken perusing of media would be You Don't Know Jack, one of the most irreverent and entertaining quiz show games ever. And for the first time, it's poised to grace iOS devices � though, the question of "when" still remains.
Date and actual hands-on time with it aside, YDKJ iOS has the appearance of being a faithful port of the latest rash of games. In the press release announcing this momentous occasion, the PR firm notes that these particular versions will launch with 20 full episodes (10 questions each) and all those interesting bits and pieces of side content, like the "DisOrDat," the "Jack Attack," and even "Who's the Dummy?" Neat!
We're hoping to get our hands on a preview build of the game in the not too distant future, at which point we also hope to report back on You Don't Know Jack for iOS being as awesome as we hope it will be. Yeah, that's an awful lot of hoping, but I have faith in Jack.
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BGR is back with another exclusive BlackBerry leak . They have got their hands on the soon to be announced BlackBerry Torch 2 and posted some photos of the device.
The Torch2� looks pretty similar to the original Torch 9800. There are also some details about the specs of the Torch 2 which talk about a 640�480 pixel display , 1.2 GHz CPU with BB OS 6.1. The Torch 2 is expected to be announced at Blackberry World in May and release on AT&T this July.
Find more photos of the device below which show the back cover , compass and Blackberry Bridge
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Does the name Timo Vihola ring a bell? If you're a card carrying member of the cult of Minigore [99� / HD] you're surely familiar, otherwise, he's the artist and co-creator responsible for the Minigore phenomenon as well as a game designer for the recently released Death Rally [$4.99]. In its day, Minigore had an absolutely ridiculous amount of tie-ins with playable characters from other similarly popular games, so it's not much of a surprise to find that John Gore himself is making an appearance in the impending Death Rally update.
All of the features of this new update are detailed in our forums, but it basically amounts to a new car, two new weapons, a new challenge mode, as well as oodles of tweaks and bug fixes. Here's some video from the update:
The update is currently "in review" and Timo is expecting it to drop at any moment. Also, the second update for the game is on the verge of being completed, and it sounds like it will be submitted as soon as this one is approved. Death Rally is a fantastic game, is universal, and is one of the few iPad 2 optimized titles out there. For more information check out our review. I've got nothing but good things to say about Death Rally, especially with developers committing to these kinds of update cycles. Actually, I do have one complaint. They included TUAW's Mike Schramm as a playable character with the game's launch, where's the TouchArcade love?!
<!-- PHP 5.x -->Looking for something to do during the commercials commercials while you watch The 2011 Masters Tournament? Why not also play a game of golf yourself? In honor of the Masters, EA has dropped the price of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 [$4.99 / Lite]. Sure, it's only two bucks off but Tiger 12 only came out a few weeks ago.
We liked Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 a lot in our review, and it's even easier to recommend now that it's priced on par with a Subway $5 foot long. Also, the closest to the pin challenges have turned out to be really cool. If that's all you're interested, you only need to download the lite version.
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Samsung Electronics is going to launch its first dual core Android smart phone Samsung I9100 Galaxy S2 on April 25th in Korea says Reuters. There were rumors about the delay in the launch of Samsung Galaxy S2. Later it was confirmed�this phone would launch this month as planned.
This phone is said to have 1.2Ghz dual core processor instead of 1Ghz. Other than that this has 1GB RAM, 8MP camera with LED flash and comes with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Samsung became second largest mobile phone maker in 2007 overtaking Motorola. Samsung Galaxy S that was launched in Korea last year, sold 2 million units which accounts for 1/5th of worldwide sales. Korea telecom that is second largest mobile telecom operator announced that, it has planned to launch the phone by April 25th.
Sunkyoung Telecom that is its rival is yet to announce the launch date. There is no official announcement from Samsung about the launch date. There are also rumors about the launch of this phone in India this month.
(via Unwiredview)
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Looks like the Sony Ericsson XPERIA NEO which was supposed to hit Europe this month has been delayed to July due to the destruction caused by the Japanese earthquake. Also the ARC and PLAY which hit stores recently are facing supply issues.
Here is the press statement from Sony Ericsson on the matter
As Sony Ericsson continues to assess the impact of the situation in Japan on its business, we have communicated to our operator customers and distributors that some volume of Xperia arc, Xperia PLAY and Xperia neo phones has been affected. Xperia neo has already been introduced to the marketplace in limited quantities. However, due to supply chain disruptions resulting from the situation in Japan, we have shifted the timing of Xperianeo's broader launch and it is now planned for early Q3.
We will address this topic at the time of our Q1 financial results announcement call that is scheduled for April 19, 2011.
Interestingly Flipkart still has the device for Pre-order in India with a delayed release date of May 1st week. If you are waiting to grab the ARC and PLAY , go grab one soon before the stocks run out.
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According to a new Gartner research report , Android is set to emerge as most poplar mobile OS worldwide by 2011. It is also said to grab 49% of worldwide market share by 2012. Even IDC's recent survey reveals the same.
Sales of Open OS devices is set to reach half a billion by 2012 and to cross 1 billion mark by 2015. Price of Android phones would reduce gradually and more mid range Android phones to emerge due to the competition. Average selling price of devices to reach $300 or below that by 2015.
Even though there is a slight decrease in market share after 2011, iOS to stay as second biggest platform till 2014, that is already popular in the emerging markets like the U.S. and Western Europe.
Market for Symbian phones would decrease gradually, since Nokia would concentrate on Microsoft's Windows phones. Microsoft to stay at second place with 19.5% market share, with Android in the lead with 48.8% market share by 2015.
RIM would face steady decrease in the market share but would manage to grab 11% market share by 2015.
The sales of tablets would increase after 2011 and market for tablets would see steady increase in the future. People who already own a smart phone will purchase a tablet that shares same OS with their phone, that allows them sync the content between the devices easily.
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Yet another Android tablet. Pioneer Computers Australia Company has introduced their Android 2.2 Froyo tablet known as the DreamBook PhonePad M7, quite a mouthful.
The Android tab is built on a Qualcomm processor with 1 GHz and is equipped with a 7-inch multitouch display with 800 x 600 pixels. The volume of the integrated memory and intelligence are the same, with 512 MB??, supporting up to 32GB via MicroSD.
The tablet is equipped with 3G (UMTS 900/1900/2100 MHz), WiFi and Bluetooth, GPS, two cameras (1.3 megapixels � front and 5 megapixels � rear), digital compass, orientation sensor, two speakers and a microphone. In addition, a mini USB port.
The DreamBook PhonePad M7 comes with notepad, calendar, world time, clock, calculator, etc. and Google search, Google map, Gmail as you will expect with any Android package in addition to plentiful of latest apps from the Android Market. The device will no doubt support Flash 10.1.
DreamBook PhonePad M7 with the basic configuration can be purchased with a pricetag of $399.
[via TechFresh]
The hacking community doesn't take lightly on Sony's legal actions against hackers, so it appears that hackers have united and are ready to strike out at Sony. War between Sony and hackers are still on going and have been so for some time, and after Sony took legal actions against George Hotz, also known as Geohot, and Graf_Chokolo, it appears that hackers have been taking action against Sony lately.
Infamous hacking group called Anonymous has issued a warning to Sony, saying that they will take actions against them in the near future since they have violated freedom of speech of Hotz and Graf_Chokolo. It didn't take long for Anonymous to start their DDoS attack at Sony's websites, and several of them were offline due to attack. So far, Sony is still investigating this attack, and its considering the possibility of a third party attack, but there's no evidence to connect Anonymous to this attack, except their previous warning.
[via CNET]