The Nokia Guide

Flash Lite 3 available for download: Only for developers says the big red A

The big A has released version three of their Flash Lite for developers, official support will come in 2008 when it is preinstalled with Nokia S60 devices planned for Q1 2008 (Touchy S60 devices maybe?) The big A hasn’t given its full blessings for consumers yet as it developer version that “supports standalone content and cannot be used to view SWF files that are embedded in a mobile web browser or to test any type of personalization content such as wallpapers or screensavers.” But since when has that stopped us? So I decided to install it on my Nokia N82 to see what would happen. It doesn’t override the current installed Flash Lite 2.0 found in Media (On the N82), but installs a separate copy in the Applications folder. As I understand this it’s suppose to be able to play full-size FLV files. I converted some Youtube FLV files, but no luck as of yet. If you want to get a taste of what’s to come once things get touchy in ’08 with the blessings of the big A, head on over to their Labs for your copy. I need some help here getting this thing to play FLV files, anyone having any luck?

Nokia Download site update

Was looking for new download and noticed a slight update for the Nokia Download site on the European Nokia site. Previously they had all updates mixed in one soup of programs. They have now divided in 5 different tabs:  Phone & Updates, PC, Mac and BETA. It looks more organized, although last time I check it the BETA tab is not working. Have a look here.

Update: Just noticed the new Podcast site here.

Getting down and dirty….with S60 Specs

If you’re more of the I’m-an-advanced-S60-user-and-want-to-know- everything- about- my- device type, going Nseries.com will only provide “basic” information. While they have long pages filled with specs and features the type of user I mentioned above would definitely want to know more.  When I want to go into details (especially for reviews) there’s a particular site I can visit. If you’re of the developer type, just like the I’m-an-advanced-S60-user-and-want-to-know- everything- about- my- device type this site is for you.

It’s called Forum Nokia and is really catered for the more advanced users. You’ll find everything from device specifications, tools and SDK’s, documentation on technologies like Flash Lite and Java. Like for example, did you know that the N95 8GB had OMA DRM Forward Lock, OMA DRM v1.0, OMA DRM v2.0,Windows Media DRM 10m, the following Bluetooth 2 EDR profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, BIP, BPP, DUN, FTP, GAVDP, GOEP, HFP, HSP, OPP, SAP and 332 MHz with a dual CPU?

It’s all there! Have a look at the Forum Nokia and see what geeky info you can find about your device, great for one those evening with S60 get-togethers.

How to turn your S60 3rd edition device into a Gameboy/Gameboy color or Super Nintendo system

I’m pretty aware of the capabilities of the Nseries/S60 combo, but I have to admit that sometimes it even amazes me what’s possible. If you’re planning on showing of what your device can do, this should be one of the top things to have on your Nseries. What I’m talking about here are the so called emulators.

As Wikipedia puts it: “An emulator duplicates (provides an emulation of) the functions of one system with a different system, so that the second system behaves like (and appears to be) the first system. This focus on exact reproduction of external behavior is in contrast to simulation, which concerns an abstract model of the system being simulated, often considering internal state.”

So basically it pretends to be (emulates) let’s say the Game Boy Color and uses the ROM which contains the game data to recreate pretty much the same experience. To do this you’ll need a couple of programs by a software company called Vampent. They have 4 programs, each one for a different system: vNES for the Nintendo Entertainment System, vBoy for the GameBoyColor, vSun for Super Nintendo Entertainment System and vBag for the GameBoy Advance. Now these are not free, but it’s definitely worth the purchase. On top of that you’ll need the actual game ROMS as these are not included, but these can be found around the net. I have both vNES and vSUN and let me tell you, this thing is awesome! Being able to play my old favorites like Super MarioWorld 3 and Donkey Kong Country on a portable device is just perfect. If you own a N95 or any of the TV-out enabled S60 phones you could hook it up to your TV and use the phone as a controller!! If you really want to go all-out you could also use a Bluetooth keyboard (Like Nokia’s SU-8W) and play wirelessly from the comfort of your couch. I do recommend the BT keyboard as the TV-out cable included with these phones isn’t that very long. Try them and let me know what you think. If you already own any of these emulators what’s your opinion on them, what games do you recommend?