Issue: 5

�It�s dark in here��

Sometimes you feel like you�re the last person alive on Earth, and you�re just waiting for Doug MacLure to turn up riding a pterodactyl. With Sophie disappearing on an extended observation (where I guess she has to be really quiet), Rafe working on his University Dissertation, and Leslie Nielson spooking me out in the Poseidon Adventure, it�s left to me, Ewan, to take up the reins of Your Symbian�s fifth issue.

So, issue 5 precedes the Symbian Developer Exposium by two days � and I�m pretty sure that there is going to be a lot of interesting news coming from that event. The feeling around the YS Shed is that Symbian is on the cusp of something big. I personally don�t think it�ll be long before �Powered by Symbian OS� is a selling point in places like The Carphone Warehouse� and it has been a long road for Symbian to get to this position. This issue looks at some of the building blocks that led to where Symbian is today.

Going way back, Dekard remembers the first true Pocket Computer, the Psion Series 3a. Running the SIBO Operating System, many of those who worked on this device are with Symbian now. Why was it so popular, and are there any lessons to be learned? SwitchBlade looks at �the forgotten Symbian device� and argues that the 9210 is still the best machine out there for a lot of people if they just gave it a chance. And I turn my attention to the P800, and ask if it really is the next best thing since sliced bread (self buttering toast? � Dekard).

And let�s not forget the fortnightly Forum and Web watch from Jordan, Richard�s software round up, and my fight with the Letters page. Now Sophie�s not here, I can put some of my own ideas into practice...

"Well, I don't want to see you either!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

And you both naff off to skulk somewhere. It won't be long before the phonecalls start, and you know it's going to end up the same way again, that within a fortnight, you're just going to have the same argument. Who needs this kind of hassle!? Maybe this is what Symbianware (http://www.symbianware.com) had in mind when they released BlackList for Series60. For only $9.95, you can be rid of the agonising decisiion; "should I answer or shouldn�t I?" and let the phone do the talking (well, the cutting off actually, but if that's all you have to say to him/her, it's saying it for you ;-). Of course, this has more uses than the offloading of emotional belittlitudes, and it can be configured situations, so you may not mind hearing from some people while down the pub, but in the office, you don't need the headache! Nice idea Symbianware! Thanks!

WildPalm (http://www.wildpalm.co.uk) has conceived another neat idea. With their new PhoneSecure application, you can configure your Series60 smartphone with a special password, which, if sent in an SMS, will lock the phone, unlock the phone or send the IMEI to the phone you are using. You can even use this to locate your phone should you have forgotten where you have put it (kind of like those whistle-to-beep key-rings, only better). Of course if you phone has been pinched by some unscrupulous, conscience-free wazzuck, and the SIM card has been changed, then you're still stuck. But the potential is here for a great app. Maybe WildPalm could get it to send a TXT to a pre-defined number should the SIM card ever be changed. At an introductory price of $5.99, you can't really go wrong!

Finally (for Series60), we have a serious Programmable Calculator from cjudaleev software (this can be downloaded from http://www.handango.com). I say it's serious because anything more than add-ups and takes-away on a calculator is just going to confuse the hell out of me ;-) It's a fruity $29.99, but it certainly does pack a whole bunch of features and a demo version is available for you to give it a go before you commit any pennies to it (though the demo version is quite limited).

Now, don't get me wrong - I do have some hope for humanity and I do like to think that there is good in everyone. However, there are some people who are beyond any hope and one of them has to be the name behind the latest 'Panic Pack' for Vexed on the Nokia Communicator! Arghhh! The inhumanity, as countless hours will be spent by people wanting to beat that one last level! The hope that if, next time, you move that block left instead of right, you will be able to show your Communicator just who is the superior life fom, is a cruel form of mental torture! I don't know if I should condone such anguish for Symbian users (after all, Ewan - the devil behind this mental machination - has even bigger plans for Vexed World Domination)? Oh, go on then! You can get it at www.symbiandiaries.com/vexed, but don't say I didn't warn you!

If you're looking for something a little more 'cutesy' and less 'intelligencia' ;-) then maybe you'd like to look at Bubble Rumble by Monkey Mobile Games (the demo and full game can be downloaded from http://www.handango.com). If you've played Bubble Bobble, you may have an idea of what this game is about. Bright colours and lots of levels, this could be $19.99 lasting a long time. As I said, a demo version is available and it's no tiny download (you'll also need the AppForge Booster - which is included).

It's been a good fortnight for Communicator games fans because as well as the two excellent games mentioned above, Digital Red (http://www.worldup.com) have released 3D MotoRacer. Six months in the making, it brings the thrills and spills (in those leather suits! Euch!) of riding a very fast motorbike to your 92x0 phone! It has 3D graphics and sound so should be a nice thrill for you biking fans out there. Also, while it's not full screen, it is a bit more landscape than some games of a similar ilk. Anyway, it's only $12.95 and a trial version is available - so what's holding you back!?

Finally for this roundup, Michael Ulrich (http://www.mikeullrich.com - nice wedding photos there mate) has released DevMan (Device Manager) for the Nokia Communicator. It provides statistical information on the state of your device and only takes up an 'ickle bit of your memory. It's only $9 and you can get a demo version from Handango (http://www.handango.com).

Ok, I have more sprouts to peel so I'm off. Later dudes and dudettes!

There are bucket loads of reviews on the net that look over on the P800 wonder phone - and all of them seem to wax lyrical about the wonderful merger of phone and PDA. Well I say that the sum might not be better than the parts. How does the P800 compare to a standalone computer such as the Pocket PC machines, or the venerable Psion 5mx?

So here's the test. Use the P800 as a 'standalone' PDA. No whiz bang web browser, fast GPRS access or data services to hide the core functionality. Why? Because since before its launch, the P800 has been happily touted as the best replacement for the mobile computer user - especially those used to the older Palms or Psions.

I've set myself a couple of ground rules here. The first is not using any of the functions provided by the phone circuitry, so no data calls or Internet access. Next, no installing or using any third party programs. If it's not installed out the box, I don't know it exists. Other than that, anything goes.

Problem one: Have you ever tried to use a P800 without a SIM card? I have, it doesn't work. Now while I realise the majority of people are going to get this phone under contract, a lot of people will buy them off-line. I can guess the arguments that Sony Ericsson will use here, but I don't buy it. The Nokia 9210 happily runs without a SIM, why can't the supposed super PDA P800 do the same?

So with a deactivated SIM used to get the phone past booting up (don't ask), it's time to look at the interface

After five minutes wandering around, I've come to one conclusion. Whoever designed the UIQ interface must really like Palm Pilots, because pretty much every element of the Palm interface is represented by a not-quite-identical (in the legal sense) element of UIQ. Now this is not a bad thing - if something works why change it? - but it leads to a feeling of deja vu. There's also the fact that certain things that seem obvious don't actually do anything.

A quick example: In the "Tasks" application, a little icon pops up to show when the text notes is being used. I'd expect that tapping the icon takes you straight to the note... nope it takes you into the edit task box, and you need another press on a (very similar) icon to get to the text note. There's quite a few of these extra taps needed throughout the interface.

The core PDA applications are all present and correct here � the simple Notes applications and the already mentioned Tasks are probably the most useful in terms of organiser functionality. The former is a space for free-form notes, which works well and the latter... I�ve always liked having a good To-Do app on my PDA (one reason why I really like the Palm machines).

Both these applications get a strong �thumbs up.� They are simple to use, but have great functionality, with the ability to set priority and due dates on individual tasks two things that deserve to be pointed out.

They also illustrate something that permeates the UIQ interface � categories. Each entry can be allocated to a category (such as �Personal,� �Your Symbian� or �Take Over The World�). In the top right of your application, you�ll find the category option. Touch this drop down box, and you can select one of the categories in that application, automatically filtering out everything that won�t help you get your magazine published on time.

The other two main apps are Calendar and Contacts. Contacts don�t do much when you don�t have access to the phone or the Internet, so I�ll look at that next time around. The calendar application though, has to be a little bit of a let down.

Calendar on the P800 has evolved from Calendar on the Nokia 9210, and it seems to have been cut down just a little bit too much. Making appointments and flagging up things to do at a certain time are all possible, but with the number of pixels on the screen, I just feel that more information could have been shown at one time. It always appears to have too much white space and not enough information on the screen. And coming from the Communicator, a lot of functionality is missing. Repeating entries, Anniversaries and birthdays seem to be the biggest omissions. There�s also very little way to customise the views. All in all, it�s a bit of a let down. Every other PDA I�ve used manages to get the Calendar function to an acceptable level. The P800 leaves me with the feeling that the wrong version of the Calendar app is in the firmware.

Finally the much vaunted character recognition... is okay. It's not stunning, even though the basic characters are easily entered. The P800 uses CIC Jot, which is becoming a bit of a standard (Palm recently licensed it replace the IBM Owned Graffiti system they previously used), but it doesn't impress me much. It is incredibly sensitive, so whenever you try to push the speed just a little bit more than 'pedestrian' you start getting errors creeping in. And trying to do a space after an l... argh!

It also fails the basic test I use for all input systems - can I use it walking down the road. The sensitivity means this is pretty much impossible without the pop up keyboard, which itself is way to small. I don't have a problem on qwerty keyboard devices, nor on Pocket PC or Palm, so this is a strong minus point for the P800.

In the end, the P800 holds up as a solid PDA, but doesn't have anything special. Everything is a notch just above average, and if there was a standalone device exactly like the P800 without the phone and data functions, I'd be happy with this "Palm 800."

But of course the advantage of the P800 is it is a phone, with email, wap and web access... How far above average does this take the P800? Far enough to be the most desirable phone today?

Find out my thoughts next issue when I put in a working SIM card...

There�s a good bit of new and interesting things to write about this week. Well actually I�m suffering from some sort of mental block at the moment... the words on the screen don�t seem to be registering with my brain (Oh yes, I believe I have one somewhere).

(Walks back drunk after an hour of mind-numbing television then promptly collapses on floor. A ghostly figure appears through some dry ice flooding out of the kitchen)

Hi everyone, I�m covering for Jordan this week, seeing as he has had, lets just say, a �little� too much to drink... (Last time I ever offer to take him down to the pub!) I�m J2K on All About Symbian, and I�ll be telling you about... uh... All About Symbian!

Right-o, it�s just gone 10PM here on this rainy Saturday evening, let�s take a peak at the latest news on the forum:

Well, Series 60 has become even more customisable this week, with the Beta Releases of two programs that do similar things. SmartLauncher by SymbianWare has been introduced; to allow 7650 and 3650 users to change the way the Menu looks, with the ability to �skin� the new �Launcher�, customising backgrounds and icons. j2k:technologies has also made Beta One of the Icon Changer available to the public, allowing Series 60 users to retain the existing familiar Menu structure, whilst having a refreshing change of icons. Sadly, the Icon Changer has now entered a phase of �under review�, so we�ll have to see what happens.

In other Series 60 news, SymbianWare have also released Smart vCard, to make the importing and exporting of contacts much easier. You�ll find transferring contacts between devices much easier now (Dazler points out you can now transfer your contacts to and from the 9210 as well).

And finally, the AAS guys are meeting up later today for a pub meet, so let�s hope they have a great time! I would like to say on behalf of us unfortunate guys, who can�t make it; we are expecting many photographs of the event!

Hmm, well, I think that�s about it for this week from me, now back over to the guys n� gals at YS! (How did I do for a first timer?)

(Jordan wakes up, looks round, and falls back to sleep)

Oh brother...

Thanks J2K, I should add something from my 2 weeks for forum browsing so here goes�.

R2D, R2A call it what you want, but it�s here... P800 owners just got a injection of full screen MP4 playing and improved MP3 payback, not to mention �night mode� camera settings. A nice pat on the back to Sony Ericsson who seem to be taking the customers ideas and problems seriously, hopefully if I keep sending these emails we should have a once ridiculed bread maker installed by R20X.

See you all at the show, and if not I�ll be back, with more in a few weeks time.

So what article do I get in the �look at the shiny Symbian devices?� Well, I get my favourite device. The Psion Series 3a.

One of my most enduring memories of my trusty Series 3a was the fact that my business studies teacher would take it off me during lessons to play Golf on it. Looking back, its amazing how popular this game has been, with it appearing on almost all the Symbian devices since.

But, thinking about it, the Series 3a is a similar metaphor for the games industry of today. In the classic days of the ZX Spectrum, you didn't have good graphics, amazing sound, or full screen movies to play. All you had was the game play, and to this day you will not find better, more playable games than Starquake or Head Over Heels.

Now compare the Psion Series 3 range to the world of PDA/Smartphones. There aren�t any colour screens, blisteringly fast processors or video players. But strangely, they were better PDAs than most, if not all, of the current crop. How can you say that, I hear you cry. Easy. I used one for five years and after two Series 5 machines, three Windows CE machines and four Palm powered machines, the Series 3a is still my most fondly remembered.

Firstly, there was the design. The clamshell design was incredible, it protected the screen and keyboard from wear and tear and the drive bays were hidden from view. Opening the machine gave a sense of quality and strength that hasn't been replicated since (even the successor the Series 5, didn't feel as sturdy). The keyboard, while small, was comfortable to type on, using either the touch typing method or the 'temple of the two thumb' technique of holding the machine in the palms of your hands and typing with your thumbs. The screen, still one of the clearest screens around, wasn�t bettered until a year or two ago � and even now it still holds up very well.

Easy access to all of the built in programs was available by the silkscreen buttons arranged along the hinge of the machine between the screen and the keyboard. This feature is something that virtually every PDA since has emulated in some way. You didn't need to fiddle with menus, start bars or launchers; everything was right where you needed it. If, like most people, you expanded the list of programs in the machine, the simple, elegant interface made it easy to locate items by simple giving you a row of icons from left to right. Underneath each icon would be files associated with that program. Again, no fiddling with file trees, endless menu scrolling or fiddly file managers. Everything was easily accessible from the arrow keys. It was fast, it was simple, the Series 3 got it right.

Nothing is more apparent to the success of the machine than the sheer number still in circulation� the medical profession alone accounts for a vast amount of Series 3 still in service today, providing the exceptional battery life, reliability and durability that they need. This point also emphasises the sheer wealth of additional programs available to the end user. Whether it was games, productivity apps or weird little niche programs, it was a haven for casual developers. Since the early nineties, many of the PDA manufacturers have lost this army of programmers, which is shame. Some top quality programs surfaced from these developers and the ease of programming the Series 3a surely helped contribute to its long term, sustained success.

The Series 3, you would expect, being developed so long ago, would fall short on the perceived needs of today�s market. Ironically, if you put a Series 3 machine next to a Pocket PC machine, and then strip away the multimedia applications on the MS Platform, the Series 3 machine would, feature for feature, come out as the better machine. Without a doubt Word for the Series 3a is one of the best word processors you will ever use� but with spreadsheets, databases, address books and contacts all available on the machine, the little Series 3 is still a ripe candidate for sale today.

Oh, sorry, I forgot, it doesn't play MP3 files...

Modern PDAs and the new generation of Smartphones have a lot to learn. Concentrating on fancy buzzwords and flashy features is all well and good in the short-term, all the gadget freaks will buy them and make your bottom line for the year look good. But what about the long term? If you take look around the PDA market in ten years time. I suspect you won't find a single 7650 or P800 still in use, but I can put good money on the table they'll still be Series 3 machines in use.

This week... the letter �A�

* AARDVARK *

Because it�s traditional that all A-Z features start with Aardvark. (www.f-111.net)

* AAAAY! *

The rallying call of a lazy mechanic who worked out that if you want to look cool - hang around with the geeks. (www.izzyhack.org/fonz)

* ALL ABOUT SYMBIAN *

One of the two main Symbian community sites (see My-Symbian in issue whatever for the other), AAS provides a discussion forum, news and software reviews to its browsers. There is also a growing Developer section aimed at new programmers using OPL on the Nokia 9210. And it has strong links with YS! (www.allaboutsymbian.com)

* APPFORGE *

AppForge is a pretty outstanding company from the US. The AppForge Booster allows you to run applications programmed in Visual Basic on all three flavours of Symbian (Communicators, Series 60 and UIQ devices), as well as the Palm and Pocket PC devices. This is especially good for businesses and can allow close integration of these mobile devices to their corporate applications. It also adds another language to the Symbian OS world � and choice in this area is always a good thing. (www.appforge.com)

* ASTRONIX *

Released by Symbianware, Astronix is a version of the arcade classic Qix, where you have a cursor and must block of a percentage of the screen without being touched by the enemies patrolling the screen. Unfortunately Astronix was pirated and warez�d within hours of it being released, and it never made the sales figures that would have allowed Symbianware to consider making another follow up arcade classic. Which is a crying shame, because the next game would have been Lemmings. (www.symbianware.com)

Used as a slogan for advertising all kinds of products, usually when they changed the recipe, realised no-one liked the new one, and try to inform you that they have changed back, infrequently comes true in the real world. For example, an 8086 PC may be original but is definitely not the best. Similarly the Model T Ford, the original factory production car, is no longer the best. On the other hand, the Nokia 9210, the original Symbian device not produced by Psion, is that still the best.

The 9210 was first on sale two years ago, and in its revised form of the 9210i is still selling. Originally looking for a Series 5mx to go with my 6210 mobile, I stumbled upon a friend getting rid of a 9210, this had all the features of my mobile and combined them with a seemingly updated Series 5 in a small clamshell design. The lack of a touch screen was never an issue as I'd never really used a touch screen PDA much, but a keyboard was a necessity. The device was to be used for note taking and similar at university, working in essays and other writings, and generally replace the laptop I lugged everywhere. Those who know me can vouch that the laptop has been to all sorts of places, poor thing is on its last legs now.

Nonetheless, the 9210 filled my needs, fitted in the pocket of my jeans, didn't weigh a ton and didn't run the battery flat in an hour, the perfect device. Again it's fulfilling a use for which I originally chose it, deep under the English Channel I'm writing this article on my way to work. I've seen and tried other devices, iPAQs, P800, Revo, and I can say that the 9210 is by far the best device I've used.

The 9210�s have many good points. The large (and clear) colour screen is the obvious one. The phone is a completely separate entity from the PDA. So if needed, you can turn off the phone to save battery life and the PDA still works fine. The front screen means I can read texts and make calls without opening the 9210. The applications are both stable and have the features required, with very litle that isn�t genuinely useful. The available emulators help give me a ton of games to play. And it has HSCSD for high speed data calls (crikey that�s a lot - Ewan)

Downsides are no GPRS, Bluetooth, touch screen or colour front screen. Fortunately nothing major. Lot's of people have gripes, things they don't like about it, things they'd change, but the majority of those people are still using the device. Personally I'd like T9 input on the front panel, but it's not the end of the world and doesn't stop me texting etc.

Two main reasons cited against the 9210 are the lack of Bluetooth and GPRS support. The first one, Bluetooth, is a fairly moot point, it has an infra red port, and because of teething problems still present in the Bluetooth standard, it still doesn't work right. But when your PDA and phone are combined, what use is Bluetooth? A Bluetooth headset just means you use more batteries and they generally take up more pocket space than plug in ones. Bluetooth storage is far to expensive to be considered sensibly for use with such a device. And Bluetooth file transfer to a PC� well, I know it's very infrequent that I copy large files back and forth, and if I did an MMC reader would be easier and cheaper to use. GPRS, let's face it, is bloody expensive, as it HSCSD. GPRS being the newer and slower of the two, although using very different techniques GPRS became more popular because it's "always there" and carriers can charge per KB which is a better revenue earner. There's no real
downside to either, apart from only Orange put HSCSD on it's network in the UK while the other operators didn't bother with high speed access until GPRS came along. I can't imagine any point where I really require high-speed access, at modem speeds, on the move.

I like many other people used to always go for the latest and greatest tech, my PC was upgraded monthly, and always had some kind of cutting edge hardware. But now I realise that a device is there to do a job, it doesn't need too have rolled off of the production line yesterday as long as it works. That attitude is used for all technology I have, and the 9210 does all the jobs required of it and more, a year and a half after I got it. Would I upgrade? Hell yes but I'm struggling to find a 9210i for what I can afford. I wouldn't buy anything but another communicator in the short term, the other phones are pretty, but they do so little compared to the 9210, which is a very useful PDA in a rather small package.

As always if you have any feedback please let us know�

Next issue you can expect a special issue focusing on everything that happened at the Exposium. It is lucky it two week because we�ll probably be still recovering.

If you are going to be at the Exposium please come and introduce yourself at the AAS / YS stand (we�re in the developer village).

The pub meet is tonight, and if you�re in or near London its not to late to come. More details at http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/site/pub.php. If you do come you�ll get to meet some of the top people in the Symbian world. Siemens are going to be showing their SX1 off, and Opera will be demoing their browser for Series 60. For those who are going to miss out we�ll have a report (if we can remember, its in a pub you know!) in the next issue (looks like its going to be a bumper issue. Till next time�

Your Symbian was brought to you by the letters "Y" and "S" and the
number "5"

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