Kik Messenger Introduces New Symbian, Windows Phone Apps At Nokia World

The cross platform messenger service Kik today launched its Symbian and updated Windows Phone apps at the Nokia World conference in London. The messenger competes with the likes of WhatsApp and is also  available on iOS , Android and Blackberry platforms. With the new Symbian app Kik Messenger users should be able to communicate regardless of platform of choice.

The Symbian app which has been in private beta for a while boasts support for sent, delivered and read notifications, group chat with any kik user across all supported platform, and photo sharing. The newly updated Windows Phone app supports the fast app switching features introduced in Mango while adding list scrolling, address book contact matching and other improvements.

Nokia 603 announced , Symbian Belle on board

Nokia just announced its next Symbian Belle device ie the Nokia 603. The phone joins the ever increasing family of Symbian Belle devices and is powered by a 1Ghz processor. The 603 comes in a range of exciting colors. The screen is a 3.5″ Clear Black Display panel which should ensure great visibility even in sunlight.

Specs :

• 1Ghz processor coupled with 512MB RAM
• Seven hours talktime and 460 hours in standby
• The phone measures 113.5 x 57.1 x 12.7mm and weighs 106.9g.
• Pentaband reception (WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900)
• Bluetooth 3.0
• WiFi
• NFC Support
• 5MP camera with 720p video recording
• 1500mAh battery

The phone will be available in Q4 2011 and will retail for about EUR 200 at launch.

Swype for Symbian updated to v2.0 in Nokia Beta Labs

Swype for Symbian has been updated to version 2.0 in the Nokia Beta Labs. This new version brings lots of new features like portrait and split-screen text input support for Symbian Anna, predictive tap auto-correction and lots more new features that are available for Android.

Features of Swype version 2.0 Beta for Symbian

• Portrait and split-screen text input support for devices with Symbian Anna
• Predictive tap auto-correction engine
• 30 downloadable language dictionaries
• Incremental UX changes based on Nokia and Android Beta Labs feedback

This version also includes lots of bug fixes. The Swype 2.0 Beta for Symbian is available as separate versions for Symbian S60 v5 and Symbian ^3 devices, and you could download it from the Nokia Beta Labs. This Beta is available only for 4 weeks, so go and try it soon and give to feedback about it in the Beta Labs.

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SPB Shell 3D now available for Symbian^3 Nokia phones

SPB Shell 3D, popular 3D user interface is now available for Symbian^3 Nokia phones.This is built on SPB UI Engine that offers neat and intuitive 3D visual effects and highly responsive and natural UI.

The SPB Shell 3D also has smart folders that lets you organize the Home Screen in the most convenient way to access the most important apps in one click and there is also 3 different views. There are also home screen widgets that include 3D World Time, 3D Picture Viewer, 3D SMS Viewer, 3D Weather Graph, Calendar, Weather, Wireless switchers, 3D Birthdays, SMS widgets and Contacts Folder.

You can also add 3D panels like Animated Weather, Picture of the Day based on Flickr, World Time with Moon Calendar, Time with 60+ skins and Calendar.It also has idle animation for widgets and panels.

You can purchase SPB Shell 3D for the Symbian^3 phones like Nokia X7, E7-00, N8, C7-00 and C6-01 from the SPB official site for $14.99.

Photo Sharing through NFC in Nokia Symbian Belle Phones

We had the chance to check out the NFC feature in the newly announced Symbian Belle Phones. You can transfer photos from one phone to another by merely tapping the phones together.  Watch the video below to see the technology in action. In the first part of the video a photo is clicked with a Nokia 600 and is sent to another device via NFC or Near Field Communication.  In the second part a wallpaper is shared in a similar fashion.

NFC is expected to go main stream in the coming years and looks like Nokia might benefit from the early mover advantage. The Google Nexus S Android phone also supports NFC. The iPhone 5 is rumored to sport NFC.

The application of NFC is not limited to file sharing but can be used for mobile payments , gaming and as authentication tokens. One of the biggest deployments of NFC is in Japan and you can pay for your train fare with your phone.

If you interested to know more about NFC head here

Video : Nokia 600 and Nokia 700 running Symbian Belle

Nokia launched 3 new Symbian devices in Hong Kong recently and here is a short video walk through of the Nokia 600 and the Nokia 700

Nokia 600

• Really loud speaker
• NFC
• Built in FM radio
• 1GHz CPU
• 3.2 inch display
• 5MP Camera with 720p Video capture
• Symbian Belle
• 1200 MAh battery
• Wifi , Bluetooth

Nokia 700

• Really thin
• NFC
• 1GHz CPU
• 5MP Camera with 720p Video capture
• 3.2 inch AMOLED Display
• 1080 mAh battery
• Wifi , Bluetooth

Nokia 600 announced with new Belle OS

Nokia has announced Nokia 600 smartphone that runs on Belle and it claims that it is their loudest smartphone ever. The loudspeaker has audio output of 106 phon, similar to the one in their feature phone Nokia X1-01. This phone has NFC support, FM transmitter and FM receiver with the internal antenna, so that you don’t need to headphones to listen to the radio.

Specifications of Nokia 600

• 3.2-inch (640 x 360 pixels) nHD capacitive touch screen
• 13mm thick and weighs 100g
• Symbian Belle OS
• 1 Ghz processor
• 5 MP full focus camera with LED flash and HD video recording
• 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS with A-GPS and Magnetometer
• 2GB of internal memory that is expandable up to 32GB with MicroSD
• 3.5 mm Nokia audio connector, FM transmitter and FM receiver with internal antenna
• 1200 mAh battery that offers up to 15 hours talk-time and up to 550 hours standby

The Nokia 600 comes in Black, White, Pink, Lime and it would be available from the third quarter of 2011 for 180 Euros (US$ 260) before taxes.

Nokia 701 Announced

Nokia has just announced the 701 smartphone. It is a smartphone that follows Nokia’s new numbering system and runs on Symbian’s latest Belle version.

The 701 is very similar to the C7-00 in terms of design. The main changes are in the internal hardware. The 701 is said to be the equipped with the brightest smartphone screen in the world.

The specifications of the 701 are:

• 117.3 x 56.8 x 11mm, 131grams
• 3.5″ Capacitive IPS LCD ClearBlack Touchscreen with nHD (640x 360 Pixels) Resolution.
• 1GHz Processor and 256 MB RAM
• 8 megapixel EDoF camera with Dual LED Flash, 720p (1280×720 Pixels) Video at 30 fps and Secondary Front Facing Video Camera
• 8GB Memory and microSD Card Slot (Upto 32GB)
• FM transmitter (Play via Radio) and FM receiver, NFC (Near Field Communication) with Tap and share / Tap and connect
• Active Noise Cancellation, which delivers clear sound in noisy environments (second microphone is near battery cover catch)
• Integrated GPS with location support for A-GPS, WLAN and Cell-ID location techniques.
• Compass (magnetometer), accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors.
• microUSB, 2mm charging port, 3.5mm Nokia audio connector
• BL-5K Battery (1200mAh) (standby time of 23 days and talk time of 17 hours (GSM) and 6.8 hours (WCDMA).
• WiFi 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth 3.0

The phone will be available in the third quarter of 2011 in Dark Steel, Light Silver, Amethyst Violet and White Colours. The box contents are Nokia 701, Nokia Battery BL-5K, Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-179, Nokia Headset WH-207, Nokia High Efficiency Charger AC-15 and NFC gift card linking to Ovi Store apps (selected markets).

Nokia 700 Announced

Nokia just announced the Nokia 700 over at an event in Hong Kong. The Nokia 700 is said to be the smallest smartphone in the world and comes with a 3.2″ nHD AMOLED display. The processor behind the scenes is a 1Ghz unit. The Nokia 700 runs on the Symbian Belle OS which was also announced today.

It is also the thinnest smartphone in Nokia’s portfolio at the moment. Looks quite good if i might say so ! The Nokia 700 is priced at $390 and is expected to ship soon. We’ll be bringing hands on with the device from the show floor shortly !

Announcement Video :

Key Features :

• 110 x 50.7 x 9.7mm, 96g in weight, 50cc in volume; monoblock touch form factor
• NFC (Near Field Communications) with tap and share, and tap and pair
• Extensive use of eco friendly materials, which makes the Nokia 700 Nokia’s most environmentally friendly phone
• Processor: ARM 11 at 1GHz, RAM: 256MB
• 3.2″ capacitive AMOLED ClearBlack touchscreen, with Gorilla Glass on top and a small air gap; 640 x 360 pixels resolution (nHD)
• 5 megapixel full focus (EDoF) camera (with LED flash); video capture at 1280 x 720p (HD - 720p at 30 frames per second)
• Integrated GPS with location support for A-GPS, WLAN and Cell-ID location techniques
• Compass (magnetometer), accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors
• microUSB (USB 2.0) for file transfers and charging
• 2mm charger port with AC15 (high effiency charger) in the box
• 3.5mm Nokia audio connector
• BP-5Z (1080mAh) battery with easy access battery cover (standby time of 19 days and talk time of 7.3 hours (GSM) and 4.7 hours (WCDMA). Up to 47 hours of music playback and 6.9 hours of video playback
• WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 (pentaband 3G) and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 (HSDPA Cat 10 - 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA Cat 6 - 5.76 Mbps)
• WiFi: WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth 3.0
• 2GB mass memory and microSD card slot (supports sizes up to 32GB)
• Available Q3 2011 in Cool Grey, Silver/White, Coral Red, Peacock Blue and Purple
• In box contents: Nokia 700, Nokia Battery BP-5Z, Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-179, Nokia Headset WH-207, Nokia High Efficiency Charger AC-15 and NFC gift card linking to Ovi Store apps (selected markets).