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Continue reading N900 gains PS3 Sixaxis control over SNES gaming (video)

N900 gains PS3 Sixaxis control over SNES gaming (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The source code for the ten-year old Symbian platform will be completely open source and available for free starting Thursday. The transition from proprietary code to open source is the largest in software history, claims the Symbian Foundation.

“The dominant operating system provider out there is Symbian,” says Lee Williams, executive director of the Symbian Foundation, “and now we are offering developers the ability to do so much more.”

Symbian, which powers most of Nokia’s phones, has been shipped in more than 330 million devices worldwide. But in the last few years, Symbian has seen more than its fair share of changes. In 2008, Nokia, one of Symbian’s largest customers, acquired a major share in the company. Nokia then created the Symbian Foundation to distribute the platform as an open source project, and began the process of opening up the source code that year.

Meanwhile, the operating system has seen new rivals crop up. Google’s Android, which is based on a Linux kernel, has become a favorite among handset makers such as Motorola and HTC. And it’s based on an open source foundation too.

Symbian’s move to open source has been completed four months ahead of schedule and it offers mobile developers new ways to innovate, says Williams. Any individual or organization can now take, use and modify the Symbian code for any device, from mobile phone to a tablet.

Similar as it may sound to Android’s promise, there are major differences, says Williams.

“About a third of the Android code base is open and nothing more,” says Williams. “And what is open is a collection of middleware. Everything else is closed or proprietary.”

Symbian is also ahead of Android in that it will publish its platform roadmap and planned features up to 2011, he says. And anyone can influence that roadmap or contribute to new features.

“Open source is also about open governance,” says Williams. “It’s about letting someone other than one control point guide the feature set and the asset base.”

But will that be enough for Symbian to steal away customers lured by a snazzier and younger rival?

See Also:

• By Open Sourcing Symbian, Nokia Kicks Off the Mobile Age
• Symbian CEO Disses Linux-Based Android, Tells Google to Bring It …
• Symbian Announces Big Profits
• OS X Surpasses Windows Market Share (On Phones)
• 7 Reasons Nokia Phones Get No Love in U.S.

Photo: (James Nash/Flickr)

People sure do like getting something for nothing. Since Nokia made the big move to stop charging for its walk and drive navigation last week, 1.4 million of us have downloaded the Ovi Maps software — on average, that’s a download a second since launch. The response has been so good that it’s exceeded Nokia’s expectations according to Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia Executive Vice President, with China, Italy, UK, Germany and Spain representing the top 5 downloaders. Hardly a surprise to see consumers responding so favorably to a free offering that makes a device you already have (your smartphone) that much smarter even if it does make your dedicated satnav somewhat mostly redundant. Full press release after the break.

Continue reading Ovi Maps downloaded 1.4 million times in first week since going free

Ovi Maps downloaded 1.4 million times in first week since going free originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Get to it N97 owners. In addition to your free Ovi Maps, Nokia just let loose firmware version 21.0.045 that promises to improve call reliability and internet browsing while smoothing out the jumpiness some have seen with kinetic scrolling introduced in v20. It’s available now via a Nokia Software Update tether if you just can’t wait for it to be set free over the air. As always, let us know how it goes in the comments.

N97 firmware update v21.0.045 ready to download originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re sure just about every company on the map has an opinion on Apple’s new device, but a few big wigs have taken time out of their busy schedules to weigh in on the device. These are their stories.

• Nokia’s Mark Squires, Head of Social Media, was mainly confused by Apple’s statement that it’s the biggest mobile device manufacturer, surpassing Nokia in combined revenue on media players, phones and laptops. Mark argues that the accepted definition for “mobile devices” excludes laptops, and goes on to mention the undisputed fact that Nokia’s still number one when it comes to number of devices sold.
• Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, meanwhile, says that mobile devices aren’t a priority for his company yet. They’re fighting the good fight of the large screen, and once they feel comfortable in their various efforts there, then they’ll move on to small screens. Netflix hasn’t done or submitted an iPhone application, but Hastings did mention that he was optimistic that if Netflix did get into the game, the app would be approved for the App Store, and that it would run on both the iPhone and iPad.
• Satura Iwata, president and CEO of Nintendo, took a much more directly critical approach to the device, calling it a “bigger iPod Touch,” and that Apple delivered “no surprises.” In the same interview he expressed skepticism as to the value of bringing a high definition Wii on the market, as well as expressing doubts about 3D glasses-based gaming. Iwata is clearly a tough man to please.
• Perhaps most threatened by the iPad is Russ Wilcox, CEO of E-Ink. He says dedicated e-readers will outsell iPads due to “simple economics,” and that the iPad is “great entertainment device,” but it’s “not the world’s best reading device.” His criticisms, mostly in juxtaposition to Kindle-style devices, abound, including price, weight, backlight and so on. He’s right on the money about the shortfalls of a straightforward comparison, but we wonder if consumers will feel the same?

Nothing too salacious, unfortunately, and most of the points raised are pretty spot-on — though we do wish Reed Hastings would rethink his priorities just a smidgen and get Netflix onto mobile devices sooner than later. We’re needy like that.

Nokia, Nintendo, Netflix and E-Ink respond to the iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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