20 best sites for free symbian software : The Symbian Directory !!

Trying out new softwares is fun on Symbian gadgets. One finds new versions and better alternatives coming up all the time. So I thought of sharing my " Symbian Bookmarks " for free symbian S60 software download.

This one is a comprehensive directory. Take your time and check them out !!

1. getjar : Get both Java as well as symbian applications.
2. symbian-freeware : One of my favourites.
3. smartsym : Find S60 5th edition (Nokia 5800 expressmusic) softwares !!
4. dotsis : Terrific site with forums where we can discuss everything Symbian. Register to post !!
5. wapain.net : Another one with S60 v5 softwares. Another one of my picks.
6. mobilefan.net : Softwares by category, a well simplified list.
7. mobiletopsoft : Find all freewares and shareware.
8. my-symbian : Freewares as well as shareware.
9. gallery.mobile9 : Cool Interface, community based site. User uploaded.
10. soft32.com : Cool interface and some really amazing collection.
11. mobiles24 : Another cool site to look for the latest softwares.
12. brothersoft : Well known for all your software needs, not only Symbian.
13. getsymbian : Large collection of softwares.
14. freesymbiansoft : Another great collection.
15. symbianstock : Large stock of softwares
16. bestsymbian : Good collection !!

The Best Blogspot/Blogger Blogs in this Business :

1. http://symbian-free.blogspot.com/
2. http://symbiansmartphone.blogspot.com/
3. http://symbianism.blogspot.com/
4. http://symbian-freeware.blogspot.com/

Tell me if you think I missed out on that one amazing link that would make this directory a more complete list !!

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12 must have Symbian apps : Review and download !!

Trying out different apps on a Symbian gadget is really fun. One finds useful and interesting apps being developed all the time. Now with Nokia's acquisition of the Symbian platform rest assured this is the platform of choice ( did somebody say Google Android ?, we'll see when it comes).

So , what are the must have apps on a S60 2nd edition device ( or even a 3rd edition one ) :

Browsers : Accessing internet on the go is one main reason of having a smartphone, isn't it? This is how we can get the most out of GPRS ( I just can't wait for the 3G launch for private players) :

• Opera Mini : This is one software I guess all smartphones must have, what with the java version also out there. Landscape browsing and zoom view are it's biggest plus.

• UCWeb Browser : This one comes in Chinese but there is the English translated version by Akushah. Tabbed browsing and in-built downloader with resume capability makes this one really special.

Downloader : What's the point in having an unlimited GPRS plan when you can't download files of larger size. These tools make downloading big files a piece of cake :

• Fget : The ability to resume downloads and work in background make it worth ahving on our device, even though the UCWeb browser with its in-built downloader has really made this one redundant.

• Symtorrent : I have already covered thisone in my earlier post. The only working torrent downloader on Symbian platform. Amazing software to have.

Audio/Video players : Multimedia is what mobile phones are all-about now a days. See how to get the most out of your Symbian gadget with these apps in this post :

• Divx Player : We need to install the xvid codec along with this and play files in avi format in addition to mp4 and 3gp.

• Smartmovie Player : Nothing to separate this from the previous one.

• Mp3 Players : There are quite a few mp3 players. Download these and find which one works for you.

Miscellaneous : Some softwares to make our life easy :

• SFManager : This is a file browser/explorer which makes it easy to browse through files on our memory cards. The native browsing system on these devices can be really frustrating at times.

• Adobe Reader : We know this must have app to go through our pdf files

• Pdf + (mBrain Software): A great lighter alternative to Adobe

• Screenshot ( http://www.rock-your-mobile.com product ): This one is for people like me who like to take a screenshot of their device screen for blogging or other posting purposes.

• Flashlight : A great tool for Nokia N70, to turn your camera flashlight into a torch. It's amazing to see what a powerful torch a N70 is !!

Direct Download most of these here....

If you have a terrific Symbian app in mind, do Disqus !!

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Simple2Learn Video Convert : Symbian Mobiles and Ipod

This " Symbian Monday " post is not really an exclusively Symbian post. This one is also for the Ipod and other video freaks who want to convert video to formats that that would run on their gadgets.

As I mentioned in last Monday's post, I use Total Video Converter to convert files for my Nokia N70 ( S60 2nd edition ). The process is same for other advanced S60 edition mobiles and Ipod except for few steps.

So here are the Simple To Learn steps :

1. Run Total video converter and click on the " New Task " button.

2. Select the " Import File " option.

3. Browse and select your video file from your system.

4. Most Important Step : For s60 2nd and 3rd edition devices select Ms avi > Xvid Mpeg4 avi

For Ipod and Nokia 5800 express music ( S60 5th edition ) , select Mobiles > H264 mp4

5. Now, click on " Settings " button on bottom right corner. Select the Video Resize Tab > Custom Size > Select/Input the size of your device screen ( 320 x 240 is optimum size).

6. Press the " Convert " button and get all your videos reduced to half or less MB's without any loss of quality on your device/gadget.

Simple2Learn Tip : You can check the " Background Converting "option if it takes a lot of your System's Memory.

We can go for tweaking a few options here and there to see what works best for different gadgets. I guess this is enough for one Symbian Monday. Feel free to Disqus.

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Mobile Widgets Simplified : It's Early Days !!

In Brief : Mobile widgets are something I'm really excited about. Before I share my experience and how feasible these widgets are (on my Nokia N70-1, S60 ver2.6, OS ver8.1), let's learn a few simple facts.

Widgets : These are micro applications intended to perfom a single task. We all use a number of javascript powered widgets on our blogs, right !!

Similarly mobile widgets are standalone micro applications which help to access applications like Twitter, Facebook and various other web services we can't live without.

A no. of forays have been made in this field. Few which standout are ...

1. Yahoo Mobile Widgets Gallery
2. Plusmo : I love the Mobicast (Cricinfo) widget. Getting live cricket scores is really simple now !!
3. Widsets : Now ,this one attempts tomake all our favourite widgets accessible bu just installing it. Just install this on your Symbian phone and select from a no. of widgets. These will be displayed on the dashboard when we run the widset app. Just click on the widget, say Facebook and it gets you connected to your social network. Nokia supports widset, so we can have it directly by accessing the Nokia website from mobile.

The Problems :

1. Everything sounds so exciting, but the fact is the excitement lasts only till the stage where you add the applications to Widsets Dashboard. Add a no. of them and it will be the last time you access Widsets. It takes a toll on memory and refuses to open.

2. Also the widgets are more like feed and after a while you realise it's nothing more than a feed reader !!

There are upcoming ambitious projects like Bondi still in its early days which hold promise.

Final Word :

Still we can go for individual widget installations and you'll find they make your life really easy !! I guess it's "early days" as far as widgets go.

Till things improve stick to your Opera Mini for landscape-mode browsing, UCWeb/Netfront for tabbed browsing and downloading/uploading needs.

To know more about the prospect of mobile widgets at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona follow the Mjelly Blog

For a link list to download the mobile widgets click below to "read more" ....

In Detail : A list of mobile widget sites/galleries....

1. Yahoo Mobile Widget Gallery
2. Widsets
3. Plusmo
4. Bondi
5. Webwag

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Simple ways for complete internet experience on mobile !!

In Brief : Since the start of this year I have been accessing net mostly through my Nokia N70 ( Symbian 60 version 2 OS). Due to very less access to a pc, the only way I could blog was through my mobile. The following mobile browsers have simplified browsing web on mobile to such an extent that now I can do almost anything on the internet which I used to do on a desktop pc.

1. Opera Mini : Latest version is 4.2, though I have been using 4.1 for yhe most part. Key features in simple terms are :

* Landscape view which makes full use of your mobile screen. Mine is a 208x176 pixel screen, so I badly needed this feature.

* Downloading file and images is real easy once we set the right permissions to give it access to memory card.

** To do so open your program browser on the mobile and goto settings to

configure it ( not by opening Opera Mini )

** Then whenever you have to download images on a web page, goto Tools>Page
Information> Download Images and it will list all the images to choose from !!

* It has a mouse functionality which gives you the complete PC experience.

* Also it opens a web page in compressesd form and you can zoom in whatever part of the page you want to view. This is what makes it possible to view any webpage irrespective of whether it has been optimized for mobile.

In the latest 4.2 version they have really simplified browsing Youtube and added a no. of skins !!

2. Netfront browser : I use it specifically for dowloading large files as it has a Advanced > Focussed_info feature which lets you copy the actual download link which we can paste in the Fget download manager (with resume functionality) to download the file.

I will be sharing my blogging, uploading, downloading experience and tips in the future posts. Meanwhile " Read More" for download links for the above browsers !!
In Detail :
Opera Mini 4.2

NetFront 3.3 for Symbian60 phones

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Mobile web : Have you explored it !!

In Brief : Wikipedia launched it's mobile version yesterday. I too launched the mobile version ( http://simple2learn.mofuse.mobi/) of my blog yesterday, thanks to mofuse.com

I have been using a nokia N70 (Symbian 60 v2 OS) since last one year and it has been 4 months since I have been a regular mobile-internet user . The speed ranges from ok to good . It might sound improbable to many but I have been downloading full movies on my mobile with the help of Opera/Netfront browsers and Fget downloader. And yes, I watched the movie Max Payne on my mobile. What I have been doing on a Symbian 60 v2 mobile can be done even better on the Symbian v3+, Windows mobile and iphone.

The point is that mobile internet has come a long way. Everyday there is a significant advance in technology. With 3G supposed to be implemented in India, and mobiles with larger screens hitting the market, it's time to focus on mobile web. Already mobile blogging and monetizing projects are coming up in big way. The major players have all launched their respective mobile versions which load faster and are really easy to use. I guess it's the right time to join the mobile-web bandwagon. Read in detail for my mobile bookmarks...

In Detail :
http://m.google.com
http://m.youtube.com
http://m.yahoo.com
http://m.orkut.com
http://peperonity.com : the ultimate mobile host. numerous user pages. http://moviesmobile.net : all the hollywood/bollywood movies for mobile
http://mjelly.com/ : the best mobile links directory
http://wapedia.mobi : lets you view websites in mobile compatible version

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Nokia completes Symbian acquisition...terrific news!!

In Brief : Nokia has completed its acquisition of mobile platform company Symbian. The acquisition, which was announced earlier this year, will enable Nokia to continue moving forward with its plans to liberate the Symbian source code and transform the platform into a community-driven open source software project.

After the software is audited to ensure that there are no licensing problems, it will be made available to the general public under the open source Eclipse Public License (EPL). Nokia expects this process to take roughly 2 years.
The completion of Nokia's Symbian acquisition marks a major turning point for the Symbian mobile operating system.
Although Symbian is currently the dominant platform on mobile phone handsets, its relevance is beginning to decline as Apple and Linux-based alternatives gain popularity.
Opening the platform and transitioning to a radically different development model could potentially attract a new development community to the software and make it more attractive to handset makers.
The move is part of Nokia's broader software strategy, which is now dominated by open source.
Nokia also recently acquired Trolltech and has brought the company's Qt framework to Symbian. A Qt preview release for S60 was announced in October for developers who wanted to get an early start. Qt is also supported on Windows Mobile and a variety of Linux-based mobile platforms, so it provides developers with a lot of portability across the entire mobile ecosystem.
It will also enrich the S60 software ecosystem by making it possible to port over existing Qt applications from the desktop.

My experience with Nokia N-Series...there is nothing like Symbian OS...open source model ensures that there are numerous third party softwares to do practically everything you would do on your personal computer right from web browsing/blogging to playing 3d games !!
Read More....
To know more about Symbian OS....
http://www.s60.com/
http://www.symbian.com/
www.allaboutsymbian.com

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