Crave

(Credit: Google)

Google released a new version of the free Google Mobile App for Symbian Series 60 (S60) phones on Monday. The update gives phone owners the ability to press the Talk button and speak search terms into the phone. While a new feature to the S60 operating system, users on other platforms, like BlackBerry and iPhone, have been able to turn speech into search results for some time.

The new Google Mobile App shows up as a shortcut widget on the Nokia home screen, which makes sounding out searches on those Nokia N and E series handsets faster than on other mobile platforms, where you must open the Google Mobile App to begin a search.

Whether you talk or type, Google Mobile App uses GPS or cell tower triangulation to fill in your location and find the closest whatever-it-is nearby. This is consistent with Google Mobile App for other platforms, though Windows Mobile is the only other one that also uses the home screen plug-in.

In addition to adding digital ears to search, Google has made them more global. Mandarin Chinese has joined Google's speech recognition database, so Nokia seekers can speak queries in English or in Mandarin. Google warns that the Mobile App is better at distinguishing certain accents better than others; a Beijing lilt may search more successfully than southern-flavored speech, for instance.

Mandarin recognition is currently only available for Nokia phones, but Google says in an official blog post that they're working to expand the capability to other mobile platforms, like Google Android and iPhone. Also, not every S60 owner can take advantage of the new Google Mobile App, only those running version 3. The app is not yet supported on touch screen phones, which run version 5 of the system software.

You can download Google Mobile App for Nokia S60 by pointing the mobile browser to http://m.google.com.

Article updated at 5:00 pm to correct mIQ media sharing details.

Best Buy Mobile's mIQ dashboard is easier on the eye.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

Microsoft introduced its My Phone service last week, an online dashboard for managing and sharing the contents of your mobile phone. We liked some aspects, and critiqued some others. Ultimately, we wished that Microsoft had teamed up with its Seattle neighbor, connected services startup Dashwire, whose legacy dashboard did much of the same thing as My Phone does now, but did it better. Dashwire has since turned its standalone product into a platform. Best Buy Mobile snapped up a license and is now offering its own sync-and-share service, called mIQ (short for mobile IQ).

I know what you're thinking: The T-Mobile Sidekick backup service just failed, and the blame is Microsoft's. Why trust its My Phone service at all? But backup isn't the point of these services. They're about management. Moreover, comfortably managing the contents of your smartphone from a screen and keypad that's larger than anything you can get on your smartphone. And if you delete a number or photo from the Web or phone, it's gone. Neither of these services intends to save it, but they do intend to make it available online.

So now that that's clear, it's time for a throwdown.

My Phone and mIQ both download small clients to the mobile phone. From there, they bidirectionally sync the phone's contents to an online dashboard. My Phone is limited to Windows phones, but mIQ is free for anyone with a BlackBerry, Symbian, or Windows phone.

Features

We'll say right off the bat that Microsoft's My Phone is richer in feature types overall compared with Best Buy Mobile's mIQ. ... Read more

Back at GSMA 2009, Adobe Systems announced that it would bring Flash Player 10 to a number of smartphones in 2010, and it looks like the company is making good on its promise.

In a Q2 audio press release, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen confirmed that Adobe will release a beta version of Flash Player 10 in October for a number of smartphone browsers, including Windows Mobile, Google Android, Palm WebOS, and Symbian. In addition, Narayen said ARM, Nvidia, Broadcom, Intel, Texas Instruments, and Qualcomm are currently optimizing the player for their products.

Obviously, this is great news for smartphone owners, but one platform noticeably missing from the list is the iPhone OS. This doesn't rule out Flash support on iPhones in the future, however. In the past, Adobe executives have stated that it's coming but that Apple is operating on its own schedule.

In CNET News' Marguerite Reardon's original report on Flash Player 10 in February, Anup Murarka, director of technology strategy and partner development for Adobe, said, "We would love to see it on the iPhone, too. But it's Apple's decision on when and how they support any new technology. So we will continue to work on it."

While iPhone users will have to wait (why do I imagine some people pointing at iPhone users and doing this?), as well as BlackBerry owners, others can get a sneak peek of what's to come in October in the video below, in which Adobe shows off Flash Player 10 on Google Android.

(Source: TMONews)

As if the first week of June wasn't packed enough with potential smartphone announcements, here's another one to throw into the mix. According to The Nokia Blog, the North American version (NAM) of the Nokia N97 will ship on June 2.

The Nokia Blog reported on this after it learned that the Finnish cell phone manufacturer contacted one of its North American distributors with the date. The N97 is available for preorder now from Nokia's Web site for $699. If you order now, Nokia will also throw in a free Nokia Bluetooth headset with your purchase.

Windows Mobile 6.5 is rumored to offer cosmetic upgrades, not major feature changes.

(Credit: Mobilemag.com)

For all the talk there's been about Microsoft's big Vista problem, much less has been made of its smaller operating system, Windows Mobile, which has some major problems of its own. Truth be told, I'm a longtime Windows Mobile user and I have to say it's been a frustrating ride. There are things I really like about the OS--and things I find really irritating. However, the frustration stems from the fact that every time I think it's really going to turn a corner, Windows Mobile continues to disappoint. And I'm seriously considering giving up on it.

Take my current situation. I own a Sprint Mogul. Like with all cell phones--and smartphones for that matter--I was smitten with it when I first got it. It was a nice upgrade over the PPC-6700--not only in terms of design, but it performed better all around. Alas, with time, it's experienced its share of problems, even with a couple of firmware upgrades that gave it faster data speeds from Sprint's newest 3G network (Rev A), added GPS, and fixed a few bugs. I need a new battery, the keyboard doesn't work as well as it used to, the phone freezes a fair amount, and when I touch icons or open fields on the touch screen, it often takes a few taps to get the reaction I want. (Some people refer to this as the Windows Mobile "delay" syndrome).

Read the full column

Before there was the Series60 (S60) 5th Edition, Symbian already had a touch-screen alternative through UIQ Technology's interface. This was famously used in some of Motorola's first 3G handsets and Sony Ericsson's business-oriented P-series. These days, you can still find UIQ in some Walkman phones and the G-series from the Japanese-Swedish phone manufacturer.

But ever since Sony Ericsson announced that it will be using Windows Mobile for its flagship Xperia X1 device in early 2008 (or will it?), the fate of UIQ has hung in the balance. Now, almost a year on, the inevitable has happened--UIQ Technology has filed for bankruptcy. This should put to rest any dying hope that Sony Ericsson would revive its P-series using this Symbian interface.

The decision to pull the plug was made by Motorola and Sony Ericsson, co-owners of this software company. Clearly, these two phone manufacturers have already covered their bases when it comes to touch-screen operating systems, as they are both licensees of Windows Mobile and Google's Android platform.

Goodbye, UIQ, you have served many users well and will now transcend into the realm of smartphone history. You may be gone, but we are sure your Wikipedia page will always be there as a monument to your existence.

(Via Crave Asia)

Nokia E71

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Over the recent months, I've received a fair share of e-mails asking the same question: Will a U.S. carrier ever pick up the Nokia E71? Well, it looks like some of your wishes may come true.

According to Engadget Mobile, AT&T might be in line to add the Symbian smartphone to its lineup. While just a rumor at this point, the idea isn't too hard to believe since the carrier did offer the Nokia E61i for a while. By all accounts, the Nokia E72 will offer all the goodies of the E71, including HSDPA support and even add Feature Pack 2.

You can pick up the Nokia E71 now as an unlocked phone from Nokia USA and other online retailers, but you'll also be looking at a hefty price tag of around $500. Ouch. Let's hope these rumors turn out to be true. For more information on the smartphone, please read our full review of the Nokia E71.

Nokia N95

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Q: I guess I'm missing something, because I don't really see the overwhelming appeal of the Nokia N95. Yes, it has all the radios that we all want, but it's SO big. Also, it has Symbian, which seems about as common as a unicorn.

With its different interface and high price, why do so many editors love it so much? I would expect the iPhone or a BlackBerry model or a Treo model to be ranked higher than the N95 as a smartphone. Wouldn't you call the N95 a feature-phone rather than a smartphone? -- George, via e-mail

A: Hi George. You bring up a number of good points, but before anything else, let me first tell you how we, at CNET, define a smartphone. To us, a smartphone is a mobile phone running a third-party operating system, which includes Windows Mobile, Palm, BlackBerry, Symbian, and now Apple. There may be varying opinions on this, and in fact, even Nokia calls its N series devices "multimedia computers" rather than smartphones. We use this distinction because with the number of advanced cell phones these days, any handset with a boatload of features could loosely be defined as a "smart" phone.

Again, you make some valid points, George. Of the mobile operating systems, Symbian is probably the least known in the United States. This is in part because for whatever reason, U.S. carriers have been pretty reluctant to pick up these smartphones so they're not readily available for purchase, and if you do, you're most likely paying an exorbitant price for an unlocked version of the phone.

So why would anyone ever buy an Nokia N95 and why do editors love it so much? For one thing, just because Symbian isn't well-known doesn't mean it's not a good operating system. I've found the OS to be intuitive, responsive, and very robust in what it offers as far as productivity and multimedia tools. As for the N95 specifically, the chassis is admittedly a bit clunky, but the dual-slider design is useful and the display is gorgeous. Also, you have to remember when the Nokia N95 first debuted in 2006, it had a heap of features all in one device--a 5-megapixel camera (still a rarity now), integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, dedicated multimedia controls--whereas its competitors only offered bits and pieces. There have been various iterations of the N95 since then and the smartphone has only become better with more features (U.S. 3G support, more memory, and so forth) and better perfomance. The N95 is certainly not for everyone, particularly with its high price tag. However, if you can afford it, you will certainly get a powerful and well-rounded smartphone.

Editors' note: Since this article published, Skyfire has offered the first hundred CNET readers immediate access to Skyfire's Symbian beta program. (Note: Only U.S. phones at this time.) Enter the promo code CNET100 in the sign-up page. Once you have signed up for the Skyfire Symbian Beta with the beta code, an SMS message will be sent to your mobile phone prompting you to create a password. Once you enter a password, you will be presented with a download link.

On Thursday, mobile browser start-up Skyfire announced the opening of a private beta for the Symbian Series 60 (S60) platform--nearly a week after a Symbian users Web site busted the news.

Skyfire is positioned as a resource-light Web browser that relies on Web servers to deliver a desktop browsing experience. I covered Skyfire soon after its initial Windows Mobile release and agree that it has a nice design and good potential; however, with rendering and crashing issues, it's not nearly ready for open beta. That's too bad because adding an identical build for Symbian means that Skyfire has two platforms in private beta with some tall performance hurdles to leap.

Skyfire will debut on 10 Nokia handsets, including the high-end N95 and E71.

(Credit: Skyfire Labs)

Going global (and taking on Opera)
Skyfire's Symbian beta program is the mobile browser's second platform, and its entree into the European market, where it will be rolling out later this year. This move improves Skyfire's competitive position against Opera Mobile, whose release of a free version 9.5 beta for Symbian is also scheduled for "the near future."

Opera Mini, Opera Software's build for Java phones and BlackBerry, has pretty much dominated alternative browsers in Europe, but Skyfire could destabilize that position. As a direct competitor to Opera Mobile 8.65, which sells for $24, Skyfire's free beta brings a few advantages to the table. It's true that Opera Mobile 9.5 beta is also currently offered for free, but with its Symbian build also in development, there could be an interesting battle over Symbian owners.

Pricing isn't the only point of comparison between Opera and Skyfire. Opera wants to bring Symbian owners the "authentic" desktop experience through a rich client and Skyfire will attempt to do so by pulling data from its servers. That makes Skyfire lighter on system resources, but it won't have as many search and linking capabilities out of the gate as Opera Mobile 9.5 beta, which integrated some tricks from the desktop browser. Conversely, Opera's cell phone browsers verge on cluttered, so there's a benefit to Skyfire's pared-down look.