Last week we took a look at PC-based mini webserver Miniserver which made it simple to transfer files between a PC and an S60 phone. Two slight problems with Miniserver are that it is Windows-only and it will only allow access to one PC at a time (unless you install copies on several PCs). More seriously, the connection is not password protected or encrypted and so might be open to unscrupulous hackers.
SymSMB tackles the problem from the other end by effectively turning your phone into a small windows networking device. As other operating systems (e.g. Mac OS X and Linux) can also speak the same Windows networking protocol (SMB or ‘Samba’ to its friends) this means you will be able to communicate with non-windows machines as well.
SymSMB is a 3rd Edition S60 app, so you only need to install it on your phone and it will be able to connect to as many other machines as you have passwords for.
Nokia have released updates the firmware (the built-in software that runs the phone) to both the N81 and N95 8GB devices.
The N81 update provides improvements to Wi-Fi performance and management, memory handling and camera stability, while the N95 8GB receives bug fixes to Nokia Maps and the integrated web browser.
The updates can be downloaded using the Nokia Software Updater - or at least it can if you have access to a PC running either Windows 2000, XP or Vista. Mac and Linux users are out of luck, as are people who just don’t own a computer.
Aren’t Nokia always telling us that our phones are computers nowadays, anyway? As both phones have wireless internet access and 8 GB of storage, surely it should be possible to download this kind of update straight to the phone without a PC acting as middle-man?
Before it launched, the iPhone’s virtual keyboard was one of the most speculated-about features in Apple’s handset. Could a touchscreen keyboard possibly be as easy to use as a physical keypad, whether for writing quick texts, longer emails, or entering web URLs?
In short, the answer is ‘yes’. Although by no means perfect, the iPhone’s on-screen keyboard works well, and while you wouldn’t want to write long documents on it, for all the functions described above it’s fine. Which is a surprise, since the keys look small compared to the average big man-thumb. Yet an efficient auto-correct feature ensures you don’t type gibberish.
Continue reading ‘iPhone UK review Part 2: Email and the virtual keyboard’
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