Nokia’s port of the popular open source programming language Python is the magic ingredient behind some of the more unusual free apps that we have covered here at Pocket Picks.
Open source projects really benefit from a healthy community to share ideas, code and enthusiasm, so it is heartening to see a new community for new Python coders with an interest in S60 apps - Croozeus.com.
The site is in it’s early days, but already has a selection of tutorials and sample code. The Croozeus blog is running a ‘featured applicationn’ series for downloadable apps (with full source code) - currently there is just the one, a rather dry-soundinng but quite clever app to solve simple maths equations.
By happy coincidence, Nokia has released an update to bring PyS60 up to version 1.4.4, improving S60 3rd edition SDK 3.1 support and adding some SMS management functions. Why not download it here and see if the life of a PyS60 developer is for you
Social music site Last.FM uses a process called ‘Audioscrobbling’ to automatically grab data about music you are listening to and upload it to a central database.
Data from ’scrobbled’ tracks is used to build up a profile of your musical taste. Last.FM uses this profile to assemble a personalised streaming music station of similar artists and musical styles.
Asplayer is a Python app that brings this functionality to S60 3rd Edition phones for the first time. It only supports the scrobbling side of the equation at the moment - artist and title data from tracks played on your phone’s media player are uploaded to Last.FM using your internet connection - you will still need to go to the Last.FM website in order to listen to your customised playlist.
Asplayer is available here and requires a copy of Python for S60 and an account with Last.Fm, all available for free.
Pocket Picks takes no responsibility for readers whose musical taste generates streams of 80s hair metal or progressive jazz. You have only yourselves to blame.
pyBudzik is another Python applet written using Nokia’s port of the popular Open Source programming language.
The app is intended as a replacement for your phone’s built-in alarm. It’s USP? Whereas the standard alarm allows you to play a music file instead of an annoying beep, pyBudzik will stream audio from a variety of apps, including Smartmovie, LCG Jukebox and Visual Radio.
pyBudzik requires a Python install but is available as freeware here.
Nokia released a port of the popular scripting language Python back in 2005 in an attempt to stimulate development for the S60 platform and provide a way of rapidly prototyping apps.
Since then, the language has really taken off with amateur developers. Its easy to learn and there are several powerful libraries of code around that make it relatively easy to write apps that use advanced features like the Nokia N95’s accelerometer.
One developer, Ariek, has made a name for himself writing apps that make ‘interesting’ use of this particular feature. We have previously covered his spirit-level hack pyPoziomica, but he is also responsible for the mobile magic trick pyMoneta, which has to be seen to be believed.
More usefully, pyGenerator is a simple speaker testing app and ListSMS lets you export your text messages to a text file.
Here is a look at perhaps his most useless app to date - pyPiwo, the ‘beer generator’.
