Theme I love Symbian
A small preface:
And the article itself:
In my article I would not want to describe the most diverse programs for a long and tedious, do a comparative review, etc. Having been engaged in mobile communication networks for 7 years, I got used to treating phones not as Tamagotchi lovers, but as tools that help me solve various problems. It is about the tasks that I would like to write, so:
Task: voice-chatting with friends on Skype and Google Talk when there is no computer at hand.
Solution: We set fring (http://www.fring.com/), configure it to work with Skype and Google Talk (just enter the current logins and passwords of the corresponding messengers), after which we look for the nearest free WiFi (there are quite often in restaurants, on train stations, airports), connect and say how much is needed. Fring supports not only Skype and GT, but also ICQ, and Yahoo Messenger, and MSN, and SIP, etc. Details on their website.
Task: sometimes you need a translation of a word from a foreign language, but you don’t have a computer with you
Solution: put ABBYY Lingvo (http://www.lingvo.ru/) - this is the best dictionary for a computer that works on the phone. It supports 8 languages and knows some unimaginable number of words. Depending on your needs, you can add or remove dictionaries, i.e. if only English is of interest, then you can leave only it, thus saving space on the mobile phone’s flash drive.
Task: conveniently read news from a small screen of the phone
Solution: We install OperaMini (http://www.opera.com/mini/) and use the RSS-reader built into it. Because Since far from all sites have version of the content, sharpened for a small screen of the phone, RSS is the best way to submit information. As a rule, RSS feeds consist of a news headline, a small picture and a brief description with a link to the full article. This is very suitable for phone screens - the news is different, they can be quickly sifted through, and if something interests you, then open the site and see the details. Opera Mini does a great job of formatting the content of regular sites for a small resolution, so it’s best to use it, and not any separate RSS reader.
Task: not to get in traffic jams
Solution: put Yandex traffic jams (http://mobile.yandex.ru/maps/probki2.xml). The idea of Yandex traffic jams is simple - when this application is launched, it simply transfers the user's current coordinates to the Yandex traffic jams server. The server determines which street you are on and if you are moving slowly, and there are many others like you, then this place is marked on the map as a traffic jam. Those. This application can be used without GPS, and it works almost everywhere. If the phone has GPS, then this application is also a free navigator with city maps and the ability to get directions.
Objective: to show friends a funny YouTube video when there is no computer at hand.
Solution: install MobiTubia (http://www.mobitubia.com/dp/?q=node/2). This is a mobile video player in flv format with the ability to search on YouTube. We install the application, connect to the nearest WiFi network (or via GPRS / 3G), enter the phrase to search and watch the clip. Due to the fact that the number of dots per inch on the screen of a smartphone is more than that of a computer, the video quality is simply awesome. MobiTubia also allows you to save video on the phone itself.
Task: to play toys without breaking away from the surrounding reality.
Solution: there are a lot of games for phones, but basically all require a quick press of the button for a minute without looking up from the phone screen. I just don’t like these, because require constant attention, which is incompatible with mobility - in the queue, waiting for dishes in a cafe, in the subway / minibus it is simply impossible to play them - all the attention is on the phone screen, which can lead to disastrous consequences. In addition, they can call you at any time and have to start the game again. I love games in which a quick reaction is not required + there is always the opportunity to start the game from the level where you broke off. My top looks like this:
1. TowerWars: Time Guardians (http://www.in-fusio.com/start.php) - a strategy in which there is a road, monsters go along it and you need to arrange towers in such a way as to spend the least amount of money, while destroying everyone monsters. Really addictive, because periodically there is not enough money, and monsters with each wave are more and more hardy. The game itself is unhurried, thoughtful, gives you the opportunity to think, look around, then put up a tower, then call, then read SMS, and then return to the game and continue from where you left off - when you press the "home" key, and Also, when making a call, or any other phone event that is not related to the game, a pause is included in it.
2. Fashionable dolls (http://modnye-kukly.ru) - I don’t know how to describe this game correctly. It’s like in films about “plain-looking girlfriends” who dressed up become beautiful. Usually in such films there are scenes where "Cinderella" comes to the clothing store and the "cool specialist" evaluates how different clothes are sitting on them, periodically making them turn, walk up, move away, walk, etc. Here the same thing - a video of half-dressed models scurrying back and forth. The developers claim that this is a "mobile video fashion magazine." I am not a special fan of any mods, I don’t understand anything about them, etc. I just like the opportunity to drive a half-dressed model on the phone screen :)
3. Tanchiki (http://tanchiki.ru/) - an analogue of “Battle city” for the ancient console “Dandy”. An excellent strategy with arcade elements in which controlling your tank you need to destroy enemies. The tank can be upgraded - buy weapons, armor, ammunition, etc. The remarkable thing is that it has autosave, i.e. no need to start again if someone suddenly called - just load the interrupted level. The game of my generation, the generation that made the ad “Everyone plays in the Dandy!”. And indeed they played! :)
4. Worms World Party (http://wwp.team17.com/). We set the strength of the shot, the angle of inclination and shoot from different guns through the hill, trying to make the enemy’s worms. Up to four players are supported (as one against three computer players, and all four are people). Funny worms, a variety of weapons - from a banal bazooka to a hilarious "old grandmother" that can get worse than any bomb :) At first, it is annoying that all shots are fired at random - you cannot set the angle in degrees and force in any units. The computer is masterly aimed fire, and you have nothing to answer. However, when you train, you understand that you don’t need special accuracy - a person has something that a computer does not have - a trick that allows you to beat even the most powerful computer ai.
Task: read a book from the phone.
Solution: If you are a happy owner of a smartphone with a large screen and a good supply of battery power, then install QReader (http://www.qreader.com/) and enjoy, perhaps, the most useful feature of the phone. The easiest way to describe this application is by saying that QReader is HaaliReader for Symbian. For those who do not know what the legendary HaaliReader is, I will limit myself to only the main functions:
1. Support .txt and TCR, Palm DOC (.prc and .pdb), FB2
2. Support for archived files (zip)
3. Screen rotation - 90 and 270%.
4. 5 font sizes
5. Directory support
6. Search in text
7. Auto-
scrolling text 8. Auto-hyphenation
9. Text formatting (align, margin)
10. Quick view of hours and amount of read
11. The ability to change the color of the text
12. Quick transition within the document (%)
13. Sending text via E-Mail, Bluetooth, IrDA or MMS.
14. The ability to turn on and off the backlight.
Прошлая попытка была воспринята неоднозначно - некоторые думали что я кого-то рекламирую, некоторые минусовали... Мы очень мирно пообщались с автором критикуемой мной статьи и вроде достигли консенсуса, но вот незадача - я не могу написать в блог I love Symbian, карма моя =0, поэтому хотелось бы попросить кого-нибудь подкинуть 5. Для дальнейшего, так сказать творчества.
Впрочем может и не надо мне ничего писать, а смело покидать сообщетво - если что, то вы так и напишите, я честно "развоплощусь" и больше никогда не вернусь.Task: voice-chatting with friends on Skype and Google Talk when there is no computer at hand.
Solution: We set fring (http://www.fring.com/), configure it to work with Skype and Google Talk (just enter the current logins and passwords of the corresponding messengers), after which we look for the nearest free WiFi (there are quite often in restaurants, on train stations, airports), connect and say how much is needed. Fring supports not only Skype and GT, but also ICQ, and Yahoo Messenger, and MSN, and SIP, etc. Details on their website.
Task: sometimes you need a translation of a word from a foreign language, but you don’t have a computer with you
Solution: put ABBYY Lingvo (http://www.lingvo.ru/) - this is the best dictionary for a computer that works on the phone. It supports 8 languages and knows some unimaginable number of words. Depending on your needs, you can add or remove dictionaries, i.e. if only English is of interest, then you can leave only it, thus saving space on the mobile phone’s flash drive.
Task: conveniently read news from a small screen of the phone
Solution: We install OperaMini (http://www.opera.com/mini/) and use the RSS-reader built into it. Because Since far from all sites have version of the content, sharpened for a small screen of the phone, RSS is the best way to submit information. As a rule, RSS feeds consist of a news headline, a small picture and a brief description with a link to the full article. This is very suitable for phone screens - the news is different, they can be quickly sifted through, and if something interests you, then open the site and see the details. Opera Mini does a great job of formatting the content of regular sites for a small resolution, so it’s best to use it, and not any separate RSS reader.
Task: not to get in traffic jams
Solution: put Yandex traffic jams (http://mobile.yandex.ru/maps/probki2.xml). The idea of Yandex traffic jams is simple - when this application is launched, it simply transfers the user's current coordinates to the Yandex traffic jams server. The server determines which street you are on and if you are moving slowly, and there are many others like you, then this place is marked on the map as a traffic jam. Those. This application can be used without GPS, and it works almost everywhere. If the phone has GPS, then this application is also a free navigator with city maps and the ability to get directions.
Objective: to show friends a funny YouTube video when there is no computer at hand.
Solution: install MobiTubia (http://www.mobitubia.com/dp/?q=node/2). This is a mobile video player in flv format with the ability to search on YouTube. We install the application, connect to the nearest WiFi network (or via GPRS / 3G), enter the phrase to search and watch the clip. Due to the fact that the number of dots per inch on the screen of a smartphone is more than that of a computer, the video quality is simply awesome. MobiTubia also allows you to save video on the phone itself.
Task: to play toys without breaking away from the surrounding reality.
Solution: there are a lot of games for phones, but basically all require a quick press of the button for a minute without looking up from the phone screen. I just don’t like these, because require constant attention, which is incompatible with mobility - in the queue, waiting for dishes in a cafe, in the subway / minibus it is simply impossible to play them - all the attention is on the phone screen, which can lead to disastrous consequences. In addition, they can call you at any time and have to start the game again. I love games in which a quick reaction is not required + there is always the opportunity to start the game from the level where you broke off. My top looks like this:
1. TowerWars: Time Guardians (http://www.in-fusio.com/start.php) - a strategy in which there is a road, monsters go along it and you need to arrange towers in such a way as to spend the least amount of money, while destroying everyone monsters. Really addictive, because periodically there is not enough money, and monsters with each wave are more and more hardy. The game itself is unhurried, thoughtful, gives you the opportunity to think, look around, then put up a tower, then call, then read SMS, and then return to the game and continue from where you left off - when you press the "home" key, and Also, when making a call, or any other phone event that is not related to the game, a pause is included in it.
2. Fashionable dolls (http://modnye-kukly.ru) - I don’t know how to describe this game correctly. It’s like in films about “plain-looking girlfriends” who dressed up become beautiful. Usually in such films there are scenes where "Cinderella" comes to the clothing store and the "cool specialist" evaluates how different clothes are sitting on them, periodically making them turn, walk up, move away, walk, etc. Here the same thing - a video of half-dressed models scurrying back and forth. The developers claim that this is a "mobile video fashion magazine." I am not a special fan of any mods, I don’t understand anything about them, etc. I just like the opportunity to drive a half-dressed model on the phone screen :)
3. Tanchiki (http://tanchiki.ru/) - an analogue of “Battle city” for the ancient console “Dandy”. An excellent strategy with arcade elements in which controlling your tank you need to destroy enemies. The tank can be upgraded - buy weapons, armor, ammunition, etc. The remarkable thing is that it has autosave, i.e. no need to start again if someone suddenly called - just load the interrupted level. The game of my generation, the generation that made the ad “Everyone plays in the Dandy!”. And indeed they played! :)
4. Worms World Party (http://wwp.team17.com/). We set the strength of the shot, the angle of inclination and shoot from different guns through the hill, trying to make the enemy’s worms. Up to four players are supported (as one against three computer players, and all four are people). Funny worms, a variety of weapons - from a banal bazooka to a hilarious "old grandmother" that can get worse than any bomb :) At first, it is annoying that all shots are fired at random - you cannot set the angle in degrees and force in any units. The computer is masterly aimed fire, and you have nothing to answer. However, when you train, you understand that you don’t need special accuracy - a person has something that a computer does not have - a trick that allows you to beat even the most powerful computer ai.
Task: read a book from the phone.
Solution: If you are a happy owner of a smartphone with a large screen and a good supply of battery power, then install QReader (http://www.qreader.com/) and enjoy, perhaps, the most useful feature of the phone. The easiest way to describe this application is by saying that QReader is HaaliReader for Symbian. For those who do not know what the legendary HaaliReader is, I will limit myself to only the main functions:
1. Support .txt and TCR, Palm DOC (.prc and .pdb), FB2
2. Support for archived files (zip)
3. Screen rotation - 90 and 270%.
4. 5 font sizes
5. Directory support
6. Search in text
7. Auto-
scrolling text 8. Auto-hyphenation
9. Text formatting (align, margin)
10. Quick view of hours and amount of read
11. The ability to change the color of the text
12. Quick transition within the document (%)
13. Sending text via E-Mail, Bluetooth, IrDA or MMS.
14. The ability to turn on and off the backlight.