Explore cities in 3D with Nokia N9

Nokia City Scene
Nokia City Scene from Nokia Research Center

Ever since Nokia launched their site Nokia Maps 3D Beta, I have been thinking, when will this technology be available in our phones? When I’ve mentioned this to others they have said, “well that will probably happen some day, but years from now”. Time flies when your having fun, and ever since Nokia started to focus on their acquired asset Navteq, more and more innovative things have started to show up at the Nokia Maps site. Latest technology to emerge is Nokia City Scene now available from Nokia Beta Labs. It doesn’t give you full 3D views of the world, but it gives impressive panoramic street views, right in your phone. So maybe a full 3D map of the world in your mobile isn’t that far away after all?

“We see it as a natural extension of maps that brings new ways of interacting with location: finding what a building contains with a click, or showing information on building facades including any checked-in friends that might be inside. The 3D visual environment aims to be more natural than conventional ways of displaying location on phones. Seeing how places look from the street helps you remember if you’ve been there, or recognize them when you arrive” say Tuomas from the Nokia City Scene team.

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Siri bypasses your Passcode by default

Siri on iPhone
Siri can bypass the passcode on iPhone 4S

A lot of people use a Lockcode/Passcode to stop someone else from accessing their phone. Doing so you feel fairly secure that no one can access you information and use your phone without your approval. Now it seems Siri, the new digital assistant in iPhone 4S, not only assist the owner in different tasks, but also might help total strangers use the phone.

Under the right conditions, Siri will bypass your passcode and allow anyone to perform tasks on a locked phone. By default, you can use Siri to make phone calls, check your calendar, send texts and emails to people in your contacts list, and set reminders, even when your phone is locked with a passcode. But it seems you at least can’t interact with installed applications or do Internet searches. This functionality might be something you prefer, and can be very handy if you for instance want to use Siri while driving your car. The possibility to search from the locked screen can be turned on and off, but the problem is that this functionality is turned on by default.

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Steve Jobs have passed away

Steve Jobs passed away
Steve Jobs long time CEO of Apple

According to a statement just issued by Apple’s Board of Directors, company co-founder and longtime CEO Steve Jobs has passed away. A little over a moth ago Jobs stepped down as CEO with the words “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”  Jobs planned to remain as Chairman of the Board at the company, as well as director and an Apple employee after he recommended Tim Cook, at the time Apple COO, to  take his place as CEO.

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Adobe acquires developer Nitobi

Adobe, Flash and Nitobi
Adobe Flash, JS and HTML5 from Nitobi

Today at the MAX 2011 technology conference, Adobe Systems Incorporated announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Nitobi Software. Nitobi is the creator of PhoneGap, a popular open source platform for easily building fast, cross-platform mobile applications with HTML5 and JavaScript.

Adobe is really ramping up its move towards HTML5 based development, and with PhoneGap, Adobe will be able to offer developers the choice of two powerful solutions for cross-platform development of native mobile apps. One is Adobe Flash that is commonly known and used on sites and in solutions all over the web, and now another with HTML5 and JavaScript at its core.

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LiMo joining forces with MeeGo?

Something already mentioned more then a year ago by Sascha Segan at PCMag covering MWC (Mobile World Conference), might now actually become a reality. LiMo might join forces with MeeGo.

There has not been an official announcement yet, but rumors say that MeeGo is now planned to be merged with competing Linux based operating system LiMo. Japanese heavyweights NEC and Panasonic might be joining forces with Samsung from South Korea in the new MeeGo Merger. Intel and the LiMo Foundation have not yet commented on these rumor at this stage, neither have NEC, Panasonic or Samsung.

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ACL from OpenMobile lets Android applications run on MeeGo

ACL Gives Andriod to MeeGoOpenMobile lets Android apps run on MeeGo

The Linux-based operating system MeeGo might soon get a great vitamin boost in the form of ACL, a software solution from a company called OpenMobile.

ACL, that stands for Application Compatibility Layer, allows users to run Android applications seamlessly on MeeGo. The applications are installed alongside native applications, and once installed it’s hard to tell the difference between native MeeGo, and Android applications. The applications will run in full-screen mode, just as they would on a Tablet or an Android phone.

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