In case you weren't aware, Symplification.com is powered by the open source content management system called Drupal.

With the recent release of the Drupal 4.7 beta1, Symplification is going to undergo a massive overhaul to take advantage of the new codebase, don a new theme, and will also add the following features:

• software ranking
• e-mail article friend
• subscribe - newsletter/daily/per post etc.
• Glossary of terms (bluetooth, smartphone etc)
• individual website for each Symbian phone, including pictures, specifications
• phone timeline

Anything else you want which we've missed? Tell us.

And also - thank you for visiting. We've managed to sustain excellent growth over the last couple of months, with unique visitors (according to awstats) at a high of 33k, and visitor numbers increasing by more than 20% per month for the past three months.

That's what makes us want to continue to make Symplification your one-stop for Symbian S60 news and analysis.

PCMag says: Don't have a $1,500 GPS system in your car or a $750 device on the dash? Soon, anyone with a cell phone will be able to have a navigation system with turn-by-turn routing and voice instructions. That's the promise of Verizon's new service, VZ Navigator, which will be available as a $10-a-month or $3-a-day location-based service (LBS). The $3-for-24-hours service will provide an option for someone who needs the navigation service for just a day or two, while traveling.

Sounds good - the only problem is that the Verizon service is launching initially on only one phone, the just-announced Motorola V325, a mid-range $80 handset. Who wants to have to use that? And Verizon doesn't carry any Symbian handsets, so...

The other problem is the methodology: "The phone gets a quick fix on your location by triangulating on the nearest cell towers (which are all GPS-equipped on carriers using CDMA technology, meaning Verizon and Sprint)." This makes it seem as though only Verizon and Sprint CDMA will use it - so it's not ever going to be a global solution or anything.

Oh well - the value proposition is there - if you happen to be stuck with the V325 anyway.

Ever felt that the controls were your main problem when playing Sky Force, and that the lack of a razer-ish solution was crimping your style?

Brando's solution might not have the fancy lights and 2000 dpi resolution, but with 6 customizable buttons and an AAA battery, gaming without an N-Gage becomes more palatable.

And it kinda looks - extremely geeky.

[via Gadgetspy]

Vodafone will begin broadcasting high-profile mobile TV channels to it's 3G enabled Vodafone Live! handsets all over the world this month, with content consisting of a range of crowd-pleasing sports, entertainment and documentary programs, including: "Sex and the City," "Six Feet Under," "Eurosport, "MTV", Mobile versions of Seasons 1-4 of "24," "UEFA Champions League," "Discovery Channel" and "Fashion TV."

The launch of these global mobile TV channels, as well as their availability, packaging and programming, will vary according to market.

Meanwhile, NBC-owned television shows will be available for download from the iTunes Music Store for use with the video iPod at US $1.99 per episode, including: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and "Surface," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Dragnet," "The Office," "Law & Order," and "Knight Rider."

We'll follow up upon these stories as they develop, to determine whether our predictions of bundled Mobile TV subscriptions are accurate, and to determine the popularity of pre-paid content.

[via MobileMag and Techdirt]

Isn't she a cutie? Pink is such a nice colour for the Nokia 6111 (pictured right), which has the following features:

• GSM 900/1800/1900
• Small Size (84 x 47 x 23 mm, 92g)
• 1 MP camera
• 128x160 262k colour screen
• no memory slot

It might be prudent to wait for the Nokia 7380, however, which is almost the same size, but is a swivel phone, and has a larger 2.2" QVGA screen.

Look at more pics of the Pink Nokia 6111 here.

[via Cellphone9]

Cingular today announced BroadbandConnect, the first commercial cellular network in the world which supports HSDPA and UMTS and has fall-back to EDGE.

BroadbandConnect will make its debut in Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Houston; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City; San Diego; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; Tacoma, Wash.; and Washington, D.C.

The service will offer customers average data connection speeds between 400 and 700 kbps when using HSPDA, with these highest rates currently only available to laptop users through the Sierra Wireless AC860 and Novatel 720 PC Cards. The cards cost $100 with a 2 year contract. Unlimited data service is being offered for a promotional price of $60 per month. Cingular also promised to expand BroadbandConnect coverage to 100 markets during 2006.

Releasing HSPDA is a good idea. It seems to be confirmed that this will be the new technology standard for data transport (3.5G), and while the usual suspects (SE, Motorola, Nokia) have not yet announced any HSPDA devices, HTC (the maker of most Windows Mobile phones) has promised HSPDA-compatible handsets in the second half of 2006.

Announced 3G devices should also work with the network though, at least those with US bands (such as the Nokia N80, Nokia E70, and Nokia 6282) at speeds of up to 384 kbps. Unless Cingular have changed it's Terms of Service, however, they seem rather restrictive:

Data Service sessions may only be conducted for the following purposes: (i) Internet browsing; (ii) e-mail; and (iii) corporate intranet access (including access to corporate e-mail, customer relationship management, sales force automation, and field service automation applications). The Services cannot be used with server devices or host computer applications. Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, telemetry applications, automated data feeds, continuous jpeg file transfers, Web camera posts or broadcasts, other machine-to-machine applications, and voice over IP. These Services are not intended to provide full-time connections, and the Service may be discontinued after a significant period of inactivity or after sessions of excessive usage.

[via Slashphone and Phone Scoop]