App and game selection: a cross section through my Nokia N8

Published by Steve Litchfield at 7:42 UTC, January 18th 2012

Summary:

It's one of the most loved geek games of all - peeking at someone else's smartphone to see how they've got it configured. Usually prompting either "What a newb!" or "Ooo, where did you get that?" With my Nokia N8 now equipped to the maximum just ahead of the imminent Belle update (which will change things around significantly), I thought this might be an opportune time for you to peek at the applications that I, personally, have installed on the N8 that has been with me through thick and thin for the last 15 months. 

(NB. As many apps mentioned below are hyperlinked to either our reviews or to the product/download page, for your convenience.)

Homescreen

You'll already have read about my propensity for keeping homescreens simple - just the one does me fine and means that I don't have to keep swiping back and forwards to find the information I want. Bearing in mind that several applications can be accessed by tapping on a homescreen icon or panel (so Profiles, Calendar, Clock, etc. don't need their own shortcuts), the four app shortcuts that I use most (baked into my Shortcuts widget) are set to:

• Contacts - I consult this a dozen times a day, for looking up a phone number or texting someone. I guess I should assign this to the right hand virtual soft-key, but this is set to 'Call' and, with the N8 not having a green 'Call' key, the setting is probably best left alone.
    
• Podcatcher - my constant companion, making sure that all driving, all chores, all ablutions and going to sleep are accompanied by my favourite podcasts from around the world. It's a vital feed of news, information and chat right into my ears on and off through every day. The older dual-slide smartphones like the N95 and N86 had multimedia shortcut keys for pausing playback and skipping adverts, but these are of course missing on modern touchscreen devices. So it needs a shortcut of its own, for instant access.
   
    
   
• Micropool - still my all time favourite casual game. Crank the difficulty to 75% and then try to beat the AI on a best-of-five frame match!
    
• Bluetooth - it may seem odd to have a Settings module here, but I turn Bluetooth on and off several times a day and it's a pain to dive right through Settings or work my way through the homescreen (top right) Connectivity shortcut every time, when I want to toggle the status with one or two taps maximum. Why not simply leave Bluetooth on all the time? Partly because it does save power (a few percent, but every little helps), partly for privacy reasons, since it advertises to anyone driving past my home that I'm in and (ahem) me. Oh, and partly because I have multiple phones and multiple Bluetooth-compatible desktop computers - if I left all my phones with this turned on, they'd be connecting right left and centre in ways that I often don't intend. I like to control my wireless connections.
  

The remaining widgets I use on my single homescreen are 'Gravity-tweets', Email (set to my Gmail), plus my four most contacted people from Contacts.

Application menus

In a few months, it may seem funny to see the plural on the above heading ('menus') - are we all about to get used to a single huge scrolling list of applications? See also my guide to speeding your way around Symbian Belle applications...

In the meantime, I work with the default set of twelve icons on the main menu, partly because I'm too lazy to change things too much - I can't face re-doing it all yet again after the umpteenth 'hard reset in the line of duty' for an AAS firmware article. With one exception: to keep the number of icons in the main Applications folder down, I replace one of the standard icons (not sure which, actually!) with a new named folder, 'Games'. This way I can move my modest selection of Symbian games into their own area, making them easier to find and other general applications ditto, by virtue of game icons not getting in the way.

In the Games folder I have:

• Real Golf 2011 HD - given away for free for the N8, at least, still a decent golf game with good graphics and physics, spoilt only by the interstitial delays between holes while the next load of graphics and models load.
    
• Micropool - as above, my favourite.
    
• GT Racing: Motor Academy HD - my favourite of the genre, in that it's quite realistic in terms of physics and graphics. More novelty-packed driving games are also available!
   
  
    
• Control Tower - a Flight Control clone and not as smooth as the iOS version. But it's still fun as a casual game and closest I can get to the original on Symbian.
    
• Fortuna - another casual classic, this time modelling a wooden bagatelle.
    
• Breakfest - it's Breakout meets Doom and a surprisingly involving arcade puzzler.
   
  
    
• Nokia Racing - one game after another after another - it's not the biggest or slickest game ever created but the addictive nature of this has to be experienced.
    
• HomeRun - the classic card solitaire, I've played this since Psion days! 18 years of gaming with this one title...
    
• Angry Birds - needs no introduction. Am currently flumoxed by a level in 'Seasons'...
    
• I Must Run - classic 'instant action' game, also good for keeping ten year old nephews amused.... 8-)
   
  
    
• Mau Mau - I'm rather addicted to this card game, on which Uno was based - or was it the other way around?

A pretty good selection, with everything for one minute to one hour gaming sessions....

Jumping across to the main Applications folder, I have (in very approximate order of importance to me - as long as an icon is in the 'top 12' then it can then be accessed with one tap once I'm in Applications...):

1. Handy Safe Pro - the classic cross-platform secure database, I keep this synced with multiple PCs (note the desktop client), with my other Symbian phones and with a Windows Phone or two, meaning that a) all my PINs and passwords are always to hand and b) every device is a 'backup' for data on every other (albeit only as up to date as the last sync done).
     
2. Office - the default set of Symbian Office applications, including the full editing version of Quickoffice, in the N8's case. We're not talking laptop replacement, more casual office needs, including the great voice ecorder and the always useful File manager.
     
3. Sw_update - Nokia's on-device update system that generally works very well. I tap on this once every few days, just in case something new in Symbian pops up. I wonder when I'll see Belle here?
     
4. Skype - the official client and one that works well aside from not offering video calls (I'm guessing performance isn't quite high enough) - my lifeline to the AAS virtual office while on the move.
    
    
     
5. 20,000 leagues under the sea - I always like to have an ebook on the go. This is just one of Offscreen's range of free Symbian ebooks. Attractively presented and good stuff.
    
   
6. Opera Mini - we've talked enough about this proxy-based web browser enough over the years. Essentially, when bandwidth is tight (e.g. on EDGE or GPRS), this is the only browser that is practical.
     
7. Camera Pro - Not the only way to do continuous auto-focus video on the N8 now, but still the most reliable in terms of 'hunting'. Also plenty of things to fiddle with for still photos. I really must learn all its ins and outs one day when I get time...
     
8. CuteTube - the best YouTube client for Symbian bar none - a must-install for everyone reading this.
    
   
     
9. Best Screensnap - a staple screen-snapping tool for any Symbian writer, even if it's no use to the main in the street!
     
10. SPB TV - free TV channels from across the world - an eclectic selection, but usually something interesting, if you've got the mobile bandwidth.
      
11. Tune It - simple but effective (passive) guitar tuner that sounds good over the N8's loudspeaker.
      
12. JoikuSpot - the famous wi-fi tethering solution, this is the premium edition that allows the use of all ports and protocols. Great for getting an iPad online in places where there isn't open wi-fi, for example. Only disappointment is that it doesn't work with an Xbox, which blocks the ad-hoc Wi-fi used.

Outside the 'top 12' and thus needing a small swipe or scroll, are a couple more of interest:

• Profile Scheduler - a lovely little utility that automatically switches my phone to 'Offline' at 11pm each night and back to 'General' at 7am. I'm sure it can do more, but this is all I need it to, both for saving battery power and also making sure noone phones or messages me in the night!
    
• Podcatcher - as mentioned above, but I always access it via the homescreen shortcut, so the icon here never gets tapped on.
    
• plus Gravity and any apps that I'm currently trialling, for review here on AAS...

Not a bad selection and enough to keep me informed, entertained and productive in almost any situation. Comments welcome if there's a particular application that you absolutely rely on!

Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian, 18 Jan 2012

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