10 Free Apps for Symbian S60 Phones  

In the second of our Series 60 related articles, we take a look at some of the "must have" applications for your S60 devices. The previous article was a beginner's guide intended for fresh S60 users. You can read it here.

The ability of "expanding" your phone's capabilities by installing third party applications has been pioneered by Nokia with the S60. Ever since the first popular S60 handsets (remember the 7650?) made their appearance, applications have played a huge part in making S60 what it is today. For more on the history of the Series 60 platform head here.

If vintage S60 users recall, "smartphones" like the 6600 and the N-Gage QD were incapable of playing something as mundane as an MP3 file, an ability we take for granted nowadays. But the functionality was just a third party application away! Of course, the situation has changed a lot now. Although much water has flown under the bridge since then, S60 applications still rule the roost when it comes to sheer variety and availability. Let's take a look at a few of these applications.

Note that some of these applications require a GPRS or a WiFi connection to work. I have listed only free applications here. There are many other highly capable paid applications that allow you to extract the most out of your phone. More about them later though.

File Managers

Even though S60 devices come with basic file managers, there are others that will allow you to browse and manage files stored on your device more efficiently. With most phones sporting huge data storage abilities these days, a file manager like the Y-Browser and S-Explorer can truly prove helpful. You can cut and paste files from one directory to other, hide files and images that you do not want others to see. This is an important function because the Gallery in S60 does not have the capability to hide images you do not want others to see. This is one application no S60 user should miss. My vote goes to Y-Browser as I prefer its simpler UI.



Get it from:
Y-Browser
S-Explorer

Nokia Podcasting

This is an interesting application for your S60 phone. It allows you to subscribe to and listen to a host of podcasts that might interest you. If you are unsure of what a podcast actually is, here is a simple explanation. Podcasts are just audio or video files that you can subscribe to and listen to/watch. Read this Wikipedia write-up if you're really curious to know more. Coming back to the application, with this, you can schedule the podcast download timings so that it automatically downloads the podcast of your choice when you're at home using Wi-Fi, instead of using the expensive GPRS connection you might be using otherwise. Of course, this doesn't apply for those who are on a flat rate connection! The application comes preloaded in many phones. In case it hasn't come with yours, get it from here.

IM/Chat Clients

I am sure you might be aware of the fact that you can chat, transfer files and even make VoIP calls right from your phone. There are a host of free applications that will help you do this. Let's delve in to quite a few of them. We will start with Nimbuzz which is a chat client for phones with support for most chat and IM networks out there. For those who wish to stay connected with their friends even while on the move, this free software provides a great way to be in touch. The software supports invisibility mode and VoIP calls as well. You might also want to check Talkonaut (which some users prefer because of its smooth Interface) or Fring which has managed to create ripples in this segment over the past few months. Hit the respective links as given below for download and other information. It's up to you which one of these you prefer (amongst others) as all these are free applications! You would need to pay for making SIP calls though.



Get it from:
Nimbuzz:
Talkonaut
Fring

Opera Mini

There are mobile browsers and there is Opera Mini. Ever since its introduction back in 2005, the nifty little piece of software from Opera has managed to win a loyal subset of users. Before the arrival of Opera Mini, accessing web pages in their full glory involved a humongous amount of data transfer (read: higher bills) and poor rendering of web pages. All that was to change when Opera with the Mini bought a revolution of sorts to the mobile browsing arena. Apart from compressing web pages, the browser enabled faster load times and better rendering - all in a neat little package. Four years and millions of downloads later, Opera Mini still remains a must have application for all phones, not just S60. Get it from here.



Nokia Search

This is nifty little application that lets you find stuff on your phone. That's correct! With the latest devices having huge storage capacities (often exceeding a couple of GB's), its getting tougher to find the exact stuff you need. That's when you turn to this search application for assistance. You have the option to look for stuff online (with Google, Yahoo and Windows Live Search) or "offline", stuff stored inside your phone by the filename. It also comes with localized Yellow Pages like service for finding detailed localized information and content. This again comes free for you and is pre-installed on most new Nokia S60 devices.



Get it from: The "Download" Application on your S60 Phone.

Map and GPS Applications

Latest Series 60 devices come with GPS abilities. Two main map and location finding applications available for S60 devices are Nokia Maps and Google Maps. Both are free for users. Nokia Maps does have paid options for feature like Car navigation with voice commands and turn by turn GPS assistance. Nokia Maps is licensed from Navteq. As for Google Maps, this one is a virtual copy of the Google Maps desktop client. The latest addition to Google Maps is the "Latitude" service that helps you share your location with friends - real time. Google Maps uses GPS and Cellular tower based information for displaying your location. Both the tools are invaluable for a person new to a city and for those who are looking for something specific and are unsure where to go.



Get it from:
Google Maps from your phone browser.
Nokia Maps PreInstalled.

Internet Radio

Are you bored of FM Radios and the same old RJs who keep blabbering all day long? Do you want to listen to something different? Don't worry. The Nokia Internet Radio application is here to help. Once you install this little piece of software, your phone gets access to virtually thousands of free online radio stations with music and content tailored to your needs. Although the application is free, you might want to know that this works best if you happen to use an unlimited GPRS connection - lest you end up with a hefty bill by the month end. Not a very good thing to do during these recessionary times. Get it from here.



Related Links
Nokia 5800 Gets First Firmware Update
Nokia Series 60 Get BlackBerry Support Again
Update: Nokia 5800 Yours on January 4, 2009


Screenshot

This application allows you to take screenshots of your phone screen for various purposes (like this article for example!). It is useful if you want to show something specific to your friend and cannot explain it verbally. You send him/her a screenshot and the confusion will end! This handy little program is again free for use. Get it from here.




Mobile Rediff

If you are wondering why I have included this application here, I would say it's because of pure experience. You might not be using a Rediffmail account but this is a good reason to use one. The Mobile Rediff application comes with a nifty "backup phone contacts" application that allows you to save your contacts online and restore them when required. This is especially useful for those who do not wish to undergo seemingly daunting procedure of syncing and backing up contacts using the PC Suite, which does come with its share of quirks. This could turn out to be a life saver at times (OK, I exaggerated that bit!) when you are not near your PC and do not have access to your backed up contacts. Get it from here.



Gmail Mobile

The Gmail for mobile application has been around for quite some time now. It has been through a couple of updates as well. It is pretty basic in nature but does a good job of displaying e-mails in an emergency situation. Some issues with the applications include poor handling of long e-mails and the reversed position of the keys. Having said that, I would still prefer the "Basic HTML" version of Gmail, which is at your disposal if you use Opera Mini. Get it from here.



I have listed just a few applications here. There are virtually thousands of other apps that you will find useful but we cannot list them all for obvious reasons. If you think there should be other worthy contenders that should have made to this list, let us know. We can always have another list!