Nokia World 2008 is taking place now in Barcelona, and there were a lot of significant announcements during the first day of the show.

For starters, there is a S60 5th Edition new mobile computer, the Nokia N97, which combines a large, bright 3.5" touch display with a full QWERTY keyboard in a very distinctive form factor. Use the Nokia N97 to connect to mobile broadband using WLAN or HSDPA (3.5G). Find directions and locations with the integrated A-GPS and included maps. Additional features include a 5 mega pixel camera with dual LED flash and automatic geotagging of images and videos.

• Watch a video demo of the Nokia N97. 

• View the device specifications for the Nokia N97.

• Read the product sheet for the Nokia N97. (PDF file)

At Nokia World there were also updates about Nokia Messaging, which mobilises consumer e-mail and consumer instant messaging (IM) solutions on Nokia devices. There was also news about the latest version of Nokia Maps, integrated with Ovi as a free service that allows people to pre-plan their journey at home on their PC and synchronise with their mobile device.

And last – but not least - Nokia today announced that it has completed its offer to acquire Symbian Limited, the software company that develops and licenses Symbian OS, the market-leading open operating system for mobile devices. Learn more about this significant news announcement.

Additionally, information about the planned Symbian Foundation can be found at www.symbianfoundation.org.

Watch presentations that took place during the first day at Nokia World.

And stay tuned for more updates tomorrow.

What do you think of the announcements coming out of Nokia World today? Let us know your thoughts and ideas. Continue the conversation with us now.  

1. View the webinar recording and discuss it.

2. Continue conversations  you started in San Franciso or Milan.

3. Download the S60 5th Edition SDK 

• Series 40 now with Webkit and Flash Lite 3
  The world’s most popular mobile platform now has fully featured web capabilities. With the announcement of the Series 40 platform 6th Edition – Nokia brings a full Webkit browser, Flash Lite 3, as well as large screen and A-GPS support. Coupled with .nfl (Nokia Flash Lite) - a dedicated format that makes packaging simple, Series 40 presents the opportunity for Flash and web developers to reach the mobile mass market.
  
• Series 40 6th Edition features highlights
  Bringing a full webkit browser, Flash Lite 3 , A-GPS through Java ME, support for bigger screen sizes, enhanced keypad input, wireless networking, as well as dedicated Flash Lite packaging options, this edition opens the doors to mass market web and flash services.
• S60 5th Edition with Platform Services
  Nokia have extended S60 to create the most open, most powerful mobile platform available. With S60 – there are few limits. With the widest choice of tools, and programming languages – and particular emphasis on web and runtime support – you should be thinking of S60 whenever you look to bring content to a mobile audience. S60 is open to innovation too - as Nokia do not seek to restrict the channels or types of application developers can create and distribute.
• S60 5th Edition features highlights
  Bringing touch, sensor and tactile support, along with enhanced screen and TV out features. S60 5th Edition also allows web and flash developers to reach further into the device. Web developers can now use functionality such as tilt sensor, location, calendar, contacts and much more – creating opportunities to extend web services like never before.
• Download the S60 5th Edition SDK
  

1. Learn About the Nokia Mobile Browser, Flash, and
   Flash Lite Experience
   • Speakers: Policarpo Guerrero, Ung-Ping Tian
   • When: Tuesday, November 18, 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
   • Overview:
   This session explores the commercial opportunities with Nokia platforms for Flash and web
   developers. Nokia was the first to bring webkit full browsing and Flash Lite to consumers
   worldwide. Using the skills you already have for creating web content, you can easily extend
   into the mobile space by exploring Nokia technologies. CityLite will be co-presenting to share
   its experience in bringing applications to market, specifically Flash Lite applications that
   deliver online services. All attendees will get a chance to win a Nokia device and other prizes.
   • Audience: Creative Designer, Application
   • Developer Skill: General Audience
   • Products: Flash Lite, Flash, Design Premium, Creative Suite
2. Flash Lite Programming for Nokia Devices
   • Speakers: Robert Burdick
   • When:
   Monday, November 17, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
   Tuesday, November 18, 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
   • Abstract:
   This session will give you an insight to the latest development opportunities offered by Nokia
   and touch on new capabilities and devices. Nokia will give you a practical overview on
   security, packaging and distribution. From Flash, to Web Runtimes, to integrated services -
   learn how Nokia is making it easier for design and web professionals to create content for
   mobile markets.
   • Audience: Web Designer, Creative Designer, Application
   • Developer Skill: Intermediate
3. Open Screen Project: Ride the Wave
   • Speakers: Francisco Kattan, Eric John, Anup Murarka, Steve Sprigg, Ryan Hughes, Paul Sinclair
   • When: Monday, November 17, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
   • Abstract:
   Find out about an initiative developed by Adobe and leading industry partners to enable developers and
   content providers to deliver rich Internet experiences across connected devices through a consistent
   runtime. Join a panel of Adobe and industry representatives for an interactive Q&A session to learn what the
   Open Screen Project vision means for designers, developers, and organizations like yours and how you can
   participate in this exciting project.
   • Audience: Web Developer, Web Designer, Partner Decision Maker, Creative Designer, Business
   Decision Maker, Architect, Application
   • Developer Skill: General Audience
   

Mobile services can make a major difference in the lives of users in emerging markets, but developers need to understand how to design for these markets. For example, Africa has more languages in use than any other continent, so user-generated localization allows a developer to put the power of language in the hands of a community. When designing for emerging markets, forget about 3G, not all mobile users in emerging markets will even have access to GPRS-level data services. You can design a fall-back mechanism that uses GPRS when available (it's least cost) but SMS when necessary (it's more available).

These techniques are part of a seven-facet framework to help design mobile services for consumers in emerging markets. The framework was designed and implemented by

• Gergely Herenyi, Sr. Software Engineer, Nokia
• JD Moore, UX Manager, Emerging Market Services, Nokia
• Daniel Orwa Ochieng, ICT Consultant and Researcher, University of Nairobi

Here is the SMS bearer code snippet.

Here is the full source code.

We are scheduling an online discussion with the developers. Check back here for time and URL, or make sure you subscribe to Forum Nokia Developer News and we will let you know when the event will take place.

To continue this discussion, post comments to this blog post. No reason to move this to the DiBo.

Check out this video where the developers behind the framework show how mobile applications can make a difference in the lives of users in emerging markets.

If you are continuing this conversation from our YouTube channel, welcome to Forum Nokia. We hope you enjoy this conversation and become active on our blogs, discussion boards, and wiki. Learn all you want, then when you are ready to post something all you need to do is register.

This conversation is part of our Talk to the Guru series, this month hosted by Forum Nokia Champion Sittiphol Phanvilai. Sittiphol is an award winning developer of S60 on Symbian applications, and he is doing some fascinating research into hardware and software extensions for the popular Nokia N95 multimedia computer.

Talk to Sittiphol in his blog.

For those who did not come here from YouTube, here is the video we posted. It shows his NeuScreen project, which allows the user to manipulate 3D images using an N95 and light pens. Cool stuff. You will find more video demos from Sittiphol here.

The webinar will be presented on July 10 at 9AM California (Pacific) time.

Translate to time zone in your location.

Speakers:
Eero Kukko, Head of S60 Platform Marketing, Nokia
Mike Welham, co-founder & CTO, Red Five Labs

Join Forum Nokia 4-5 June in Amsterdam to learn the latest technologies and opportunities for Location Based Services on Nokia Platforms during the Navigation and Location Europe 2008. 

• 4 June 12:15 PM PANEL: Mobile navigation: The shift from guiding to exploring
  Jure Sustersic, Business Development Manager, Forum Nokia, joins industry colleagues to discuss technology, economics, distribution, and the role of network operators in LBS success.
• 4 June 16:15 Workshop
  Petro Soininen, Senior Technical Consultant, Forum Nokia, will cover the location enabling technologies in Nokia platforms, including the Location Framework, runtime options, and how to integrate location information in mobile services and applications. Petro will also discuss new positioning support coming to Nokia maps.
• 5 June 9:30 AM PANEL: Perfect Partners wanted: How to ensure your navigation and LBS applications go mass market
  Christof Hellmis, Director of Navigation, Nokia, joins industry colleagues to discuss how to find the right partners to ensure your product reaches the widest audience possible.

If you have any questions about the presentations, before or after the event, please comment to this article.

Attending a great conference or training session is a lot like trying to drink from a fire hose. There is way more information available than you can possibly absorb during the event, and you meet more people than you can possibly remember. Over the years I have learned some tricks so when I return to my office I can associate the stack of business cards with specific people and conversations, but I am almost always left with at least one card I can not identify, and at least one discussion that I can not quite figure out how to pursue.

That is where this blog comes in: it will will help you continue the conversations you start with Forum Nokia at conferences, trade shows, and even webinars. We made it easy for you:

• We established an easy-to-remember URL www.forum.nokia.com/continue so the blog is easy to find. 
• The title of the articles will be the same as the event you attended. (That is unless the official event name is really long, then we will have to shorten it.)

If you have a comment or want to follow up on a topic you discussed at an event, find the article associated with your event. Some articles will direct you to one or more ongoing discussions in the Discussion Boards, others will invite you to post comments directly to the blog article. If you are trying to contact a Forum Nokia person you met at the event, let us know and we will try to connect you.

Forum Nokia sponsors and participates in more events that we could possibly blog about here. If you do not see your event listed, go ahead and post a comment to any article in this blog. Please let us know the name, date, and location of the event you attended, and what conversation you want to resume. We will connect you with the right resource.

--Kevin