Every day, mobile surfers arrive to Taptu using dozens of different devices through dozens of different operators. Just like each one of us is a beautiful snowflake (or so says my mother, anyway), each of those combinations of device/firmware/operator comes with its quirks.

A common problem Taptu users flagged up is difficulty with streaming video on some Nokia devices, so we thought we’d share our best tip which should allow most users to be able to get streaming working via Real Player on their Symbian S60 v3 phones* like the N95, N76, E71, etc…

So here is a simple step-by-step on setting your phone AND Real Player to use the same Internet connection. We’ve put a step-by-step in screenshots on Flickr to make it easier too.

1. Open the main menu and select ‘Tools’
2. Select ‘Settings’
3. Select ‘Applications’
4. In Applications select ‘RealPlayer’
5. In RealPlayer select ‘Streaming’
6. Select ‘Network’ in Streaming settings
7. Select ‘Default access point’ (See screenshot)
8. Select the same option which you use to Browse the internet. When they are the same you should be able to stream.
9. Then start up your browser as you normally would and select the same option as the RealPlayer ‘Default access point’

For many users, this will fix to streaming problem! If this doesn’t resolve your video streaming problem, you may want to call your operator to find out if you need any different settings to enable streaming.

If you have more questions about Taptu, check out our FAQ for more answers to commonly asked questions.

[* For a more complete list of S60 devices and which version they are, Wikipedia has a nice list here]

Are you an avid Symbian S60 user? Come and have an early look at the Taptu S60 Launcher by becoming a GetJar beta tester!

We created this widget to make it easier to launch a search on Taptu at the tap of a single button, and it’s now available to beta testers here. It places a shortcut to a Taptu search box on the shortcut screen or via the Pencil/Edit key giving you instant access to our ever-growing search engine. Typing in a query to the search box and pressing search opens up the Web and takes you to the results page for that Taptu query in one go.

You’ll need to register on GetJar, and you’ll also get the opportunity to send us your feedback, whether they’re bugs or suggestions. In a few weeks, once you’ve helped us polish it, we’ll release it to the rest of the world.

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I watched the launch of the second generation of the iPhone with great interest on Friday, not because I planned on replacing my first generation one, but because I wanted to see how the world would welcome it. While not everyone here is an Apple fiend as I am, we couldn’t help but be curious about it since we’ve just launched a new iPhone version of Taptu*.

The product

In December, after a month of iPhone ownership, I reviewed it. I loved it then and I still do now. It’s clearly not everyone’s cup of tea, as certain Symbian-owning friends regularly remind me, but definitely still the best device for my needs.

The new version of the firmware gives all iPhones, new and old, a fresh lease of life with a wide range of downloadable applications available to make better use of the phone. Applications range from really useful to downright silly (see the iPint one for possibly the wackiest one around), but I can’t get over the fact that they can’t run in the background. I appreciate that the battery would run down faster than our office manager Celia can neck a glass of wine, but it still renders applications like streaming radio and instant messaging pretty much pointless.

The 3G hardware theoretically brings GPS functionality and faster browsing speeds, but I’ve yet to witness these first hand. I’m sure it’ll make a marginal difference, but still isn’t enough to convince me to upgrade.

The 3G iPhone is Apple’s tough second album, and not bad going, but not an awe-inspiring result.

The launch

Oooh, now here’s my bone to pick with Apple and the operators. How could launch day go so horribly wrong?

With expected sales of over 1 million handsets on day 1, plus millions of first generation iPhone and iPod Touch owners across the world, why did O2, the UK’s operator to win the iPhone contract, grind to a halt within moments of opening its doors at 8:02am? The iTunes Activation Center then followed suit shortly.

Sure, that’s a bunch of frustrated new users. But it’s also a whole lot of stranded existing users: My phone began its update and restore around lunchtime, yet I only managed to reactivate via the iTunes store around 8pm, leaving me unreachable for most of the day.

So Apple and the operators owe their users an apology for a poor first experience, I think!

The future

While execution wasn’t perfect over the launch, it’s still undeniable that the iPhone’s impact on the mobile world is increasing with every phone sold. A large and bright glossy screen, a user-friendly interface with single-click app download and no learning curve, this is inspirational for mobile developers.

The gloss is marred by the strong DRM and lock-down the iPhone suffers, one of the main criticism heard from those who opt for the Symbian-based alternatives. I’ll be curious to see how many users of the 2.0 firmware still choose to jailbreak their device, defying Apple and the operators. In fact, how long before jailbreaking becomes pointless?

[* Best viewed on an iPhone, but can be accessed in your browser]

Today at the Symbian Smartphone Show, Nokia presented S60 running with a touch interface.

To get more details, I listened to the Voice of S60 podcast, hosted by Phil Schwarzmann who interviewed Minna Karvonen, Product Marketing Manager for S60 UI and UI Customisation.

Minna explained that the touch interface would support finger and stylus input, mulitilingual applications and is backwards compatible with the existing S60 3rd Edition platform.

While this is great news and will most likely change the landscape of mobile browsing, the cynic in me struggles to see how S60 will make this in any way as smooth and usable as the iPhone. (What, did you really think I wasn’t going to make this comparison immediately?) Regardless, it’ll be a very interesting space to watch once it is released in 2008.

And finally, here’s a video of the Nokia presentation, taken by Rafe of All About Symbian: