I’ve recently updated my Nokia Suite to version 3.3.84 ( Beta Version available from Nokia  Beta Labs ) . As I was exploring the suite , I went to the Phone Info Tab and there it was showing my phone warranty to be Valid.

A click on the information Icon showed me that Nokia Suite has checked my warranty information from Pakistan database and have found it valid.  Alas it does not show how much warranty is left, but still it’s quite handy information from Nokia.

If you find any other useful information from the new Nokia Suite do let us know in comments.

While the whole world is talking about Nokia Lumia 900 , I couldn’t help but reflect on Dec 2011 , when I went to Thailand on vacation with my family and took a Nokia N8 with me.

How do you spot a tourist , they usually had a camera in their hand or hanging on their necks and carry maps but not with Nokia N8.  At the beginning at the Phuket beach I did had my DSLR   on my neck , playing all touristy but by the end of 2nd day I had enough of it as I was taking more pics from my N8 and video it was making was amazing . Beside people get a lot uneasy when you point a DSLR towards them , point a phone cam and they don’t mind at all.

One of my greatest fears when travelling abroad is the high communication costs in terms of mobile data usage but I was glad that this time I took N8 which sips data instead of my Samsung Galaxy Note.  ( During my summer vacations in US , my Galaxy S 2 ate somewhat 2.0 GB of data in 20 days of vacation ).

When I landed at Bangkok Airport , the local carrier True Move was giving out free SIM cards by handful to everyone , I grabbed 6 of them and to my surprise each had 10mb of free data and 1 hour free WiFi included included with 7bhat credit.

As I was running ‘leaked’ Symbian Belle on my N8 , using SKYPE was out of questions , but with What’sApp on my N8 I was never out of touch with my family and friends in Pakistan.  The best thing about Symbian Belle was that I was able to shutdown mobile data usage with a click when I was sleeping or travelling to avoid unnecessary usage.

The Thailand maps I loaded on the phone before I left were also a life saver , from the nearest mall to nearest mosque everything was in my hands and I was hero to my wife and kids when I found the nearest halal eatery right behind the hotel in Pattaya instead of walking 500m to Central World Mall.  The maps  even put my mind at ease when the Tuk Tuk I took on new year’s eve to my hotel in Bangkok  started taking side streets and a quick glance on the Nokia Map assured me that we are going the right way . 

Not everything was perfect , the maps showed many of the streets names in Thai instead of English and the lack of a ebook reader for which I had to rely on my iPod,  but still it was a minor tradeoff considering the awesome pictures memories it made putting my DSLR  to shame.

Below are some of the memories my Nokia N8 stored for me to cherish and remember the good times I had with my wife and kids.

With Nokia , no phone is left behind when an update is available even on the ones running the leaked Symbian Belle version like my N8 running Symbian Belle Version 111.030.0607 which you can also get from HERE and the Tutorial on how to update is HERE

Today while going through the blogosphere I read that the Search Widget update is available through Nokia Suite , so looking for a work around , I simply tries Software Update option on my N8 and here it was Search Widget update.

The update took a couple of minutes on WiFi.  I’m still playing with the Search Widget and in the next post will let you know what’s new with it.

Today Nokia updated their Nokia Store Client ( already in Beta ) to version 3.20.044. 

The last update was made on 6th November 2011 , this time the update brings much enhanced features beside bug fixes like

• Support for Arabic , Hebrew and Kazakh Languages.
• Support for Nokia E6 and other devices with VGA Resolution
• Split Screen View text entry through improved Virtual Keyboard.
• Spelling Correction and Alternative Results
• Using WAP Direct method for Operator Billing via WiFi Connection

To make things simpler for new users, Nokia , starting 16th Dec 2011, will remove the requirement of a Nokia Account to download up to 10 Free applications, a must have for new users who want to enjoy their app now then to register and wait .

The Nokia Store QML Client is available from Nokia Beta Labs for free ( Registration Required) and is meant for both Symbian Belle and Symbian Anna devices.

Yesterday another leaked version of Symbian Belle was released in the wild , version 111.030.06.07 , with built date of 10th Nov 2011. ( info and pic courtesy Dailymobile.se)

Now I’m a Belle lover and as soon as I found it,  I again updated  my Nokia N8 to Symbian Belle (you can read our handy tutorial here on how to do it ) but was a bit disappointed as Camera was still having focus problems , now I use my N8 as my primary camera secondary phone device and cannot afford to have problems with the camera so had to revert back to Symbian Anna .

There are rumors flying around that N8 may get update within a few days so It’s better to wait then to go for a leaked firmware with a bit limited functionality.

Nokia Link was originally thought to work with Nokia N9, syncing media including Photos , Music and Movies but thanks to KA of Techprolonged, who told me it’s working with N8 too , I had to try it on my Macbook and it does work  , the proof is in the image below  

To learn more about Nokia Link , you can click Here

I just checked my Nokia N8 for updates via NSU for Mac and guess what a new update version 24.001 is available over previous Symbian Anna version of 22.014 .  On NSU , the update size is 278.8 MbB while it’s not available through OTA and on Software Updater its asking to use the PC for update  .  I’m downloading the file and will let you know of any changes once I install it .

Ramadan, is the month of fasting and feasting, and there has to be something special and one of the most difficult decisions of the day atleast for my mom and wife are what to make for the evening beyond the usual samosa and pakora .

The solution to their problem is no further then a click away with ARY Zauq app on Nokia , with mouth watering recipes from chefs like Naheed Ansari , Tahira Mateen and Saadat , the application got enough to make every iftar and dinner special.

ARY Zauq application does not only cater to the usual Chicken Shahlick , Chicken Chowmein reciepies but also covers classics like Bakery Wala Peela Cake (  Yellow Pound Cake )  to exotics as Khajoor ki roti  ( Date bread ) and Lemon Moraine Pie.

What I like about ARY Zauq is that unlike traditional cookbooks it’s bilingual i.e both in Urdu and English making it easier for everyone to understand and follow and it also make things simpler for me i.e when the  ‘Chefs’ of my house send me to Naheed Store to buy the ingredients I can easily find them .

Beside recipes , the application also have ARY Zauq TV program schedule , Announcements ,  Promos and Tips however none had any info were working till to date and hopefully soon will be updated.  The provided Cooking Timer is also a handy tool especially for baking and could be set any where between 00:01 min to 00:59 minutes.  and play the melodic ARY Zauq Theme music  when the time is up.

Overall the ‘Chefs’ of my house loved the ARY Zauq app and being a foodie myself now I’ve got a whole list of new things I want to eat this ramadan  . No more Samosa and Pakore for me I’m going for  Arabic Paratha and cheese rolls  tonight.

ARY Zauq application is developed by Ten Pearls and is available for FREE on OVI Store , kindly note the application makes use of your mobile Internet connection so keep it on or connect your phone to WiFi .

Finally the last day of my kid’s school has arrived and what better than ending the school year with class party.  Taha and Zohra , my 9 year old son and 5 year daughter were all dressed up when I took them to school capturing the moments with my trusty Nokia N8

Below are the 100 pics I took of them in 30 min drive catching every expression and emotion from laughter to anger , playful to fighting and how I achieved all that in such a short time  I took the iPad with me and let them play the games. Zohra being the youngest got to play it first but she didn’t want to return it to Taha when his turn came and I had to snatch it from her to Taha before they start a brawl in the car .

Later Zohra resorted to showing my all the accessories from rings to charm bracelets and let me took pic of them .

I wanted to take my DSLR ( Canon 450D ) to capture these moments but I’m glad I didn’t Nokia N8 did the better job of being handy , fast and the colors came out to be perfect .  So what do you think of the snaps is Nokia N8 worthy of replacing a DSLR in family trips .

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With Nokia N8 , Pink around the corner , we thought why not have some more  color concepts for Nokia N8 , from Nokia N8 Bling to Nokia Ed Hardy Edition to , Glow in the dark and simply Purple .

Nokia N8 Ed Hardy Edition with Bold Colors

Nokia N8  Bling Edition -  With the Gold prices hovering over $1500 , only 24K plating will do.

Nokia N8 Glow -  Neon Glow in the dark lines making it easier to find the phone in dark nights.

Nokia N8 Simply Purple -  Why settle for Pink when Purple can be launched too

So what do you think do they look good , do let us know or if you want to see them in anyother color , we’ll be happy to oblige.