MIR Show – Week 44 – All About Symbian, Smaato and Scalado

Focus hasn’t really been on Symbian recently, what with all the G1 and related Android gubbins going on. However I’d like you to take a bit of time out to see just how shit Symbian, Nokia, the whole shebang is — at the moment… and how good it could be.

I arrived at the Symbian Smartphone Show the other week just past midday. Ben and Dan had been on the scene since the early morning and taken a tour around the place. As I wondered in, Ben grabbed me: “You really must see these Scalado people,” he said, “Their imaging stuff blew me away.”

“Hmm,” I thought, “Another boring Symbian thing?”

Not quite.

Shocking. Absolutely shockingly good. Scalado are all about imaging. They are big time imaging folk. They took Ben and I through their phenomenal software that reads and manages imagery like a knife cuts through butter.

Unfortunately no manufacturer (Read: Nokia) has bothered taking a look it seems. From what the chaps at Scalado were telling us, their stuff is ready to roll. Absolutely tip top and ready to roll. Just… it’s not standard issue in Symbian as yet. Or words to that effect.

And you know what, I simply don’t give a toss about all the bollocks going on with Symbian. I don’t care if Symbian approve it but Nokia don’t. Or if Nokia like the concept and Symbian aren’t too sure. Or if both are sat sticking fingers up bums to fill up their work days. (At least, that’s what it looks like a lot of the time from the outside.)

When you’re told by somebody that Symbian really is quite a powerful and capable operating system, the standard thing to do is to smile in a polite way as possible and gently take steps backwards before running as fast as possible to an o2 or T-Mobile store to get yourself an iPhone or G1.

Symbian, Nokia, whatever.. it is — they are — capable.

Just…

Well, look. Suspend your disbelief.

Forget Whatley’s rant about the piece of shit Nokia N96 — a phone that looked good from the specs three years ago.

Forget the bollocks you’ve been subjected to from Nokia’s 18 month to 5 years bollocks development bollocks plans.

And take a look at what the Scalado chaps have made.

Software that flips through multi megapixel images in microseconds. Software that, when interfaced with a fairly decent camera, will snap a picture NOW. Not five minutes after you press the ‘take picture’ button (N95, I’m looking at YOU), but immediately. WOOSH. None of this rubbish smile detection nonsense. Software that actually DOES imagery properly.

Want to piece together a 5 megapixel panoramic image in real time? Done. Want to apply 16 different image styles (sepia and whatnot) in 0.5 miliseconds? Done. Want to flip through your 500 x 5 megapixel images in coverflow mode on your N95 8GB? Done.

This Scalado stuff puts Nokia and Symbian to shame.

Because it’s not already integrated.

I don’t want this stuff in the Nokia N596 in 4 years time. I want it NOW. I wanted it yesterday. I wanted it in the N96, the N95… geez can you remember how shit the N95 image gallery is?

Won’t somebody PLEASE get me Scalado’s stuff on a Nokia sometime within the next decade?

And with that semi rant over, here’s the video proof of this Scalado stuff working. Watch and listen to our amazement as the chap uses the stuff on a production N95 8GB.

There’s also some coverage of the All About Symbian chaps and every developer’s favourite advertising system, Smaato.

Once you’ve watched it, please remember that you can’t have it. Because Nokia aren’t there yet.

[Please insert some bollocks and entirely invalid reasons as to why not here.]

And that’s why you’re looking at their range of handsets and thinking ‘2005’.

Next.