Last week, we reported that Nokia has started rolling out the Nokia Belle FP1 update for three of its handsets, the Nokia 603, 700 and 701. The FP1 update will not be rolled out to the first generation of Symbian^3 handsets, including the N8 because of their slower processor and low RAM.

However, one of the developers over at DailyMobile forums has managed to port all the new goodies in Belle FP1 to the Nokia N8. This includes a new music player, the new web browser, the new widgets and the new task manager. The custom firmware also includes other goodies like improved image and video quality, more free RAM and overall faster performance.

N8 owners can get all these new Belle FP1 and other features on their phone by flashing the Nokia N8 Pro Edition v8 CFW from Taylor. Keep in mind that flashing this CFW file will void the warranty of your N8, so please proceed with caution. Head over to this thread on DailyMobile forums for the download link and further discussions.

Hopefully, these new UI goodies in Belle FP1 will also be ported to other first generation Symbian^3 handsets from Nokia.

Nokia has started rolling out the official Nokia Belle FP1 update for the Nokia 700, 701 and the 603 beginning from today in Asia and other regions of the world. The upcoming camera powerhouse from Nokia, the Pure View 808, will also come with Belle FP1 pre-installed.

Nokia Belle FP1 (Feature Pack 1) brings with it subtle but welcome changes including an updated task Manager with a webOS style UI, 20 new widgets, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Headphone, an improved browser with HTML5 support, and an updated notification bar. The processor speed will also be bumped up to 1.3GHz on the Nokia 700 and 701, brining about a noticeable improvement in the performance of the handsets. All the inbuilt Nokia apps have also been updated to their latest version.

Sadly, the first generation of Symbian^3 devices including the Nokia N8, C6, C6-01, E7 and the C7 will not be getting the Belle FP1 update due to their slower processor. The Nokia Belle FP1 update will not be the last update for Symbian handsets. Instead, Belle FP1 will be followed by Nokia Carla which will again bring an enhanced web browser and many other improvements and features.

Via – GSMArena

One of the key features in Windows Phone that Microsoft often brags about are the Office apps — or rather, the Office hub — which provides a pretty solid mobile Office experience. There has been much discussion (and rumor) lately about how Microsoft needs to bring the Office suite to iOS, and while they are yet to do so, they are introducing it to a slightly less major player in the mobile ecosystem: Symbian.

Yes, Nokia’s mobile OS which really should be retired in lieu of Windows Phone will be receiving the full Office Mobile app. Starting today, the Nokia 701, Nokia 700, Nokia 603, Nokia E7, Nokia X7, Nokia C7, Nokia Oro, and Nokia C6-01 will receive the Office suite, which can be obtained via the Nokia Software Update tool on your phone, or the Nokia Suite on the PC.

While you probably won’t be typing up entire essays, or creating complete presentations from scratch on your Symbian device, it’s always good to have Office in your pocket for quick adjustments on the go. And, Microsoft touts that, as they developed the apps, the experience and functionality is as close as it can be to the PC. For example, in Word, you can save or send documents while preserving tables, SmartArt and charts, and you can use pinch/zoom to easily navigate through your document.

And in PowerPoint, you can edit presentation text and speaker notes, and use the Outline view to browse slides. Finally, in Excel, you can create charts, insert formulas, and view charts on your device. Through Office Mobile, you’ll also get a single view to documents, whether stored locally, as email attachments, or on a SharePoint server.

So, if you are still using Symbian, this is pretty good news for you.

In the UK, Nokia devices running Windows Phone have outsold Nokia devices running the older Symbian OS, reports Bloomberg. The difference isn’t by much; according to a research report conducted by Kantar Worldpanel — a research report based on interviews with mobile phone purchasers over three months, ending on Feburary 19th – 2.5% of UK phone buyers purchased a Nokia Windows Phone over the 2.4% who went with a Symbian device.

Something more alarming from this statistic is how small the numbers are in the scheme of things. In a place like the UK, where Nokia’s Lumia handsets are being marketed quite aggressively (at least compared to the US right now), 2.5% isn’t exactly a thrilling figure. Nokia’s lineup is hardly biting into the market share of the established Android and iOS platforms.

Interestingly enough, Kantar also notes that the Lumia 800 is responsible for 87% of Windows Phone sales in Europe altogether. While it’s nice to see people choosing a real OS over Symbian, it’s still disappointing to barely see Windows Phone in the rearview mirror of iOS and Android.

Back here in the US, we have the Nokia Lumia 900 to look forward to. But I’m even more excited about Apollo-based handsets; perhaps once it launches, Microsoft, along with manufacturers would greatly up their efforts to both develop quality devices and market the platform as a whole.

At MWC, Nokia announced the highly anticipated successor to the N8, the Nokia 808 Pure View. This camera-cum-phone sports a whopping 41MP camera, thanks to a new technology from the Finnish giant – Pure View.

Apart from the camera, most point which most readers must have missed in the 808 Pure View spec sheet is that it runs on Nokia Belle FP1. Yes, FP1 (Feature Pack 1), which means the 808 will launch with a new version of Symbian on-board. Nokia detailed the changes included in the Belle FP1 update, which mainly aims at simply polishing the OS instead of adding new features or bringing about something radically different.

First and foremost, the FP1 update will add Dolby Headphone and Dolby Digital Plus to transform the music playback capabilities of your Nokia handset. Other than this, the update will also include 20 new and improved widgets, along with a faster browser with HTML5 support. The notification bar and the multi-tasking bar have also been improved, while all the inbuilt apps like Nokia Maps have been update to the latest version.

While the Nokia 808 Pure View will ship with Belle FP1 out of the box, only three other Symbian^3 handsets from Nokia will get the Belle FP1 update including the 603, 700 and 701. The Belle FP1 update will also bump up the processor speed on the Nokia 700 and 701 to 1.3GHz from 1GHz. Nokia did not mention as to when it will be rolling out the Belle FP1 update to existing Symbian handsets, but I don’t think its going to come anytime before the 808 Pure View is available to the general public.

Nokia has just announced the successor to the highly popular N8, the Nokia Pure View 808. Like the N8, the Nokia Pure View 808 is first a camera, and then a phone. The 808 comes with a whopping…wait for it…41MP camera sensor! Yes, 41MP camera sensor! Readers can find more information about the 41MP sensor on the Pure View and the technology behind it here.

Not only is the camera good enough for clicking pictures, it is also capable of recording stunning videos. The phone can record high-quality 1080p HD resolution videos and comes with 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound technology and can also records sounds without distortion at audio levels as high as 140dB. The phone also allows up to 3x zoom without any loss in picture quality.

Now for the disappointing part, the Pure View 808 has a 4-inch CBD display with a disappointingly low nHD (360×640) resolution. There is also a 1.3GHz single-core processor, 16GB of on-board memory, and a microSD card slot.

The handset is expected to cost around 450 Euros before taxes and subsidies, and is expected to start shipping sometime in May this year. The handset will be running on Nokia Belle Feature Pack 1 out of the box.

Today, in a blog post Nokia announced that the Nokia Belle update for some of its existing Symbian running handsets will be available soon.

The Nokia Belle update, formerly Symbian Belle, will bring with it a a whole bunch of changes including a new, much more user friendly touch UI, new widgets, up to 6 home screens, faster and smoother performance and much more.

Nokia had announced a few Belle running handsets earlier this year, including the Nokia 701, 700 and the 603.  Nokia has already started shipping ‘enhanced’ versions of the Nokia N8, C7, and the C6-01 with Nokia Belle pre-loaded. The first batch of such handsets are on their way from Nokia’s factory to hit the retail stores in China.

Current Nokia N8, C7, C6-01, E6 and E7 owners need to wait for a couple of months more, as Nokia intends on releasing the Belle update for these handsets in Feburary 2012. Well that’s Nokia way of saying thanks to all you early adopters out there!

Today, in a blog post Nokia announced that a new version of the Nokia Maps Suite is now available for download for Symbian handset users. The update brings about some major changes in the Nokia Pulse app, including few login prompts, improved notifications and much more.

The update also removes the Live View app from the Nokia Maps suite, but the app is still available for download as a standalone app.

Below is the full change-log for the update-:

Pulse  v0.91.21

• Login fewer Nokia Account login prompts
• Notifications more reliable push notifications
• Keyboard various bug fixes including stuck CAP lock, frozen cursor, delete key stops functioning, and we also added split-screen feature
• Interoperability compatible with latest versions of various Qt components, especially important because the latest Store client available this week uses a new version of a dependency that is not compatible with the previous Pulse v0.91(6)

Live View

• No longer included in Map Suite
• Still available as  standalone app

Public Transport

• No changes

Places

• No changes

In the last month or so, a Symbian Belle firmware had leaked online for the Nokia C7 and the E6. However, no Belle firmware leaked online for the Nokia N8, which is probably the most popular Symbian^3 phone out there.

Now, it looks like the guy who leaked the earlier Belle firmware felt bad for the N8 owners and has leaked a new Belle firmware for the handset. The leaked firmware (v111.030) is newer than the C7′s leaked Belle firmware. The new firmware contains quite a lot of new widgets and is also much more smoother and faster compared to the C7′s Belle FW.

Below is a video of the leaked FW in action on the N8 -:

Interested readers can find the download link and installation steps here.

The official Symbian Belle update for all the existing Symbian^3 handsets is expected to land sometime in Q1 of 2012. For the unknown, the Belle update will bring with it a  noticeable  improvement in the UI of Symbian phones, new animations, widgets, up to 6 home screens and much more.

Late last month, a Symbian Belle firmware for the Nokia C7 made its way on the Internet. Now, a couple of weeks later, a Belle FW for the Nokia E6 has leaked online. The Belle update for the Symbian^3 handsets is going to bring some much needed UI enhancements, a new camera app and much more.

Some E6 owners who tried the leaked Belle FW on their phone are reporting an increase in performance, and a much smoother scrolling performance compared to the Anna firmware. Other changes in the Belle FW include new widgets for weather and mail,   a much faster and improved web browser, and a much prettier and usable UI. Interested Nokia E6 owners can find the download link and installation instructions over at DailyMobile forums. Since this is an early leak, I’d recommend business oriented users to stay away from this leak.

The official Symbian Belle firmware update for the existing bunch of Symbian^3 handsets like the Nokia N8, C7, C6-01, and the E6 will get the official firmware update sometime in early 2012.