I can't really believe I'm writing a news post about a new version of Calculator - but hey, it's a Friday - and fair play to Nokia Beta Labs - at least it's still improving and there seems to be an intention to put it in future firmwares - so get on over, grab it and give Nokia some beta feedback. New for this release is a redesigned front panel.
Read on in the full article.
Certain applications such as calculator is best used on a touch screen phone (iPhone has an excellent one that supports both normal and scientific calculators). On all the Nokia phones, it is just not intuitive to the built-in calculator at all.
(sigh) Is there some army of people hanging around these forums ready to plug the iPhone at even the weakest opportunity? If any of you are listening, it's really not a very good advert for Apple fans to bombard every single conversation with references to your favourite product.
Imagine if, say, hardcore Star Trek fans hung around a television mesage board and compared EVERY programme to Star Trek, even if there's only the most tenuous connection between them.
Drama Fan: "Hey I saw this great period drama last night, it was set in the 19th century, lovely sets, great costumes, fascinating dialogue. Did anyone else see it?"
Star Trek Fan: "There were several episodes of Star Trek where they went back in time to the 19th century, and I think you'll find Star Trek's concepts are far more advanced than your drama as Star Trek covers many other centuries as well."
Drama Fan: "Excuse me, I was talking about the drama I saw. I quite liked it."
Star Trek Fan: "Face it, your drama is crap. It can't compare to the amazing phenomenon that is Star Trek. Your drama is the past, Star Trek is the future."
That's what these iPhone discussions sound like on here sometimes.
In the review of the Samsung Innov8, someone posted "iphone iphone iphone!" with no explanation at all. I'm assuming that was a troll, but it's getting very hard to tell sometimes, and I somehow doubt that iPhone sites would appreciate Symbian fans hanging around them telling them the iPhone is crap.
When we posted about the Star Wars N-Gage game being released, before anyone had had a chance to play the game through the very first comment was "it's not as good as the iphone version". This is not promoting the iPhone, it's making people annoyed with iPhone fans.
Please, if you like the iPhone that's great, I'm very happy for you, but give it a rest. Comparisons are fine, AAS has done them very often, but putting iPhone references into every possible discussion thread is overkill.
Getting back on topic, having a physical number keypad makes a calculator app more intuitive, because that's what a real life calculator has. I'd say ordinary phones are actually better suited to calculators than touchscreen ones, but the difference is fairly small and it's not such an important app, so it's not really worth getting bothered about.
Poor Tzer, you seem frustrated... 😊. Forget these iphone fans. I think their ability to search for forums to talk about iphone is better than the search ability of google. Don't think any amount of reasoning is going to let them give up their iphone god.
Coming back to the calculator, why is this still a java app? Whats the use of calling it a calculator for S60 if the app is java and can hence run on any java phone?
Plus look at this one... So many more options for calculations without complicating anything...
The analogy between iPhone fans and trekkies is very appropriate.
Iphone fans, if I wanted an iPhone I would go and buy one. But I don't. It's too big, too fragile and has a bit of an embarassing image as well as being overpriced.
The calculators that I have downloaded and installed for free is perfect for my needs.
Those clever folks at Apple are apparently working on a revolutionary new TV remote control that can be operated by licking it. Sounds perfect for you, shouldn't you be on Apple forums talking about it?
First I am not an iPhone fan. But I don't agree that a phone keypad is similar to the physical keypad of a calculator. They are certainly different animals! On the other hand, I also kind of agree that Nokia phone calculator requires some learning in order to use it. Thus it is less intuitive than those on touchscreen phones.
First I am not an iPhone fan.
I'm sure you're not, but it just seems odd when the iPhone is brought into discussion of practically everything, even stuff that has nothing to do with iPhones.
I don't agree that a phone keypad is similar to the physical keypad of a calculator. They are certainly different animals!
Mobile Phone = ten number buttons arranged into three columns with some function buttons beside them
Calculator = ten number buttons arranged into three columns with some function buttons beside them
They're not identical, but you've got to admit they're physically similar.
Nokia phone calculator requires some learning in order to use it.
Pressing the "1" button when you want to enter the number "1", selecting "+" when you want to add something etc.
I always thought the Nokia S60 calculator was excellent - the scrollable ticker tape alone was extremely useful. Any improvements without spoiling the "does what it says on the tin" nature of the app are very welcome. The ticker tape is something I really miss on the calculator of the iPh... whoops!
Off to watch some Star Trek 😉
[QUOTE=Tzer2;392202]I'm sure you're not, but it just seems odd when the iPhone is brought into discussion of practically everything, even stuff that has nothing to do with iPhones.
It is kind of OT here but let's look at this problem objectively. To me it is not strange that why there are so many so called "iPhone fanatics" here in this forum. These people were previously Symbian users who visited (and still visit) AAS regularly. But for some reasons, they have been converted to the iPhone camp. But their tie to Symbian and AAS are still not broken. Therefore I urge all Symbian users here try to win them back instead of criticizing them. Some of them did bring some insights on the strengths and weaknesses of each platform.
I disagree, these are nothing but some stupid americans who, till now, never knew smartphones existed and now feel that their awfully restricted device is something out of this world.
Wait for an year, almost 90% of them would've converted to Symbian or Android by that time.
I do find the S60 calculator more intuitive than some other mobile calculators, one of the worst is certainly the calculator on some Blackberry models where function keys are mapped to keys on the keyboard and you have to figure out which ones they are by looking at the diagram on the screen.
It is even better than trying to use a calculator with a computer keyboard or worse, a laptop keyboard without the numeric keypad.
Unregistered wrote:
Those clever folks at Apple are apparently working on a revolutionary new TV remote control that can be operated by licking it. Sounds perfect for you, shouldn't you be on Apple forums talking about it?
Yes, it's modelled on Jobs' backside.
To be fair, unregistered's original point (at least the way I read it) was simply to say that some apps are probably more intuitive on a touch screen. I agree and agree that a calculator is probably one of those apps. He just happened to mention he likes the one on iPhone. So what. I have no problem with him saying that. Would everyone here been ok if he had said "For example the one on the Diamond is really good"?
Sorry, that's rubbish. The article to which this thread is attached was about a new calculator for the non-touch screen based S60 platform. Persistent reference to a touch-screen based device is totally irrelevant to those of us who own a S60 device...
I agree with Viipotaja. This is a forum. We should all be able to say exactly what we please regarding the subject being discussed, so long as its not rude or derogatory. As much as I don't like the iPhone (or anything Mac, for that matter) it did and, still does, shake up the mobile world with its ingenious useability. What we have in Symbian is ingenious functionality. I cant see that its bad to discuss the iPhone and compare to it and hopefully learn as much as we can from it and work our way slowly to creating the perfect phone. Remember that these online forums all play their part in helping to form the phones of tomorrow
I actually downloaded this calculator (or something that looks exactly like this one) a couple weeks ago... I like it a lot more than the default calculator, it's also a little better than Calcium.
A gripe I have with it is that it's slow to start (maybe that's fixed in this version?).
As an n95-3 owner I must say that every now and then I think about how cool the iPhone is, but then I remember that I'd have to install iTunes to load apps, I'd have to buy songs I wanted to use for ringtones twice (do they still do this?), if I decided to put an app on the phone that Apple later decided they didn't like they could remove it from my phone without my permission, the fact that by buying an iPhone I'd be supporting Apple (a company that is more anti-competitive than Microsoft, infects media with more DRM than the MPAA, inflates their computer prices higher than Alienware, and participates in "planned obsolescence" more than the auto industry).
That said, there's one fundamental difference between phone-keypad based calculators and calculators programmed for a touch screen: They can have the keys in the right order... The top left key on a calculator is the "7", the top left on a phone is the "1".
Why is the app .jar instead of .sisx?
What's worse, iPhone fans or iPhone haters?
According to Tzer2, iPhone fans like to insert the iPhone in every discussion and love to tell everybody that their phone is better than the others.
Well, I think iPhone haters aren't much better. They see iPhone fanaticism everywhere and even a single mention to that phone sparks rants and rants on how the iPhone is limited in its funcionality and how Steve Jobs is part of the axis of evil.
And the mob mentality is amazing... Hardeep1singh contributes with this pearl: "...nothing but some stupid americans who, till now, never knew smartphones existed and now feel that their awfully restricted device is something out of this world." Is it just me or was it highly offensive?
I thought we, S60 users, were smarter than this. Apparently I was wrong.
Java, not a native symbian app! What on earth are Nokia playing at??
There are much better free java calculators around than this rather feature-limited offering. Give us something native, Nokia, and stop wasting our time (and free memory) ...
surprisingly how a calcutator application can start a mobile war.(boys will be boys).
The iPhone is for brainwashed Mactards and fashion lemmings.
The iPhone is for brainwashed Mactards and fashion lemmings.
That's rubbish as well. The iPhone is a very nice phone, if you like the things it can do and don't mind the things it can't do. I would not criticise anyone for buying one, and anyone who does so is probably very stupid and narrow-minded (especially if they don't have the b*lls to use their real name when posting).
However, the original remark that "it's so much better using a calculator on an iPhone" was pointless and completely irrelevant....
Is it just me or was it highly offensive?
Its just you.
What has iphone got to do with a post about a simple new version of calculator, released by Nokia Beta Labs?
If these mactards continue to stick their nose at places it doesn't belong, they deserve a statement like that. Moreover I just stated a fact, the device is awfully restricted just like a Mac.
I'm a PC :-P
and a Symbian too. 😃
Hardeep1singh wrote:Its just you.What has iphone got to do with a post about a simple new version of calculator, released by Nokia Beta Labs?
If these mactards continue to stick their nose at places it doesn't belong, they deserve a statement like that. Moreover I just stated a fact, the device is awfully restricted just like a Mac.
I'm a PC :-P
and a Symbian too. 😃
What if I said that people who don't eat beef are nothing but stupid indians who think what they eat is food, would that be offensive?
Don't be so narrow minded and respect other people's choices.
Don't be so narrow minded and respect other people's choices.
I respect their choice, that's why I don't go around lurking in every mac related forum and post "Nigel Clifford is God" on every chance I get. Unfortunately, mactards don't reciprocate this behaviour.
Having a choice is OK but I can't let them shove it right down my throat on every chance they get.
Hardeep1singh: interesting what you've said considering the fact that every other day there is an iPhone vs. S60 comparison article on AllAboutSymbian. Would you be as kind as to explain me what's wrong with the calculator comparison?
Back to the subject, I use this on my iPhone (because I'm a mactard):
http://www.iphone-calc.com/wp/
It't free and I wanted a calc like this for my S60.
How is this "back to the subject", given that the subject was "a new version of the S60 calculator"? Discussing a calculator for a completely different device/platform is about as off-topic as you can get...
buster: the subject is: 'Calculator continues to evolve'
I guess a graphical/scientific addon would be evolution.
I think you'll find that the "Calculator" in the subject line is short for "S60 Calculator" and not intended to represent any old calculator app for any random device/platform...