Nokia has released Qt SDK 1.2. This update sets a new baseline for the developers for a longer perspective. Some of the features have already been available as online updates, but Qt SDK 1.2 now integrates the very latest tools, most recent mobile build targets for Symbian and Nokia N9, and the still fresh Qt 4.8 for desktops. Some improvements to the SDK and its maintenance tool have also been introduced.

As a summary, this is what is new in the Qt SDK:

• Fixes for Qt Creator 2.4 in a new 2.4.1 patch update


• Qt 4.8 for desktops delivering Qt Quick 1.1, Qt platform abstraction, Qt WebKit 2.2, and threaded OpenGL


• More Qt Mobility examples for Nokia N9 and Symbian devices


• Ability to specify network proxy setting in the SDK Maintenance Tool


• Update to the Symbian Complementary Package introducing Analyze Tool plugin and new CODA 1.0.6 installation package


• An update to Notifications API improving the end user experience and fixing issues in the Nokia N9 implementation of the API.

If you already have Qt SDK installed, you can update to the latest version by running Update Qt SDK from the Qt SDK application folder on your computer. If you first time are getting started with Qt SDK, you can download 1.2 from the download page.

Qt has reached another important evolutionary milestone today as Qt 4.8.0 has now been released. Featuring Qt Platform Abstraction, threaded OpenGL support, multithreaded HTTP and optimized file system access, Qt 4.8.0 can be downloaded as binary or source packages. Here are some key features that are new in Qt 4.8.0:

• Qt Platform Abstraction (QPA). QPA restructures the GUI stack to enable easier porting of Qt to different windowing systems and devices. More info.


• Threaded OpenGL support. Enables those of us that are not OpenGL-ninjas to render OpenGL from more than one thread concurrently. More info.


• Multithreaded HTTP. HTTP requests are now handled in a separate thread by default. This should make application guis smoother, as networking will no longer use the main event loop.


• Optimized file system access. The file system stack received some heavy lifting under the hood. The result is better I/O performance, achieved by reducing the number of system calls performed for I/O and by better use of cached data, when available. The improvements in performance can be seen across all platforms.

Qt 4.8.0 ships with QtWebKit 2.2.1. More details of the major changes can be found in the Qt 4.8 beta blog post. Qt 4.8 Docs are now available on Qt DevNet.

Qt Creator 2.4.0 has been released. Changes since 2.3.1 can be found in the changelog, and if you have a lot of time you can also check the commit log with around 1300 accepted commits. The standalone release can be downloaded from DevNet.

The new Qt SDK 1.1.4 brings major stability, performance, and functionality improvements for the much improved Nokia N9 Harmattan target as well as the Qt 4.7.4 "bundle" for all Symbian^3, Symbian Anna, and Symbian Belle smartphones. You now have better tools than even before as well as a large installed base of modern Symbian phones and the Nokia N9 to target with Qt apps.

For Qt on Symbian, the release offers closer integration of Qt into the Symbian operating system services. Qt graphics system, split view keyboard, and support for Symbian Belle UI features are all included. In particular the improvements with regard to the Qt Quick Components 1.1 and Qt Quick 1.1 modules are significant – and will truly ease and speed up development. The Qt 4.7.4 release bundle for Symbian contains Qt Quick 1.1, Qt Mobility 1.2, Qt WebKit 2.1, and Qt Quick Components 1.1.

With regard to the Nokia N9, the Qt SDK Harmattan target is now a full release and installed by default. Other visible changes are the evolution to a single unified sysroot (no tools-level distinction between Platform API and its more productised subset), a single target (with debug and release flavours of the build), and major up-dates to the documentation.

Read more here and here @ Qt blogs.

An online update for Qt SDK 1.1.3 is now available introducing the following improvements:

• Updated Harmattan target, Beta2, to correspond to the most recent public firmware release of Nokia N950 Developer Device. This version of the target is still considered experimental, but it can be used for developing apps for Nokia N9 device. The latest Nokia N950 firmware update is available here.


• Qt Creator 2.3.1, with support for app booster for N9 software and fixes for Symbian on-device debugging (CODA).


• Fix to ensure that Qt Quick components work in the Simulator for software targeting the Nokia N9 smartphone and Symbian phones.


• Symbian Complementary package improvements with an updated qmlviewer.sis for Qt 4.7.4 and NFC support in the QtMobility 1.2 sis file.

You can obtain this update by running the Update tool of the Qt SDK.

A Qt Creator 2.3.1 patch release is now available through an Qt SDK update and as updated Qt Creator – only packages. The release fixes a range of bugs, e.g. mixed C++/QML debugging could fail because a wrong gdb was choosen for the C++ debugging part, there where several debugging issues with CODA 4.0.23, and an update to the Harmattan application template in the light of the updated Harmattan target that is included in the Qt SDK update, to mention a few random ones. Full changelog is available here. If you are using the Qt SDK, it should notify you about the update, or you can go to the usual download pages on developer.qt.nokia.com or qt.nokia.com/downloads and get the Qt Creator – only version.

The Opera Mobile team announced an updated version of Opera Mobile 11.1 for Symbian. This release adds support for new Symbian Belle devices and improved integration with half-screen keyboard on phones running Symbian Anna. To download this new version please visit http://m.opera.com from your Symbian phone or http://www.opera.com/mobile/download/pc/ from PC.

QtWebKit 2.2 Release Candidate has been released today, bringing new features in HTML(5), CSS(3) and JavaScript in addition to general bug fixes. See Qt Labs for details.

Nokia has released Qt SDK 1.1.3 introducing updates to several SDK components. There are quite a few updates in this release partly just because of changes in the SDK internals, but there are also functional changes and quality improvements included. As a summary there are following updates included:

• Qt Creator 2.3: Plenty of small improvements to improve the basic developer experience. For more information, read the release blog.


• Qt Simulator 1.2: in addition to a significant UI facelift, Qt Simulator 1.2 is introducing several new features: sensor simulation, simulation of NFC tags as well as gesture simulation.


• Notifications API 1.1 is introducing QML bindings and quality improvements.


• Qt 4.7.4 for desktop app developers.


• MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan beta: This version of the Harmattan target is built on the same software image that was used in the version released in June so does not introduce new features, but is required to be updated in order to continue developing MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan apps.


• Update to Symbian Complementary Package: important CODA update to expand the support also to the latest Symbian Belle devices. Note that the apps created with the beta level new target for Symbian Belle devices can not yet be submitted to Ovi Store.


• Update to Qt Quick Components for Symbian is not introducing functional changes.

If you already have Qt SDK installed you can update to the latest version by running Update Qt SDK from the Qt SDK application folder on your computer. If you want to get started with Qt SDK, you can download 1.1.3 from the Qt SDK website.

Third of the Symbian Belle series announced today comes the Nokia 701. It is based on the C7-00 with the processor upgraded to 1 GHz (ARM-11), faster (up to 4 times) hardware graphics acceleration, and twice more RAM: 512 MB of operating memory.

Features include IPS LCD ClearBlack display (3.5", nHD 360x640 pixels) providing better viewing angles and improved outdoor performance, advertised by Nokia as the brightest screen ever used on a smartphone, NFC (Near Field Communication) chip, 8 Megapixel EDoF camera with 720p video recording, 8 GB of internal storage memory and microSD memory card slot (up to 32 GB), FM radio receiver and transmitter, Active Noise Cancellation using second microphone, quad-band GSM and penta-band 3G, WiFi b/g, 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA, USB 2.0 (microUSB with USB On-The-Go), Bluetooth 3.0, integrated A-GPS, magnetometer, accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors, 3.5 mm Nokia AV connector and 2 mm charger port.

Announced today, the Symbian Belle powered Nokia 700 is the smallest smartphone ever made with a volume of only 50 cubic centimetres and a composition of fine materials: glass, plastics and aluminium. It offers a 3.2" AMOLED ClearBlack nHD (360x640 pixels) screen, 5 Megapixel EDoF camera with LED flash and HD 720p video recording, NFC (Near Field Communication) chip, 1 GHz ARM-11 processor (with OpenVG 1.1 and OpenGL ES 2.0 hardware graphics acceleration) and 512 MB RAM, quad-band GSM and penta-band 3G, 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA, 2 GB mass storage memory and microSD memory card slot (up to 32 GB), microUSB (USB 2.0) with USB On-The-Go, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi b/g, integrated A-GPS, magnetometer, accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors, 3.5 mm Nokia AV connector and 2 mm charger port.

Nokia announced the Nokia 600, a new Symbian Belle based phone. With 1 GHz ARM-11 processor inside and 5 Megapixel EDoF camera (with HD 720p video recording), it also offers NFC (Near Field Communication chip), quad-band GSM and penta-band 3G, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 3.0, 3.2" capacitive nHD (360x640 pixels) touchscreen, FM radio and transmitter (with built-in aerial - no need to attach headphones), A-GPS, compass, accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors, USB 2.0 (microUSB) with USB On-The-Go, 2 GB storage memory (and 256 MB RAM), HSDPA 14.4 Mbps / HSUPA 5.76 Mbps.

Customers in selected European and Asian markets, with further countries to follow by the next week, can now upgrade their Nokia N8, E7, C7 and C6-01 Symbian smartphones to Symbian Anna.

Depending on market, the software can be upgraded using Ovi Suite's Software Update function, and/or Over-The-Air using the built-in Software Update application on the phone. In most cases the update takes two steps, the first being the actual upgrade to Symbian Anna (via Ovi Suite or OTA) and the second one (OTA, via the handset's SW Update app) installing some additional applications (e.g. QuickOffice). User data is preserved duing the update, but it is still recommended to make a backup, just in case.

Symbian Anna's most important improvements include split screen text entry, improved Web browser, new set of icons, updated Maps, Calendar, Photos, Social, Mail applications, virtual QWERTY keyboard in portrait, draggable home screens, new Intranet application to access intranets, device encryption functionality, and NFC chip activation on the C7.

Qt Creator 2.3.0 RC has been released today. This release adds lots of new features as well as a great amount of bug fixes. See the original announcement here, list of changes here, and download this new version from here.

Nokia has just announced the Nokia 500, a mass-market with Symbian Anna and (for the first time on Symbian) with a 1 GHz processor.

The phone also features a 3.2" capacitive nHD (640x360) screen, 5 Megapixel EDoF camera, 2 GB of storage memory (and microSD expansion slot supporting 32 GB cards), WLAN b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM and penta-band (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz) WCDMA, 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA, micro USB 2.0, FM/RDS radio, integrated Assisted GPS, and interchangeable back covers (three included, more available as accessories). It comes with Ovi Maps 3.6, including free lifetime navigation. Proximity, ambient light, magnetometer (compass) and accelerometer sensors are also included. 1100 mAh BL-4U removable battery provides standby time of 20 days and talktime of 7/5 hours (GSM/WCDMA). The phone measures 111.3 x 53.8 x 14.1 mm (73 cc) and weighs only 93g.

Available in Q3 2011, the Nokia 500 will cost 150 Euros before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia says: "Under the hood, there's the 1 GHz processor – allowing for plenty of oomph when you're multitasking lots of apps or doing something extra-demanding. There's 2GB of storage memory, plus the possibility of increasing this by a further 32 GB using the micro-SD card slot. Like all our recent smartphones, it offers pentaband radio coverage so world travellers need never be out of touch, 3G data up to HSUPA speeds [that's a whopping maximum speed of 5.8 Mbps nowadays, by the way]. There's also Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi b/g, as you'd expect. [...] It's also worth mentioning the battery, which despite the faster processor, still manages to pull off a very respectable performance. For us, that's an absolute priority. The battery will see you through 5-7 hours talk time, 450+ hours in standby mode or up to 35 hours of music playback, if that's your thing.

The Nokia 500 will be available in black and white varieties, black first and then white before the end of the year. And there's three different-coloured back covers in the box. More colours for these will become available soon – including purple, azure blue, pink, coral red, orange and dark silver. Having seen the hot pink versions of the Nokia N8 and N9, we're convinced that colour will win a lot of fans. Excluding any local taxes or operator subsidies, the Nokia 500 will cost just €150 before taxes and subsidies, and will be available from the third quarter of this year."

Read more: Product pages, Data sheet, Nokia Conversations, Nokia Press, Image gallery, Technical specifications, Video presentation.

Opera Mobile 11.1 Silent Update 1 for Symbian devices was released today. Thanks to the new crash report system, few sources of random crashes have been discovered and fixed in this release. Other changes include:

* Fullscreen native Arabic and Hebrew keyboard on Symbian^3
* Added Opera Mobile Store icon to Speed Dial
* Fixed CSS3 gradient support
* General bug fixes and stability improvements

Get this new version from http://m.opera.com.