Nokia has fixed the Mail for Exchange synchronization issues that were plaguing the Nokia N8 with a voluntary software update. This is the second Symbian^3 update and its still not the one we were all waiting for.

Still, this update should save a lot of frustration for heavy corporate email users The update pushes the software version of the Nokia N8, C7 and C6-01 to PR1.2 and to PR1.1 to the E7. It fixes Mail for Exchange synchronization issues and also contains the updated Ovi Store and Ovi Maps.

You can update directly on the phone or use Ovi Suite, once the update becomes available for your country the non-customized version of the firmware is out with country and operator specific versions coming soon. SIM-locked devices will not be getting the update, they will have to wait until PR2 for that.

Nokia has just updated its Ovi Store for those of you who rely on the market for all your apps and goodies. The store is still very much alive and kicking and was recently updated back in September. Its going to be enforced for Symbian^3 devices and will be available for handsets powered by S60 3rd and 5th edition, too.

The new version is to maintain compatibility with architecture changes at Nokia end and also provides performance improvements on all devices. 

You may think no one cares about Symbian anymore, but you are wrong. There are still millions of Symbian smartphone owners out there, representing a lucrative market for developers. Layar obviously thinks so as they have launched a Symbian version of their augmented reality browser for the platform.

Expect the same/similar functionality the Android and iPhone versions offer on your Symbian device, with tons of layars to choose from. All Symbian^3 phones are supported (Nokia N8, C7, C6-01 and E7) as well as few S60 5th Edition devices (Nokia N97 and N97 mini).

Honestly I am not sure why it took so long for Layar to release a Symbian client. They already have apps for Android and iPhone, as well as one for Samsung "hardly popular" Bada platform (used in Samsung Wave series). Moreover, their fierce competitor metaio announced Symbian app junaio back in October of last year. I guess developing for Symbian isn’t as easy.

Alas, the good thing is that the army of Nokia N8, C7 and soon E7 owners can join the game, too. To download the app to your smartphone, search for "layar" in the Ovi Store or simply click on a link below. Before doing so, Layar suggests updating your firmware to the latest version.

Download From Ovi (FREE)

We found a new video showing the much awaited, yet-to-be released Symbian ^3 update that will bring split-screen text input and some major browser improvements to phones such as Nokia N8, C7, C6-01 and E7.

The split-screen typing ability is something Nokia touch phone users have been asking for since day one. And we did see a pretty similar video of it before. Way before, actually, back in Oct. 2010. Now thats a long wait!

It looks like the split-screen typing works well. But it does not look like much. The keyboard looks very uncomfortable. Still we guess most Nokia N8 users will be happy with the upgrade. The firmware seen on the screen is dated February 11th so we guess its one of the latest revisions.

Vidoe Below!

During a recent Nokia event in China a sneak look at what appears to be a revamped Symbian was leaked. It looks like a Nokia N8 with a different homescreen layout.

You can see a dedicated status bar, which is different than the current one on Symbian^3. It looks stationary and will probably stay on the screen in most occasions. Also the bottom of the homescreen is changed.

The widgets on the screen look similar to the current ones that the N8 uses. This makes us believe this is a version of Symbian. But no information about a new design for Symbian has been out in a while.