CyanogenMod for Nokia?

Finally! Nokia has seen the light and made some Android phones!

They're low-end models, they're made to look like Windows Phones, and they have a watered-down version of Android with a Nokia app store that's as empty as the Windows Phone software shop, but it's a start. Because they have all the Android drivers built in, it shouldn't be too hard to make custom ROMs with the full Google Play Store and all its apps and Google syncing options.
Back when Nokia wouldn't even look at Android there was a CyanogenMod port for the Nokia N9, but that phone got abandoned real quick. But the new Nokia Android phones should have a longer lifespan, and maybe Nokia will add a few better-specced Androids later on?

Nokia hardware with the flexibility of Android... sounds like a promising alternative for when your Samsung needs replacement.

Update: Done! Nokia X rooted and filled with Google apps.
• Google apps on Nokia X at xda

Nokia Map Loader alternative a bit more up to date with dozens of new countries

It's been a long time since I used Nokia Maps, Ovi Maps, or whatever it's called now. I haven't thought about it in ages, until I got an email from Gv786g (how do you pronounce that?) who asked me which map files work with Ovi Maps 3.06 on an N97.

Looks like Nokia Maps for Symbian is still alive. Since my last visit (a long time ago) Nokia added dozens of countries, mainly in Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean. Nokia also split the maps for Brazil, India, and Russia into parts so you don't have to cram everything on your memory card if you only need a little piece of the country.

Countries added: Angola, Aruba, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brunei, Burundi, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Maldives, Montenegro (no longer with Serbia), Nepal, Panama, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saint Barthélemy, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

Not all these maps are very good, though. Many maps outside Europe, USA, and Japan don't have more than the main roads on them. But hey, they're free and they work offline, which can save you from instant bankrupcy when you're traveling out where international data roaming costs a fortune.

Are you still using Nokia Maps, Ovi Maps, or whatever it's called on Symbian? Then maybe the new maps are useful for you. Google may make better maps, but free offline navigation on Android could use a bit of Nokia.

The old maps are updated too, and so are the index files that tell your phone what's where on the map.

Let me know if the maps and index files work for you or if there's anything wrong with the collection of links on the Nokia Map Loader alternative pages.

• Nokia/Ovi Map Loader alternative

Symbian hacks alive and kicking: Norton, DrWeb, TrendMicro, and UMU let you hack your Nokia or SonyEricsson without certificates

Hacking Symbian used to be so easy. You'd download a hacking app, sign it with a certificate that you could pick up from many Symbian forums and other sites, and your phone would be all yours.

But then Nokia cracked down on developer certificates. If you still have an old developer certificate you can use it, but since they're tied to your IMEI you can only use it on the phone for which the certificate was originally created.

Of course the hackers always win. You can flash your phone with hacked firmware, or can can use a loophole in Norton Security, DrWeb, TrendMicro, and UMU.

Yes, that's right. Antivirus programs let you break and enter Symbian! Just download the Norton hack (or one of the other hacks), apply it, and then install ROMPatcher to get into the parts of your phone that Nokia doesn't want you to enter. You don't even need to sign the hacked sis files, just install and run and you're in.

So if you found an old Nokia in the basement, blow off the dust and hack it back to life. S60v3, S60v5, Symbian^3, anything goes. If you found an old SonyEricsson then the UMU hack is your friend.

The antivirus hacks for Nokia:

• Hack Symbian with Norton (CODeRUS)
• Hack Symbian with Norton (symbian freak) UPDATE: This link is dead. And so is Symbian.

• Hack Symbian with DrWeb (CODeRUS)
• Hack Symbian with DrWeb (symbian freak) UPDATE: This link is dead. And so is Symbian.

• Hack Symbian with Trend Micro (CODeRUS)
• Hack Symbian with Trend Micro (symbian freak) UPDATE: This link is dead. And so is Symbian.

The antivirus hack for Nokia and SonyEricsson:

• Hack Symbian with UMU, SonyEricsson too (CODeRUS)
• Hack Symbian with UMU, SonyEricsson too (symbian freak) UPDATE: This link is dead. And so is Symbian.

More hacks:

• index of Symbian hacks (symbian underground)

What to do if maps make Nokia Maps crash?

I got an email from christian who pointed out a problem with his version of Nokia Maps. It may bite other versions too.

If you run Nokia Maps v3.04 and you download the latest maps through nokiamaps.site666.info, the maps app may crash. It may be because of maps/app combo, or because the latest maps are not compatible with the old Symbian S60v3.

Workaround: use one of the other map versions for Nokia Maps 3.x.


Hi,
thanks for this great site that makes downloading maps to mobile very easy.

I have a small remark:
I own a Nokia E52 which runs Symbian S60v3. On this platform the latest available Ovi Maps version is v3.04 10wk17 b07 (this is not the latest version, but Nokia offers only this version for download if you choose E52). This maps version will crash when accessing cards downloaded from your "Maps for Ovi Maps 3.0" page (maps00_02_42_122.html), but work just fine with Maps from "older maps for version 3.0 (also work with some newer versions, and with test version 3.0 beta)" (maps00_01_22_103.html). This had me scratching my head for several days (and reformatting my SD card ;)) until I finally figured out what was wrong.

I think it would be cool if you can put a remark on the page that says that the "Maps for 3.0" do not work with 3.04 maps version, this would help other people not making the same mistake that I did.

thanks and best regards,
christian!


Thanks christian for pointing this out.

Do you have some problems or solutions? Please share them by commenting on this blog post or clicking the email link on the bottom of this page.

• Nokia Map Loader alternative