We're wondering whether the approval of this update is in any way related to those FCC investigations since AT&T couldn't possibly like video uploading over the network, but who cares? We're happy to be able to share our embarrassing moments without having to find Wi-Fi. [iTunes via The iPhone Blog]

Symbian's dominance isn't evident here in the US, as it's driven by smartphoneslike Nokia's N series or Sony Ericsson's P Seriesthat don't really have much of a market/mindshare outside of Europe. We've even gone so far as to declare it too marginal to include in our smartphone OS guide.

But there are still plenty of UIQ and S60 phones around, and they all suffer from the same sense of stalenessa stagnation that's obvious, whether it's because of Symbian's global popularity and fragmented nature or despite it. So what do you do to shake the feeling that you're toting a last-gen device? Try this:

Get a new browser
Oddly enough, lots of Symbian phones actually ship with not-so-bad browsers, like S60's, which is based on WebKit just like Mobile Safari and Mobile Chrome. Unfortunately, most of these phones also ship without touchscreens, and depend on a clunky d-pad navigation system. This makes panning around fully-rendered pages a bit of a paina problem not helped by the browser's often slow performance. Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives.

Opera Mobile/Mini: Opera has made an appearance in every last one of my smartphone revival stories, and with good reason. Each version offers its own advantage for Symbian: Opera Mobile brings fast-ish full-page rendering with inertial scrollingonly really a boon if you're lucky enough to have a touchscreen handset like the XpressMusic 5900. The newer 9.5 beta, complete with Google Gears support, can be had for UIQ phones, but S60 handsets will have to settle for 8.65. Opera Mini, a Java app, will work on virtually any phone. It's not the prettiest browser, but server-side data compression and clever formatting tricks make it a good fit for smaller-screened Symbian hardware. Bolt is another Java-based browser in the same lightweight, data-conscious vein, and it matches Opera's app feature for feature. You know, six of one...

Skyfire: This surprising little browser takes the Opera Mini/Bolt rationale a little further, running everything through server-side compression, including Flash video. What does that mean, in a word? Hulu. Unfortunately support is limited to Nokia N and E series phones.

Work On Your Communication Skills
Out of the box, most Symbian phones take you as far as emailing. With a few downloads, though, you'll be privy to the same range of messaging capabilities as your smug iPhone and BlackBerry-toting friends, and then some.

Fring: This isn't your locked down, Wi-Fi tethered iPhone Fring. No, this is the real deal: Multiprotocol IMing, VoIP over 3G and Wi-Fi and most importantly, background processing. Skype is supported, sans video.

Truphone: A dedicated VoIP app that integrates rather seamlessly with your S60 handset, Truphone can save you a pretty penny on international, long-distance and even in-plan calls. By routing calls through Truphone's network over Wi-Fi or a cell data connection, Truphone can connect you to other users for free, and connect international calls for a few cents a minute. Other perks include voicemail-to-email forwarding and Google Talk support, but discounted calls are the star of the show here.

Agile Messenger: It may lack the VoIP accouterments of the previously mentioned apps, but for straight up instant messaging you really can't beat it. All the big protocols are here, accessible through the same simple interface. You can send videos and voice messages, but not engage in full conversationsthis app is about messaging, and message it does.

And All The Rest
Once you've updated your browser and messaging software, you've edged much closer to a modern smartphone experience. Now to fill in the blanks:

Google Maps: Google's superb maps app is as good here as it is anywhere else, with GPS integration, local search and a clean, intuitive interface. Perhaps most importantly, it's not just for fingers; Google Maps is well-suited to d-pad navigation.

JoikuSpot Lite: It's tethering+1: Any Wi-Fi-equipped S60 3rd Edition phone can operate as an access point with JoikuSpot. The Lite version is free, and adequate.

Qik: Qik is a cool app that can only be described in ways that sound utterly stupid. Lifecasting? Live vlogging? Either way, with the right phone, Symbian can do it well.

Nokia has some ongoing beta projects to check out, and a few of them are worthwhile. SportsTracker feeds a GPS-tracked record of your run or bike rides to a handy web interface. WidSets is a widget dashboard for a rich variety of web apps. ShareOnline provides basic portals for media uploads, whether it be photo, video or audio content.

And finally, we have Mobbler. A lovely little Last.fm radio client, Mobbler is an iffy addition to this list because Last.fm is cutting off third-party radio support at some point in the near future, so it probably won't work for long. But it's good, so use it while you still can.

If what you see so far isn't overly heartening, hold on: The Ovi App Store for S40 and S60 is on its way, hopefully in May. Symbian's laissez-faire take on the App Store, it promises a slew of applications and media downloads, installable through a handset client. This could end up two ways: As a consolidated Symbian app aggregator, collecting the above apps and others into an easy interface, or as an attraction for new developers, who'll be drawn by the large audience and easy publishing features of the store. That latter scenario may be better, but neither is bad.

Dealzmodo Hacks are intended to help you sustain your crippling gadget addiction through tighter times. If you come across any on your own that are particularly useful, send it to our tips line (Subject: Dealzmodo Hack). Check back every other Thursday for free DIY tricks to breathe new life into hardware that you already own.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – October 26, 2008 – Qik, Inc., the leading live mobile video streaming platform, today announced alpha support for Blackberry devices from Research In Motion (RIM), including Blackberry Pearl and BlackBerry Bold. With Qik's free service, users can stream video live to the Internet in just two clicks from their mobile phone. Those watching the videos on the Web can take part in live interactive chat with the person broadcasting.

“We are excited to bring our lifestyle technology to the millions of Blackberry users worldwide,” said Ramu Sunkara, co-founder and CEO of Qik. “In our quest to bring mobile live video sharing to the masses, we now support the broadest range of platforms including Symbian, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and Java-enabled mass market phones.”

BlackBerry mobile phones are among the most popular smartphones in North America, and are especially favored for fast and easy access to email. The addition of live video streaming to the phones' capabilities brings a whole new dimension of functionality to BlackBerry handsets. Qik is initially launching in alpha on the following handsets running Blackberry Operating System 4.5 and above: Blackberry Pearl 8120, Blackberry Pearl 8130 and Blackberry Bold. Support for Blackberry Curve and Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 will be available soon.

Owners of the above devices can get Qik by registering at http://qik.com/. Support for these devices is expected to enter beta in the coming weeks, and support for additional BlackBerry handsets is expected soon after.

The Pope, Senator Barack Obama, Bono, and Steve Jobs are just a few of the notables to be streamed live to the web by Qik users in more than 150 countries. Journalists are using Qik to be more transparent in their reporting, and politicians worldwide are employing Qik as they campaign on a more engaging Web platform. Parents around the planet are easily sharing family events as they happen through Qik on their cell phones. With simple but robust software and a feature-rich site, tens of thousands of Qik users are streaming important moments live to the people with whom they want to share.

Qik, in addition to being the live mobile to web video service of a number of popular technology bloggers and journalists, is also delivering exciting footage shot by a wide selection of users across entertainment, business, sports, and technology. Recent Qik videos of note have included behind the scenes footage from Sarah Palin and Joe Biden's vice presidential debate, interviews with comedian Dane Cook, the launch of Apple's new notebook computers, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's speech reacting to the global economic climate.

Owners of the following phones can grab the J2ME client now:

Nokia 5300, Nokia 6300, Nokia 6500 (classic and slide), Nokia 6555, Nokia 8800 Arte/Carbon Arte, Sony Ericsson G502, Sony Ericsson K660i, Sony Ericsson K850i, Sony Ericsson K858c, Sony Ericsson W890i, Sony Ericsson W908c, Sony Ericsson W910i, and Sony Ericsson Z750i.

And those who are carrying these ten Nokia pieces can contact Qik for an even rougher version of the client to test:

- Nokia 3120 classic
- Nokia 3600 slide
- Nokia 3555
- Nokia 5610 Xpress Music
- Nokia 6600 fold
- Nokia 6600 slide
- Nokia 6212 classic
- Nokia 7373
- Nokia 7390
- Nokia 7900 Prism

[Qik]

Qik Launches First Live Mobile Video Streaming on Mass Market Phones
Support for phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson brings inaugural live streaming to J2ME handsets, the most ubiquitous application platform for mobile devices

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – October 16, 2008 – Qik, Inc., the live mobile video streaming platform, today announced that it is the first live mobile video product to launch on mass market mobile phones. Available today in alpha, Qik's service is now ready for use on more than a dozen Nokia and Sony Ericsson mass market mobile handsets. With Qik’s free service, users can stream video live to the Internet in just two clicks from their mobile phone. Those watching the videos on the web can engage in live interactive chat with the person broadcasting.

“It's a real milestone for mobile technology that an advanced utility like Qik is now available on mass market cell phones,” said Ramu Sunkara, co-founder and CEO of Qik. “We have been astounded by the use of Qik by smartphone owners, and are excited to see what mass market cell phone users will stream live to the Web.”

Mass market cell phones include non-PDA and non-smartphone handsets which are more accessible to a much broader market of customers. These devices usually carry a lower price point than more advanced phones and have deep penetration in the global mobile market. Qik's software for these handsets is based on the Java Platform, Micro Edition, (commonly referred to as J2ME), the most ubiquitous application platform for mobile devices.

“Nokia is pleased that Qik's innovative live video service is now available for owners of Nokia feature phones as well as Nokia smartphones,” said Tom Libretto, Vice President, Forum Nokia. “Qik's release for these phones adds an exciting new way for people to use an even wider variety of Nokia handsets.”

Qik is initially launching in alpha on the following handsets: Nokia 5300, Nokia 6300, Nokia 6500 (classic and slide), Nokia 6555, Nokia 8800 Arte/Carbon Arte, Sony Ericsson G502, Sony Ericsson K660i, Sony Ericsson K850i, Sony Ericsson K858c, Sony Ericsson W890i, Sony Ericsson W908c, Sony Ericsson W910i, and Sony Ericsson Z750i.

Owners of the above devices can get Qik by registering at http://qik.com/. Support for these devices is expected to enter beta in the coming weeks, and support for additional Nokia and Sony Ericsson feature phones is expected soon after.

The Pope, Senator Barack Obama, Bono, and Steve Jobs are just a few of the notables to be streamed live to the web by Qik users in more than 150 countries. Journalists are using Qik to be more transparent in their reporting, and politicians worldwide are employing Qik as they campaign on a more engaging Web platform. Parents around the planet are easily sharing family events as they happen through Qik on their cell phones. With simple but robust software and a feature-rich site, tens of thousands of Qik users are streaming important moments live to the people with whom they want to share.

Qik, in addition to being the live mobile to web video service of choice for celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, is also delivering exciting footage shot by a wide selection of users across entertainment, business, sports, and technology. Recent Qik videos of note have included behind the scenes footage from Sarah Palin and Joe Biden's vice presidential debate, interviews with comedian Dane Cook, the launch of Apple's new notebook computers, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's speech reacting to the global economic climate.

Qik video is streamed to a personalized Qik page, and can be pushed to other places, such as Facebook apps. Latency is as short as .5 seconds or as long a 3 seconds, and the service can now stream privately to select groups. Qik says they're intent is not to be a destination page, but be a conduit for content to appear places like personal blogs and Facebook. [Venture Beat via Electronista]