Hello everyone, I’m back here on the blog to tell you a bit about the brand new Ovi Maps release on Nokia Beta Labs – Ovi Maps 3.07 Beta available for the following Symbian^3 devices: N8, E7, C7, C6-01, E6, X7.

You might wonder why we’ve released a new Beta version soon after Ovi Maps 3.06, right? We’ve been listening to your feedback here on the blog, Nokia Beta Labs, Ovi Store and throughout the interwebs. The maps beta builds upon the great features and services of our earlier version and includes new improvements based on your suggestions.

So, what are the main improvements in the new maps beta?

Let’s start with instant access to key services. In the previous release all the services were presented on the main menu under one Ovi Maps icon. The new version introduces a home screen widget with 4 icons. Now you can open Maps, Drive, Check in and Guides with just a tap on your home screen.

After installation you can also find Update as a separate icon. Check for the latest map updates and save on data costs by downloading full country maps over Wi-Fi. What’s even better, with pre-loaded maps on your Nokia, your map experience will be faster and you can use the core features also offline: map exploration, positioning, search, interaction with places, routing, route re-calculation, Walk and Drive navigation.

What’s new in maps? We’ve enhanced the tilting between 2D and 3D map views – just tap the map settings icon and select 3D view.

Search now includes a tab for Favourites. If you’d like to save a place as a favourite simply tap the star in its place page. You can also search and filter favourites and organize them into collections or easily synchronise with maps.ovi.com. When you search using Maps offline you’ll discover that predictive search works offline too.

Place pages got a new visual design featuring image galleries, descriptions by business owners, reviews by Ovi users and leading guides: TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet, Michelin, TimeOut, Qype, WCities, AA, HRS, Expedia.

Spring is here and it’s time for weekend road trips powered by Drive navigation. When you are in Drive navigation mode you can easily change the map views by a single tap on the views icon. The new route overview enables you to pan and explore the map to see the next manouvres.

When you tap on Guides you can immediately see the current weather for your location and a list of guides and services specific for the country where you are. Choose a place from any available guide and open its Place page to navigate, check in or discover more.

The Ovi Maps Settings are now incorporated in the general phone Settings on your phone’s menu. It keeps the app simple and less crowded.

The new release also offers a more seamless Maps integration with Contacts and Calendar. When you’re on a contact or a calendar entry you can assign an address to it from maps. And equally, you can view addresses of your contacts and calendar entries on the map and navigate to them with Walk or Drive.

I’m using this new release on my Nokia N8 and I’ve been really enjoying the simple UI and all the new improvements. How about you?

We are eager to find out how you like it and what you think about it. If you haven’t tried it yet, grab it for download here on Nokia Beta Labs. Try it out, and keep the comments and suggestions coming in – tell us how you find the new look and feel of Ovi Maps!

I hadn’t really realized it until doing the research for this blog post, but we’ve already reviewed five different camera apps this month alone – and it’s only half-way through April! If we didn’t know better, we might have mistaken this for National Photography Month, which is apparently every May. (You knew that, right?)

Let’s take a look at a sample of those apps – and the cool-looking results – now.

First up is the HDR Photo Camera app by Romania’s Intellsys. HDR stands for “high dynamic range”, which refers to a technique that can overcome a limitation found in virtually all cameras. Whether you are using film or a digital image sensor, most cameras are limited in their ability to record extremely dark and extremely bright areas in the same photograph. As our reviewer explained:  “The HDR technique manages to cover the full breadth of this wider range of tonal values by merging several images, each made at a different exposure. In the case of this app, three exposures – light, medium, and dark – are made of the subject and these are then “fused” together, a process that can take as much as 1 minute.” So, this app requires some patience, but the results are really worthwhile.

Here’s an example of the results from our reviewer:

Notice in the image above that the sky shows some late-in-the-day color and that there is lots of detail in the parking areas to the right. And what you see in the same scene without the HDR app in use – it lacks the detail you see above.

HDR Photo Camera is serious stuff – and you will need to be prepared to pay for it. The Qt-based app is $9.99 (USD) in Store, but for those who want take their photography to the next step, this app is well worth it. It is compatible with Nokia S60 5.0 devices and new Symbian devices like the Nokia N8.

Similar to HDR Photo Camera is an app called Camera Pro for N8 by developer Harald Meyer. As our reviewer in the Daily App noted: “As you work with the app you start to find new ways it helps you be more creative.”

Among the many features and functions in this app, you will find the following – as shown in the screenshot above  (clockwise from upper right) white balance, contrast, ISO speed, camera mode (pic / video), tools controls, auto focus, macro preset, landscape preset, creative image processing, and flash control. In the center of the screen you see controls exposed from the tools gear icon, including some advanced features like anti-shake, burst (a rapid sequence of shots to “get the good one”), time lapse (interval controllable in dedicated menu), and video.

If you are amazed at how good stock photos from your N8 come out, try Camera Pro for N8 and prepare to be stunned. If you have a different model of Nokia smartphone check out Camera Pro instead. Both apps are available in Store for $2.99 (USD).

Maybe you aren’t quite ready to go pro, but you still want your photos to look as cool as can be … Well we have two quick ideas to share with you.

The first is called Colorizit, and like its name implies, this gives you a way to easily “paint” on top of your images, selectively adding color to different parts as you go.

Finished Colorizit images can be saved to the phone’s memory or, with a click of the appropriate icons inside Colorizit itself, posted via data connection to either your Facebook or Flickr pages as a way to share the work with friends and the public.

Colorizit by Gamelion (which is part of BLStream) is as clever and well-designed a mobile app as we’ve seen. And it’s not expensive, either: just $0.99 (USD) in Store. There is much more information about this easy-to-use Qt-based app, and how it works in the complete review.

Finally, how about a free photo-sharing app that will bring a smile to your face – and that of everyone else who sees the results you create, too. I’m talking about the new app from HLP International called Molome. This app is also exclusive to Nokia right now, and it is available for Nokia’s S60 5.0 devices and new Symbian devices like the Nokia N8. Since this is a Qt-based app, as our guest reviewer Micky Aldridge from Nokiausers.net noted, you will find that it is very smooth, speedy, and very easy to figure out.

To start, create your free account from the Molome website, then connect the app to your social media accounts (either Twitter and/or Facebook), and you can begin. Click the “Share” button within the app to take a picture using your phone’s camera – you will have the choice of toggling the flash On/Off, as well as using auto focus or macro settings. Then, you can then start adding a variety of filters to your photos within Molome (including color options, sepia tones, borders, the look of old paper or slide film and more – 16 in all for now), and upload the results to your Molome online account, which will then also share your photo to your social networks, it’s a simple as that.

To show you how much fun you can have with Molome, take a look at this really wonderful stop-motion video created by the developers, using a Nokia N8:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Molome is free to download in Store; and while it is new, you will find that loads of enhancements are on the way. Give it a try, and prepare to become a Molome fan!

What photo apps do you use on your Nokia device? Share your ideas in the Comments section below.

Today we’re going to suggest three very different games, but all of them should be satisfying and keep you busy. First up is a very cool side-scrolling game by Gamelion Studios called “I Must Run“. Now, be prepared, as our reviewer in the Ovi Daily App discovered, this game is not easy the first few tries – but your patience will be rewarded, and you’ll be able to get the hang of it, we promise.

Why are you running? Well, you take on the persona of a man wrongly accused of a crime, and now you are running to get back to the girl you love, and save her from those with evil plans.

And, you won’t just be running either. There will be plenty of time for punching, jumping and sliding, too. The character always runs from left to right, so as he gets to the last step on the building, it is time to tap the upper right part of the screen. Don’t tap too soon, however, or he may wind up with his face smashing into the wall of the next building. Executing the double-tap jump is crucial to surviving, in that it gives extra height and distance to the jump.

I Must Run is available for Nokia’s new Symbian devices in Store for $0.99 (USD).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tired of running? How about a nice easy drop from a parachute instead? Actually, not so fast … because next up is Parachute Panic, and your fall from the sky is anything but easy!

The game begins with a very simple idea: You tap on a parachutist dropped from a plane to open his parachute, and then slide your finger along the screen to act as the wind to guide the parachutist safely onto a ship below. The complications then set in as the plane starts to drop multiple parachutists in one pass, and then two planes arrive on the same pass, each dropping multiple parachutists. The time that it takes for a parachutist to fall is then effectively divided by the number of parachutists who are in the air. Oh, and did we mention sharks? They are waiting in the water below and chomp any parachutists who do not land safely on a ship. Yikes!

And, not to be outdone by obstacles in the water, there is plenty of peril in the air, too – such as UFO’s and the blade of passing helicopters.

Needless to say, this game is not for the feint of heart. Happily, the game is delivered in a hand-drawn, cartoon style as you can see above, so the gore has a comical charm. (It’s OK to feel sorry for the little dudes as they get eaten by sharks.)  Parachute Panic from Connect2Media is available in Store for $0.99 (USD).

One more? OK … how about a free puzzle game that is sure to challenge even the best of you out there. It is called Blockers, and while it too has a simple premise – do not be fooled. If you can get passed Level 3, we will be quite impressed at your puzzle-solving powers!

This puzzle game — based on SameGame — is fun, easy to start but hard to master, and highly addictive. It is also both free to download and free of advertising – an unusual combination.

The goal of Blockers by Tommi Laukkanen is to clear the screen of coloured blocks. You do this by tapping any block that has at least one other block of the same color directly by its side. In other words, you can eliminate any group of at least two same-colored locks. Each time you remove a group of blocks, the remaining blocks reconfigure themselves, forming new rows or columns you can then also remove.

Clear Level 2 – it’s significantly more difficult than clearing Level 1 – and up you go to Level 3, which adds to the color complexity, as you can see here:

And, of course, the pattern changes every time you play! So, don’t think you can just memorize this one … Prepare to find yourself attempting to figure this one out, over and over again.

Blockers is free to download in Store, and it is compatible with Nokia’s Symbian touch-enabled devices. (For those who need a taste of nostalgia, have a look at an early version of this game from the developer that he called SubBrain.)

So, what games are you playing these days? Share your faves in the Comments section below.

What about when it comes to mobile apps and games? Can the sequel – Part 2 – of the game meet your needs? This past week in the Ovi Daily App we came across a couple of sequels that definitely meet their expectations head on, and then power through to offer even more cool features not found in the original.

For starters, let’s take a look at Gish Reloaded published by HandyGames this time around. This game makes sewers and tarballs more fun than you can possibly imagine. It’s the successor to the Gish Mobile release that we reviewed in the Ovi Daily App this past October.

At it’s core Gish Reloaded is a maze game. You take the role of a sentient 12-pound tarball navigating through sewers and other underground environs collecting goodies and avoiding perils. Like the original Gish Mobile game, this new version continues to use an open-source physics engine to create the movement of your tarball. (Trust me, this stuff is cool for the inner-science geek in you, and makes the movement in the game super slick.)

But, as you will see, Gish Reloaded is more than just a basic maze game. It offers plenty of hidden goodies like secret passages, and doors and lifts you can activate.

Gish Reloaded offers both single-player and Bluetooth multi-player modes, and has 35+ Single-player levels; 25+ multiplayer cooperative levels; as well as deathmatch and speed race levels. If for some reason, you run out of levels to play, you can create  your own or download additional levels for free from the developer’s website. There were over 1,000 downloadable levels available! That should keep most of us quite busy for the weekend.

Gish Reloaded is compatible with Nokia Symbian smartphones (touch-enabled and keyed) and is available for $0.99 (USD) in Store.

Our next game sequel also has its hero underground … maybe that’s the theme today? This time, however, you are in the thick of it with Marv the Miner 2 taking on 31 levels of retro-styled platform-gaming action. In this game by Digiment, you must keep Marv moving in order to highlight/run across all of the steps in your path to complete the level and move on.

As you play, you try to collect as many gems as you can, avoid assorted baddies/monsters, and make sure you don’t fall too far – it’ll kill Marv quick. You do get three lives to begin the game, but still, run and jump with both eyes open.

As you move along, you will have new tools available to you to help you complete each level. And one more thing: each level is timed! Run out of time, and that will kill Marv, too. You wouldn’t want that to happen, would you? Look at his cute face … how could you hurt a fella like that?

Like the Gish games that offer ways for you to create your own levels,  you will find that the makers of Marv the Miner 2 have posted the full source code and build files for their game, and several other titles they produced. You can also see a list of some of the new games in the works (and, based on some other secret stuff the Digiment team shared with me this week, the new games in development are going to rock – stay tuned for those!).

Marv the Miner 2 is available for $1.99 (USD) in Store. There is also a free version, with in-game ads and 20 levels to play; and if you still aren’t convinced there is a 3-level demo version to try, too.

Before we go, I’ll mention one other sequel that caught my eye in Store … I have not had a chance to try it yet, but it is on the to-do list. Specifically, I’m talking about Farm Frenzy 2! We all went a little crazy for the original Farm Frenzy, so our hopes are up that this new version continues to bring us the charms of life on the farm – all 90 levels of it. We’ll be sure to let you know how it goes!

So what do you think? Game sequels or stick with the original game? Among your favorite mobile games, which one would you like to see get its own sequel? Dare to dream in the Comments section below.

And of course, if I am away from my desk, that need for news doesn’t go away. I take it to-go on my Nokia smartphone. There are a variety of RSS news readers apps available in Store that can handle the needs of a news junkie like me.

But maybe I should back up a step and make sure we’re all clear about what RSS is … It stands for “Real Simple Syndication” and as one of our reviewers recently pointed out in the Ovi Daily App, it is “a super-easy way to follow and read a large number of blogs, news feeds, and other online sources.” In this case, you’ll be doing all of the reading directly from your Nokia device.

So, first up is Ohile Wire, which is truly an easy-to-use app from the moment you begin. For starters, it comes pre-loaded with 20 high-quality news feeds in four categories: Headlines, Business, Entertainment, and Sports. Without doing any work, you will have a wide selection of first-rate feeds to browse.

Additionally, you can easily create new feeds, too. And you can add these feeds to either any of these four categories or a fifth category known as Personalized. Ohile Wire is available for $1.99 (USD) in Store, and it works with a broad range of Nokia Symbian OS devices, including the N8.

Similar functionality – but maximized for speed of delivery – is the Tech RSS Mobile News Reader by Greenpack Tech. You’ll find no ads, no banners, and no graphics with this app. Instead, it’s all about the text, which is often all you need when you want the latest news. As our reviewer pointed out: “For news readers in a hurry, Tech RSS is one streamlined solution.”

With this app you create and edit a list of RSS feeds, then read the latest articles from your feeds. You can also use the app to go to the web to view the full post — including graphics and comments — and to e-mail a feed to a friend or colleague. While Tech RSS is billed as reader for technology news, you’re not limited to that topic – the choice of feed is up to you.

The app takes up just 0.09 megabytes of storage on your device, which is fantastic, but note that it is constantly pulling information from the web, so your device will need an open Internet connection (and perhaps an unlimited data plan) to make the most of it. The Tech RSS Mobile News Reader is available for $0.99 (USD) in Store, and is compatible with Nokia’s touch-enabled device.

And the last pick for today is one that you might not have heard of before, but I promise its name is going to stick with you. It is called Goojet, and to make the most of this app you need to be willing to do a little set-up work of your own, but you will be glad you did. Do the initial set up and registration from their website using your preferred desktop browsing software.

After you register (for free) you will be able to select a wide range of pre-selected content choices that are neatly packaged in a section for “Favorites.” This will links to services like Facebook, Weather, news sources, and much more. You also have a tab for “News” which presents RSS feeds from major publications and websites. Within the News tab, you see most recent headlines from each feed first. So, in fact, Goojet is much more than just an RSS reader, but since it does this job well, I figured it was worth mentioning!

One other thing that I like a lot about Goojet is that you can create feeds for content that can then be shared with other members/users of the Goojet service. So, if you have a blog that you like, create a new feed for that blog in Goojet, and then anyone else using the software can find it, too. There’s no reason to keep the news to yourself right? Share it!

Goojet is free in Store, and works with Nokia Symbian OS, S60 3.2 and 5.0 devices (it is not compatible with new Symbian devices like the Nokia N8 … yet).

The options for the ways you use Goojet are entirely up to you, which is one of the reasons that I think this app is so darn useful. It offer genuine customization along with interesting user-generated content. And both of those things will likely keep you coming back for more.

How do you keep up with the news when you’re on the go? Tips for other RSS reader apps to try are welcome! Post your suggestions in the Comments section below.

But there are so many – and the quality of the games available for Nokia’s smartphones today continues to get better and better. Naturally, games like Angry Birds and Doodle Jump spring to mind (no pun intended) … but we’re just scratching the surface there.

My latest game obession is Fruit Ninja by Australia’s Halfbrick. This game started out for one of those other mobile platforms, and was recently launched in Store for new Symbian devices like the Nokia N8. This game might look like child’s play, but don’t be fooled! Your task – like your blade! – is straightforward … your finger controls the blade, which must slice through randomly falling fruit as fast as possible, either before time runs out, or you miss one too many slices (or, you hit a bomb by mistake – but let’s not go there).

Fruit Ninja offers three ways to play – a Classic mode; Arcade style, which is only 60 seconds; and a Zen mode, for 90 seconds. I love the fact that the game is a quick diversion during the day – you can play, test your fruit-dicing skills, and then get back to work! My favorite of the three is Arcade mode, where there are banana-based power-ups that can affect your results and quickly help to boost your score. Additionally, as you play the game, you can earn a variety of goodies to help mix it up, including different types of blades.

The cartoon-like graphics are a hoot, the sound effects of the swooshing blades and squished fruit are fantastic, and it is a thoroughly addictive time-waster. Fruit Ninja is available in Store for $0.99 (USD).

Don’t want to hurt the fruit? How about space aliens? Maybe you want to take Star Invasion by Digital Chocolate for a test drive … this game harkens back to the classic Space Invaders, but with a few updated twists of its own. Just like its predecessor, Star Invasion pits you – in your spaceship – against waves of incoming invaders who are bent on taking over your planet. Your challenge is to knock them out of the sky with your laser cannon while also trying to avoid missiles that the aliens are aiming at you!

It is worth pointing out that this game has made some clever adjustments for the mobile format. Since there’s is not much room to move about on your device screen, as you scroll to the left and right your ship stays in the same place while the rest of the scene, including a starry background and multiple rows of invaders, shifts back and forth. Smart, right?

This quick video shows the game in action:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Star Invasion is a little more expensive – it is $2.99 (USD) in Store, but sill well worth it.

Yes, I can almost hear what you’re thinking … Why aren’t there any cool/addictive games in Ovi Store that are also free to download? Well, guess what – there are! One in particular that stands out for me is called Blockfest Deluxe by Arctica Software. So what is it? Imagine good old Tetris turned on its side and rendered in 3-D. That is pretty close to what you get with this game.

We had a hard time capturing screenshots of this game – maybe because it was moving so fast! – but this short video by the developers gives you a little taste of what you can expect:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Start up Blockfest, and you face several columns of blocks on the distant horizon that are slowly – and later, not so slowly – creeping in your direction. Within each column are one or more blocks of different colours. You, meanwhile, are given similar blocks to shoot at the columns to create groups that will explode in a confetti-like oblivion – it is really quite satisfying to watch on screen.

The free version of Blockfest Deluxe is ad-supported, but those ads do not interfere with your ability to enjoy the game. There is also a paid version of the game (which is ad-free) in Store for $2.99 (USD).

I could go on and on about the games available for your Nokia smartphone, but then my boss might start to wonder if I ever get any real work done … Before I go, two other games I want to mention that are super fun, and worth a closer look if you haven’t tried them for yourself are Lively Cubes by Shamrock Games; and Yumsters by HeroCraft – both companies are based in Russia. (You can impress your friends with that random fact of the day!)

So, how do you fulfill your personal mobile gaming addiction? Tell us about the games you crave in the Comments section below.

I’m going to start with Socially, which is one of those apps that just continues to mature and become more sophisticated with each new release from the developers at Antarix. As I noted in a recent review in the Ovi Daily App, “Socially packs a lot of goodies into its neat and well-organized package of social media information sharing.”

Socially is set up so you can easily sync it with your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Foursquare accounts. You can enable any of those four services in just a few steps by allowing those services to be accessed by the Socially application. You will have to do this individually for each service, but once you set it up, you’re good to go.

Then, whenever you have something to say, or Tweet, or post to your wall, one comment does it all. From the home screen of Socially, click on the icon for the speech bubble, and you will have a prompt to “Say something” – and below that text-input box you will see that all of the services you have enabled will be checked, so you can post to any or all four of those services at once. You can also add your location to your updates, if you want. In all honesty, I am just beginning to explain what this app can do – for the full details, take a look at the review. Socially is free to download in Store, and it works with a broad range of Nokia Symbian smartphones.

What’s that? You’re addicted to IM? Well, in that case you need WhatsApp Messenger. This app makes it possible for you to have instant message conversations with anyone else that also has the app installed – even among your friends that don’t happen to have Nokia devices (yes, there are some folks out there who use other types of devices!) – you know the ones I mean.

And, unlike other apps for IM chatting that you will find, WhatsApp does not require that you connect it to other IM-style accounts like AIM, or Yahoo Messenger. You conduct all of the chats directly from the WhatsApp client. As long as you and your chatting friend both have the app installed, you’re good to go. It is really very smart thinking.

WhatsApp is free for the first year, and available for download in Store. After the first year, the service costs $1.99 (USD) per year. The app is compatible with most Nokia Symbian OS smartphones – there is a list on the WhatsApp website.

Finally – for today – let’s consider one more free app that packs a punch, and that is Snaptu. This mobile app offers one-click access to a wide range of social media sharing sites and tools, but it also provides access to a handy catalog of other web-based services, as well as news, weather – even games.

The app has a cool widget-like design, so each service is easy to identify and use right away. My explanation will not do it justice  … happily the developer behind Snaptu put together a little video – complete with snappy soundtrack! – to show off what this app can do for you:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Snaptu is free to download in Store, and is available for both Nokia Symbian OS devices, as well as Series 40 devices.

What apps do you use for to communicate and share on the go? Tell us about the apps that float your social media boat in the Comments sections below.

We’re going to start with the must-have app Pixelpipe, which is free in Store, and is configured so that you can upload and share your images and video content to more than 100 different online destinations, including the usual suspects like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Once you set up your account with Pixelpipe, you can add destinations for where your uploads should go – these are the various “pipes” that you choose. And, once you set up the pipes for the first time, you can pretty much let ‘em run.

As our guest reviewer in the Ovi Daily App, Jay Montano from MyNokiaBlog.com noted, “its deep integration with the phone’s gallery and camera leaves a very easy and simple uploading experience.”

This short video from Brett Butterfield, the CEO of Pixelpipe, shows how easy it is to use this app:

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more about this app, read the complete review, or take a look at the online tutorial that was recently created. Pixelpipe is free to download in Store and it is compatible with a broad range of Nokia touch-enabled devices.

Once you try Pixelpipe – if you haven’t already done so – you may find it hard to use anything else.

But what if online sharing isn’t enough? What if you want to take the photos you have on your Nokia smartphone, and you want to print them out and share them with friends? My first choice is the Touchnote Postcards apps for use on Nokia Symbian OS, S60 5.0 devices like the N97 mini (not, it is not available right now for devices like the N8).

With Touchnote installed, you can take the photos on your device, and turn them into printed photo cards that can be sent via good-old postal mail to family and friends around the world. And the entire process can be completed in just three quick steps – in many ways, it is as easy as sending an MMS.

The app guides you along each step, and you will be able to truly share your images with family and friends – maybe mom isn’t using Facebook yet – in a special way. The first printed card you create with Touchnote is free. After that, you will need to buy additional credits to send more cards, and you can do that directly from the app. You can download Touchnote Postcards for free in Store.

Our last app for today is one that requires a bit of time – and patience – but you will be rewarded for it with the really cool content you can produce. I’m talking about the FastMotion Time Lapse app by developer Harald Meyer. With this app installed on your Nokia touch-enabled device you can produce some really amazing stop-motion video.

This short video by Justin Chan is one of the best examples we have been able to find showing what you can do with this app – the results are very fun to watch:

Click here to view the embedded video.

As our reviewer said: This app is “a cool tool for capturing the slow-motion world and bringing it home in standard video format. Not many handheld camcorders can do what this app does, and certainly not many mobile phones, either.”

The FastMotion app is available for $0.99 (USD) in Store; and there are detailed instructions on the developer’s website to help you create your own mini-masterpiece.

How do you share the photos and videos you capture with your Nokia device? You can “share” your ideas in the Comments section below.

Let’s start with the app that can assist you with your physical health. Its the US FoodInfo Nutrition Database by individual publisher Harald Meyer. This detailed app provides an easy window into the USDA nutrition database of more than 7,500 food items with details on calories, fat, carbs, and other nutritional components.

As our reviewer noted: “The US FoodInfo Nutrition Database is a great way to know all the details about all you eat, whether it’s information you have always wanted to know or whether recent changes in your life makes this information critical.”  The app costs $0.99 (USD) in Store, and it is compatible with a wide range of Nokia Smartphones (both touch and keyboard).

Next up, how about an app that could make your brain grow? Well, not exactly, but it might make you smarter – or, at least better prepared to answer questions during a pop quiz or some unexpected gameshow appearance. I’m talking about Mopedi, which is a Wikipedia reader for your Nokia touchscreen device that, unlike many other Wikipedia readers, works offline.

It should be noted right away that Mopedi is not your run-of-the-mill website reader app. It is visually quite intriguing – and might take a little getting used to. As you will see, the home screen for the app is all icon-driven – no text to get in the way!

After you install Mopedi (pronounced ‘mō-ped-ee’, with a stress on the first syllable), you will also download a full Wikipedia database in any of six languages: English, French, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian or Swedish. From there, you can then use Wikipedia on your Nokia device without needing an open Internet connection, or even a SIM card. This could make Mopedi especially useful when you are travelling in a foreign country.

This short video from the publisher, Finnish-based MPaja, shows one of the travel-related features of the app:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And, as you can see, the Wikipedia articles viewed on Mopedi look good and are easy to read.

Mopedi is available in Store for Nokia Symbian touch-enabled devices, and it costs $9.99 (USD). The Mopedi Places databases are also available in Store, and cost $4.99 (USD) each, except for the New York City Places database, which is free. Also, a free version of the core Mopedi app is available as a demo for download.

One more? Something a little more light-hearted, but still good for you? Then let’s try a math game called Doodle Digits, which is a fun number puzzle from UK-based uWaver. As you will see, the game design reflects its heritage as a pencil-and-paper-based puzzle game that is played by school children.

The game concept is simple: you start with a few rows of digits and you eliminate pairs of digits to try and clear the entire field.  You can eliminate a pair if they match (two 3′s for example) or if they total 10  (a 3 and a 7). When you run out of valid pairs you ask for more digits to be added to your playing field. Doodle Digits lets you vary both the difficulty and the type of game.

Doodle Digits is available in Store for a huge range of Nokia devices (from Series 40 straight through to the Nokia N8) for just $0.99 (USD). Still not convinced? You can try the free demo version first.

What apps do you use to keep mentally and physically fit these days? Share your ideas in the Comments section below.

So the first one is a new app, exclusive to Nokia’s new Symbian devices like the N8 and C7, called GreenGlamGo. This is a great mobile app for eco-friendly fashionistas who want discover and shop from a world-class style selection created by talented eco-designers.

The creators of GreenGlamGo understand that this app presents an educational opportunity, but they’re not hitting you over the head with their message. Each product entry has very detailed information about the eco-designer, concept, green criteria, price, color, and size of the product. The green criteria help you answer the question – “What makes this product an eco-friendly product?”  This short video from the developers will show you more about the app, as well as the back story about how it was developed:

Click here to view the embedded video.

GreenGlamGo is free to download in Store.

Next up we have a game that you might have missed, but one that we promise you are going to enjoy! The game is called Sparkle by Finland’s 10tons, Ltd. and it is one of the best games our reviewer has ever played. Ever. He said so himself. And, what makes this even more compelling – in my opinion – is that the review came to us from none other than Steve Litchfield at All About Symbian – this was a “guest” review that he prepared for the Ovi Daily App.

Among the interesting features to note in Sparkle is the concept of ‘amulets’ that you can win and then wear whenever you need to, giving you control for all the power-ups encountered in that level.

Now, as Steve noted in his review, this game has similarities to other ball-zapping games – Zuma springs to mind – but he says this one is much better. In fact, he concluded his review by noting: “I can’t imagine it could get any better than Sparkle. Highly, highly recommended.” His words – and I trust his judgment when it comes to mobile apps. The Qt-based Sparkle is available in Store for Nokia’s new Symbian devices like the N8 for $2.99 (USD).

Finally, how’s your mood today? Maybe a little music could give you a lift? Well, whatever your mood happens to be, Moodagent can give you a boost. The app first synchronizes itself with the music player on your Nokia device. So whichever songs you have loaded onto your phone, Moodagent will include in its playlists. Then you’re ready to roll … you indicate your mood — either actual or desired! — by adjusting any of the five slider controls in the app. This Qt-based application, formerly known as Playlist DJ, then analyzes your music library and creates a playlist that should fit the mood you’ve specified.

As our reviewer noted: “More or less instantly, Moodagent creates a playlist from songs stored in your device, based on your mood. You then play the songs in the list, either in the order Moodagent has specified, or in any order you would prefer.”

The app offers unlimited combinations of ways to experience the music on your Nokia smartphone. Every time you adjust the sliders, you will get a new playlist to try. Moodagent also lets you share your playlists and songs on popular social networking sites. The Share icon on the upper right corner lets you easily post to both Twitter and Facebook.

There’s much more to tell, but this app is best experienced for yourself. Happily, there is a free trial version in Store, as well as a premium version that only costs $0.99 (USD).

So now it all makes sense, right? You can be glamourous, or sparkle, no matter what your mood! Share your app-based play on words in the Comments section below.