Nokia Big Screen Turns N8 Into A Wiimote-Controlled Media Center

Nokia may seem a little confused with its software strategy at times, but sometimes its coders come up with a great app that restores our faith in the Finns. Nokia Big Screen is the latest from Nokia Beta Labs, turning your N8 – or any future Nokia device with an HDMI output – into a media center for showing photos, music and video, and even allowing you to control it remotely with a Bluetooth device like a Wiimote.Video demo after the cut

The free app boots as soon as you hook up an HDMI cable to your TV or projector, and shows thumbnail previews of photos and video. You can control it via an on-screen directional pad, as in the image above, or Bluetooth-tether a remote, keyboard, mouse or Wiimote and use that instead; that saves you buying a lengthy HDMI cable and trailing it all the way over to the couch.

As well as basic media center functionality, Nokia Big Screen also plays karaoke videos with subtitles, allows for photo slideshows with background music, works as a screensaver, and more, all with a nifty UI. It's a free download here.