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Nokia's mid-tier 'Mystic' to be dubbed C6, will hit stores in May or June?
We can't say we were overwhelmed by the first leaked photos of what we've come to know as the Nokia Mystic, but there's something about this QWERTY candybar form factor that Nokia just does so well that we have to hang onto the benefit of the doubt. The latest news on this front is that the handset will be dubbed the Nokia C6, which makes a lot of sense as a counterpart to the numeric keypad-equipped but similarly styled Nokia C5 that was recently leaked. Word is that the C6 should retail for around 200 Euro (about $274 US), and that it should be released in May or June. It seems logical that we'll see both of these S60 3rd edition phones at MWC this month, but there's nothing solid on that front just yet.
Nokia makes VoIP a little harder in S60 3.2
For Nokia, WiFi and VoIP have seemingly gone hand-in-hand for as long as 802.11 radios have been offered in S60 handsets. It makes sense, of course -- the internet is a great way to yap at little or no expense compared to plain old cellular voice minutes when a traditional WiFi hotspot is available, and Nokia was really ahead of the curve with jumping on the bandwagon and making sure that the capability has been available out of the box. Unfortunately, it looks like constant carrier pressure may have finally gotten the better of Espoo, with GigaOM confirming that 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 doesn't contain a SIP stack built-in the same way that FP1 historically has. That doesn't mean VoIP products are totally locked out, but it does mean that apps that rely on the native stack are out of luck until they've implemented a new stack of their own. Products like the N78 and N96 are affected by the buffoonery, while the E71, which uses FP1, is not -- a good thing, considering the corporate affinity for VoIP and the Eseries' business leanings.[Via jkOnTheRun, thanks BFish]
Nokia N95 reviewed
It might be a few months yet before we see Nokia N95s start to circulate amongst the general populace, but far be it from that to stop Nokialist from putting a preproduction unit through its paces. Other than a niggle about the d-pad -- the reviewer would've preferred a joystick, a la E70 -- the hands-on was overwhelming positive, despite the fact that the super-ultra-early test model in their hands lacked some hardware (GPS, WiFi) promised for the production version. As one might expect, the software (S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, that is) is apparently the best thing since sliced bread, the dual slide is trick, the screen is gorgeous, and the 5 megapixel shooter is bananas. Sadly, about all the review has managed to do for us is make us want to lay our hands on this sucker a little more than we already did, but we're still in for a bit of a wait. Hang tight, folks.[Thanks, Phill]
Nokia serves up FP1 theme to S60 3rd Edition users
While upgrading that Nokia E62 to S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 might be nothing more than a foolish dream, the mothership is still doing what it can to help you keep your eyes from straying toward that N95 for just a little bit longer. Nokia has made the "Turquoise" theme (which will be used on all FP1 devices) available as a download for all phones running the elder 3rd Edition platform, and while it obviously won't give your phone any new functionality, it'll spruce up that look and feel so you can fool your friends and family into thinking that Nokia gave you some super-secret FP1 update package. Reviews have been mixed with some users reporting that the white portions of the theme's background introduce problems for readability in some apps, but hey -- that's the price we pay for living a lie.[Via All About Symbian]
FCC blesses Nokia N73
Are you loving the N93's spec sheet, but gargantuan clamshells aren't your cup of tea? No worries, friends; the 3.2-megapixel candybar N73 has just been approved by the FCC, and thanks to quadband GSM, we have a fighting chance of seeing this one drop in the States -- at least in Nokia's flagship store, if nothing else. Specs are enough to get the juices of any S60 fan flowing: UMTS (albeit on the 2100MHz band), 2.4-inch QVGA display, MiniSD slot, stereo speakers, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0, and the list goes on. Now let's just cross our fingers Qualcomm doesn't get its way, and we might be seeing this hotness before too long in these parts.[Via Mobilewhack]
