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Nokia's all you can download Comes with Music service is finally DRM free... in China (updated)
We've been browbeating Nokia for using DRM to "protect" its Comes with Music offering ever since the service launched back in December of 2007 -- a time when the industry was just beginning to shed its DRM shackles. Now get this, the idle talk is over, Nokia just launched its all-you-can-eat (for 12, 18, or 24 months, typically) Comes with Music service in China without any DRM at all. India is on deck as Nokia looks to hook more emerging markets on the (kind of) free music drug. That means you no longer have to strip the DRM illegally to play your downloaded content on devices other than your main PC and Nokia Comes with Music handset. And yes, you can keep the tracks for life after your CWM subscription expires. At launch, Chinese consumers will have a choice of eight (ok, seven really) CWM handsets (X6 32GB and X6 16GB, 5230, 5330, 5800w, 6700s, E52 and E72i) with prices starting at a local equivalent of €140 (the CWM service fee is baked in to the cost, mind you) excluding taxes and subsidies. Suspiciously, Nokia's not making the usual boast about the millions of tracks available in the CWM catalog. It is, however, reassuringly supported by all the Big 4 music labels in addition to some Chinese indies, as you'd expect. Sorry, no word on when they'll strip the DRM from its European CWM stores and we're still not clear when CWM will finally see a US launch. Hopefully soon as a service like this could go over very, very well Stateside -- a market that Nokia is desperate to crack. Get on to the other side of the break for the full press release. Update: We met with Jyrki Rosenberg, Director of Music at Nokia, who shed a bit more light on the offering. Unfortunately, while DRM-free music aligns with Nokia's global vision, he had nothing to announce for the US or Europe today. And as you might expect, the onus to go DRM-free in China was in part driven by rampant, local piracy concerns -- recovery of any revenue was better than nothing at all in the eyes of the Big Four. Jyrki also told us that Chinese CWM subscriptions will be 1 year in length but the terms of renewal are still being hammered out. We also know that the music catalog numbers in the "hundreds of thousands" at launch (comparable to competing services in the region, according to Jyrki) and is growing every day. Privacy advocates will be happy to hear that the 256kbps MP3 files are "clean" -- in other words, no user data is embedded in the files unlike the practices of Apple and Walmart, among others.
Nokia Nuron for T-Mobile review
When the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic was released a little more than a year ago, we thoroughly panned it in our review -- put simply, it felt undercooked and uncompetitive in a world where webOS, iPhone OS, and Android were all realities, regardless of Nokia's existing smartphone dominance through much of the world. More than a year later, we're now presented with the Nokia Nuron, a pretty close relative of that first S60 5th Edition device from back in the day; it's simply a carrier-branded version of the 5230, which itself is a lower-end variant of the 5800. Despite its flaws, the 5800 has gone on to become a global success for Nokia -- but can the Nuron do the same in a market traditionally unfazed by Nokia's advances? More directly, has Nokia's first volley in the modern touchphone battle evolved enough to become a prime-time player in the States? Let's find out.%Gallery-88681%
Nokia 5230 Nuron excites the T-Mobile nervous system
The US will wake up to a fine howdy do from Nokia's 5230 Nuron now that it's officially announced for T-Mobile. The device first introduced by Nokia back in August will be available to middle America "in the coming weeks" on T-Mobile's 3G network. And unlike yesterday's wee C5, Nuron features a reasonable 3.2-inch, 640 x 360 (nHD) touchscreen for your Ovi Store apps and free Ovi Maps with turn-by-turn navigation to dance upon. Hell, it even has an onscreen keyboard if you want to do something productive like tap out a few emails, enter a URL to surf the web, or update your social networking status(es). While no price or specific date was announced, we've seen rumors of a 17 March launch for $70 on contract, or $180 without. Just remember that Nuron runs S60 5th; and with the improved Symbian ^3 touchscreen UI just around the corner (and no clear upgrade path) you'd better really want this device to make the jump whenever it does launch. Update: Nokia's own Joe Gallo has confirmed that the Nuron will sell for $69.99 on a 2-year contract at T-Mob.
Nokia Nuron for T-Mobile looking more official than ever in press shots
We've got enough rumor momentum going now so that we don't really doubt the existence of the Nokia Nuron for T-Mobile -- but if you're the particularly skeptical type, you might like to take a glance at Cell Phone Signal's new press shots of the handset. As you can clearly see, this is a dead ringer for the 5230 it's been wrought from, the only difference being that it'll undoubtedly swap out the Euro 3G for some AWS bands that T-Mobile USA knows how to use. We'll admit, we're concerned from the outset that T-Mobile's going to make the grave error of trying to price this thing at $99 or higher -- but if the marketing wizards go for broke and price it down between, say, $30 and $50, we could see this being a serious low-end blockbuster. Is that crazy? Is it even a plausible scenario? Time will tell -- we've only got another month and change to wait if the latest stream of intel is accurate.
Nokia Nuron spotted again, connection to 5230 cemented?
Dear Nokia fan clinging on to all hope that the 5230 and Nuron were two separate entities, whereby you'd have even more Espoo devices to look forward to: you're wrong. TmoNews has picked up what's purported to be another internal T-Mobile documentation for the 5230 Nuron. Like the previously-rumored leak, it's said to be going on sale on March 17 with a 3.2-inch touchscreen, on-screen keyboard, and Ovi Store. Oh, and just in case you weren't sure if you fit the target audience, see if you qualify as "connected socializers, 20 to 40 years old, who are new to the touch screen category." That's gotta count for at least a few readers out there. [Thanks, Alex]
Nokia cuts phone prices across the board, S60 biting deep into dumbphone territory
The company notes that this is nothing more than a regularly-scheduled adjustment, but for what it's worth, Nokia has quietly lowered prices across its entire range, in some cases by as much as 10 percent -- nothing to sneeze at. Notably, the S60 5th Edition-based 5230 is now selling for €170 (about $239) in Finland, making it considerably cheaper than dozens of mid- to high-end feature phones -- an interesting reversal of fortune that puts Nokia precisely where it says it wants to be for positioning S60 as The People's Platform as it sprinkles Maemo through the upper end of the lineup. Where this ultimately leaves Series 40 remains to be seen, but at the rate these guys are going with the mainstream push for S60, it may not matter in a year or two.
Nokia 5230 coming to T-Mobile?
With the N900 getting AWS support, there's every reason to believe that T-Mobile USA and Nokia want to make beautiful music together -- but in order to do that, they're going to need some quality hardware in the mix. Whether the S60 5th Edition-based 5230 qualifies as "quality hardware" is strictly a matter of personal opinion, but for what it's worth, Cell Phone Signal has raised some very good points about a recent FCC filing suggesting that the model is inbound. First off -- and most importantly -- the SAR report for model code RM-593 indicates that AWS 3G is supported, and overlaying the back of a 5230 with the filing's label document lines up perfectly. A slam dunk? No, it's not -- but considering how long it's been since T-Mobile's sold an S60-based device, the time might be right to get back into the game. [Via Cell Phone Signal]
Nokia's 5230 inches closer to release, gets spied along the way
Nokia's 5230 isn't apt to blow any minds with the likes of the HD2, Droid and XPERIA X3 on the horizon, but for those perfectly content with a touchscreen-based Symbian S60 5th Edition handset, this one sure looks purty. After dipping its toes in the FCC's expansive database just last month, a crop of new in the wild shots have surfaced to show off its 3.2-inch display (640 x 360), 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR module and variety of colorful backs. Hit the read link for more pixels if you're so inclined, and feel free to take the "January 2010" release date in with a dose of NaCl.[Thanks, Daniel]
Nokia 5230 gets FCC approval, US 3G doesn't
The Nokia 5230's as good a reason as any to dip your toe in the S60 5th Edition waters without breaking the bank (and without sacrificing 3G altogether like you'd have to with the 5530), so if you're planning on picking one up, you may as well start learning everything you need to know before it hits your doorstep -- and the fastest way to do that right now is going to be to pay a quick visit to the FCC's vast data warehouse where the full documentation has just gone live. This particular version of the phone rocks 900 / 2100 only as far as WCDMA goes, meaning North Americans are going to be completely 3G-free -- but at any rate, the manual's a good read. The photography isn't the glossiest we've ever seen, but then again, we've never seen an FCC lab put a lot of effort into it -- just not their bag, we guess.
Video: Nokia 5230 touchscreen seen lagging the competition
Ok S60 5th edition fans, here you go: another touchscreen Nokia slate to admire before it could be leaked by Eldar Murtazin. The new 5230 brings a 3.2-inch touchscreen riding HSDPA data, A-GPS, 2 megapixel camera, microSD expansion, and Bluetooth 2.0 with the promise of 33-hours of music pumped over its 3.5-mm audio jack. It will launch in two flavors in Q4: a €149 model and €259 Comes with Music version. Backside pic and video demonstrating the importance of long pink finger nails for navigating its resistive touchscreen after the break. Note to Nokia: you really should review your marketing videos more carefully unless the severe lag / unresponsiveness seen when scrolling at 36 seconds is a feature.
