What a difference a year and a half makes, eh? It was August of 2007 when Orange first got all weird on Nokia over the then-wild concept of a manufacturer-owned and operated music store -- bear in mind the iPhone hadn't launched very widely at that time -- and look how far we've come. The two companies have just announced that the venerable Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be available starting May 29 loaded up with Comes With Music, Nokia's all-you-can-eat service that brings endless downloadable tracks through its Music Store. In Orange's case, Comes With Music will be available on any of five special plans starting at £25 a month (about $38), meaning that you'll be able to nab music for the duration of your two-year contract. As long as DRM's in the mix, you're basically locked into your contract for as long as you want the definitive Bryan Adams collection that you've downloaded -- so we're hoping Nokia nixes that nightmare sooner rather than later. And hey, congrats, Orange customers -- you're the first Brits to officially be offered this through a carrier, and you'll be getting it in an "exclusive" black / silver color combo.

Good one, Cincinnati Bell -- you totally got us. Oh, wait. This isn't a joke? For the second time in as many months, the aforesaid carrier has somehow managed to land a white-hot Nokia handset before any other operator in America. This go 'round, the company is becoming the first in the US to offer a subsidized version of Nokia's polarizing XpressMusic 5800, bringing it to customers in the Ohio region for $149.99. Those looking to do without any strings can procure one for $349.99 (which is still $50 less than what Nokia's asking), but it's the bragging rights here that make it all worthwhile. So, how long before a real carrier follows suit?

Update: And here's the press release.

[Thanks, Adam]

After some rather disheartening (albeit unconfirmed) estimates last week that Nokia's Comes with Music service had snagged only 23,000 subscribers in the United Kingdom, Rob Taylor, vice president of Nokia Music says that the company is pretty "happy" with what its learned there so far. He admitted that the UK launch (the service's first) devices -- the 5310 Xpress Music and the 8GB N95 -- were "slightly out of date" at the time pointing out that the service was doing much better in subsequent markets, which all boast the 5800 as their hero device. Taylor said he also recognized that Nokia needed more retail partners to help move units, and that the company is not "giving up" on the UK as a market for CwM, adding that they'll be bringing the 5800 there in the future. No word on when that might happen yet -- but we're going to keep out eyes peeled for you.

Update: We just heard from a Nokia rep, and it turns out that these comments did not come from Rob Taylor (who is actually the head of Forum Nokia, not VP of Nokia Music) at all -- but from Lenn Pryor, Vice President, Product Marketing for the Services and Software division.

It's certainly not unheard of for Nokia to take existing models in its lineup, tweak 'em with slightly improved hardware and software, and re-release them -- see the N85 / N86, N93 / N93i, N95 / N96, and so on -- so we can totally buy that the company's hard at work at updating its 5800 for a future revision. DigiTimes (which admittedly doesn't have a pristine record for nailing these sorts of rumors) cites "sources" with Taiwanese component suppliers as saying that Nokia wants to replace the 5800's resistive touchscreen with a capacitive one -- the S60-based Samsung i8910 does that, by the by -- in an effort to better compete with its rivals. That would certainly make the device more usable and responsive, but in all likelihood, this isn't a simple matter of swapping out a component (how would you use that totally awesome plectrum, after all?) so we'd expect this to be more of an indication that Espoo's looking to move to capacitive going forward, particularly as it transitions over to the Symbian Foundation's builds.

NOKLA strikes again! The Hong Kong-based doppelganger has concocted its own version of the 5800 XpressMusic, and it looks like they've spared no expense in copying the Finnish phonemaker's handiwork, from the apparent use of Symbian S60 5th Edition to the wavy line-infused screen film. Vietnamese retailer L. A. digital's selling it for 1,900,000 VND, or about $107 US. Peep the video after the break to see this grade-A KIRF unboxed and toyed with.

[Via Daily Mobile]

We're not sure why giant phones are suddenly all the rage, but it seems to be a trend -- Nokia just put up this four-foot 5800 XpressMusic in Antwerp. Unlike the giant Samsung Messager that recently invaded Chicago, it's not actually a working phone, but the custom Flash interface designed by Create Multimedia is meant to mimic the OS as closely as possible -- so we're guessing it's just as frustrating as the real thing. Passerby can play with the Maps app, browse photos, and listen to music through some nifty through-the-glass speakers -- hit the read link for the video.

[Via Nokia Conversations]

We've had a chance to put the North American version of Nokia's latest touchscreen device and its first to run S60 5th Edition -- the 5800 XpressMusic -- through its paces over on Engadget Mobile, and let's put it this way: if you're thinking about taking the plunge on this bad boy, you might want to have a look. No, seriously, it's just one click away -- can't hurt, now, can it?

Nokia's hot selling 5800 XpressMusic handset just got a little bit better. Available now, the free update promises faster Internet data, built-in dictionary with text-to-speech support, an improved overall UI and eMail experience, and better in-device search. Nokia's also tweaked the cameras adding still image support to the front-facing video-call camera and a burst mode for capturing multiple snaps while holding the shutter button. There's also a new Application Update feature that identifies and downloads updates to your installed applications automatically. Giddy up.

We'd initially been told that the first round of bunk Nokia 5800s for the North American market would have to be exchanged despite the fact that the 3G reception fix was a simple "configuration change," but now... not so much. Firmware 20.2.014 has just gone live through Nokia's Software Update application, bringing the same rich, buttery 3G quality to buyers of those first few devices. Other than that, changes are unknown and presumed to be minor, so if you're still struggling with getting your 5800 to appreciate the finer things in life -- like HSDPA, for example -- give this one a shot.

[Via Symbian Freak]

We received a call this afternoon from our good friends at the Nokia flagship store in Chicago to let us know that the updated North American version of the 5800 XpressMusic is now in stock and ready to go. This means that existing owners should be good to exchange their units, and of course, new buyers can go ahead and dive in. Not all at once now -- we don't want riots at the entrance, now, do we?

It's official: Nokia has a fix. It seems that a "configuration change" -- which we're assuming means a software-based setting of some sort -- was responsible for the 3G disaster on the first batch of North America-spec 5800 XpressMusics to hit the market, and the company has been able to fast-track a new firmware (not a common occurrence for those guys, but clearly, time was of the essence here). Revised units will be on sale "shortly," while existing owners are being asked to call Nokia's customer care, or alternatively, they can step into a flagship store to have their device exchanged. Too bad we can't update these things ourselves, but at least we get the pleasure of unboxing it all over again, eh? Follow the break for the full statement.

When you're dealing with a major signal reception issue on a phone, it's easy to believe that the problem isn't gonna go away without retooling the innards and releasing revised hardware -- but for North American owners (and would-be owners) of Nokia's stricken NAM version of the 5800 XpressMusic, there's new hope. The Nokia Blog is claiming that word from an inside source confirms that the problem has already been fixed with an unreleased firmware update, which would lead us to believe that Nokia could conceivably get devices back on the shelves relatively quickly -- and that current owners will be able to fix their woes without physically exchanging phones. Of course, firmware updates have never come out of Espoo at a firehose pace -- particularly for North American versions of devices -- so we'll believe this is resolved when we've seen it with our own eyes.

Okay, yes, pardon the headline -- we're a little fired up about the 5800's 3G situation at the moment, and at a time like this, nothing soothes the soul quite like some awesome hackery. Self-described "homebrew coder" Jamie Fuller has somehow magically turned the singletouch 5800 into a multitouch device, delivering a proof of concept in the form of a Guitar Hero-style game requiring cat-like thumb reflexes in response to the beat of one of the best songs we've ever heard. Considering that neither the hardware nor the software technically support multitouch here, it's a hell of a feat -- and it's also proof that hope springs eternal for even the most seemingly hopeless limitations of your favorite gadget, no matter what that gadget might be. The developer says that the app will eventually be available for free once it's further along, and in the meantime, he needs some beta testers and help with graphics -- you know, something beyond colored circles -- so if the dream of putting two fingers on your 5800's screen at the same time keeps you awake at night, you might consider pitching in. Follow the break for a video demo.

[Via Symbian Freak, thanks mj]

This whole 3G performance thing on the North American version of Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic is shaping up to be one of the great made-for-TV gadget industry dramas of the year. First it didn't work, then we found that it kinda did, and now Nokia has put out a totally cryptic statement that clarifies little about what's going on (likely because they don't know either, if we had to guess). In a nutshell, they're acknowledging that "some" NAM 5800s are having issues, they're investigating why, and owners are advised to contact Nokia Customer Care. Here's where it gets crazy, though: they go on to say "only NY and Chicago affected, in Dallas and Miami the devices are working OK. The investigation is ongoing on the device itself and the network used in these cases." It's possible that there's a very specific combination of equipment being used in these two markets that's causing the 5800s to choke, but in all likelihood, it has more to do with the spectrum in use -- in which case, the problem is probably far more widespread than just two cities. If this shakes out to be a hardware issue and Nokia's gotta send 'em back to the labs to get retooled for a few weeks or months, are they better off canning the model and moving on?