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Belle update arrives for compatible Nokia Symbian phones (video)
The latest reformation of Symbian has started to appear for compatible handsets -- and it's arrived a few days earlier than planned. MyNokiaBlog has already began the upgrade process on its N8, through the Nokia Suite software. (Update: Nokia's now officially announced the release.) Belle will furnish your smartphone with NFC sharing, more homescreens, adjustable widgets and, yes, a pull-down notification bar. Handsets fortunate enough to be blessed by the update include the N8, E6, E7, X7, C7, C6-01 and Oro, arriving on the Nokia 500 in the next few weeks. A cheerful upgrade tour awaits after the break.
Elle, Nylon and Pop Sci gladly adopt Apple's subscription terms
Not every publisher's feathers were ruffled by the changes Apple made to its subscription policy earlier this week. While Rhapsody may have responded negatively to the changes, some publishers are accepting the new terms and adopting Apple's new subscription model. According to Advertising Age, three popular magazines, Elle, Nylon and Popular Science, will let customers subscribe via the App Store and, in return, will concede some of their valuable customer data to Apple. The trio believes the advantages of distributing content via Apple's mobile platform outweigh any potential disadvantages. Nylon is the smallest magazine of the bunch and will be least affected by the loss of customer information. The independent magazine eyes the monetary reward of increased subscriptions and assumes its customers will still provide demographic information via other methods. Popular Science shares a similar approach and may prompt users to share their information after they have purchased a subscription and received their second or third issue of the digital magazine. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., the publisher behind Elle magazine, is taking a wait and see approach. Rather than become enemies with Apple, the magazine is going to adopt the model and see how it turns out. The publisher also sees the model as being very fluid and one that Apple and publishers can modify over time. "I don't think this is something that is set in stone either for us or for Apple. I'd rather work with them to improve it over time than just sit on the sidelines," said Philippe Guelton, Executive Vice President and COO at Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
Sony Ericsson's TM717 gives FCC a quick "hello" on way to T-Mobile
Remember that "Elle" we mentioned in the leaked roadmap this morning? Whatever it is, it's destined to replace the somewhat homely TM506 -- which makes this here TM717 a prime candidate (especially considering that "Elle" was the T707's internal codename prior to launch). The handset looks to be little more than a T707 rebrand with AWS 3G thrown in for good measure, which would make it just what the doctor ordered to pick up where the TM506 left off, especially since it'd have a 3.2 megapixel cam versus the older model's 2. If the roadmap's close to correct, we have a few months left to wait for this one -- but it's not the end of the world since the CS8 is the Sony Ericsson that we're really waiting for anyway.
Sony Ericsson officially announces Maria Sharapova's fave phone, the T707
Sony Ericcson's just officially announced the T707 we caught sight of in a slide not too far back. The clamshell, as expected, has a 2.2-inch, QVGA external display, plus a 1.1-inch internal monochromatic OLED display (128 x 36 resolution), 100MB of internal memory, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. It will be available in Mysterious Black (black), Spring Rose (pink), and Lucid Blue (blue) when it's launched in "selected markets" during Q2. No word on pricing yet. Check out a few more shots (sans Sharapova) after the break.
Sony Ericsson's T707 is boring, save for the fact that it's unannounced
The Sony Ericsson "Elle" (not to be confused with the ELLE Glamphone, of course) looks to be a pretty plain-vanilla flip named the T707, but here's the thing: it's not Sony Ericsson that wants you to know that. Instead, an intrepid photographer at some sort of important-looking meeting caught a slide of the unannounced handset, and we can expect a 2.2-inch QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel cam sans autofocus, a 14mm thick casing (when closed, we hope), and a bundled 1GB Memory Stick M2 in the box. It's basically a rebranded W508, apparently, which doesn't inspire a lot of lust from this side of the table -- but at least it's got HSDPA and should hit the market for a non-bank-breaking price. Look for it in May in a variety of fun, tasty colors.[Via SEMC Blog]
Elle GlamPhone's FCC filing looks like a celebrity mugshot
Pretty ironic that a phone uppity enough to be coined the "GlamPhone" has to suffer the indignity of a few unflattering shots lying on a laboratory table somewhere, isn't it? Alas, another version of Alcatel's ELLE-branded line of fashion handsets did what it had to do to earn the FCC's undying love, though there's really not much to talk about here: dedicated music controls, stereo Bluetooth, and a meager cam round out the feature set, along with enough GSM 850 / 1900 to get by in these parts. Oh, and there's USB mass storage mode, too -- a must for any product with the word "glam" in it.
Alcatel's "GlamPhone ELLE" slated for US release
If showing your allegiance to ELLE Magazine ranks high on your list of priorities when cross-shopping phones, you may not be alone -- if Alcatel did any market research on this one, that is. We first told you about their "GlamPhone ELLE" last year, but at the time, we thought the uninspiring clamshell would only be finding its way to GSM 900 / 1800 networks; a new version sports 850 / 1900, though, and will be dropping stateside on September 1 in your choice of red or black for $180. Unfortunately, the phone's 3MB of internal memory, VGA shooter, and GPRS data leave a bad taste in our mouth that no mirrored display or free year of ELLE Magazine can overcome, but we're guessing they'll manage to push a few through in-mag advertising.[Via paidContent]
