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What say you? Is resident Big Bang Theory brainiac Howard Wolowitz super-stoked that Penny is conked out on his shoulder? Or is he just incredibly jovial to have his hand around what appears to be a Nokia N95? We're thinking a little bit from column A, a little bit from column B.

[Thanks, Matt]

Get this: the first North American carrier to offer up Nokia's 8GB N95 isn't AT&T. Heck, it's not even a US-based operator. No friends, it's Canada's own Rogers Wireless. Just as we had heard late last month, the N95 8GB has officially landed in the Great North, and starting on May 6th, consumers up that way will be able to secure one for a hefty $399.99 with a three-year activation on the Rogers Vision Unlimited On-Device Mobile Browsing Plan. Don't weep too heavily, AT&T users -- your time should be coming soon.

Nothing shows your complete and unwavering devotion to a handset maker like buying an ultra-rare vehicle with its logos on there, wouldn't you agree? Those vigorously nodding up and down (well, those vigorously nodding up and down in Brazil) can get set to grab a limited edition Renault Sandero, which will come "fully equipped with Nokia's navigation system and [undisclosed] car add-ons." The super-special Sandero will come stocked with an N95 and cost around €17,650 ($27,693), but you'd better hurry, as only 1,000 of these niche motorcars are being built. It's like Nokia heard your cries for letting the chance to nab one of those co-branded Twingos slip through your too-busy-texting thumbs or something.

It's just what you've been waiting for -- a Nokia N95 running Windows Mobile. It looks like the rumors were true after all! What's that? This is not a real phone? It's just an FM radio with a sticker on the screen? Oh bother. Yes folks, thanks to eagle-eyed tipster Eric, you're looking at the next evolution in gadgetry -- the Asaki N95 FM radio. We're not sure what the going price for this is, but we'd imagine slightly less than $779, though the real N95 doesn't come with those totally pimped-out headphones, does it?

We just got a call from our friendly local Nokia flagship store, and lo, it seems the mythical N95 8GB with HSDPA 850 / 1900 is now in stock. The all-black monster of Nokia's current Nseries lineup will run you a stiff $799 -- so get your credit card out, get your 3G on, and find out exactly what 8GB of music you want to carry with you.

Sure, we've seen cellphones intermingle with traffic data before, but Nokia's looking to up the ante in a big way by utilizing a large network of GPS-enabled handsets to actually predict traffic patterns and help you avoid congestion before you even leave for that afternoon appointment. In a recent trial involving 100 volunteer drivers (and an equal amount of N95s), the handset maker teamed up with UC Berkeley to test the effectiveness of using a device most people already own (read: cellphones) to beam out traffic data rather than installing permanent sensors in roadways. Eventually, Nokia hopes to expand the experiment to over 1,000 folks, and just in case you privacy junkies can already feel your heart racing, you can rest assured that all "personal identifying information" was stripped before being sent back for analysis.

Read - Nokia turns people into traffic sensors
Read - Video: Nokia test drives traffic monitoring system

That didn't take long. A mere day after the release of Nokia's N-Gage First Access gaming preview exclusively to N81 users, the app has been cracked open to work with any N-series device with enough horsepower. The hack was performed by Nokia regular P@sco, and comes in a convenient downloadable form, or an only slightly involved guide to hacking the app yourself. No rocket science here, and while we're sure Nokia could easily fight back, what we've really got to ask ourselves is why didn't Nokia just open it to everyone in the first place?

[Thanks, Michael J.]

In the unlikeliest of unions since Julia and Lyle, we bring you some hot iPhone on N95 symbiotic action. Using the free JoikuSpot application released this morning, you can now turn any S60 smartphone into a WiFi hotspot. Yes, just like WMWifiRouter does for WinMo devices. Sure, the solution doesn't make much sense from locations with tethered Internet and you can't encrypt the http and https (only) traffic. But if you've ever been in a WiFi dead spot and needed to share access (think PSP gaming), this type of solution is pretty unbeatable. Assuming you have an unlimited data plan that is. Click the read link for the video.

[Via IntoMobile]

Read -- Video
Read -- JoikuSpot

We certainly can't guarantee that your wait for the US 3G version of the Nokia N95 8GB is nigh, but it did just pass through the FCC, meaning the last major hurdle to selling the things in the US is over. We don't blame you for gawking, just hang tight until Nokia drops the official word giving you occasion to lose somewhere close to a grand from your already badly abused bank account.

It's not quite as technologically interesting as the N95 8GB for North America, but bright, pretty colors can certainly sell as many phones as a good chunk of internal ROM can. We spotted an in-your-face red N95 at the Nokia booth of Digital Experience this evening, and guess what? It's not custom painted, it's not some sort of funky special edition -- it's real, it's coming, and more importantly, it's coming here. Word on the street we'll see it before the first quarter's out for $599, implying that there's a little price drop for N95s of all colors in the cards for the near future.

All signs pointed to this sucker existing, and sure enough, here it is. The N95 8GB for North America is pretty much exactly what you'd expect it to be -- an exact replica of the European version with the 2100MHz WCDMA radio surgically removed and replaced with an 850 / 1900MHz counterpart for speedy data in these lands. The screen is up to 2.8 inches versus the original N95's 2.6, but the 8GB of internal storage comes at the cost of the microSD slot, so don't get all cocky on us about rocking 16GB of storage in your pocket, alright? Check it in stores this quarter for $749.

What's that we see? The Nokia N95 8GB listed on the Nokia US retail site? Okay, calm down, it's not the US-specific version (read: it uses 2100MHz WCDMA, i.e. European 3G), but you'll still have a 2.8-inch mammoth screen, A-GPS, a five megapixel camera, and the rest of the goodies that maybe, just maybe, you'll be willing to fork out $780 for, even knowing that a US version HAS to be right around the corner.

[Thanks, Preston]

Version 11.2.009 firmware is out and ready to dance on the North American flavor of the N95. This marks the first update for Nokia's N95-3. So far, we've found a browser update with font size and history list. We're not expecting the type of overhaul seen for Europe's classic model but we're still digging for more. Anyone else finding fixes for their favorite nits? If so, let us know in the comments.

[Thanks, Alon T.]

We know, Nokia's hotly anticipated (and equally well received) N95 has been shipping to all corners of the globe for much of the year -- save for America, of course. Recently, however, those of us parked in the US of A were able to grab hold of a 3G iteration to call our very own, and while we're mighty confident many owners are just glad to (finally) have one, there's a heightened level of expectations that comes along with a price tag this large. Sure, it's hard to knock the 5-megapixel camera, blazing HSDPA support and integrated GPS, but even Achilles had his heel.

For those of you fortunate enough to own this here mobile, why not release a little steam by venting to us those minor, yet inexplicably annoying quirks that are preventing the N95 from being the phone it could otherwise be? Not quite satisfied with the design? Slightly perturbed by the current storage capacity limits? Do you truly feel as if this thing should handle laundry and Quake in its spare time? C'mon, we're confident this heralded handset has a few niggles holding it down, and while a certain segment of you are already enjoying the niceties presented by the latest firmware release, we know this thing is a few features shy of unequivocal domination. Let's hear it! Oh, and don't spend too much time bragging about ownership -- let's get to the good stuff, k?

The rise of the cameraphone has certainly changed the face of journalism, and old-guard wire service Reuters isn't about to get passed by -- the company has entered into a long-term partnership with Nokia to develop new mobile reporting technologies, and the two companies have recently completed trials of an N95-based "Mobile Journalism Tookit" that takes moblogging to a whole new level. Reporters were given a hardware bundle that consisted of an N95, a Nokia SU-8W portable keyboard, a Sony condenser mic with special N95 adapter, a tripod, and two Power Monkey power stations, including the solar-capable Explorer, all of which linked into a custom mobile CMS that allows stories to be posted almost instantly. Reuters also partnered with Comvu for GPS-linked video streaming, and the N95 also provides a host of other metadata about each piece of content as it's filed. Although the trial is now over, both Reuters and Nokia plan on using the kits to teach journalism students and to promote the cause of citizen journalism. Let's hope that means they start teaching people how to take non-blurry cameraphone spy shots, eh?

Read -- Mobile Journalism Toolkit press release
Read -- Posts from the Reuters mobile journalism trial
Read -- Toolkit contents