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Foursquare promised for N9, updated S40 variant looks to tide you over (video)
Been too long since your last MeeGo fix? Foursquare's stepping in to hold you over with a video of the popular location-based service on Nokia's upcoming N9. While waiting to get your grubby paws all over Elop's miscarriage, indulge yourself in an updated S40 app -- shown running here on a couple Touch-and-Type devices -- which now features tighter Ovi Maps integration and the heretofore omitted "Explore" function. The inclusions, the company reckons, will help those in emerging markets like South America and Asia grow its ten million over-sharing user base. Glimpses of both can be seen beyond the break along with Foursquare's CEO Naveen Selvadurai musing on all things Finnish.
Vertu Signature Precious is awash in sea of sapphire...and regret (video)
It may not feature GPS, an accelerometer, or even a camera, but if you've run out of disposable items to encrust with jewels, then Vertu's Precious -- the latest revision to its aging Signature lineup -- may be the mobile phone for you. While its basic array of quadband GSM, 2100 / 850 MHz 3G, Bluetooth and WiFi may seem a touch modest, varieties come slathered in platinum, three types of gold (yellow, white and red), leather, ceramic, and enough jewels to make Her Majesty blush. Its face, known as the "sea of sapphire," is mostly obscured (save for the OLED display), but you high rollers can take comfort knowing it spent more than two weeks in a 2000°C oven to appease your discerning taste. Also hidden are 4.75 carats of ruby bearings, which are said to give the keys a frictionless, satisfying click. The ring tones are exclusive compositions by Dario Marianelli and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra -- though we were bigger fans before they sold out. For a quick glimpse of how the Precious comes together gem by gem, just follow the break. There's no word on pricing or availability, but if you're considering putting up your first born as collateral, you might want to reconsider this cringe-worthy creation. [Thanks, Radi]
Nokia debuts C2-03 at CommunicAsia (video)
Nokia's Mary McDowell announced the company's third dual-SIM device, the C2-03, at CommunicAsia. It's a portrait slider with a 320 x 240 touchscreen display paired with the company's Touch and Type interface. Like the C2-00, it's based on S40 and supports Easy Swap -- a handy feature that lets users hot swap their SIMs. Additionally, the phone sports a new version of Nokia's web browser that compresses data up to 90 percent, and Nokia Maps for Series 40 -- which provides location search and routing while offline. Amazingly, standby time is rated at a hearty 400 hours, and while the built-in memory is somewhat paltry (10MB), the storage can be expanded up to 32GB. It's expected to be released in Q3 for €77, and will roll out across India, China, the south-east Asian-Pacific region, Eurasia, the middle east, and Africa. The C2-02, a single-SIM variant will debut alongside the more intriguing sibling, but we know you're most interested in the dual-SIM darling, so hop past the break for an extended peek.
Nokia outs 1GHz Series 40 handset with ClearBlack display
According to Nokia's Manager of Marketing Services in Argentina, an S40-based mobile phone with a 1GHz processor and ClearBlack display is coming -- and for our part, we're hoping to see it next week at Nokia Connection 2011 in Singapore. There, company leaders (including the outspoken CEO himself), will debut new products aimed at emerging markets. Granted, there's nothing definitive to connect the dots, but given the operating system, it would make perfect sense to get a glimpse at this mystery device -- along with the Nokia C2-06 -- at next week's conference. The Argentina-based tweets that originally outed this handset have been snuffed, but they've been preserved in the form of a retweet and screen caps, letting this casual mistake ripple through the web. Don't feel too bad, Nokia... as mobile fanatics, we're big fans of the unintended reveal. Now, how about outing those sweet Mangoes?
Nokia's upcoming C2-series slider spotted in India, keeps the low-end in check
A prototype of Nokia's C2 series dual-SIM phone was recently spotted in India, adding a resistive touchscreen to the manufacturer's mix of budget offerings. This glossy T9 slider was spotted with a two megapixel camera (sans flash), and sadly forgoes such niceties as WiFi and 3G connectivity -- presumably in the name of keeping cost down. There's no word on pricing (yet), though we do know this handset is running Series 40 6th Edition, and thankfully features Bluetooth (revealing the name of the device as C2-06). All told, Nokia is far removed from the bleeding edge on this one, although it's always comforting to know they're looking out for the little guy.
Unnamed Nokia Touch and Type slider leaks out
Nokia has said that it'll continue to push Series 40 hard as it transitions from Symbian to Windows Phone on the high end -- and some concrete evidence of that strategy has leaked out this week. This attractive little gadget appears to be a slider remake of the X3-02 Touch and Type launched late last year, combining a numeric keypad with a touch-enabled version of Nokia's mainstream dumbphone platform. The fact that they're concealing the keypad here seems to be a tacit admission that the UI is designed to be completely usable from end to end without hitting buttons, which is the way everything's going these days. The name of the new model is unclear -- if you zoom into the upper left of the image, it looks like this phone's got "C0" on it, which is the generic model number Nokia slaps on most of its prototypes -- but considering the shape, we wouldn't be surprised if it ended up falling into the C series. [Thanks, momchil]
Nokia X3-02 Touch-and-Type review
It's a difficult time for feature phones, with smartphones fast becoming a viable option at the low-end of the market. On the one hand, most users are expecting smartphone features such as touchscreens and WiFi from their feature phones. At the same time, some folks still want an affordable, solid device that focuses primarily on making calls and sending text messages, with the occasional foray into entertainment and data-based communication. The Nokia X3-02 Touch-and-Type (not to be mistaken with the other Nokia X3) attempts to be that device, by adding a dose of touch and WiFi to the venerable Series 40 platform. Does it succeed? Read on. %Gallery-115007%
Editorial: Nokia's not going to switch to Android or Windows Phone 7, so stop it already
I've had it. I can't take all this Nokia operating system speculation anymore. The final straw came with a VentureBeat piece citing a "trusted source" that claims "Nokia is now likely to use Windows Phone 7 as an additional platform for its phones." Enough already. Nokia has a strategy and hiring Stephen Elop away from Microsoft's Office team isn't going to change that no matter how much the US media (where Nokia has near zero presence) wishes it were true -- if anything, it's going to accelerate it.
Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type puts a touchscreen on your Series 40 featurephone
Nokia has just revealed its X3-02 handset, which does the unthinkable and marries a relatively standard 16-button keypad with a 2.4-inch QVGA touchscreen. Now, we might have our reservations about Nokia's S40 OS being able to translate to a touch-friendly UI, but the beauty of this phone is that touch comes as essentially a free extra rather than the fundamental navigation paradigm. It's augmented with 3G, 802.11n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, and the whole thing is wrapped within a 9.6mm-thin brushed aluminum shell. All that, and the X3-02 will only cost €125 (before sales taxes and subsidies, as usual) when it launches later this quarter. See it on video after the break. Update: Nokia has informed us the X3-02 uses a resistive touchscreen, no real surprise given its price.%Gallery-99601%
Nokia's Series 40 to 'offer a compelling touch experience'
Even though it's lived a long, fruitful (some might even say wildly successful) life as Nokia's one and only high-end feature phone platform, Series 40 is suffering from a bit of an identity crisis now that S60 pushing deeper than ever into categories traditionally considered dumbphone strongholds -- one needs to look no further than the C5 to see that strategy in action. So, what's next? Quite a bit, actually. Cellularmania appears to have gotten hold of an official document assuring developers that the company is continuing to drop money into taking Series 40 to the next level this year, promising a "compelling touch experience" along with confirmation of earlier rumors that we'd see dual-SIM devices for certain markets where it's a big deal. It's still unclear what kind of mix we're going to see in Nokia's product portfolio 5, 2, or even a single year from now, but Series 40's still got a seat at the table -- for now, anyway.
Nokia Ovi Store unveiled, launches in May
Nokia's just announced at its Mobile World Congress presentation that, lo and behold, the company's launching its own online app and media portal, the Ovi Store. Download, Mosh, widgets are going to be focuses of the Ovi Store. The N97 will be the first device to be "pre-integrated" with Ovi Store, but "tons" of existing S40 and S60 customers will be able to download the service starting in May. The company says it'll learn your tastes over time and anticipate what you want, as well as make recommendations based on your geographical location. A developer site has launched, and is touting a 70% revenue share, which appears to match what Apple's doing with its respective app store.
Nokia Chat bows out as Contacts on Ovi steps in
Nah, there was no inauguration ceremony for the departure of Nokia Chat and the swearing in of Contacts on Ovi, but there was a blog post penned by a Beta Labs staff member. For those totally into Nokia Chat, you may have noticed a dearth of updates over the past few months. Needless to say, that time was being spent honing the future release of Contacts for Ovi, a natural replacement and one that's fully compatible with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 / Series 40 handsets. Backwards compatibility with existing Nokia Chat clients was included, and you're being summoned by Nokia to give this app a shot and report back with your opinions. So, you down or what?
Nokia aims to expand S60 deployment, or so says the boss
We already heard Nokia's head man in charge, Mr. Olli Pekka Kallasvuo, gloat about how awesome 5800 XpressMusic sales have been, but what hasn't been mentioned yet is his take on S60 deployment and its future definition of a smartphone. He commented during the outfit's Q4 earnings call that "smartphones are not only for the high end," and he elaborated by saying that "internet services" and the like would soon be delivered at "a number of attractive price points." Which makes sense given that Nokia's planning to "expand its Symbian S60 investment relative to S40," wouldn't you say? Potentially most interesting was this tidbit: "[Nokia is] expanding smartphones to categories and form factors that have not yet been covered." Not yet been covered? Seriously? Way to make our imaginations work overtime here, Olli.
Nokia's 6260 slide reviewed, reviewer ponders why it exists
If you're looking for the cream of the Series 40 crop, the Nokia 6260 slide's for you. Mobile-review, for one, is definitely not in the market for the cream of the Series 40 crop, but they've still gone ahead and put the 5-megapixel slider through an exhaustive review that covers every angle. The bottom line is that the half VGA screen's pretty good, the keypad's more than usable, the volume's loud, and the picture quality delivered by the Carl Zeiss optics is superb, but the site raises a good point: what's the market for a Series 40 phone that reaches well into S60 territory? Then again, if you're drooling as you read this, you don't really care about the answer to that purely philosophical question, now do you?[Thanks, inf]
Nokia's Mail on Ovi email beta now live worldwide
For Nokia handsets not quite fancy enough for Email, there's Mail on Ovi. The application, which was developed for low(er)-end S40 mobiles, is expected to give many individuals in developing nations their very first email address and internet identity. In theory, these people will use their phones to access email more than a PC, thus the newest public beta enables users to setup their accounts right on the handset with no PC required. There's a ridiculously long list of compatible handsets in the read link, so hop on down if you think you're interested.
Nokia slips out 5 megapixel 6260 slide with AGPS, a first for S40 devices
Peeped in spy pics on these Interwebs since June, Nokia just went official with the 6260 slide. Unfortunately, "slide" in this case reveals a numeric keypad not a QWERTY. Otherwise, it's pretty much an iterative step beyond the 6220 classic. As such, we're looking at a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, WiFi, and HSDPA/HSUPA data to quickly share photos and video on Nokia's Ovi service with the promise of support for other photo and video sharing sites you might actually use. The 6260 slide also features Nokia Maps riding AGPS -- a first for a mass market, Series 40 device. Ships in early 2009 for about €299 before taxes and carrier subsidies, naturally. Update: Detailed specs just released show a 2.4-inch, 320 x 480 pixel display on this 15.4-mm thick slider with quad-band GSM/EDGE and tri-band UMTS radios and microSD expansion. [Thanks, L]%Gallery-37903%Read -- Press ReleaseRead -- Detailed Specs [Warning: PDF]
Symbian Foundation grabs a dozen more members, ARM / Huawei included
Just like your extended family, the Symbian Foundation just keeps growing. And growing. And growing. Merely a month and change after coaxing the likes of Sharp, Opera Software, South Korea's KTF, and UIQ to join the perpetually raging party, along comes word that a dozen more have confessed their allegiance. During the first day of the 2008 Symbian Smartphone Show, we were told that over fifty companies were now in support of the Foundation, including twelve newcomers; in no particular alphabetical order, they are ARM, CIeNET, Flander, FUJISOFT, Huawei, Inmote, InnoPath Software, Red Bend, Scalado, Symsource, TRANGO Virtual Processors and Visa. The outfits are all planning to band together in order to create "the world's most open platform for mobile devices" when operations begin in 1H 2009, but until then, everyone's just taking an extended vacation and heading to Fiji to "brainstorm."[Via Mobileburn]
Qik video streaming service now ready for J2ME phones
There's a decent chance you completely forgot about Qik, a nifty little startup that enables live audio / video streaming from feature phones to PCs, after hearing absolutely nothing from it since July. If so, it's all good -- the folks at Qik still want you to indulge in its first public alpha release for a slew of J2ME phones. For users with a Nokia 5300, 6300, 6500 classic, 6500 slide, 6555 or 8800 Arte, you can join your brethren with a Sony Ericsson K850, K858, W890, W910, W908, K660, G502 or Z750 in streaming live content right from your phone to your lovely posse. Give it a go and let us know how it turns out, will you?
Nokia reveals slender 2228 candybar for CDMA markets
Nokia's 2228 isn't much to look at on paper, but then again, it was never meant to be. Designed to handle the most basic of cellular telephone tasks in Nokia's global CDMA markets, the candybar measures in at just 12-millimeters thick and includes a 1.3-megapixel camera, integrated multimedia player, support for tethering and a LED indicator to alert you of messages awaiting your attention. There's no definitive word on where exactly this thing is going to launch in Q4, but it'll be snaking around somewhere, we're certain.
Nokia's S40-based 7100s gets outed
Hard to say if we North Americans will ever see this one (without the kind assistance of an importer), but Nokia's slip-slidin' 7100s has surfaced overseas. The S40-based handset will reportedly boast a QVGA display, 1.3-megapixel camera, built-in FM radio, multimedia player and a microSD card slot. Additionally, you'll find a complete dearth of 3G support, tri-band GSM connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0, Opera Mini pre-loaded and a microUSB connector. Look for it to ship somewhere in Europe sometime before the next decade for around 5,000 crowns ($277).
