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The Nokia 8110 Reloaded is HMD's latest retro feature phone
Many companies descend on the annual Mobile World Congress event to plug their first smartphone launches of the year. It's an established routine, but HMD Global undeniably stole the show in 2017 with, of all things, a new feature phone. Flexing its newly-acquired license to the Nokia brand, HMD put on a marketing masterclass by announcing a re-release of the iconic Nokia 3310. This year, it's attempting a similar trick, preying on '90s nostalgia with the new Nokia 8110 Reloaded.
The Nokia 6 is no longer an entry-level smartphone
Much like how HMD kicked off 2017 by bringing its first Android smartphone, the Nokia 6, to China, today it unveiled an updated model for the same region. Based on a similar aluminum unibody design, the most obvious changes on this second-gen Nokia 6 are the added colors on the chamfer, with the black version featuring copper highlights and the white version with rose gold. Similarly, the centered vertical camera bump has gained a shiny rim of the corresponding color. The old capacitive buttons below the 5.5-inch full HD IPS screen have also disappeared, with the rectangular fingerprint reader now residing on the back in a circular form.
The Nokia 2 is a very cheap Android phone with a huge battery
HMD continues to slide in more Nokia phones where it sees an opportunity. This time around? A very cheap smartphone that doesn't look awful and has enough battery to go the distance. The Nokia 2, priced at 100 Euros (roughly $120) walks that fine line between dreary specifications and the fact that it's just really really cheap. Oh, and a giant 4,100mAh battery that puts it ahead of a lot of flagship smartphones.
Royole's 'personal cinema' headset carries a heavy premium
VR's not-so-meteoric rise has also revived interest in that most sci-fi of concepts: the personal cinema. A head-mounted display that lets you immerse yourself in a movie, blocking out the distractions of modern life. No matter if you're on a plane or train, you can pretend that you have your very own screening room, like presidents, billionaires and Hugh Hefner. The latest entrant into that world is Royole, a company that doesn't have a storied history in consumer devices, instead producing flexible, super-thin AMOLED displays for businesses. It hopes to use its know-how to out-do rival headsets, like Avegant and Sony, which have both offered similar hardware in the past. But how does Royole's Moon compare to those other devices, and is it really the future of cinema?
The Nokia 8 flagship is available to pre-order in the UK
There's a new Nokia flagship in town. Okay, so the "Nokia" name is a bit of a red herring, given it's now HMD Global, a young Finnish startup, using the brand for a fresh suite of Android phones. (Oh, and a reborn Nokia 3310.) Still, the Nokia 8 is a top-end phone bearing the old iconic logo. And starting today, it's up for pre-order in the UK. You can reserve the handset in steel or "tempered blue" for £499 from Carphone Warehouse, EE, Virgin Mobile and Nokia.com. It'll then hit store shelves on September 13th in every retailer you would expect, including Amazon and John Lewis.
Nokia got a lot right with its first Android flagship
"Nokia" and "return" are two words that have been forever glued together since I joined Engadget six years ago. Over the past decade or so, this publication has talked plenty about the company's smartphone ups and, in particular, its downs. Today, it lives on as a brand owned by fellow Finnish company HMD. Eight months since it started making Android phones in the Nokia name, it's revealing a big-screened "flagship" to go up against the Galaxy S8s and iPhones that dominate the smartphone world. As soon as you see the copper-finished Nokia 8, you'll probably agree it's a gorgeous device, as ever. It also offers plenty of camera tricks, again, and it's aimed at young creative types, yet again. But if the plan was to succeed, what was Nokia to do differently this time?
Here’s a sneak peek at Nokia’s first high-end Android phone
Finnish startup HMD Global resurrected the Nokia name with a new line of Android smartphones unveiled back in February. Undaunted by lack of carrier deals, they've kept expanding it throughout the year, including releasing the Nokia 6 in the US back in June. But a few leaks have revealed images of and specs for the next smartphone in the series, the powered-up Nokia 8, which looks to be HMD's first stab at a higher-end smartphone. And yes, it will reportedly come with Zeiss optics.
HMD hopes Zeiss can restore 'Nokia' phones to their former glory
Nokia's strong reputation in phone photography stemmed in no small part from its use of Carl Zeiss optics. Whether you had an N95 or a Lumia 1020, you knew the glass wouldn't let you down. But what's happening now that HMD Global is the one making Nokia-branded phones? Are they doomed to photographic mediocrity? Apparently, you can relax. HMD has struck a deal that will see Zeiss' imaging tech used in Nokia handsets. It won't just be limited to lens design, either. The two plan to work together on "standard-defining imaging capabilities" ranging from software to screen quality.
Nokia's new smartphones start at £120 in the UK
Now Nokia's name is back in the public consciousness thanks to the all the hype surrounding the 3310 reissue, manufacturer HMD Global is onto more serious matters: Bringing Nokia back as a smartphone brand. HMD first announced the Nokia 3, 5 and 6 back at MWC in February, and finally we have firm UK pricing and availability details for the trio of Android devices. Launching first on July 12th for £120 is the Nokia 3, the lowest-end model with a 5-inch, 720p display, a quad-core MediaTek chip, 2 gigs of RAM, 16GB of storage and a pair of 8-megapixel cameras.
The new Nokia 3310: What’s changed?
Who knew stringing four numbers together and slapping it on a feature phone could evoke such a strong consumer reaction in 2017? Ever since HMD Global won MWC by announcing the new Nokia 3310, millennials have been frothing at the mouth in anticipation. The hype is somewhat understandable. For many people, the original Nokia 3310 would've been a totem representing their first taste of freedom. An unsupervised connection to friends; a plaything for idle hands. Many things have changed in 17 years, of course.
The new Nokia 3310 is too basic for 2017
Nostalgia's a funny thing. It makes us leave the house in the dead of night to imprison a wild Clefairy and scramble over each other to buy an NES Classic Edition decades after we sold our original consoles for a pittance at yard sales. Companies are always finding new ways to push our sentimental buttons, and for HMD Global, that means launching a new Nokia 3310 more than 16 years after the original made its debut in 2000. But does anyone really have fond memories of a cellphone that was only good for calling your dad to come pick you up from school?
Say hello (again) to the Nokia 3310
The rumors were true. The Nokia 3310 is back. Courtesy of new brand owner HMD, the phone is returning with a mixture of 3310 charm and some specification upgrades. The good news: It's cheap (around $50), it has Snake, along with those nostalgic ringtones of yesteryear, and it seems pretty darn indestructible. It's an iconic phone, but one that's over 15 years old. That's a long time in mobile. Still, a lot of people are going to want one. Do you?
Nokia's fresh start hinges on these Android phones
For years, people have wondered what an Android-powered Nokia phone would look like. The company's trademark design prowess, matched with Google's software and stellar app support; a match made in heaven, right? Well, after all these years, we can finally find out. Sort of. HMD Global, a Finnish startup, has made four smartphones on Nokia's behalf. One of them, the Nokia 6, was announced at CES, while the other three are completely new. All of them will launch in the second quarter of 2017, with "global" availability through more than 500 retailers and carriers.
The Nokia 3310 will reportedly return this month
The Nokia 3310 needs little introduction. Easy to use. Borderline indestructible. A battery that seemed to last forever. Oh, and it had Snake. It's been a while since the phone was at the top of the mobile heap, but like Rocky Balboa, it could soon be making a spectacular comeback. Renowned phone leaker Evan "Evleaks" Blass reports that HMD Global, the new owner of the Nokia name, is preparing a handset that shares the 3310 moniker. Like its beloved predecessor, the device is reportedly a feature phone that focuses on the absolute basics. It'll cost €59 (roughly $63) and compete directly with the growing number of low-end Android smartphones.
Nokia returns with a dumb phone from its new owner
It looks like we won't have to mourn the demise of the Nokia brand for much longer. HMD Global, the new owners of the Nokia name, unveiled their first device today: the Nokia 150. But don't get too excited yet. It's a Series 30+ dumb phone that looks almost identical to the Nokia 216 that debuted back in September (which was notably Microsoft's last Nokia device). The $26 Nokia 150 sports a 2.4-inch screen, a VGA camera and an impressive 22 hours of battery life (remember when our phones could last for days without a charge?). It'll be built by Foxconn subsidiary FIH, who bought Nokia's feature phone business from Microsoft in May, for distribution in PAC, IMEA and Europe early next year.
Nokia will return to mobile with Android phones and tablets
The Nokia brand will return to the smartphone market. Just as Microsoft announced it's offloading Nokia's old feature phone business to a Foxconn subsidiary and a mysterious Finnish company called HMD Global Oy, Nokia has revealed that HMD is also acquiring the relevant rights to use the Nokia name on smartphones and and tablets for the next ten years. That means we'll start seeing "Nokia-branded" phones and tablets very soon. And they'll be running Android.
Epson's smart glasses are for tech-loving mechanics
For the mall-pounding public, smart glasses are a hard sell. The combo of dorky looks and, well, lack of actual need has strangled the few attempts to commercialize them. Epson (of printer fame) thinks trade and industry is where the market/money is, and is adding another smart headset to its professional-friendly range. The Moverio Pro BT-2000 (yah, really) is based on Epson's existing BT-200 model, with a more rugged design and a juicier specification. This time around, Epson is tempting engineers with a 5-megapixel stereo/3D camera with depth sensing, head tracking and support for augmented reality, like if Dickies made HoloLens.
NVIDIA found a way to quadruple display performance in low-res LCDs
Face it, the tech industry is obsessed with resolution; we want every display to be high definition, regardless of size. We also want our devices to be affordable, leaving device manufactures with an interesting problem: how do they manufacture low-cost products with high-resolution screens? NVIDIA researchers have one solution -- stack two low-resolution panels on top of each other to increase pixel density on the cheap. The solution is so simple it sounds ridiculous, but apparently, it works.
Baby steps toward better wearables at Computex 2014
Google's latched on to Diane von Fürstenberg as the solution for making Glass fashion-forward, unveiling a collection of frames made by the famed Belgian designer last week. While it remains to be seen whether trendy-colored frames can make a $1,500 wearable more appealing, a few smaller companies here at Computex in Taiwan have some novel ideas that could make you more willing to strap a mini-computer on your face... or your wrist.
The PhoneStation uses your smartphone as a head-mounted display
You'll find plenty of knockoff wearables at a trade show like Computex, but there are always a few gems mixed in among the boring copycats. Exhibit A: View Phone Technology, a little-known Taiwanese company, is showing off a head-mounted 3D display that puts content from your phone directly before your eyes. The aptly named PhoneStation converts video to 3D, letting you use any handset to stream movies and TV shows directly from YouTube.
