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Nokia N9 swipes fresh goodies with PR1.1 update, NFC and Swype in tow
Outside of snapping up an even newer handset, N9 users who are looking to score a taste of the very latest from Nokia will uncover a delicious morsel waiting in the form of a software update. Known as PR1.1, the downloadable package adds such refinements as music controls on the lock screen, new status indicators on the standby screen, along with NFC tag support and Swype's renowned keyboard. The crew in Espoo also promises improved multitasking, noise cancellation and faster syncing of Mail for Exchange. Rounding out the list, the camera app has gained color filters for still and motion captures, and as for that option to close apps with a downward swipe -- it's now enabled by default. The update has begun rolling today, which Nokia will be deploying in waves. In other words, if you're not among the early recipients, persistence and patience will likely become your new mantra. Enjoy the freebie, folks.
Want a Nokia N9 in the US? Expansys has some, but it'll cost ya
So you have a hankerin' for a new phone and seven Benjamins burning a hole in your pocket. What's a person to do? Even though Nokia won't be selling the N9 -- the company's one and only MeeGo device -- in the US through official channels, you can at least pick up one with relative ease courtesy of Expansys for a mere $690. From what we can tell, it only appears to be available in black for the moment. We'd love to see the myriad other colors come to the States as well, but when we do the math, one is still at least more than zero. Head to the source to see for yourself.
Spotify comes to MeeGo to help keep your N9 company
Looking to bring the gift of song to your new, somewhat limited edition Nokia N9? Good news, Spotify is offering itself up to the MeeGo gods, bringing its music streaming services to the slick handset by way of the Nokia Store. The app is free, but requires the customary Spotify Premium account for you to get any actual enjoyment out of the thing.
Mythical snow-white N9 spotted at Nokia World
Is it possible to improve on something as minutely refined as the Nokia N9 simply by adding another color variant? Well, that depends on what color weʼre talking about. Sure, we already have black, cyan, and magenta, but what weʼve been missing -- until now -- is white. Plain, simple, ethereal white. It happens to be one of the hardest hues for a manufacturer to pull off without making a handset look tacky, or making its surface susceptible to the general grubbiness of everyday life. But Nokia did a smart thing: it added a glossy coating that completely changes the look and feel of the device. Take a look for yourself in the gallery below. But bear in mind that the midnight blue disco lights at Nokia World didn't quite do it justice.
The Engadget Interview: Nokia's Peter Skillman talks design (video)
Peter Skillman knows a thing or two about making beautiful devices. He's Palm's former VP of design, and he's the man behind Nokia's glorious N9 -- its look, feel and user experience. We bumped into him at Nokia World here today and asked him what went into the N9's -- and by association the Lumia 800's -- design. He shared quite a few interesting details with us, including tidbits about the "curvature continuous form" of MeeGo's icons, Nokia's Pure font and the nuances of the N9's sinuous taper. We even discussed the Play 360 Bluetooth / NFC speaker, which follows the same aesthetic principles. Take a look at our exclusive video interview after the break.
Nokia Lumia 800 vs. Nokia N9: the tale of the tape
Sure, they might look the same, but are they actually the same? Inside that smooth, shapely polycarbonate shell lies internals that are actually significantly different between these two. How different? Well, the guy on the left, the newly-unveiled Lumia 800, has a 1.4GHz Qualcomm processor paired with 512MB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The guy on the right? That's the ill-fated N9, and it packs a 1GHz TI OMAP chip with 1GB of RAM and up to 64GB of storage. Inside the chart below lies the information you need, and the details you crave.
Nokia announces the Lumia 800, the 'first real Windows Phone' (video)
Finally, here it is. The flagship device Nokia is counting on to bring a smile to our phone-loving faces, a sigh of relief to its shareholders, and a twinkle to the eyes of Finnish tax collectors everywhere. And, guess what? This heavily leaked handset might just live up to our high expectations. From the outside, the Lumia 800 is very similar to our beloved N9. Dubbed the "first real Windows Phone," this device is powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 CPU and is sculpted from the same 12.1mm (0.48-inch) thick piece of durable polycarbonate plastic, with tapered edges on the top and bottom to give it that industrial look and make it feel thinner than it really is. Sitting at the top of the device is Nokia's logo, just above the company's curved ClearBlack AMOLED (800 x 480) display, with a Carl Zeiss optics-enhanced lens around back. The Lumia 800 also packs 16GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM and 25GB of free SkyDrive space, and features Nokia Drive, Nokia Music and ESPN Sports Hub baked into its OS. As for that OS, it's all about a fresh beginning: those bold squares you see on the screen are, of course, the sleek live tiles of Windows Phone Mango. The eight megapixel camera, meanwhile, packs an f/2.2 aperture, and is designed specifically for low-light environments. It seems pretty similar to what you'll find in the N9, and according to Nokia, it's simply a shooter that works for "ordinary people, under ordinary circumstances." You'll also find quad-band GSM support, with HSDPA download speeds of up to 14.4Mbps. Now, for the basics: the Lumia 800 is priced at €420, or about $585. It's already up for pre-order now, and is scheduled to roll out across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, beginning in November. It'll make its way to Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year, and will hit "further markets" sometime next year. Check out a few more pics in the galleries below, or head past the break for a design video, and the official PR. For even more details, check out the Lumia 800 product page, linked below. %Gallery-137537%%Gallery-137532% Dante Cesa and Sharif Sakr contributed to this report.
Nokia shows off how it makes the N9, Americans watch with envy
We're not ashamed to say it, we love Nokia's MeeGo-running N9. We love its stillborn (but still awesome) OS, its liquid-looking display and gorgeous machined polycarbonate shell. Now, we can see how that glorious bit of Finnish hardware gets put together in the newly released video seen above. So sit back, relax and let the precision manufacturing wash over you.
Symbian Anna update rolls out to compatible Nokia smartphones in the US
Nokia may be moving on to other things, but it's not leaving its existing smartphone lineup completely behind just yet. The company confirmed today that Nokia C6-01, E7 and N8 owners in the US are now finally able to download the Symbian Anna OS update, more than two months after it first rolled out elsewhere around the world. That brings with it a whole raft of changes, including a spiffed up UI, a new on-screen QWERTY keypad, a new browser, new Maps, new versions of the Ovi Store and QuickOffice, and a number of other "performance and usability improvements." Look for it in the software update client on your phone if you haven't downloaded it already.
Nokia N9 review
MeeGo to be folded into Linux-based Tizen OS, slated to arrive in 2012 Want a Nokia N9 in the US? Expansys has some, but it'll cost ya Motorola Droid 2 stars in its first video, touts 1GHz CPU and 512MB of RAM? It's taken a long time for Nokia's MeeGo-packing N9 to make its way into our top-secret labs (the N9 moniker was first applied to early E7 prototypes), but it's here in our dirty little hands, at last, and it's glorious -- well, as glorious as a stillborn product can be, anyway. The N9 is the latest and greatest in a long line of quirky, interesting, yet ultimately flawed touchscreen experiments from Nokia that includes the Hildon-sporting 7710, a series of Maemo-based "internet tablets" (770, N800, N810, N900) and most recently, the N950 MeeGo handset for developers. What makes the N9 special is that it represents Nokia's last flagship phone as an independent player. MeeGo is already dead, and future high-end devices from the manufacturer will run Windows Phone and use Microsoft's services. So, is this the company's final bittersweet hurrah? Did MeeGo ever stand a chance against Android, iOS and Mango? In its attempt to stay relevant, is Nokia throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Most importantly, how does the N9 fare in today's merciless dual-core world? Find out after the break. %Gallery-137175%
Mobile Miscellany: week of October 3, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of October 3, 2011: The Pantech Hotshot featurephone (above left) launched on Verizon this week. It's a full 3.2-inch touchscreen with a 3.2 megapixel camera and video capture. It's offered for $100 with a two-year contract. [PhoneScoop] AT&T launched the Pantech Link II (above right) this week, a follow-up to the popular Quick Messaging Device. It features BREW mobile 1.0.2 and is available for $10 with a two-year commitment. Cincinnati Bell launched the HTC Sensation 4G for $250 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate. The HTC Amaze 4G is heading north. Canadian carrier Telus has given the device its own piece of real estate on its site, having it listed as "coming soon." [AndroidCentral] According to benchmark tests, the Sony Ericsson Nozumi actually has a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm CPU and uses Android 2.3.5. [LandofDroid] Open Range Communications, a WiMAX provider in the Denver area, is laying off more than a hundred employees, shutting down its WiMAX service to new customers and the CEO resigned. [PhoneScoop] Prefer the Washington Post over the New York Times? The former has its own Android app now available in the Market for free. [AndroidCentral] The Nokia N9 is now officially for sale in Australia, on Telstra. Vodafone and Optus haven't put the device on sale yet, though both companies have announced intentions to do so at some point. [ComputerWorld]
iPhone 4S vs. the smartphone elite: Galaxy S II, Bionic and Titan
Now that we know how the iPhone 4S stacks up against the iPhone 4, let's take a look at how Apple's latest smartphone compares to its mightiest competitors on the other major platforms -- Android and Windows Phone. In Google's camp we chose the superlative Samsung Galaxy S II models (focusing on the announced US variants) along with the Motorola Droid Bionic for its qHD and LTE chops. We then picked the upcoming HTC Titan to bat for Microsoft's team. RIM's not included here since it's still stuck in the junior leagues. We left out the intriguing Nokia N9 because it's a niche player. Check out the fancy table after the break -- the results are pretty clear cut!
Keepin' it real fake: Chinese Nokia N9 makes but minor sacrifices
Chinese rip-off merchants have been crafting N9s since before the handset even existed and by now they're pretty good at it. This latest bogie comes in at just $64 -- way cheaper than a genuine budget smartphone -- but it still manages to pack in dual SIM slots, a mock iPhone UI and a resistive touchscreen that gives you the ergonomic pleasure of pressing everything three times. Sure, we have a few misgivings about the lack of functioning apps and the blurry 1.3MP rear camera, but then even the N-Man himself has the occasional phony moment. Update: We switched the pic to show you the iOS version, rather than the mock Sense variant depicted earlier. Yes, it seems you do get a choice.
Crickey! Nokia's N9 goes up for preorder in Australia
Looks like Espoo's making good on its earlier promise: Nokia's elusive N9 is now up for preorder on Australia's Harvey Norman. Offered in 16GB and 64GB variants, all that stands between you and your future Harmattan totin' self is $829 AUD (around $865). Those who pre-order from the retailer before September 12th will also receive Nokia's BH-505 NFC Bluetooth headset gratis. No word on when the duo will ship from the nation's "leading retail chain," but you'll know more when we do... [Thanks, Louis]
Nokia announces Car Mode with MirrorLink support for Symbian Belle and N9 smartphones (video)
It's about time some fruit emerged from the Car Connectivity Consortium, and Nokia is here to show other manufacturers how it's done -- and perhaps more importantly, why it's significant. The company has introduced Car Mode for Symbian Belle and N9 smartphones, which is an application that interfaces with MirrorLink (previously known as Terminal Mode), to provide a seamless and attractive connection between your smartphone and stereo head unit. Like we've previously seen, the system essentially works by mirroring your phone's display onto the vehicle's in-dash touchscreen. From there, you're given full access to navigation, music, contacts and videos without the need to fumble with your handset. Coinciding with this announcement, Alpine has introduced an aftermarket head unit known as the ICS-X8 that supports MirrorLink, which is expected to go on sale in November. We're loving the functionality here, but are still wondering when Android, Windows Phone and iOS will get their share of due diligence. Follow the break for video demos from Nokia and Alpine, along with the full PR.
Nokia N9 coming soon to Mexico, passport-totin' San Diegans
Still bummed that Swedes, Kazakhs and Swiss peeps get a shot at Nokia's N9, but you don't? Well, southwestern yanks with gratuitous access to cheap transportation might soon be in luck, as the Mexican arm of the Finnish conglomerate will soon start hawking the elusive MeeGo flagship. Naturally, no word on how much it'll set you back, but if you're making the trip anyway, mind slinging one our way? [Thanks, Mary]
Nokia N9 coming to Australia in October on three carriers
The Nokia N9 will be considered a rarity in the US, UK and Germany when it's released, but at least fans Down Under won't have to look very far to get their hands on one. Espoo's officially announced its intention of selling the MeeGo device on Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, in addition to distributing it through several major retailers. Look for the one-of-a-kind handset to make its way to Australia in October for roughly $850; those who opt for the 16GB model will be able to choose from black, blue and pink, whereas the 64GB version will only be made available in black. Full presser can be found below.
Nokia's N9 coming to Kazakhstan on September 9th, gets its own billboard
Well, the list of places that won't be seeing Nokia's N9 seems to be growing larger everyday. And, while it won't bring comfort to the poor souls in the US, UK or Germany, we can confirm that the fine citizens of Kazakhstan should be getting a heaping helping of MeeGo come September. A tipster sent us a flyer from Texhodom advertising the Swedish Finnish company's foray into Linux-powered smartphones as landing on September 9th for 99,990 Kazakh tenges, or about $679. The same tipster made us even more jealous when he sent in some photos of a giant billboard taunting the imminent arrival of the handset at the same electronics retailer. So, if you really have your heart set on an N9, and want one before those pasty folks in Switzerland and Sweden, looks like it's time to book your ticket to Almaty. [Thanks, Aziz] %Gallery-130663%
Nokia N9 gets axed in Germany, global tour looks even more meager
Like slowly waking up from a sweet dream, the Nokia N9 is gradually slipping away from our conscious mind before it's even released. We knew Stephen Elop & Co. didn't have high interest in the one (and only) Meego smartphone in its repertoire, but it's becoming very clear exactly how much the handset doesn't matter to the company. Nokia's confirmed with German site MobiFlip that the N9 will in fact not be making its way to Deutschland, just days after making it known that it has no plans to send the device to the US or the UK. Granted, those who can't shake off their desire for the one-of-a-kind phone will still find alternative methods of procuring it, but this is still a solid indication that Espoo is only staring ahead to its future with Windows Phone, and the N9 is merely in its peripheral vision.
Nokia N9 coming to UK and Sweden through back door
Okay, so Nokia has made it abundantly clear that the N9 -- the company's current halo smartphone -- has no future in the US, UK, or most recently... Germany. It's quite the bum's rush for the handset that could have been Mr. Elop's shining star, but if you live in Sweden or the UK, there's still a few options. Independent dealers Katshing (for Sweden), and Expansys (for the UK), are both offering the device on pre-order. The release date hasn't been established by either reseller, but Katshing quotes a price of 5,490 Kronas ($845). Unfortunately, Expansys is remaining coy with its pricing strategy -- perhaps recognizing its new relative exclusivity. It's sad seeing the N9 fading into oblivion before its release, but if you're still pining over this sweet slab, at least these independents are watching out for you.
