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Nokia rolling out Symbian Belle Refresh with new web browser, home screen widgets
Good news for Nokia owners, as the company has begun the phased rollout of Symbian Belle Refresh. First and foremost, the OS update brings a new web browser with support for HTML5 web apps. Users will also discover new home screen widgets, and for those who've yet to snag 'em, Microsoft Office and Nokia Maps Suite 2.0 are also made part of the update. Symbian Belle Refresh is supported by the Nokia N8, E7, C7, C6-01, X7 and Oro, and will also include new imaging apps that are specific to the N8. The vanilla version of the software is now available, and Nokia expects that operator and country specific updates will be up for grabs in the coming weeks.
Olive: the first feature film 'intentionally' shot on a smartphone (video)
Sure, your smartphone might shoot HD, you might even have a dolly, but most of us know that 30 seconds of accidental filming inside a pocket and a blurry clip from the office party are about the best we can hope for. Not director Hooman Khalili. He made a feature length film using his trusty Nokia N8 and a custom lens, and now plans to show it in movie theaters. The film, called Olive, tells the story of a mute little girl, and the impact she has on the lives of those who meet her. Partly financed by the former Facebook CPO Chris Kelly, this Kickstarter story has the making of a movie itself. Should it raise the required $300k in funding, Khalili hopes it might even get a sniff by the Academy. That's assuming, of course, they've had a recent change of policy. For a sneak peak and a look at the making of, check the video after the break.
Nokia N8 clicks its heels three times, finds a Symbian Anna service pack update
What's a megabyte and is heading to the Nokia N8? Surprisingly, it's a service pack update for Symbian Anna. It's not too often wonderful things come in small packages, but we appreciate the fast download so we can move on with our daily grind pretty fast. Among the entries in the update's change log are performance and usability enhancements, faster email and messaging, better GPS locks and plenty more. It only appears to be finding its way to the N8 for now, though we imagine it won't be too long before it makes cameo appearances on the other Anna devices. If you want to get cracking on the service pack, it's available over the air and through the Nokia Suite. Now, if only Belle would come knocking on the door...
Engadget compares iPhone 4S,Galaxy S II, Nokia N8 and Amaze 4G cameras
Engadget spent the weekend comparing the cameras of the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, Galaxy S II, Nokia N8 and Amaze 4G. The iPhone 4S camera is a marquee feature of the device with its 8 MP sensor and an f/2.4 aperture lens. The 4S also shoots in full 1080p HD video. With regards to the iPhone 4S, Engadget generally praised the quality of the photos and video the device took, saying, "The iPhone 4S is a pleasure to shoot with. The camera is ready to capture its first image within a second of launch, and tapping to focus after recomposing is painless and speedy...Its image quality rivals many point and shoot cameras in most conditions...Overall, we were most often pleased with photos we shot with the iPhone 4S." Of course, Engadget found reason to praise the other phones as well. The Amaze 4G took sharper photos in Engadget's testing, for example. Engadget also noted that Apple's competitors offer more advanced manual controls over exposure, white balance and ISO sensitivity. Of course, there are a number of iPhone apps that provide similar features. The iPhone 4S lost out big on battery life. Engadget noted that "After about two hours of wandering around town, shooting several dozen photos and about 10 minutes of HD video with each device, the iPhone 4S had just 30% of battery left." The iPhone 4, on the other hand, had 53% of its battery remaining, and that's with Engadget sending some emails and making some phone calls too. The worse battery life while using the camera can mainly be chalked up the fact that the iPhone 4S has to process much larger files due to its 8 MP sensor and 1080p video recording capabilities. It's a good comparison, and we encourage you to read the whole thing.
Refresh Roundup: week of August 22, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy! Official Android Updates Motorola's Photon 4G was the recipient of a minor over-the-air firmware revamp that offers improvements to responsiveness and voice calls, and offers more bug fixes and other enhancements. [via PhoneArena] Want another bug fix update? The HTC EVO 3D is the next contestant, rolling out its second OTA refresh in as many weeks. This time it appears that a new "Corporate 4G" widget and a new radio have been added. [via AndroidCentral] Gingerbread 2.3.4 is now rolling out to Bell's Motorola Atrix 4G OTA. [via MobileSyrup] Now that its official Gingerbread support page has gone live, Verizon's Motorola Droid 2 will likely be receiving Android 2.3 in the very near future. [via AndroidCentral] Sasktel's HTC Incredible S is now the beneficiary of Android 2.3.3 in an OTA install. [via MobileSyrup] Unofficial Android updates / custom ROMs / misc hackery Remember that Gingerbread update the HTC Droid Incredible was supposed to get? The official version's been leaked out and is awaiting your download. Just remember the follow the directions and back up your device before proceeding. [via AndroidPolice] Speaking of leaked versions of Gingerbread, the Droid 2 Global has one now. More info can be found here. [via Droid-Life] The Motorola Droid 3's been successfully rooted. As it turns out, there may be a couple different methods to do so, so check out the link to learn how to do it. [via XDA and AndroidCentral] An official build of Android 2.3.4 for the Samsung Captivate has been leaked to XDA. [via Phandroid] Other platforms The Nokia N8 was recently blessed with Symbian Anna, but a few camera-related upgrades were left out. No need to fear, as an "experimental" update is now being offered, which adds continuous auto-focus and tweaks the UI to allow for faster access to the camera -- among other improvements, such as a boost to 30fps. Check out the change log here. [via ZOMGitsCJ] Given last week's news about webOS, we were concerned the newly-launched Pre3 would be DOA, with no promise of future updates. HP's proving this isn't the case, however, as the device got a minor update that brought the phone's help center live and fixed a few bugs along the way. [via PreCentral and PhoneArena] Research in Motion released an upgrade to its Tablet OS for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Unfortunately, it's not the 2.0 version we saw leaked screenshots of earlier this week, but it still brings a nice feature to the tablet: differential updates. This means that in future OS refreshes, only the affected sections will be changed. In addition, the new version, dubbed 1.0.7.2942, will improve WiFi connectivity via WEP and enhancements to BlackBerry Bridge. [via RIM] WP7Mod showed a video of the HTC HD2 booting up with Windows Phone Mango's RTM build installed. We've been told that it's almost ready for any daring souls interested in a new challenge for their Windows Mobile device. [via WMPowerUser]
Symbian Anna now available for download on Nokia N8, E7, C7 and C6-01
Just a day after popping up on NaviFirm, Nokia's Symbian Anna has finally arrived for download, right on schedule. Available for N8, E7, C7 and C6-01 users, the new OS brings a fresh new UI and a virtual portrait QWERTY keypad to Symbian smartphones, along with split-screen messaging, richer maps and speedier browsing. The update also brings NFC capabilities to the C7, in particular, allowing users to share contacts, photos and other goodies by simply tapping their handsets together. If you're interested in upgrading, you can download Anna using the latest version of Ovi Suite (3.1.1), or with an OTA update, though availability and method of delivery vary from market to market. Find more information in the full PR, after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Symbian Belle download leaked to N8 community, quickly pulled from site (update: Anna available on NaviFirm)
For a very short period of time there was pure bliss for Nokia N8 users with a knack for tinkering around; Symbian Belle, a coveted update to the still-unreleased Anna, was spotted in a user forum, leaked and available for download. Alas, it was not meant to be, as enough users experienced issues installing the new firmware that the files had to be pulled until it can be resolved. According to DailyMobile, the folks behind the update will try again tomorrow, so anyone interested may want to keep a close eye on it just in case it goes live again. As any other unofficial firmware install, it's not for the faint of heart; you'll want to be confident in what you're doing before you get started. Head below for another eight-minute video. Update: It looks like Symbian Anna is now available for N8 users, with early variants of the firmware showing up on NaviFirm. No word yet on when V22 will be available via Ovi Suite or as an OTA update, but if you've already upgraded, let us know how you're finding it in the comments. [Thanks, Daniel]
Nokia N8 used to shoot world's largest stop-motion film, 'Gulps' up the competition (video)
In today's rapidly evolving smartphone market, the Nokia N8 seems almost... ancient. But if there's any doubts that its camera is still the gold-medal champion of the bunch, "Gulp" will shut up the critics. The video you see below is the world's largest stop-motion movie, filmed on a beach in South Wales using none other than the phone's famed 12 megapixel sensor. Okay, that's not entirely true; it was actually done on three of them, not just one, with the aid of a massively tall crane to lift them up. Everything you see in the flick -- including the fisherman and his boat -- is life-size; the largest scene spans over 11,000 square feet. The Sumo Science production, in all of its 90-second glory, is ready for your viewing pleasure below, as is a short documentary explaining how it all went down. For sure, you're either going to lust after a N8 once again, or vow never to go fishing again.
Symbian Belle gets eight minutes of hands-on fame (video)
Screen grabs ain't got nuthin' on this one. Just as we savor a full set of screenshots showing off Symbian Belle in all its glory, a YouTube video of the unannounced OS strolls onto the scene with eight minutes of footage. The successor to Anna is seen here on a Nokia N8, which could be a sign that at least some existing Symbian^3 devices will receive the update when it becomes available. The video exhibits several aspects of the new UI, such as the Android-style pull-down bar for notifications, a back button-based interface, a new virtual keyboard, and a new camera UI -- all of which appear to be significant improvements over the platform's predecessors. If you have a few minutes to spare, dive past the break to get the full tour. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nokia shutters online and retail stores in UK, US web store
Nokia will be entering Q3 free of any direct-to-consumer sales channels in the US and UK. The Finnish smartphone maker shuttered its remaining UK retail stores earlier this month (with the exception of Heathrow Airport, which remains open), and also discontinued sales on its US and UK online stores -- joining France, Spain, and The Netherlands, which all went offline last month. We spoke to a former Nokia UK retail employee, who cited poor marketing, high prices, slowing traffic and a high product return rate as a few of the reasons that the stores closed -- returns of the N8 and E7 dominated other handsets, with customers complaining of device crashes and corruption, hardware failures, and usability issues. He reports that the stores were also only able to sell devices on Vodafone and T-Mobile, and only Vodafone allowed customers to upgrade in a Nokia store. The majority of customers came into the store for support, rather than to make a purchase. "The last two months were particularly quiet. Even if the shopping centre was busy, the Nokia store would have perhaps no more than 30 people through the door a day, usually for technical assistance. And that was that, all stores were closed abruptly on June 20th." We imagine pricing played a large role in the decision to close the UK and US online stores, just as it did with UK retail and online stores in other countries. Both country's online stores have been replaced with a closure notice, with the US store directing customers to Amazon, and the UK store referring visitors to eight retail partners, instead.%Gallery-127496% [Thanks, Karl]
Nokia N9 camera: sample images and video
Our first encounter with Nokia's N9 may have been eleven different kinds of awesome, but we knew it was a mere scratch of the high-grade polycarbonate surface. One of the core pieces of functionality we didn't get the chance to address back then was the camera, and after Nokia decided to toot that horn recently -- saying, among other things, that it's the "fastest image-capturing phone" yet -- we decided we had to go back for a second go-around. In terms of performance, Nokia's camera application definitely lives up to the company's own hype, with nearly instant captures and an equally brisk return to a state of readiness for more image-taking. When shooting video, we noted that audio recording starts slightly later than the video, leaving the first half second or so without sound. This isn't an uncommon issue (we've seen it on other phones and tablets) and can be seen in our video sample after the break. Now might be a good time to also mention that the N9s we tested with today were all prototype units, so don't prejudge Nokia's final hardware on the basis of what you see here. Unless your premature judgment is positive, we doubt Nokia would mind that. %Gallery-127313% So anyhow, we took a walk around the company's offices, escorted by a group of unarmed but surely lethal Finnish ninjas, taking shots of the surrounding cityscape as we went. The results show the N9 picking up a ton of detail and controlling noise admirably, while a few impromptu ThinkPad hands-on photos convinced us it can do a pretty stellar job with closeups as well. With a name like N9, however, it was obvious which phone we needed to compare Nokia's lone wolf MeeGo handset to, so out came our trusty N8 with its world-beating 12 megapixel sensor. Alas, in spite of having an F2.2 aperture on the N9, Nokia hasn't managed to replicate the heroics of its earlier device: the N8 shows its advantage in consistently picking out better color balance and in also being sharper throughout the frame. It makes the N9's images appear as if they were shot through a haze, though we hasten to add that this should be considered a strength of the older phone rather than a major failure of the new one. Additionally, the N9 suffers from the typically narrow dynamic range of smartphone camera sensors, which is the cause of the consistently blown-out sky in our gallery images. Still, considering the quick software operation and consistently detailed imagery on offer from the N9, we'd say Nokia is on to a winner here. %Gallery-127317% P.S. -- Looking for the full-size 8 megapixel stills from the N9? We've zipped them up for you right here.
Symbian Anna shipping on N8, E7, C7 and C6-01 in July, download set for August
We've already seen Symbian Anna begin shipping on the Nokia X7 and E6, but this little lady is about to become much more popular. Nokia has announced it will begin distributing its latest OS on the N8, E7, C7, and C6-01 -- all beginning next month. Unfortunately, if you're among the millions who already own one of these handsets, you'll have to wait until August for an OTA or PC-assisted update. Not like there's any rush, seeing that Symbian will be kicking until 2016 and all.
Nokia brings Symbian^3 to China Mobile, officially announces T7-00 and 702T
Though its visits have been few and far between, Nokia has had a presence on China Mobile for many years. The carrier's never been blessed, however, with any TD-SCDMA devices powered by Symbian^3 -- until now. Two new flagship models, known as the T7-00 and 702T, were announced by both companies and slated for Q3 release. If both phones seem oddly familiar, there's a very good reason why: the T7-00, as we originally speculated, is a variant of the Nokia N8 with a lower-quality 8 megapixel EDoF sensor; the 702T is the TD-SCDMA version of the E6, though the keyboard has been altered slightly to include larger Function and Ctrl buttons, allowing for easier switching between Chinese and English input. Both phones will be pre-loaded with the Anna update, and could be a big factor in helping Nokia hit its goal of selling 150 million Symbian devices before the OS goes the way of the Dodo. Check out another image after the break.
Nokia announces pink N8 with Symbian Anna, neglects to give us a release date
It must be hard for Nokia to keep consumer interest in Symbian going while simultaneously developing a whole new ecosystem, so we'll forgive the unimaginative move to just do a pink version of the N8. That handset already benefited from the widest set of color options among any smartphone flagships, and will soon be adding a very T-Mobile-friendly shade of light red to its anodized aluminum case. Judging by those curvy icons on its 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, the pink N8 will also feature the latest version of Symbian, dubbed Anna, though Nokia unfortunately fails to tell us when we may expect this mildly refreshed phone to arrive. Then again, we suspect it'll be pretty hard to miss whenever it does show up.
Nokia E7 review
Over the years, we've seen a steady stream of business and messaging-centric landscape QWERTY smartphones come and go, with HTC arguably leading the pack via its collection of Windows Mobile, Android, and WP7 devices featuring sliding keyboards and tilt-out displays. But few of HTC's offerings are as iconic or memorable as Nokia's line of Communicator clamshell phones -- starting with the Nokia 9000 in 1996, continuing with Symbian S80 models, and culminating with the Nokia E90 atop S60v3. The Nokia E7 is the latest Communicator in this distinguished series and the manufacturer's current flagship device, dethroning the Nokia N8 which continues on as the company's media mogul. A lot has changed in the six months since the N8 was introduced, including Nokia's recent partnership with Microsoft and the stunning announcement that it will be adopting Windows Phone for future high-end smartphones. So, is the E7 -- which is finally shipping in the US -- the greatest Communicator to date? Can it carry the torch for Symbian in the immediate future? And more importantly, how does it fare in today's shark-infested Android and iOS waters? Jump past the break for our full review. %Gallery-120805%
Nokia releases Symbian update for N8, C7 and C6-01, it's not the one you've been waiting for
What we once knew as Symbian^3 was simplified into "just Symbian" a few months back, ostensibly to make updates faster and easier for Nokia to execute. Well, huzzah huzzah, here's your first update. Version 1.1 of the new Symbian enhances communications by allowing you to accept meeting requests straight from an email and also integrating maps so that you may view the location as well. Besides that, N8 users get killer new features in Quick Office 6.4 like zooming in and out of Word documents along with three "high quality" games preloaded on new devices (which were already freely available in the Ovi Store). Excuse our overwhelming sense of disenfranchisement, but where the hell is our portrait QWERTY keyboard, split-screen text input, or those much-needed browser improvements? In the rubbish bin next to Symbian^4?
How would you change Nokia's N8?
There's no need to tell you that a lot was (and still is, in a way) riding on Nokia's N8. It was said to be the outfit's first dead-serious smartphone to rival the giants of today, and it was also Nokia's first chance to truly reveal Symbian^3 to the world. We've already churned out our two pennies on the matter, but for those of you who bought in, now's the time to get really real. Are you satisfied with where Nokia's going with the N8? Do you seriously see a long and lively future when looking at Symbian^3? If someone (read: UPS) accidentally delivered the keys to the Finnish kingdom to you, how would you go about tweaking and / or reshaping the N8? Would you have selected a different operating system? Added a few more hardware buttons? Thrown in a different processor? Made it available on your carrier of choice? Let us know down in comments below, and keep it sensible -- it's Christmas Eve and all.
Nokia N8 nearing release on Rogers, rumored to be $80 on three-year term, $449 off-contract (update: official!)
Rogers still hasn't officially confirmed that it will be carrying it, but all signs are pointing to the Nokia N8 launching on the carrier, and soon. According to MobileSyrup, the phones are now already arriving at Rogers stores across Canada, and it will apparently run just $80 on a three-year term or $449 off-contract (one and two-year plans are decidedly less attractive). Those numbers are further backed up by a leaked Rogers roadmap recently turned up by BGR, although it doesn't get any more specific than Q4 when it comes to a launch date. Update: And just like that, it's official. You can pick the N8 up at Rogers.com and Rogers stores starting today.
Nokia N8 review
The first time Nokia's N8-00 popped up on our radar was way back in early February of this year. On that chilly, misty morning, we learned of a mythical being capable of shooting 12 megapixel stills, recording 720p video, outputting via HDMI, and -- most importantly -- ushering in the promised Symbian^3 touch revolution. It's been a long road of leaks, teasers, hands-ons, and previews since then, but at long last, the legend of the N8 has become a purchasable commodity. All the early specs have survived, including the 3.5-inch AMOLED display, but the key question today, as it was at the beginning, relates to that all-new software within: does Symbian^3 succeed in elevating Nokia's touchscreen experience or does it drag down an otherwise stellar combination of high-end parts? For that verdict and much, much more, join us after the break.%Gallery-103738%%Gallery-104212%
Nokia N8 teardown reveals easily replaceable battery, 'beefy' construction
Surprise, surprise. The iFixit team have cornered themselves a dark grey Nokia N8 and have proceeded to do the one thing that comes naturally to them: disassembled it. It's mostly good news all around with this teardown, which found the BL-4D battery cell was only two Torx screws away from being user-replaceable, while the overall N8 construction was praised as being the "beefiest" of any phone this year. There are plenty of bodacious highlights within, including the massive Xenon flash and the pair of camera modules -- which are regrettably not removable from the main board. The touchscreen controller in the N8 is the same as has previously been used on the Kin Two and BlackBerry Torch. Perhaps that's not the best pedigree in the world, but the (complete in one case, and relative in the other) lack of success of those phones was never really about the screen's responsiveness. Hit the source link for a full gallery of images and the complete deconstruction guide.