Series60
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Nokia C6 firmware hacked with care onto 5800 and 5530
Considering the sheer volume of 5800 XpressMusics that Nokia has sold over the past year and a half, it's little wonder that they've got a few dedicated hackers out there working on keeping the company's first S60 Fifth Edition device up to date, isn't it? Sure enough, the C6's updated skin with legit home screen widgets has been shoehorned onto both the 5800 and its 5530 sibling -- and although the update process seems like a bit of a nightmare fraught with bricking dangers, a successful update means you might be able to go another year without shelling out for a new set. Cheers to that, we say. Follow the break for the firmware in action on a 5800 (Navigation Edition, we think). [Thanks, Kalle H.]
Nokia E73 Mode brings a familiar form factor to T-Mobile US on the cheap
Say what you will about Nokia's software, there's no faulting the E70-series of QWERTY candybars, which marry delectable keyboards with thin, classy, and surprisingly rugged design -- and of course top it off with an almost-just-too-small screen. The latest of these is the new Nokia E73 Mode for T-Mobile US (that's right, a Nokia phone on a US carrier!), which will start shipping on June 16th. The S60 handset has a 5 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, WiFi, free turn by turn Ovi Maps, and not much more to speak of to set it apart from its predecessors, which is a good or bad thing depending upon what you want out of a phone. The best news, however, is that it's retailing for $69.99 on a two year contract. PR is after the break. %Gallery-94285%
Nokia Messaging for social networks hits beta, brings Twitter, and leaves out the N900
See, this is what we were saying. It's not that we're not excited about Maemo, or that we hate S60, or even that we dislike it when a company like Nokia builds a free messaging app that integrates social networks like Facebook (and now Twitter) into the handset experience. It's just that Nokia has just built an app that only works on the N97, N97 Mini and the 5800, leaving the company's quasi-flagship handset the N900 out in the cold. The new app can upload pictures and videos, integrates with email and the dialer, and pushes Facebook and Twitter updates live to the homescreen. It also serves as a all-too-timely example of how hard it is to support two operating systems at once. Alright, we're done preaching, time to fire up the N97 and tell some people about our day. A video demo is after the break.
Nokia issues SMS Cleaner to cure 'Curse of Silence' bug
If your Nokia S60 handset has been stricken by the oh-so-cold 'Curse of Silence,' you'll probably want to pay attention here. Nokia has just loosed the SMS Cleaner on the world, not even a full month after the aforementioned exploit arrived on the scene. The handset maker claims that the application can "clean a Nokia S60 3rd Edition (Initial or Feature Pack 1) based device, which may have received a so called 'Curse of Silence' SMS message, and thereby restricted from receiving any new SMS messages." Installation looks to be pretty straightforward, and the file itself weighs in at a shockingly light 42KB. The read link's where it's all at, so head on down and get your sure-to-be-brief download on.[Via IntoMobile]
'Curse of Silence' exploit squelches inbound SMS/MMS to Nokia S60 devices
Here's an odd one for you. Tobias Engel of the Chaos Communication Congress has discovered a rather nasty exploit that'll cause any Nokia S60 devices running versions 2.6, 2.8, 3.0 or 3.1 to stop receiving SMS and MMS messages. The "Curse of Silence," which has been independently verified by F-Secure, is triggered by sending an SMS that begins with an email address that's at least 32 characters long. The attacker must also change the protocol identifier to internet electronic mail before sending. Devices with versions 2.8 and 3.1 lock up after 11 such messages and still have some limited receiving capabilities, while 2.6 and 3.0 devices will go completely mum after just one attack. In both cases a factory reset is required to fix it, and he says there is no other known workaround for the user. We don't imagine this being a pervasive issue, but if you've got any tech-savvy enemies or malevolent pranksters in your life, you've been warned. Video demonstration is after the break, or hit up the read link to see if your device is among those listed at risk.[Via Hack a Day]Read - Vulnerability AdvisoryRead - F-Secure Verification
FlipSilent uses Nokia accelerometer to silence calls
Series 60 handsets pretty much rule when it comes to interesting and quirky software and FlipSilent definitely fits into both categories. Supporting the N95, N93, and N82, FlipSilent allows you to hang up or mute an incoming call with the handset's accelerometer by just rolling your handset over. Once you're done whatever it was that was stopping you from accepting calls, rolling the phone back again restores the previous profile. The software is donationware and we're feeling a donation is definitely deserved if it delivers. Feel free to drop us a line with your experiences as we're fairly on the run right now and can't check it out.
Series 60 handsets see SMS trojan virus
We've got to file this new mobile virus named "Trojan-SMS.SymbOS.Viver" -- and the first such SMS Trojan for Series 60 -- under "frustrating waste of time." Sadly, it is most often the user at fault for downloading for granting a bit of dodgy software access to their darling mobile, and while we do feel the sadness for ya if you get stung, if ya takes the risks, ya pays the consequences. Once installed on the Series 60 device, the trojan will begin sending SMS messages to "premium" SMS numbers at a cost of anywhere from $1 to more than $10 bucks a pop. The clever perp would have set up this number ahead of time and would reap the rewards by splitting the bounty with the mobile operator providing the number. We're pretty sure you could get a chargeback for this type of silliness, but will thank our lucky stars that this is apparently limited to Russia at the moment with nothing -- as of yet, anyway -- being reported over here.[Via Unwired View]
Hands-on with the Nokia N95
There's something about a $750 mobile that incites conflicted feelings of shock, awe, lust, and disgust in its beholder. It's unavoidable. Every time you lay eyes on the N95, you can almost hear Nokia saying, "we're through playin' -- this is our phone multimedia computer to end all phones. We know it's not for everyone, but whatever, here it is." As a reviewer with a unit on loan, your paranoia runs deep; you start to have irrational thoughts about your precious cargo being run over by garbage trucks, lost down sewer drains, and stolen by shadowy figures in darkened alleys, so we can't even imagine what kinds of nightmares keep actual owners of this superphone awake at night. Alas, we hear sales have been strong, with units hard to come by just days after its US debut. Is the love justified? Read on for our quick take.%Gallery-2512%
The "MegaPhone" that towers over 5 feet tall
We all love our 9mm slimphones these days, but sometimes the need for a celly big enough to bear hug just overcomes us all. Enter the "MegaPhone" by SysOpen Digia. This beast from the east is a 5'7" fully functional handset with real buttons as big as a fist (we think, anyway) and a very, very large color screen, although the rez may be a little blocky. This unit appears to have S60 inside it for use by customers who no doubt will be drawn to a life-size handset that actually works as a functional prop. Now, can it make calls? Doubtful, but we'd love to see a comparably sized Bluetooth headset for this puppy.[Via textually.org]
Nokia N95 gets fully peeped from top to bottom
Although this review of the new Nokia N95 is labeled as a first impression, all the scuttlebutt was fleshed out (well, most of it) and the N95's guts were examined with clarity and precision. Thinking of picking one up? Take a look over at AllAboutSymbian. The nerdy details on the N95 are pretty decent -- but is it a smartphone? A digicam? A DAP? A....keypad? Just what is this thing, or is it everything? Well, we know it's a Symbian S60 (3rd Ed.) smartphone that sports dual-slider action (keyboard and music controls) and looks pretty chunky svelte for what's under the hood; but Nokia, what is up with those apparently-stringy earbuds? Is that rubber casing on the wires? We prefer the non-gangy set o'phones please. Let's hit up the good based on AAS's touchy-feely on the N95 -- very good-sounding stereo speakers built into the sides, a diet form factor compared to previous N-series units, every wire-free connectivity option you could ever need, and a 5 Megapixel cam with Zeiss optics and even VGA video capture -- what's not to love? AAS's overall impression of this unit is very good -- all the way to how the keypad looks and feels (ridgy and tactile). Need we say more?
Get a Nokia E65 now (but there's a catch)
Where we come from, we like our phones to -- how should we say this -- work. Readers feeling the same way shouldn't get too excited here, but those just looking for a little pocket candy might head on over to eBay where E65 dummies are starting to show up ahead of a probable 3GSM announcement in Barcelona next month. Pictures of the dummy confirm that it's a business-oriented S60 slider, though the red accent here gives it a little flair that a previous prototype was lacking. With a 2 megapixel cam, UMTS 2100, and WiFi -- in the real phone, of course -- this thing should do a decent job shoring up Nokia's smartphone slider lineup alongside the N80.[Via Ring Nokia]
Nokia upgrades N93 with N93i
Calling the N93i an "upgrade" over the N93 might actually be a bit heavy handed. Though the monster clamshell gains S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 on its predecessor and shaves a solid 3.2 millimeters of thickness, virtually every other change is more of a sidegrade than anything else. The keypad ditches that pesky third dimension to take on a RAZR-esque etched metal look (a first for a Nokia device), the front gets a mirrored finish with a concealed 128 x 36 OLED display, and software for photo / video blogging to the newly-minted Vox service. Granted, the mods add up to something a little meatier than your average Internet or Music Edition, but N93 owners are still probably best off hanging onto their wallets here. Non-owners, though, well... that's another story entirely; you folks can get your N93i on before the quarter's out for €600 (about $785).
Nokia puts Nseries on a diet: the N76
Nokia has taken its Nseries line of smartphones in a decidedly more fashionable direction than it's used to going, announcing the 13.7 millimeter thick N76 clamshell this week. Specs aren't quite up to snuff with Nokia's latest and greatest, but hey, they're not bad either: QVGA display, 20MB of internal memory, and 2 megapixel cam, topped with a standard 3.5 millimeter audio jack (which may not be internal to the phone itself, but rather provided via dongle -- we need to investigate this one) and UMTS data for 2100MHz-friendly portions of the globe. As we've seen with other Nokia models, a second variant of the N76 will be made available for us broadband data-hating Americans that simply removes the UMTS support while retaining quadband GSM with EDGE. Look for the N76 to find its way into fashion-conscious hands starting later this quarter for around €390 ($510, give or take).
Nokia E65: a slider for the suits?
Nokia's business-friendly (but not necessarily uptight) Eseries has yet to pay host to a slider, which is kinda strange considering the overwhelming goodness of the N80 and the soon-to-be-goodness of the N95. No worries -- Finland's favorite phone company looks ready to right its wrongs with the 16-millimeter thick E65. The S60 3rd Edition smartphone rocks a full assortment of connectivity options, ranging from IrDA and Bluetooth to UMTS and WiFi, though HSDPA is a no-show (as is any trace of a North American 3G band). The cam clocks in at a respectable 2 megapixels, which we think is about right for a circa-2007 corporate smartphone, and the microSD slot will come in handy when it's time to supplement the 70MB of internal storage. If the details all pan out, look for this one to drop midyear for about €340 ($450, give or take).
Hands-on with the Nokia N80 Internet Edition
Even as it celebrates its one-year anniversary in public circulation, Nokia's N80 keeps on scrapping with the best smartphones the world has to offer. After all, S60 3rd Edition is still fresher than anything Microsoft or ACCESS has to offer, the 3 megapixel camera is well above and beyond the standard fare, and the 416 x 352 display simply blows lesser QVGA screens out of the water. It makes sense, then, that while we all wait for the next-gen Nseries devices, Nokia would be looking to extend the useful shelf lives of the elder statesmen in their lineup by tweaking, bundling, and renaming. Among the devices to get a makeover is the N80, becoming the recently-released N80 Internet Edition with a slightly revised software bundle and two fantabulous color choices: black and bronze. Since the hardware is identical to the original N80, we'll concentrate on a couple of the Internet Edition's software goodies -- and don't worry, original N80 owners, most or all of it comes with yours, too, or can be downloaded free of charge.
FCC checks out the Nokia N93i
In the most official confirmation we've seen to date, the alleged Nokia N93i has hit the FCC (true, the pictures appear to identify it as an "N00," but we somehow doubt that's its go-to-market model number). All told, the device appears to be a fairly modest upgrade to the N93 it replaces, bearing the same 3.2 megapixel Carl Zeiss lens with optical zoom that dominated its predecessor's hinge. Sadly, we've been able to glean very little about the mirrored exterior -- we still can't tell whether there's a display under there somewhere, though the Get Started guide makes reference to a "cover indicator" that's only visible when there are missed calls, messages, and the like. Perhaps most interesting is the RAZR-like etched keypad, one small concession to fashion made by a company that's now famous for not bowing to industry pressure to make ultra-thin handsets. No word on a release, but given the lack of GSM 850 and UMTS 850 / 1900, we're meeting this one with tempered excitement. Cingular, care to make it worth Nokia's while to pump out a version for us?
Vodafone boils support down to three platforms
Sorry, SavaJe fans -- if you call Vodafone home, it looks like you're out of luck. Hoping to reduce integration, development, and support costs and speed up time to market, Vodafone has announced plans to purge their lineup of anything that doesn't run on Windows Mobile, Series 60, or Linux. The streamlining will take place over the next five years, during which a separate agreement announced with Microsoft aims to "integrate Vodafone's applications and services with Microsoft's software" -- we're not exactly sure what that means, but we think it has something to do with getting Vodafone-branded Windows Mobile devices into users' hands with a little more hustle than everyone's accustomed to. The first visible evidence of this grand plan for standardization should apparently rear its head in the first half of 2007 with some Samsung hardware. The i520, perhaps?[Via PDA247]
Vodafone announces blockbuster 31-phone lineup
So, this actually went down a couple days ago, and we've been sitting here trying to process all the information ever since. The idea of any carrier -- let alone a non-Japanese one -- announcing thirty-one handsets in one fell swoop simply boggles our mortal minds. We take it so seriously, in fact, that we liken it to the discovery of penicillin or man landing on the moon; if a US carrier were to launch 31 handsets at once, we wouldn't be surprised to see it on the front page of every newspaper in North America. Alas, this isn't Cingular or Verizon with the announcement -- it's Vodafone, so let's get down to business. First up, Nokia is bringing six phones to the party: the 6070, 6151, 6234, 6288, 7390, and the N73; all but the 6070 are 3G, and you get your choice of cams ranging from VGA all the way up to the N73's monster 3.2-megapixel shooter. LG will be contributing its KU800 (a Chocolate variant) and L600V, both with 3G data. Motorola rolls deep with four models, the MAXX, V1100 (an HSDPA-capable Vodafone exclusive), MOTOKRZR K1, and V3xx. Sagem's got the my600V and my800V -- both lower-end 3G devices -- and the super simple myC5-3. We're starting to get a little fatigued here, but let's keep going; Sharp has their 770SH and EDGE-only GX29 in store with 1.3-megapixel and VGA cams, respectively. Sony Ericsson brings their K310i, K610i, K800i Cyber-shot, V630i (another Voda exclusive, hence the "V," we're guessing), and W850i Walkman phones, though no mention of the P990. Samsung wins the title of "World's Most Phones Launched By A Single Manufacturer In This Particular Vodafone Announcement," dropping the X510V, X680V, Z400V, Z540V, Z560V, Z720V, ZV40, and ZV50. Last -- and possibly least -- the Vodafone 710 inaugurates Voda's self-branding initiative, bringing 3G and a 1.3-megapixel camera in (what should be) an inexpensive package. All told, six of the new phones will rock HSDPA, and a total of 24 support some manner of high-speed data. Now if you'll excuse us, we need some milk of magnesia and a nap, but we hope we've brightened the day of a Brit or two among our readership. [Warning: PDF link]
Samsung announces S60-powered SGH-i520
Nokia gets the lion's share of the attention when it comes to the S60 platform and Symbian generally -- perhaps rightfully so, considering they ship far more Symbian-based smartphones than any other vendor -- but Samsung would like to politely remind everyone that they're an S60 licensee, too. Their latest effort, the SGH-i520 slider, had its coming-out party this week at the Symbian Smartphone Show, and the spec sheet looks to give Nokia's E- and N-series multimedia powerhouses an honest-to-goodness run for their money. The typical 2-megapixel camera and QVGA display aside, the i520 packs an HSDPA radio -- something no released Nokia handset has managed to do; granted, the N95 does it, but we've got a little wait ahead of us for that monster. Lucky owners also get a microSD slot should they find the 45MB of usable storage a bit light, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, and a front-facing VGA shooter for those ever-popular video calls. Per protocol, it doesn't seem that a US launch is in the works, but one can never be sure; stranger things have happened.
Nokia N75 packs 3G for US shores
We're not getting played for a fool again until we actually have a real, actual device resting comfortably in our hands, but Nokia's promising to bring the 3G love to the US for reals this time with its new N75 clamshell, announced today as part of its Nseries onslaught. The S60 3rd Edition handset looks to pack a decent punch into its 95 x 52 x 20.2mm form -- which Nokia is dubbing its "smallest multimedia computer," bearing in mind the E50 isn't considered such a device -- bringing a 2-megapixel cam, 40MB of internal storage with microSD expansion to 2GB, integrated stereo speakers, Bluetooth 2.0, QVGA internal and 160 x 128 external displays, quad-band GSM / EDGE, and some of that sweet, sweet WCDMA on the 850 and 1900MHz bands. Best of all, it's being promised for US release in the fourth quarter of 2006; we don't if you-know-who has decided to pick it up, but if not, we've every reason to believe the unlocked versions will be flying out of Nokia's own warehouse at a brisk pace. Check after the break for more smooth, creamy, flippable S60 goodness.
