touch and type
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Nokia Reader comes to Series 40 'touch and type' devices
This week, everyone's favorite Finnish phone fabricator announced the availability of Nokia Reader for Series 40 touch and type devices. Those familiar with the software know that Reader provides a flow of local and international headlines -- customized by you -- directly to your device's home screen. Nokia boasts that users of its C2-02, X3-02, C3-01, Asha 303 and Asha 300 handsets will be able to stay abreast on all the news without having to worry about battery consumption, thanks to Nokia Notifications. If we've piqued your interest, mosey on past the break to see a video of the bits in action then hit the source link to grab the goods.
Nokia E6 first hands-on! (updated with video)
That crazy new 326ppi device that Nokia busted out this morning has finally made contact with our eager hands. The E6 is extremely compact, stainless steel accounts for its back cover and camera bezel, but weight is feathery and general feel in the hand is terrific. You're limited to a 2.46-inch screen, but Nokia's otherwise standard resolution of 640 x 480 looks pretty awesome when squeezed into such dimensions. Check out the gallery of pics below and we'll have video for you soon as well! Update: Video hands-on can now be found after the break. Let's start off with the headline spec, that 326dpi pixel density. In practical use, it's not resoundingly noticeable, as the UI icons are resized accordingly, but where we expect to really see the benefits of it will be in web browsing, where you'll be able to fit oodles of content on your screen without losing detail. It's not AMOLED like the rest of Nokia's current line, but it's a very high quality LCD, not much of a loss to our eyes. We're still very much liking the size and curvature of the E6, although we noted a touch of UI lag with it as we did with the X7. Symbian, in spite of the update, is still not perfected. That said, you're getting a massive 1500mAh battery, which will be used sparingly by the smaller display and 680MHz CPU. Up to nine hours of video playback are promised, while 720p recording is also available for those keen on making the most of the 8 megapixel camera on the back. Construction is solid, the keyboard feels as good as what you'll be used to on the E72, but the OS still fails to convince. Good thing, then, that Nokia plans to keep updating the software as we move forward. %Gallery-120926%
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%
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%
