Parting Shots: Nokia E66
Added on 2008-06-26 10:19:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 We spent the last week with the Nokia E66 and have published our full review. We have to say that we found ourselves liking the phone a lot. The improvements that Nokia has made to the organizer applications are significant, the 3.2 megapixel camera is a big step up over the two megapixel shooter on the E65 and GPS with Nokia Maps 2.0 is a really nice feature. We also found the hardware very easy to use with a couple of notable exceptions, the volume keys are terrible for example. Still, when you use the device for awhile you come away impressed. The problem is that you won't be able to use this device for very long because a combination of a small battery, just 1000 mAh, and 3G connectivity means that the battery life is terrible. We were only able to manage three hours of talk time on the E66, and for a business device that needs to get through a full day of hard use this just isn't acceptable.
Read the full Nokia E66 review here.
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First Call: Nokia E66
Added on 2008-06-19 14:19:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 Nokia was kind enough to lend us an E66 and we'll be reviewing the phone over the next couple of weeks. The E66 is one of Nokia's enterprise focused E-Series devices and is the successor to the E65, which also sported a slider design. Unlike the E71, with which it was announced a few days ago, the E66 does not have a QWERTY keyboard.
The upgrades over the E65 seems significant on paper. The camera's been upped to 3.2 megapixels and auto-focus, the phone's been slimmed down to .54 inches from .61 inches, Symbian Series 60 Feature Pack 1 is on board and the RAM has been doubled. All of these should result in a very capable device, but we'll have to wait until we're done with our review before we can be sure. Lots of pretty pictures after the jump.
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Nokia unveils E71 and E66
Added on 2008-06-16 11:09:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 Nokia today announced two new E-Series devices that have been long expected, the Nokia E71 and Nokia E66. The E71 is the latest generation of Nokia's QWERTY oriented enterprise device while the E66 is a slider phone. We got a chance to take a look at the devices and both are slimmer and slicker looking than they're predecessors, the Nokia E61i and E65 respectively. In particular we were impressed by how small and slim the Nokia E71 was, it measures just 10mm thick. More after the break.
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FCC reveals what may be the Nokia Tube
Added on 2008-04-24 12:29:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 The FCC today dropped a mystery Nokia phone on us. Although there were no pictures, the schematic of the placement for the FCC label leads us to believe that this may be the eagerly awaited Nokia Tube. Of course it could also just be a block schematic that they use for any phone, but Nokia's schematics are usually a little more detailed. Rumors are that the Tube, a touch screen S60 phone that's meant to compete with the iPhone, will be available later this year. If this is the Tube U.S. customers will be disappointed by the lack of support for AT&T's 3G network, although Nokia has gotten better about releasing U.S. 3G versions of their phones in the past year.
Request for Confidentiality
Schematic
Testing 1
Testing 2
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Nokia 6210 Navigator at CTIA 2008
Added on 2008-04-02 18:41:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 The successor to Nokia's GPS focused 6110 navigator the 6210 has new stylings and replaces the Garmin GPS software with Nokia's Maps 2.0. Nokia's mapping solution is interesting in that it allows you to both pre-load maps on the device and download them on the fly from the internet. The device also sports a built in compass and has a pedestrian navigation mode. Under the hood is Symbian Series 60 and the camera has also been updated to 3.2 megapixels with auto-focus and the ability to geo-tag your photos. The device was announced a couple of months ago a Mobile World Congress but this is our first chance to get a close look at it and we took a bunch of photos for your viewing pleasure, available after the break.
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Nokia N78 at CTIA 2008
Added on 2008-04-02 18:20:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 We spent some time with the Nokia N78 today, which was originally announced at Mobile World Congress a couple of months ago. The update to the venerable and very successful Nokia N73 (review), the N78 runs the latest version of Symbian Series 60. The phone has a few updates compared to its predecessor but has also taken a step back and stood still in some areas.
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Nokia N96 Video Preview
Added on 2008-04-02 17:13:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 We got a chance to spend some time with the Nokia N96, the successor to the wildy popular Nokia N95 (review). The N96 sports Nokia's new styling that we've seen on devices like the N82 (review) and N81 (review). As we mentioned in those reviews we're not particular fans, Nokia seems to have sacrificed a lot of ergonomic usability in the name of, dubious, style. We're also concerned about the 950 mAh battery. This is the same size battery that the original N95 had and caused so many people problems. We wonder why they didn't go with the larger 1200 mAh battery found on the latest versions of the N95.
The N96 is certainly packed with features, however. In addition to the same five megapixel camera and VGA video recording we've seen on the N95 it add DVB-H support for mobile TV and 16GB of internal storage. How well it will do is going to depend in large part on how annoyed people get by the uncomfortable keypad and controls. Video after the break.
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Nokia 6220 Classic Video Preview
Added on 2008-04-02 16:01:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 Catching up on devices that were launched at Mobile World Congress, since there's really not much else to do here, we took a look today at the Nokia 6220 Classic. Even though this device runs the Symbian Series 60 interface and is a full fledged smart phone it's not in Nokia's N-Series lineup of high end devices. That doesn't mean there are no high end features, however. First off is GPS functionality, which seems to be creeping down Nokia's product line like some slow growing fungus. The big features, however, is the five megapixel auto-focus camera with Xenon flash. This is similar to the spec that we see in Nokia's flagship N96 and to see it in what should be a mid-level device is pretty impressive. Video after the break.
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Samsung G810 Video Preview
Added on 2008-04-01 09:27:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 Last night at the Showstoppers event here at CTIA 2008 we got a chance to play around with the Samsung G810. This Symbian Series 60 smart phone sports a five megapixel camera with auto-focus and 3x optical zoom, which is a feature that's extremely rare amongst cell phones. It also has GPS capabilities and can geo-tag your photos as you take them. The G810 isn't currently available from a U.S. carrier and we have our doubts about whether it ever will be, so keep an eye on your friendly importer if you want to get your hands on one. Our video preview is after the jump.
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Nokia to launch Windows Mobile handset?
Added on 2008-03-31 13:17:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 Take this one with a huge grain of salt but over at MSMobiles.com they're claiming that Nokia will be announcing a Windows Mobile Standard smart phone during CTIA. There's no source but the story claims that they handset will be revealed during the Microsoft keynote tomorrow morning. If this turns out to be true it will be a major shift for Nokia which has traditionally only used the Symbian Series 60 platform for their smart phones like the N95 (review).
One thing that may lend credence to the story is that Nokia's enterprise focused E-Series devices like the E90 (review) have not been as successful as the company might have liked. Windows Mobile devices with their native Exchange Server integration may be an opportunity for Nokia to better compete in the enterprise space. This is a rumor that's reared its head several times in the past and I guess we'll know tomorrow morning if this time it's true.
Update: it looks like we've fallen for what is likely an April Fool's joke, god I love that unconfirmed rumor tag, it's the only thing that's saving our dignity right now :)
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Talking iPhone: What applications won't be allowed?
Added on 2008-03-21 10:10:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 With the iPhone SDK out now the dreams of many software developers and companies are running into the wall of limitations that come with the SDK. Most recently was Adobe, which initially indicated they would be developing a Flash plugin for the iPhone but then retracted their statement. Sun has also announced that they will be developing a Java client for the iPhone, but may find their hopes dashed by the fact that the SDK user agreement does not allow you to create applications that execute additional code. Today we're going to be taking a close look at the type of applications that won't be allowed on the iPhone by taking examples from other smart phone platforms.
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Samsung lineup at Mobile World Congress
Added on 2008-02-11 13:33:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 Today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Samsung has announced a plethora of new handsets. First up is the G810 slider smart phone. Running the Symbian Series 60 interface the G810 packs a five megapixel camera, GPS and Wi-Fi into a 12.5 millimeter thin frame. The camera includes advanced technologies that are rare on a cell phone camera including face detection, Wide Dynamic Range and image stabilization. The handset is expected to be available in March for a European release. More handsets and pics after the jump.
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Nokia reveals lineup at Mobile World Congress
Added on 2008-02-11 09:23:00
by Alfredo Padilla
Nokia revealed its lineup of new smartphones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today. Topping the list is the N96, the successor to their successful N95 handset. The N96 adds new styling reminiscent of the N81 and ups the ante with 16GB of built in storage plus the ability to add even more storage via Micro SD. Also revealed were the Nokia N78, 6210 and Navigator and 6220 Classic. Pics and specs after the jump.
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O for Opinion: 5 Reasons Series 60 needs to update their interface
Added on 2007-10-10 15:29:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 The recent release of the Nokia N95 with U.S. 3G recently gave us an excuse to play around with Symbian Series 60 (as if we need an excuse to play with phones) and reminded us of something that's been on our minds for awhile. Ever since the iPhone was released there's been a lot of talk in the mobile space about the need to create more intuitive and easy to use phone interfaces. We've long felt that Series 60 is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to an overly complex and confusing UI. We certainly hope that Nokia moves to compete better with Apple's iPhone by addressing this issue, and we have five suggestions for where to start. More after the jump.
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N-Gage to live on as multiplayer gaming service
Added on 2007-08-27 12:38:00
by Mark Brezinski
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 Nokia's N-Gage was a bad phone and an even worse gaming platform. It quickly became more of a joke than an actual handset, had its 15-minutes of internet fame, and died out within the same week. For some inexplicable reason, Nokia refuses to let the memory of their mistake fade. They're not reviving the N-Gage as an actual platform, but rather as a multiplayer gaming service. The ghost of the N-Gage will haunt many of Nokia's Series 60 devices, starting this fall. Nokia also announced plans to eventually spread the N-Gage to the rest of the series, like some sort of credibility-destroying disease. Features of the new N-Gage include a friends list and a ranking system. These are fairly basic features, but Nokia insisted on citing the inspiration for their inclusion: "one avid female gamer" claimed she didn't like losing to better player online. This may be the first documented incident of anyone ever being dissatisfied with losing in an online game. The Internet was unavailable for comment.
We honestly don't know why Nokia would chose to revive a name that is so rife with negative connotation. The article claims Nokia seeks "redemption." Only time will tell if Nokia vindicates their failure or if N-Gage history will repeat itself a third time.
You can read the whole story here.
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Nokia 6120 Classic hits the FCC, maybe a U.S. carrier?
Added on 2007-08-17 14:05:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 Nokia's diminutive Series 60 smart phone, the 6120 Classic, picked up FCC approval today. A smart phone packing a 2 megapixel camera and targeted at a decidedly consumer market the 6120 sports quad-band GSM/Edge support but no U.S. 3G bands. So why do we think it might be coming to a U.S. carrier? Because the phone pictured in the FCC documents lacks the front facing camera for video calls that is not supported by U.S. carriers. Another alternative is that this version of the 6120 Classic is just the latest move by Nokia in their ongoing strategy of by-passing U.S. carriers. Recently they've started selling their handsets through alternative retail channels like Dell and of course there's the rumored Nokia N95 with U.S. 3G support coming sometime in the fourth quarter.
FCC Photos
User Manual
Test Report
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Snoop on towers with CellTrack
Added on 2007-07-16 13:22:00
by Randall Bennett
 We showed you the code to activate a cell tower snoop mode for the iPhone last week, now if you're a Symbian Series 60 user, you can get all up in your carrier's biznass with CellTrack. While it doesn't look to be as detailed as the iPhone's mode, if you really want to know what your cell tower's cellID is and get details on signal strength, this app is for you. For the rest of us, we'll just point and laugh as you use your silly Symbian phone to geek out.
[via JAMP]
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Nokia's new software simplifies Mac syncing
Added on 2007-06-08 10:23:00
by Randall Bennett
 Nokia has made some real progress with their new sync software for Mac, Nokia Media Transfer 1.0. Ridiculously boring name aside, the software is actually pretty amazing and makes syncing between your Nokia phone and iTunes and iPhoto a snap. The software creates a new folder iCon (sorry, we had to) in both iTunes and iPhoto. Then, drag your fav playlists and photo albums into the folder, click sync and you're on the road with no messy mass storage issues to manage.
As an aside, if you want to finish fully syncing your phone, be sure to use iSync to sync contacts, calendars and tasks.
We just installed Nokia's software at the office, and are really impressed with the quality. So far, we've only used it to sync two devices in the last ten minutes, so we'll let you know if we find any issues with it as we continue to tinker. The software makes syncing phones as simple as syncing any other portable media player, which is definitely a good thing.
PS -- It's still in beta, so consider yourself warned. Download it from Nokia's site.
[Via AllAboutSymbian]
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Virus attacks Series 60 handsets
Added on 2007-05-26 06:16:00
by Emily Price
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 A new mobile virus is taking over Series 60 handsets in Russia and costing users a pretty penny in the process. The mobile virus Trojan-SMS.SymbOS.Viver sends SMS messages to high dollar numbers costing users anywhere from $1 to $10 a message.
[Via EngadgetMobile]
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Nokia N95 Confirmed for US
Added on 2007-03-26 18:53:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 
We reported the rumor earlier today, and tonight at CTIA's mobile focus we got confirmation from Nokia that the N95 will indeed be available unlocked in the 2nd quarter of this year. More after the jump.
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