According to the Finnish business newspaper Kauppalehti, Nokia's Chief Financial Officer said Nokia is considering manufacturing Linux-based mobile phones. The article quotes Rick Simonson, Nokia's Chief Financial Officer, as saying "we are definitely moving in the direction (of Linux-based phones)" at a seminar in Boston run by JP Morgan Chase. There was no further detail though, and apparently Simonson refused to be drawn on which kind of Linux would be used. Nokia already makes the Linux-based N800 and N810 internet tablets, which use Nokia's own version of Linux called Maemo, but current tablets have no telephony ability.
So you've been eyeing up qwerty clamshells from the dark side (Windows Mobile)? So had I - in this case, getting in the Toshiba Portege G910 flagship, with a spec sheet that rivals the Nokia E90 - in theory, at least. Having used both, here's my illustrated head-to-head review: G910 vs E90. The winner? You can probably guess, but let's just say that this Windows Mobile clamshell has got more than a couple of surprises up its sleeve.
Nokia has released another new 'v200' software update for the E90 Communicator, available now for unlocked devices on Nokia Software Update. The new version is v210.34.75 and this installed fine on my E90 using NSU [under Windows Vista in XP SP2 compatibility mode, but still...] More below...
Yep, it's all in the latest All About Symbian Insight podcast, number 25. Specifically, we look at the Asus M930 vs the Nokia E90, the Cost of SMS and a discussion around messaging costs, Maps on Ovi, Nokia's new Music PC application, and some top software picks.
Around a year ago, I first reviewed the Nokia E90 Communicator. I was quite positive though others in the industry (famously) weren't. Amazingly, it's still picking up first time reviewers today in 2008, with Ricky Cadden getting his first hands-on this week, in his regular video podcast (MP4 link). He's generally blown away but misses support for USA 3G frequencies and misses some of the 'Nseries-only' extras from his N95.
In the second part of his review of the Samsung i450, Ewan explores the music functionality of this unashamedly music-focussed smartphone. How do the dual slide and rubber music 'arc' work out in practice? And what about the fancy Bang and Olufsen '3D' equalisation electronics?
Sometimes... just sometimes... Krisse gets to play with review hardware too. In this case there's a review, complete with video, of the Nokia N81 8GB over on Krisse's personal blog, Nokia Duck. It's fair to say that the verdict is mixed and that the price was felt to be far too high, for the spec involved. The duck? Apparently it says 'Quack'. So as expected there, then...
It's... Insight number 24, aka AAS audio podcast 73, in which the usual team discuss the news of the week, including N-Gage and Nokia Communication Center (sic), three new S60 3rd Edition smartphones (black N82, Samsung i450, Nokia 6122c) and we introduce the idea and state of play in the world of Location Based Search.
Yeah, yeah, more hands-on with prototypes by other sites - you can tell we're a tinsy bit jealous - but then on the other hand devices like the N96 don't seem anywhere near finished yet and we'd rather wait for the real thing. Still, the N78 seems fairly complete, according to this latest hands on by PhoneReport, which provides lots of photos and makes a few new observations. (via Symbian World)
The Samsung i450, at first glance a Nokia N95 wannabe, has hidden strengths that come from its more unassuming appearance and lower price. Ewan brings us part 1 of his review of the i450, looking at the hardware, form factor and target market. Parts 2 and 3 will cover music and applications.
Nokia today announced the launch of the Nokia 6122c, an S60 phone available exclusively for China Mobile. This follows on from the announcement of the Nokia 6124c (Vodafone) and Nokia 6650 (T-Mobile). The 6122c is effectively the 6120 in a new shell. It runs S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, has a 2.0 megapixel camera, FM Radio, microSD card slot and a dedicated China Mobile Internet key.
