Recent News Headlines - Hardware
Red Bend FOTA now on over half a billion phones
Red Bend, the company behind the Firmware Over The Air update system in most of the smartphones covered here (with the notable exception of Samsung, which doesn't appear to have FOTA yet), has just announced that its FOTA software is now used by just over half a billion mobile devices worldwide, over 413 different devices. This represents a 60% share of the FOTA-enabled mobile phone market. See Red Bend's site for more information.
Ewan, The Fringe and The Nokia N97 - part 7
It's the final part (7) of Ewan Spence's 'real world' test of the Nokia N97 at the Edinburgh Fringe and it's embedded below. He rounds up his experiences, explaining that he had to overcome his initial lack of excitement but that, once in use, the N97 performed really well when out and about at the Festival and did everything required of it. Ewan's fearful that the N97 will get overlooked now that the N900 has been announced and admits that S60 on the device seemed 'mature' and that backwards compatibility has proven something of a limitation, but overall I think he genuinely liked the Nokia N97 - to the point where he'd buy one if he didn't already own the qwerty-equipped E75. Happy watching - and suggestions welcome on what you'd like to see Ewan tackle next!
AAS Insight 85 - Booklet 3G, 5230, Money, N900
In All About Symbian Insight 85 (AAS Podcast 147), Rafe, Steve and Ewan discuss the glut of Nokia news ahead of this week's Nokia World. We cover the Nokia Booklet 3G, Nokia 5230, Nokia Money (an under appreciated announcement) and the Nokia N900. There's also some discussion of Maemo 5, service strategy and the Sony Ericsson Satio. You can listen to AAS Insight 85 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
The Evolution of the Nokia N95
Steve Litchfield explores the Nokia N95's continuing legacy in something of a tribute to the original dual-sliding smartphone... In terms of features, build quality and longevity, how do its successors stand up? And is there an 'ultimate' N95? Find out here. I look at the N95, the N95 8GB, the N96, the N85 and the N86 8MP - it's a veritable N95-fest!
The Nokia E52 in Black... and Internet Radio
Following on from my review of the Nokia E52, it transpires that Nokia do intend to make a black(ish) version (with less keypad visibility problems) - here's their official photographic proof. Also, although Internet Radio isn't in the firmware, the version for the 6210 Navigator apparently works perfectly (official download here). Now, what about Podcasting, ladies and gents? (thanks to kazutoyo and WizzMob)
Nokia N900 - Maemo 5-powered mobile computing
Nokia has announced the Nokia N900, a Maemo 5-powered device. Maemo 5 is the evolution of Nokia's previous generation of Internet Tablets and aims to occupy the space created by the convergence of mobile phones, laptops and the Internet. The N900 features a horizontal slider design with a three line QWERTY keyboard, a 3.5 inch WVGA (800 x 600) touch screen, ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz processor with 256MB of RAM (and 768MB of virtual memory), 5.0 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, tri-band WCDMA and WiFi connectivity, integrated A-GPS, 3.5 mm AV jack (audio and TV-out), and 32GB of flash storage and a microSD card slot. The N900 will be available in select markets from October 2009 at a cost of €500 before taxes and subsidies. Read on for further details and comment.
Review: Nokia E52
Following on from my Nokia E55 review, I look at its sister device, this time with traditional keypad - is there anything to complain about in the perfectly formed little E52? Don't worry, I manage to find quite a bit - you can't read the keys in some light conditions and there are significant omissions from the initial firmware - though it's still a triumph of S60 miniaturisation. Here's my review of the Nokia E52.
The Samsung i8910 HD review - but not from AAS
Credit where credit's due, here I am procrastinating about my full review of the Samsung i8910 HD because of all its current software imperfections, and Jonathan Bruha goes and writes the device up as-is, and very much in my 'style', pulling no punches for either pros or cons, and with many deft turns of phrase. The Symbian device of 2009? Or a desperately flaky orphan? There's plenty in the review to support either argument, fascinatingly.
Nokia E52 - The Gallery
One of the highlights of our coverage of each new Symbian-powered phone are Rafe's in-depth photo galleries. And here's his extensive photographic take on the Nokia E52. Explore it in as much detail as if you had it in your hand. And watch this space, my full E52 review will be here imminently.
Ewan, The Fringe and The Nokia N97 - part 6
It's part 6 of Ewan Spence's 'real world' test of the Nokia N97 at the Edinburgh Fringe and it's embedded below. In this part he looks at how he uses the N97 (as a tablet), at the positioning of the d-pad (for gaming), at the device's 'tipping point', and at the N97 as a modem, before laying into Ovi Maps for not including gradient information or cycle routes. He also wishes there was a way to import Point Of Interest information for special events (like the Fringe). Happy watching!
Search News Stories
Use keywords to search in the summary, title and full text of our news.
Submitting News and Information
You can submit your own news, or give us a news tip for inclusion on the site. For more information visit this page.
More information on how we collect our news and the basis on which it gets published is also available.
