While the Symbian ecosystem has been making a lot of noise at the Mobile World Congress, most of the rest of the mobile industry has also been making its own wave. Ewan takes a little look around the other highlights coming out of Barcelona. Read on...
Slightly different format for the podcast this week as Rafe is in Barcelona. Steve and Ewan pick up the reins to talk about the announcements and products on show at the Mobile World Congress in the AAS Podcast #113. In Monday's recap, they set the scene, talk about the annoncements from Sony Ericsson, and discuss Nokia's Monday morning press conference.
Nokia has now officially announced the N86 8MP, its latest imaging champion, with 'SLR-like optics'. The N86 8MP features an 8 megapixel camera with variable aperture, large sensor and mechanical shutter. The device has plenty of metal detailing, a N96-like kickstand for video watching, AMOLED screen, N-Gage compatibility, 'scratch resistant' glass, GPS, Compass and the usual S60 connectivity specs. More details, photos and high-quality video below, plus hands-on time through the morning.
Forum Nokia has published the official technical specifications of the Nokia E55, Nokia E75, 6710 Navigator and 6720 Classic. Interesting to note that the E55, 6710 and 6720 all have single processors running at 600mhz (as does last week's 5630 XpressMusic) which is a big step up from the 369mhz speed of most previous single processor S60 models. However, the amount of free RAM available for user applications isn't listed for any device.
At Mobile World Congress LG has quietly announced their fourth S60 on Symbian device. The KT770 runs on S60 3rd Edition on Symbian OS 9.3 and has a slider form factor with a numeric keypad. The press release indicates it has a 5 megapixel camera, WiFi and HSDPA connectivity, a 2.8 inch touchscreen and dimensions of 111 x 51.5 x 15.8 mm. Read on for more information.
Samsung just made their pitch for the Symbian top-end with the announcement of the Omnia HD (a.k.a. the i8910). This features a full touch interface running S60 5th Edition, a 3.7" AMOLED display, plus a camera unit with 8mp capture and full 720p HD video recording. Photos, comment and specs below.
Not launched from the stage but merely leaked out by press releases were the 6710 Navigator and 6720 Classic. The first features pre-licensed Nokia Maps (of course), a dedicated navigator key, plus a 'touch area for easy zooming'. The 6720 Classic is a candy bar design and its innovation is 'active noise cancellation' for voice calls, a S60 first. Both devices have the usual 5mp camera and S60 spec level, including TV out. More details and photos below.
Possibly the most leaked (not by us, though) Nokia smartphone ever, the E75 finally got official just now after being introduced on stage at MWC, priced at 375 Euros. Billed as the best messaging smartphone ever and a direct descendant of the 9300i, the E75 has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard beneath a standard Eseries frontplate. Official images, videos, comment and details below.
Sony Ericsson has just unveiled 'Idou', a 'concept' Symbian Foundation Platform phone with a 12.1 megapixel camera, Xenon flash and 16:9 aspect ratio, 3.5" touchscreen. The Idou will go on to become a device, but it is considered a concept because it is at an early stage in its development. Sony Ericsson will release more details, and a launch date in the summer. Read on for more details and our first hands-on impressions.
"To compare or not to compare? That is the question." Nokia has protested many times that the 5800 XpressMusic is not an iPhone competitor, but rather a lower-priced alternative - and I agree in this detailed editorial over at All About iPhone. There's no doubting that the 5800 was influenced by Apple's flagship, but the differences in functionality and emphasis run pretty deep, as is obvious as I run through each device's strengths and weaknesses.
Tzer2 has been at it again, exploring the Nokia 5800 in great depth and showing beginners how to get the most from it. In two new tutorials featured here, we have How to change the ringtones, vibration alerts, and ringing volumes on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, plus How to download and install applications and games. Enjoy! (You can see a complete listing of our 5800 tutorials by clicking here.)
On the Nseries Innovation News Desk, an official blog on Nokia's Nseries.com website, there's a teaser post with a photo taken by a Nokia device. Closer examination reveals that the image is 2448 x 3264 pixels, that's around 8 megapixels, suggesting that Nokia will be releasing a new Nseries device at MWC with an 8 megapixel camera. We'll have to wait until Monday to find out more though.
The Nokia 5800 is to make its debut in Singapore soon with Nokia's all-you-can-eat "Comes With Music" service built-in, which allows unlimited downloads from the Nokia Music Store for one year. In related news, the Nokia Music Store has just opened up branches in Switzerland and in Austria. The Nokia Music Store is now available in 15 countries.
Another in our continuing series of definitive Nokia 5800 XpressMusic tutorials, in this piece I advise on taking better photos with the device, including some example images taken yesterday as proof of what can be achieved. Bonus link: Tzer2 talks a beginner through using silent mode and flight mode on the 5800, explaining the basics and subtleties of profiles.
Tzer2 has been busy - we've got lots more 5800 XpressMusic beginner tutorials online, all centred on getting the very most from Nokia's new touch-screen S60 5th Edition phone: How to change the wallpaper on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, How to use memory cards on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Using the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic in other countries.
