As shown below, the Nokia E71 is now recognised in Nokia Software Update. Latest firmware is v100.07.76, should you want to double-check your new device, not that I've noticed any real bugs - although we can hope for new features at some point.
Guest writer Justin Berkovi reports back on the brand new and innovative Nokia CK-300 car kit, which reduces control hardware to a minimum and relies instead on using your smartphone's display. Here's Justin's lavishly illustrated review, his first for All About Symbian.
Thanks to all the people who emailed in with this - I'd held off posting about it because I thought it was an accidental leak, but this comprehensive (Flash-based) Nokia N96 interactive demo has been online for a while now and not removed, so presumably it's 'final', especially as we're now within a month or so off seeing the first N96 in the shops.
The Motorola MOTO Z10 represents a very different side of UIQ 3 (and Symbian) to the more familiar devices from Sony Ericsson. In his inimitable style, and in part 1 of our full review, Ewan looks at the Z10's form and general design, finding quite a bit to like in the process. Future review parts will cover built-in software, media handling and camera functions.
Something we've heard and talked about over and over again recently is that Nokia and others have all recognised that the future belongs to 'services and software' and that the hardware has become 'a commodity'. This is all a bit jargonistic and in this feature Steve explains these phrases in plain english from the point of view of the consumer.
In all the excitement over the Symbian takeover, we missed another announcement by Nokia yesterday, that the Nokia N78 is now officially available in the USA including 3.5G HSDPA support for American phone networks on 850 and 1900 mhz. The press release mentions the unlocked SIM-free version, but presumably locked operator versions should come along soon too.
The first over the air firmware update for Nokia N78 (is this the first one on a S60 device ever?), v11.043, is now available. This new release 'brings more Bluetooth stability, has improved the Music Player refresh time, and includes optimized camera performance and Navi-scroll sensitivity. The update is approximately 2MB and is also available to be downloaded over Wi-Fi. Note that this may not be available for all operators or regions.' More details below. (via kflyer)
Right on schedule (for a change), Smartphones Show 61 is out, with a video version of my hands-on review of the Nokia E71, plus news of an impending change of a name for the show. It's worth pointing out that show 61 was recorded before yesterday's big news, by the way...
With the release of the 2.4"-screened, QVGA E71, some naive bloggers were shouting down Nokia for not putting in a VGA display. Here's why the bloggers got this one wrong - in my humble opinion, of course! Comments welcome. And at what point in the future do you think VGA will become practical and affordable in 'phones'?
Yup, at long last the Motorola Z10 is in the house and here's the first fruits: a hands-on Gallery for this camera/camcorder-focussed UIQ 3 smartphone. I'll be shooting my video review for the Smartphones Show and then this is going to Ewan for an in-depth review: is the Z10 too late to make a splash in the smartphone market? The hardware's certainly of high quality, as you can see in the MOTO Z10 gallery itself.
The E71 may be first and foremost a business messaging tool, but the Nokia E71 also manages to packs in a lot of multimedia functionality too. In this addendum to our original review Steve has a detailed look at the multimedia capabilities of the Nokia E71. There are camera performance comparisons and a focus on video capabilities.
Rafe and Ewan are joined this week by Ricky Cadden as they take on the week's news and hot topics (recorded before Monday's announcements, but don't let that put you off) in Insight 29, a.k.a. AAS podcast 80. They cover the 'Evening with S60' in Boston, the LG KT610 clamshell, iGoogle and the new Google Reader for S60, Cloud Computing and Social Services, plus more N-Gage musings. Oh and they covered some new update from an American manufacturer in Cupertino...
Echoing many of my own thoughts in recent months, Nokia Duck has come out with an N95 retrospective, looking at the device (in video, text and pics) with latest firmware with fresh eyes, concluding that "The N95 has metamorphosised from over-priced geek fodder into a reasonably-priced quality product. After a year and a half on the market it's no longer the cutting-edge headline maker it once was, but that glamour has been replaced by competency." Well worth a read.
Do we need all these different models and form factor variants of smartphones coming out? Ewan thinks so, arguing for variety from a ecological viewpoint. E71 or iPhone? - plenty of room for both in the marketplace, and rightly so, according to Ewan.
My review of the Nokia E71, after a week with a production device, still left a few questions in the air, apparently. Rounding up everybody's comments so far, I've attempted (below) to try and answer all the questions about the E71, with Rafe (who also has a production device) pitching in to help. [Heavily updated - again]
