Despite smartphones gaining more market share than ever, Nokia remains a strong entity in the feature phone department. And their latest, the Nokia X2-02, likely makes that position stronger.
Coming under the music-minded X series, the handset comes with dedicated music keys, special sound processing that boasts "the clearest sound you’ll find at this price" and Play via Radio. If you're not familiar with that last one, it's a feature that lets users record songs directly from the radio, as well as share playlists with your home system, car stereo or other phones.
A dual SIM phone, the X2-02 supports two active networks at any time. Even better, it allows you to swap SIMs without having to turn off your phone, with the handset switching to the new SIM's stored profiles automatically (it can store up to five profiles). Hardware details include a 2.2-inch display (320 x 240 resolution), a 2.0 megapixel camera module, an FM tuner and microSD card support (up to 32GB). Onboard battery is rated at up to 9.7 hours of talk time.
The traditional candybar handset measures 113 x 50 x 15 mm and weighs 93g. It runs the familiar Nokia feature phone OS, so don't expect much in terms of software niceties. There's also no 3G or WiFi support.
The Nokia X2-02 will be released in five colorways: Bright Red, Orange, Violet, Ocean Blue and Dark Silver. Likely headed to emerging markets, there are no exact dates for release, but pricing is set at €60 before taxes and subsidies.
[Nokia]
Despite having announced their first batch of Windows Phone handsets, Nokia has introduced another Symbian Belle device. Called the Nokia 603, the smartphone packs quite a nice list of specs for a device aimed at entry-level users.
Details include a 3.5-inch ClearBlack capacitive touchscreen (640 x 360 resolution), a 5.0 megapixel camera module (with 720p video recording), aGPS, 3G with HSPA, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC, 2GB of internal storage and microSD card expansion (up to 32G, with 2GB card included). A 1GHz processor muscles the action, with the onboard battery juicing it for up to 7 hours of talk time.
Symbian Belle runs at the Nokia 603's helm, along with a variety of preloaded apps, including Nokia Maps Navigation, a social networking client, webTV widgets and an NFC version of Angry Birds. Clad in a slate form factor that measures 113.5 x 57.1 x 12.7 mm and weighs 109.6 g, it comes with replaceable back covers that you can get in a selection of bright colors.
The Nokia 603 will be available in black and white (extra back covers are optional). Release date is slated before the end of the year, priced at an affordable €200 ($275) before taxes and subsidies.
[Nokia]
My Nokia Blog has a report up on three upcoming smartphones from the Finnish company, all running Microsoft's Windows Phone Mango. The handsets in question consist of the Nokia Sea-Ray, the Nokia Sabre and the Nokia Ace.
Nokia Ace
The likely high-end handset of the bunch, the Nokia Ace boasts a 4.3-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display, an 8.0 megapixel camera module (with Carl Zeiss lens), a 1.4GHz processor, HSPA+ connectivity, 16GB of onboard storage and an 1,800 mAh battery module. It's supposed to be going Stateside to AT&T during the first quarter of 2012.
Nokia SeaRay
The oft-leaked Nokia SeaRay doesn't appear to have strayed from previous leaks. It's still reported as having a 3.7-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display, an 8.0 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, a 1.4GHz processor, 16GB of internal storage and a 1,540mAh battery. While there's no word, expect the full range for wireless connectivity for the device (save LTE, probably).
Nokia Sabre
The low-end of the trio, the Nokia Sabre isn't all that shabby either. You get a 3.7-inch ClearBlack LCD, a 5.0 megapixel camera module, a 1.4GHz processor and 25GB of free SkyDrive storage. Likely aimed at younger users, it comes with interchangeable back covers for giving your phone some style.
Release Dates
According to the source, all three phones will be officially unveiled at the Nokia World event, scheduled for the 26th of the month. There's likely no chance any of these will hit the streets before the holidays, although I wouldn't be surprised if Nokia rushed to push even one. I mean, it's Christmas and you don't have you hot new products on the shelf?
[via MyNokiaBlog]
It's hard to get excited about a Nokia release these days, with WP7 looming for the Finnish company and all. We're not entirely sure if people are really planning to buy anymore Symbian handsets. In case you are, though, they just outed a new one: the Nokia 500 (formerly rumored as the Nokia Fate).
Foregoing the bigger is better trend, the phone shows up with a smallish 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen display (640 x 360 resolution). It's actually being marketed as an affordable mid-range smartphone (hence the size), although it's packing some serious hardware under the hood.
Details of the Nokia 500 include a 5.0 megapixel camera module, aGPS, 3G with HSPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, 2GB of onboard storage, microSD card expansion (up to 32GB) and up to 7 hours of talk time. Muscle is provided by a 1GHz processor. The actual design looks decidedly Nokia, complete with a replaceable back cover for adding a little color to your handset. It measures 111.3 x 53.8 x 14.1mm and weighs a light 93g.
The company's latest Symbian Anna is onboard, boasting its "refreshed UI, better browser and split-screen messaging." Nokia Maps Navigation, of course, is included, along with Symbian's Social app for getting your Facebook and Twitter fix.
Availability for the Nokia 500 is slated towards the end of the year, at an attractive-sounding €150 ($215) off-contract. Seriously, that's quite a price for a full-fledged smartphone with a 1GHz processor (despite the rather unappealing OS). It will initially come in black and white colorways, with three additional back covers included.
[Nokia]
Just when you thought you were starting to understand Nokia, the company does something to put you back in your baffled state. While this isn't confirmed, we're pretty certain this will definitely have you scratching your head: the Nokia C3-01.5, an S40-running dumbphone with hardware that could power a decent smartphone.
We're not talking about entry-level 600MHz CPUs, either. This rumored handset supposedly comes with a 1GHz processor, paired with 512MB of RAM. Yep, puts my nicked and scratch HTC Hero to shame.
What would S40 do with that hardware, though? I have no idea. If this phone had a big touchscreen, it would have made sense for cranking through movies and other media files. Instead, the phone looks like a reboot of the C3-01 Touch and Type, a candybar with an alphanumeric keyboard and a resistive touchscreen.
For the Nokia C3-01.5 iteration, the phone ditches the resistive panel in favor of a ClearBlack capacitive display. No word on other details, though, but we're assuming it will retain the same wireless connectivity (3G with HSPA, WiFi, Bluetooth) and decent camera (5.0 megapixel).
There you have it -- an S40 phone with beefy processing power. We guess we'll have to wait for an official announcement about the Nokia C3-01.5 before we can figure out Nokia's rationale for the hardware decision.
[via DGui]
Who needs sneaky bloggers? Company CEO Stephen Elop can leak Nokia devices all on his own and pretend to be playing innocent while doing it. And this one's really newsworthy: the Sea Ray (codename), Nokia's first Windows Phone handset.
As you can probably tell, the phone looks a heck of a lot like the Nokia N9 they announced the other day. Except it doesn't run the obscure Meego operating system. Instead, it touts the latest Windows Phone Mango, complete with the Richmond outfit's tiled homescreen.
According to reports, Elop showed it to the audience at hand during an event. Pretending to not want publicity for the "super confidential" product, he asked people to turn off their phones and cameras. Yeah, right.
A Windows Phone version of the N9 could certainly be a hit, especially given people's reaction to the hardware when it came out. I mean, how sweet is that unibody design? And that camera? And that Gorilla Glass display? So far, people have noted only a couple of differences between this one and that Meego phone: this one has a camera shutter button on the right and it features a different LED placement for the flash.
Ah, Nokia -- just bring something to market already.
[via Technet]
Wow. That's all I really have to say about the Nokia N9. It's so pretty and the hardware sounds impressive. Of course, the fact that it runs Meego 1.2 really puts a damp on the whole business.
Announced during Nokia's Singapore event yesterday, the handset drops the mini-computer aesthetic the Finnish company seemed to be enamored with. In its place comes a stylish slate form factor with a polycarbonate unibody shell and a Gorilla Glass curving elegantly out in front. Oh yeah, there's no home button, with navigation to the home screen achieved by swiping in from any side of the UI.
Details of the Nokia N9 include a 3.9-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen (854 x 480 resolution), an 8.0 megapixel camera module (with Car Zeiss lens and dual LED flash), a front-facing webcam, aGPS, NFC, WiFi, 3G with HSPA, Bluetooth 2.1, built-in storage (16GB and 64GB versions will be available) and a 1,450mAh battery. Muscle is provided by a 1GHz ARM processor, paired with 1GB of RAM.
The first (and probably last) smartphone running the Linux-based Meego OS, this device makes for an interesting proposition. On the one hand, both the hardware and software look great. On the other, you'll probably get very few apps beyond what's already on board (unless some manufacturer magically takes the torch from Nokia and sells millions of Meego smartphones).
If Nokia released the N9 as their first Windows Phone 7 handset, we have no doubt it could be an instant star. With "dead in the water" Meego at the helm, though, it's hard to imagine finding that many takers. Still, imagining this kind of hardware running WP7 gets me somewhat excited.
[Nokia]
Nokia just announced a new dual SIM phone. Called the Nokia X1-01, this one's a rather basic addition to the XSeries that should find a ready audience in many parts of the world (lots of people love dual SIMs).
If the phone looks familiar, then you might be thinking of the Nokia X1-00. From what we can tell, they're almost the same, save for the dual SIM docks and, probably, a few minor things.
Details of the Nokia X1-01 include a small display (160 x 128 resolution), an MP3 player, stereo FM radio, a “massive speaker on the back,” a 3.5mm headset jack, built-in flashlight and MicroSD card support (with a 2GB card included). There's no camera and, really, no frills. Talk time is a hefty 13 hours, with a standby of 43 days.
From the photo, it looks like both SIMs can be active at the same time (dual standby),which is something dual SIM users will likely appreciate. According to the Nokia Conversations blog, the phone can remember the settings for up to five SIMs, apart from being able to “give each SIM its own logo, music signature or ringtone.” I'm not sure what that last part was, but we'll take it.
Designed for no-nonsense utilitarian use, the Nokia X1-01 will be hitting markets in India, China, South-East Asia/Pacific region, Middle East and Africa, Eurasia and Brazil this quarter. Price is €34.
[Nokia Conversations]
Nokia may be losing steam in the smartphone market, but they have loads of money and still sell tons of phones outside of North America. And you might just have an idea that they can find useful enough to part with some of that cash.
The company just announced a brand new initiative called Invent with Nokia, a program that lets clowns like you send them ideas and inventions that you feel could be valuable in the mobile space. You know, like that brilliant dream you had about the next iTunes or App Store. Specifically, they want ideas about mobile phones, apps, services, new wireless standards, device features, device concepts, mobile infrastructures and the like.
We're not exactly sure how the process works after you send in an idea, but we're guessing it will be reviewed by a crack team of experts (or cheap interns) to sort out the good stuff from the bad. If they decide they want to steal one of your brilliant concoctions, then they will apply to get a patent for it and reward you handsomely for your troubles (after, of course, some negotiating).
If you have a genius idea that you've been sitting on, you might as well give it a shot at seeing more than the insides of your head through Invent with Nokia. At worst, you'll find out it's really not that genius; at best, you could be the brains behind the next iTunes, and live a life full of fast cars, large houses and fine women. Hey, you never know.
[Invent With Nokia, Nokia Conversations]
Nokia launched a new phone today, which it bills as an "entertainment smartphone." Called the Nokia X7, the handset sports a unique angular shape that's certain to make it easily identifiable from the crowd.
As with the Finnish company's other high-end releases, hardware and construction looks to be a high point. With a stainless steel body and toughened glass screen, Nokia claims it won't shatter "even if you lose control" while playing a game.
Details of the Nokia X7 include a 4-inch capacitive AMOLED touchscreen (640 x 360 resolution), an 8.0 megapixel camera module (with dual LED flash and 720p video recording), aGPS, 3G with HSPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio slot and microSD card expansion (up to 32GB). It comes with a 1,200 mAh battery, rated at up to 4.5 hours of talk time.
The sleek, futuristic frame has 119.7 x 62.8 x 11.9 mm dimensions and a 146-gram weight. Symbian Anna, the latest build of the platform, controls the action, along with a bunch of software pre-installed, including Ovi Maps, Nokia Social and a couple full version games (Galaxy on Fire HD and Asphalt 5 HD).
Availability of the Nokia X7 is slated for the second quarter of the year, with base price (before taxes and subsidies) coming in at €380.
[Nokia]
