Well the Nokia N79 has been made official. Check out the flash slideshow photo gallery of the Nokia N79:

Nokia N79 Photos



Nokia N79 Videos






Check out the official PR...

Nokia N79 - Powerful fusion of technology and style

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today unveiled the Nokia N79, the latest addition to the Nokia Nseries range that combines intelligent and customizable design with a fully-loaded multimedia computer. Behind its sleek exterior, the Nokia N79 is a technology powerhouse. It offers a full range of multimedia experiences including integrated navigation, music with FM transmitter, high-speed connectivity, superior web browsing, at least 10 pre-loaded N-Gage games and an advanced 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics. The Nokia N79 is expected to begin shipping in October 2008, with an estimated retail price of EUR 350, before taxes and subsidies.

"The Nokia N79 packs cutting-edge technology into a compact design - a characteristic of the iconic Nseries - that allows people to discover, create and share their passions with others," said Juha Kokkonen, Director, Nokia Nseries. "It has been designed for those who want a device that is as appealing as it is powerful and comes with interchangeable covers that have automatically matching screen themes. This balance of performance and style means that it is a powerful and defining step forward from the popular and very successful Nokia N72 and Nokia N73."

Perfect for the style conscious, the Nokia N79 comes with Xpress-on smart covers that are available in five cool colors: Light Sea Blue, Espresso Brown, Olive Green, White and Coral Red. A combination of three of these comes with each Nokia N79.

The convergence of photos, music and navigation in the Nokia N79 combines with high-speed 3.5G HSDPA and Wi-Fi to make it quick and easy to share experiences on websites, blogs or online communities.

The innovative technology packed into this colorful offering means that accessing a rich pool of services to further enhance individual experiences is seamless. Log on to online communities like Friendster, Flickr or YouTube or click through to Nokia services such as the Nokia Music Store, N-Gage, Nokia Maps and Share on Ovi, an online service that enables consumers to share personal pictures and videos from their mobile devices.

The 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash and video light captures sharp, clear images and video that can be edited immediately, without the need for a PC. Images can also be geotagged to specific locations. What's more, the Nokia N79 comes packaged with a 4 GB microSD memory card that makes it possible to store around 3,000 songs, approximately 2,500 pictures and up to four hours of DVD-quality video clips that can be organized by albums or tags and uploaded directly to Share on Ovi or third party services. The addition of a sliding lens cover helps protect the top-quality lens when not in use.

Nokia Maps makes it easy to explore and navigate new surroundings by accessing more than 15 million points of interest (POI). In-built A-GPS providing turn-by-turn navigation - for walking or driving - comes with a three month integrated license on the Nokia N79.

A Friendster widget will also be made available for the Nokia N79 via the WidSets service. This will allow people to browse Friendster friends' profiles, view and post shoutouts, upload pictures taken with their handset, and browse their own and friends' photo albums. All this enables more effective communication with friends while away from a computer using the Nokia N79. New users can even register for Friendster directly on their device via a link to Friendster's mobile site (m.friendster.com), create an account, and instantly begin participating in the Friendster global community.

To ensure each device is as distinctive as its user, customizable features are available at the Nokia Download! store, a one stop personalization shop, already embedded in Nokia Nseries devices. It lets consumers create a unique experience for themselves by offering easy access to a multitude of popular ringtones, branded entertainment content, the latest in mobile gaming and dynamic applications for personalizing mobile devices to the user's own preferences.

Are any of you interested in the Nokia N79?

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Nokia has officially released the Nokia N85. Check out some of the first official videos showing off the N85...

Nokia N85 Videos





Flash Photo Gallery Of Nokia N85



The official press release...

Nokia N85 - The definitive entertainment package

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today unveiled the Nokia N85, the latest Nokia Nseries multimedia computer made to set new standards for mobile entertainment, gaming and sharing. Along with an eye-catching 2.6" OLED screen and smooth, sleek finish, the Nokia N85 redefines the mobile experience. It boasts N-Gage gaming, music with in-built FM transmitter, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and geotagging capabilities, three month integrated license for turn-by-turn voice navigation and high-speed connectivity, all in one device. The Nokia N85 is expected to begin shipping in October 2008 with an estimated retail price of EUR 450, before taxes and subsidies.

"The Nokia N85 was created to be more than the sum of its parts, offering a complete mobile entertainment package designed for connecting, sharing and discovering," said Juha-Pekka Sipponen, Director, Nokia Nseries. "The iconic Nokia Nseries dual slider design has evolved to become smaller and sleeker while integrating the newest features and services to deliver the best mobile experience to date."

With a strong lineup of multimedia features, the Nokia N85 is taking the world of mobile convergence to the next level. Gaming, photos, navigation and music blend together with the newest Ovi and third party services via 3.5G HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity to make discovering and sharing experiences quick and seamless.

Engage and interact
The Nokia N85 is pre-loaded with at least 10 made-for-mobile N-Gage gaming titles that jump off of the screen thanks to the dazzling OLED display and a voucher to activate one full game license. Dedicated gaming keys light up when the device is in landscape gaming mode to further enhance the action-packed experience.

A state-of-the-art 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and bright dual LED flash captures clear, sharp images as well as DVD-quality videos at 30 frames per second. Combined with A-GPS it is possible to geotag favorite pictures to see where each photo was taken using the Nokia Maps application or online sites such as Share on Ovi or Flickr.

Each Nokia N85 comes with an 8 GB microSD card, up to 30 hours of music playback time and its high-fidelity sound means favorite tracks can be enjoyed virtually anywhere. Build a personal music collection from the millions of tracks and playlists available from the Nokia Music Store or other online music vendors, or synchronize PC and mobile music libraries via USB cable. Alternatively, consumers can enjoy RDS radio or a wide selection of stations via the internet. The 3.5 mm audio jack makes connecting a top-quality headset simple and an in-built FM transmitter lets the Nokia N85 play wirelessly through a car or home stereo to really crank up the sound.

While it comes out of the box with a multitude of powerful functionality, the pre-loaded Nokia Download! application makes the Nokia N85 truly customizable by offering a wide range of bespoke content. This includes an outstanding selection of world-class branded entertainment content, the latest in mobile gaming and dynamic applications so users can really make their device their own.

Click here to check out the official Nokia N85 product page where you can find more detailed specs and information.

I think I'm liking these specs more than the N96. Anybody else agree?

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In about 30 minutes Nokia will be doing a online virtual launch of two new Nseries devices, most likely the N85 & N79. If you want to follow the even from your computer all you have to do is go to events.nokia.com starting at 11am Finnish time. I'm on Pacific time so if I counted right it should start at 1am over here. I have a cup of coffee and my computer in front of me ready to see what Nokia has up their sleeve.

Earlier today I showed you all a sneak preview of the Nokia N85 and N79. Not sure if those specs are exactly right but we should know shortly. Stay tuned.

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Maybe it's the angle at which these photos were taken, maybe not. Either way these pictures show off a grey Nokia N96. These are perhaps the best pictures I've seen of the Nokia N96.




After seeing these pictures I am really interested to see how the phone feels in my hand. It looks to be sturdy, and I hope feels slimmer than the Nokia N95 8gb, as I found that phone to be too big and clunky. These new pictures look like one of the best Nseries designs, even though it's close to the N81. I just think it looks so much better in grey instead of the glossy black that we've seen over and over. When I first saw the black N96 pictures I wasn't too interested, but now this is really making me re-think my opinion.

Does anyone know if there has already been announced a grey Nokia N96? Or do you think this is just the black version at an angle to make it look grey?

Click here to see the original source and a few more great pictures of the Nokia N96.

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Going through my Google Reader this morning I don't know how I missed this article by iGadget Life about a week ago. Nokia has put up a new Support Page for Nokia N96 owners or those looking to find out more details about the newest Nseries smartphone.

Apparently the Nokia N96 was released last week in India. According to this article by Ravindra from Symbian Life Blog Nokia might be doing this to counter all the fake N96's that Southeast Asia has been seeing alot more of lately. I have yet to hear when Nokia is planning on releasing the N96 to the rest of the world.

Oh and Mark Guim from The Nokia Blog says that those who recently purchased the limited edition Nokia N96 will also recieve a Nokia BH-503 stereo bluetooth headset. Read here for more information.

Will you be picking up the Nokia N96 when it's released?

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Am I missing something or did Nokia really officially announce the Nokia N79 in the UK today? According to this article by Pocket-Lint.co.uk it has been made official. Funny thing is I haven't heard a thing about the announcement anywhere else.

According to Pocket-Link, this Nseries device will be all about style. In the box will come 3 "smart" covers to match your style...

The new entertainment focused candybar handset, will be similar to the N85, also announced today, although come with a more stylised focus.

For those worried about matching their handset with their outfit when they hit the streets, three smart covers are included in every box, with the ability to change the theme's, as you might expect, accordingly.

The article also states that an FM Transmitter (like the one found on the Nokia N78) which is a great selling point. I wonder how the audio quality will be on this device. It is also supposed to have dedicated music playback keys and a battery strong enough to play music for 24 hours.

To me it seems like an upgrade to the Nokia N81 as long as the music quality is just as good. Now that I've seen some of these specs I realize that this device will be geared more for music fans while still having a great 5mp camera with double led flash.

The other day I criticized the leaked photos of the N79, but apparently those images are fakes. We'll see how the phone looks when Nokia releases the details of this phone within the next 24 hours. Stay tuned for more coverage about it tomorrow.



Update - Nokia N85 Announced:


The same site also has a page about the Nokia N85. I'm guessing they got some kind of deal by Nokia to have these photos before anyone else. I'm not sure where Nokia is going with the N85, especially since the N96 has yet to be released to the world.

According to the article,

The new handset will offer a 2.6-inch AM OLED 2.6 inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) with up to 16 million colours display, a 5 megapixel camera, and geotagging capabilities.

On the games front, the phone will sport dedicated N-Gage gaming keys and at least 10 pre-loaded demo titles, however consumers can choose one licensed game for free.

The article also mentions that it will have an FM transmitter and 28 hours of music playback! Is Nokia finally getting smart by putting bigger batteries in their high end phones?

Even though the N85 has a 2.6" screen instead of the N96's 2.8", I think I'd rather have the N85 because of the larger battery.

Like I said earlier these specs haven't officially been announced by Nokia, but I'm sure we'll be getting word from Finland by the next morning.

Source

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It's no secret that the current calculator that comes loaded up on high end Nokia phones like the E72 and N82 is actually a piece of junk. Whenever I get a new Nokia handset one of the first applications I install is Calcium Calculator because of it's simplicity and ease of use.

Well Nokia knows this has been a problem and have been working on porting the S40 version to work on Nokia S60 phones. To do this they surprisingly came up with a java application to do the trick, instead of a .sis application. Upon first reading this I was kind of let down, but this new Calculator seems to run faster than other java applications. This new application will be called Enhanced Calculator for S60.

A huge plus is this includes a scientific calculator for those looking for more functionality. Rita from Symbian-Guru.com says,

Another nifty feature is that you can press * to access more functions as well as Options to launch the scientific calculator or the Loan one. I only tested the Scientific calculator and it has the functions that I regularly use like squares, square roots, as well as Cos, Sin, Log, Ln (press * to access the last ones). The only one that I can’t seem to find is the Exponential.

You can find this application at Nokia Beta Labs where I'm sure it will stay for awhile until all the bugs get worked out.

The developer of Enhanced Calculator says,

The original application was made for certain devices with certain screen sizes. So, I have made changes mainly to the UI of the application. Currently there are some limitations in using this application. It runs properly only in devices with QVGA screen (240×320 or 320×240 pixels), in other cases you should get an error message and the application will be closed. I have tested this in several S60 3rd Edition, 3rd Edition FP1 and 3rd Edition FP2 devices, those with QVGA screen should be ok for this application. However, if you have any problems with the application, post your comments here!

Good to hear that it's working on most S60 phones.

Click here to download Enhanced Calculator. Be sure to leave your feedback at Nokia Beta Labs so they can improve the product. Report and problems you might have.

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This new S60 freeware application called T9 Nav has really done wonders for efficiency and my Nokia N82. T9 Nav (beta) allows you to search for applications, contacts, bookmarks, themes, etc. from your active standby screen just by typing. Best part is it uses T9 input making it fast and simple. It's similar to the popular application called SkyeQuiKey, except this new application is free.



Keep in mind the application is still in the beta testing phase as you might see some bugs. For instance I can't seem to pull up the music player using this application. I'm gonna warn you: It slows down your phone slightly when typing in any application. It kind of adds a delay when starting a new text message, etc. I've already contacted the developers about this issue and I hope they are working hard to get this fixed.

The functionality this application brings is what should have already been standard on Nokia smartphones like the N82 and N95. Ever since I installed this application I haven't found a need for a contacts shortcut on my standby screen so I got rid of it.

For more screenshots of T9 Nav beta for S60 phones click here.

OR

To download the application click here.

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After N78 owners in Europe got their over the air firmware update about a month ago, North American users have been dying to get the same treatment from Nokia. Everyone was hoping that Nokia wasn't going to drag out the update for the N78-3, much like they did for the N95-3. Low and behold today the buzz around the net is the North American Nokia N78 model has been updated to version 12.046, the same as the Euro N78. Even better news is this is an over-the-air update. Just go into your Device Manager and search for a new update. It's wise to do it over a WLAN or 3g connection.

The user MobileHavoc from Howard Forums has posted a nice rundown of the changes he sees in his new N78 firmware. Check it out...

Changes I can confirm so far:

- Naviscroll sensitivity tweaked. I had it turned off. Turned it back on and it's actually usable now! It's not as sensitive so you don't have accidental movement when trying to press down. Loving having this back.

- Right softkey 1000x better with response. Now everytime I press the right softkey it registers correctly. With v10 firmware it would sometimes not register no matter what. Huge improvement there.

- Music player seems to keep proper track of podcasts for resume. i.e. You are listening to something, phone reboots/turns off etc. and you go back to it, it will resume where you left off. This didn't work well with v10. I listen to podcasts a lot so this is a great feature for me.

Some of the updates per the changelogs are specifically around Bluetooth functionality and other things I can't test now. I had the phone freeze up on v10 when using FM transmitter sometimes so want to test that too which I can't now.

FWIW, my phone rebooted a few minutes with v12 ago when in the Messaging app which is not a good sign but I'll chalk that up to a fluke

Also the Camera zoom not working is still there but workaround still works - which is to start Camera app as soon as phone boots...use the zoom (make sure it works which it always does for me) and then exit. It'll continue working from then on.
And here is the rest of it.

So far the Naviscroll sensitivity and right softkey responsiveness are worth the update alone.

Here is a short description of what's been changed according to Nokia:

This software release includes a number of performance improvements including softkey selection, Bluetooth stability, video playback, email sending and alarm clock functions. This software release is available though either the Nokia Software Updater or directly through your Nokia N78.

To get this software through your Nokia N78, click Menu > Tools > Utilities > Device Manager. Select Options > Check for updates and follow the on-screen prompts. Remember that you can also use Wi-Fi to download the update.

Have you updated your N78-3 firmware yet. Notice any other significant changes?

p.s. I know I've been away for awhile. It's because I lost my Windows hardrive when installing Ubuntu and have been trying to recover my files the past few days. I finally got everything back and I'll be back to posted like normal later this week.

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As if there aren't enough E71 vs. iPhone comparisons floating around the net, the dudes from The Gadget Show have recently put their 2 cents in about the two mobile monsters. Unfortunately only those that reside in the UK are lucky enough to watchin Channel 5's popular Gadget Show. According to Dial-a-Phone the E71 held it's ground in the head to head battle, winning in a few key areas.

One area the E71 came out on top over the iPhone was navigating around London. Dial-a-Phone says,

Channel 5’s Gadget Show team challenged the two handsets to guide them to a London Underground station, a test which the Nokia E71 ended up winning thanks to a more reliable GPS signal.

What good is a big beautiful screen when it has a hard time getting a GPS lock right?

I personally think the E71 trumps the iPhone in more ways than we think. I've had my hands on the iPhone for the past few weeks and I've been burning to get back to the multi-tasking abilities of S60 phone's. Not to mention the real qwerty keyboard and dedicated shortcut keys. Interesting to note Dial-a-Phone says that The Gadget Show gave the two phone's a tie score. Click here to read the full review of the show.

Ok enough of this iPhone vs E71 talk. But seriously, does anyone have a link to this video by The Gadget Show besides their website. I can't view the video cuz I'm not a UK resident.

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Holy smokes, Batman! This is one of the features I've been dying for when using my Nokia N82. I actually just mentioned it the other day in my E71 review.The ability to have our text messages and emails shown on the Active Standby screen is now possible with an application called S60Ticker. Before this only my E71 gave me this feature. Nokia decided that this should be a "Eseries only" feature which I think is pretty lame. It's nice to see the developer community fixing the problems. Now N82, N95, N81, etc etc owners can have this feature making their phone's more user friendly and business oriented (for the email people). Not sure if it works on FP2 phones like the Nokia N78.

S60Ticker has been around for awhile it seems but I hadn't heard of it until just the other day. The app is freeware unless you want to enable more features which is what I did. It's only like $9 bucks and so far I'd say it's money well spent.

First I'll give you some screenshots of how the application looks on my N82, then talk about the settings. Keep in mind in these screenshots the content is actually scrolling, hence the name "ticker". You can adjust the speed of the scrolling so thats awesome.

Screenshots...

Here is how the unread emails look on my N82's active standby screen. You can specify how many new messages you want it to show. If you don't want to read the message and you push "Exit" on the notification the ticker will still be visible until the message is read or you hide the ticker with the hotkey.



You also have the option of making the ticker showing up every screen like below. I found it annoying after awhile so I disabled it.



And here are what the settings look like. As you can see this application is highly customizable, especially if you buy full version. Under the General tab there are more settings I just didn't show them in a screenshot.





Settings
I'm not gonna go through all the different little settings it has, just some of the ones that stick out to me.

Position - You can have the ticker show up anywhere on the screen. As you can see I have mine covering the useless search row. When I don't have any new messages the ticker just goes away. Another good spot is directly above the softkey labels at the bottom of the screen.

Custom Colors & Theme Support - I like this feature alot. You can either have custom colors or tell it to use the theme of your phone. As you can see in the screenshots I picked to follow my theme. It looks great. You can also modify the font and font size.

Specify How Much To Show - For texts I have mine set to show the whole thing. For emails the most it will show you is the subject. If not just the sender only.

Specify Hotkeys To Control The Notification - When you get a new message you can use the hotkey to either hide the ticker or select the message and open it. This feature is great especially if you like seeing the notification on any screen. From there you can open the message without having to minimize what your doing. The hotkey I use is "C" longpress. Nice!

Ticker Timeout Settings - You can tell the ticker to go away after x amount of time. I like mine to always show until I manually hide it or read the message.

One thing to note is this isn't fully compatible with Emoze but Seven works ok. Actually with Seven it will show you the ticker just fine with your emails, but when you try to open the email from the ticker it will take you to the Messaging application and not the email. Not a big deal since you can still open your emails with the built-in notification if you'd like. With Emoze I couldn't get it to show any emails at all. You can still use it for text messages however. I haven't tried it with any other email solutions.

If you just go for the free version you won't be bombarded with trials or anything like that. You can keep it on your phone as long as you want, you just can't customize some parts of the application.

You can find lots of documention at the developers official website for S60Ticker. There's a lot to read about this application when your setting it up to your liking. He has everything laid out in a nice chart so you know exactly what each setting does. Keep in mind there are two files you need to install on your phone and it's already symbian signed.

Click here to check out the official S60Ticker page.

Has anyone else aready been using this application? Maybe I'm just late to the game. Hopefully you guys find this useful like I do. Let me know if you have any questions.

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From an article I wrote earlier today at E71 Fanatics...

Just letting all you peeps know that Amazon.com has finally dropped their price on the Nokia E71 North American version (aka e71-2). It popped up on Amazon a few weeks og for over $500, but now you can pick it up for only $432. Not a bad price for such a feature rich phone.

Click Here to see the deal.

Also don't forget if you need more memory you can check out the E71 Fanatics Amazon Store where you can find some great deals. The 8gb microsd cards are going for under $30. There you will also see some accessories for the E71 like cases, holders, etc.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Stay tuned for more E71 articles this week.

Just thought I'd share that with you. It's a hell of a deal. Stay tuned I'll be posting a few good application reviews this week and giving my final thoughts on the Nokia E71 review.

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