Those of you that are not enamoured with the iPhone or Pre might be pleased to know that e-tailers are looking after your Nokia (NYSE: NOK) needs with the N97 and some good deals!

eXpansys is one of those companies, and are currently offering the N97 for £499.99 – but with £30 of vouchers in there, for you to spend on what you like in the rest of their store:

Buy the Nokia N97 from eXpansys and we’ll give you £30 of eXpansys vouchers to spend on accessories so you can make the most out of your new phone. Why not use them to get yourself a car charger or a spare battery so you never run out of power? Follow this link for full terms and conditions.

Running Series 60 5th Edition, the Nokia N97 Smartphone makes connecting more personal with the touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. Take top-quality 5 megapixel photos and watch widescreen videos on the large screen or download the latest games and widgets online.

So there you go – you in the UK? Want Nokia? Now you’ve got (another) good reason to get one!

I don’t know about you, but I have a total hard on for the Nokia (NYSE: NOK) E72. It literally fixes the only two problems, lack of 3.5 mm headphone jack and shit camera, that I had with an otherwise perfect E71. I updated Dusan’s post yesterday quite a few times with some live photos, and today I just so happened to search for Nokia E72 on YouTube and this video popped up:

There was also a second video uploaded that is quite boring to watch, but several of you will want to view anyway, that highlights the new “UI bling” that has been added to the E72 along with a demo of how well that optical navigation key works. At the 2 minute 19 second mark he whips out a Nokia E71 and does a comparison. Note his remark, the E72 is slightly thicker:

Update: Just because I love you, here is a third video from C|Net Asia:

While Dusan woke up early enough today to cover the launch of the Nokia E72 and the Nokia 5330, he neglected to cover the 3710 Fold and I have a huge smile on my face because of that. The sub €200 segment is interesting, and the sub €100 segment gets me even more excited, why?

When you reach these price points, you’re talking about mass adoption. The 3710 Fold is the first sub €200 device to come with GPS from Nokia (NYSE: NOK). Many of you reading this have had GPS for the past 2 years thanks to the Nokia N95, but now everyone will be able to enjoy knowing where they are, at all times. GPS quickly has become one of my most needed features and my navigation skills have atrophied so poorly that I need to use GPS in order to get to my friend’s place less than 3 km away.

For €140 ($195), before taxes and subsidies, you get a phone that weighs 94 grams, is 89 mm tall, 47 mm wide, and 15.2 mm thick. It takes the Nokia BL-4S battery, which holds 860 mAh. It has a 2.2 inch screen that is 320 pixels tall, 240 pixels wide, and displays 16.7 million colors. A second display on the front measures 1.36 inches across, is black and white, and has a resolution of 160 x 128. You’ll be able to take photos with a 3.2 megapixel camera. It will work anywhere in the world since it has quad band EDGE support. There will be two versions, based on which flavor of triband 3G you want: 850/1900/2100 or 900/1700/2100. It has Bluetooth 2.1, with enhanced data rate support, a full WebKit based browser, and this is also the first S40 device I know of that supports more than 1000 contacts, you can have up to 2000. Oh and one more thing: it runs S40 6th Edition.

I could complain about the fact that this has a 2.5 mm headphone jack versus a 3.5 mm headphone jack, but what Nokia has done with this device, in this price point, is amazing. You’ll be able to purchase this device in the 4th quarter of this year and it will be available in either Pink, Plum or Black.

Grab the official datasheet here (PDF link), read the Press Release, view this device on Forum Nokia, and also on Nokia.com’s website.

I’d share some live photos of this if I had any, but everyone is paying attention to the E72 and 5330. Shame really, this device will give a lot of people confidence to explore their world since they know that getting lost will be close to impossible.

Aside from the E72, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has also unveiled a new member to its music device range – Nokia 5530 XpressMusic. We’ve heard rumors something like this is coming, but the Finnish giant still caught us by surprise.

Think of the 5530 XM as an entry-level Symbian S60 5th edition device. It lacks 3G radio, but comes with WiFi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity support — something in lines of the original iPhone. On the other hand, it seems better looking than its older brother – Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, and the same could be told for the built quality. Unlike the Tube which is made from plastic, the 5530 XM comes with the solid stainless steel frame finish, making the device feel better in hand — I guess at least, since I haven’t been able to hold it in my hand.

Rest of the specs — aside from WiFi and Bluetooth — include GSM/EDGE connectivity, 2.9-inch touchscreen (I guess nHD), and microSD expansion slot (the 5530 XM will come with 4GB card in box). The device seem tailored for use by youth, hence the homescreen features top 20 contacts, shortcuts to popular social networks like MySpace and Facebook, YouTube client, as well as an array of Ovi services that allow easy sharing of photos and videos.

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is expected to begin shipping in Q3 2009 at an estimated retail price of EUR 199 EUR before taxes and subsidies, when interested users will be able to grab it in “five vivid colors.” Finally it’s worth adding that Nokia is collaborating with Boingo and will offer three months of free Internet access through Boingo’s numerous hotspots in select markets.

Just when we saw that leaked video of Nokia E72, the Finnish giant decided to push the button and announce the new device to the world. My initial impression is – WOW! It seems that the E72 fixes all the “problems” (if I could call them problems at all) of its predecessor – E71, and it even looks better.

Here’s what’s improved in the E72 when compared to the E71:

• 5 megapixel camera as opposed to E71’s 3.2 megapixels
• standard 3.5mm audio jack as opposed to 2.5mm
• new version of Quickoffice which can sing along Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Office 2007 files
• I also guess the E72 runs Symbian S60 3.2 (Feature pack 2) like AT&T (NYSE: T)’s E71x — E71 runs S60 3.1
• slightly improved keyboard, like the one found on the E63

Rest of the specs seem identical — we still wait for Forum Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to include the E72 in their list of devices when we’ll have all the specs — and include a GPS, WiFi, HSPA, Bluetooth, QVGA screen… you name it.

The Nokia E72 is expected to begin shipping in late Q3 2009 at an estimated retail price of 350 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

Update: Stefan here, Dusan is traveling today, and it looks like Forum Nokia finally uploaded the E72 to their website! It’s also on Nokia’s consumer website; not to mention Nokia’s Press site uploaded the datasheet (PDF file). Here are the highlights:

• 114 x 59.5 x 10.1 mm
• Three colors: Zodium Black, Metal Grey, Topaz Brown
• 128 g
• 2.36 inch display, 16.7 million colors
• Micro USB
• 3.5 mm headphone jack
• Compass + GPS
• 1500 mAh battery
• GSM talk/standby: 12.5 hours/20 days
• 3G talk/standby: 6 hours/24 days
• Quad Band EDGE
• Tri Band HSPA! There will be two versions, one is  850/1900/2100 (NAM), the other is  900/1900/2100 (EU + ASIA)
• HSDPA maxes out at 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA maxes out at 2 Mbps
• WiFi b/g
• 640 x 480 video recording @ 15 frames per second
• And yes, Dusan’s hunch was correct, it runs S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2

Update: Stefan here again, one more thing, Mark from the Nokia Blog found some live pictures, told Engadget about them, and now I’ve embedded them after the jump!

Update: Third update, happy I’m not blasting your RSS reader with posts yet? Nokia Conversations uploaded this video. Towards the end there is a shot of the E72 in all 3 colors, I’ve taken a screen grab and posted it after the jump.

Update: Fourth update, only because I know how much people love comparison photos. These come from A Bugged Life:

E72 left, E71 right:

E72 bottom, E71 top:

Update: Fifth update: more live pictures added after the jump, this time from VR-Zone.

Read the full article »

Nokia Conversations, a blog officially run by Nokia (NYSE: NOK), accidentally posted a video to YouTube that showcases the Nokia E72. It looks very similar to the E71, but has a 5 megapixel camera. Judging by the repeated swipe gestures on the D pad, it may have an optical mouse. The headphone jack also appears to have been moved to the top of the device similar to how it appears on the Nokia E63, versus the E71 having it on the side; hopefully it will be 3.5 mm so we can use standard headphones! It also appears that it will be available in three colors. That’s about all the information we have at the moment. Enjoy it before the people in Espoo come into work Monday morning and take it down. Oh and if they do take it down, I uploaded it to my Daily Motion account.

Update: The YouTube video has been set to private, but never mind that:

And for those who want the 21.4 MB HD version of the video above, grab it here. A few screen grabs of this HD version after the jump.

Read the full article »

To promote the launch its flagship device in the U.S., Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has prepared a special video featuring LL Cool J’s “Don’t call it a comeback!” and, of course, the N97, which sings along the tune. Major features of the device are highlighted including home page widgets, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, connectivity options, social networking, and so on. Check it out, it’s cool, though I doubt it will help Nokia sell bunch of N97s without a carrier partner that will subsidize it.

Some 40 dealers in Jinan, of the Shandong province in China, are boycotting the sale of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) devices due to being heavily penalized by the Finnish handset maker for selling devices outside agreed upon areas. They’ve asked for their money back. All 40 dealers have a banner outside their door that says “protect the interests and rights of consumers, refuse to sell Nokia.” Over 200 Chinese dealers in Changsha and Hunan were discussing a potential protest in late May, and it looks like it’s finally happening now. Not to throw salt on the wound, but they’re also pissed off that Nokia has hired someone to make sure that they were selling the phones in the agreed upon regions, yet this unknown third party has failed to produce any receipts that prove any wrong doing has been done.

This reminds me of winter 2007 when I went home to visit my parents in the USA. The Euro was strong, the Dollar was low, what did you think I did? I shopped my bloody brains out, so much so that I had to buy another suitcase. When I landed in Helsinki I was flagged for inspection. One bag was full of expensive electronics, the other clothes. Inspector checked the bag of clothes, said everything was fine, and I went about my way after nearly having a panic attack.

Not paying taxes is fun. Getting heavy fines isn’t.

[Via: The Inquirer, China Tech News]

It’s not every day we see Nokia (NYSE: NOK) issuing a press release for their N-Gage game. When that happens we think there gotta be something special about it. Apparently, there is, as they are touting their latest title Dance Fabulous as the first cross-services game that incorporates both a music and gaming experience, offering players a “new way to enjoy and listen to music.”

The game is a result of collaboration between Nokia, Interscope Records, music legend Dave Stewart, and a pioneering artist, Cindy Gomez, who’s actually dancing as an avatar in the game and whose five songs are featured in the game, including her debut single “Again & Again.”

Think of the Dance Fabulous as a Dance Revolution optimized for a mobile phone. You press the buttons shown on the screen and an avatar performs the choreography to collect points. Players can customize their own avatars, mix and match between a variety of dance styles and dance sets, and of course, share their moves with friends through the N-Gage Arena…

Interested? There’s a dedicated page about Dance Fabulous on N-Gage’s website from where you can get more details. Before you visit the site, make sure to check out a short demo video of the game after the jump.

Read the full article »

While the Palm Pre’s Touchstone manages to charge the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre sans wires, thanks to a little bit of magnetic induction technology, the Pre still needs to be in physical contact (or at least close enough for the Touchstone’s magnetic field to work its magic) with the Touchstone to draw a charge. Nokia (NYSE: NOK), on the other hand, is pursuing a research path that could one day lead us to a new kind of power-charging technology – the ability to charge your mobile phone wirelessly via radio waves. Nokia calls it “ambient charging” technology because it draws power from the ambient radio waves (FM radio, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.). There is research being done on transmitting energy over large distances using magnetic fields, but Nokia’s “ambient charging” technology is much more compelling because it can draw power from any radio source (although, they weren’t the first to travel this research path).

The idea is to tap into the energy carried by the radio waves that pervade our everyday lives. Everyday, we swim through a soup of EM radiation – why not put all that energy to work? At the moment, Nokia is only able to draw 3-5 mW of power from a nearby radio source (like a WiFi base station). Nokia needs to hit 50 mW of “ambient charging” power draw to make the technology viable. Whether Nokia is able to pull it off is still not clear, but it’s good to know we have some creative Nokia boffins toiling away to drive mobile innovation!

[Via: PocketPicks]