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The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic made its way around the various interwebs as the Nokia 5800 “Tube,” promising to bring with it Nokia’s answer to the current touchscreen revolution sparked by the iPhone and iPhone 3G. With S60 5th Edition, S60 Touch if you will, enabling complete touch functionality on Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen smartphone, Espoo is poised to to take on the likes of HTC, Sony Ericsson, T-Mobile, Samsung, and Apple in the touchscreen smartphone arena.

Unfortunately, it may take a bit longer than expected to get a Nokia XpressMusic 5800 smartphone into the hands of eager S60 fans in mature markets. We’re hearing that Nokia has dashed the dreams of so many XpressMusic 5800 hopefuls with their revelation that the ballyhooed handset would fail to hit most mature markets before the holiday shopping season.

While India, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Russia and Spain will be taking shipment of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen smartphone by year-end, the rest of Europe and North America will have to wait until 2009 before the Nokia XpressMusic 5800 becomes a reality. The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will run €279 ($387) in unlocked, unsubsidized form. With contracts and subsidies, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic could undercut the iPhone 3G’s price-point.

“The phone is competitively priced and Nokia’s competitive advantage is in emerging markets. When putting two and two together it’s logical they start the roll-out from emerging markets,” said analyst Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.

Whether or not it makes sense to bring the Nokia 5800 to emerging market first, it sure does make it that much harder for the rest of the developed world to hop on board the S60 Touch-train. With a little luck, Nokia will launch the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and its S60 5th Edition OS in the US around the same time as it goes live in Europe.

This is the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

[Via: Reuters]

In case you missed it, the newly announced Nokia 5800 XpressMusic aka Tube is running the Symbian OS 9.4 with S60 5th edition on top of it. With this latest release of S60, Nokia is about to make the touch interface a standard among its devices.

But it’s not all about the touch. The S60 5.0 also integrates a number of standards that should help developers create as much content and apps as possible for the platform. Among the things that are supported with the new S60 version are Open C++, Adobe Flash Lite 3, S60 Web Runtime which adds support for S60 Platform Services. Then there’s the sensor framework that provides easy integration for wide range of sensors into vendor’s devices, and enables them and developers to take advantage of sensor data to create new intuitive applications and features.

The S60 5th Edition SDK and tools are already available to download via Forum Nokia, and we’ve no doubts we’ll see tons of cool apps in the coming months for the Tube.

But the new version of S60 is way more important. Knowing Nokia we’ll see bunch of new S60 5.0 powered phones being announced in the coming months. CES and Mobile World Congress are coming and we’ll certainly keep our eyes on the Finnish giant.

Full “S60 5.0 is out” release is available from Nokia’s website.

Back in August we reported that the Samsung i7110 is coming. Now we have more information to share, and we gladly do.

Here’s what we know. The Samsung i7110 specs will include:

• 3G (HSDPA) support, GSM/EDGE
• Symbian S60 9.3 OS (Feature Pack 2?)
• QVGA 262K color OLED display
• 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash
• FM Radio with RDS
• built-in GPS
• 80MB of built-in memory
• microSDHC memory card slot
• Dimensions: 118×52×13 mm

Lack of WiFi means I’ll almost certainly pass this one.

As for the launch date, Samsung will probably launch the i7110 during Symbian Smartphone Show which begins within 20 days in London.

[Via: Unwired View]

Nokia’s long-expected unlimited subscription-based music download service has just gone official. With the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Tube getting a little more official today, Nokia has announced that they’ll be bringing their “Comes With Music” offering to the handset next year. But, while the Nokia XpressMusic 5800 Tube might be the brighter-shining star, Nokia has more modest plans for their “Comes With Music” launch.

Rather than debut the unlimited music download service on their iPhone-fighting Nokia Tube, Espoo will apparently launch the “Comes With Music” service on October 16 and will first be available on the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic “Comes With Music” Edition. Included in the purchase price of the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic handset is a 12 month subscription to the Nokia Comes With Music program, allowing users to download as many songs as they wish during the 12-month trial period - the kicker is that customers will be allowed to keep their downloaded tracks forever.

The launch of the Nokia Comes With Music program ushers in a new age of music delivery to mobile phones. Not only does the Nokia Comes With Music program offer access to millions of songs from just about every worthwhile record label in the business, but customers can download an unlimited number of songs whenever and wherever they please. Customers won’t have to worry about the cost of downloading a single song or album, making it easier to get their feet wet with new music. The “Comes With Music” edition handsets will be offered with 12 months worth of unlimited music downloads.

“Comes With Music sets a precedent for consumer value and convenience that the rest of the digital entertainment industry is already copying,” said Tero Ojanperä, executive vice president and head of the Nokia entertainment and communities business. “Trying out a music recommendation is spontaneous as customers can download without worrying about the cost of an album or a track - the freedom and simplicity of the service is unparalleled. And Comes With Music gives you unlimited access to the millions of tracks in the Nokia Music Store and the music is all yours to keep - because it’s not a revolution unless you get to keep your music.”

Apple and the pay-per-download iTunes Music Store should have reason to worry. Or, at the very least, offer a subscription-based unlimited download program.

As expected, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Comes With Music Edition will be available for £130 (about $230), which includes a year’s worth of unlimited music downloads, from CarphoneWarehouse.com.

Espoo’s first touchscreen S60-powered handset is nigh here. Well, the Nokia XpressMusic 5800 Tube isn’t Nokia’s first touchscreen mobile phone, but the Nokia Tube is the first touchscreen offering that’s actually worth mentioning. Not to be outdone by the flood of mobile phones coming on market with touchscreens in tow, Nokia XpressMusic 5800 Tube will be debuting the company’s S60 5th Edition mobile OS with full touchscreen capabilities.

As a direct competitor to the Apple iPhone 3G, Nokia is pulling out all the stops. While Apple may

Nokia XpressMusic 5800 Tube

have been the market-force behind the current touchscreen handset-boom, Nokia isn’t going to let the iPhone 3G trump its Tube on the feature-tip. The Nokia XpressMusic 5800 Tube sports all the high-end features that we’ve come to expect from Nokia.

The Nokia XpressMusic 5800’s 3.2-inch high-resolution display packs in an impressive 640 x 360 pixels in a pressure-based touchscreen. A 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with Car Zeiss optics adorns the backside of the Nokia XpressMusic 5800 Tube along with a dual-LED flash. Within the Nokia Tube’s svelte package lies the GPS receiver, WiFi radio, quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM/EDGE radio with your choice of North American 3G support, European 3G support, or none at all (depending on which variant you decide to pickup.

A 3.5mm headphone jack makes sure that you can listen to your favorite tunes on your favorite headphones. Of course, you’re going to need some serious storage to tote all your media on the road, so the Nokia XpressMusic 5800 Tube brings along a microSD card slot that supports up to 16GB of extra storage - Nokia has seen fit to include an 8GB microSD card in the box, making the Tube a sweet deal.

And, even sweeter is the Nokia Tube’s price-point. The Nokia XpressMusic 5800 will be available in your choice of Black, Red, or Silver for just €279 (about $392) in unlocked form. But, if unlimited subscription music downloads are more your style, you might want to wait for Nokia to drop the “Comes With Music” edition of the Nokia XpressMusic 5800 Tube next year.

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Raise your hand if you like getting free stuff. We thought so. How about an exclusive membership to the latest iPhone call management service? Good, keep reading.

The good folks over at Newber were kind enough to give our readers a chance to win an exclusive sneak-peak at their Newber phone call-management service. Newber, as you’ll likely remember, is the GrandCentral-like solution for the iPhone - only hopped up on steroids that give it the ability to detect your location and transfer calls. Newber installs as an iPhone application on your iPhone or iPhone 3G and allows you to manage your incoming and outgoing calls - seamlessly switching between any phone number you choose.

With Newber installed on your iPhone or iPhone 3G, all calls sent to your “Newber number” can be routed to any phone number of your choice. You can then swap calls between any other phone number seamlessly, without missing a beat. When you move from car to office, or find yourself about to lose cellular reception, all you have to do is transfer your current call to your office phone or another phone with reception. The call transfer is transparent and completely unnoticeable to the caller, giving you uninterrupted peace of mind. And, with integrated GPS data, Newber can even track your position and offer to route all calls to the nearest phone.

Sounds slick, doesn’t it? Well, we’re giving away an exclusive Newber introductory membership to 15 lucky IntoMobile readers. You’ll be among just a handful of users with access to Newber’s service, and we’re proud to offer the exclusive membership for free to our lucky readers.

Newber won’t be available to anyone outside the private beta and our exclusive membership giveaway, so make sure you leave a comment!

Will you be one of the lucky few to give Newber a spin?

Here’s how you can win a free month of Newber service:

1. Be a US resident.
2. Leave a comment below (you’d be wise to leave an email address where we can reach you).
3. Your comment should include a little blurb about your favorite Newber feature (don’t get too specific, just let us know that you’d actually use the service).
4. Cross your fingers.

The contest is only open to US residents and will continue through the end of September. Get your comments in before October 1st to be included in the running for free Newber service!

HappyWakeUp is an interesting mobile app for Symbian S60 based smartphones that promises to wake you up when it’s best for you. Here’s what the official description says about it:

HappyWakeUp works as a smart alarm clock. HappyWakeUp is based on medical research of the human sleep and its structure. It smartly monitors your sleep using the microphone of the mobile phone. It gives you an alarm signal in the morning - but only if you are awake or almost awake just before the final wakeup time. At this kind of moment your body and brain is ready to wake up naturally and without any extra stress.

Want to know more? Well if someone’s going to wake you up before YOU think it’s the right time, you certainly want, don’t you? That’s why they’ve prepare a dedicated “How it works” page, explaining us why it’s better to let this app wake you up before you the alarm you’ve earlier set.

The application requires a Symbian S60 3rd edition device, although they’re not mentioning Samsung smartphones. Guess it should work, but I can’t guarantee anything.

Hop over to the official website for more information.

[Via: Gizmodo]

Following on the Nokia N95’s bump up to the new v30.0.015 firmware, owners of Nokia’s candybar Nokia N82 can now update their handsets to the latest firmware. Nokia has unleashed the newest firmware version for all Nokia N82 handsets, bringing with it a new Flash Lite version, Maps 2.0, new music player, less sensitive automatic display rotation, and other various enhancements that should make the overall user experience that much better.

[Via: AllAboutSymbian]

Fring keeps adding new handsets to its list of supported devices and just recently they’ve announce that another phone is on the list. This time it’s the Sony Ericsson G900, the one which we consider to be the single best Symbian UIQ powered smartphone released to date.

The WiFi-enabled, 5 megapixel camera equipped candybar can now be used for low-cost phone calls or just for staying in touch with friends. In addition, you can send files via Fring and/or chat on multiple IM network at once — all while on-the-go.

To download fring, visit this page, follow the easy instructions and you’re ready to go. Enjoy!

[Via: Fring Blog]

Dear Nokia N95 owners, with the new firmware (v30.0.015) it is now possible to remove the menu icon. Yes I know it sounds confusing but if you take a look at the image above you’ll figure out what I’m talking about. As a result, other icons (apps) are a bit bigger and the overall menu looks cleaner.

There are two ways to do this:

• The simplest way is to download this file, sign and install it, and it will do the job for you.
• The second way is for “hacked phones” (not sure what that means) - download this text file, copy it to “C:\private\10202be9″ folder and reboot the phone!

I must warn you, though, I haven’t tried this myself. Folks from DailyMobile.se posted this tip and we’re just passing it on. Good luck!