The CPU specs of Nokia’s flagship N97 have been revealed and we now know  that the device will have a single ARM 11 processor running at 434 MHz, 65MHz more than 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia’s other S60 5th edition device. There has been a lot of talk about this subject with many pointing out that this CPU certainly isn’t enough for a flagship device.

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First spotted by Ricky over at the Symbian-Guru, we now have a clearer picture about a few new features included with the N86 8MP.  The N86 8MP sports a kickstand similar to the N96, but Nokia has gone ahead and turned it into an active Kickstand, allowing the user to personalize what application launch when Kickstand is opened. I enjoy watching video podcast downloaded with the Podcasting application, opening the Kickstand should now automatically open the Gallery for example.

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One of Nokia’s best kept secrets has been released to the world! The N97 is here! Tensions were high yesterday as everyone wondered what Nokia was going to release this week. With no leaks, some even doubted that they were releasing any new devices at Nokia World. I did have a few thoughts of my own, like for example I remember posting at Howard Forums that it could be a “Flagship Nseries with side slide-out QWERTY.” Guess I was right. Thinking about, Scoble’s post “Nokia’s touchiest week” was kind of a giveaway.

With some capable competitors already on the market, it was indeed a crucial announcement for Nokia. As Vaibhav from the Symbian blog puts it: “this is the week that Nokia either shines or moves to the B list of the cell phone market.” And indeed Nokia delivered, by releasing the N97. I can’t help but get the same impression I got when I first got a glimpse of the N95. This thing has *almost* everything I could ask from a flagship device and should give the Nokia the edge it had when the N95 arrived. I have to say almost, because having a Xenon flash and 8 Megapixel (for bragging rights) would have made it perfect in every way. But by now it’s clear that the real reasons why the N97 doesn’t have a Xenon flash and 8 Megapixels is because that’s what the N82′s successor, possibly the device code named “Corolla” will have.

Looking at the design, I don’t see any traces of that plasticky toy-like look I’ve seen from devices like the N95 or N96. Interestingly it  doesn’t only seems to have taken some design cues from the E71 and E90,but just like it’s Eseries siblings, it gives the impression of being extremely solid. How about that keyboard, doesn’t it look like the one found on a certain Internet Tablet device? Some have even mentioned that the N97 has taken some N79 design elements, which seems especially true with the white version. This also might be the very first time I buy a white device, as it just looks sweet in white.

I remember asking for a N810 with phone features, the N97 is probably the closest thing to that so far. I want one and I want one now!

Will you be getting a N97?

Source: Allaboutsymbian

What happens when you take the ultra successful Nokia E71 and offer it at a lower price level? You get the newly released E63 of course!  The E63 joins the 5800 XpressMusic in being  capable devices offered at a reasonably low MSRP. Could it be that Nokia is starting a trend here? High on features, low price? I certainly hope so. Just like the E71, the E63 sports the S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1. At the low 199 Euros you do give up on some of the features.
The E63 is actually thicker and you do lose that metal body found on the E71. Obviously at this price range a few things had to  taken out, these include: the GPS, infrared, Auto focus and HSDPA. The camera is now 2 megapixel instead of the 3.2 Megapixel found on the E71.  On the other you it’s the first Eseries with a 3.5mm audio jack and the flash light can now be used as a torch. The keyboard has reportedly been redesigned.
The Nokia E63 also includes Files on Ovi, a service where people can get remote access to their PC files even when their computer is offline. Anyone buying the handset will have access to 1GB of online file storage for free.

Via: Allaboutsymbian

Nokia’s wannabe flagship device, the N85, is set to launch tomorrow in the UK (Friday, October the 31st), where it will available on all networks, well, except for  Vodafone.  Vodafone users will have to wait until the 1st December. With a feature set rivalling the flagship N96, in a smaller, refined package and truly impressive battery life, it’s something really worth getting exciting about for UK residents.

The N85 is an impressive device, probably one of the best currently available, too bad that even a lesser equipped device such as the Samsung Pixon which is set to launch soon or even the Sony Ericsson Cybershot series have already entered the 8 Megapixel race.

A quick check on the DNLA website revealed that the N78 joins devices like the N95, N95 8GB and N82 in being DNLA certified devices. DLNA-compatible devices serve two different functions: Server, Client or both. "Servers" distribute media such as image, music, or video files, and "clients" receive and play the media. Devices like N95 8GB, N82 and now N95 are classified as a Mobile Media Server, allowing you to make the content available to clients like the Sony PS3 and DNLA printers. If you’re wondering how exactly this certification can be put to use you can see how it can be connected to a Sony Playstation 3 to play music, show pictures and control your media, like in the video below. Pretty soon you’ll also be able print wirelessly via WIFI using DNLA certified printer.

I was informed from my sources close to Sandisk that those sought-after 16GB microSD cards are supposed to be available to online stores in about 4 weeks, which should put availability sometime in July. This pushes availability 1 month later as these were supposed to available in June as we hoped. Apparently SanDisk seemed have had few issues lately and due to the large inventory of 8GB cards that needs to be moved, all have lead to the delay of the 16GB cards.

With an impending release of the N96 with its built-16GB of memory and the option of adding microSDHC cards, you could very soon be walking around with devices holding no less than 32GB’s of memory.  Will you be getting the N96 with one of those 16GB Sandisk microSDHC cards?

Update: Some of you have been asking about the 12GB Sandisk microSD cards. It seems Sandisk will completely skip these and go straight for the 16GB models. Looking ahead, 32GB microSD cards should be arriving in the next 12 to 18 months, making it possible for users to carry a total of 48GB of memory in a device like the N96.

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As Tzer2 at Allaboutsymbian has pointed out, the N95 does have gaming keys.  He has heard mixed reports about the N95 8GB, but I can confirm that on my N95 8GB (N95-2) with the latest firmware, the gaming keys work in N-Gage. What variant of the N95 do you have and do the gaming keys work in N-Gage?

Over at Allaboutngage there’s a well-written article indicating something that I personally wasn’t aware of: your N-Gage library is locked to the original handset forever. I always thought that my purchased games would somehow be linked to my N-Gage account, but as it turns out getting a new phone means losing every single purchased game! The article goes on suggesting that Nokia should fix by either doing game activation by consulting Nokia’s servers or Linking games to a single N-Gage account, and linking that account to a single phone.  Personally, I won’t be making a single purchase until this is sorted. What do you think? How should the N-Gage system deal with game purchases, activation and transfer?

In what seems like one of their most anti-climate high-profile launches, Nokia has finally released the much anticipated and delayed N-Gage platform. Stranger still is the fact that there wasn’t any announcement.  After downloading the pretty large 6Mb+ (for phone installation files at least) I was pretty much ready to be wowed, but in the end I ended up not impressed. Here are the reasons why, going from bad to even worse.

1)First of all, when installing the N-Gage app it replaces the demo app, but instead of putting the replacement at the exact same spot at the top level of the menu (Root Folder) It chooses to place it in the Application folder. Why? Who would ever consider putting such an important app in the top level of the Menu, that would be crazy, wouldn’t it? I decided not to worry much about this, and moved the icons to the Menu’s top level where it should be.

2)I must admit however that the amount of functionality and interface look pretty nice, but the app itself opens up at a snail’s pace and again moving through the different tabs it feels unresponsive. Opening trial games like System Rush Evolution or Asphalt you are confronted with an upside down screen orientation. You’ll have to go all the way into the options to flip the screen. I remember that I could just flip the N95 8GB and revealing the media keys would automatically reorient the screen, why doesn’t this do it?

3)But the thing that got me the most was playing the actual Trial version of System Rush Evolution on the final N-Gage app. Remember the Demo System Rush Evolution that came with the N95 or even the N93? Remember how amazing those graphics looked? Personally I was a bit surprised at how noticeable the difference in graphics was when I compared the Demo version against the one that comes with the final N-Gage. The newer one, which I’ll suppose doesn’t use hardware acceleration and effects supported in hardware looks pixilated, less detailed and many light effects seen on the demo version just aren’t there anymore. This little YouTube video shows exactly what I mean, see the difference?