Nokia Flagship Store in Shanghai Crossed One million visitors

The Nokia Shanghai Flagship Store officially welcomed its one millionth visitor on March 7th, just four months after its grand opening. Local entrepreneur Mr. Yang received a surprise gift when he bought a Nokia 6110 Navigator at the busy Nanjing Road store, which has quickly become a fashionable new landmark and favorite hangout spot for mobile phone buyers and electronic gadget fans. Nokia Flagship stores sell a wide range of Nokia products and provide a Nokia-branded experience directly to consumers in some of the world’s major cities.

Nokia Morph Nanotechnology Concept Devices

Nokia announces Morph, a joint nanotechnology concept, developed by Nokia Research Center (NRC) and the University of Cambridge (UK). Morph was launched today alongside the "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibition, on view from February 24 to May 12, 2008, at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

Morph is a concept that demonstrates how future mobile devices might be stretchable and flexible, allowing the user to transform their mobile device into radically different shapes. It demonstrates the ultimate functionality that nanotechnology might be capable of delivering: flexible materials, transparent electronics and self-cleaning surfaces. The examples of Morph phone designs include a wrist phone and a translucent card that basically just consist of an interactive user interface. The future looks bright, once again.

[Via : Nokia press-release]

Nokia's Remade Phone Concept

With Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo presenting a short video of the REMADE mobile phone during the Mobile World Congress 2008 in Barcelona, Raphael Grignani is able to share one of the case-studies addressing sustainability hos team has been working on passionately.

The intent was to create a device made from nothing new.
We drew on a simple insight that in the not too distant future humanity will have extracted and worked much of the valuable minerals once buried in planet Earth. We will be compelled to reuse and celebrate what is essentially “above ground”. Thus we explored the use of reclaimed and upcycled materials that could ultimately change the way we make things.

In remade, recycled materials from metal cans, plastic bottles, and car tyres are used beautifully; whilst helping reduce landfill and preserving natural resources. The concept also addresses cleaner engine technologies, and energy efficiency through power saving graphics.

Remade is a concept that explores potential new ideas for the future, and is part of Nokia's ongoing work looking at how it can help people make more sustainable choices. It is designed to help inspire and stimulate discussion on how mobile devices might be made in the future.

Watch the video on

Nokia's YouTube channel.

[source : textually]

Nokia in Barcelona with another Nseries N78

Another loaded handset joining the Nseries at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia N78 comes in the bar form factor. Both Nokia N96 and N78 have a few design elements in common, starting with the underlying resemblance to Nokia N81. Nokia N78 however offers stereo loudspeakers.
Nokia N78 is also a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone with dual-band HSDPA support. The novelties are geotagging and the integrated FM transmitter, allowing music to be played on any FM radio. Also to mention is the multimedia menu with Navi wheel.

Nokia N78 uses S60 3rd edition, FP2 and has a 2.4" QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) TFT display with 16M colors. Nokia N78 offers A-GPS support, Wi-Fi, 70MB on-board memory, expandable via microSD slot.

Nokia N78 has a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics. It also records video in VGA resolution at 15fps but is still capable of playing VGA video clips at 30 fps.

The connectivity set includes the mentioned Wi-Fi b/g with UPnP, microUSB v2.0, 3.5mm stereo headphone plug and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP stereo audio.

Talking of music, Nokia N78 has enough to offer with an MP3 player, FM transmitter, stereo FM radio, Internet radio and MPEG-4 player.

Nokia N78 is powered by the much more capable 1200mAh (BL-6F). The phone is expected to start shipping at 2Q 2008 with an estimated retail price of 350 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia N96, Leader at the Mobile World Congress

Nokia revealed four new phones today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona: the highly rumored dual slider Nokia N96, Nokia N78, Nokia 6210 Navigator and Nokia 6220 classic.

Nokia N96

Nokia N96 is a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE dual slide handset with dual-band HSDPA support for worldwide coverage. N96 runs on S60 3rd edition, FP2 and has a 2.8" QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) TFT display with 16M colors. The feature-packed Nokia N96 features GPS with A-GPS support and geo-tagging for photos, Wi-Fi, scorching 16GB of onboard memory, plus a microSD slot.

Nokia N96 has a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics and powerful dual LED flash. It also records video in VGA resolution at 30 fps. The photos and videos can be watched at the TV screen thanks to the TV-out support.
The connectivity set sports Wi-Fi b/g with UPnP support, microUSB v2.0, DVB-H class C, a 3.5mm stereo headphone plug and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP stereo audio.

The multimedia gear is the same as in Nokia N95 8GB: FM radio with RDS, Internet radio, MP3 player, video playback in-phone, as well as on a TV, with up to VGA resolution. The Windows media and Flash Lite 3.0 support complete the set.

One of the obvious shortcomings is the feeble Li-Ion BF-5L battery with a capacity of 950mAh. Nokia N96 weighs 126g, and is a tag taller than Nokia N95 8GB, the other dimensions pretty much on par.

The phone is expected to start shipping during 3Q 2008 with an estimated retail price of 550 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

[source : gsmarena]

Mobile On User Experience

A very interesting post from LunchoverIP reporting on Nokia anthropologist Younghee Jung's conference this morning at Geneva's LIFT 08 event.

"As part of Nokia's research, they ran a community design competition called "Nokia Open Studio" in three neighborhoods in Mumbai (Dharavi), Rio (Jacarezinho) and Accra (Buduburam).

They asked participants to design the cell phone they would like. Not surprising, most of the suggestions reflected local concerns and conditions

-- The woman who won in Mumbai wanted a device that she could just point to the sky to get the weather forecast (the community is heavily influenced by weather pattern)

-- In Rio, the winner suggested a phone that measures air pollution and ozone concentrations

-- In Accra, a waterproof phone capable of hosting 4 SIM cards, one per operator (using multiple SIM cards is common in Africa, to profit from specific rates).

Another original suggestion:
-- a built-in loudspeaker to make announcements at fairs and religious fairs

And more...

[source : textually]

Nokia Signs On As Official Sponsor of the 50th Annual GRAMMY® Awards

Los Angeles, CA, USA - Nokia is taking the The Recording Academy® and the 50th Annual GRAMMY® Awards 'global and mobile' by offering GRAMMY Award winning music and video programming to Nokia customers around the world.

"The GRAMMY Awards are synonymous with the best in entertainment," said Tero Ojanpera, Executive Vice President and head of the Nokia Entertainment and Communities business. "For the 50th Anniversary of the Awards, we are excited to offer the best of the Awards in exclusive video programming via the Nokia Video Centre, Medeo and other entertainment channels to millions of Nokia device owners around the world."

GRAMMY Award-winning music is also planned to be available for download from the Nokia Music Store as well as preloaded on selected Nokia devices in key markets.

"As mobile devices are becoming full fledged entertainment centers, The Recording Academy is thrilled to work with Nokia to deliver a GRAMMY experience to music fans wherever they are," said Evan Greene, Chief Marketing Officer of The Recording Academy. "Fans around the world have a passion for the GRAMMY Awards and our relationship with Nokia highlights our commitment to reaching out to music lovers everywhere."

[source : nokia press]

Nokia N82 Black version gets official

The Finland giant Nokia silently released the highly expected and speculated Nokia N82 Black version. The phone appeared nowhere else but in the USA Nokia online store with an "Unlocked" status. The sleek Nokia N82 Black version is already available for purchase at a price of $629.00 with free shipping for USA.
Let's refresh our memory with the Nokia N82 main features, starting with the HSDPA with video calls and quad-band GSM support. The 100MB of integrated memory is complemented by the microSD memory slot. The 2.4" 16M color QVGA TFT display is among the other highlights.

It has 5 megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics, capable of capturing 30fps MPEG4 videos at VGA resolution, and has a TV-out port to watch those on your TV set. The most significant difference to the Nokia N95 is however the built-in xenon flash which highlights the photo-centric nature of the Nokia N82, as well as the screen auto rotation.

You also have built-in GPS receiver that works with Nokia Maps. Compatibility with third-party software is not confirmed yet.

Meanwhile Nokia released three new titles from the new N-Gage platform. They may not be much but it seems to us as if the official start of the N-gage is just around the corner. After all it was about time as Nokia have been promising it for quite a while now.

The three new titles are: Space Impact: Kappa Base, System Rush: Evolution and Creatures of the deep. However, as we managed to confirm only the first was somewhat amusing. At this stage the games are only compatible with Nokia N81 (it's good that we have one around) but soon the other N-Gage enabled devices owners will be able to enjoy them.

[source : gsmarena]

Nokia joins WWF Climate Savers with key energy initiatives

Nokia has joined the WWF Climate Savers program with a pledge to build on its strong environmental record by improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions across its business. The company is targeting a series of energy savings including halving the stand by energy used by its mobile phone chargers, using green electricity to power 50 per cent of its facilities by 2010 and reducing the overall energy needs of its sites by 6 per cent by 2012.

The targets are part of Nokia's existing Climate Change Strategy. Its commitment to these has been reinforced by joining the WWF Climate Savers program, a collaboration between one of the world's largest global conservation organizations and business to show leadership in addressing climate change.

The targets include:
Product energy efficiency : Around two thirds of the energy consumed by a mobile phone during its use is lost when it is fully charged and unplugged but the charger is left connected to the mains, so called "no-load" mode. Over the last nine years Nokia has reduced the average no-load energy used by its chargers by over 50 per cent and its best-in-class charger needs just one tenth of the power used by the most common chargers.

Nokia aims to reduce the average no-load power consumption by another 50 per cent by the end of 2010. It will also roll out reminders for consumers to unplug the charger from the electricity outlet once the phone has been fully charged across its product range by the end of 2008.

Nokia to offer workers from German plant new jobs in Romania

Nokia will be offering its workers currently based at its German plant in Bochum -- which the company plans to close down -- the opportunity to work in Romania, where the new production site would be relocated, instead, according to Rheinische Post newspaper, citing company sources.

[via : AFXNews]

Nokia grabs 40% of global handset market

Apple's iPhone may have been the most talked-about handset during the final quarter of 2007, but its sales were dwarfed by the majors in a period that saw Nokia grab more than 40 per cent of the global market, the first time it's done so.

According to market watcher Strategy Analytics, Apple shifted 2.3m iPhones worldwide during Q4 2007. That's just ten per cent of the 23.7m handsets fifth-placed LG sold in the period. Sony Ericsson managed 30.8m units, Motorola 40.9m and Samsung 46.4m phones. Nokia sold a staggering 133.5m mobiles.

That left the Finnish phone giant with a 40.2 per cent market share, the highest in its history. Samsung took 14 per cent, Motorola 12.3 per cent, Sony Ericsson 9.3 per cent and LG 7.1 per cent.

[source : reghardware]

As the capabilities of mobile devices are getting closer and closer to that of portable computers, the only thing limiting their use as such is their size. It is simply impossible to replicate the possibilities of good sized QWERTY keyboard for data entry in a small mobile device.

Various workarounds has been thought up to deal with that. And one of the more interesting and promising is virtual keyboards or even virtual input displays, projected on the working surface. There is already a number of such virtual keyboard devices on the market and Samsung has a patent pending for use of projected virtual display in a phone.

Nokia now has an even better idea described in a patent application called “Mobile device with virtual keyboard”. The digital camera on the phone is used to capture the movement and position of user fingers, and project them on a virtual keyboard shown on the phone display, in real time.

The phone is also equipped with the sensors to capture the sound or vibrations, generated as the user taps on the working surface (e.g. desk or table) and convert them into an input commands.

The phone itself can come with a cradle to hold it in upright position while user is typing on a table. But that is not necessary. The user can just be holding the phone in one hand and typing with another. And if no working surface is available, the user can just imitate the tapping sound with his voice.

[source : unwiredview]

Nokia 1209 and 2600 classic revealed

Yesterday Nokia unveils two budget handsets that offer a range of handy features for consumers in emerging markets. Nokia 2600 classic and Nokia 1209 are targeted at emerging markets and make the most out of features such as multiple phone books, calls cost tracking, prepaid credit tracking, etc.

Nokia 2600 classic is a dual-band GSM/GPRS phone measuring some 12 mm in thickness and weighting 73 grams. It will be offered in several colors with Xpress-on covers to suit consumer preferences. Also features a 65K color TFT display with 128x160 pixels resolution, VGA camera with video recording, FM radio, WAP 2.0 web browser (xHTML), as well as Bluetooth v2.0.

Beside the SMS, MMS and Nokia Xpress Audio Messaging, Nokia 2600 classic also has an email client that supports POP3, IMP4 and SMTP protocols.

Nokia 2600 classic has already started shipping in key markets and will be selling for 65 EUR before taxes or subsidies. By the way you can get the same features except for the interchangeable Xpress-on covers in an even thinner body with the Nokia 2630.


The second lowend model introduced, the Nokia 1209 is a successor to the Nokia 1200 and adds color to it with the new 65K color CSTN display (96 x 68 pixels resolution). The phone interface offers support of up to 80 languages and offers up to five separate phonebooks each with up to 200 individual entries. This allows several people to share the phone as seems to be the trend in emerging markets.

Nokia claims the Nokia 1209 has noise cancellation filters that decrease the background noise for improved sound quality. Another plus is the dust-resistant keypad made with a one-piece key mat, and much like its predecessor, it as also has a flashlight on top of the phone.
All the features we've slowly taken for granted in modern cellphones lack here - there's no WAP browser, no MP3 ringtones, no MMS, no Email, or even Bluetooth.

The Nokia 1209 will cost only 35 EUR before taxes or subsidies and is expected to become available globally during the second quarter of 2008. It will have two dual-band versions - a GSM 900/1800 one and a second GSM 850/1900 one.

[source : gsmarena]

More than 20,000 to demonstrate against Nokia

More than 20,000 are expected to take part in a demonstration to protest a decision by Finnish telecommunication giant Nokia to close down its plant in the west German city of Bochum, news reports said Saturday.

"Nokia's definite decision to shut down the Bochum plant to locate to Romania has sparked countrywide anger and calls for a total boycott of Nokia mobile phones.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also voiced sympathy with popular demands for a boycott.
German television has reported about mass protests of Nokia cell phone users who have either given up or have thrown away their mobile phones."

[source : textually.org]

Nokia plans 6-12 phones for North America in 2008

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) hopes to launch six to 12 new phones customized for North American carriers in 2008, versus three in 2007, as the company aims to improve its No. 4 U.S. market share, the president of its North American business said on Wednesday.
Nokia leads the global cell phone market but has struggled to compete in the United States, where it had an 11 percent market share in the third quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. Motorola Inc (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), ranked No. 3 globally, was the U.S. leader with a 33 percent share in that period.

To change this, Nokia appointed Mark Louison to his newly created role of president for North America in July and has been working on boosting the number of phones it designs in collaboration with specific U.S. carriers since the fall of 2006.

"It's not unreasonable you'd see between six to 12 new operator-specific devices this year. It'll probably be more than this," Louison said in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show."You'll see some of that in the first half of 2008, with the velocity to increase that in the second half and going full steam ahead in 2009," Louison said.

The company said last year it expected to see improvements in its North American business around the start of 2008.Its biggest customers in the region are U.S. market leader AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and fourth-ranked T-Mobile USA, owned by Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research). Both run networks based on GSM, the wireless technology Nokia focuses most of its business on.

Nokia said the company would also have customized phones this year for Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research). Verizon uses a technology known as CDMA, a much smaller business for Nokia.

The global No. 2 cell phone maker, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), took second place in the U.S. market in the third quarter with an 18 percent market share while LG Electronics (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) was third with 15 percent, according to Strategy Analytics.

Sony Ericsson, owned by Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Ericsson (ERICb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research), also said earlier this week that boosting its position in the North American market is a key priority for 2008. It has a No. 4 ranking in the global market but a smaller share of the U.S. market.

[source : reuters]

Nokia 3555 Seen At CES

Nokia is showing off the unannounced 3555 clamshell handset at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There will be two versions, one with dual-band WCDMA (850/1900MHz), and one configured for the 1700MHz WCDMA band that will be used by T-Mobile's upcoming 3G network.

[source : mobileburn]

Nokia S60 Touch UI Patent Includes Touchless 3D Control

Details of a patent filed by Nokia in June of last year are now surfacing and it looks like Nokia’s upcoming S60 Touch has the potential to be a whole lot more than just "touch". Of course companies file patents all the time and it doesn’t necessarily mean that the concepts within will materialize, but a combination of touchless-touch (gestures) and multi-touch sounds like a pretty strong cocktail. Some of the basic touch commands outlined in the document are cool in and of themselves; clockwise and counter-clockwise circles to scroll up or down respectively, draw an ‘X’ with your finger to delete, draw a check with your finger to accept, etc. There are also advanced multi-touch commands; for example touch and hold one finger on an item to pop up a sub-menu and then (while still holding) draw circles with another finger to scroll through the sub-menu. What is more impressive than the aforementioned touch control however, is the touchless control.

Nokia’s patent calls for a series of Ultrasonic Transducers (USTs) to be dispersed around the device’s display. These USTs use ultrasonic sound wave reflections to detect and record motion within a certain proximity of the device. So for example, the gesture defined within Nokia’s patent to select an object is to slowly ‘pinch’ it by placing one finger on the top or corner of an object, then slowly move a second finger up to the bottom of the object. Very cool stuff indeed, but this gesture-based control surely won’t make it into the initial S60 Touch release that is due later this year.

Some day in the next few years though, people on the street might stop and stare as you waive frantically at your device in an attempt to keep Nokia’s Snake from running into its tail.

[source : boygeniusreport]

Magnetized Ports Might Be Next For Nokia Phones

One of the cool features that people like to talk about is the magnetized power cord included with Apple MacBook computers. HTLounge reports.

"That same feature is reportedly heading to a series of Nokia mobile phones.

Nokia cell phones typically have two ports that are quite close to one another: one for headphones and the other for the charger. Some people get confused over which is which.
As a possible solution, Nokia is considering the prospect of magnetizing these ports, possibly making one positive and one negative. They include opposite magnets on the charger and headset, so if you try to plug the headset into the charger port, it'll repel. If you try to plug the charger into the charger port, it'll attract."

[source : textually.org]

Nokia E65 will be replace by "Dora"

Check it out, you all! This bad beast is the successor to the Nokia E65. Improving on a bunch of missing features from the original version, you’ll now be able to enjoy things such as GPS and a 3.2 megapixel camera. You’ve also got a front-facing video call camera, Wi-Fi, a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE radio with UMTS/HSDPA (3G bands are not specified), and you got your standard Bluetooth. Last thing? How about a 320×320 display. Sound good?

We’re all looking at a Q2 release, and you can expect to shell out ₤280 for it on Vodafone.

[source : boygeniusreport]

Nokia E71 Leak?

The supposed successor to the E61i has broken cover via this shot of the device -- in prototype "EXX" form, no less -- being proudly displayed in some lucky son of a gun's hand. The "E" moniker designates a Nokia smartphone with a business standard, of course, and thanks to a lovely QWERTY board.

The E71 seems to be no exception; specs including HSDPA, WiFi, GPS, and a 3.2 megapixel primary cam with a secondary up front for video calling. As for North American 3G, well... as usual, not sure only hope. May be it could be confirmed officially at CES, I also hope you'll be the first reader - stay tuned.

[source : engadgetmobile]