Nokia S60 News and Reviews

Nokia C7 Reviewed: Symbian ^3 Handset Gets Early Airing

Whilst we eagerly anticipate the debut of Symbian^3 in the flagship form of the Nokia N8, ever intrepid reviewer Eldar Murtazin has managed to get his hands on another handset powered by the new interface - this time it's the Nokia C7.

Swapping out some of the N8's more flighty specs for mid-range alternatives - the C7's camera takes a dip to a still impressive 8-megapixels with LED flash (as opposed to the 12MP, Xenon packing N8), whilst gets 8GB of memory whilst the N8 rocks 16GB on board as standard.

That being said, the C7 can boast a similar 3.5-inch capacitive AMOLED display complete with pinch-to-zoom support - a relative rarity on Nokia touch phones - as well as an abundance of connectivity with Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth 3.0 support.

Despite the review being largely positive as he calls the C7 Nokia's most balanced flagship Symbian^3 phone and also the best value for money (around €360 - 390), Eldar still deems the handset as 'hardly a market leader'. 

The double-edged sword that is Nokia's incumbent Symbian interface is that it has bred a cosy familiarity with existing users willing to trade up, but at the same time does little to court new consumers swayed by current smartphone competition.

With the iPhone attracting the fashion conscious flock and the latest Android devices managing to be appealing and affordable in equal measure, the jury is out on whether Nokia's transition from S60 to Symbian^3 is too late - or drastically different enough - to turn heads away from strong opposition.

The Nokia C7 still has not been officially announced as yet, but is rumoured to be slated for a Winter release. What do you think, enough to keep the Symbian home fires burning?

Nokia 5250: Symbian^1 Handset Aims At Music Fans On A Budget

Today Nokia launches another effort in their bid to reclaim the lucrative mid-range sector with the 5250, an affordable touchscreen handset with music on its mind.

The Nokia 5250 fits the standard form factor from the Finnish manufacturer, looking much like the stylish X6 albeit stripped of smartphone frills including 3G, GPS, and Wi-Fi. The handset is built for touch with a 2.8-inch TFT widescreen display, with a 640 x 360 pixels resolution. Snapper-wise, a 2-megapixel camera rests on the rear of the 5250, with robust Ovi gubbins inside for all manner of uploading to YouTube.

The lack of fast data access sounds like a huge loss for such a socially-savvy phone, but the 5250 still rocks out with the Guitar Hero 5 Mobile game, a range of cute colours and a decidedly non-smartphone price tag of just €115.

Nokia's Music Unlimited service (née Comes With Music) will also ship with the device, but with just 51MB of internal memory you'll have to supply your own storage space. Running on the Symbian^1 (previously known as S60) platform, the 5250 is all about connectivity as well as sporting a generous 7 hours talktime, 24 hours of tunes time and a whopping 17 days on standby.

With a Q4 launch, the Nokia 5250 might be the phone to keep younger music fans chatting this winter.

SugarSync Brings Cloud Storage Sweetness To S60 Devices

Good news for Symbian smartphone owners looking to take their data on the move, as cloud storage solution SugarSync is now available for S60-powered devices.

This free application offers an easy way to sync, backup and share files anywhere as SugarSync account holders can ping their documents, music and more over the air with 2GB of cloud-based storage given away gratis, and the chance to boost this by up to 10GB by referring friends to the service.

A document editor means that changes can be done to files on the fly, and those looking for more room can opt for as much as 250GB, with 60GB for $9.99 per month currently proving the most popular package.

SugarSync CEO Laura Yecies was pleased about branching out to more mobile platforms:

“No other cloud company offers such a broad range of mobile applications for consumers. We’re working hard and fast to build an all-inclusive ecosystem to ensure our customers can choose to work from virtually any location, on any device.”

SugarSync is a cross-platform solution with apps available for the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, as well as a beta version for Windows devices.

Download a version of the application for your device here, whilst cloud storage newbies should educate yourselves by watching the below video.

Not sure if your phone is compatible? Simply click here, then check out the 'phones' view to see if your Symbian handset is covered.

Source: SugarSync via Nokia Experts

Nokia X3 Touch and Type: S40 Device Combines Full Keypad And Touch Display

Nokia seems set to try and please everyone with their latest handset reveal: the X3 Touch and Type. Incorporating both touch and a full suite of physical buttons for the first time in a Nokia device, the Touch and Type reboots the original music-loving X3 with a more appealing form factor, five colourways and a brushed aluminium finish.

Weighing in at a spritely 78g and measuring a svelte 9.6mm, the Nokia X3 Touch and Type also brings the specs with a 2.4" touch display, 3G connectivity, and a 5-megapixel
camera with 4x digital zoom. Battery life is impressive with 17 hours standby and 5 hours 2G talktime, whilst mail, messaging and apps are ably catered for with the Ovi service.

The S40 Touch operating system gives the X3 Touch and Type a user interface filled with large icons familiar to Nokia fans, whilst dedicated mail and media keys give that fast finger access that textaholics are so fond of.

Nokia's mobile boss Mary McDowell chimed in on the reason for combining touch and text in the new X3:

“Our research tells us consumers who have invested years in becoming fast one-handed, one-thumb texters want to maintain their speedy edge for SMS, chat and instant messaging – yet enjoy the benefits of touch as well.”

With the promise of free tunes via Ovi Music Unlimited in certain markets and an  projected price tag of just €125, could this finally be the Nokia phone that appeals equally to prodders and physical form fans alike? We'll see later on this quarter.

Nokia 5250: Attractive, Affordable Symbian Handset Leaks

As Symbian edges ever closer to mid-range mobile mainstay, we're seeing the platform pop up in ever more enticing handsets. The latest to break cover was from the hallowed halls of Nokia themselves, with the Nokia 5250 proudly (yet briefly) posing as a competition prize, quickly snapped for later perusal.

Seemingly running Symbian S60, the Nokia 5250 will be another addition to the selection of handsets currently on offer for the lucrative market, where price is a major determining factor.

A little postulation by GSMArena views the 5250's screen as leaning towards the 2.9-inch display of the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, albeit with an nHD sheen.

A paucity of fancy smartphone features is predicted - a given at a lower price point - but its appealing looks and touchscreen functionality still seem poised to give some of the feature phone incumbents a run for their money...the curved frame echoing the recent Sony Ericsson Vivaz - another S60 device.

With word that the Finnish manufacturer were planning to release a smartphone for only €100, the Nokia 5250 seems a likely, and potentially lucrative, candidate.

More concrete details as we get them.

Nokia N8 / Ovi Store Features Showcased In On-Device Promo

Whilst we're firmly aware that the functionality isn't quite the real deal in this promo reel, it's a good move for Nokia to show off the wide variety of wares available on their phone and in the Ovi Store as soon as consumers take it out of the box.

This Nokia N8 demo packs almost everything into its brief running time, from instant messaging to gaming and everything in-between.

With Vodafone iPhone deals showing off the web savvy nature of the device and Orange iPhone deals focussing on freebies like Orange Wednesdays, for Nokia to fight back with a salvo of handset specific functionality like free GPS on Ovi Maps in this vid is certainly a shrewd one.

With word that the N8 could arrive as soon as September in Europe, the Symbian^3-powered handset needs everything in its burgeoning armoury to fight back against Apple's best efforts...

Check it out below.

Nokia On Device Demo from Amin Todai // OneMethod on Vimeo.

Nokia N8: Symbian Successor Due In October

The Nokia N8 has finally been given a release date: it is to hit European shores in October 2010.

Despite the phone's good looks and a few hints from Nokia that they might be releasing Symbian phones in the future, it is has been confirmed that this handset will be the Finnish manufacturer's last effort to push the platform on an Nseries device.

A pre-emptive roasting of a pre-production model by serial leaker Eldar Murtazin has then hamstrung the N8's image ahead of it's launch. Nokia will find it very hard to claw back confidence after such an awful start.

On paper, the N8's specs do look impressive: it's got a large capacitive touchscreen, a 680Mhz processor and a 12 megapixel camera. However, specs alone do little to make a great phone (just take a look at the Toshiba TG01!).

People want a phone that is easy, if not enjoyable to use, and after some supremely disappointing Symbian-based experiences in the past 18 months, Nokia are going to have to pull off a miracle to make the N8 have any impact on Apple's infamous competition.