A few weeks ago on November 10th we talked about the unlocked Nokia cellphones N95 and E71 at BestBuy, remember? Now it’s time for the Nokia N85 to hit the Amazon shelves, and also unlocked.

At this time the N85 costs $555, while the list price has an incredible value of $1,200, which means you save close to $600. Amazon says it takes 2 to 4 weeks to ship the mobile phone, and if it is intended to arrive after 24th of December, it gets free shipping.

Check some of the details of the Nokia N85 to refresh your memory.

Nokia N85 at Amazon

In a good promotion effort by Nokia, they’ve presented a countdown timer on their website which is somehow related with plans to launch something big, and for now it is still a secret.

Could it be a new cellphone? A new service? A handset to compete with the iPhone? We will only know exactly in 7 hours from now, more specifically at 3:15AM Eastern time.

PS - According to Scoble and an unknown Nokia executive, it is a new device and surprisingly it hasn’t been leaked yet, unlike previous Nokia secrets.

Nokia Countdown Timer

Nokia has added another cellphone to their huge catalog, this one will go directly to the “low-end and cheap” category. It is named 2608 and will become available at unknown markets (for now) during the first quarter of 2009.

The cellphone is the cheapest model on their CDMA line, and it doesn’t have any special features. With that being said, the known details of the Nokia 2608 include FM radio, a speaker phone, and voice memo recording. There will be 3 different versions that only differ in color:

- fuchsia with a pink stripe
- silver with a green stripe
- black with a blue stripe

How would you like to have a smarter Nokia smartphone? How would you like to manage your home appliances, your electronics, your entertainment and security from your mobile phone?

Nokia’s Home Control Center will let you do exactly that. We don’t have specific details about how the whole Control Center will work but it will use a Linux-based platform which works on most current smart home technologies. You will be able to access your gadgets from anywhere with the remote access capability. You will be using WiFi, GSM, GRPS and Z-Wave wireless to command your whole house.

It seems that Nokia has something here which might grow into quite a popular thing. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we receive more detailed info on the Home Control Center.

via cnet

Nokia might not be that strong in Japan but it’s doing rather well in other markets. How does Nokia do it? Well it must be the quality of their phones or something like that.

If you’ve never had a Nokia you might want to try it. The N85 or the NAM will be released in December, or next week to be more precise. That’s the North American version, so don’t be surprised if your country won’t get it yet.

The N85 is available for pre-order and it will cost $556. Interested? It will be in stock on December 6th on Amazon.

via TheNokiaBlog

In an expected move made by Nokia, they’ve decided to stop selling cellphones in the Japanese market. In other words: Sayonara Japan!

The reason to run away from this specific Asian market? How about a misereable 1% share? Yes, Nokia is rated that bad in Japan, but on the other hand the competition is very agressive, and there are a lot of other cellphone brands out there. The Japanese Nokia office will continue to work normally, and Softbank + DoCoMo will be the ones responsible for the mobile phones sales.

Timo Ihamuotila of Nokia, comments:

We have judged that we cannot continue to invest in product development just for Japan amid the current tough economic conditions.

We have reported a rumour about the Nokia 5800 launch date, which was on the 2nd of October, but according to Nokia that date has changed in some countries and the “official” shipping process has started. With that being said, if you live in Russia, Spain, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Finland, pay attention during the following days because the Music cellphone will soon become available for purchase. Also known as XpressMusic, or Tube, the handset has a touchscreen interface, 8GB of storage capacity, and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

Jo Harlo of Nokia, comments:

When it comes to music phones, people all over the world want a device that is a great music experience and still works really well as a mobile phone, without sacrificing features.

via press

Nokia has presented yet another cellphone, this time entitled 6260 Slide and coming in a small form factor.

The Nokia 6260 supports the most common communication standards, like WCDMA, and GSM/EDGE. The user interface is the popular S40, and the 2.4-inch LCD display provides a 320×480 HVGA resolution. Much like any other Nokia handset, it has audio playback compatible with a few formats including MP3, AACC, MPEG4, and WMA. FM radio is also included, as well as a 5-megapixel camera that records videos at 15 frames per second.

Communication and Ends: HSDPA (up to 10.2 Mbps), HSUPA (up to 2 Mbps), Micro-USB connector plug for the charger, 2.5 mm audio jack, TV output, Bluetooth v2.1 (including support for A2DP profile and AVRCP), GPS and A-GPS, WLAN

The Nokia E71 which was recently added to the BestBuy catalog in an unlocked version, has received a firmware update for the US and is currently on version 110.07.127.

On top of a a couple of bug fixes that are suppose to make the Nokia handset more stable, the updates are related to:

- Nokia email
- Nokia maps
- Mail For Exchange

The European firmware update to Nokia E71 happened a few weeks ago, meaning the US version got a bit delayed. Next time it could be released sooner instead of having a few weeks of difference, don’t you think?

Nokia Firmware Update

I don’t know what Nokia is thinking about when it’s working on the launch of its MVNO network in Japan, but since they have the money and the knowledge they might just be able to pull it off. Although I am surprised that the Finnish mobile manufacturer wants to create it’s own network and, of all places, it has picked Japan. Sure Japan is a large market for cell phone users and on top of that NTT DoCoMo will be involved in the project. What Nokia doesn’t have in Japan is market share. A mere 1% of Japan has a Nokia phone. So that’s why they want to create their own network…

Nokia has tried before the whole MVNO thing but it hasn’t really worked out. Oh, and MVNO stands for mobile virtual network operator. Basically Nokia will use some cell phone lines owned by NTT DoCoMo.

via Reuters

Nokia strikes again and this time it’s Italy! Continuing its aggressive launch campaign in the European countries, the Finnish company has released the new online Music Store for its Italian Nokia users. And Nokia’s Music Store could be a huge success! Maybe because the Nokia Music Store contains about 4 million songs from Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Entertainment, Warner Music Group and many independent record labels. Each track costs 1 Euro while the whole album is available for 10 Euro. The service is available for 10 Euro per month and you will get unlimited access.

Andrea Montagnini, Nokia’s Music Manager of Nokia Italy said:

With the launch of the Nokia Music Store in Italy, Nokia aims to make available to all Italian users the music that they want at any moment they want, with all the facilities that mobility permits nowadays.

So if you happen to be in Italy and own a Nokia handsets just access: http://music.nokia.it.

via intomobile

Tags: italy, Mobile News, music store, Nokia, Nokia, software

We’re just getting used to touchscreen phones and computers and Nokia goes one step further. It sees that Nokia handsets could be controlled by simple gestures in the future. Ultra-sound sensors would pick your movements up and then transform them into various handset actions. Alastair Curtis, Nokia’s chief designer was asked why the N-series haven’t received a multi-touch interface yet. Here’s what he had to say:

We’ve not launched what we think is right for N-series in a touch product. You’ll see in the coming months, years… what we feel is right. Much as I’m talking to you now with gestures.

Well then when is the new Nokia touch-less device going to hit?

via Engadget

We’ve seen a special limited Nokia N96 edition being launched this summer and now we have another special edition of this Nokia phone. This one is dedicated to Bruce Lee. Remember him?

The phone comes with a figurine but unfortunately it’s available in China only. This N96 cost $1286, but when it comes to Bruce Lee I guess some people would pay any price.

via journaldugeek

Nokia announced that IBM Lotus Notes will finally be compatible with a couple of Nokia cellphones, more specifically the ones based on S60. Taking in consideration there are 140 million licensed Lotus Notes users, and that 80 million Nokia S60 phones were shipped, the final result can only be good for Nokia and IBM.

Customers will use the Lotus Notes Traveler software that provides easy and instant access to various traditional functions, like email, calendar, to-do list, and more. The software will become available in the next month, December 2008.

Soran Petersen of Nokia, comments:

This collaboration means nearly 90 percent of business email can be mobilized with Nokia devices, without needing to purchase additional servers, middleware or licenses. With the presence, position and technology that IBM have in the corporate email market, they are an essential partner for us in enterprise

Lotus Notes Traveler

Cellphone users in Itay that own a Nokia can finally rejoice by being able to purchase music online, threw the Nokia Music Store that was launched today.

Currently their catalogue already has over 4 million songs, thanks to the agreement made with lots of record labels including Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, EMI, Warner, and some local ones such as Made In eTaly, Wondermark, and Carosello.

Prices of the new music store? €1 for each track, most albums are cost €10, and a monthly subscription to stream unlimited audio content, also costs €10.

It also has a pre-listening application of 30 seconds which allows the user to sample and identify each track. Furthermore, the consumer will be able to select any songs they are interested in directly from their mobile device, to make their purchase at that very moment or later on.

If you’re looking for a top-notch mobile phone from Nokia, sorry to disappoint you but keep searching. On the other hand, if you’re interested in a basic cellphone that only costs €75 ($94) take a look at the Nokia 7100 Supernova.

The handset has “developing countries” as the target, and can provide information about the agriculture, pricing of produce, and more. In terms of functionality, the 7100 Supernova has FM radio, a 1.3-megapixal camera, and bluetooth. The goodies include mail support thanks to Ovi, and a browser so users can surf in the internet.

The Nokia 7100 Supernova is a stylish addition to the popular Supernova collection. Designed for style and entertainment, the colorful device is highlighted by its large, high resolution color screen.

If you are interested in a cheap and entry-level cellphone but are undecided with so many choices, let me help you out by pointing the AT&T deal that sells refurbished Nokia phones, and one of them is the Nokia 2610 that only costs $7 with the discount. You get what you pay for, so with the 2610 there is space for a resolution of 128×128 pixels and a 65k color screen, 2MB of internal memory storage, and a battery that can last 4 hours in talk-mode, or almost 13 days in stand-by. Other features include instant messaging support for AIM, MSN, and Yahoo!, and ringtones in MP3 format.

Nokia 2610

Nokia Wahoo is a totally different Nokia device. It’s no candybar and no slider but it’s a flip phone with a half QWERTY keyboard. The handset will get you quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Dual-band UMTS/HSDPA, a 2.0 megapixel camera with flahs, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and two displays. A 2.2 inch internal screen with a 240×320 resolution, a 1.36 inch external screen with a 128 x 160 resolution.

There’s no release date yet but people say the Wahoo is coming from AT&T. Need a price for this Nokia people!

via BGR

The Nokia E63 has just been announced by Nokia. Deja-vu feeling coming yet? Yes sure it’s similar in design to the E71 but it’s something totally new.

If you don’t want a BlackBerry to play with but you’d like that BlackBerry feeling, then you absolutely need an E series smartphone. The E63 sports the same full QWERTY keyboard which provides that full support for your SMS and email needs. The E63 will be available soon and it will cost just 199 Euro before future subsidies and of course, taxes.

Soren Petersen, Senior Vice President of Nokia says:

Our research shows that people want a device that deals with both their personal and professional lives, but helps them to separate the two. When someone sits down at lunch, they want to update their social network or browse their personal email account and they don’t want work getting in the way of that. It’s another great case of technology adapting to the people that use it. The Nokia E63 is a new proposition for Eseries - a messaging device where people will be just as involved in their social network as they are in their business network.

Let’s look at the specs now. There’s WiFi support, fast access to Mail for Exchange, support for Files on Ovi and access to 1GB of online file storage for free. Nokia Music Store comes also with the E63 and there’s a 3.5 mm audio jack for your musical pleasure. The built-in camera will get you lots of photos and videos to share with your friends.

Want more? More specs and a release date? Well stick with us ’cause we do to, and we will surely find out more!

via Press

Designer Heikki Juvonen has considered handsets ergonomics when he design the concept in the future. The phone is said to be perfectly balanced in hand with all the heavy components. You will get a better grip of this phone but that doesn’t mean you would like it. It’s a little to weird for my taste but you might like the concept. And it will remain a concept for quite a while since I didn’t hear Nokia announcing anytime soon.

via YankoDesign