Hasta La Gadget!

Namco Bandai announced 22 classic arcade games will be brought to Asha Touch devices and will be available to download from the Nokia Store starting today. The games have been optimized for touchscreens on the Nokia Asha 205, Asha 306 and Asha 311, which just recently launched last month. The devices come equipped with the new Nokia Browser that can compress content up to 84 percent in order to reduce data consumption.

The 22 popular classic game titles include Pac-Man, Flight Control, Soulcalibur, Final Fantasy, Ace Combat Northern Wings, Brain Exercise with Dr Kawashima and Ridge Racer Drift, among several others. Nokia’s direct billing agreements will allow mobile gamers from over 52 countries to purchase the games without needing a credit card.

The 22 game titles from Namco Bandai will be available to purchase for a price of between $0.99 and $2.99 from the Nokia Store. The store recently broke 5 billion downloads and more than 411 Nokia developers have built apps that have passed over the one million download mark.

[via Reuters]

Namco Bandai brings 22 classic games to Asha Touch devices is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nokia is pushing hard with its The Dark Knight Rises tie-in with the Lumia 900, and its latest promo could be the best yet: full 3D maps of Gotham City. Previewed today in a new teaser video (which you can see after the cut), the map will allow users to “explore Gotham City like never before” complete with in-universe landmarks such as Wayne Tower.

Nokia is playing the full details as close to its chest as Bruce Wayne keeps his secret identity on the down-low, but this could be pure catnip to any Batman fan. The Lumia range gets an exclusive The Dark Knight Rises app, which comes with cast info, movie showtimes, trailers and more, as well as wallpapers and ringtones.

There’s also a location-based game, powered by Foursquare, which allows players to take the role of Batman or Bane and build up territory by checking into places, all with updates pushed to a Live Tile on the Windows Phone homescreen. It’s not clear whether those checkins will have any connection with the 3D Gotham map.

We don’t know when the 3D map will be released, but with The Dark Knight Rises set to hit theaters on July 20 that seems a reasonable time for Nokia to push it out.

Update: Now we’ve got some screenshots of the interface: looks like this is a desktop 3D mapping system rather than a phone app. Check out full-size shots in the gallery below.

Nokia maps 3D Gotham City in The Dark Knight Rises tie-in [Updated] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nokia has released an update for its N9 MeeGo smartphone, introducing numerous new features and bugfixes despite officially abandoning the platform itself. The handset, a handsome forerunner to the original Lumia 800, now gets MeeGo PR1.3, with the new update bringing “over 1,000 quality improvements” according to the Finnish company.

Those improvements include various problems in network and connectivity being ironed out, though it’s the app tweaks that are likely to see more interest. The Twitter app now runs faster, according to user reports, and introduces streaming updates so that new messages appear automatically.

There are also changes in the Mail and Facebook apps, though Nokia is yet to release a detailed changelog for the 40.2012.21-3 update. Instead, we get a one-line summary that, unsurprisingly, is leaving owners of the N9 somewhat frustrated.

As for the developer version of the phone, the Nokia N950, there’s apparently no official news on when – or even if – that might get a PR1.3 release of its own.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Nokia N9 PR1.3 updates Twitter, Mail, Facebook and more is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you thought your Nokia N9 was full of problems, fret not – most of them should be solved with the newly released Nokia N9 firmware 1.3. According to reports online, the software update which was released today features almost 1,000 bug fixes which should make your MeeGo using experience a more enjoyable one. In addition to the plethora of bug fixes, the update is said to improve copy and paste, and make video playback smoother. Check out the official changelog or check the Updates tab on your phone (Settings > Applications > Manage applications) to see if it’s rolled out to you yet. Let us know how the update works out for you.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Wazzap! is a Whatsapp port for the Nokia N9, Nokia N9 receives MeeGo 1.2,

Google’s Nexus headaches may not be limited to the Apple attack on the Galaxy Nexus, with Nokia now suggesting that the new Nexus 7 tablet infringes patents the Finns hold. Exactly which out of Nokia’s broad patent portfolio have been allegedly infringed by the ASUS-made tablet has not been confirmed, but a company spokesperson told The Inquirer that Google and ASUS “should simply approach us and sign up for a license.”

“Nokia has more than 40 licensees, mainly for its standards essential patent portfolio, including most of the mobile device manufacturers” the spokesperson explained. “Neither Google nor ASUS is licensed under our patent portfolio. Companies who are not yet licensed under our standard essential patents should simply approach us and sign up for a license.”

Although unconfirmed, it’s looking likely that the patent(s) in question surround 808.11 WiFi technology. The Nexus 7 is currently WiFi-only, with no cellular option, and much of Nokia’s patent portfolio unsurprisingly covers wireless systems.

ASUS has declined to get involved with a comment, saying only that “at the moment, ASUS will not be providing any response/comment related” to the allegations. Google is yet to comment.

Whether Nokia would chase an injunction, as Apple has done with other Android hardware, is unclear. With no tablet of its own, there’s no direct competition to be damaged by Nexus 7 sales, and the Finnish company would probably prefer licensing fees as it tides itself over until the arrival of Windows Phone 8.

Nokia: Nexus 7 infringes our patents is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.