Hasta La Gadget!

If this were coming from any other mouth, we’d definitely second guess it. As it stands, though, it’s hard to dispute the words of Nokia’s CEO when it comes to matters involving Nokia. Mr. Olli Pekka Kallasvuo stated rather proudly during the firm’s Q4 results call that it had shipped just over 500,000 5800 XpressMusic mobiles (better known as the Tube) in just 30 days. That figure becomes even more impressive when you realize that shipments only occurred in select markets, though it should be noted that “units shipped” and “units sold to end users” could indeed be very different things. Still, half a million in just a month ain’t too shabby in today’s economy, so here’s the kudos you’re clearly due, Nokia.

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia ships half a million 5800 XpressMusic handsets in 30 days originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia plans to expand Comes With Music, its UK-based unlimited music service, in both Australia and Singapore later this quarter, and is eyeing further expansion in Europe and the United States, according to Reuters. That indicates that the world’s top handset maker may release more cell phones compatible with the service in the U.S. like the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

“The next two countries which we are going to roll out in the next 10 weeks are going to be in Asia, in Australia and Singapore,” Tero Ojanpera, the head of entertainment and communities at Nokia, said at the MidemNet annual digital music gathering in Cannes. “We’ll be launching there in the first quarter of 2009, in February and March.”

Ojanpera said that the hold-up, as usual, is securing rights to the music in each of the territories; the laws differ from country to country with regard to both the recording side and the publishing side of the music business, according to the report. So far, Comes With Music appears to be a well-executed idea that lets Nokia handset owners download as much music as they want over a 12-month period, and then keep it afterward for free.

Nokia’s all-you-can-eat Comes With Music service has been humming along quite nicely across the pond, but until now, we’ve been left in the dark about its plans for world domination. No more, as a recent Reuters report has it that the unlimited music service should be headed to Australia, Asia and Singapore later this quarter and Latin America / USA sometime this year. We’re also told that more corners of Europe should get served in the future, though no window of time was handed out there. It should be interesting to see if any carriers jump in to subsidize these, but our gut feeling says they’ll be sold for a premium unlocked at your nearest Nokia flagship.

[Via UnwiredView]

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

Nokia’s Comes With Music service plans world tour originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia’s already done a bit on its own to exploit the built-in GPS on its phones, and it’s now enlisted the help of Securitas to take things a bit further into Big Brother territory, with the pair today announcing a new security service that’ll let folks keep tabs on you and let you keep an eye on others. Dubbed Safe-2-Go, the service apparently consists four main features, including the usual alert system that dials into the Securitas alarm center and notifies your chosen contacts, a “Find” feature that lets you check on the current position of your friends, a “Zone” feature that sends out an SMS message when someone leaves or enters a predefined area, and a “Friends” feature that simply gives an overview of where all your friends are located. No word on a cost for the service just yet, if there is one, but it looks like folks in Sweden will be the first to get it sometime in the first half of 2009, with other countries in Europe set to follow later in the year.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

Nokia and Securitas team up on GPS-based security service originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interestingly, we hear a Mwai Kibaki-branded Finnish ripoff of a Chinese phone is launching in the States. Go figure.

[Via Unwired View]

Filed under: Cellphones

Obama-branded Chinese ripoff of a Finnish phone launches in Kenya originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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