Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia labs is serving up a potentially helpful application for the blind and visually impaired. The beta app makes SMS messages visible through tactile feedback on a Nokia braille reader developed in partnership with Tampere University and the Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired. It runs in the background and automatically opens when a new SMS is received. It’s available to download and test on Nokia devices based on S60 5th Edition. Check the demonstration after the break, maybe someone you know could benefit.

Continue reading Video: Nokia Braille Reader makes SMS tactile

Filed under: Software

Video: Nokia Braille Reader makes SMS tactile originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s still showing as a preorder on Nokia USA’s own site, but Amazon and the brick-and-mortar flagship stores in Chicago and New York are finally stocking the N86 8MP — a little bit of a stretch for the “coming weeks” claim made at the North American version’s launch announcement back in July. The beefy dual slider features a 2.6-inch QVGA OLED display, US 3G up to 3.6Mbps on the downlink, and WiFi — but clearly the big draw is its 8 megapixel cam with Carl Zeiss optics around back accompanied by a dual LED flash. We would’ve liked this last month, but the good news is that it’s launching for less than the $558 originally mentioned: Amazon’s got it written up at $469, while the flagship stores are apparently hawking ’em for $30 more.

[Via The Nokia Blog]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Nokia N86 8MP finally available stateside originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re in no position to say that Nokia‘s so-called Erdos — which was recently caught lookin’ pretty in the video down in the read link — is anything more than a fanatical mockup, but we’re fully ready to be believers. To be frank, we’ve a hard time understanding why Nokia wouldn’t showcase this gem at its recent Nokia World expo if it were indeed nearing release, but whatever the case, we’ve received a number of tips suggested that the OLED-packin’ handset could be formally introduced as early as next month. Falling within the 8xxx series, this ultrathin, ultra-shiny slider boasts a stainless steel design, A-GPS, 3G support, a 2.4-inch QVGA (320 x 240) display, WiFi, USB, 5 megapixel camera (with video recording) and 8GB of internal storage. Feel free to have a look for yourself, but just in case this all proves to be nothing more than a figment of some guy’s imagination, you should probably fall in love with the X6 as well. Video after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Nokia Erdos: a shiny specter, or an OLED-equipped reality?

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia Erdos: a shiny specter, or an OLED-equipped reality? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We aren’t too sure where a number of outlets overheard that Nokia was planning to pass on customizing its Maemo-based devices, but one of two things has happened: either Nokia is lying to our faces and has secretly had a change of heart, or everyone was just misinformed from the get-go. Regardless of the hows and whys, Nokia has now come clean and stated that those very reports — you know, the ones that “erroneously suggested that Nokia will not support operator customization for Maemo devices” — are “simply incorrect.” A long winded explanation follows, but the long and short of it is that the suits in Espoo are (at least now) very open to letting operators “tailor future Maemo devices to suit their needs,” which may or may not be a positive in your eyes depending on the carrier you’re chained to. Now, aren’t you glad we had this little talk?

[Thanks, Dallas]

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Nokia grabs the Windex, clears up ‘erroneous’ Maemo carrier customization claims originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google and Apple have both managed to wrest a great deal of control over the mobile user experience from carriers over the past couple of years — cheers to that, by the way — and now Nokia’s decided it wants a piece of that action with the introduction of Maemo 5 and the N900, which it says will be free of the branding that Symbian products frequently get subjected to. It makes total sense that Nokia would be looking to come play in that rarified air that Android, iPhone OS, and webOS are all playing in — a place where ARPUs are high, UIs are slick and modern, and the apps (and data) flow like water — but since the majority of customers for these types of devices rely on subsidies to justify the purchase, they’ll still need carrier buy-in to pull this off effectively. At least Palm and the gang have all proven that there’s precedent for it, and it’s definitely a noble fight to wage — no one wants a bright magenta interface, right?

[Via Phone Scoop]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Nokia putting foot down on Maemo, won’t allow carrier customizations originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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