Hasta La Gadget!

You’d think a company like Nokia could just finance whatever it wanted, but just to be safe, it’s signing a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to the tune of €500 million ($623.9 million). Why the sudden need for cash? According to Reuters, the five-year loan will be used in part to “finance software research and development (R&D) projects Nokia is undertaking during 2009-2011 to make Symbian-based smartphones more competitive.” More specifically, those R&D activities will “also benefit the work of the Symbian Foundation and its development of open-source software for mobile devices.” Sadly, that’s absolutely it for details, but we get the idea we’ll be hearing more about this soon. We hear you can accomplish some pretty wild goals with a half billion Euros.

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia signs €500 million loan for Symbian R&D originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

In light of its fresh tie-up with Microsoft, we can understand how any LG smartphone not running WinMo might be perceived as a black sheep this week. Still, it bums us that the the company has launched its latest S60-powered handset — the KT770 slider — at MWC this week with little more than a brief mention on LG’s official MWC site and a couple of forlorn demo models stuffed in the corner of the company’s booth. The good news is we decided to make good on LG’s oversight and give this little beauty the love it deserves with a mention, a gallery, and a quick video of its tweaked S60 3.2-based UI in action.

The faux carbon fiber back is a little cheesy — particularly for a device that otherwise looks fairly businesslike — but with 7.2Mbps HSDPA, GPS, a WQVGA display, and a 5 megapixel camera on board, it’s hard to argue that this device can’t be competitive (put this up against the far bulkier, uglier N95, for example). The UI seemed reasonably responsive, and though we weren’t able to test the browser without a connection, we imagine the stock S60 apps work every bit as well as they do on Nokia fare. Check out the video after the break!

Continue reading LG doesn’t rock the WinMo boat, launches S60-powered KT770 on the downlow

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

LG doesn’t rock the WinMo boat, launches S60-powered KT770 on the downlow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Nokia’s just announced at its Mobile World Congress presentation that, lo and behold, the company’s launching its own online app and media portal, the Ovi Store. Download, Mosh, widgets are going to be focuses of the Ovi Store. The N97 will be the first device to be “pre-integrated” with Ovi Store, but “tons” of existing S40 and S60 customers will be able to download the service starting in May. The company says it’ll learn your tastes over time and anticipate what you want, as well as make recommendations based on your geographical location. A developer site has launched, and is touting a 70% revenue share, which appears to match what Apple’s doing with its respective app store.

Continue reading Nokia Ovi Store unveiled, launches in May

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia Ovi Store unveiled, launches in May originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Can’t hop a flight to Chicago or New York? No worries, as Nokia just announced that its QWERTY-packin’ E63 can be found in independent retailers across the US along with e-tailers and the aforementioned flagship stores. Just think — all that Symbian S60 fun, a full keyboard, 3G connectivity, WiFi, a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack and a free 12-month subscription to Nokia’s Files on Ovi service, all for $279 with no contracts or related strings attached. Catch one now in red or blue at your favorite Nokia outlet.

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia E63 NAM now available across the US for $279 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Have a Symbian S60-based handset in your pocket, do you? If you’ve a fever that can only be cured by more Commodore 64, you’re in luck. The FrodoS60 application brings C64 emulation right to your N95, N96 or any other S60 mobile, and the updated version (1.5) even includes accelerometer support. Head past the break for a quick look at how much joy this little app could bring to your life, and hit the read link if you’re interested in getting in on it. Which you are, so stop denying it.

[Via digitoday, thanks Antti]

Continue reading Commodore 64 emulator brings retro joy to Symbian S60

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming

Commodore 64 emulator brings retro joy to Symbian S60 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments