May 17

Nokia N9 gets teaser video, Rick Springfield soundtrack (update: it’s running MeeGo)

Posted in: meego, nokia, slider, symbian, teaser, Today's Chili, video
Sure, we’ve known of the Nokia N9’s existence for some time now, a fact made all the more real by the handset’s recent FCC appearance, but is a phone really real until its gets its first dramatic ad spot? Pocketnow managed to score a teaser for the upcoming QWERTY slider — not the first time we’ve seen this thing on video, as those who can remember as far back as 2010 will recall. Interestingly, the UI seems to be consistent with the Anna release of Symbian rather than something totally unique to MeeGo — though elements like the status bar and multitasking appear different from what we’ve seen of that version of Symbian. Also, if you don’t blink, you’ll see the 12MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens and the chiclet keyboard. As for the live version of “Jessie’s Girl,” that’s anyone’s guess.

Update: General consensus is that the N9 is running Meego. We also noticed after watching the video a couple times that the camera is autofocus instead of EDoF (see enhanced video frame after the break), which is excellent news!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Nokia N9 gets teaser video, Rick Springfield soundtrack (update: it’s running MeeGo)

Nokia N9 gets teaser video, Rick Springfield soundtrack (update: it’s running MeeGo) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 19:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 17

Nokia N9 gets teaser video, Rick Springfield soundtrack (video)

Posted in: meego, nokia, slider, symbian, teaser, Today's Chili, video
Sure, we’ve known of the Nokia N9’s existence for some time now, a fact made all the more real by the handset’s recent FCC appearance, but is a phone really real until its gets its first dramatic ad spot? Pocketnow managed to score a teaser for the upcoming QWERTY slider — not the first time we’ve seen this thing on video, as those who can remember as far back as 2010 will recall. Interestingly, the UI seems to be consistent with the Anna release of Symbian rather than something totally unique to MeeGo — though elements like the status bar and multitasking appear different from what we’ve seen of that version of Symbian. Also, if you don’t blink, you’ll see the 12MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens and the chiclet keyboard. As for the live version of “Jessie’s Girl,” that’s anyone’s guess.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Nokia N9 gets teaser video, Rick Springfield soundtrack (video)

Nokia N9 gets teaser video, Rick Springfield soundtrack (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 16

Nokia X7 gets approved, undressed by FCC

Posted in: nokia, smartphone, symbian, Today's Chili

Is there any faster way for a sexy new handset to lose some mystique than by being torn apart beneath the unflattering lights of the FCC’s offices? But while all of these shot juxtaposed with a blue ruler might not be precisely the way Nokia wants you to see the X7, the listing does bring the Symbian smartphone all that much closer to reality — particularly for US users hoping to get their fingers on that 4-inch touchscreen, offering visions of availability via the Nokia US store (especially since our dreams of AT&T coverage have already been dashed). In the meantime, we’ll all have to be content to check out some stripped-naked shots of the Samsung-designed SDRAM, Broadcom transceiver, 8MP camera, and hexagonal reinforcement in the gallery below.

Gallery: Nokia X7 FCC Shots

Nokia X7 gets approved, undressed by FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 15:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 15

NTT DoCoMo’s Fujitsu LOOX F-07C goes official, dual-boots to Windows 7 and Symbian (updated)

Posted in: breaking news, cellphone, Japan, keyboard, mobile phone, MobilePhone, official, phone, qwerty, slider, smartphone, symbian, Today's Chili, video, windows 7, Windows7

Yes, ’tis quite a shock for a Monday morning, but it turns out the dual-booting Fujitsu LOOX F-07C smartphone is indeed legit. According to NTT DoCoMo’s preliminary spec sheet, this 7.69-ounce landscape slider handles both Symbian and Windows 7 (Home Premium, 32-bit Japanese edition) with its 4-inch 1,024 x 600 LCD (that’s 297ppi right there!), along with a 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of LPDDR400 RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 32GB of eMMC disk space, and expandable memory via microSDHC. You’ll also find a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with face detection on the back, coupled by a VGA front-facing camera. Of course, the main concern is how the battery life fares here: we’re told that in “mobile phone mode” you get up to 600 hours of generous standby time and up to 370 minutes of 3G talk time; whereas in Windows 7 mode you’ll have to make do with just two hours, and then you’re forced into mobile phone mode when the battery level is low. If you’re itching to get yourself an eccentric F-07C, then watch out for its launch in June or July. Full list of specifications and press release after the break.

Update: ASCII’s just posted a few real-life shots of this device, and mentions a retail price of around ¥70,000 ($860). Oh, and there’s HDMI-out via a USB adapter.

Update 2: Akihabara News has a hands-on video — check it out after the break, and be sure to take a gander at its photos as well.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo’s Fujitsu LOOX F-07C goes official, dual-boots to Windows 7 and Symbian (updated)

NTT DoCoMo’s Fujitsu LOOX F-07C goes official, dual-boots to Windows 7 and Symbian (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 02

Nokia announces pink N8 with Symbian Anna, neglects to give us a release date

Posted in: nokia, OLED, smartphone, symbian, Today's Chili

It must be hard for Nokia to keep consumer interest in Symbian going while simultaneously developing a whole new ecosystem, so we’ll forgive the unimaginative move to just do a pink version of the N8. That handset already benefited from the widest set of color options among any smartphone flagships, and will soon be adding a very T-Mobile-friendly shade of light red to its anodized aluminum case. Judging by those curvy icons on its 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, the pink N8 will also feature the latest version of Symbian, dubbed Anna, though Nokia unfortunately fails to tell us when we may expect this mildly refreshed phone to arrive. Then again, we suspect it’ll be pretty hard to miss whenever it does show up.

Nokia announces pink N8 with Symbian Anna, neglects to give us a release date originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 06:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 27

Nokia Slashes 4000 Jobs Worldwide

Posted in: Microsoft, nokia, symbian, Today's Chili

Nokia Logo

We all knew it was coming: when Nokia and Microsoft signed their agreement to bring Windows Phone 7 to Nokia handsets, the end was nigh for Symbian – and all of the developers, engineers, and support staff that Nokia had built up around the flagging mobile OS. Now, Nokia has made good on the bad news and served over 4,000 employees worldwide with pink slips. 
In addition to letting that staff go, Nokia is divesting itself of Symbian entirely, and handing it off to Accenture, another technology firm that’s agreed to take Symbian support and development off of Nokia’s hands. Accenture in turn will then become the “preferred provider” of software and services for Nokia’s handsets – including the upcoming Windows Phone 7 devices. 
Nokia may have just fired 4,000 people, but they are offering many of them the opportunity to re-apply for other jobs at the company and get job training for roles elsewhere. Look on the bright side guys, Google still says they’re hiring. 
[via SlashGear]
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Apr 27

Nokia transfers Symbian development and 3,000 employees to Accenture, will downsize workforce by further 4,000

Posted in: nokia, partnership, plans, roadmap, schedule, symbian, Today's Chili, uk, windows phone, WindowsPhone

Nokia’s already done quite a bit to cut ties with last year’s big push for Symbian and Qt development, though this is perhaps the biggest step yet. The Finnish company has announced it’s transferring responsibility for Symbian development to consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture, which sounds odd given the latter outfit’s inexperience in delivering mobile OS updates, but the good news is that the 3,000 devs Nokia had working on Symbian will continue their jobs under the new employer. That basically means that Nokia will live up to its unhappy promise that there’ll be “substantial reductions in employment” within its own ranks, while still keeping the men and women responsible for updating Symbian employed. Unfortunately, there will still be a further 4,000 job cuts in the company’s global workforce, primarily in Finland, Denmark and the UK, which will “occur in phases” between the beginning and end of next year. Nokia’s agreement with Accenture also involves continued collaboration on delivering mobility software and services on the Windows Phone platform. You can read more about that in the PR after the break.

Continue reading Nokia transfers Symbian development and 3,000 employees to Accenture, will downsize workforce by further 4,000

Nokia transfers Symbian development and 3,000 employees to Accenture, will downsize workforce by further 4,000 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 26

Windows Phone and BlackBerry struggle to attract developer attention

Posted in: Android, apps, BlackBerry, developer, developers, ios, meego, Microsoft, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, symbian, Today's Chili, webos, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone7, Wp7
Developer Interest Chart

We’re taking this with a grain of salt, since it applies only to users of the cross-platform Appcelerator Titanium development environment, but it appears that Windows Phone 7 is facing an increasingly uphill battle for mobile mind-share. At this point it should go without saying that a platform lives and dies by its developers and, according to Appcelerator, they’re growing less and less interested in creating apps for Microsoft’s smartphone OS. Only 29-percent of devs responded to the company’s quarterly survey that they were “very interested” in putting their wares on WP7, a fall of 7 points from last quarter and far less than market leaders Android and iOS. News is even worse for RIM, which saw a fall of 11-points in developer interest for BlackBerry, and now trails the folks from Redmond. Again, this survey is based only on the responses of 2,760 developers using a particular product, so we’d refrain from calling the results incontrovertible. Still, it reinforces something that even a casual observer could discern: BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 have a tough row to hoe. Two more charts after the break.

Continue reading Windows Phone and BlackBerry struggle to attract developer attention

Windows Phone and BlackBerry struggle to attract developer attention originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 13

Nokia Debuts New Symbian Phones Despite Deal with Microsoft

Posted in: nokia, symbian, Today's Chili

nokiahands.jpgYesterday, we told you about Nokia starting the process to end Symbian-based phones, but now we have news about Nokia launching new phones with Symbian as the OS. Nokia has stated that the Windows phones will be released at a later date, but did not give a reason as to why the new phones will still run on Symbian.

Jo Harlow, head of Nokia’s Smart Devices business said in a press release: 

With these new products and more Symbian devices and user enhancements coming in the near future, we are confident we can keep existing Nokia smartphone customers engaged, as well as attract new first-time and competitor smartphone users.

Symbian has made Nokia a leader in cell phones overseas, but not so much in the States. Nokia is currently building the new phones that will use Windows 7 Mobile, but no target date has been shared as of yet. However, these new phones are using a closed-source version of Symbian unlike previous models.

Via TG Daily

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Apr 12

Nokia E6 first hands-on! (updated with video)

Posted in: breaking news, hands-on, nokia, qwerty, symbian, Today's Chili, video

That crazy new 326ppi device that Nokia busted out this morning has finally made contact with our eager hands. The E6 is extremely compact, stainless steel accounts for its back cover and camera bezel, but weight is feathery and general feel in the hand is terrific. You’re limited to a 2.46-inch screen, but Nokia’s otherwise standard resolution of 640 x 480 looks pretty awesome when squeezed into such dimensions. Check out the gallery of pics below and we’ll have video for you soon as well!

Update: Video hands-on can now be found after the break. Let’s start off with the headline spec, that 326dpi pixel density. In practical use, it’s not resoundingly noticeable, as the UI icons are resized accordingly, but where we expect to really see the benefits of it will be in web browsing, where you’ll be able to fit oodles of content on your screen without losing detail. It’s not AMOLED like the rest of Nokia’s current line, but it’s a very high quality LCD, not much of a loss to our eyes. We’re still very much liking the size and curvature of the E6, although we noted a touch of UI lag with it as we did with the X7. Symbian, in spite of the update, is still not perfected. That said, you’re getting a massive 1500mAh battery, which will be used sparingly by the smaller display and 680MHz CPU. Up to nine hours of video playback are promised, while 720p recording is also available for those keen on making the most of the 8 megapixel camera on the back. Construction is solid, the keyboard feels as good as what you’ll be used to on the E72, but the OS still fails to convince. Good thing, then, that Nokia plans to keep updating the software as we move forward.

Gallery: Nokia E6 hands-on

Continue reading Nokia E6 first hands-on! (updated with video)

Nokia E6 first hands-on! (updated with video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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