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Nokia C6 Sports Sideways Sliding Keyboard

It’s always hard to confirm whether leaked pictures are authentic or not, but assuming this latest leaked picture of the Nokia C6 is authentic, it looks like the phone will be something like a Nokia Nuron that decided to grow a sideways-sliding keyboard. Do you think that this is what the Nokia C6 will eventually look like, or is it just a clever Photoshop job? Rumors are going around that the C6 is slated to be released in Europe this summer, so if you’re decided on this phone, you’d better start saving those pennies right now.

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Vodafone Wayfinder Falls Victim To Free Smartphone Navigation

With Google offering free turn-by-turn navigation for Android devices, and Nokia following suit with its Ovi Maps, it was only a matter of time before all these free navigation services claimed a victim, and it seems that the first victim to buckle under the pressure is Vodafone’s Wayfinder. This news comes just 16 months after Vodafone spent a hefty $30 million to purchase Wayfinder. While many might have thought that paid navigation services would be the next big thing, it seems that free navigation services have trumped that. With the announcement of Google’s free navigation service doing terrible things for TomTom and Garmin’s share prices, who do you think might be (or will be) the next victim to free navigation services?

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How would you change Nokia’s N900?

Maemo 5 didn’t stand on its own for long before being mashed together with Intel’s Moblin, but Nokia’s N900 still stands as one of the best handhelds for web browsing. It’s hardly the world-beater that Nokia (may have) hoped it to be, but that’s not because the internals aren’t impressive. We’re guessing that only a handful of you made the effort to fork over wads of cash in order to pick an unlocked version up, but if you did, you no doubt have some opinions post-purchase. Is the display living up to your expectations? Are you and Maemo getting along alright? How’s that keyboard? We’re eager to know how you’d tweak the N900 if you had the keys to the design kingdom, and with MeeGo already being announced, we’re forbidding you from suggesting the obvious. Or you can, but we’ll be plugging our ears, closing our eyes and humming annoyingly.

Filed under: Cellphones

How would you change Nokia’s N900? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia C6 is actually a 5230-ish landscape slider?

We hate to turn your entire world — nay, your very belief system — on its end, but it’s at least conceivable here that the so-called Nokia Mystic with the portrait QWERTY keyboard may not be the upcoming C6 after all. Instead, Tom’s Guide is submitting this bright white exhibit as the device lucky enough to wear the C6 name, a phone that looks a whole hell of a lot like a 5230 with a QWERTY slider tacked on for good measure. That would make sense considering Nokia’s goal of turning the freshly-introduced Cseries into a midrange, consumer-friendly brand; this phone could easily slot in below the N97 Mini, for example, particularly in light of rumors that the phone will lack the N97’s beefy internal storage. Word is the C6 is pegged for a European release by Summer, so start cleaning off those 5800s and 5230s for eBay right now, why don’t you?

Nokia C6 is actually a 5230-ish landscape slider? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia asks court to dismiss part of Apple patent lawsuit

How do we know we’re years away from a final resolution to the Nokia / Apple patent lawsuit? It’s been six months since Nokia first filed its complaint, and the two parties are just now starting to argue about which specific substantive claims they’re eventually going to argue about. Let’s do a quick refresh: at the heart of the lawsuit is a conflict over Nokia’s wireless patents, some of which are almost certainly essential to how cell data and WiFi operate. As a member of the ETSI and the IEEE licensing groups which oversee GSM and WiFi, Nokia’s required to license its patents to anyone who asks on fair terms, but those terms aren’t set in stone — Nokia can negotiate separate licenses as it sees fit, and it apparently wanted Apple to cross-license its touchscreen patents as part of the deal. Apple said no, and now we’re all in court, with both sides alleging patent infringement in three different lawsuits (one of which is on hold) and Apple claiming that Nokia is also liable for breach of contract, because it promised fair licensing terms and didn’t deliver. Got all that? Right.

So that brings us to yesterday, when Nokia asked the court to dismiss all of Apple’s contract-related claims, saying that they’re simply a distraction from the real issue, which is patents, and that its license offers aren’t unfair simply because Apple doesn’t like them. In short: Apple and Nokia’s patent lawsuit is currently not really about patents at all, but about whether or not it should also be a fight about contract terms in addition to a fight about patents, and that question won’t be resolved for months. And that’s why vigilante justice is the future of America’s tarnished civilization something like 90 percent of patent cases eventually settle out of court.

P.S. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, today Reuters reported that the first trial date isn’t expected until 2012. So, yeah.

Nokia asks court to dismiss part of Apple patent lawsuit originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vodafone’s Wayfinder is first victim of free smartphone navigation services

Back in January 2009, as Vodafone was preparing to close a £20 million ($30 million) deal to buy Swedish mapmaker Wayfinder, it was seen as a bold move from a carrier intent on entering the apparently lucrative market for location based services. Fast forward to the present day — past the bit where free Google Maps Navigation destroyed TomTom and Garmin share prices, and past the introduction of free turn-by-turn navigation to Nokia’s Ovi Maps — and you’ll find Wayfinder gently sobbing into a handkerchief as it permanently closes up its doors. Vodafone’s Anna Cloke gives us the reason for it with devastating concision:

“We could not charge for something that others gave away for free.”

So there we have it, the paid navigation services deathwatch has its first fatality, and it’s the unfortunate nature of the beast that plenty of others will be following suit, unable to resist the destructive effects of the free and ubiquitous services now on offer.

[Thanks, Chris]

Vodafone’s Wayfinder is first victim of free smartphone navigation services originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Wireless Loopset LPS-5

The latest Nokia Wireless Loopset LPS-5 is able to hook up to your T-coil-equipped hearing aid, where it will also deliver excellent audio quality for all handsfree calls. You will be able to enjoy clear two-way communication in different environments, thanks to the LPS-5 featuring noise-free audio. Ruggedly built for everyday use, the Nokia Wireless Loopset LPS-5 will fit nicely and securely around your neck, helping you communicate in a much easier manner. A vibrating alert virtually gives you no more excuse not to answer a call simply because you did not hear your ring tone. [Press Release]

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Verizon Wireless 4G handset to be out next year

The name Nokia was whispered to be the hardware supplier for Verizon Wireless’ maiden 4G handset which is tipped to debut sometime in the middle of next year, where it runs on the LTE network which will roll out at the end of this year after trials at both Boston and Seattle. According to the Wall Street Journal, this first LTE handset will rely on dual chipsets to make them compatible with the current CDMA network.

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Nokia Symbian^3 UI demonstrated in detail, seeks multitouch devices (video)

Nokia VP, David Rivas, was in San Francisco yesterday touting Symbian^3 improvements. While we’ve heard and seen plenty about Symbian Three’s enhanced user experience already, it’s still worthy of another look considering Symbian’s dominant marketshare. Besides, David provides a very detailed look as he walks us though elements like the customizable (and more finger friendly) homescreens meant to provide quick access to call features and at-a-glance data. Rivas also reiterates speed improvement claims over existing S60 5th devices (about a 3x improvement in graphics performance) that should “very very pleasantly surprise” users. Naturally, a faster UI coupled with a Symbian device running on something better than ARM 11 will also help here — Nokia’s only Cortex A8 device is the N900 running Maemo, not Symbian. David takes a veiled shot at Microsoft’s new WP7 platform when discussing Symbian’s true multitaking capabilities without any “tricks” — apps are actually running in the background, not just freezing their state until you return. Multitouch screen control on capacitive and resistive (really?) touchscreen displays with Cover Flow-like album art navigation? Yup, it’s all in there, as are hundreds of usability improvements (and fewer nags!) that should bring Symbian^3 up to the level of what everyone expects from a modern smartphone, according to Rivas. In other words, we’ll have to wait for S^4 on early 2011 devices to see any real innovation. While the live demo was run on a laptop, we suspect it won’t be long until Nokia starts showing off its live OS on a production handset. Until then, check the video after the break — it’s all we’ve got.

[Thanks, Rafael C.]

Continue reading Nokia Symbian^3 UI demonstrated in detail, seeks multitouch devices (video)

Nokia Symbian^3 UI demonstrated in detail, seeks multitouch devices (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Symbian 3 gets new design goes further than skin deep

Nokia has made it clear that it will revamp the user interface (UI) of its Symbian phones, and you might have seen the video above during Mobile World Congress. However, what’s more interesting is that Nokia has removed a ton of legacy code and APIs, to make the clean break that was long overdue. We’re getting closer to what was available on the N900 and some of the qualities are the same (the app switching UI is excellent), but the new UI is seemingly much faster and more fluid. With the new software architecture, comes new code that is not built to deal with last decade’s problems such as lack of graphics hardware or horrible memory constraints.

The net result should be much more responsive Nokia phones and interfaces. I’m glad that Nokia (and others) are seeing the light, because Apple and Microsoft sure did too. Now, we’re waiting for the actual hardware that we suspect might come out this summer at Nokia World.

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Another one bites the dust: Cisco steps out of the WiMAX game

It’s still far, far too early to call WiMAX a dead technology, but with the second major infrastructure supplier moving away from it in as many months, that’s a pretty damning sign, isn’t it? After Alcatel Lucent’s announcement that it would be scaling back WiMAX investment last month, Cisco has now pulled the plug on its own efforts, citing a desire to stay as “radio-agnostic” as possible in the 4G race. That makes sense for a company that hasn’t traditionally played in the wireless game the same way stalwarts like Ericsson and Nokia Siemens have, but the move still lies in stark contrast to Cisco’s 2007 acquisition of Navini Networks that brought a host of WiMAX-focused equipment into the fold. Of course, CDMA has managed just fine in the shadow of GSM’s global domination over the past decade, so these early warning signs could amount a fat load of nothing by the time we’ve reached a 4G steady state.

Another one bites the dust: Cisco steps out of the WiMAX game originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Stealth and Dragonfly concept phones

Nokia’s Stealth and Dragonfly concept phones do look rather interesting, with the former being a mid-range handset, obviously inspired by stealth aircraft in its design that boasts an “ergonomically sculpted keypad, easy to navigate by touch sensations.” As for the Nokia Dragonfly, this more or less resembles an entry-level handset, although certain quarters might deem it to be a whole lot better looking compared to the Stealth. We do wonder whether anyone from Nokia will pick either design up or not.

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