CellPhoneBurn

BetaLabs has released Nokia Maps 3.0 for testing.  Some of the major improvements from 2.0 include:

• The 2D/3D Map Hybrid allows for better views of the streets and surroundings
• Buildings and other locations are more clearly marked
• Train Maps! 
• Walk has been improved allowing Nokia Maps to navigate users not only through streets by parks, side streets, non pedestrian areas

http://www.nokia.com/betalabs/maps

Nokia Point and Find will be a new application that will allow Nokia users to point their device at a poster, location, building, etc and instantly retrieve information from the internet.  The application is currentley in beta phase.  Sounds like an intersting concept, Im sure that this will not be launched until way later in the year of 2009 for U.S. users.

Dexter from NokiaE71.wordpress.com had a user email him a link to a video of the NGage-less E71 running NGage.  He did right by contacting the poster and found that the E71 can be hacked!  Although this requires some effort on the users side, I think its well worth it.  Hit the link for the full read and tutorial!

http://nokiae71.wordpress.com/2008/11/21/n-gage-games-on-e71/

S. Litchfield has released a new show reviewing the newly released SonyEricson C905 with 8MP camera, WiFi, GPS.  It seems that overall the phone does well, but his main gripes are that “there is a little too much Sony, not enough standard” which is a great way to put it.  He also talks about firmware upgrades that may be available for your phone, and summarizes his experience at the Nokia test center.

So for the past couple months I have been itching to purchase a new handset.  I have researched and have been patient to see what Nokia (N85, N96, XpressMusic 5800), SonyE (C906, Xperia), LG (??), HTC (Touch HD, Diamond, Touch Pro) might have to offer.  While some of these devices look interesting, they didn’t really cause me to “bite”.  I previously owned the N95 and now use the E71and Moto V3xx daily.  While the N95 was cutting edge when I first purchased it now the 5MP cam seems quite common as evidenced by this years line ups.  This is where I pose the question, Why isn’t there better?  Why don’t we have higher resolution screens? Why don’t we have better cameras?  Why isn’t there innovation in products?

Daily Mobile has released some live pictures of the Nokia E75.  This mobile was seen a couple months back in a leaked promo video by Nokia.  Nokia was quick to have the video taken down from as many sources as possible.  Fast forward a couple month from that , and Wa La! The E75 in all its glory.  Its a sliding qwerty form factor with metallic body.  This is a completely new design from Nokia so it should be interesting how this one is received by the public.  Hit or miss?  Id say hit if its marketed for a young generation.

 FULL READ LINK

Mobile Industry Review had the great pleasure of visiting Nokia’s test facilities.  Within the video you can see Nokia’s rigorous testing process of their handsets. Enjoy

Nokia’s Handset Test Laboratory from Mobile Industry Review on Vimeo.

Nokia has finally come back to U.S. soils with the release of the ATT branded 6650.  This sleek, slim phone sports a 2MP camera, clam shell design, custom light keypad, 3G and 1500mAh battery.  While this all sounds impressive R.Cadden from Symbian-Guru picked one up on contract to test and analyze how branding effects the unit. Hit the link for the full read and see if this unit worth the 2year contract and how Nokia fares in reintroducing the U.S. to S60. 

FULL LINK

Nokia's Wahoo phone: Blackberry Flip + RAZR + N76 in one.

The Boy Genius Report has word of a new Nokia phone (code name: WAHOO) that’s slated to hit AT&T some time in the future. It looks just like the ill-fated N76, Nokia’s answer to the ridiculousness that was the RAZR.

Specs are fairly sparse right now, but it looks like the flip is a quad-band connected phone with WCDMA 850/1900, 2 megapixel camera with flash, 2.5mm headset jack (lol), A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP, and up to 4 hours of battery life (UMTS). Screen size leaves a little bit to be desired, with a 2.2 inch main display and 1.36 inch front display.

As the release for Nokia’s highly anticipated music device (XpressMusic 5800) approaches, I had to question the existence of the Nokia Music Store.  I have heard many great things about it on the internet from users globally that have access to it, and it seems like a great solution from a Nokia mobile.  But for users in the United States the Nokia Music Store is only news, we have never been able to access such a sweet application and it doesnt look likes its forth coming.  I hope that with Nokia’s recent interest in the US market that they will not only focus on the handsets created for the U.S. but also making applications, such as the music store available either on launch day or in a more timely fashion.

Today I was looking through Nokias site and completely forgot about the N79.  The candy bar phone with Xpress on covers.  The design is simple yet the specifications are immense.  The phone has a 5 MP Carl Zeiss, GPS, 2.4″ 16million color display, 3.5mm headphone jack, most if not all the features available with the N85 and N96.  But will this phone succeed or will it be left in the dust trails of the more popular N85, N96 and Xpress Music 5800?

Today on my way home I was listening to some tunes on my E71.  I realized how much I would love to have the song that was playing as a ring tone.  We all know how this works, setting a song as a ring tone can become a nightmare after you’ve heard the phone ring a couple times.  But then I got to thinking it would great to have a program that would be able to randomly play tracks from a specified folder and use those as ring tones.  So the user wouldn’t have to hear the same song over and over.  It would be a unique and surprising experience each time.  I searched online but didn’t find any solutions, so I left it the hands of the users @ Howard Forums to see if anyone had an answer or suggestion.  Luckily, Oddsocks had a response, FreeTones.

Peace of Mind for Man’s Other Best Friend

Back in the day if your car got jacked, you were SOL. Now though thanks to GPS technology included in today’s modern vehicles, it’s nearly impossible to “lose” your car. However if your car doesn’t have integrated Onstar service or equivalent features, you can still take advantage of this technology for very little dough upfront and a reasonable subscription fee.

Announced this week, BlackLine GPS will be offering the Seeker after market tracker early next year for a price of about $350, plus a $20 a month tracking service. Only slightly bigger than a car key remote, the device is easily installed with a minimal amount of car savvy.

KBoardBox has started an interesting thread on swapping housings from a dummy model E71 to a live model.  Although theres alot to dig through the posts are very informative with lots of pictures.  This is a must read for anyone looking to change from a black to white housing and vice versa, to repairing there E71 because the casing is damaged.  Hit the link for all the info, enjoy!
 

FULL LINK!

According to BGR the E63 madea surprise debut at the Symbian SmartPhoneShow.  In the pics he has you can see that the E63 is looking mighty sexy in its all black attire.  The keyboard is also slightly different with an extra row of keys thanks to a smaller space bar.  No details yet on when the release date is , but it cant be long before Nokia officially announces this.

FULL READ LINK!