Wal-Mart slashes prices on iPhone and iPad

If you're looking for the cheapest iPhone or iPad that isn't used, Wal-Mart is the first place you should turn this holiday season.

The retail giant announced plans Friday to offer the 16 GB iPhone 5 for $127 (normally $189.97) and the 16GB iPhone 4S for $47 (normally $87.97), along with a two-year contract. They'll also sell the third-generation iPad for $399.

While it was reported elsewhere that Wal-Mart is discounting the recently announced fourth-generation iPad, a Wal-Mart spokesperson confirmed with CNNMoney that it is, in fact, the third-generation model, which has a less powerful CPU.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) discounts aren't unheard of this time of year, but Wal-Mart's (WMT, Fortune 500) will be tough to beat. Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and Radio Shack (RSH) both have discounts on the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S, offering as much as $50 off advertised prices, along with gift certificates to sweeten the deal. Apple's own Black Friday sale offered up iPods and previous-geneneration iPads for $30-$40 off the regular price.

As for the iPad discount, Wal-Mart appears to be following in the footsteps of past sales. In July, Fry's knocked $100 off the iPad 2. But by then, the iPad 3 had already been available for almost six months.
While the iPad sales just seem like an offloading of stale products, Wal-Mart's motivations for discounting the iPhone aren't exactly clear. Some, such as the LA Times, speculate that dragging sales are to blame.

Whatever the case, it's best not to sleep on this deal if you're in the market for one of these devices. Wal-Mart told MacRumors that the sale is first come, first serve depending on inventory, and rain checks will not be issued.

May the shopping gods be with you.

HTML5: The future of the Web is finally here

HTML5, which will power the next generation of websites and smartphone apps, is now complete.

The tool that promises to launch the next era of websites, smartphone apps and online video is finally finished.

HTML5, the long-in-the-works update to the language that powers the Web, is "feature complete," according to an announcement made Monday by the standards-setting Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C). There's still some testing to be done, and it hasn't yet become an official Web standard -- that will come in 2014. But there won't be any new features added to HTML5, which means Web designers and app makers now have a "stable target" for implementing it, W3C said.

The HTML5 language lets developers deliver in-the-browser experiences that previously required standalone apps or additional software like Java, Adobe's (ADBE) Flash or Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) Silverlight. It supports lightning-fast video and geolocation services, offline tools and touch, among other bells and whistles.

The W3C has been developing the spec for the better part of a decade.

"As of today, businesses know what they can rely on for HTML5 in the coming years," W3C CEO Jeff Jaffe said in a prepared statement. "Likewise, developers will know what skills to cultivate to reach smart phones, cars, televisions, e-books, digital signs, and devices not yet known."

Most of the top browser makers didn't wait for the language to be 100% finished before building support for some elements into their software. The latest versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari are already compatible with most HTML5 elements.

App developers followed suit.

Netflix (NFLX) and Google's YouTube are two of the most prominent HTML5 adopters, but many others have also taken the leap. The Financial Times abandoned its smartphone app last year in favor of an HTML5 mobile website. The site looked and functioned like a native app -- with the advantage that FT didn't have to make changes to multiple versions of its code on multiple smartphone platforms. (Using a mobile website instead of a native app also let FT avoid paying Apple for in-app purchases.)

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), a strong supporter of HTML5, produced a viral interactive video in 2010 with the help of rock band Arcade Fire that showed off the potential of the new Web features. Firefox browser maker Mozilla made a splash in February when it created a smartphone operating system called "Boot to Gecko," which is almost entirely based in HTML 5.

HTML5 grew prevalent enough by 2010 that then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs was able to unleash an epic rant against Flash and get away with it. A year later, Adobe more or less conceded that Jobs was right, abandoning its mobile Flash software in favor of HTML5 support. In November 2011 blog post, Adobe called HTML5 "the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms."

There's still more work to be done. W3C said that about 63% of Web and app developers are actively using HTML5 to make their sites and software, but "browser fragmentation" remains a big reason why many still aren't using it. Though most up-to-date browsers support at least some aspects of HTML5, older versions of some Web browsers like Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) Internet Explorer don't.

That's why W3C is working on cementing HTML5 as a new Web standard, making it interoperable and fully supported by any modern browser. It will take two years to complete the testing and standardization of HTML5, the consortium said.

What's next? W3C is already working on HTML 5.1, the first parts of which were just submitted in draft form.

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T up at NokiaUSA.com

And so does operation “Rolling Thunder” begin! With the announcement of the Nokia Lumia 900 as an exclusive for American Carrier AT&T. The Lumia 900 was just unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Stephen Elop, Steve Ballmer, and Ralph de La Vega got together to unveil Nokia’s first high-end Windows Phone for the American Market. Unfortunately, no pricing nor dates were given on the Lumia 900, but it’s already up at NokiaUSA.com.. Also, here are the Lumia 900 full specs .

Nokia Lumia 900 Hands-On Video!

Here’s the first hands-on video directly from the guys at Nokia Conversations! The Nokia Lumia 900 is one sexy smartphone. The 900 is Nokia’s third Windows Phone, but Nokia’s first Windows Phone aimed at the North American market. The 900 features LTE 4G connectivity, a large 4.3″ AMOLED display, and an awesome 1830mAh battery for hours worth of talk time or stand by. Watch Chanse from Nokia give a brief demo of the Lumia 900.

Nokia Lumia 900 Full Specifications and Features

The Nokia Lumia 900 was just announced as an AT&T exclusive. Price and date are still unknown. Here are the complete specs of the Nokia Lumia 900:

• 4.3-Inch AMOLED Clear Black Display, 800×480 pixels, Gorilla Glass protected, 24-bit color depth
• 4G LTE Connectivity Cat3, 50Mpbs Downlink, 25Mpbs Uplink
• WI-FI b/g/n
• GSM 1800/1900/850/900
• WCDMA 1900/850/900
• HSDPA Cat14, 21Mpbs
• Long-Lasting 1830 mAH battery life
• 8MP, Wide Angle, Carl Zeiss Lens Camera, f/2.2, focal length 28mm, focus range 10cm to infinity
• 16GB Internal Memory
• 512MB RAM
• 1.4GHz processor, APQ8055 Snapdragon S2
• 3D Graphics HW Accelerator
• Windows Phone Mango 7.5
• Accelerometer
• Magnetometer
• 2 Microphones/ Noise Cancellation
• 30fps 720p HD video recording
• Gyroscope
• 1.3MP Front Facing Camera
• Comes in Cyan and Black
• Nokia Drive
• ESPN Exclusive App

Nokia Lumia 900 Official for AT&T

The Nokia Lumia 900 is now official for the U.S as an AT&T exclusive! The Lumia 900 is Nokia’s new high-end Windows Phone, set to release “in the coming months” for a still unannounced price. Nokia surprised the world today by re-entering the U.S market with an exclusive smartphone: it’s the first time the Finnish manufacturer releases something that is uniquely built for the American consumer.

The Lumia 900 is a piece of industrial art, much like it’s younger brother, the Lumia 800. The Lumia 900 will introduce some interesting features to the market, such as Nokia Drive and Nokia’s own ESPN exclusive app–all in a sexy design that the U.S is definitely not used to seeing. The Lumia 900 is sculptured out of a single piece of polycarbonate, and each cavity is independently drilled in order to achieve it’s seamless look and feel. More interesting though, is that the Lumia 900′s polycarbonate body is RF transparent, meaning it doesn’t block radio waves, and if it scratches, all you see is more of the same color.

The 900 is also pulling off some amazing moves in the technology front: it boasts amazingly fast LTE connectivity for speeds up to 50Mbps in certain LTE-enabled cities. It also has a wide-angle lens 1.2MP front camera for crystal-clear video conferencing, and a Carl Zeiss, Wide-Angle, 8MP dual-LED flash camera in the rear. It’s screen is an amazing 4.3″ AMOLED Clear Black Display featuring a 24-bit color depth. To power this flagship, Nokia used a huge 1830mAh battery, more than enough to keep this thing running for an entire day. Windows Phone Mango is on board!


The Lumia 900 is the first of it’s kind among Nokia’s portfolio. Here are some of the specifications:

• 4.3-Inch AMOLED Clear Black Display
• 4G LTE Connectivity
• Long-Lasting 1830 mAH battery life
• 8MP, Wide Angle, Carl Zeiss Lens Camera
• 16GB Internal Memory
• 512MB RAM
• 1.4GHz processor
• Windows Phone Mango 7.5
• Accelerometer
• Magnetometer
• Gyroscope
• 1MP Front Facing Camera
• Comes in Cyan and Black

Nokia 0000 and Nokia XXX pop up at Occasional Gamer

Not a lot of information here, but two unknown Nokia models just appeared at Occasional Gamer. Many unknown Nokia models have appeared in the past over at Occasional Gamer, the Nokia Lumia 900, which is supposed to be announced tomorrow, had occasional appearances before. So did the Nokia Champagne, which I am still not sure what it is, and the SeaRay which turned out to be the Lumia 800. The Nokia 0000 and the Nokia XXX appeared on the listings, the odd thing is that they seem to be generic names, not code names that make sense like the ones we have seen before.

“Metallic” Lumia 900 for AT&T Confirmed By New York Times

There have been plenty of rumors about the upcoming Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone for AT&T. It is rumored to have a 4.3″ Clear Black AMOLED display, run Windows Phone Mango, and sport LTE for super-fast internet connectivity. Now New York Times is revealing a little detail about the Lumia 900 that we did not know before: apparently, the Lumia 900 will be made out of metal. That is surprising considering that the Lumia 800 and N9 use Nokia’s unique polycarbonate construction that provides a RF transparent environment for excellent connectivity. It would seem logical to assume that the 900, which is rumored to have a 800-esque design, would use polycarbonate once again. The New York Times also used to word “sleek,” which could further confirm previous rumors about a thickness of just 9mm. The Lumia 900 is rumored to release Monday.

The Nokia E6 Review

The E6, the sequel to the Nokia E72, is a marked improvement to its predecessor. With an 8MP camera and touch screen navigation but physical QWERTY keyboard, the E6 is a Nokia’s answer to the Blackberry Bold 9780. Let us see how it and its Symbian platform perform during daily use.

Build:

Available in white, black, or silver, the E6 is a gorgeous handheld. Sized at 115m x 59mm x 10.5mm, it is thinner, albeit longer, that any other Blackberry. It weights approximately 133 grams – a bit heavier in comparison to its Blackberry rivals. Held in the hand, the E6 feels sturdy and well-built. It also looks well-designed – a welcome flair not seen in Blackberrys. It possesses a 680Mhz processor with graphics acceleration.

The physical keyboard is comfortable to use, with its curved keys. Sometimes, it may feel too cramped due to the lack of space between the keys, but it works well. There are two dedicated start/end call buttons on the far left and right side of the main D-Pad, and a home button. The nearby calendar, email, and address book hard keys are customizable, but are set as such at default.
There is 8GB built-in memory, 256Mb, and an expandable SD slot of additional 32GB.
The 2.46 inch screen size is 640 x 480 pixels, more than enough for clear and crisp images. Symbian Anna’s touch screen navigation is very limited because of the lack of screen size. It allows for simple left and right swipes, but pinch zoom and touch-pressing the screen can be tiresome. This feels like a waste of potential with the touch screen capacity.

Interface:

The interface of the E6 contains 4 home screens, entirely customizable with widgets such as a music player, a Facebook status updater, and the trademark squircle app icons. One can add up to three widget bars and 4 application shortcut icons on each home screen. The beauty of the E6 is the ability to use both the physical keyboard and the touch screen at the same time. One can type with the keyboard, and navigate using the screen. To transition between home screens, one just swipes to the left or right of the screen. Menu arrangement has been made easier, also. Just as the iPhone allows one to change the position of icons by way of a long pressing on an icon, one can do so with the interface on the E6 also. Sometimes, the system would lag as a result.

Calling, Messaging, Email:

Contacts management is not spectacular on the E6. One can start typing a number or search one’s number or company through a list by opening the contacts app, with type-as-you-go results. The phone-wide search could also be used, but search is only possible after the name is typed. Call by voice dialing and voice command system work all right – not spectacular, but good enough. It was a hit or miss when trying to tell the phone to “Call (name)”. Overall, the contacts management was pretty slow and tedious on the E6. The call quality of the phone was clear and consistent. I heard no static or had any dropped calls.

The messaging system is well-built on the E6 – the SMS, calendar, and email, function with each other. You can create events from a message in which someone has invited you. The T9 function is available, and can be turned off in Settings. Adaptive text correction can be installed by option (Adaptxt). The calendar, though, leaves something to be desired. The clunky and non-touch friendly interface is not appealing, although upcoming events can be displayed through the calendar widget on a home screen. The mail application allows the main e-mail provider services and some others functionality (Yahoo!, Gmail, Hotmail, Exchange, BT Internet, and Virgin Media). Unfortunately, one has to check each account individually for new emails – there is no universal inbox.

The Social app shows Twitter and Facebook timelines as one, if desired, and you can update and upload a photo as your status. Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Chat, Google Talk, and ICQ functionality can be downloaded from the Ovi Store.
The internet functionality is very limited. Page rendering is weak and very inconsistent (practically no rendering). Opera Mini is a marked improvement and alternative to the native browser, and loads almost 2x faster. Pan and zoom is the recommended method of internet navigation – thank goodness for the touch screen. The main menu of the browser allows you to navigate your bookmarks, history, settings, and windows switching.

Camera:

Nokia has always been known for their great cameras. The E6 provides a 8MP (up to 3264 x 2448), 2x digital zooming (there is no tap-to-zoom function, just the on-screen shutter button), and dual LED flash. There are options to edit and upload your photos, too. The images are very clear and crisp – as expected.





The video function of the E6 is also well formed. In low-light conditions, the LED flash needs to be continuously on. In well-lit places, the video is bright and clear – there is no blurriness from movement. The E6 allows for up to 1280 x 720p resolution videos at 25fps, and 3x digital zoom.

Music and Video:

The E6 lacks in this area. The audio is loud and clear, but the music player’s functionality is so basic it pales in comparison to many other smartphones like the iPhone and the Droid. One does not have control with his or her music with this phone. Music is played by album order, not alphabetical.
The video has its natural shortcomings with this phone – with such a small but nice screen, it is hard to enjoy more than just clips on this.

Conclusion:

The Nokia E6 is going to be perfect for those used to the Symbian platform; however, other platform’s user are going to have a very hard time adapting to this older platform. The Nokia E6, however, proves that Nokia is able to execute amazing hardware, hopefully Windows Phone will fix Nokia’s platform issues.

Nokia Ace Will Rock AT&T’s 4G LTE Network Soon

What you are about to read comes from an unverified source as noted by Jay over at MNB; however, I will take the liberty to pass the rumor around since most rumors turn out to be at least partially true, and because… well… fans love rumors and speculation ;)

The reason I re-opened this blog is because Nokia is supposed to take the American market by storm. They are focusing on the U.S by developing phones tailored to the U.S consumer market. They also plan on spending millions together with Microsoft to advertise these upcoming U.S-centric Windows Phones. The first of these Nokia WP that will be subsided by a major U.S carrier seems to be the Nokia Ace. A tipster sent this info to MNB; there are no pictures, but there are plenty of specs to be amazed at. Here they are:

1. 4.3″ AMOLED CBD Display
2. 1800mAh
3. Carl Zeiss Optics
4. 8MP Auto Focus Camera
5. Windows Phone Mango
6. 4G LTE Connectivity
7. 1.4 gHz processor
8. 16GB internal storage
9. AT&T Bound for Q1 2012, announcement at Nokia World 2011

If these specs turn out to be true, Nokia might effectively have an “Ace” under their sleeve. Nokia will probably present a beautiful phone with an amazing–and different–industrial design that will sure get attention (think Nokia N9). Those complaining about a single-core CPU have to realize that not all platforms need as much processing power as Android. My Windows Phone running Mango on a 1gHz processor boots in under 12 seconds, faster than all my Android phones by a wide margin, and runs as smooth if not better than most Android phones. Also, a 1800mAh battery with a 1.4gHz processor will run circles around every other smartphone’s battery life. Knowing Nokia, they will probably throw an excellent camera to go with this device.

 

I think I might be now speculating too much; but, if Nokia can successfully execute something similar to what I described above, together with a successful marketing campaign, we might see how things will start changing for Nokia in the U.S.

There are three things that you should spend you time doing: Marketing, marketing, marketing.
- Emma Harrison

Nokia C7: A Revolutionary, Uncelebrated Handset

With all the talking about the Nokia E7 and N8, the C7 hasn’t had an opportunity to shine. And with a valid reason, these handsets and their amazing specs can easily get all the attention, leaving the C7 looking as just “another” Symbian^3 smartphone.

It wasn’t until a meeting with C7 product manager that the C7 seemed like a brilliant device. First of all, the man behind the C7 is totally passionate about what he does. It was evident that he was trying to create something that users would enjoy using; he also was really thankful for all the direct talk that we did about the C7 while the meeting lasted.

The C7 was introduced, according to the product manager, as the phone for everyone. They made sure that “everything was there,” meaning that the C7 has all the features somebody would need. The product manager described the C7 as the phone that most people would agree, that “it has everything.” Of course it doesn’t, and this phone isn’t targeted at the high-end of the market. However, it is targeted at that key level in which people want a really nice phone, but don’t want to spend a considerable amount on it. The key, is that the C7 offers a lot for its value.

The C7 is indeed a perfect phone to cover this important level of the market. The C7 has very advanced features, like 3.5″ CBD AMOLED display, and 8 Megapixel Camera, and it does all this in a really compact and user friendly design. The C7 is made out of mostly metal, and glass; it feels solid, an has an excellent construction I must say. The C7 has a lot in common with the very successful E71. I almost see the C7 as the E71, minus the keyboard which was replaced by a touchscreen. This very slim and metallic design is a winner, Nokia has proved it before.


The C7 is similar to the Nokia N8, but of course, the camera was replaced, and the construction, although really nice, isn’t the aluminium that the N8 uses. The C7 is a really fast phone, you can see in the pic below how the UI was going so fast that the camera produced a blurry shot. The C7, in the short time we handled it, seemed like a practical device that most people would enjoy using. The screen is top-quality, the UI is fast and responsive, and it comes with social Ovi services that many people will surely use. There are also many apps available on the new version of the Ovi Store installed on the C7, which by the way, is responsive and enjoyable to browse. For example, according to a Nokia rep, Swype will be available to download from the Ovi Store.

So what is the Nokia C7? It is the phone you would recommend to everyone. You know, family, friends etc… who want a nice phone but don’t want to spend high-end prices. Its features, and design, make it an “universal” phone. Lets wait and see if the C7 takes the market as we believe it can.

When is The N8 Shipping in The US? We Got Some Answers

The wait for the N8 has been ridiculous….really. While most major companies announce a product and put it in the market within months, Nokia has this horrible custom of letting fans wait for months, months, and months. To put it in perspective, the iPhone 4, announced this past June, was released that same month. The Blackberry Torch, announced this past August, was released too, the same month. Compare that to the N8, we know about the N8 officially since April, and it’s September and no news about it? Well, until now because we got some answers!

Today I got in contact with the folks over at Nokia USA, and got some interesting information on the status of the N8. First of, they said there is a very strong pre-order demand. This means, there’s actually a queue. If you were one of the very first people to pre-order the N8, you will get your N8 shipped tomorrow, September 30th. If you ordered after that first batch, you will get your N8 shipped anytime during October. That is all the info we got, but is pretty substantial. In our own personal opinion, we think that Nokia didn’t foresee the huge demand this phone would have in the US, so they might take some extra days to deliver those N8s. Keep us updated! Tell us below whether your N8 shipped, or not….

Nokia has let me down…

Being a Nokia blogger is not as exciting as it was some years ago. Nokia has been playing the “catch-up” game for too long now. They used to be the leader.

I was just playing with my Nokia N93 and I realized why I started a Nokia blog in the first place: they were the ones that came up with the cool gadgets, the innovations – and everyone else played the catch-up game.


But Nokia stopped innovating. Its last effort, the N8, makes me feel sad when I compare it to my other phones. In every other aspect, but the camera, the N8 lags behind my Galaxy S, and more recently, my Samsung Focus.

I have to be honest, I sold the N8 I won in a contest. I was not using the N8, it was just pretty hardware with an annoying, horrible, and unattractive UI and UX.

I have not given up on Nokia though. There is MeeGo coming as well as the updates that used to be Symbian 4. But until Nokia gets my attention back, this blog will remain without updates…..

Rumor: Nokia X7 Will Come to the US Exclusively With AT&T

The first time I heard it I wasn’t too sure about it, but now it’s coming from two different sources, so this has to be true. A tweet from the Editor-In-Chief of MobileBulgaria states that the Nokia X7 “seems” to be an exclusive of AT&T in the United States. In my opinion, this is a strong rumor coming from two sources that have predicted a number of Nokia-related events ahead of time.

If true, these would be excellent news for Nokia here in the US – where they have absolutely zero presence. It will be a tough fight though, the market is already plagued with Droids, iPhone, and now Windows Phone 7 devices; each with a ridiculously strong marketing campaign that we have never seen coming from Nokia. The X7 could do well here, it could also mean that big-company apps would arrive to the Ovi Store together with this US release. More news to come!

The Nokia 800 Windows Phone is now Almost Official

There has been rumors about a certain Nokia 800 in the past, but nothing as “official” as what pocketnow has managed to get. The Nokia 800 is shown in the following picture looking very official, running Windows Phone, and with a price tag of about $460 USD.

I am going to go ahead and completely assume that the price tag is for an unlocked Nokia 800. Nokia usually gives prices for unlocked devices since it’s the operator’s job to fix a subsided price; plus, prices at events like Nokia World last year were for unlocked devices. The 800 would be somehow better than the Nokia 703 that recently leaked. No specs were found for the 800, but expect it to be more amazing than the 703. I can’t wait to see Nokia’s first batch of Windows Phone devices; I really want them to take the world by storm.
And the hype keeps building up and up…

What Nokia devices are getting Symbian Belle?

Nokia just delivered Anna to customers; but we are already talking about Symbian Belle. Symbian Belle offers major improvements over Anna; like an updated Web Browsing experience, a more customizable widget screen, an Android-style pull down bar, and an improved UI.

Symbian Belle was just announced and will come with the Nokia 600, 700, and Nokia 701; but when are older devices like the N8, E7, and X7 getting Belle? We asked Nokia and their reply was “closer to availability.” In other words, wait. What we do know is that the following devices will be getting Symbian Belle:

1. Nokia N8
2. Nokia E6
3. Nokia E7
4. Nokia C6
5. Nokia C7
6. Nokia X7

A look at the Nokia 600, 700, and 701

We are all waiting for MeeGo and Windows Phone news, but Symbian is not dead, not yet anyway. Nokia has announced three new devices that run on Symbian Belle, these are the 600, 700, and 701. Here’s when we really thank Nokia changed their naming convention, so expect the 701 to be the highest-end phone, and the 600 the lowest among the trio. Let’s start with the Nokia 600:

Nokia 600

The 600 is Nokia’s cheapest Belle offering. Nokia claims the 600 is the industry’s loudest phone at 106Phons; that means you won’t miss a call in loud places, and you will be able to play music where most phones are shadowed by ambient noise. The 600 also has an internal FM antenna so you can listen to the radio without connecting headphones; it also has a FM transmitter to broadcast your music to a nearby FM radio. The 600 has a 1Ghz processor, NFC capabilities, 5MP fixed-focus camera, and 2GB of internal memory.

Nokia 700

The 700 is the world’s most compact touchscreen phone weighing only 96g! The 700 has a 3.2″ CBD AMOLED display, Symbian Belle, 1Ghz processor, a 5MP fixed-focus camera, and HD video capture. The 700 is also the world’s most environmentally conscious phone, made entirely out of eco-friendly materials. It’s battery life is said to be amazing too. The 700′s memory can be expanded up to 34GB from the 2GB that Nokia initially offers. NFC is also on board for one-touch sharing and pairing.

Nokia 701

As with all the previous smartphones Nokia announced, the 701 also enjoys of a “superlative” that makes it special over all other phones. The 701 is said to be Nokia’s brightest smartphone; it’s a CBD AMOLED display that offers great visibility both indoors and outdoors. It has the biggest screen in the trio at 3.5″. The Nokia 701 looks a lot like the C7, but it’s a completely different beast. The 701 has a 8MP fixed-focus camera, HD video recording, 1GHz processor, NFC for easy sharing, and noise cancellation on calls. The 701 has 8GB of internal memory, expandable up to a total of 40GB.

Nokia did a great job with these devices; before you go ahead an criticize these trio of amigos, let’s remember that Nokia had the Asian market and other developing markets in mind. These are functionally-rich devices that offer a lot for their price. Nokia won’t be selling these devices in markets like the U.S.A, where Windows Phone will make a special appearance later this year.

 

Nokia 703 Windows Phone Leaks

We have been desperately waiting for Nokia’s first Windows Phone device; they have promised that at least one Nokia with Windows Phone would be released this year. The announcement of  Nokia’s first Windows Phone is supposed to take place at Nokia World 2011 (see sidebar for countdown!). I am particularly excited about Nokia’s first Windows Phone because it will reveal what Nokia’s future will look like. Nokia has said in the past that the design cues of the N9 would live on in future products. I would really like to see double-tap to wake up in future Nokia phones as well as the beautiful design that the N9 has. Other features such as Carl-Zeiss cameras, CBD AMOLED screens, and just the overall quality with which Nokia builds their phones are very exciting when blended with the Windows Phone platform. The Nokia 703 will have the following features as revealed by the leaked picture and @Camb078:

1. 3.7″ LCD 452×800 display
2. 5Mp Camera
3. 720p HD video at 30FPS
4. 8Gb Storage
5. 512Mb RAM.

What Nokia’s New Naming Convention Should Be: The Periodic Table

@chansearrington who works at Nokia has been asking on Twitter what Nokia’s new naming convention should be for the U.S.A. Many names have been suggested, such as Phoenix, Fusion, and Genesis. The problem with these names is that they could not possibly follow a logical order; a famous flagship successor would have to entirely change its name and this is a problem. Manufacturers want to conserve the brand, like Samsung trying to preserve the famous Galaxy S name with its successor, the Galaxy S2. So what about numbers? They are logical and follow a pattern: Nokia 800, Nokia 900, Nokia 950 and so forth, but numbers aren’t as memorable as names.

I have been giving this issue a thought and I think I could have stumbled upon a practical answer. Why not using the periodic table of the elements to name Nokia phones? The advantage is that it follows a pattern, and elements have very memorable names. I know that the name would not be conserved like say iPhone/iPhone 3G, but it would be evident that they are all elements; plus, Nokia could reference it somehow in their advertisements. I would also skip ugly names such as “Beryllium” and “Sodium.” So future Nokia phones could have names as follows: Nokia Helium, Nokia Lithium, Nokia Boron, Nokia Carbon, Nokia Silicon, Nokia Neon, Nokia Scandium, Nokia Titanium, Nokia Cobalt,  Nokia Argon etc…. Another advantage of this system is that elements have two letter “nicknames,” so people could refer to Nokia phones as Nokia Carbon = Nokia C, or Nokia Argon = Nokia Ar.

How To Install .deb Apps on The Nokia N9

You have your Nokia N9 and want to install a .deb file or some sort of app, the problem is, the N9 doesn’t come with a file browser…

There is a process to install .deb apps with X-Terminal, but that’s just too complicated and nerdy; no one really likes executing commands to install apps. A much easier way you can install .deb files on both the N9 and N950 is by emailing the app to yourself! Just attach the .deb file to an email and send it to the email account you use in your phone. Open the email in your N9, download the files, and install them.