Archive for: Symbian
You have to hand it to Nokia. They’re really trying to take Symbian out with a bang. Look no further than their latest marketing push behind a Belle UI update for several “legacy” Nokia phones including the Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia E6, Nokia X7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia C7 and Nokia Oro. (The Nokia 500 is getting the Belle update “within a few weeks”.)
Getting said update is easy enough; hook up to your computer and use the Nokia Suite to download the juicy new bits. Once finished, you’ll be treated to more homescreens (now up to 6), an Android-esque pulldown shade that houses notifications as well as system toggles for things such as WiFi, Bluetooth, etc., improved widget support, and of course, a much better/modern UI. Other notable mentions include the ability to shoot HD video @ 30fps and an enhanced browser.
Despite losing a decent mobile OS that had it’s heyday come and go, we’re glad to see Nokia has a new friend in Microsoft with Windows Phone, yet can still provide support for the army of low/mid-range hardware that really got their name out there. If you happen to update to Belle, let us know how it goes!
Nokia’s been pretty hot and heavy with the Windows Phone news the last year, and for good reason. Microsoft’s re-born mobile OS is the only thing that kept Nokia from complete collapsing into a pool of irrelevance. But Nokia’s old love, Symbian, is still around on the hundreds of millions of feature phones the Finnish company continues to sell to lower income markets. And even though Windows Phone has pretty much taken all precedence for Nokia’s high-end, there is one more “hurrah” coming in the form of a Symbian powered N8 successor.
Specs for this rumored device are still unknown. Though, if it’s anything like what Nokia’s pumped out over the last decade we can be certain it will look downright amazing and take awesome pictures.
Also of interest are claims that Symbian phone shipments are falling faster than Nokia expected. How that affects the overall death of Symbian and how quickly Windows Phone moves up the ladder of affordability remains to be seen. That said, Symbian die-hards can be rest assured the freebie phones (read: dumbphones) will still be Symbian powered for quite a while.
With Nokia’s mind already set on Windows Phone 7, it seems that any Symbian-powered devices planned for release are DOA. But alas, up to 10 new Symbian devices are planned for 2011 starting with the N5 you see above.
While details are still non-existent, it’s readily apparent that Nokia is hoping physical flare will hide mid-range specs from most. With that said, being a Nokia means we can expect a rather high megapixel count.
Besides the N5, murmurs of a Nokia N6, N7, etc. have been mentioned. Symbian lovers rejoice?
Gallery after the break…
While many of you may have already written off Nokia as nothing but a straw grasper, there’s no denying that their upcoming MeeGo-powered hardware is at least decent looking. With that said, several new images — both “official press images” and several real-life shots — have hit the web this afternoon giving us a decent glimpse of the device from multiple vantage points.
If you’re still doubting either the press or claimed real-life images, you only have but 24 more hours worth of waiting. The Nokia N9 is scheduled to be announced tomorrow at CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore.
We’ll cut the crap off here and merely point you to the gallery after the break..
Whenever we see a cliche such as “market disrupting” we immediately lose interest. Far too often we are presented with products that are overhyped yet under deliver. With that said, where do we stand on Nokia’s upcoming “market disrupting device” scheduled to be announced next weet at Nokia Connection in Singapore? Move along. Nothing to see here.
Truth be told, we are actually quite interested. This mystery device — believed to be the Nokia N9 — will be the first (and only) smartphone to ship with Meego. On that same note, Nokia has committed to WP7 and WP7 alone meaning Symbian and Meego’s days are numbered. Of course, the real kick in the pants will be if the Meego phone turns out to actually be a good device only to see it’s potential future cut drastically short. But such wishes are just that. Wishes. We honestly don’t see the Meego-powered smartphone going anywhere for one big reason — developers. Why develop for a platform that is confirmed dead?
Following the Window 8 unveiling must be quite the task. But Nokia’s Stephen Elop didn’t have any choice. With that said, what did he bring to wow the world? Words. Words about Nokia, the ramping down of Symbian, and the important of WP7 moving forward. You know the drill — details after the break…
In what is sure to spark a new wave of denials from Microsoft and Nokia, infamous Nokia/mobile leaker Eldar Murtazin is again hinting at a potential Microsoft purchase of Nokia with a new tweet stating:
One small software company decided last week that they could spent 19 bln USD to buy a part of small phone vendor. Thats it.
If you recall, Murtazin made a similar claim back in mid-May. This time, however, he’s attached a price tag. The deal reportedly will cost the Redmond company a cool $19 billion.
While some may be highly skeptical, Eldar Murtazin has produced many bombshell leaks in recent years thanks to numerous sources deep within various tech companies. Could this be another victory for him? We’ll see…
Update Nokia has told the WSJ’s Christopher Lawton that Murtazin’s latest claims are “baseless”. Make of it what you will.
The general consensus amongst tech savvy consumers and even Nokia themselves was that Symbian was dead. Confirming this fact came by Nokia’s announcement earlier this year that the company was dropping Symbian as the official OS outright and moving to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. While Symbian faithful were no doubt upset, most people dying for another modern and quickly adaptable mobile platform were optimistic and excited. But it appears no matter how hard the forces of life try, Symbian just won’t die.
In a recent interview with Nokia Conversations blog China Edition, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop relented that despite the company’s move to Windows Phone 7, Symbian would continue to receive updates through 2016 — 2016! The decision to keep Symbian dragging along is likely to appease the lower-end market (sub 150 euros) that Symbian devices and Nokia have traditionally cleaned house in.
Still, considering the Symbian “Anna” update isn’t live 7 months after its initial unveiling should be a preview of what to expect — plenty of continuing delays for Symbian.
Video after the interview after the break…
Nokia’s Symbian-based phones are a dead end of sorts seeing as how the company recently decided to go full steam ahead with Windows Phone 7. Though despite the grim outlook on Symbian’s future, the updates keep coming. Screenshots reportedly showing off the PR 3.0 “Belle” update currently ciruculating. While any new progress on Symbian should be taken with great fanfare, accounts by MyNokiaBlog, the biggest feature Anna was supposed to include, “resizable widgets”, are mediocre at best and now coming in the future 3.0 update. Even worse, many of the “widgets” are simple web links (currently). Let’s hope that as information about Belle grows, the excitement does as well.
Quick recap: Symbian PR 3.0 “Belle” will bring 4 full home screens, extended camera and video controls, UI refresh, and feature a lighter memory footprint.
