a blog about Nokia phones, S60, and the wireless industry

Archive for October, 2007

Nokia Clone Devices Hitting New Lows

Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

It’s nice to see that Nokia phone designs have made such an impact on the entire world that some lazy-arse Chinese manufacturers are now copying some familiar-looking phones for their PMP devices.

Nokia clones hitting new lows.

Nokia phone design clones are surfacing at an alarming rate.

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Garmin Makes a Bid for Tele-Atlas

Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

Having lost the urge to battle the likes of Nokia, who announced it would acquire digital mapper Navteq for $8.1 billion dollars, GPS maker Garmin decided to push in its bid for the only other available company: Tele-Atlas.

Tele Atlas, the only one of the trio that didn't get killed today.

It looks like a tough battle ahead for Garmin and TomTom. The prize: Tele Atlas.

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Oops…

Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find that DNS propagation is now almost instantaneous. The good news is that the Nokia Phone Blog has been migrated over to a speedy new host, and it looks like the site made it through in one piece.

Unfortunately for readers of the Nokia Phone Blog, I “forgot” to transfer over the images folder, so it looks like those great little pics on the bottom of every post are gone for the time being. Oh yeah, and other stuff on the site is probably broken too. Just to let everyone know.

So that’s that. Your normally scheduled blog entries will start right about now.

(Happy Halloween!)

Point&Find at work: Thrrum

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

Thanks to reader MikeK for this one. The Thrrum Visual Browser takes the Nokia idea of Point&Find, a new-age technology that I have yet to write about, and makes it a reality right now instead of having to wait another five years for Nokia to get the software part right.

Thrrum: the Thumbnail

Bad name, but intriguing software.

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Matsushita Takes Profit Hit From Faulty Batteries

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

Matsushita today reported earnings for its second quarter, which included expenses for the infamous Nokia battery “advisory” recall.

MBL: Most Boringest Logo.

Matushita takes the award for least impressive company logo.

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Software: Flash Finnish v1.1 Released

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

David Dewhurst mailed in to let us know about his new Finnish language-learning game for phones equipped with Flash Lite 2.0, appropriately called Flash Finnish.

The latest version of Flash Finnish can teach basic vocab, colors, and numbers.

It’s been tested on the Nokia N95, N93, E90, and 6300 handsets, and should work with any newer (Symbian Third Edition FP1) phones.

Looks promising for those of you seriously attempting to learn the official language of Nokia. And then maybe you can tell me what “Espoo” means.

Grab the latest version at David’s official Flash Finnish web site: Flash Finnish v1.1

Flash Finnish v1.1 Released

Kingston 2GB microSD Card $17 Shipped

Monday, October 29th, 2007

I’m feeling extremely lazy today, so you’ll have to settle for a choice microSD deal instead of the usual Nokia banter.

Newegg is selling this Kingston 2 gigabyte capacity microSD card for $19.99 – $3 rebate = $16.99 with free 3-day shipping. The retail box also includes a microSD -> SD card adapter and a clear plastic case. Hard to beat this price without resorting to shady measures involving Google Checkout and Buy.com.

Apparently, this particular microSD card also won Newegg’s Customer Choice award.

It looks like the offer expires by the end of the month, so get your orders in quick!

Kingston 2GB microSD Card for $17

Get the Kingston 2GB microSD card for $17.

Get a Kingston 2GB microSD card for $17.

Nokia N81 Reviewed, Verdict: Not Recommended

Sunday, October 28th, 2007

Stefan at IntoMobile wrote up an in-depth review of the Nokia N81 slider (8GB version). He’s got a hell of a lot of gripes with the phone, but his bottom line is don’t buy it, it ain’t worth the price.

The Nokia N81 8GB isn't all that it's cracked up to be, at least according to IntoMobile.

The Nokia N81 8GB ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be, at least according to IntoMobile.

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Nokia N82 Phone Pic Leaked!

Saturday, October 27th, 2007

Engadget’s got the latest on the status of the rumored Nokia N82: a leaked, low-quality picture of an actual N82 in action.

It may not look like much, but the N82 hides a 5 megapixel N95-quality camera along with a Xenon flash. (it should go without saying, but that means Carl Zeiss, autofocus, 30 fps video recording)

Apparently more information on the phone will be leaked on November 2nd. Or is that the official announcement?

Check out Engadget for the full-sized pic in all of its blurry glory.

Nokia’s 5 megapixel N82 with WiFi and GPS spotted? – Engadget

The Nokia N82: Leaked Edition

This candy bar’s camera packs a wallop.

Apple Takes Measures to Prevent iPhone Reselling

Saturday, October 27th, 2007

If you’ve been following the iPhone on ebay, then you probably know that prices haven’t dropped by a whole lot, mainly due to the easy availability of unlocked models for users that aren’t on AT&T.

Now, in an attempt to curb the reselling business, Apple has implemented some new changes to purchasing iPhones from Apple Stores: Customers are only allowed to purchase a maximum of two iPhones and must pay via credit card.

Apple previously allowed customers to purchase five iPhones at one time and to pay with cash. The company estimated in a recent conference call that around 250,000 iPhones were purchased to be unlocked and resold.

Apple Imposes New Limits on IPhone Sales – AP

Will the iPhone follow the path of the Nintendo Wii this holiday season?

Will the iPhone follow the path of the Nintendo Wii this holiday season?