Meet the new Nokia, completely different from the old Nokia. Well, that’s what its executive vice president for entertainment and communities wants you to think. See, while Nokia is content creating genuinely good cellphones, some inside the company think it’s time to move in a different direction, namely entertainment. Hence, services like Ovi and deals with records labels. No one ever went broke marketing base, silly entertainment to the everyday Joe. Most interesting is where Nokia sees its efforts going in the future. From your cellphone, you’d be able to order movie tickets, rent a hotel room, and post photos to Facebook, all from a central hub and with the push of a single button. Sounds neat. At least Nokia’s trying something new, and not clinging onto the Old Ways like some companies and organizations seem to do. → Read More
A lot of you weren’t aware of this, but the opening music for Google’s new Android OS is Enter Sandman. Basically someone stuffed a Java VM and Android on an N95 and got it to run most of the applications including the dialer and Google Maps. This obviously requires some hit background music and poor lighting to be a true “proof of concept” so enjoy the videos above and after the jump. → Read More
Now that everyone is on the multi-touch bandwagon new systems are popping up all over. Seth Sandler’s solution is fairly ingenious. It uses a piece of paper and a camera to create a camera-based multi-touch interface. All you need is a box, a webcam, and some graph paper and he even includes the demo and application source code. The system can be used to demo multi-touch functionality or to actually drive a Windows cursor around the screen. He estimates it costs about $5 to $50, depending on the quality of box and camera you use. FinestFones has also discussed using a Bluetooth connected Nokia N95 phone to do this as well. → Read More
[photopress:nokia_n95_8gb_us_1.jpg,full,center] You’ve been patient little Nokia fans, haven’t you? You are now being rewarded. The N95, perhaps the most advanced cell phone after the iPhone, (even with my misgivings), is now available in North America direct, for $779 retail. This is the 8GB, US-friendly HSDPA version, and is SIM-free, meaning un-subsidized, and will work with T-Mobile or AT&T, however the HSDPA will only work with AT&T until if T-Mobile launches its 3G network. This is a great phone, and if you can afford it, you should definitely have a look. It will get you laid. Nokia US shipping N95 8GB: $779 for US-spec HSDPA [Phone Mag] → Read More
I know you’ve all been poring over FCC documents in your mad pursuit of Nokia news, but you might have missed this one. The new and improved N95 has been approved by the FCC, so now you can enjoy your High Speed Data Packet Access with their blessing. Apparently it looks just like the old one, which is just fine, though I would have preferred some big fins on it so you know it’s fast. Nokia N95 8GB NAM passes FCC approval [The Nokia Blog] → Read More
One of the handy things about phones like the iPhone and Ocean is the ability to switch between landscape and portrait depending on what app, game, or media you’re using. Well, a nice guy named Samir has written up a little Symbian app that lets you rotate your screen using a hotkey or, if you have an N95, by turning the screen. Handy, that. And it doesn’t appear to break anything, even! Check out a video of the program in action here, and get the app at the link below. RotateMe by Samir → Read More
There has been some dispute over the speed of the browsers on these next-gen phones. N95 users say that the 3G connection makes all the difference, iPhone users say EDGE is just fine when you’ve got a great app like Safari. As it turns out, they seem to go at about the same speed in their natural habitats, but when you throw a 3rd-party browser into the mix, it’s all over. Opera mashes them both; it seems that the “other” other browser is the king of the hill in the mobile arena. I can vouch for this as well – on my Helio Ocean, the built-in browser is better integrated with the UI, but for serious internet use, Opera’s the way to go. iPhone vs Nokia N95: Browser Wars [tech.co.uk] → Read More
This is a pretty neat mod from ShakerRacer that uses the N95′s accelerometer via Bluetooth. Are our recent N95 winners willing to rig an RC with Bluetooth and test this out for us? → Read More
Yesterday, I was tasked with navigating the streets of Manhattan using only the GPS on a Nokia N95. Of course, I wasn’t alone in this ordeal. I was up against two heavy hitting travelers. Lee Abbomonte is a crazy mofo who is attempting to be the younget person to travel to every country in the world. He’s already been to 135 countries and he’s not even 30. Caleb Smith has traveled each and every street by foot in NYC proper. He is also a crazy mofo. So I pretty much had my hands full. Sure, I’m the geek who can whip through the Symbian OS to get to the Maps app, but did I beat the other guys? → Read More
Not the gPhone, but close. Welcome to a world where Androids don’t just help Leia get a message to Obiwan. Our slack-jawed faces are leaking happy juice due to the announcement of Google/OHA’s Android platform and to celebrate we’re giving away two unlocked Nokia N95s to the two best BFF posters of the week, based on popularity and number of votes. → Read More
You know that cool thing the iPhone does when you turn it to landscape, it automagically knows to turn the content to match? That’s an accelerometer. The iPod Touch has one as well. And so does the Nokia N95, though Nokia doesn’t do much with it. And that’s the issue Mark at the Nokia Blog took up in this dope video. It’s not particularly usefull right now, but app developers could do some interesting things with the technology. MacBooks, for example, can utilize the sensors to turn into lightsabers. Why not smartphones? Makes more sense to me. Video: Nokia N95 Accelerometer Demonstration [Nokia Blog] → Read More
As a well-respected, professional, hard-hitting technology journalist, I can appreciate what this kit has to — buwahahahaaaa!! I’m sorry, I couldn’t get though it all. Well-respected! Professional! Journalist! L! O! L! Anyhoo, Reuters came up with an interesting idea to try out with some of its reporters that entailed the use of an entirely mobile setup consisting of a Nokia N95, a Bluetooth keyboard, a tripod, a microphone, and a solar charging accessory. Trials were run during this past summer and stories were posted a special mobile journalism section of Reuters’ main website. The kit may become available to professional journalists like me (buwahahahaaaa!!) and will also be used in another trial involving student journalists at various colleges. The Mobile Journalism Toolkit [reutersmojo.com] via CNET → Read More
Nokia N95 (8GB) owners are getting a bit more content in the Nokia Video Center for their devices thanks to newly inked deals with seven new content providers. CNN will provide international news coverage, IBN News will provide the APAC region with news, Jamba offers videos in three categories, music videos, cartoons and fun. Sony Pictures will entertain with trailers, TV, and games. RooftopComedy will hopefully make you laugh with stand-up and sketch comedy from around the world. ROK seems like a weird channel, but it’ll bring the latest in celebrity gossip, ‘fun little movies’, classic commercials and sports. Versaly Entertainment rounds it out and is geared towards us, men, with content from Vmbc.tv, which includes ‘intense action sports, hilarious comedy, full contact fighting, the best mobile user-generated content’ (read: p0rn) and a whole lot more. This is all in addition to the pre-existing content from YouTube and Reuters. Press Release → Read More
Been waiting for the Nokia N95 with 3G? Well, the wait is now over. Nokia released the unlocked N95 into the wild today. In case you’ve forgotten what all the hubbub is about then check here for details. Otherwise, if you’re lucky enough to have a Nokia store in your town, which means you live in NYC or Chicago. Get ready to pony up $700, though. Yikes. Product Page → Read More
