All About Symbian - News Headlines

News Headlines - Hardware

At last, CBD explained in one image

When Nokia introduced CBD (ClearBlack Display) at Nokia World 2010, for the C6-01 and E7 models, there was an element of uncertainty involved as to how this technology worked. Certainly it was incredibly effective at cutting out reflections from ambient light, but noone seemed to know the full details. After much digging, we established it was something to do with polarising layers, but only now do we see a clear depiction of how CBD works.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Links of Interest at 15:41 UTC, Feb 2nd || Comments

The DIY quad-pod phone stand

In the spirit of my own cardboard (DT-29 copy) phone stand, Aliqudsi, over on My Nokia Blog, has had a brain wave and used two bulldog/binder clips to create a four legged, stable stand for his N8, though it will also work for any other similar device, ostensibly for holding the camera phone up for stable filming, without worrying that it will fall over. Clever stuff...

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Miscellaneous, Links of Interest at 14:23 UTC, Jan 11th || Comments

Nokia launches the 801T for China TD

Designed exclusively for China's TD-SCDMA 3G network, Nokia has announced a new Symbian-powered smartphone, the 801T, described as 'a special design for business-focussed elite high-end users'. It's notable for being the 'industry's first stainless steel unibody smartphone' and has a 4" CBD display, NFC, an 8 megapixel EDoF camera with dual-LED flash, 720p HD video recording and built-in CMMB mobile TV (with antenna). More below.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Links of Interest at 12:00 UTC, Dec 29th || Comments

Rounding out the Nokia 701 in video form and Nokia in 2015!

Yes, yes, Phones Show 155 is out later today, but that's all Android and Windows Phone-focussed. But, with the formal All About Symbian review of the Belle-running Nokia 701 now finished (part 1 - part 2) and with all the technology highlights out of the way, I though it worth reminding people of Phones Show 154, which was Symbian all the way. In case you hadn't watched it yet, it had my video review of the 701, plus a humourous view from the future, one in which Nokia and (cough) a dismembered N86 play a part...

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Links of Interest at 8:26 UTC, Nov 30th || Comments

NFC penetration to exceed 50% in smartphones by 2014?

With Nokia already putting NFC into all its Symbian smartphones and with RIM and Samsung also launching some models with the technology, plus HTC, Apple and others planning NFC into their roadmaps, Digitimes is reporting that Taiwanese smartphone manufacturers are estimating 50% penetration of NFC within two to three years. From my own observations this seems about right, though I'd put it at 80% for smartphones away from the budget end.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Links of Interest at 21:34 UTC, Nov 29th || Comments

The Proporta charger hits 7000mAh

Anecdotally, the Proporta chargers have been hugely popular amongst my Phones Show viewership and 'All About' readers generally - and there's a new monster version now available, clocking in at a stunning 7000mAh. The Turbocharger 7000 has two USB output ports as usual, along with a facelifted exterior, weighs only 175g, and comes with charging heads for all major phone and gadget ports and a carrying case. Watch this space for a full review.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Miscellaneous, Links of Interest at 10:47 UTC, Nov 29th || Comments

India gives the Nokia 701 a warm reception

The Indian branch of PCWorld has posted a favourable review of the Nokia 701. PCWorld thought the phone’s best features were its bright IPS TFT screen, Symbian Belle operating system, and classy design inherited from the Nokia C7. You might want to compare the review to our own 701 coverage. PCWorld rates 701’s battery life as “good”, thanks to the new BL–5K battery. The review goes on to make a big point of complaining about the 701’s EDoF camera though. Readers should note that the 701 has a much improved EDoF system than found in other Symbian devices, see our feature on EDoF2.

# Posted by David in Hardware at 13:09 UTC, Nov 24th || Comments

The new Nokia BL-5K - when a typo isn't a typo?

When the Nokia 701 was announced, I leapt up on its specification with my editor's hat firmly in place. "BL-5K battery, 1300mAh" read the press release. Having owned the Nokia N86 and having played with the C7 and X7, all with the same battery, "that's got to be a typo" I asserted and insisted that Rafe fix it to "1200mAh" for our news story. As it turns out, the Nokia 701 ships with a new 'variant' of the BL-5K that we haven't seen before, rated at "1300mAh". Have there been chemical tweaks inside?

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Miscellaneous at 11:03 UTC, Nov 15th || Comments

The Nokia X6 gets v40, new browser, new Maps, new features

The truly venerable Nokia X6, Nokia's first ever capacitive-screened touch-driven smartphone and with monstrous stereo speakers, running S60 5th Edition, has received a major firmware update, a whopping 9MB over-the-air upgrade. It installs neatly in place and gives the old phone much the same browser as is found in Symbian Anna, plus the fairly recent Ovi Maps 3.6, itself a big upgrade on previous shipping versions. In addition, there are the usual performance tweaks and bug fixes.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware at 16:44 UTC, Nov 8th || Comments

Nokia E72 updated to version 81

Firmware updates are currently rolling out to the venerable Nokia E72, bringing it up to version 81. As usual, there is little information about what the 1.3MB update actually contains, but it is safe to say there will be bug fixes and various optimisations. Web has been upgraded too, to version 7.3.1.32. Only one of the resident E72's in the All About Symbian office has received the update, so your mileage may vary to when the update is available to you too. Read on for more details.

# Posted by David in Software, Hardware at 15:21 UTC, Nov 7th || Comments

Nokia 600 cancelled - will not be 'shipped to markets'

The Nokia 600, which was announced in late August, will not be "shipped to markets", effectively meaning the device has been cancelled. Nokia notes that "we are constantly continuing to refine our portfolio to bring consumers the best possible range of devices to meet their diverse needs". A combination of narrow portfolio placement, most notably with the Nokia 500 and Nokia 603, resulting in a lack of operator interest is the most likely underlying cause.

# Posted by Rafe in Hardware at 9:40 UTC, Nov 2nd || Comments

People Made - Nokia exhibition at London Design Museum

A free exhibition is currently running at the London Design Museum (28 Shad Thames, London SE1), entitled, 'People Made - Nokia products that changed the world' and tells the 'inside story of Nokia - past, present and future'. The exhibition is free to enter, but is only running from October 28th to November 2nd, leaving you three days to go along and take a look.

# Posted by Rafe in Hardware, Miscellaneous, Links of Interest at 12:56 UTC, Oct 31st || Comments

Preview the Lumia 800 on your Symbian device

Here's an interesting one that's going to raise some eyebrows - it's an interactive multimedia preview of the Lumia 800, so you can get a tiny taster of the Metro UI on your Symbian device. While a number of die-hard Symbian fans are going to be very upset at the slightest hint of a possibility of a transition, it's another smart move from the marketing teams working on the Lumia launch.

# Posted by Ewan in Hardware at 9:29 UTC, Oct 28th || Comments

Symbian roundup at Nokia World 2011

The focus at Nokia World 2011 was, of course, very much on the launch of Nokia's first Windows Phone devices (Lumia 800 and 710), but there was plenty of Symbian Anna and Belle goodness across the various booths and stands too. To give you a flavour of the Symbian presence at the event, here's a virtual tour of (some of) what was on display.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Miscellaneous, Events at 6:05 UTC, Oct 28th || Comments

A Monster headphone experience from the Nokia Purity range

Nokia announced a new hardware partnership with Monster on the stage of Nokia World today. Known for high-performance audio (in the same way that Carl Zeiss are known for high performance lenses), the relationship promises to be both long-term and exclusive with Nokia. The first collaborative product is the Purity range of HD stereo headsets.

# Posted by Ewan in Hardware at 11:15 UTC, Oct 26th || Comments

Symbian Anna gets a service 'performance' pack, starting with the N8

Being rolled out with only a day or so to spare before Nokia World hits is a 'service pack' for Symbian Anna, claimed to bring performance and usability benefits, plus faster email and messaging, quicker GPS fixes and a mysterious 'more' (presumably including minor bug fixes). So far we've only seen this (today) for our Nokia N8s, though I'd expect other Anna devices to also get offered this fairly soon. What's not to like?

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Miscellaneous at 20:50 UTC, Oct 25th || Comments

New firmware for 5800 & 5530 updates Web to Anna UI

The latest firmware for both the 5800 and 5530 are now rolling out and are available for over the air (OTA) update. The updates take the 5800 to version 60, and the 5530 to version 40. The update is mostly for performance improvements and bug fixing. However, Web has received a big update, taking it from version 7.2.6.9 to 7.3.1.33. This is only a few iterations behind the Symbian Anna browser, which is reflected in the updated user interface. Read on for screenshots and more details.

# Posted by David in Software, Hardware at 18:50 UTC, Oct 21st || Comments

The most expensive Symbian smartphone ever - Vertu Constellation launches

You've heard of top of the line smartphones costing over £500, you've heard of the original Nokia Communicator coming in near £1000 back in the day, but today's launch of the Vertu Constellation sees a Symbian smartphone in the "£4,000 to £10,000" region, according to the Telegraph. Or, as I like to put it, "if you have to ask the price then you can't afford it" territory.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Links of Interest at 9:10 UTC, Oct 19th || Comments

Firmware v25 rolls out for the Nokia N8, E7 and other Symbian^3 phones

Our editorial Symbian^3 phones just got v25 firmware updates over the air (OTA), a 1MB download that installed quickly and cleanly. The previous firmware for each was v22 and it's not entirely clear what's changed - I suspect merely small bug fixes and under-the-hood stability tweaks. Please comment below if you can help build a changelog.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware at 12:10 UTC, Oct 18th || Comments

Nokia's Luna brings a new form factor to Bluetooth headsets

Alongside the Nokia 603, the Luna Bluetooth Headset has also been announced. A playful looking in-ear headset, it comes in five colours as well as being NFC enabled. In practice this makes pairing practical - just tap one of Nokia's NFC handsets to the base and you'll be paired up. Other more traditional methods of scanning the area and pairing are naturally available as the headset conforms to the 2.12 Bluetooth specification. Answering calls is a simple matter of popping the headset out the holder and into your ear.

# Posted by Ewan in Hardware at 9:25 UTC, Oct 13th || Comments

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