Nokia

Nokia has teamed up with Sesame Street to create an interactive reading experience that can involve grandparents and grandchildren no matter how far apart they may find themselves. The Storybook research project melds the tactile and visual pleasures of reading a real book with video conferencing technology which allows distant relatives to take an active part in a child's literacy development. Read More

Recently at Nokia's NokiaWorld 09 event, the company unveiled what appears to be the first in a line of netbook devices, the Booklet 3G. Dave Weinstein was there to get a first hand look at the device. Read More

Smartphones use GPS locating for a variety of functions but mainly they're used on the road where their accuracy - only within 10m - is basically a case of 'near enough is good enough'. But try using one indoors. They don't work! Nor can they distinguish between two adjacent environments, however different. And 10m can make a big difference inside a shopping complex or multi-roomed office block. In a research jointly sponsored by Microsoft, Nokia, Verizon and the National Science Foundation, a group of computer engineers from Duke University is working on achieving better indoor localization using a combination of sounds, lighting and accelerometer data picked up by a mobile phone. They hope it will supplement the use of GPS systems, which most users know, have their limitations. Read More

Nokia's E72 incrementally builds upon its excellent predecessor, the E71. Improvements and refinements can be seen all over the device, including a faster 600MHz ARM 11 processor (versus the 369MHz E71), a new touch enabled D-pad, 5MP camera, and an update to the already best-in-class keyboard. Read More

Nokia's recently announced ‘X-series’, which currently consists of the X3 and X6, looks to build on the success of the XpressMusic series with some funky new styling and a healthy set of features. Read More

Another key announcement to emerge from Nokia World in Stuttgart was a new version of their flagship N-series multimedia device, the N97 mini. The N97 mini owes its diminutive size to a reduction in the overall keyboard size made possible by removing the D-pad and adding navigation keys to a slightly redesigned keyboard. Read More

So Nokia has gone and done it. It's been years since anyone has built a handset that I felt was a "must have" executive device, and Nokia has delivered with their upcoming N900. Based upon their previous N-Series Internet tablets, the N900 is a Linux based device with a large 800x480 display, but adds a quad-band 3G radio where previous products have been limited to WiFi only for communications. There's also full support for Exchange syncing, and a customized version of the Mozilla browser used in the desktop version of Firefox. With a slide-out three row qwerty keyboard and a large screen this device is ideal for corporate e-mail, and does a credible job of displaying formatted e-mail as well as a full weeks worth of calendar entries at a time. Dave Weinstein reports from Stuttgart, Germany. Read More

Nokia’s new Nokia Money service will let users send money, pay for products, recharge prepaid SIM cards and pay utility bills just by using the payee’s mobile phone number. Designed to be as simple as making a phone call or sending an SMS, the Nokia Money services will be accessible 24 hours a day anywhere there is mobile phone coverage. Read More

For fashionable folk who enjoy the simple life but still need to be in contact with the rest of the world, comes the Leaf wearable bracelet phone concept. Great if you’ve run out of pockets or don’t want to carry a handbag, the Leaf is a wearable bracelet phone that incorporates solar cells for power on its front panel. Inspired by photosynthesis, the Leaf is pretty basic - good for making calls and texting only. However, designers Seungkyun Woo and Junyi Heo say it’s main objective is to “remind people that they can contribute to energy efficiency.” Read More