Mobile Arena

Introduction
When touchscreen handsets start to take over the lower segments of the market you know the rules of the game have changed. The Nokia 5230 is a smartphone but it doesn’t mind rubbing shoulders with the common run of handsets. So, it’s free to explore grounds where few smartphones have ever gone, let alone full touchscreen gadgets.

The land of affordability was the last territory for touchscreen phones to settle in and not quite the place smartphones would call home. So it was, but Nokia just won’t wait for a special invitation when a niche is wide open. And they’ve got quite a fleet already of low key touchscreen smartphones that’s certain to make an impact. The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic had a great bang for the buck and the 5230 is welcome to try and beat the bargain.
Cheap is nice but free is even better – and we guess the 5230 will be available both ways through retail stores and carriers. But let’s see what it has and what’s been left out.

Key features:

• 3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
• Symbian S60 5th edition
• ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128MB RAM memory
• Quad-band GSM support
• 3G with HSDPA 3.6Mbps support
• Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support; Ovi maps
• 2 megapixel fixed focus camera with and VGA@30fps video
• microSD card memory expansion, ships with a 4GB card
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth with A2DP and USB v2.0
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation, motion-based gaming and turn-to-mute
• Ovi integration (direct image and video uploads, Ovi Contacts)
• Landscape on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard
• Excellent audio quality
• Price tag on the cheap side
• Changeable color battery covers (two extra ones available in-box)
• Plectrum dongle available in the retail package

Introduction
It's crystal clear by now that the Nokia N900 has almost nothing to do with the traditional Nseries values. The full QWERTY side-slider may look similar to its double-digit mates but the Maemo experience is completely different. However, the N900 is not there for the mere sake of difference - a tablet and a phone, it tries to get the best of both worlds. These are worlds though where Nokia feels at home.

The internet tablet genes are strong in the Nokia N900 so connectivity and web-browsing are its greatest virtues. The large high-res display and great typing skills are the right kind of backup but we've seen plenty of similar packages already. We told you though - the N900 is different. It's a Maemo-powered phone with Mozilla browsing and all-you-can-eat connectivity. Call it good news, call it a good start or just call it good. Let's see if it calls back.


Key features
3.5" 16M-color resistive touchscreen of WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) resolution
Maemo 5 OS
State-of-the-art Mozilla-based web browser with Adobe Flash 9.4 support
Slide-out three-row full QWERTY keyboard
ARM Cortex A8 600MHz CPU, PowerVR SGX graphics accelerator; 256 MB of RAM
Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G support
5 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and active camera lens cover
WVGA (848 x 480 pixels) video recording @ 24fps
10 Mbps HSDPA and 2 Mbps HSUPA support
Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS
32GB onboard storage
DivX and XviD video playback
Foldable kickstand
microSD card slot with microSDHC support
Built-in accelerometer
Proximity sensor
3.5 mm audio jack and TV-out
FM Radio receiver, FM transmitter
microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
Solid audio quality
Kinetic scrolling
Contacts integration of Skype, Google Talk and other VoIP services
Great build quality

Introduction

The XpressMusic lineup is fired up and coming after you with all they've got - from QWERTY smartphones to touchscreens. In fact, with the arrival of 5530 XpressMusic, the Nokia music line has more touch phones than the Nseries. We told you, they're dead serious about it.

With the 5800 XpressMusic shaping up as quite a blockbuster, Nokia had hardly any choice but to build on that momentum. The way up from the 5800 goes into Nseries territory really, so a lower spec'd device with an even sweeter price tag seems quite the right thing to do to reach the masses. And well, strategically expand the user base for the Touch UI edition of Symbian S60.

The Nokia 5800 offered value-for-money that very few could match. The 5530 comes in even more affordable but tries to deliver as much goodies as possible, pushing the value-for-money meter well towards the "must have" end of the scale. Here's what the 5530 XpressMusic offers and what was left out to keep the cost down:

Key features:

• 2.9" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
• Symbian S60 5th edition
• ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128MB RAM memory
• 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and VGA@30fps video
• Quad-band GSM support
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• microSD card memory expansion, ships with a 4GB card
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth with A2DP and USB v2.0
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Stereo speakers
• Stylus, with its own compartment inside the phone
• Proximity sensor for screen auto turn-off
• Accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation, motion-based gaming and turn-to-mute
• Office document viewer
• OVI integration (direct image and video uploads, OVI Contacts)
• Landscape on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard
• Excellent audio quality
• Price tag on the cheap side

Strictly speaking GSMArena.com is not the place to source information about netbooks or laptops in general. But when the world's leading mobile phone manufacturer decided to debut their own netbook product we just couldn't stay "hush".

The new Nokia 3G Booklet is Nokia's take at the oh-so-popular netbook segment. Since we're all part-time computer geeks (besides being cellphone know-it-all's) we can't really stay indifferent as Nokia unveil their first portable computer.

But without further ado, have a look at those shots and if you're impressed enough we'll just give you the key technical features.

The Nokia 3G Booklet is based on the well known Intel Atom platform, but it's also the first netbook of its kind to feature an HDMI HD video output. Not that we would bet on the little Atom fella playing serious HD stuff, but still having that output is a nice another step into turning them netbooks into media canter PCs.

With battery life of up to 12h it's surely one serious contender as your workday sidearm. As the name suggest, the Nokia 3G Booklet has an integrated 3G/HSDPA modem - Wi-Fi goes without saying. Another interesting feature is the built-in GPS receiver, which will successfully team up with the Nokia Maps application.

The Nokia 3G Booklet has got a 10-inch screen and measures only 20mm in thickness. It weighs 1.25kg and there's a front-facing video camera and Bluetooth.

More information about the Nokia 3G Booklet will be available at Nokia World in the beginning of next month. Upsofar, no expected price has been announced.

Source

Nokia Nseries are making up the ground lost in the megapixel race or claiming back what they believe is rightfully theirs, they seem to have the right leadership to put them back on the megapixel map.

Armed with one of the most advanced cameras in terms of hardware and features you don't just find on every other handset out there, the N86 8MP is keen to take cue from the N85 and shake the Nseries out of their slumber. Now, in case you forgot, it's still the market leader we're talking about here, and that should probably tell why everybody is so worked up.

So, the question as always is whether strong performance will deliver on that awesome promise. And you've got us to help you make a more informed decision about buying Nokia N86 8MP. Given all the comments above, the N86 8MP is more the kind to encourage impulsive spending but you'll choose wisely not to miss our write-up.

Key features

• 2.6" 16M-color OLED display of QVGA resolution (scratch-resistant surface)
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and AF assist light
• 28mm wide camera lens, variable aperture, mechanical shutter, geotagging, time-lapse, camera lens cover, VGA video recording at 30fps
• Symbian OS 9.3 with S60 3.2 UI
• ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128MB RAM
• Quad-band GSM support and 3G with HSDPA 3.6Mbps support
• Wi-Fi with UPnP technology
• Built-in GPS with A-GPS functionality and 3 months of free voice-guided navigation (Ovi Maps)
• Dual slide design with dedicated gaming/audio/gallery keys
• microSD card slot with microSDHC support
• Beefy 8GB internal storage
• Built-in accelerometer for UI auto-rotation
• 3.5mm audio jack doubling as TV out port
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS, FM transmitter
• Standard microUSB port and stereo Bluetooth v2.0
• N-gage support plus you get an N-gage game for free
• Digital compass
• Web browser has full Flash and Java support
• Active kickstand
• Nice audio reproduction quality

They don't get any bigger than that. A launch of this caliber can aptly be called inauguration day. The release of Nokia N97 is the Nseries counter-move that geeks have been waiting for since November. Easily one of the most complete smartphones ever created, the N97 has been haunting Symbian buffs' dreams for quite a while.

We're about to see if this feature-loaded son of a gun is the stuff dreams are made of and if it has the gut to stand up to the best on the market. The 5800 XpressMusic was cheap enough to easily be forgiven a couple of shortcomings but the N97 is not the begging type. Nokia-faithfuls are used to only getting the best treatment, so they won't settle for less with the Nseries skipper.

Key features

• Slide-n-tilt 3.5" 16M-color resistive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and lens cover (VGA@30fps video recording)
• Symbian OS 9.4 with S60 5th edition UI
• Slide-out three-row full QWERTY keyboard
• ARM 11 434MHz CPU and 128 MB of RAM
• Quad-band GSM support and 3G with HSDPA support
• Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS (plus 3 months of free voice-guided navigation via Ovi Maps)
• Digital compass
• Class-leading 32GB onboard storage
• microSD card slot with microSDHC support
• Built-in accelerometer
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• TV out
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• FM transmitter
• microUSB and Bluetooth v2.0
• Full Flash and Java support for the web browser
• microUSB v2.0 and Bluetooth v2.0
• Good audio reproduction quality

If we're allowed an automotive metaphor, the Nokia 6303 classic is one of those handsets that will get you from A to B without burning rubber at the traffic lights. It's just how most phones are used: voice call cruising with an occasional red light jump to keep things interesting. If you're not a street racer that eats 8 megapixel and breathes 7.2Mbps, the 6303 classic will be just fine for snapping a photo on the go or browsing the web.

You probably already know where this is going and what the Nokia 6303 is all about - it will bail you out of a tough spot when you need more than calling and texting, but power users won't be pleased. But hey, at this price point, were you really expecting the Bugatti Veyron of mobile phones?

KEY FEATURES:

• Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 2.2" 16M-color QVGA display with excellent sunlight legibility
• 3 megapixel camera, autofocus and LED flash
• VGA video recording at 15fps
• S40 user interface, 6th edition
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth (with A2DP) and microUSB port
• microSD card slot (4 GB supported, 1GB included)
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Rich preinstalled application package
• Ovi Maps and Ovi Share
• Solid metal casing, sweet oval shapes
• Respectable BL-5CT battery (Li-Ion 1050 mAh)

The Nokia E90 Communicator is the latest addition to the set of contemporary high-performance devices for executives. We had to wait three years since the last Nokia 9500 Communicator appeared. Our patience was duly rewarded at the 2007 3GSM Congress, when Nokia unveiled the ultimate no-compromise mobile communication device. It remains faithful to some of the family traditions, others it forsakes, but the outcome is downright worth it. Nokia E90 has the familiar body construction: a hefty handset, which opens up to reveal a wide landscape display.

Being a successor of the Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N96 has some king-size spec sheet to top and it can't be accused of not trying. There's FP2, double the built-in storage and DVB-H. The bloodline is strong but the crown is heavy and ancestral sins will be held against the heir twofold. The modest battery capacity and the downgraded CPU do raise some questions that need their answers. Join us for an out-and-out review of Nokia's latest top-of-the-shelf offer.