Latest Nokia Mobile

The phone that has all but disappeared: the Nokia Aeon.

This information is, of course, still in the rumor-monger stage but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it were true. Nokia seems to have a penchant for showing up late when it comes to the hottest trends. I think it's gone something like this:

Late to Flip Phone Party
Late to Slider Phone Party
Late to Thin Phone Party

and now...

Late to iPhone Party

Not that I'm saying Nokia's done a bad job once they've joined the party. The results pretty much speak for themselves - N95, N93i, N76...

Flashback to one year ago: whatever happened to the Aeon, the touch-screen, razor-thin handset that was being cooked up in the R&D labs?

The Nokia N81 8GB ain't all that it's cracked up to be, at least according to Int

So what's the problem with the phone?

"The device as a whole feels like a cheap Chinese toy that kills small children due to excessive lead contamination. It creaks, it rattles and it is not the Nokia you grew up with."

...that, a cramped keypad, a crappy camera, a useless navi-wheel, slow wi-fi, and a high price tag pretty much sums up everything.

Now the N81 I played with at the Nokia LA Event didn't have a loose slider and it certainly wasn't rattling. But this guy's experience doesn't really surprise me, after going through the Nokia Flagship Store in NYC a couple of months ago and finding that more than a third of the phones N95s there had slider problems. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the one N95 that I sent to the official Nokia Repair Center for slider repair came back in the form of a replacement model with, guess what - another loose slider. I eventually lucked out with a completely solid N95 slider. Too bad it took 3 tries on ebay.

So anyway, I really hope that the N81 doesn't go the way of the N95, at least in terms of mechanical problems and what I'd deem as manufacturing flaws.

Okay, I just wanted to get that out. As for the rest of the problems, well, all I can say is the N81's (probably) guilty as charged.

If you're an optimist, look on the bright side: Stefan reports that the battery is actually pretty good, the sound quality is "fantastic", and there's plenty of memory to mess around with.

Nokia N78: affordable candy bar complete with funky keypad

Looks like this will be Nokia's first phone that prominently features the (formerly Beta Labs) Location Tagger, software that allows you to "geotag" or add location-based GPS coordinates to your images. The N78 handles this automatically and allows you to view your images on an onboard map. It's a nifty addition although relatively minor.

One little design "feature" that might strike you is the keypad - it's funky. Since it's a little hard to tell from the picture above, here's a zoom-in shot:

Basically a series of horizontal lines with no obvious gaps in between. Sure it looks cool but the jury's out on how functional it is. And it also appears that Nokia isn't going to stop with this "squish the Call/End buttons to the sides" ridiculousness any time soon, if the N96 and N78 are anything to go by. The good news is the C button is no longer right next to the End key so there won't be any more annoying accidental keypresses a la N81.

While the press release did not highlight how much internal memory would be inside the N78, it did crow about its support for up to 8 gig microSD cards so take that as you will.

Finally, the N78 is equipped with an FM transmitter (not to be confused with radio, mind you) that lets you transmit audio to any device that can pick up FM stations (car radio, boombox, etc). I've only seen this on mp3 players, but never on a mobile phone. Interesting addition.

Oh yeah - prices. The Nokia N78 phone will retail for 350 Euro, about $500 bucks (USD) by today's exchange rates. Expect it sometime in the second quarter of '08

No more getting lost in the woods with the 6210 Navigator

While still a midrange slider, the 6210 Navigator is bursting with new tech. Notable features:

A-GPS - assisted GPS.

Accelerometer and integrated compass - Allows the 6210 to detect if you're changing direction and adjusts the map orientation accordingly. The compass is, well, a compass.

Maps 2.0 - Nokia's Map software, take 3 (remember smart2go?): now features the Walk option. But the best part about the software is that navigation and voice guidance is completely free with the purchase of the 6210. Everyone else still has to pay up the wazoo (or spring for the 3-day trial). City guides are not free.

3.2 megapixel camera - a nice upgrade from last year's 2 megger.

The 6210 still runs Symbian and supports HSDPA.

There's just one downside to all this GPS madness: the 6210 Navigator won't be available until the third quarter of 2008 at an estimated cost of 300 Euros.

Return of the bio-phone?

Of course, Nokia's concept devices haven't made it into the consumer market yet, so we're not holding our breath. (remember the Nokia Aeon?)

But wow - that is one fine looking device.

Judging by the name, this Remade phone is probably another one of Nokia's Bio-Phones, constructed of environmentally-friendly materials, etc.

There isn't a whole lot of information floating around about Remade - it appears that Nokia was content to release a couple "teaser" pics and that's it. The central hinge indicates It's a flip phone, but there's no outer display and the main display looks to be a little on the small side. The keypad does have that cool brushed-aluminum feel though.

A closer look at the top and bottom parts of the device.