Nokia 5230

Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia is really late to the touchscreen phone market, with their 5800 not really setting the stage ablaze since its release, although it is by no means a major flop, doing quite well in certain markets around the world but never really showing off any capability of going anywhere near the iPhone’s dominance. Well, if at first you don’t succeed, try again – and that’s exactly what the folks at Nokia have done with the new Nokia 5230 – this handset was specially built for those who lead an active life and use their handsets as the main device for music, photos and videos, alongside all their online shenanigans.

The upcoming Nokia 5230 enables consumers to obtain new content from the Nokia Music Store, and it doesn’t only cater to just music as it is also capable of purchasing applications, games, videos and other services from the Ovi Store straight onto their handsets after making a virtual transaction. Other practical applications of this new Nokia cellphone would include A-GPS navigation and the latest version of Ovi Maps complete with aerial images and 3D landmarks that works great for more than 200 major cities alongside terrain map views for clearer pedestrian and drive navigation.

Interestingly enough, the Nokia 5230 doesn’t fall short in terms of battery life, offering up to 33 hours of non-stop playback on a full battery charge. It also supports the Comes With Music service that is still in its infancy, offering all you can eat music at a set price. Currently, the Nokia 5230 with the Comes With Music service will be going for 259 Euros before subsidies and taxes. Nice to see Nokia include a 3.5mm headphone jack that makes it suitable for use with most common headsets without having to fork out more money for a proprietary model. The Media Bar offers quick access to your favorite media and applications in a flash for quicker and faster navigation. Expect to see the Nokia 5230 ship sometime in Q4 this year.

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Nokia N900

Nokia is a name synonymous with cellphones, and this time round they’re going to unleash a double whammy on the consumer world – the new Maemo software alongside a brand new N Series device known as the Nokia N900. The open source, Linux-based Maemo software is touted to offer an experience quite like what one would expect on a computer, albeit on a device that can fit into your palm – which probably means the N900 must be pretty beefed up in terms of specifications and features in the first place. Firstly, the Nokia N900 will be the next step in evolution for Nokia’s previous Internet tablet devices, offering the added flexibility for consumers who want to multitask even on their handsets, while browsing the Internet in a same manner as they would on a normal desktop.

The new Maemo 5 software allows the Nokia N900 to run dozens of application windows simultaneously, while making a phone call at the same time. No idea on just how much slowdown there will be, but Nokia seems rather positive that it will perform without or just suffer from a little bit of slowdown. Features of the Nokia N900 include a powerful ARM Cortex-A8 processor, the ability to store up to 1GB of application memory, OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics acceleration (should keep folks who love mobile gaming happy), a touchsceen display, HSPA support, Wi-Fi connectivity, full Adobe Flash 9.4 support and a browser based on Mozilla’s technology. All updates to the Maemo software will occur over the air.

The Nokia N900 comes with a full slide out QWERTY keyboard that makes it easy for you to compose all your text messages and emails, while featuring 32GB of internal memory, a microSD memory card slot, a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, alongside compatibility to the Nokia Messaging service that can hold up to 10 personal email accounts. All text messages and IM exchanges with your contacts will be lumped into a single view for coherence, while all conversations will be organized into separate windows. Expect the N900 to go for 500 Euros before taxes and subsidies.

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