Touching Nokia

Prototype Nokia N97 firmware 'leaked'

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:47:00 +0000

It's no secret that Nokia's N97 is a device desired by many mobile enthusiasts around the world. It's also no secret that Nokia are aiming to get the N97 into stores by the end of June 2009. With N97 fans growing ever-more impatient and June edging closer by the minute, it's no surprise that Nokia fans around the world are clamoring for more information about Nokia's flagship device.

With the help of Epicbiznus' excellent Navifirm tool, it's now possible to download the firmware of a prototype Nokia N97. By opening the firmware files (admittedly in Notepad...) I've found references to Photoshop, Psiloc, AP News, Reuters, Amazon, Facebook and Accuweather. I'm sure that there's still plenty of juicy information that I've missed buried in these files so maybe someone with more knowledge of Nokia's firmware images will chime in.

The firmware files also confirm beyond doubt that the N97 is indeed the Ivalo from the leaked roadmap and that the E75 is the Victoria.

Here's a preliminary list of product codes for the three different versions of the N97:
RM-505

0576124: RM-505_APAC_AUSTRALIA Black
0576208: RM-505_APAC_AUSTRALIA White
0576129: RM-505_APAC_Bangladesh Black
0576211: RM-505_APAC_Bangladesh White
0576120: RM-505_APAC_CAMBODIA Black
0576132: RM-505_APAC_CAMBODIA White
0576128: RM-505_APAC_EMERGING ASIA Black
0576210: RM-505_APAC_EMERGING ASIA White
0575297: RM-505_APAC_HONG KONG black
0575841: RM-505_APAC_HONG KONG white
0575724: RM-505_APAC_INDIA Black
0576213: RM-505_APAC_INDIA White
0576121: RM-505_APAC_INDONESIA Black
0576133: RM-505_APAC_INDONESIA White
0576119: RM-505_APAC_MALAYSIA Black
0576131: RM-505_APAC_MALAYSIA White
0576126: RM-505_APAC_NEW ZEALAND Black
0576209: RM-505_APAC_NEW ZEALAND White
0576123: RM-505_APAC_PHILIPPINES Black
0576207: RM-505_APAC_PHILIPPINES White
0575722: RM-505_APAC_SINGAPORE Black
0576130: RM-505_APAC_SINGAPORE White
0575266: RM-505_APAC_TAIWAN black
0575829: RM-505_APAC_TAIWAN white
0575728: RM-505_APAC_THAILAND Black
0576135: RM-505_APAC_THAILAND White
0576122: RM-505_APAC_VIETNAM Black
0576212: RM-505_APAC_VIETNAM White
0576356: RM-505_EMEA_ALPS_QW Black
0576435: RM-505_EMEA_ALPS_QW White
0576364: RM-505_EMEA_BALKANS_QW Black
0576462: RM-505_EMEA_BALKANS_QW White
0576411: RM-505_EMEA_Baltian_QW Black
0576488: RM-505_EMEA_Baltian_QW White
0576351: RM-505_EMEA_Benelux_FR_QW Black
0576420: RM-505_EMEA_Benelux_FR_QW White
0579050: RM-505_EMEA_Benelux_NL_QW Black
0579054: RM-505_EMEA_Benelux_NL_QW White
0579051: RM-505_EMEA_BULGARIA_QW Black
0579055: RM-505_EMEA_BULGARIA_QW White
0576410: RM-505_EMEA_CIS_QW Black
0576487: RM-505_EMEA_CIS_QW White
0581899: RM-505_EMEA_CIS_QW_2 Black
0581901: RM-505_EMEA_CIS_QW_2 White
0576366: RM-505_EMEA_CZECH_QW Black
0576468: RM-505_EMEA_CZECH_QW White
0576412: RM-505_EMEA_Estonian_QW Black
0576489: RM-505_EMEA_Estonian_QW White
0570817: RM-505_EMEA_EURO_QW1 Black
0576350: RM-505_EMEA_EURO_QW1 White
0574380: RM-505_EMEA_FRANCE_QW Black
0576423: RM-505_EMEA_FRANCE_QW White
0576355: RM-505_EMEA_GERMAN_QW Black
0576430: RM-505_EMEA_GERMAN_QW White
0576375: RM-505_EMEA_GREECE_QW Black
0576474: RM-505_EMEA_GREECE_QW White
0576377: RM-505_EMEA_HUNGARY_QW Black
0576480: RM-505_EMEA_HUNGARY_QW White
0576413: RM-505_EMEA_ISRAEL_QW Black
0576490: RM-505_EMEA_ISRAEL_QW White
0576358: RM-505_EMEA_ITALY_QW Black
0576459: RM-505_EMEA_ITALY_QW White
0579053: RM-505_EMEA_MALTA_QW Black
0579056: RM-505_EMEA_MALTA_QW White
0576406: RM-505_EMEA_MOLDOVA_QW Black
0576486: RM-505_EMEA_MOLDOVA_QW White
0576368: RM-505_EMEA_POLAND_QW Black
0576472: RM-505_EMEA_POLAND_QW White
0576363: RM-505_EMEA_PORTUGAL_QW Black
0576461: RM-505_EMEA_PORTUGAL_QW White
0576402: RM-505_EMEA_ROMANIA_QW Black
0576481: RM-505_EMEA_ROMANIA_QW White
0576403: RM-505_EMEA_RUSSIA_QW Black
0576484: RM-505_EMEA_RUSSIA_QW White
0576352: RM-505_EMEA_SCAND_QW1 Black
0576425: RM-505_EMEA_SCAND_QW1 White
0576353: RM-505_EMEA_SCAND_QW2 Black
0576428: RM-505_EMEA_SCAND_QW2 White
0576365: RM-505_EMEA_SERBIA_QW Black
0576467: RM-505_EMEA_SERBIA_QW White
0576367: RM-505_EMEA_SLOVAKIA_QW Black
0576470: RM-505_EMEA_SLOVAKIA_QW White
0576360: RM-505_EMEA_SPAIN_QW Black
0576460: RM-505_EMEA_SPAIN_QW White
0580747: RM-505_EMEA_Swiss_QW Black
0580748: RM-505_EMEA_Swiss_QW White
0576357: RM-505_EMEA_TURKEY_QW Black
0576458: RM-505_EMEA_TURKEY_QW White
0576405: RM-505_EMEA_UKRAINE_QW Black
0576485: RM-505_EMEA_UKRAINE_QW White
0576554: RM-505_MENA_ALGERIA black
0576573: RM-505_MENA_ALGERIA white
0575743: RM-505_MENA_ARABIC 1 black
0576558: RM-505_MENA_ARABIC 1 white
0576503: RM-505_MENA_ARABIC 2 black
0576569: RM-505_MENA_ARABIC 2 white
0576505: RM-505_MENA_EGYPT NON GPS black
0576571: RM-505_MENA_EGYPT NON GPS white
0576504: RM-505_MENA_EMBARGO NON GPS black
0576570: RM-505_MENA_EMBARGO NON GPS white
0576556: RM-505_MENA_FARSI black
0576575: RM-505_MENA_FARSI white
0576500: RM-505_MENA_KSA black
0576567: RM-505_MENA_KSA white
0576502: RM-505_MENA_LEVANT black
0580177: RM-505_MENA_LEVANT COMMON ENGLISH BLACK
0580187: RM-505_MENA_LEVANT COMMON ENGLISH WHITE
0576568: RM-505_MENA_LEVANT white
0576555: RM-505_MENA_MEA B black
0576574: RM-505_MENA_MEA B white
0576553: RM-505_MENA_NORTH AFRICA black
0576572: RM-505_MENA_NORTH AFRICA white
0576562: RM-505_MENA_SSA FRENCH Black
0576578: RM-505_MENA_SSA FRENCH White
0576560: RM-505_MENA_SSA Multi Black
0576566: RM-505_MENA_SSA Multi White
0576561: RM-505_MENA_SSA PT Black
0576577: RM-505_MENA_SSA PT White
0576559: RM-505_MENA_SSA1 Black
0576565: RM-505_MENA_SSA1 White
0576563: RM-505_MENA_SSA10 Black
0576579: RM-505_MENA_SSA10 White
0576564: RM-505_MENA_SSA11 Black
0576580: RM-505_MENA_SSA11 White
0575744: RM-505_MENA_UAE black
0576576: RM-505_MENA_UAE white
0580749: RM-505_MENA_Venezuela black
0580750: RM-505_MENA_Venezuela white

RM-506

0572794: RM-506_CHINA _CTR CHINA black
0575821: RM-506_CHINA _CTR CHINA white

RM-507

0576117: RM-507_NAM_ARGENTINA black
0576118: RM-507_NAM_ARGENTINA white
0580761: RM-507_NAM_AUSTRALIA_850 Black
0580762: RM-507_NAM_AUSTRALIA_850 White
0575402: RM-507_NAM_BRAZIL black
0576116: RM-507_NAM_BRAZIL white
0575401: RM-507_NAM_LTA black
0576114: RM-507_NAM_LTA white
0575400: RM-507_NAM_NAM black
0576111: RM-507_NAM_NAM white
0583786: RM-507_NAM_NEW_ZEALAND_850 Black
0583788: RM-507_NAM_NEW_ZEALAND_850 White
0583785: RM-507_NAM_PHILIPPINES_850 Black
0583787: RM-507_NAM_PHILIPPINES_850 White
0583324: RM-507_NAM_THAILAND_850 Black
0583325: RM-507_NAM_THAILAND_850 White

Do note that there is a chance that this list will not be 100% accurate once the N97 is released.

N97 coming to the UK on the 31st of March?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:23:00 +0000

According to Play.com's N97 pre-order page, the N97 is scheduled for release on the 31st of March 2009. Nokia have gotten into the habit of giving their flagship stores one week exclusives on popular new phones so it's possible that the N97 will be first available in the UK at around the 23rd/24th of March. Play.com have the N97 listed for £479.99, I'd be willing to pay that much for the N97 if it had a capacitive screen.

Wherefore art thou Nokia N97 capacitive screen edition?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:39:00 +0000

During 2008, Nokia announced the 5800 XpressMusic and the flagship N97 ‘mobile computer’. Both of these devices boasted large, high-resolution touch screens but with those screens came a major weakness and disappointment in my humble opinion – They’re resistive touch screens.

According to Wikipedia, resistive touch screens are ‘composed of two flexible sheets coated with a resistive material and separated by an air gap or microdots. When contact is made to the surface of the touch screen, the two sheets are pressed together, registering the precise location of the touch.’ There are many other devices that feature resistive touch screens such as the HTC Touch HD, Touch Pro and Touch Diamond.

I see resistive touch screens as being a weakness because they are horrible to use in comparison to capacitive touch screens. In my experiences with the 5800, Touch HD and Touch Pro, I’ve come away with a poor impression of the device due to the screen. Having to push down on the screen to get a response is not what I want. There’s also the squishy feeling you get when pressing the screen and the two layers meet. Sometimes, the top layer of the touch screen sticks on to your finger while you’re trying to lift your finger off. These things don’t happen with phones that boast a capacitive screen like the iPhone for example.

Once again according to Wikipedia, ‘A capacitive touch screen panel is coated with a material, typically indium tin oxide, that conducts a continuous electrical current across the sensor. The sensor therefore exhibits a precisely controlled field of stored electrons in both the horizontal and vertical axes - it achieves capacitance. The human body is also an electrical device which has stored electrons and therefore also exhibits capacitance. Capacitive sensors work based on proximity, and do not have to be directly touched to be triggered.’ Phones with capacitive touch screens allow you to gently tap the screen, there’s no need to apply any force. Using a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and then using a Samsung F480 or LG Prada really demonstrates the massive difference in ease of use between resistive and capacitive screens. In comparison to the F480, it feels like I need to punch the screen of the 5800 with all my strength just to get a response!

Nokia continue to use resistive touch screens in their devices, despite other manufacturers moving on to capacitive technology. Some argue that Nokia are doing this to satisfy their customers in Asia who like handwriting recognition as a form of text input (capacitive screens can’t use styli). That’s fine by me but why can’t Nokia release a capacitive screened version of the 5800 or N97? Nokia are happy to make devices tailored to a specific market, as seen in the N95-3 (North American edition of the N95). I’ll bet that with the right marketing, a capacitive screened version of the N97 or 5800 would sell more in the UK alone than the N95-3 has ever sold in the whole of the United States.

Come on Nokia! It’s not like phones with capacitive screens are more expensive anyway, look at the LG KS360, it’s got a capacitive screen that is a joy to use yet it’s still as cheap as chips! S60 Touch is supposedly optimised for use with fingers so there shouldn’t be any software issues either.

Capacitive screens are taking over. They’re easier to use, they’re nicer to look at and they allow you to slide your phone into your pocket without worrying about it making accidental calls. Please Nokia. A N97 Capacitive screen edition would make me cry with happiness.

Nokia 6208 classic: S40 touchscreen device?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:34:00 +0000

Chlettn at Mobile-Review forums has posted pictures of what seems to be a leaked(?) S40 touchscreen device. The device is apparently the 6208 classic, meaning that it's an Asia-exclusive device. Despite it featuring a touchscreen, the 6208 classic also has a numerical keypad below which is a welcome addition in my books. The supposed specs for the 6208 classic(according to Unwiredview) are as follows:

-2.8 inch QVGA TFT resistive touch display. This sounds wrong to me. Looking at the N95 8GB and then the 6208, it's clear the device would need to be MASSIVE to house a 2.8" screen. Looks more like 2.4".
-Quad band GSM connectivity with GPRS, EDGE.
-27MB of internal memory.
-MicroSD card support.
-3.2MP camera with autofocus and flash.
-130 grams.
-109.8 x 49.3 x 14.7 millimeters.

Notice the stylus housed in the back cover of the 6208... No capacative screen.

We're still unsure if this thing runs on S40 or Symbian. It wouldn't be too silly to say that Nokia might be toying with a completely new OS for this device since Nokia haven't announced a 'S40 Touch' OS/UI as far as I know.

Nokia N97 and 5800 on their way to Orange

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:51:00 +0000

The fine chaps over at Mobile Industry Review have been attending a 'partner camp' hosted by Orange(the phone network) and have spotted a little something that bodes well for those of us in Europe... Ewan was kind enough to take pictures of some of the devices displayed in Orange's phone line-up at the event which included the 5800 XpressMusic and the recently announced N97. No official word is given on when we'll be seeing these devices here in the UK but atleast now we know that free N97s aren't too far off!

Google Maps is looking good on the 5800

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:04:00 +0000

Tnkgrl has uploaded a video of Google Maps running on the 5800 XpressMusic. The video shows smooth navigation through maps, street view and some other standard features like satellite view with Tnkgrl providing commentary throughout. I must say, Google Maps looks much better on the 5800 than it ever has on my N95 8GB.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic selling well in Russia

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:03:00 +0000

News comes from Eldar Murtazin that the Nokia 5800 is flying off the shelves in Russia. Apparently, Nokia provided various outlets with 74,000 5800s and between November the 26th and December the 7th, 58,000(what a coincidence, eh?) of them were sold. That's a mean average of 4,833 per day, one 5800 sold in Russia every 18 seconds. Eldar also mentions that there were 'confirmed orders' of 46,000 more 5800s. I wonder if the demand will be this large in other countries?

Nokia's N97: Things you'll want to know

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:47:00 +0000

On Tuesday, Nokia announced the N97. Packing a 3.5" resistive touchscreen, GPS, HSDPA, WiFi, Compass, Slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5MegaPixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and LED flash, S60 V5 and a whole bunch of other features, it's quite apparent that the N97 deserves to be heralded as Nokia's flagship device. As with any new phone, though, there's things that you'll probably want to know that aren't listed in the press release. Luckily, the guys at WOMWorld emailed me with details on Question and Answer sessions that would be taking place after the N97's announcment. Below are some key points that I picked up from the sessions.

The N97's maximum HSDPA rating is 3.6mbps. This is dissapointing considering that many other phones from different manufacturers have been using 7.2mbps chips for some time now!

The N97 will be avilable only in Black and White at release. I'm pretty content but if you're dying for a hot pink N97, don't worry too much:

The N97's specification and features are still subject to change. Tomi Kuparinen of Nokia said that 'at the moment we're still defining final content and look out N97 updates in coming weeks.'. Stay tuned for any changes!

The N97 uses a 'tuned' ARM11 processor. This is according to Tomi again. Unfortunately, we won't really be able to tell what the tuned means here. Maybe they've clocked it above 369mHz? It's said to be more powerful than the N96's and N95's processor... Hurrah!

The N97 has a FM transmitter. A feature first introduced in the N78, this will allow you to broadcast your music over the air to FM radios within a few meters of your device.

There will be a North American variant of the N97 that will ship shortly after the global launch. This is according to Tomi once again.

The N97 is planned to be a Comes With Music device. This is according to Nokia's Tomoharu Yazawa who is the product manager of the N97(he was also the product manager for the N82). This means that it's likely that we'll be seeing the N97 bundled with the all you can eat music download service.

ALL shipped N97s will feature a stylus in the retail box, not just the asian ones. There were whispers around the internet that only asian N97s would come with a stylus, this isn't true.

The N97 does NOT feature a 3D chip. This means you won't be able to play those lovely quake ports on your N97 or any other future applications/games that require a 3D chip.

The N97's TV-Out will be like the 5800's. This means that you'll get nHD output to your televesion/projector... much better than the N95, for example.

The N97 does NOT have infrared. Some people think that infrared is useless and outdated but I beg to differ! I use psiloc's IRremote practically everyday on my N95 8GB.

The N97 will NOT feature manual focusing nor will it feature auto/initial focus during video recording. This is also dissapointing. Manual focus can wait but I was really hoping for some sort of focussing during video capture.

The N97's call/end buttons are touch sensitive, possibly capacative according to tnkgrl who has played with the N97.

That's all! I'll be posting up any more interesting N97 news that I can find.

BIG Nokia announcement tomorrow: Nseries touch device?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:24:00 +0000

Can you feel it? The excitement. The excitement is taking over me! Tomorrow, Nokia world 2008 kicks off in Barcelona and we're set to get some BIG news, atleast that's what Nokia are saying. There's been a countdown timer posted up on Nokia's events page that will end tomorrow at around 8AM GMT. Some people are speculating that this announcement will be for a new Nseries touch device. Anyways, I'll be on the bus to school at around 8 but I'll surely be checking back on my trusty Touch Pro. Stay tuned, people!

5800 XpressMusic has impressive TV-Out

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:35:00 +0000

Rafe over at AllAboutSymbian has posted the second part of his Nokia 5800 (p)review in which he comments on the 5800's Multimedia capabilities. Rafe mentions a few of the changes made in the 5800 and its OS compared to phones running older versions of Symbian. One such change is that the music player can now automatically update the music library after side-loading new music to your 5800. Another thing that Rafe mentioned is the 5800's TV-Out functionality. Previous Nokia devices have been able to output to an external display but at an embarassing QVGA resolution. The 5800 has finally changed this by being able to output at a decent 640x360 'nHD' resolution in all scenarios, not just the gallery. This will mean that things like web browsing will be many times more enjoyable when using TV-Out. Thanks, Nokia!

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic now on sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Although Nokia won't be making the 5800 available in the UK until 2009, I'm happy to inform you that it's now possible to buy the Nokia 5800 from eBay. Nokia's first touchscreen S60 device is being sold by reputed eBay powerseller X1387. The Buy It Now price is set at a staggering $950, which comes to about £640. If you just can't wait for the 5800 to be officialy available in your country and you're loaded with money, head over to X1387's eBay listing.

Nokia's 5800 arriving on Vodafone in February

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 11:12:00 +0000

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is probably the most highly anticipated Nokia device of 2008 so far. Featuring a 3.2 inch 'nHD' resolution resistive touchscreen, WiFi, GPS, HSDPA and a 3.5mm headphone jack, the 5800 is certainly well specced considering its estimated €280 price. The 5800 has been slated for release during late November/December in some 'emerging' markets, with Nokia leaving people in already developed markets (like the UK) without 5800s in their pockets until next year!

Way back in June, some kind soul took mercy on touchscreen loving Nokia enthusiasts around the world by leaking some clear(er) images of the 5800 Tube. There was something different about those images of the 5800 - it had Vodafone branding!

Now it has been revealed that Vodafone will be getting the 5800 in the UK in February of 2009 which is still quite a long way off. Vodafone have had lengthy exclusives with the latest Nokia devices in the past so it wouldn't surprise me if the Tube isn't available on other networks until March or April.

Check out Vodafone's coming soon page and register your interest to be notified of when the 5800 is ready for purchase.

About

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

On the 5th of November 2008, 'Touching Nokia' was created with the aim of providing users with news, reviews and guides relating to Nokia's touch-enabled devices. The website is solely maintaned by Mr-X.

Mr-X is a student currently studying in London, England. His interests include:
-Phones
-Computers
-Football/Soccer
-General electronics

Mr-X is also the owner of www.finestfones.com
.

Contact

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Please fill in the form below if you'd like to get in touch. Don't forget to use an email address that I'll be able to get back to you with.