While Nokia has and still continues to be the biggest cellphone manufacturer in the world, the company has been unable to make a major dent in the U.S or North American market for that that matter. The company has been working behind the scenes to establish its Symbian^3 platform and most recently MeeGo.

At first Nokia had planned to release its Meamo ^ on a TI OMAP processor. However, in light of its recent board shakeup mainly due to the company’s slumping sale, the new Canadian-born CEO has made several changes inclyding the decision to role Moblin into MeeGo. More importantly, the company has been working with Intel closely as we noted earlier and has since been considering using Intel’s Atom instead of TI’s ARM based OMAP chip. Intel has said before that the company’s Medfield-based smartphone processors which are a successor to Moorestown would be arriving in mid-2011.

All this has led a Finnish technology magazine, Prosessori, one that is well respected to reveal that the Nokia N( will be launched with a 1.2GHz Atom processor, more importantly, the device could be launched as early as next month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Spain.

Thanks to an Intel chip and an all new user experience, this could give Nokia that extra oomph to not only gain worldwide attention but some credibility in North America as well. This would be crucial to Nokia’s high-end lineup which the company has been revamping of lately with such devices as the N8 and the N700.

Thanks Engadget

The Nokia E7 is sleek and svelte. It is shaped in a unique but pocket-friendly style. The edges are rounded to not only get it into a pocket but out again without much effort. The display on the E7 is created with bright and energy-saving AMOLED technology. This saves money by creating a longer time between battery charges. It is also packed to the gills with features. The special Clearblack treatment is present under the scratch-restant glass. This crystallizes the view for the user. The E7 display is fully equipped with user features including handwriting recognition. The size is four inches.

Besides having one of the brightest and clearest displays in its class, the Nokia E7 is easy to type on. The manual keyboard slides out from under the display and props the screen up at an angle. This makes it easier to see while typing.

On the back is an eight megapixel camera that features dual LED flash. The level of quality is good enough on the camera to support taking high definition video shots. The format for the videos is 720p at 25 frames per second. That is not the highest in the mobile world, but not far from it. On the front of the E7 is a second camera for video calling.

The Symbian^3 mobile operating system is running the Nokia E7. This is a world-famous open-source software that also powers the C7 and flagship Nokia N8. It comes with Ovi Maps for free, pinch to zoom, swipe scrolling, HDMI output, multi tasking, and a host of other features. Look for this smartphone to sell for €495 euros.

The home screen in this phone can be personalized in three different ways with a number of apps, contacts and other shortcuts right in front of you, when you need it most. Being a capacitive touch screen, this phone gives multi touch support meaning that you can pinch and zoom, tap to select and so on. Nokia have integrated this phone with a number of social networking applications, so that you are never far from your Facebook account. The phone is powered by Symbian 3 operating system and there are over 1000’s of apps to choose from Nokia’s own Ovi Store.

Nokia have equipped this device with an 8-megapixel camera, which produces stunning image quality, which is comparable to the likes of most compact digital cameras. The camera can also record videos in High Definition 720p format. Other features include 3G, Wi-Fi, and built-in GPS with Ovi Maps support offering free lifetime navigation. The phone also has a FM transmitter meaning that you can listen to music stored on your phone in your car stereo without any hassle.

Nokia has just announced that it has begun shipping of its latest model and this phone is expected to be available in the UK very shortly at around £290.

At first glance, the 4 column layout seems a little confusing –particularly for those who use the phone edges as a reference for speed texting. However, it does not take long to get accustomed to having the three lowest buttons moved to the right side of the device. If you really can’t get your head around the 4 column layout you could always check out the Nokia C3 Touch and Type, which boasts similar features to the X3 but with the more traditional 3 column layout.

New Form Factor

What makes the Nokia X3 Touch and Type truly remarkable however, is the fact that it brings together a basic, functional touch screen display and the convenience of an actual, physical keypad –all while keeping below the high end threshold.

While some might say that the 2.4 inch resistive touch screen is an unremarkable feature, a few moments of using the handset reveals otherwise. There are plenty of quick and useful functions that are achieved simply by being able to tap the screen directly. Navigating the user interface using the combination of the touch screen and the keypad integrates smoothly, making the entire mobile experience somewhat fulfilling. Thanks to the lowered spec needs of the S40 OS, the UI runs fast and is responsive to user input.

Camera Specs and Others

The camera on the Nokia Touch and Type is a surprisingly good 5 mega pixel snapper. While video recording is at a mediocre VGA (18 frames per second), the image quality of the still photographs are sharp and crisp –coming out at a nice 2592 x 1944 pixels of resolution.

The best thing about this handset is that it supports WiFi and 3G connectivity –making the integrated social networking features truly functional; users will be able to update their Facebook accounts, post on Twitter, and even connect to instant messengers such as Yahoo! or Windows Live.

Nokia remains on top of the mid-range and entry-level mobile markets which are mostly composed of mobiles that are equipped with an alphanumeric pad. However, the same cannot be said about their market performance in the high end, touch Smartphone scene.

With the X3 Touch and Type, they are hoping to break borders by combining these two features in a single, multi-purpose device.

Hoping for a Break

The Nokia X3 Touch and Type isn’t the first ever mobile to combine a touch screen display and a standard alphanumeric keypad. There have been a lot of manufacturers that have gone through this same route, but unfortunately very few (if any) have succeeded.

Nokia hopes to break this trend with the X3 Touch and Type. The manufacturer will surely be banking on their success in the mid-range market and launch yet another mobile that satisfies the needs of the consumers without burning a hole in their wallets.

Knowing them, the Nokia X3 Touch and Type may very well be able to revolutionize this unusual mobile phone functionality combo.

Features

The Nokia X3 Touch and Type isn’t all about the buzz that is brought about by its uncommon architecture. It also packs in a lot of impressive features.

Aside from the typical mobile phone features, we were impressed by the mobile’s 5-Megapixel camera. It also comes with Wi-Fi connectivity which has become quite a rarity for mid-range mobiles.

Also worth mentioning is the compact design of the device as it is only 9.6 mm thin. Oh, and it also comes in a number of attractive colours such as black, white, blue, gray, and pink.

In a recent community event in the Nokia Conversations Blog site, the Finnish mobile phone maker announced that it will be launching a new smart phone and that the initial decisions will be determined by the public. The specifications have already been voted upon and now, there are three concept designs that people can choose from for the upcoming mobile phone.

There is no doubt that all of the three designs from Nokia are far from just concept sketches, these three carry most of the major hallmarks of a standard Nokia handset. While this is not surprising, it would have been interesting to see a semblance of variety when it comes to mobile phone design. At this point, regardless of which of the handset designs get chosen, the look will still have that ever familiar Nokia atmosphere.

Looking at the preliminary hardware specifications, there is plenty of emphasis on the need for an open source mobile platform that packs unlimited multitasking capabilities. It may seem like a big stretch, but that actually sounds a lot like the Android operating system. Despite the fact that both the Symbian and the Moblin operating systems are open source mobile platforms, the fact that the public seems to be leaning heavily towards Android phones should be a major red flag for Nokia.

Anyway, while it is very unlikely that Nokia will be producing an Android device, we can expect the company to keep pressing the Symbian^3 and the Moblin operating systems further and beyond what people would expect from most of the OS available today.

How does it work? Well, the Finnish company uploads three different designs or attributes and lets community members cast a vote on which particular element they would like to see on a Nokia mobile phone unit. Sounds simple, right? It is. And it does seem to get a lot of consumers buzzing about whatever popular part gets voted in.

This is a way to get consumer feedback on which designs are appealing as compared to others. In recent years, Nokia has not been able to garner bas much attention and support as the Cupertino based Apple and devices carrying the open source operating system, the little green Google Android. Fortunately for them, they have survived by tapping into the smart dumb phone market, releasing nice budget phones that will not make the headlines but will surely give the masses a practical option.

Of course, this does not mean that the Finnish company, which was once at the top of the game, is already happy with their success. According to July’s YouGov Poll, the interest in their brand of handsets has taken a nose dive. To be specific, the interest has gone down a whopping 12 percent.

The concept phone project will hopefully lift this number in the following months. Started in March, the number of design submissions has reached the 72,000 mark already, with winning designs sporting an 8 megapixel snapper (4x optical zoom), unlimited multitasking and a 4-inch capacitive display. The final sketch will be made into a 3D rendered model and will be showcased for all to see in Nokia’s Conversations blog.

The financial reports for Nokia show that sales are actually up compared to last year. Nokia’s devices are still very much in demand, however, prices for mobile phones are going down and the report also showed that despite selling more devices, Nokia actually made less in terms of profits. Since Nokia manufactures large volumes of mid to low end devices, it is not surprising that they are making less money now. Of course, Nokia will eventually be shifting most of its production capabilities to smart phones.

Smart phones such as the Symbian^3 N8 handset which was supposed to come out last April; the device has been delayed and while Nokia says it will be out ‘soon’, no one has yet to give out specific details. Earlier reports hinted at a possible launch next week -though judging from the fact that network operators are only offering pre-registrations for the handset instead of pre-orders, it is possible that the device might not be released until next month.

In the meanwhile, Nokia is ignoring Apple’s recently uploaded video of the N97 Mini which showed symptoms similar to the antenna issue that the iPhone 4 is suffering from. Nokia has already given a public statement regarding Apple’s emergency conference last week and stated that their mobile phones’ antenna technology is both stable and reliable.

Considering that the N97 Mini has already been out for a while and it has not had any complaints about dropped calls, then there is no need for Nokia to make a further statement regarding the issue.

Most recently, a new Nokia concept phone design has been unveiled, the Kinetic. This interesting new smart phone may look a little odd with the slightly bulky lower body (though the rest of the handset is relatively slim). This mass below the device is actually what gives it a special feature: when the handset is laid flat on a table, it will stand upright to inform users of an incoming call, message, alert or any other important phone function.

Designed by Jeremy Innes-Hopkins, the Kinetic is a pretty impressive handset in the way that it makes use of electromagnetic technology to change the way weight is distributed below the handset –which allows the device to turn upright. There is also one other feature to the handset as well: users can give the device a slight nudge, and the phone will gently flop back on the table –this will cancel any alerts or dismiss any incoming calls.

Nokia has also responded to Steve Jobs’ comment that the antenna issue is a challenge to the entire mobile phone industry and that “all phones are equal”. Nokia has stated that their mobile devices do not suffer from the same antenna issues as the iPhone 4. Nokia is not the only mobile phone company to express a similar viewpoint: Motorola has also released a similar statement. Naturally, RIM, Samsung and HTC –whom Apple individually pointed out, have also reacted similarly to the issue.

Lastly, the Nokia N8 is expected to hit UK stores in a matter of days. Vodafone UK announced that the device will be available in the span of a week while T-Mobile UK’s official website is already offering pre-registrations for the Symbian^3 smart phone.

That is what makes the creation of Jeremy Innes-Hopkins so special. It revolutionizes the way we are notified of an incoming call or text message by using an electro magnet which uses the digital signal received with a call or message, causing the mobile device to stand up. What happens is that the unit changes the distribution of its weight and allocates it to its base, allowing the mobile phone to stand on its own.

If the caller is not someone you would want to talk to at that time, you can simply tap the mobile phone down to its initial position and it will automatically cancel the call.

It is not clear how the creative British designer got the idea but at the very least this will allow more discreet message or call notifications. It will also be quite an improvement from the vibrate function’s noisy reverb when placed on top of a desk.

The number of possible uses and advantages outweigh the negatives. For deaf consumers, it must be a dream come true. For those who hate hearing cheesy ring tones or are constantly in meetings, the discreet nature of the alert function will definitely be an advantage.
The only negative is the phone’s bulky shape. Since the actual electro magnet is housed at the bottom of the Nokia Kinetic, it may be too bulky to keep in the pant pocket. But as it is with any novelty concept, this gadget will have a niche market that will surely appreciate its unique features.