Patented: Nokia gets Movement to Energy on Mobile Phones

March 11th, 2010

According to recent reports, Nokia has just patented kinetic energy conversion technology for their mobile phones. Not to imply that Nokia will actually develop the new technology, but considering that Nokia is one of the most environmentally friendly companies on the planet, it is not surprising to see that they have taken the steps into creating what would be the first self-recharging battery.

By combining kinetic energy and piezoelectricity, this technology would convert movement (such as walking around or lifting your phone) into energy. Of course, when applied to other devices or other activities, there is great potential to be gained in this. When attached to exercise equipment, transportation vehicles and clothing, the technology would be able to gather chunks and bits of electricity that can be stored and used by small electronic devices such as smart phones.

Getting energy from movement gives the technology plenty of sources as we humans love to move about in our lives. If attached to a small device on our arms or legs, the technology would have the benefit of being able to use the excess energy we generate while at work or at play. It can even be attached to devices that are perpetually in motion such as cars and bicycle wheels for powering small things like signal lights and others. In a children’s playground, the technology can be used on swings and merry-go-rounds as it generates power to be used for park lights in the evening.

Of course, charging by this method would never give you a full charge even after a while day of running around, but being able to convert some of that energy would still be useful in the long run.

So far, experts are not expecting to see this technology actually being applied anytime soon. While the concept can be quite helpful, the actual technology itself is far from perfect with current energy conversion rates being a little too low to support commercial distribution.

Get to read more about the new technology patent from Nokia at Stuff TV.

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New Nokia Symbian in the Works

February 24th, 2010

Nokia X10Looks like we will get to see how the Symbian^3 looks and works when Nokia brings out the upcoming X10 (not to be confused with the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 –which is an Android Snapdragon smart phone).

The device has been leaked in a series of videos and still images and from what we have seen; this smart phone is still pretty much in its preliminary stages of development. Specs-wise the phone sits in the mid-spec range of devices. The Cortex A8 processor runs at 600MHz, which means that the new user interface will be radically dynamic in terms of animations and transitions.

The new phone is basically a touch screen device with a slide out keyboard. It’s a great template for attracting general and business user to try out the new operating system. No word yet on what exactly is different about the new OS, but with Symbian’s move to go open source, we can expect to see a lot of third party application support for the new phone.

The X10 is a continuation of the eXpressMusic series of Nokia devices. The last device was the 16GB version of the X6 which was a marketing upgrade over the older 32GB version. The 32GB version came with a “Comes with Music” unlimited download package with made the device unreasonably pricey.

Anyway, the X10 is also rumored to come with a 12 mega pixel camera that can record videos in 720p HD video quality. This will be the second Symbian device with HD video recording after the Sony Ericsson Vivaz.

Looks like Nokia has not abandoned the Symbian OS after all. There was plenty of news that the Finnish manufacturer might be dropping the OS after it adopted the Maemo for the N-series.

Read more about Nokia’s new smart phone at GSM Arena.

Nokia

Nokia Teaming Up with Qualcomm

February 23rd, 2010

Nokia N900Apparently, that’s big news. According to certain reports, Nokia and Qualcomm have not exactly been the closest of buddies –so to speak. There has been plenty of talk about previous legal disputes regarding patents between the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer and the major chip manufacturer.

Now, there are news reports that a new Nokia phone is in the works. The phone will be using a Snapdragon processor and will be running the Symbian operating system. It is not surprising to know that Symbian will be the mobile platform of choice here. It was announced recently that the Symbian OS has gone open source; making it a very viable OS of choice for app developers.

Some are wondering as to why the Maemo operating system will not be running on the new high end Nokia smart phone, after all, they did announce that they will be using the Maemo on all their high end devices like the N-series. This new update confirms that the upcoming device is not an N-series phone, and that Nokia was serious when they said that they are not working on any Maemo devices for 2010.

The open source mobile platform Symbian has been around for many years but it was only a few weeks ago that the OS has gone open source. It is possible that this is the reason why Nokia chose the Symbian over the Maemo for the new phone.

In any case, it will be a long time before we actually see the new Symbian phone. With other major devices already out on the market and new Snapdragon phones from HTC, Sony Ericsson and Motorola on the way, it will be interesting to see how things shape up this 2010.

Read more about the upcoming Snapdragon Symbian phone and the Nokia – Qualcomm connection at Know Your Mobile.

Nokia

Nokia N900 Maemo’s First Big Snag

February 12th, 2010

Nokia N900USB slots are rarely the cause of issues for mobile phones; this is why the recent news on the N900 is pretty surprising. As it turns out, the micro USB slot on the device is prone to getting misaligned.

While this little technical hiccup may not seem so bad, some people have already complained that the slot has been misaligned so much that it borders on the verge of being unusable. Sadly for the N900, the device not only relies on the slot for data transfers, but also for charging as well.

So far, it has not been confirmed if this problem really is a common thing for all N900 devices or only for certain batches of the device. The bad thing is, since this is a hardware problem, no downloadable fix will be made available and users will have to send their phones in for repairs.

Should this problem be a universal defect on all N900 devices, it would be troublesome for Nokia to be able to fix all of this.

The Nokia N900 Maemo had a very interesting start. When Nokia first announced that it was adopting the Maemo operating system, many thought that they would be completely abandoning the Symbian OS. Nokia quickly released a statement clarifying that Maemo’s role as an operating system is strictly for the N-series of mobile phones.

The N900, upon launch enjoyed a pretty good sales performance and as seen with recent reports, many people are enjoying the Maemo operating system. Recent developments have allowed users to run computer code on the device allowing for games such as StarCraft to be played on the mobile phone. Emulators for various home systems are also available for playing.

Read more about the faulty micro USB slot on the Nokia N900 Maemo phone at Engadget.

N-series

Nokia N900 Six-Axis Modification

February 8th, 2010

Nokia N900Nokia once said that they will be regulating the use of the two mobile operating systems they have. The Symbian platform will be used for most of their mobile phones, while the Maemo will be used only for this devices which are “similar to computers” such as the N-series.

While it is debatable if Nokia’s high end N-series line does come close to actually computers, it does have a lot of functionality not commonly found in other mobile phones. This included options for dual booting the Maemo and the Android OS, as well as a currently unusable install of the Mac OS on the N900.

Recently, a large amount of emulation software has been adapted for the N900 allowing users to run games that were meant to be played on other consoles. Some ambitious individuals even managed to run PC games such as Blizzard’s award winning RTS, StarCraft on the N900.

Naturally, emulation of Nintendo made, cartridge based consoles like the Super Famicom are easily found on the N900, Tomasz Sterna however, added an extra functionality, that combined with the N900’s video output port, turned the mobile phone into an impromptu console.

Using the Bluetooth technology of the phone and the Sony Playstation’s Six Axis controller, Tomasz made the Six Axis to connect with the N900, creating an instant joy pad accessory.

Originally, the Six Axis was meant to be used strictly for the Playstation 3 though some ingenious hackers were able to find a way for computers to use the device. It was only a matter of time before the method was adapted to the Nokia smart phone.

The controls are sluggish, but it is an amazing testament to the ingenuity and skill of these individuals who are always looking for more new ways to utilize the things around them.

Watch the video of the controller-N900 sync on Engadget.

N-series

Nokia X6: Come Get Entertained

February 5th, 2010

Nokia X6The Nokia X6 first came out last year in its 32GB form with the Comes with Music promotion. In paper, the offer sounded great; the X6 is an impressive music center mobile phone that delivered high end smart phone specs and of course, plenty of internal storage. Couple with the Comes with Music which enables users to download an infinite amount of music form the Nokia Music Store on the Ovi services meant that one can stay up to date with the latest hits anytime.

In the end however, not a lot of people were willing to shell out lots of money on a music smart phone and spend time downloading so many tracks. Also, music fans already have large libraries of digital music to use. The additional cost brought about by the download deal made the phone very unappealing even to its target market.

Now, Nokia is planning to revive the X6 with a new, more reasonable 16GB of internal storage and no Comes with Music package. This means that buying the device no longer meant paying extra for a service that would hardly be used.

A few weeks back, Nokia announced that all of its Ovi maps capable devices would be receiving free satellite navigation services with voice –increasing the value of many Nokia phones, including the X6.

As for the X6, it will be beefing up its digital content lineup with exclusive titles and content. Showcasing the X6’s music and video playing capabilities will be the new goal for Nokia regarding the device.

It has been confirmed that the phone will be released this coming February 24, 2010. No word has been given if any mobile network operator is offering the device.

Get the full news report on the Nokia X6 at Mobile Today.

X-series

Nokia release their new Nokia Booklet 3G laptop

January 29th, 2010

Nokia Booklet 3GNokia are best known for their range of mobile phones, and the way in which they have developed them over the last few years. Having been around from the very beginning, Nokia have influenced the mobile phone market hugely, and continue to release new and intuitive ideas. Their newest release is slightly different from their normal range of phones, but is Nokia’s way of reaching out and expanding their range of products.

The Nokia Booklet 3G is a small and compact laptop designed by Nokia. Designed with business men in mind, the laptop is ideal to be used on journeys on the train or on a plane. With 3G technology, you can connect from wherever you are, and you can send emails, files, videos and pictures. The internet easily accessible, as well as access to Nokia’s own download site, Ovi.

The Booklet 3G even comes with a built in digital camera installed, to allow you to take a photo if you ever need to, or perhaps video a conference for viewing at a later date. If you ever need to do online conference calls, this can be achieved, as the laptop features a built in microphone, allowing you to be heard with clarity. Available in a choice of colours, there is bound to be a place for this mini laptop in your house.To find out about the Booklet 3G on contract you can look online to see what deals are available.

Nokia

Nokia X6 Trimmed Down

January 28th, 2010

Nokia X6Everyone likes checking out the latest in mobile hardware, but not everyone wants it. This is why news about the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, Google Nexus One and HTC Bravo are all over the news but people would still rather go out buy a cheap and decent Nokia smart phone. So it is not a surprise that with MWC just a few days away and many major devices are expected to launch this 2010, companies such as Nokia are still looking into the mid to low end market for most of their sales.

The Nokia X6 first came out last year with some pretty impressive offerings; most importantly, the “Comes with Music” deal which granted users unlimited downloads from the Nokia Music store. It is a great deal that maximizes the phone’s music playing capabilities and the large 32GB of internal memory. Of course, the phone is pretty pricey, and considering that there are plenty of other high end phones to chose from, the X6 was not exactly a great choice.

Now, Nokia has re-released the X6, but with only 16GB of memory and without the “Comes with Music” service. Instead, buyers will get 25 free tracks to download. It is not that big a loss, considering that even if you had unlimited downloads, it would not matter if you already had a large music library to begin with. Of course, this means that the new 16GB version of the X6 will also be much cheaper.

Everything else remains the same; the phone will still have a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touch screen with a resolution of 360 x 640 pixels and 6 million colours, a 5 mega pixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, autofocus and LED flash as well as support for Bluetooth, AGPS, and micro SD cards.

Get more info about the new X6 from Mobile Choice.

Nokia

Nokia reveal details of the new slide phone 6700

January 26th, 2010

Nokia 6700 SlideNokia have long since had a good reputation for producing great phones which prove to be sell outs and become huge in the mobile phone market. As one of the first major mobile phones companies in existence, they have lead the scene from the beginning in Creating and designing new phones, and Nokia continue to produce new and exciting releases. Their latest model, which is due to be released in the first quarter of 2010, is the Nokia Slide phone 6700. You cannot miss this phone; literally, as it comes in 6 bright and wacky colors, perfect for any age or sex, as you can easily find your personal preference.

Focusing specifically on social networking, the phone comes built in with 3G, allowing you to instantly connect to certain sites such as Facebook, MySpace and twitter. This allows you to update your friends and family from wherever you are in the country. With a huge 5.0 megapixel camera, you can take snaps at any time you want, whether it be of a favorite image or location, or a treasured family moment or a funny incident. There is a special camera button, which allows you to take photos directly, saving you the effort of going through all the menus and such to get to the application. After the photo has been taken, you can edit it on the phone and then transfer it to your computer via the USB port, or even email them across using the 3G capabilities.

The 6700 Slide is expected to retail for around £140, and is expected to be available on the major phone networks as a contract plan as well as pay as you go. So if you like the look of it, then hang around until 2010, and you will get a set release date.

Nokia

Never Miss A Match Again! Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition

January 12th, 2010

Nokia 5330 Mobile TVIndividuals that would like to be able to watch live television directly on their handset might find the Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition to be the ideal mobile phone for them. Users are able to watch television programs, both standard and premium channels, right on their mobile phone. Now, it is possible to almost never miss a game or program. While this is definitely the phone’s biggest draw, it’s not its only appeal. It is a standard multi-media phone with all of the perks.

The 5330 comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera with a LED flash. While this is not the best camera phone on the market, it is definitely one of the better ones. All photographs can be stored in Ovi Share. It is also possible to record videos. This particular handset comes with a decent amount of memory, 70MB. Up to 16 GB more can be added with a microSD card.

Today, it seems that technology is advancing so rapidly. What might have seemed impossible yesterday is commonplace today.  Who would have thought 10 years ago that it would be possible to watch television on ones mobile phone? Today, it is possible and really cool. The Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition is a leader in this area. Nokia has put together an extremely advanced phone that allows users to catch their team’s favorite matches and programs directly on their phone. Owners of the Nokia 5330 won’t have to worry about using Tivo. Instead, they can watch whatever television show they’d like, live, right on their mobile.

Whether or not other mobile manufacturing companies will follow suit and attempt to create their own TV phone will likely depend on the success of this one. Since Nokia has taken a risk by offering what few other mobile phone companies are, the industry will be watching closely. If they are successful, you can be sure that many more companies will be coming up with their own version of the Nokia 5330.

Nokia