Wireless Archive

Hi-Mobile sent us in the very popular Nokia N80 smartphone. While the phone was released about 10 months ago, just last month there was a brand new and free firmware upgrade that upgrades it to version 4.x which adds VoIP functionality. The upgrade is available for all N80 models, even the ones that were not released under the "Internet Edition" brand. Read more for our test.

Nokia released a new update for their Linux-based N800 internet tablet, v3.2007.10-7 which includes improvements and fixes in video and Flash performance and quality, Bluetooth connection, browser stability, activating touch screen and keys lock, new camera app, rdesktop and more. Nokia also wrote an good-looking front-end to Real's Rhapsody service that includes a 30 days free trial. You can choose from millions of songs to fetch and playback via WiFi (no permanent downloading). In my test, the N800 managed 4 hours of battery life of fetching+playback using Rhapsody. Screenshot here.

A modified version of the code for Windows Mobile 6, which Microsoft launched less than two weeks ago at the 3GSM mobile phone conference, has hit the Net. It's the handiwork of 'Kyphur', a moderator at the discussion forums on XDA Developers site, who has released a hacked version of the code for Windows Mobile 6, aka 'Crossbow'.

A hacker from Malaysia has used the game-centric PPL programming language for PocketPCs and has created a replacement of the "Today" PPC screen that closely resembles that of the iPhone's. His clone is still under development, although it is already impressive what he was able to do with a few lines of code. He was even able to recreate the iPhone's scrolling effect. Nevertheless, a nice toy.

"The thought of an internet tablet is, at least at first, a confusing one. It's not a notebook, or a PDA, or smartphone, but rather an oddity that takes aspects of each and mashes them into a single device. On the surface it is hard to pin down just what the device is. It is not a phone, but it's made by Nokia and it can be used for making and receiving calls. Similarly, it's not a notebook, but it is a portable computer than runs Linux. While this may all seem odd at first, the internet tablet is just the product a lot of people have been waiting for, whether or not they know it."

The release focuses on bug fixes, better connectivity and support for additional devices. Changelog is here. You can dowload the client here. Please note that the server-side was upgraded too and has introduced a small rendering bug with the mobile OSNews menu; hopefully it will be resolved soon.

"Many a geek was excited when Nokia announced the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet in late 2005. Its form factor, functionality, and price indicated to me that my dream device had arrived. When I finally purchased one and reviewed it, my dreams were dashed. While attractive, the Nokia 770 was underpowered, leading to sluggish performance. The menu navigation was not thought out well, and some of the applications felt unfinished. With little advance notice, Nokia released the 770's successor at the beginning of 2007, the Nokia N800. Is it powerful enough to rekindle the fires of gadget lust or will it be another heartbreaker?"

The 3GSM convention was kicked off in Barcelona this year with some pretty cool products: the HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger (review), Toshiba's G900 and E01 with WinMob 6, Nokia's E61i and E65, Nokia's N77 with DVB-H mobile TV, Nokia's 6110 quad-band HSDPA GPS navigator, Motorola's MotoRIZR Z8 (video) that uses a non-touchscreen version of UIQ 3.0 and the L9 among others, the Neonode N2, the RIM BlackBerry 8800 (with possibly WiFi in it, unannounced feature), Samsung's 10 new cellphones including the touchscreen ones (specs) and a Symbian-based one, a Windows Mobile 6 video and lastly, a review of the highest-end Nokia Pro handset, the E90.

Samsung is following Apple, MS & LG in the trend where cellphones involve "big, wide touchscreens" as their main look and feel. Their Ultrasmart F700 phone has a qwerty keyboard, 2.8" widescreen, 5 MP camera and 3G support. We are not sure at this point if this is a smartphone which allows you to develop and run native applications or if it's just a glorified "feature phone". The whole interface is based on Adobe's Flash while a recent press release along with the claim of "full HTML browsing" makes us speculate that the phone possibly uses the Opera web browser -- possibly on top of Linux.

This detailed, hands-on review examines Nokia's Linux-based N800 web tablet first as a consumer electronics device, and then as a platform for open source software development. Reviewer Jerry Epplin infuses the review with humor and deeply technical insights. Our review is here.

A new video showing the touchscreen-based UI of the LG Prada phone has hit YouTube. The phone is going head to head with the iPhone UI-wise and it shows the path that the majority of phones will look like in the years to come. It is not clear if the LG Prada is a smartphone that allows you to run native applications or just a 'feature phone'. On other mobile news, Google released a native Google Maps application for PocketPC and MS Smartphones (screenshots) that works better than the J2ME version.

"This is the complete guide to making a custom package that will install on the N800, and reconfigure the device to match your company’s image. This is a particular good idea if a lot of people in your management wants to use the devices to connect to check their email for example."

Hi-Mobile.net was very generous to send us over the second most high-end Nokia S40-based phone (after the 7390) for a review, the 6288. This model is an updated version over its similarly-looking 6280, and it's considered a high-end feature phone. Read more for our findings and plenty of screenshots.

"The original Nokia tablet, the N770, was something of a departure for the Finnish phone maker: here was a device without cellular connectivity, running a Linux-based OS, and generally unlike anything Nokia had produced before. So here we have an updated version, the N800. But is it a phone or not, that is the question?"