Gear Diary » Nokia

I Paid Just Over $1800 for My New Car!!! Really!

Dan Cohen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:00:23 +0000

You read the title right and I meant it. I paid just over $1800 for my new car last November. At least that is the case if you price it out using the "Walt Mossberg Method of Valuation". Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Nokia Gobbles Up Nearly Half of ’2nd Gen’ Windows Phone Market Share!

Michael Anderson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:35:57 +0000

Over the last week or so we have seen evidence that Windows Phone sales might be picking up ... and in no small part thanks to Nokia! Sales of the Lumia 800 and 710 were reported at ~1.3 million for 2011 in spite of only having the phones for part of the fourth quarter. But that was enough to earn them 45% of all 'second generation' Windows Phone devices. HTC holds 40% of the market with their Radar and massive Titan devices (which Dan & Judie love), and Samsung has 12% with the Focus. The remaining 3% is split amongst minor players. In terms of ALL Windows Phone devices, HTC still holds Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Nokia Introduces the AT&T 4G Lumia 900 to the United States

Judie Stanford — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:45:49 +0000

This afternoon I attended a standing room only event in the impossibly small Ballroom A at the Venetian. The purpose was to hear about Nokia's latest announcement for North America, and what I was hoping for specifically was news that the Lumia 900 (the North American version of the Euro Lumia 800) would soon be available. I wasn't disappointed. The front of the room was decorated with color tiles on the wall reminiscent of the live tiles in Windows Phone 7; if there were any doubts about what we were there to see, these should have removed them. Stephen Elop, President and CEO of Nokia, came out and mentioned the first pillar of their global Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 710 Windows Phone Review

Judie Stanford — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:00:22 +0000

Nokia has long been one of my favorite hardware manufacturers because they consistently have devices with a better than usual build quality, their phones typically have strong radios, and they usually throw in a few excellent features not easily found elsewhere -- like the built-in FM radio transmitters and Zeiss optics cameras many of their media phones sport. Like everyone else, I watched with interest when Nokia and Microsoft partnered up in February 2011; I wanted to see what types of designs these two titans would create, and I hoped that this would mean a bigger (and better) selection of Windows Phones from which consumers could choose Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Windows Phone Advertising – Doing Better By Pretending it Doesn’t Exist?

Michael Anderson — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:45:57 +0000

After a first year that can most generously be called "disappointing", Microsoft and their key partner Nokia have been working hard to make this second year a success. Microsoft started with an amazing launch of Windows Phone 7.5 'Mango', which rolled out to all phones worldwide within only a few weeks - and that is counting a specific technical issue with an EU carrier that delayed roll-out for a couple of weeks! Nokia introduced their first two Windows Phone 7 devices recently, and while many had hoped for powerhouse phones (or a front facing camera), what Nokia is delivering is a stylish package and reasonable hardware that will work well Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Nokia Announces Two New Windows Phones, the Lumia 800 and 710; Will You Be Buying One?

Judie Stanford — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:30:20 +0000

On February 11, Nokia and Microsoft made a major announcement that Nokia would be adopting Windows Phone as its primary smartphone strategy which meant they would be building hardware that would run the Windows Phone Operating System. This was huge news for both Nokia and for Microsoft, and now things are finally starting to happen. Early today, Nokia World 2011 kicked off in London. First up was the introduction of four "Asha" or "Hope" models aimed at consumers in developing countries that want smartphones but don't have a lot of money. Nokia's goal is to help a billion extra people who who don't currently have access connect to the internet using phones that look Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Nokia and Microsoft Get in Bed Together to Produce Prettier and Presumably Smarter Babies

Judie Stanford — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 09:31:53 +0000

This is so good, it's almost hard to believe: Microsoft and Nokia have just formally announced their "Broad Strategic Partnership" as they "combine assets and develop innovative mobile products on an unprecedented scale." The joint press conference occurred at 2:00 a.m. PST/5:00 a.m. EST, and unfortunately (or is it fortunately?) I was still awake trying to catch up on things when the news came out. From a post titled "Open Letter from CEO Stephen Elop, Nokia and CEO Steve Ballmer, Microsoft" on the Official Microsoft Blog, here is a summary of what the two companies hope to achieve. (Note that the emphasis was added by me):

•

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal- Nokia N8 Unlocked GSM Touchscreen SmartPhone w/GPS and 12MP Camera

Dan Cohen — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:10:36 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings us into the world of smart phones. To be more specifics... It brings us into the world of unlocked smart phones with some nice savings on the Nokia N8. The Nokia N8 is an Unlocked GSM phone that sports 3G, a touchscreen, a 12 MP Camera (yes you read the right) and GPS. It also shoots 720p video, has speedy Wireless-N Wi-Fi, comes with 16 GB internal memory and sports a microSD for expansion. To round out the package it has Bluetooth 3.0, HDMI output and gives up to 5.8 hours of 3G talk time. It is a rather smart smart phone and it normally costs $549. Thanks to Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Angry Birds Replace Nokia In Finnish Hearts

Carly Z — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:00:03 +0000

Nokia's falling star is hurting more than just the company's bottom line. It was once the pride of Finland, and a decent size chunk of the country's GDP. So it's been nasty all around to see Nokia get decimated by the iPhone and Android. Surprisingly, Finland has been more than a hotspot for iconic phones; I learned reading Businessweek today that there's a big software startup movement there, including Rovio (makers of Angry Birds). Yep, the game that seems to have singlehandedly slowed down worker productivity worldwide is helping to fill the gap left by Nokia. Not only that, but there's a big movement among Finnish software developers and the government to push this momentum farther. According Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Samsung Unfriends Symbian

Carly Z — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:58:24 +0000

Uh oh...more bad news for Symbian (and Nokia). Boy Genius Report has posted that Samsung is getting out of Symbian entirely, to the point where they're shutting down any developer support at the end of the year. This move just makes Nokia's strategy to spin Symbian into a separate foundation even weirder. If you hit up Symbian.org and search for phones running the latest Symbian software, the only results are Nokia phones. With Sony Ericsson and Samsung both dropping Symbian, is anyone else left at the party besides Nokia? I've used Symbian before, and while it's not a bad operating system, even the current version feels very dated. Nokia and the Symbian Foundation have Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Where Did Nokia Go Wrong?

Carly Z — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:00:59 +0000

Kicking Nokia while they're way, way, down is practically a sport these days. Admittedly, Nokia has become the kid in school with a "Kick Me" sign on them. And like that poor kid, Nokia watches what all the cool kids are wearing, and then seems to show up rocking the cool jeans a year after they're out of style. Businessweek has taken a look at how Nokia went from star quarterback to losers, and they have some interesting theories. Geography BW argues that Nokia was too isolated from their competitors due to being based in Finland. Apparently there are no airplanes to Nokia headquarters:

Building a technology giant in Finland was a great achievement. But

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal Double Deal- Nokia E92 and Lenovo Multimedia Remote

Dan Cohen — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:10:56 +0000

Here's a double-shot of deals from our GearSponsor LogicBuy... The first deal is on an unlocked Nokia E72 Smartphone. The E72 comes in black and comes bundled Nokia's Navigation Accessory Kit. It is a great combination thanks to the ability of E72 owners to use Ovi maps and their free voice-guided navigation. The combination usually costs $347.99 but our GearSponsor has found a coupon for $129 off. That brings the price down to just $219.99. It will even ship for free. Nokia E72 Unlocked Black Smartphone with Car Kit via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The OtterBox Nokia N900 Commuter Series Case Review

Judie Stanford — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:00:29 +0000

When phones with sliding top halves first appeared, they presented unique challenges for accessory manufacturers. I can just imagine that some of them must have been scratching their heads -- wondering how they were going to protect both halves of these devices, yet allow the keyboards to remain functional. After years of watching some of the more offbeat solutions come and go -- like clear plastic covering the keyboard and odd straps holding the leather bits in place -- many case-makers seem to have settled for offering pouches that will hold the phones when they aren't being used, but many more seem to have chosen not to bother with them at all Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Cellcrypt Now Features Secure Mobile-to-Office Calling

Jason Reese — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:30:07 +0000

Cellcrypt offers a very unique feature. That feature is completely securing voice calls on GSM networks. We've covered Cellcrypt before, highlighting their mobile-to-mobile security. Now there's another reason to use Cellcrypt's services: secure Mobile-to-Office calling.

While this level of service (encrypting voice calls) could be considered, by some, to be a bit much -- and targeting those inflicted with a touch of paranoia -- Cellcrypt is catering to governments, law enforcement agencies and businesses that require the highest levels of security. Cellular network hacking is very real. The threat to your communications (voice and data) is expanding daily.

Afraid that corporate espionage

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal- Nokia N900 Mobile Computer Unlocked Cell Phone

Dan Cohen — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:45:55 +0000

After my relatively brief flirtation with using BlackBerry, it became clear to me that I am an iPhone guy through and through. That noted, my friends who have used an N900 swear by it. Judie has been using one for a long-term use review, and she too loves it. (And as you know she has used a whole lot of different phones. It takes a lot to impress her, and the N900 has.) A device like the N900 doesn't come cheap. It has an MSRP of $599. Ouch. Then again, considering what you get for that amount it is far from unreasonable. Better still, however is the deal our Gear Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

CTIA 2010: Now That It’s Over, What The Heck Does It All Mean?

Jason Reese — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:00:35 +0000

Last week's CTIA International Wireless event wrapped up in Las Vegas, bringing no doubt that the age of the "super phone" is upon us. Sure, you've heard that Sprint will be rocking the HTC EVO with full 4G WiMax goodness. Samsung will be bringing out their Galaxy S phone that doesn't just have a vivid AMOLED screen, but a Suuuuuuuuuuuper AMOLED screen (gotta love the marketing!). In all of the flash and excitement of CTIA, what do all of these things really mean? What trends should you expect to see as a result of a flurry of product and service announcements? More importantly, how does it impact you as a consumer?

Gear Diary dove head first into CTIA, and lived to come out of the event with more than just a few finds. Let's see what the rest of 2010 -- and beyond -- promises to fulfill our wireless needs.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

IDAPT i3 Universal Desktop Charger- I Need Three

Dan Cohen — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:56:18 +0000

I was looking at my nightstand last night and had a sudden realization...R I have too many devices laying around and I need something to organize them and charge them at th same time. Yes, there are lots of "stations" that will charge multiple devices but none have really caught my eye... Until now. The IDAPT i3 Universal Desktop Charger lets you simultaneously charge three different portable devices. At the same time it lets you cut down on "cord clutter" (you should see what the space under my work desk looks like!). Best of all, the system is affordable. The IDAPT i3 Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal- Nokia N97 Unlocked 3G Touchscreen Phone in White or Black

Dan Cohen — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:45:31 +0000

If you are a fan of Nokia's products this GearDeal may be just the thing you have been looking for.

The Nokia N97 Touchscreen Phone comes in white or black. It features a 5 MP camera, A-GPS, a MicroSD slot that can handle up to 32GB, stereo speakers, an FM radio, integrated Ovi apps, a flip-out keyboard, WiFi, Bluetooth and more.

Perhaps best of all, unlike the contract-free iPhone's that Apple began selling yesterday this powerhouse smartphone comes completely UNLOCKED so you can use it on either AT&T or T-Mobile.

The N97 has an MSRP of $699.99. Online you can find it for

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Manage Your Next Trip with World Traveler for Symbian

Jason Reese — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:30:22 +0000

Mobile travel applications let you select and track flights, book hotels and effortlessly manage all of those last-minute changes that will inevitably occur your trip. The Gear Diary team are huge fans of travel apps like TripIt, but that's not the only game in town. If you are using a Symbian smartphone, you may prefer Psiloc's World Traveler that features the "HotelZon" plugin that lets you search and book hotel rooms in real time from a selection of more than 90,000 hotels worldwide. That's in addition to their free currency converters, world clocks for managing multiple timezones, weather and premium plugins for additional flight assistance. Best of all, World Traveler is optimized specifically for your Symbian phone. Read on to see even more features. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Review: Clear Coat, the Clear Choice for Maximum Protection

LarryGreenberg — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:00:36 +0000

There are plenty of choices when it comes to screen and body protection for your electronic devices and I think I've tried them all. Clear Coat might just be the best of the bunch.

What is Clear Coat? Here's how the company describes it.

Simply put, Clear-Coat is the only protection you'll need for your devices. Forget those awkward, ugly cases! Clear-Coat keeps your device scratch-free without adding bulk or changing the look of your device. Clear-Coat is meticulously designed in-house, and then custom cut for every device. So an iPhone Clear-Coat fits the iPhone perfectly, and a Blackberry Clear-Coat fits the Blackberry perfectly. We design Clear-Coat to fit over almost every part of the device - so you get protection everywhere - on the screen, sides, front, and back!

How thin is Clear-Coat? Less than 1/100th of an inch, that's how thin! Most people can't even notice it on their device, and it will not interfere with docks, cases, or accessories - it's like it isn't even there!

I recently spent some time with Clear Coat and walked away very impressed. Their shields are the clearest of any I've seen and they do not suffer from what's commonly referred to as the "Orange Peel" effect. The shape of the shields, which mirrors the natural contour of your device, makes installation a snap.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The Nokia Nuron, an Affordable Smartphone, Debuts on T-Mobile

Judie Stanford — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:45:10 +0000

The Nokia 5230 Nuron was announced by Nokia and T-Mobile today. This $69.99 smartphone will come "packed with applications, maps with turn-by-turn directions, and more.

Operating on T-Mobile’s blazing-fast 3G network, the Nokia Nuron offers dynamic Web browsing and rich experiences on a 3.2” touch screen. The device is also the first pre-loaded with Ovi Maps, a free turn-by-turn navigation solution from Nokia, and the first to have the Ovi Store pre-loaded, giving consumers access to thousands of compelling applications and games.

I took a quick look at the Nuron's specifications, and I have to admit that I am quite impressed. Not only does this S60 (fifth edition) phone have a 3.2" 640 x 360 Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Maemo to Merge with Moblin to Create MeeGo

Joel McLaughlin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:04:39 +0000

Maemo, the Linux that runs on the N Series Internet Tablets and more recently the N900 will merge with Moblin, to create MeeGo according to information coming out of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Moblin was a Linux desktop that was started by Intel and targeted at Tablet devices.

This is what Moblin 2.1 looks like.

PC Mag reports that the new OS will be based on some of the same technology that the KDE Desktop Environment uses today, called Qt. Nokia also will be laying off 285 people in Finland that may be due Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Diving Into the Nokia N900

Judie Stanford — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:30:16 +0000

One of the devices that I most enjoyed seeing demonstrated at CES was the Nokia N900. This pocket computer's impressive specifications, its solid build, its multitasking capabilities, a web browser that looked like it could take on the iPhone's, and yes, I'll admit it -- the cool little widgets on its personalized desktops had me intrigued. But what I really wanted was to spend a bit of time getting to know one on my own. My contact at Nokia promised that she would send a review unit, and two days ago "mine" arrived. There was a bit of a FedEx snafu -- the N900 was left inside a plastic bag (to protect it from the freezing rain that was falling) and tied to our front gate overnight -- but fortunately the contents inside the box were undamaged. :-P Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

GearDeal- Nokia N900 Mobile Computer Unlocked Cell Phone

Dan Cohen — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:21:58 +0000

Judie just got a Nokia N900 review unit, and she has actually removed her iPhone's SIM and placed it inside (as opposed to using one of her throwaway, non-main-number SIMs). If you know how much she likes her iPhone, you'll know that this is a bit of a commitment. I asked her what she thought would be an outrageously low price for a device as powerful and great as this one. She answered "somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 would be awesome - and only because I have other things I need to buy!" I asked her, "So if it was $429.99 and shipped free?" To which she said, "Who? Where?"

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Nokia Announces: Free Ovi Maps with Navigation

Joel McLaughlin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:44:58 +0000

Image from Mobilecrunch

I was reading through Techcrunch/Mobilecrunch this morning and came across Nokia's announcement first unveiled in the UK that Nokia is launching free Ovi Maps with Navigation. A US announcement is scheduled for later today according to Mobilecrunch. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Nokia takes a bite out of Apple, Apple fights back with suit of their own

Francis Scardino — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:00:08 +0000

Photo courtesy of Livbit

Over the last few months Apple has found themselves in a couple of legal battles which carried right into the new year. Their latest legal battle has been flaring up with the Finnish handset maker the Nokia Corporation. Apple would like to prevent the importing of all purportedly patent infringing Nokia phones into the US. This was no doubt in retaliation to Nokia's claim against Apple late last year. Nokia filed their complaint in an attempt to ban all iPhone, iPod and Macbook imports. Nokia still holds quite a large chunk of phone marketshare in the US. Their Q3 results were down last year to 39.3% from a Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

GearDeal- Big Savings On Nokia N900 Mobile Computer Unlocked Cell Phone

Dan Cohen — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:00:32 +0000

The Nokia N900 has been grabbing a lot of attention lately. Our own Judie saw one first-hand while at CES and was super impressed by it. (In fact she has a review unit on the way!!) The N900 is slick. It has a 3.5-inch touch-screen, a Web Browser by Mozilla that supports Flash and AJAX, a 600MHz CPU, WiFi, HSPA, a full slide out QWERTY keyboard and a 5-megapixel camera. At $599.99 for an unlocked version it is also a bit pricey. Our GearSponsor has tracked down an awesome deal that knocks the price down by a full $130. That means you can get a new N900 for just $469.99. It will even ship for free. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Epocware Holding a Holiday Sale, Plus Handy Shell for Symbian S60 Updated

Carly Z — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:38:01 +0000

If you use a Symbian S60 device, then you probably know about Handy Shell. I took a look at it over the summer, and found it to be an overall great way to replace the default Symbian user interface. Epocware has updated Handy Shell with a few new tricks, most notably a "3D Cube" that animates switching between the screen views. Handy Weather is still tightly integrated, and sports some new features as well; hourly updates are now supported, and there is an option to set your favorite cities, making switching between them for weather updates even easier. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Nokia Sale This Weekend, Plus All About Symbian Reviews the E72

Carly Z — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:00:24 +0000

(Photo Credit: NokiaExperts) Nokia is shutting down its stores in New York and Chicago, but before they go they are holding one last weekend sale!

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Android has Steam Rolled Maemo and Nokia

Joel McLaughlin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:20:48 +0000

Nokia had a chance. They had a huge chance. Nokia was the first to have a easy to use version of Linux on a portable device. Since the N800, people have been wishing and pleading with Nokia to release Maemo on a cellphone. Instead, they wasted time. They brought out the N810 and while it was a very cool device, it was not a cellphone. Then Google purchased Android and was able to attract HTC , Motorola and Saygus. HTC released the G1, myTouch 3g, HTC Hero(European), HTC Hero (sprint) and the Droid Eris. Motorola of course released the Droid and the Cliq. Saygus has the V1 waiting in the wings. Plus Motorola is on track to sell one million Droids this quarter. With the number of handsets released plus the number of handsets waiting in the wings Android is now a force to be reckoned with. What did Nokia do? Continue to sell mundane handsets with the ugly Series 60 OS and el cheapo handsets. Yes they sold a lot of phones, but the world is starting to move to smartphones. Nokia had the chance to be the first Linux based phone to get serious traction and they squandered that opportunity. Then, Nokia released the N900. Finally Maemo fans have a device that is what they have been asking for. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...