Day 3 of SXSW and the brilliant folks at WOM World had something incredibly awesome planned – the Ovi Maps Route Race. The idea was simple – navigate around Austin with Ovi Maps. The fun part was that we were going to be doing it on Segways and on a ‘confrence bike’. The experience was incredible, but that’s not really why I am writing this post. It is to share the navigation experience.

As you are aware, Ovi Maps navigation just went free worldwide for quite a number of devices, including …

After the unparalleled success of the E71 for Nokia, they knew that they had a recipe for success in their hands. Symbian is still the number one OS for non touch devices, its stable, its fast and there is a plethora of applications for users to choose from. So the task for them was cut out – make a device that’s not too different from the E71, but improved enough that people want to jump on it.

When I bought the E71, I despised its camera and the 2.5mm jack for …

Nokia sure seems to like doling out firmware updates in batches, following in the heels of the X6, the Nokia E52 also has received a new firmware in the form of v31.012. The update is currently only available via the Nokia Software Updater and is a release with a focus on bug fixes and performance enhancements.
Apart from this there are small updates to the Web, Email, Music Store and Maps applications. The E52 features user data preservation so you can update without having to loose data or settings.

Now that …

The Nokia X6, the first Nokia Xseries device has received a seemingly minor update in the form of the v12.0.091 firmware, up from the older v12.0.088. The firmware is available via the Nokia Software Updater as well as over-the-air, you can hit *#0000# on your X6’s keypad and then search for updates to get this release.
The X6 like most modern Nokia devices features user data preservation, so you can update without the fear of losing data. There is no changelog currently available and my guess is that this release will …

Following in the footsteps of its elder sibling, the N97, the N97 Mini has also received a firmware update. The new v11 firmware brings changes similar to the original N97’s v21 firmware that include better call reliability, a better touch scrolling experience, improvements to the web browser and music player and improved image and video stability.
The biggest bonus apart from the usual bug fixes and performance tweaks is the addition of an extra 5-6 MB RAM at boot. The update is currently only available via the Nokia Software Updater, as …

The N97 has just received some love from Nokia in the form of the v 21.0.045 (v 21.2.045 for some) firmware update, labeled at PR 2.1. This update builds on the improvements brought by the previous v20 (PR 2.0) update and will improve call reliability and provide a better touch scrolling experience. The web browser and music player also get improvements; the new firmware also promises improved image and video stability.

Apart from these changes, expect other under the hood optimizations, bug fixes and a new theme. The update will only …

When Nokia announced that they were going to give away free drive and walk navigation and other premium content for Ovi Maps, the N97 was left out from the list of devices that were supposed to get this. This left many people shocked, wondering why had Nokia done this.
Infact, Nokia almost got bad press for this. They quickly went into damage control mode and made it clear that the original N97 will be getting this free functionality, and soon. January 28 was the date promised, and Nokia has delivered ahead …

Nokia has just announced a younger sibling to the X6, the major difference being a smaller 16GB inbuilt memory and the lack of a ‘comes with music’ offering. This was a move long expected, since the time the X6 was launched. The device features a 3.2″ capacitive touchscreen and will come in all black, all white, white with pink highlights and white with yellow highlights.

The X6 16 GB will also come with free navigationand will run the Symbian^1 software. Specs promise a 18 day standby time, 11.5 hours talktime (GSM), …

Two days ago I received this flash drive from the ‘Nokia Human Research Department’ courtesy of the good people at WOM World. Inside it were two videos showcasing the effect small has on people and how it was the inspiration for the Mini. You might have seen these videos on the web before but I will be honest and admit that despite seeing them, I hadn’t taken the time to watch them.

As it turns turns out, I was missing out of two pretty interesting videos, do check them out if …

Fujitsu has created a Symbian smartphone (Fujitsu F-04B) that has a detachable QWERTY keyboard, touchscreen, a 12Mp camera and an optional camera module that can be snapped on if required. For days when you would like a slim device, you can use the phone independent of the keyboard navigating with the touch interface.

NTT DOCOMO, the leading mobile operator in Japan, recently announced its line up of 19 new handsets, and the F-04B is one of the 9 based on Symbian. The device will be available in March-April next year, but …