Nokia Belle Refresh update now rolling out, already available for Nokia N8 in India

After a long time, finally all Nokia N8, E7, C7, C6-01, X7 and Nokia Oro customers are going to rejoice. Nokia support has just posted on their Nokia Discussions support forums that they have just started rolling out the update for Symbian called Nokia Belle Refresh for the Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia C7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia X7 and Nokia Oro with version number 111.040.1511. Nokia E6 will have FW version number 111.140.0058. It is already available for the Nokia N8 in India. Continue reading “Nokia Belle Refresh update now rolling out, already available for Nokia N8 in India”

Dolby Mobile Experience – MWC 2012

We had the opportunity to visit the Dolby booth at the MWC 2012. We have two videos – An interview with Simon Arnold and another video demonstrating the Dolby mobile experience.

Continue reading “Dolby Mobile Experience – MWC 2012”

[Thoughts] Nokia : 1 Year Later

It is one year since the day which will remain etched in every Nokia fan’s mind. As one of the most ardent Nokia fans out there , i felt obligated to pay a homage of sorts and post my thoughts on the matter. This is neither an editorial nor a rant but merely a take on the situation one year down the line.

Feb 11 2011 will go down in history as the day that a man changed the future of one of the largest companies in existence. Nokia , a company which literally defined the mobile phone and believe it or not even the smart phone industry is on the cusp of a major transition. It is still too early to proclaim whether it will be successful or not however what we do know is that it is now under the leadership of a person more in touch with consumer demands.

The ‘Elop is a Microsoft Muppet’ rant has been going on since the fateful day the announcement was made but giving it a second thought makes you realize that maybe the decision was for the better. Symbian as an OS is functionally superior to a lot of other operating systems out there but the slow as molasses update cycle has relegated it to being the butt of all jokes. The Belle update which had initially been promised for sometime in 2nd half of 2011 is finally being rolled out to existing handsets in February 2012. Even today the application ecosystem is a rather hit or miss. The situation has improved considerably after QML/Qt became the de-facto development platform for Symbian but the damage has been done. Despite having one of the largest market shares out there , there are still no official apps for extremely popular ereader services like Kindle , no apps for Pandora , a severely broken social sharing experience to state a few of the issues. Clearly developer interest has shifted. A rather horrid browsing experience , poor keyboard make it uncompetitive in the high-end. Nokia themselves know this as there is no Symbian phone currently in the high end segment which is headlined by the Windows Phone running Lumia 800.

The Nokia N9 you say ? The phone shipped 600,000 units in the last quarter according to some estimates but that is still a drop in the ocean compared to other smartphone shipments. The phone launched to rave reviews but once the honeymoon period is over , glaring issues emerge. Read this review by our friend @gosharpshooter for a better idea of what i’m pointing at. One phone does not stimulate an ecosystem and the sorry state of the N9 appstore is a testimony to that. Yes , the phone still continues to be the Qt flagship but the kind of efforts being made by Nokia and Microsoft to stimulate Windows Phone development are heartening to see. Marked by one of the largest developer device seeding efforts involving providing 25,000 free handsets to developers shows you where interests lie and the kind of commitment the companies are willing to put in to make sure they succeed.

Windows Phone gives Nokia a fighting chance for survival and being a significant player in the smartphone segment. Already it has managed to grab eyeballs in the North American market , something which Symbian failed to do in all these years. The Lumia 800 is selling like hot cakes with the 710 rounding up the lower end. The Lumia 900 is expected to be a major hit as well. Coupled with the promise of future handsets with further differentiating features like superior camera , optics and services like Nokia Music , the future looks bright for Nokia + Windows Phone. I have been using a Lumia 800 for the past few months and can say that i am a very satisfied customer. Yes , i still cling to my Nokia N8 but that is really more for the nostalgia than any actual productivity.

One year later , i am happy with the decision that Elop took. One year later , i would say that the company is in a better position to succeed than it would’ve been if it had decided to go with MeeGo or Symbian (makes me shudder to even consider that possibility). Nokia has its work cut out for it. If the information leaking about Windows 8 ‘Apollo’ is accurate , we are looking at a very powerful and modern OS with a vibrant developer community towards Q4 of this year. 2011 has been a rocky year for our favorite mobile phone manufacturer but as they say , things can only improve once you reach rock bottom. Lets take a look in another year and see where Nokia stands.

Nokia Lumia 800 meets the Nokia N9

The Nokia Lumia 800 is the first device from Nokia showcasing the result of the partnership between them and Microsoft. However the phone which had really caught the imagination of smartphone enthusiasts all over the world was the Nokia N9.

Now it is very clear that the Nokia 800 borrows heavily from the design of the N9 but why change something which is obviously gorgeous ?  So what has changed between them ? Read on to take a closer look at some of the obvious (and non obvious differences) ! Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 800 meets the Nokia N9”

New Firmware update (FW 025.007) for Nokia N8 in India (Symbian Anna)

We have just received the new FW 025.007 to our Nokia N8 Dark Grey. Nokia N8 in India has already received Symbian Anna FW 022 and now this new firmware is more towards bug fixing and improving performance of the Nokia N8. Continue reading “New Firmware update (FW 025.007) for Nokia N8 in India (Symbian Anna)”

Nokia N8 strikes again – amazing Timelapse Video from Austria

We all know about the Nokia N8’s amazing camera capabilities, right? It may not be the most user-friendly device (well, at least not until Symbian Belle comes out), but the superb build quality and the main aspect of the Nokia N8, the camera, have always spoken for it! Those two aspects are also the reason why i always carry one with me. I always try and find a place somewhere in my bag, just to have it with me, be it as backup device on a long day or as my camera for quick snapshots!

You see, there’s quite some love in the air for the Nokia N8, and apparently it is the same with a user called Sascha, who I found via the Nokia Austria Facebook page. Equipped with Camera Pro, Sascha has created a Timelapse Video, that I like so much, I just had to share it! Camera Pro, written in Qt by another fellow austrian, enables the user to access and use a more professional side of the Nokia N8 camera, like an 11x digital zoom, RAW jpg, video recording with 30fps and REAL video autofocus! Another feature of Camera Pro is a Timelapse function, which Sascha used to produce a whooping 1.552 pictures, and merge it all together to make one awesome video of it. Without further adue, enjoy the video!

How do you like the Video?

Camera Update announced by Nokia for the Nokia N8 : Adds Continuous AF , 30FPS video

Nokia today announced a much awaited update for the Nokia N8’s camera application. The update being pushed out via Beta Labs adds support for Continuous Auto Focus in videos alongside 30FPS video recording.

Continue reading “Camera Update announced by Nokia for the Nokia N8 : Adds Continuous AF , 30FPS video”

Nokia Symbian Anna Update rolling out to N8, E7, C7 and C6-01

Nokia has announced that the much awaited Symbian Anna update is finally available for Symbian phones such as the N8, C7 , E7 and C6-01.  The update brings a new UI along with some improvements in messaging , maps and the browser. The update is available through Ovi Suite and as an Over The Air update.The Over the Air normally takes a bit longer to appear so you can try using Ovi Suite to check if your phone has received the update. The release also says that more than 10 Symbian phones will be launched in the next 12 months. The update is slowly rolling out to all countries . Have you updated your Nokia to Anna ? Let us know ! Continue reading “Nokia Symbian Anna Update rolling out to N8, E7, C7 and C6-01”

We want Mugen Batteries for our Nokia N8!

 

 

We here at Fone Arena are big fans of Mugen Power Batteries, this uprising company from the east, providing us power-hungry geeks with more juice for all our favourite devices, most notably batteries for smartphones. Over at the Mugen Website you will be able to find extended batteries for all types of smartphones, most of them even having two options offered. Normally Mugen would have one OEM-sized version, and a bigger battery, with imense power (for example an insane 4.800mAh battery for the Motorola Atrix!). If you want to know more about the actual performance, check out Jon’s review from a couple of days ago, where he had a look at the Motorola Milestone 2 battery! Continue reading “We want Mugen Batteries for our Nokia N8!”

Guide : Transfer all SMS from a Nokia Symbian Smartphone to Android Smartphone


So you got a  new Android smartphone and you want to transfer all important data from your old Symbian phone to it. We know how much important is that old data in your old Symbian phone. So generally there are many sites and online services which help you to transfer all the data like Contacts, Calendar entries, Notes, Images, Songs and even SMS to your new Android smartphone but at a very premium price. Sad smile Some charge more than $30 Continue reading “Guide : Transfer all SMS from a Nokia Symbian Smartphone to Android Smartphone”

Review : Otterbox for Nokia N8

A while back we had reviewed the Otterbox for the Nokia E7. The case had fared extremely well in protecting the device. Today we test out the version for the Nokia N8. The N8 in itself is a very sturdy phone but then a little extra protection never hurt anyone , did it ?

Continue reading “Review : Otterbox for Nokia N8”

Why the Nokia N8 is still the best camera phone !

nokia n8 camera

When I was traveling in the US last month , I was carrying the N8 and it turned to replace my digicam.  I forgot my digicam at home and I was lazy to lug around by SLR. I clicked these pics with my N8 and makes me think that that N8 is still the best camera phone in the market. Check out the pics and let me know what you think.

Continue reading “Why the Nokia N8 is still the best camera phone !”

Nokia N8 Cam Shots: The spring is coming!

It’s been a rather rainy day today here in Austria, but since the weather has cleared up a bit, i was out and about with the Nokia N8 before. Spring has finally arrived and with it some buds on the tree right in front of the company I’m working at. If you know me, you know my love for the Nokia N8. Symbian^3 doesn’t exactly make it the most user-friendly device, but as mentioned in my Nokia E7 hits and misses post, Nokia’s hardware is unmatched. Focus point on the Nokia N8 is of course the 12MP camera with carl zeiss optics, a xenon flash and the biggest sensor ever put into a mobile phone. The results were so awesome, I’ve decided to do this quick post here at Fone Arena!

Continue reading “Nokia N8 Cam Shots: The spring is coming!”