Is AT&T seriously gearing up to sell a subsidized Nokia smartphone once again in the US of A? Given the company’s long absence from being included in any US carrier’s smartphone section, it still feels more like a dream than an impending reality, but that image above is certainly hard to ignore. According to Pocketnow‘s sources, the first press images of the Nokia X7 are legitimate, and the AT&T branding isn’t by accident. Purportedly, the Symbian^3-based phone will be hitting Ma Bell’s shops as early as this month, bringing along an eight megapixel camera (with dual-flash), four speaker grilles (two of which have drivers underneath) and a ClearBlack display. Hit the source link for a look at the rear.
Update: Our dreams have been dashed by Pocketnow, who says its original source was out of date — AT&T had apparently planned to stock the X7 under the name “Nokia Journey” in time for a Mobile World Congress launch, but those plans have reportedly been canceled by AT&T itself.
There’s no need to tell you that a lot was (and still is, in a way) riding on Nokia’s N8. It was said to be the outfit’s first dead-serious smartphone to rival the giants of today, and it was also Nokia’s first chance to truly reveal Symbian^3 to the world. We’ve already churned out our two pennies on the matter, but for those of you who bought in, now’s the time to get really real. Are you satisfied with where Nokia’s going with the N8? Do you seriously see a long and lively future when looking at Symbian^3? If someone (read: UPS) accidentally delivered the keys to the Finnish kingdom to you, how would you go about tweaking and / or reshaping the N8? Would you have selected a different operating system? Added a few more hardware buttons? Thrown in a different processor? Made it available on your carrier of choice? Let us know down in comments below, and keep it sensible — it’s Christmas Eve and all.
If Intel prognosticated correctly, context is the future of apps — your device’s array of sensors will determine where you are and what you’re doing, and clever programs will guess from there. Problems arise, however, when one tries to run those accelerometers, microphones, radio antennas and GPS tracking devices constantly on the battery life of an average smartphone and determine what the raw data means, and that’s where a group of Dartmouth researchers (and one Nokia scholar) are trying to stake their claim. They’ve got a bundle of algorithms called Jigsaw for iPhone and Symbian that claims to be able to continually report what you’re up to (whether walking, running, cycling or driving) no matter where you place your device, and only pings the sensors as needed based on how active you are. (For better or for worse, Jigsaw also dodges the privacy concerns Intel’s cloud-based API might raise by storing all personal data on the phone.)
Of course, we’ve had a very basic version of context-aware functionality for years in apps like Locale for Android and GPS-Action for Symbian — which modifies your smartphone settings under very specific conditions you specify. Now, Espoo’s doing much the same with an app called Nokia Situations. Presently in the experimental stage, Situations is a long ways away from the potential of frameworks like Jigsaw, but here you won’t have to wait — you can download a beta for Symbian^3, S60 5th Edition and S60 3.2 at our source links without further delay.
Firstly, let’s be absolutely clear that we don’t know this is Nokia’s X7, but given the polished, entertainment-centric design (it has four speakers, apparently), we’re inclined to believe that it’s the real deal. Its screen looks to be the same 4-inch affair as on Nokia’s E7, it’s running the latest Symbian OS (formerly known as Symbian^3), and pictures of its rear reveal an 8 megapixel camera. The last detail of import, naturally, is the reassurance that comes from knowing that this supposed X7 can crunch through Need for Speed quite nicely. Jump past the break to see it on video.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Update: The video’s been thrown into private mode pretty quickly. Let us know if you find any copies of it floating about the interwebs.
Update 2: Thanks to the lightning-fast gang at Mobile Bulgaria, we’ve got a new copy of the video up past the break. We’ve also spotted that this handset has four homescreens rather than the three available on currently released Symbian handsets. A newer version of the software? Might well be.
The first time Nokia’s N8-00 popped up on our radar was way back in early February of this year. On that chilly, misty morning, we learned of a mythical being capable of shooting 12 megapixel stills, recording 720p video, outputting via HDMI, and — most importantly — ushering in the promised Symbian^3 touch revolution. It’s been a long road of leaks, teasers, hands-ons, and previews since then, but at long last, the legend of the N8 has become a purchasable commodity. All the early specs have survived, including the 3.5-inch AMOLED display, but the key question today, as it was at the beginning, relates to that all-new software within: does Symbian^3 succeed in elevating Nokia’s touchscreen experience or does it drag down an otherwise stellar combination of high-end parts? For that verdict and much, much more, join us after the break.
Been waiting for the N8 but weren’t sure enough about buying it to get into the pre-order queue? Well, Nokia must have found your lack of faith disturbing as it’s now stiffing those who didn’t pre-order its all-new handset with another couple of weeks of waiting. Those without Nokia logos tattooed on their lower backs will finally be able to purchase the N8 on October 15 — but only via Nokia’s own web store — before a general release hits the UK and presumably most of the rest of Europe on October 22 (slightly later than the promised October 1 landing date). The distribution is indeed wide, however, with all the major UK carriers, plus Tesco Mobile and Virgin Mobile, joining the Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U in offering the phone that has “a black belt in entertainment.” Yeah, Nokia, we’re finding this wait really entertaining.
By and large, Nokia’s positioning the C7 as a lower-cost alternative to the N8 — but with a relatively small pricing gap between the two in some regions, it seems like a lot of folks are going to want to just take the plunge and go for the 12 megapixel beast. In Finland, the C7 is now up for pre-order on Nokia’s official web store for €439 ($582) unlocked, which isn’t terribly much less than the N8 that can be had for €499 ($661). Well, with the delay, it actually can’t be had just yet; wouldn’t be interesting if the just-announced C7 ended up shipping first? The store is quoting late October for delivery, so it’s at least a possibility.
We’ve just played with both black and silver versions of Nokia’s just-announced C7 — a phone that you might call an N8 for the masses — and we think it’s probably going to come away with the “sexiest Symbian device” crown by the time it’s on shelves. We’re a little concerned with screen sensitivity; on both the C7 and C6-01, we had a little difficulty getting home screen swipes to actuate — but you never know what the deal is with these well-handled protos, so we’re going to hold off on passing judgment until we’ve got retail units in our hands. The black’s a little unnotable, but the silver really pops in person — maybe it’s just the lighting — and the screen seems to perform nearly as well as the C6′s so-called ClearBlack AMOLED, so unless you need a monster cam, the C7 might be your Symbian^3 device of choice when it launches later this year. Hit the gallery for shots of both colors!
Update: The display seemed to look as good as the C6-01′s because we’ve confirmed that it is ClearBlack! Rock on.
Nokia’s just rolled a couple of candybar handsets out of its bakery, aiming to seduce new users to its next big platform, Symbian^3. The Nokia C6-01 features an 8 megapixel camera and a 3.2-inch AMOLED screen with all-new ClearBlack Display (CBD) technology from the Finnish company — touted to deliver better outdoor visibility. The 3.5-inch (also AMOLED) C7 gets more memory than its family mate and a stainless steel body, which Anssi Vanjoki thinks makes it the sleekest device in the world, “no doubt about it.” Both handsets can record pixel-heavy 720p video and both will ship some time later this year, with estimated pre-tax prices of €260 ($334) and €335 ($430), respectively. Full PR after the break.
Okay, so Symbian^3 is still just a glint in our eyes, but that launch date is fast approaching and here’s a neat little accessory to keep up excitement for the platform: the Mobile TV Headset. You know how most phones use the cord of your earphones as an FM aerial? Well, this thing does the same, only with DVB-H teevee signals, piping them straight through into your USB-on-the-go-equipped Nokia handset. It comes with channel-changing, call-receiving, and volume controls, and will set you back €40 ($51) before taxes in Q4 of this year.
