The E61 and E61i, two popular business mobiles from Nokia, are also known as ‘calculator mobiles’ because of their obvious design. It looks as if the two will now have a successor in the form of the Nokia E71. The E71 appears to be a much sleeker and compact design, while retaining the QWERTY keyboard and large display.

If the images provided by are anywhere close to accurate (they’re just photo shopped images, according to the site), the E71 is going to be smaller than its predecessor, so users will unfortunately have to compromise on screen size. If the specs are accurate, the E71 will have a 3.2 megapixel camera, integrated GPS, Wi-Fi and HSDPA. It’s just possible that one might catch a glimpse of this at CES in Las Vegas. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled, you may be sure!

For the health conscious mobile user, Nokia has decided to ‘Step’ up and join the other mobile manufacturers like Sony Ericsson and develop an application for the regular jogger/walker. The Nokia Activity Monitor is designed to display charts and statistics, in real-time, about your movements while walking or running. It’s currently applicable only with the N95 and N95 8GB.What this application does is count the number of steps the user takes and then determines the distance covered and the energy spent.

The application also stores a summary of your workouts for comparison. The steps are detected by analysing the output from the accelerometer in a S60 smart phone. What Nokia recommends, to avoid registering false steps, is to have your mobile device either strapped to your belt or in your pocket. Preferably not in your bag or purse

Not only is Nokia the world’s largest mobile phone maker, it seems like they like producing the largest volume of phones too. The Nokia N78 can be thought of as an upgrade for current owners of the N73, but its piano black finish is more reminiscent of the N81 N-Gage gaming phone. We’ve already been treated to the Nokia N82, so it’s interesting that Nokia would already have another candybar smartphone for us to consider in the N78.

Critical specs include a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, WiFi, Bluetooth, and an integrated FM transmitter. Share the tunes! Word is that the Nokia N78 smartphone will get sent away to happy consumers starting next quarter. The MSRP will be around $507.

A new product, compatible with most DCT4 and BB5 Nokia mobile phones, allows users to bypass the lock and utilize different service providers. The No-Key Nokia X-SIM can unlock Nokia mobile phones that operate with a SIM card, allowing phones to work in any network.

Most mobile phone service operators sell their Nokia mobile phones locked and the user must buy the phone together with the operator’s service package. With the No-Key Nokia X-SIM, the user can allow their Nokia mobile phone to utilize other networks where the airtime is cheaper. The working theory of the X-SIM is that each phone operates on an identification system. The mobile phone checks if the SIM card matches the operator. If so, it opens! if not, it doesn’t.

The X-SIM card gives a signal to the Nokia mobile phone simulating the original SIM card. So, phone never really unlocks, it just allows the user to operate in any network. It can still maintain the original warranty and can also install any of the latest firmware from Nokia without problems. So, there is no risk unlocking and no risk of doing any harm to the phone. The user will need to combine their SIM card with the X-SIM, then insert into the phones SIM slot. The cost for the No-Key Nokia X-SIM is $31.69 and can be ordered by visiting. Factory testing shows the No-Key Nokia X-SIM to unlock 2630, 5300, 5700, 6120c, 6110 navigator, 6500c, 6500s, N76, N95, N95 8GB, N61 8GB, E65, N73, N80, 6120c, N75, 6300, as well as all DCT4 and BB5 Nokia mobile phones.

With this initiative, Nokia Nseries brings together technology enthusiasts and entertainment in an interactive digital lifestyle format. To be held over the weekend from November 30-December 02, 2007, four aspiring ‘Technoholics’ will be selected to go into a glass enclosure where they will perform a series of difficult tasks while living the ultimate tech life for three consecutive evenings.

The Nseries Digital Playzone is being held in seven countries acsoss Asia. Nokia Nseries along with a panel will screen 15 short listed candidates to select four Technoholics to enter the Nokia Nseries Digital Playzone. The Digital Playzone will showcase the convergence of technology and entertainment in a competitive setting. The enclosed Technoholics will race to complete tasks that include performing entertaining acts with the audience. It will allow the selected Technoholics to interact with and experience the latest in consumer technology, from entertainment, imaging, video, gaming and music. The glass enclosure will allow the viewing audience and those walking by to watch and actively participate.

” Nokia Nseries is proud to host the Digital Playzone because it highlights the key qualities of discovery, exploration and sharing the latest in technology,” said Vineet Taneja, Business Director, Multimedia, Nokia India. “Nokia believes in enabling connectivity, between people, technology and applications. So this challenge is a wonderful opportunity to showcase some of the latest consumer technology and create a fun competition that brings different communities together through participation.”

I picked the Sony Ericsson k850 and the Nokia N82 handsets for our shootout because both have 5 megapixel cameras with xenon flashes. Please bear in mind that what we’re doing here is simply ‘focusing’, so to speak, on the camera capabilities of these handsets, and not the entire phone as a whole. Both phones are quick to activate when it comes to turning on the camera.

The N82 has a lever for the shutter cover that you can switch on, while the K850i has a key near the shutter release button that switches it on, just as in a digicam. When it comes to ease of use, I must admit both are quite easy to handle and hold. However, the K850i has an added advantage thanks to some shortcut keys on the keypad for activating a few features.

Otherwise I’d be inclined to lean towards the Nokia. The touchscreen feature of the K850i may be a plus point while using the phone but it’s a bit uncomfortable while using the camera. I also like the K850i’s convenient switch to toggle between video and camera mode and the gallery. The N82 just has a single key that would take you directly to the gallery. I prefer the switch; it makes it feel more like a camera than a mobile.

According to Nokia’s lastest application filing, it seems they intend to add another N series device to their existing range. There also seems to be a few detailed drawings that were provided with the application. According to those drawings, the new phone will not be just another slider, but will also have the camera portion, located above the display, rotate 90 degrees.

There’s no official information on what the megapixel count on the camera will be and not much information on the other specs either. However, by looking carefully at the sketches, one would notice that it would appear to have either a 6 or 8 megapixel branding. Then again it’s just an unclear image so we’ll just have to wait and see. It’s quite likely that the official announcement of this device, if any, will be out only sometime next year, so stay tuned. When we know you’ll know.

Nokia’s newly launched phones with the Xpressmusic series tag have been the talk of the town for quite some time. Luckily for Nokia, the decision to remain low profile on the marketing strategy and market hype has worked wonders. Sort of like the underdog, the phones have generated enough curiosity in the consumers’ mind. In a change from the dozens of phones that Nokia floods the market with, the 5610 does seem a refreshingly different, and pretty stylish.

The phone, available in red and blue color schemes, features a sliding form factor, with an interestingly useful music dial that slides to either side and offers a change from the norm (2-way spring loaded Music Slider music key). The phone is quite sleek in its own right, boasting dimensions of 98.5 x 48.5 x 17 mm. It’s pretty lightweight too. The five-way D-Pad that also makes up the play/pause button is surrounded by the open keys and the call, cancel buttons. This flat-surface touch given to these keys really feels nice. The keypad on the inside is equally easy to use and responsive.

Helsinki, Finland-based cell phone giant Nokia reported Thursday Q4 2007 that net sales rose 34% year-over-year to $23 billion (15.7 billion euros), earnings per share (EPS) of 69 cents (0.47 euro), and full year 2007 net sales that increased by 24% to $75 billion (51.1 billion euros), EPS of $2.68 (1.83 euros) as its estimated device market share reached 40%, with significantly increased margins and quarterly operating cash flow of $4 billion (2.7 billion euros).Nokia also said its board of directors is set to propose a dividend of 78 cents (0.53 euro) per share for 2007, compared to 63 cents (0.43 euro) per share for 2006.Earlier this week, market research firm  placing it firmly at the top of a market with healthy, but slowing, growth.

According to the research company, global mobile phone shipments grew a modest 12% year over year in 2007, to reach 1.12 billion units. Nokia had a strong Q4 and gained 0.8% sequentially to reach more than 40% share for the first time ever in the quarter. Other analysts at market research company  noted that Nokia stellar results widened the gap between it and the other handset vendors.

Q4 2007 handset shipments were 133.5 million, up 20% sequentially and 27% year-on-year while the average sale price rose slightly to 83, yielding total revenues that were 22% sequentially higher and 34% higher year-over-year. Nokia also improved its profitability with operating margin at 15.9%, up from 13% for Q4 2006 thanks to gains in all divisions except Nokia Siemens Networks, which was up sequentially. For the fully year 2007, handset shipments were 437 million, revenue was up 24% and operating profit was up 46%.

Nokia today announced that it has entered into an agreement to make a public voluntary tender offer to acquire, a company headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Trolltech is a recognized software provider whose talented team is expected play an important role in accelerating the implementation of Nokia’s software strategy. The acquisition of Trolltech will enable Nokia to accelerate its cross-platform software strategy for mobile devices and desktop applications, and develop its Internet services business. With Trolltech, Nokia and third party developers will be able to develop applications that work in the Internet, across Nokia’s device portfolio and on PCsNokia’s software strategy for devices is based on cross-platform development environments, layers of software that run across operating systems, enabling the development of applications across the Nokia device range.

Examples of current cross-platform layers are Web runtime, Flash, Java and Open C.”For Nokia, software plays a major role in our growth strategy for devices, PCs and integration with the Internet. We continue to focus on areas where we can differentiate and add more value. Common cross-platform layers on top of our software platforms attract innovation and enable Web 2.0 technologies in the mobile space,” said Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President, Devices, Nokia.