MWC 2008: Nokia: The N96 & GPS, GPS, GPS
Leaked N95 replacement arrives as Nokia goes sat nav crazy.
It’s Nokia-Time!
Following Sony Ericsson’s raft of new handsets the Finnish maestro has released a barrage of its own.
Grabbing all the headlines is the ‘N96’ whose specifications leaked at the weekend and you know what? We were spot on.
As we thought, the N95’s successor does indeed pack a 2.8in QVGA display (still no touchscreen), 3G connectivity, WiFi, a 5MP camera with autofocus, Carl Zeiss lens and LED flash, support for DVH-B mobile TV broadcasts, integrated GPS, and a massive 16GB of onboard memory ”plus” microSD slot. Two aspects we didn’t know are that the N96 has a TV-out cable and UPnP support while our sole teeny error was dismissing the N96 as a single slider when it retains the N95’s dual action. Grab it in Q3.
Also expanding the N Series today is the ‘N78’ – a 3G handset which takes a leaf out of the E8’s repertoire with a context sensitive keypad that lights up only the relevant keys for each function. On top of this you get a 2.4in LCD, 3.2MP autofocus camera, GPS receiver which allows for snaps to be automatically geotagged, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, an FM tuner and microSD expansion slot. At 113 x 49 x 15.1mm and 101.8g its compact too. Headed your way in mid/late Q2.
Taking it to Sony Ericsson’s new Cybershot range is the ‘6220 Classic’, a quad band (read: no 3G) candybar featuring a five megapixel camera with autofocus, Carl Zeiss lens and Xenon flash. Aside from the snaps, you get a 2.2in QVGA LCD, GPS (it’s Nokia’s 2008 add-on of choice), FM tuner, multimedia playback, TV-out, 2.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth with A2DP and a microSD slot. At just 108 x 47 x 15mm and 90g it’s pocket friendly too, though you’ll have to wait until Q3 to get your hands on it.
Rounding things off is the ‘6210 Navigator’, a lower end version of the 6220 which matches it stride for stride except for a lower resolution 3.2MP camera and heavier 117g weight. That said, you do get a larger 2.4in QVGA screen and there will be both EDGE and 3G flavours when it appears in Q3.
Lastly, Nokia CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, has had his (ambigious) say on those Windows Mobile rumours by stating “We don’t have plans to do Windows in mobile at the moment.” Clear as mud Olli, thanks.
”’Update:”’ Catching up with everyone else, Nokia says it will ship its first touchscreen handset before the end of the year. Following its deliberate iPhone copying concept the official model is also expected to have finger driven ‘gesture controls’ along with HSDPA and GPS.
Link:
Nokia UK – all new models live on the site