nokia

Hands-on with Nokia's new Xpress Music phones

At a swanky meeting yesterday, we got to play with Nokia's glossy new Xpress Music handsets, the 5320 and the 5220. Both are set to be affordable, mid-range models available from the third quarter of this year in the U.K. During our swift fondling sessions with the phones, we formed some early opinions.

Firstly, and most importantly as far as music phones are concerned, Nokia told us it has put brand-new audio chips inside these two new models to improve sound quality over previous handsets. This is a sensible decision, as more people are turning to mobiles as … Read more

When good cell phones go bad

The Nokia 6131 always seemed liked a decent cell phone. I never got the chance to actually review it, but when I examined its AT&T cousin, the 6126, I gave it a "very good" rating.

So last week, when I was waiting to receive a new phone that I had ordered, I dusted off a spare 6126 that we had around the office. Unless I'm on vacation, I'm one of those people who has a hard time going without a cell phone.

For the first few days, the 6126 worked fine. Though it's … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 708: Meat Parade

Mii parades, Sony Home, and growing new limbs. Slow news days make for the best shows of all. Oh, and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says evidence points to widespread Internet blocking, Netflix's CEO says the company will charge a slight premium for Blu-Ray Discs, and Stephen Hawking says primitive alien life is either likely, or rampant on Earth. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 708

FCC’s Martin: Comcast blocking was widespread http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/ 144942/fccs_martin_comcast_blocking_was_widespread.html

Microsoft XP SP 3 coming April 29 http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9924500-56.html http://www.news.com/8301-10789_3-9924689-57.html… Read more

Nokia unveils new Xpress Music phones for Asia

Nokia has announced two new models from its Xpress Music mobile phone lineup for Asia. The 5320 Xpress Music comes with a dedicated audio chip onboard and HSDPA connectivity, while the 5220 Xpress Music features a built-in lanyard. A built-in what, you say? Anyway, we're not sure how this looks since this is probably the first time we've hear of a phone with a lanyard that's not removable, though we suspect it's probably the eyelet Nokia is referring to. Both handsets sport dedicated music keys, 3.5-millimeter audio jacks, deliver up to 24 hours of playback … Read more

Sony BMG joins Nokia's unlimited music service

The concept behind Nokia's new music service "Comes with Music" is starting to catch on with the major music labels.

Sony BMG, one of the four top recording companies, announced Tuesday that it has partnered with Nokia to make its music catalog available on select Nokia devices. After buying one of the devices, users will get unlimited free access to the music of Alicia Keys, the Foo Fighters or any Sony BMG artist for a full year.

During the 12 months of the offer, users will be able to transfer their Comes With Music library to a … Read more

Did Nokia slip a press release into China's state newswire?

Just read the first few sentences of this article from Xinhua, and tell me it doesn't sound like a press release.

Nokia China's new headquarters were completed on the 21st in Yizhuang, Beijing, marking the birth of the world's first mobile phone industry chain fully integrating research and development, management and production, as well as sales, according to Xinhua Net.

Located in Beijing's Yizhuang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Nokia's new headquarters building covers 7 million square meters, and is Nokia's largest regional headquarters in the world. Apart from being the headquarters for the … Read more

Google is the world's number one brand, research finds

In WPP-owned research company Millward Brown's annual study of the world's top-100 brands, Google came out on top for the second straight year, registering a 30 percent increase in the value of its brand to maintain the ranking. Google's market capitalization is $169 billion as a I write this, but the value of its brand?

$86 billion.

I think that means I can't even afford one pixel of its logo. That's one heck of a brand.

Which are the other top-10 brands? General Electric, Microsoft (but going down according to other research), Coca-Cola, China Mobile, … Read more

Your cell phone: More than a jukebox

Got a few minutes to kill? Sure, you could flip through your tunes, but when the same songs get old, and when you tire of your headphones winding from your ears like some extraterrestrial umbilical cord, check out the worlds of communication, learning, and game-playing applications to discover beyond the beats. Or, dare we say, while listening to them. Check out your burgeoning options for cell phone entertainment in the slide show.

Report: Nokia paying Universal $33.50 per phone

Some details are starting to emerge about Nokia's Comes With Music phones, which will come with the right to download music at no extra charge. According to a report yesterday on PaidContent.org, Nokia will pay Universal Music Group $33.50 per handset for the first 2.5 million sold, with the rate dropping after that.

It sounds like the download model will not be strict all-you-can-eat, but instead will be similar to eMusic--users will be able to download a limited number of songs over a certain time period, and those songs will be theirs to keep. It'… Read more