“you’re free to hold your Nokia device any way you like. And you won’t suffer any signal loss” – well, check out the video above then Nokia!

How do you hold your Nokia [conversations.nokia.com]

It looks like the first image of the new Nokia C6 has leaked out. It doesn’t look like it will be a groundbreaking phone though, and it’s probably going to be a low budget phone. We will publish more details as soon as we get any.

Above you can see the current list of available models from Nokias site. I’m quite amazed how they have managed to put together such a complicated range of products. It’s quite a challenge to pick the ‘perfect phone’. 44 models listed in their ‘short list’. And it’s even worse over at Sony Ericsson’s site, they present over 70 different models when you browse around trying to get an overview:

If you compare it to Apple’s range of models, it’s quite a dramatic difference. Two models to choose from, and most people probably think both of them are the same thing, simply an iPhone. No wonder why they are growing their market share like crazy.

If Nokia and Sony Ericsson don’t do something dramatic about their product portfolio during the next couple of years, they are in real trouble. Just check out the development year-to-year regarding shipped mobile units:

According to a recent report from Generator Research, Apple will sell more smartphones than Nokia already in 2011. A lot can happen until then, but it’s still interesting to see how quickly a newcomer can gain market shares.

Apple to pass Nokia in smartphone share by 2013 [electronista.com] via [Feber]

A friend at the office got this Nokia N95 about the same time as I got my iPhone (last summer) – and it’s quite interesting to compare the two phones after one year of wear and tear. The Nokia N95 has quite a damaged surface and the iPhone is in pretty good shape! Full gallery inside.

Sure, I might have been more careful with my iPhone than my friend with his Nokia N95, but the difference shouldn’t be this big! The N95 look like it’s ready for the trash bin…

Even though this phone might look a bit better on the paper than the iPhone, I would really be surprised if it can compete with the Jesus phone at all. Rumour says that it will be unveiled on Thursday. I’ll let you know then…

Nokia, Apple iPhone to lock horns at last on Thursday [appleinsider.com]

I was never a fan of the hyped Nokia N95, but at least the upcoming Nokia N96 looks a bit nicer. It is basically the same phone in a new package and some small upgrades here and there. I am a bit disappointed that they still have that low resolution screen only capable of displaying 320×240 though – but other than that you will get DVB-H television (available in Asia and some European countries), 16 GB of internal memory, GPS, 5 megapixel camera with great video capabilities and radio. It also has the capability of being used as an internet phone in conjunction with many popular mobile VoIP apps. Lots of photos and full technical specifications inside.

Press release from Nokia:

Nokia N96: The one to watch

February 11, 2008, Mobile World Congress 2008, Barcelona, Spain/Espoo, Finland – Nokia today unveiled the Nokia N96, a multimedia computer truly optimized for video and TV. With a large 2.8″ screen, 16 gigabytes of internal memory and support for high-quality videos in a wide range of formats, the dual-slide Nokia N96 represents an exciting new chapter in mobile media. The Nokia N96 multimedia computer is expected to begin shipping in the third quarter of 2008 with an estimated sales price of approximately 550 euros, before subsidies or taxes.

“In 2007, the Nokia N95 became an icon of convergence of Internet and mobility. With over 7 million units sold to date, the N95 has changed the way people use their mobile device. The Nokia N96 we introduced today builds on the success of N95, further enhancing the experience,” says Jonas Geust, who oversees Nokia’s Explore category. “Through the power of the Internet, video and TV are becoming even more prevalent in people’s lives. With its large, bright screen, and a range of high-speed connectivity options and the enhanced Nokia Video Center, the new Nokia N96 is a personal window to entertainment.”

Accessing internet videos is quick and simple. The Nokia N96 supports common video formats including MPEG-4, Windows Media Video and Flash Video, making favorite videos easy to view. Transferring and accessing videos is even faster with the high-speed USB 2.0 connection and WLAN and HSDPA support. In select markets, the integrated DVB-H receiver offers live broadcast TV with an automatically updating program guide. The massive memory can store up to 40 hours of video content. The storage capacity of the Nokia N96 can even be further expanded with an optional microSD card, such as the new Nokia 8GB microSDHC Card MU-43 which increases the available memory of the Nokia N96 to a total of 24 GB. For added convenience, the Nokia N96 features a ‘kickstand’ on the back cover that allows for hands-free viewing.

The Nokia Video Center offers one place to discover and access a variety of mobile content ranging from movie trailers and comedy to news from world-leading content brands such as YouTube, Reuters, and Sony Pictures. The catalogue of internet video feeds is continually expanded with more regional and country specific content.

For a superb music experience, the Nokia N96 features media keys, a 3.5 mm headphone connector and built-in 3D stereo speakers. The Nokia Maps application offers richer maps with urban details and satellite views and has upgrade options such as City Guides, turn-by-turn pedestrian mode and voice-guided car navigation.

The Nokia N96 boasts a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, flash and video light. It allows DVD-like quality video capture at 30 frames per second. Further, with the integrated A-GPS, consumers can now ‘geotag’ their pictures with location data and share them with their online communities.

The Nokia N96 naturally supports the Ovi family of Nokia internet services, including maps, music, media sharing and more.

Technical Specifications

General

Operating Frequency
WCDMA2100/900 (HSDPA) / EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS)
Automatic switching between bands and modes
DVB-H Class C, 470-750 MHz

Dimensions
Volume: 92 cc
Weight: 125 g
Length: 103 mm
Width: 55 mm
Depth: 18 mm, locally up to 20 mm

Memory Functions*
16GB internal flash memory, plus microSD memory card slot (hot swappable) for expandability and flexibility
Approximate dynamic memory capacity indication with 16GB storage:
Video: 40 hours**
Music: 12,000 tracks***
128MB RAM, 256MB system memory (operating system plus dynamic user data area)
*Changes to product details are possible without prior notice. Application offering may vary. Dynamic memory means that the available memory is shared between dynamic memory functions. When any of these functions is used, there is less available memory for other functions which are also dependent on dynamic memory.

** Video capacity is based on H.264 768-kbps video at 320-by-240 resolution, combined with 96-kbps AAC audio. Music capacity is based on 3:45 min per track and 48 kbps eAAC+ encoding.

*** Capacity based on 3:45 per song with 48 kbps eAAC+ (M4A) encoding on the Nokia Audio Manager. Capacity with 128 kbps AAC encoding is up to [12,000] songs.

Power Management*
Battery: Nokia Battery BL-5F, 950 mAh
Talk time: up to 150 / 220 minutes (WCDMA / GSM)
Standby: up to 200 / 220 hours (WCDMA / GSM)
Video playback: up to 5 hours (offline mode)
Music playback: up to 14 hours (offline mode)
TV playback: up to 4 hours (DVB-H)
* Operation times may vary depending on radio access technology used, operator network configuration and usage.

Display and User Interface
2.8” QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) LCD TFT display with up to 16 million colors
User Interface: S60 3rd edition, feature pack 2
Active standby screen, Multimedia menu

Data Transfer*
WCDMA HSDPA 900/2100 MHz with simultaneous voice and packet data (PS max speed DL/UL= 3.6Mbps/384kbps, CS max speed 64kbps)
Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) support for simultaneous voice and packet data connection in GSM/EDGE networks. Simple class A, multi slot class 11, max speed DL/UL: 177.6/118.4kbps
EGPRS class B, multi slot class 32, max speed DL/UL= 296/177.6kbps
GPRS class B, multi slot class 32, max speed DL/UL= 107/64.2kbps

Video & TV

Video center
Video center: central hub for video experiences
Access to last played video and easy resume
My videos: collection of stored videos
Access to Internet Videos, compatible with RSS feeds and video podcasts, with direct wireless updates and downloads
Service catalog to discover new Internet Videos

Video Codecs and Formats
MPEG-4 Part 2 (H.263/SP), up to VGA 30 fps, hardware-accelerated codec, scaled to max QVGA on device screen, or max SDTV on TV-out
MPEG-4 Part 10 (H.264/AVC), up to VGA 30 fps, hardware-accelerated codec, scaled to max QVGA on device screen, or SDTV on TV-out
Windows Media Video (WMV9), up to CIF/QVGA 30 fps, hardware-accelerated codec, scaled to max QVGA on device screen, or SDTV on TV-out
RealVideo QCIF at 30 fps
Flash video support in browser
DRM support: OMA DRM 1, OMA DRM 2, WM DRM

Live TV
Broadcast Television (DVB-H) capable
DVB-H based mobile TV with internal antenna
DVB-H Class C, 470-750 MHz
Browser-based video access
Support for download, streaming and progressive download
Support for Flash video

Music

Music Features*
Digital music player – supports MP3, AAC, eAAC+, WMA, album art
Playlist editing and sharing
Equalizer and visualization
Search, browse and purchase songs online in Nokia Music Store – with support for Windows Media DRM protected files
* Nokia Music Store availability varies by country.

Radio*
Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz, 76-90MHz) with support for RDS, Visual Radio™ and use of FM radio in offline mode
Nokia Internet Radio

Imaging

Main camera
Up to 5 megapixel (2592 x 1944 pixels)
Carl Zeiss Optics: Tessar™ lens
Auto-focus, auto-exposure
F-number/aperture: F2.8
Focal length: 5.2 mm
Focus range 10 cm to infinity
Dual-LED camera flash, video light, recording indicator, auto-focus assist light

Secondary camera
VGA (640 x 480 pixels) sensor

Video Recording
Video capture in MPEG-4 up to VGA at 30 fps
Digital Video Stabilization
Video clip length: limited by storage
Video file format: .mp4 (default), .3gp (for MMS)
Settings for scene, video light, white balance, color tone

Photography
Still Image resolutions: up to 5 Megapixel (2592 x 1944 pixels)
Still Image file format: JPEG, EXIF
Location tagging: automatic insertion of capture location into images
Settings for scene, flash, sequence, self-timer, color, white balance, contrast, exposure compensation, guides

Maps and Navigation
Built-in GPS receiver, with support for assisted GPS (A-GPS)*
Nokia Maps application
Free downloadable maps of over 150 countries, millions of locations, location details and satellite imagery**
Upgrades available for purchase: Multimedia city guides and Navigation services: Drive – voice guided car navigation, or Walk – pedestrian-optimized turn-by turn guidance
* A-GPS is a network dependant feature that requires a data plan. Additional charges may apply.

** Downloading satellite images may involve the transmission of large amounts of data through your service provider’s network. Contact your service provider for information about data transmission charges.

E-mail and Messaging
Easy-to-use email client with attachment support for images, videos, music and documents
Support for SMTP, IMAP4, POP3, MMS, SMS. Unified SMS/MMS editor
Compatible with Nokia Wireless Keyboard SU-8W (sold separately)

Browsing and Internet
Nokia Web Browser with Mini Map, visual history, HTML and JavaScript support, Flash Lite 3.0 and Flash video support
RSS reader

Connectivity
WLAN – IEEE802.11 g/b with UPnP support
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 with Micro USB type B interface
3.5mm stereo headset plug , TV-out support (PAL/NTSC)
Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP stereo audio and Enhanced Data Rates (EDR)
Nokia Nseries PC Suite connectivity with USB and Bluetooth wireless technology

Package Contents
Standard Sales Package Contents*
Nokia N96
Nokia Battery BL-5F
Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-101
Nokia Video-Out Cable CA-75U
Nokia Stereo Headset and Remote HS-45, AD-54
Nokia Mobile Charger DC-4 (car charger)
Nokia Compact Travel Charger AC-5
* Sales package content may vary by region.