The Nokia Guide

Black N82 officially announced, available “in weeks”

Today Nokia officially announced what we’ve been expecting for months now: the black N82. Actually we’ve been expecting it since the launch of the N82. Last November the product manager hinted that we could expect the color white in 2008 and that black was one of the most requested colors. Nokia confirmed that the black Nokia N82 “is expected to start shipping within weeks.” I would say give it about 2-3 weeks, which for example ties in with the expected arrival date of Apr. 2, 2008 at online vendors like Mobilecityonline.

Another interesting fact is that they are selling the black N82 with a $100 premium, despite the same exact hardware specs. Usually online vendors charge a 25-50 dollar premium on newer colors which leads me to believe that they might have added an extra accessory or two to the package. A bigger 4 or 8GB memory card? Or perhaps a stand? How about that N82 8GB that was accidentally shown on the mobile Nseries site and later on quickly removed? On that very same page they showed the N95 8GB NAM, which we all know turned out to be true. Is a N82 8GB or even 16 GB version set to be released soon? I guess we’ll soon find out.

In the mean time, be sure to check a specially created Black N82 mini site where they created a pretty nice N82 launch video.

Proporta releases Mobile Device Charger Micro

Remember the Proporta Mobile Device Charger I reviewed a few days back? While it got an excellent score of 9.9 out of 10, it obviously had some room for improvement. One of the things I asked for was the black color and multi-LED lights. Strangely enough, that’s exactly what the guys and gals at Proporta did when they made the new Mobile Device Charger Micro. Just like it’s bigger sibling its basically an external rechargeable Lithium-ion battery that allows you to recharge it from any standard USB port. When it’s done it allows you to charge your various mobile devices while on the go. As the “Micro” name implies this is a smaller version of the original Mobile Device Charger in a much more compact package that holds 1700 mAh of power. It’s obvious from this that the Mobile Device Charger Micro is not intended to replace the original one, but rather be a more compact alternative. The device sports a new black color and 5 blue LED lights to give a more accurate reading of the amount of power left. This time Proporta decided to also include their Car Power Supply with USB Socket and AC Travel Charger (with USB Socket). Personally I find this updated black look with the blue LED lights to look really nice, a lot more than the original model which didn’t look bad either.

The Mobile Charger is not available right now, but if you order now all you’ll receive the unit starting January the 16^th 2008. More info can be at the Proporta site. The unit retails for about $44.95. Proporta is sending a unit my way pretty soon, so you can expect a review in the near future

Logitech diNovo mini: An alternative to the Nokia SU-8W QWERTY keyboard?

I’ve always loved Logitech’s diNovo series of Bluetooth PC keyboard, they are probably the most feature packed, elegant and expensive keyboards you can buy, prime example of this are the diNovo Media Desktop laser and the diNovo Edge, both which I’ve reviewed at Gadgetnutz. So I was kind of surprised when Logitech released the diNovo Mini, a palm-sized keyboard with media remote and touch pad to point, scroll and click – or as a directional pad to navigate menus and make selections. The diNovo mini was actually designed for people who have connected their PC to their TV, but as a compact Bluetooth 2.0 keyboard it could very well double duty as a QWERTY keyboard for your S60 device, albeit at $149.99 it’s not going to be the cheapest alternative and it does lack S60 specific keys or a specific holder. It does make it up with a very stylish design, its ability to recharge and perform a double duty as a media keyboard in the living room for your media PC, music control keys and backlightning.

For those of you who thought the N82 was ugly…

For those of you who thought the N82 was ugly (yes including me), here are a few pics that just might change your mind. I was one of the many who said that the design just didn’t look so nice, but having it in person is a totally different story! It looks so classy and nice: imagine having the N73 and giving it a metal look like the N91, which should give you an idea as to how it looks like. Many have asked for an 8x00 series phone running S60, well this is in my opinion the closest thing to that so far. Did I also mention it has the best camera in the Nseries line? While I work on my initial review here are a few pictures to whet your appetite…

                                              

Update: I noticed that when you click an image it will open the larger version, but the full size image cannot be seen in its entirety. So when the full-size image appears, just copy the URL and paste it into a new window. That should take care of it until I get things fixed.      

For those asking about the stand, no it’s not included with the N82, but it is an original Nokia stand I got at the Nokia HQ promo shop. Apparently me and Mark got the last two that were available :)It comes in a black box and is labeled: Nokia Phone Holder NK007044

On my way to Finland!!! The count-down has begun…

It’s like a cycle that always repeats itself. First comes the spy pictures that are either computer generated or of not so good quality. Then some pictures real-life pictures appear that are of much better quality, either in some forum or some sites that strangely enough get their hands on the unreleased device. Well, it’s happening again. Remember the CG pictures of the N82? Next we got the first pictures of the real thing in the forums and then Symbian-Freak appeared to have the real thing. All of this culminates in the release of the product, so chances are this is going to be one of the devices that will be launched next week and this time The Nokia Guide has been invited to the Nokia House in Finland. Here I will be joined by PseudoFinn from Nokia Users, Mark Guim from The Nokia Blog and Stefan from Into Mobile. We’ll be there for a Q&A session with product managers and we’ll get a mini tour of Nokia Headquarters. Of course there will be many Nokia and S60 members of the blogging community virtually covering the event. Remember the Go Play event? Well, basically the same thing will be done this time. I’m pretty excited about going there and as always I’ll try to get all the juicy details and maybe some hands-on time with the new devices. I’ll try to post live from the events. The event will be virtually covered here at this site specifically created for the event.

So stay tuned here at The Nokia Guide, the show starts on the 13th!

The N81 Support page is up!!!

Well guys, its official! The Nokia N81 8GB support page is up, this could mean only one thing and that is the N81 is nearing release. Usually when the support page is up, it means that the device in question will be out in about 4-5 weeks times, but sometimes it takes longer. This puts the release of the N81 somewhere in November. Perfect timing for the holiday season.  Do stay tuned here at the Nokia Blog as I will be putting the N81 through its paces in an early first-look.