N-Gage: Tiger Woods PGA Tour Released!

Tiger Woods is famous – even if you don’t know the end of a Birdie from an Eagle, you’ll have heard the name Tiger Woods. What’s more, Tiger Woods has found his way onto the most exclusive putting green in the world. That’s right, EA Sports: Tiger Woods PGA Tour has come to N-Gage and you can get a hold of it now, all you need is to be a member of the N-Gage club. Find out how to swing with the best of them after the jump…
In EA Sports: Tiger Woods PGA Tour you get to play as Tiger Woods and challenge other leading Pro Golfers in some of the most realistic and authentic championship courses ever to appear on a mobile phone.
As the N-Gage site ask: ‘Do you have what it takes to become a golfing legend?’ Well, now you can find out, as EA Sports: Tiger Woods PGA Tour is available to download and play right now. You’ll find that it’s around 7MB for this download, which isn’t too bad at all compared to some recent heavyweight games.
You can get a hold of EA Sports: Tiger Woods PGA Tour for £8 for a full license, or try it out for the day for £1.50 right now. You can get ahold of it either from the Showroom on your N-Gage Nokia handset Showroom or from the N-Gage website.

Read more

Nokia 5230 set for January 2010 launch?

Remember the Nokia 5230 that was announced back in August but then quickly dropped off the radar as we all started getting excited about the Nokia N97 mini and Nokia X6? Well, it looks like the Nokia 5230 is back and set for a January 2010 launch. Check out this touchscreen phone and what it has to offer the entry-level smartphone market…
The Nokia 5230 is a Symbian S60 5th Edition smartphone that will ship with a 3.2-inch resistive display and is cast very much as a device between the Nokia 5800 and the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic. The screen will have a 640 x 360-pixel resolution and come with the same Contacts Bar and media bar as we’ve seen on the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic. This means you’ll be able to load four of your favourite apps straight from the homescreen, including the likes of Facebook and YouTube.
Being an entry-level smartphone, we can expect a 2-Megapixel camera and Bluetooth but you’ll also find a super-fast HSDPA connection for getting access to email and the internet. Then there is a claimed 33 hours of playback from the media player, making this very much a device for music lovers .
The guys over at Dailymobile have managed to get their hands on a couple of Nokia 5230 handset and snapped a few decent pics of the phone in action. We’ve posted a couple of images below but it’s worth checking out their post for the rest.
As you can see from the images, the Nokia 5230 looks very much an entry-level handset aimed at the youth market. This can be seen in the choice of bright colours but also the quality of the plastic used. Along with posting images, the guys also claim that the Nokia 5230 won’t be hitting the shops until January 2010. However, this is still speculation at this point. Still, with an estimated price of around 149 Euros, SIM free, we should see it hit the UK PAYG market for less than £100 (inc. VAT).

Read more

Nokia Reducing Handsets in 2010

 
Nokia has stated that it will be reducing the number of devices is will launch and offer to the market in 2010. Rather than launching a wide and diverse range of handsets, Nokia will concentrate on reducing the ‘unnecessary differentiation’ that seems to have crept into the range. Find out more about Nokia reducing handsets in 2010 after the jump…
In his speech at Capital Market Day, Antti Vasara, head of Nokia smartphone R&D, stated that Nokia will be reducing the number of handsets it will launch next year. The move is designed to reduce potential confusion in the market and help clearly define each range. We can already see this differentiation in action with the Nokia X6 – the first device in the X Series. Nokia brought in the X Series to help simplify its XpressMusic offering.
In a separate statement, Nokia CFO Timo Ihamuotila, stated that Nokia is forecasting a 10 per cent growth in mobile phone shipments for 2010. Of which, it is also expected that Nokia will continue to hold a 38 per cent share of the market.
So, with Nokia working on streamlining the offerings it will bring to market will the Nokia 5730 XpressMusic be the last of the funky messenger phones and will the likes of the Nokia E52 and Nokia E55 morph into a single device? What would you like to see emerge as the new devices on offer?

Read more

Top Ten Free Nokia N900 Apps

While we’re accustomed to seeing thousands of apps for other Nokia handset, the Nokia N900 is the first Nokia device to take full advantage of the Maemo 5 operating system. This means you won’t find as many cool apps out there but we’ve brought together what we feel are the Top Ten Free Nokia Apps.
The Nokia N900 is a 3.5-inch touchscreen device that uses the Maemo 5 operating system. Now, it comes pre-loaded with everything you’re likely to need to personalisation is the name of the game and getting a host of apps for free is even better. Here we look at what we think at the top ten free Nokia apps at the moment.
Skype
DOWNLOAD: Skype
Skype is an active part of the Nokia N900 experience and allows you to send and receive Skype-to-Skype calls for free, either Wi-Fi or over the built-in 3G connection. You can also call any landline or mobile around the globe at a great rate by simply clicking on the ‘Call with Skype’ field.
Facebook for Nokia
DOWNLOAD: Facebook for Nokia
Do we need to tell you what Facebook is? Thought not, so all you need to know is Facebook for Nokia would with the built-in Share via Service function on the Nokia N900. This allows you to connect with directly with Facebook friends using either the Camera, Photo or Media Player apps.
OMweather
DOWNLOAD: OMweather
OMweather works with the GPS receiver built-in to the Nokia N900 to give you automatic updates from the weather station closest to you. This handy widget can show you the current weather without you having to resort to looking out of the window. More appealing is the long range forecasts, which offers up to 10 days of predications – match that Michael Fish!
Qik
DOWNLOAD: Qik
The Nokia N900 is fantastic from recording video and with Qik you can easily share clips with friends and colleagues as it happens. Just like YouTube, you can make your clips private or public but as you’re uploading the content as it happens, Qik truly lives up to its name.
eCoach
DOWNLOAD: eCoach
Working in tandem with the Nokia N900 built-in GPS you can keep tabs on your exercise and work out routines. It works by tracking the distance and speed travelled in real time, making it the perfect app for anyone with a regular workout regime they want to maintain and improve on. What’s more, eCoach supports Open Street Map, Google Earth, and Virtual Earth, enabling you to view your routes on the map and share them with friends at a later point.
Fring
DOWNLOAD: Fring
Fring is hot property right now, and for good reason as the latest version brings with it a host of video uplinks. It also happens to be one of the best Instant Messaging and VoIP package around, letting you use services such as Skype and MSN Messenger over your Nokia N900 3G or Wi-Fi connection.
Bounce Evolution
DOWNLOAD: Bounce Evolution
When it comes to games the Nokia N900 is no slouch and the latest version of the classic Bounce game proves it. Not only does it showcase the screen quality of the Nokia N900 but also the super-sensitive tilt motion of the handset. You’ll need a steady nerve to control and guide a ball down the race-track. After all, it’s all about beating the clock as well as the opposition.
OSM2Go
DOWNLOAD: OSM2Go
OSM2Go is essentially an editor for OpenStreetMap that has been specifically designed for devices like the Nokia N900, or even mini-laptops like the Nokia Booklet 3G. It comes with a host of tagging tools, background satellite/WMS layers, and GPS integration.
Pixelpipe Media Gateway for Nokia Share
DOWNLOAD: Pixelpipe Media Gateway for Nokia Share
Pixelpipe is a bloggers best friend, allowing you to upload text, photos, video and audio through a single media gateway to well over 100 social networks. The sheer breadth of coverage it offers makes it an indispensable app in the fight for an online voice.
Hermes
DOWNLOAD: Hermes
Got a Twitter account and also using Facebook still finding gaps in your social networking information pool? Hermes is a great app for filling in the gaps in your social networking address book – perfect for those who put quantity over quality of friendships.
Like our Top Ten Free Nokia N900 Apps or found a few you prefer more? Let us know what you’ve installed and started using on your handset…

Read more

Nokia lays out plans for 2010, Symbian still prominent

Although the industry is more excited about Nokia's new Maemo platform, the Finnish gaming giant has been quite aggressive in stamping out rumours that Symbian is going the way of N-Gage.

Speaking at its annual Capital Markets Day, Nokia has been revealing its plans for 2010 and laying the foundations for a new business framework.

"In 2010, we will drive user experience improvements, and the progress we make will take the Symbian user interface to a new level," explains Nokia CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. "As an operating system, Symbian has reach and flexibility like no other platform, and we have measures in place to push smartphones down to new price points globally, while growing margins."

The official press release goes on to highlight the areas Nokia is moving to refine, with some interesting, though subtly vague, focuses on user experience and new hardware.

It plans to 're-engineer' the Symbian user interface alongside delivery of more touchscreen and QWERTY-equipped smartphones. A Maemo 6-powered laptop is also on the cards, and third party developers are promised better tools to create applications and content for the Ovi Store.

Nokia expects mobile device volumes to be up approximately 10 per cent over 2009 next year, though its own device volume share is pegged as being flat in 2010. Looking farther ahead, it rounds out predictions by re-pledging its target of 300 million active users by the end of 2011.

Read more