It’s been another exciting week in the world of Nokia smartphones, with plenty happening since our last edition of Nokia Nuggets touched down. If you want to kick off the new week fully up-to-date on all of the latest Nokia developments, then we’ve got everything you need to know.
With major announcements on both the software and hardware front, the biggest news was the release of the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update. Increasing anticipation for the forthcoming Nokia Windows Phones, it’s going to be a busy few months for Nokia and we can’t wait to see what they’ve got in store.
But that’s not all. There has been plenty more Nokia-related news announced over the past seven days, so here are the highlights:
Windows Phone 7.5 Mango released
When the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update hit the airwaves for the world to download last week, we got a good look at just what we will be seeing and enjoying on our Nokia Windows Phones later this year. Packed with great new features, it marks the best iteration of the Windows Phone OS we’ve seen so far.
Among Windows Phone 7.5 Mango’s latest features are new tools for multitasking, hands-free messaging, internet sharing, photo tagging and face detection, along with shed-loads of new features for faster and easier social networking. Making Windows Phone better than ever, anticipation has never been higher for Nokia Windows Phones.
Nokia Ovi becomes Nokia Store
In the latest step to bring its branding back under the Nokia umbrella, Nokia has phased out its Nokia Ovi store and rebranded it as the Nokia Store. It follows a decision earlier in the year to gradually phase out the Ovi name, with services such as Ovi Store, Ovi Mail and Ovi Music set to shed the Ovi name in favour of more general Nokia-branded titles.
The change won’t happen overnight, with the branding being gradually filtered down to avoid confusion and allow a smoother transition. The Nokia Store is the latest service to shed the Ovi brand and the new update has all mention of the word Ovi removed throughout, a new icon has replaced the Ovi logo and the overall design has been given a more Nokia-centric look.
Nokia launches Windows Phone developer’s package
Again fuelling anticipation for Nokia Windows Phones, Nokia and Microsoft have teamed up to release a developer’s package to Symbian software developers, to help them enjoy a smoother transition towards developing apps for Windows Phone 7.
The comprehensive package includes guidelines and tools to get Symbian software developers up and running and walks them through every stage of the Windows Phone development process. A Nokia Windows Phone Training Roadshow will also be hitting cities across the world in the coming weeks, giving developers a hands-on chance to learn how to quickly get their ideas up and running on Nokia Windows Phones.
Nokia NFC Hub: An NFC stepping stone for businesses
With mobile payments using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology currently predicted to be a $50-billion-a-year business by 2014, Nokia has launched NFC Hub, an online service to help businesses get started with NFC technology.
Nokia has played a key role in NFC's development, offering NFC-enabled handsets such as the Nokia 6212 NFC long before other manufacturers. The idea of the NFC Hub is to encourage a stronger uptake of NFC by providing businesses with a one-stop shop for NFC business cards and NFC-tagged posters, which can be used to direct people to websites and services.
And finally…
It’s not been just Windows Phone news that caught our eye last week, as Nokia has also announced that the Nokia 700 will be available on Vodafone, O2, Virgin and Everything Everywhere in early October.
The slim and stylish 3.2-inch Symbian Belle smartphone will weigh a mere 96g and be just 9.7mm thin, making it the world’s most compact touchscreen smartphone. The Nokia N700 is also built to be Nokia’s most eco-friendly smartphone, using high-quality sustainable materials and maximising energy efficiency to be a better friend to the environment.