The Nokia N9 is anticipated and awaited in Europe, but no matter what the phone won’t be launched in the U.S. There were different launch dates for different countries, now a Swedish website says the Nokia N9 will be launched on Setember23.

The Nokia N9 is a really attractive smartphone, and when it was introduced I thought this handset is the one able to break all the walls formed around Nokia statewide. But I was wrong, because Stephen Elop clearly explained they are not going to launch it in the U.S. Probably, it’s a caprice against caprice. Joking. It’s clear Elop doesn’t want to hope for MeeGo’s success and won’t turn away from the initial plan.

By the way, we are also aware that the pre-orders for the Nokia N9 will begin on August 19, and if you are not familiar with its features yet, I’ll introduce some of them. The device sports a 3.9-inch curved AMOLED Gorilla Glass touchscreen, an 8MP Carl Zeiss Wide Angle camera with dual LED flash that can record HD videos at 720p, a 1GHz TI OMAP3630 processor and many other great specs.

I want to add that the Nokia N9 will be available in black, cyan and magenta, plus, 16GB and 64GB models will be offered. Well, don’t you think there are too many similarities with the iPhone 5 that is going to be launched at the same time?

Yesterday Chris Weber, president of Nokia USA, introduced a new voice recognition technology that will be used in Nokia’s Windows Phone-powered handsets. The technology will allow the users to receive and send text messages without touching their phone.

Weber said he was able to send about 17 messages while driving his son to school and during the whole “process” he didn’t touch the phone. Of course, it is quite comfortable when driving, but the technology can be used in other cases, too.

However, this is not for the first time when Nokia comes up with such an app, because two years ago they introduced Vlingo app. This app runs on almost all platforms, probably this is the main reason why Microsoft and Nokia decided to create something that will be one of the key points of Nokia’s Windows Phone-powered smartphones.

During the whole demonstration Weber was keeping a mysterious device, and I wonder whether it was a Windows Phone device or just a testing handset.

At last I want to introduce you a sample conversation posted on Windows Team Blog.

WP: [music pauses]You have a text message from Cody Pardi. You can say read it or ignore.
Me: Read it.
WP: “When will you be home?” You can say reply, call or I’m done.
Me: Reply.
WP: Say your message.
Me: “In about 20 minutes.”
WP: [The phone transcribes and repeats the message] You can say send, try again, or I’m done.
Me: Send. [music resumes]

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The Nokia 500 was announced only several days ago, but it has already caught the attention of many geeks with its Symbian Anna OS and low price. HTC is also offering quite an interesting device – the Android-based HTC Wildfire S, which isn’t very expensive and has good features, too.

Let’s try to compare these two entry-level smartphones and see which one is better.

Design

The HTC Wildfire S looks like all the other HTC smartphones based on Android, nothing new or extraordinary. The Nokia 500 is more recognizable, if I can say so, and you’ll never mix it up with any other device. Besides, it has two interchangeable back covers of different colors – you can choose the one that best suits your mood. Do you like it? I do!

Display

Both Nokia’s and HTC’s smartphones have 3.2-inch displays, but the Nokia 500’s screen is more narrow and tall, and its resolution is higher — 360 x 640, while the Wildfire S’s resolution is only 320 x 480. I can’t say which display’s form factor is better – Nokia’s long and narrow one or HTC’s “square” one – it’s a matter of taste. But the higher resolution is always better, so the Nokia 500 is surely a winner in this category.

Processors

The Nokia 500 has a 1GHz processor (it’s Nokia’s first smartphone with such a CPU, by the way!), and the HTC Wildfire S’s SPU is only 600MHz. And no matter how much we say that the number of “MHz”s is not that important (once we compared the 1GHz processor of the Motorola Atrix 4G with the 800MHz processor of the Nokia N8, and the Nokia smartphone won, remember?), this 400MHz difference will surely play its role and affect the smartphone’s performance.

Platform

The Nokia 500, as I mentioned above, is running Symbian Anna, and the HTC Wildfire S is based on the most popular OS nowadays – Android. I can’t say which OS is better – it’s also a matter of taste. I myself prefer Android, but I can’t help mentioning that Symbian Anna is not worse at all – it also has a big number of great features, and Nokia’s Ovi Store offers many good apps and services.

Camera

Both smartphones we’re trying to compare have 5MP cameras with VGA video recording capability. Since the Nokia 500 isn’t released yet, we haven’t seen its camera in work, so we don’t know what images it can provide. However, everybody knows that Nokia has always equipped its smartphones with great cameras (remember the Nokia N8), which HTC has always failed to do. So I guess the Nokia 500’s 5MP camera will be cooler than the HTC Wildfire S’s one…

Other features

I guess we should also try to compare the connectivity features of these two smartphones, though there isn’t much to compare here. Both have microUSB, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth (though the Bluetooth version of the Wildfire S is a bit newer – 3.0 against 2.1). On the other hand, the Nokia 500 has HSDPA connectivity support up to 14.4Mbps, which is two times more than the Wildfire S’s speed.

So… what can I add? These two smartphones seem to be similar in many aspects, but if I were to choose, I would choose the Nokia 500, since it looks better, it has a stronger processor and higher screen resolution. The rest is up to you…

Nokia has released new firmware for two of its smartphones. We are talking about the update to Symbian Anna OS for the Nokia X7 and the Nokia E6. The new version of firmware is going to be 022,014.

No OTA update is available for now, but you can get the update from Nokia Software Updater or Ovi Suite. Both phones have a UDP (User Data Preservation), but make a backup of your data from your phone anyway as firmware upgrades sometimes can cause problems. Therefore it is better just in case to copy the data than to carry your device to service centers afterwards. The new 022,014 version is expected to improve the performance of Symbian Anna, however, the official list of changes and innovations is not published yet.

Let me remind you that the Nokia X7 and the E6 are the first smartphones running the Symbian operating system, preloaded with the updated version known as Anna. If the X7 has a large 4-inch touchscreen, its sibling has a physical QWERTY keyboard, but its screen is also touch-sensitive. The first model is focused on entertainment, Internet, and the second is created for business users, providing ease of use with text messaging.

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Though the Nokia N8 was launched by the end of 2010, it still remains the handset with the most powerful camera. We have talked about cameras‘ megapixels and other features for many times, we also discussed the cases when directors recorded movies with the Nokia N8, and it was perfect.

Now I am going to introduce you something different — a group of enthusiasts decided to record the world’s largest stop-motion animation set spreading on over 11,000 square feet.

The movie is called Gulp and it was shot by three N8s. Though it lasts only about two minutes, people worked 16 days on it. This is a story about a fisherman who goes out for fishing… but after some success he falls in a trouble. It’s an interesting and amazing story, and I think you just have to watch it.

We’ll also introduce you the second video which shows how this film was shot and how the professionals worked on it. Enjoy!

Gulp

…and the second video:

P.S. The phones were used only to capture the stills, then numerous images were stitched together giving the illusion of motion in a 25fps video.

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What is the first thing most of us do after buying a new smartphone? Right, we try playing games!

A friend of mine bought a new Nokia N8 several days ago, and, as a big fan of racing games, he started to play Asphalt 6 HD almost immediately. He also tried to compare the game graphics of his Symbian^3-based N8 and my Android-based smartphone (I had to download and install it even though I don’t like racing games…).

The results were very… interesting, if I can say so. We didn’t make our own video since we found a similar one in Youtube. Here it is, have a look:

The video is only 480p, but despite that it’s clear that the graphics quality of the N8 is much worse, and the Symbian^3-based smartphone really loses to its Android-based competitor… It also seems the game is a bit slower on the Nokia smartphone.

We had the same result – the game looked much better on my old Android smartphone than on my friend’s new N8. But I guess, it’s not the fault of the phone, anyway, most likely the developers didn’t optimize the game when transferring it from Android to Symbian^3.

So I hope a new version of Asphalt 6 HD will be released by the developers, and this new version will be adequately optimized for Nokia’s Symbian^3-based smartphones. I guess all Nokia fans will be very glad to meet it.

Nokia and Microsoft are planning to organize a joint event during the the Gamescom conference, which is going to take place in Cologne, Germany, on August 17.

The party invitation has a Windows Phone logo in the corner, which makes us think that the event will be mostly about the upcoming novelties of Nokia and Microsoft. But most likely there will be something else in the event, which will include ”exciting actions and surprises,” as it was mentioned by the companies.

Some analysts claim that the first Nokia’s device based on Windows Phone will be revealed. But this is not that reliable info, as the device is announced to be ready only in fall…

“This is my next” writes the following: “There won’t be any new hardware at the event. Instead, the event will likely be used as a way to get cozy with developers and perhaps show off the Sea Ray once again”.

Anyway, we have an opportunity to spend a good time with a great DJ. Besides, there will be a raffle at the event, so you have a chance to win one of three Nokia’s upcoming devices or Xbox 360 250GB. But you will be able to get those devices only after their release, while the Xbox 360 is there for you.

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There were many rumors that the Nokia N9 will be Nokia’s first and last MeeGo-powered smartphone, but it seems like the company is working on a new device based on this OS, which makes us think that the features of this open-source operating system are very good, and the users like them.

It is still unknown when the first Windows Phone-powered smartphones of Nokia will be released, and geeks have even forgotten about it for a while, since they’re too busy discussing… MeeGo! And though we don’t know whether the next MeeGo-powered device will be smartphone or a tablet, I guess it will find many fans, since this platform has won the hearts of many people.

I think this is a good challenge to Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, because unlike Symbian OS, MeeGo provides competitive features and can beat any of those platforms.

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In my previous post I wrote about accessories that are necessary during any trip and mentioned the importance of having an extra battery – the more powerful the better.

Now let’s see what other phone or smartphone accessories can be useful during a trip.

Hands free headset

A hands free headset is another mandatory accessory during any journey, since it’s good when your hands are free when you’re raising on the mountain tops or riding a bicycle or driving a car.

There are two types of hands free headsets – wired and wireless (with Bluetooth). Of course, it’s much easier to use a wireless headset on the road, since the wires limit your movements. Besides, there are situations when wires can be damaged thus affecting the functionality of your phone.

Before buying a Bluetooth headset, try it on, shake your head, make sure it doesn’t interfere with your movements and doesn’t drop.

Durable Case

A thick and durable case is the next accessory you’ll need during your trip. Active rest is good for health, but it’s not always good for your smartphone or feature phone. For example, you can fall down and damage your phone if it’s in your pocket or even in your handbag – I’ve had this problem once. A good case will protect your phone, so don’t hesitate to spend some money on a new durable case before going to a trip.

Before Nokia will completely switch to Windows Phone, it continues to produce Symbian-powered smartphones. Yesterday the company officially announced the Nokia 500 that was rumored back in June. Now we know this budget handset will be available later in Q3, and it can be a good choice for those who can’t afford expensive phones.

The Nokia 500 comes with a standard sport design and measures 111.3mm x 53.8mm x 14.1mm while weighing 93g. The phone will be available in two colors — black (in Q3) and white (in Q4), but the box will contain three back plates of other colors.

The smartphone is the first Nokia handset packed with a 1GHz processor. Moreover, it runs Symbian Anna and sports a 3.2-inch touchscreen, a 5MP camera, 2GB of internal memory expandable up to 32GB via microSD card slot and a standard 1100mAh battery providing up to 7 hours of talk time or 19 days of standby. Generally, this is a penta-band device supporting HSPA 3G 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz bands.

The Nokia 500 will cost 150 EUR ($216), so it can easily replace expensive smartphones for those who don’t want to waste much money on glamorous handsets.

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