Two Nokia handsets run MeeGo OS. One of them is designed only for developers and the other one is available almost in every corner of the globe. You got it, I am talking about the Nokia N950 and the N9. Talking honestly, the first handset serves as a guinea pig for the N9, as all tests are carried out on it and if they succeed, the Nokia N9 gets them too. Now Nokia is testing the MeeGo PR 1.2 update on the N950. It will last 4-6 weeks and if it proves successful, then the end users will receive it at the end of March.

The Nokia N9 got its first big update back in December. It brought many changes, but didn’t solve all the faults. That’s why Nokia immediately started working on the second update the changelog of which was revealed. It includes:

• Video calls
• In-browser copy/paste with brackets
• New camera interface
• Additional gallery features

Obviously, this update will bring your beloved Nokia N9 to a level up, and though MeeGo is not there in Nokia’s long-term goals, it still keeps on surprising, doesn’t it?

Expansys UK is finally offering its customers a more affordable version of the Nokia N9. The online retailer is asking 349.99 GBP (around $540) for this exclusive MeeGo device in its 16GB magenta model. This option is 15 GBP less than the device’s original black version.

The smartphone comes with a 3.9 inch WVGA display, a 1 GHz  single-core processor, an 8 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Wi-Fi, HSPA and NFC capabilities. Well, in contrast we have a unique operating system and a chance of using a buttonless handset. The OS makes the device appearance much more appealing than that of the WP devices, such as the Lumia 710.

The only problem of the MeeGo OS is it doesn’t support a list of apps, which can be used on WP handsets. Still even here Nokia promises to make updates (as such we already have Nokia Pulse on the Nokia N9), so that the users of this device don’t get a feeling of being taken no heed of. The manufacturer also promises to offer various software and hardware updates for the device, regardless of its being the only device running MeeGo.

The Nokia N9 can now be viewed in landscape mode. This will allow to have a Nokia N900-similar experience and use the three appealing screens in that mode.

It takes only a few minutes to make the landscape mode available on this MeeGo device. To use it, you should use N9 Tweak. So your first step should be to get the Nokia N9 Tweak. Afterwards, you need to activate the Landscape mode (type “L”). Then it asks for a password. Make sure to get a no-capital letter password to avoid possible further problems.

Landscape view looks awesome on the Nokia N9. Unlike several old Symbian models, like the Nokia 5230, the device uses the entire screen capacity. All the features, including the horizontal Swype technology are usable while in landscape mode.

After you enable the landscape mode, flip the smartphone to switch from landscape to portrait mode simultaneously. Landscape mode is especially useful while reading news-feed, as the news articles appear in bigger fonts, so you won’t need to go through long lines to read a single info.

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Apparently there are still smartphone users, who have no idea about a game, which became a legend, a symbol every good self-respecting smartphone should have. Yes, we are speaking of famous pigs and birds game – the Angry Birds. The game was made by a Finnish computer game company Rovio Mobile. Since its release on December 2009 for Apple iOS, more than 12 million copies of Angry Birds were bought from the Apple Store.

The game itself does not require much knowledge or strain; it’s all about destroying some pigs in various buildings, using birds of various calibers as catapult balls. There are thousands of similar games out there, but something in this particular game has granted the game millions of fans throughout the world. This is the perfect game for killing your time, relaxing, calming your nerves (can be dangerous if you are a bad player) if you love birds, or if you hate pigs.

The list of smartphones, which can incorporate Angry Birds is growing, and now the turn came to the Nokia N9, which runs on MeeGo OS. The full version (all 288 levels) for the Nokia N9 will cost you traditional 2 pounds (the game is free for Symbian OS) and can be downloaded from Nokia Store.

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While everyone is discussing the success of Nokia and its first Windows Phone Mango-powered smartphone, the Lumia 800, I want to remind you of another high-end smartphone, which came to the fore like a flash. I mean the N9, which got launched at a chaotic time for Nokia, attracted everyone with its design, showed MeeGo is good too and disappeared. Well, I wouldn’t say “disappeared” is the best word describing the current state of the N9, because let’s admit unlike the N9 the rest of the Nokia devices have appeared in the shadow of the Nokia Lumia 800. But at the moment we must recall the Nokia N9 once again, as it is available in Italy and Germany at affordable prices.

Expansys Italy is offering the Nokia N9 16GB for 469 EUR. Some people can say this is a high price, and there won’t be many consumers ready to buy this handset at such a price. But considering MeeGo offers features and performance differing from other platforms, it becomes clear the Nokia N9 deserves it.

Moreover, the Nokia N9 is also available in Germany. Amazon Germany offers the N9 for around 493 EUR for 16GB or 553 EUR for 64GB.

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The fans of exclusive handsets are definitely in love with the Nokia N9. It’s the only device running MeeGo OS. This operating system is pretty good in terms of supporting a large display and great speed just like in case of the Android phones. The basic limitation of the device is the modest access of apps. Still even this problem is solvable with the help of hacking. Now this awesome handset is available in white.

The handset is priced 630 EUR (around $835), which is rather high. At the same price you can get a handset with a qHD display, such as the HTC Sensation XL. But we should remember even for its unique device, HTC requires much less. The evidence of my words can be tracked in the HTC Rhyme review.

It’s cool at the moment some users can get the white version of the device. The price of the smartphone is the same as for the other versions. The lucky customers are the inhabitants of… surely Finland.

Too bad this buttonless device doesn’t come at a lower price as a Christmas deal, while this situation might be changed if the device gets a chance to land on such countries as the UK or the US.

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Superheroes always have their anti-heroes, otherwise their existence becomes senseless. Recall any comics and you’ll see there are always super heroes loved by everyone and evil heroes rejected by the public. And when the main hero triumphs over, the story ends, because the hero can’t go on without a competition — that’s the credo of his life. The same thing happened with Finnish mobile manufacturer, Nokia. This company was leading in all phone markets and lost its glory. At the moment it’s difficult to imagine Nokia was once popular in the US, but it was so and US senior citizens will confirm my words. Anyway, it’s never easy to permanently dethrone a king unless you decapitate him, as he can always come back and turn everything over.

As you guessed, Nokia popped off because it was alone in the long run, in other words Nokia began dying as it always happens with superheroes. Years passed and the public came up with new heroes calling them Apple and Android. Many people started to worship them and many people found a new embodiment of God in them (forgetting their former idol, Nokia).

Apple and Android are the right mapping of our times; the Cupertino-based company is controlling everything in its activity, inside the company everything is planned in details and all people obey. In short, Apple is a perfect example of discipline. On the other hand, we are dealing with Google, which is known for its democratic views, and involves people by its openness. In practice, such projects always succeed and Android wasn’t an exception. As a result Google’s mobile operating system dominates the market and has already conquered half of the world.

Small companies try to preserve their existence in this panorama, and manage to stand the competition. But on the whole, big companies take the lion part. The same was with Nokia (though we can’t call it “a small company,” in this case its popularity doesn’t mean anything). And in the last few years the “once most popular mobile brand in the world” was not being able to get back its glory. Want it or not, Nokia’s back, and people have already started consuming Mango instead of Apple and sweetmeats.

Chapter 1: Discovering the tumor

Yes, Nokia spared no effort to find out why US smartphone users dislike this brand. If this “disliking” referred to the US and only the company would probably decide to leave it in peace and focus on other regions. Sadly though, the tumor spread and the countries where Nokia was once a leader began denying Nokia products.

Nokia forgave its competitors for all these losses, but when European mobile operators started preferring Android- and iOS-based smartphones, Nokia decided to act, i.e. take certain steps. By “steps” I mean the decision Nokia had to make concerning the choice of the operating system its handsets should run to win the battle.

This was the question of the day, because Nokia realized its main problems come from Symbian^3, while it was thought to be the key feature of Nokia smartphones. Beyond doubt, it was hard for Nokia to ban its native platform and choose another one. Moreover, it had a limited choice — either Android or Windows Phone. We even didn’t discuss iOS, because Apple will rather dig its own grave than share iOS with anyone. Well, many people thought Nokia tended to merge with Android — this would be the biggest coalition in the mobile history. But Nokia, as always, preferred to attack on different fronts at a time. (Such a strategy always makes a panic among enemies.) It worked. Nokia decided to treat the disease using several methods simultaneously.

Chapter 2: Getting rid of the disease

Before that Nokia had invited Stephen Elop, who was the president of the Microsoft Business Division at that time. This person is known for his “plain mind’ and the ability to make right decisions in difficult situations. Nokia haters called Elop a mole and assumed he agreed to take up that position to sell the Finnish company to Microsoft.

In contrary to this, Elop sold his shares of Microsoft and completely got involved in Nokia’s problem. There was no time and the “doctor” had to start the surgery immediately. He started.

While many fake friends were waiting for Nokia’s death, those who sincerely believed in Nokia knew it’ll come back.

Secondly, Nokia (no, starting here we must say Stephen Elop) analyzed the opportunities of both operating systems and came to a conclusion Android devices act and look the same. So if Nokia had chosen Google, it’d become the next bucket filling water into Google’s mill. Microsoft was in a more beneficial position as there were no many manufacturers cooperating with it and Nokia had all chances to become its main partner. I guess you understand what it means. Finally their negotiations successfully ended and the world saw one of the biggest unions.

This announcement was made back in April and from that time on the entire mobile world (including Nokia fans) didn’t believe the Finnish company could succeed. Sometimes it seems to me I was the only one who believed in Nokia (not being devoted to it at all).

Now you probably think I’ll say Nokia launched the Lumia 800 and the story ends. I must disappoint you, as Nokia was slier — it announced the Nokia N9. A phone with a stunning and buttonless design, but with one “defect.” A defect called MeeGo. Of course, this is a pretty nice platform, but MeeGo didn’t have future and the N9 is the first and the last smartphone with this operating system. Geeks were gradually getting interested in what phone the whole world was talking about, and wondered when it would be launched. Well, Nokia announced the list where its new flagship should appear. There was joy all around, but many people were more happy for another thing — they wanted this phone to “criticize” Nokia’s product once again. But it didn’t happen as Nokia turned out to be smarter and left out a lot of countries from that  list. As a result, the Nokia N9 went only to those countries, where Nokia remained a leader. Almost the whole Europe and the US were looking forward to the day Nokia would launch the phone in their territory, while Nokia was firm in its decision.

When almost all conversations stopped about why Nokia isn’t offering the N9 in their countries, the company announced its first Windows Phone Mango-flavored design, the Nokia Lumia 800, a phone with the same appearance as the N9, but with Mango inside. Yes, Nokia blew all minds up.

The Lumia 800 and the Lumia 710 are smartphones in which nobody can pick holes. They are unique in terms of design and exceed many other smartphones on the market. Plus, WP Mango has come with many improvements and even Android lovers accept the huge job Microsoft developers have done.

Having a perfect product (I mean a high-end smartphone with a perfect OS) both companies started its promotion. I have no wish to introduce sales numbers in the UK or in other countries where this handset is launched, because you know it better than me, but I want to note — Nokia didn’t launch the Lumia 800 in the US. Caprice? Call it however you want, I think this is the most correct strategy — you do not like Nokia, so it’s OK, right?

Chapter 3: New life

Many geeks used to think Nokia has a goal to snatch Android and iOS users, but Stephen Elop is smarter than you think, guys. To clarify the situation, Stephen Elop announced Nokia is aimed at first-time users. Let each platform remain with its users, Nokia will attract those who will hold smartphones in their hands for the first time in their life. Do you know what happened? The second biggest carrier in the US is already in negotiations with Nokia and most likely will offer the Lumia 900 4G next year. Yup, Nokia hit the target!

Plus, Nokia is actively working on Symbian and it will soon launch Belle update. MeeGo is not forgotten as well, and though there are rumors we’ll see other devices running this OS, the N9 remains very popular. Moreover, it has already got PR1.2 update. Not that cool?

Totally, Nokia didn’t make real changes in its devices. I mean if you look at the posts where Nokia’s old and new handsets are compared with the best products on the market, you’ll see their key features are almost the same. They are the following:

• Stunning style
• Beautiful screen
• Great camera
• Integrated social networking
• Bing Music
• Easy browsing
• Microsoft Office
• Free sat-nav
• Powerhouse performance
• ample storage.

So what can US consumers say against the Nokia Lumia 800? I guess you’ll keep silent, folks, because this handset is perfect.

The PR1.1 update distribution to the Nokia N8 and other N series devices is on its way, while this doesn’t mean the manufacturer is not working on another great update. This is obvious from the screenshot of the MeeGo Nokia N9 demonstrating the PR1.2 update.

The original update for the Nokia N9 was designed to deal with the Swype issues adding a large list of application improvements. In addition there were a few bug fixes to solve the UI problems.

The newest update brings a list of even more attractive updates. The first difference you see on the screen is the special button designed to work with the applications. The rest of the changes deal with the camera. From now on you don’t need to use the same button for the Camera Flash and Options. Similarly, there is a separate button to turn on/off the LED flash.

The full list of the changes is the following:

• A new button to manage applications was added to the application handling.
• The interface now separates the camera flash options (camera UI was already very awesome).
• A separate icon to turn on the LED flash was added to the video recording interface.
• The buttons have a new style.
• Color profile option is added to the display settings.
• Gallery Settings have a new option for face recognition.
• The color of the menu to display an image was changed. The menu includes a new option “Insert face.”

Nokia is back. The proof is the Nokia Lumia 800, which managed to gain the love of many geeks, even though it’s not launched yet. We’ve talked about the phone for many times and each time reminded you that it’s the same Nokia N9 with Windows Phone Mango inside. Now that the launch date of the phone is coming closer, let’s see what we have.

Before you push the play button and watch the video, get acquainted with the specs list of the Nokia Lumia 800, because that’s what the designers have to think about when devising a handset. The Lumia 800 sports a 3.7-inch AMOLED True Black screen, 1.4 GHz Snapdragon CPU (32bit), 512MB of RAM that ensures smooth performance, 16GB of internal memory, an 8.8MP camera with a dual-LED flash and Carl Zeiss lens, a 1450mAh battery, Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS, FM radio, accelerometer and so on. As for network bands, it supports GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS850, UMTS900, UMTS1900, UMTS2100, CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, though we have heard AT&T will bring the LTE version of the device to the States.

Now watch the video below and let us know what you think about the Nokia Lumia 800 design and hardware features.

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The Nokia Lumia 800 is the phone many analysts called the proof Nokia’s back. This high-end smartphone deserves to be called Nokia’s savior, because the phone looks great and we can find anything we need under the hood.

According to various rumors, AT&T will launch the LTE-enabled version of the phone, but before they are confirmed, the device will make its way to other countries such as the UK. Aimed at first-time users the Nokia Lumia 800 must be very attractive at first sight, and it is. Plus, it must be packed with such hardware and software, which will meet the demands and requirements of the most picky consumer.

The Nokia Lumia 800 has the same appearance as the MeeGo-powered Nokia N9. The way it looks is warmly welcomed by smartphone users. If you are curious about the specs list, it’s a separate topic, which needs thorough and detailed introduction. At this moment I recommend that you check out the Nokia Lumia 800 unboxing video to see what the box contains  as well as to watch the first boot.

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