Several months ago the image of Nokia N98 was published in the web. There was doubt that this is the usual concept of a fan having nothing to do with the actual phone. However, Nokia N8 has recently been presented, which design is similar to that of N98, that allows to argue about the existence of N98.

In addition to cut corners like in N8 the phone is notable for striking color solutions (N8 boasts of the same), the presence of the word Nokia, N00 index , an HDMI connector on the top and an interface reminding of Symbian ^ 3 in the press-release images of N8.

Nokia N98 will supposedly get 32 GB of internal memory (instead of 16 GB as in N8), 4” capacitive display (instead of 3.5” at N8), QWERTY keyboard. The camera of N8 operates at 12  megapixel resolution and can shoot HD-video. It is unknown which module will be used in for N98.

Taking into  the account the fact that Nokia has refused the old nomenclature (C3, C5, C6, X2, N8 have been presented in recent months) the powerful novelty with QWERTY-keyboard can be designated as Nokia N9.

After the announcement of Nokia N8 many people assumed that it would become the main phone of the company in 2010 – based on the new Symbian ^ 3, offering a 12 megapixel camera with HD-video recording and multi-touch. However, it is not true.

The head of Nokia Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, announced in the letter to investors that later this year the Finnish manufacturer will present a new generation of devices that will reduce the gap in the segment of high-end solutions. In other words, Nokia is determined to release smartphones that will have to surpass the top-end Android-devices and iPhone HD, preparing for the summer debut.

It has been suggested that one of the phones will be Nokia N9 – a side slider with specifications similar to N8. So far we have only a computer image of the smartphone.

Kallasvuo also said that there is a mobile computer in the operation – it will be based on MeeGo, joint platform of Nokia and Intel. The smartphones will be based on Symbian.

Last month, Nokia announced three phones for modern communications – Nokia C3, Nokia C6 and Nokia E5. Each of them offers QWERTY-keyboard. The producer called the E5 the follower of E63, E71, E72 and announced that its sales will start in the third quarter of 2010. But apparently, the Chinese users have received the smartphone earlier.

According to Chinese media, Nokia E5-00 has been noticed in one of the electronic stores. The features correspond to  the announcements, and therefore the likelihood that the photos represent an ordinary model of it is low. Let us remind that E5 is equipped with a 2.4 inch display, 256 MB RAM, 512 MB RAM, a 5 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, microSD, 600 MHz processor.

The first Chinese devices of E5 will cost 2,999 yuan ($ 441).

Google Android platform is officially supported by many manufacturers, but not Nokia. The Finnish company intends to develop its own operating system Symbian and MeeGo without helping the competitors. However, this situation does not suit enthusiasts. Attempts to install Android on powerful N900 were made several times, but the last project NITDroid seems more successful.

The video shows the operation of Android 2.1 on Nokia N900. According to the source, the main functions of the google OS work on the device. In addition to the high-end model, programmers are working on NITDroid for tablets of N8x0 series.

Last month Nokia made a serious bid for success in the QWERTY segment, introducing three models for different users – C3, C6 and E5. The most affordable device will be Nokia C3. It will be available in several colors, including pink which means that the device is going to fulfill the list of the Pink phones.

Nokia C3 is a bar form factor in a plastic case with QWERTY. It is based on Series 40 6th Edition, has a 2 megapixel camera, a 3.5-mm jack for headphones, FM-radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 55 MB of memory (+ microSD). The software cover has successfully been expanded due to numerous Ovi services.

Nokia C3 Specifications:

• Network: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• Platform: Series 40 6th Edition
• Display: 2.4” , 320 x 240 pixels, 262 thousand colors, TFT
• Camera: 2 megapixel, 4x digital zoom
• Internal memory: 55 MB
• Expansion slot: microSDHC (up to 8 GB)
• Wi-Fi (802.11b / g)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• FM-radio
• microUSB 2.0
• 3,5-mm jack
• Ovi services
• Battery: BL-5J, 1320 mAh
• Hours of operation in talk mode: up to 7 hours
• Hours of operation in standby mode: up to 20 days
• Dimensions: 115,5 x 58,1 x 13,6 mm
• Weight: 114 grams
• Colors: Golden White, Slate Grey, Hot Pink
• Integration: phone, BL-5J battery, AC-3 charger, WH-102 stereo headset
• Form factor: bar with QWERTY
• Type: Telephone
• Date of announcement: April 13, 2010
• Release Date: second quarter of 2010

Last month, in addition to Nokia C3 and Nokia E5 with QWERTY-keyboard, the Finnish manufacturer has introduced Nokia C6. It is based on Series 60 5th Edition and has absorbed much from N900 and N97. Nokia C6 will be available in two colors – black and white. Below is a selection of photos of black C6. It seems to look less impressive than the white one.

Anyways Nokia considers the C6 to be an available smartphone for communication. However, the phone includes small number of applications in this segment – not all manufacturers pay attention to touch QWERTY-solutions.

Nokia C6 Specifications:

• Network: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA / HSDPA (850/900/1800/1900 MHz),
• Platform: Symbian ^ 1 (S60 5th Edition)
• Display: touchscreen, 3,2 “, 640 x 360 pixels, 16 million colors
• Camera: 5 megapixel, flash
• Additional camera for video calls: available
• Processor: ARM 11 434 MHz
• Internal memory: 200 MB
• Expansion slot: microSDHC (up to 16 GB)
• A-GPS
• Wi-Fi (802.11b / g)
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• FM-radio
• microUSB 2.0
• 3,5-mm jack
• Ovi services
• Battery: BL-4J, 1200 mAh
• Hours of operation in talk mode: up to 7 hours in GSM networks, up to 5:00 in WCDMA networks
• Hours of operation in standby time: up to 16 days
• Dimensions: 113,4 x 53 x 16,8 mm
• Weight: 150 grams
• Colors: White, Black
• Integration: phone, BL-4J battery, AC-15 charger, WH-102 stereo headset, memory card of 2 GB, CA-101 cable
• Form factor: side slider with a touchscreen and QWERTY
• Type: smartphone
• Date of announcement: April 13, 2010
• Release date: second quarter of 2010

Last month Nokia introduced its first 12 megapixel phone, which is also based on the new Symbian ^ 3. In the blog of Nseries an interesting video has been published. In the video the designers of Nokia N8 talk about the work they have done, and about what inspired them to develop the appearance of the device.

The case of Nokia N8 is made of alloy aluminum – it is not only lightweight, but solid as well. Its use has allowed to create items without adding third-party material. Aluminium has also played a role in colors of N8 (green, orange, blue, silver, black).

The CDMA-version of Nokia X3, which was spoken a lot not long ago, will continue the Chinese saga of the Finnish company – CDMA / EV-DO phone will be presented by China Telecom operator for the local market. It is noteworthy that not only the technical features, but design as well have been changed for the new market.

The new X3 in China is a bar form factor phone, while the original model is implemented in the slider form factor. The phone has a 2.4-inch QVGA-display, FM-radio, 3.5-mm headset jack, 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash and support for a number of specific services in China.

The device is distinguished with a “unique 3-dimensional texture” on the back and looks like a refined X2.

The CDMA / EV-DO version of Nokia X3 is expected to go on sale before the end of this quarter (probably in June). The manufacturer does not disclose whether the price will be changed or not.

It turns out that the experimental smartphone of the Finnish giant is mostly able to launch a variety of operating systems. Previously Windows 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Android 1.6, MeeGo, Moblin were used in the gadget. Now it is turn for the latest Android 2.1.

Google-system on the Nokia device for geeks supports keyboard and touch control. Installation is carried out within the frameworks of NITDroid project, which participants are engaged in the transfer of Android on the N900 and a series of  N8x0 tablet devices .

At the moment, Android 2.1 on Nokia N900 loads Bluetooth- drivers, but without their full support; drivers for Wi-Fi are built into the kernel, card of flash memory and built-in flash space are defined, but not yet installed.

The leader of the mobile phone market, the Finnish Nokia has again brought an action against Apple, accusing the Californian company in infringing five Nokia patents in the Apple iPhone and iPad 3G. The suit was filed to  the federal district court of the western district of Wisconsin.

Controversial technologies concern improvements related to the voice and data transmission in case of wireless connection, in particular, the use of positional information in applications and innovations in antenna configuration, which improves the performance and saves space, allowing us to create more compact cases for the device. The company reports that Nokia was the first to develop a set of key technologies for mobile devices. We made this step to protect the results of our innovative development and to put an end to the illegal use of Nokia advanced technologies.

Over the past 20 years, the Finnish company has invested about 40 billion euros for research and development of wireless technologies.

Let us remind that the sharing lawsuits between the two companies started last October, when the Finnish company accused Apple of violating 10 of its patents on data transmission in GSM, UMTS and WLAN. In December of the last year Apple, in its turn, accused the Finnish company of violating 13 of its patents and filed a claim to the American international trade Commission, informing about the necessity to ban sales of Nokia phones in the territory of the U.S.

Nokia has responded to this with a statement in January of 2010, indicating to the violation of its copyrights in smartphones and laptops of the Californian company. According to some experts, the lawsuit between the two companies may last for 2.5 years.