It's not going to turn as many heads as the recently-launched N97 update, but Nokia's other S60 5th Edition handset got its own firmware boost earlier this week. Version 21.2.025 for the NAM 5800 XpressMusic doesn't seem to do much in the way of new features, so odds are this is going out strictly as a stability release -- which, in itself, is a testament to the fact that Nokia seems to care more about the North American market right now than it ever has before. Keep it coming, guys.

[Via Symbian-Guru]

Nokia's not exactly known for its beefy, ultra-survivable gear, but unless the human race plans on getting a whole lot less clumsy, rugged phones will always be a good idea -- and Espoo's 3720 certainly seems to fill the bill. The Series 40-based candybar features a 2 megapixel cam with LED flash, triband EDGE (sorry, North Americans), FM radio, microSD expansion, and the latest and greatest Bluetooth 2.1, but the real news here is that the phone is built to meet IP54 standards. A quick check with our handy-dandy IP code reference tells us that means that "ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact" -- in other words, your phone might get nasty dirty, but it'll keep chugging -- and it can withstand "splashing" water. Scuba divers, the search for your perfect phone probably continues. Refreshingly, the 3720 will run just €125 (about $175) unlocked when it ships later this summer.

Call us hopeless optimists, but some part of us was holding out some truly foolish belief that we might yet see a version of Nokia's pretty 5530 XpressMusic with 3G on board. Despite the fact that it looks considerably better than the supposedly higher-end 5800, the 5530 tops out with EDGE for the WWAN, relying instead on WiFi for the heavy data lifting in exchange for a dirt-cheap unlocked retail sticker price. That said, we'd still take one if they were available. At least Nokia stuck this FCC lab with the less attractive black / red color combo, so our usual bout of raging jealousy is just a tad tempered this time around.

Talk of a possible Android / Nokia tie-up has been ongoing since time immemorial, and the latest fuel to the fire comes from the Guardian which is sourcing "industry insiders" as saying that the world's largest phone manufacturer will reveal an Android-powered touchscreen handset at its Nokia World event this September. Though Nokia itself has never truly ruled out the possibility of working with Open Handset Alliance code, a move into Android right now would truly be an odd one -- granted, the Symbian Foundation is probably on thin ice any way you look at it, but even without S60 and its successors in the mix in the long term, Nokia still has Maemo quietly reaching platform maturity in the background with rumors of an imminent MID / superphone hybrid swirling in recent months. It seems that adopting Android (even if only for a select number of models) would be an admission on Nokia's part that it has failed to be a Maker of Standards, despite its overwhelming size and market position -- not to mention a major bet that it can continue to win customers based on the strength of its hardware alone, since it'd now be working with a common platform adopted by dozens of companies large and small. So, here's the million- (or maybe billion-) dollar question: all things being equal, can Nokia outdo HTC and Samsung on the same platform?

Update: And now the Nokia spokesman response: "Absolutely no truth to this whatsoever, everyone knows that Symbian is our preferred platform for advanced mobile devices." Yes, unfortunately / fortunately, we do know that.

You won't find the mega-slim (9.9mm, to be exact) E52 in the hands of any businessfolk just yet, but as usual, some FCC lab has the guilty pleasure of putting this one through the RF wringer well ahead of release. The version tested here is a Band I / VIII piece, which means it'll do full HSPA on the 900 and 2100MHz bands -- not exactly what your average North American S60 geek is looking for, but with the crazy precedent the N97 has set for launching in NAM flavor first, who knows what'll happen?

Following a beta kickoff late last year, Ovi Maps -- the latest iteration of Nokia Maps -- is now final and ready for download. It's a pretty big upgrade from the product it replaces, bringing 3D landmarks, higher-resolution satellite imagery available in both 2D and 3D modes, a wider variety of point-of-interest information for destinations, integrated weather forecasts, enhanced pedestrian and automotive turn-by-turn navigation modes, and -- a biggie for yankees -- real-time traffic information for the US. It's a big, worthwhile spec bump, and by our count, it's currently compatible with 26 S60-based Nokia devices; owners of some recent phones (the E51, for example) will be disappointed to see that they're being left behind in the old Nokia Maps realm, but who knows -- maybe some sweet-talking (or fit-throwing) would help the situation.

Having already given you the AT&T spec sheet and images on this new Nokia, the only things missing are launch date, price, and a bit of video. Well, a janky QIK video just made its way to YouTube claiming that Nokia's Mako is coming to AT&T in mid-July as the 6790 Surge. It should be "priced pretty well" but those details haven't been finalized. So if a quick messaging device running S60 beneath a 2.4-inch 240x320 pixel display with HSDPA data and 2 megapixel camera is enough motivation to prompt another mouse-click then by all means, click through for the video overview provided after the break. Stay cool, bye.

What does this look like to you? If you answered "most definitely not a phone," well, we're not so sure about that. In fact, we're certain it is a phone, considering that the FCC documentation identifies it as such. Even juicier, though, is the fact that the Nokia RM-599 (all Nokias get RM codes prior to their market model numbers and names) has WCDMA on Bands II and V, which would be just what the doctor ordered for use on North American 3G spectrum. Given the odd outline foretold by the ID label here and the radio specs, we're thinking we could be looking at the Mako for AT&T, which means it may have just cleared one of the last few hurdles ahead of release. Of course, we don't know exactly how it's doing in AT&T's testing labs -- that's another story altogether -- but maybe we'll see this sooner rather than later.

In North America, Rogers has a reputation for getting the most cool GSM handsets the quickest (that's not the only reputation it has, but we won't go there right this second) -- but this is one case where T-Mobile USA beat 'em to the punch by a mile. The Canadian carrier is adding the Nokia 7510 to its TalkSpot-compatible lineup, meaning you'll be able to offload calls to WiFi when you're within range of a hotspot and transfer seamlessly to and from GSM. There's no 3G, but the colorful flip does come with changeable faceplates, a concealed secondary display, 2 megapixel camera with flash, and microSD expansion. Look for it for CAD $49.99 (about $43) on a three-year deal.

[Via Unwired View]

There's no shortage of complaints -- some minor, some not-so-minor -- about the shipping firmware in the N97s that are already out in the field (our wonky backlight comes immediately to mind), but fortunately, it seems that Nokia's looking to tackle the issues perhaps more proactively than it's ever done before. Nokia Conversations' official Twitter account has announced that the "first variants" of the N97 (which we would take to mean the North American version, since the US got it first) will be blessed with firmware 1.1 starting on July 1, which hopefully will be available over-the-air without any Nokia Software Updater silliness. No word on what exactly will be changed in the new release, but honestly, if we can just get the LL Cool J startup screen, that'll be good enough for us.

[Via Nokia Experts]

Nokia Messaging represents Espoo's premiere email experience -- so premiere, in fact, that the company eventually plans to charge for it on some of its devices -- and to help makes it just a little bit more awesome than it already is, they've now started adding in instant messaging capability. The new Nokia Messaging - E75 IM Beta (yes, that's the full official name) offered by Nokia Beta Labs rocks compatibility with Yahoo Messenger and Ovi -- more services are expected to be compatible in the future -- and appears to serve up pretty much all the features you'd expect of a modern mobile IM client, including background notification, multiple conversation management, status control, and chat log save capability. So far, only the E75's compatible, but Nokia's imploring folks to stay tuned to Beta Labs for updates on when they'll open it up to other devices.

While the free-market works pretty well when, uh, left alone to be free, sometimes it needs a push from a visible hand. Case in point, phone chargers, at the moment some 30 different types of chargers are used on handsets throughout Europe. Today, the European Commission received industry backing of its phone charger standard that relies on a micro-USB socket. The standard is now backed by all the majors (representing 90% of the European mobile market) including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Apple, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments with compatible devices starting to appear in Europe next year. Or course, the micro-USB charger standard already has the blessings of CTIA, OMTP, and GSM Association which implies a broader adoption beyond Europe, someday. One charger for any mobile phone... where's the catch?