If you've been desperately searching for a way to motion-control your brand new N97, look no further -- Zeemote's got your back. The company's JS1 controller has just added drivers for every S60 3rd and 5th Edition device on the market -- N97 and 5800 XpressMusic included -- plus a whole host of S60-based LGs and Samsungs like the INNOV8 and the KT770. Of course, that doesn't solve the whole issue of N-Gage incompatibility with many of these, but the JS1 can also be used for nifty parlor tricks like web browsing; combine that with the 5800's included desk stand and you've got the couch potato's ultimate mobile setup. [Warning: PDF link]

Typically, you expect Flash Lite updates (or updates to pretty much any module that comes bundled with the phone, for that matter) to be delivered via firmware bump -- a long, slow, frustrating process that can take weeks or months across all regions and product codes for a given Nokia model -- but refreshingly, a new version of Flash Lite is now available to 5800 XpressMusic owners by a very different method. The rarely-used App Update mechanism in newer versions of S60 is being used to push out Flash Lite 3.1, which is said to "improve web browsing, " add Flash 9 support, MP3 streaming, and add a host of other goodies -- and perhaps most importantly, YouTube's now more usable. Let's hope the N97 has this out of the gate, eh?

What a difference a year and a half makes, eh? It was August of 2007 when Orange first got all weird on Nokia over the then-wild concept of a manufacturer-owned and operated music store -- bear in mind the iPhone hadn't launched very widely at that time -- and look how far we've come. The two companies have just announced that the venerable Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be available starting May 29 loaded up with Comes With Music, Nokia's all-you-can-eat service that brings endless downloadable tracks through its Music Store. In Orange's case, Comes With Music will be available on any of five special plans starting at £25 a month (about $38), meaning that you'll be able to nab music for the duration of your two-year contract. As long as DRM's in the mix, you're basically locked into your contract for as long as you want the definitive Bryan Adams collection that you've downloaded -- so we're hoping Nokia nixes that nightmare sooner rather than later. And hey, congrats, Orange customers -- you're the first Brits to officially be offered this through a carrier, and you'll be getting it in an "exclusive" black / silver color combo.

It's certainly not unheard of for Nokia to take existing models in its lineup, tweak 'em with slightly improved hardware and software, and re-release them -- see the N85 / N86, N93 / N93i, N95 / N96, and so on -- so we can totally buy that the company's hard at work at updating its 5800 for a future revision. DigiTimes (which admittedly doesn't have a pristine record for nailing these sorts of rumors) cites "sources" with Taiwanese component suppliers as saying that Nokia wants to replace the 5800's resistive touchscreen with a capacitive one -- the S60-based Samsung i8910 does that, by the by -- in an effort to better compete with its rivals. That would certainly make the device more usable and responsive, but in all likelihood, this isn't a simple matter of swapping out a component (how would you use that totally awesome plectrum, after all?) so we'd expect this to be more of an indication that Espoo's looking to move to capacitive going forward, particularly as it transitions over to the Symbian Foundation's builds.

NOKLA strikes again! The Hong Kong-based doppelganger has concocted its own version of the 5800 XpressMusic, and it looks like they've spared no expense in copying the Finnish phonemaker's handiwork, from the apparent use of Symbian S60 5th Edition to the wavy line-infused screen film. Vietnamese retailer L. A. digital's selling it for 1,900,000 VND, or about $107 US. Peep the video after the break to see this grade-A KIRF unboxed and toyed with.

[Via Daily Mobile]

We're not sure why giant phones are suddenly all the rage, but it seems to be a trend -- Nokia just put up this four-foot 5800 XpressMusic in Antwerp. Unlike the giant Samsung Messager that recently invaded Chicago, it's not actually a working phone, but the custom Flash interface designed by Create Multimedia is meant to mimic the OS as closely as possible -- so we're guessing it's just as frustrating as the real thing. Passerby can play with the Maps app, browse photos, and listen to music through some nifty through-the-glass speakers -- hit the read link for the video.

[Via Nokia Conversations]

It's not the company's first touchscreen device, but the 5800 XpressMusic is the first touchscreen device that Nokia has designed to appeal to the masses, and as such, there are certain expectations. By even the most forgiving of standards, Nokia is now officially late to this game -- all of the remaining top-five manufacturers have been offering mass-market touchscreen phones for some time now -- so there's plenty of ground to be made up. What's more, the 5800 marks the retail introduction of S60 5th Edition, the latest incarnation of the world's most ubiquitous smartphone platform; future iterations of this very code will lay the groundwork for the Symbian Foundation's next-gen offensive, so the stakes have never been higher. You might say the weight of the world -- or Finland, at the very least -- is on the 5800's shoulders, but is this unassuming little slate up to the task? Let's have a look.

It's official: Nokia has a fix. It seems that a "configuration change" -- which we're assuming means a software-based setting of some sort -- was responsible for the 3G disaster on the first batch of North America-spec 5800 XpressMusics to hit the market, and the company has been able to fast-track a new firmware (not a common occurrence for those guys, but clearly, time was of the essence here). Revised units will be on sale "shortly," while existing owners are being asked to call Nokia's customer care, or alternatively, they can step into a flagship store to have their device exchanged. Too bad we can't update these things ourselves, but at least we get the pleasure of unboxing it all over again, eh? Follow the break for the full statement.

When you're dealing with a major signal reception issue on a phone, it's easy to believe that the problem isn't gonna go away without retooling the innards and releasing revised hardware -- but for North American owners (and would-be owners) of Nokia's stricken NAM version of the 5800 XpressMusic, there's new hope. The Nokia Blog is claiming that word from an inside source confirms that the problem has already been fixed with an unreleased firmware update, which would lead us to believe that Nokia could conceivably get devices back on the shelves relatively quickly -- and that current owners will be able to fix their woes without physically exchanging phones. Of course, firmware updates have never come out of Espoo at a firehose pace -- particularly for North American versions of devices -- so we'll believe this is resolved when we've seen it with our own eyes.

This whole 3G performance thing on the North American version of Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic is shaping up to be one of the great made-for-TV gadget industry dramas of the year. First it didn't work, then we found that it kinda did, and now Nokia has put out a totally cryptic statement that clarifies little about what's going on (likely because they don't know either, if we had to guess). In a nutshell, they're acknowledging that "some" NAM 5800s are having issues, they're investigating why, and owners are advised to contact Nokia Customer Care. Here's where it gets crazy, though: they go on to say "only NY and Chicago affected, in Dallas and Miami the devices are working OK. The investigation is ongoing on the device itself and the network used in these cases." It's possible that there's a very specific combination of equipment being used in these two markets that's causing the 5800s to choke, but in all likelihood, it has more to do with the spectrum in use -- in which case, the problem is probably far more widespread than just two cities. If this shakes out to be a hardware issue and Nokia's gotta send 'em back to the labs to get retooled for a few weeks or months, are they better off canning the model and moving on?

We powered up ye olde NAM 5800 XpressMusic today, and the weirdest thing happened: it worked on 3G. This comes after a day of frustration trying to get it hooked up to UMTS yesterday -- a sentiment echoed by several others who took the plunge. The only theory we can come up with is that we were in Chicago yesterday at the Nokia flagship store -- a place where many of the "defective" units were sold -- and today we're elsewhere, so it's conceivable that there's an issue with AT&T's 3G network in Chicago. We've noticed an uptick in 3G loss on other devices in Chicago the past few days, so it's possible that the 5800 is just particularly sensitive to crappy networks; then again, there seem to be others in New York that have the same issue, so it's anybody's guess. All we know for sure is that we're showing a big, fat "3.5G" logo in the upper left corner of our unit at the moment -- and we're going to cross our fingers that it stays that way. We have a request out to Nokia for official comment on the issue, and we'll let you know as soon as we have more.

There was a bit of a false alarm at the flagship stores yesterday -- Nokia's New York and Chicago stores got inventory, but didn't start selling the 5800 right away, causing much anguish in the hearts of American plectrum lovers and our very own Chris Ziegler. Well, all has been rectified, and now you can pick up Nokia's touchscreen pioneer, the 5800 XpressMusic, for $399, unlocked and unsubsidized. If you aren't so much into retail stores you can head to Nokia's online store, though the phone is still inexplicably listed as "pre-order" there -- we're sure things will be rectified soon enough.

Yep, the North American version of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is now on sale for $399 at the flagship store in NYC, just as we'd heard. (Chicago doesn't seem to have them yet but we're sure that'll change soon.) Sure, you've been able to score a $349 Euro unit for a while now, but for an extra 50 bones the NAM version does US 3G on AT&T, and we know you like that 3G action. Still no word on ship dates for those of you that pre-ordered online, but we'll see what we can find out when we head down to the local to pick this bad boy up.

[Via PhoneScoop]

Update: As of 4:30 Eastern, neither the New York nor Chicago stores are actually giving up the goods yet, though we have reason to believe that the 5800s are physically in the stores. Trying to lead up to some manufactured hype, perhaps?

Circumstantial evidence continues to suggest that we're on track for a February release of Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic in New World flavor, featuring quadband EDGE plus hearty helpings of 850 and 1900MHz HSDPA -- and if you're close to the New York or Chicago flagship stores, that release might be right around the corner. The Nokia Blog cites a trusted source that we'll see both locations unleash the 5800 tomorrow afternoon for $399; we called the Chicago store and were told that it'd likely be released within a week, "but you might want to try back tomorrow." In other words, yeah, tomorrow's looking like a lock, unless something goes horribly wrong, the shipping truck flips somewhere along a deserted stretch of I-80, and hundreds of precious handhelds lie scattered across the asphalt.

Slowly but surely, Nokia's Comes With Music is checking off locales on its tour around the world. Next up is Singapore, and rather than sticking to the same selection of CwM-equipped handsets as we've seen thus far, it'll be tossing in the lower-end 5320 XpressMusic and 5220 XpressMusic alongside the 5800, N96, N95 and N79. When the service and handsets launch in "the coming weeks," it'll mark the first nation in Asia to take part in Nokia's fun little all-you-can-digest music initiative. For those keeping score, this will make Singapore the first country on the planet to have access to a CwM 5800, though there's no word on how costly any of the previously mentioned mobiles will be. Patience, friends -- it's all we can count on these days.