We've got to file this new mobile virus named "Trojan-SMS.SymbOS.Viver" -- and the first such SMS Trojan for Series 60 -- under "frustrating waste of time." Sadly, it is most often the user at fault for downloading for granting a bit of dodgy software access to their darling mobile, and while we do feel the sadness for ya if you get stung, if ya takes the risks, ya pays the consequences. Once installed on the Series 60 device, the trojan will begin sending SMS messages to "premium" SMS numbers at a cost of anywhere from $1 to more than $10 bucks a pop. The clever perp would have set up this number ahead of time and would reap the rewards by splitting the bounty with the mobile operator providing the number. We're pretty sure you could get a chargeback for this type of silliness, but will thank our lucky stars that this is apparently limited to Russia at the moment with nothing -- as of yet, anyway -- being reported over here.

[Via Unwired View]

We all love our 9mm slimphones these days, but sometimes the need for a celly big enough to bear hug just overcomes us all. Enter the "MegaPhone" by SysOpen Digia. This beast from the east is a 5'7" fully functional handset with real buttons as big as a fist (we think, anyway) and a very, very large color screen, although the rez may be a little blocky. This unit appears to have S60 inside it for use by customers who no doubt will be drawn to a life-size handset that actually works as a functional prop. Now, can it make calls? Doubtful, but we'd love to see a comparably sized Bluetooth headset for this puppy.

[Via textually.org]

Although this review of the new Nokia N95 is labeled as a first impression, all the scuttlebutt was fleshed out (well, most of it) and the N95's guts were examined with clarity and precision. Thinking of picking one up? Take a look over at AllAboutSymbian. The nerdy details on the N95 are pretty decent -- but is it a smartphone? A digicam? A DAP? A....keypad? Just what is this thing, or is it everything? Well, we know it's a Symbian S60 (3rd Ed.) smartphone that sports dual-slider action (keyboard and music controls) and looks pretty chunky svelte for what's under the hood; but Nokia, what is up with those apparently-stringy earbuds? Is that rubber casing on the wires? We prefer the non-gangy set o'phones please. Let's hit up the good based on AAS's touchy-feely on the N95 -- very good-sounding stereo speakers built into the sides, a diet form factor compared to previous N-series units, every wire-free connectivity option you could ever need, and a 5 Megapixel cam with Zeiss optics and even VGA video capture -- what's not to love? AAS's overall impression of this unit is very good -- all the way to how the keypad looks and feels (ridgy and tactile). Need we say more?

Where we come from, we like our phones to -- how should we say this -- work. Readers feeling the same way shouldn't get too excited here, but those just looking for a little pocket candy might head on over to eBay where E65 dummies are starting to show up ahead of a probable 3GSM announcement in Barcelona next month. Pictures of the dummy confirm that it's a business-oriented S60 slider, though the red accent here gives it a little flair that a previous prototype was lacking. With a 2 megapixel cam, UMTS 2100, and WiFi -- in the real phone, of course -- this thing should do a decent job shoring up Nokia's smartphone slider lineup alongside the N80.

[Via Ring Nokia]

Calling the N93i an "upgrade" over the N93 might actually be a bit heavy handed. Though the monster clamshell gains S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 on its predecessor and shaves a solid 3.2 millimeters of thickness, virtually every other change is more of a sidegrade than anything else. The keypad ditches that pesky third dimension to take on a RAZR-esque etched metal look (a first for a Nokia device), the front gets a mirrored finish with a concealed 128 x 36 OLED display, and software for photo / video blogging to the newly-minted Vox service. Granted, the mods add up to something a little meatier than your average Internet or Music Edition, but N93 owners are still probably best off hanging onto their wallets here. Non-owners, though, well... that's another story entirely; you folks can get your N93i on before the quarter's out for €600 (about $785).

Nokia has taken its Nseries line of smartphones in a decidedly more fashionable direction than it's used to going, announcing the 13.7 millimeter thick N76 clamshell this week. Specs aren't quite up to snuff with Nokia's latest and greatest, but hey, they're not bad either: QVGA display, 20MB of internal memory, and 2 megapixel cam, topped with a standard 3.5 millimeter audio jack (which may not be internal to the phone itself, but rather provided via dongle -- we need to investigate this one) and UMTS data for 2100MHz-friendly portions of the globe. As we've seen with other Nokia models, a second variant of the N76 will be made available for us broadband data-hating Americans that simply removes the UMTS support while retaining quadband GSM with EDGE. Look for the N76 to find its way into fashion-conscious hands starting later this quarter for around €390 ($510, give or take).

Nokia's business-friendly (but not necessarily uptight) Eseries has yet to pay host to a slider, which is kinda strange considering the overwhelming goodness of the N80 and the soon-to-be-goodness of the N95. No worries -- Finland's favorite phone company looks ready to right its wrongs with the 16-millimeter thick E65. The S60 3rd Edition smartphone rocks a full assortment of connectivity options, ranging from IrDA and Bluetooth to UMTS and WiFi, though HSDPA is a no-show (as is any trace of a North American 3G band). The cam clocks in at a respectable 2 megapixels, which we think is about right for a circa-2007 corporate smartphone, and the microSD slot will come in handy when it's time to supplement the 70MB of internal storage. If the details all pan out, look for this one to drop midyear for about €340 ($450, give or take).

Even as it celebrates its one-year anniversary in public circulation, Nokia's N80 keeps on scrapping with the best smartphones the world has to offer. After all, S60 3rd Edition is still fresher than anything Microsoft or ACCESS has to offer, the 3 megapixel camera is well above and beyond the standard fare, and the 416 x 352 display simply blows lesser QVGA screens out of the water. It makes sense, then, that while we all wait for the next-gen Nseries devices, Nokia would be looking to extend the useful shelf lives of the elder statesmen in their lineup by tweaking, bundling, and renaming. Among the devices to get a makeover is the N80, becoming the recently-released N80 Internet Edition with a slightly revised software bundle and two fantabulous color choices: black and bronze. Since the hardware is identical to the original N80, we'll concentrate on a couple of the Internet Edition's software goodies -- and don't worry, original N80 owners, most or all of it comes with yours, too, or can be downloaded free of charge.

Sorry, SavaJe fans -- if you call Vodafone home, it looks like you're out of luck. Hoping to reduce integration, development, and support costs and speed up time to market, Vodafone has announced plans to purge their lineup of anything that doesn't run on Windows Mobile, Series 60, or Linux. The streamlining will take place over the next five years, during which a separate agreement announced with Microsoft aims to "integrate Vodafone's applications and services with Microsoft's software" -- we're not exactly sure what that means, but we think it has something to do with getting Vodafone-branded Windows Mobile devices into users' hands with a little more hustle than everyone's accustomed to. The first visible evidence of this grand plan for standardization should apparently rear its head in the first half of 2007 with some Samsung hardware. The i520, perhaps?

[Via PDA247]

So, this actually went down a couple days ago, and we've been sitting here trying to process all the information ever since. The idea of any carrier -- let alone a non-Japanese one -- announcing thirty-one handsets in one fell swoop simply boggles our mortal minds. We take it so seriously, in fact, that we liken it to the discovery of penicillin or man landing on the moon; if a US carrier were to launch 31 handsets at once, we wouldn't be surprised to see it on the front page of every newspaper in North America. Alas, this isn't Cingular or Verizon with the announcement -- it's Vodafone, so let's get down to business. First up, Nokia is bringing six phones to the party: the 6070, 6151, 6234, 6288, 7390, and the N73; all but the 6070 are 3G, and you get your choice of cams ranging from VGA all the way up to the N73's monster 3.2-megapixel shooter. LG will be contributing its KU800 (a Chocolate variant) and L600V, both with 3G data. Motorola rolls deep with four models, the MAXX, V1100 (an HSDPA-capable Vodafone exclusive), MOTOKRZR K1, and V3xx. Sagem's got the my600V and my800V -- both lower-end 3G devices -- and the super simple myC5-3. We're starting to get a little fatigued here, but let's keep going; Sharp has their 770SH and EDGE-only GX29 in store with 1.3-megapixel and VGA cams, respectively. Sony Ericsson brings their K310i, K610i, K800i Cyber-shot, V630i (another Voda exclusive, hence the "V," we're guessing), and W850i Walkman phones, though no mention of the P990. Samsung wins the title of "World's Most Phones Launched By A Single Manufacturer In This Particular Vodafone Announcement," dropping the X510V, X680V, Z400V, Z540V, Z560V, Z720V, ZV40, and ZV50. Last -- and possibly least -- the Vodafone 710 inaugurates Voda's self-branding initiative, bringing 3G and a 1.3-megapixel camera in (what should be) an inexpensive package. All told, six of the new phones will rock HSDPA, and a total of 24 support some manner of high-speed data. Now if you'll excuse us, we need some milk of magnesia and a nap, but we hope we've brightened the day of a Brit or two among our readership. [Warning: PDF link]

A Finnish fellow named Arto Holopainen on the Nokia forums has just come up with a way to control your cellphone without touching the phone -- that is, controlling it via Bluetooth-enabled EMG monitoring devices hooked up to your biceps. Holopainen took a Series 60 (or 80) phone, a small battery-operated Bluetooth-enabled two-channel electromyogram device (you know, the one that takes measurements of electrical muscle activity) and the MuscleMonitor application to run on his phone, and then managed to map various muscle activity levels to cellphone functions. Specifically, he's made it possible to play the classic game Snake through muscle flexing to control the various movements in the game. Holopainen elaborates that one could further map the software so that you could even text message by just flexing your muscles -- why one would want to do this, we have no idea, but we're sure that he looks absolutely ridiculous trying to get a workout by playing Snake.

According to LAPTOP Magazine, Nokia's pared-down E61 for North America, the E62, will go out the door for $149.99. We're guessing this is a contract price; if it isn't, we'll be setting up a little eBay operation on the side.

[Thanks, Bill and Aaron]

Are you loving the N93's spec sheet, but gargantuan clamshells aren't your cup of tea? No worries, friends; the 3.2-megapixel candybar N73 has just been approved by the FCC, and thanks to quadband GSM, we have a fighting chance of seeing this one drop in the States -- at least in Nokia's flagship store, if nothing else. Specs are enough to get the juices of any S60 fan flowing: UMTS (albeit on the 2100MHz band), 2.4-inch QVGA display, MiniSD slot, stereo speakers, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0, and the list goes on. Now let's just cross our fingers Qualcomm doesn't get its way, and we might be seeing this hotness before too long in these parts.

[Via Mobilewhack]

Some pix of that unannounced Nokia N73 we told you about a few weeks back have surfaced in the forums over at mobile-review. The N73 (on left in the picture) as it's currently called, is the the supposed successor to the N70 (on right), and is expected to pump Symbian 9.1 and Series 60 3rd addition while featuring a 3.2 megapixel cam with with autofocusing Carl Zeiss lens, Bluetooth 2.0, stereo speakers, memory card expansion and that good 3G (UMTS) lovin' for video calls on that large QVGA screen. So really, no additional details, just some fuzzy eye candy this time around. More pics after the break.

[Via NewMobile, Thanks Oliver]