In a welcome, yet odd, development, Dell has started selling several high-end Nokia phones in an unlocked state via its online store. So far searches reveal that Dell is selling the Nokia N80, E61i, and E61 for around $400, and the N95 for $732. Those prices don't sound too great when compared to in-contract prices, but compared to similar unlocked offerings from high street stores they're pretty damn competitive. Besides, it doesn't look as if Dell is partnering with any mobile operators, and is instead highlighting the unlocked prices. Unlocked cellphone price war, anyone? If Dell's in the game, then you can bet that others will join.

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.

Nokia looks set to be the first to offer integrated Orb MyCasting service on its phones, announcing that its N80 "Internet Edition" handset will ship with the media sharing service pre-loaded this November. Orb itself has, of course, been available for some time now, letting you remotely access media stored on your home PC from your cellphone or other mobile device, as well as control DVR functions on your computer and playback stored content. Orb's also only the latest bit of software to be announced for inclusion on the "Internet Edition" variation of the Nokia's N80 handset, with tools for Flickr and Amazon, as well as Yahoo Go For Mobile, an enhanced Nokia web browser, and SIP-compliant VoIP already filling up the internal memory. Like some of those other services, you'll most definitely want an unlimited data plan if you intend on doing any more than a test drive with Orb, 'cause those kilobytes are gonna add up fast once they start flying.

[Thanks, Mo C]

While there's a certain novelty associated with an SMS-printing bicycle, the practicality is certainly questionable; however, Nokia is adding yet another dash of ole fashioned utility to "four of its N-series cameraphones." Although details are still a bit slim at this point, we do know that Nokia will be releasing software that allows the "Internet Edition" N80 (and a yet-to-be-announced trio of other N-series mobiles) to order prints from the Snapfish website directly from the phone. Users can presumably order prints from other popular alternatives such as Winkflash, but Nokia hasn't extended official support for any site other than HPs own at the moment. Of course, users can order prints from photos already in their gallery, or they can upload them on the fly via their cameraphone. While attempting to resize, crop, and tweak images to perfection before throwing down for a couple 8 x 10-inch hardcopies on a 352 x 418 resolution screen may not be ideal, we won't complain about extra functionality tossed in gratis.

It appears that another carrier has decided to give VoIP its warm, loving embrace. Nokia will be supplying Singapore's SingTel with its E60, E61, and N80 Internet Edition handsets, all of which support both GSM and WiFi; add some SIP-compliant VoIP into the mix, and you have yourself a nice little dual-mode solution. SingTel hasn't announced pricing, but plans on offering a flat-rate service enabling its customers to hop on the VoIP bit from any hotspot, including SingTel's own Wireless Surf Zones. There's no mention of handoff capability between networks, but if the price is right, we'll let it slide -- just don't go wandering off while you're hitting up the WiFi.

[Via Slashphone]

Take a garden variety N80, stuff it full of applets with an affinity for packet data, and re-release it as the N80 Internet Edition. That's exactly what Nokia has announced this week, bundling the venerable 3-megapixel N80 slider with a range of new software -- you get Yahoo Go for Mobile, Flickr, some Amazon-branded goodies, Nokia's enhanced web browser, improved app management through a "Download!" client, and most importantly, SIP-compliant VoIP, perfect for use with the N80's WiFi support. If you're worried that the street value of your existing N80 has just dropped significantly, fret not; the Internet Edition hardware is identical to the existing model, though it'll be available in "patina bronze" and "pearl black." Sadly, we've confirmed with Nokia that the new model come in only the "global" variant, meaning that although you get quad-band GSM, no UMTS 850 or 1900 is in the cards. If you can get over the lack of good ol' American 3G, look for the N80 Internet Edition to drop stateside some time in Q4.

Taking a cue from other design-obsessed companies such as Apple and Sony, Nokia has announced plans to open a line of retail locations in the U.S. -- the first ones outside Russia and perhaps Finland that we're aware of -- and even better, will be offering models not available from carriers or traditional channels. The flagship store is set to open in Chicago on June 21, and will sell "virtually anything that could possibly be available in this market," according to a Nokia spokesperson, including such high-end handsets as the recently-launched N93 and N73 3.2 megapixel cameraphones, N91 4GB musicphone, and UMTS-enabled N80 smartphone (which happens to sport a three megapixel CCD as well). PC Mag's article on the upcoming stores, the second of which is scheduled to hit New York before the end of the year, also includes an update on the N91, which will apparently receive a key software upgrade sometime after launch that enables playback of DRM-protected content.

Update: Several readers have very kindly pointed out that Nokia has stores in much of Europe and Asia.

Nokia is blaming software problems for the delays in their N91, N71, N80, E60, E61, and E71 phones. No word on what exactly is at fault, but Nokia does claim they'll be shipping the N91 -- which was slated for a holiday release last year -- this week. The N71 and N80 are supposed to follow later this month. Nokia claims the business-centric E61, E61, and E71 -- which all missed their March launch target -- are still wrapping up in software testing, and that the E61 will get priority for release. In other news, Nokia managed to to get a class-action lawsuit by a New York judge dismissed last Friday. The 77-page opinion thoroughly trounced the opposition, which had filed suit in April 2004.