Don't get us wrong, Nokia's Aeon concept is beautiful. By the time you remove all the fanciful, nonexistent technology and try to come up with a dead ringer of your own, though, a certain something is lost in translation. A manufacturer -- not Nokia, trust us -- has now tried (and failed) to recreate the Aeon's magic in a retail package, dubbing it the YX-W168 and throwing in dual SIM capability, 2 megapixel camera, and that critical "invisible keyboard" lit by a handful of blue LEDs, but there's only one small problem: it looks nothing like the Aeon. Simple steps like getting rid of the "Vogue Lifestyle" label etched across the phone's edge would've gone a short way toward making it a more believable rip, but then again, not really.

[Via Tech Ticker]

Indians are among the very first lucky denizens of the world to get a crack at Nokia's 6220 classic, one of the high-end handsets introduced at Mobile World Congress back in February. Though it doesn't get slapped with an Nseries label, it probably should on account of a 5 megapixel camera with xenon flash, AGPS, TV-out, and HSDPA, all underpinned by S60 -- so why isn't it an N something-or-other, then? Our only guess is that it takes a moderately different, more conservative styling direction than the modern Nseries line, because we'd argue the local asking price of 19,959 rupees (about $464) is more than enough to push it into "multimedia computer" category.

[Via Unwired View]

[Via Yahoo News]

It's that magical time of the season again where Nokia's mass-market platform, Series 40, gets a little spec bump to keep up with the Joneses. The latest cut is 6th Edition (which follows 5th Edition, in case there was any doubt there) which will get its official world debut on the Supernova 7510 fashion phone in the fourth quarter of this year. What magical gifts can users expect? Most importantly, Flash Lite 3 comes in the box, which means support for video; plenty of other Series 40 phones have shipped with Flash support, but version 3 is fresh. It'll also support a significantly enhanced browser, UI transitions (think S60 3.2), and support for Windows Media Audio 10 and Windows Media Video 9, among other things. Yeah, at the end of the day it's still a dumbphone, but it looks like Nokia's doing everything it can to blur the lines. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via IntoMobile]

Hate to break it to you, but there's little more to tell about the E66 that we didn't already cover with the E71. It's basically the exact same hardware and screen in a portrait, sliding form factor, which loses the QWERTY for a numeric keypad. That said, we wanted to go over the specific quality of those differences, and touch on a few things we missed with the E71 review. Oh, and in case you missed our video hands-on with both devices, you can find it right here.

Though they've already been well documented (heck, they're already on sale in some parts of the world), Nokia's just now getting around to making its foursome of Supernovas official. The new line reps mid-range fashion (think L'Amour, but not over the top) and comes in your choice of two candybars, a flip, or a slider as the 7210, 7310, 7510, or 7610, respectively. The 7210 features a tri-band GSM radio plus EDGE, a 2 megapixel camera, and an FM radio; look for it to launch in the third quarter for €120 (about $189). The 7310 apes the 7210's look but adds support for changeable Xpress-On faceplates, TV-out, and support for GSM 850, and while all that extra kit adds €35 (about $55) to the price over the lesser model, it's available now. The 7510 goes for the flip form factor but carries over most of the 7310's spec sheet, waiting it out until the fourth quarter for a €180 (about $283) launch in scary colors like "Fatal Red". Finally, the 7610 (no, not that one) moves up to a beefier 3.2 megapixel camera and hits next quarter for €225 (about $354).

So one of the models in Nokia's new low-cost Supernova fashion series, the 7610 slider, just hit the FCC for approval. That's not terribly interesting -- this sort of thing happens on a daily basis. What we did find interesting, though, was this little patch of stars on the backside. It's kind of like that tattoo you've got hidden in a naughty place no one's ever going to see, because those stars lie directly under the far more uptight, boring, slate blue battery cover. What's up with that? North Americans who want to investigate this little mystery in more detail are in luck on account of the quadband GSM / EDGE radio, so as long as you haven't sworn allegiance to the 3G towers in your neighborhood, you'll be good to go -- just don't go shedding your battery cover for every heartbreaker you meet.

Nokia pushing out a user-installable firmware update to one of its S60 handsets is certainly nothing new -- and unfortunately, pushing out said update to the European model before the North American model is nothing new, either -- but what is new is how this particular update is being distributed. The company is finally taking advantage of S60's over-the-air update capability, allowing users to nab the 2MB binary for the European variant of the N78 right over a WiFi or 3G connection (GPRS / EDGE too, we imagine, but that'd be pretty painful). Version 11.043 is said to imbue handsets with "improved stability with Bluetooth (headsets and car kits) and music (playback over a long time and content refresh)" alongside "optimized Camera performance and Naviscroll sensitivity improvements," so we'd say it's pretty much a no-brainer to grab -- particularly since it doesn't mean sitting down in front of the PC with a USB cable and an iron will.

Oh c'mon, you didn't think all these global players could just toss their eggs into one basket and pop out a new handset next week, did you? All sarcasm aside, those stoked about the possibilities of the newly formed Symbian Foundation will be waiting a good while before an actual handset is loosed on the world, or so Kai Öistämö says. Said exec has been quoted as saying that the first mobiles "bearing the new platform" wouldn't appear until 2010, which should be about the same time that the platform "has been fully open-sourced." For more of Öistämö's comments, head on down to the read link; for the nearest box of tissues... well, you're on the own there.

You've piddled around in our unboxing shots and replayed that hands-on video countless times. Now, the time has finally come to bust open the piggy bank and secure your very own Nokia N78. Dramatics aside, the HSDPA-packin' handset that also musters a 3.2-megapixel camera and A-GPS can now be purchased at Nokia flagship stores in Chicago and New York, numerous online retailers and the occasional mom 'n pop shop for around $560. So, who's getting one?

Nokia's been in bed with Symbian for many, many years through the development of its S60 platform -- the world's most populous smartphone platform, dont'cha know -- and they're taking that relationship to its endgame today by announcing that they'll be acquiring the remaining shares of Symbian that they don't already own. Here's where it gets interesting, though: rather than taking Symbian's intellectual private for Nokia's own benefit, the goods will be turned over to the Symbian Foundation, a nonprofit whose sole goal will be the advancement of the Symbian platform in its many flavors. Motorola and Sony Ericsson have signed up to contribute UIQ assets, while NTT DoCoMo (which uses Symbian-based wares in a number of its phones) will be donating code as well.

Other Symbian Foundation members include Texas Instruments, Vodafone, Samsung, LG, and AT&T (yep, the same AT&T that currently sells precisely one Symbian-based phone), so things could get interesting. The move clearly seems to be a preemptive strike against Google's Open Handset Alliance, LiMo, and other collaborative efforts forming around the globe with the goal of standardizing smartphone operating systems; the writing was on the wall, and Symbian didn't want to miss the train. Total cash outlay for the move will run Nokia roughly €264 million -- about $410 million in yankee currency.

Update: It's worth noting that the foundation plans to make the entire platform available as open source in the next two years -- "select components" at launch.

Read - Creation of Symbian Foundation
Read - Acquisition of Symbian by Nokia

T-Mobile's still doing its darndest to keep its fragmented 3G network launch on the DL -- the carrier can't deliver a wide footprint just yet, and it look like it doesn't want to put customers under the false impression that it can. A great way to make sure no one cares about your high-speed handsets is to make sure they're all totally anonymous, low- to midrange devices with minimum shelf appeal, and what can we say, T-Mobile? Mission accomplished! PC Magazine has devoted some quality time to checking out all four of the 3G models currently offered -- the 3555 and 6263 from Nokia along with the t819 and t639 from Samsung -- and it looks like they've managed to develop a really potent power user repellent with the lineup. The 6263 scrapes by with the most generous review of the review, but even it is hampered by a lack of HSDPA (meaning 3G data's capped at a theoretical 384kbps) and a measly 1.3 megapixel camera. Clearly, T-Mobile wants these phones viewed in exactly the same light as the remainder of its consumer-class models, and we'll give 'em that much, they've done a bang-up job in that regard. Maybe too good, in fact.

Read - Nokia 3555
Read - Samsung t819
Read - Nokia 6263
Read - Samsung t639

The 3G handset selection is still tres weak down on America's number four, but it's not all gloom and doom -- things are looking considerably brighter on the WiFi end of T-Mob's tech spectrum. The carrier has announced today that it is adding the Samsung t339 flip and Nokia's stainless steel 6301 candybar (unbranded version shown) in support of its HotSpot @Home UMA calling action, and while neither device comes as a surprise, the 6301 should end up generating at least a little buzz as the first candybar dumbphone on T-Mob to pony up the 802.11 sauce. Notably, it also features a QVGA display, reasonably decent 2 megapixel cam, and integrated FM radio -- all told, a far cry from the HotSpot @Home lineup's humble roots in the Nokia 6086 and Samsung t409. Both new models are available starting today.

While most of us wait for "something really big" to land on Canada's Fido on July 11th, those looking for just the basics have one more option as of today. The Nokia 3500 candybar has arrived, packing Bluetooth, tri-band GSM connectivity, a microSD card slot, 2-megapixel camera, MP3 player and a battery good for up to four hours of straight yappin'. If that's plenty for you, it's available now for $100 sans a Fido agreement, $90 with a 2-year plan and just $15 with a mind-boggling 3-year contract.

[Via MobileInCanada]

While Nokia makes a habit of practically defining "featurephone" for the industry, traditionally it's handsets like the N95 that hog all the spotlight, leaving Nokia's few QWERTY phones in the shadows. Not that they've been trying too hard -- while the E62 and E61i have both shipped over here, neither has featured 3G data in US bands, and the E62 even had the distinct pleasure of having WiFi stripped out. Enter E71, the successor to those phones, and Nokia's very first QWERTY device to feature US-friendly 3G.

Nokia is also (finally) taking form factor much more seriously: at 10mm thick, the E71 is one of the slimmest Nokia phones to date, and Nokia claims it's the thinnest QWERTY smartphone on the market. The E71 also attacks the drab, plastic looks of its predecessors with chrome accents and a glossy screen. The phone is incredibly pocketable, and comfortable to hold and use. Of course, with the smaller size Nokia had to cut down on screen real estate and keyboard spacing, but at a QVGA resolution there's little suffering on that front. The keyboard had a much more rigid, clicky feel to it compared to the spongy keys of the E62, and we were virtually typo-free on it within minutes.