Hey, S60 owners, have you had this nagging sense over the past year or two that you're somehow getting slighted by Nokia, but you haven't been able to put your finger on why? No worries, we've figured it out: it's the calculator. Nokia's mainstream dumbphone platform has featured a far better and more capable built-in calculator app than S60 for a while now, which really doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense; granted, you can get better ones from third-party developers, but the point is you shouldn't have to. Thankfully, Nokia agrees, and they've started to toy around with the idea of replacing the S60 calc with its little brother's -- a relatively easy process, since the latter is written in Java. On one hand, it'd be a shame to see a core S60 app move from native code to Java, but on the other hand, if it's a better app and the JVM is transparent, who really cares? Anyway, the ported app is chilling in Nokia's Beta Labs as we speak, just waiting for customer feedback before the higher-ups make a judgment call on whether to integrate it into future S60 releases. The power's in your hands, people, so you may as well take advantage.

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]

Vertu isn't the only game in town when you're looking to blow thousands on a handmade designer handset, and believe it or not, it's not the only game in town when you're looking for a Series 40 luxury phone, either. Mobiado crafts lovely shells of premium materials (you know, like steel) around the same guts that power Nokia's latest standard-issue dumbphones, producing devices that are more exclusive than they are powerful -- but let's be honest, power isn't necessarily what Mobiado's clientele is going for. The company's new Professional 105 ZAF takes its lengthy name in part from the fact that this is the "thinnest luxury phone in the world" at just 10.5 millimeters and features a 2 megapixel camera, 3G radio on the 2100MHz band, microUSB connector, and -- get this -- a battery cover "made entirely from one piece of sapphire crystal." If that's not form before function, we really don't know what is. Though it's not available in the US, the Professional 105 ZAF should be showing up shortly in boutiques around the world in a choice of six conspicuous shades.

[Via Mobile Phone Helpdesk]

Looking to keep the heat on after its XpressMusic reveals last week, Nokia has gotten real with a three-pack of dumbphones that eschew S60 but hang onto a laundry list of relatively high-end features. The 6600 comes in both "fold" and "slide" designations, but the spec sheets are surprisingly different considering that they share a model number in common. The fold rocks out with a 2.13-inch QVGA OLED and 2 megapixel camera, while the slide gets upgraded to a 3.2 megapixel sensor but loses the OLED designation on its 2.2-inch display. Both models also include a rather fascinating feature that allows the user to double-tap on the phone's surface to wake it up or silence it (which begs the question, could we heave it at a wall to achieve the same effect?). The fold comes in at €275 and the slide at 250 -- about $430 and $390, respectively, before carrier subsidies bring those puppies down from the stratosphere.

The pictured 3600 slide, meanwhile, gets no fold companion -- but with its in-your-face color scheme, it really doesn't need any help. This one gets a 3.2 megapixel autofocus lens with dual LED flashes, TV out, and microSD expansion for 175 (about $273). All feature quadband EDGE while the 6600s add 3G on the 850 and 2100MHz bands, so pretty much everyone around the globe (and those in the States without a need for fast data) can get in on this action when it all ships in the third quarter.

We'd have never guessed that the year and a half-old Nokia 6300 would be the target of an update, so color us surprised. The 6300i is a pretty mild refresh of the 6300, offering the same physical appearance, microSD slot, 2 megapixel camera, and Series 40 underpinnings, but the "i" model's got one big ace up its sleeve: WiFi. Nokia's using the opportunity to push the promise of cheap VoIP calling hard -- a nice feature, especially considering the phone's reasonable price of €175 (about $272) -- along with fast internet access. 'Course, without 3G on board, don't stray too far from those hotspots. It looks like we can expect the 6300i (at least in places where the missing 850MHz band isn't needed) some time in the second quarter.

It may not be the biggest news today out of Espoo, but Nokia has brought out a pair of very capable midrange handsets -- so capable, in fact, that we're kinda surprised Nokia is voluntarily using the term "midrange" to describe them. The 9.5mm thick (nice!) 6500 Classic is a sleek, anodized aluminum candybar featuring a 2 megapixel camera, 1GB (yes, 1GB) of internal storage, Bluetooth, QVGA display, microUSB port for charging, audio, and data, and quadband GSM plus UMTS on the 850 and 2100MHz bands (read: compatible everywhere but the US). The 16.4mm thick 6500 Slide is -- you guessed it -- a slider with just a little bit more meat on its bones than the Classic, upping the cam to a Carl Zeiss autofocus 3.2 megapixel piece and including a microSD slot, integrated FM radio and TV out. Look for both to be available in the third quarter; €320 (about $431) for the Classic and €370 (about $498) for the Slide before subsidies.

Nokia's newest and oft rumored "Luna" is finally getting its turn in the spotlight and oh how it shines. This Series 40 phone features quad-band GSM / EDGE, a 2 megapixel camera, translucent smoked glass slider over the keypad, and Nokia's first use of a micro-USB port. Of course this isn't just any Series 40 handset -- OK, well maybe inside it is, unless of course it's rolling with the 5th gen release -- this is top of the line stuff -- at least where price is concerned -- and you will be paying $700 for the luxury of picking one up. The 8600 handset is crafted from stainless steel and glass, and that glass bit, plus the price, is just the ticket for lakes of giant crybaby tears if one of these guys ever hits the pavement. No word on carrier availability yet, but with release planned for sometime in Q2, we have plenty of time to fill in those blanks. Oh yeah, check the gallery below for some more sweet shots.

Hot on the heels of a whole team of low-end phones from Nokia comes the new 3109 Classic, a candybar with a surprisingly decent feature set in light of its low-end appeal. Goodies include Bluetooth, email support, a microSD slot, a music player to take full advantage of said microSD slot, speakerphone, and USB connectivity for synchronization of calendar, contacts, notes, and to-dos to the PC of your choice. Look for it to hit some time this quarter for €140, about $189 -- not bad for "familiar design" with a modern twist, especially considering that it's before carrier subsidy.

Billed as "the latest evolution of the highest-volume mobile-development platform available," Nokia used this week's JavaOne shindig to launch its Series 40 5th Edition operation system for mass-market handsets. While not technically a smartphone platform (unlike its big sib S60), Series 40 is about as open as a dumbphone platform can get -- and 5th Edition is making it even more open with a wide variety of new Java-based APIs. Though there are apparently some UI enhancements in store that promise to yield "richer multimedia applications," Nokia's pretty vague about what exactly the user will see in 5th Edition, concentrating instead on the benefits to developers and carriers. Most notably, the Bluetooth OBEX profile is now supported in Java apps, Flash Lite 2.1 gets Nokia's blessing, and the Advanced Media Supplements standard offers up 3D sound. No word on when 5th Edition might be hitting handsets, but a new suite of tools to harness the new goodies will be available to devs starting next month.

The rumored Nokia 8600 "Luna" just got a lot more real now that a suspiciously similar twin is teasing us from the Carphone Warehouse site. The site dubs the phone the Nokia High Fashion because it's "so new it doesn't even have a model number." Sure, whatevs. At least they know that it's "coming soon" with an "on-screen menu system," 2 megapixel camera for photos and video, MP3 player, and 1GB of built-in memory. It's also likely to be sporting Series 40 under that sliding, semi-transparent hood. Nice.

[Via Stuff.tv]

The good folks over at Engadget Chinese have unearthed a few deets on those colorful little sliders we mentioned last week -- and this time we have pics sans the annoying white Nokia stripe through the middle. As reported, the budget sliders will be rocking 160 x 128 displays, 1.3-megapixel cams, Bluetooth, EDGE data, and A2DP support on the 5300 (proof that the tech can roll deep on a lower-end phone). We're not really digging the red / white color scheme -- reminds us a little too much of a peppermint lozenge -- but it looks like Nokia could have a winner on their hands in the slightly classier gray model.

Leaks out of the Nokia camp aren't terribly common -- certainly nothing on the order of a Palm or RIM, for example -- but we'll always take what we can get. Shots have emerged of these here fun looking little sliders, apparently coined the 5200 and 5300. Specs on the devices are largely hearsay at this point, but here's what we're being told: 1.3-megapixel cam with LED flash, 160 x 128 display (presumably guaranteeing Series 40), and dedicated music controls on the slightly higher-end 5300. Nothing to get terribly worked up about, but with Nokia seemingly throwing a majority of its energy at its S60-based Nseries devices, it's always refreshing to see our Finnish friends pour some love into the low end.

[Via SlashGear]

In addition to those three CDMA handsets announced earlier, Nokia also dropped the Series 40, 6126. This flip goes quad-band GSM/EDGE and features a 2.2-inch, 320 x 240 pixel 16.7-million color internal display (128 x 160 external), a 1.3 megapixel camera, and microSD slot to store all those MP3, AAC, AAC , and eAAC digital music formats for playback over stereo Bluetooth. The 6126 sports a soft-touch Finnish finish in black on black, silver and white, or even beige with red accents just in case you like the idea of your cellphone matching your childhood basement. Available in Q2 06, which could mean tomorrow if ya just gotta have it.