Mobile Phones

Nokia launched a new S40 clamshell media phone. The 6267, as the device is known, is a quad-band GSM/EDGE handset that also supports UMTS 3G connections on the 2100 and 850MHz frequency bands, meaning that it should work in Europe as well as parts of North America.

The 6267 is aimed at the mid-tier market, and as such focuses on keeping cost, as well as complexity, down. The phone offers dedicated music controls on the exterior of the flip and has a 2 megapixel main camera for taking snapshots. Its microSD memory card slot supports cards as large as 4GB in capacity, which is enough for a lot of photos, videos, and music tracks.

Other standout features on the 6267 include a 16M color main QVGA (240x320) display, a 262k color 128x160 pixel external display, and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity. The Bluetooth system supports A2DP stereo connections, which makes sense for a music friendly phone like the 6267.

The Nokia 6267's battery should power the phone for up to 6.5 hours of talk time and up to 12.5 days of standby time.

Nokia's new 6121 is a near exact clone of the 6120 S60 smartphone that the company announced in April. The only real difference between the two is significant for a number of reasons. The 6121 is the first device that we have seen that comes equipped with UMTS/HSDPA support on the 900MHz frequency band. While we have not heard of any European networks implementing UMTS on the 900MHz band currently used for GSM, it seems quite plausible. The fact that Nokia has launched such a device hints that we might be hearing of an official carrier announcement regarding UMTS on the 900MHz band sooner rather than later.

Apart from that UMTS band change, the 6121 is basically the same as the 6120. It runs the S60 UI on top of the Symbian OS, and has dual cameras built-in. The main shooter has a max resolution of 2 megapixels, while the QVGA resolution secondary camera is intended for video calling.

Nokia's new low-cost 3500 Classic offers modern day looks in a familiar, easy to use candy bar shape. The 3500 Classic will be available in a number of color schemes, each with color coordinated keypads and a metal frame that runs around the edge of the phone.

In terms of multimedia support, the 3500 Classic comes equipped with goodies like a 2 megapixel camera and an FM radio receiver. Its built-in music player supports a wide variety of music formats like AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MP3, and WMA. The 3500 Classic's Bluetooth 2.0 system supports a wide variety Bluetooth profiles as well, including the A2DP profile for use with stereo Bluetooth headphones.

The battery in the 13mm thick 3500 Classic's 81g (2.9oz) body should provide for up to 3 hours of talk time or 12.5 days of standby time on GSM networks. Two tri-band GSM/EDGE versions of the device will be available: 900/1800/1900MHz and 850/1800/1900MHz.

Nokia announced two new handsets, the 7500 and 7900, and with the announcement made the new Prism series official. The manufacturer says that the Prism series is highlighted by cutting edge colors, materials, and accents, and the angular and stylish design of the 7500 and 7900 really push this theme home.

Complementing the Nokia 7900, on the lower end of the series is the 7500 Prism. The 7500 features a similar design to the 7900, but loses the 3G capabilities of its sibling and makes use of more traditional TFT technology for its display. The handset's display still features QVGA resolution and also is capable of displaying 16 million colors. The 7500 also has and 2MP camera, and its lack of a large amount of on board memory is made up for with compatibility with microSD memory cards of up to 2GB in size. The Nokia 7500 Prism also features bright, interchangeable color accents.

Nokia announced the new 5610 XpressMusic feature phone. This S40 device sports a sleek slider design that matches gloss black surfaces with aluminum highlighting on its sides. The device supports quad-band GSM as well as dual-band UMTS (2100MHz and 850Mhz), meaning that it should work pretty much anywhere in the world. Not only that, but its 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera will let you take high quality snapshots of your travels.

When it comes to letting you enjoy all of the photos and music that can be packed into 4GB microSD card (not included), the 5610 XpressMusic has you covered. Your photos will look great on the 2.2", 16 million color QVGA (240x320 pixel) display. Music can be enjoyed through wired or wireless stereo headphones thanks to built-in Bluetooth A2DP support. Sadly, though, the 5610 XpressMusic lacks the 3.5mm headphone jack that its slimmer brother, the 5310, offers.

What the 5610 does offer that sets it apart, however, is a novel slider control for selecting music. It is also one of the devices that is compatible with the newly announced Nokia Music Store, though it only supports side-loading of music from a desktop computer.