July 3 - 1:10pm EDT   Nokia has recently announced the release of its latest version of its Ovi Maps software used in more than 40 of its GPS-enabled handsets. Now available for download, Ovi Maps 3.0 has a number of enhancements, including high resolution satellite and terrain maps in both 2D and 3D views, as well as 3D landmarks for more than 200 large cities. The latter allows users to view the virtual landmarks with fly-overs, fly-throughs, in a night view and by rotating and tilting the perspective. There is also a new Walk mode for navigating on foot, while the Drive mode provides speed limit information, location of speed cameras, real-time traffic and lane assistance. [full story]

July 2 - 4:15pm EDT   First spotted just over a month ago, the Nokia 6790 Surge got a one-month delay in its launch date at wireless provider AT&T. While an exact date is not announced, sources believe the phone, which used to go by the codename Mako, will appear sometime in mid-July. Some preliminary specs of the sliding QWERTY handset include a 2.4-inch, 240x320 display, and quad-band GSM and dual-band HSDPA support. The Surge is also one of a handful of mid-range Nokia phones equipped with the smartphone-grade Symbian S60 operating system. [full story]

June 25 - 12:00pm EDT   New data published by AdMob today showed that Apple's share of mobile web use has suddenly surged and now makes up more than two thirds of all mobile traffic in the US. In May, iPhone requests represented 69 percent of all traffic, a sudden jump from 59 percent the month before. By comparison, BlackBerries accounted for just 13 percent of traffic and Android phones represented 7 percent. [full story]

June 23 - 4:10pm EDT   Adobe during its most recent fiscal results call narrowed the window for its plans to port desktop-grade Flash to mobile devices. Company chief Shantanu Naraye says it now expects a beta version of Flash 10 to arrive at the MAX conference in October and that it should initially be available for Android, Symbian, webOS and Windows Mobile. Web browsers on these devices will support both animations and video without having to leave for a separate app, such as the Flash Lite player on many Symbian or Windows Mobile phones. [full story]

June 22 - 9:05am EDT   Rogers this morning became the first major North American carrier to adopt the 5800 XpressMusic. The first touchscreen Nokia phone shows in Canada with native 3G and is very close to the reference Symbian S60 platform with the exception of a new urMusic app for shopping from Rogers' store for music or concert tickets. Rogers allows Nokia Maps to serve as the GPS navigation option rather than offering its own. [full story]

June 15 - 8:15am EDT   Just as key to Nokia's phone launches this morning is its first lower-end touchscreen device. The 5530 XpressMusic is still a true smartphone with Symbian S60 and a 2.9-inch, 640x360 touchscreen but makes a number of sacrifices to scale down its price. It limits cellular data to EDGE and relies on Wi-Fi as its fastest connection; it also drops GPS with this goal in mind. A 3.2-megapixel camera stays onboard, as does a bundled 4GB microSDHC card (down from 8GB) for storage. [full story]

June 15 - 7:10am EDT   After last-minute leaks, Nokia this morning launched a replacement for its most popular business phone. The E72 has the familiar slim profile of the E71 (reviewed here) but a major overhaul of the interface: the directional pad has been replaced with an optical trackpad that allows more computer-like control without needing a touchscreen. It combines with a much improved e-mail client from the E75 and completely new top-level IM support at the home screen. [full story]

June 10 - 1:40pm EDT   Immersion on Tuesday announced it has joined the Symbian Foundation, giving other members access to the company's TouchSense haptics technology. The TouchSense API is available for free to programmers who are developing applications for the Symbian platform and cellphone makers can separately license Immersion's haptic technology. Haptic feedback such as Immersion's theoretically improve touchscreen interaction by producing confirmation of a virtual button press with vibration and sound. [full story]

June 10 - 8:35am EDT   Nokia today said it has started shipping the N86 8MP worldwide. As promised, the 8-megapixel slider claims a number of firsts for camera phones with a variable aperture that better controls the amount of light let in, a true mechanical shutter that speeds up photography and produces cleaner shots, and built-in image stabilization to cut back on blurring. It also has twin LED flashes, dedicated camera controls and an OLED display that more accurately renders the colors of the final shot. [full story]

June 9 - 10:20am EDT   Nokia today started carrying the N97 in its Chicago and New York City flagship stores. The smartphone comes to the US both with native 3G using AT&T's HSPA network but also preloaded with Qik's self-titled video streaming app. Using it provides both offline recording for later use as well as Qik's signature ability to stream video live to the web, either for a set group of friends or as a public broadcast. The N97 in particular supports up to a 16:9-ratio, 642x358 feed. [full story]

June 5 - 11:35am EDT   Samsung is developing a mid-range smartphone which would take on high-end candybar designs like the Nokia E52. A leak of the B5100 shows a typical numberpad design but one that will have a 3-megapixel camera, 3G, GPS and Wi-Fi; it's set to run Symbian S60 like its Nokia counterpart. It would also have native DivX video playback on a relatively large screen. [full story]

June 1 - 5:00pm EDT   A pre-production version of the upcoming Nokia 6790 Mako has been photographed and tested in a new hands-on. The messaging slider is described by BGR as "ridiculously lackluster" despite veering sharply from Nokia's usual designs and appears more an advanced feature phone in the vein of the LG Xenon than suggested by the presence of Symbian S60. As the prototype runs beta software, however, expectations are that the device could improve by the time it's released. [full story]

May 29 - 11:20am EDT   Nokia on Friday announced it will soon begin shipping its Nokia 6730 classic handset exclusively to Vodafone in all the markets it serves. Vodafone's services, including mobile Internet and e-mail, Vodafone Music Client, and navigation will be supported. Users will have access to yellow and white pages listings, making getting to places or people easier thanks to turn-by-turn driving and walking directions. Furthermore, the handset uses the Symbian S60 operating system, which means users can download smartphone-level apps. [full story]

May 28 - 3:35pm EDT   Sony Ericsson today made its push into touchscreen phones official with both a completely new model as well as the finalized version of the Idou. The Aino is the company's first touchscreen slider and hides both a number pad and navigation keys underneath its 3-inch display. It's also the first phone of any kind from Sony Ericsson to integrate tightly with the PlayStation 3 and can use the PSP-born Remote Play feature to listen to music or watch videos from the console when away from home. [full story]

May 27 - 9:45am EDT   The quality of web browsing on Android and iPhone devices has led both to be used online far more than other devices, according to fresh AdMob data. Although it has just 8 percent of the smartphone market, the iPhone now accounts for about 43 percent of the web ad traffic AdMob follows as of April. Android's presence online is also disproportionate as its 1 percent share of actual phones is met by 3 percent of mobile web use. [full story]