Play it again, Nokia: New music phones
MANILA, PHILIPPINES--Nokia on Tuesday launched five new multimedia phones from its N-series range.
The new GPS-enabled N95 stole the limelight at the event. In a press statement, Jose-Luis Martinez, vice president of Nokia Multimedia Asia Pacific, said: "In particular, the Nokia N95 is the evolution of what computers have now become: Pocketable devices with the power to connect you to the information, services, content and other people you want when it suits your needs."
Toting true globetrotter street cred, the dual-sliding N95 is the new powerhouse of the N-series. Using the NAVFone Pro application developed by agis, which, when used in conjunction with the built-in GPS, will allow the user to seek out specific services and map directions unique to his current location. The N95 will also feature Wi-Fi connectivity and a 5-megapixel camera.
Music is also a big theme for the Finnish giant at this event. The music editions of the N70 and N73 were also launched alongside an 8GB N91. All three new music phones will each come with a dedicated 3.5mm audio jack, multi-audio codec support, over-the-air (OTA) music purchase functionality (N91 and N73), and dedicated music playback controls.
Nokia also unveiled a new site called Music Recommenders. Designed in conjunction with 40 leading independent music stores globally, Music Recommenders is part of a new breed of sites that uses a peer-based music discovery model to drive new content to users, similar to Pandora and Last.fm. The service counts music celebrity David Bowie and cult music stores like Mona Records, Fat Beats and Hard Wax as key recommenders.
According to Nokia, users can freely browse the music, search for music according to genre or style, listen to music clip samples and read weekly editorial content. New subscribers to the site will receive a playlist of 30-second music track samples based on their music genre preferences. The beta version which will be launched in Europe and Australia by November 2006, will allow users residing in these two regions the option of purchasing full tracks with varying degrees of DRM limitations decided by the song copyright holder.
With Music Recommenders, Nokia is looking to serve a wider Net audience than just Nokia users alone. With that in mind, purchased tracks will be playable on any portable device which supports WMA DRM.
| Model name |
In a nutshell |
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Who is it for? For geeks who hate getting lost.
Notable features:
Integrated GPS functionality
5-megapixel camera
WLAN 802.11b/g
WCDMA HSDPA 2100
Availability: Q1 2007
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Who is it for? Music junkies who live and breathe tunes.
Notable features:
8GB hard drive
2-megapixel camera
Support for OMA DRM 1.0 and 2.0, WMDRM
Synchronizes with Windows Media Player
Multi-codec support: MP3, AAC, AACplus, eAACplus, WAV, M4A, WMA
Availability: Q4 2006
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Who is it for? Multimedia users who need a good music player and a decent camera.
Notable features:
40MB internal memory with memory card expansion support of up to 2GB
3.2-megapixel camera
Support for OMA DRM 1.0 and 2.0, WMDRM
Synchronizes with Windows Media Player
Multi-codec support: MP3, AAC, AACplus, eAACplus, WAV, M4A, WMA
Integrated stereo speakers
Availability: October 2006
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Who is it for? Users who feel the need to pimp their 3G phone with good music.
Notable features:
Memory card expansion support of up to 1GB
2-megapixel camera
Synchronizes with Windows Media Player
Multi-codec support: MP3, AAC, AACplus, eAACplus
Availability: October 2006
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