Nokia today began delivering a system update to the MeeGo-powered N9 smartphone. The new system software offers a wide range of benefits, including: NFC tag reading; music controls on lock screen; photo and video shooting with filters; improved multitasking and memory handling; Swype; background noise cancellation; easier app closing by swiping down; and new indicators on the standby screen for calendar and other alerts. Nokia will be pushing the update out in waves and users will be alerted when their device is ready for the new system software. ...

ST-Ericsson today announced that it has won a deal to supply wireless chips to Nokia for the Finnish phone maker’s future Windows Phone smartphones. To-date, all Windows Phone devices have included chips from Qualcomm. ST-Ericsson said it believes its chips will allow Nokia to build Windows Phone devices at a lower cost, allowing it to target different market segments and regions. Nokia recently revealed its first two Windows Phone 7 devices, the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710. Both use Qualcomm ...

As our columnist Gary Marshall EXPLAINS, Nokia’s unveiling of its FANCY new Windows Phones wasn’t quite what we EXPECTED.“Faced with a familiar problem – everybody knowing exactly what they were going to unveil – Nokia decided it was time to shake things up a bit,” he REPORTS.“First, [CEO] Stephen Elop kept pronouncing the company’s name in a funny Canadian accent, and then they let a madman loose on stage.”That “madman” was Kevin Shields, a man whose JOB TITLE – senior vice president of program and product management ...

Nokia recently made a new beta version of the Series 40 browser available to those wishing to test it. The new version of the application has a redesigned user interface for easier navigation; social networking tools for sharing content such as photos and videos; and other tweaks that Nokia says will make mobile web sites look better. Nokia Series 40 Browser Beta 1.4.0 is free to download and use, though Nokia Beta Labs asks users to provide feedback on their experiences with beta software. ...

During the main keynote speech at Nokia World today, Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop revealed that the company intends to bring LTE and CDMA equipped Windows Phone handsets to “applicable markets” in 2012. Though he didn’t specifically say the U.S. market was one of those to get the LTE and CDMA phones, it pairs nicely with the promise that Nokia will bring a suite of phones to the U.S. next year. The company did not reveal any of the products that will be headed to our shores at Nokia World, but we have heard that announcements for U.S. devices will happen very soon. ...

Nokia is pushing out a software update to its N8 smartphone that addresses a number of bugs in the Symbian Anna platform that runs on the phone. Unfortunately, the update does not upgrade the N8 to Symbian Belle with its myriad of new features. Things that are improved with the update include quicker email and messaging, faster GPS locks, and fixes for minor bugs. Users will get a notification when the update is available to download and install. Tweet Vote on HN ...

Nokia is pinning its turn-around story on the Lumia 800, what it calls a “hero device” that will be sold by 31 operators around the world initially. The Lumia 800 strongly resembles the MeeGo-powered N9, but runs Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 Mango operating system. It is housed in a polycarbonate shell that is milled from a single block of material. It includes a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display and is driven by a 1.4GHz single-core SnapDragon processor with 512MB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The camera includes Carl Zeiss optics and captures images at 8-megapixels. It ...

The Lumia 800 is perhaps the most beautiful Windows Phone smartphone ever designed. That’s probably because it looks a lot like the impressive Nokia N9, a stunner in its own right.The Lumia 800 is a solid phone that is milled from a single block of polycarbonate. The materials feel excellent. The front has a (slightly) curved glass display and the overall fit and finish is top-of-the-line. Everything about the 800 exudes style, class, and sexiness.When I first held it, I was surprised at the size. Though it has only a 3.7-inch AMOLED display, it is heavy, and a bit thicker than I ...

Nokia also debuted three phones for emerging markets today, the Asha Series. Here are some thoughts on these devices.Asha 303Of the four Asha phones announced today, the Asha 303 is the top-of-the-line. It comes with the best combination of features and quality that feature phone users have come to expect from Nokia. The 303 is an interesting animal in that it combines a touch-based version of Series 40 with a full physical QWERTY keyboard.The display is capacitive, but I found it to be somewhat unresponsive. It looks a little dull, too, and doesn’t hold a candle to the amazing AMOLED ...

Nokia today announced the first applications that it has designed for Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform and the Lumia 800 and 710 in particular. The first is Nokia Drive. This navigation application offers free, voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation to the 800 and 710, and incudes 3D mapping, offline support, and a landscape user interface for safer use while driving. Nokia also announced Mix Radio and Nokia Music. This offering streams pre-set playlists from Nokia’s servers to the 800 and 710. The application — or individual playlists — can be pinned to the start ...