Nokia's adds digital TV, home connectivity to Nseries

Finnish phone giant Nokia today unveiled three new Nseries mobile phones, including the N92, which can tune in to digital television broadcasts, and the N80, the first quad-band handset to support Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Nokia's announcement sheds some light on its convergence strategy, with DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) capability being built into the N92, and its N80 handset to support Wi-Fi UPnP, a set of networking protocols designed to seamlessly and simply link devices such as PCs, intelligent appliances and wireless portable devices in the digital home. UPnP devices can connect using phone lines, Ethernet, infrared, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and FireWire.

The N92 features a 2.8-inch anti-glare QVGA screen with 16 million colours for watching TV and video. Images released today show the two different orientations possible with the N92's dual-hinge display: landscape mode for watching DVB-H television broadcasts, and portrait mode for phone use. Mobile TV recording is supported with up to 2GB of storage space available through external memory cards. 30-second replays are also featured with the N92's battery claimed to be good for up to four hours of playback. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, infrared and USB 2.0. FM radio with support for Visual Radio and a 2-megapixel camera are also onboard.

Earlier this year, Australia's first DVB-H mobile TV trial, known as "movemedia", was launched in Sydney by The Bridge Networks and Telstra to test the technical capability and commercial prospects for broadcasting television to mobile phones. Nokia, who provides end-to-end solutions for DVB-H mobile TV, has been supplying trial participants with samples of its 7710 smart phone so far. Darren Kirsop-Frearson, managing director of The Bridge Networks, said he intends to have up to 1000 users participate in the 12-month trial, in which between 15 and 30 real-time stations will be broadcast on Channel 29 (535.5MHz) from the Gore Hill transmission site in Sydney.

Nokia claims the N80 slider phone is the first UPnP-capable, quadband handset in the world that can also work on 3G networks. It's connectivity options also include Wi-Fi and USB. It sports a 352 x 416 pixel screen capable of displaying up to 262,144 colours and a 3-megapixel camera. A new Nokia Web Browser comes pre-loaded on the phone and features a tool called Mini Map, which assists navigation of wide Web pages on small screens by providing a semi-transparent, zoomed-out overall view of the site.

The baby of the group is the N71, a 3G flip phone with a 2.4-inch, 262K-colour QVGA display, Bluetooth and a 2-megapixel camera. Designed as a multimedia handset with media players onboard, Nokia provides an audio adapter in the box that enables users to use regular 3.5mm headphones with the device. A cable that connects the handset to home stereo systems will be sold seperately.

All three Nseries phones announced are based on the S60 3rd edition and Symian OS.

In April, Nokia introduced its Nseries line of mobile phones, which included the 4GB hard disk-based N91 and the 2-megapixel N90 with a Carl Zeiss lens.

Nokia N Series	Features
Nokia N92 See images	In a nutshell: Athough Nokia Australia couldn't confirm the N92's availability at the time of publishing, the 3G mobile TV handset is expected in mid-2006 in Europe, Africa and other Asian regions. Its features include: DVB-H for watching and recording television, 802.11g Wi-Fi, UPnP, 2.8-inch 4:3 anti-glare screen, 262K colours, 240 x 320 pixels, MP3/AAC player, external memory card slot, 2-megapixel camera, 90MB internal memory, 191g, 107 x 58 x 25mm, dual-band GSM and WCDMA More info: See specifications Rate this phone
Nokia N80 See images	In a nutshell: Due at the end of Q1 2006, the N80 is a 3G multimedia slider handset that sports a 3-megapixel camera and connects to wireless networks using 802.11g. Its features include: a 2.1-inch display (352 x 416 pixels, 262K colours), USB 2.0, UPnP, MP3/AAC/WMA player, Bluetooth, IrDA, 40MB internal memory, hot swap 128MB miniSD card, PictBridge, 138g, 95 x 50 x 23mm, quadband GSM and WCDMA More info: See specifications Rate this phone
Nokia N71 See images	In a nutshell: Also due in Australia at the end of Q1, 2006, is the N71 3G flip phone. Its feature list includes: a 2.4-inch QVGA display (262K colours), 2-megapixel camera, second VGA camera for video calls, MP3/AAC/WMA player, FM Radio, Bluetooth, IrDA, Nokia Web Browser with Mini Map, 10MB internal memory, hot swap 128MB miniSD card, 98 x 51 x 23mm, 139g, triband and WCDMA More info: See specifications Rate this phone