Hot off the press!

Just a quick post.

Its now official, according to Nokia's press release (below), the N95 is officially being shipped. I was reading the press release, and it struck me, are we here in Brunei considered a "key Asian" country in the eyes of Nokia? I'm not sure who can answer that, but for a country with a mobile phone population that has potentially outgrown its own human population, I'd sure consider us "key"! But fret not, I'm sure our local shops will be rushing to bring them in as soon as they can.

(Press release) Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced that the Nokia N95 started shipping in key European , Asian and Middle Eastern markets, with expanded shipments to other markets in those regions in the coming weeks. The Nokia N95 is an all-in-one multimedia computer with a unique 2-way slide design, integrated GPS functionality, a 5 megapixel camera and support for high-speed mobile networks, making it easier to watch and record videos, listen to songs, take high-quality photos, browse the internet, or catch up on email while on the move.

"The Nokia N95 is the ultimate multimedia computer and a fantastic example of what Nokia Nseries devices can deliver," said Juha Putkiranta, senior vice president, Multimedia, Nokia. "It easily replaces a number of single purpose devices with a well designed package that is with you and connected. The Nokia N95 is what computers have become - personal, powerful and connected devices."

Designed for High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) networks and with support for WLAN, EDGE and WCDMA networks, the Nokia N95 provides excellent coverage and connection speeds. Browsing the internet and subscribing to your favourite news feeds is a pleasure using the Nokia Web Browser with Mini Map.

The Nokia N95 offers a well rounded entertainment experience with a sharp color display, built-in stereo speakers, a standard 3.5 mm audio connector and support for compatible microSD memory cards. With powerful 3D graphics, the Nokia N95 has a stunning user interface that makes it intuitive to find the features and services you want.

With its integrated GPS and Nokia Maps application, finding your way just got easier. The Nokia Maps application includes maps for more than 150 countries, enabling users to explore the world, find specific routes or locate services such as restaurants and hotels and covering more than 15 million points of interest. You can also purchase additional features, such as city guides and voice guided navigation.

The innovative 2-way slide design makes it easy to switch between different modes, going from reading maps to watching a video with a simple slide. With Carl Zeiss optics on the 5 megapixel camera, you can capture print quality photos and DVD-like quality video clips.

The Nokia N95 is based on the world's leading S60 software on Symbian OS, enabling you to personalize your device from a wide choice of compatible applications that can be downloaded to the Nokia N95, including games, navigation, entertainment, productivity and creativity.

Moving on... Sony Ericsson has been doing their own thang lately and keeping abreast with the constant changes in the mobile world. They have just announced the releases of two new models. The SE w580 (top) and z750 (bottom).

Apparently, the z750 is almost virtually identical to the z610 in terms of hardware, with a difference that the Z750 is the first phone based on Sony Ericsson’s Java Platform 8 (JP-8), supporting a range of new Java programming features. I won't mention too much on this. Lets just say, its a simple phone.

The w580 on the other hand, is a minor upgrade tweak of the recent w850 which everyone has been buzzing about over the past few months. According to Gsmarena, "the Sony Ericsson W580 is equipped with a 2 megapixel camera, a 2" 262K TFT display with a QVGA resolution, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and is additionally enhanced by a Memory Stick Micro M2 memory card slot (512MB card included). This quad-band Walkman phone comes with a twist though - besides all the music goodies it also features a pedometer and some sports-oriented applications much like the w710 does"

Just great, they're releasing models that are pretty much the same as the previous model now? Doesn't it sound like the w580 can do exactly what a w850 can do? Nokia's tactics must be getting to them as well. Ok, maybe there is a difference ... the numbering of the model. "850=>580". Ah well, at least it looks cool.