Mobile Choice Blog

Nokia updates firmware for N95

Nokia has released new firmware for its flagship N95 handset, which includes a host of improvements. For example, the way it runs applications has been tweaked, to provide more than 30MB of free RAM after booting (translation for untecchy types: it'll run faster).

The camera has been updated so it's faster to use too, with less of a gap between shots. The search function has been built into the standby screen to help you find stuff on the phone more quickly, and excitingly, it gets some N-Gage game previews and the Nokia Music Store application.

A lot of mobile users don't know what a firmware update is, let alone how to get one. But the list of features here shows why it's worth learning. Nokia's Phone Software Updater site will get you started.

(via All About Symbian)

Nokia's new N-Gage shuns comparisons with PSP and DS

Amid all the hullabaloo around the new Nokia Music Store (something we're taking full part in), it might have gone unnoticed that the company also announced new details about its new N-Gage service last week. Instead of a dedicated games phone like the original N-Gage and N-Gage QD, it's now a platform running on various Nokia Nseries handsets, offering advanced 3D games.

The temptation is to portray the all-new N-Gage as a competitor to fully-fledged gaming devices like Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS. However, that's not something Nokia is keen to encourage, as its N-Gage chief Jaakko Kaidesoja explained in an interview with Pocket Gamer.

"We don't want to compare it with DS and PSP," he said. "They're doing a great job on their turf, and our turf is the mobile gaming market."