According to the Symbian numbering scheme we’re at Symbian^1 now, but we won’t see ^2 at all – Nokia is jumping straight to Symbian^3. Maemo 6 is coming later this year with at least one new device running it.

Symbian S60 5th edition or Symbian^1 is the OS powering the touch phones from Nokia – from the Nokia N97 flagship to the entry level Nokia 5230. The next version – Symbian^2 – however has been dropped in favor of Symbian^3.

Symbian^3 is expected to come out in the third quarter of 2010. For now it’s not clear if older devices will be compatible with the new OS, which will feature multi-touch gestures. We will also be seeing Symbian^4 in late 2010 or early 2011.

Maemo is also getting an update – Maemo 6 is just around the corner (the Nokia N900 runs Maemo 5). Maemo 6 is expected in the second half of 2010, but more importantly there are plans to launch new products based on Maemo 6 – yep, the Nokia N920 could well be on its way. And the use of plural in “products” gives us hope of there being more than one Maemo device coming out this year, despite the rumors to the contrary.

Nokia expects that Symbian devices will overtake S40 devices by 2011 – 55% vs. 35% – and Maemo devices will be 10% of all devices shipped.

The XpressMusic lineup is fired up and coming after you with all they’ve got – from QWERTY smartphones to touchscreens. In fact, with the arrival of 5530 XpressMusic, the Nokia music line has more touch phones than the Nseries. We told you, they’re dead serious about it.

With the 5800 XpressMusic shaping up as quite a blockbuster, Nokia had hardly any choice but to build on that momentum. The way up from the 5800 goes into Nseries territory really, so a lower spec’d device with an even sweeter price tag seems quite the right thing to do to reach the masses. And well, strategically expand the user base for the Touch UI edition of Symbian S60.

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic official photos

The Nokia 5800 offered value-for-money that very few could match. The 5530 comes in even more affordable but tries to deliver as much goodies as possible, pushing the value-for-money meter well towards the “must have” end of the scale. Here’s what the 5530 XpressMusic offers and what was left out to keep the cost down:

Key features:

• 2.9″ 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
• Symbian S60 5th edition
• ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128MB RAM memory
• 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and VGA@30fps video
• Quad-band GSM support
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• microSD card memory expansion, ships with a 4GB card
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth with A2DP and USB v2.0
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Stereo speakers
• Stylus, with its own compartment inside the phone
• Proximity sensor for screen auto turn-off
• Accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation, motion-based gaming and turn-to-mute
• Office document viewer
• OVI integration (direct image and video uploads, OVI Contacts)
• Landscape on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard
• Excellent audio quality
• Price tag on the cheap side

Main disadvantages:

• No 3G support
• No built-in GPS receiver
• Display has poor sunlight legibility
• Default font size is a bit small due to the smaller screen
• Somewhat limited 3rd party software availability
• Average camera image quality
• Video recording quality is unimpressive
• Doesn’t charge off its microUSB port
• No smart dialing
• No DivX/XviD video support out of the box
• Shaky back cover compromises build quality
• No TV-out functionality

Trade-offs were obviously inevitable but many of the important features are on par with the 5800 – the CPU, the Wi-Fi support, the camera. And further on the positive side, the 5530 is much more compact than the 5800.

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic live shots

The XpressMusic badge usually guarantees great music experience – from the audio quality to the way music is organized, played and delivered. With Nokia’s recent track record of excellent audio quality in the headphone department and the pair of nice sounding stereo speakers, the 5530 is a mini-jukebox.

What hurts it the most is the lack of 3G, especially for those with unlimited data plans. Others will barely wait to jump at this affordable touch-operated and WLAN-enabled smartphone. As always, we’re here to help you make the decision.

Size comparison between the iPhone, the 5530 and the 5730

For complete review click here

GPS is a must-have for every self-respecting phone these days. And it doesn’t even have to be a smartphone. From geotagging, through location-aware services and gaming, to full-featured in-car SatNav solution – at some point GPS is likely to have become essential to you even if you don’t need to be told to take the next right turn. Anyway, we guess it all boils down to whether you need it or whether you want it. A dedicated in-car sat-nav device is the more than obvious choice if you need that. But then, there’s always something for those who simply want more of their phone.

For one, the Nokia Navigator line will not only make you want one but probably encourage you to think you need it. Third generation into it already, they may as well have a point. The Nokia 6710 Navigator has the pedigree and the native software, but also the right kind of innovation. The touch-sensitive zoom bar is a bold step ahead, and so relevant to navigation. It sure is a strong point in favor of the Nokia Navigator against touchscreen devices.

Nokia 6710 Navigator official photos

Be that as it may, the 6710 Navigator will perhaps never be entirely convincing against a full-touch operated phone that takes navigation seriously, not to mention dedicated sat-nav equipment. But when it comes to another important question, the latest Nokia Navigator is emphatically a winner. It’s a phone before anything else and such a major upgrade it almost dooms predecessors to the scrap heap.

Keeping the same size as the preceding Nokia 6210, the latest Navigator by Nokia brings a larger and better screen, the impressive touch zoom bar beneath, Wi-Fi, better imaging, faster data, faster processing, updated interface, more power efficiency and incomparably better looks. Not bad at all, is it? There’s plenty to discover on this one, so let’s get on with it. Our plan is to help you find the Nokia 6710 Navigator before it finds you.

Key features

• Symbian OS 9.3, Series 60 3rd with FP2
• 600MHz ARM 11 processor
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Dual-band HSDPA 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA 2 Mbps
• 2.6″ 16M-color QVGA display (bigger and better than the Nokia 6210 Navigator)
• Accelerometer for screen auto rotation, call silencing and alarm snoozing
• 5 MP autofocus camera (Carl Zeiss optics) with LED flash, secondary videocall camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB v2.0
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microSD card slot, up to 16GB, hotswap (4GB card included – region specific)
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Convenient USB and memo card slot cover
• Fast and responsive user interface
• Office document viewer
• Ergonomic design

SatNav-centric features

• Built-in GPS with A-GPS
• Digital compass (magnetometer)
• Ovi Maps 3.0 with lifetime drive turn-by-turn navigation license and landscape view mode
• Dedicated Navigator key (starts Maps or centers map on current position)
• Touch-sensitive zoom bar below the screen (fluid zoom in/out action in Maps, as well as gallery and web browser)
• Windscreen suction stand and car charger included in retail package

Main disadvantages

• Camera lacks trendy features such as face, smile or blink detection
• Video recording maxes out at VGA@15fps
• Alphanumeric keypad is somewhat crammed given the space available
• No smart dialing
• No DivX/XviD support out of the box (can be installed, possibly requiring a purchase)
• Awkward battery cover removal routine (pry-to-open)

Nokia 6710 Navigator live shots

The Nokia 6710 Navigator is the direct successor of the Nokia 6210 Navigator and the model designation alone is pretty telling of how far things have come. The third-generation handset has jumped a few steps in the chronological progression Nokia Navigators used to follow. Even with a cursory glance at the specs, it’s clear the new 6710 is an overwhelming update to the 6210, let alone the first 6110 Navigator: larger display, touch-sensitive zoom bar, 5 MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Wi-Fi, better ergonomics, car stand and charger, etc.

Oh, we guess deep inside we’ll always miss the superb Route 66 that powered the first Finnish navigator and that Nokia Maps will never really match – not so much for performance as for the feel. But it would be foolish to expect else: the home-brewed Maps application is perhaps the very reason Navigator phones exist in the first place. They’re not best-selling mass-appeal devices but rather the platform that promotes the capabilities of the software. That said, a touchscreen Nokia **10 Navigator sure looks like the obvious next step.

More Nokia 6710 Navigator views