ESPOO, Finland -

Although I was very pleased with my Nokia 2110 and had it for quite a while, my first Nokia phone I really fell in love with was the Nokia 8210. It was 2000, the year I joined Nokia and the 8210 was the smallest and lightest Nokia on the market. This was the phone which always caught people’s attention when I pulled it from my handbag.  I just loved the size and the colors of the phone. I was working  in various enhancement teams and one day someone handed me a bunch of removable Xpress-covers for the Nokia 8210. I was so entranced by them I used a different color each day (my favorites were brown and green).

My second Nokia favourite phone is the Nokia 7610 – launched it 2004 it was Nokia’s first megapixel phone. It was the phone which got me interested in photography and opened me to the new imaging era – I wanted to take photos of everything as my previous photography was limited to special occasions and holidays. With the 7610 and one megapixel camera I discovered the possibility to capture photos on everyday occasions, like when walking in the forest with my dogs. I was amazed at the quality of the photos and the possibility of having a camera always with me. I was also an addictive user of Nokia Lifeblog. Photography is still one of my passions though I don’t take it too seriously (I have more of a random approach to taking photos). The ones I don’t like get deleted right away but the majority of the photos become wonderful memories.

The Nokia N95 is my third favorite and the first device where I had the internet in my pocket. Over weekends in remote locations it was nice to find the answers right away. It was nice to have the local bus and train schedules without carrying a timetable in my bag. But the 5-megapixel camera and good quality video were still my primary reasons to have this device.

Why didn’t I choose the Nokia N97? Simply, because that’s my primarily phone at the moment. I felt choosing the best Nokia ever needed to have a bit more retrospective. But after spending time with a touch screen device, I have trouble remembering that not all devices and other gadgets are touch screen!   After using a touch screen phone there is no turning back.

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Click through on each thumbnail to see more from each photographer, we’ve included links to the full size shot on each one’s individual Flickr channel.

Stone Bridge

Venice (Italy)

Kuytu

As this pic’s caption itself says, this is of the many thousands of bridges in Venice. But just by going for a different type of shot, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. The lighting has a dreamy quality that works perfectly.

Av. Conde da Boa Vista

Recife (Brazil)

Tato

If you’ve never shot in black and white, take a look at this pic. Everyday situations take on a moody grittiness that would be lost in colour, and this gives faces an expressiveness that tells a story in itself.

Little Kiss

Cabo Frio (Brazil)

Larissa Grace

A simple shot brought to life by some clever creativity. Taking a black and white shot at night means the N95’s flash creates fantastic contrast, and the flower’s stem being level with the edge of the frame is a nice composition touch.

Clouds N95

Unknown

Ange 29

Don’t take shots straight into the sun, right? Well, we’re glad our man Ange 29 didn’t listen to conventional wisdom, because the reflected light off the objects in the foreground counterbalances the near-lavender sky beautifully.

Now and then, here and there

Bangladesh

Ifty (XP)

The textures of the damp mould rising up the wall, the framing of the curtain and wire and the diagonals created by the steps are all great compositional elements, but it’s the bicycle that brings it all together.
A superbly simple photo.

The Red Door

Kilkenny (Ireland)

Johndugganfoto

This kind of scene presents itself more often than you might think, and a camera phone is just what you need to take advantage. The slightly washed out greys of the tree, steps and wall just makes the bright red door stand out more.

Track

Lanzerote (Canaries)

Piricolikis

You can almost feel the cool damp of the sand here. The contrast of the very personal image of a footprint on the empty tract of shore behind is as effective as it is simple. Great detail in the sand, too.

Sugarcane landscape

Ituverava (Brazil)

Eugeni_dodonov

The N95 seems designed to show Brazil in its best light – this is the third of four in this week’s selection. The colours are superb here, and the detail in the foreground adds definition to the stunning clouds in the sky.

Allos Lake

Provence (France)

Octanou

How do you make an ordinary landscape photo tell a story? Like this. Sticking a tripod and camera in shot is a simple trick, but transforms what was a pleasant but ultimately ordinary pic into one that makes you stop and look twice.

Permuta

Recife (Brazil)

Cristiano f. b.

An exercise in contrasts: between nature and machine, buildings and rubble, bright dusty light and dark shadowy undergrowth. Some shots are more about technical skill than photographic eye. Not this one – a great opportunistic shot.

JAKARTA, Indonesia

Nokia is working with local agencies and the department of agriculture in Indonesia to get up to the minute information and distribute it through the service. Kids too are benefiting, through the education aspect of the service which enables them to learn English. They also get to have fun with comics and such like showing up on their devices.

So think of a life changing service where you live. What would it look like, what would it need to do?

How Nokia Life Tools benefits locals in Indonesia

Nokia Life Tools and entertainment

Nokia Life Tools – Education

WHITE PLAINS, USA

“Consumers from every segment of the population are looking for more out of their mobile device – more power, more ability, more connectivity. The Nokia N900 ushers in a new era with a very powerful mobile computer. With an open source operating system, incorporated technology like an OMAP processor, and real time web widgets, the Nokia N900 delivers the experience of a pocketable computer that has the information you’re looking for right there waiting for you thanks to the ability to be connected just about anywhere.”

Over the past week or so, we’ve been shooting videos of the N900 and exploring it’s wide and varied capabilities. It’s been a delight tapping away at the 3.5-inch touchscreen and the powerful processor, plentiful storage and generous memory make it a breeze to use.

The Nokia N900 is available in a black finish and will retail for $649 through Nokia Flagship stores in New York and Chicago, nokiausa.com and various independent retailers and e-tailers including Amazon.com.

Check out our latest videos below.

Keep the N900 stuffed with Apps

N900 – the multi-tasking master

Uploading video to Facebook

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Keep the N900 stuffed with Apps

N900 – the multi-tasking master

Uploading video to Facebook

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While that’s all well and good, it’s the little touches that give DocScanner the edge. Once you photograph a document DocScanner will automatically make its best attempt at cropping out the background, but if you’re not happy with the job it’s done, drag the crop handles with a finger or stylus to adjust them to suit. And once you’ve done that, not only can you save in either JPG or PDF, you can also email directly in either format from within the program: simple, sensible and useful.

DocScanner isn’t cheap, however: it costs £8 ($10) to download and works with any S60 phone with a camera.

Changing direction, we have Dad’s Cab, a bit of harmless fun for overworked dads everywhere. The app’s interface looks just like a taxi meter, and lets you run up the fare on your daily travels to see just what dad’s taxi would actually cost if you were doing it out of more than just sense of duty.

The fare kicks in at £2.20 – a version charging in euros is coming soon, though no word on a US option yet – and discretionary charges include a backseat driving charge and an “are we there yet” charge. Of course, let’s face it: there’s no chance of any cash actually changing hands, but Dad’s Cab takes that in its stride too, and suggests a number of alternatives, including faking interest in your stories and not complaining when you cook. Click on the video below to see Dad’s Cab in action:

Dad’s Cab is a free download from Ovi Store, and is compatible with S60 5th edition devices.

Staying on the automotive road, our third choice is one that could save you some very real money. Trapster is a free app that alerts you to any police speed traps within four miles of your current position. It isn’t a radar detector but a community-driven service powered by Trapster’s 1.9-million users worldwide. As such there is no guarantee that every single trap will be flagged up, but with those kind of user numbers it should get most of them, and you’re not supposed to be speeding anyway, are you?

You can customise just how alerts are given – the point, after all, is simply to warn you of potential trouble in whatever way works best for you – and reporting a trap is as simple as a one button press. By its nature, Trapster offers no guarantees, but if you consider that it’s completely free to download, it’s a great addition to any app arsenal. Trapster is compatible with a wide range of Nokia S60 3rd Edition and S60 5th Edition devices.

Downloaded a cool new app recently? Don’t be shy, share it below.

ESPOO, Finland

The device also packs Nokia Messaging so users can keep on top of email and Instant Messaging, the latter supporting Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ and AOL amongst others. Pictures are taken care of by the 3.2-megapixel snapper, whilst dedicated music keys take care of the audio side of things. It’ll also sport links to Nokia Music Store, where available and the device is also compatible with Comes with Music.

No need to worry about the 5330 running out of juice before the final whistle either. With six hours of battery for TV watching, you’ll be able to watch a couple of matches and still have time for a few calls. Standby time runs to about 14 days on this series 40 based device.

More than 30 operators around the world are rolling out Mobile TV services now, with Austria, Finland, Ghana, Kenya, India, Italy, Namibia, Nigeria, Netherlands, Philippines and Switzerland all boasting services. It’s expected that another 20 countries will be offering mobile TV within the next two years.

The Nokia 5330 Mobile TV edition will retail for €155 before taxes and subsidies.

There’s a limited number of tickets still available, and if you flash your Nokia device in the store and shout “I’m a Nokia Conversations reader, give me some Rihanna tickets, please” someone will either give you some tickets, or ask you to leave. We’ll leave it up to you to find out which. First come, first served. Enjoy!

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The latest version of Nokia Messaging is on board too, giving you access to multiple work and personal email accounts. What’s more, Nokia Messaging now supports Instant Messaging too, so you can dial into your favourite IM communities right from the homescreen. Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and Ovi Chat are all supported. And when work gets too much, you can flick to your “play” profile with individual settings putting the E72 into relaxed mode.

Nokia today also revealed research highlighting that people rely more on email than traditional phone calls or text messaging when sending and responding to critical information. According to the research, we’re spending on average five days a year responding to email, whilst 46 per cent of us choose email over voice or text to send and receive important information. Good thing the E72 is finally here then.

Don’t forget to share your excitement in the comments below. If you want to find out more about Nokia’s responsiveness research check out the campaign site where you can respond to various issue and access comments from TED fellows.

BEIJING, China

“Nokia is boosting its leadership in the CDMA market by updating an already strong line-up with products that appeal to a wide range of customer needs. Of these devices, the Nokia 6316s is bringing exciting 3G services to life for users in China.”

The 6316s, available in black, gold and red, is very much a multimedia specialist, boasting web browsing, music, imaging and GPS within its neat slider form factor. A 2.2-inch WVGA screen, a 2-megapixel camera and Bluetooth 2.1 complete a generous feature spec, and built-in 3G will help people get the most from the integrated China Telecom services and applications on board.

The Nokia 3806 is a classic candybar all-rounder in the finest Nokia tradition, combining versatility and affordability in an elegant design featuring a subtle silver trim lining the black, white or gold handset. Like the 6316s, it features a 2.2-inch WVGA screen, and its 2-megapixel camera records video too, with a memory card slot supporting cards of up to 4GB. The 3806 also comes with Health Assistant software, which claims to help you stay healthy and better manage the stress of daily life.

The ultra-affordable Nokia 1506 may be Nokia’s cheapest CDMA phone yet, but you wouldn’t think so by looking at it. Its slender monoblock design and high-gloss black or plum colour scheme are offset by a metallic Navi key, giving the 1506 a design sophistication not normally seen in a budget handset. When it comes to features and ease of use, simplicity is very much the byword here, although the 1506 does come with a built-in voice recorder and integrated handsfree speaker.