Today, Korean electronics company LG announced that its CEO, Nam Yong, would be stepping down; Mr. Yong was appointed to the position in 2007. Media outlets are reporting that a major factor in the firing was “declining mobile phone sales.” Yong will be succeeded by 59-year old Koo Bon-joon. Currently, Bon-joon is the head of the LG’s trading firm, LG International.

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Let’s face it. Unless you’re really into BlackBerrys and have your heart set on the Bold 9700, you don’t really have a whole lot of choices for a new candybar QWERTY smartphone. But that’s just fine with us, because Nokia’s E72, the successor in every sense of the word to the much loved E71, is now up for pre-order on Amazon. No, it’s not some crappy Euro version that likes to play “football” and drink tea; this is a real red meat eating, red, white and blue NAM edition. It’s unlocked, $469, comes in any color you like so long as it’s Zodium Black and seems destined to sell a lot of units. Why? Because Nokia has discovered just how easy it is to move handsets through fire sales.

[Via Engadget Mobile]

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Ready to get your NAM on, Nokia fans? Nokia’s first crack at an 8 megapixel beast is reportedly touching down stateside on August 22nd, which is just over 2 weeks away. But wait, there’s more good news in store for all you Symbian fans out there. It turns out the launch price of the N86 8MP may be lower than the current pre-order price — $59 lower, in fact. Yup, it’s looking like $499 will get you in the door when this little guy hits Flagship store shelves and NokiaUSA.com three Saturdays from now. No word on pricing from resellers yet but expect it to come in a bit lower than Nokia USA’s offering. And then there’s Amazon, which has been undercutting nearly everyone in the phone biz lately. In other words, waiting a few weeks on your purchase will likely serve you well.

Thanks, Mark!

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Whether or not you’re a Nokia fan, a Symbian fan or a smartphone fan in general, there’s really no denying that Nokia’s E71 is one of the sexiest phones to ever hit the market at this point. It’s thin, sexy, functional, versatile and solid as a rock. When it comes to slim QWERTY handsets in fact, there’s probably only one we can think of that might be even sexier — the Nokia E72. As it turns out, the North American (NAM) variant of said beauty just made its way through the halls of the FCC and has been given the all-clear from the powers that be. To refresh your memory specs-wise, you’re looking at 10.2Mbps HSDPA (not in the US, of course), an integrated compass, S60 3rd Edition FP2 and a 5 megapixel camera. Need we say more? Considering the E72 is now through the FCC’s testing process we can safely make two assumptions: 1. It’s bound to hit store shelves pretty soon. 2. Nokia and AT&T should have a deal for the E72x worked out some time in 2015. Hit the jump for a few more pics.

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If you’re a Nokia fan who lives in Canada and just so happens to have $199.99 burning a hole in your pocket, it might interest you to know Rogers has released the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Available nation-wide as of today, the 5800 XpressMusic is a multimedia-centric S60 5th Edition smartphone with specs that include a 3.2-inch 640×360 resistive touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens, auto-focus and dual-LED flash, 3.6Mbps HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi and aGPS. An 8GB microSD card also comes in the box to help pique your interest, though after playing around with one ourselves we’re not exactly convinced many Canadians are going to be picking up this device considering how many other awesome options there are in the same price range.

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We’ve long believed that the Nokia N97 would ship in out in July but a new rumor has the North American version of the N97 pegged for a June 2nd shippingdate. The evidence: a screenshot from the site of a major North American distributor, as seen above. We wouldn’t be at all surprised if this rumor pans out and the N97 makes an early word-wide release, especially considering Vodafone UK’s website now lists a June launch instead of July for the Euro edition. No matter what, unless you’re one of the lucky few who managed to score an N97 NAM on pre-order for $454.35, you may just want to hold off on pulling the trigger. From what we hear, June is going to be quite a month for new handsets in the US – *cough* iPhone *cough* Pre. Then again, it makes complete sense that Nokia would try to push the N97 out before the US starts going bananas for the aforementioned carrier-subsidized phones.

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The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic NAM had a bumpy launch last month with 3G connectivity issues forcing Nokia to halt sales. The music handset is reportedly now back on the shelves at Nokia Flagship stores however, and pre-orders will be shipped from Nokia’s fulfillment center within the next 1-2 weeks. All new handsets have been updated to firmware v20 which supposedly fixes the connectivity issues that had plagued the phone. No word on when current 5800 owners can obtain this latest firmware update so you all will have to sit tight until Nokia is ready to roll it out to the masses. In the mean time, cross your fingers and hope your speaker doesn’t blow .

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OK, so maybe black and red isn’t your thing and you’re looking for a slightly sexier, more functional Nokia handset. Moving right past the overpriced Nokia N96, the N85 is just what the doctor ordered for many. But, to tell the truth, the whole black/”copper” thing isn’t the best look for the handset in many opinions. Fret not, Symbian fans, as word of an all-black version will be great news to any potential N85 owners teetering due to looks. The all-black edition is indeed a NAM version, meaning it’s ready and waiting for some AT&T 3G goodness. What’s more, it’s already available so no waiting needed. The only potential downside — the back still has that hit or miss asymmetrical line detailing you either love or hate. Hit the jump for a few more live shots.

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After one of the rockiest launches Nokia has ever seen, it looks like the 5800 XpressMusic NAM is almost set to put this whole mess behind it. Sheesh. For those who missed, here’s a quick timeline: Nokia was ready to begin selling the handsets a day early on the 25th. Nokia’s inventory system however, was not ready. Finally, late in the evening on the 26th, the 5800 got the green light. Then we found out the speakers would probably die somewhere down the line, and 3G wouldn’t connect in some regions which caused many to return their purchases. As a result, Nokia pulled the 5800 from shelves. Did you get all that? Luckily for Nokia it looks as though the connectivity issue was software-related and a new firmware updates renders the 5800 3G-friendly once again. We don’t have exact timing but we expect Nokia to resume sales very soon — as for whether or not the speakers will go kaput in the next few months and start this mess all over again, that remains to be seen.

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Now that the E63 is a reality it’s tough to get excited about a crazy deal on a new E71 but… No, wait, we forgot. The E63 is is like the Star Wars prequels — a mistake that never should have seen the light of day. The E71 is still far and away one of the sexiest handsets Nokia has ever produced and those who haven’t had a taste can finally get one today for the more than respectable price of $289.99. The reduced price is part of Amazon’s Gold Box deal offers where a new item is offered at a steep discount every day. Think Woot without the snarky commentary. Today’s price is $37 lower than Amazon’s regular price and $60 lower than Nokia’s direct price but like we said, it’s only available today. Actually, at $290 we might just snag a handful of them to throw in a drawer until BAS for S60 is finally released. BAS on the Touch Pro is awesome but BAS on an E71 would be… Wow.

[Via The Nokia Blog]

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So close… And yet so far. Yesterday we reported that Nokia Flagship stores had received shipments of the kind-of-not-really highly sought-after 5800 XpressMusic NAM, but eager Symbian fans who made it down to the NYC shop were in for a pretty unpleasant surprise. Oh, we weren’t wrong – Nokia’s stores did indeed receive shipments of 5800s sporting US-ready 3G antennas. Unfortunately however, Nokia didn’t start selling them. In fact here we are a day later and Nokia still isn’t selling them. Huh? It’s not that staff in the store doesn’t want to sell you a shiny new 5800 NAM… They can’t. As it turns out, Nokia is having some issues with its inventory system and, well, store employees can’t sell you a phone if they can’t charge you for it. If you were planning to head down to the New York Flagship store today, definitely give them a call first to see if the issues have been resolved. At least now we know why Nokia doesn’t make a big deal when it finally releases handsets here in the US.

It’s a day early and though some might say it’s still a dollar short, Nokia die hards in close proximity to a Flagship store will be happy to learn the the 5800 XpressMusic NAM is now in stock at Nokia’s retail stores – all set to go on sale today around 3:00 pm. Initial launch details slated the 5800 release for tomorrow but we’re fanboys won’t be complaining about getting their paws on the handset slightly ahead of schedule. The price is set at the reported $399, up from the announced $360, but it’s still a pretty good deal and should tide people over until they get the handset they really want — the N97. Those who took advantage of the pre-order discount opportunity this past Valentine’s Day will be happy to learn that orders will likely ship in the next few days. Woo hoo! So is anyone getting ready to fight the elements and head down to a Flagship store?

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Nokia fans here in the US are most definitely used to waiting. First it was the long wait for Nokia to begin offering its Symbian handsets more widely in the US which then lead to the wait for a wider variety of S60 devices packing 850/1900 MHz WCDMA compatibility. While each of those issues have been addressed to some extent, there’s still the ever-present wait for NAM counterparts of handsets that have been available elsewhere for months. Enter the 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia’s first touch-enabled S60 5th Edition handset. Released months ago in some regions, it looks like North American Nokians will finally be able to get their mitts on the 5800 XpressMusic circa February 26th, a Thursday. This is apparently the date the handset will become available to US retailers however, so we wouldn’t expect units to actually be fulfilled for at least a few days thereafter. As for pricing, MSRP is set at $399 which has ballooned slightly from the ~$360 at which the handset was announced. All the same, Nokians looking to get their touch on will still be likely to jump on the 5800 especially considering a new round of rumors that suggest a delayed N97 release.

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Mobile shooters may now have a new Camera-centric handset to anticipate in 2009. A NAM friendly variant of the 8 megapixel Samsung i8510 Innov8 has just passed through the FCC. Unlike the European model with UMTS 900/2100 that was released earlier in 2008, this apparently new variant will have 850/1900 3G. With Samsung having a history of producing subsidized phones for the North American region, hopefully we can expect to see the S60-powered Innov8 come to North America possibly with AT&T and/or Rogers branding and a consumer friendly contract price.

[Via IntoMobile]

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Just a hair behind schedule according to Amazon’s recent pre-order page, the Nokia N85 NAM has officially started shipping. The N85 is almost universally accepted as Nokia’s true flagship Nseries for the time being, trumping the N96 in just about every area and shaving over $200 from the N96′s price tag. Featuring specs among the best of any multimedia-centric smartphone on the market today, the N85 can be considered a bargain with a price point just north of $550 that is sure to drop fast as more distributors begin receiving inventory. Tri-band WCDMA, an OLED display, dual-sliding form factor, an integrated FM transmitter, dedicated media / gaming keys and all of the bells and whistles that we’ve come to enjoy in Nseries devices are all present and accounted for. Those who choose to purchase the handset directly from Nokia today can also enjoy a solid $50 discount by way of promo code NOK120108R1, bringing the price down to $502. Sweet – any takers?

[Via Symbian-Guru]

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