Nokia N79 Receives Major Firmware Update

The Nokia N79, an entry-level N-Series Symbian S60 smartphone, has not been on the market for a long time  -- it was released in November -- yet it has already received its first firmware update. Though this is not an unusual move for Nokia, the list of changes within this particular update is one of the largest ever reported.

The entire change log, which lists items fixed or updated, was published on the website S60 Inside, and features:

• New versions of N-Gage and Mail for Exchange
• Fixes to just about every included application, such as Calendar, Camera, Music Player, Messaging, and VoIP
• Major fixes to the Telephone features
• and several more

To download and install this firmware update users can:

• Connect the N79 to a Windows XP or Vista PC and use the Nokia Software Updater program, or
• Download the update over-the-air (OTA) by dialing *#0000# from the Today screen and choosing "Check for Update" from the options menu.

This software update has only been confirmed for the European version of the N79. It has not yet been confirmed that the recently-released North American version is compatible this update.

More About the N79

The Nokia N79 is a candy-bar handset running Symbian S60 Feature Pack 2 (v3.2). It features a 2.2-inch QVGA screen, 5 MPx digital camera with auto-focus, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS w/A-GPS, TV-Out and Xpress-on "smart covers" which automatically change the device theme to match the cover.

Featured software includes N-Gage, Mail for Exchange, Nokia Maps 3, QuickOffice, and the Webkit-based Nokia Web Browser.

Availability

The Nokia N79 is currently available from Nokia flagship stores in Chicago and NYC and online retailers such as eXpansys for an estimated retail price of $440.

For more information about the N79, visit the Nokia N-Series website.

Via Symbian Guru and S60 Inside