Announced in April (devices/nokia-n8.html) , the new Nokia N8 (phones/nokia/nokia-n8.html) will first go on sale on the Nokia UK (phones/nokia/index.html) online shop. The N8 is now available for pre-order for £429 (~$660; EUR 520) unlocked or on contract from £35 per month. The N8 will go on sale exclusively at the Nokia Online Store during the last week of September, and from 1st October the Nokia N8 will also be available from Carphone Warehouse, O2, Orange, Phones4u, T-Mobile, Tesco Phone Shops, Three Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone.

Samsung today introduced a new 1GHz ARM CORTEX A9-based dual-core CPU, codenamed Orion. Samsung is applying its 45nm process technology to a new processor designed for high-performance, low-power mobile applications including tablets, netbooks and smartphones. The new chip features a pair of 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores, each comes with a 32KB data cache and a 32KB instruction cache. Samsung also included a 1MB L2 cache to optimize CPU processing performance and provide fast context switching in a multi-tasking environment. In addition, the memory interface and bus architecture of Orion supports data intensive multimedia applications including full HD video playback and high speed 3D action games. Orion incorporates a rich portfolio of advanced multimedia features implemented by hardware accelerators, such as video encoder/decoder that supports 30fps video playback and recording at 1080P full HD resolution. Using an enhanced graphics processing unit (GPU), the new processors are capable of delivering 5 times the 3D graphics performance over the previous processor generation from Samsung. It'll hit selected customers in the fourth quarter of 2010 and is scheduled for mass production in the first half of 2011.

Samsung (phones/samsung/index.html) has finally announced the much awaited P1000 tablet, called Samsung GALAXY Tab (Model: GT-P1000) (phones/samsung/samsung-galaxy-tab.html) . Powered by a Cortex A8 CPU running @1GHz with PowerVR SGX540 graphics, the Samsung GALAXY Tab is the first of the company’s tablet devices, representing a new category of mobile products for Samsung. Shipping with the Android OS v2.2 (Froyo), the GALAXY Tab - which measures 190 x 120 x 12 mm and weighs in at 380g - also features a generous 7'' TFT-LCD, WSVGA (1024 x 600) display, dual camera, 1.3-megapixel on the front and a 3-megapixel camera with AF and LED Flash for photos and video. The Samsung GALAXY Tab is capable of playing Full HD 1080p video and supports a broad range of digital formats, including DivX, XviD, MPEG4, H.263, H.264, MP3, AAC, OGG, WMA, AMR, FLAC, WAV and AC3. The tablet will be launched in mid September in Europe, and in other regions including Korea, the US and Asia in coming months. No word on pricing though.

Motorola (phones/motorola/index.html) today introduced MILESTONE 2 (phones/motorola/motorola-milestone2.html) with MOTOBLUR, the European version of the DROID 2, with 720p video recording added. Hardware wise, there’s a 16M color high resolution 3.7-inch 480 x 854 pixels touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD recording, 8GB of internal storage and both a 3.5mm headphone socket and A2DP Bluetooth v2.1 for wireless headsets. The MILESTONE 2 comes with a 1GHz processor with 802.11n support, and a QWERTY keyboard with larger keys. The Android 2.2 phone offers Flash Player 10.1 support and a suite of Google mobile applications.

Motorola (phones/motorola/index.html) today introduced MILESTONE 2 (phones/motorola/motorola-milestone2.html) with MOTOBLUR, the European version of the DROID 2, with 720p video recording added. Hardware wise, there’s a 16M color high resolution 3.7-inch 480 x 854 pixels touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD recording, 8GB of internal storage and both a 3.5mm headphone socket and A2DP Bluetooth v2.1 for wireless headsets. The MILESTONE 2 comes with a 1GHz processor with 802.11n support, and a QWERTY keyboard with larger keys. The Android 2.2 phone offers Flash Player 10.1 support and a suite of Google mobile applications.

Samsung (phones/samsung/index.html) announced its latest handset to join the bada open platform, the Wave 723 (Model: GT-S7230E) (phones/samsung/samsung-wave-723-gt-s7230e.html).The Wave 723 sports a 3.2-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen display, GPS, a 5-megapixel camera with AF, LED Flash, geotagging and smile detection and is capable of taking MicroSD memory cards of up to 16GB capacity and 90MB of built-in memory. It utilizes Wi-Fi or UMTS/HSDPA to download tracks and has Bluetooth v3.0 (with various profiles including A2DP). The Wave 723 will be available across Europe from September, and in the UK in the final quarter of this year.

Samsung (phones/samsung/index.html) announced its latest handset to join the bada open platform, the Wave 723 (Model: GT-S7230E) (phones/samsung/samsung-wave-723-gt-s7230e.html).The Wave 723 sports a 3.2-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen display, GPS, a 5-megapixel camera with AF, LED Flash, geotagging and smile detection and is capable of taking MicroSD memory cards of up to 16GB capacity and 90MB of built-in memory. It utilizes Wi-Fi or UMTS/HSDPA to download tracks and has Bluetooth v3.0 (with various profiles including A2DP). The Wave 723 will be available across Europe from September, and in the UK in the final quarter of this year.

Nokia (phones/nokia/index.html) has finally announced 5250. The new touchscreen phone boasts a 2-megapixel camera with QVGA @30fps video recording capabilities, Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, 51MB internal memory and accepts Micro SD memory cards of up to 16GB capacity. The 5250 also comes with a free copy of the Guitar Hero 5 Mobile The anticipated retail price of the Nokia 5250 (phones/nokia/nokia-5250.html) is EUR 115, before taxes and operator subsidies. Expect it to hit the markets in Q4 2010.

Nokia N8 (phones/nokia/nokia-n8.html) hasn't been officially launched to market yet and it's already history. Nokia (phones/nokia/index.html) is already planning to release the successor to the N8 - the N9 (pictured above). Since this is just leaked info, there is no news as to when any of this will become official.

A 24 year old Indian youth was killed when a Nokia 1209 (phones/nokia/nokia-1209.html) mobile phone, released in 2008, exploded in his face. He was found dead yesterday, with burns to his left ear, neck and shoulders, near a farm in Bandha village close to the city of Kota. Police recovered pieces of the exploded Nokia 1209 device scattered nearby the body.