When the N82 was launched in November last year, we were promised more color options- a promise that was fulfilled with the white N82- though that model was only an N82 with a white backplate. When rumors began to fly about the black N82, a lot of speculation was made as to whether this will be the same old N82 with a black backing. The discussion is over now. Stefan at Intomobile.com has spotted the black N82, and just as many had hoped, it's full on black. I have to admit, at least in the pictures, this is one great looking device in the new color. I would have to imagine we'll be seeing the announcement at MWC next week- so keep an eye out here as we hope to bring you live pictures of this saucy little black number and whatever else pops up at MWC.

The price is $630, and the ETA is set for February 12th, in the USA only. Not even Canada is getting this one yet it seems as it's not listed on the Canadian Nokia site.

This strikes me as quite odd- because the specs state that it is a WCDMA 2100 device, meaning US buyers will be limited to EDGE, no NAM 3G this round. It's nice to see Nokia pay attention to the American market, but seriously... are we going to see a real NAM variant down the road? Should we take past actions as a warning, and wait this one out? Who's going to buy this thing in the US with Euro 3G, assuming that there will be a NAM variant right behind it? Perhaps we're all jumping too far ahead of the announcement and we'll be seeing the black N82 released globally next week- at least it would make sense.

Buyer beware....? If you're still feeling frisky- order away.

Teo from Symbian Freak has yet again got the leak on a firmware release, this time for the Nokia N82. The firmware, which updates to 11.0.117, allows for User Data Preservation and fixed a number of bugs and stability issues. The update can be installed directy through the NSU for a number of product codes, and further support is expected throughout the week. I am very curious to hear how the upgrade goes, and just how well the User Data Preservation functions. Comments welcome....

Changelog from Symbian Freak  

• Camera application:
  • Improvements of 'Unexpected error…' probability when starting up with quick succession of camera lens cover open/close
• Music player (Music player stability):
  • Fix for music player freeze when operating app from accessory remote controller e.g. BT headsets, AD-54 etc.
• Map application:
  • Reset fix when opening Map app from landmark app
  • Long Map app closing time
  • Address search in Chinese characters

N82 users will be happy to discover that their beloved devices are even more useful than once believed! Thanks to some useful information from Kevin at S60 Multimedia Blog, we have now come to understand that the N82 can actually preserve certain data throughout the firmware update process (Only settings and applications have been mentioned so far). This is the first NSeries device to accomodate such a feature, but only leads us to wonder if/when this will be availible to other earlier devices. Will future firmware updates offer such capability? For now, we can only hope.

Word on the street is that you guys are also receiving a firmware update soon, so keep your eyes peeled ;)

Read the rest of Kevin's article here

The newest Nseries device from Nokia that you've heard so much about the last few months, and espcially last week with the official announcement and launch, has now gone on sale. The N82 and its big bad ass xenon flash is available apparently since yesterday at Plemix.com unlocked and SIM free for 715 USD . We were told in Finland on the 14th during the launch event that we can expect all packages to include a 2GB microsd card regardless of region, however the Plemix site does not specifically mention this, so if you're going to order it up and are expecting a 2GB card, you might want to ask them about this.