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The update, version 20.0.015, focuses on “battery, stability and performance improvements”. Among them is the addition of “on-demand paging”, essentially a way of parking blocks of memory to the handset’s solid-state storage to make room for others - virtual memory, in other words.

The upshot, Nokia said, is that users can load more applications and switch between them more quickly than they could before.

nokia n95 hsdpa handset
Nokia’s N95: play with it for longer

Users will also be able to re-arrange the S60’s menu layouts courtesy of the New Menu Structure app that comes with the update.

The update’s battery tweaks make for longer gaps between re-charges, with the Finnish phone giant quoting an extra 30 per cent music playback duration post-update. That takes the N95’s continuous music play time from nine hours to 12.

The software also includes a new version of Nokia Maps, which builds on the previous update that added Assisted GPS - helping out the handset’s GPS receiver using triangulation sent across the network - with even faster positioning.

The products created will have neither companies’ names on them, instead being marketed under a new brand in a similar fashion to the Playstation or Walkman, according to Kurt Hellstrom, chief executive of Ericsson and the new venture’s chairman.Mobility and wireless is about to cross the border into all sorts of consumer electronicsKurt HellstromSony Ericsson Mobile CommunicationsThe development of a new brand is part of the new company’s plan to accelerate the development of the mobile phones of tomorrow.

“We will create totally new multimedia mobile products,” said Mr Hellstrom.These phones will become entertainment, video, games and music consoles in addition to being telephones and personal organisers.”Mobility and wireless is about to cross the border into all sorts of consumer electronics; Walkman, Gameboy, video cameras and so on,” Mr Hellstrom said.he still expects more people to access the internet from a mobile unit than from a fixed device by 2003.

“It will change the way we communicate with each other. And it will most certainly change the business game for our industry.”London baseA new company will be set up in London to oversee the research and development, industrial design, sales and distribution of the mobile handsets.

Ericsson worker holding a mobile phoneToday’s phoneSony Ericsson Mobile Communications will be operational from 1 October this year and it will launch its first products during the first half of 2002.It will have a global work force of 3,500.But the company will not produce the phones.This will be done by Sony, or by Ericsson’s partners, including Flextronics.Combatting losses

The Japanese electronics giant Sony and the Swedish mobile phone company Ericsson joined forces to revitalise their lossmaking mobile phone operations.Ericsson’s vision of the next generation mobile phonesTomorrow’s phones?Each of the companies will own 50% of the new venture.