One of the most popular handsets in the world – Nokia 1100 has found itself in the middle of a banking fraud scandal, according to a Dutch investigator. Allegedly, criminals are paying an arm and a leg for working second hand units of the once-50-euro handset that are manufactured in Nokia plant in Bochum, Germany.

Investigators are observing huge amounts of money being offered for the outdated handset recently. The largest recorded sum up to now is 25,000 euro (about 32,000 US dollars), which is about 11 times its weight in gold. According to the investigators the criminals are looking to acquire only units that are manufactured in the Bochum plant of the company.

The supposed reason behind this peculiar requirement is that those handset most probably come with flawed software or hardware, which allows them to be hacked and used to make a working copy of someone else’s phone line.

When set up this way, the Nokia 1100 receives the same calls and most importantly text messages that the original recipient gets, without them ever suspecting anything.

The loophole that the criminals are allegedly using is that many European banks now send temporary transaction authentication numbers or mTANs as SMS to the account holders as a security feature for authorizing online money transfers.

This is where the supposedly counterfeit-capable Nokia 1100 handsets step in. As they receive the SMS intended for the authorized account holder, criminals can acquire a working mTAN and initiate a transfer after they have stolen the needed online ID credentials in some other way.

At this stage Nokia have refuted those accusations claiming that they have not identified any flaw or wormhole in their phone software that would allow the alleged use cases.

However, the investigations still continue.

A word is out that Apple is now officially inviting representatives of the press to attend their next big announcement event on 17 March. The event will be dedicated to the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0. There’s no word of an upcoming mobile phone, but our hopes are high as always.

Engadget.com report to have received an invitation by Apple for an upcoming event with its main theme set on iPhone OS 3.0.

Apple will display an “advance preview of what they’re building”, meaning that you probably won’t see any working full-fledged iPhone OS 3.0 there (or iPhone 3 anyway). We really hope that at least some of the stuff on our wishlist will be answered – and maybe we will even be surprised by some new features.

The new trio by Nokia doesn’t seem so groundbreaking as some of you might have hoped, but it expands the music-centric portfolio of the company with some nice new handsets with balanced functionality.

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic has already leaked in the past with quite a few details on its specifications, and now this unusual QWERTY-enabled music handset is finally officially out.

Quite similar to the Nokia E75, the new Nokia 5730 XpressMusic runs on the Symbian S60 OS and has got a 2.4-inch 16M color QVGA display, built-in GPS receiver, Wi-Fi and USB connectivity. Some of the other extras include a 3.2 Megapixel snapper with Carl Zeiss lens and 3G with video-call support.

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic

Music-centric features include the stereo speakers, the dedicated 3.5-mm audio jack, a stereo FM radio, and stereo Bluetooth support. There will also be an 8GB memory card included in the retail package.

Much like the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic that was presented at this year’s MWC, the Nokia 5730 XpressMusic comes with N-gage support and the the innovative Say-and-Play feature that allows you to control the music player with your voice only. There’s also the Music presence with Ovi Contacts, which shows you what music your Ovi friends are listening to right now.

Here’s a quick hands-on video of Nokia 5730 XpressMusic:

The Nokia 5730 XpressMusic is expected in Q3 2009 in Red, Monochrome, Blue, and even Pink at an estimated retail price of 280 euro before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 5330 XpressMusic

Nokia 5330 Xpressmusic is an S40 device with a 2.4-inch 16M color display and a 3 megapixel ficed focus camera. Touch-sensitive keys on the side control the music player, but there is also a standard 3.5mm jack, stereo Bluetooth, stereo FM radio. A 2GB card comes along in the retail box.

Nokia 5330 XpressMusic

You’d be also interested to know that the Nokia 5330 has a GPS receiver and comes with Nokia Maps for S40. Connectivity-wise the handset offers quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA support plus microUSB port – no Wi-Fi on this one.

Here’s a quick hands-on video with the Nokia 5330 XpressMusic:

In either Black/Red or Silver/Blue color combo, the Nokia 5330 XpressMusic is expected hit it off in Q3 2009 at an estimated retail price of 160 EUR.

Nokia 5030 XpressRadio

Nokia 5030 is the Nokia’s first phone with an internal FM radio antenna, which eliminates the need for a headset to be connected. The Nokia 5030 is also the first device to come out under the XpressRadio branding.

The Nokia 5030 XpressRadio has one touch FM radio and station selection keys on the side for easier control. When placed sideways on the table, the back of the handset looks just like any portable FM radio unit.

Nokia 5030

Targeted at the emerging markets, the Nokia 5030 offers some of the differentiating Nokia entry level features such as a built-in flashlight and the speaking clock and alarm. It has dual-band GSM support and runs on the entry-level S30 user interface. The 1.8-inch display has a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels.

Here’s a quick hands-on video of Nokia 5030 XpressRadio:

One of Nokia’s most affordable devices to offer an FM radio, the Nokia 5030 XpressRadio is expected to start shipping in red and graphite colors in Q2 2009 with an estimated retail price of less than 40 EUR, before taxes or subsidies.

Super rich folks just got a new idea for the present for their special ladies. And special they gotta be, since the Gresso Lady Diamond costs a whooping $5,500!

Only 8 of these ultra-luxurious devices will be produced, each one sporting “high-tech ceramic of Magenta Diamond color,” 18-carat gold, genuine leather and 4 white diamonds that are used on the navigation keys. Moreover, the back of the device has that Gresso-standard transparent sapphire crystal cover.

As for the specs — in case anyone cares — there’s a 2-megapixel camera on board, GSM/GPRS connectivity, Bluetooth, music player, 2GB of on-board memory. Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition is running the show.

Finally, some of you may want care to know about the availability (or not) –the Gresso Lady Diamond is already available, though it seems you can grab it Russia, only.

Smart office and household devices cater for our needs in the most intuitive way possible. Mobile phones for one, have also seen quite a few changes.

Here are several screenshots from the video compiled as a quick how-to for using your phone in 2019.

First off, check your upcoming appointments. Call the person you are seeing next to confirm the meeting. Video calling is preferred and remember to keep the eye contact. Call a taxi using the touchscreen dial pad. Simple as that.

The calendar • Dialling • a video call • touchscreen dial pad • the clever coffee cup is a bonus

<a href=”http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-GB&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:a517b260-bb6b-48b9-87ac-8e2743a28ec5&showPlaylist=true&from=shared” target=”_new” title=”Future Vision Montage”>Video: Future Vision Montage</a>

Good times for the WinMo fans seem to be just around the corner. After last week the release of Windows Mobile 6.5 was officially confirmed for the second half of this year it now appears that its successor isn’t too far away either. In an analysts meeting held yesterday Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed that Windows Mobile 7 will be available next year.

The other good news that the meeting brought to the masses is the fact that the mobile version of Windows 7 will sport a much tighter integration with its desktop brother – whatever they mean by that.

Steve Ballmer also confirmed that Microsoft will make all they can to make up for the main disadvantage of their OS – namely the lack of user-friendliness. Finger optimization is one of the key thought in the developers’ minds when designing the WinMo 7 and we should expect a whole load of new nice applications too.

In case you’ve missed it, here’s a quick scoop of all WinMo 7 goodies leaked on a concept paper a year ago.

A glimpse of the upcoming Windows Mobile 7

Expansys have posted the Nokia N86 8MP for an online pre-order with an expected release date of July 22 2009. Quite naturally, the reputation of the store and the rather hefty price seem to attract attention.

Advertized only in black, the Nokia N86 8MP is offered at the whopping price of 625 euro (incl. taxes), which is almost double the expected price of 375 euro before taxes posted by Nokia.

Anyway, the first 8 megapixel shooter from Nokia, which we managed to get our hands on last week, was expected to start retailing in Q2 but getting a nod on July is not bad at all. The price is quite steep but that’s not unusual for early pre-orders and it should drop down to more reasonable levels once the phone hits the market.

Besides the pumped up camera specs, the Nokia N86 8MP boasts 8GB of internal memory, a microSDHC card slot, a 2.6-inch OLED screen, FM transmitter, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity, a 3.5mm audio jack and TV out. Quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA support are also present for a truly worldwide voice and data roaming.

The one we’re most interested in – the Best Mobile Handset or Device – produced a quite surprising winner. The Amoi-made INQ1 for 3 UK emerged triumphant over LG KS360, T-Mobile G1, BlackBerry Storm 9500 and Nokia E71. Winning stuff was social networking – the INQ1 is tightly integrated with Facebook and last.fm, and comes with support for popular messengers like Skype and Windows Live Messenger.

3’s INQ1 official photos

T-Mobile and Nokia are the two runners-up so to say, splitting the Highly Commended award in this category. The G1 was praised by the judges and T-Mobile should share credit with HTC, who actually manufactured it. The Android Platform got its share of appreciation and, with several new handsets coming in 2009, the way ahead is wide open.

The other competitors

Nokia got a firm handshake too on behalf of their E71 – the business minded QWERTY all-in-one. You can read our review here.

Nokia also snatched the Best Mobile Internet Service award with the Nokia Sports Tracker. The application uses GPS to keep track of your workouts – jogging, running or cycling. Putting due emphasis on networking again, that workout data can be shared on the relevant website including route, speed and even pictures taken along the way.

The Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough award went to the SurePress screen of the BlackBerry Storm. The SurePress screen actually ‘clicks’ like a hardware button allowing the user to both hover over an item and get physical feedback from virtual buttons, a feature that has been a major challenge for touchscreens.

There were many rumors of trouble for the Storm but if anything, this award is confirms that touchscreen is the way the future’s shaping and tactile feedback will play an important role in user experience.

Next year’s awards promise to be even more interesting with the Mobile Innovation Grand Prix. It will focus on smaller players with pioneering products and services seeking bigger market deployment.