When the N95 was released, it was all but universally adored. Even today, nearly two full years after it was first revealed, it’s still one of the most respected in Nokia’s lineup. From the get-go, we knew the N96 was more evolutionary and less revolutionary; after all, the two handsets even look alike. The general consensus this time around is about what we expected: the N96 is a fine phone, and a worthy successor, but probably not worth the high price it’s currently demanding. Oh sure, the call quality was stupendous, battery life was satisfactory and the multimedia playback was superb, but some critics were a bit displeased with the fit and finish given the premium price tag. All in all, don’t go into the links below expecting any huge surprises — the N96 is a nicely revamped, high-priced N95, and if that’s what you’re looking for, there doesn’t seem to be any underlying issues that should hold you back from indulging.

There was little doubt Samsung and Armani’s latest tie-up was the real deal, but just in case you’re more skeptical than most, the pair has launched a dedicated promo site to pump up the flashy candybar. The Samsung Armani Night Effect boasts a 2.2-inch OLED display, lots of LED accents, HSDPA support, a 3.2-megapixel camera, multimedia player, FM radio tuner, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, 120MB of internal memory and a microSD expansion slot. We’re hearing that it’ll be released this November in both black and white motifs, each running €300 ($439). Check out lots more delectable images over at Engadget Spanish.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

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Anyone (well, anyone stateside) hankering for Nokia’s latest and greatest flagship might need to look no further than their local Best Buy Mobile kiosk starting in October — if the chain’s current plan holds up, anyhow. Stock information indicates that unlocked N96s will start flowing into locations on October 26 to be exact for a stiff $799.99. Cheap it ain’t, but we suppose pricey stock is better than no stock at all, yeah?

[Thanks, Carl]

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We absolutely love it when stuff like this happens, the FCC do it — well we might add — and now it appears Best Buy wants in on the game at Telus’s expense. While it comes as no surprise that Telus is snapping up the HTC Touch Pro, we honestly weren’t thinking they’d have the Touch Dual on their radar, too. Curiously, the image gaffe doesn’t mention dates and pricing, but seeing as it is in this week’s ad, Telus might well be fleshing out those details in a day or two. Stay tuned.

[Via Boy Genius Report and thanks, RileyFreeman]

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SkyTerra’s Mobile Satellite Ventures, ICO Global Communications and Qualcomm have jointly announced today a partnership that could have far-reaching implications in the mobile realm. In short, the trio has agreed to “integrate satellite and cellular communication technology in select multi-mode mobile baseband chips,” which will essentially enable handsets to have “ubiquitous mobile communications coverage from anywhere in North America, including areas where traditional cellular service is currently unavailable or unreliable.” The release proclaims that this hookup will lead to satellite connectivity being in mass-market devices, but only time will tell how long it takes for compatible handsets to get adopted by carriers. Unfortunately, we do know it won’t happen prior to 2010, as that’s the planned ship date for the newfangled chips. Thanks for the heads-up, guys — but oh, how the tease hurts us.

[Via PhoneScoop]

Update: Images provided are of Mobile Satellite Ventures’ design concepts.

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“There is absolutely no delay. The product is on track. We have said it will roll out in Q4 and we are on target to do that.” said Merran.

The evidence for a delay were flimsy at best, being simply an un-updated website that was rapidly corrected, and the musings of largely uninformed SE reps at the IFA conference. With the device already widely circulated and even with the ROM in the wild, there is no reason to believe the device will not be here in October, as is widely expected.

Of course Acer, as the third largest PC manufacturer in the world, doesn’t exactly have much to worry about. It’s fair to say that if a company this size chooses to enter a market, it will have enough muscle to make a go of it. Even the name suggests that Acer is keen to make a splash in the netbook arena, with the Aspire One intimating that this is the netbook to buy.

Despite the singular moniker, the Aspire One is available in a few configurations. What we have before us today is the most basic and thus also the cheapest configuration, featuring an Intel Atom 1.6GHz, 8GB SSD flash drive and only 512MB of RAM. While this is not exactly enough to run Windows XP properly, it’s certainly adequate for the included custom distribution of Linux that this netbook runs. Windows XP versions will also be available, with up to 1GB of RAM, a 120GB HDD, and a six-cell battery, rather than the three-cell our model came with. Admittedly, the hard drive and larger battery do affect the One’s size and weight, upping its dimensions from 249 x 170 x 29mm (WxDxH) to 249 x 195 x 36mm and increasing the weight from just under a kilo to 1.26kg, but that’s unavoidable.

Like most netbooks these days, the Aspire One comes in a variety of colours, but in this case there are some unusual choices. Admittedly, ‘SeaShell’ White is nothing out of the ordinary, and ‘Coral Pink’ is pretty much a given, but I wouldn’t have bet on the remaining two being Sapphire Blue and Golden Brown - for one thing, what happened to black? You know, the colour of expensive cameras, consoles, televisions and other cool, high-end technology gear?

Having resigned myself to blue as the next best choice, let’s see if the Aspire One holds its own aesthetically. The top of the lid looks a bit like it has been enamelled, though it is as susceptible to fingerprints and scratches as any other shiny coating.

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