14 DAY TRIAL // The long-waited Nokia Belle has finally reached Australian shores at Vodafone. It appears that Nokia has confirmed that beginning April 25 Vodafone customers who purchased the N8, C7 and E7 can upgrade their smartphones to Nokia Belle.
According to Vodafone Australia, the update is only available via Nokia Ovi Suite, so it’s recommended to download and install the latest version of the software in order to be able to upgrade to Nokia Belle.
Keep in mind that you will need to back up any sensitive data stored on the phone prior updating. The Nokia Belle file is about 300 MB in size and is available free of charge, as with all the updates pushed via Vodafone.
Among the most important improvements included in Nokia Belle major update, it’s worth mentioning there are new home screens, simplified interaction, streamlined imaging experience, an updated Nokia Maps app, as well as simplified NFC sharing.
The update brings three additional home screens, which can be quickly populated with lots of multi-sized, interactive widgets. The process of adding a new widget is now simpler, as users will only need to tap and hold on their home screen.
Furthermore, all widgets can be moved between pages to the next free spot automatically. Starting with Nokia Belle, both portrait and landscape will have their own optimized layouts.
There’s a wide range of new widgets available for Nokia Belle users, including: Digital & Analogue Clocks, Calendar, Contacts (individual and favorites), Maps, Wi-Fi on/off, NFC on/off, Social (including Twitter and Facebook), Search, Music Player & FM Radio, Maps, Email and Profile Selection.
Last but not least, the toolbar has been rehashed to include more all useful options. There’s also a new ability to add folders, while the integrated search feature and the long-touch gesture behavior have been improved as well.