Nokia Astound users won't get Belle update
updated 05:15 pm EST, Thu February 9, 2012
Earlier indications from phone-maker prove false
Nokia has told Astound smartphone owners that they won't be upgraded to the latest Symbian OS release, Belle. Apart from thanking owners for their patience, it didn't say more. Its international equivalent, the C7, is getting the new version.
The Symbian-based Astound was released to the US market last April, shortly after the company announced that it would be focusing its future efforts on producing phones running Windows Phone. Sold by T-Mobile, it is an entry level smartphone. It incorporates a 3.5-inch display and an eight-megapixel camera that features a dual LED flash and can record video at 720p resolution. The Astound originally with an updated Symbian^3.
In August, Nokia launched three Symbian-based phones, the 600, 700, and 701. They all ran the latest version of the OS, code-named Belle. The Belle update gave the phones lock screen notifications, a new taskbar, more visual multitasking, and more complex widgets than earlier versions. It was not until four months later that Nokia confirmed that it would be updating prior phone models shipped with the latest OS. Nokia identified the phones to be upgraded as the 500, C6-01, E7, N8, Oro, and X7, along with the C7.
Customers have so far been irritated with Nokia after what they saw as being led into thinking an update was coming.
