GLOBAL – This week the Guardian has been host to an online Q&A session between the Nokia Environmental team and readers. They’ll be fielding and responding to questions until tomorrow, so there’s still time to pose your questions to Nokia’s eco folk today. Read on to find out more, and join us after the jump for highlights of what’s been asked so far.

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Here are our top three picks of questions that have been asked and answered over the past few days.

Chargers

Q. swizzlesticks: “We’re always being told to switch off appliances at the wall (yawn). Do Nokia chargers carry on using an electric charge when they’re unplugged from the phone but still plugged into the mains? If so, why?”

A. Nokia Environmental team: “Hi swizzlesticks and thanks for your question! All chargers use electricity when they are plugged into mains, with or without the phone. The reason for this is that the electrical circuitry inside the charger must be operational always when the charger is plugged to the mains voltage socket. The circuitry supplies charging voltage so that phone can start charging the battery when connected to the charger. We are constantly improving the charger power efficiency so that the power consumption is minimized when phone is not connected to the charger. Over the last decade, we have reduced the average no-load power consumption of our chargers by over 80%, and our best-in-class chargers by over 95%. Also, to make it easier to Nokia users, many Nokia phones have a feature that reminds the user to unplug the charger in order save power when battery charging is finished. So yes, you still should switch off/unplug your charger (I agree, yawn! But if you forget, the good thing is that our High Efficiency Chargers only use 0.03W in no-load mode, which is very little… Saara with a lot of help from the engineers! ”

Responsibility

Q. Iamtheurbanspaceman: “Does any of the metal in your phones come from Congo or Rwanda? How do you plan on ensuring that your phones are not financing conflict or propping up illegal child labour in Africa in the future?”

A. Nokia Environmental team: “Hi lamtheurbanspaceman, thanks for the first question! Nokia does not buy or even source any metals directly, but we are very concerned about the poor practices at some mine operations – for us, any activity that fuels or finances conflict is totally unacceptable. Thus, for years we have banned metals from conflict areas e.g. in Congo. We require written statement from our suppliers to ensure that metals down the supply chain are legally and ethically sourced. If you are interested in finding out more about how we do this, please see http://www.nokia.com/A41459939#anchor“

Tougher phones with marathon batteries

Q. Dakard: “Just wanted to say, every Nokia I have ever owned (except one that was run over) is still working in a village in Senegal, West Africa. The older ones were like bricks. The newer ones have more to go wrong and are more fragile. Any chance of a more rugged one with a longer lasting battery for villages with no electricity? Doesn’t need colour or camera, just talk and text like many people have asked for.”

A. Nokia Environmental team: “Hi Dakard, Good to hear you’ve been happy with the Nokia products, sorry one of them got run over? Our product portfolio includes range devices suitable for different needs and environments. One that might be just the rugged mobile you are looking for is Nokia 3720 classic. It is designed to resist water, dust and shock and has good battery performance. Something that came to my mind when reading your post about villages with no electricity: an interesting concept we are looking into in our research field is something called a mobile solar charging and micro retail unit, a concept that we are currently piloting. A large share of mobile phones e.g. in Africa are currently charged from small petrol generators and car batteries. The Nokia solar charging unit concept aims at providing clean energy to charge those mobile phones and other battery operated devices. This concept is also a micro retail solution ? an entrepreneur can use the unit to earn a living by charging mobile phones and LED laps, etc. As said, this concept is still to be piloted, but is an interesting example how energy challenges, sustainability and improving livelihood in developing countries can go hand in hand.”

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GLOBAL - We can’t wait to see Symbian^3 running on handset as it’s looking set to boast some brilliant improvements over previous versions. We’ve already seen some UI demos of what the next generation of the OS will look like, but this week David Rivas, VP of Technology Management at Nokia, revealed some more in a demo in San Francisco. The folks at PhoneDog.com were on hand to record the action and we’ve got their video after the jump.

Taking us on a detailed tour of the OS’ enhancements, David starts off with the multiple homescreens, showcasing how to customise widgets, add and remove apps as well as adding new pages.  Although running on a laptop, the OS boasts some serious graphics improvements over previous versions, David suggesting a leap from 20fps to 60fps. This is clearly evident in the music player with the addition of easy to use scrolling through cover artwork. It doesn’t end there, as David also showcases multitasking, multi-touch (on both capacitive and resistive displays) and hints to over 100 usability improvements.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments.

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Milan, ITALY – How do you create a music video with hundreds of music fans, all dancing the same moves to the same tune at the same time, in three different cities? It looks like the folks at Nokia Italy have figured a way. Forming the centre point of their Play campaign, Nokia Italy are encouraging users to submit their own dance moves on video with help and guidance offered by top Italian coreographer, and star of Italian TV talent show Amici, Garrison Rochelle.

Over the course of the next two months, user’s videos will be collated and three flash-mob dance sessions arranged. In late April, Milan, Rome and Catania will play host to three flash-mob dance offs, which will be videod by top director, Domonico Liggeri (of Italian X-Factor fame). Together with videos submitted by users to the Nokia website, he will then create a final music video for Rihanna’s track Rude Boy which will be released in May.

You can log on to the Nokia.it/play website right now and watch the introduction from Garrison (video below) and check out the six videos which you can use to perfect your dance moves. Users are encouraged to upload their own videos to the site, the best of which will be included in the final video.

There are a raft of prizes on offer for those taking part too. Prize winners will walk away with brand new Nokia devices with one overall winner winning the trip of a lifetime to enjoy New Year celebrations with three friends in Rio De Janeiro and Los Angeles.

The project is ambitious as it is big, but it already looks like it’s got some good traction amongst Italian Rihanna fans and the big event in April has all the hallmarks of being a huge success. So, if you’re Italian and you want to get involved, log onto the Nokia Italy Play website and get your groove on. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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GLOBAL – Check out this week’s official Nokia Blog Podcast featuring the week’s top stories, including the Nokia C5 and reactions, new naming conventions, smartphone poll results and Skype for Symbian.

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GLOBAL - Business phones haven’t traditionally been the most glamorous devices around, but that doesn’t mean they lack appeal – far from it. Nokia has a rich pedigree in the business phone arena, and it’s carrying on that good work today with some excellent business-focused devices for the mobile professional.

We’ve dipped into the Almanac to pull out our three favourite best-for-business Nokias around – feel free to let us know your own favourites in the comments below.

Nokia E72

E72 snapshot: ARM 11 600MHz processor / 2.36in TFT / 250MB internal storage / Full Qwerty keyboard / Optical trackpad / HSDPA / Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / USB / 6h talktime (3G)

Following up the E71 is no easy task, but the E72 manages to achieve it by taking all of its strengths and adding a few tricks of its own.

It’s better looking, faster and considerably more powerful than its predecessor, and Nokia has added an optical trackpad to improve an already pleasing user experience.

The E72 represents a solid upgrade to what was already one of the best business smartphones on the market, making it a sure-fire winner in our books.

Nokia N900

N900 snapshot: ARM Cortex A8 600MHz processor / 3.5in resistive touchscreen TFT / 32GB internal storage / Full Qwerty keyboard / HSDPA / Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / USB / 4h30min talktime (3G)

Nokia’s first Maemo 5 phone is everything a modern smartphone shoud be: fast, powerful, capable and versatile.

From its full Qwerty keyboard and huge 3.5in touchscreen to its speedy ARM processor and 32GB of on-board storage, the N900 very much means business – in fact, it’s like having a whole mini computer tucked away in your pocket.

The N900 has evolved from its internet tablet tradtions to become a truly mobile computer (and phone) and with MeeGo around the corner, the future’s looking good too.

Nokia E55

E55 snapshot: ARM 11 600MHz processor / 2.4in TFT / 60MB internal storage / Half Qwerty keyboard / Optical trackpad / HSDPA / Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / USB / 6h talktime (3G)

If you’re looking for a slim and elegant handset that still packs plenty of business punch, you’ve found it in the E55.

The half-Qwerty keyboard layout manages to keep the size down without compromising the E55’s messaging abilities. Rest assured, though: nothing else is done by half measures, and the E55 is loaded with all the business tech you need while out and about.

Throw in excellent battery life and a decent helping of multimedia features and you’ve got an attractive business all-rounder with plenty to recommend it.

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