The Nokia N78's newest firmware has just been released - however, what's unique about this firmware update is that it's the first update offered by Nokia that can be done over-the-air; rather than requiring you to go to your PC and open up Nokia PC Suite to update, it can now be done if you can access the Internet (via WLAN/3G/EDGE/GPRS).

This would probably mean that future N-series S60 updates can also be done directly on your N-series phone rather than requiring a Windows PC connection. Looks like Nokia finally understood that many of it's N-series users also use Macs, making firmware updates extremely inconvenient for them...

In the face of the v20.0.062 update (which provides Flash Lite 3, Web Runtime, and Geotagging support), many people have no idea whether their N82's have an update waiting for them or not. Here's how you can check.

Head over to this Nokia page which can determine whether the update has been released to you or not. Simply turn your phone off, remove the battery and key in the product code of your specific N82, and the page will inform you whether the update is out yet for your phone or not.

The product code determines the area of which you purchased your phone, and Nokia rolls out its updates to particular areas first before others (i.e. Europe first, before Asia, before the rest of the world).

Seems that Nokia is stepping up its updates for the company's flagship products - after the N95's update for Flash Lite 3 support, it's the N82's turn.

Firmware ver 20.0.062 has been spotted by the Symbian Freak, and brings a bunch of goodies for the N82. There's the Flash Lite 3, which allows N82 and N95 users to access Youtube Desktop version, rather than the crappy mobile one (although you could technically get Youtube clips via emTube or Youtube Mobile); the new inclusion of widgets, which run under the S60 browser; Location tagging, which doesn't need much mentioning; and lastly, support for Bluetooth Remote Control Profiles.

A full list of updates is available from the Symbian Freak article.

I'm not sure if it is widely available yet, as I just checked (10/4/2008) on my N82 (which has the Hong Kong region firmware on it) and it isn't available as an update from Nokia Software Update. Seems that Nokia is slowly rolling out the update across the regions, starting with Europe.

A new firmware update has been announced for the N82 - version 11.0.117. It's been out since last Saturday, so I am technically a week late - however, it isn't available for all regions yet apparently. I'm on the Hong Kong firmware and nothings been out so far for my N82, but I'll keep checking.

A number of 'bug fixes' and 'stability' issues were addressed, but apart from that there isn't much information about the firmware, except for the introduction of UDP (User Data Preservation).

In previous Nokia updates, phones usually had their internal memory wiped after the update, restoring the factory state of the phone. However, this update retained the contact list, the calendar, as well as third party applications.

On the side note, the update is well over 100MB, so it should probably include some new features. Stay tuned for more information.