No more trips to the shop

Nokia has quietly introduced a DIY firmware upgrade service so phone owners can update their phones over the air, or via a PC connected to the internet, and no longer need to visit a service centre to update the device.

Sony Ericsson has supported self-service firmware upgrades for several years. Firmware updates can bring dramatic improvements in performance, and in the early life of a phone, fix some serious bugs.

In an FAQ, however, Nokia stresses that it won’t be possible to replace operator branding with generic firmware. Carriers like to stuff phones with usability “improvements” - more often impairments - and other cruft.

Read more: The Register