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Tag: nokia

  • Half the World's Smartphones are Delivered by Samsung and Apple

    A few days after the rival Apple announced its less spectacular results, it is time for Samsung to disclose the official figures of the financial performance in the second quarter, and they are pretty impressive.

    Mobile market grew by only 1% in the second quarter of 2012, compared with 2011, and the giants Samsung and Apple have delivered almost half of the smartphones in the world, according to a recent IDC study.

    The two companies have doubled their market share over the past two years distanced themselves more and more from the competition, but at the same time has also increased the advantage of those from Samsung from the Cupertino-based company.

    Thus, in chapter smartphones, Samsung's market share in the second quarter was 32.6% , while of those from Apple was 16.9%. Samsung has also managed to achieve deliveries of 50.2 million units during this period.

    However, we must take into account the fact that Samsung has already launched the model that counts the most in this year, Samsung Galaxy S3 and Apple's iPhone 5 will likely see the light of the day later this year, with a market share of 6.6% and shipments of 10.1 million units, followed by HTC, with 5.7% and 8.8 million units sold.

    In total, global deliveries in the second quarter of 2012 have reached the impressive figure of 153.9 million smartphones, according to the same study conducted by the IDC.

    Samsung, Apple and Nokia are the top three producers with the most smartphones sold, but the surprise is ZTE, which climbed up to the fifth place in this ranking, with an increase of 300%.

  • Nokia promotes pink Lumia 900 with a nail polish

    Nokia has decided to promote its popular Lumia 900 phone, not in the conventional way, but rather with a more creative idea.

    In order to promote the pink Lumia 900 phone, they decided to launch a matching pink nail polish. "Nokia Lumia Pink" was designed by Duality Cosmetics and in case you are interested in buying it, it will only be available at one-day (and only) events in Dallas, Denver and Los Angeles. Moreover, if you attend these events, you will also be able to receive manicure and pedicure, in pink color of course. If you are not into pink, Nokia Lumia 900 also comes in white, black and cyan. However, pink is Nokia's latest release for Lumia 900, which justifies their need to promote it as much as possible, turning the smartphone into an accessory.

    According to Valerie Buckingham, director of marketing for Nokia North America:

    “phones are in your back pocket all day [and should represent] the most personal parts of your style.”

    Thus, Nokia Lumia 900 Pink targets women that need to match their smartphone with their colorful style. It is part of Nokia's efforts to boost sales, struggling to keep up with the high smartphone competition. Although Nokia Lumia phones started selling at a satisfactory rate, they have recently seen a drop in their price, in order to remain at the game.

    Can Nokia make it with such marketing ideas, though?

  • Samsung Expects to Sell Over 10 Million Galaxy S3 Smartphones by July

    Samsung, the world's largest mobile phone maker, expects the Galaxy S3, the most advanced smartphone in its portfolio, to sell faster than previous models and to exceed 10 million units by July, informs Bloomberg.

    The company estimates that these sales will make the revenues of the mobile division in the second quarter of this year to exceed those recorded in the previous quarter. Samsung shares on the stock market in Seoul are dropping, due to the speculations according to which the results will be under estimated by some analysts.

    Galaxy S3, the most advanced smartphone produced by Samsung and the most important rival to Apple’s iPhone began to be sold in Europe in late May and in the U.S. on June 21.

    As regards global phones sales (not only smartphones), estimates made on April 27 by the research company Strategy Analytics show that Samsung would have sold 93.5 million phones in the first quarter of this year, up by 36% from a year earlier. In the same period, Nokia would have sold 82.7 million phones, down by 24% and Apple would have sold 35.1 million terminals, up by 89% over the same period in 2011.

    Samsung would have sold 44.5 million smartphones in the first three months of this year, according to the same research company.

    South Korean manufacturer is currently investigating a complaint made on an online forum in Ireland regarding a Galaxy S3 model that would have unexpectedly caught fire, possibly due to the battery overheating. Samsung officials insist that preliminary data show that the destruction of the phone would not have been caused by the explosion of the battery.

  • No Windows Phone 8 Upgrade for Current Nokia Lumnia Phones

    One of the significant hits given yesterday by Microsoft refers to the lack of possibility to upgrade to the new OS – Windows Phone 8 – for the owners of Lumia smartphones, even for the owners of high-end models such as Nokia Lumia 900.

    Although Windows Phone 7.8 will be a significant sample of the functionality of WP8, the guys at The Verge consulted Kevin Shields from Nokia to hear an official opinion regarding the company’s trust or distrust in the Lumia.

    "I definitely think it's more than enough. I think that ultimately your typical customer probably isn't all that aware of this upgrade thing," said Shields. When asked about the upgrade prospects for Lumia 900, the same Kevin Shields said that he definitely thinks that with “products like the Lumia 900, where a consumer walks in and buys that product they're getting great value and they're getting a great offering that's going to have a long lifetime of innovation”.

    Although there will exist new applications that would take advantage of the functions implemented exclusively in WP8, Nokia representative was keen to ensure that users will constantly get new features through updates and applications made in house by the company. Applications like Camera Extras, which will reach on all the Lumia terminals until the end of July, represent a clear proof of these statements. Camera Extras will allow users to capture intelligent panoramic and group pictures.

    As a subjective note, we think that Nokia undermines users’ intelligence with such statements and, although Lumia 900 is a sensational terminal, in the world we live increasingly more people think about the future and put in balance the free upgrade options and the extended support. Since these elements are missing from all Lumia terminals on the market, we believe that Nokia has received a new hit in this period.

  • HTC Releases First Details on Its Windows Phone 8 Smartphones

    Besides Nokia, HTC is one of the leading supporters of the mobile platform from Microsoft and this does not seem to change with the new version of the platform – Windows Phone 8.

    After yesterday’s event in which we learned the first elements, more or less spectacular, related to Windows Phone 8, HTC rushed to make give the first official details for its next generation of smartphones running on the new operating system from Microsoft.

    HTC Rio is the low-end model powered by WP8. The smartphone will feature a 4-inch WVGA screen, will support HSPA data connection of 14.4 Mbps and will have an integrated 5-megapixel camera with video capture capability in 720p resolution. The processor used will be a Qualcomm MSM8227 from the new series Snapdragon S4 Plus, and the amount of RAM will be only 512 MB.

    HTC Accord will be the second model on the price scale. This one will have a 4.3-inch Super LCD 2 screen and a native resolution of 720p. It will integrate an 8-megapixel sensor, and will jump to 1080p when capturing video content. In terms of data, the new smartphone will support 42Mbps HSPA+ as well as NFC connection. HTC Accord will be powered by a dual-core processor – probably Qualcomm MSM8260A, while the amount of RAM will jump to 1GB.

    HTC Zenith will be the new flagship of the WP8 range of smartphones. It will feature a 4.7-inch Super LCD 2 display with a native resolution of 720p and will integrate the same 8-megapixel sensor. Also concerning the similarities with HTC Accord, HTC Zenith will also feature the same processor and quantity of RAM.

    The first two terminals and HTC Rio and HTC Accord are scheduled for launch in October, while HTC Zenith will be available shortly before the end of the year.

  • BlackBerry Close to an End, RIM Prepares New Layoffs

    BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) has announced it aims to reduce operating costs by one billion dollars per year, a plan that includes significant layoffs.

    RIM’s U.S. sales declined dramatically due to the fierce competition represented by the Apple's iPhone and Google’s Android OS, which is why RIM will terminate the contract with Celestica – phone parts manufacturer.

    Celestica is a Canadian company that provides parts and assembles terminals for several companies, including RIM. The company recently announced that it will stop producing parts for the BlackBerry manufacturer and for this reason it expects a loss of $35 billion.

    BlackBerry, along with Nokia, are the companies that have lost the battle against Apple. RIM recorded losses of $125 million in the first quarter of the year, while in Q1 2011 had a profit of $1 billion. Revenues decreased from $ 5.2 billion to about $4.2 billion and shares value decreased by 80% in one year. In comparison, Apple has announced for 2011 a net profit of $ 13.06 billion, mainly supported by the sales of iPhones and iPads, revenues reaching a record of $46.33 billion.

    RIM also fired 35% of its employees last year, thinking that this would be the right solution, but unfortunately the collapse continued.

    Besides Celestica, RIM will also terminate the contracts with other two companies, Flextonics International Ltd and Jabil Circuit Inc.

    “RIM has committed to achieve significant efficiencies and reducing operating costs during this fiscal year. Reducing the number of employees is part of this initiative,” said the company spokesman, Tenille Kennedy.

    RIM's reorganization process could affect between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs, as estimated by analysts at Northern Securities Toronto, under the premise that 30% of the announced cost reductions will be achieved by measures of employment and human resources. Also, Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the company, claims that RIM fires for weeks groups of at least 10 employees.

    Canadian company plans to launch this year a new range of smartphones based on the BlackBerry 10 OS, through which hopes to regain market share.

  • Nokia Launches Three New Phones: Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311

    Nokia expands its Asha range with three new models: Nokia Asha 305, Nokia Asha 306 and Nokia Asha 311, phones with touchscreen that try to get closer as much as possible of the smartphone experience, while keeping a price as low as possible.

    The Asha range, launched in October 2011, gets to 10 phone models, available in over 130 countries.

    Nokia Asha 311

    Colorful and compact, weighing 95 grams, Asha 311 offers a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, a 1 GHz processor, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

    In terms of software, users will enjoy the Nokia Browser 2.0, which promises fast loading websites, Nokia Maps, WhatsApp Messenger, client for Facebook and Twitter, and a lot of games preinstalled, including Angry Birds plus 40 free games from Electronic Arts. The operating system is S40 Asha.

    Asha Nokia 311 will cost about € 92.

    Nokia Asha 305 and 306

    Asha 305 is a dual-SIM phone with Easy Swap function, 3-inch WQVGA resistive display, touch sensitive, 2-megapixel camera and Bluetooth and Dual Band connections. Colorful and compact, Nokia Asha 305, as the 311 model, features Nokia Maps, Nokia Browser and free games from EA.

    Asha 305’s big brother, Nokia Asha 306, additionally offers a WLAN connection, as well as the possibility to make video streaming through GPRS or WLAN.

    Nokia Asha 305 will cost about € 63, while Nokia Asha 306 will be priced around € 68. Both arrive in the third quarter of this year.

  • Nokia Prepares New PureView Smartphones

    Nokia 808 PureView is just the beginning: the Finnish manufacturer making plans for an entire range of PureView smartphones with various forms of design and prices, all recommended by the camera’s excellent performances.

    As always, future models of Nokia PureView will have high-resolution image sensors, optical ensemble of high performance with Carl Zeiss and hardware and software adaptations for processing photos at the highest quality standards. The difference is that the new smartphones will incorporate these features into a more flexible housing, thus entering in line with the competition, which currently promotes slim phones – highly appreciated by customers, despite the poorer performance in terms of autonomy.

    Unfortunately, as regards the new Nokia PureView smartphones, for a more flexible housing we will have to accept not only reduced battery autonomy, but also the use of image sensors inferior to the 41-megapixel currently installed on the 808 PureView model. Even so, the new technologies developed by Nokia will help maintain pictures at a high enough level of quality that the PureView series to not lose its main advantage over the competition.

    Given the incorporation of technologies under development for several years, Nokia 808 PureView comes equipped with Symbian Belle OS. The WP version has been excluded so far, because the PureView technologies need to be adapted to the new software platform – time and resource consuming operation. However, it is possible that at least one part of the future Nokia PureView models to be delivered with the operating system developed by Microsoft – Windows Phone.

  • Samsung Expects 1st Quarter 2012 Profits to Double

    Samsung, now the world’s biggest-selling smartphone maker, says it expects to see its profits double for the first three months of the year.

    Online investments experts told BBC Monday that Samsung Electronics apparently has been able to hang on to its lead as the market leader in the heated smartphone niche, with its 1st quarter 2012 profit expected to hit $5.1 billion.

    BBC said analysts from the LIG Investment & Securities and Kiwoom Securities in Seoul see Samsung’s increasingly popular Galaxy range of smartphones as the engine for the Korean company’s continuing profit growth, despite great competition from the active smartphone market led by Apple’s iPhones, RIM’s Blackberry and Nokia’s Symbian OS models. 

    Samsung’s high-end Galaxy S and Galaxy Note editions have been the year’s best sellers, having overtaken the Apple iPhone last year.

    The company’s efforts to keep its profit margins healthy despite sharp competition from its giant smartphone rivals have been cited as the key to the double profit figures set to be released in detail in a formal quarterly report on April 27. Profit margins for the company’s fast-selling handsets have been higher than 20%, accounting for the 4 trillion-won profit for the smart phone division. 

    The analysts noted that despite Samsung’s current difficulties in its other products, notably in memory chips which are suffering from a glut in worldwide supply, the company could still rev up its overall profit margin as the global economy improves later this year, as predicted, and as parts suppliers such as Japan and Thailand recover from various economic and political problems.

  • Blackberry Maker Says It Plans to Release New Model First Before Disclosing Financial Figures

    RIM, the maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone today said it was postponing its earlier scheduled disclosure of the latest company financial figures, preferring to go ahead first with the release of its awaited new BlackBerry 10 models.

    In a report by Reuters, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion said it was delaying its scheduled disclosure of financial figures to analysts set for May this year, instead setting the business meeting for later in 2012. RIM had typically released its financial report for analysts during the Blackberry World conference, usually held in the summer.

    RIM spokeswoman Tenille Kennedy told Reuters the company is deciding to focus instead on its worldwide customers, developers and partners as the Canada-based technology firm goes into the final stages of the impending public release of its new generation of smartphones to be led by the popular BlackBerry.

    Kennedy confirmed that the company is planning to set up a session separate from the product-oriented BlackBerry World conference in May that would target the interests of investors looking to RIM as an alternative investment focal point, at a point level with such smartphone leaders as Apple, Samsung, Nokia and LG. 

    Research In Motion had earlier announced its impending release of the new BlackBerry 10 editions which will use the same operating system of the company’s PlayBook tablet.  The PlayBook itself has not made a successful sales impact on the strictly competitive tablet market, led by Apple’s top selling iPads.

    The new RIM schedule, both for the postponement of the public release of its financial position as well as the marketing of the BlackBerry 10 models, has been interpreted by industry observers as the firm’s redoubling of efforts to come out with a competitive smartphone that would make use of powerful chipsets it said were set for delivery to its factories sometime early this year.