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Tag: symbian

  • Stephen Elop in an Interview About Nokia and Windows

    In an interview with people at The Verge, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, was extremely pleased regarding the company’s performance after the first year of strategic partnership with Microsoft.

    Being obviously aware of the negative consequences of the radical strategy change, of which the most important is workforce reduction, Stephen Elop said that Nokia is currently in the middle of transition. Regarding the transition to Microsoft, Nokia CEO said: “One year after making big decisions on the company, I’m surer than ever that I made the right decisions”.

    Nokia’s impact on the development of Windows Phone starts to be felt just now, and the Finnish company still wants to influence the direction of this platform. Given that Microsoft is centralizing the entire ecosystem around the Metro interface, examples being Windows Phone, Windows 8 or Xbox Live, Stephen Elop showed confidence in expanding the Nokia’s influence towards multi-platform horizons, but this influence is currently in an early stage, details still being premature.

    As expected, in what concerns the tablets, Elop has shown interested in the field but also the reluctance, trying to make the best decision in this crowded market.

    Asked about the amalgamation of smartphones launched at MWC 2012, including those under the Nokia brand, Stephen Elop gave a cold and calculated answer: “Which one do you remember?” Unfortunately, a lack of differentiation between terminals it only reflects in a lot of terminals that will not keep the headlines too much.

    Regarding the last star in MWC 2012 – Nokia 808 PureView – and the decision to boost it with Symbian OS, the CEO said that the technology had to come out, being the best method at this time.

    In what concerns the Smoked by Windows Phone campaign, Stephen Elop has also shown his appreciation and enthusiasm. He said such an aggressive campaign based on tests and usage scenarios, rather than tables of specifications, is exactly what the platform needed in order to win in growth.

    However, it remains to be seen what Nokia will be up to over the next year or if Nokia will still exist…

    Read the full interview at The Verge.

  • Nokia, At the Lowest Rate in 14 Years, on a Growing Market

    Nokia mobile phone market share dropped from 30.6% to 25.1%, reaching its lowest level since 1997, selling in the first quarter of 2011 107.6 million units, according to a study made by the research firm Gartner.

    At the same time, Samsung’s sales increased from 64.9 to 68.8 million units, and the producer has a market share of 16.1%.

    The list is completed by LG, which has sold in the first quarter of 2011 27.2 million mobile phones, representing 7.6% of market.

    Apple is ranked four in the mobile phones top, but also in the operating system top, with 16.9 million iPhones sold worldwide, double value than in the first quarter of last year. The company’s market share, both in smartphones and operating systems, increased from 2.3% to 3.9%.

    The sales of the Canadians from Research In Motion, the Blackberry manufacturer, have increased in the same period from 10.8 to 13 million units, the company having a market share of 3%.

    In the operating systems, Android has become the most popular platform in the world, increasing its last year market share from 9.6% to 36%.

    The market share of Symbian, at which Nokia will renounce in favor of Windows Mobile, has decreased in the last year from 44.2% to 27.4%.

    In total, in the first quarter of 2011 were sold 427.9 million mobile phones, an increase with 19% over the number recorded in the first three months of 2010. Gartner says that, despite this 19-percent increase in sales, would have been sold even more smartphones, but several companies have announced the launch of new terminals for the current quarter, and many customers have waited them and haven’t bought any phone in the first three months of the year.

    Smartphone sales have doubled up in the period mentioned, to 100.8 million units, according to the source.

  • Opera Launches the Opera Mobile Store

    Opera Software has just announced that the Opera Mobile Store is now open and available at mobilestore.opera.com. The Opera Mobile Store has been built and delivered through a partnership with Appia and offers both free and paid applications for virtually any mobile platform and device.

    The Opera Mobile Store is available to Opera users and users of other mobile browsers, on almost all mobile phone platforms in more than 200 countries. According to the company, the Store uses Appia’s storefront commerce technology and leverages a wide catalog of applications for phones with Java, Symbian, BlackBerry and Android operating systems. The storefront experience is customized to each user’s phone, providing a tailored catalog based on the phone’s operating system, local language and currency.

    "The launch of the Opera Mobile Store supports Opera’s core belief in an open, cross-platform mobile Internet experience by providing Opera users with an integrated storefront of mobile applications," said Mahi de Silva, EVP, Consumer Mobile, Opera Software. "Our partnership with Appia delivers to all Opera Mobile and Opera Mini users easy access to a wide variety of great content, on any device, all over the world."

    To support the Opera Mobile Store, Opera Software has also launched the Opera Publisher Portal, providing developers with an easy way to get their applications onto the Opera Mobile Store. In its pre-launch state, the Opera Mobile Store attracted more than 15 million users in February, from 200 countries, achieving more than 700,000 downloads per day. These metrics establish the Opera Mobile Store as a top 10 mobile application store around the world.

    "The Opera Mobile Store presents a remarkable opportunity for mobile application developers to distribute localized content through a single, far-reaching marketplace," said Jud Bowman, CEO of Appia. "Appia is thrilled to partner with Opera to deliver an incredible storefront of applications to Opera users and beyond."

  • Google's Android Becomes the World's Leading Smartphone Platform

    Canalys today published its final Q4 2010 global country-level smartphone market data, which revealed that Google’s Android has become the leading platform. Shipments of Android-based smartphones reached 32.9 million, while devices running Nokia’s Symbian platform trailed slightly at 31.0 million worldwide.

    But Nokia did retain its position as the leading global smart phone vendor, with a share of 28%.

    The fourth quarter also saw the worldwide smartphone market continue to soar, with shipments of 101.2 million units representing year-on-year growth of 89%.

    According to the report, in Q4 2010, volumes of Google OS-based smartphones (Android, OMS and Tapas) were again boosted by strong performances from a number of vendors, notably LG, Samsung, Acer and HTC, whose volumes across these platforms grew 4,127%, 1,474%, 709% and 371% respectively year-on-year. HTC and Samsung together accounted for nearly 45% of Google OS-based handset shipments.

    "2010 has been a fantastic year for the smart phone market. After a difficult 2009, the speed with which the market has recovered has required real commitment and innovation from vendors and they have risen to the challenge," said Canalys VP and Principal Analyst Chris Jones.

    "But vendors cannot afford to be complacent. 2011 is set to be a highly competitive year with vendors looking to use new technology, such as dual-core processors, NFC and 3D displays, to differentiate their products and maintain value," he added.

    At a regional level, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) remained the largest market, with shipments totalling 38.8 million and a year-on-year growth rate of 90%. Nokia continued to lead in EMEA and Asia Pacific, but in 2010 it was overtaken by RIM in Latin America, which shipped over a million more units than Nokia in Q4 2010. The vendor was particularly helped by the popularity of its mid-range smart phones, such as its Curve family of devices.

    The United States continued its reign as the largest country market in terms of shipments, at more than double the size of the Chinese smart phone market. RIM recaptured first place from Apple, as the latter experienced its usual US seasonal dip, and RIM benefited from the first full quarter of shipments for the BlackBerry Torch. HTC successfully maintained its third-place ranking in the US for the third consecutive quarter, driven by its speed to market with the latest Android updates and new Windows Phone 7 devices.

    "The US landscape will shift dramatically this coming year, as a result of the Verizon-Apple agreement,’ said Canalys Analyst Tim Shepherd. "Verizon will move its focus away from the Droid range, but the overall market impact will mean less carrier-exclusive deals, while increasing the AT&T opportunity for Android vendors, such as HTC, Motorola and Samsung."

    Android was by far the largest smart phone platform in the US market in Q4 2010, with shipments of 12.1 million units – nearly three times those of RIM’s BlackBerry devices. Windows Phone 7 devices appeared too late in the quarter to take full advantage of holiday season purchasing. As a result, Microsoft lost share in the United States, from 8% in Q4 2009 to 5% in Q4 2010.

    Related news
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  • fringOut’s “Almost-Free Calls” Coming to Android

    Two weeks after releasing fringOut that enables users to make cheap calls to any regular landline or mobile phone anywhere in the world, with rates as low as 1¢ a minute, fring announced the service is now available for Android phones.

    fring’s new service is currently available also for Nokia S60 (Symbian) devices and will soon be available on iPhone.

    fringOut’s rates for Germany, US, UK and India starts at 1¢.

    A list of rates is available at fring.com/fringOut/rates

    fring users will still be able to use other SIP service through fring (“We are sure you’ll love fringOut’s simplicity and its low prices. If for some reason, you still want to use other SIP providers, you are welcome too,” the company said).

    All the other fring features, like fring to fring calls (audio and video) are still available for free. The option to send an sms using fringOut credit is currently not available.

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  • fringOut Offers Worldwide Mobile Calls From 1c/Minute

    fring has just introduced fringOut, a new service that enables users to make cheap calls to any regular landline or mobile phone anywhere in the world, with rates as low as 1¢ a minute.

    Rates for Canada and UK are even lower — 0,6¢ and 0,7¢, respectively, US calls starts at 1,2¢ per minute.

    fring users will still be able to use other SIP service through fring (“We are sure you’ll love fringOut’s simplicity and its low prices. If for some reason, you still want to use other SIP providers, you are welcome too,” the company says).

    All the other fring features, like fring to fring calls (audio and video) are still available for free. The option to send an sms using fringOut credit is currently not available.

    The company informed that its new service is currently available for Nokia S60 (Symbian) devices and will soon be available on iPhone and Android.

    “Hundreds of millions of people have tried low-cost internet calling on their PC or through restricted mobile offerings. With the launch of fringOut, fringsters can benefit from internet calling with the convenience of mobile without cumbersome wires and cables." said Avi Shechter, Co-Founder & CEO of fring.

    "The fringOut service joins our leading video service, to create a fun, internet-rich, cost-effective mobile experience for our thriving community of tens of millions of fringsters," he added.

    fring users can choose how they communicate with their friends including using fring internet calling to other fring users and other communities, fringOut, SIP or GSM.

    A list of rates is available at fring.com/fringOut/rates

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  • Gartner: Android to Become No. 2 Worldwide Mobile OS in 2010

    The worldwide mobile operating system market will be dominated by Symbian and Android, as the two OSs will account for 59.8 percent of mobile OS sales by 2014, according to Gartner.

    The research firm predicts that Symbian will remain at the top of Gartner’s worldwide OS ranking due to Nokia‘s volume and the push into more mass market price points. However, by the end of the forecast period, the No. 1 spot will be contested with Android, which will be at a very similar share level.

    According to Gartner, communication service providers’ marketing and vendor support for Android-based smartphones will drive the platform to become the second-largest platform, following Symbian, by year-end 2010. This is almost two years earlier than Gartner predicted a year ago.

    "The worldwide mobile OS market is dominated by four players: Symbian, Android, Research In Motion and iOS," said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner.

    "Launches of updated operating systems — such as Apple iOS 4, BlackBerry OS 6, Symbian 3 and Symbian 4, and Windows Phone 7 — will help maintain strong growth in smartphones in 2H10 and 2011 and spur innovation. However, we believe that market share in the OS space will consolidate around a few key OS providers that have the most support from CSPs and developers and strong brand awareness with consumer and enterprise customers," she said.

    Gartner expects manufacturers such as Samsung to launch many new budget Android devices in 2H10 that will drive Android into mass market segments. Other players, such as Sony Ericsson, LG and Motorola, will follow a similar strategy. This trend should help Android become the top OS in North America by the end of 2010.

    "CSPs and mobile device manufacturers alike will need to revisit their platform strategies and balance the need to pursue platforms with the highest current demand against the need to maintain differentiation with unique devices," Cozza said. "CSPs will likely reduce the number of platforms they offer, to reduce their support costs and clarify their propositions to market."

    Gartner predicts that by 2014, open-source platforms will continue to dominate more than 60 percent of the market for smartphones. Single-source platforms, such as Apple’s iOS and Research In Motion’s OS, will increase in unit terms, but their growth rate will be below market average and not enough to sustain share increase. Windows Phone will be relegated to sixth place behind MeeGo in Gartner’s worldwide OS ranking by 2014.

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  • Nokia N8 Offcially for Sale at the end of September

    Nokia finally announced that Nokia N8, the company’s long-awaited, flagship handset, will be on-sale in the last week of September for £429 SIM free or on contract from £35 per month.

    The Nokia N8 introduces a 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash, HD-quality (720p) video recording, film editing software and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound.

    Among the features of this Symbian^3 smartphone are:

    • On-demand Web TV (CNN, E! Entertainment, Paramount and National Geographic and others)
    • HDMI connection
    • Navigation with Ovi Maps
    • Up to three personalised home screens
    • Integrated social networking: all social networks in a single app
    • Flick scrolling and pinch-to-zoom
    • Ovi apps
    • 3.5 inch widescreen (640 x 360 pixels) capacitive touch
    • 6GB mass memory + micro SD card slot, 135MB internal memory, support up to 32GB memory cards
    • 1200mAh BL-4D battery

    "The Nokia N8 is perfect for creating and sharing great content in high-definition, using HDMI out to connect to your TV as well as hot-USB swap. We’re making it fun and easy to capture and share memorable moments on the go," said Mark Loughran, General Manager, Nokia UK.

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  • Rubberduck Launches Support for Touch Phones

    Rubberduck, a provider of streaming mobile TV services, announced support for a wide range of new touch phones, through an in-house developed Java application.

    Rubberduck already supports smartphones such as the iPhone and Android-based devices through downloadable apps and offers various services through its recently announced HTTP-streaming architecture.

    According to Rubberduck, the Java app is a natural extension of this product portfolio, and supports touch phones from a wide range of manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Nokia and SonyEricsson. The app is fully compatible with the company’s content management system and streaming infrastructure.

    “Our new Java app extends support for our mobile-TV services to a wide range of touch phones, which are wide spread in the market. This will extend our reach and make it more attractive to watch TV on your mobile also for those who don’t have the most expensive high-end phones,” said Managing Director of Rubberduck, Erling Paulsen.

    The company also said that they had experienced a brisk upturn in traffic in 2009, where streaming numbers increased by some 75 percent, much due to the launch of a new iPhone client.

    The Java client also runs on Symbian devices from Nokia and Sony Ericsson ahead of a dedicated app, expected with the launch of Symbian^4 in 2011.

    Rubberduck claims that the combination of touch interface and large screen has been a catalyst for mobile-TV adoption, “and with ever more competing platforms, ensuring a base level of touch support via Java is a crucial step to delivering a premium experience to the widest possible audience.”

    Related articles
    Rubberduck’s Mobile TV Solution Now Supports HTTP Streaming
    SPB TV for Windows Mobile Smartphones Gets a Major Update
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  • Nokia Announces Skype for Symbian

    Skype and Nokia today jointly announced the release of Skype for Symbian, a Skype client for Nokia smartphones based on the Symbian platform.

    Skype for Symbian will allow Nokia smartphone users worldwide to use Skype on the move, over either a WiFi or mobile data connection (GPRS, EDGE, 3G).

    The application will run on any Nokia smartphone using Symbian ^1, the latest version of the Symbian platform. Skype said it will soon introduce this client to Symbian mobile devices from other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson.

    "Skype, the king of Internet communications, running on Symbian, the world’s dominant smartphone platform, makes for an explosive combination," said Larry Berkin, Head of Global Alliances and GM USA, Symbian Foundation.

    "With Symbian’s global reach, Skype is that much closer to becoming the ubiquitous real-time communications platform for hundreds of millions of Symbian-based mobile users."

    According to Informa Telecoms and Media more than 200 million users of Symbian-powered devices now have Skype at their fingertips.

    Jo Harlow, Senior Vice President for Smartphones, Nokia, said, “We’re seeing around 1.5 million downloads a day on Ovi Store now and believe that the Skype client for Nokia smartphones will have wide appeal to Symbian users."

    Check out special Skype page for the full list of compatible handsets.