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Tag: microsoft

  • 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.

  • Almost Half of the U.S. Adults Have a Smartphone

    Smartphones are now more popular than conventional mobile phones among the U.S. adults, according to a study released on Thursday, confirming a trend of aggressive spread of these “pocket minicomputers”. 

    According to the study conducted by Pew Research Center University, nearly half ( 46%) Americans of at least 18 years old had a multifunction phone in February, compared with 41% who owned a normal mobile phone and 12% who never used one of the two.

    A study conducted in May last year concluded that only 35% of American adults had a smartphone, compared with 48% who used a traditional phone.

    Devices running the operating system developed by Google, Android, are the most numerous, being in the hands of 20% of the owners of this type of device, from 15% in May 2011. Apple’s iPhone is ranked second with 19% of users compared to 10% in May, clearly outpacing Blackberry produced by Research in Motion, which is in a deep fall (10% in May 2011 to 6% in February this year). Only 2% of the rest have a phone running the Windows Phone operating system, developed by Microsoft, a report unchanged compared to May 2011.

    The survey conducted by Pew Research Center showed that all demographic categories, men and women, young and middle-aged or third-aged, urban and rural, wealthy and less wealthy, they all participated at the smartphone phenomenon.

    The study was conducted between January 20 and February 19 on a sample of 2253 adults and has an error margin of plus or minus 2.7 points.

  • 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.

  • Windows Phone 8, Detailed in a Massive Leak

    Pocketnow.com managed to take a look at a video presentation of the future Windows Phone 8, in which Joe Belfiore, Windows Phone Senior Vice President at Microsoft, speaks to Nokia partners and from which results major changes that will affect the platform in the fall.

    Along with the leak from pocketnow.com, Paul Thurott hurried up to partially confirm the information he had in a blog post (probably under NDA).

    Basically, Windows Phone 8 – which will be called Apollo as it has been speculated for a long time – will be an important step from the current Windows Phone 7.5 from, actually, all points of view.

    DataSmart: Optimizing Data Connection
    Those who own a Windows Phone definitely know that the management module for data connection is not very intelligent and that sometimes the user has to insist until the phone connects/reconnects to a Wi-Fi. This is why in Windows Phone 8 will appear an option called DataSmart that will make order on how data connections are used. First of all it will focus on optimizing and prioritizing connections via Wi-Fi when available instead of 3G. In the Local Scout channel in Bing Maps will be provided detailed information about hotspots.

    Even more interesting is that Internet Explorer 10 will be able to use a proxy server feature through which data will come optimized, similar to the current option in Opera mobile.

    Support for the Business Section
    It was expected that at some point the BitLocker feature will reach the mobile platform too. It seems that Windows Phone 8 will have that and it will use the same 128-bit encryption technology seen on the PC version.

    Detailed information is very important and shows an interesting direction towards which Microsoft wants to go with Windows Phone, but what is not said yet is: Would the current Windows Phone devices have any chance to upgrade to Windows Phone 8 in the upcoming fall?

  • RIM Takeover: Microsoft, Nokia and Amazon Are Interested

    Bosses of Microsoft and Nokia have carried out several discussions in the recent months with the Canadians from RIM (Research in Motion), the manufacturer of BlackBerry phones, in an attempt to build extensive partnerships regarding the future of RIM, company whose shares have reached the minimum value of the last eight years.

    Amazon was also interested in the RIM takeover, but Canadians are determined to reject all the bids, following the idea that they can solve the company problems on their own.

    Discussions status is unknown, but the fact that this kind of discussions took place highlights the severity of the problems faced lately by RIM.

    The company posted results below expectations in Q4, while RIM shares are trading now at a value of more than four times less than 12 months ago.

    Currently, RIM capitalization is 2.83 times the annual income, the figure being the lowest among all players in the telecommunications industry with a value of over $ 1 billion.

    RIM is facing lately with a lot of problems, the company announcing recently that it will delay the launch of its latest BlackBerry handsets.

    In addition, BlackBerry smartphones have steadily lost market share against its competitors, Apple’s iPhone or terminals equipped with Android.

    RIM has failed on the tablets market too. Its 7-inch Playbook tablet launched this year by the Canadian company, recorded sales well below expectations. In order to counter this fail, the device was gradually reduced in pricing from about $ 500 to about $ 200, another fact proving the delicate situation faced by the Canadians at RIM.

  • Google, Sued by the British Telecom Operator BT

    British telecom operator BT sued Google in the United States for infringement of patents in areas such as mobile access to maps, Reuters.

    BT has launched the action in a court in Delaware. The complaint refers to six patents that would have been violated by https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Google, according to BT, by services such as https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Android, https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Google Maps, https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Google Music, Advertising, https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Gmail and other products.

    "It’s about protecting BT’s investment in intellectual property and innovation. We think we have a solid case," said in a statement the British group.

    In the telecommunications industry are currently taking place numerous conflicts on patents, while the number of operators, mobile phone manufacturers and content providers try to offer attractive services such as accessing the maps or entertainment.

    Google Group is already involved in several disputes with companies such as https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Apple, https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Microsoft and https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Oracle. A Google spokesman said the allegations are without foundation.

    BT announced that it has a total portfolio of approximately 5,600 patents and applications in the past financial year and demanded protection by patents of 62 inventions.

    The British group is the fifth largest company that sued Google for patent infringement.

    In August, Google announced that an agreement was reached regarding the takeover of https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Motorola Mobility for $ 12.5 billion, the largest acquisition in its history, partly to protect themselves from aggressive legal attacks. Motorola is one of the largest portfolios of patents in the mobile phone industry.

  • Nokia Sells Luxury Division Vertu

    Nokia wants to sell the luxury phone line Vertu as part of restructuring the company. Given the problems faced by the Finnish phone manufacturer and the quite difficult adoption of the Microsoft’s operating system for its phones, Nokia has done a pretty natural step in thinking about selling the luxury division Vertu.

    Nokia missed the trend of technology and now is struggling to get rid of all its businesses that suddenly became unprofitable. After closing several factories all over the world, where they were producing cheap phones, Nokia is now trying to get rid of its “Crown Jewel” – Vertu luxury handset division.

    The UK-based subsidiary that manufactures phones with a starting price of at least 1,000 pounds, designed for those who can afford throwing money on a weak terminal in terms of performance, but with a case made of rare materials and with inlays in rubies or diamonds.

    According to sources close to the talks, it seems that Goldman Sachs mediates this sale. Although no one knows the value of the Vertu Company, its annual revenues are estimated at EUR 200-300 million.

    Vertu was considered an exclusive brand, and even if, technologically speaking, the phone wasn’t that brilliant, the handset compensated through the materials used – gold, silver, diamonds, sapphires. Thus, the phone was seen more as a luxury accessory than a functional object, needed every day.

    The latest model of the company – Constellation – which has a 3.5-inch AMOLED screen and 8-megapixel camera has a price of £ 10,000 if purchased with options such as crocodile leather and diamonds.  True value of these terminals does not come from the sum of technical specs or materials used but from certain VIP service of specialized consultants that can make recommendations about any field and set up meetings with other exclusive members worldwide.

    There are no details about potential buyers, but according to international media, there are only several investment funds interested in purchasing the Nokia subsidiary. Whoever will take over Vertu, will have a lot of work to do – phone design is exceeded, while the gold and the diamonds cannot compensate the performance needed by users.

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  • Amazon Prepares a Smartphone

    It seems that lately, Amazon becomes a synonym for “success”: after the exceptional sales of their e-book reader, Kindle, it foresees a good season for Kindle Fire tablet, but also the launch of a smartphone under the same brand!

    The information comes from the research department of Citigroup, which recently published a note by Mark Mahaney: “Based on our supply chain channel checks in Asia led by Kevin Chang, Citi’s Taipei-based hardware research analyst, we believe an Amazon Smartphone will be launched in 4Q12.”

    Mahaney adds that Amazon would develop the smartphone together with the producer Foxconn. Thus, Foxconn will develop the concept of the smartphone and will receive the NRE fees (non-recurring engineering fees) from Amazon, while the execution part will come to TMS division of Hon Hai Group (the same that produced the e-reader and the tablet for Amazon).

    According to Citigroup’s predictions, the smartphone will be based on a processor powered by Texas Instruments and a 6 Series dual core chip from Qualcomm (traditional supplier to Amazon).

    Mahaney’s estimates led to a production cost of about $150 to $170, the analyst stating that a competitive sale price should be close to this amount. “For a normal brand like HTC, they need to price the product at US$243 to make 30% gross margin. If Amazon is actually willing to lose some money on the device, the price gap could be even bigger,” said Mahaney.

    Although he doesn’t specifies whether the smartphone will use Google’s Android OS, but suggests this stating that Amazon will have to pay royalties to Microsoft for the operating system – given that Microsoft has obtained this fee in justice from the hardware partners that are using Android.

    Speculations about pricing are perfectly real, considering that Amazon decreased the price of their Kindle Fire tablet to only $199 and expects sales of five million units in Q4. According to iSuppli, this price would be lower than production costs, given that components’ price would be only $185.

    The future Kindle Phone would have to be another “sales vehicle”, a mobile extension of the website, additional to Fire tablet. According to the scenario, the phone may integrate an application that will scan the desired product on the website and to buy it through a single touch.

    You may also want to read:
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  • Microsoft and Samsung Have a Deal on Windows Phone and Sharing Patents

    Microsoft and Samsung have signed an agreement targeting three important goals: developing Windows Phone solutions, distribution of Android devices and exchange of patents. The formalization of this agreement, of a great importance for its content and its strategic value, will undoubtedly lead to significant changes in mobile devices.

    The Pro-Windows Phone Agreement
    The two parties have decided to get involved in developing new environmental solutions for Windows Phone, just a few days after the announcement of the first Samsung devices equipped with Windows Phone Mango, which widely opens new horizons for both groups. Microsoft needs manufacturers that ensure the quality, while Samsung is looking for an alternative in avoiding an imbalance generated by favoring the Android operating system.

    The Anti-Android Agreement
    Another very interesting move made by the two companies is what concerns the Android devices: Microsoft will receive from Samsung a share of the profits obtained from the sale of each Android smartphone distributed.

    It's quite difficult to assess the amount in order to determine whether this sum is close to the $ 5 for each device – amount agreed into the contract signed by Microsoft with HTC.

    Another interesting fact is that Samsung has also signed, in this context, on the mention: “Android violates the Microsoft’s intellectual property so that Samsung accepts the payment of a small “fine” in order to continue distribution without problems”.

    An excellent move on the chessboard of the biggest players on the market, given that the group in Redmond will receive the more so as its Android rival will be successful, which will definitely lead to a confrontation with the colossus in Mountain View.

    The Agreement on Patents
    Even the thorny issue targeting the patents has found the solution in the agreement signed by both parties: Microsoft and Samsung have granted a mutual license for the exchange of strategic patents, so that both groups will be able to develop their projects without the risk of further legal battles.

    The content of the agreement puts Google against the wall in the most serious way, but brings to the forefront the possibility of adopting a compromising solution on the issue of patents battle.

    Advancing the idea of licensing as a viable solution, through which the intellectual property is being recognized, it is clearly approaching this issue, in the spirit of supporting the innovation and the development in the technology sector.

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  • Fujitsu-Toshiba Announced IS12T, the World’s First Windows Mango Phone

    The first smartphone that uses the new Mango OS is produced by Fujitsu-Toshiba and has been launched on Wednesday, during an event held in Tokyo.

    IS12T has a 3.7-inch screen and a 13.2 megapixels camera. The smartphone is equipped with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and has included a CDMA modem. The new smartphone with Windows Mango weighs 113 grams and Fujitsu-Toshiba officials said the battery has a use of 11 days on standby and six hours on phone calls.

    IS12T has 32GB a built-in memory and is waterproof.

    The phone will be available only in Japan starting from September. Company officials have not disclosed the price.

    IS12T is the first in a series of devices to be launched in coming months, by which Microsoft hopes to signal that it is still a serious player in the smartphone market.

    In the same period last year, Microsoft was launching Windows 7 for smartphones, a system that failed to cope with the competition coming from Apple and Google Android.

    Despite the fact that it received thousands of applications and positive reviews, the new platform, which replaced Windows Mobile failed to obtain a significant market share on smartphones market. Microsoft had a market share of 2.7% of smartphones in the first quarter of 2011, according to IDC. But the year before, in the first quarter of 2010, Microsoft's market share was at 7.1%. As the number of smartphones sold with Windows 7 or Windows Mobile Phone, it fell from 3.9 to 2.8 million in the two periods.

    Mango, official Windows Phone 7.5, brings improvements to the Windows Phone 7, according to company representatives. Some of them include a new way to view e-mails, more efficient, Facebook Chat and Internet Explorer 9, for a faster web browsing.

    Besides Fujitsu-Toshiba, other manufacturers are also collaborating with Microsoft, such as the Taiwanese company Acer or the Chinese from ZTE, but the most awaited phones are expected to be launched by Nokia.

    IS12T is the first in a series of devices to be launched in coming months, by which Microsoft hopes to signal that it is still a serious player in the smartphone market.

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