Tag: nokia

  • OFFICIAL: Nokia Announces Symbian Belle Along With Three New Smartphones

    Although the news of a new update for Symbian OS, called Belle, has come to our years since Monday, only today has officially been announced by Nokia. But with this announcement, has also come another one of three new smartphones that comes with this OS: Nokia 600, Nokia 700 and Nokia 701. All three are scheduled to appear in the third quarter of this year, which means that we will find them in stores soon.

    The new software brings three new homescreens, doubling up the area the widgets and the shortcuts can be spread, a drop-down menu for notifications and quick access to functions such as turning on the WiFi antenna, support for the NFC technology (also present on Symbian Anna) and software updates directly from the phone. Probably you’ll be amused to see that this update looks like a custom Android skin, which is not such a bad thing for Nokia, thus bringing the Symbian software closer to a modern operating system.

    If we talked a bit about software, let’s say few words about the new handsets, starting with Nokia 700. This one has a 1GHz processor, 3.2-inch AMOLED “ClearBlack display, Gorilla Glass protected, a 5-megapixel camera, pent band antenna, a battery providing 7.3 hours of talk and a design made of recycled materials. The price of this phone will be $ 390.

    Nokia 701 will include a slightly larger display, of 3.5 inches, based on the IPS technology. Also, this display is part of the “ClearBlack” range and is protected by Gorilla Glass. The same 1 GHz processor is also used in the 701 model, but the camera offers a higher resolution, of 8 megapixels and also has a flash with two leds. A camera on the front of the phone is also included, along with an NFC chip. Its internal memory is only 8 GB, but can be increased to 40 through the microSD slot. The battery is also more powerful, Nokia praising this terminal with 17 hours of talk on 2G and 8.8 on 3G calls. The suggested retail price for this phone will be $ 420.

    In the end we talk about the Nokia 600, which is a multimedia-based phone. It includes a 3.2-inch display nHD, 1 GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera (which also shoots in 720p), NFC, FM transmitter and receiver and also 2 GB of internal memory. The phone also has a microSD slot, and is the "noisy" phone company. The battery of this terminal is not that bad, Nokia announcing 15 hours of talk autonomy. Price for the 600 model of the Finnish manufacturer is $ 240.

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  • HTC Sues Apple

      HTC, the second largest Asian producer of mobile phones, filed a complaint against Apple, claiming the U.S. giant has infringed three patents.

    The movement made by HTC aims at blocking the imports of gadgets such as iPhone and Mac computers. The Taiwanese company accuses Apple that has infringed three patents related to wireless technology. The General Counsel of HTC, Grace Lei, said that Apple needs to stop violating HTC invention rights. She says HTC started this action against the U.S. company in order to protect their intellectual property, their partners and, most importantly, their customers.

    Apple immediately came with a response to accusations, a spokesman for Apple saying that their competitors have to create their own original technology, not to steal theirs.

    In July this year, HTC made several acquisitions, a trend Google has followed by buying Motorola Mobility in order to maintain their market position in IT & C. The Asian company has bought S3 Graphics Co. This was a successful move for HTC, which won the lawsuit against Apple after a judge found that the U.S. company's operating system, Mac OS X, violated two patents of S3 Graphics Co.

    Another judge  discovered last month that HTC had violated two rights of invention from Apple. If this accusation is confirmed, it could lead to blocking the imports of certain mobile phones of the Taiwanese company.

    Apple filed a separate complaint this month that targets the phones and Flayer tablet from HTC. Motorola, Nokia, HTC, Apple, Google and Samsung are currently involved in one or more trials related to the violation of certain patented technologies.

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  • According to Nokia, Windows Phone 7 Excels Against the Android and iOS Popularity

    Nokia President Chris Weber has come up with a greatest insight into the Nokia’s latest strategy in an interview with VentureBeat. He made an astonishing comment saying that interfaces and app-based models such as Android and iOS will “outdate” soon.

    Nokia recently associated with Microsoft for its Windows Phone 7 mobile platform and coming up with some latest smartphone models pretty soon to regain its dominance like earlier. Nokia is seriously concentrating on a new strategy to gain upper hand over the currently popular Android and iOS. The new strategy of the upcoming smartphones from Nokia will be unique through arranging everything around the contacts unlike its competitors, which are based on the navigation among various apps.

    Windows Phone 7 coming up with a new interaction procedure known as “Live tiles and Hubs”. This feature offers all the key contacts along with mode of communication through dynamic tiles, which alters display as soon as a contact posts an update. Also, contacting someone is enabled through various options just through tapping, which will return back with various communication options including calling, Facebook, Twitter, email and many more. Definitely, this kind of approach is quite unique and away from the present popular mobile operating systems.

    The streamlined communication feature arranged in the Windows Phone 7 OS is quite novice and unlike apps based phones. Nokia thinking that this can gain back the throne like earlier. In fact, the mentioned feature success is mainly dependent on the mobile phone hardware. Perhaps, Nokia can succeed well to arrange require hardware for these feature through their devices, but other manufacturers such as LG, Samsung and HTC will think about this as they’re all already well associated with Android for their smartphones.

    Nokia is very well panning to make maximum out of Windows Phone 7 and planning for biggest marketing campaign for all their WP7 based upcoming smartphones. According to Weber’s latest interview, the upcoming smartphones will be available in the U.S. market “in volume” in 2012.

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  • Nokia to Reduce Smartphone Prices

    Nokia will reduce the prices of its smartphones in Europe, say sources within the sector profile. Finnish strategy would thus lead to a price war on mobile phone market.

    Finnish company’s smartphones began to increasingly lose market share in Europe in favor of Android mobile operating platform produced by Google. Thus, Nokia may report losses for the second and third quarters of this year.

    One inside source told Reuters that the Finnish giant will make cuts up to 15%, especially for the N8, C7 and E6 models, designed for business customers. For other phones, the discounts will be smaller.

    "There were no discounts for certain models, but the scale of the measure on the portfolio has not been seen for a long time," said the source, who works at a European telecommunications operator.

    Nokia shares fell by 1.5% during yesterday’s trading and early this year declined by 40% because of the fears that switching to the Microsoft Windows operating system will not contribute to improving the competitiveness with Apple’s iPhone.

    Nokia spokesman declined to comment on price, but said the changes are part of the normal business process.

    Nokia's strategy, ready to affect the other mobile phone manufacturers

    Nokia measures could trigger a price war, affecting companies such as Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG Electronics, warns Neil Mawson, an analyst at Strategy Analytics. He believes that both, the operators and the customers will benefit from lower prices of smartphones, but the producers with low profit margins will face serious problems.

    According to Nomura, Samsung Electronics will become in this quarter the largest manufacturer of smartphone devices worldwide, exceeding Nokia. Finnish company's share on smartphone market fell to 25.5% in the first quarter of 2011, from 39%, the value recorded in the previous year, according to the market research company Gartner.

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  • Nokia E6 and X7 Ready for Delivery in Europe

    The first two Nokia phones that come with Symbian Anna, Nokia E6 and Nokia X7 have been launched commercially. Fortunately, both phones will be available on the European market.

    Symbian Anna brings a better browser, faster, QWERTY keyboard in portrait mode and also new additions to Ovi Maps.

    The Nokia E6 model is the next evolutionary step in Nokia’s business line, following successful models such as Nokia E71 or Nokia E72. Nokia E6 has in its turn an elegant case, with steel and glass elements, full QWERTY keyboard and a 2.4-inch TFT LCD screen. Business functions are solid and we can mention here the access to Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Communicator Mobile and Microsoft SharePoint, applications such as QuickOffice or World Traveler and business applications on Ovi Store, such as Sale Force. Its connectivity is also excellent, with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and HSDPA 9.

    The Nokia X7 distinguish itself by its superb design made of steel and glass that combines in sharp geometric shapes. Nokia X7 has a 4-inch AMOLED touch screen with a resolution of 640 x 360 and resistant glass from Gorilla Glass, an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and HD recording and 8 GB memory, expandable to 32 GB. The phone also offers easy access to social networks, Facebook and Twitter, navigation with Ovi Maps and preinstalled HD games such as Galaxy on Fire HD and Asphalt 5 HD.

    This event comes in the same time when Nokia passes through a tough period, its shares continuing to decrease with 10, after an initial decrease of 18%, reaching the minimum value of the last 13 years.

    The company makes the transition to Microsoft software, part of a restructuring process of mobile production division, which began three months ago. The main concern of analysts is that Nokia will not be able to recover an important part of the market share even after the launching phones based on Microsoft’s software.

  • Microsoft Announces Windows Phone Mango

    Microsoft has announced the new version of Windows Phone, Mango, which is said to bring over 500 new features to Microsoft’s mobile OS users. The new version will be available from this fall and will be downloadable for free.

    Windows Phone Mango, will be present on the first Nokia smartphone that will end the partnership with Symbian. It seems that Nokia already has mobile phones with Windows Phone in their "laboratory" and a small selection of smartphones with Mango will be launched by the end of this year.

    "Seven months ago, we started our mission to make smartphones smarter and easier for people to do more. With Mango, Windows Phone takes a major step forward in redefining how people communicate and use apps and the internet, giving you better results with less effort,” said Andy Lees, President of Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft.

    Among the most important features Mango brings to the users are:

    • Threads. Switch between text, Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger within the same conversation.
    • Groups. Group contacts into personalized Live Tiles to see the latest status updates right from the Start Screen and quickly send a text, email or IM to the whole group.
    • Deeper social network integration. Twitter and LinkedIn feeds are now integrated into contact cards, and “Mango” includes built-in Facebook check-ins and new face detection software that makes it easier to quickly tag photos and post to the Web.
    • Linked inbox. See multiple email accounts in one linked inbox. Conversations are organized to make it easy to stay on top of the latest mail.
    • Hands-free messaging. Built-in voice-to-text and text-to-voice support enables hands-free texting or chatting.
    • App Connect. By connecting apps to search results and deepening their integration with Windows Phone Hubs, including Music and Video and Pictures, “Mango” allows apps to be surfaced when and where they make sense.
    • Improved Live Tiles. Get real-time information from apps without having to open them. Live Tiles can be more dynamic and hold more information.
    • Multitasking. Quickly switch between apps in use and allow apps to run in the background, helping to preserve battery life and performance.
    • Internet Explorer 9. A browser based on the powerful Internet Explorer 9 and including support for HTML5 and full hardware acceleration.
    • Local Scout. Provides hyperlocal search results and recommends nearby restaurants, shopping and activities in an easy-to-use guide.
    • Bing on Windows Phone. More ways to search the Web, including Bing Vision, Music Search and Voice so it’s easy to discover and decide.
    • Quick Cards. When searching for a product, movie, event or place, see a quick summary of relevant information, including related apps.

    According to Jo Harlow, Vice President of Nokia, Mango is the perfect operating system for use on the first Nokia mobile phones that are making the switch to Windows, and both developers and consumers will benefit from the new selection of phones.

  • 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.

  • Nokia’s Ovi Label Metamorphoses into Nokia Services Soon

    Nokia is planning to start services on some of the latest Nokia devices by July and August of this year. Also, the company is planning some more transition in the form Ovi label into Nokia services by the end of 2012. This is indicating that the current services under the Ovi umbrella will be soon branded as Nokia without affecting present service and the roadmap.

    Jerri DeVard, Nokia’s EVP and Chief marketing Officer said in this context: “We have made the decision to change our service branding from Ovi to Nokia. By centralizing our services identity under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia and unify our brand architecture-while continuing to deliver compelling opportunities and experiences for partners and consumers alike”.

    The planned metamorphoses will be started from July this year and intended to complete all over the world including all services by the closing of year 2012. There is a possibility that the every latest Nokia smartphone purchased by the user will see the new branding procedure over it. Perhaps, future software updates might perform this new branding procedure for the old Nokia smartphones.

    Jerri also added that “the reasons for this decision includes the fact that nokia is a well-known and highly-loved brand the world over. Our mobile experiences are tightly integrated with our devices-there is no longer a differentiation. For example, if consumers want the best mobile navigation experience, they know it’s a Nokia that they can rely on. These last few years, and moving forward, our mission remains unchanged. We will continue our work to deliver compelling, unified mobile service offerings and next-generation, disruptive technologies”.

    The Finnish company’s sudden decision for the transition got many behind the screen reasons. Earlier this year, Nokia got hooked up with Microsoft. The vital parts of that agreement comprise for Nokia software, and Nokia maps are to be made available for all Windows Phone devices and over Microsoft’s range of services. Definitely, the latest decision from Nokia is making a lot of sense and serious about keeping its own name on all its wares. There will be no other structural changes or transformations from Nokia in this aspect, except the change of new name plate atop. Let us wait and see how much more benefit this act is going to gain for Nokia, but many existing users of Ovi Store are finding it wrong at the first place.

  • 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.

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  • Apple Takes the Lead in the US Smartphone Market with a 26% Share

    In Q3 2010, the worldwide smartphone market grew an impressive 95% over the same quarter a year ago to 80.9 million shipped units, according to Canalys.

    Nokia retained its leadership position, albeit by a diminished margin, with a 33% share of the market. Apple’s healthy performance this quarter saw it achieve a 17% share worldwide, a little ahead of RIM, which held a 15% share this quarter.

    In the world’s largest smart phone market, the US, Apple ousted RIM from the top spot, seizing a 26% share as iPhone shipments continued unabated. RIM has also launched its latest generation smart phone, the Torch, though it only saw half a quarter’s shipments in the US.

    But the plethora of smart phones running the Open Handset Alliance’s (OHA’s) Android platform meant that Canalys’ final published country-level data shows that it took the lead in the US market by operating system, with a 44% share.

    As well as the positive picture in the US, Canalys’ detailed country level smart phone research has consistently highlighted the importance of, and differences in, ‘emerging markets’. For example, in what are now being called the ‘BRIIC’ countries (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia and mainland China), smart phone shipments increased by 112% year-on-year, faster than the market overall, and each country individually saw strong growth. Nokia was the leading vendor in all five BRIIC markets in Q3 2010, benefiting from its global reach and channel relationships.

    According to Canalys, once again this quarter, it was devices running the Android platform that proved the greatest driver of growth in the worldwide market, up 1,309% year-on-year from 1.4 million in Q3 2009 to more than 20.0 million units in Q3 2010, forming a quarter of the market share. “With Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Sony Ericsson all delivering large numbers of Android devices, and with focused efforts from many other vendors, such as LG, Huawei and Acer, yielding promising volumes, the platform continues to gather momentum in markets around the world,2 said Canalys Senior Analyst Pete Cunningham.

    Driven by Nokia, the Symbian Foundation retained its position as the leading smart phone OS vendor worldwide. Of the 56 named countries that Canalys tracks, it is still the number one OS vendor in 37 of them because of Nokia’s dominance, plus in Japan, where its position is supported by Fujitsu and Sharp. According to the report, the launch of Nokia’s new range of Symbian devices, particularly the N8, will give a boost to its holiday season shipments, and the outlook into 2011 remains positive as Nokia aims to push Symbian devices further into the mid-tier of the market to attract mass-market volumes.

    Devices running Microsoft’s OS accounted for just 3% of worldwide smart phone shipments in Q3 2010, though with the launch of Windows Phone 7 devices, the outlook for the fourth quarter and beyond is significantly improved. “Windows Phone 7 is streets ahead of earlier iterations and provides a vastly improved user experience that will pleasantly surprise many people when they come to use it. The integration of Microsoft service assets, such as Xbox Live, Bing, Zune and Office, greatly strengthens the proposition and we are confident that the initial array of products will perform well,” said Chris Jones, Canalys Principal Analyst.

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