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‘Mobile Phones’ Stories

“Nokia, our platform is burning”; Elop memo reportedly leaks in full, admits ecosystem war

Chris Davies, Feb 9th 2011 Discuss [0]

The full text of the Nokia "Standing on a burning platform" memo distributed internally by CEO Stephen Elop has apparently leaked, and even in the face of the continuing platform rumors, it's perhaps the biggest indicator that the Finnish company is about to undergo a significant change. Engadget scored a copy of what's believed to be the full text in which Elop blames a lack of "accountability and leadership" along with "a series of misses" against Apple who "owns the high-end range," Android, which "came in at the high-end ... are now winning the mid-range, and quickly are going downstream," and cut price Shenzhen devices for emerging markets. "We haven't been delivering innovation fast enough" he chides, "we're not collaborating internally." Read The Full Story

Nokia “Standing on a burning platform” says CEO memo

Chris Davies, Feb 8th 2011 Discuss [2]

As indications of comfort-levels with your current cellphone software go, describing the situation as "standing on a burning platform" doesn't exactly suggest contentment. That, according to leaky voices finding their way to TechCrunch, is the title of Nokia CEO Stephen Elop's latest internal memo, in which he concludes with the metaphor of someone jumping off a platform "into the unknown to avoid certain death." Read The Full Story

Huge Nokia exec slash incoming tips German business mag

Chris Davies, Feb 5th 2011 Discuss [2]

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is reportedly preparing to significantly shake up the company's top management, axing big names such as executive VP of phones Mary MacDowell and executive VP of markets Niklas Savander. According to German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche, around half of the Nokia executive board will be replaced, including executive VP of services and mobile solutions Tero Ojanperä, and chief development officer Kai Öistämö. Read The Full Story

Apple loses to ZTE in Global phone rankings for Q4 2010

Chris Davies, Jan 28th 2011 Discuss [0]

Apple has been pushed from its number four spot in the top worldwide mobile phone market, with ZTE entering the top five ranking and pushing the iPhone maker down to fifth place. That's according to IDC's Q4 2010 mobile phone market research, which pegs Nokia as maintaining the top spot despite a 2.4-percent slip in share. It's worth noting, of course, that this particular research covers mobile phones overall, rather than simply smartphones. Read The Full Story

Nokia market share drops; needs to “change faster” says new CEO

Chris Davies, Jan 27th 2011 Discuss [5]

Nokia has announced its Q4 and annual 2010 financial results, and devices shipments are down in comparison to a year ago. The Finnish company shipped 123.7m devices in Q4 2010, a rise of 12-percent compared to Q3 but a drop of 3-percent compared to the same period in 2009; still, net sales of devices & services were up 4-percent year-on-year and 18-percent sequentially. The delay in releasing a MeeGo range has also eaten into their estimated smartphone share, down to 31-percent in Q4 2010 compared to 38-percent in Q3 and 40-percent a year ago. Operating profit was down from €1.47bn in 2009 to €1.09bn in 2010. Read The Full Story

Nokia semi-retire Ovi Music Unlimited

Chris Davies, Jan 17th 2011 Discuss [0]

Nokia is scaling back its Ovi Music Unlimited all-you-can eat download service, which offers buyers of select Nokia handsets unlimited access to a catalog of tracks for a 12-month period. As of the end of 2011, Nokia "plan to cease producing Ovi Music Unlimited-edition devices" for all markets aside from China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa; however, buyers with an Ovi Music Unlimited device outside of those countries will still get access. Read The Full Story

Nokia E6-00 specs leak: VGA display, QWERTY & HSPA

Chris Davies, Jan 5th 2011 Discuss [3]

Nokia's nHD 640 x 360 displays have been looking all the more outmoded compared to the WVGA and higher panels rivals offer, and so rumors that the upcoming Nokia E6-00 will up the pixels on offer is a good sign that the trend is changing. According to a Nokia user agent file, the E6-00 will have a 640 x 480 VGA display together with Symbian^3 OS, WCDMA/HSPA, WiFi and a QWERTY keyboard. Read The Full Story

Alcatel OT 209 “one pence” phone cocks snook to VAT increase

Chris Davies, Jan 4th 2011 Discuss [0]

We're used to seeing - in Europe, at least - "free" phones given away with new agreements, but an almost-free pre-pay handset is still relatively rare. That's just what Carphone Warehouse is offering from today, however, with the super-budget Alcatel OT 209 going up for sale in the UK for just one penny. The 1p phone will be available on the Talkmobile Pay As You Go Essentials tariff, though it's fair to say the OT 209 won't convince any iPhone 4 owners to ditch their Apple smartphone. It has a full numeric keypad and color display, along with an FM radio and a "fake call" trigger just in case you need to escape from an awkward blind date. It also recharges in just 2hrs. Read The Full Story

LG to “actively respond” to Sony patent lawsuit over phone infringement

Chris Davies, Dec 30th 2010 Discuss [0]

New details on Sony's patent lawsuit against LG have emerged, with the Korean company saying it "will take action and actively respond" to claims that over ten LG handsets infringe on Sony technology. Sony is seeking an injunction on LG imports into the US, alleging the devices use audio and microphone technology, caller ID systems and radio transmission tech that Sony and the Sony Ericsson joint venture have patented. Read The Full Story

Micro-USB Formally Chosen as Cellphone Charger Standard by European Standardization Bodies

Evan Selleck, Dec 29th 2010 Discuss [2]

At the end of June, in 2009, the European Commission started a movement to make micro-USB the standardized charging port for cellphones. It was subsequently backed by roughly 90% of the cellphone market holders, with Apple, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung (among others) all agreeing to the standardization. As any major decision usually does, even if it's obvious it should be in place, it's taken the EC plenty of time to make a decision, and now thanks to the two vital bodies within the European Standardization Bodies, it's finally been passed. Read The Full Story

Canon wants your NFC smartphone as a DSLR screen in new patent application

Chris Davies, Dec 24th 2010 Discuss [1]

As patent application illustrations go, Canon hasn't exactly pushed the boat out this time, but there's enough to see that the company is interested in how digital cameras and cellphones might one day talk among themselves. In an application titled "Communication Device and Control Method Thereof", Canon outlines a system whereby NFC - or another short-range wireless technology - could be used to turn your cellphone display into an ad-hoc viewer for content on your digital camera, as well as transferring content across or updating settings. Read The Full Story