Showing posts with label Nokia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nokia. Show all posts

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Will Windows Phones Be Successful in 2012?


Recently, there has been a lot of talk concerning the lack of success of Windows phones; however, according to Greg Sullivan, senior product manager for Windows Phone 7, things are not over for Windows phones. Sullivan said that 2012 should prove to be a great year for the phone line.

At CES the HTC Titan II and the Nokia Lumia 900 were debuted featuring Microsoft’s platform. It seems that Sullivan feels that these are just two of the many great Windows phones that will help get Microsoft’s numbers back on track.

"We're seeing great hardware from all our partners. AT&T is clearly very excited and is putting a lot behind the platform. It's not just a piece of software that got thrown over the transom to succeed or fail," Sullivan said.

Although Windows Phone seems to be having some success with AT&T, that does not mean that the other major U.S. carriers are just as excited about it. Earlier at CES, executives at Sprint were expressing their concerns about the sales numbers for Windows phones.

"We have a Windows device in our lineup, but honestly, it hasn't done well enough for us to jump back into the fire. We told Microsoft: You guys have to go build the enthusiasm for the product. We'll train our reps on why it's great...[but] the number-one reason the product was returned was the user experience," said VP of Sprint’s product realization David Owen.

Lois Fagan, director of product development for Sprint, also commented, "We want to participate in the market, but we can't build that brand by ourself. We're cautiously optimistic, but [Windows Phone] just hasn't taken off."

Sullivan responded to these remarks saying, “That's something that our Sprint team and the folks back in Redmond can work on. We're working closely with carriers to help show how Windows Phone can meet their needs across an array of slots."

Sullivan also made sure to back the statements that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop had made concerning the false rumors about Microsoft buying Nokia’s smartphone business.

"It would make it more difficult for us to have as thriving a third-party hardware ecosystem if we were directly competing with them," he said. "I think that's a challenge Google is going to face with the Motorola mobile acquisition."

Sullivan believes that there is plenty of time for Microsoft to catch up with other phone operating systems.

"This is like the PC market in the early to mid-80s. If you were going to declare a victor then, what would it have been? CP/M? Apple II? I think declaring the smartphone space locked up and done is like declaring CP/M the victor in the early '80s."


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Monday, August 1, 2011

Apple Brings in Great Second Quarter Numbers


According to the International Data Corporation, Apple has more than doubled the number of smartphones it has sold compared to the same quarter last year.

Strategy Analytics said that in the second quarter, Apple shipped 20.3 million iPhones, which is up 8.4 million phones from last year’s second quarter. They continued saying that this means that Apple has 18.5 percent of the global smartphone market, which is up from 13.5 percent last year.

"We had previously reported on Apple becoming the largest smartphone vendor in terms of revenue and profits. Now, just four years after the release of the original iPhone, Apple has become the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume with an 18 percent market share," according to Strategy Analytics.

Samsung wasn’t far behind Apple. In the second quarter, they shipped 19.2 million smartphones grabbing 17.5 percent of the smartphone market. That was also quite a big bump from their numbers the previous year. Last year, Samsung only shipped 3.1 million smartphones and had a 5 percent share of the market. The success of Samsung and Apple caused Nokia’s numbers to drop however. Last year, they had snatched 38.1 percent of the global smartphone market, but this year their numbers dropped to 15.2 percent.

When it comes to the overall shipment of smartphones and feature phones, Nokia is still the number one phone provider. During the second quarter, Nokia shipped 88.5 million phones globally, down 20 percent. Samsung was number two, shipping 74 million units, a 16 percent boost. LG came in a close third right in front of Apple. They shipped 24.8 million devices, but were down 19 percent. Apple was so close to coming in third place. Strategy Analytics said that this is "the closest Apple has ever been.”

The IDC confirmed the numbers that Strategy Analytics released naming Nokia, Samsung and LG as the very top mobile phone providers. The firm also did say that Apple’s “record” quarter helped to close in on the gap and bring the company much closer to the top.

Apple "easily posted the highest growth rate of the worldwide leaders despite the fact that its flagship iPhone 4 is now more than a year old," IDC said. "The triple-digit shipment volume growth allowed Apple to more than double its share when compared to the same quarter last year."

IDC agreed with Strategy Analytics and reported sales of 20.3 million iPhones in the quarter. It gave Apple a 5.6 percent market share in the global handset market, as well as a 141.8 percent boost from the same time period last year.

"Apple’s ability to bring its smartphone momentum to developing economies, where it’s less successful, will help dictate the company’s smartphone fortunes in future," IDC said.


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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Nokia N900 Smartphone on Sale

nokia n900 smartphoneDell Smart Business has the Nokia N900 Smartphone on sale until 6 a.m. September 3rd. The N900, which is normally listed for $599, can be purchased for $349.99 with free shipping with the coupon code: 5RMTRF1H8QS3DF.

This is a 3G Linux smartphone with built-in XTerm. It features a 600 MHz processor with up to 1GB of application memory. It is almost as powerful as the iPhone 3GS. There are thousands of fun and useful apps including: Tetris, Chess, AP News, Twitter, DocumentsToGo Microsoft Office reader, and more.

For some people the phone may seem a bit chunky, but it is still sleek and fits nicely in your hand. It features a 3.5-inch touch screen with 800 x 480 resolution. There are no hard keys on the front of the phone, but slide back the touch screen and reveal a full backlit keyboard. There is also a 5-megapixel camera and a widescreen video camera that can take DVD quality videos. There are 32GB of storage that can hold over 40 hours of video and up to 7,000 songs.

The Nokia N900 comes with T-Mobile service. It is perfect for anyone that likes using Linux. This sale won’t last for long. If you’re looking for a quick, stylish smartphone, this could be the phone for you.


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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Nokia Updates N900

Nokia N900For all of you Nokia N900 owners out there I have some news for you: there is a new software update headed your way being released to the fine folks in the UK today and to the rest of the global community tomorrow. This new update, entitles Version 1.2, is coming to us offering a wide range of enhancements to the already packed Maemo5 mobile computer.

First on the list of new features are new games on the Ovi store. Such titles coming to your N900 include Jurassic 3D Rollercoaster, Zen-bound, Angry Birds (level pack), Sygic, Kroll, Weatherbug and GoGadget. These games will not show up until Thursday, May 27th, however, when Ovi store does a full switch over.

The next improvement coming via the update is for communications. The e-mail system has been greatly improved giving you the ability to accept or decline an event invitation right from your inbox. Facebook and IM chat has also been bundled in with this as well. Video calling has also been added allowing users face-to-face chatting anywhere, anytime.

Here is a tasty bit of info that will be sure to tickle your fancy. Portrait browsing on the internet is officially a-go on the N900. Ovi maps also get the updated treatment housing changes to the user interface which improves the experience of finding your way around. Finally rounding out the update is a change to the menu system user interface with the first level no completely customizable.

After much talk, Nokia has claimed that they will MeeGo will not be officially supported on the N900 once the Intel/Nokia OS is ready. Nokia has said that it will continue to support the core Maemo OS has shown by this most recent update. On the other hand, we have seen the N900 overclocked and hacked to run OS X and Android so it is likely that the active fan-base will deliver a MeeGo update of their own, unofficially.

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Monday, February 15, 2010

LG to Announce 20 New SmartPhones This Year

LG to Announce 20 New SmartPhones This Year
South Korea-based LG has announced that it plans to release about 20 new smartphones this year. Most of the phones will run Google's Android software. The company says it's goal is to tell 140 million handsets in 2010, which would be a 20% increase from last year.

LG's fourth quarter (September to December 2009) profits were $256 million. That's quite an improvement considering the company had a $487 million loss during the same quarter in 2008. Even so, analysts had predicted the company to make $344 million.

LG is the third-largest handset maker in the world behind Nokia and Samsung, however it entered the smartphone industry pretty late in the game. Because of this, the company has focused on making high-end devices. Analysts predict the recovering global economy and increased consumer demand will help the company continue to post a profit.



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Sunday, January 24, 2010

Luxury Phones that Use Gears Instead of Chips

celsius luxury phoneCelsius X VI III hopes to establish their place in the luxury phone market with their new phones that incorporate Swiss watch craftsmanship into the phone instead of a chip.

On Thursday, January 21st, Celsius said that they had received funding from one of Europe’s biggest venture capital firms to start things up. Celsius was established a few years ago with the goal to take the 500 year old technology found in hand-made watches and utilize it to make a cell phone that would use moving parts instead of chips and electronics. Celsius has been able to sell their idea to Sofinnova Partners who invested 2.2 million euros, AGF Private Equity who invested 500,000 euros, and several other private investors who together gave 600,000 euros.

The co-chief executive of Celsius, Edouard Meylan, said, “Our target is the man who owns a few sports cars and is an aficionado of Swiss watches.” He wants their customers to be able to keep these luxury phones for decades instead of having to replace their phone every few years.

Meylan has been around fine craftsmanship his entire life. His father is George-Henry Meylan who is the longtime CEO of Audemars Piguet a famous Swiss watch making company.

The first phone that Celsius has designed is called the Papillon. The phone contains a mechanism that winds the watch found inside every time the device is opened or closed. The Papillon is also clam-shaped and costs around 200,000 euros. It will only be found in about a dozen watch or jewelry stores around the globe once it is released.

The luxury phone industry was started up by Nokia in 2002 when they launched their Vertu line of mobile phones that cost anywhere from 5,000 to 25,000 euros. Fashion icons like Georgio Armani, Prada, and Christian Dior have followed Nokia in this luxury phone industry by releasing their own phones.

Mainly, the most difficult aspect for Celsius will be building a credibility in the very minute luxury phone industry. They will be up against not only other luxury phone companies but also other Swiss watch makers, like Tag Heuer and Ulysses Nardin, who are developing a line of phones as well.

Interestingly enough, Meylan plans to only sell around 50 Papillon phones and 150 of a lower priced version of the Papillon in the first year. Honestly, I don’t know how they could expect to sell anymore with the ridiculously high price tag that it has. It will be interesting to see if this really does as well as Celsius expects. I personally could never imagine putting out enough money to buy a car for a cell phone, but we will just have to sit and watch what people really think of this new line of luxury phones.
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