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All posts tagged "nokia"


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Microsoft to Build Office Software for Nokia Phones?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Pocket PC News" @ 08:12 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/t...2soft.html?_r=3

"Microsoft and Nokia, long adversaries in mobile phone technology, have agreed to a partnership to equip many Nokia cellphones with the Microsoft Office software, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement."

Just like licensing ActiveSync technology to Apple for the iPhone, it's not surprising to see the Office group at Microsoft reaching out to extend their technology to other platforms. Unfortunately this erodes an advantage that Windows Mobile has, but given how stagnant Windows Mobile has been over the past few years, you can't blame other groups at Microsoft for wanting to work with other platforms. Oh, and speaking of the iPhone, it looks like Microsoft might be reaching out there too. And in the meantime, Microsoft had to build their own Facebook app while Facebook built one for the iPhone. That tells you a lot about how the industry perceives Windows Mobile, even though Windows Mobile as a platform is still moving 16+ million units a year. Perception matters.


Thursday, September 18, 2008

Nokia Licenses ActiveSync Allowing Devices To Communicate With Exchange

Posted by Ed Hansberry in "Pocket PC News" @ 05:00 AM

http://www.informationweek.com/news...cleID=210600815

"In a move that could make organizing a mobile worker's life easier, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced Tuesday it is enabling Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync on all of its S60 3rd edition handsets. The company did have a downloadable option for ActiveSync since 2006, but it was only available for limited handsets and the company told InformationWeek it didn't do a good job publicizing that option. The S60 series phones are all powered by the Symbian operating system, which is optimized the OS for convergence with current multimedia applications as well as making enhancements to its security. "

That makes 4 mobile platforms that now have some form of ActiveSync built in that allow server syncing with Exchange - Windows Mobile, PalmOS, iPhone 2.0 and Nokia's Symbian S60 series. Nokia has said the option will be coming to the E and N series devices as well.

While this strengthens the Windows Server/Exchange platform, I cannot help but think this weakens the Windows Mobile position. It has bee one of the strengths of the platform distinguishing it from others as an enterprise solution. Now, it is more and more just one of the choices a business professional has.

Tags: nokia

Monday, March 31, 2008

APRIL FOOLS: Nokia Ventures Into New Territory: N97w Powered by Windows Mobile

Posted by Darius Wey in "Pocket PC Hardware" @ 11:20 PM



Later this afternoon, Nokia will announce a May release date for its first Windows Mobile handset, the N97w. It resembles the N96 in many ways - similar form factor, 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM, 16GB of storage space, a microSD slot, A-GPS, an FM radio, DVB-H, and TV-out - but it does pack some newer and extended features such as quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA connectivity, 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 support, and a 7.1-megapixel camera featuring Carl Zeiss optics and a dual-LED flash. It also has a 2.8" 262K-colour, QVGA touch screen, fit for displaying Windows Mobile 6 Professional in all its glory. There's no denying it - the N97w has a list of specs that would make any HTC device weak at the knees. A price has yet to be announced, although expect to receive details later this afternoon. Now, who wants one?


Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Nokia 770 Internet Tablet

Posted by Rocco Augusto in "Thoughts Media Off Topic" @ 05:00 PM


Product Category: UMPC / Internet Tablet
Manufacturer: Nokia
Where to Buy: Pricegrabber Low Price Search
Price: $134.99 to $199 USD
System Requirements: None, it is it's own system!
Specifications: Linux Operating System with built in WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. 4.3-inch 800x480 pixel screen, 128MB Flash memory, expandable RS-MMC memory slot, USB 2.0, 3.5mm headphone adapter and built in microphone for VoIP

Pros:
  • Light-weight, all-in-one, portable computer
  • Plays music and video
  • Desktop-like Internet browsing experience (2 years before the iPhone!)
Cons:
  • Can be unstable at times
  • Cannot upgrade to newest operating system
  • Doesn't run Windows Mobile ;)
Summary:
The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is a non-phone device designed for those who would like to check emails, surf the web and perhaps listen to some music or watch a movie without the need for a laptop. Does it fill a needed void or does it miss its intended mark? Read on to find out.
Read more...


Sunday, May 6, 2007

The Business-Savvy Smartphone Review: Nokia E62, BlackBerry Pearl, T-Mobile Dash, Palm Treo 750

Posted by Kris Kumar in "ARTICLE" @ 09:40 AM

http://www.cio.com/article/106306/

"Smart devices�call 'em what you will: handhelds, smartphones, PDAs�make business people's lives easier. They help to ensure continuous communication by offering features like calendar applications, instant messaging and e-mail services, cell phone functionality and Web access. Any number of today's smart devices can satisfy the basic needs of the average business user, and plenty of websites can give you consumer-conscious reviews. However, the real challenge for IT executives seeking smartphones for themselves or for their organizations is selecting a device that fits their telecom needs with as few tweaks to the company's IT architectures as possible�and therefore as little time and money expended."

User submitted image

CIO.com has compared four of the most popular smartphones, from the perspective of four experienced IT executives. If you are responsible for managing the IT and deployment of mobile phones in your organisation then this article is a must read. For others I think this is a very good weekend article, it will help you understand the features that the competition is better at. I would like to see more articles like these, it is always good to know how the competition is evolving. :wink: There are times when I feel like I have boxed myself into the Windows Mobile platform, and wonder if there is a better alternative out there. Do you get the same feeling at times? Or do you change your smartphone based on features and do not worry about the platform?


Sunday, April 1, 2007

APRIL FOOLS: Nokia Announces Plans for Windows Mobile Version of the E61 Smartphone

Posted by Mike Temporale in "NEWS" @ 07:00 AM

http://www.nokia.com/A4126603

"The Nokia E61w is designed in the familiar style of today's most popular mobile email devices. Yet it is incredibly slim and packed with powerful new functionality. A cinch to use with either hand, the device has a four-way joystick and full keyboard combined with a wide 16 million color screen making mobile email easier than ever before. The E61w will support Outlook Mobile, Office Mobile, Mobile Internet Explorer, along with seamless and encrypted mobile connectivity using Windows Mobile 6 Standard."

User submitted image

Wow, I don't know how we missed this news in all the other announcements that came out of CTIA last week. It appears Nokia has taken the popular E61 and are turning out a Windows Mobile version of it. Sounds very similiar to what Palm did with the Treo line of phones. It will be interesting to see what traction a device like this would have in the enterprise. Can Nokia actually offer a better Smartphone than the BlackJack, Q, or Dash?


Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Nokia Still Number 1 in WorldWide Smartphone Market

Posted by Mike Temporale in "THE COMPETITION" @ 11:15 AM

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/03/nokia_continues.html;jsessionid=0I14GTOELNPYMQSNDLQCKH0CJUNN2JVN

"Even though Nokia maintained its overall lead with 56.4% of the worldwide market for smartphones, ABI Research is predicting that the Symbian-based share of smartphones will decline in coming years. Nokia sold 40 million Series 60- and Series 80-based smartphones in 2006, up from 28.5 million in 2005. That's a 44.5% increase in sales. New devices like the value-priced E61/62 helped lift Nokia far and away from its closest competitor, Motorola, which claimed only 8.5% of the smartphone market on sales of 6.03 million units (mostly Q's and the Chinese market MING)."

The article goes on to mention that they expect Nokia's market share to drop to 46% by 2012 due to increased presure from other operating systems. I wish they had included numbers showing how this relates to last year. Did Nokia/Symbian's share of the market decline? It would be cool to see how the market shares have changed over the last 3-4 years.


Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Windows Mobile Outlook Easiest to Configure: Beats BlackBerry BIS, Nokia S60 and UIQ v3.0 Email Clients

Posted by Kris Kumar in "ARTICLE" @ 03:30 AM

http://www.tekrati.com/research/News.asp?id=8593

"A recent Strategy Analytics benchmark study concludes that users find Windows Mobile Pocket Outlook to be the easiest mobile email client to configure for a POP3 email account. The Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Lab conducted end user benchmark tests with Windows Mobile Outlook, BlackBerry BIS, Nokia S60, and UIQ v3.0 email clients. The benchmark test results also point to the value of incorporating an on-device wizard. ... Pocket Outlook was the only client that 100% of participants could configure within the benchmark time allocation. Pocket Outlook also outperformed its competitors for speed and user satisfaction. "

User submitted image

Strategy Analytics� latest Wireless Device Laboratory user benchmarking study [paid subscription required] found the Windows Mobile Outlook email client the easiest to configure. This is a good pat on the back for the folks at Microsoft who are behind the design of the email client. I like the wizard approach and definitely find the steps easy, but there is plenty of room for improvements. Like for example when I enter the email id as [email protected], why can't the wizard just guess the user name as kris, incoming server as domain.com and outgoing server as domain.com. I think that this way the user will be able to save precious keystrokes. Another example, why can't we configure the email accounts on the desktop using ActiveSync or better be able to transfer all the accounts configured on the desktop Outlook/Outlook Express. What do you think? Do you agree with the results of the user study?


Saturday, February 10, 2007

Nokia Delivers Free Downloadable Maps to the Mobile World, Windows Mobile Included

Posted by Kris Kumar in "SOFTWARE" @ 05:00 PM

http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1103306

"Nokia today announced that it is making its smart2go mapping and navigation platform, available for free download (www.smart2go.com), enabling millions of people to use the most comprehensive map coverage offered on a mobile device. The platform allows for mapping and routing in over 150 countries and has support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries. The application allows people to view where they are on a map, search for points-of-interests (POI) around them and create routes to get them there free of charge. Nokia plans to start offering the smart2go application for free, on Saturday, February 10th, for selected Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices initially and has plans to roll out support for most of the major mobile OS platforms including Nokia S60, Series 40, PocketPC, Linux and other Windows Mobile devices."

User submitted image

Nokia has surprised the mobile world by releasing FREE mapping software for not only its own Nokia S60 devices, but also for Windows Mobile 5.0 devices. 8O This unexpected gift for the Windows Mobile world has got some blogs speculating that Nokia might be interested in Windows Mobile and planning to launch a device with it. In fact I believe the IDC or Gartner has even recommended that to Nokia. Getting back to the mapping software, Microsoft and Google both offer similar applications, the unique feature of Nokia's application is that it an hybrid application; it allows the users to download the maps on to the storage card and also access the maps real-time like Google or Microsoft. I like the ability to have the maps available on my phone instead of downloading it always, not everyone has an unlimited data plan. The thing that bugs me is that this free download was supposed to become available today but Nokia's smart2Go Web site still says "Coming Soon." :roll: Oh, forgot to mention the one and only catch. The free mapping software offers only viewing locations, for turn-by-turn direction with voice prompts you will have to pay a fee.


Thursday, January 11, 2007

U.S. Group Sues Nokia, Samsung Over Bluetooth

Posted by Jerry Raia in "NEWS" @ 01:00 PM

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyid=2007-01-03T133130Z_01_L03691045_RTRUKOC_0_US-BLUETOOTH-PATENT-INFRINGEMENT.xml

"The Washington Research Foundation, which markets technology from the University of Washington, is seeking damages from the three mobile-phone makers for using a radio frequency receiver technology without paying royalties, according to court papers obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. A University of Washington scientist Edwin Suominen was awarded a patent in 1999 for "simplified high frequency broadband tuner and tuning method"."

If you can't make money selling it, sue over it. I'm at the point where when I see this stuff I don't even care if the claims are legitimate. I just assume it is nonsense now. I think it will keep getting worse too.


Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Steve Ballmer on Windows Mobile: Nokia and Microsoft are the Only Two Real Players in the Smart Device Market

Posted by Kris Kumar in "NEWS" @ 09:30 AM

http://news.com.com/Ballmer+discusses+life+after+Vista+-+page+3/2008-1012_3-6141081-3.html?tag=st.num

"Ballmer: Let's say the PC market is roughly 200 million units these days, and let's say the PC market goes great guns over the next several years and grows 14 percent or 15 percent a year. Those are big numbers. You go great guns, China booms. You get maybe over 400 million in a few years. The cell phone market is already a billion units a year, and the truth of the matter is that what I'll call "smart devices," as a percentage, the total is rising dramatically. When it comes to smart devices, there really aren't that many players. Basically, you have Nokia/Symbian, you've got us. Actually, I'll be so bold as to say that the two of us stand out in that area. Then you have some guys who are more niche players--Palm is more of a niche player, (Research In Motion's) BlackBerry is more of a niche player, those Linux devices from Motorola, particularly in China, (mean it) is more of a niche player."

User submitted image

While I do agree with the comment that Microsoft and Nokia are currently the only two real players in the smart phone market, but I think it is a bit too early to start gloating about the success. One of the so called niche player, BlackBerry, is trying to broaden its market with Pearl. And I don't think it is a good idea to rule out Linux. Most of the current success for Windows Mobile is due to HTC; it is only recently that Motorola and Samsung have released popular products based on Windows Mobile. The competition has only begun.

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  • Source: Jason Langridge's WebLog


Thursday, November 30, 2006

Nokia and Ericsson provide 3G to T-Mobile USA

Posted by Jerry Raia in "NEWS" @ 11:00 AM

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nokia-ericsson-provide-3g-t-mobile/story.aspx?guid=%7B857FAF43-3A92-4A50-A841-3DA84584A00B%7D

"Nokia Corp (NOK) and Ericsson (ERIC) said Monday that they will provide third generation mobile phone infrastructure to T-Mobile USA (DT), as the German mobile operator looks to rollout phone and data services across the United States. Nokia or Ericsson declined to disclose the financial value of the contracts, and it is unclear whether further equipment manufacturers have been selected. However, T-Mobile USA, the U.S. mobile phone arm of Deutsche Telekom AG (DT), said in October that it expects to spend about EUR2.1 billion, or $2.66 billion, over the next two to three years to upgrade to its next-generation network."

It looks like it is time to welcome T-Mobile to the 3G party. You must be happy if you have Tmo, however, it seems you have a bit of a wait ahead. Of course I'm still waiting for Cingular to get moving!


Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Nokia Creates Wibree to Replace Bluetooth

Posted by Rocco Augusto in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 02:21 PM

http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/10/03/HNnokiawireless_1.html

"Nokia has developed a new, short-range wireless technology that it says could improve on some of the shortcomings of Bluetooth...The technology could compete with Bluetooth in the workplace as a way to link keyboards and other peripherals to computers. But it could also have more interesting applications for consumers, in devices such as wrist watches, toys, and sports equipment."

Just my luck! Right after I purchase the Jabra BT620s Bluetooth Stereo Headset, someone has to go and "improve" upon the technology. In all seriousness, this technology does look promising. One of my biggest annoyances with Bluetooth evolves around how much power it consumes. If Wibree can actually consume as little power as Nokia claims, I wouldn't be surprised if all phones were equipped with this in the next five to ten years.

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  • Source: Pocket PC Thoughts


Friday, September 22, 2006

Microsoft Hooks Up Nokia Phones with Live Search

Posted by Jerry Raia in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 10:00 AM

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/09/21/microsoft-hooks-up-nokia-phones-with-live-search/

"We, of course, can't speak for Yahoo -- but if we had to guess, we'd imagine they're at least a little bit perturbed at Nokia right about now. Just under two weeks after announcing a partnership with the search company to include Yahoo! Search in its Mobile Search application, Nokia's now announced a similar deal with Microsoft, which'll see Windows Live Search find a home alongside Yahoo in the mobile search platform."

User submitted image

They are talking here about a built in application as opposed to a web browser search. This is supposedly faster than using a web browser search. I have said this a few times, Windows Live is going to show up everywhere. I could swear I saw it in my cereal this morning. :)


Monday, July 10, 2006

Nokia Loses Interest in CDMA; Helps Windows Mobile?

Posted by Rocco Augusto in "NEWS" @ 10:41 AM

http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1059329

"Nokia announced today that it will not be forming the new CDMA device company with SANYO it preliminarily announced on February 14, 2006. Nokia decided not to pursue its earlier plan as it concluded the terms and conditions of the proposed partnership were not satisfactory and in the best interests of Nokia's long term success. In addition to an already financially prohibitive CDMA ecosystem in general, recent developments may indicate that the CDMA emerging markets business case is looking more challenging."

Janak, over at Pocket PC Thoughts, raised a very interesting point when he posted this article the other day. Where are all of the CDMA Symbian Smartphones hiding? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining but competition is always fun! ;)

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  • Source: Pocket PC Thoughts


Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Nokia Working to put Web Servers on Mobile Phones

Posted by Mike Temporale in "THE COMPETITION" @ 12:30 PM

http://research.nokia.com/research/projects/mobile-web-server/index.html

"For quite some time it has been possible to access the Internet using mobile phones, although the role of the phone has strictly been that of a client. Considering that modern phones have processing power and memory on par with and even exceeding that of servers of the early web, there really is no reason anymore why webservers could not reside on mobile phones and why people could not create and maintain their own personal mobile websites."

I'm sorry, but this is just the silliest thing I've seen in a while. What happens when your data connection drops, or when your site starts to gain some popularity and you're phone can't handle the requests or the bandwidth? While I think it would be a neat idea, I don't think this is something that is worth doing. You're better off building an interface to control and update your website that is hosted someplace else. But that's just my $0.02, what do I know. :roll:


Saturday, April 1, 2006

APRIL FOOLS: Nokia Enters Agreement to Acquire Windows Mobile Brand

Posted by Mike Temporale in "NEWS" @ 06:15 AM

http://www.nokia.ca/english/media/PR/index.asp

"Nokia today announced it has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to acquire the Windows Mobile brand. The transaction will enhance Nokia's ability to respond to customer needs and effectively puts Nokia at the core of any mobility solution for markets of all sizes. The Windows Mobile product range will continue to be sold under the Windows Mobile name as part of Nokia's mobility solutions software. "This acquisition puts Nokia in an unparalleled position in the mobility market," said Mary McDowell, executive vice president and general manager, Nokia's Enterprise Solutions business group. "By combining the existing Nokia offerings with Microsoft's fast growing Windows Mobile software, we are able to connect practically any device built on any platform, to any data source, application or network."

I have my doubts that the securities commission would even allow such a sale. This would effectively eliminate any real competition for Nokia, besides Linux. :roll: The press release goes on to mention total sale value of $13 Billion in cash and shares of Nokia. In the end, Microsoft will have a 10.3% stake in Nokia and a whole lot of cash in their pockets.


Friday, March 3, 2006

Nokia Still Tops Thanks to Style and Fashion

Posted by Mike Temporale in "NEWS" @ 11:30 AM

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,39020336,39254927,00.htm

"In an industry of over-achievers, Nokia continues to over-achieve more than anyone else, according to the latest survey of mobile handset makers from analyst Gartner. The big six vendors all grew last year with Nokia the biggest winner of all. Sales of handsets grew by 21 percent in 2005, and totalled 816 million units. While its top six competitors saw modest double digit growth the Finnish giant grew by 35 percent, and sold 266 million units in 2005."

Nokia still has the largest part of the market with 32.5%, followed not so closely by Motorola at 17.7% Motorola's market share is up 2.3% over 2004 numbers, while Samsung's market share rose by just 0.1% to 12.7%. It looks like Samsung has to step up their game a little if they want to keep up with Motorola and hope to make up some ground against Nokia.

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  • Source: CoolSmartphone


Friday, February 24, 2006

Microsoft, Nokia and Others to Support Open Gaming Architecture

Posted by Mike Temporale in "DEVELOPER" @ 11:15 AM

http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/0,aid,124689,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp

"Several big companies in the mobile phone and gaming industry, including Microsoft and Nokia, are teaming to support an open gaming architecture designed to lower development costs, speed up delivery times and create richer content, the group said Friday. In addition to Microsoft and Nokia, the mobile gaming development alliance includes Electronic Arts, Symbian, Samsung Electronics, Texas Instruments (TI), Activision, Digital Chocolate, Ideaworks3D, Konami, MontaVista Software, SK Telecom, Square Enix, and Tao Group. By working together, the group hopes to streamline the process for developing games for multiple handset models and operating systems, and reduce the current platform fragmentation in mobile phone gaming market."

Sometimes it amazes me that the biggest of competitors can still see past their differences and can work together to make a better market for the end user. Ok, so a common gaming platform doesn't really make the industry a better place, but it will make a huge difference for developers who are currently wasting a lot of time developing the same application for multiple platforms. This is good news from Microsoft, Nokia, and the rest.


Thursday, January 5, 2006

Nokia Predicts Rise in Bluetooth Phones

Posted by Mike Temporale in "NEWS" @ 09:45 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060104/tc_nm/nokia_bluetooth_dc;_ylt=Apkx_1epg0TaDUqY45AyWsBT.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

"The world's top handset maker Nokia sees global Bluetooth mobile phone sales rising 65 percent year-on-year in 2006 as the short-range radio technology gains popularity, the company said on Wednesday. "The Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone market grew to 133 million units in 2005 and we expect it to grow to 220 million units in 2006," Razvan Olosu, Vice President of Mobile Enhancements at Nokia, said in a statement. Nokia said last month it expected global handset sales to grow more than 10 percent in 2006 from around 780 million units last year."

This isn't much of a surprise. Bluetooth has quickly become the must have feature on a mobile phone; even if you don't know what Bluetooth is. I can't tell you how many times I've been talking with people about what phone they should get, and they always ask if it has Bluetooth. None of them seem to know what it is, just that their phone should have it. :lol:


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