Nokia on Thursday said it has started shipping the X6. Its latest touchscreen-only smartphone is the first from the company to use capacitive touch and responds much more precisely and quickly to input than the pressure-based resistive screens of earlier models. Reinforcing this upscale image, the X6 is also more advanced than the 5800 XpressMusic with a 5-megapixel camera and 32GB of internal storage.
Photos of the upcoming Sony Ericsson Kurara handset have been revealed recently, thanks to PhonesDB. Newly revealed specifications reveal the handset will have a 3.5-inch color AMOLED display in what appears to be an ultra-thin, organic design. Hardware controls should remain intact but will be limited to call and media controls.
Nokia is allegedly working on a Symbian-based handset aimed at the US market, an unnamed source has told VentureBeat. Interestingly enough, the device is expected to integrate a Qualcomm chip. If true, the component choice could indicate the companies are continuing to warm up to each other after a lengthy legal war over patent claims.
Nokia on Wednesday announced it is now shipping the N97 mini and has released a new update for its N97 smartphone. The newer N97 variant still has a QWERTY keyboard that angles out but has a smaller 3.2-inch touchscreen, a more compact keyboard and 8GB of built-in flash instead of the larger model's 32GB. It costs the equivalent of $664 in Europe, where it's sold unlocked and without a contract and should also be available subsidized through carriers in the near future.
A new handset, the Sony Ericsson Kurara, is expected to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress show early next year, according to a Tuesday LetsGoDigital report. The handset is promising to be a less featured version of the recently revealed Satio, with both sporting the Symbian S60 operating system. It should also feature a touchscreen interface but use a lower resolution 8-megapixel camera.
Nokia on Tuesday showed off its first handset to support China's native 3G standard, TD-SCDMA. The Nokia 6788 was developed in conjunction with China Mobile, the country's biggest wireless provider, and sports a 2.8-inch display with 320x240 resolution and is considered smartphone-grade through its use of Symbian S60. There is also a 5-megapixel camera with a dual-LED flash.
HTC's Android-based Hero is selling well enough that it's causing supply issues, the company's Asia Pacific VP Jack Tong revealed on Wednesday. Sales in the phone's initial Asia and European launch areas are described as "brisk" enough that demand has put a strain on HTC's production lines and won't see manufacturing catch up until November. The pace is expected to continue at least until early 2010.
Michael Dell today on Thursday said in a public talk on Thursday that the company plans to bring smartphones to the US. While unspecific on details, he claims that any devices that show will be "family members" of the mini 3i from China. At least one will be based on Android, but he stresses that other open platforms are candidates.
Nokia took drastic action to improve its ailing smartphone business through a swap of executives as well as a reorganization of the company itself. Its Devices group has been split into a group for Smartphones, covering more advanced devices, as well as Mobile Phones, for its conventional Symbian S30 and S40 cellphones. The firm has also taken the unusual step of moving its chief financial officer, Rick Simonson, to head up the Mobile Phones group.
Sony Ericsson today reported largely poor results for its summer quarter. The cellphone maker shipped 14.1 million phones during the three-month span; the number is an increase from 13.8 million in the spring but a sharp 45.1 percent drop from summer a year earlier. It successfully reduced the rate at which it has bled money down to a $244.7 million loss versus $317.8 million in spring but also saw some of its lowest revenue in recent memory, dropping slightly season-to-season to $2.4 billion but still far from nearly $4.2 billion a year earlier.
Vodafone UK today added three touchscreen smartphones to its roster that in most cases represent world premieres. The Sony Ericsson Satio is now finally shipping after having been detailed in May and is the handset designer's first Symbian S60 smartphone; besides full third-party app support, it's considered a high-end media phone with a 12-megapixel camera, a 3.5-inch touchscreen, GPS and Wi-Fi. For Sony Ericsson, the phone is a symbolic first as one of its first major devices to use microSDHC cards instead of Memory Stick Micro for storage.
Nokia on Friday revealed early details of Maemo 6, its next-generation smartphone platform. The OS will be the first to natively support multi-touch and capacitive touchscreens and should finally put the Linux-based OS on par with modern platforms like iPhone or webOS. Until now, the software has depended on single-touch resistive (pressure-dependent) screens incapable of gestures or other more precise movements.
Google's Android will be the second-largest smartphone platform in as little as three years, according to Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney estimated on Wednesday. While it trails today, the mobile OS is predicted to climb to 14.5 percent of the market, or about 76 million phones sold per year, by the end of 2012. As a consequence, it would whittle Symbian's market share down to 39 percent (203 million phones) and just slightly overtake the iPhone, which in this view would have 13.7 percent of the market or 71.5 million devices.
IBM has released v8.5.1 of Lotus Notes and Domino, the company's enterprise-level collaboration packages. Through Lotus Notes Traveler the software now has native iPhone support, allowing Domino to automatically sync e-mail, contacts and calendars. Push e-mail is supported, and owners of iPhones can work offline if need be.
Best Buy stepped out of its usual role as retailer today by launching mIQ. Its service is designed to save smartphone data and will backup contacts, photos, videos and other data to 1GB of online space that can be accessed through the web or through a native phone app. Social network also plays a part as the app merges Facebook, Flickr, FriendFeed and Twitter updating.
Adobe at its MAX show launched Flash 10.1, a major update to its plugin that promises video on devices that normally haven't been capable. The release adds hardware graphics acceleration on computers and should make HD Flash video possible on netbooks and ultraportables and standard definition possible on smartphones. NVIDIA already promises that its GeForce, Ion and Tegra chipsets will speed up the Flash update when available.
The number of Symbian phones on the market should more than double in the next five years but won't have much of an impact on important rivals like the iPhone, a new study from Juniper Research said. Shipments should swell from 87 million phones from Nokia, Samsung and other Symbian supporters in 2009 to about 180 million by 2014. The expected increase is credited to a larger push towards partly or completely open-source code on phones. Combined with Android and LiMo (Linux Mobile) devices, about 223 million open-source devices should ship in 2014 as a result.
A job listing at Sling Media, the maker of the Slingbox streaming TV hub, suggests that both Android and webOS versions of the streaming TV application are in develpoment. The job calls for a Senior Mobile User Interface Designer knowledgeable in these platforms as well as in platforms that already have SlingPlayer apps, such as BlackBerry, iPhone, Symbian and Windows Mobile.
Apple's iPhone OS has successfully overtaken Symbian for the lead in all mobile web traffic, according to the latest data from AdMob. The combined iPhone and iPod touch share has jumped from 33 percent in February to 40 percent in August. Symbian, meanwhile, has almost exactly traded positions with Apple and fell from 43 percent near the start of the year to 34 percent in August.
Modern touchscreen phones like the iPhone, Android devices and the Palm Pre are proving to be much more enjoyable to use than conventional smartphones -- at times in spite of their networks, according to a CFI study. About 83 percent of US iPhone owners are satisfied with their phones while the other two touch-first platforms, Google's Android and Palm's webOS, are close with 77 percent each. In comparison, 73 percent of BlackBerry owners can say the same while those using Palm Treos of different varieties claimed 70 percent satisfaction.
UK provider Vodafone on Thursday announced it has launched Vodafone 360, a series of Internet services for cell phones and computers that brings together all contacts, favorite multimedia and photo files as well as social networks. This will allow messages or chats sent through IM programs or social networks such as Facebook, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk, to be synced between computer and phone, via both wired and wireless methods.
INQ late Thursday confirmed through a speech at the Mobilize conference that the company's next wave of phones would use Android. Company chief Frank Meehan provided few details but said INQ would have "pretty cool things" in store for these devices. As current INQ phones use proprietary but conventionally limited operating systems, though, the move would have INQ enter into smartphones for the first time and give it access to full third-party apps as well as Google's full feature set.
Sony Ericsson has recently sent out a press invite to certain media outlets in the UK that, the gadget maker says, involves the official unveiling and retail launch of its Aino and Satio touchscreen handsets. The event is scheduled for October 7th, which is when the two cellphones are expected to launch.
Nokia marked the formal start of its own Nokia World show by launching three more phones, two of which are meant to bolster the company's stance in touchscreen phones. The rumored and now confirmed N97 mini is a rare fix for an existing design and shrinks the touchscreen smartphone slightly; it uses a smaller 3.2-inch, 640x360 display (down from 3.5 inches) and drops the dedicated directional pad in favor of arrow keys tucked into the slide-out, tilting QWERTY keyboard. Software also gets an upgrade with support for much more intuitive flick scrolling, more home screen widgets and updated Ovi Maps, though these will reach the full-size N97 in October as a free patch.
Samsung on Monday chased after the market by providing details of the Samsung Application Store, its own mobile software service. The portal will have its own native client and will have unspecified "content guidelines" to filter which apps reach the store. Just 300 apps will be available on launch and will focus primarily on games from Capcom, EA, Gameloft and others, although Samsung will have apps from Handmark.
Nokia this morning launched a new class of smartphone as its flagship. The promised N900 is a crossover between smartphones and Nokia's Internet tablets, and makes its biggest break in its change of operating system: although still a phone, the handset runs Nokia's latest Linux variant, not Symbian. Maemo 5 renders it one of the first smartphones to have true PC-like multitasking and not only lets it run "dozens" of app windows at once but gives it a simple, large dashboard for switching and closing apps.
Nokia is planning to dump Symbian for Linux as part of a concerted strategy to beat the iPhone, multiple sources said Wednesday. While the tips echo reports of the N900 using Maemo Linux for its interface instead of Symbian S60, Reuters now hears the shift is part of a larger strategy that will replace Symbian on many if not all high-end Nokia smartphones in the near future. The first fruits of the move are anticipated at next week's Nokia World show.
Nokia in the run-up to its Nokia World show next week launched a touchscreen phone made to give it a better foothold in budget touchscreen smartphones. The 5230 is sometimes more advanced than the more expensive 5530 XM and adds both 3G as well as data-assisted GPS; in return, it drops Wi-Fi and scales back to a 2-megapixel camera. It still holds on to the 640x360 touch display, 3.5mm headphone jack and smartphone-class Symbian S60 OS from every previous Nokia touchscreen phone.
Nokia chief Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was put on the defensive late yesterday in an interview regarding the poor performance of the N97 versus Apple's iPhone. When asked by the FT about the critical reaction to his own smartphone, which has been criticized for being too expensive, too slow and lacking a modern touch interface, the executive claimed the N97 was still viable but admitted he wanted to do better, particularly highlighting the increasing emphasis on Ovi services like the music store and navigation.
Microsoft debunked some claims of a unified app store for smartphones by launching OneApp on Monday. The software is aimed at bringing relatively complex Internet apps like Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live Messenger to regular, feature-limited phones. It pools all of these into the namesake single app and keeps the footprint down to just 150K while only loading both the local and cloud-based data that's actually needed.
A single press shot of the Nokia N900 has been leaked that eliminates most doubts about the tablet's existence. The shot from BeGeek not only identifies the device but encompasses many of the assumed features of the tablet, including its use of Maemo instead of Symbian for the interface as well as its built-in phone functionality and a front video camera for two-way calls.
Nokia is now offering its entry-level XpressMusic handset, the 5530 XM for pre-orders on its website. Introduced in mid-June, the phone retains the Symbian S60 operating system like the original 5800 XM. It has a 2.9-inch, 640x360 resolution touchscreen display and uses Wi-Fi as well as EDGE for connecting to the Internet instead of a faster 3G network connection to keep its price down. There is also no GPS receiver.
Leaked images of a pre-production version of the Nokia N900 Internet tablet, known internally as RX-51, have prompted a review of a prototype unit to surface, confirming many of its specs and revealing a few new ones. For one, the tablet will run on an as yet unreleased version of the Linux-based Maemo operating system instead of its own Symbian S60. The photos also confirm that the device will have an 800x480 resolution resistive touchscreen, 32GB of storage onboard, be powered by an ARM Cortex A8 processor of unknown speed and sport a 5-megapixel camera. The N900 will also double as a cellphone, and is strong enough that it's suggested it could replace the N97 in Nokia's lineup.
A rumor from a purportedly certain source suggests RIM will have full, near desktop-grade Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight on the BlackBerry's web browser next year. Full details aren't given, but BGR understands that the update is primarily waiting on hardware. As either web plug-in demands both a strong processor and a fast Internet connection, RIM is said to only be launching the more advanced browser in summer 2010, when its phones will be faster and should have faster 3G and potentially 4G connections.
Samsung on Monday announced it will make a Software Development Kit (SDK) available to developers, which will finally lead to the creation of new widgets for the company's TouchWiz user interface. So far, there were just only about 15 applications available preloaded on the cross-platform UI, depending on the OS it's being used for. TouchWiz can be downloaded to Samsung handsets running on Symbian, Windows Mobile, or Samsung's own OS. Registered developers can download the Eclipse-based SDK from the Samsung Mobile Innovator website.
Sony Ericsson this morning set in motion a significant change in its strategy with news that its existing CEO Hideki Komiyama is being replaced. The executive will retire at the end of the year and is being replaced by Ericsson's Bert Nordberg on October 15th. The Swedish official specializes in "business realignment" and was responsible for growing that telecom company's business earlier this decade.
Microsoft and Nokia on Tuesday announced a new alliance designed to expand reach of business software onto the Symbian mobile platform. Initial work will focus on integrating Microsoft's Office Mobile tools, business communications technology and device management software.
Microsoft this evening said it and Nokia together would hold a conference call late tomorrow morning to unveil an "alliance" between the two firms. The two aren't specific about details. As the call will be led by Microsoft Business president Stephen Elop as well as Nokia's executive devices VP Kai Öistämö, however, it's the news may involve the addition of Office apps to Nokia's smartphones, especially its Eseries business models.
A North American release date, albeit unofficial, has been outed for Nokia's high-end N86 8MP handset. The device was confirmed for sale in the US last month, and a new TheNokiaBlog claim says the black N86 will be available on August 22nd with a $499 price point. The price is some $59 less than the pre-order pricing Nokia has posted on its own website.
Symbian's mobile operating system should see its first major revision in years late into 2010, company executive David Wood said in an interview this week. He acknowledges to TamsS60 that the first two post-S60 releases of the OS, Symbian^2 and Symbian^3, will be relatively minor updates but that Symbian^4 should have a "revolutionary" change in user interface that will also require developers to rewrite the front-end of their code. Underlying code should remain the same as it is by Symbian^3, Wood said.
Microsoft has confirmed in a preview of Windows Mobile 6.5 that version 7 of the mobile OS will include multi-touch and will be targeted at the same high-end market as Apple's iPhone or most current Android phones. The company promises to the Inquirer that multi-touch will be a core feature of Windows Mobile 7 and that many of the experiences of competing phones will be "knocked in the different realm" of Microsoft's new platform.
Smartphones from Apple and others should help the number of GPS-aware smartphones surge this year, according to a Strategy Analytics study. Shipments of the devices should spike a large 34 percent to 77 million phones and are chiefly credited to rapidly growing sales of devices like the iPhone, Nokia N97 or BlackBerry Tour. Many often have stronger mapping tools like BlackBerry Maps, Google Maps and Nokia Maps built-in, encouraging GPS use right away.
Apple has successfully sold over 25 million devices running some form of iPhone OS since it started selling them two years ago, new AdMob data shows. The advertisers and researchers estimate that, of the 45 million iPhone OS devices shipped worldwide since June 2007, about 13 million were American iPhones while 12 million were iPod touch units have been sold in the country. Although the mix skews towards the iPhone, the difference was helped by the three-month lead for that device first entering stores.
Sony Ericsson warned of worsening trouble at the company as it recorded a steep drop in the number of phones shipped this quarter as well as in its financial well being. The company shipped just 13.8 million phones this quarter, dropping 43 percent compared to one year earlier; the number was also a 5 percent shrink from already weak performance in the winter. Accordingly, the company swung from a roughly $8.5 million profit in spring 2008 to a $300.5 million loss in 2009.
Symbian Foundation, the originator of the Symbian OS, has announced a new developer program meant to foster the popularity of Symbian apps. Called Horizon, it is slated to aid in the distribution and marketing of titles, as well as limited troubleshooting in terms of production. Companies should also have access to language translation services, making it more practical to sell an app across several markets.
AT&T began its week early by launching the Nokia Surge, a unique handset just for the US carrier. The device is designed like a typical QWERTY slider messaging phone but runs on Symbian S60 and gets access to the full roster of smartphone-class apps as a result. It's pitched as a social networking device and comes with a JuiceCaster app for posting both updates and media to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and elsewhere.
Nokia on Monday tried to deflect rumors that it's developing an Android smartphone. A company spokesman said that there is "absolutely no truth" to the claim, which would have a touchscreen device appear in September at Nokia World. The representative maintained the company's official choice of Symbian for all its smartphones.
Nokia is breaking from Symbian and about to use Android for one of its next smartphones, according to industry sources. A touchscreen, smartphone-class device is claimed by the Guardian to be later in development and likely to be unveiled at Nokia World in September. Its features are unknown beyond the use of the Google platform.
Nokia has recently announced the release of its latest version of its Ovi Maps software used in more than 40 of its GPS-enabled handsets. Now available for download, Ovi Maps 3.0 has a number of enhancements, including high resolution satellite and terrain maps in both 2D and 3D views, as well as 3D landmarks for more than 200 large cities. The latter allows users to view the virtual landmarks with fly-overs, fly-throughs, in a night view and by rotating and tilting the perspective. There is also a new Walk mode for navigating on foot, while the Drive mode provides speed limit information, location of speed cameras, real-time traffic and lane assistance.
First spotted just over a month ago, the Nokia 6790 Surge got a one-month delay in its launch date at wireless provider AT&T. While an exact date is not announced, sources believe the phone, which used to go by the codename Mako, will appear sometime in mid-July. Some preliminary specs of the sliding QWERTY handset include a 2.4-inch, 240x320 display, and quad-band GSM and dual-band HSDPA support. The Surge is also one of a handful of mid-range Nokia phones equipped with the smartphone-grade Symbian S60 operating system.
