nokia

HELSINKI, Finland -- Local startup Jolla believes what few others do: that even with four major smartphone operating systems vying for supremacy -- or just relevancy -- there is still room for one more at the party.

Jolla hopes to resurrect MeeGo, which was once considered Nokia's savior and next-generation platform before it was dumped for Windows Phone. The company, founded by former Nokia product engineers intimate with the development of MeeGo, brought back the community-driven successor as Sailfish late last month.

There isn't a better example of a David and Goliath story. Jolla is made up of … Read more

HELSINKI, Finland -- I came here to listen for a death rattle.

It was a late Monday morning in late November when I arrived, and there was no sunlight. None. The sky was gray, bleaching out the city's colorful buildings. I asked the cab driver whether it would get any brighter, but he wasn't confident. The sun comes up late in the day and fades early in the afternoon this time of year. As even the Finns concede with a stoic chuckle, it's depressing.

Unsurprisingly, it's considered the worst time of the year to travel to … Read more

Affordable smartphones will make up the majority of sales by 2017 as consumer gravitate toward entry-level devices, according to a study from research firm Informa.

Informa said that 52 percent of smartphones will be priced below $150, underscoring demand for the devices from the emerging markets.

That marks a dramatic shift in the smartphone market now, which is dominated by super-smartphones priced at $200 or higher. The Galaxy S III and iPhone 5 start at $200, but devices such as the Droid Razr Maxx HD retail for $300, and the iPhone 5 quickly escalates when adding in more storage space. … Read more

A Nokia engineer has posted an explanation on how to hack Windows 8 games.

Justin Angel, who currently works on Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 implementation in Nokia Lumia devices, recently posted the step-by-step guide on his blog, where he explained that the "use of innate Windows 8 security attack vectors" can allow a person with admittedly advanced knowledge to "compromise Windows 8 games revenue stream."

The issue is potentially major (and worrisome) for developers who have delivered titles to Microsoft's Windows Store. As Angel points out, games account for "51 percent … Read more

Nokia is getting a new neighbor.

Chinese telecommunications equipment vendor Huawei said today it wants to expand into Europe, and plans to build a smartphone center in Helsinki, Finland, just minutes away from Nokia's own headquarters in Espoo -- facilities that Nokia just sold off as it seeks to right its financial ship.

Huawei said in a statement e-mailed to CNET it plans to invest 70 million euros ($90.3 million) in the facility over the next five years, and will double its work force in Europe to 14,000 over the next three to five years.

Huawei's … Read more

Nokia said today that it would launch a variant of its flagship smartphone, the Lumia 920, specifically for China Mobile.

The Lumia 920T will be the first Windows Phone to run on China Mobile's TD-SCDMA network. The phone is expected to hit the market by the end of the year and sell for 4,599 yuan (about $740).

This latest Nokia phone is important because it should allow the company to tap into China Mobile's more than 700 million customers -- the largest subscriber base in the world. China is an increasingly important market as Nokia hopes to … Read more

PARIS -- Nokia announced a new lower-end Windows Phone today, the $249 Nokia Lumia 620, hoping customers will be drawn to its rounded corners and bright colors when it launches in January of 2013.

The Lumia 620 is a 3G model with a 3.8-inch screen, 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, a back camera that'll shoot 720p video, a 5-megapixel front camera for video chat, near-field communications (NFC) technology, and loudspeakers, the company said. But Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia's executive vice president of design, put the new colors front and center as he unveiled the phone at the LeWeb … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Nokia hires orchestra to create new ringtones.

- Here is the first official snap of Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs.

- Social networks responsible for lines in the restroom.

- "Ghostbusters 3" is a go as Billy Murray signs on.… Read more

Nokia said this morning that it will sell its head office in Espoo, Finland, to software consultancy firm Exilion for 170 million euros ($222 million).

The struggling phone maker said in a statement that it will lease back the head office at a lower price, but Nokia did not disclose any additional figures.

The move comes as the phone maker, which has suffered over the past year with poor quarterly financial results, continues to struggle in a market dominated by companies such as Apple and Samsung.

Nokia's chief financial officer, Timo Ihamuotila, said that the deal is in line … Read more