windows phone

Android continues to dominate sales in the EU and U.S. mobile markets, even in the run-up to the iPhone 5's expected announcement later this month. 

According to the latest smartphone sales figures from Kantar Worldpanel Comtech, Google-owned Android has jumped by more than 20 percent in share in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain markets, rising to 67.1 percent in the five major EU economies.

Throw the U.S., Australia and Brazil into the mix -- where Australia's share of Android sales is the lowest, which drags down the overall average … Read more

commentary You can call it the "Nokia comeback story," take two.

That will likely be the theme again as Nokia and Microsoft host an event in New York on Wednesday to unveil the latest Lumia smartphones, now running on Windows Phone 8. Leaks of the purported phones have already appeared, and CNET will be there to cover the official announcement.

There is an overwhelming sense of deja vu in discussing Nokia's prospects. Last year's debut of the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 -- the company's first Windows Phone handsets -- was supposed to be the … Read more

We Microsoft watchers already knew October was going to be a crazy month, given Windows 8's general availability date is October 26.

But until this week, I didn't realize just how jam-packed that month is really going to be.

A source of mine privy to Microsoft's event plans, who asked not to be named, just shared with me dates and tentative locations for a number of Microsoft's upcoming launches. Some of these we suspected; a few we knew.

Windows Phone 8's build-up to launch started today, with Samsung showing off what's officially the first Windows Phone 8 device (… Read more

If you've been wondering what the first dual-core Windows Phone would look like, this is it. Today, the Korean electronics giant took the wraps off the Samsung Ativ S, the world's first smartphone running Windows Phone 8.

The Ativ S (Ativ is "Vita" spelled backward) features a slim design, a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. There's also compatibility for HSPA+42.

In addition, the Ativ S packs in a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and an LED flash, and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera.

Taking full advantage of … Read more

Nokia is promising big things for a September 5 event in New York City.

The mobile company today posted a video showing a woman riding a bike down a street. About midway through that clip, a text overlay comes up that reads: "Things are about to change." The video's description on YouTube adds a bit more details, saying that the change is coming "5 September 2012. Stay tuned!"

Nokia announced earlier this month that it will host a New York press conference on September 5. The company said the event will be in partnership with … Read more

Being different isn't always a good thing.

In a crushingly conformist world, if you stick out, then people will often stick their tongues out at you. Even when they praise you for being different at first, soon they'll decide this is all too uncomfortable.

This is surely part of what brought Samsung down in the Apple-Samsung patented grapplefest.

Samsung, in the jury's eyes, was silly enough to take products that had become cultural icons and, well, copy their icons.

This is something that one company expressly decided not to do. That company is Microsoft.

Though Redmond is … Read more

You can almost sense the glee over in the Microsoft camp after Samsung was dealt an overwhelming defeat against Apple.

That's because the jury decision against Samsung doesn't just affect the South Korean conglomerate; it's one that will ripple through to Google and the rest of the Android community. As a result, Microsoft's Windows Phone looks increasingly attractive as a third legitimate alternative -- one that's relatively unfettered by legal complications.

Microsoft may not increase its market share from this incident alone, but it can cruise under the litigious gunfire while strengthening its own position … Read more

Friday's tech news roundup can ease symptoms of Gadget News Overload:

Verizon Wireless is reportedly getting ready to give Microsoft another chance.

The carrier is plans to offer a new Windows Phone 8-powered Nokia smartphone this year, its first Windows device since May 2011, a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. Nokia and Microsoft have scheduled a press event for September 5 in New York, and although Verizon won't be participating in the event, the top U.S. carrier intends to roll out a Nokia Windows 8 phone later this year, the source said.

Nokia declined to comment on the report. CNET also contacted Verizon and Microsoft for … Read more