Nokia will adopt Windows Mobile as its main smartphone platform in a wide-ranging agreement with Microsoft. Today two companies announced plans for a broad strategic partnership that combines the respective strengths of our companies and builds a new global mobile ecosystem. Nokia will adopt Windows Phone as its primary smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader. Nokia and Microsoft will closely collaborate on development, joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.
What Microsoft has on mobile sector now is Windows Phone 7. It is the successor to Windows Mobile platform. Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 7 on February 15, 2010, at Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona. Windows Phone 7 is a new platform, and older Windows Mobile applications do not run on it. Windows Phone 7 features a version of Internet Explorer Mobile with a rendering engine that is “halfway between IE7 and IE8“. Silverlight (.NET code with XAM) is the application development platform for Windows Phone 7, but also Microsoft XNA is supported. Development tools are Visual Studio ja Expression Blend. Windows Phone 7 so far hasn’t been a major hit with the application-development community.
I would have liked to see something released on Meego instead of this, but I must admit that tt was somewhat expected that this could happen when you you get a new CEO from Microsoft. Now it seems that the stock price has fallen considerably this day: European stock markets turned lower Friday, with mobile-phone giant Nokia Corp. shedding nearly 10% after it agreed to a partnership with Microsoft. Let’s see what happens in the near future and how Microsoft stock reacts to this.
It takes quite a bit of time until the first phones using this new OS will come to market and how markets react to this. Vic Gundotra from Google already commented “Two turkeys do not make an Eagle” before the announcement. I think this was a better deal for Microsoft than for Nokia. Let’s see how well those turkeys are baked on the next Thanksgiving Day.
The new Nokia strategy: MeeGo will open-source mobile operating system project for future devices and Nokia’s Symbian will continue working on behalf of the platform. Symbian and MeeGo not dead, still shipping this year says another source.
But what will be the future of Qt? Just few months ago Nokia announced focus on Qt framework and support for HTML5. Qt applications do not work on Windows Phone and press release does not mention anything on Qt applications on Windows phones.
Letter to Developers about Today’s News tells that Qt will continue to be the development framework for Symbian and Nokia will use Symbian for further devices, and also on first MeeGo-related open source device (planned to ship later this year). There seems to be no Qt for Windows Phone development: In other words, Qt will not be adapted for Windows Phone 7 APIs. Microsoft would provide tools for application developers for Nokia Windows Phones. Developers already think this is a Microsoft sabotage on developers.
Was this Microsoft deal a good move or not is hard to say yet. I fear the worst. Some time ago Nokia’s outgoing head of smartphones Anssi Vanjoki Using Android like ‘peeing in your pants for warmth in winter’: Temporary relief is followed by an even worse predicament. Would using Windows Phone be like getting something else on your pants for temporary warmth?
This is a very dark day for Finnish software industry: Nokia to cut thousands of jobs in Finland. Pretty many developers in Finland will be pretty pissed off on all this…
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s Great Software Cleansing scrubs off everything since the ’90s
The type of cleansing you do in a bath full of BLOOD
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/14/nokia_software_purge/
Nokia took an axe to much of its non-Windows software capacity today, leaving all but a core team working on S40, company insiders say. Among the 10,000 casualties officially announced are teams working on Meltemi, Qt and QML. The team imported via the Smarterphone acquisition will work on S40, we understand.
Engineers were locked out of their source code management systems and wikis before the announcements were made.
Meltemi was the internal platform successor to S40 for lower-capability feature phones, and survived CEO Stephen Elop’s first swing of the axe. We exclusively confirmed its existence last October. But the acquisition of Smarterphone in January threw Meltemi’s future into doubt. Now, both are history, Meltemi without ever being officially announced to developers.
And with only one platform, Nokia no longer needs a cross-platform development environment. So is it farewell for Qt and QML? Not at all, says Nokia. “Speculation is groundless,” a company spokesman told us
The dramatic streamlining leaves Nokia exactly the same internal software platform as it had in the late 1990s, before the great smartphone adventure began, in the shape of its home-grown NOS (Nokia OS). Nokia’s 3,000 Symbian engineers were spun out to Accenture last year, Meego has been sidelined, and now the Smarterphone and indigenous Linux project Meltemi have hit the dust too.
Nokia really has no ‘Plan B’ now.
It also means a potential Nokia buyer no longer has to cherrypick very hard. They just have to get out the chequebook.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Job cuts—It’s not just Nokia
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/from-the-edge-/4375431/Job-cuts-It-s-not-just-Nokia?cid=EDNToday_20120618
The news is out–Nokia’s cutting yet another 10,000 jobs, putting Vertu, its luxury handset unit on the block. It’s hard to remember that it was just five years ago that iPhone came crashing onto the scene, sealing the fate of Nokia, and others, in the process. When Android reared its green head, who knew that firmly entrenched Nokia would suffer to this extent.
Recently, Nokia bet the farm on its Widows-based phones, the Lumia series, unfortunately, even with some fairly cool bells, whistles, and other music, the marketplace did little more than to yawn.
Nokia has hardly been the only victim—Motorola, once a number one player, and RIM, who initially dominated the smartphone market, have both fallen dramatically.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Norwegian investment bank to believe cope with Nokia:
Nokia buy recommendation, clearly undervalued
Last week’s Thursday’s news of massive layoffs and profit warnings were for many telecommunications analysts and investors last drop from Nokia over the last couple of years, came a stream of bad news.
The mobile phone industry of the former ruler of shares plunged to their lowest level in history, and many experts are said the company’s point of being split, or else history.
The Norwegian investment bank ABG Sundal Collier, however, still relies on Nokia. The company gave on Monday, Nokia’s shares “buy” recommendation for the investment, bringing a recommendation from the previous “hold” category.
ABG Sundal Collier to the present Nokia’s share, less than a two-euro bid undervalued
“Nokia’s current share price level is significantly undervalued, and moving in the fair value of fork (2.0-3.0 million) at the lower end mass. Such a rebate stock is considerable potential for a positive correction, and we expect Nokia’s share to rise 30 per cent of the target price level. ”
On Tuesday afternoon, Nokia’s shares were traded at 1.946 euros on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
From the beginning of the year the Nokia course has already dived 48.3 per cent.
In five-year period, the value has evaporated almost 91 percent.
Source: http://www.kauppalehti.fi/5/i/porssi/omaraha/uutinen.jsp?oid=201206200465
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Windows Phone Problem In Three Words: Way Too Late.
http://parislemon.com/post/14840209963/the-windows-phone-problem-in-three-words-way-too-late
I like the model a lot more than Android’s, and I like the OS a lot. But I don’t like the OEM strategy. And I hate the timing.
Windows Phone which launched far too late into the market. Kindel never mentions it, but you simply can’t downplay that fact. Had Windows Phone launched in 2007 or even 2008, the story would have been different. Instead, it launched in late 2010.
Way too late.
Two to three years in the hole, the only way Windows Phone can win the market now is to make a product that is leaps and bounds better than what’s out there. They need something that’s an iPhone-in-2007 type product. The product they have, while good, isn’t that.
It’s not enough to be better. (And we can argue as to whether iOS or Android or Windows Phone is better.) You need to present a product so good that people have to buy it. Windows Phone isn’t close to being that. I’m sorry, but it’s just not.
You can’t overlook being two to three years late to the market. And as a result, having essentially no third-party developer support. This does matter.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Nokia 900 Snow may not get Windows Phone 8-an update.
German operator T-Mobile support forum revealed in its response that there is not coming Windows Phone 8-an update for Lumia 900. For this reason the operator does not start to sell Lumia 900 in Germany.
“When Windows Phone 8 should be in the fourth quarter, Lumia 900 can not be updated. Who wants to buy a device that does not support the latest software provided?”, The company’s representative, Maike nickname to write T-Mobile’s support column .
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/saksasta+varmistettiin+salattu+nokiatieto+lumia+ei+saa+windows+8+paivitysta/a818168?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-20062012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s Last Line of Defense
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428270/nokias-last-line-of-defense/
Analysis shows that the struggling company could make plenty of money from its mobile patents.
Nokia may have failed to develop a smartphone that challenges either Apple or Android, but the once-dominant Finnish company—which last week announced it would lay off 10,000 workers and shut two R&D facilities and a manufacturing site—has a rich store of intellectual property that may determine its future.
The power of Nokia’s patent portfolio was demonstrated in its 2009 suit against Apple, in which it claimed that the iPhone maker had violated 46 Nokia patents, including ones covering wireless standards, antennas, cameras, click wheels, and touch-screen controls. Apple agreed to settle last year for an undisclosed cash payment and ongoing royalties. Nokia gets a total of $600 million every year in revenue related its patents.
The explosive growth of the smartphone market means mobile patents are particularly valuable these days. Major players are increasingly going to court with one another over alleged infringements. And patents have proved to be gems amid the wreckage of failed companies; bankrupt Nortel’s 6,000 patents were liquidated for $4.5 billion last year to an Apple-led consortium of tech companies. Google spent $13 billion on Motorola Mobility, gaining 17,000 patents.
Over the last 20 years, Nokia has sunk more than $50 billion into R&D and made several acquisitions, producing a war chest of 30,000 patents, including 11,000 filed in the U.S. “The quality of the patents is one of the best in the industry,” says Chetan Sharma, a wireless analyst and consultant in Seattle.
Nokia’s most-cited patent—and therefore one of its most valuable—was issued in 1992 for a “method for mapping, translating, and dynamically reconciling data.” It has been cited by other patents 300 times, a sign of its importance in the field. In essence, this technology is what we use today to align our digital calendars on various devices. Nokia obtained that patent through an acquisition.
However, Butler cautions that hardware patents, one area in which Nokia is particularly strong, are decreasing in importance over time. “They don’t have as much quantity around interface and software patents, which is where a lot of the value is today,” he says.
Whether it comes through licensing, sale, or litigation, patent-related cash flow could be vital if Nokia isn’t to follow Nortel to bankruptcy court, says Alexander Poltorak, chief executive of a patent consultancy called General Patent in Suffern, New York.
None of this changes the fact that Nokia no longer dominates its industry. The focus is now on the company’s endgame. “Nokia has a ton of cash but pretty much a dismal future. Best bet is for someone strategic to buy the whole company—probably its current partner, Microsoft,” says Greg Aharonian, editor of a widely read patent newsletter. “Nokia will still die, but it least it can die serenely inside Microsoft.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows Phone 8 won’t be coming to older devices
Windows Phone 7.8 will save the day
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2185933/windows-phone-wont-coming-devices
IT’S BAD NEWS for owners of the Nokia Lumia 900 handset, as Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Phone 8 Apollo won’t be installable on older Windows Phone 7 devices.
At the Windows Phone 8 developer conference in San Francisco it was revealed, as rumours had suggested, that present Windows Phone 7.5 devices won’t get upgraded to the new operating system.
However, Microsoft has said that existing phones will get some of the features of Apollo, thanks to an update to Windows Phone 7.8.
the update will bring the Windows Phone redesigned start screen, one of the major new features of Windows Phone 8, to existing devices.
“When you pull that Lumia out of your pocket after you’ve received that 7.8 update, it will look and feel the same as a Windows Phone 8 device,” senior Windows Phone product manager Greg Sullivan told The Verge.
Microsoft has not yet announced when it will release Windows Phone 7.8.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows Phone 8 is unveiled with multi-core support, revamped interface
HD screen resolutions, microSD support and Internet Explorer 10 are also onboard
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2185927/windows-phone-unveiled-multi-core-support-revamped-interface
SOFTWARE COBBLER Microsoft has unveiled its next-generation mobile operating system, Windows Phone 8, which will make its debut this Autumn.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone chief Joe Belfiore started by announcing that the Windows Phone 8 operating system shares its core with Windows 8, which means in basic terms that the kernel, networking, multimedia and driver support will be shared between the two operating systems. According to Belfiore, this will offer consumers’ a “much greater choice in hardware, adding that we’ll see a “wider range of phones, form factors, price points and capabilities”.
Along with this major announcement, Belfiore announced eight features that will appear in Windows Phone 8 and which were demoed on a Nokia-built developer device.
First off is support for multi-core processors, and Microsoft said it is focusing mainly on dual-core devices that will be arriving on shelves later this year.
Windows Phone 8 will support two additional screen resolutions, WXGA at 1280×768 and HD 720p at 1280×720.
“All existing Windows Phone 7 apps will run great with no modification on these new resolutions. The resolution change is invisible to developers,” Belfiore said.
NFC
Internet Explorer 10 is also on board
Another not so surprising feature of Windows Phone 8 is the addition of Nokia Maps, which will replace the Bing mapping service that’s offered now.
Belfiore went on to boast that Windows Phone 8 is ready for business, arriving with encryption and secure boot, LOB App deployment, device management and familiar office apps.
Microsoft announced that Windows Phone 8 will be much more customisable than before, thanks to new resizable widgets and additional colours.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Big disappointment for users
Windows 8 threatens to stop sale of Lumia
Microsoft last night release of the information on the future of Windows Phone 8-user system is Nokia’s new wet rag in the face. The current Windows Mobile phones operating system on Lumia phones can not be upgraded to the new Windows Phone 8.
In many American estimates show that this has marked the big shock to Nokia Lumia phones American conquest.
Now Snow-users will be just update to Windows Mobile 7.8 version.
Source: 3T magazine web site
http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/windows_8_uhkaa_lopettaa_lumia_myynnin
Tomi says:
Jumping Off The Burning Platform: Nokia Knew It Was Stuck On WP7 When It Signed On
http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/21/jumping-off-the-burning-platform-nokia-knew-it-was-stuck-on-wp7-when-it-signed-on/
Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop has had a hard time getting his company to jump off the ‘burning platform’ onto the Windows Phone ship, and in their haste to do something quick they made a crucial compromise.
The first Nokia handsets running Windows Phone would remain stuck on version 7 with no upgrade path to WP8, a fact, according to our sources, that the Finnish handset maker was made aware of when it signed on last year.
And in doing so, the company left itself exposed to the ‘Osborne-effect’ but this time at Redmond’s making.
The news that Nokia’s current range of Lumia smartphones won’t get the full Windows Phone 8 upgrade when it’s made available sometime this fall, was bound to upset existing customers.
And it has.
Upsetting existing customers is something that Nokia can ill afford to do, deterring future ones is catastrophic. Especially when, by some estimates, at Nokia’s current burn rate it has less than two years of cash left in the bank and even the latest round of layoffs won’t slow that.
Having previously made Nokia’s current product line obsolete by announcing its successor prematurely — the company’s original switch from Symbian to Windows Phone — this time around Elop’s let Microsoft on stage to do it for him.
With the first Nokia Lumia to run Windows Phone 8 unlikely to ship before December (or probably later), there’s now very little reason why anybody would buy one. Or at least, that’s the story that will circulate.
“They truly have burned the ships as well as the platform”
“project cancellations and latest management departures means there is no Plan B”
while the platform may no longer be burning, Nokia’s bank balance is and the Elop-effect continues.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Announcing Windows Phone 8
http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/archive/2012/06/20/announcing-windows-phone-8.aspx
Now it’s time to start telling you about the next exciting chapter of our story: Windows Phone 8. Officially announced this morning in San Francisco, it’s the most advanced mobile OS Microsoft has ever made and will arrive on new phones later this year.
Many of Windows Phone 8’s new capabilities come from a surprising source: Windows
Developers, developers, developers
Since we’re talking about apps, I want to tell developers a little bit about what they can expect in Windows Phone 8. Some of the exciting changes on the way include:
Native code support: Windows Phone 8 has full C and C++ support, making it easier to write apps for multiple platforms more quickly. It also means Windows Phone 8 supports popular gaming middleware such as Havok Vision Engine, Autodesk Scaleform, Audiokinetic Wwise, and Firelight FMOD, as well as native DirectX-based game development.
In-app purchase: In Windows Phone 8 we make it possible for app makers to sell virtual and digital goods within their apps.
Integrated Internet calling: In Windows Phone 8, developers can create VoIP apps that plug into our existing calling feature so Internet calls can be answered like traditional phone calls, using the same calling interface.
Multitasking enhancements. Windows Phone 8 now allows location-based apps like exercise trackers or navigation aids to run in the background, so they keep working even when you’re doing other things on your phone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Meltemi survivors suggest axed OS was nearly ready
http://www.slashgear.com/nokia-meltemi-survivors-suggest-axed-os-was-nearly-ready-21235076/
A new LinkedIn group founded by a small club of former Nokia Meltemi developers has suggested the platform was “coming together” and “had made it over the big hurdles” when CEO Stephen Elop axed it. The “MPD Alumni” group – previously known more blatantly as the Meltemi Product Developer Alumni – currently has just over 300 members, though there’s no indication of how many actually worked on the Meltemi project itself. Tipped to be Nokia’s intended replacement to S40 on entry-level devices, Meltemi is believed to be among the casualties in the Finns’ latest round of budget cuts.
Unsurprisingly there’s some frustration among the developers at how Nokia handled the project overall.
Tomi Engdahl says:
An experienced financial journalist Ian King from London-based newspaper The Times estimates Nokia -commentary on the market.
Nokia’s 8-Windows phone that comes on December shows the success of Stephen Elop leadership:
“Not a long time at all, until resolved, Elop is the best ever or the worst CEO”.
CEO Stephen Elop gambles by placing all the bets of Nokia’s future on Microsoft operating system in smartphones.
King commentary bet that Nokia is soon coming to the third profit warning.
The company’s loss for the spiral is due to the collapse in sales of handsets.
Canadian Elop has already received a call less flattering name in Salo: E-flop.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/brittilehti+elop+saattaa+olla+historian+huonoin+toimitusjohtaja/a818459?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-25062012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia stock market plunges, “tough times ahead”
Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia’s share has been falling sharply today, Monday, on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Around 15 o’clock in the afternoon the shares had fallen 7.0 percent to EUR 1.80.
- Now the market speculating on how Nokia is about the next four months, when both Symbian and Lumia products are out of date on operating system. Nokia has faced difficult times in the short term
Digital Times website reported today that Microsoft’s new system using the phone’s announcement is being postponed for the last quarter.
- This is another thing that is likely to affect Nokia’s decline.
- Samsung’s news may not be a major factor in Nokia’s falling, but Samsung has generally been able to enjoy most in Nokia’s position is being weakened. It will win market share from Nokia constantly
Source: http://www.itviikko.fi/talous/2012/06/25/nokia-syoksyy-porssissa-edessa-vaikeat-ajat/201232155/7?rss=8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft to push Windows Phone 8 smartphone launch to 4Q12
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120621PD222.html?mod=3&q=MICROSOFT
Microsoft will push the launch of Windows Phone 8-based smartphones to the fourth quarter of 2012 with Nokia, HTC, Samsung Electronics and Huawei Device being in the first wave of smartphone vendors to join the Windows Phone 8 club, according to industry sources.
Combined market share of Windows Phone- and Windows Mobile-based models in the global smartphone market currently stands at below 2%, which was lower than the ratio recorded in 2011
A recent decline in growth momentum of Nokia’s Lumia lineup has also deepened the concerns of other branded vendors about jumping into the Windows Phone 8 camp, the sources added.
Although Windows Phone 8 has the advantages of sharing core architecture with Windows 8 and Windows RT, some smartphone vendors are also waiting for Microsoft to reveal more details concerning royalty payments for the new platform and its preferential treatment offered to Nokia which may result in unfair competition, said the sources.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft: We Won’t Build Own Windows Phones
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/240002635
Microsoft exec categorically denies reports that the company plans to bring its Surface tablet strategy to the smartphone market.
Asked in an interview if Microsoft planned to apply that strategy to the smartphone market, Greg Sullivan, senior marketing manager for Windows Phone, said, “No, we do not.”
Microsoft has revealed that hardware makers building Windows Phone 8 devices include HTC, Nokia, Samsung, and Huawei. “We have a strong ecosystem of partners that we are very satisfied with,” Sullivan said Friday.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It seems virtually certain that the Nokia Lumia 900 can not be upgrades to Windows 8 operating system.
However Lumia 900 gets Windows Phone 7.8 upgrade that should give Windows 8 like user experience, such as the opening screen.
Microsoft has shown Windows 7.8 updated Lumia 900 on Windows Mobile Developer Days.
Microsoft does not allow Windows Phone 7 – or 7.5 devices to upgrade to Windows 8, because their technique does not match the new operating system assumptions. The benefits of the new Windows on the old hardware or the device does not work quickly enough with new operating system version.
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset
/lumia+900+saa+sittenkin+kayttojarjestelmapaivityksen++windows+8sta+ei+tarvitse+silti+haaveilla/a818883?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-26062012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia acquired the shares for 19 billion – the maximum error of estimate in Finnish industrial history
Nokia acquired its own shares from the market during the years 2003-2008 a total of 18 683 365 593 euros. Money was 1 173 336 200 shares, so an average price of the shares of EUR 15.92.
Nokia’s purchase of own shares in these views are not only largest investment error in Finnish industrial history but also the worst miscalculation.
Share price of EUR 1.72 Nokia’s market capitalization is 6.4 billion.
For the money, which used a Nokia a few years to purchase its own shares, should at the current exchange rate buy almost three Nokia.
Source:
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/nokia+osti+osakkeitaan+19+miljardilla++suomen+teollisuushistorian+suurin+virhearvio/a819003?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-26062012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
iPhone 4S, Lumia 900, Droid Razr Maxx: Three Great Smartphones You Should Not Buy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/iphone-4s-lumia-900-droid-razr-maxx_n_1623838.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
The Nokia Lumia 900 (And Every Other Windows Phone)
Last week, Microsoft unveiled key details of Windows Phone 8, expected to come out this fall. One of the most exciting features is a new “shared core” between Windows Phone and desktop Windows, which will make it super easy for developers to write apps for Windows 8 (for the desktop) and easily transfer them over to the Windows Phone app marketplace.
That’s huge news for Windows Phone, which has a teensy selection of apps compared to the buffet of options on Android and iPhone. Developers were slow to write apps for Windows Phone 7, which claims a paltry 2 percent of the market. They probably won’t be as slow to write for Windows 8, the next installment of Microsoft’s desktop OS with somewhere around 90 percent worldwide penetration.
If porting those apps from Windows 8 to Windows Phone 8 is as easy as Microsoft says it is, that means there will be way more options for Windows Phone owners.
EXCEPT: The Nokia Lumia 900, and every other Windows Phone, will not be upgraded to Windows Phone 8. And apps written for Windows Phone 8 will not be able to run on older Windows Phone devices (like, say, the Lumia 900)
In addition to the greater app selection, if you wait until autumn to buy a Windows Phone 8 device, you’ll probably get a faster handset with a better display, as WP8 comes with support for multi-core processors and higher screen resolutions, as well as NFC and microSD storage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Windows Phone 8 no-upgrade non-controversy
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/other/4376092/The-Windows-Phone-8-no-upgrade-non-controversy?cid=EDNToday
Wednesday morning Microsoft followed up by announcing its next-generation Windows Phone 8 operating system, formerly known by the “Apollo” code name. Windows Phone 8 migrates the O/S core from Windows CE to Windows NT, now that the latter is available in both x86 and ARM variants
Windows Phone 8 also brings a number of welcome feature set additions to the platform:
-Multi-core CPU support
-Cognizance of higher-resolution and altered-aspect-radio displays
-Removable microSD storage support
-NFC “digital wallet” support, and
-An updated Start screen with more robust “tile” interface flexibility
Yet the only thing that a notable percentage of the technology “press” sources I perused seemed to be able to fixate on was the fact that current-generation Windows Phone 7.x-based handsets won’t be upgradeable to Windows Phone 8.
All controversial. That’s the unfortunate point, after all; more controversy equals more eyeballs on the website equals more ad revenue. But all unnecessarily inflammatory and grossly over-simplistic.
Look again at the new-and-improved Windows Phone 8 features in my earlier list. All but one of them require new hardware not in today’s Windows Phone handset designs; multi-core CPUs, upgraded displays, user-accessible microSD ports, and NFC transceivers.
And the one remaining notable upgrade, an improved Start screen, is en route to Windows Phone 7.x gear, via the upcoming v7.8 update.
Windows Phone 7.x applications are developed using one (or both) of two different frameworks; Silverlight and XNA. These same frameworks, by the way, enable the application to also run on the Xbox 360 and Windows 7, along with upcoming Windows 8 in both its ARM and x86 variants.
Windows Phone 8 will also support both the Silverlight and XNA frameworks, in spite of the fact that the underlying O/S plumbing is completely different. What this all means is that as long as application developers continue to use either or both of these frameworks, a highly likely scenario for both platform-diversity and backwards-compatibility reasons, existing Windows Phone 7.x handset owners will experience absolutely no obsolescence issues.
Translation: the lack of a Windows Phone 8 upgrade path for existing handsets is largely a non-issue.
Admittedly a C++ based native code option exists in the Windows Phone 8 toolset, which would consequently generate non-backwards-compatible software. But I anticipate it only being used in performance-critical applications such as high-end games, analogous to Android’s NDK.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Lumia 900 drops to a penny on Amazon
http://www.intomobile.com/2012/06/26/nokia-lumia-900-drops-penny-amazon/
While it was recently announced that existing hardware running Windows Phone won’t receive the next big update, some may still be tempted to grab a handset running the OS. If that is the case, we’d highly suggest the Nokia Lumia 900 over anything else, and today Amazon is offering up the phone in White, Cyan, and Black for a penny.
normal on-contract price is only $99
Tomi Engdahl says:
Summary: Nokia’s collapse was entirely self-inflicted, mainly in the vision, strategy and management, based on disqualified. When the 2004 telephone equipment manufacturing became a media, communications and Internet services and content, comprehensive management, Nokia started pretending culture
They pretended to be leaders in mobile communication during a large wave, during which Apple and Google were preparing products such as iPad, iPhone, iTunes, AppStore , and related media contacts, Earth, Street View, Gmail, Docs, Maps, Scolar, Translate, AdWords, and Android .
nutshell: Nokia is simply could not do a single point, which would have saved the company. Proof of this theorem are the steep share price development and the collapse of the business
Stupid money, the passive owners are the most important factor in its approval of the company’s destruction.
Source: http://kritiikkiblogi.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/nokian-sisainen-ja-ulkoinen-turmatutkinta/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elop: We failed
Mobile phone company Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop grant Aamulehti that the company reacted too slowly to changes in the field.
Source: http://www.kauppalehti.fi/5/i/etusivu/index.jsp?type=normal
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oulu, on Tuesday visited Nokia ‘s CEO Stephen Elop says Kaleva interview with the company’s continued commitment to Oulu.
Nokia’s basic phones in the development of Oulu is intended to remain in a central location. Number of employees is reduced, however
Nokia is expected to decrease up to 500-600 employees from Oulu. Now, Nokia has a staff of Oulu is about 1200.
Nokia ‘s CEO Stephen Elop insisted Aamulehti interview that Tampere is a major research and development unit in particular Lumia phones.
At the same time, he vowed not to ever move the head office outside of Finland.
“Every major company has the identity and soul. Our soul is here,” Elop explained the issue of head office.
Windows Phone 8, and the next generations of phones to enter the markets to be an important moment for the company.
Sources:
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/elop+aamulehden+haastattelussa+quotnokian+sielu+on+suomessaquot/a819574?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-28062012&
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/elop+oulu+on+jatkossakin+oleellisen+tarkea+tuotekehityspaikka/a819453?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-28062012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia announced two weeks ago gigantic layoffs, and at the same time was the end of the new operating system, development of the Meltemi . Have received a number of sacked German developers decided to put up a new community, kyvyt.com
The group worked on Meltemi
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/nokian+meltemikehittajat+saivat+potkut+ndash+yhteinen+nettiprojekti+toiden+saamiseksi/a819585?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-28062012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
For mobile phones manufacturer Nokia’s Chairman Mr. Siilasmaa , the company’s managing director Stephen Elopilla have full confidence in the government.
“It is absolutely impossible to measure the CEO’s success in the short term financial results, because the difficulties of Nokia’s smart phones started as early as 2008. Despite this, financial performance, profitability and competitiveness are the only factors, which the CEO is required in the long run,”
Stephen Elop started as Nokia CEO in September 2010.
“Stephen Elop worked extremely well because he has taken a large number of people to make decisions. He encourages people to give critical feedback, since it enables us to make better products.”
“Stephen Elopin and the other has enabled us to work with a new operating system for phones to market faster than ever before.”
But the fact is that during the Elopin CEO of Nokia share price has deteriorated more than 70 per cent and this year the company is operating at a loss.
Source: http://www.hs.fi/talous/Siilasmaa+Elopilla+on+Nokian+hallituksen+t%C3%A4ysi+luottamus/a1305578379595
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft reveals list of countries getting Windows Phone 8
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57463415-94/microsoft-reveals-list-of-countries-getting-windows-phone-8/
The list is a dramatic increase over the 38 markets from which developers had access in the marketplace’s previous version.
In a company blog post today, the software giant released the list of every country that will have access to Windows Phone 8 Marketplace and the App Hub app submission portal when devices featuring the forthcoming mobile operating system arrive. The total of 180 is a huge increase over the 38 markets from which developers had access in the marketplace’s previous version.
First look at the Windows Phone 8 Marketplace
http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Just Shafted Its Most Important Smartphone Partner, Nokia
http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-just-shafted-its-most-important-smartphone-partner-nokia-2012-6
Nokia has gone from the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer to a company on the edge of disaster.
This Wednesday, Microsoft made Nokia’s problems much worse.
Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 8, the next version of its mobile platform. As part of the announcement, Microsoft admitted that no current Windows Phones will be upgradeable to the new platform.
Microsoft had to announce the break eventually — developers need time to create apps for the new platform, and rumors of a platform break had been circulating since February anyway.
But in doing so, Microsoft just killed the market for Windows Phones for the next three to six months. No customer will buy one today knowing that it will be outdated and not upgradeable in months.
So Nokia’s smartphone sales, already small, will probably grind to a halt until Windows Phone 8 is out.
In all likelihood, Nokia smartphone sales in Q3 will approach zero. The only question is if Nokia’s other products will generate enough cash to keep the company afloat.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Siilasmaa to YLE: painful decisions, as long as necessary
Siilasmaa had an interview with Windows phone strategy a successful choice.
- All of the analyzes, we have made, show that we succeed, Siilasmaa said.
- Windows Mobile 8 will be a very important opportunity for us. As a result, the smartphone market will definitely be an event of positive developments
- Painful decisions are made as long as it is needed.
In his view, Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elopia can not blame the company’s share price decline.
- A key problem in the smartphone market has been the collapse of Symbian’s market share. Two thirds of the decline had already taken place when the new President was elected.
Source: http://www.itviikko.fi/uutiset/2012/06/29/siilasmaa-ylelle-tuskallisia-paatoksia-niin-kauan-kuin-tarpeen/201232518/7?rss=8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows Phone Summit Videos
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Windows-Phone/Summit
hares highlights of next mobile operating system, coming later in 2012.
Tomi says:
Ex-Nokia staff to build MeeGo-based smartphones
http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/7/3143099/jolla-meego-startup-ex-nokia-employees
A group of ex-Nokia staff and MeeGo enthusiasts has formed Jolla (Finnish for “dinghy”), a mobile startup with the aim of bringing new MeeGo devices to the market. According to its LinkedIn page, Jolla consists of “directors and core professionals from Nokia’s MeeGo N9 organization, together with some of the best minds working on MeeGo in the communities.”
Together with international investors and partners, Jolla Ltd. will design, develop and sell new MeeGo based smartphones. ‘
Tomi says:
Nokia’s Shares Slump To 17-Year Low
http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2012/07/10/nokia-shares-hit-17-year-low/
Nokia’s stock continued its southbound journey on Tuesday, as investors’ interest in the former giant turned increasingly faint. The Finnish company’s shares hit another 17-year low and its market capitalization fell to €5.46 billion ($6.72 billion), a 98% decline from its peak days during the IT-boom in the year 2000.
But maybe the most telling comparison is that between Nokia’s market cap and the estimated value of the company’s own assets. Analysts do put a great deal of value into the various parts of Nokia’s business. The large patent portfolio is estimated to be valued at some €5 billion, in line with Nokia’s current market cap. Moreover, the company had almost €5 billion in net cash by the end of the first quarter, albeit recent restructuring announcements means that the company is burning cash at an ever faster rate.
However, the sum-of-the-parts valuation for Nokia is misleading, said Richard Windsor, an analyst at Nomura.
Odon de Laporte, who covers Nokia for Cheuvreux, said investors seem to have “lost trust” in Nokia, adding that the company’s third-quarter results are set to be disastrous, given that consumers will refrain from buying Nokia smartphones until the company is in a position to offer devices running the latest Windows software.
Tomi says:
In June, Nokia announced its withdrawal from 10 000 employees around the world. Reuters estimates that Nokia’s layoffs during Elop’s leadership period will reach 40 000 employees.
Source: http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/2012071215838980_uu.shtml
Tomi says:
Nokia managed to double its Windows-based smartphone sales in April-June to four million units.
Lumia phones are projected to have on July-September approximately 5.1 million unit sales, altough Nokia is preparing for the transition to WP8 temporarily weaken the Lumia sales growth.
Nokia Lumia Phones running Windows Phone OS can pass the sales of Nokia Symbian phones quite soon…
In the second quarter, Nokia sold only about six million Symbian phones, 38 percent less than the beginning of the year. “Symbian can fall into the next quarter, even faster pace,” says the Nordea bank’s technology analyst Sami Sarkamies.
The Lumia phone growth rate is impressive, but the quantity is very small competitors, Apple and Samsung’s tens of millions of sales forecasts in parallel.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/uutiset/lumiat_ohittamassa_pian_symbian_puhelimet
Tomi says:
Nokia made a loss in April-June was EUR 327 million (excluding non-recurring items), compared to last year at the same time still had € 391 million profit. Net sales were down by almost a fifth compared to last year.
With Non-recurring items with a loss of more than 800 million. This includes, inter alia, the costs to the Nokia cuts.
Lumia smartphone sales grew more than expected, but the older Symbian models of ballast result in losses.
Overall, Nokia sold between April and June, some 84 million mobile phones, about five percent less than a year earlier.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/uutiset/nokia_teki_entista_enemman_tappiota
Tomi says:
Nokia says that the production is finished in Salo factory, and the plant’s operations are shut down during the autumn of 2012.
Salo plant closure, Nokia announced in June its intention to reduce up to 10 000 employees worldwide by the end of next year. Finland reduction of about 3 700 jobs, including the Salo plant, and its support functions.
Some organizations in Finland, Nokia is still under negotiation, or only just beginning. Reductions will be implemented in phases the end of 2013, and the timetable will vary by organization
Source:
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/nokian+ytneuvottelut+paatokseen++780+lahtee/a824810?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-29072012&
Tomi says:
Samsung’s Q2 smartphone shipments nearly twice those of Apple, say research firms
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9229712/Samsung_39_s_Q2_smartphone_shipments_nearly_twice_those_of_Apple_say_research_firms
The smartphone market grew 32 percent year-over-year in the quarter to reach 146 million units, said Strategy Analytics
Samsung and Apple together captured over half the global market
The growth of Samsung and Apple has come partly at the expense of Nokia which trailed behind with shipments of 10.2 million smartphones, for a market share of 7.0 percent.
Nokia’s feature phone volumes showed single-digit annual growth, helped by its expanding portfolio of dual-SIM and Asha models for emerging markets, but its global handset shipments continued to decline, though at a lesser rate of 5 percent year-on-year.
Tomi says:
Windows Phone 8: a video preview of unannounced features
http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/27/3193023/windows-phone-8-backup-xbox-music-data-sense-screenshots-video
The new Start Screen is present, and the option to change tile sizes appears to work well for customization. Microsoft revealed greater color customizations for Windows Phone 8 at its Summit in June
Outside of the customization and Start Screen, there’s two new features that Microsoft hasn’t detailed fully yet. First up is Data Sense, a built-in app that allows you to monitor data usage on Windows Phone 8.
The second new feature that’s a big deal for Windows Phone users is backup. Microsoft has built much greater backup options into Windows Phone 8, offering users the ability to store SMS data in the cloud alongside app lists and settings. The existing auto-upload to SkyDrive feature for pictures is still present, but there’s greater control over video and picture backups now too.
The built-in Maps app is now powered by Nokia and you can download maps to use offline. Internet Explorer now includes settings to allow you to change the functionality of the address bar button
The Photo hub now lets you select multiple pictures for sharing or deletion, and there’s also an edit option to crop, rotate, or fix pictures.
it’s clear that Microsoft has a number of improvements planned that the company hasn’t officially announced
Tomi says:
Windows Phone 8: a video preview of unannounced features
http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/27/3193023/windows-phone-8-backup-xbox-music-data-sense-screenshots-video
Tomi says:
Apple’s patent infringement is believed to have been one of the ways the iPhone mobile phone to success.
The war is not the same man needs, but one of the company can already do a lot. News agency Bloomberg figures show that Apple has included more than 60 percent of all mobile phone industry patent disputes. Bank of Finland’s research advisor, Tuomas Takalo that it has been the success of Apple’s iPhone one way to go.
- Apple has willfully violated such as Nokia’s patents, and paid them a half a billion for compensation and then made the discoveries more interesting than the Nokia
- Apple has been a champion of absorbing influences from others and branding them attractive to consumers
Takalo’s calculations, the value of Nokia’s composed almost entirely of the company’s patent portfolio and intellectual property rights.
- It may well been that Nokia and it’s competitors have thought that for Apple is not possible to enter the market due patents. It was thought that the patent portfolio to protect, and this might have caused a certain arrogance, Takalo believes.
Source: http://yle.fi/uutiset/patenttirikkomukset_iphonen_menestyksen_taustalla/6233754?origin=rss
Tomi says:
Should Developers Support Windows Phone 8?
http://developers.slashdot.org/story/12/08/01/0321221/should-developers-support-windows-phone-8
Should you develop apps for Windows 8? Well, the hype and flogging are apparently in full swing.
‘To be clear, Windows Phone 8 is not a slam dunk. Some, such as IDC, believe Windows Phone will eclipse iOS by 2016. Others, though, believe the trajectories of Android and iOS can’t be slowed in the next few years.’
‘bet on Windows Phone 8 is justifiable’
full Windows Phone 8 SDK was leaked online recently, which led to some interesting discoveries:
API is very much like the full WinRT API, but it has no JavaScript support.
The best you can hope for is using the JavaScript support in IE10.
There isn’t even support for JavaScript to access the phone’s services.
There is also no support for creating and working with Silverlight/XNA style. (no migration of Silverlight apps to HTML5 and JavaScript)
Tomi says:
Single digit market share for many years should be expected with WP8 while Android and iOS split the market and continue to grow.
Just like WP6.5 and WP7, it won’t matter how many hundreds of millions or even billions in marketing Microsoft spends, without the ability to eliminate Android from the market WP8 gets no love outside of Redmond WA. IMO
Source: Comment at http://developers.slashdot.org/story/12/08/01/0321221/should-developers-support-windows-phone-8
Tomi says:
Mobile phone company will consult the staff cuts still a few places.
This year, almost every other Finnish Nokia worker looses their job.
The company announced in June to reduce its 3 700 employees in Finland. Together with this year’s previous reductions it means that by the autumn, Nokia has dropped the domestic level of employment in Finland over five thousand.
In the last turn of the year a little more than ten thousand.
Source: http://yle.fi/uutiset/nokia_vahentaa_vakensa_puoleen_tana_vuonna/6245120
Tomi says:
Nokia’s annual Nokia World held this year in a more reduced form. Media representatives are unable to take part in happening at all.
Experts have identified a new Windows on Nokia extremely important. “Windows 8′s getting mobile devices to decide how Nokia’s visit. Current devices are not sufficient to reverse the negative trends,” commented Economy Research Institute (ETL), Research Director Pekka Ylä-Anttila.
Source: http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/blogit/tero_lehto/nokia_world_suljettiin_toimittajilta
Tomi says:
Rumors of Qt’s sales began last week.
Nokia sells its entire development environment for Qt to Digia.
Digia will be responsible for all of Qt technology-related activities.
In the deal Nokia will transfer 125 employees, who are mainly working in Oslo and Berlin, to Digia.
Digia plans to extend Qt’s support for the Android, iPhone, and Windows for 8.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/nokia+myy+koko+qtn+digialle/a827540?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-09082012&
Tomi says:
Digia to acquire Qt business from Nokia, port it to Android and iOS
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/08/digia-to-acquire-qt-business-from-nokia-port-it-to-android-and-ios/
Finnish software company Digia announced today that it is acquiring the Qt software business from Nokia. Digia plans to pick up where Nokia left off, continuing Qt development but renewing the toolkit’s focus on cross-platform support. The financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Up to 125 Qt personnel at Nokia will join Digia to continue Qt development.
Qt is an open source software development toolkit that was originally created by Norwegian software company Trolltech. Nokia acquired Trolltech in 2008 and subsequently transitioned Qt to an open governance model and a more permissive licensing scheme. Nokia had originally intended to use Qt to provide a unified development framework that would work across Symbian and MeeGo.
The deal is likely going to be good news for the many application developers who rely on Qt. It will put an end to uncertainty about the toolkit’s future, ensuring that development will continue in the hands of a company with a platform-neutral agenda.
Upcoming Qt 5 release, which is expected to land soon, will go through as planned.
Qt is increasingly important in the mobile space–where it is used by HP and RIM–but it’s also important on the desktop, where it is used by Adobe, Amazon, Google, Skype, and many others.
Tomi says:
Nokia decided to give Qt, the company had ceased their first Symbian, and more recently Linux-based Meegon and Meltem development. Currently, Qt is not compatible with Nokia’s chosen Windows Phone.
Digia will take Qt more desktop operating systems and embedded environments, but also promises to extend support for mobile operating systems. Digia mentions the press release, specifically, that the support is coming to Android, iPhone’s and Windows 8 an.
Technical barrier for Qt WP8 support for the construction is no very large. Prior to the decision support Digia would like to see now WP8 market starts to develop.
“A sustained an expense in the Windows Phone 8 support sales, support and maintenance.”
Nokia would have been able to keep Qt itself and to build support for WP8. Nokia did not consider it necessary – or possible. Perhaps the company’s executives did not want to give the signal, which could be interpreted as distrust of Microsoft development tools.
Now it seems that Qt’s support for the Digia, if Windows Mobile 8 will succeed.
Source:
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/qtn+myynti+ei+ollut+yllatys/a827780?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-09082012&
Tomi says:
Digia announced today the purchase price of Nokia Qt business: about 4.0 million, paid by Digia to Nokia in cash.
The arrangement is to take place in the third quarter of 2012. After that
Digia is responsible for all of Qt technology-related activities.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/digia+maksaa+nokialle+qtsta+4+miljoonaa+euroa/a827995?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-10082012&
Tomi says:
Windows Phone overtakes Symbian in Finland
http://wmpoweruser.com/windows-phone-overtakes-symbian-in-finland/
It has been expected for some time, given the trajectory of both Symbian and Windows Phone in Finland, but Statcounter has now finally made it official.
Boyed by a strong July, the browser usage share of Windows Phone now finally exceeds Symbian in the country, with Windows Phone hitting 13.7%, while Symbian sits on 12.35%.
All this share is of course due to Nokia’s Lumia range.
This show that Windows Phone can be a competitive mass market product with significant market share.
Tomi says:
Is This A Nokia Windows Phone 8 Prototype?
http://wmpoweruser.com/is-this-a-nokia-windows-phone-8-prototype/
Nokia reached out to us confirming that this is their developer prototype device used for internal purposes.