Nokia to retire Symbian in North America, going all-in on Windows Phone
We know that Symbian isn’t dying any time soon, but here in the US of A the little OS that couldn’t quite captivate our picky buyers will soon be mighty hard to find. Speaking with All Things D, Chris Weber, President of Nokia’s US operations, said “When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc.” That means no more full-price or business-focused devices in the US, and no more Symbian love. This is at least in part thanks to the failure of the Astound to find a solid foothold, but Nokia’s upcoming Windows Phone offerings (like the Sea Ray) will at least follow in its footsteps, being sold with proper carrier subsidies and riding the wave of a giant advertising blitz. Will it work? According to Weber, it has to: “The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn’t matter what we do.”
via Nokia to retire Symbian in North America, going all-in on Windows Phone — Engadget.
Apple now the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, Samsung checks in at number two
We make our own truth. That’s how IDC can come up with roughly the same numbers as fellow research firm Canalys and crown Apple the king, when its rival called Android top dog — it’s all about how you slice it. See, where as Canalys bundled all Android handset makers together, IDC has broken them up, which leads to a rather interesting twist — the largest smartphone maker in the world is now Apple. Cupertino’s growth of 141.7-percent in shipments year over year was enough to push it past Nokia (which slipped to number three) and Samsung (which climbed two spots to take the silver medal), while RIM and HTC rounded out the top five. That being said, no one is running away with the lead here, and Sammy’s continued stratospheric rise should keep Apple on guard. Check out the full report after the break.
via Apple now the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, Samsung checks in at number two — Engadget.
Windows Phone ‘Mango’ will be used on first Nokia WP devices
Nokia has noted Microsoft’s announcement of the new Windows Phone 7 (aka Mango) with word that the software being demonstrated today will be the one we’ll see on the first Nokia with Windows Phone device. It also slightly contracts the roadmap for the first handset born from the Microkia partnership, though Nokia’s statement makes sure not to make any promises about when said device will show up. Finally, we find the “Nokia with Windows Phone” phrasing somewhat peculiar, don’t be surprised if you see it turn into a branding strategy for Nokia’s smartphones going forward. Here’s the relevant statement, straight out of Finland:
“Today Microsoft has announced the key new ingredients of the latest ‘Mango’ release of the Windows Phone operating system. This is the software that will be used on the first Nokia with Windows Phone device, and so should be of keen interest to Nokia-watchers everywhere.”
Update: Microsoft just concluded its keynote with word that it already has Nokia phones running Mango in its labs. And none have leaked out yet, amazing!
Update 2: We were just contacted by a Nokia representative indicating that there was a mistake in the original announcement the company distributed. It wasn’t supposed to read device, it was supposed to be devices. More than one!
via Windows Phone ‘Mango’ will be used on first Nokia WP devices (updated: multiple!) — Engadget.
Nokia C6-01 starts shipping, hitting retail any minute now
One of the Symbian^3 devices introduced at Nokia World not long ago, the midrange C6-01 is now shipping around the world in quite literal terms: “the boxes have been filled, the vans loaded and the factory gates opened,” to use Nokia’s verbiage. Interestingly, we left Nokia World with the impression that this was the sleeper of the range — a less-expensive model with a great display and extremely solid (read: metal) construction that should make this a good choice for the Symbian faithful looking for an upgrade option that saves a few dollars (or euros, as the case may be). No word on specific availability by country, but we’d imagine you could start pestering your local retailer right about now.
MeeGo v1.1 for handsets is out, let the N900 dual-booting begin
Following hot on the heels of the PR 1.3 update for the N900 comes the official MeeGo v1.1 build for handsets with U-Boot support. For developers, or anyone who simply likes to hack around, that means that the Nokia N900 is now ready to dual-boot into your choice of Maemo or MeeGo environments. If that sounds like fun then boy do we have the image repository for you (Hint: it’s in the source link below). We’ll let everyone else know when the community has made the process idiot-proof. Until then, why not play an unmodified webOS game or catch a glimpse of the dual-boot process in action in the video after the break.
Stephen Elop: Nokia's first MeeGo device 'will be a 2011 event'
No more wondering or speculation, Nokia’s CEO just announced on the Q3 earnings call that its first MeeGo device won’t be coming this year. In no uncertain terms, Stephen Elop said that Nokia’s, “First MeeGo device will be a 2011 event.” A device rumored to be the N9, pictured above. In general communications about new Nokia products will be made far closer to product availability. Elop added that his first impression of Nokia’s MeeGo work “inspires both confidence and excitement.” Let’s hope so, in Q1 2011 Nokia’s MeeGo smartphone OS will be battling resurgent webOS and Windows Phone 7 devices in addition to the Android, iOS, and BlackBerry incumbents at the high-end of the market.
Nokia C5-03 with Symbian^1 Review
Nokia today launches the latest C5 device, an inexpensive touchscreen smartphone with a couple of neat features that may well pique your interest if you want a new device that’s simple to use but covers all of the essentials for modern-day phones. What’s new with the C5-03? Find out more and feast your eyes on the pictures after the break.
The device has a 3.2-inch touch display and now features Wi-Fi, for fast internet access without the need or expense of a data plan. It also features a compass and assisted GPS for use with the latest version of the free Ovi Maps hands-free navigation service, now featuring public transport support and location sharing through social networks. Like many recent Nokias, you can put your most important contacts directly onto the homescreen so you can call, message or chat them up in just two taps. The C5 has a 5-megapixel camera with 4X digital zoom, but no flash. Read more 
Nokia N900 PR 1.3 Update Coming Soon With Dual Boot to Meego
Don’t forget about the Nokia N900! Word on the net (the Meego blog to be specific) is that PR 1.3 update is coming soon and that you’ll be able to dual boot between Maemo and Meego. The last update, PR 1.2 was released last May.
Here’s a quote from the official Meego blog:
On the Maemo side, there have been interesting, supporting developments going on, as well. The PR 1.3 update is quite close now, and with that you can easily dual boot between Maemo and Meego on your N900. There is also a possibility of developing applications supporting both operating systems, based on Qt and Qt Mobility APIs on the Maemo side. It means that you can develop once in PC with Qt Creator, and test your applications on both Maemo and MeeGo, directly on your N900 device!
This is exciting news since a lot of Nokia fans are looking forward to the new Meego OS. We also love getting firmware updates on our devices, so Maemo fans are going to be happy. Dual booting different OS sounds great too. That means we can change the user experience if we don’t like one of them. We’ll keep our eyes open for updates on this development.
Hack improves Nokia N8's image and video quality (video)
Clearly a lot of folks out there are pretty passionate about the quality of their cameraphone pics. So too is cellphone modder hyperX, who is developing some custom tweaks to improve the quality of the stills and vids coming out of Nokia’s latest darling. First is a hack to enable 720p30 video, a slight improvement over the 720p25 default. That’s demonstrated after the break, along with a continuous autofocus mod. More notable, however, is a tweak to enable nearly uncompressed images. Stock JPEGs coming from the camera clock in around 2MB, but the example image he’s provided (on the other end of that source link) is a rather heftier 11MB — truly a hack that won’t do your memory card any favors, but it’ll sure make those pixels shine. Sadly without back-to-back before and after images we can’t say for sure what kind of tangible improvement this makes, but we hear if you ask nicely he’ll let you try it out for yourself. Read more
Nokia N8 Review
Nokia’s time in the doldrums has been well-documented, but with a revised UI and a boatload of top-end tech, it’s hoping the new N8 will catapult it back to the sharp end of the smartphone game.
With the N8, Nokia has seemingly thrown all the tech it can think of at the new handset in a bid to rival the likes of Android and the iPhone – a 12MP camera with ‘proper’ Xenon flash, XVID and DIVX support, HD video capture, Dolby Mobile sound and an HDMI-out port are just the tip of the iceberg. Read more
