Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 sales may be lagging, but the company is making sure it continues to develop the app ecosystem, which can help boost sales. Apps are now supported in more countries and developers have new Marketplace tools in preparation for the next software update. Read more »
Microsoft could be rolling out a new subscription video service later this year, pitting it against services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, as Microsoft seeks to grab more revenues from Xbox subscribers. But it will need to be available on other devices, too. Read more »
Google said Android is a $1 billion business. Microsoft, with its barrage of patent licensing agreements with Android manufacturers, could be on its way to making $1 billion off Android if its licensing deals pan out. That could make Android way more lucrative than WP7. Read more »
Apple’s iOS is now the number two smartphone platform in the U.S., according to market research firm comScore. Apple rose to second place during the three-month period ending in May, up 1.4 percentage points to 26.6 percent of total U.S. market share. Read more »
While smartphone consumers are still taking their time embracing Windows Phone 7, Microsoft appears to be having more luck with developers. The mobile platform has reportedly crested the 25,000 app mark for Windows Phone Marketplace, according to at least one tracker site. Read more »
With its latest ad format, Vdopia will enable brands to deliver video ads into mobile browser and apps on multiple mobile platforms. These platforms includes the iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry mobile devices, with Windows Phone 7 and Symbian support coming soon. Read more »
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform is set to improve later this year, and part of the software improvements focuses on something rivals don’t have: a thriving Xbox Live game community boasting 35 million members who average 60 hours per month on the service. Read more »
Nokia’s newest phone doesn’t run Microsoft’s platform, but instead shows off MeeGo: the one-time successor to Symbian that became an experiment. But on the surface, the experiment looks positive. Windows Phone 7 could buy time for Nokia to yet develop MeeGo as an independent successful platform. Read more »
Join Matt and Kevin for the weekly live podcast on all things mobile. This week: thoughts on Apple licensing technology from Nokia, a follow up on WWDC and iOS 5 and first impressions of the HTC Evo 3D smartphone. Participate in the live chat room! Read more »
Nokia is about to lose its crown as the smartphone king, but not to Apple. Instead, Samsung will take up the mantle of top smartphone seller according to analysts at Nomura. These five reasons explain how it’s Samsung’s smartphone Galaxy and we just live in it. Read more »
Research firm IDC reiterated that it expects Windows Phone 7 to soar to number two by 2015 with 20 percent of the market, trailing only Android. But with the market moving so fast and competition so fierce, predictions like this seem premature. Read more »
Nokia’s CTO has left with no timetable for a return. The wheels continue to fall off for the company, which is skidding down the road solely due to momentum, which is slowing. Like a modern retro car, however, Microsoft gives Nokia a chance to survive. Read more »
With the first Nokia Windows Phone 7 devices not expected to arrive until the fourth quarter, Nokia is facing an increasingly tough transition, the company acknowledged today, as it lowered its second quarter and full year outlook due to increased competition and pricing pressure. Read more »
The global economy continues to face uncertainty, but despite this, many technology companies have cash on hand and are opting to spend it on mergers and acquisitions. Here we examine some likely strategies from five different companies: IBM, Oracle, HP, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard. Read more »
With the smartphone market zooming ahead, Microsoft formerly announced the latest update to its new Windows Phone 7 operating system called Mango, which brings a host of features that leverage Bing, Facebook and rich use of the hardware. But the release is not scheduled until fall. Read more »
HTC’s Trophy arrives next week as the first Microsoft Windows Phone 7 handset for the Verizon Wireless network. Will the 2010 hardware inspire sales in 2011? It’s not likely, but consumers looking for an alternative platform with Microsoft product integration might spring for the new handset. Read more »
Miso began offering developers the ability to build on its existing code base with an open API a few months ago. After a few months of making the API available, it launched a new app store to highlight apps built by third-party developers. Read more »
The latest smartphone figures from Gartner are in and they highlight just how much Microsoft and Nokia are in desperate need for each other. But with the way both are giving up marketshare, it shows that the new partnership might not be enough for either Read more »
Nokia is rebranding its Ovi services, or at least what’s left of them, starting this July. Ovi Mail went to Yahoo!, the Ovi Store will wither with Symbian and Ovi Maps will integrate into Windows Phone 7. Might Microsoft buy Nokia’s handset division at this point? Read more »
Microsoft officially announced it’s paying $8.5 billion for Skype today. At a press conference in San Francisco this morning, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Skype CEO Tony Bates gave more details about how they see the companies working together. Read more »
Last May, Symbian phones offered the highest ad click-through rates in the U.S. on Smaato’s mobile ad network, followed by Apple iOS devices and feature phones, with other platforms rounding out the remaining spots. This year is a totally different story with a new global leader. Read more »
Microsoft’s $8.5 billion purchase of Skype is official, giving the Redmond company an instant voice and video calling user-base of more than 170 million globally connected customers. With only an estimated 2.5 million Windows Phone 7 handsets sold, there’s ample opportunity here to boost smartphone sales. Read more »
Research firm Canalys released global smartphone sales estimates from the first quarter of 2011, with conjecture that no more than 2.5 million handsets running on Microsoft’s platform were shipped to retailers. That’s just a small percentage compared to Android, iOS and even Samsung’s Bada platform. Read more »
Microsoft unveiled a new set of tools for iOS developers to help them port their apps over to Windows Phone 7. But to really catch up in this game and significantly bump up developer support, Microsoft needs more than tools. It needs to sell more phones. Read more »
Nokia said today it will outsource Symbian development to Accenture, transferring 3,000 workers in the process. It also announced its largest jobs cuts in history with plans to shed another 4,000 jobs by the end of 2012, mostly in the U.K., Denmark and Finland. Read more »
TuneIn, a free app for Windows Phone 7 handsets, streams Internet radio from more than 50,000 radio stations over Wi-Fi or a mobile broadband connection. The application can also make use of a handset’s internal FM radio, which saves battery life and data plan use. Read more »
Join Matt and Kevin for the live podcast where they’ll discuss the latest mobile tech news and share hands on impressions of new gadgets. The Sidekick 4G is in hand, but is it a hit? Find out and participate in the live chat room! Read more »
By fall, Microsoft will push the next Windows Phone 7 update, including an IE9 browser, developer access to the camera and motion sensors, improved performance, multitasking and support for an ever so slightly wider range of hardware. Where will competitors be and what’s taking so long? Read more »
A long-awaited update to Nokia’s Symbian operating system improves the browser and keyboard on existing handsets, and the company is launching two new smartphones. Ovi Store downloads are up 25 times from a year ago. If this continues, Nokia might not need Microsoft after all. Read more »
Sprint’s HTC Arrive is the first, and currently only, Windows Phone 7 smartphone on the network. Even though that leaves consumers little choice if they want a Microsoft-powered handset, there’s much to like in the Arrive, provided you don’t mind using a still maturing mobile platform. Read more »
Is Nokia’s Symbian operating system relegated to a historical footnote by 2015? Research firm Gartner thinks so, but Nokia’s transition to Windows Phone 7 could take a few years and Google’s Android platform isn’t yet entrenched in the low-end segment just yet: Symbian may survive longer. Read more »
Nokia is beginning to migrate its Ovi Mail accounts to Yahoo’s platform today. But wait: isn’t Nokia betting its mobile future on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7? This deal — nearly 11 months old — should have been shut down as soon as Nokia partnered with Microsoft in February. Read more »
In advance of its yearly developer event, Microsoft is sharing key numbers about Windows Phone 7. The average device owner has 12 apps, far less than on competing platforms, and only 40 percent of registered devs have published apps. Could missing sales data be the problem? Read more »
After a series of both delays and mis-steps, Microsoft is finally doing what it should have done in the first place with its Windows Phone 7 software update: posting a status page that refreshes weekly. Unfortunately, some handsets may still wait weeks for the NoDo update. Read more »
After failing to deliver the first functionality update to its Windows Phone 7 devices earlier this month, it appears Microsoft is ready to push new software out. Aside from the addition of copy / paste functionality, there are handful of other improvements once the update arrives. Read more »
AT&T is adding both an older device and a new handset to its network: Windows Phone 7 fans can look forward to the HTC HD7S, which gains a Super LCD display over the old HD7, while the LG Thrill 4G brings glasses-free 3D visuals. Read more »
AdMob is releasing a software development kit for Windows Phone 7 developers and is updating its platform to full HTML5 for iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7. The changes mean developers will be able to include rich media AdMob advertising units easily across all three platforms. Read more »
Nokia’s transition is fraught with risks and the biggest may be time. The company already said that it hopes to get the first Microsoft-powered Nokia phone out this year and today says it will take until 2013 before half of its smartphones run Microsoft’s operating system. Read more »
As Apple delivers its iOS 4.3 update, some Windows Phone 7 users are still waiting their first update, which only allows them to receive the next update. Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer said it would appear in the first two weeks of March. Isn’t that about now? Read more »
Folks who exercise have a new reason to consider a Windows Phone 7 handset today: RunKeeper just launched for Microsoft phones. The software uses GPS to track activities, capture useful data and create maps. Already on iOS and Android, RunKeeper has surpassed 5 million downloads. Read more »
