Symbian

Nokia’s Lumia sales shrink; on to the next model again

Nokia sold a quarter fewer of its flagship smartphones last quarter, as retailers and carriers shied away from Lumia’s current generation, leaving Nokia with €120 million in spare parts. Shifting to new Lumias with the Windows Phone 8 software has hurt any momentum Nokia had.

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Mobile industry 2012 segment analysis

Few industries change at the pace mobile does. Whether it’s the iPhone 5, the importance of LTE, or BYOD trends disrupting the enterprise, there are always new technologies, trends, and companies changing the way we define mobile. Here, GigaOM Pro highlights a few segments of the mobile industry that will be important to watch in the coming months.

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Amid slowing phone sales, Android makes gains

Overall handset sales slumped last quarter as consumers face economic challenges or are waiting for newer phone models. But Android keeps outpacing iOS devices while handsets from Research In Motion and Nokia continue to drop, although Windows Phone is showing signs of sales life.

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How do you solve a problem like Nokia?

With billions in losses coming each quarter, it feels as if Nokia’s living on borrowed time. While many people expect Microsoft to step in and purchase the struggling Finnish handset giant, that may be unlikely. So here are five ways it might turn things around.

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Nokia’s secret Linux team is looking for refuge

After Nokia axed development of its semi-secret Meltemi operating system, hundreds of workers in Ulm, Germany, found themselves jobless. Now they’ve set up a ‘talent and job offer’ campaign to hawk around their services.

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Saavn, India’s Spotify, dances to a different tune

Saavn has been hailed as India’s Spotify. But with much of its customer base being in India and much of its catalog being Bollywood fare, things work a little different for the company. One example: Saavn has high hopes for its Blackberry and Symbian apps.

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Nokia delivers solid Belle update early (and late)

Nokia released the Belle software upgrade for its recent Symbian phones on Tuesday, bringing additional home screens, much improved notifications and other features. The rollout is a day ahead of schedule, showing that Nokia is starting to make good on promises to deliver on time.

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Why Windows Phone is making waves at CES

Microsoft may have finally accomplished something it has failed to do at the last six Consumer Electronics Show events I’ve attended: It has people talking about its phones. Even with few product launches announced at CES, there’s good reason for the Windows Phone buzz.

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My 6 mobile productivity strategies for 2012

The last four years have shown remarkable growth in smartphone ownership, changing the mobile landscape as the phone becomes central to our lives. This year I’ll be looking for cross-platform apps, centralized notification services and solutions that intelligently handle more mundane tasks around my smart home.

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Uh oh. Nokia Windows Phone sales estimates slashed.

Nokia’s sales of Windows Phone handsets aren’t impressing at least one analyst, who has drastically cut quarterly estimates from 2 million to 500,000 sales. With the two-horse race between Google Android and Apple iOS, it’s tough for Nokia to gain traction, even with outstanding hardware.

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Samsung stands to lose, not gain, by open-sourcing bada

There’s talk today of Samsung open-sourcing its Bada smartphone platform next year, but the company has little to gain and much to lose if it does. Why give up control of the one asset Samsung has that no successful handset maker outside of Apple enjoys?

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Not dead yet, Symbian getting Microsoft Office apps

Symbian’s not quite dead yet for Nokia. In fact, ever since the company decided to use Windows Phone 7 as a primary platform going forward, Symbian has matured quite quickly. The latest addition? Microsoft Office software that enterprises and business users are sure to like.

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Infographic: Mobile advertising battle of the sexes

When it comes to mobile advertising at least, men and women tend to differ. According to a new infographic from mobile advertising and marketing firm inneractive released Monday, men are more likely to click on mobile ads, and also more likely to be Android users.

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Not quite dead yet, Symbian gains a big update

Nokia’s decision to use Windows Phone 7 going forward disappointed many Symbian smartphone fans, but the company continues to support the community, releasing the Symbian Anna software update Thursday. Improvements abound in Anna, even as Belle, the next iteration, was leaked on video earlier this week.

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As bad as it seems now, Nokia’s future looks worse

Nokia’s abysmal quarterly results weren’t completely unexpected, thanks to a downward revision in May. But after digesting the news, I don’t see how the company’s new strategies will pay off soon, for at least five reasons. The Band-Aid is off, but Nokia is still bleeding.

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Fring first with four-way iPad group video chat

Just last week we saw an early glimpse of Skype’s upcoming iPad app, but today Fring appears to be one step ahead of the game. Fring’s iOS app was updated today to provide iPad-optimized four-way group video calling, before Skype is even out of the gate.

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Why It’s Now or Never for an iPhone Lite

According to Gartner, mobile phone sales for the first quarter totaled some 428 million devices, with just 23 percent being smartphones. With so much room to grow, there would appear to be room for many competitors, but an expansive market is still a finite one.

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A Global Mobile Handset Platform Forecast, 2011 – 2015

The global mobile phone market lost some of its momentum during the Great Recession, with overall shipment numbers declining slightly in 2009. However, sales of smartphones — those devices based on computing platforms — grew rapidly as a percent of the overall market.

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Finally, a Twitter Client With a Revolutionary Interface!

Tired of the same old Twitter clients that simply show a scrolling list? The aptly-named Different Tack application could be just what you’re looking for. Based on decades of human information process insights, the software uses a colored scroll-wheel to navigate and interact with tweets.

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A Canadian in Espoo: Elop Gives Nokia a Chance

Just five months into his tenure as the CEO of Nokia, Stephen Elop has seen enough. A company-wide memo has prepared Nokia for a major shakeup as Elop has observed a lack of focus, speed and execution in Nokia’s long term strategies. Here’s what’s next.

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Symbian Update Shows Nokia’s Challenge: Slow Progress

Nokia’s newest Symbian devices have their first firmware upgrade waiting, but most of the changes aren’t visible to the end user aside from two email enhancements. Competitors are moving forward faster than Nokia, which illustrates the challenge: Pick up the pace else risk being left behind.

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Android Wrests Smartphone OS Title From Symbian

2010 was the year of Android. That’s according to research firm Canalys, which reports that Google’s operating system eclipsed Symbian in the fourth quarter to become the top smartphone OS in the world by shipments. It caps a huge year of growth for Android.

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Nimbuzz Ping Shows Smartphone Opportunities in Feature Phones

Smartphones aren’t the sole domain of push notifications: the new Nimbuzz Ping feature shoots an SMS to feature phones when a contact wants to get in touch. Although smartphone sales are rising, the majority of global handsets are still feature phones, allowing for plenty of opportunities.

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X7 Cancelled: Nokia Needs AT&T More Than AT&T Needs Nokia

Launch rumors of the Nokia X7, a new Symbian smartphone, appear to be squashed as the phone will reportedly not be available on AT&T next month. Without carrier support for subsidies and marketing, the odds of Nokia gaining a foothold in the U.S. continue to decrease.

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Nokia and Microsoft Looks Like a Desperate Hook Up

Nokia’s new leadership under ex-Microsoft executive Stephen Elop has reportedly met with Microsoft to plan a line of Nokia phones that would run the Windows Phone 7 software. The prospect is intriguing; suggesting that Nokia needs serious help getting its smartphone business in order.

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Cities Fighting Crime With Smartphone Apps

There seems to be an app for everything these days, and that include crime fighting. The Dallas Police offer free software for most smartphone platforms that help residents report crimes, submit tips and even send pictures which can help law enforcement catch the bad guys!

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Symbian Prepares To Shut Down Its Websites

A footnote to the news that Symbian has been taken under Nokia’s control: come December 17, all of the websites run by the Symbian Foundatio…

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First MeeGo Smartphone Might Not Appear Until June, 2011?

Based on a timeline from last week’s MeeGo Conference, the debut MeeGo smartphone with Intel Atom processor might not appear until June of 2011. If the market wasn’t so competitive, that might not be a problem, but Nokia will be competing with Apple’s next iPhone.

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Android This Week: Nexus S; Galaxy Tab on Video

Contrary to popular belief Google is apparently getting the Nexus S ready for sale at Best Buy this holiday season. The retailer leaked an ad that was spotted before being pulled. The Galaxy Tab is arriving in time for the holidays, and was unboxed on video.

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Android Jumps Into Second Place Worldwide

Gartner last year said Android wouldn’t be the No. 2 operating system in the world until 2012, but the future has come early: the platform grabbed 25.5 percent of the market in the third quarter, up from 3.5 percent a year ago, moving into second place.

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Nokia Takes Back the Reins of Symbian

With more and more partners jumping ship from the Symbian Foundation, Nokia announced today it was taking back the reins of the Symbian platform as the foundation evolves into a licensing organization. The move underscores the slowing momentum for the platform and Nokia’s continued commitment to Symbian.

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Symbian Gains EU Backing to Prevent an Android Future

Symbian, the open-sourced platform used in Nokia’s smartphones, gained a €22m investment from the ARTEMIS Joint Technology Initiative to create the SYMBEOSE consortium from 8 member nations. What’s the sudden public-private interest in Symbian? Fear of a future filled with embedded devices running Google Android.

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Symbian: A Lesson on the Wrong Way to Use Open Source

Nokia hoped to revive Symbian’s importance by reinvigorating its developer base in light of a rush of Linux-based operating platforms like Android and LiMo. It hoped in vain and a lack of source code is the foundation for many its problems.

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Android Has Facetime: App Attention and Ads

How much time does the average Android smartphone user spend in third-party apps? Nearly 42 minutes daily, which is significantly higher than on competing platforms. So why does such facetime in apps matter? It’s all about the mobile advertising as Google’s competitors try to catch up.

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Nokia Revises Symbian Strategy as Smartphone Sales Improve

Nokia shipped 26.5 million smartphones in the most recent quarter, a 61 percent increase from a year ago. But the company’s strategy is shifting yet again, as Qt will be the only development framework going forward and Symbian upgrades will arrive on a rolling basis.

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As Handset Makers Go Android, Top Symbian Exec Goes Away

Lee Williams today stepped down from his executive director role at The Symbian Foundation, reportedly due to personal reasons. When interviewed on camera last year, Williams argued against Android’s “evil” approach and named handset makers who were unhappy with Google. Today, those companies are growing profits.

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Sony-Ericsson Chooses Android Over Symbian: So What?

Sony Ericsson has no current plans to use Nokia’s Symbian platform to power smartphones going forward and is instead turning to Google Android for future handsets. Given how long it’s taking Sony Ericsson to get phones off of Android 1.6, maybe it should stick with Symbian.

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What’s It Like to Develop Apps for Nokia Phones?

Nokia’s Ovi store has taken a perceived backseat to the iTunes App Store and Android Market. We spoke with Qik EVP Bob Rosin and several other developers at Nokia World for their perspective on Nokia’s Ovi Store enhancements, Symbian^3, and the Qt development tools.

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And Android Will Crush Them All… Eventually!

Looks like Nokia has a new chief executive (ex-Microsoftie Stephen Elop), who’s going to bring change to the Finnish company that’s been caught flat footed by upstarts Apple and Google. Even assuming Elop brings about that change, it might be too late.

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Smartphone Wi-Fi Usage on the Rise

Smartphones didn’t always have Wi-Fi but it is now the norm. Fifty percent of Android devices consume more than 500 MB of data monthly through Wi-Fi hotspots, much more than 3G data usage. That’s a lot of data on phones, superphones or not.

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Developers Say Nokia's Ovi Store Needs Fixing

A developer survey of Nokia’s Ovi Store highlights key areas of needed improvement, ranging from more efficient submission processes to faster Quality Assurance checks and better communications. Nearly half of those surveyed indicate that Nokia’s app store is below average when compared to rival software stores.

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It’s Time for Nokia to Embrace Android

While Nokia is the undisputed king of feature phones, it doesn’t take a fortune teller to read the handwriting on the wall — smartphones will eventually replace feature phones. A shortcut to success for the company would be to stop fighting the same old battle and adopt a proven operating system like Android.

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Report: The In-App Advertising Landscape

In-app advertising — or “appvertising” — has quickly matured from a novel new marketing platform into a bona fide strategy for delivering pitches directly to consumers on their mobile devices. Advertisements distributed through these applications are expected to play a key role as mobile apps drive an industry that is expected to rise from less than $10 billion last year to $32 billion by 2015.

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Spotify Comes to Nokia’s Ovi Store

Spotify, the hot online music service that has taken Europe by storm, has been approved for launch in the Ovi store, making it a godsend for millions of Nokia users in Europe. As for Nokia, it will help the company fend off some of its rivals.

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MobileTechRoundup 209 – Podcasting Live at 11am EDT

Join James, Matt and Kevin live for this week’s audio podcast where they’ll cover this week’s mobile technology news and share experiences with the latest software, hardware and web services. If you missed the live show, you can grab an MP3 audio recording.

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Smartphone Picture at a Glance

It is no secret I love infographics, those charts that tell an entire story using pictures. So much information can be conveyed using the right combination of charts and figures. GigaOM has another great infographic that tells the story of the smartphone market at a glance.

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Skype for Symbian Goes Live

The Windows Mobile world may have recently lost Skype, but Symbian owners can rejoice as the VoIP app has gone gold. Skype for Symbian is now available in the Ovi Store, and is a full featured client supporting most of Skype’s services.

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Skype's Nokia Deal Puts the Hurt on International Carriers

Skype and Nokia this morning announced the addition of Skype for Symbian to Ovi Store, which is picking up traction with Nokia users around the world. It’s a huge win for Skype in terms of distribution and brand awareness, and a major threat to carriers.

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Symbian 3 Launches, Has iPhone Envy

The Symbian Foundation has (almost) launched its much awaited Symbian 3 mobile operating system, and from the looks of it, it is an OS desperately trying to catch up its nemesis, the iPhone. The phones powered by Symbian 3 will launch later in 2010.

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The App Developer's Guide to Choosing a Mobile Platform

Not all mobile apps are created equal, and choosing the right platform for yours can be the key to success or failure. “The App Developer’s Guide to Choosing a Mobile Platform,” a new report from Colin Gibbs over at GigaOM Pro (sub required) discusses the essentials.

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New, Open Symbian Looks Beyond Smartphones

Symbian is targeting a wide variety of connected devices in the wake of its transition to an open-source mobile operating system. It’s a smart move for an aging OS that has consistently lost market share to Apple, RIM and Android.

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Nokia Regains Momentum as It Awaits Symbian Upgrade

Nokia saw profits surge in a surprising fourth quarter as it bucked recent trends by increasing its lead in the lucrative smartphone space. The Finnish vendor may finally be reversing course as it awaits a much-needed upgrade to its Symbian OS.

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iPad: Around the Network

In addition to our own coverage of the recently launched iPad, our fellow GigaOM sites have also been writing up their fair…

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Symbian's Dominance Erodes in Emerging Markets vs. the iPhone: AdMob

Apple’s iPhone dominates mobile Internet traffic in Western markets, according to new figures from AdMob, while Symbian maintains its edge in Africa and Asia. But the iPhone is closing the gap on Nokia’s OS in some emerging markets. Meanwhile, Android’s momentum continues to build.

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Quarterly Wrap-up

In Q4, Data Was Mobile’s Hot Spot

The past year, despite the difficult economy, has presented several pockets of strength for the mobile industry, most surrounding wireless data. Increase in data consumption is being driven by changing consumer behaviors, as well as by device availability and a growing catalog of apps. The iPhone has been game changing in how consumers use their phones and consume wireless data. According to a November Bytemobile report, operators with iPhones on their networks have a significantly higher percent of smartphone data traffic (52 percent of all data traffic) compared to operators without the iPhone (4 percent smartphone data traffic).

While the iPhone continues to dominate smartphone usage in the U.S., Android is gaining market share and imparting competitive pressure on the iPhone. Many new Android phones were introduced in 2009, with roughly 15 phones on the market at the end of the year. Among the most remarkable of these releases is Motorola’s Droid, launched on Nov. 5 and available on the Verizon network.

In addition to new device releases stimulating wireless data consumption, the growing list of apps available is also driving data usage. Among the most news-generating app categories in the fourth quarter were location-based services, mobile social networks, and music. In terms of location-based services, a variety of startups introduced offerings in the fourth quarter, but Google was also active in introducing new location apps, including Google Maps Navigation, which is poised to compete with the lucrative carrier-branded navigation offerings.

The mobile music market has also been abuzz in the fourth quarter, as growing usage is ramping up competition. The various players in this space are working to carve out both an audience and a sustainable business model. Similarly, social networks have been actively evolving their services into mobile apps. Specifically, there have been a variety of product announcements and apps released in the fourth quarter that feed off of Twitter. The micromessaging service broke in to the Japanese market early in the fourth quarter, marking the first local language version of the service.

However, as such services proliferate, pressure on the network escalates, and the financial benefit that wireless data service has delivered to carriers is being tempered by degrading network performance. Growing pressure on the network is pushing 4G upgrades to center stage. However, investment in 4G is difficult to support given the still unstable market. In an environment where layoffs still loom large, the investment to upgrade the network may be difficult to sell. Nevertheless, 2010 is likely to present stronger market conditions that will better support the investment needed to make the mobile network upgrades needed.

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What's With the Optimism About Nokia?

Options traders are wagering that Nokia will see shares gain 14 percent over the next several weeks. But there’s little evidence the Finnish mobile giant has really begun to turn things around yet.

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Skype Beta Calls on Symbian Phones

Skype today introduced a beta version of its offering for devices running Nokia’s Symbian operating system, which means the company’s base of addressable handsets around the world just got a lot bigger.

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Nokia to Demo a Maemo Phone Next Week?

Speculation surrounding Nokia’s (s nok) Linux-based OS flared up again this morning with a Reuters report that the Finnish manufacturer will showcase…

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Chrome OS Joins the Open Source Mobile Platform Party

Open source operating systems are suddenly flourishing, especially in the growing netbook and smartphone arenas. Moblin, the open source mobile platform launched by Intel and now overseen by The Linux Foundation, is making tremendous strides, and is out in a refreshed beta version 2.0. Android, Google’s open source mobile operating system, is also picking up momentum, with more than 30 smartphone handsets running it expected by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Google has just announced that it will deliver Chrome OS — also open source — in 2010, aimed at the hot netbook market. And Symbian, which has almost half of the global smartphone market, has announced that it is moving into beta testing with its open source Symbian 2 OS. These operating systems are all different, and it looks like significant competition between them will lead to much innovation. Here’s what to expect.

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Nokia Sets Symbian Free: The Google Effect

So Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is setting Symbian free.

On the practical side of things, Nokia was expected to buy out its partners at some point, s…

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Nokia Offers $410 Million To Buy Up Partners

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) wants it all. The Finnish handset maker said today that it has launched a cash offer to acquire all of the shares of Symbi…

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Symbian Bullish On The Future

Apple’s iPhone might be leaping up the smart phone charts, but don’t tell that to the guys from Symbian, who saw 77.3…

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Super growth returning to wireless?

Worldwide, wireless subscriber growth is experiencing robust expansion, according to analyst firm, In-Stat/MDR. By 2009, they forecasts, the worldwide wireless market will…

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