Nokia

T-Mobile nixes Windows Phone 7.8 update for Lumia 710

Owners of Nokia's Lumia 710 who expected an update to Windows Phone 7.8 are out of luck.

The phone's sole U.S. carrier, T-Mobile, confirmed the news in a statement sent to CNET today:

At this time, the Nokia Lumia 710 will not receive the Windows Phone 7.8 software update. T-Mobile is committed to enhancing customers' experience with our devices, including providing upgrades to the latest operating systems, and T-Mobile aims to deliver software upgrades when it will provide a better experience for our customers. We'll share additional information on upgrades for the Nokia Lumia … Read more

Nokia looking into tablets with eye on Windows 8

Nokia could tiptoe into the tablet market as the next step beyond its Windows Phone-based Lumia lineup.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop told reporters in Sydney, Australia, yesterday that the company is looking "very closely" at tablets but has yet to announce anything official, according to the Australian Financial Review.

"We are studying very closely the market right now as Microsoft has introduced the Surface tablet, so we are trying to learn from that and understand what the right way to participate would be and at what point in time."

Elop also dangled the possibility of an … Read more

Nokia begins work on graphene, world's strongest material

Forget diamonds, graphene is now the world's hardest material. And all sorts of developers most likely want to get their hands on it.

Nokia looks to be ahead of the game in this graphene race. The Finnish mobile-phone maker announced today that it was one of the recipients of a $1.35 billion grant from the European Union to do research and development on the supermaterial over the next 10 years.

"Nokia is proud to be involved with this project, and we have deep roots in the field -- we first started working with graphene already in 2006,&… Read more

Nokia injects $250 million into venture funding

Nokia has committed another $250 million to its venture funding arm, Nokia Growth Partners, the company announced today.

With that sum, Nokia Growth Partners members will be able to invest in "high potential businesses within the mobile ecosystem." The venture capitalists will focus their efforts in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

China could be an important opportunity for Nokia, so the company has expanded its presence there by appointing former AMD China president David Tang as managing director. Lu Guo, former Keystone Ventures vice president, will act as principal in China.

Nokia's latest fund is its … Read more

Nokia to offer paid upgrade to Lumia-only music service

A few months after jumping in to the free music streaming sector, Nokia is getting ready to give its Lumia-only service a jump-start with a premium upgrade.

Nokia Music+, an upgrade to the free Mix Radio service that Nokia launched last September, will offer Lumia owners unlimited skips and unlimited downloads, the Finnish handset maker announced in a company blog post today. The service also will offer higher-quality streams, allowing downloads at eight times the existing quality.

The new service will also offer lyrics for users' mobile devices and a Web app for home use.

"Nokia Music is great … Read more

Nokia to launch flagship smartphone on Verizon this year -- report

Nokia is readying a flagship smartphone for Verizon Wireless, a new report claims.

Verizon is planning to carry the Lumia handset later this year, The Verge is reporting today, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the company's plans. That device, codenamed Laser, will "be a variant" of Nokia's Lumia 920, but it's not clear what sort of features the handset will have.

According to The Verge, Nokia's device will be put on the same playing field as Verizon's other flagship devices, including the iPhone.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop hinted at a … Read more

Nokia pulls off a profit, holds out hope for the future

Nokia might be down, but it's certainly not out.

The company today reported its fourth-quarter earnings, and offered up performance that might make its doomsayers think twice. During the fourth quarter, Nokia was able to generate a profit of 202 million euros ($269 million), a massive gain over the 1 billion euros the company lost during the same period in 2011. Still, Nokia's profit came amid slumping revenue that fell from 10 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 8 billion last quarter.

On a full-year basis, Nokia could only muster 30.2 billion euros in … Read more

Nokia to pack 41-mp camera into Windows Phone, report says

Nokia could be planning to bring its true 41-megapixel PureView camera to a Windows Phone handset this year, according to a new report.

The company is working on a device, codenamed EOS, that will come with its full PureView camera, The Verge is reporting today, citing people who have knowledge of Nokia's plans. The device will be the first Windows Phone from Nokia that comes with the company's genuine PureView camera.

Although Nokia throws the "PureView" name around rather casually, the true, high-end camera has really just been available in its Symbian-based Nokia 808 PureView handset. … Read more

Nokia lets customers build custom Lumia 820 cases

Nokia Lumia 820 owners will be able to create their own cases for the handset.

Nokia today announced that it's now releasing 3D templates, case specs, and recommended material guidance to help Lumia 820 owners produce their own shell to replace the removable case on the back of the handset. Nokia has offered several cases for customers to choose from, but didn't allow owners to develop their own.

In order to actually create the cases, however, users will need to have access to a 3D printer. With 3D printing, users can input material and churn out their creation.… Read more