nokia

Windows Phone outships iPhone in some countries

Windows Phone is outshining the iPhone in several countries. But relax, Apple, there is an explanation.

In a blog posted Tuesday, Microsoft corporate communications VP Frank Shaw cited an IDC report revealing that Windows Phone has reached 10 percent market share in a number of countries. Along with that milestone, Windows Phone has outshipped Apple's iPhone in seven markets across the globe.

Shaw didn't divulge the names of those seven markets. But IDC did and explained why Windows Phone has a foothold in those regions.

Speaking with The New York Times yesterday, IDC analyst Kevin Restivo said that … Read more

In trouble, tech CEO? Bash the iPhone

I've spent the whole week uttering rude words at my iPhone 5.

Some had four letters, some have had fewer. Several had four syllables. All were expressions of utter disdain, frustration or disappointment.

I'm very suggestible, you see. And this week, two very clever tech CEOs publicly denigrated Apple's lucky charm, making it seem like it was the result of a couple of parts that had fallen off a Segway.

First, there was BlackBerry's Thorsten Heins, who declared that the iPhone user interface is as old as Jay Leno's jokes. Well, his actual words were: &… Read more

Nokia CEO Elop throws iPhone on live TV

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has certainly made clear his feelings about the iPhone.

In an interview on Finnish TV this week, Elop is repeatedly asked about the Lumia 928, which will reportedly pop up next month via Verizon. Despite the interviewer's persistence, the jovial Nokia chief keeps dodging questions about the 928, claiming he doesn't know anything about it because it hasn't yet been announced.

Instead, Elop tries to tout the Lumia 620, a lower-end Windows Phone handset that popped up in January and is now debuting in Finland. Eventually, the frustrated interviewer pulls out his iPhone, … Read more

The sheer sadness of Nokia begging Instagram for a date

I have just returned from dinner with my engineer friend George.

He was frustrated. He was diluting his viognier with tears.

No, it isn't his personal life. Well, not only. Among the weird yogini, the peculiar myopic (emotionally) UX designer, and the large-boned, wayward-intentioned social worker, he's doing alright. Just.

But his phone isn't.

He decided to buy a Nokia Lumia 920. He had good reasons for this. It's a very good phone. Its additional weight gives it a touch of gravitas. The camera is very nice, especially in the dark (which the yogini especially appreciates). … Read more

Samsung poised to double lead over phone rivals, IHS says

Thought Samsung's smartphone market share was high before? Just wait until the Galaxy S4 is released, IHS said today.

The technology research firm expects Samsung to more than double its percentage point lead over rivals from 2012 to 2013. Samsung held 29 percent of the cell phone market in 2012, while Nokia ranked No. 2 with 24 percent. IHS didn't specify what percent of the market Samsung should control this year but said its lead over its nearest rival should rise to 11 percent (from the 5 percentage point lead in 2012).

That's a pretty bullish estimate … Read more

Microsoft ad touts Nokia Lumia over Samsung Galaxy S3

Would your average Galaxy S3 owner trade in their phone for a Nokia Lumia 920? That's Microsoft's angle for its latest promotional spot.

The new Windows Phone Challenge ad finds Ben Rudolph, Microsoft's director for Windows Phone Experiential Marketing, aka Ben the PC Guy, trying to convince "Brittany" that the Lumia 920 can take a better photo than can her Galaxy S3. If she prefers her phone, she gets $100.

Naturally, the photo snapped by the Lumia shows a bright, clear, crisp image, while the one taken by the S3 is dark and blurry. And … Read more

Nokia wins one against HTC in German patent case

Nokia has won a patent infringement suit in a German court, but the companies can't quite agree whether it's a major victory or not.

According to Foss Patents' Florian Mueller, the Mannheim Regional Court today ruled that HTC is infringing a Nokia patent related to saving battery life by identifying packets of data that can reconstructed through the use of only a part of an encoded message. According to Mueller, Nokia was awarded a permanent injunction, giving the company the opportunity to enforce the ban by posting a $6.5 million bond. Nokia can also request HTC recall … Read more

All-aluminum Nokia Lumia rumored for Verizon next month

Verizon will start selling an all-metal Nokia Lumia 920 variant in April, the Nokia Lumia 928, according to The Verge.

The aluminum-body Lumia 928 would rise up as Verizon's marquee Windows Phone 8 device, larger and with more absolute features than the HTC Windows Phone 8 competitor, and with a fancier finish than the Lumia 822.

In addition to the all-metal finish versus the polycarbonate material that Nokia's been favoring for the Lumia line, the Lumia 928 could also come with a xenon and LED camera flash and have a lighter, slimmer build.

Nokia declined to comment.

Out … Read more

The elusive third great mobile OS

There's no better illustration of the intense competition in the wireless industry than the race to establish another legitimate operating system behind Android and Apple -- where else is third place considered a lofty goal for so many major players?

Yet that's exactly what nearly a dozen companies are trying to achieve. While this year's Mobile World Congress wireless trade show was light on blockbuster smartphone and tablet announcements, it was heavy on burgeoning operating systems and new ways of thinking about mobile devices.

Mozilla's FireFox OS made a big splash at the show, as did … Read more