Nokia Unveils It Was 'Up to Something' And It Was The Company's First Android Tablet

Yesterday Nokia sparked everyone's interest when the company tweeted 'We're up to something', with a photo of a mysterious black box. Speculation quickly spread as to what the company might have up its sleeve for its first major product release since leaving the smartphone business.

Today we have our answer as Nokia has announced the N1, the first Nokia-branded Android tablet. The N1 offers the innovative, predictive Nokia Z Launcher interface, and a carefully crafted industrial design by Nokia with a focus on simplicity.

"We are pleased to bring the Nokia brand back into consumers' hands with the N1 Android tablet, and to help make sophisticated technologies simple," said Sebastian Nyström, Head of Products at Nokia Technologies, who announced the N1 at the Slush technology conference in Helsinki. "The N1 has a delightfully intuitive interface and an industrial design to match it. This is a great product for Nokia fans and everyone who has not found the right Android tablet yet."

The Nokia N1 features a 7.9" 2048×1536 (4:3) IPS LCD with Gorilla Glass 3 laminated display. A 2.4Ghz Intel Atom Z3580 processor, plus PowerVR G6430 GPU. On-board will be 2GB of system RAM and 32GB of internal non-expandable storage. It will also include an 8-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera.

For software the Nokia N1 will feature Nokia’s custom Android skin called Z Launcher that sits on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop. Said software is described as intuitive and super easy to use with adaptive learning, so it will adapt to you and what you’re doing to bring you “what you need, when you need it.”

The N1 is planned to be available for purchase in China in Q1 2015 for an estimated USD 249 before taxes, with the anticipation of expanding sales to other markets.

Test The Latest Nokia Devices For Up To Two Weeks

Have you ever wished you could test out that new cellphone at home for a few days before you pull the trigger and make your purchase? Well with a little known program from Nokia you can.

Dubbed, Trial a Nokia, the loaner program will let anyone willing to accept the terms and conditions a chance to try out one of Nokia's latest device for two weeks. These terms and conditions are failry straight forward, for starters you must be 16 or older. You must return the device in the same condition as when it is received and you must be willing to return the device (postage paid by Nokia) at the end of the two weeks.

Current devices include the Nokia Lumina 700, Lumina 800, Lumina 900, Nokia Pureview 808, Nokia Purity headset and the Nokia Play 360 speaker. The Nokia 920 and perhaps even the Nokia 820 may soon be available.

Reading over the site it looks as though the goal of the program is to raise a little buzz about Nokia products. They want you to be unique in your request for a device and put your own stamp on how you'll be using it. According to the T&C they want to know what ways you'll be talking about it when you have it and perhaps even following your online conversations as part of the program.

Nokia Unveils Two New Windows Phone 8 Smartphones

Nokia partnered with Microsoft to unveil two new Windows Phone 8 based devices the new mid-high end Lumia 820 and the new high end Lumia 920.

After months of speculation by smartphone phone fanatics Nokia today finally took the wraps off the company's newest flagship smartphones, the Nokia Lumia 820 and Lumina 920. The two new phones are is Nokia's much anticipated Windows Phone 8 devices, the ones that are supposed to mark a turning point for Nokia and help the company right the ship so to speak.

For those that have been following Nokia's trek into Windows Phone devices the design might look alot like the previous generation phones. Aesthetically, the Lumia 920 looks like a sleeker, more stylish Lumia 900 but with a gloss polycarbonate shell that Nokia says is even stronger and sturdier.As for the internals the Lumina 920 also receives a major upgrade.

Where the older Lumina 900 featured a 1.4GHz single-core Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 4.3-inch AMOLED display with an 800x480 resolution, 8MP rear-facing camera, 720p video recording, 1MP front-facing camera, no NFC support, and an 1,830 mAh battery The new Lumina 920 features a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage (along with 7GB of free SkyDrive cloud storage from Microsoft), and 4.5-inch HD (1280x768) IPS display. It has an 8.7MP rear-facing camera, 1080p video recording, 1280x960 front-facing camera, HSPA+ or 4G LTE connectivity, NFC support, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.1, and 2,000 mAh battery.

The Nokia Lumia 820 is basically a 920 without the PureView camera. It has the same polycarbonate shell, HD+ display, NFC, built-in apps, and wireless charging. But it also gets a changeable back cover, which will allow users to switch the colors of their smartphones.

The Lumia 920 (above) features a 4.5” PureMotion HD+ display (the world’s brightest, fastest, and most sensitive touchscreen) as well as an integrated Qi battery so users can charge wirelessly. The Lumia 820 (below) features a 4.3” OLED Wide Video Graphics Array (WVGA) display, a 1.5 GHz Dual Core Snapdragon processor, and comes in an array of colors.

Nokia Lumia 820 specs

• Display: 4.3 inch screen
• Storage: 1 GB RAM, 8 GB memory
• Camera: 8 MP with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash; front-facing camera (VGA)
  
• Smart Shoot combines shots for the perfect portrait
  bullet
• Nokia City Lens reveals local landmarks, restaurants, and more
• Processor: 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual core processor
• Battery: Removable battery BP-5T (1650 mAh)
• Wireless charging support with separate wireless charging covers
• Network: GSM, LTE, WCDMA
• SkyDrive and Nokia Mix Radio
• Available colors: Black, Red, White, Yellow, Grey, Purple, Blue
• Nokia Lumina 820 Product Page

Nokia Lumia 920 specs

• Display: 4.5 inch screen
• Storage: 1 GB RAM, 32 GB memory
• Camera: 8.7 MP with Optical Image Stabilization and Carl Zeiss optics; short-pulse, high-power LED flash
• PureView and optical image stabilization for best low light pictures
  bullet
• Smart Shoot combines shots for the perfect portrait
• Nokia City Lens reveals local landmarks, restaurants, and more
• Processor: 1.5 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• Battery: Integrated BP-4GW battery (2000 mAh) Wireless charging support
• Network: GSM, LTE, WCDMA
• PureMotion HD+, Nokia’s brightest, fastest and most sensitive touchscreen
• Nokia Mix Radio and Skydrive
• Available colors: Black, Red, Yellow, White Grey
• Nokia Lumina 920 Product Page

Pricing, and availability have not been released yet with  Microsoft and Nokia promising these details will be announced in the fourth quarter of this year.

For more details see the official announcements:

• Windows Phone Blog: Announcing the Nokia Lumia 820 and 920
• Official Microsoft Blog: First Windows Phone 8 Devices from Nokia Unveiled in New York City Today
• Nokia Official Blog: Introducing the Nokia Lumia 920
• Nokia Press Release: New Nokia Lumia Range Delivers Latest PureView Camera Innovation, New Navigation Experiences and Wireless Charging on Windows Phone 8
  

Google Accuses Microsoft, Nokia Of Conspiring Against Android

Google has filed a complaint with the European Commission (EU), accusing Nokia and Microsoft of patent abuse against the Android platform. At the heart of the complaint is the accusation that both companies are using "patent trolls" or third party companies to bring lawsuits that stifle competition.

"Nokia and Microsoft are colluding to raise the costs of mobile devices for consumers, creating patent trolls that side-step promises both companies have made," a Google spokesman said in a statement. "They should be held accountable, and we hope our complaint spurs others to look into these practices."

The complaint isn't an actual lawsuit, but rather informational reports, sent to regulators in the EU that Google hopes will make them aware of actions that they believe are anti-competitive. Google submitted the documents to preempt Microsoft and Nokia from using proxies to wage patent wars against companies that might otherwise use Android.

According to reports by CNet Google's main concern is over patents being sold to third party "patent firms" which make money licensing patents and collecting royalties from other companies (ie patent tolls).

Nokia just sold 2,000 wireless patents and patent applications to a company called Mosaid. A Canadian patent firm that, makes its money by licensing patents and collecting royalties, sometimes via lawsuit. Google worries that the essential patents now held by Mosaid will be used as a tool to fight against Android, rather than being shared on reasonable terms.

Microsoft's response so far is: 

"Google is complaining about patents when it won't respond to growing concerns by regulators, elected officials and judges about its abuse of standard-essential patents, and it is complaining about antitrust in the smartphone industry when it controls more than 95 percent of mobile search and advertising," Microsoft said in a statement. "This seems like a desperate tactic on their part."

CNet says Mosaid is not the only company on Google's radar. Nokia sold 450 patents and patent applications to Sisvel in January. And Rockstar, a consortium that includes Microsoft and Apple, won 6,000 patents and patent applications from Nortel, the bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment maker, and received permission from regulators in March to close the deal.

Honest Opinions From Geek News

Personally I really think these patent wars are going to come to a head and there will be a breaking point. At some point either the companies involved have to come to an agreement or the regulating bodies have to force a compromise. Right now the market is lively and consumers are hungry, we have choices and we are content. If one company wins out and achieves a blockade over another then we might not be and we might see a need for some serious action.

I've said this before, though I'm sure I'll say it again, I don't recall patents being the hot topic they are today. I'm not sure if there was less actionable infringement or just less press? Either way, it would seem as we are keeping an eye open on the goings on with the patent wars more than ever. The worst part is in the end it is the consumer, the everyday Geek that looses out!

Further Reading:

Google alleges Microsoft, Nokia are abusing mobile patents in complaint filed in Europe
Google accuses Microsoft, Nokia of patent 'trolling'
Google Files Complaint in Europe Against Microsoft, Nokia

Nokia Offers Lumia 900 Owners Replacement and $100 Credit For WiFi Bug

Nokia has confirmed a software bug resulting in Wi-Fi connectivity issues on the company's flagship Windows Phone 7 based Lumia 900.

Late Tuesday Nokia issued an apology to customers and owned up to its mistake stating that there was an issue with the phone's software -- specifically a memory management issue -- and not an underlying issue with the phones hardware, OS or the AT&T network.

This issue is purely in the phone software, and is not related to either phone hardware or the network itself. As a proactive and prudent measure, we decided to take immediate action. We have identified the issue, and have developed a solution.

Nokia will be issuing a software based patch for users next week. However, they are offering anyone that has already purchased a Lumia 900 the following two options:

1. Swap your current Lumia 900 for an updated Lumia 900. This should fix any WiFi issues
2. Keep your current phone and you will be able to update your own device with the latest software via Zune on or around Monday, April 16th.

As a gesture of good will Nokia is also offering every individual who has already purchased a Nokia Lumia 900 — or who plans to purchase one between now and April 21st – a $100 credit to their AT&T bill.

Don't Expect A Nokia Windows Phone Anytime Soon

By now I'm sure you've heard that Nokia has announced a partnership with Microsoft to release Windows Phone OS based mobile products and services. What you might not have heard is that Nokia is not adopting Microsoft's current Windows Phone 7 platform – which means that there is no chance of any handsets running Microsoft's software before the end of summer.

According to reports Nokia has decided to forgo development of a new handset or any other mobile devices based on WP7, the current version of the Windows Phone platform. Instead the company is going to wait until the next major release of the operating system, codenamed "Mango", is made available this coming October – and that is expected to have a slightly different name from the current Windows Phone 7 name.

The reports cite the odd exclusion of “Windows Phone 7,” only the mention of a new “Windows Phone” in last weeks announcements. That coupled with Nokia's refusal to confirm a likely release date for its first Microsoft-powered handsets has many convinced the company will be waiting until at least fall of this year. Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, has stated that we will see the Windows Phone operating system on a Nokia device this year, but the company will be shipping them "in volume" in 2012. So its possible we won't actually get hands on the device until early next year.

Nokia And Intel Join Forces, Combine Moblin-Maemo Into MeeGo

During the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia and Intel disclosed that the two companies with combine the forces of their Linux distributions Maemo (Nokia) and Moblin (Intel) into a joined Linux platform called MeeGo.

MeeGo blends the best of Maemo with the best of Moblin to create an open platform for multiple processor architectures. MeeGo builds on the capabilities of the Moblin core OS and its support for a wide range of device types and reference user experiences, combined with the momentum of Maemo in the mobile industry and the broadly adopted Qt application and UI framework for software developers.

In order to run the whole thing as an open-source project MeeGo will be under the control of Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux.

MeeGo run on a wide range of PC-like devices, including pocket portable mobile PCs, netbooks, tablets, smartphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems. Building upon a partnership the companies announced in June 2009, MeeGo is expected to be widely adopted by OEMs, device manufacturers and network operators. For more information, visit www.meego.com. 

"Our vision for seamlessly communicating between computing devices from the home, auto, office or your pocket is taking a big step forward today with the introduction of MeeGo," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. "This is a foundational step in our evolving relationship with Nokia. The merging of these two important assets into an open source platform is critical toward providing a terrific experience across a variety of devices and gaining cross- industry support."

Watch the Intel-Nokia Press Conference Webcast Replay from Barcelona

Source: Intel Press Release

Nokia Recalls Millions Of Cell Phone Chargers

Nokia today initiated a charger exchange program, in which consumers owning certain Nokia-branded chargers manufactured by a third-party supplier are recommended to exchange these chargers for free replacements.

During a routine quality control process, Nokia identified a potential product quality issue with certain chargers manufactured by one of its third-party suppliers. The plastic covers of the affected chargers could come loose and separate, exposing the charger's internal components and potentially posing an electrical shock hazard if certain internal components are touched while the charger is plugged into a live socket. Nokia is not aware of any incidents or injuries related to these chargers.

Only a limited number of chargers of certain model types manufactured by a single third-party supplier during a specific time period are within the scope of the exchange program. They are the AC-3E and AC-3U models, manufactured between June 15, 2009 and August 9, 2009; and the AC-4U model, manufactured between April 13, 2009 and October 25, 2009.

For more information, including how consumers can check to see if their chargers are part of this exchange program, Nokia has established a website. Consumers are asked to visit http://chargerexchange.nokia.com or their local Nokia website.

Nokia recommends consumers with chargers within the scope of this exchange program to stop using the charger and exchange it for a free replacement.

Affected chargers may have been sold with a Nokia device or purchased separately as an accessory.Your charger is not impacted by this action if you purchased it before June 15, 2009 for models AC-3U and AC-3E and before April 13, 2009 for model AC-4U or it is a similar charger model manufactured by any other supplier.

An exchange program has been arranged for all markets in which affected chargers have been sold. To minimize inconvenience to customers, the exchange will take place at the country level. To determine if your charger is part of the recall visit the Nokia exchange program website, enter your charger model number, id number and check for validation.

Source: Nokia

Nokia Unveils The Nokia N900 A Linux-based Maemo Phone

Maemo 5 injects speed and power into mobile computing

Nokia today marked the next phase in the evolution of Maemo software with the new Nokia N900. Taking its cues from the world of desktop computing, the open source, Linux-based Maemo software delivers a PC-like experience on a handset-sized device.

The Nokia N900 has evolved from Nokia's previous generation of Internet Tablets and broadens the choice for technology enthusiasts who appreciate the ability to multitask and browse the internet like they would on their desktop computer.

Running on the new Maemo 5 software, the Nokia N900 empowers users to have dozens of application windows open and running simultaneously while taking full advantage of the cellular features, touch screen and QWERTY keyboard.

"With Linux software, Mozilla-based browser technology and now also with cellular connectivity, the Nokia N900 delivers a powerful mobile experience," says Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Markets, Nokia. "The Nokia N900 shows where we are going with Maemo and we'll continue to work with the community to push the software forward. What we have with Maemo is something that is fusing the power of the computer, the internet and the mobile phone, and it is great to see that it is evolving in exciting ways."

Designed for computer-grade performance in a compact size, Maemo complements Nokia's other software platforms, such as Symbian, which powers Nokia's smartphones.

"Just as Nokia continues to expand and diversify its device portfolio, so it is deploying multiple platforms to allow it to serve different purposes and address different markets. While we have seen continued growth in Symbian as a smartphone platform, Maemo enables Nokia to deliver new mobile computing experiences based on open-source technology that has strong ties with desktop platforms," says Jonathan Arber, Senior Research Analyst in Consumer Mobile at IDC.

More multitasking with Maemo

The Nokia N900 packs a powerful ARM Cortex-A8 processor, up to 1GB of application memory and OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics acceleration. The result is PC-like multitasking, allowing many applications to run simultaneously. Switching between applications is simple, as all running content is constantly available through the dashboard. The panoramic homescreen can be fully personalized with favorite shortcuts, widgets and applications.

To make web browsing more enjoyable, the Nokia N900 features a high-resolution WVGA touch screen and fast internet connectivity with 10/2 HSPA and WLAN. Thanks to the browser powered by Mozilla technology, websites look the way they would on any computer. Online videos and interactive applications are vivid with full Adobe Flash(TM) 9.4 support. Maemo software updates happen automatically over the internet.

Messaging on the N900 is easy and convenient thanks to the full physical slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Setting up email happens with only a few touches and the Nokia Messaging service mobilizes up to 10 personal email accounts. Text message or IM exchanges with friends are shown in one view and all conversations are organized as separate windows.

The Nokia N900 has 32GB of storage, which is expandable up to 48GB via a microSD card. For photography, the Maemo software and the N900 come with a new tag cloud user interface that will help users get the most out of the 5MP camera and Carl Zeiss optics.

The Nokia N900 will be available in select markets from October 2009 with an estimated retail price of EUR 500 excluding sales taxes and subsidies. The Nokia N900 will be displayed at Nokia World, Stuttgart, on September 2. More information on Maemo is available at http://maemo.nokia.com.

Nokia Launches New "Nokia Money" Mobile Banking Service

Nokia today introduced a new mobile service that allows anyone with a Nokia phone to send and receive money with a text message or voice call. Dubbed Nokia Money, the new financial service is aimed at the the millions of people who have a Nokia device and have limited or restricted access to banks or other financial institutions.

The Nokia Money service will be operated in cooperation with Obopay, a leader in developing global mobile payment solutions, which Nokia invested in earlier this year. The service is based on Obopay's mobile payment platform, with unique and newly developed mobile elements. Nokia intends the service to be open and interoperable with other payment services as well.

"Obopay shares Nokia's vision for bringing mobile financial services to millions of people worldwide. We're excited that Nokia has chosen Obopay's platform. Nokia's leading market position, strong brand recognition and global distribution channel, using the Obopay platform with uniquely developed mobile elements, means the Nokia Money service is well positioned to bring the next generation of mobile payment services to the world," said Carol Realini, Founder and CEO of Obopay.

The Nokia Money service will be shown for the first time at Nokia World on the 2nd and 3rd of September 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany, and it is planned to be rolled out gradually to selected markets, beginning in early 2010.

For more details on the new Nokia Money service checout the full Nokia press release - "Nokia brings mobile financial services to millions"

Nokia's Ovi Store Officially Opens For Business

Hoping to follow in the successful footsteps of Apple and the App Store Nokia has officially launched their very own application store. Starting this morning Nokia officially opened the Ovi Store to an estimated 50 million Nokia device owners across more than 50 Nokia devices.

Customers can visit store.ovi.com through their Nokia device browser to immediately begin downloading, personalizing applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services and much more.

"Ovi Store is open for business and we've stocked the shelves with both local and global content for a broad range of Nokia devices," said Tero Ojanperä, Executive Vice President, Nokia Services. "Ovi Store makes shopping for content and applications easy and fun for feature phone and smartphone owners alike."

Currently the app store is only available in English, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish and only supports operator billing in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom. Global users can utilize credit card billing for fee based applications through the mobile application and the mobile website. Nokia has promised that they will be adding additional countries, languages, devices and features throughout the year. As well as announcing an agreement with AT&T, which plans to make the Ovi Store available to its customers in the United States later this year.

In the early going the store has received mixed reviews. Early this morning CNet News reported issues with site slow downs tot he point that purchasing a paid application during testing was impossible. TechCrunch has even gone so far as to call the launch of the store a "complete disaster" citing not only severe slow downs but disappearing applications or duplicate applications and an overall unorganized overly complicated feel.

The Ovi team posted a response to a few of the re-occurring performance issues:

Shortly after launching the Ovi Store at 2 am ET, we began experiencing extraordinarily high spikes of traffic that resulted in some performance issues for users accessing store.ovi.com and store.ovi.mobi. We immediately began to address this issue by adding servers, which resulted in intermittent performance improvements. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused Ovi Store users and encourage you to continue giving us feedback as we develop the service further.

The Ovi Store device client, however, has continued to perform very well and there were no reported issues from users logged on through that entry point.

Several other sources believe the Ovi Store might be a step forward and will eventually be a huge success for Nokia. That is once they work through the growing pains. The fact that the store can be accessed from over 50 different Nokia handsets and can be reached from any mobile provider's network may prove to provide a much larger reach than that of the App store.

For more on the launch of the Ovi Store checkout Nokia's full press release.

Nokia Announces New App Store The Ovi Store

Nokia to deliver highly relevant content with Ovi Store

Nokia will start connecting content providers with consumers through a one-stop shop, the Ovi Store, which will offer consumers relevant, targeted media through their social connections and their physical location information. When it opens in May, the Ovi Store is a scalable media distribution network unrivaled in size and opportunity, with advanced content targeting capabilities and monetization options that allow content providers and application developers to leverage the power of Nokia's global scale in devices. Beginning in March, content providers, developers and the existing Forum Nokia developer ecosystem can begin uploading their content at publish.ovi.com to be the first to distribute their media through the Ovi Store. Content providers can sign up there today for access.

The Ovi Store will consolidate the best experiences from the current content services including Download!, MOSH and WidSets to a single channel, and expands upon Ovi Services to deliver media influenced by the people and places that matter to you. It will amplify content provider and developer opportunities and simplify the consumer content discovery process by offering personally relevant, up-to-the-minute media for their devices. The content will range from applications, games and videos to widgets, podcasts, location-based applications and personalization content for Nokia Series 40 and S60 devices. The Nokia N97, available in June, will be the first device to include the simple and easy-to-use storefront. In addition, tens of millions of existing Nokia Series 40 and S60 users will be capable of enjoying the new service starting in early May.

"The Ovi Store will enable our devices to uniquely surface relevant content for consumers based on the people who matter to them and the particular places they happen to be, bringing a new generation of media services to the fingertips of millions of people around the world," said Tero Ojanperä, Executive Vice President, Nokia Services. "By leveraging our strengths as a company and the assets of our partners, the Ovi Store is a 'smart store' that will change the way our consumers discover and consume content on their mobile devices, ultimately making the experience easier, more fun and most importantly, more relevant."

Unlike traditional mobile storefronts, the Ovi Store, if enabled by the consumers, will target those consumers with tailored content based on Nokia's unique ability to take advantage of and learn from the consumer's location and social connections. From this point on, the media you consume is no longer just about "what" you're buying, but also now about "where," "when," "why," and "who" bought what. Consumers will be able to activate social discovery so that content enjoyed by their social network can be automatically surfaced and made available for download and repeat consumption. Content will also be presented based on location so that consumers will always have the most relevant experience wherever they are in the world. Consumers will be able to choose to pay for content with a credit card or through operator billing. By providing a choice of payment options for consumers, content providers and developers will gain access to consumers in markets where credit cards are not widely available.

"Ovi Store will empower consumers around the world to take better advantage of the power of mobile through a new content discovery experience," said Mauro Montanaro, CEO of Fox Mobile Group. "We are excited to broaden our relationship with Nokia and believe Ovi will enhance our ability to take uniquely innovative content, such as from the upcoming 20th Century Fox release, Ice Age 3, and create unparalleled mobile entertainment experiences across millions of devices."

In utilizing the current Nokia content services, the Ovi Store is expected to launch with an existing addressable device base in the tens of millions while growing the service to an estimate of 300 million consumers by 2012. For content providers and developers, this provides an opportunity to individually reach a universe of potentially hundreds of millions of people, making it the world's largest media network. With the industry's largest footprint of Adobe Flash supported devices, Ovi Store will be the premier distribution channel for applications commissioned by the Adobe and Nokia USD 10 million Open Screen Project fund. Forum Nokia, Nokia's global developer support program, will also continue to support, educate and challenge its more than 4 million registered developers to add to the applications already available for Nokia Series 40 and S60 devices through this single channel.

To enable content providers from all over the world to distribute through the Ovi Store, Nokia is opening publish.ovi.com for content providers and developers to submit their media and choose how to monetize it through an easy and automated process. Once the Ovi Store opens in May, it will also offer content providers and developers dashboard reporting to monitor how well their content is selling on the Ovi Store through publish.ovi.com.

What some of the Ovi Store partners are saying:

"EA Mobile has been successfully pre-loading and offering our broad range of games to Nokia consumers around the world for many years" said Javier Ferreira, VP Publishing Europe, EA Mobile(TM). "We are very enthusiastic about the new Ovi Store as it combines ease of discovery, relevancy and recommendation which are essential in any quality content offering."

"We're very happy to be working with Nokia to bring its consumers a great Facebook experience, and give even more people around the world the opportunity to share and connect on Facebook through their mobile devices," said Henri Moissinac, director of mobile, Facebook. "The Ovi Store will be a great distribution channel that will provide consumers with a simple way to discover new apps, such as Facebook, on innovative Nokia devices."

"Glu is excited to be a part of the new Ovi Store and supports Nokia's efforts to provide consumers with a wide offering of applications, including mobile games," said Jill Braff, SVP global publishing, Glu Mobile. "Glu will deliver a broad spectrum of high quality games to the new Ovi Store and we look forward to bringing consumers yet another way to access top-notch mobile games and continue to drive our business to greater heights."

"We are continually looking for opportunities to integrate MySpace into mobile devices and create a ubiquitous experience for our users," said John Faith, vice president and general manager of Mobile for MySpace. "By making MySpace available through the Ovi Store, we are enabling millions of Nokia handsets on-the-go access to their network in ways that fit their lifestyle."

"Qik is excited to be a part of this significant move by the largest handset manufacturer in the world," said Ramu Sunkara, CEO of Qik. "Inclusion in Ovi Store enables us to leverage the global scale of Nokia and get our application in the hands of hundreds of millions of Nokia users worldwide. We are really pleased to progress our relationship with Nokia by being a featured application provider in this important new marketplace."

Source: Nokia Press Release

Adobe and Nokia Announce $10 Million Open Screen Project Fund

New Fund to Accelerate Creation of Rich Mobile Content, Applications and Services

BARCELONA, Spain. — Feb. 16, 2009 — At the GSMA Mobile World Congress, Adobe Systems Incorporated and Nokia Corporation today announced a $10 million Open Screen Project fund designed to help developers create applications and services for mobile, desktop and consumer electronics devices using the Adobe Flash Platform. The new fund is a result of the Open Screen Project, an industry-wide initiative of more than 20 industry leaders set to enable a consistent experience for web browsing and standalone applications. Additional Open Screen Project partners are expected to join the fund in the future.

“We are excited about the Open Screen Project Fund and the possibilities it offers to designers and developers worldwide,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “With close to 40 percent of all new mobile devices shipped with Flash Lite in 2008, the fund will enable more developers to bring their rich content and services to a large number of mobile users.”

“The Open Screen Project Fund encourages the use of Adobe tools and existing developer skills to create exciting and unique Flash applications for millions of Nokia devices,” said Tero Ojanpera, EVP, Nokia Services. “Our end goal is to support these developers with resources, build awareness around the creative possibilities with Flash and help bring these innovative experiences to market through Nokia distribution channels.”

Developers are invited to submit concepts for applications that are based on the Adobe Flash Platform, will run on Nokia devices, and will work on multiple screens, including mobile, desktop and consumer electronics devices. Applications will be reviewed for how innovative and compelling the user experience is, how robust the application or planned implementation is, and how well it exploits the capabilities and features of Nokia devices, Adobe Flash and Adobe AIR™, which enables developers to use proven web technologies to build applications that extend outside the browser.

Projects submitted for development will be reviewed by a group of multi-screen application and services experts from Open Screen Project partners including Adobe and Nokia. Focus areas include: entertainment; social networking; productivity; gaming; news and information. Developers retain all rights to their applications while Adobe and Nokia have the right to evaluate, test and promote the content. For more information and details on how to apply, visit www.openscreenproject.org .

Announced in May 2008, the Open Screen Project is designed to enable a consistent runtime environment across screens. The initiative is dedicated to enable web content, standalone applications and full web browsing across televisions, set-top boxes, mobile devices and other consumer electronics that take advantage of Adobe AIR and Adobe Flash Platform capabilities.

The Adobe Flash Platform is the de facto standard for delivering breakthrough applications, content and video on the web. Flash Player content reaches over 98 percent of Internet-enabled desktops, and over 80 percent of online videos worldwide are viewed using Adobe Flash technology, making Flash the number one platform for video on the web. Adobe Flash Lite delivers rich experiences across mobile devices and other consumer electronics. Adobe Flash Player is a key component of the Adobe Flash Platform, a complete system of integrated tools, frameworks, clients and servers. For more information, visit www.adobe.com/flashplatform.

In a second separate announcement(pdf) Adobe announced that Palm will be joining the Open Screen Project.

The work of the Open Screen Project will help deliver Adobe Flash Player for smartphones on the new Palm webOS platform. The unique capabilities of the web-centric Palm webOS, combined with Flash Player, will enable webOS device users to benefit from the huge amount of Flash based web content for a richer, more complete Internet experience.

“We’re excited that our customers will benefit from the creativity and broad range of Flash content and applications created by the millions of designers and developers using Adobe’s popular tools and technologies,” said Pam Deziel, vice president, software product management, Palm, Inc.

“As an industry innovator Palm will be an important contributor to the Open Screen Project,” said Michele Turner, vice president for Product Marketing, Flash Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “We’re aiming to bring a rich, Flash technology-enabled browsing experience to Palm’s impressive web browser.”

Source: Adobe Press Release

Nokia N97 Unveiled

Today at the Nokia World 2008 conference in Barcelona, Spain Nokia announced the N97. The new handset from Nokia isn't expected until spring of next year, but that doesn't stop Nokia from hyping it up as the next iPhone killer today.



The N97 features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3.5" - 16:9 aspect ratio - touchscreen and a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar lens and dual LED flash. The phone also comes packed with 32GB of onboard memory and if that isn't enough it can be expanded with a 16GB microSD card.

For connectivity the N97 is a 3G phone that can also do HSDPA speeds of 7.2Mb/s (obviously, if your carrier can handle it) and features integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There is also A-GPS (assisted GPS) with an electronic compass.

For software the N97 runs on Symbian S50 5th Edition. Users will see the addition of home screen widgets that enable you to update social networks automatically with your status and location as well as related pictures or video. The N97 will also be fully compatible with Nokia's Ovi Internet services, which include the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, and the N-Gage gaming platform--though these services have yet to fully launch in the United States.



The down side to the N97 is going to be the estimated price tag which is reported to be about $700 before carrier subsidies. The Nokia N97 is expected to begin shipping in the first half of 2009, so we'll have to wait until then to see how low the subsidies will bring it.