Nokia
Rogers releases the Nokia 6700 Slide
Aug 26th
Anyone who knows mobile in Canada knows that Rogers and Nokia have always had a good relationship, despite lack-luster sales.
Today, Rogers quietly launched another hand-set to the non-smartphone market with the Nokia 6700; a device packed with all the features you could ever need without the extra data cost. It comes loaded with Nokia’s S60 software and features the following specs:
- 2.2-inch display (resolution of 240 x 320)
- 2.5mm headset jack
- Holds up to 16GB with a microSD card
- Stereo FM radio
- 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera, auto-focus, LED flash and a front camera for video calling
Nokia devices have always been known for their reliability and sturdy build, so all this at a very reasonable $79.99 on a 3-year contract, or $229.99 off-contract isn a solid price point for the new gadget.
Check out more on the Nokia 6700 via Rogers.com
[via MobileSyrup]
Follow me on twitterNokia maintains handset market share lead, HTC cracks top ten
Aug 14th
| Company | 2Q10
Units |
2Q10 Market Share (%) | 2Q09
Units |
2Q09 Market Share (%) |
| Nokia | 111,473.8 | 34.2 | 105,413.4 | 36.8 |
| Samsung | 65,328.2 | 20.1 | 55,430.1 | 19.3 |
| LG | 29,366.7 | 9.0 | 30,497.0 | 10.7 |
| Research In Motion | 11,228.8 | 3.4 | 7,678.9 | 2.7 |
| Sony Ericsson | 11,008.5 | 3.4 | 13,574.3 | 4.7 |
| Motorola | 9,109.4 | 2.8 | 15,947.8 | 5.6 |
| Apple | 8,743.0 | 2.7 | 5,434.7 | 1.9 |
| HTC | 5,908.8 | 1.8 | 2,471.0 | 0.9 |
| ZTE | 5,545.8 | 1.7 | 3,697.9 | 1.3 |
| G’Five | 5,208.6 | 1.6 | NA | NA |
| Others | 62,635.2 | 19.30 | 45,977.2 | 16.1 |
| Total | 325,556.8 | 100.0 | 286,122.3 | 100.0 |
Nokia sold 111 million phones in the second quarter of 2010 to maintain its lead on top of the mobile phone market, at 34% market share. Based on rumours we hear in North America about Nokia’s inevitable demise, this comes as quite a shock to me, and, I’m sure, to a few of you.
RIM kept its 4th place hold on the market with 11 million handsets, and only 3.4%, but enough to keep it ahead of Apple, who sold 8.7 million iPhones last quarter for a 2.7% market share.
HTC is the big surprise here, with a 139% year-over-year increase in handsets. This is mainly due to Android’s huge proliferation in the United States, and HTC’s increased brand recognition worldwide as a favourable and reliable company.
Android, as we mentioned previously, is the number one platform in America, overtaking RIM in the last quarter. Worldwide, it still trails Symbian by a lot, and BlackBerry by a small amount, but has overtaken iOS to take third place at 10% worldwide marketshare.
Two years ago, few would have predicted that Android would become as successful and ubiquitous as it has in such a short amount of time. But here we are, two years later, and it’s a thriving brand, product, and platform.
Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2Q10 (Thousands of Units)
| Company | 2Q10
Units |
2Q10 Market Share (%) | 2Q09
Units |
2Q09 Market Share (%) |
| Symbian | 25,386.8 | 41.2 | 20,880.8 | 51.0 |
| Research In Motion | 11,228.8 | 18.2 | 7,782.2 | 19.0 |
| Android | 10,606.1 | 17.2 | 755.9 | 1.8 |
| iOS | 8,743.0 | 14.2 | 5,325.0 | 13.0 |
| Microsoft Windows Mobile | 3,096.4 | 5.0 | 3,829.7 | 9.3 |
| Linux | 1,503.1 | 2.4 | 1,901.1 | 4.6 |
| Other OSs | 1,084.8 | 1.8 | 497.1 | 1.2 |
| Total | 61,649.1 | 100.0 | 40,971.8 | 100.0 |
(via Gartner Research)
The Nokia 5250: A successor to the 5230, a bit more attractive.
Aug 10th
The Nokia 5230 touchscreen device has/had been somewhat of a darling to AWS carriers as of recent. Although it never sold exorbitantly, it did give the AWS carriers (T-Mobile in the US and WIND/Mobilicity here in Canada) the ability to sell a discount touchscreen device with or without contract. Bad part is the 5230 was never the best performing device or the most attractive for that matter and to this day Nokia hasn’t released a successor to it.
Today, Engadget posted a picture of what could be the Nokia 5250 launching on T-Mobile. It has much of the same features in a larger housing and similar low end touch screen display. One can expect this device to launch in the near future with T-Mobile followed by a Canadian launch shortly after, with a price tag of $119.99 off-contract.
[via Engadget]
Follow me on twitterN97 Mini Comes To Rogers – Too Late For a Nokia Breakthrough?
Jun 22nd
We have the iPhone 4 coming out shortly. We have 1GHZ mobile processors proliferating throughout the smartphone world. We have video chat, app store rivalries, custom ROMs, failing Palms. We have it all.
And then there’s Nokia. The once-King of the mobile world, it has, in recent years, fallen on some tough times. They were pioneers of the idea that everyone will want a smartphone. They lauded the European system of unsubsidized phones in exchange for no fixed-term contract. Their OS, once advanced, has become old and stilted, barely touch-capable in a finger-loving world.
So here comes the Nokia N97 Mini at Rogers. The phone is pretty. It has a tilted screen when you type. The resolution is a nice 360×640, but the sharpness is not as welcome on the resistive touchscreen as it would be on a capacitive. All in all, it’s a two year-old phone marketed as new. The hardware inside is barely passable anymore: 434MHZ processor, 128MB RAM. There is a 5MP camera with dual-LED flash plus video recorder. That’s pretty nice. And the phone supports Bluetooth, Wifi and triple-band 3G (meaning NAM and European 3G will work). MicroSD card. MicroUSB charging slot.
But would I recommend the phone, when the iPhone is coming out in a month on Rogers for $100 more? Would I even recommend it over the $99 8GB iPhone 3GS? Not a chance.
But it’s here if you want it. Check it out at Rogers.
Adobe Announces Release of Flash 10.1 for Mobile
Jun 22nd
Today Adobe announced the release of Flash for any Android smartphone running FroYo, also known as Android 2.2. For now this only applies to Nexus One users and those who have flashed a custom 2.2 ROM to their Android phone. Other Android will users will have to wait patiently for their 2.2 update before they can get in on the Flash-filled fun. Don’t feel left out though if you’re not an Android user, because Adobe had plenty to say in regards to our other favorite smartphone platforms (sans iOS of course):
Flash Player 10.1 was also released to mobile platform partners to be supported on devices based on Android, BlackBerry, webOS, future versions of Windows® Phone, LiMo, MeeGo and Symbian OS, and is expected to be made available via over-the-air downloads and to be pre-installed on smart phones, tablets and other devices in the coming months.
They use the typical “in the coming months” phrase which could mean by the end of the year based on the slow rollout thus far. Still, it’s good to know that Adobe has done their part and that it’s up to manufacturers to make the implementation happen. Adobe also promises great performance along with accelerometer support. While that all sounds very nice, we’ll believe it when we see it.
Join us after the break for the full press release.
[Via Adobe]
SAN JOSE, Calif., — June 22, 2010 —Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the release of Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 to mobile platform partners. Redesigned from the ground up with new performance and mobile specific features, Flash Player 10.1 is the first release that brings the full Web across desktops and devices. Mobile users will now be able to experience millions of sites with rich applications and content inside the browser including games, animations, rich Internet applications (RIAs), data presentations and visualizations, ecommerce, music, video, audio and more.
Already one of the top free apps on Android™ Market today, Flash Player 10.1 will be available as a final production release for smart phones and tablets once users are able to upgrade to Android 2.2 “Froyo.” Devices supporting “Froyo” and Flash Player 10.1 are expected to include the Dell Streak, Google Nexus One, HTC Evo, HTC Desire, HTC Incredible, DROID by Motorola, Motorola Milestone, Samsung Galaxy S and others. Flash Player 10.1 was also released to mobile platform partners to be supported on devices based on Android, BlackBerry, webOS, future versions of Windows® Phone, LiMo, MeeGo and Symbian OS, and is expected to be made available via over-the-air downloads and to be pre-installed on smart phones, tablets and other devices in the coming months.
“We are thrilled that more than three million Flash designers and developers are now able to unleash their creativity on the world of smart phones, tablets, netbooks, televisions and other consumer electronics,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business at Adobe. “The combined power of the leading rich media technology platform with millions of passionate creatives is sure to impact the world in ways we haven’t even imagined yet.”
Broad Partner Support
Device and technology partners including ARM, Brightcove, Dell, Google, HTC, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, RIM, Samsung, Texas Instruments and others announced more specifics around their support for Flash Player 10.1 today.
Content publishers including AgencyNet, AKQA, Armor Games, Blitz, CNET.com, HBO, JustinTV, Kongregate, Mochi Media, Msnbc Digital Network, Turner, Nickelodeon, Odopod, Photobucket, RAIN, Roundarch, Sony Pictures, South Park Studios, USA Network, Viacom, Warner Brothers and many others have also started to optimize Flash content to deliver the best possible experience within the context of smaller screens, which includes larger buttons for interactions, layout adjustments for mobile screens and more.
For details visit www.adobe.com/go/flashquote_sheet_101 or m.flash.com, Adobe’s showcase site for optimized Flash content. For more information on how to optimize Flash content for mobile, visit www.adobe.com/go/fpmobile.
New High Performance Features
Completely redesigned and optimized for mobile, Flash Player 10.1 delivers new interaction methods with support for mobile-specific input models. Support for accelerometer allows users to view Flash content in landscape and portrait mode. With Smart Zooming, users can scale content to full screen mode delivering immersive application-like experiences from a Web page. Performance optimization work with virtually all major mobile silicon and platform vendors makes efficient use of CPU and battery performance.
The new Smart Rendering feature ensures that Flash content is running only when it becomes visible on the screen, further reducing CPU and battery consumption. With Sleep Mode, Flash Player automatically slows down when the device transitions into screen saver mode. Advanced Out-of-Memory Management allows the player to effectively handle non-optimized content that consumes excessive resources, while automatic memory reduction decreases content usage of RAM by up to 50 percent. Flash Player pauses automatically when events occur such as incoming phone calls or switching from the browser to other device functions. Once users switch back to the browser, Flash Player resumes where it paused.
Industry Analyst Feedback
“Although it is labeled a dot release, Flash Player 10.1 is a significant update that includes a number of new performance and mobile specific features,” said Al Hilwa, program director of the Application Development Program at IDC. “This allows consumers to see a much bigger part of the Web and allows developers to bring their Flash Platform skills to a much bigger swath of devices.”
“For the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to test an Android Froyo device loaded with a beta of Flash Player 10.1,” said Ben Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies. “The overall experience and performance of Flash has been impressive. Mobile users now have access to full Web pages with rich Flash content on millions of sites. With the new mobile specific features, developers also have an important opportunity to help shape the way Web content, games, touch capabilities and more are presented across platforms and devices as Froyo and other platforms deliver full Flash support.”
Additional Resources
To watch demo videos of Flash Player 10.1 running across devices, including smart phones and tablets, visit www.adobe.com/devnet/devices/demos.
Availability
Flash Player 10.1 is expected to be available as a final production release for devices once users are able to upgrade to Android 2.2 “Froyo.” Once upgraded, smart phones, tablets and other devices can be updated with Flash Player 10.1 over-the-air via numerous ways including content triggered downloads, system software updates and on-device app catalogs such as Android Market, Adobe Labs and other venues. The upgrade mechanism will vary by device and device manufacturer. The desktop version of Flash Player 10.1 for Windows, Mac OS and Linux is available on http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer today.
Rogers Quietly Launches The Nokia N97 Mini
Jun 8th
We reported awhile ago that Rogers was planning expected to launch this Symbian powered bad boy, and the day has finally come. Our friends at Mobile Syrup just received the official product launch flyer, meaning the device is now ready to be ordered and shipped out to stores. Pricing is tentatively set at $99.99 on a 3 year voice and data, $399 on a 2 year, and $499 outright. For anyone out there still using (do you even exist?) an N-Series, Symbian powered device, this is definite upgrade.
Hit more for full specs on the phone:
N97 Mini comes packed with:
- 3.2-inch touchscreen (resolution of 640 x 360)
- Slide out QWERTY keyboard
- 5.0 MP Camera with video capabilities
- 8GB of memory and can hold up to 16GB with a MicroSD Card
- GPS
- Pre-loaded content including 4 full length Rihanna songs and 5 free premium games
via MobileSyrup
Follow me on twitter
Google Expands Buzz for Mobile to Additional Devices
May 28th
Today Google’s Mobile blog announced that Google Buzz for Mobile has come in an XHTML form. What this means is that where prior to this release only Android 2.0+ and iPhone users were able to use the mobile version of Buzz, now similar functionality has been brought to devices such Nokia devices, BlackBerries, Windows Mobile, and webOS.
Now don’t expect things to look quite as pretty on Symbian, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry because their native browsers will load a basic HTML version which can’t render any of the HTML5 magic that the Webkit browsers on the iPhone and Android do.
WebOS users haven’t had a good way to access Buzz from their handhelds until now. Granted, there was a way to force the webOS browser to identify the iPhone version of Buzz for Mobile, it’s still nice to have Google-approved access to Buzz. Since the webOS browser is Webkit-driven, it will load the same version as the iPhone and Android devices. As far as the basic HTML version, I tried it on a BlackBerry and it’s definitely not pretty. It is functional I suppose but personally if I needed to use Buzz I would just use Google Maps and its integrated Buzz feature. Google has allowed location support on BlackBerry handhelds however, I could not get it to work (yes I enabled javascript location support). (Ed. I got it to work fine on my Bold 9700).
While it’s certainly good to see Google actually recognizing webOS for a change, it wouldn’t hurt if they integrated Buzz into the native Google Maps app on Palm’s handhelds, and tried to bring some updated functionality to the relatively unchanged application.
Nokia N8 Coming To England End Of August, Apathetic Shrug Rattles Tea Cups
May 28th
Nokia’s new hotness is the N8, and a lot is resting on the combination of sexy hardware and updated Symbian OS, dubbed Symbian^3.
Well, according to Slashgear, the device should be available on August 25th in England, followed shortly by other cities around the world. It is unlikely, however, that the device will be available through any carrier in North America, as Nokia does not have a loyal fan base in the West, nor the WOW factor to pull anyone away from their incumbent favourites, BlackBerry, Apple and Android.
The phone was also man-handled over at Engadget, and while the interface certainly looks more modern and usable than previous Symbian iterations, it’s nothing new, and certainly brings no incentive to existing Android/iPhone users to switch over. Or maybe it does? Who knows?
Nokia X6 16GB hitting Canada soon.
Apr 19th
Nokia’s Canada webpage claims that the X6 16GB will be coming to Canadians soon. There is no word on what carrier will receive the device however, but rest assured that we should know shortly. Basic specs of the phone include a 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 640 x 360, Symbian S60 5th Edition, a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Wi-Fi, and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. As you can probably tell by now this isn’t exactly a high-end smartphone and likely won’t cost nearly as much as one. S60 makes this a slightly dated, but still fairly capable handset that shouldn’t break the bank. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more but for now feast your eyes on Nokia’s page for the full specs.
(Via MobileSyrup)
Interact With Us