Nokia

Nokia was working on an Android phone before Microsoft buyout deal

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 15, 2018

In February of 2011, Microsoft and Nokia announced a joint strategic partnership that would see Windows Phone become the principal platform strategy for Nokia's mobile devices. And the Finnish giant took quite a bit of heat for putting all of its eggs in Microsoft's basket.

But according to a new report, the company had a plan b: an Android device. Sources familiar with the project say that a team within Nokia had Android up and running on its Lumia handsets "well before" it began buyout negotiations with Microsoft for its mobile phone business...

Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s devices and services business for $7.2 billion

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 14, 2018

Early Tuesday morning, Microsoft announced that it would be purchasing Nokia’s devices and services business. The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors for both companies, and is expected to close in Q1 of next year, pending regulatory approval.

As for the terms of the deal, Microsoft is paying EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s cell phone business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license the company's patents, for a total price of EUR 5.44 billion (or roughly $7.2 billion in US dollars) in cash...

New Microsoft ad touts Lumia 1020 camera, mocks iPhone users

Cody Lee ∙ August 22, 2013

My how the tables have turned. Five years ago Apple was running its 'I'm a Mac' ads, attacking the perceived weaknesses of PCs running Microsoft's Windows software. And now we have Microsoft making ads that attack Apple products.

The Redmond company's latest in a series of Cupertino-bashing commercials pits the 41MP camera of Nokia's Lumia 1020 against that on the iPhone 5. And as you can imagine, the spot paints iPhone users in a not-so-favorable light...

Nokia’s Lumia 925 ads take jabs at iPhone’s low-light performance

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

Apple's iPhone 5 is far superior to the iPhone 4S/4 in terms of the camera performance in low-light conditions. The industry hasn't stood still either and has been inching forward since last September's iPhone 5 debut. Specifically, Nokia's high-end Lumia smartphones have emerged as the mobile imaging devices to beat.

Its culture rooted in mobile imaging, Nokia felt compelled to challenge Apple's iPhone with a series of Lumia ads that criticize the Apple handset's relatively poor low-light performance compared to the Lumia PureView range.

It started with a rather bizarre ice-breaker 'Zombie' ad which set the overall tone two months ago. Then came Nokia's take on Apple’s 'Photos Every Day' ad and now two more commercials have arrived to proclaim the Lumias the king of low-light mobile imaging...

Specs of Nokia’s alleged Windows RT tablet tipped

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

The struggling cell phone giant Nokia has been notably absent from the tablet market despite talk of a Nokia-branded tablet being in the works. It appears the elusive product may be nearing completion, according to both leaked specs and a Nokia patent filing which outlines a tablet-like device sporting the familiar-looking detachable kickstand and keyboard combo reminiscent of the Touch/Type covers for Microsoft’s own Surface tablet.

As Nokia switched to Windows Phone for its smartphones, little wonder that the upcoming tablet is said to run Microsoft's Windows RT 8.1 operating system built for the power-efficient ARM architecture. The biggest drawback: Windows RT does not run any of the legacy Windows apps written for Intel chips...

Nokia’s Lumia 925 ad lambasts iPhone 5 camera

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 5, 2013

Microsoft's Apple-bashing in Surface commercials was just a start. Now the harsh criticism of Apple's devices extends to Microsoft-backed Nokia, whose Lumia 925 television commercial takes aim squarely at the iPhone 5's eight-megapixel iSight camera.

As you know, iPhones are Flickr's top three most popular cameras as "every day, more photos are taken with the iPhone than any other camera," per Apple's Photos Every Day ad. Nokia cleverly puts an interesting spin on the fact by believing that "better photos are taken with the Nokia Lumia than any other cameraphone"...

Microsoft reorganizes as Nokia unveils new 41MP phone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 2, 2017

Seemingly taking a page from Apple's playbook, Microsoft announced a major reorganization this morning. It's calling the move 'One Microsoft,' as it looks to rally behind a single strategy as one company, instead of a collection of separate divisional strategies.

The company says that moving forward, it will continue to release new devices and services. And this new approach will allow it to innovate with greater speed, efficiency and capability in a "fast-changing world," while helping them execute better than ever...

New Nokia ad pegs iPhone users as mindless zombies

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

You know you're doing something right when your competition spends more time in its commercials bad-mouthing you and your products than it does actually advertising its own. So Apple must be doing something extremely right.

We've seen it with Samsung, we've seen it with Microsoft, and now Nokia is getting in on the action. The Finnish handset maker released a new ad this morning that portrays iPhone users as mindless zombies. Full clip after the fold...

IDC: Apple, Android own 92% smartphone volume, Windows Phone beats BlackBerry

Ed Sutherland ∙ May 16, 2013

Just days after rival research firm Gartner released quarterly sales for iOS and Android, rival IDC today announced similar numbers for shipments of smartphones. Combined, iOS and Android maintained their stranglehold on the smartphone market, accounting for more than an astounding 92 percent of shipments during the first quarter of 2013.

In a surprising move, shipments of the Windows Phone smartphone operating system surpassed the BlackBerry OS, putting Microsoft in third place behind Android and iOS. I bet you didn't see that one coming...

New Nokia video pits PureView camera against iPhone 5, Galaxy S3

Cody Lee ∙ May 9, 2013

Nokia has yet to find an answer to the iPhone or Samsung's Galaxy line, but it's hoping it's getting closer. The Finnish phone-maker is expected to release a new flagship handset, the Lumia 928, within the next few months featuring its patented PureView technology.

Adding to the speculation, Nokia posted a new video yesterday on the Lumia's landing page of video shot with the 928's PureView camera, and compared with footage taken with the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy SIII. And I'll give you one guess who comes out on top...

A first: smartphone shipments outnumber feature phones

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

For some time, the mobile phone industry has been shifting toward more powerful smartphones and away from basic mobile phones. Now comes word that smartphones outnumber feature phones for the first time. The line was crossed in the first quarter of 2013 with 216.1 million smartphones shipping, accounting for 51.6 percent of all handsets sold. Smartphone shipments grew 41.6 percent during the quarter, up from 152.7 million units shipped during the same period in 2012, one industry research firm announced Thursday...

Nokia boss throws interviewer’s iPhone on the floor

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 22, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owvtKGlYFVA#!

Wow, this has got to be a new low for the ailing Nokia and its boss, former Microsoft exec Stephen Elop. With everyone trashing Apple these days, from investors to big media to analysts, the Nokia CEO apparently thinks piggy-backing on the trend is the way to go to score a few coolness points.

After an interviewer on a Finnish television said he had an iPhone in his pocket, a petulant Elop - unable to control his manners - nervously quipped "how embarrassing, I'll take care of that" before throwing the device on the floor as if it were a piece of useless junk. That's the first time a big name CEO has exercised such an utmost disrespect for a rival, at least to my knowledge...