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The Financial Times has reported that Nokia is in “exploratory” talks with several European carriers to share revenue for its upcoming Windows Phone 8 handsets in exchange for dedicated support. This would be a shift from its normal modus operandi, which is to sell as many phones as it can across all carriers at once, in favor of an approach which resembles Apple’s deal with AT&T for the iPhone in 2007. The Finnish company could be hoping to create the same level of excitement for its WP8 phone that Cupertino did back then — and may also be trying to offer a more profitable carrier alternative to Apple and Samsung, who use their dominance to grab the lion’s share of handset revenue. While operators like France Telecom (Orange) and Deutsche Telekom are said to be involved, all parties have declined to comment. So, take this for what it is — just a rumor at the moment — but based on deals it made in the US with AT&T and the Lumia 900, it wouldn’t be a shocker for Nokia to at least consider it.

Filed under: Cellphones

Financial Times: Nokia mulling revenue split with carriers for Windows Phone 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 01:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was a bit of a rough day for Microsoft and even Nokia following the earnings announcements from Thursday, but Zite CEO Mark Johnson is a huge fan of both companies and thinks it was time to bring the popular news app over to Windows Phone. The Zite team was able to receive support from Microsoft and Nokia to get the technical training they needed along with code and design clinics to help with the development.

Johnson said that the goal was to eventually have Zite on every mobile platform, so the move toward developing an app for Windows Phone was the next logical step. He said that working with the app guidelines provided by Microsoft was a great advantage due to the simplicity. Along with the less crowded marketplace for Windows Phone, which Johnson sees as a good thing, he said that Zite app can also benefit from an easier interface that doesn’t feature the multiple windows like iOS or Android does.

“I’m really excited to get in front of the news market because when we launch we will have the best news-reading application on Windows Phone,” Johnson said.

Although the user base is just a fraction of what iOS and Android have, Windows Phone did capture 1.9 percent of the market and should be steadily on track to gaining 11 to 13 percent by the year 2016, according to analyst research firm Gartner. Still, it’s pretty obvious that Windows Phone has a lot of catching up to do.

[via CNET]

Zite news app moves to Windows Phone is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday we wrote about a rumor stating that Windows Phone 8 devices would only be hitting the market in November, however it turns out that the rumor could be wrong after all. At Nokia’s financial results call yesterday, the company’s CEO, Stephen Elop, mentioned that Windows Phone 8 would be released in October – though it wasn’t mentioned whether it would be on the same date as Windows 8′s release for PCs and tablets.

There was no mention if Nokia will be the first to bring Windows Phone 8 smartphones to the market, but there’s likely chance they will since they’ve got pretty strong ties with Microsoft, not to mention the company gave up on other mobile platforms to fully support Windows Phone. Nokia is really depending on Windows Phone to pull them out of the slump they’ve been in and their Q2 financial report suggests that it’s working, however – Nokia will need to do something about the declining sales of its non-WP devices.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Windows Phone 8 seen on Vertu handset?, Upcoming Windows Phone 8 feature spotted in Nokia Lumia 900 ad?,

It’s been quite a morning for Nokia. Analyst and market expectations for the struggling Finnish company weren’t exactly positive, but while some of the news was as dire as predicted, there were gems amidst the rough. After the cut, diving operating losses, millions of Lumia Windows Phones, and a giggling Elop playing his cards close to his chest.

The two headline numbers are sales and losses. Nokia sold four million Lumia handsets in the three month period, the company confirmed, roughly double its sales for the previous quarter, and beating pre-news estimates. However, operating losses reached a whopping $1bn, despite net sales rising slightly.

Phone volumes altogether rose in fact, though only 600,000 handsets were sold in North America. €250m of Nokia’s income was straight out of Microsoft’s wallet, comfortably exceeding what Nokia is obligated to pay for Windows Phone licensing, though even that isn’t enough to promise a good Q3 2012.

So what’s in the pipeline? Elop was coy on specifics but enthusiastic in general about future Lumia handsets, saying the company was readying an array of new materials and technologies for its next-gen Lumias (and the range after that). The run-up to Windows Phone 8 has also given the company the time to prepare more differentiation between its devices and those of other Windows Phone OEMs, and Elop says we’ll see evidence of that in advanced location-based services that make Nokia the “Where” company.

What we might not see is a cross-carrier splurge of the sort common in Europe. Elop revealed that, contrary to popular belief that broader distribution means more sales, Nokia had in fact seen better returns focusing on a single carrier in the manner of the Lumia 900 on AT&T, instead of spreading its love across multiple carriers.

Nokia is counting on the double-whammy of Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 to reinvigorate interest in the platform and give Lumia a boost (Elop didn’t mention tablets, though did hint that Nokia might be looking at the possibility). However there are a few more rough months to come before the “transition” period is over.

Nokia Q2 2012 wrap-up: Transition seldom hurt so bad is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nokia is still taking its lumps in earnings, but CEO Stephen Elop has an idea as to how the troubled phone giant can carve out its slice of the smartphone market: like a real estate agent, it’s all about location, location, location. As he outlined in the company’s fiscal results call, the aim is to make Nokia the “where?” company — the go-to for location-based services, whether it’s Drive, Transport or anything else that locks in on our whereabouts. Facebook and Google are the “who?” and “what?” companies, Elop says. He also imagines that his own firm “could be a leader” in sensors as a whole, tracking subtler cues like the owner’s pulse rate. Whether or not Nokia puts itself in front through positioning, the executive gave a small tease of the future during the call — the next wave of Lumia phones will have “more differentiation,” and both Windows Phone 7.8 as well as Windows Phone 8 will make their way to budget Nokia hardware.

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia wants to become the ‘where?’ company, Lumias to become sensor masters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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