Nokia finishes offloading Vertu, rumors claim Vertu plans a matching switch to Android

Vertu Constellation Quest in gold

Nokia has ended one of the more significant chapters in its tumultuous history: the Finnish phone giant has finished divesting Vertu to private equity firm EQT VI, shedding direct control of the definitive luxury phone brand. The formal switch lets Nokia keep a 10 percent stake and move 1,000 staffers to the newly independent company. Where Vertu goes next may be more intriguing, however. There’s no official word on any change of direction, but that hasn’t stopped tipsters from claiming to TechCrunch that there’s a big shakeup ahead. Supposedly, former Nokia VP Anssi Vanjoki will finally get the phone maker CEO position he’s been looking for through a Vertu spot, and he won’t simply follow in his former employer’s footsteps — upcoming Vertu phones may use Android, not Windows Phone. While it’s a very unconfirmed rumor, a switch-up wouldn’t be completely surprising when Vertu is still an all-Symbian house that needs more than just a few extra jewels to stay relevant.

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Nokia finishes offloading Vertu, rumors claim Vertu plans a matching switch to Android originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ComScore: iPhone grew to 34 percent US share in a pre-iPhone 5 world, Android still on top at 52 percent

ComScore iPhone moved up to 34 percent US share in a preiPhone 5 world, Android remained on top at 52 percent

Apple is all too used to the rumor cycle affecting its sales: the company just saw a dip in sequential iPhone shipments this spring as customers waited for what would ultimately become the iPhone 5. If you believe ComScore’s US smartphone market share estimates, though, Apple wasn’t the worse for wear this August. While the iPhone was in the doldrums this spring, it jumped almost a whole point versus an already positive July to hit 34.3 percent; we’re wondering if last-minute discounts played a part in keeping iPhone 4S sales healthy. Google didn’t have much to fear and saw Android climb to 52.6 percent, even if its ascent wasn’t as rapid as that of its Bay Area neighbor. RIM took the brunt of the losses and dipped to just 8.3 percent of the market in what’s increasingly a two-horse race, although Microsoft’s Windows Phone held its ground at 3.6 percent.

The wider US cellphone market tells a familiar story, with Samsung on top. There’s signs that the narrative is very close to changing, however: LG and Apple are now close enough, at one point’s difference, that Apple could seize second place by the time we see ComScore’s figures for September. Before interpreting Apple’s performance as some sign of a wider reversal of fortune, just remember that most of its challenges are on the world stage. There’s no guarantee that the Android-focused markets beyond American borders have been as receptive to iPhone price drops and updates.

Continue reading ComScore: iPhone grew to 34 percent US share in a pre-iPhone 5 world, Android still on top at 52 percent

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ComScore: iPhone grew to 34 percent US share in a pre-iPhone 5 world, Android still on top at 52 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia launches Belle Feature Pack 2 firmware OTA, Pureview 808 gets extra imaging goodies

Image

Like the proverbial groundhog, Nokia’s Feature Pack 2 for Symbian Belle peeked out a bit too early last month and had to withdraw back into its burrow. Now the new firmware upgrade for the Nokia 701, 700, 602 and Pureview 808 is out for realsies, with the latter star of the lineup getting the lion’s share of new trinkets. Specifically, the big-sensored phone will now have a landscape Gallery Grid view option, which will enable faster and easier zooming, editing and sharing of images; more picture info like ISO value, white balance and location; and a reset button to get back to the default image setting in one touch. All the above Symbian Belle phones will get an updated browser with better HTML5 support, a (much) faster keyboard, the Video Pro editing application and Car Mode — which gives “easy access to your phone’s key features when you’re driving,” according to Nokia. If that makes you feel better about your legacy Nokia OS investment after all the company’s Windows Phone 8 hoopla, check the source to see how to get it.

[Thanks, Fakhre]

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Nokia launches Belle Feature Pack 2 firmware OTA, Pureview 808 gets extra imaging goodies originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget visits Nokia House, walks down memory lane (video)

Engadget visits Nokia House, walks down memory lane

It’s not the first time Engadget editors have stepped foot at Nokia House — the company’s HQ in Espoo, Finland — but it’s always a treat, and our visit this week is no exception. Today we took a walk down memory lane, and spent some time with several Nokia handsets — from one of the very first mobile phones to the Lumia 920. We played with some of the more iconic models and designs, such as the 1011 (first GSM handset), 1610, 7700 / 7710 (S90), 7280 (lipstick phone), 770 / N800 tablets, N-Gage / QD, 3300, 8800, 8110 (from the Matrix movie), N93 / N93i, N91, N92, N76, N95 and finally the 7650 (the first handset running Symbian). In addition, we also got to handle some of the Lumia 820 and 920 accessories, including the Fatboy wireless charging pillow and JBL-branded Power Up speakers. Check out the gallery below then hit the break for our hands-on video. Oh, and don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for our live Q&A with Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop.

Update: That music-centric handset which uses an IBM Microdrive is the N91 (not N90) and was announced in 2005 (not 1995), and that flip-phone is the N76 (not the N75) — sorry for the slip in the video.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Continue reading Engadget visits Nokia House, walks down memory lane (video)

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Engadget visits Nokia House, walks down memory lane (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of September 17th, 2012

Refresh Roundup week of September 17th, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of September 17th, 2012

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Refresh Roundup: week of September 17th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 20:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viber comes to Symbian, S40 and Bada, adds HD voice calling and group messaging to Nokia Lumia handsets

 Viber comes to Nokia Lumias running Windows 7, brings HD Voice calling, group messaging

VoIP-over-3G app Viber broke down in tears when it learned that, after Android, iOS and Windows Phone, there were no new worlds to conquer. Then a helpful soul pointed out that there were more than 1.5 Billion S40 devices in the world, and it set about adding that to the existing 100 million users of its service. In addition, it’s bringing its free-calls platform to Symbian and Bada handsets while current Nokia Lumia owners running Windows Phone 7 will find they can now access HD voice calls and group calls. iOS users shouldn’t feel left out, however, since an update to their app will add support for a variety of languages including Simplified Chinese, Hebrew and Portuguese.

Continue reading Viber comes to Symbian, S40 and Bada, adds HD voice calling and group messaging to Nokia Lumia handsets

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Viber comes to Symbian, S40 and Bada, adds HD voice calling and group messaging to Nokia Lumia handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 06:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Symbian Belle FP2 for Nokia 808 PureView spotted early, pulled quickly

Symbian Belle FP2 for Nokia 808 PureView spotted, pulled early

Nokia has been tuning up its Symbian Belle phones with new software over the past few days, but there’s been one glaring exception: the 808 PureView. The camera-centered behemoth isn’t far behind, though, as a handful of users have spotted and grabbed a 113.10.1506 OS update lurking on Nokia’s servers before it was abruptly yanked. While Nokia hasn’t confirmed details of the upgrade, those few who tried the download can vouch that it really is Belle FP2, or Belle Refresh. As such, it’s bringing an overhauled keyboard with text prediction, new versions of the browser and music player apps, fresh widgets and no doubt a few under-the-radar bug fixes. It’s hard to know if the update is final code, so we’d advise caution before loading up any unofficial copies you might find — even so, it’s a portentous sign for 808 owners who’d like to have a definitive instance of smartphone-grade Symbian before the platform rides into the sunset.

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Symbian Belle FP2 for Nokia 808 PureView spotted early, pulled quickly originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ComScore: Android tops 52 percent of US smartphone share, iPhone cracks the 33 percent mark

ComScore Android tops 52 percent of US smartphone share, iPhone passes 33 percent

Both Apple and Google have reasons to break out the champagne in the wake of ComScore’s latest market share figures. Android is still sitting prettier than ever and just reached a new high of 52.2 percent for US smartphone share as of this past July, no doubt in part through at least a few Galaxy S III sales. Not that Apple is worrying about its US stake just yet, as the iPhone just passed the one-third mark to hit 33.4 percent — it gained share faster than Android in the space of the preceding three months. We don’t have much good news elsewhere, though, as the BlackBerry lost its hold on two-digit market share at the same time as Windows and Symbian continued to cede ground.

As for the overall cellphone space? The familiar pecking order of Samsung, LG, Apple, Motorola and HTC remains intact, although only Apple and HTC gained any traction with their respective 16.3 percent and 6.4 percent slices of the pie. LG has dropped quickly enough that it’s now within Apple’s crosshairs at 18.4 percent. As significant as the shifts can be, we’re most interested in what happens two months down the line, when ComScore can report September share: a certain phone’s launch is likely to skew the numbers, regardless of what HTC and Motorola bring to the table. Just be advised that US market share isn’t everything.

Continue reading ComScore: Android tops 52 percent of US smartphone share, iPhone cracks the 33 percent mark

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ComScore: Android tops 52 percent of US smartphone share, iPhone cracks the 33 percent mark originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Belle Refresh released worldwide today

Just this afternoon Nokia released a significant software update to their Symbian collection of devices going by the name of Nokia Belle Refresh. This update will affect a whole batch of Nokia smartphones including the Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia C7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia X7 and Nokia Oro. The Nokia E6 will also be updated later this week while the Nokia 500 is set to pop up within a few weeks from now.

This update to Nokia devices working with Symbian software is bringing on several rather fabulous upgrades including, first of all, a brand new web browser. This new web browser comes with HTML5 support for web apps of all kinds, and the release comes right alongside a brand new set of homescreen widgets as well. This update is also bringing on the previously released Microsoft Office Mobile App and Nokia Maps Suite 2.0 in one handy package.

With this update also comes a selection of new apps dedicated to imaging. You’ll get the update in one of several rollout phases that will be popping up very, very soon. Vanilla versions of devices will be coming first, those being the devices with no software variants depending on country or mobile carrier. After this software rollout is complete, the country and operator variants of the software will appear inside the next few weeks.

Users should be prepared – however one might prepare – for the possibility that certain 3rd party apps will not work immediately after updating to Nokia Belle Refresh. Nokia notes that “Just like after updating from Nokia Anna to Nokia Belle, some apps may not work due to compatibility issues. If you need more information on available apps, please contact your local Nokia Care support. Furthermore, you can also contact the respective App developer to enquire about the compatibility.”


Nokia Belle Refresh released worldwide today is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Nokia rolling out Symbian Belle Refresh with new web browser, home screen widgets

Nokia rolling out Symbian Belle Refresh with new web browser, home screen widgets

Good news for Nokia owners, as the company has begun the phased rollout of Symbian Belle Refresh. First and foremost, the OS update brings a new web browser with support for HTML5 web apps. Users will also discover new home screen widgets, and for those who’ve yet to snag ’em, Microsoft Office and Nokia Maps Suite 2.0 are also made part of the update. Symbian Belle Refresh is supported by the Nokia N8, E7, C7, C6-01, X7 and Oro, and will also include new imaging apps that are specific to the N8. The vanilla version of the software is now available, and Nokia expects that operator and country specific updates will be up for grabs in the coming weeks.

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Nokia rolling out Symbian Belle Refresh with new web browser, home screen widgets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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