Hasta La Gadget!

Skype might have some competition on their hands with the introduction of Rebtel, a Windows Phone app which is said to offer cheap and affordable international VoIP calling. Of course, this is not Rebtel’s maiden foray into the VoIP arena, as they have already catered to iPhone, Android, iPad, and Android tablet users in the past. Second in size after Skype where the mobile VoIP market is concerned, Rebtel for Windows Phone is available for free over at the Windows Marketplace, where anyone is capable of making high quality cheap international calls to their contacts using Rebtel’s local number network which is available in over 50 countries. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Windows Phone 8 goes RTM in September and Devices will come in November, Nokia loses $1 billion in Q2 2012,

Microsoft had previously told us that Windows Phone 8 will be out this fall, but Mary Jo Foley at ZDnet is reporting some new dates, including one for WP8: The OS will go to manufacturers in September, and devices will be available to the general public in November. So maybe hold off on getting a Windows Phone until then, yeah? [ZDnet] More »

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.

Permalink   |  SlashGear  | Email this | Comments

Nokia‘s next-gen Lumia handsets could see a significant departure from the design, functionality and approach of current models, CEO Stephen Elop has teased, with the company preparing strong differentiators for WP8. “As you see the next wave and the wave after that of Lumia products you’ll seen an increase in differentiations” Elop said during the Nokia Q2 2012 financial results call today. However, don’t expect to see every new Nokia available through every carrier out there.

Elop blamed a lack of time in shifting to Windows Phone 7 initially for the limited differentiation seen so far. Although the Lumia 800 and 900 use a distinctive polycabonate unibody chassis, that was borrowed from existing work on the MeeGo-powered N9. ”We’ve had more time to go beyond that as we go into future releases” Elop suggested.

What that differentiation might be is not specified, but Nokia’s chief exec had already set out his strategy for following in the footsteps of Google and Facebook. Nokia will reinvent itself as the “Where” company Elop said, pushing development of location-based services and systems that tie into the various sensors included on each smartphone. “The mobile device will become the nucleus for collecting real-time data from sensors” Elop predicted.

So far, Nokia’s differentiators have been generally limited to apps. The company includes Nokia Music, a free streaming radio service with a customizable “Mix Radio” feature, and Nokia Drive, which offers unlimited turn-by-turn navigation. There’s also Nokia Transport, which does something similar for public transportation.

As for carrier partners, Elop revealed that Nokia would be using specific carrier targeting for the next Lumias, based on the success of US sales. The broad focus across multiple carriers in Europe wasn’t, in fact, as successful as the more specific focus on AT&T with the Lumia 900 in the US, he argued, despite the fact that Nokia sold just 600,000 devices in North America last quarter.

Nokia WP8 phones will ramp up differentiation but trim down carriers is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.