Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia is pushing hard with its The Dark Knight Rises tie-in with the Lumia 900, and its latest promo could be the best yet: full 3D maps of Gotham City. Previewed today in a new teaser video (which you can see after the cut), the map will allow users to “explore Gotham City like never before” complete with in-universe landmarks such as Wayne Tower.

Nokia is playing the full details as close to its chest as Bruce Wayne keeps his secret identity on the down-low, but this could be pure catnip to any Batman fan. The Lumia range gets an exclusive The Dark Knight Rises app, which comes with cast info, movie showtimes, trailers and more, as well as wallpapers and ringtones.

There’s also a location-based game, powered by Foursquare, which allows players to take the role of Batman or Bane and build up territory by checking into places, all with updates pushed to a Live Tile on the Windows Phone homescreen. It’s not clear whether those checkins will have any connection with the 3D Gotham map.

We don’t know when the 3D map will be released, but with The Dark Knight Rises set to hit theaters on July 20 that seems a reasonable time for Nokia to push it out.

Update: Now we’ve got some screenshots of the interface: looks like this is a desktop 3D mapping system rather than a phone app. Check out full-size shots in the gallery below.

Nokia maps 3D Gotham City in The Dark Knight Rises tie-in [Updated] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sometimes FCC filings are rife with details. T-Mobile and ZTE aren’t playing that game right now: a device has shown up at the US agency bearing only the T-Mobile Aspect name and a ZTE F555 model number. That already tells us that it’s likely to have 1,700MHz 3G inside, but the rest is left to our imaginings. It could be anything from a humdrum basic feature phone to a hotspot or future smartphone. We’re hoping it’s something as sleek as the upcoming Athena, but it could be an adaptation of mid-tier devices like the Mimosa X or a Windows Phone like the Orbit. With most details under wraps, we’ll have to sit tight until either an official launch or until more details slip. The only certainty is that ZTE isn’t finished with the US just yet.

Mysterious, ZTE-made T-Mobile Aspect swings by the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 19:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In December last year, Chinese electronics company Lenovo revealed its plan to launch its own Windows Phone handset this year. But it seems that Lenovo is not just interested in developing stock Windows Phone. According to WPDang, the company does not want to just sell stock Windows Phone devices, but it wants to customize it. The publication added that a few Lenovo research and development executives reportedly went to Microsoft’s headquarters to discuss the possibility of customizing the UI of the Windows Phone OS.

Microsoft, on the other hand, is reportedly open about customizations on its Windows Phone OS, which could mean that Lenovo has a chance. So far, only Nokia has the permission to make tweaks on Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. So the fate of Lenovo’s Windows Phone dream still hangs in the hands of the Redmond-based tech giant. But we’ve already seen a leaked prototype of a Windows Phone from Lenovo last year. Meanwhile, in June, China Tech News reported that Lenovo is already poised to launch its line of Windows Phone 8 devices in autumn this year.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Lenovo Windows Phone in second half of 2012, Windows Phone 8 devices to be available later this year?,

Ready for some hardcore smartphone market share numbers? ComScore’s got ’em for the three-month period ending in May 2012, and you probably won’t be terribly surprised by the outcome. First, let’s tackle smartphone platforms: Apple and Google posted minor increase month-over-month at 0.5 and 0.1 percent, respectively (1.7 and 0.8 over a three-month span). Microsoft (consisting of Windows Phone and Windows Mobile) didn’t budge between April and May, though it nudged up a tenth of a percentage point since February. RIM dropped 0.2 percent over one month, but it already experienced a much more painful sting — 2.0 percent — during the three-month period. Symbian also went through similar concerns, going down 0.2 percent month-over-month and 0.4 percent since February.

As for specific manufacturers, Apple once again comes out on top, adding 1.5 percent to its customer base over the last three months for a total of 15 percent share. Samsung, still leading the pack in total market share at 25.7 percent, only grew by 0.1. Given the OEM’s success in deploying the Galaxy S III to every major US carrier, we suspect that number will spurt up even higher over the next quarter. Among the companies losing share: LG, Motorola and HTC, losing 0.3, 0.8 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Continue reading ComScore: iOS and Android market share continues to climb, RIM and Motorola continue to fall

ComScore: iOS and Android market share continues to climb, RIM and Motorola continue to fall originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier this year, we brought you word that Nokia has decided to place all of their eggs in a single basket – which means that they do not have any Plan B so to speak, throwing their entire lot with the Windows Phone ecosystem. I guess it was rather premature to go along with the general consensus, as Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia has stepped forward to claim that they do have a Windows Phone ‘contingency plan’, after all.

Chairman Risto Siilasmaa dropped hints over a live Finnish TV talk show that Nokia has a backup plan just in case the upcoming Windows Phone 8 software tanks. Risto Siilasmaa is also F-Secure’s founder and former chief executive, having appointed as Nokia’s board chairman just a couple of months ago, and has thrown his weight behind Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system that more or less signalled the end of Symbian on most of Nokia’s handsets. Just what do you think Nokia’s Plan B actually is?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 get WiFi Hotspot feature in latest update, Windows Phone 8 prototype from Nokia ,