Hasta La Gadget!

Here’s a nugget to chew on as you roll out of bed this morning. During “The Power of Applications” keynote today at Mobile World Congress, HTC CEO Peter Chou was just asked what his take was on the Microsoft / Nokia partnership. Of course, we’ve heard before that the company loves Android and WP7 equally, and it was certainly onboard from the get-to with the launch of the 7 Mozart, but it’s not often that one handset manufacturer comments on another. Contrary to popular belief, Peter seemed fairly positive on the deal, though he made sure to focus more on the software side rather than touching on Elop’s decision making skills. Here’s the quote in full:

“They’re doing what they have to do. It won’t be easy, but they’re doing what they have to do. We are very committed to Windows Mobile, and we are one of their lead partners for Windows Phone 7. So we are positive, because this combination will surely make that ecosystem stronger. As a strong player [in this ecosystem], HTC will be a beneficiary from [their decision].”

In other words, HTC’s pumped that WP7 now has more backing, which will in turn (hopefully) make its own Windows Phone 7 devices more marketable, attractive and desirable as the ecosystem grows stronger. Talk about looking on the bright side of things.

HTC CEO Peter Chou on Microsoft / Nokia partnership: ‘it’ll make the ecosystem stronger’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s happened. Former Microsoft exec and current Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has married his future and his past in the holy matrimony of a “strategic alliance.” Windows Phone is becoming Nokia’s “principal smartphone strategy,” but there’s a lot more to this hookup — scope out the official press release just after the break. Microsoft’s Bing and adCenter will provide search and ad services across Nokia devices, while Nokia will look to innovate “on top of the platform” with things like its traditional strength in imaging. Ovi Maps will be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services and will be integrated with Bing, while Nokia’s content store will be integrated into (read: assimilated by) Microsoft’s Marketplace. Xbox Live and Office will also, as is to be expected, feature on these brave new Microkia handsets. An open letter on Nokia’s Conversations site, penned jointly by Stephen Elop and Steve Ballmer, sets out the foregoing details along with the following statement of intent:

“There are other mobile ecosystems. We will disrupt them. There will be challenges. We will overcome them. Success requires speed. We will be swift. Together, we see the opportunity, and we have the will, the resources and the drive to succeed.”

Nokia and Microsoft enter strategic alliance on Windows Phone, Bing, Xbox Live and more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 02:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As Nokia comes up on Capital Markets Day next Friday — an event where the company has historically unveiled interesting things and launched important initiatives — rumors are once again swirling that they’re going to be announcing a major platform shift by way of a competitor. Both Android and Windows Mobile have come up in the past on multiple occasions, owing in no small part to the fact that Nokia’s had an outward appearance of spinning its platform wheels on the backs of Symbian and Maemo for far, far too long, but so far, nothing’s materialized. This time around, it’s said that Microsoft will be the partner announced on the 11th — and though Nokia’s uptake of Windows Phone 7 would be the obvious strategic shift, it’s important to note that these companies have actually partnered before with pretty trivial consequences for the market; it’s entirely possible they could be ramping up to do that again, sharing apps and services between Windows Phone 7 and Symbian / MeeGo. We doubt it, but it’s within the realm of reason.

But turning our attention back to the major platform shift, there are a couple factors that add a little more credibility to the rumor this time. First off, the elephant in the room: recently-appointed CEO Stephen Elop comes from Microsoft on good terms and has clearly been given marching orders to take Nokia in a new, more profitable direction; the Symbian Foundation’s gutting happened on Elop’s watch, for example, and he just hinted a few days ago that joining an existing ecosystem could make sense. More importantly, though, we’ve got a trusted source of our own who’s now saying that the tide has turned and this appears to be happening at Capital Markets Day — and that one of Nokia’s existing platforms will be dropped as a direct result. It’s hard to pick which one that’d be: Symbian, though terribly out-of-date, is still wildly popular in Europe and emerging markets, while MeeGo is technically promising but has yet to make any impact in the market whatsoever. On the flipside, noted Microsoft pundit Mary Jo Foley doesn’t put a lot of stock in this latest round of rumors.

So, here’s the question: can Nokia become another Samsung, LG, or HTC, betting its hopes and dreams on its chops as a hardware manufacturer alone? Historically, Nokia has been defined as much (if not more) by its platforms than by its hardware, which lacks Samsung’s capability for end-to-end in-house sourcing. Regardless of what happens next Friday, this should all make for a very interesting MWC indeed.

Nokia, Microsoft announcing partnership next week, possibly involving Windows Phone 7? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 12:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If Google and Microsoft can get in on the home energy management wave then hey, why not Intel? Chipzilla is teaming up with Capgemini SA to create a “tablet-style computer” that lets humans control the power consumed by their appliances. Later, presumably when there are enough of these smart devices on the grid, it could allow utilities to more intelligently manage its electricity allocation. According to Intel’s Joe Jensen, general manager for low-power embedded processors, “energy is a big part of our project to extend the fringe of computing out to the next thing.” Indeed, under Paul Otellini’s lead, Intel is targeting fuel pumps at the corner gas station, advertising signs, and even exercise equipment as it seeks opportunities beyond traditional computing devices — a market Intel believes to be worth about $10 billion. The goal of the Intel / Capgemini initiative is to offer a full-service smart-grid solution, according to Steven Harris, head of smart home services at Capgemini. Mind you, Intel’s involvement shouldn’t come as a total surprise here, seeing as how it was showing off wall panels for real-time utility management in the — groan — “digital crib” way back at CES in 2010. That’s one such device, pictured above.

Update: Corrected spelling from “Cap Gemini” (as Businessweek presented it) to “Capgemini” — this isn’t 2004 anymore. We also managed to unearth the official press release announcing Intel’s Home Energy Dashboard reference design built around the Atom processor. You’ll find that after the break.

Continue reading Intel and Capgemini to develop tablet for home energy management

Intel and Capgemini to develop tablet for home energy management originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen IBM and ARM team up before, but this week both companies announced a new joint initiative to develop 14nm chip processing technology. That’s significantly smaller than the 20nm SoC technology ARM hopes to create in partnership with TSMC, and makes the company’s previous work with IBM on 32nm semiconductors look like a cake walk. The potential benefits, though, are faster processors that require less power, and feature lower per unit manufacturing costs Who knows if or when we’ll see tangible results from the tag team, but if IBM’s Watson can beat Jeopardy champions, further reducing the average size of a feature that can be created on a chip should be elementary, right? To read over the full announcement check out the press release after the break.

Continue reading IBM forms new partnership with ARM in hopes of developing ludicrously small chip processing technology

IBM forms new partnership with ARM in hopes of developing ludicrously small chip processing technology originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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