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Nokia’s 6700 Gold Edition Smartphone On the Heels of Cutbacks
Dec 14th
On the Heels of A Cutback in Smartphone Offerings
Which Came First-The Chicken or the Egg?
The Phone or the Cutbacks? Did the makings of the phone cause the cutbacks or did the cutbacks necessitate the selling of the phone? Well, neither really. Or so they say. Apparently Nokia is scaling back the smartphone offerings in order to “…shrug off new rivals Apple and Rim,” according to Reuters. Jo Harlow, the new chief of Nokia’s smartphone unit stated that they are going to defend their position and they have the tools they need to play on the offensive as well as the defensive.
Apparently their goals are to lower prices while using their top OS mover, Symbian, to increase their margins. They are following the lead of Acer, who originally stated they would only be releasing 8-10 smartphones a year. And that is exactly what Nokia said they would be doing by cutting their offerings to almost half of what they offered this year (2009), which was 20 smartphones.
“We have cut down unnecessary differentiation, so that we have a far more focused portfolio for next year,” stated Antti Vasara, head of smartphones R&D, and by putting more effort into fewer products. The problem was all of the smartphones they has released over the past few years wee almost identical in many respects. SO now with a smaller selection, the differences in the models would be more noticeable
The Nokia 6700 Classic Premium
The announcement of this smartphone comes on the heels of the decision to cut back their offerings. A full 5 days later to be exact. But the question is, because it’s obviously been in planning for a while, was it really the cause of the cutbacks, or is it a targeted product in order to recoup some of the company’s losses?
The Nokia 6700 Classic Gold Edition is one of the most successful of the Nokia offerings and it just makes sense they would follow in the footsteps of the E97, a smartphone plated with 24 karat gold. The Nokia Classic 6700 Gold Edition is steel with 18 karat gold plating and comes with rich looking leather case and it’s own strap.
The 6700 Gold Edition also has the same features as the Classic 6700, a 5 megapixel camera on a 2.2 TFT display, a 970 mAh battery which when the phone is using 2G gets supposedly up to 416 hours of standby time and 5 hours of continuous talk time but when on a 3G network, only 414 hours of standby time and 4 hours continuous talk time. It is all- around still the Nokia 6700 Classic Smartphone.
And the Verdict Is?
I would like to know just one thing. Why would they make a phone such as this? It was bad enough they made the E72 with all it’s richness and glory, but now two gold smartphones? Especially since they announced the cutbacks, what would be the point of a gold phone? Maybe they are doing it because RIM doesn’t have any and they need to stay ahead, but even if that were the case, there are better ways of going about snuffing the competition. Like making newer, better phones. There is just no practical reason to make a gold phone. Oh well,, so much for the phrase “Waste not, want not,” huh?
For more great articles and user ratings and reviews, please visit the home page @ Youserbase.org
Check back tomorrow for more of the latest in the mobile phone industry. If any if our readers have any suggestions as what to review, or something you think needs to be talked about, feel free to leave a comment and I will see what I can do. Til then, happy phoning!
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Youserbase.org’s executive staff, and Youserbase.org as such hold no liability of any damages arising from any opinions expressed by the author.
China’s Growing Mobile Empire
Dec 9th
RIM and Nokia to Join Ranks with Motorola and iPhone
Nokia’s Joint Venture with New Alliance
Nokia Corp., the Finnish Mobile Phone company announced yesterday the makings of a 50-50 joint venture with Shanghai Alliance’s investment and services provider, New Alliance. The joint venture, creating a company to be based in China, Nokia Alliance Internet Services Company Ltd, will open its doors in January and will involve about 80 people, according to The Wall Street Journal Online.
Nokia’s Executive Vice President of Services, Niklas Salvander stated the joint venture was a natural next step for the company to “…bring locally relevant mobile services to Chinese consumers.” He also added that in doing so, they would have “…right platform and expertise to offer a suite of selected Nokia Ovi services–as well as work with local content developers to help bring their applications to market.” Ovi is the platform Nokia uses to bring the internet to their customers.
The Chinese mobile market is the largest in the world and in taking these steps with the joint venture, Nokia could very well outshine all other mobile companies in the area.
RIM to Customize their BlackBerry In Direct Competition with Apple
Taking after Motorola with the customization of the MT710, a necessary evil to offer and use WiFi and 3G services in China, as all other forms are banned, RIMs now offering to customize their BlackBerry i and conform it to China Mobile’s proprietary TD-SCDMA 3G technology to step up competition between them and Apple. Apple started selling their best selling iPhone in China through China Mobile on October 30th. Granted, sales have not been what they predicted, but that is because iPhone refused to compromise and conform to china Mobile’s 3G and WiFi technology standards, leaving the iPhone WiFi and 3Gless because the use of anything but China’s native technology is barred in the country.
According to Bloomberg.com, even though in September, China’s mobile phone users in China totaled over 719.8M, including the addition of 9.3M in September alone, RIM only accounts for 1% of China’s mobile phone market. According to Sandy Shen, “…RIM is needs to appeal to the average consumer as well as the corporates” is they want to get ahead.
The Chairman of China Mobile, Wang Jianzhou, stated the newly customized Blackberry will release “very soon” although no price has been set as of yet because they need to adjust prices based on current offerings and sales. Prices and plans are “quite high” already with the current Blackberry 8700, which runs only on 2G. Sales are not what they should be and the new 3G phones are bound to be more expensive than the 2Gs so prices will need to come down on the current devices before offering the new ones in order to increase sales all around.
And the Verdict Is?
What I don’t understand, if China is such a huge market, why haven’t more companies compromised with them before to get their 3G phones on the market and sold before this? It just makes sense to do so and, as we all saw with the iPhone, not doing so can cause sales to plummet. We also can see this with Blackberry owning only 1% of the market that this holds true.
Maybe if Apple would give in and allow the iPhone to conform, their sales would pick up. Besides, who wants an iPhone that doesn’t have 3G anymore? That is what makes it better than the others in the first place! at least it was until Motorola Droid topped it… Maybe when iPhone first came out it was ok without the 3G, but now, with all the Droid mobile phones out there, an iPhone without 3G is just about as useful as a paperweight, IMHO.
For more great articles and user ratings and reviews, please visit the home page @ Youserbase.org
Check back tomorrow for more of the latest in the mobile phone industry. If any if our readers have any suggestions as what to review, or something you think needs to be talked about, feel free to leave a comment and I will see what I can do. Til then, happy phoning!
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Youserbase.org’s executive staff, and Youserbase.org as such hold no liability of any damages arising from any opinions expressed by the author.
Nokia X6 Available for Shipping: Just in Time For the Holiday’s
Nov 29th
Nokia X6 Is Shipping In Time For the Holiday’s
It’s Got So Many Goodies!
Shipping to the UK, although on the official site it states it’s still on pre-order, the the first of the “Nokia X Series.” The Nokia X6. It is said that the start of sales was yesterday, the 27th of November. This phone looks to be a great media phone, and it has all of the features you would expect from a high end smartphone. And yes, it has Symbian 9.4 as the OS. It is also using the S60 5th Edition for the UI too. Thank goodness for that.
White&Blue Nokia X6
It’s Stand Apart Features
This phone has lots of goodies but what makes it stand out apart from the rest are the handset’s “dedicated to music and media” features. It starts off with a dedicated Media Bar Key and a Dedicated Contacts Bar Key where you have all the music gallery items, share online, the video center and web browser contacts feeds and status updates you can handle at the touch of a button.
It also has a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus, dual LED flash, a capacitive 3.2 Touchscreen with 640×360 resolution with a wide-screen ratio of 16:9. It als features an onscreen QWERTY keyboard that automatically changes its landscape according to how ou hold the phone. It also comes with all the usual culprits a smartphone does. GPA, BlueTooth 2.0 EDR, accelerometer, WiFi, 3G, MTP support, and a 3.5mm jack. It comes in two colors either Black and Red ot While and Blue. It also has a few extras like syncing TV to Nokia’s OVI Suite, AV for audio and TV out, and more.
Black&Red Nokia X6
For more great articles and user ratings and reviews, please visit the home page @ Youserbase.org
Check back tomorrow for more of the latest in the mobile phone industry. If any if our readers have any suggestions as what to review, or something you think needs to be talked about, feel free to leave a comment and I will see what I can do. Til then, happy phoning!
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Youserbase.org’s executive staff, and Youserbase.org as such hold no liability of any damages arising from any opinions expressed by the author.
Lets All Bid Adeu to the Idou-Sony Ericsson Pulls Satio From Shelves
Nov 27th
Nokia Doing the Same With N97?
What’s the Deal With the Satio?
The Sony Ericsson Satio, also known one time as the Idou, was one of the first phones to debut a 12 megapixel camera. It has other features such as 3.5″ with a ratio of 16:9 with 640×360 resolution, 3G and Bluetooth, along with the usual Smartphone capabilities. It is a really nice phone and sales were almost through the roof.
OK, So Why Was It Pulled?
The phone was doing really until is was pulled from shelves by Carphone Warehouse and Phone4You, two of the largest retailers of mobile phones in the UK. They were apparently still available from other dealers such as T-Mobile and Vodaphone, but after reading the following, I sincerely don’t think anyone will want to.
The phone, the retailers and customers are saying, seems to be freezing, powering off, crashing and showing other signs of incompatibilities and nuisances. This is apparently due to a problem with a software skin placed over the phone’s native OS. It is said the customers are returning the phone because when trying to switch apps, or access their stored apps, the phone will power down for no reason. Two of the Satio dealers, Orange and Vodaphone do not use these skins, but have their own, which could be why they are still selling the phones and haven’t pulled them as of yet. It seems the phones with those skins aren’t having any problems.
Is There A Solution?
Sony says there is a solution in the works. Apparently it will come in the form of a patch that can’t be deployed over the air. So the best thing is to bring the phone back to whee you got it from so it can be fixed. Sony is also saying the patched should be in place and the phones back on shelves before Christmas. According to The Times, Carphone Warehouse and Phones4you are also offering new phones in place of the defective ones.
What’s The Deal With the Nokia N97?
Apparently, the Nokia N97 was pulled for almost the same reasons as the Satio. When someone goes to the Vodaphone site to purchase the N97, they are immediately redirected to the N07Mini (which isn’t actually so mini…).
What Is the Actual Problem?
Most people are thinking that because the two phones both use the Symbian OS software that it might actually be the problem. The phones were pulled to test the OS as well. And this in no way is what Symbian needed at the present time. With other companies looking at Maemo, and Android, Symbian is hitting a major setback in trying to keep a hold of the open source smartphone OS world.
So What’s the Verdict?
I think that with the Smartphone competition so fierce these days, the companies were in a way being forced to get their product on the shelves as soon as possible. But apparently the need to so so has shown the quality of the phones to be lacking at best. Just like Microsoft releasing the WinMo 6.5 OS, not really being a major upgrade like they said it was supposed to be, they should have waited until everything was tested and sure of the quality. Sony and Nokia should have waited as well. In their rush to play the market, they are hurting not only their sales in the holiday season, but their reputation as well.
For more great articles and user ratings and reviews, please visit the home page @ Youserbase.org
Check back tomorrow for more of the latest in the mobile phone industry. If any if our readers have any suggestions as what to review, or something you think needs to be talked about, feel free to leave a comment and I will see what I can do. Til then, happy phoning!
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Youserbase.org’s executive staff, and Youserbase.org as such hold no liability of any damages arising from any opinions expressed by the author.
Apple Selling Out, Nokia Taking Over and New Releases for Samsung and Sony
Nov 16th
Apple Patents Advertising Gimmick and Rumors of Nokia Taking Over Palm
What’s the Deal With Apple?
According to the New York Times, Apple filed for a patent for a type of advertisement that completely takes over whatever device you are using. This type of ad will completely lock up your screen until you click on the ad itself, or pass a test and if you don’t, the ads become more aggressive and harder until they are permanently stuck on your screen commanding your attention. And even then it might not let you see the page you are on, and it works on anything that has a screen.
You can’t really tell me that Apple is so hard pressed for money that they have to resort to slimy techniques to get ad revenue, can you? They won the suit against PsyStar and are probably going to rake it in on that one, not to mention the fact they are still on top of the Smartphone world when it comes to popularity AND sales.
What on Earth would they need to resort to the low down advertising of the likes of spammers? And Steve Jobs’ name was number one on the patent application itself, and that’s only happened 4 times in the history of Apple. No wonder Bill Gates made a statement recently about Apple being “..a force in doing good things.” They are alike. A force of Evil that must be stopped.
What’s the Deal With Nokia?
You have got to love Wall Street. Apparently there is some hype (again) about Nokia wanting to take over Palm. And because of the rumors, Palm shares have jumped a bit over 5% at closing. This has been heard from Wall Street before, but will they do it this time?
The jury is out on this one. Nokia has some pretty good reasons to buy Palm, like the taking over of control of the Web OS that everyone loves so much. And a takeover of Palm might get them out of the US hole thy dug themselves… But will they really do this? If history shows anything, probably not. It’s most likely just a ploy to get shares up at Palm and Nokia both before the coming holiday season. News like this would definitely move quite a few units, true or not.
What’s the Deal With Sony Ericsson?
Another New release, that’s what. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
Meet the Xperia X10
This beauty is a much awaited new addition that will be the first Android OS based phone to have an 8 MP camera with touchfocus, and 5 faces finder with the photos to be displayed on a 480×854 WVGA TFT Touchscreen. It will also have ActiveSync, TimeScape, where you can have all your social media apps in one place, and Turbo 3G. The internal memory is 1GB and a powerful 1Ghz SnapDragon processor. The external memory is in the form of a SanDisk Micro SD card of 8GB and can use ones up to 16GB.
Wow. Go Sony… IMHO I think this is one of the nicer smartphones to come from Sony in a while…
What’s the Deal With Samsung?
Samsung has just released, today in Europe, the Samsung i5700 Galaxy Spica. It is the first Android OS(Cupcake 1,5) based phone to offer support for DivX video with the help of an 800 Mhz processor and, according to Mobile Burn.com, it is a
“…quad-band GSM/EDGE phone that also supports 3.2Mbps HSDPA data speeds on the 900 and 2100MHz UMTS bands. It features a 3.2-inch Half-VGA (320 x 480 pixel) TFT capacitive touchscreen display and also sports a 3 megapixel camera with autofocus.”
The phone is also HTMl browser capable with GPS Bluetooth 2.1 and WiFi capable.
And the Verdict Is?
My, my, my… Apple just doesn’t give up do they? First all the petty rejections of the iPhone apps, then court cases and now advertisements lower than those an Affilliate Marketer would use? No offense to those who read this, please, I’m just trying to make a point. Apple needs to get a grip and give up on the ad thing. They get enough sales, and they are on top of the world.
It’s bad enough I got stuck with one of those ads on EWeek.com last night. Now Apple, for whom I actually had more respect than Microsoft, is going to try to use them, or at least sell them to someone else contributing to the loss of respect for them and loss of our browsing freedom… I sincerely hope this goes all over the net in protest.
As for Nokia taking over Palm… Never gonna happen. They have said it before and it never happened. I think it’s just said or hinted at to make shares go uo so they can make some money, since they haven’t done anything here and lost most of their market share a long time ago..
both new releases are great. Sony’s is absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait till it hits shelves. Samsung did the right thing hitting Europe with it today. I’m not sure it would have gone over too well in the US…
For more great articles and user ratings and reviews, please visit the home page @ Youserbase.org
Check back tomorrow for more of the latest in the mobile phone industry. If any if our readers have any suggestions as what to review, or something you think needs to be talked about, feel free to leave a comment and I will see what I can do. Til then, happy phoning!
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Youserbase.org’s executive staff, and Youserbase.org as such hold no liability of any damages arising from any opinions expressed by the author.
Nokia Admits Mistake By Not Pushing In the US Market-(Finally)Launching New Smartphone In the US
Oct 30th
Teaming up with AT&T To Do It
What’s the Deal?
For the first time in about 3 years, Nokia is going to make a push for the American market once again. They are looking to release a Symbian based phone and is teaming up with AT&T to use their SnapDragon processor. Apparently what is happening is that Qualcomm, the chip’s maker, recently joined the Symbian Foundation and will therefore back the Nokia-AT&T deal.
Why All of A Sudden?
Well, since it’s highest market share in March of 2002 of 35%, the Finnish company has been steadily going down the tubes. Last year it was down to a mere 10%. The last figure available is from June of this year and is showing Nokia’s market share in the US at only 7%, a total drop of 28% in 7 years. And it apparently it hit them hard. That’s what they get, though, for ignoring the US market. So now they are trying to make up for it by releasing this new phone.
And What About the New Phone?
Well, there are no actual details about the phone except for the SnapDragon processor. There is still no release date as of yet either.
Ehat is real interesting about all this is in the recent past, Nokia and Qualcomm were bickering over a patent issue. Apparently, The argument was over ownership of a patent to a CDMA chip. But later they finally put the issue to bed.
And The Verdict Is?
The deal itself is still in the works and the last details are being ironed out. Personally, though, I think it’s great that they are using Symbian again. With the N900 getting pushed back over and over again, it makes you wonder why they ever used Maemo in the first place.
And they should never have ignored the Americans. That was a big mistake. In the 7 years that they forgot about the US, they could have made a killing. With all the new Smartphone Technology that is out there and the Nokia branded phones being some of the best, it is going to take a long time to play catch up. Rest assured that as soon as more details and secs are available, I will get right on it and bring you the latest.
For more great articles and user ratings and reviews, please visit the home page @ Youserbase.org
Check back tomorrow for more of the latest in the mobile phone industry. If any if our readers have any suggestions as what to review, or something you think needs to be talked about, feel free to leave a comment and I will see what I can do. Til then, happy phoning!
Is Symbian A Dead End Or Just At A Fork In The Road?
Oct 9th
What’s Up With Symbian? A Bit Of History
Despite its surge in sales and its 47% share of the market, Symbian has been declared by most as a dead end. When Sony Ericsson started laying off employees as it closed down its UIQ department and ported some pieces of the UIQ to Nokia in 2008, it has gone downhill. Ever since then, S60 has been knocking at death’s door as well, although David Wood, one of Symbian’s great masters said that “the statement was a little premature, but attention grabbing.”
Recent Developments With Nokia and Symbian
Now, back in May of this year a mole form Nokia leaked to the press that Nokia might just be looking to replace their mobile operating system from Symbian to Maemo with the release of the Smartphone successor to the N97, called the N900. All this time since Nokia and Symbian developed the S60 platform, Nokia has firmly stood behind it with their feet firmly planted in cement. Now it’s been confirmed that they are using Maemo instead.
So Why All of A Sudden the Change of Heart?
With the slated release of the N900 set for later this month, we are sure to soon to find out. Apparently, early reviews are stating that this phone is more than just a Smartphone; it should be in a class all by itself, considering that it isn’t a tablet either. Nokia is saying that it will “…bridge the gap between Smartphone and desktop PC.”
The Verdict
But for all you Symbian freaks out there, don’t be too alarmed. While some people think Symbian is dead, it is still going strong. It is true that it took a bit hit when Nokia dropped them with the release of their new Smartphone, but just look at where it’s still alive and well. Sony Ericsson and Samsung are still running the OS, and many Nokia Smartphones are still using it. So Symbian, although sliding a bit, will be around for a long time to come.
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Nokia C and X Series: Why not call them Cybershot and Xperia?
Jul 22nd
The internet is full of rumors. I would not go so far to say that it is actually made for rumors, but this is a nice one: Dial a phone reports that Nokia might name future generations of their handsets introducing new series. This does not sound very exciting unless you hear their names: The C- and the X-series. Somehow, this sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Of course, the number of letters is limited, but why not use something that has not been stolen? Lets have a look at unsued letters:
Will Samsung Mobile take over Nokia?
Jun 30th
The mobile phone industry is always good for a surprise: About five years ago probably noone would have predicted the decline of Motorola. Nobody would seriuosly have predicted the rise of Apple or the complete disappreance of Siemens (well, you may put this eight years ago). But one thing still seems to be certain: The power of Nokia being the number one brand worldwide. But can they keep this position? We have listed the pros and cons about Samsung being the number one in the next five years.
