Historically, the answer for millions of consumers has been a resounding “no.”

With the combined market share of all Windows Phone 7 handsets reaching only 1.5 percent in the USA as of January 2012.

But things could very well be looking up for WP7, as the Finnish handset giant Nokia unveils the newest Windows Phone in their Lumia line, the Lumia 610, for those on a budget.

Lumia 601 Windows Nokia on a Budget:

Priced at 189 euros ($253), this new smartphone is packing some decent hardware under the hood, with 256 MB of RAM, 8 GB of non-expandable storage (though Microsoft’s SkyDrive service will be available), and a 3.7 WVGA capacitive touchscreen. It’s also packing a single-core processor clocked at 800 MHz, along with a 5MP autofocus camera. It will also have HSDPA 3G (but no 4G from the looks of it), along with Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity. Nothing too terribly exciting, but they managed to squeeze in quite a bit for the price point.

The only question is whether or not this new phone will sell. Because it’s an affordable smartphone, it looks poised to strike a chord with those backing away from phones like the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy II Skyrocket due to their price. And with Nokia’s total mobile phone sales reaching 111.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone, they may just have what it takes to bring Windows Phone 7 to Android and iOS’s level.

Expect to see the new Lumia 610 sometime in the second quarter of 2012. We’ll bring you more information as details surface.

When CNET decide your device is worthy of an award, you know your hard work has paid off. And with news that CNET believe the Nokia Lumia 900 was the best smartphone that graced the CES 2012 show in Las Vegas we hope that the Finnish guys are more than happy with the new title.

Good news for Nokia = Good news for Microsoft?

No news is good news when life is dealing you a shitty hand, but when you are looking to get back in the mix, you want to know what is being said about you.

News from CES that the Nokia Lumia 900 has gone down a treat will be welcome affirmations for both technology firms that their chosen paths should pay off in the long term.

With the Nokia Lumia 900 rumoured to be arriving on AT&T in March with a rumored 18th of March tipped by many, it will be nice to see this device added to the already popular but app lacking Nokia Lumia 800.

So it looks like they may have cracked the egg that will bring both giants back into the land of the waking, smartphone wise.

But, they still need a good application marketplace in order to ensure that more people choose Windows when given a choice of Android or iOS.

I must say that I for one believe that the sleek Nokia Lumia series will be a serous contender in 2012, I just wish they had a good application marketplace that could compete with Apple and Android on scale and functionality, but things change and with Nokia and Microsoft’s drive to encourage more developers I think this may well see some serious growth after gaining accolades such as this one from CNET.

Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T March Release Date:

The Nokia Lumia 900 phone runs Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5. It is the biggest and fastest smartphone yet. And it will become available exclusively through AT&T in March.

With the Nokia Lumia coming to AT&T exclusively are you interested in going from your iOS device or Android smartphone over to Windows and Nokia?

If so why?

What would you think if you received a Xmas card with a picture of a Nokia Lumia 800 or 900 on it for Xmas?

Well, if you are in the UK and suspect it to be a Lumia 800 from your local phone shop then you know that they are just being friendly and keeping in touch with you after you have perhaps bought one of the new Nokia Windows phones, or perhaps are due an upgrade, in which case, have you seen the new Nokia Windows 800’s?

Either way, make no mistake, the shop does not care about your Xmas but would like to sell you a new device.

But what if you received this as a savvy US consumer and noticed that it had AT&T on it and a front screen camera!

If so, this could be more intriguing, is this a new device that is yet to emerge called the Nokia Ace?

Nokia Ace due at CES?

Americans usually need a name for their devices, and not a number, presumably on the advice of device manufacturers marketing departments.

So with a pinch of salt we wonder if this was a slip up by an over zealous Microsoft employee, or just a photo-shopped image that snaps together a few layers to create a perfectly good Nokia Ace rumour image.

Some noticeable features anyway:

[arrowlist]

• AT&T Logo
• 4G Icon
• Front facing camera

[/arrowlist]

AT&T are on schedule to release three LTE enabled phones this year one of which will be the Nokia Ace, but exactly what the Nokia Ace will be is another story best left to rumor right now, it could even be Tango and not Mango that is used as its operating system.

The other two LTE enabled phones due for release will be the Samsung Mandel and HTC Radiant.

What do you think to this picture? A hoax? Or, nicely timed rumor picture that will get people talking?

Your comments as always greatly appreciated.

With the recent launch of the new Nokia Windows range with the arrival of the Nokia Lumia 800 here in the UK, it was only a matter of time before the highly anticipated Nokia Lumia 710, codenamed “Sabre” was released to the UK and US, but, it has not arrived quickly.

As the device was aimed at emerging markets, it has already been released in certain European and Asian countries, but has yet to find a home in the US or UK, so what is it, and when will it be released?

So what is the Nokia 710?

Way back when, we did a review of the Nokia Windows Smartphone Range and discussed the various Nokia Lumia’s that would appear on sale over time.

And many have forgotten that there was also going to be a budget priced Lumia, and that is exactly what the Lumia 710 is. A cut-price, scaled down Lumia 800 for emerging markets like India, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan and people on a tighter budget.

Nokia Lumia 710 to arrive in early 2012:

The main differences that the Lumia 710 will have when compared to the Lumia 800 is this:

[arrowlist]

• Camera quality (5MP)
• Single flash
• No hardware navigation buttons
• LCD instead of AMOLED display
• Smaller 8GB of on board storage

[/arrowlist]

Having said that it will still boast the same Windows Mango O/S, and the nifty 1.4GHz processor and stunning 3.7 inch display, I have to say after using the Nokia Lumia 800 briefly in store, that I really like the device in general, as the whole phone just works so well.

This is unlike many Android phones I have also used, which just lack that certain “on the ball” quality when it comes to typing in passwords and generally using the device, call me lazy, but I just like stuff to work well, and I am really not into hacks and workarounds to get extra pizazz out of my phone, life is too short.

Nokia 710 release date:

Here in the UK it is DigitalPhone.co.uk who seem to think that the Lumia 710 will see UK store shelves after the 6th of January when they seem to suggest that stock is due to arrive, we are currently unsure when the US will see their Lumia 710 or 800 devices but expect them to be pretty soon around this date. This is assuming that they release these models and do not develop a purpose built model for the US. The carrier is rumoured to be T-Mobile by the way for the US Nokia Lumia series. Though we have talked about the even smarter looking Nokia Lumia 900 coming the US way soon.

Of course in the case of the UK release date, this is still all very much rumourville, but really makes a lot of sense, as this was the ball park date that was muted ages ago.

With the Lumia 800 said to be under-performing in sales one minute, and doing really well the next, it still makes sense for Nokia to get a budget version out ASAP as their marketing campaigns are starting to get noticed in various locations and on different mediums.

It is likely that the Lumia 710 will be sub £250 for a SIM free device, which is around £150 cheaper than the current Lumia 800.

What do you think of the Lumia series, are you tempted yet?

After the pretty huge news this Friday that HP will be giving their webOS operating system out to the open source community.

Memo from Meg Whitman CEO of HP to employees on Friday:

Today, we announced that HP will contribute our webOS software to the open source community and support its development going forward. We believe that this is the best way to ensure the benefits of webOS are accessible to the largest possible ecosystem.

It appears that HP will however be returning to mobile device manufacturing, and eventually these will also be based on webOS.

The proof comes from an interview with Meg Whitman on the Verge and seems to show that HP plan to create further webOS based mobile devices in the near and distant future.

Contained within the interview are some clear statements suggesting that HP will return to device manufacture at some point in the future, though the initial return to mobile device manufacturing looks set to be with a tablet running on Windows 8 O/S for now.

HP will build a Windows based tablet for 2012:

Yes HP are planning to build a windows base tablet for release in 2012.

Whitman is quoted saying:

“We’ll continue to invest in the existing tablet ecosystem” and in the near term “will bet heavily with Windows.”

HP will make webOS mobile devices in the future

Asked if they will create new webOS devices also, Meg Whitman HP CEO states:

“The answer to that is yes but what I can’t tell you is whether that will be in 2012 or not,”

Offering no clear dates or times it would however appear that there is a desire or capability to return to device manufacture, something which looked unclear only recently, but it looks likely to be later rather than sooner.

Whitman went on to say:

“…we will use webOS in new hardware, but it’s just going to take us a little longer to reorganize the team in a quite different direction than we’ve been taking it in the past.”

Hewlett Packard more interested in Tablets for now:

According to dialogue on Techcruch, a new HP webOS based tablet device could appear as soon as 2013.

It is looking like HP will be sticking with the more PC related side of the business that they are known for, as opposed to smartphones, which they perhaps do not have the best reputation for or presence in peoples minds and thoughts when thinking about HP in general.

It would appear that HP are starting to get some drive, focus and commitment back within their ranks after a really tough 2011. And it also seems that Meg Whitman is the right person for the job after all.

Or they will do in the next few hours at least!

Thanks to an interesting set of data provided by mobile application search specialist MobileWalla, we can see that as of today the mobile application market for all camps is pretty much at the 1 million mark.

Apple still lead App market in terms of numbers:

The iOS platform still has the largest share of apps in their marketplace almost by a factor of 2 to all the other combined though it is obvious that currently the only real contender in terms of volume of available applications is the Android platform.

We have covered an article about how the Windows App Marketplace is growing, but it can be seen that the current size is almost insignificant compared to the combined total of Apple iOS and Android apps.

Back in the first quarter of 2011, a poll found that a large 46% of people questioned would like a Windows 8 tablet, this has since dropped to a measly 25% so what happened to the optimism of the initial news of an imminent full release of the Windows 8 tablet.

Well as with most things that need selling, that do not sell, either the message given out was confusing or you did not shout loud enough. Perhaps the latter was the case in this situation as Forrester claim that the momentum of the campaign simply dried up.

Late comers need to shout louder or differentiate clearly:

Being a late comer in a market that is already dominated by one big Apple with a swathe of others recently joining the fray, it was vital that they sold their tablet as being both different (not Android or iOS) and desirable, and that it worked better and/or looked better.

In Microsoft’s case they did not really achieve any of these things and this is perhaps why the desirability of their capable looking device and O/S has dropped off so significantly.

Windows 8 Tablets not fully connected yet?

Nokia’s Stephen Elop (ex Microsoft) espoused the new Windows Phone O/S earlier in the year and talked about connectivity being the key to the new operating system, and I was slowly sold, and here is why.

Microsoft currently have access to their X-Box technology, their own mobile O/S, a tablet variety of this and a PC operating system. This seemed like a great opportunity to tie in products and services in much the same way that Apple and now Amazon are doing.

However the trump cards such as the X-Box integration have not really shown themselves currently and what is left is perhaps a misunderstood future O/S with potential.

One Forester analyst stated:

“Windows 8 tablets must provide consumers with a more differentiated product experience than it otherwise would have, had Microsoft entered the market sooner, they’ll have to take a lesson from Amazon’s product strategists, who fundamentally changed the tablet product experience by leading with content and services rather than feeds and speeds, at a compelling price.”

Seen as we are all unsure how the new Windows 8 operating system will allow interaction with separate devices as planned, I can not help think that they have confused me and others with so many damn varieties up to now. When will Microsoft learn that simplicity sells, and being all things to all men is great so long as you keep the concept simple as Apple have done.

I am convinced Windows will make a success of their current operating systems which will culminate in Windows 8 with the “Metro” interface being the central all dancing O/S for Microsoft devices. Though the sooner we are all talking about Windows 8 and not Mango, Tango, 7, 7.5 etc etc, the better for all.

What do you think to the new operating system. Will it be the fix all solution for Windows-based devices of the future?

US citizens will be happy with news just in from BGR, who are claiming to have obtained information about the release of the new flagship Nokia Lumia model which is likely to offer a slightly larger display than the current Nokia Lumia 800, the name of which is likely to be simply a Nokia Lumia 900.

What other features are offered:

[arrowlist]

• 1.4 Ghz processor
• 8 megapixel camera
• 4,3 inch ClearBlack AMOLED display
• Windows Phone Tango

[/arrowlist]

US to see a huge marketing drive for the new Nokia/Windows marriage:

January and February look set to see a huge marketing drive from the Finnish device manufactures, which suggests that the launch of the new phone will be some time after the CES show in January 2012.

It looks like exciting times ahead for Nokia despite rumours that they are not selling units of the Nokia 800 series very well here in the UK.

Big news in Nokia land in the last few days with the arrival of their new Nokia/Windows smartphones coming in the form of the Lumia Series.

So what next for the collaboration of tech giants of old?

Well if news in the FT (financial Times) is anything to go by, a recent illuminating interview with Stephen Elop the CEO of Nokia could mean that the Finnish company are also in line to manufacturer the new Windows 8 Tablet range…now this could be exciting.

With Apple’s iPad being the unstoppable force in this niche it will be very interesting to see if Nokia’s eye for design and build quality will marry well with the new Windows 8 O/S, which in my eyes looks like promising a mix of innovation and actually useful features.

How big, small and fast is not that important if things do not work well:

As Apple have proved time and time again, fancy is no good if it is not functional; speed and other boastful factors are not that important ultimately to users of mobile devices

Elop is quoted saying:

“We’re not commenting on specific plans for tablets, but one of the things that we are excited about in terms of support for the Windows Phone are the announcements that Microsoft made around Windows 8 for tablets and personal computers, When you see the user experience from the Nokia Lumia environment appearing on hundreds of millions of tablets and PCs in the future, you can see that there is a clear synergy between all those environments. So that presents an interesting opportunity for Nokia.”

Does this translate to Nokia manufacturing the new Windows tablet range?

I think both corporations would be stupid not to work together from day one on this project now that Nokia have decided to opt for a third party O/S on their devices…But will they want their own range as they are doing with Windows phone O/S? or just go head to head as a major force with Windows as the O/S and Nokia as the manufacturer with one flagship tablet?…This I suspect would be the best way forward, but not sure of the economics for both firms involved long term.

Nokia’s Journey:

In the interview Elop also muted that the new range will not be the make or break of the Nokia brand, but is the first step in a general shift and transformation for the company from old to new.

Nokia A Brand To Love?

Nokia have that certain quality that any brand would dearly love: A seemingly ethical business operation that produces high quality goods, and does not come across as brash and crass in any way. I ask any of you readers here if you have any serious negativity towards Nokia and my hunch is no responses will be given to the contrary other than to sort it out!

Yes Nokia, I sense people want you to succeed and bring back another decent competitor to the mobile device market, after HTC, Samsung And Apple plus the occasional others.

Time still of the essence:

One thing I am acutely aware of after switching from Apple to Android this year is that I do not want to do this often, mainly due to setting up contacts/settings and getting used to a new phones O/S…I sense that people will pick one of the big three operating systems and stick with this for a large part of the next few years purely for ease.

So getting in now may give them a chance to allow people to trial there new O/S and convert people who are not yet hooked to Android or iOS.

If there is a way of replicating everything from O/S to O/S in the future then this may benefit all concerned and level that playing field out for contract renewals, but I doubt Apple will play ball in letting competitors easily do this…they love to lock you into proprietary software and applications as we all know.

Android the target

With Android coming on leaps and bounds in terms of market penetration it is surely this multi platform beast that is the target for Nokia and Windows though I wonder if the more niche Apple iOS should be more the model to look towards?

What happens when two Goliath’s of the tech world who have both seen better days decide to combine forces?

New Nokia Windows Phones:

With Nokia’s Meego O/S now relegated to “ongoing support” for a few years, many in tech land have been pontificating on the state of play that a marriage between Nokia and Windows would mean for the mobile industry and consumers alike.

On the one hand both companies have had significant falls from grace over the last few years, with Microsoft/Windows losing out to Apple in the hardware stakes (and now mobile O/S), and similarly Nokia also losing out to Apple and Android devices on both the O/S and hardware front.

On the other Nokia and Windows/Microsoft are both seasoned veterans of both hardware and software combined and could surely still pose a threat to Apple and Android…especially when combined?

Too little too late?

With technology moving on at such a rapid pace, especially in the mobile arena, could the offerings that have finally been brought to the table be a little too late to see them muscle back in to a market dominated by iOS and Android?

I doubt it, and here is why:

Nokia make fantastic looking and working phones, you have to hand it to them, they are design masters on a par with Apple.

But what about the Windows operating system?

Well as someone who dislike Windows O/S by and large, I am always sceptical about an operating system from a company who fails to even bring us a decent web browser in 2010/11 and after many many years of peddling an atrocious (IMHO) operating system in windows XP. There next entry is an equally horrendous O/S to be superseded quickly by another O/S after admitting they had essentially screwed up with Vista.

But….from cursory observations it seems that Windows Phone 7 and then 8 look like they will be a very powerful user centric O/S. Couple this with access to a multitude of X-Box users via the Microsoft network and you have an operating system that seems to seriously have some potential.

Nokia Lumia 800 Features:

The new Nokia Lumia 800 looks very much like the Meego based Nokia N9. This is a good thing, as one thing that the Nokia N9 phone has apart from a soon to be outdated O/S is serious good looks, with its ClearBlack curved AMOLED display the screen will have to be reduced from the N9 size to incorporate the Windows phone buttons but with a reduction from 3.9 inch to 3.7 inch we hope this will not be too much of sacrifice in screen real estate.

Processor wise we see a powerful Qualcomm 1.4 GHz that includes graphics and hardware acceleration. An 8 MP Carl Zeiss lense with a Dual LED flash, but no front facing camera like the N9 but a dedicated camera button is offered. 16GB of memory is on offer and a free 25GB of SkyDrive space is also added to the package (this I particularly like). RAM wise a pretty average 512MB is built in down from the 1GB N9 memory.

Price: €420 or $480 or £300 (roughly)

Colours: Cyan, magenta or black.

Nokia Lumia range different from Windows?

With the Lumia 800 aiming for the “serious” smartphone market and the Lumia 710 picking up the budget end, Nokia hope to differentiate themselves from Windows phones by virtue of access to Nokia based applications such as:

Nokia Drive: Which delivers a full-fledged personal navigation device (PND) with a free, turn-by-turn navigation and dedicated in-car-user-interface.

Nokia Music: MixRadio, a free, global, mobile music-streaming application that delivers hundreds of channels of locally-relevant music.

Gigfinder is also part of the above Nokia Music service, and proves the ability to search for live local music for a hopefully very powerful integration and overall experience, coupled with the ability to share information on social networks and also buy concert tickets using your mobile device which will be coming in the Nokia Music update later this year.

Nokia Lumia 710 Features:

Coming in on the budget end of the smartphone range, the Nokia Lumia 710 will be priced at around €270 or $370 or £230, and will fit snugly into the affordable end of the smartphone range.

It will come with very similar specs to the Nokia 800; same processor, same RAM, though will cut corners on camera quality (5MP) and single flash, no hardware navigation buttons, LCD instead of AMOLED and a smaller 8GB of on board storage.

So all in all a pretty good phone with out some of the little extras.

It will be offered in black and white with exchangeable back covers with cyan, black, white, yellow and fuchsia back covers.

Emerging markets targeted first for the budget range Lumia 710:

The Nokia Lumia 710 will be available first in India, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan toward the end of the year alongside the Nokia Lumia 800, before becoming available in further markets in early 2012.

Could Nokia/Windows devices fill that sweet-spot?

With Android and iOS dominating much of the globe, it is true to say that certain parts of Asia, Russia and the Far East are still in the beginning forays into smartphone territory and are therefore these people are firmly “in the market” for new devices. I imagine many will be wowed by the shine of Apples offerings and also the functionality, cost and ubiquity of the android O/S and devices that run on this O/S, but Apple do price themselves out of many pockets and Android still has an air of cheapness to it due to the one size fits all approach.

With features and applications being the name of the game for mobile devices it will be interesting to see if price, quality of hardware and brand appeal will play a large part in the success or failure of this, what must be described as last ditch effort from the tow giants.

Will they succeed in establishing a position in the competitive smartphone marketplace and what about a tablet range?

Your thoughts welcome as usual.

You have to hand it to the Finnish team at Nokia.

When they need to, they can seriously compete with style with their mobile devices.

Nokia N9 Manufacturing:

This video showing the manufacturing process of the Nokia N9 running Meego (shame that this O/S is likely to slowly die before really showing us it’s capabilities) allows us all to see where the new Windows Nokia marriage may well be going.

The link above suggests that the new Nokia Sea Ray running windows phone 7 will use pretty much the same shell as the N9 so we can not wait to see what this will feel and run like with an operating system that is aiming a little higher than Meego ever was.

It would appear, according to Nokia’s twitter account, that the arrival of the much anticipated Nokia/Windows phones will be sometime around Q4 2011 with the main bulk of arrival due in 2012.

With noise from the Nokia camp being suspiciously low in the last few weeks, anticipation is high and a feeling is in the air that something is about to be announced of some magnitude.

Nokia tweeted the following:

“We cannot confirm local availability but the 1st Nokia w/ WP devices will ship in Q4 and with volumes in 2012,”

The new Nokia codenamed Sea Ray was first shown on video by our good selves back in June, when it was “leaked” in a rather contrived way to the blogosphere, since then things have gone a little quiet.

I suspect that a first round of releases could be with us in late October, so stay peeled for further news.

This is a major step for Stephen Elop and will be his crowning or damning in terms of how he will be judged as the relatively new CEO of Nokia.

Windows 8 – A trick in the back pocket?

If all fails with the release of the new Windows 7 phones from Nokia and Microsoft, there is still one last hope left, and that is the arrival of Windows 8 as an operating system with the new “Metro” style interface designed to be PC, tablet and smartphone capable.

Nokia senior vice president Marco Argenti has recently said this in relation to Windows 8 O/S:

“Personally, I’m most excited about what’s new with Metro, and how much momentum Nokia and Microsoft are building together, creating an opportunity for you, here and now,”

With the release of Windows 8 O/S due soon and tests being run in Beta as we speak. Nokia are hoping that the new “Metro” style interface will be perfectly suited for running smartphones and that applications will be developed in the magnitude that they are for Apple and Android. If this comes true it could signal the start of an exciting new dawn for both Microsoft and Nokia, though it is very much make or break for the two technology Goliath’s in my opinion.

You have to love the technology world. Why? Because it keeps you well and truly on your toes! Only the other day I wrote an article about how Adobe had pandered to Apple’s dislike of all things Flash and created a workaround that would allow Apple devices to show Flash video in particular.

Today, we hear that Microsoft Window’s much anticipated update to the Windows 7 series, Windows 8, will most likely kill off flash support, also signalling the perhaps timely death of the much used but often criticised format.

So what is happening with the new Windows update?

Similar to Apple, Microsoft appear to be dumping plug-ins contained within their Internet explorer 10 browser and the new “metro” style Windows 8 interface.

Windows 8 aims to be the all-in-one operating system for smartphones/tablets and PC’s.

The change is however quite intriguing and will mean that you will still be able to access content that needs plug-ins but users will have to revert back to the older desktop version to use them. So Windows 8 users who want to stick in the modern “metro” style interface will not be able to get Flash content on the plug-in free operating system…or is it that simple?

So what will provide the new user experience that so many people know and love if flash is to be dumped?…HTML5 to the rescue.

Yes for once Microsoft appear to be taking a leaf out of trend leaders books and not dragging their heels with new technology that is designed to enhance and speed up life for users of the internet.

Dean Hachamovtich has started in a Microsoft blog:

“For the web to move forward and for consumers to get the most out of touch-first browsing, the Metro style browser in Windows 8 is as HTML5-only as possible, and plug-in free, the experience that plug-ins provide today is not a good match with Metro style browsing and the modern HTML5 web.”

HTML 5 offered as a result of Apples precedent:

With many video hosting sites now offering an HTML 5 version of their video as a reaction to Apples refusal to budge on the Flash issue.
Microsoft has done research of its own and found that of the top 97,000 sites globally, 62% already offer a HTML5 version already.

So what happens if you visit a site that does not offer a HTML5 alternative?

Essentially it looks like you will be given an option to “Use Desktop View” and this will take you back to the traditional desktop so you can carry on and view as you would using Windows 7 etc.

Where does this leave Silverlight – Microsoft Flash competitor’s?

With silverlight being a tool/framework that could still be used by developers, will they incorporate this into their O/S?

I actually do not know the answer here but will be keeping a close ear to the ground on developments.

Will they eventually just build flash into their browser like Google?

It is unclear whether Microsoft have any plans to slightly mislead people by building the Flash application into their browser and thus avoid the term “plugin” as Google do with Chrome, but one of the other interesting areas is that they have “kind of” stated that they will support add-ons; those third party applications that can make the user experience more tailored to the individual….but only on the desktop version…

Steven Sinofksy, president of Windows and Windows Live has said:

“In Windows 8, IE 10 is available as a Metro style app and as a desktop app. The desktop app continues to fully support all plug-ins and extensions.”

So there is some confusion if there will be an add-on supported Metro interface, though it appears only the desktop version/option looks probable from the above words.

All these changes look likely to go some way to improving the speed and perhaps the security of the Microsoft browser and operating systems, something that they have seriously suffered with over many years.

Adobe to suffer?

If the metro style interface is shown as the default medium to interact using Windows 8, then Adobe could be in serious trouble in relation to Flash.

Do you think this move by Microsoft will be the nail in the coffin for flash as we know it and if so do you think it is deserved? Or do you think Microsoft will renege on their slightly unclear statements and incorporate flash into their browser, carrying on it’s large scale use and lifespan?

With the arrival of Adobe media server 4.5, the team behind the Adobe creative suite has seemingly bowed to pressure from Apple.

I examine why this has happened and what it will mean for Apple and other manufacturers who already use the Flash framework to display content on their mobile devices.

The History behind a lack of support for Flash on Apple devices:

Apple had claimed that the flash video format was too processor hungry and did not make use of hardware acceleration. For this reason they have chosen to not support the widely used format at all on their mobile devices such as iPad and iPhone.

Since Flash 10.1 Adobe have made use of hardware acceleration but Apple have continued their stance of not supporting it natively.

Adobe pander to Apple – Will Google and Microsoft be happy?

While Apple are still not budging in their overall stance, Adobe must be concerned that so much content is being watched via a totally different player than their own highly successful, dominant force on traditional web browsers, desktops, Android and Windows based devices.

New way of delivery patches the issue for now:

Because Adobe do not want to miss out on the traffic that Apple devices obviously get, they have worked to provide a means of delivering Flash based video by detecting the device and then in Apples case, streaming that content in a format that Apple devices support…sneaky and great for Apple users, as they can now benefit from having flash playback minus the draining of processor and battery power when using Flash as a normal player as is currently the case for Android and Windows based devices.

Even though flash claim to have improved the hardware issue in version 10.1/10.2, Apple seem not interested in allowing Flash to work natively.

This new solution to the old video format war between the two giants is welcome news to Apple users but will no doubt throw into question why other O/S’s and manufacturers are supporting Flash natively when there are still issues around its power consumption which ultimately leads people to negatively comment on a devices battery life.

I for one am not convinced that Flash is so power intensive that it is of any real concern to most users, though maybe the updated version truly is improved as Adobe claim and utilises hardware acceleration more efficiently. I have a Samsung S2 and the battery life is dire on it I have to say, but I have not noticed that using Flash for video playback has really affected my battery life to such an extent where I would only sparingly watch video in the future in order to mitigate the effects Apple claim occur from using Flash.

What Apple want Apple get:

It seems that Apple just can not lose right now, they are very much on the crest of a massive wave, taking the tech World by storm. The Germans are bowing down to their pressure over the Samsung range of devices, and now Adobe are working solutions to fit around Apple’s own stance against Adobe’s own technology.

I have always been very annoyed that Apple stuck their neck’s out and were so stubborn with Adobe over flash. It was actually the main reason I was open minded to other devices rather than the iPhone I obtained just after they came out. Put simply, I missed Flash for various areas such as interactivity online and obviously video. The lack of support hampered my experience and must have lost Apple quite a few sales. So, lucky for them that Adobe have seemingly pandered to their whims, though it appears that this will only be for flash video playback and not full flash functionality as many would like to see.

What next for Apple I wonder?

Microsoft are putting a lot of hope in the hands of Mango, they have largely failed to set the smartphone market alight with Widows 7 so far, and they are needing a success with the new makeover, having added 500 features to improve Windows 7 will Windows Mango come to the rescue for Microsoft’s failing smartphone attempts.

Social services included natively

Windows is no longer wanting to reply on additional clients/applications to offer social service so Mango users and will now incorporate Twitter within the phone operating system.

Watch a demonstration of Facebook on Mango

But what made Windows think that people want to watch a 23+ minute video to show a few features!

Also check out the guys face on 8.18…hilarious!

Looks interesting though and is a real alternative to the look and feel of Android and iOS….but 15,000 apps is pretty poor in 2011.

Lets hope their deep integration of apps has no negative effect on performance and power consumption.

Nokia N9 – The Last Hope?

In a recent article I talked about Nokia’s new collaboration with Microsoft (Windows 7) and went on to say that it was make or break for the mobile stalwart of old.

Despite the size and brand name associated with the Finnish Giant, the truth is, no one is too large to fail in the modern world of technology and commerce.

Apps make smartphones…smart:

When all said and done a smartphone without apps is pretty dumb, they are the same as the phones that ruled the day only two+ years ago.

Call, text, take a picture and maybe some video.

What applications offer is to customise the phone and enhance its functionality so it becomes your personal smart device.

We all know that customisation is a prized holy grail of any manufacturers especially when it makes you more money, so why have Nokia taken so bloody long to realise that having control of all parts of the production and consumption chain aka “vertical integration” is the way to make the dollars!…see Apple for tips.

Maybe they operate too closely to the PirateBay guys and still feel that there is no money in software or digital assets….wake up!

With the slow and scheduled demise of the Symbian OS, app developers have all but abandoned ship for the Symbian OS as a developers platform for obvious reasons.

With the arrival of the Nokia N9 we see two things happen at Nokia that concern me:

1st – Is the arrival of a “new” operating system for Nokia devices called “Meego”

2nd – We see Nokia team up with Microsoft and produce an even newer operating system for the new Windows/Nokia devices due out soon. Watch exclusive video here of the new Nokia Windows Sea Ray

The question I have for Nokia is what are you going to do about making sure that developers make quality apps for your operating system?

Yes Nokia will include the Apps compliant Qt 4.7 which should allow developers to knock out applications swiftly enough, but as with the Android marketplace (which is in another league to Nokia’s own current equivalent app marketplace) a serious issue of quality and quantity arises.

A lack of Apps is the one big gripe I have over my old iPhone after a recent switch to the Samsung S2, and believe me it is a serious gripe, though I suspect one that will be overcome soon enough given the ubiquity of the Android O/S but will this be the same for Meego or indeed Windows 7?

Lets go back to 1984

It reminds me of a time back in the early 1980’s.

In the UK you had four main choices for a home computer (PC) depending on your budget.

1, Sinclair ZX Spectrum

2, Commodore 64

3, Amstrad CPC

4, Acorn Electron

Now the geeks in the house would tell you that the Acorn Electron was vastly superior in many aspects but vitally missed the extra RAM that the Commodore and Spectrum offered.

But the real issue that faced the Acorn Electron was that they released their hardware too late for the Christmas period even when orders were already in the shops.

As a result, people cancelled and bought something else.

Over a short period of time, games developers/publishers started to work more on the larger selling Sinclair, Amstrad And Commodore PC….this slowed sales of Acorn Electrons as word got out that titles were not being released and eventually the Acorn simply stopped growing and died as it was caught in a vicious circle. Ironic considering the status of the humble Acorn in most peoples mind.

Developers make or break your market:

With Apples app market providing a record 15 billion app downloads as of mid 2011, and Nokia yet to really get going in this space, we worry that it may be too little too late.

Without developers creating quality applications for a smart phone, there is no way that that device will either sell or grow.

Now this kind of situation is deeply hurtful to a manufacturer (BETAMAX v VHS) so it is in Nokia’s best interest to make sure that developers of apps are not messed about too much and that they can EASILY port applications made for the iPhone O/S and Android O/S easily to both MeeGo, and variations of the Symbian O/S and now the Windows 7 operating system.

Damn!! Talk about making everyone confused!…..seriously not the best idea for a manufacturer who is still on the back foot in this brave new world.

And while many will say that the average person in the street will not care about the confusing operating system issue, my own response would be that times are changing, and if bad press or lack of press due to lack of understanding prevails, then Nokia will have a challenge to convince people through the blogosphere that they are worth looking at again, after being so noticeably absent for so long.

If Nokia feel they can just mess around until it suits them then they have seriously misjudged the way things are moving in the smart phone arena.

Now is the time to get a firm position in the high end smart phone arena:

We know that Symbian is still technically the worlds number 2 smart phone O/S but only on technicalities. It’s power and appeal is nowhere near as far ranging as Apples iOS or the Android O/S.

Here is a cool video we produced showing some great smart phone statistics please do tweet and share!

Meego Stay Or Me Go Home Now? The issue of working with two operating systems at once:

So what exactly is MeeGo and is it going to disappear quicker than Symbian now that Microsoft are fully in bed with Nokia?

MeeGo is essentially a combination of two Linux based operating systems, namely Nokia’s Debian-based Maemo and Intel’s Fedora-based Moblin operating systems.

With the departure of the MeeGo team manager for Nokia, Alberto Torres, after the news that Nokia was hooking up with Microsoft, many wondered just how focused Nokia are on keeping the Meego operating system going for future devices.

We know that the Nokia N9 release will utilise the MeeGo O/S but no news has emerged to say if this will be a one off or will continue as a line of phones separate to the ones offered via the windows phone 7 and future 8 operating systems.

And what will happen to support for the O/S in all eventualities?

Well news on the grapevine:

Actually from Twitter and Nokia’s Head of Portfolio Management, Klas Strom who assures us all that support for the Meego O/S will be provided in the future…we hope this is true.

With all this talk of apps, I am at a loss to see why Nokia are being so damn shy about which operating system will stand the test of time now they have hooked up with Windows 7.

Nokia N9 Styling:

Without sounding too harsh on our Finnish friends, Nokia have fallen wayside of the style radar for some time. That is not to say they have become un-stylish per se, but simply because the phones that have been released have all been eclipsed by something sexier or more functional that has caught the eye quicker and for longer, examples include most of the recent Samsung’s, HTC’s Sony’s and of course the iPhone range, we would even say that LG have a smart phone that beats the Nokia N8 both for looks and usability and more importantly would appear to be future proof enough for now, even if users of the LG Optimus complain of a huge lack of updates.

With Nokia’s N9 they have kept the sleek styling we have come to expect of Nokia and design houses of the Northern regions of Europe, utilising the old “form follows function” mentality preferred and originated by the modernist movement of designers and architects of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that fits so well with items that are used daily and need a smooth functional interface.

Apple have made a success of this with the functionality of the iPhone, copied by competing manufacturers in their droves. Nokia’s method with the N9 is to try to bring something unique to the table with a system they are terming “swipe”….”all it takes is a swipe”….“We wanted to design a better way to use a phone, and it comes down to one simple gesture – a swipe.”

Forgive me but I have basically been doing this with my iPhone and Samsung S2 for 2 years or more.

Ah well, welcome to the new world Nokia, glad to see you back, now take a seat down over there while we get you a stiff f*****g drink, we have a few things to talk about.

The problem with Nokia:

The problem with Nokia and the N9 is that its release comes about at just the time when the Global population has woken up and said, you know what, where have Nokia gone?

People in the know have asked this for ages, and it is only the emerging (less profitable) markets who have kept Nokia phones to their ears for the last two or so years.

So what do Nokia go and do….release another phone with a new operating system that no one has heard of and is more than likely going to go down the pan pretty soon.

Nokia listen up:

Style will usually get you anywhere, but seriously if you dont have any friends in the club in the first place, your fancy new jacket might make you look more of a knob than you intended and while being different is usually cool, if your actually a one trick pony when scratched, your time away from being trendy will become all too apparen’t and you will be laughed back out onto the cold damp street you came in from with a black eye before you can say “swipppppeeeee! that hurt!”.

Seriously, what did you guys do that made you feel like the best way to win over an already happy customer base (with other manufacturers) was to go and confuse them even more?

Personal opinion on Nokia:

I feel that the N9 may well be a bit of a botched effort even though it looks fantastic on paper and that teaming up with Microsoft could put them in a great position with the potential for Xbox integration and the social aspect that can come from this partnership, plus Windows 7 actually looks pretty cool.

We know Nokia can make the best quality phones in the world and the N9 is proof of this on many counts, just ask Apple. Apple have been stealing Nokia’s trademark secrets for ages now.

Though I did pose a question earlier in the article above; Have Nokia missed the boat? Are they better placed to be a world wide R&D centre and sell patents and licenses for new technologies developed?

Well if the next phone (Windows Sea Ray) launched after the much anticipated Nokia N9 does not work financially for Microsoft and Nokia, then it is surely game over for the company in terms of gaining any significant foothold in the smartphone arena any time soon and many will ask why they did not just go for an Android O/S device and get a quality phone out to market way back in 2010 or earlier.

Ah Nokia, who once ruled the mobile device market….surely it’s not game over yet?

We have an almost World exclusive video of the new child of Nokia and Microsoft code named “Sea Ray” it actually looks pretty swish I must say.

Here is the video showing the full leaked video and read our report below:

Sea Ray did you say? I seem to have lost him?

So what has been let out of the bag?

A cat or a……… “Sea Ray!!!”, “Sea Ray!!!” dah dah dah da da da!!….not sure about the name I must say, especially when your Northern European colleague finds it very tough to pronounce…but apparently there are 500 new features!

Nokia starting to get open about their technology:

In a display of openness that you can only give credit to, Stephen Elop – Nokia’s CEO called for an open dialogue within the company, gong on to ask for employees to share experiences and be honest about the products they are developing even if that news may not sit well with everyone.

Adding:

“It is OK to give us the bad news. The pain we suffered just a few weeks ago about the earnings release would not have happened if the people in this company had shared the bad news earlier.”

Look and feel:

On look and feel it seems to resemble a newly released Nokia N9 although it has one tell tale sign that it is a superior model by having another button on its side….assuming that more is better!

Windows 7 Mango

It is also currently running Windows 7 Mango, a nice looking interface that works on the premise that we all want to use “tiles” and not pinch our devices bottoms quite as much.

We have done a report on Windows and Nokia releasing a tablet with Windows 8 as the OS for future Windows devices this is really quite intriguing having only just written that report the other day, it would appear that Windows 7 will be a stop gap before the Windows 8 beast that should tie up all Windows based devices with one OS that integrates better between desktop, laptop, Xbox, smartphone and tablet….time will tell.

Lets take a look at the User Interface an apps that were shown in the “leaked” video:

Xbox integration

Appealing to gamers worldwide, the expected Xbox integration looks OK, nothing to really see from the video, though I personally except this to be a major selling point assuming it is done as well as the actual big daddy Xbox, this I expect to be a given considering what is at stake.

Microsoft Office For Windows 7 Mobile

We can also see that Microsoft have ported their Office suite onto the phone which we hear Microsoft believe is a missing market for Tablet owners….the higher end business user….and assume this will also be a feature on the tablet version running (we assume) Windows 8 in the not too distant future.

British Airways App For Windows 7

Quite a nice little app here and something in deep contrast to its Xbox integration, here Microsoft are trying to widen their appeal by showing off a high end app such as the British Airways app where you can take a virtual tour of your flight and pick your seat…nifty!

We will leave the rest up to you.

Are you looking forward to Nokia and Windows finally entering the Smart Phone market properly; perhaps feeling a little sad that they missed the first real excursion into a truly useful mobile phone experience enjoyed by the likes of Apple, Samsung, HTC, Android, Motorola, RIM etc?

And do you think they will muscle their way in with a unique product and operating system such as Windows 7 on mobile?

Or too little too late?

Will the new Windows 8 O/S signal the phoenix from the fire, or will Microsoft never really get back into the game now people expect quality?

Windows 8 Tablet – Best Be Good!

Quality user interface is key:

There used to be a time when people took what they were given and dealt with their usually pretty sh***y hand.

Lets think pre-Windows 7 here:

Making reference to poor PC users; yes the ones burden with a Microsoft Windows operating system, full of Viruses, Trojans, and general Malware that slowed the pieces of crap to a grinding halt from power on.

With software and hardware that perpetually conflicted with each other, and a truly p*** poor look and feel of the actual computer (by and large) though Sony did try some style.

Usually containing a hodgepodge of things under its bonnet to make it work as you want, from various manufacturers especially if you built your own.

Contrast to Apples offerings:

While others were using a mac for the last decade or more, blissfully unaware of the lost hours that many PC owners were facing “sorting” their perpetually poorly PC, and looking pretty cool at the same time.

Microsoft got lazy?

For Microsoft they almost seemed to not care or at least could not work out how to solve their software issues that most accepted as part of owning a computer….arrogant some may say.

Not any more – Apple brought enlightenment:

Times have changed, and with more and more people having access to technology designed by control freaks Apple, an enlightenment has taken place at the user experience level….the one Microsoft never really understood.

What many have taken for granted is using Apple products the rest are starting to see as the missing key to making life online more enjoyable.

The real money is in software AND hardware:

They once said the money was in software not hardware (much to Apples pre 2000’s agreement) and Microsoft’s huge success, however the money is clearly in both!

So where does this leave Windows 8 and Microsoft’s entry to the tablet market?

Lets see:

Web browsing via Windows devices has dropped way below 90% to just above 80% recently this is a huge shit and as you can see form the chart is partly due to Smart Phone and Tablet Internet access.

Source: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp

Note how the mobile category has only been added this year!

Microsoft’s firm grip on mediocrity slipping at last:

Couple this with the ruling stating that all new Windows installed computers should FINALLY give people a choice over which browser should be installed…..something Microsoft has been selling the world short with for WAY TOO LONG…(web designers, and security experts, I feel your pain)

This all bodes pretty poorly for Microsoft, what with no tablet or decent phone OS to shout about as of yet.

So how does Windows 8 look:

Microsoft seem to be looking at something no other Smart Phone or tablet manufacturer is doing.

What they want to achieve with Windows 8 is an operating system that scales up and down to work on all devices:

From your PC, to tablets, and smart phones, all being run with a variation of Windows 8

This is in contrast to operating systems that are highly tuned in for a certain device as is the present train of thinking….albeit with Android and Apple iOS being for Tablet and Smart Phone, Mac OSX is altogether different.

They will be bringing in UK processor manufacturer ARM who have seriously carved a niche in the Smart Phone and Tablet arena for producing processors offering fantastic speed, power and low battery consumption, single handedly taking away the limelight from the Goliath of Intel in a very short period of time..sound familiar?

The x86 versions of Windows 8 PC’s will feature a Windows 7 compatibility mode and work on Intel and AMD processors, while tablet ARM versions will not.

The question is what do Microsoft really have planned?

With two iterations of its dated O/S XP in the shape of Vista and 7 as an attempt to please Windows users in quick succession with very very mixed reviews on both, they now need to get this right or face serious consequences.

Functionality, portability and personalisation is the key for future operating systems:

From watching videos and researching on the web, the user experience is seemingly at the heart of the new OS, something if they pull off well could be their saving light.

It is functionality, personalisation, and portability that people demand now.

Are they really ready to step into a market they have never had a grip on and do something useful?

What looks in-store for Windows 8 and its new tablet?

Lets take a look:

Apps and the Windows app store:

Well within familiar territory for Microsoft a planned marketplace for Windows apps will be something they hope lives up to expectation and is tempting enough for developers Globally to work on when iOS and Android is so prevalent already, could they have waited a bit too late here?

Built for business?

It looks like Steve Ballmer is looing to develop the Windows tablets as more than just a fun toy and feels that business users are the real prize:

If they are focusing on bringing software we know and (love?) already to their tablet; Office, Excell, Word etc then perhaps they will do just fine….one piece of software for all the “business folk” to buy, harking back to early Ford days….this would seem to be the desire.

A recent New York Times interview states that:

“The company believes there is a huge market for business people who want to enjoy a slate for reading newspapers and magazines and then work on Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint while doing work”

However this could be their stumbling block as I am personally unsure if tablets are for business (just yet), the laptop is still around for that.

And if Microsoft release their tablet in the vain hope that all Office users will want to be portable while using Word, and ditch their laptops then they best hope that developers start making other apps for their tablet that also have some mass appeal as Office on a tablet sounds as dull as dishwater.

What Smart Phones and tablets are great for is messing about, not to say that work related activity will not become common place on them at all….but…

Read a recent article about the death of the pc and rise of the smart phone.

Right now they are toys, bloody powerful, sexy and functional all the same, but just now they are toys, but when Windows do eventually release their own OS and tablet maybe just maybe Microsoft will become game changers and usher in a new functionality.

This remains to be seen.

Nokia as manufacturer, or go it alone like the Xbox?

It looks possible that Microsoft will team up with Nokia as they are yet to release a tablet and not expected until 2012 while Samsung and Dell have close links, will they want to steer away from Android O/S for sake of manufacturing for an old foe/friend?

Or could rumours from Taipei be true and see Microsoft manufacture their own tablet like they have with the Xbox?

This makes more sense to me.

Microsoft the uncool dad on the dance floor:

In summary I still do not get Microsoft as a business any more….and this as any businessperson will tell you spells failure….got to have that elevator pitch just right!

Unfortunately I can not help but see Microsoft as the uncool Dad trying to dance at a party and unfortunately being laughed at by all the blokes and getting some pity from a few nice girls while the rest are “heavy petting” in the toilets with the younger and more trendy guys…..oblivious to the floundering Dad show on the dance floor.

Microsoft….get it together now or never!…..Your brand is almost forgotten!

As my mum would say…

Belt up lad!

The settlement fee sees Apple pay a one time fee and also royalties on Nokia’s technology.

Nokia’s president and chief executive Stephen Elop is quoted saying:

“We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees.”

As part of the deal Apple and Nokia have agreed to licence technology to each other and drop all existing legal issues in Germany the UK and the US.

Nokia’s fall from power:

In the first quarter Nokia saw its position as the manufacturer generating the most revenue from its phone production fall to Apple.

And with the rise of the Google Android operating system, Nokia will see it’s position come under even greater pressure as firms such as HTC, Motorolla and Samsung capitalise on the demand for SmartPhones, and take advantage of first mover positioning and consequent brand appeal.

Nokia look to monetize its patent technology:

With Nokia having a whole bank of patents and technologies that many manufacturers would love to utilise, the company has started to look at ways it can licence its inherent wireless technology knowledge and patent portfolio on areas such as:

The SmartPhone user interface, power management, antennas and cameras.

Apple already involved with other manufacturers over patent issues:

With Apple corp already involved in litigation with Android manufacturers, Motorola, Samsung and HTC

With Apple essentially accepting that it had stolen certain patents related to mobile technology in the iPhone, the likelihood of Apples competitors having to pay both Nokia and Apple as a result of this recent agreement means that Apples main rivals should be hit in the wallets doubly from the actions taken against them.

It is thought these costs could be even higher than Apples due to the fact that Apple brought considerably more of its own technology to the table than either of the above mentioned manufacturers.

Potentially last ditch partnership with Microsoft for Nokia:

With Nokia partnering with Microsoft to help them bring about a range of devices for the Windows Phone 7 operating system, aimed at competing with Apples iOS and Android based devices, this marriage could see heavy losses or the potential to stem the tide against further ground lost in the SmartPhone arena which both companies have failed to make any serious impressions on in well over two years after the birth of the Smart Phone (a lifetime in technology terms)

Highlighting this risk from Nokia’s perspective is a quote contained in the report called Form 20-F 2010 states:

“If we fail to finalise our partnership with Microsoft or the benefits of that partnership do not materialise as expected, we will have limited our options and more competitive alternatives may not be available to us in a timely manner, if at all,”

Are Nokia better served as a form of mobile technology university or will this business model lead to a potentially precarious future.

Nokia’s past investment in research and development in last 20 years:

In the last 2 decades Nokia has invested a huge €43 billion into research and development and now has one of the mobile industry’s largest portfolios of technology related patents.

Will Nokia end up succeeding with the partnership with Microsoft (we have our doubts, due to late arrival, but do see opportunity with Microsoft’s existing customer base and the potential to sync hardware people may already own such as PC’s and Xbox’s with the new device, time will tell)

Or will they end up as a knowledge based company licensing technology and patents out to mobile phone manufactures, or will the Northern European mobile giant bounce back and lead the way with a new wave of SmartPhones in the near future?