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Nokia Teams with Microsoft in Smartphone Space — But Not in U.S. Yet

November 1, 2011 by

The two companies seek to establish themselves in the smartphone space

Finnish handset manufacturer Nokia has teamed with Microsoft for its latest generation of phones, a move that starts moving Microsoft’s smartphone operating system further into the mainstream market.

The move comes as the two partners seek to establish themselves as major players in the smartphone market. Nokia has been seeing very strong erosion of its position in the last year, dropping from owning 33% of the smartphone market in the third quarter last year to 14% this year. Microsoft, while garnering solid reviews for its OS, has not seen that translate into wide scale adoption.

The two have been working together for eight months and Microsoft’s Windows 7is a major upgrade for Nokia over its aging Symbian operating system, one that was failing to match the latest features of the rival Android and iOS platforms.

However Microsoft, never a power in the smartphone OS, has also seen its share in this space decline. A recent report by analytic firm ComScore showed Microsoft’s share drop from 7.5% to 5.8% between March and June 2011.

The two phones in this release are the Nokia Lumia 710 and the Nokia Lumia 800, with the 810 being the model targeted at the Apple iPhone and high end Android offerings. Currently available in Europe the smartphones are slated for rollout in Asia later this year. Nokia said that it is in talks with all four major US carriers and intends to release them in the US in the future.

The Lumia 800 has an 8-megapixel camera and a bright 3.7-inch OLED display that’s slightly larger than the screen in the iPhone. It has 16GB of storage and the phone is powered by a single core Qualcomm 1.4GHz processor. It includes an 8 megapixel rear facing camera.

The entry level Lumia 710 features the same processor and comes with 8GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear facing camera and 3.7-inch WVGA display. The smartphones will run on high-speed 4G networks that use a technology called LTE, or Long Term Evolution, as well as on older 3G networks.

The Windows operating system still appears to be catching up to its rival iOS and Android rivals but is now a much fuller featured OS and includes cut and paste and other features that show it is on the road to parity. However it is a long road.

The Windows 7 OS uses “smart tiles” that show information about an app without needing to launch the app. It comes with a range of apps built in- People Hub, Pictures Hub, Microsoft Office Hub, IE9 Mobile, Xbox Live, and 25GB SkyDrive storage. There are currently tens of thousands of apps for Windows 7 but that seriously trails Android and iOS apps, which now number roughly half a million each.

This looks to be a good first effort for the pair but they still have a ways to go, particularly in getting both more features in the OS and a greater app market. Many top sports sites make no mention of Windows support at this time. However with the massive number of Microsoft developers out there this looks to be a relatively easy issue to fix.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Android, Apps, AT&T, iPhone, T-Mobile Tagged With: , , , ,

Monday’s Tech Tidbits — My Battery is Dead Issue

October 31, 2011 by

Ubuntu seeks to storm into Tablet, Smartphone and TV market
Ubuntu Linux is the latest operating system that seeks to establish itself in the growing mobile and smart video market spaces. ZDNet is reporting that the Canonical, the parent company behind the Linux development will announce the move at its Ubuntu Developer Summit in Orlando. First the company plans to bring out a stable version of its Ubuntu 12.04 distribution and then focus on the new segments. However do not hold your breath as it is not expected for at least 3 years.

Forbes publishes a Top 10 list for Tablets-sort of
Forbes has published a Top 10 list for Tablets, combining 7-inch, 9-inch and 10-inch models. Without any commentary as to why the products made the list, any pros and cons or additional points the list is only really helpful if you want the bare bones information on each model.

Have that drained feeling? iPhone 4S users feel your pain
The iPhone 4S seems to have a battery issue that is causing users fits as it starts draining rapidly even when idle. PC World has a list of suggestions to help you make it through the day on a single charge, for your phone that is. Some sites are claiming that the phone just checks the time too much — what it never heard of Popcorn?


Apple buys another mapping firm
According to 9to5Mac Apple has acquired C3 Technologies, a 3D mapping application developer. According to the site this is the third map developer Apple has added to its portfolio since 2008, the other two being Placebase and Poly9, also a 3D mapping company Apparently Apple purchased C3 several months ago and the deal is now coming to light and it is reported that most of the development team and management is intact and still working as a team in Sweden.

Microsoft provides a patent lawsuit primer
I sue you, you sue him he sues me. That seems to be the standard business operation threes days but Microsoft says so what? One of the company’s attorneys’ said that lawsuits for disruptive technology are a time honored tradition and that it intends to enforce its position. An interesting Q&A on the issue in the San Francisco Chronicle.

eWeek embraces digital-what took it so long?
eWeek, and sister publications Baseline and CIO Insight will no longer have print versions starting January 2012. Instead they will be available for Windows Phone 7, Android and iOS phones and tablets. The company said that it will offer the publications in “full suite of optimized suites and native apps.”

Filed Under: Android, Apps, iPad, iPhone Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: HP is Back!

October 28, 2011 by

ViewSonic offers low cost Android tablet
Looking for a low cost tablet? Well ViewSonic wants you to know that it is now in the game with its ViewPad 7e Android tablet. The 7-inch display uses an older version of Android and not the more recent Honeycomb version of the OS but it does have a $200 price tag and includes a 1GHz ARM A8 processor, dual cameras and 4GB storage with a microSD card slot for expansion.

Dodgers blame beating victim
I know that blame the victim is a standard tactic in legal matters but do the Dodgers really believe that they can convince any rational person that Bryan Stow, beaten into a coma at Opening Day at Dodgers Stadium was responsible? It sure looks as if they are going to as part of the owners’ battle with MLB. It couldn’t be the funding siphoned from the team to support the owners’ expensive lifestyle, could it?

ESPN teams with Nokia for sports fans
ESPN has teamed with smartphone developer Nokia to offer a mobile sports technology for the fan on the go. Called the ESPN Hub and slated for release in 2012 it has been specifically designed for the latest generation of Nokia smartphones that run Microsoft Windows operating system. The ESPN Hub will have a different look from other ESPN products and the company claims that it will help make navigation of content smoother and more intuitive. Hopefully this will turn out better than the Mobile ESPN effort from a few years ago.



HP- We are back! Will not leave the hardware business after all.
Hewlett-Packard back in the hardware business, gee we hardly missed you. The company has made an about turn and has decided that it will not spin off its personal computer unit after all. The decision was made by CEO Meg Whitman. The move reverses the proposal put forward by Whitman’s predecessor, ousted CEO Leo Apotheker who announced the move as part of a corporate overhaul. AT the time the company was smarting over the poor sales of its tablet computer, the TouchPad. It now looks like future tablets are in store for the company, but may use the Microsoft OS.

iPad 3 to sport new connectors?
Rumor du jour: C|Net is reporting the possibility that Apple will launch an iPad3 in March and that it might have connector issues. The site, citing another site, reports that it will have a redesigned dock connector that uses the same number of pins as the old one but in a different, and smaller, configuration. The screen is expected to remain the same size and there is now word if it will stay at the current resolution level or move to the Retina Display technology already in use in other Apple products.

Can teams be a bit too touchy about Twitter?
The recent tempest in a teapot comes from Boston where New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski felt obligated to apologize for appearing in photos with BiBi Jones, an adult film star who then posted them on Twitter. It was taken during a bye week and he is free to do as he feels. I wonder how long it will be before Puritan in Chief Roger Goodell issues a ruling on what players can do in their free time?

Filed Under: Android, Apps, ESPN, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Tablets, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Road Runners to Attempt Sports Social Media Milestone at NYC Marathon

October 27, 2011 by

A massive sports social media blitz is in the works for the New York City Marathon, according to a New York Times report.

The New York Road Runners, organizers of the Nov. 6 race,  and MapMyRun expect greater than 100,000 people to download the Official ING New York City Marathon Mobile Spectator App, which will be released on Oct. 24 for iPhones, iPads at iTunes App Store and Android Market for Andoid devices at a price of $2.99. (A limited free version is also being released.)

If successful in reaching its six-digit download goal, the New York City Roadrunners will acheive the broadest use of an event-specific sports social media application to date, according to Mobile Sports Report.

The NYC Marathon application is also innovative. It enables double opt-in marketing that permits sponsors, including Subway, Dunkin Donuts and five others, to use GPS to deliver user-specific offers depending on their location.

Location-specific direct marketing is key to the success of event-oriented sports mobile application developers because it moves beyond a cost-per-measure advertising model into a customer acquisition model. And marketing within the application is not just tied to those watching the event live. Consumers will receive offers from Subway, Dunkin Donuts and others regardless of their location in the United States.

New York Road Runners executive vice president for business development Ann Well Crandall told the Times:

“We’re providing (sponsors) with direct access to consumers. We’re just scratching the surface on this.”

The 2011 application is an upgrade from last year’s version, which was used by about 50,000 people during the NYC Marathon. Runners can be searched by name, number or team, and locations will be shown. There’s also a Friend Finder function, which allows runners to be tracked throughout the race if they carry their own mobile device in their pocket during the event.

Filed Under: Android, iPad, iPhone, Sports Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

Cantor Gaming goes live with Android sports betting app

October 26, 2011 by

 Cantor Gaming, which operates the race and sports books of such Las Vegas casino powerhouses as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the Tropicana Las Vegas, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and The Palazzo, said Wednesday that it has released an Android sports wagering application.

Approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Cantor’s Android application works in the state of Nevada. GPS in mobile devices will prevent consumers from placing action in other states. Cantor is a leader in “in-running,” which is the ability to place proposition bets on sporting events on an on-going basis. In-running means that you can bet not only on the outcome of a game, but on individual plays. In-running is the fastest growing segment of the $2.76 billion legal sports betting industry in the United States. According to the American Gaming Association, legal sports wagering represents less than 1 percent of all sports betting in the United States.

Cantor Gaming customers currently use this device to place in-running bets at casinos. A new Android smartphone application enables them to place similar bets anywhere in the state of Nevada.

Advocates have called for reform of U.S. laws, which they say unfairly prohibit U.S.-based companies from providing sports betting services to mobile devices. Billions of dollars in illegal betting activity flows through offshore casinos, they say. If U.S. gaming laws are reformed, Cantor Gaming and other innovators will be positioned to capitalize on legalized gaming at NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and college sports events in the United States. Research firm Gartner Group estimated that global mobile gaming revenues reached $5.6 billion in 2010, and predicted the market would grow to $11.4 billion dollars by 2014.

An In-running Super Bowl Scenario

What does in-running on smartphones mean for the average sports fan?

Imagine it is Super Bowl Sunday. Your favorite team is the New York Jets, and Rex Ryan finally made good on his promise to LaDainian Tomlinson to get the Jets to the big game. They are playing the Green Bay Packers. It is third and seven yards to go, and Aaron Rodgers has his team in the huddle. The Jets are on defense, and Darrelle Revis looks confident out on the island.

In-running means you might get an offer of seven-to-one that Rodgers will make a completion of Greg Jennings, and an offer of 157-to-one that Revis will make a pick six.

You place the longshot $5 wager on your man, Revis.

After Rodgers gets pressured from the Jets’ Aaron Maybin, he gets too much air under his pass. Revis reacts, taking the ball back seventy-four yards for a score.

There’s a flag, and you sweat.

Holding…Green Bay.

Moments later, $785 appears in your Cantor betting account.   

Cantor promotion, CEO quote

To promote its application, Cantor is giving away Android devices to its highest-rolling customers, and offering discounts on smartphones to others.  

“Cantor Gaming’s primary goal and focus is to constantly enhance our customers’ experience through innovative, superior technology,” said Cantor Gaming president and CEO Lee Amaitis. “Our team has developed an application that is real-time, convenient and enjoyable, while incorporating the most advanced and reliable security.”

Cantor is the second Nevada-based gaming company to offer a mobile wagering application, according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal report. American Wagering, which operates a chain of race and sports books called Leroy’s, released Blackberry- and Android-compatible apps earlier this year.

Cantor Gaming is a unit of Cantor Fitzgerald, a Wall Street investment firm that was devastated by the 9-11 attacks. It uses the same technology used to manage Wall Street hedge funds to set fair odds for in-running propositions.

Big dollars flow offshore

An estimated $380 billion annually in illegal sports betting is conducted in the United States annually, according to National Gambling Impact Study Commission. Much of that is conducted through the online portals of offshore casinos, which are widely known to provide poor customer service and slow payouts. Illegal sports transactions conducted through offshore casinos generate no tax revenue for the federal government or U.S. States.

As the Nevada economy and the United States economy have floundered, proponents of legal sports betting using mobile devices have argued that federal law hamstrings domestic competition and channels gambler dollars’ offshore.

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, passed by Congress in 1992, and the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act, passed by Congress in 2006, are currently among the impediments to legal sports gaming on mobile devices and iPads throughout the United States.

 

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Mobile sports pioneers Tagged With: , ,

Monday’s Tech Tidbits-AT&T loves Wi-Fi!

October 24, 2011 by

Looking for a Wi-Fi hotspot? Well according to AT&T the number has been growing by leaps and bounds as users made 301.9 million AT&T Wi-Fi connections in the third quarter. The biggest growth areas? Stadiums and hospitality facilities.

Motorola Mobility seeks to reestablish Razr with the new Droid Razr, an LTE Android smartphone expected to be released next month. Can the company regain its pre-iPhone glory?

I feel old this morning. Apple’s iPod turned 10 years old last Sunday.

Google delivered Ice Cream Sandwich last week replete with a host of features-the first product with the new OS is Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus. I wonder how developers like it compared to the rival iOS or earlier Android versions?

Looks like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7 Plus tablet is headed to the US. Expect it to cost around $400 for the 16GB version and be available Nov 13th from Best Buy and Amazon, according to Gizmodo.

Apple’s iPad market share has peaked. Apple’s iPad market share is growing. Who do you believe? Speaking of bad iPad news stories are emerging that you can partially hack an iPad2 with a simple magnet.

Microsoft says that it will target the mid-market smartphone segment with future releases of its Windows-based phones. Rumor is that a platform code-named “Tango” is in the works, following up on its current “Mango” release.

Continued bad news for BlackBerry– a study by Enterprise Management Associates shows that 30% of RIM users in enterprises with 10,000 employees or more plans to switch to a different platform.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Android, Apps, AT&T, BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, Samsung, Tablets, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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