The 'oh sh_t' moment that Nokia decided to abandon MeeGo

Bloomberg Businessweek just published an amazingly thorough piece on Nokia, pre- and post-Elopcalypse. We've long wondered how MeeGo, an OS that Stephen Elop himself said "inspires both confidence and excitement" in October 2010, could be cast aside so quickly in favor of Windows Phone, an OS still struggling to find traction in the heated smartphone market. Well, now we know. Bloomberg recounts a January 3rd meeting between Nokia's Chief Development Officer Kai Oistämö and Nokia's freshman CEO. After Kai expressed his concern with MeeGo's ability to effectively respond to Apple's iOS and Android operating systems, the two decided to interview two dozen "influential employees" about MeeGo, ranging from execs to engineers.More after the break...

NOKIA ORO - LIVE VIDEO

In this video, Alessandro Lamanna, Vice President, Marketing at Nokia talks about Nokia Oro, a stunning new smartphone that incorporates 18-carat gold plating, a sapphire crystal and leather from one of Scotland’s finest Caledonian herds. Nokia Oro, a premium brand product, will be available in selected markets only.

INTRODUCING THE NOKIA ORO PRESS RELEASE

In selected markets, we’re launching a new smartphone today, the Nokia Oro. It’s a premium brand product that incorporates 18-carat gold plating, a sapphire crystal and leather from one of Scotland’s finest Caledonian herds. Inside, it reaches the same high grade as Nokia’s other recent smartphones. It’s Symbian-based, with the latest Symbian Anna update. There’s pentaband radio connectivity, up-to HSDPA 3G and WiFi. There’s a 3.5-inch AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel camera with 720p video recording and all the rest. Functionally, it’s not so different from other recent smartphones from Nokia. But that’s quite a rarity in the “premium phone” business. Normally, you’d have to choose between something that looked posh or offered the latest specs: Nokia Oro offers both.Pics and more after the break...

Nokia's Windows Phones will feature dual-core ST-Ericsson U8500, says STMicroelectronics chief

As you'll no doubt be aware, Qualcomm currently enjoys a stranglehold on processing hardware inside Windows Phone handsets. Its Snapdragon chip stars in both Microsoft's original and updated chassis spec for the platform, but its hegemony may soon be coming to an end. STMicroelectronics (the ST in ST-Ericsson) boss Carlo Bozotti is cited by Forbes as saying that Nokia will use ST-Ericsson hardware to power at least some of its Windows Phones. The dual-core U8500, a long-time Nokia favorite, is touted as the first such system-on-chip to appear, with its successors helping to populate Nokia's expansive WP lineup in 2012. The only intel we've had so far on Nokia's initial handsets for the new OS revolved around Qualcomm-based devices, so even if ST-Ericsson is indeed going to infiltrate the Windows Phone ecosystem, it doesn't look likely to be among the very first Nokias out of the gate.

NOKIA N9 TEASER

In this video, we catch tantalizing glimpses of the upcoming, Meego-powered Nokia N9 QWERTY slider. With the company in a period of unprecedented transition, the N9 will need to boast some outstanding features, or risk becoming an also-ran as anticipation builds for the first Windows Phone 7-powered Nokia devices.

Eldar Murtazin: Microsoft will enter negotiations to buy Nokia's mobile division next week

Yes, this is a rumor, and by golly it strains the limits of credulity, but take note of its source. Firstly, the details: according to Eldar Murtazin, Microsoft and Nokia will enter talks next week to discuss the potential for the American software giant to purchase the Finnish company's mobile arm, meaning the part that makes all those delectable smartphones. Eldar's not been able to dig up any further intel, but expects a deal could be closed as early as the end of this year.Update & more after the break...

OVI RE-BRANDED AS NOKIA

This just came in, Nokia is skipping the Ovi brand and going back to “Nokia”.

Starting with first services on some of the new Nokia devices in July and August, Ovi services will be rebranded as Nokia services in a transition expected to continue into 2012. Each of the services under the Ovi umbrella will simply be rebranded as Nokia, with no planned disruption to the service roadmaps.

NOKIA BH-905i HEADSET - VIDEO PROMO

This is the product video for Nokia BH-905i headset in HD. The headset is designed for listening music and making calls with superior sound quality in all environments thanks to sophisticated Active Noise Cancellation technology.  Nokia BH-905i carries Bluetooth and wired connectivity, and is a continuation product for famous predecessor headset with renewed design. The headset is available in Metallic Black and Ice White colors.

HEADSET DESIGN AT NOKIA - VIDEO PROMO

This is a design story of three central Nokia headsets, each of them made for different purposes but connected with the same passion of high sound quality, smooth design and ease of use.

NOKIA X7 REVIEW AND HANDS ON

The guys at CellulareMagazine takes a look at the new Nokia X7. Nokia X7 is going to be one of the first two devices on Nokia’s portfolio, along with the business-oriented Nokia E6, to come with Symbian Anna – the updated version of the manufacturer’s mobile platform. Other than that the handset boasts a 4-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a 360x640 display resolution and an 8-megapixel fixed focus camera capable of shooting 720p HD video.

NOKIA CHAIRMAN JORMA OLLILA TO STEP DOWN IN 2012

Nokia, the world’s largest phone maker by volume, has started to look for a new chairman to succeed long-time leader Jorma Ollila, who will step down next year.

NOKIA J HEADSET TEAM INTRODUCE THE NEW BLUETOOTH HEADSET FROM NOKIA

This is the product video for Nokia J headset in HD. Nokia J is a Bluetooth headset compatible with any phone. It has stand-by time up to 3 months and talk time up to 5 hours. In the video, Audio Specialist Jouni Knuuttila, Designer Jose Pérez and Senior Product Manager Risto Kinnula discuss the design process and explain product features. The headset has been awarded these marks of quality for its superior design: red dot Design Winner 2011, iF Product Design Award 2011, and International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase Honor 2011.

SYMBIAN APP - NOKIA TRAILERS

Nokia Trailers is the best app for viewing teasers and trailers for new and upcoming movies. Keep up-to-date with the latest films, download your favourites in HD, and share recommendations with friends!

SCANDIT SDK FOR NOKIA - NEXT GENERATION BARCODE SCANNING TECHNOLOGY

Heres a demo of the latest version of the Scandit SDK for Nokia phones (Symbian^3 and Series 60).

Stephen Elop: Nokia won't build just another tablet

Apple has a tablet. So does RIM. HP Palm too, soon enough. And Android tablets, particularly those running Honeycomb... they're everywhere -- hell, even Sony has a few on the way. That leaves Nokia as the glaring anomaly conspicuously absent from the tablet wars. Understandable, we guess, given the company's urgent need to transition its smartphone strategy to Windows Phone. That doesn't mean the company is standing still though. According to an interview with YLE television in Finland, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is taking a very calculated approach to tablets, saying, "We could take advantage of Microsoft technology and software, and build a Windows-oriented tablet, or we could do things with some of the other software assets that we have. More after the break...

ACCENTURE TO PROVIDE FUTURE SMARTPHONE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TO NOKIA

Nokia and Accenture today announced plans for a strategic collaboration in which Nokia would outsource its Symbian software activities and transition about 3,000 employees to Accenture. At the same time, Accenture would provide mobility software services to Nokia for future smartphones.More after the break...

NOKIA STARTS MEASURES TO ALIGN WORKFORCE AND SITE OPERATIONS WITH NEW STRATEGY

To deliver on its new strategy, Nokia today announced plans to align its global workforce and consolidate site operations. These measures are part of Nokia’s target to reduce its Devices & Services non-IFRS operating expenses by 1 billion euros for the full year 2013 in comparison to the full year 2010, as announced last week.More after the break...

NOKIA OUTLINES ITS PLANS RELATED TO THE NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION

At WIMA, Nokia outlined its plans related to the NFC. Mark Selby, head of sales and industry collaboration concentrated on the Nokia’s NFC strategy in the opening keynote.

APPLE OVERTAKES NOKIA AS LARGEST HANDSET VENDOR BY REVENUE

Apple Inc. has overtaken Nokia Corp. as the world’s largest vendor of mobile handsets by revenue, research firm Strategy Analytics said Thursday after both companies released earnings.

“We estimate Apple’s wholesale revenues for its iPhone handset division stood at $11.9 billion in the first quarter of 2011,” Alex Spektor, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics said.”Apple overtook Nokia for the first time, which recorded a lower $9.4 billion of wholesale handset revenues.”

VIDEO - LONDON ON 3D MAPS FROM NOKIA

Another video after the break...