TamsWMS - the Windows Mobile Smartphone Blog

Nokia passes Lumias to MVPs, ignores past promises to own developers

May 172012

When Nokia first announced intent to switch over to Windows Phone 7, they offered their Symbian developers a free Nokia E7 and promised to follow it up with a free Lumia when WP7 would be “on the road”.

Sadly, it looks like the Symbian developers have done their due, and are now no longer useful – we are still waiting for our Lumias. Thus, the letter below (via wmpoweruser) is likely to annoy more than one developer – a selection of MVPs somehow related to mobile will receive free Lumias:
free lumia mvp Nokia passes Lumias to MVPs, ignores past promises to own developers

Given that Nokia is already loosing developer goodwill at a high speed, it is questionable if this is significant at this stage – nevertheless, it shows the deprofessionalization in a clear, black-on-white fashion.

IDC: HTML5 “planned” by almost 80% of developers

Metrics Maid, Uncategorized No Responses »

May 162012

When it comes to mobile development, religious wars can be fought about the question of web 2.0 vs native.

Mobile Business Briefing now brings us the following nugget:

Research house IDC said that 79 percent of surveyed mobile app developers plan to integrate HTML5 into products they launch this year.

The company said that by 2015, more than 80 percent of all mobile apps will be either wholly or in-part based on the web technology.

…

Even though I still believe that native apps are the way to go, this sounds interesting – stay tuned for updates as we get them!

Telefonica: 2 € = 25MB, EU-wide

News No Responses »

May 152012

Roaming in the EU is quite a topic – given that Hutchison has used the communality across its network for great advantage, I have frequently predicted that it would be but a question of time when other carriers react.

According to Mobile Business Briefing, Telefonica has just done so:

Telefonica has launched a pan-European data roaming tariff offering smartphone subscribers to its European networks 25MB of data usage for EUR2 a day.

…

The Pan-European tariff launched in Germany in May and will be available this summer to Telefonica’s O2 and Movistar customers in Spain, UK, Ireland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. It will be applicable for roaming across all 27 EU member states.

Let’s see how this one plays out…

Microsoft Advertising gets prepaid option and new name

Development No Responses »

May 132012

When it comes to advertising on the Windows Phone 7 platform, Microsoft’s adCenter is a pretty popular and simple-to-use option. However, a few small changes are now incoming.

First of all, it looks as if a prepaid option will soon become available for advertisers:

This is just a quick heads up that your Microsoft Advertising adCenter Terms and Conditions have been updated with the goal of enhancing our service to provide greater payment flexibility. An adCenter prepay option will be available –no word, yet, on exactly when but pilots will begin in some of the smaller markets this summer. . When prepay payment is available in your billing country, the updated Terms and Conditions will apply. So, its business as usual until that option becomes available in your billing country. Check back here from time to time on updates related to this new feature.

In addition to that, the advertising system will soon be renamed:

Also, while we have you here, you may have noticed our new look both here on the blog, over on the Microsoft Advertising site and in all of our customer communications as we move from Microsoft Advertising to Bing.

Find out more at the URL below:
http://community.microsoftadvertising.com/en/small-business/adcenter/b/advertiser/archive/2012/05/10/microsoft-adcenter-terms-and-conditions-2012-update.aspx

HP to resume tablet production – with Windows 8

News No Responses »

May 122012

HP has stopped the production of webOS tablets some time ago – sadly, the OS has now no manufacturers left. However, the firm originally planned to resume the manufacturing of webOS tablets in 2013 – which now seems to have changed slightly.

Bangkok Post reports the following:

: Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced it will resume production of consumer tablets but says it will run them on Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system.

The world’s largest technology firm suspended its touchPad WebOS tablet production line last year on poor sales.

Restarting production is a strategic move aimed at capitalising on the extraordinary growth in tablet sales …

…

Not much to add here…

Lumia 900 might get Tango – ROM pops up

News No Responses »

May 122012

Very few topics are as sensitive as the question of Windows Phone 7 OS upgrades – Microsoft’s initial announcement of a standardized platform seems to do them more bad than good.

WPCentral.com now reports the following:

Having said all of that the Finish Tango ROM (8773 with firmware 12140) popped up on Navifirm this morning and yes, can be downloaded. Does that mean it can be flashed to your AT&T Lumia 900? We wouldn’t recommend it as down-grading the ROM to the proper one is not guaranteed.

Of course, this should not be taken as confirmation that an update will be pushed out – it is entirely possible that Microsoft uses the 900 as test bed for platform development!

Krusell: top-sellers for April 2012

Metrics Maid No Responses »

May 112012

When it comes to data, Krusell’s once-monthly sales report are the staple food of our Metrics Maid section. In fact, we even have some explanation on our coverage as to why we are not breaking data down at OS levels anymore.

Krusell has now sent us the latest update:

1. (1) Apple iPhone 4/4S
2. (8) Sony Xperia S
3. (2) Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II
4. (-) Sony Xperia U
5. (7) Samsung Galaxy Note
6. (4) Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc/Arc S
7. (3) Samsung Galaxy Nexus
8. (-) Nokia E52
9. (10) HTC Sensation
10. (9) HTC Sensation XL
() = Last month’s position.

In April Sony’s new models Xperia S and U has made a significant race on the Top seller list from Krusell. It’s been a while since we had three phones from Sony, or previous Sony Ericsson, on our list, says Ulf Sandberg CEO at Krusell. In April it’s only Samsung who matches Sony in number of devices on the list, even if iPhone is still number one.

The Swedish manufacturer of carrying cases for portable electronics, Krusell, releases its “Top 10″-list for April 2012. The list is based on the number of pieces of custom made mobile- and smartphone cases ordered from Krusell during April 2012. Krusell’s list is unique due to the fact that it reflects the sales of phones on six continents and in more than 70 countries around the globe.

Not much to add here…

Nokia-”exclusive” apps for Windows Phone 7

Funny Stuff, News No Responses »

May 082012

We have frequently reported that Microsoft can not favor Nokia too much lest its other licensees get angry – due to that, it never ceases to amuse when Nokia tries to push out “exclusive” stuff for the Lumia line.

Their latest blurb takes the form of a three-page press release, which announces a bunch of new apps for all Windows Phones, a few (insignificant ones) of which will be exclusive for the Lumia.

But, see for yourself – one really wonders where Microsoft starts and where Nokia ends:

New Orleans, US – Nokia announced a number of new and exclusive application partnerships at CTIA Wireless 2012, continuing its focus on delivering differentiated and original app experiences to Nokia Lumia consumers around the world.

“We are focused on delivering great, locally relevant apps, and importantly, those which offer unique, exclusive and original experiences,” said Marco Argenti, SVP, Nokia Developer Experience. “With Nokia Lumia smartphones now available in 48 markets, developers are rapidly recognizing the business opportunities and creating their best work for our consumers.”

With more than 80,000 apps now available in Windows Phone Marketplace, search and discovery features such as ‘App Highlights’ and ‘Nokia Collection’ curate the best, most relevant apps for Nokia Lumia consumers.

“Nokia has achieved much in a short space of time when it comes to key brands and partners creating apps for Nokia Lumia customers. We believe developers are now moving away from simply porting, to create new innovative and high-design apps that fully leverage the Windows Phone Metro UI and features such as live tiles. With new and exclusive apps launching on a regular basis, and Nokia Lumia rapidly expanding into new markets, Nokia and Microsoft are demonstrating meaningful differentiation for consumers, developers, operators and retailers,” said Crawford Del Prete, EVP, Chief Research Officer, IDC.

New partnerships and app updates across key consumer verticals include:

SPORT:

The PGA Tour app – exclusive to Nokia Lumia for 12 months from launch
The PGA TOUR is pleased to announce the launch of a new mobile app to provide fans with live, enhanced coverage of PGA TOUR events on the Windows Mobile platform. Developed with Nokia, the app will be available exclusively on Nokia Lumia smartphones beginning in late June 2012. The new app provides fans with a groundbreaking way to follow PGA TOUR tournaments. In addition to live tournament scoring, highlights and player information, the app provides interactive, augmented coverage of select events and holes, showing each player’s exact position and scoring information. This allows fans to “get inside the ropes” and follow all players competing on the PGA TOUR.

“We are excited to work with Nokia to provide this app for the PGA TOUR,” said Scott Gutterman, Executive Producer, PGA TOUR Digital. “We are committed to providing the highest level of live PGA TOUR coverage, and this app will better inform and entertain PGA TOUR fans.”

The Nokia app adds to the PGA TOUR’s portfolio of mobile products. The PGA TOUR averages over 1 million monthly mobile users across all platforms.

ESPN – exclusive to Nokia Lumia until May 2013
The exclusive ESPN Hub will deliver a number of key updates in coming months, including sports scores on Live Tiles, team-level panoramas, personalization of scores, leagues and teams, and additional sports coverage such as Tennis, NASCAR and the 2012 Olympics. Additionally, a Windows Phone version of the ESPN Fantasy Football app will launch exclusively on Nokia Lumia smartphones this coming Fall.

GAMES:

Rovio – titles starting with Angry Birds Space join the original Angry Birds game in coming to Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone consumers
Rovio is building a dedicated design and development team to create games for Nokia Lumia smartphones and the wider Windows Phone ecosystem, with the goal of developing and publishing all future Rovio titles as soon as possible. Nokia and Rovio will partner to develop innovative new consumer products and content exclusively for Nokia Lumia smartphones, alongside cross platform multi-channel integrated marketing initiatives.

“Nokia is one of our longest-standing partners, and Windows Phone and Lumia are of strategic importance to Rovio. We are very committed to bring our games to Lumia devices, and are looking forward to delighting our fans on the Windows Phone platform,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio.

EA – bringing leading game titles to Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone consumers
Electronic Arts (EA) will continue to deliver leading game titles to Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone consumers, including FIFA, Madden NFL, NBA Jam, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®, Mirror’s Edge and Yahtzee. These games join titles such as Need for Speed(TM) Undercover, Need for Speed(TM) Hot Pursuit, The Sims(TM) 3, Spider Jack, and MONOPOLY which are already available in Windows Phone Marketplace.

LIFESTYLE:

Groupon – Exclusive to Nokia Lumia for 6 months from launch
Launching during Summer 2012, Groupon is currently working on an extensive upgrade of its Windows Phone app. The app will include a newly developed augmented reality deal discovery function to combine map and Points-of-Interest (POI) data with what is seen via the camera’s viewfinder, enabling users to see virtual Groupon deals, in real-time, nearby. The app will be exclusive to Nokia Lumia customers for 6 months.

Mihir Shah, VP of Mobile, Groupon, said: “Our new and exclusive Groupon app for Nokia Lumia customers combines the intuitive Windows Phone Metro UI with location-based data to deliver deals which are both personalized and location-relevant for users. We look forward to continuing to partner with Nokia to evolve and innovate our app experience further.”

Tripdots – Exclusive to Windows Phone customers for 3 months from launch
Tripdots helps vehicle owners optimize their driving behaviors while connecting with other vehicle owners and sharing driving efficiency achievements via social networks. The app lets users monitor the operation of their vehicles to enable cost savings through better understanding fuel economy. Everyone can participate in the MPG Leader Board game, and information is only sent to drivers after their trip is complete.

“Consumers are increasingly paying more attention to the eco friendliness and costs of operating their vehicles,” said David Fleck, President of Left Lane Network, Inc. “Tripdots provides a wealth of easy to understand information that helps users monitor the health of their vehicles while having fun. The Nokia Lumia Windows phones provide best in class experience with Tripdots and we are very happy to be working with Nokia to deliver the service worldwide.”

FINANCE:

PayPal app for Windows Phone
PayPal and Nokia will work together to bring PayPal’s secure, fast and easy payments capabilities to the Windows Phone platform and Nokia Lumia smartphones, globally. PayPal will leverage the power of Windows Phone Live Tiles to create a compelling user experience that provides users with the flexibility to pay on-the-go.

“We’re excited to work with Nokia and Microsoft to bring PayPal to Nokia users across the globe, and to continue to innovate the way our consumers shop and pay anytime, anywhere and in anyway,” said Hill Ferguson, Vice President of Mobile, PayPal.

ENTERTAINMENT:

AOL Entertainment Hub – exclusive to Nokia Lumia for 6 months
Available exclusively to Nokia Lumia users at launch, AOL is set to introduce the AOL Entertainment Hub, bringing together the best of AOL’s content to deliver an immersive and inter-connected experience on Windows Phone. Whether you want to listen to one of 55,000 radio stations via SHOUTcast, stream free music albums with AOL’s Listening Party or view Trailers and Movie listings, the AOL Entertainment Hub delivers everything you need.

“The live tiles on Nokia Lumia helped us create an awesome app that makes it easy to stay in the know on what’s happening in Film, TV, Radio, Concerts and Music right from your home screen,” said Sol Lipman, Director of Mobile First products at AOL.

NEWS:

Time Magazine app for Windows Phone
Bringing the world’s largest weekly circulation to mobile, TIME.com announces the forthcoming availability of TIME for Windows Phone. Utilizing the stunning Windows Phone UI, the app will enable users to view TIME.com content, receive breaking news alerts, watch rich media content including video and share stories via the Windows Phone People Hub, while delivering the latest news and stories to users first via Live Tiles.

Newsweek – The Daily Beast app for Windows Phone
For a smart, speedy take on the news from around the world, combined with the depth and investigative power of Newsweek magazine, we are pleased to announce the availability of Newsweek’s digital partner The Daily Beast on Windows Phone. The Daily Beast app delivers the latest content through Live Tiles and combines the unique style of The Daily Beast with the Windows Phone UI to deliver a stunning experience. For users who only have minutes to digest the latest news, the app also delivers The Cheat Sheet – your one stop must have reads from across the world – uniquely designed for Windows Phone.

“We’re thrilled with how The Daily Beast app looks and works on the new Nokia Lumia smartphones and excited to be partnering with them as part of our robust mobile strategy,” said Daniel Blackman, Chief Digital Officer, Newsweek & The Daily Beast

PRODUCTIVITY:

Box app for Windows Phone
The new Windows Phone app from Box, the company focused on providing workers with simple, secure sharing from anywhere, will be available to Nokia Lumia consumers this Summer. With support for nine languages, Box for Windows Phone will enable users across the globe to browse, search and share files from their account.

“We’re committed to powering secure collaboration and content sharing for today’s workers across all platforms and devices,” said Matthew Self, VP of Platform Engineering at Box. “We believe that Windows Phone will play a meaningful role in enhancing mobile productivity across businesses of all sizes, and we’re excited to work with Nokia to bring an unparalleled experience for both users and IT to its Lumia smartphones.”

Microsoft MVP on Nokia-Microsoft relationship

Editorials No Responses »

May 072012

First of all: I am fully aware that Microsoft’s MVPs are not entitled to speak on behalf of the company. However, tradition tells us that MVPs tend to stay in line with corporate, as they do want to be re-nominated to keep getting the (significant material) benefits.

A German MVP in the XNA segment has now aired some interesting statements on his German blog (here). Given that we have an abundance of German speakers on team, here is the most interesting stuff he had to say.

He starts out by analyzing the financial situation of Nokia, which, well, is not too good – the firm has lost 1.34 billion Euros in 2011. This, however, already includes a payment from Nokia.

Here, the German text first:

Davon sind in 2011 bereits 0.180 Milliarden Euro geflossen (für 1 Million verkaufte Nokia Lumia 800).

In this number, a payoff from Microsoft is already included. MS paid Nokia 0.18 billion Euros for the one million Lumia devices sold.

He then goes on to explain why Android would be a less sensible choice:

Sollte Nokia es 2012 schaffen 10 Millionen Windows Phones umzusetzen, was durchaus schaffbar sein sollte, dann bekommen sie von Microsoft die Restzahlung von 1.8 Milliarden Euro und sparen auch noch mal 100 Millionen an Lizenzgebühren für einen entsprechenden Android-Absatz ein

Should Microsoft be able to sell 10 million WP7 devices in 2012, they would get an additional 1.8 billion Euros from Nokia. In addition to that, they would also save 100 million USD of license fees Android licensees must pay to Microsoft.

He has a nice extra bit of financials which we cannot quote here as we would be over the legal limit for quote lengths – find out more here:
http://mitohnehaare.de/2012/04/30/android-lumia-nokias-rettung/
===>Translated by Google Translate

Nokia and Carl Zeiss extend partnership, really?

Editorials No Responses »

May 032012

Everyone is aware of the Carl Zeiss optics and the N-Series success. First deployed on the most successful phone of it’s time, the N73, this partnership was an instant hit. It has been seven years since then, and the optics have improved considerably, with the Nokia 808 Pureview latest member of the family.

A press release was “released” by Nokia showcasing the strengthening partnership.

Espoo, Finland – Nokia and Carl Zeiss today announced that the exclusive partnership between the two companies, which has resulted in some of the industry’s best camera smartphones such as the Nokia N8 and the Nokia 808 PureView, has been extended.

The Nokia 808 PureView, which starts rolling out in May, combines high-performance Carl Zeiss optics with Nokia developed algorithms and a super-high resolution sensor to set a new standard in high-end smartphone imaging.

"Carl Zeiss was a crucial partner in the creation of the first PureView experience," said Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices. "The benefits of our ongoing collaboration will be more PureView innovation and further advancements in smartphone imaging in the coming months and years."

Michael Kaschke, CEO, Carl Zeiss AG: "When joining forces with Nokia in 2005, we wanted to push the boundaries of mobile photography. Looking back at seven years of successful partnership, we are proud of the innovations and outstanding products created in this shared journey. Today we are celebrating the extension of our collaboration with a new technology that sets another real benchmark in this sector."

But we beg to differ. If we see the light of events in the past few years, Nokia seems to rely more on the EDoF for it’s phones. In fact, more phones have been released by Nokia having the EDoF technology rather than Carl Zeiss optics.

Carl Zeiss has Sony as it’s partner for the DSLR range and Nokia for the smartphone range. It had also made some ground with a few smartphones from Sony Ericsson. But with Sony and Ericsson going their separate ways, and Nokia focusing more on the EDoF technology for bulk of it’s device, we see the future of this partnership grim. On the long run, it could be more profitable for Zeiss to focus all of its work on Sony, cutting off supply to Nokia completely.

Nokia can and will, however, continue to leverage the Zeiss brand in some of it’s smartphones, but the number would be dwarfed by the number of phones released with the EDoF lenses, and we continue to be skeptic about the nature of this press release.

What do you think?

LG shuts the doors for Windows Phone Platform, keeps a window open for future

News No Responses »

May 012012

LG, not surprising to us, has decided to shut it’s doors for Windows Phone platform. The reason behind this is a less than respectable number of Windows Phone (and Windows Mobile) devices sold. The company, though, has sold a handsome number of Android powered devices, and hence has decided to focus more on Android, with Windows Phone being a research platform only.

The blogosphere is buzzing with reports that Steve Ballmer (The guy in the fist pic), will be visiting Korea sometime in the third week of may to remind LG of it’s pact and negotiate.

In 2009, at the GSMA MWC, LG and Microsoft had made a pact wherein LG would bring 26 Windows Phones to market in 2012 alone.

And it kept a small part of it’s promise by introducing several Windows Mobile handsets.

And Making a pomp about their dedication to the Windows Platform

But LG is known as an organization with a hedging strategy. They license every OS which attracts their attention. But at the same time, they are pretty quick to kill any OS that they can not milk.

Hence, as we mentioned in the beginning of the article, we are not surprised…!!!

Review–Overboard Waterproof case for Medium sized devices

Hardware reviews No Responses »

May 012012

Before beginning this review, we must clarify that the definition for the small, medium and large phones has changed since the launch of the Galaxy Note. Those that were considered large are now medium.

We received an Overboard Waterproof case, courtesy of MobileFun iPad Accessories. Let us begin.

The case comes nicely packed and looks nice and shiny in the first go. Though Overboard has mentioned the case to be for small phones, We deem a device like the N8 not to fit the category. Rather, we term it as a medium sized device.