okia predicts more than 800 million people will be using GPS enabled devices by 2013

Nokia claimed it is well positioned for mass take-up of location based services through mobile handsets. The manufacturer’s executive VP of markets Niklas Savander forecast that by 2013 more than 800 million people will be using GPS enabled devices. He said: ‘It is a space that we intend to own.’

Nokia already owns an online map provider, Navteq, which it acquired in 2008 for £4bn. Savander claimed Navteq had laid the foundations for the take-up of location based services. He said: ‘Nokia, not Google, is the leader in mobile navigation. Ovi Maps leads the market in terms of navigation and reach. Ovi maps are far less hungry for data than Google maps, because it is optimised for mobile use.

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New Nokia CEO brings Ballmer philosophy to Nokia World, noting apps developers will be critical to vendors future

Applications developers will be key to Nokia’s ability to compete on the global stage, according to CEO-elect Stephen Elop, who made a surprise appearance at Nokia World 2010 this week.

“We are capable of building great devices,” of taking them to market, of dealing with telecoms operators, and of creating services, Elop said in a short address that closed the two-day London event.

But without developers, “we cannot create the vibrancy and the ecosystem that we need to be successful and to compete around the world,” Elop said. Developers take our technology and our platforms and “do things that we would never have anticipated that you would do,” he said.

During the address, Elop hinted at the influence his former role as head of Microsoft’s business division will have on his leadership at Nokia.

“At Microsoft… Mr Ballmer had a saying,” Elop said. “And that saying was: developers, developers, developers.” Elop, who described himself as “unemployed”, having left Microsoft last week, takes the helm at Nokia on Monday.

His biggest challenge will be to improve Nokia’s position in the high-end smartphone segment of the market. The Finnish vendor still claims a dominant market share – its Symbian operating system took a 41.2% share of all smartphones sold to end users worldwide in Q2, according to Gartner – but it has lost valuable percentage points in recent months; Symbian had a 51% share of sales in the second quarter of 2009.

In a bid to start redressing the balance, Nokia introduced three new high-end devices at Nokia World on Tuesday, which, along with the long-awaited N8 smartphone, will be in the shops in time for Christmas.

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Nokia has teamed up with Intuit to provide automated mobile marketing services

Nokia has teamed up with Intuit to provide automated mobile marketing services for small businesses that will also have a knock-on benefit for mobile operators, the two companies announced at Nokia World 2010 in London on Wednesday.

The pair aim to help companies in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment of the market get more business by creating personalised offers and marketing campaigns, using location information and the mobile channel. Nokia brings its experience in location-based services and mapping to the table, alongside U.S.-based Intuit’s business software expertise.

“Nokia and Intuit have formed a strategic alliance,” said Mary McDowell, executive vice president, mobile phones, at Nokia, announcing the deal alongside Alex Lintner, president of Intuit’s global business division. In a joint presentation, the executives noted that their potential customer base is made up of around 500 million SMEs worldwide.

“Many of them lack the basic systems manage their businesses effectively,” said Lintner, in some cases relying heavily on mobile, rather than fixed, communications and connectivity.

“Our services will help increase their revenues at a modest cost,” he added. Location-based marketing and communications “will increase the foot traffic to their small business by at least 10%.”

For Nokia, the deal represents, “a great opportunity to leverage the strengths of Ovi Maps,” said McDowell. There will be “benefits for operators as well,” she added.

“Operators can increase their ARPUs,” as more businesses take up data plans on the back of these new market services, she explained.

The companies have yet to release further details on exactly what services it plans to launch, but more information is expected shortly.

“”We expect to launch these first services by the year-end,” said McDowell

Nokia pledges to connect “next billion” people to the internet

Nokia has unveiled a strategy to connect the ‘next billion’ people to the internet. Nokia’s vision of ‘Connecting People’ beyond telephony was highlighted on final day of its Nokia World event. To demonstrate its commitment to emerging markets, Nokia also updated a portfolio of ‘feature-rich’ phones and underscored internet services that cater to a world in which four out of five people are within reach of a cellular signal.

Mary McDowell, Nokia’s executive vice president for mobile phones, said the company is ideally placed to capture much of the projected growth in the global marketplace and that Nokia intends to maintain its leadership in voice and data for the masses.

McDowell said: ‘More people will join the information age using a mobile phone than a PC. With approximately 80% of the world’s population in reach of a cell tower, it is the mobile phone that will offer the first PC-like experience for many of the next billion people who will come online.’

She added that Nokia will leverage its local knowledge of consumers, distribution strength and scale to innovate and deliver what consumers deem is valuable at prices they can afford. McDowell also emphasised that in addition to well-made, well-priced devices, consumers everywhere crave apps that deliver globally and locally relevant content. She added that they want it quickly, easily and affordably.

‘New kinds of services and powerful software typically associated with smartphones are becoming more important in the traditional mobile phone space,’ she said. ‘We are rolling-out targeted services to meet consumer demand for connectivity, access to information and affordability.’

The company said that Ovi Mail has attracted more than 14 million email activations, the large majority of which are new users coming from emerging markets. In the last six months alone, 60% of new Ovi Mail accounts were from Southeast Asia Pacific and Africa, and more than 77% of people in the Middle East and Africa are now signing-up for Ovi Mail on their Nokia mobile phone instead of a PC.

In addition, more than 80% of Ovi Mail consumers globally are accessing their mailboxes from their mobile device

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Samsung Galaxy Tab coming to T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint and AT&T

Samsung America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S., today announced the upcoming availability of the Galaxy Tab in the U.S with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. The first mobile tablet from Samsung shares many of the powerful characteristics of the Galaxy S smart phone lineup that launched this summer. The Galaxy Tab is designed with several enhancements to create a unique mobile experience that other products can’t deliver.

The Galaxy Tab features a brilliant 7-inch enhanced TFT display screen, 1GHz Hummingbird Application processor supporting 3D graphics and smooth Web browsing and front and rear-facing cameras for video chat while on-the-go. The Galaxy Tab is powered by Android 2.2, including full support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1. Just like the Galaxy S smart phones, the Galaxy Tab includes Samsung’s Social Hub application and the new Media Hub content service, offering a robust collection of premium movies and TV episodes from some of the biggest entertainment companies.

“The addition of Galaxy Tab to the Galaxy product portfolio is a powerful proof point of Samsung’s commitment to bring new and innovative mobile experiences to U.S. consumers,” said Omar Khan, chief strategy officer for Samsung Mobile. “The 7-inch display and thin, lightweight design, combined with premium content and productivity tools makes the Galaxy Tab a true mobile tablet that is as comfortable to use standing on a crowded train as it is relaxing on the couch at home. The Galaxy Tab is perfect for watching a movie, reading an e-book or catching up with your favorite TV shows or chatting with an old friend. Plus, the Tab’s design makes it completely pocketable in your pants or jacket

.”

Powerful Display, Portable Design

The Galaxy Tab’s 7-inch display features enhanced TFT technology, offering brighter colors and clearer pictures, whether watching a movie or reading a book. The display delivers 1024 x 600 WSVGA resolution, offering full support to the Android 2.2 operating system. With support for Flash Player 10.1, the Galaxy Tab delivers an enhanced content experience when compared to other tablets currently available in the U.S. Users can engage with thousands of sites with rich Flash based applications and content including games, animations, rich Internet applications (RIAs), data presentations and visualizations, ecommerce, video, music and more. Samsung’s mobile tablet also provides access to the more than 80,000 applications currently available on the Android Market.

Many of the built-in productivity services and Android applications are scalable to fit the Galaxy Tab’s full 7-inch screen. For example, the user’s email, calendar and contacts will all rotate from portrait to landscape format through the tablet’s accelerometer and then open as a split-screen to create a PC or laptop viewing experience on the Tab. Likewise, many Android Market applications will open in full screen. Non-scalable Android Market applications will be framed and centered on the Galaxy Tab screen.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is designed for people who want a premium mobile entertainment experience on the go, but don’t want to be weighed down by a bulky device. The Galaxy Tab fits in a pocket or purse, weighs only 13 ounces and is 12 millimeters thin. Those super-light and sleek dimensions, matched with the 7-inch touchscreen display allows the Galaxy Tab to easily fit into a jeans’ backpocket or the inside pocket of a jacket. The compact design of Galaxy Tab also makes it easy for the user to type on the virtual keyboard with both thumbs or with one hand using Swype technology to type with one continuous finger motion across the keyboard.

Two Cameras, One-on-One Video Chat

The Galaxy Tab is designed with a rear-facing 3 megapixel camera for taking pictures on-the-go and sharing with family and friends. The Tab is also outfitted with a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera and camcorder, enabling video chat with other people who have video conferencing capabilities. Users can align the Galaxy Tab with video chat clients including Qik and Fring and seamlessly talk with other people over a WiFi connection.

Google Mobile Services Benefits

Services like Google Maps Navigation (Beta) and Google Goggles are available on Google’s Android platform. With useful location-based services like Google Maps, consumers can search in Standard English instead of entering an exact address. A search-by-voice function is just as intuitive, meaning searches can also be completed easily on the go. Google Goggles is a powerful, visual search tool that uses the Samsung GALAXY Tab’s camera to uncover information – an image of a landmark or artwork is automatically used to perform a search, delivering relevant content like a description or history. In addition, with a camera, users can enjoy various augmented reality services which are downloadable in the application market.

Samsung Social Hub Simplifies

Just like the Samsung Galaxy S smart phone portfolio, the Galaxy Tab keep users connected with Samsung’s Social Hub application. Social Hub works with the user’s Messaging and Contacts to initiate the sending and receiving of information, whether it is e-mail, instant messaging, social network updates or SMS messages. Additionally, calendar information from portal calendars, such as Google Calendar, and social networking services are displayed together in one calendar with two-way synchronization.

Additional features of the Galaxy Tab include:

* Daily Briefing: Offers instant access to weather, news, stocks, and schedules.

* Impressive Onboard & Expandable Memory: Galaxy Tab can add 32 GB of external memory to store and manage your favorite video content and pictures.

* AllShare DLNA Technology: Take video or pictures shot with Galaxy Tab and send content wirelessly to other DLNA-enabled devices (HDTVs, laptops, PC monitors, etc.)

* Document Viewer & Editor: Open and make changes to any Word, Excel, Powerpoint or PDF document

* 4,000 mAh Battery: Super-sized battery provides ample power to watch movies, share content and surf the Web

Samsung Media Hub – Entertaining the Masses

In addition, the Galaxy Tab will include future access to Media Hub, Samsung’s own content service, offering a vast lineup of critically acclaimed films and TV programs for rent or purchase. Samsung is working with the biggest and best names in entertainment, including MTV Networks, NBC, Paramount and Universal Studios Home Entertainment to assemble a full library of movies and TV programming, including new release films, next day TV episodes and even full TV show seasons. Media Hub also allows the user to expand the entertainment experience, allowing content purchased to permanently own to be shared with up to five devices that carry the Media Hub application.

Premium Accessories Portfolio

To enhance the Galaxy Tab user experience even further, a set of accessories designed specifically for the mobile tablet are available for purchase from www.Samsung.com including:

* Keyboard Dock – $99.99

o Ergonomic, comfortable full-size keyboard with 7? Galaxy Tab replaceable inserts that doubles as a charger for power and synchronization of media and data

o Dock contains convenient stereo audio output jack for connecting to speakers or home stereo

* Desktop Dock – $49.99

o Doubles as a Galaxy Tab charger using the Micro USB wall adapter that comes with the Tab; allows users to view movies, display as a digital picture frame and listen to music

o HDMI output to view HD content on HDTV enabled with 1080p resolution and provides HDTV connection to play content from the Galaxy Tab to a television

* Car/GPS Dock – $99.99

o Conveniently positions 7? Galaxy Tab display screen inside car for turn-by-turn GPS navigation instructions and traffic updates

o Attachable to either the windshield or car dashboard and rotates freely between landscape and portrait modes

Upcoming Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Tab portfolio of mobile tablets from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless will be available in the coming months. For additional information on the Samsung Galaxy Tab portfolio, please visit www.samsung.com/galaxytab