Nokia to cut its workforce with 7,000 employees by 2012

Today Nokia announced that 4,000 employees must leave before the end of 2012. In addition, 3,000 employees working with Nokia's Symbian software activities will be transferred to Accenture

Today is an important day for the worlds largest mobile phone manufacture. A total of 7,000 employees are told to leave Nokia by the end of next year.
The transfer of the 3,000 employees to Accenture is Nokias way of outsourcing its Symbian software activities. The agreement is expected to be signed this summer and it will affect the employees working in China, Finland, UK, India and the US. These employees will initially work with Symbian related activities for Nokia but later be retrained and redeployed. In a couple of years time when Symbian has been phased out, the employees transferred to Accenture will help Nokia with operational services regarding the Windows Phone platform.
About 4,000 Nokia employees located mostly in Denmark, Finland and UK will have to leave by the end of next year. These employees can stay on the Nokia payroll through the end of 2011. Nokias goal is to reduce the Devices & Services expenses by 1 billion euros for 2013 compared to 2010. Nokia will restructure its research and product development sites by contraction or closure of some of them and expansion of others. The iconic Nokia 3310 and Nokia 3330 was developed by the engineers in Denmark. Nokia 3310 is one of the worlds best selling mobile phones with 126 million units sold.
There is not doubt that Nokia now has left the sinking Symbian ship and jumped out in the Windows Phone lifeboat. The sea is foaming. Let us hope Nokia has a short way to the shore. Both Motorola and Sony Ericsson managed to get through the recent difficulty times. Nokia should be able to do the same.

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View the official Sony S1 S2 tablet product images

The two Sony tablets S1 / S2 was announced yesterday. Today we have got some nice product images to show you

Sony was late for the tablet table but the wait might be worthwhile. It has been discussed wheter Sony or Sony Ericsson would be the tablet provider of the two. It could of course be both companies but we doubt that Sony will start competing with itself.
The two new tablet was announced with the code name S1 and S2. The final name will be announced at launch this fall.
This is the Sony S1 as seen from the front. It has a front facing camera for video call. As you can see no hardware buttons are located on the flat surface. The illustration image below can be TimeScape for tablets where various social feeds are gathered in one application.

 The picture of the Sony S1 backside tells us that the tablet has a main camera located on top of the device. It is PlayStation Certified and it might have a memory card slot located in front of the device (bottom of this picture). Two rubber nubs are seen to the right and left of the for secure placement of slippery surfaces.

 This is the Sony S1 seen from the right side. The power button, volume keys and reset hole. To the left on the picture you will see one of the two stereo speakers. As the S1 specifications could be changed later Sony has not given out much of the technical details, but we know the screen size is 9.4 inch large and that makes it possible to calculate the rest of the dimentions. We have found out that the S1 dimensions must be close to 249 x 173 x 21mm. The thinnest section of the S1 is aproximately 10mm thick.

 Rumors has it that the S1 has a infraread sensor which should make the S1 a very high tec remote.

Sony S2
Sony "S2" was the second tablet announced yesterday. This is the most interesting one in terms of design and size. While the S1 has a more traditional tablet form factor, the S2 which its folding form might not be for everyone. Splitting the display in two is not done because users want such displays, but because this was the only way to keep the size of the tablet so small. It is the first time we have seen a Android Honeycomb tablet with two screens, but not the first Android device. As we wrote yesterday, the Kyocera Echo with its dual 3.5 inch displays are running on Android 2.2. The Echo has two 800 x 480 pixel displays and we have reason to believe that the S2 will have a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution.

 There are no hardware keys inside the folded S2. Apart from the two displays, it is only the front facing camera that is visible. Android 3.0 Honeycomb can be controlled entirely by touching the screen. Also notice the visible and solid looking hinges. The only place we have seen traces of connectors and keys are on the right side of the device. We can see a power button, 3.5 audio jack, volume keys and something that looks like a micro USB connector. More interestingly is what we don't see. A memory card slot. Will Sony release a tablet without the posibility to add more memory? We doubt it. The product images seen in this article are computer generated, so the card slot could be added later in the production line.

 Looking at the S2 from the outside it is easy to see that the Sony S2 has inherited the curved form factor from the Sony PS3 game console. The hinges are even more visible now as they are sticking out from the back side of the tablet. Without the hinges, the S2 should glide smoothly down large pockets.

 The last picture in this series is of a S2 having virtual game controller keys on the lowest of the two screens.

 Do you think Sony will succeed in the tablet market? Are they too late or just in time now that the Android operating system has become mature?

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Sony announces two Sony Tablets with codename S1 and S2

Sony is currently one of the few pc manufactures without a tablet in the product portfolio. This is about to change later this year when Android Honeycomb powered Sony Tablet S1 and S2 will be available in stores

It is not the first time we hear about a Sony Tablet, but this time it's official. A press release released today tells us that two Sony Tablets with code name S1 and S2 will be released later this year.
Both will be running Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The S1 will have a 9.4 display, while S2 is a smaller device with two 5.5 inch displays. We have seen the folded dual-display earler in Android mobile phones such as the Kyocera Echo but it is the first time for a Android tablet.
Both the S1 and S2 will offer 3G connectivity as well as Wi-Fi. It will be possible to control home entertainment devices using one of the Sony Tablets. They will both offer DLNA so most media stored on the tablet will be streamable to larger televisions and screens.

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Sony Ericsson announced W8 Walkman Android smartphone

The Sony Ericsson W8 Walkman is the first Walkman model running on Android operating system. W8 Walkman will be available in Asian countries only

It is the first time Sony Ericsson releases a Walkman branded Android smartphone. From the specification list, it seems to be a blueprint of the Xperia X8 released last year. Both the Xperia X8 and the W8 Walkman share the same dimensions, talk time, screen, camera etc. In fact, the only difference we can spot without playing around with it in real life is the Walkman sticker on the front and back of the device. As seen on the press images, it has a Walkman icon in one of the four corner icons. The specifications also tell us that it is shipped with a Walkman Player. This could very well be the standard Sony Ericsson Media Player but with another name. We will know when we see one. But again, that is not likely. The W8 Walkman will not be for sale in Europe, Americas or Africa. Just a couple of populated countries in Asia. Rebranding the Xperia X8 with a Walkman label is probably the last attempt by Sony Ericsson to boost market share using the music related brand.
Xperia X8 was initially shipped with Android 1.6 but later got a 2.1 update. The Sony Ericsson W8 Walkman will have Android 2.1 Eclair at launch date which will be Q2 2011.
The Sony EricssonW8 Walkman / E16i will be available in limited markets. These are China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong.
Colour variants are Azure, Orange and Red

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc review

We are finally done with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc review. Read our impression of this 4.2 inch Android smartphone here

We have spent weeks on this review to get everything right. The focus is on the new Mobile BRAVIA Engine and the Exmor R CMOS sensor of course.
Finally a mobile phone with good low light capabilities. We are not fond of flash assisted photos so the Xperia Arc should be everything we want. The camera capabilites are good, but there are a few things we would like to have changed.
Android is out with the new 2.3 Gingerbread. Xperia Arc is one of the first models with this OS version. But Sony Ericsson has added some extra features to the generic Android. TimeScape, customizable home screens and more.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is also one of the first phones with support for ANT+. Don't know what ANT+ is?

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Sony Ericsson results shows positive financial numbers but a decrease in shipped units

Sony Ericsson are moving focus over to Android devices and in the first quarter the average handset selling price has increased while number of shipped units has decreased with 23% compared to 2010

The Sony Ericsson Android portfolio is not for everyone. These smartphones are often more expensive than feature phones which is the main reason why the number of shipped phones has decreased in the first quarter compare to last year.
In first quarter 2011, the average selling price for a Sony Ericsson phone was 141 Euro. An increase from 134 Euro in Q1 2010. Historical selling prices are starting from 2007: 134, 121, 120, 134 and now 141 Euro. If we recall correctly, number of phone models in the 2009 Sony Ericsson portfolio was as high as 34 different models. The official online Sony Ericsson store are currently having 9 models in the portfoli whereas 7 are Android (mid- to high-end devices) and only two models are feature phones. According to Sony Ericsson, 60% of the total sales in Q1 2011 was Android devices.
8.1 million phones was sold in the first quarter 2011 which is a decrease of 23% year-on-year. Back in 2007 and 2008, Sony Ericsson shipped more than 20 million units per quarter. In 2010, number of shipped units was 10.5 million.
Sony Ericsson estimate that they have a market share of 5% in number of units sold and 3% in value and are expecting modest growth in global handset market for 2011.

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Rollei announces 8x telephoto lens for iPhone 4

The German manufacturer of cameras, lenses and camera accessories has announced a 8x manual focus telephoto lens for iPhone 4

The German company which has been manufacturing cameras since 1920 has diluted the brand name by going from being a manufacture of quality cameras and lenses to selling picture frames, camera bags and now iPhone 4 accessories.
Rollei Tele 8x as the iPhone 4 lens is called is a telephoto lens for the iPhone 4 which promisses 8x magnifaction to the original lens. The lens is attached to the iPhone 4 with a special case wrapping the backside of the phone. The Tele 8x is a manual focus lens so you need to turn the focus ring yourself. It is unknown how adding an extra lens will affect the iPhone 4 autofocus.
Adding more cheap glass in front of an average camera lens will not increase picture quality. The only result you will notice is the magnification of the subject.
But wait! That's not all. Included in the sales package, you'll find the lens itself and one mini tripod, a tripod mount, a hard case for iPhone 4 and a cleaning cloth. The entier package will be available in the end of April for 35 Euro.

According to Rollei, the lens is ideal for paparazzis and nature lovers. We do love nature but would have spend our money on a real compact camera instead of this lens.

Technical details

• 8x magnification
• 18 mm telescopic lens, F = 1.1
• Shooting range: 3m to infinity
• Picture angle: 16 degrees 
• 45 gram
• Size: 70mm

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More Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro II images leaked

We are probably getting real close to the release date now as the leaked images of the next Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro II keeps poping up weekly

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro is one of our favourite mobile phone models of all times. We liked the small size and the very good hardware QWERTY keyboard. It was a cheap phone model but for some users, the small 2.55 inch display on the Xperia X10 Mini Pro was too small.
The X10 Mini Pro successor seems to get the same distictive design and the familiar one-finger navigation icons.
Further, according to the rumors, the Xperia Mini Pro II with the code name Mango has one hardware key in front and two touch sensitive keys. Like all new Sony Ericsson smartphones, it is running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. 512 MB memory, 1GHz QSD8650 processor, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and 720p HD video recording. It is Sony Ericsson first Android device with a front facing camera. 320 x 480 pixel resolution. The display size is most likely more than 3 inch large.

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Nokia announces X7-00 and E6-00

The Nokia E6-00 is a business model with classic form factor and a full QWERTY keyboard while the X7-00 is an entertainment model with a large 4 inch display

 

It was no secret that the E6 and X7 would be announced anytime soon, and the rumored specs seems to be accurate. Both the Nokia E6-00 and Nokia X7-00 are running on Nokias newest version of the Symbian operating system named Symbian Anna. Most other new smartphones releases these days are highlighting one or two of the installed operating system advantages and of course the number of apps available for the platform. Not so with Nokia and Symbian OS. The Symbian advantages are not mentioned by one word in the official press release.
The Nokia X7-00 highlights ordered by importance according to Nokia are:

• HD games
• 4 inch AMOLED touch screen
• Email and social networks
• Fully customisable home screens
• Free GPS navigation
• Fast effortless browsing
• Web TV on demand

The E6-00 has a smaller screen and a QWERTY keyboard. The features highlighted by Nokia are:

• Touch screen and QWERTY
• Microsoft business apps
• Email and social networks
• Fully customisable home screens
• Free GPS navigation
• Apps, games and more

The updated Symbian Anna operating system has new icons and usability enhancements such as improved text input and a faster browser and refreshed Ovi Maps. Check out the video below to see if this can convince you to choose Symbian Anna on your next smartphone.

Watch video for Nokia X7-00

We haven't tried the updated OS and the Nokia demo videos does not reveal much about the user interface improvement, but adding new features such as the portrait virtual QWERTY keyboard option and a split screen text entry seems like a smart idea. Nokia will soon transform into a manufacture of Windows Phone smartphones, but at the same time, they are telling the world that the plan is to ship 150 million Symbian devices. Over 200 million phones are running on older version of the Symbian operating system today. The Nokia N8, C7, C6 and E7 will also be able to run on Symbian Anna.
Nokia has a naming conventions for their new mobile phone models. The phones are given a letter of C, X, E or N and a number between 1-9. The C-series are core range models, E-series are focussed on productivity, the N-series are the most advanced models and the X-series are models with focus on social entertainment. The following number represent the range of functionality and the approximate price of the device. The X7 is more advanced than the E6 and it also cost
Nokia X7-00 specifications

• Size: 119.7 x 62.8 x 11.9mm
• 146 gram
• 4 inch touch display, 640 x 360 pixel resolution, 16.7 million colours, AMOLED capacitive touch screen. Gorilla glass. Pinch-to-zoom support.
• 680 MHz processor and a additional graphics accelerator
• Networks: GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100, HSPA 10.2 / 2.0 Mbps
• WLAN b/g/n
• Bluetooth 3.0
• Micro USB
• Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, ambient light
• Battery: 1300 mAh, talktime: 390 minutes, standby time: 450 hours
• 350 MB RAM, 8 GB microSD card included. Supports up to 32 GB microSD card
• A-GPS and Ovi Maps with free car and pedestrian navigation
• 8 megapixel camera, dual LED flash
• 720p HD video recording
• Java
• FM Radio

Nokia E6-00 specifications

• Size: 115.5 x 59 x 10.5 mm
• 133 gram
• 2.46 inch touch display, 640 x 480 pixel resolution, 16.7 million colours, capacitive touch screen
• 680 MHz ARM 1176 processor and a Broadcom graphics accelerator.
• Networks: GSM/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100, HDPA 10.2 / 2.0 Mbps
• WLAN b/g/n
• Bluetooth 3.0
• Micro USB
• Sensors: accelerometer, proximity, ambient light, compass (magnetometer)
• Battery: 1500 mAh, talktime: 888 minutes, standby time 681 hours
• 350 MB RAM, 8 GB microSD card included, expandable up to 32 GB.
• A-GPS and Ovi Maps with free car and pedestrian navigation
• 8 megapixel camera, geotagging
• 720p HD video recording
• VGA (640x480 pixel) front camera for video calls
• Java
• FM Radio
• 3.5 mm AV connector with TV-out
• Mail for Exchange, Communicator Mobile and SharePoint access

Looking at the specifications, we see that the X7-00 640 x 360 display resolution is below average for a 4 inch smartphone for sale in 2011. Even the Nokia E6 with its 2.46 inch display has a better resolution. Also notice the promissed 14 hour and 48 minutes talk time for the E6-00. That is an impressive 888 minutes talk time! The stanby time of 681 hours is almost month before the phone turns itself off. The E6-00 comes with free Ovi Maps, GPS and a compass for easier navigation.
Nokia X7-00 will be available in Q2 2011 in Europe, Eurasia, China, India and SEAP. No word about the US. The expected retail price will be EUR 380. Nokia E6-00 will also be available in quarter 2 2011. It is a little cheaper with an expected retail price of 345 Euro.

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Sony will launch Android tablet by the end of summer

Accoring to CEO Howard Stringer Sony will release a Android Gingerbread powered tablet by the end of this summer

We have earlier published images of a couple of Sony Ericsson consept tablets. We did not think either of Sony or Sony Ericsson would release a tablet anytime soon. Seems like this prediction went wrong. At least if the Japanese newspaper Nikkei is correct. The paper is citing Sonys Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer which said that a Sony Android Gingerbread tablet will be released first in the US by the end of this  summer.

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LG announces Wireless Charging Pad for mobile phones

This week LG announced its first wireless charging solution for mobile phones. The Wireless Charging Pad WCP-700

 

The Wireless Charging Pad WCP-700 is the first wireless charging solution for mobile phones from LG. A mobile phone is charged using inductive coils built into the battery doors and internal contacts.
LG has not revealed any details about how long time the wireless charger will use to fully charge an empty battery, but we are guessing the time is approximately the same as for charging with wire. In these eco friendly times, it will also be interesting to see how much extra watt the wireless charger will draw compared to conventional chargers.
The LG Wireless Charging Pad should be easy to use. Just place the phone on top of the charger pad and look for one of the visual, audible and tactile feedbacks to see when the phone is placed correctly on the charger. A LED indicator shows the status of the charging which are Ready to Charge, Charging and Fully Charged. The size of the Wirelress Charging Pad is 160 x 90 x 9.9 mm.
We expect to see support for the Wireless Charger Pad in upcoming LG phone models. LG does not reveal if this charging solution will be available for existing phone models.
LG is not the only manufacture with wireless charging solutions. HP has a similar solution for their newly announced HP Pre3. It is called Touchstone Charging Dock and it also charges the phone by placing it on the charger pad.

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Samsung announces a new Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet and a thinner Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung this week announced the new 8.9 inch Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet and at the same time re-announced the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with a smaller size

 

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was first announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year. But after the iPad 2 announcement by Apple in the begining of March, Samsungs Executive VP Lee Don-Joo told journalists that "Apple made it very thin". Samsung obviously went back to the drawing table and changed the specifications for the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The iPad 2 is 8.8 mm thin while the originally Galaxy Tab 10.1 specification told us it would be 10.9 mm thin. Todays announcement changed the winner of having the thinnest tablet on the market. Samsung won. Both the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Tab 8.9 are 8.6 milimeters thin.
Like most Android tablets, the two new Galaxy Tabs has a 1 GHz dual-core processor. They also have what some network operators call 4G. Which is HSPA+ with maximum download speed of 21 Mbps. Even though the display size is different, the resolution is the same with 1280 x 800 pixels.
Samsung has added a couple of software features which should differentiate the two Galaxy Tabs from other Android tablets. Readers Hub and Music Hub will give users access to 13 million songs, 2000 newspapers, 2.2 million books and 2300 magazines. Samsung Social Hub merges all communication applications like email, instant messaging, contacts, calendar, Facebook, Twitter into a single interface. Samsung TouchWiz Ux is Samsungs name on a customizable home screen where social feeds, favourite web site and pictures can be arranged with ease.
Common technical specifications for both Galaxy Tab tablets

• Networks: GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, HSPA+ 21 Mbps 850/900/1900/2100
• Android 3.0 Honyecomb operating system
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• Display resolution 128 x 800 pixels
• 3 megapixel camera, autofocus, LED flash
• 2 megapixel front facing camera
• 720p HD video recording
• 1080p Full HD video playback
• 3.5 mm ear jack
• Surround sound stereo speakers
• Samsung TouchWiz UX running on top of Android OS
• USB 2.0
• Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n)
• Sensors: Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light sensor
• Storage options: 16 / 32 and 64 GB. Expandable with microSD card

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 specific

• 10.1 inch touch display
• Size: 256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6 mm 
• Weight: 595 gram
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Battery: 6800 mAh

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 specific

• 8.9 inch touch display
• Size: 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6 mm
• Weight: 470 gram
• Bluetooth 3.0
• Battery: 6000 mAh

Galaxy Tab 10.1 gallery

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RIM to support Android apps on the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet

It will be easy for Android developers to port their apps to the BlacBerry platform as RIM today announced that the upcoming PlayBook tablet will have support for Android apps

The BlackBerry PlayBook, which will be available in the US next month, is the first tablet from RIM running on the new BlackBerry tablet operating system. The PlayBook has a 7 inch touch display with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, 1 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB memory, 5 megapixel camera, 3 megapixel front facing camera, weight of 425 gram and the size is 130 x 194 x 10 mm.
We had the opportunity to check out the PlayBook at the Mobile World Congress earler this year, and our first impression is that both the display size of 7 inch and the BlackBerry tablet OS are on a par with other tablets.
RIM are now giving potentional buyers one more reason to go for the PlayBook. The posibillity to run Android apps directly on the PlayBook could add over 200.000 more apps available to the platform. PlayBook users can not go to Android Market and download apps directly from there because if a manufacture wishes to use the Android name with their product, or wants access to Android Market, they must first demonstrate that the device is compatible and the PlayBook is not compatible. RIMs solution to this is to host the Android apps at their own App World store.
Two optional app players will be available for download from BlackBerry App World and downloaded Android apps will be placed in a secure "sandbox" on the BlackBerry PlayBook where BlackBerry Java or Android apps can be run. Developers willing to sell their apps through the BlackBerry App World will have to repackage, code sign and submit their Android apps to the App World and then wait for approval.
The Android apps developed for the BlackBerry PlayBook must be version 2.3 Gingerbread or higher.
via, RIM press release

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