Espoo, Finland and Redmond, US – Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement on a partnership that will result in a new global mobile ecosystem, utilizing the very complementary assets of both companies. Completed ahead of schedule, the definitive agreement is consistent with the joint announcement made on February 11.

In addition to agreeing to the terms of their partnership, including joint contributions to the development of the new ecosystem, Nokia and Microsoft also announced significant progress on the development of the first Nokia products incorporating Windows Phone. With hundreds of personnel already engaged on joint engineering efforts, the companies are collaborating on a portfolio of new Nokia devices. Nokia has also started porting key applications and services to operate on Windows Phone and joint outreach has begun to third party application developers.

“At the highest level, we have entered into a win-win partnership,” said Stephen Elop, President and CEO of Nokia Corporation. “It is the complementary nature of our assets, and the overall competitiveness of that combined offering, that is the foundation of our relationship.”

“Our agreement is good for the industry,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. “Together, Nokia and Microsoft will innovate with greater speed, and provide enhanced opportunities for consumers and our partners to share in the success of our ecosystem.”

The relationship is structured around four broad areas:

1. A combination of complementary assets, which make the partnership truly unique, including:

- Nokia to deliver mapping, navigation, and certain location-based services to the Windows Phone ecosystem. Nokia will build innovation on top of the Windows Phone platform in areas such as imaging, while contributing expertise on hardware design and language support, and helping to drive the development of the Windows Phone platform. Microsoft will provide Bing search services across the Nokia device portfolio as well as contributing strength in productivity, advertising, gaming, social media and a variety of other services. The combination of navigation with advertising and search will enable better monetization of Nokia’s navigation assets and completely new forms of advertising revenue.

- Joint developer outreach and application sourcing, to support the creation of new local and global applications, including making Windows Phone developer registration free for all Nokia developers.

- Opening a new Nokia-branded global application store that leverages the Windows Marketplace infrastructure. Developers will be able to publish and distribute applications through a single developer portal to hundreds of millions of consumers that use Windows Phone, Symbian and Series 40 devices.

- Contribution of Nokia’s expertise in operator billing to ensure participants in the Windows Phone ecosystem can take advantage of Nokia’s billing agreements with 112 operators in 36 markets.

2. Microsoft will receive a running royalty from Nokia for the Windows Phone platform, starting when the first Nokia products incorporating Windows Phone ship. The royalty payments are competitive and reflect the large volumes that Nokia expects to ship, as well as a variety of other considerations related to engineering work to which both companies are committed. Microsoft delivering the Windows Phone platform to Nokia will enable Nokia to significantly reduce operating expenses.

3. In recognition of the unique nature of Nokia’s agreement with Microsoft and the contributions that Nokia is providing, Nokia will receive payments measured in the billions of dollars.

4. An agreement that recognizes the value of intellectual property and puts in place mechanisms for exchanging rights to intellectual property. Nokia will receive substantial payments under the agreement.

With the definitive agreement now signed, both companies will begin engaging with operators, developers and other partners to help the industry understand the benefits of joining the new ecosystem. At the same time, work will continue on developing Nokia products on the Windows Phone platform, with the aim of securing volume device shipments in 2012. The scale of both companies’ mutual commitment is significant and is in keeping with the intention to build a new ecosystem based on this long-term, strategic partnership.

About Nokia
Nokia is committed to connecting people to what matters to them by combining advanced mobile technology with personalized services. More than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia, from our most affordable voice-optimized mobile phones to advanced Internet-connected smartphones sold in virtually every market in the world. Through Ovi (www.ovi.com), people also enjoy access to maps and navigation on mobile, a rapidly expanding applications store, a growing catalog of digital music, free email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, and Nokia Siemens Networks is one of the leading providers of telecommunications infrastructure hardware, software and professional services globally.

Source

TechLoy reports that Microsoft has announced that Windows Phone 7 would be available in Nigeria this summer.

From the report:

Today, Shina Oyetosho, a Microsoft Nigeria architect disclosed that the Windows Phone 7 will be available in Nigeria within the next two months. He also did a good job demoing the Windows Phone 7 to bloggers in Nigeria’s tech space and answered some questions about the operating system’s capabilities and functionality.

This is good news to Windowsphone fans here (and I am one). We hope that this means an opening up of the Windowsphone Marketplace to Nigerian residents as well.

With this announcement, Windowsphone 7 can begin to get some official coverage here on Mobility Nigeria. If you remember, back in January, we had implemented a “no coverage” policy for devices and platforms whose manufacturers offer no official support/recognition to Nigeria.

Of course, with the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft, it was inevitable that Microsoft was going to reckon with Nigeria at some point. It is good to see it coming this early however.

NoDo is Here; Got my HTC 7 Mozart Updated
After about two weeks of checking for the “NoDo” update on my HTC 7 Mozart, I finally got a prompt for the update today. The process went smooth, and I now have Windowsphone OS version 7.0.7390.0 installed on the device.

Here are the features that the NoDo update delivers to WindowsPhone devices;

• Copy & paste. You asked for it—now it’s here. Just tap a word and drag the arrows to copy and paste it on your phone. You can copy text from emails, text messages, web pages, and Office Mobile documents, and paste it anywhere you can type. To learn more, see Copy & paste.
• Faster apps and games. Nobody likes to wait. That’s why we’ve whittled down the time it takes for apps and games to start up and resume. It’s all part of our focus on getting you to the things you love, easier and faster.
• Better Marketplace search. We’ve streamlined Marketplace search to make it easier to find specific apps, games, or music. Press the Search button in the Apps or Games section of Marketplace and you’ll see only apps or games in the results. Press Search in the Music section of Marketplace to search just the music catalog.
• Other Marketplace improvements. We’ve improved the stability of Marketplace while you download apps. We’ve also improved the experience of downloading apps larger than 20 megabytes, upgrading from trial apps to paid apps, using a credit card with an address outside the United States, sharing links to apps via email, sorting Xbox LIVE games by release date, and creating an Xbox LIVE account from within the Games Hub.
• Wi-Fi improvements. We now display your phone’s Media Access Control (MAC) address in Settings. (You might need this info if you try to connect to a Wi-Fi network that uses MAC address filtering. To learn more, see Connect to a Wi-Fi network.) We’ve also removed the limit on the number of Wi-Fi profiles that you can store and reduced the time it takes to start your phone if you’ve stored lots of Wi-Fi profiles.
• Outlook improvements. We’ve improved the experience of viewing iPhone photo attachments you receive from a non-Exchange-based email account (such as a Google Mail, Hotmail, or Yahoo! Mail account), using the Global Address List (GAL) when connecting to Exchange Server 2003 using Exchange ActiveSync, and working with email display names that contain brackets (for example, “David Alexander [Contoso]“).
• Messaging improvements. We’ve improved the experience of receiving Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages if your phone uses a PIN-locked SIM.
• Facebook integration. We’ve improved the experience of syncing Facebook accounts.
• Camera improvements. We’ve improved the stability of switching between camera and video modes.
• Audio improvements. We’ve improved the experience of using a Bluetooth headset to make calls when you’re playing music or videos.
• Other performance improvements. This month’s update also includes software from several phone manufacturers that improves the performance of specific models. Naturally, if you don’t have one of the affected models, we won’t install this portion of the update on your phone.

Any Windowsphone fans here?

Open Letter from CEO Stephen Elop, Nokia and CEO Steve Ballmer, Microsoft

GLOBAL – Today in London, our two companies announced plans for a broad strategic partnership that combines the respective strengths of our companies and builds a new global mobile ecosystem. The partnership increases our scale, which will result in significant benefits for consumers, developers, mobile operators and businesses around the world. We both are incredibly excited about the journey we are on together.

While the specific details of the deal are being worked out, here’s a quick summary of what we are working towards:

• Nokia will adopt Windows Phone as its primary smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.

• Nokia will help drive and define the future of Windows Phone. Nokia will contribute its expertise on hardware design, language support, and help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.

• Nokia and Microsoft will closely collaborate on development, joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.

• Bing will power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities. Microsoft adCenter will provide search advertising services on Nokia’s line of devices and services.

• Nokia Maps will be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services. For example, Maps would be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine and adCenter advertising platform to form a unique local search and advertising experience.

• Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements will make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.

• Microsoft development tools will be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.

• Microsoft will continue to invest in the development of Windows Phone and cloud services so customers can do more with their phone, across their work and personal lives.

• Nokia’s content and application store will be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.

We each bring incredible assets to the table. Nokia’s history of innovation in the hardware space, global hardware scale, strong history of intellectual property creation and navigation assets are second to none. Microsoft is a leader in software and services; the company’s incredible expertise in platform creation forms the opportunity for its billions of customers and millions of partners to get more out of their devices.

Together, we have some of the world’s most admired brands, including Windows, Office, Bing, Xbox Live, NAVTEQ and Nokia. We also have a shared understanding of what it takes to build and sustain a mobile ecosystem, which includes the entire experience from the device to the software to the applications, services and the marketplace.

Today, the battle is moving from one of mobile devices to one of mobile ecosystems, and our strengths here are complementary. Ecosystems thrive when they reach scale, when they are fueled by energy and innovation and when they provide benefits and value to each person or company who participates. This is what we are creating; this is our vision; this is the work we are driving from this day forward.

There are other mobile ecosystems. We will disrupt them.

There will be challenges. We will overcome them.

Success requires speed. We will be swift.

Together, we see the opportunity, and we have the will, the resources and the drive to succeed.

Source

My Thoughts

Having used Symbian devices for years and used a Windowsphone 7 device recently, I think that this is a match made in heaven. This is bringing the best of both worlds – Nokia wouldn’t be just be another Windows Phone OEM but “contribute expertise on hardware optimization, language support, customization of the software and helping bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies”.

This also indicates that Nokia Windows Phones will have more global support – including Nigeria, as Nokia is bringing their wider market range to the platform.

Excuse me please, but when is the first Nokia Windows Phones device hitting the market? I so desperately want that upcoming smartphone with a clean and elegant interface, superb camera, excellent audio quality, free maps, superb browser, WVGA display, copy-and-paste, multi-tasking, and other superb features.

Nokia, please implement this well. Please. Or I will not forgive you. To everyone else, I say, “Welcome to Nokia Windows Phones“.

In the last couple of days, a lot of my tweets on Twitter have revolved around the HTC HD7 that I am currently reviewing and the Windowsphone 7 mobile OS that it runs on.

Here is a quick rundown of some of my most recent tweets:

When it comes to multimedia, the #NokiaN8 is hard to beat. Music & camera on the #HD7 don’t stand a chance!

Actually, its hard to be impressed with music and camera on most other phones once you’ve used the #NokiaN8. Very hard.

Keyboard on HTC HD7 is good, but eats up so much of the display! That’s probably why its good too.

Everyone who has seen the #Windowsphone user interface has loved it. Somehow, everyone appreciates simplicity. Uncluttered is the word.

Having used #WP7, it feels sort of painful to return to anything else, be it #iOS, #Android, #Symbian, #Bada or #WebOS.

I was a #WindowsMobile fan for its versatility. #Windowsphone has made a fan out of me because of its simplicity and elegance. Crazy world!

Who wants my #NokiaN900 for just N55,000? Holla. I’m off to get me a #Windowsphone.

Finally, someone asked me, “@mobilitynigeria Are you confidently recommending #Windowsphone above other OS?”

The beauty of not being a loyalist or fanboy to any mobile OS is that I can see the pros and the cons of a platform more clearly than most can – and can speak about both sides of the platform in the same breath. It doesn’t matter how much of the features of an OS or device I find intriguing, I don’t close my eyes to its faults and shortcomings. I don’t live in any fool’s paradise.

There is no one-size-fits-all to mobile devices and OSes. People’s needs per time differ. From what I see of the smartphone market today, we have a mashup of different OSes with different strengths and weaknesses. Not one can be rightly said to be superior to others. What we have are devices and platforms that are superior in one way and passable, good or ho-hum in others. The aspect ratios differ, but that’s pretty much the picture.

If you want an OS that does everything (even if does not always do them well or look appealing), you know where to look. If you want an OS with a legion of apps at your finger-tips, you know where to look. If what you are after is openness, there’s an OS for that too. If you want a tight messaging, social networking and instant messaging integration, there’s an OS for that.

You will find the above in varying shades, and if you will look for what meets your needs, you’ll do just fine. So, back to Windowsphone and the question that I was asked.

My answer: Nope. I am confidently recommending the Windowsphone user interface above others. Other aspects of Windowsphone are lacking.

Here is my recommendation for Windowsphone 7

If what stimulates your hormones is a user interface that is simple, clean, sweet, uncluttered and elegant on an OS that does its job buttery smooth (and you can live with the other limitations of the OS), then Windowsphone 7 is second to none. For now.

By the way, if you are not already, follow @mobilityblog on Twitter.

Here is a round up of news items that have been in the news for days now regarding the sales of certain smartphones worldwide.

Samsung sells 10 million Galaxy S phones worldwide

First up, it is reported that Samsung has sold 10 million Galaxy S phones worldwide. Samsung certainly hit a home run with the Galaxy S series. Excellent sales figures.

Nokia N8 has shipped about 4 million?

According to a Finland research company, Nokia has sold between 3.5 and 4 million N8 smartphones. Nokia had also previously stated that the N8 has recorded the greatest number of pre-orders ever from the company.

These are not confirmed sales figures, so we’ll keep our eyes out for more details.

1.5 million Windowsphone 7 devices sold to operators

Microsoft’s new mobile OS, Windowsphone 7, currently runs on ten (10) devices or so. Microsoft has announced that they have sold about 1.5 million WP7 devices to retailers and network operators. This is not actual sales figures to end users, as it does not state how many of those 1.5 million devices have actually been purchased by end-users. We’ll have to wait for the exact sales figures.

When I first read up an article on the unconfirmed reports made by Eldar Mutarzin that Nokia and Microsoft are in talks about having Nokia produce WP7 devices, I simply waived it aside. Personally, I resist the temptation to publish vapourware.

I personally doubt that Nokia would go that route. Yes; discussions may be on to integrate services from Microsoft into Nokia’s products or have certain Ovi services powered by Microsoft. That will add more value to Nokia’s line-up than adding another platform to develop on to what they have in hand. For example, we see Nokia’s partnership with Yahoo resulting in Ovi email and chat being powered by the latter. That makes sense.

Minus the eye-candy, WP7 has nothing else to offer Nokia. Existing WP7 devices are also not exactly selling like hot cakes either. A WP7 device from Nokia does not make sense. Nokia already has Symbian for smartphones and MeeGo for tablets. What would WP7 be adopted for?

But we will have to wait to see how things go; won’t we.

For now, though, I thought it would be interesting to do a “What If” article on the subject. So, here’s the simple question:

What if Nokia produces a WP7 smartphone; would you buy one?

If you would, what would be the motivating factor for your purchase? If you wouldn’t; tell us why too.

Microsoft’s new Windowsphone 7 OS got off with a flying start today with the announcement of a deluge of devices, many of which will be in the market in weeks.

HTC
HTC took the spotlight with five (5) devices announced. They include:

1. HTC 7 Surround: 3.8″ display. Features a Dolby Mobile system with SRS WOW HD sound. Exclusive to AT&T in the US
2. HTC 7 Mozart: 3.7″ display. 8 megapixel camera. Built from a single piece of aluminum.
3. HTC 7 Trophy: a 3.8″ display
4. HTC HD7: 4.3″ display. T-Mobile.
5. HTC 7 Pro: slide-out QWERTY keyboard. For Sprint

Samsung
Samsung have two devices in their WP7 lineup:

1. Samsung i8700 Omnia 7 – 4″ Super AMOLED screen
2. Samsung Focus for AT&T – 4″ Super AMOLED screen. Has microSD slot.

LG
LG also has two (2) devices announced:

1. Optimus 7 – 3.8″ display
2. Optimus 7Q – 3.5″ with QWERTY keyboard

Dell
Surprise, surprise! Dell throws in the Dell Venue Pro, a vertical slider with a QWERTY keyboard, 4.1″ AMOLED display with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass.

This is quite a show of force for Windowsphone 7 at launch. It is certainly a more spectacular launch compared to Android’s launch with just the T-mobile G1. Can WP7 wip up the frenzy required to push it into contention in the mobile smartphone market?

I am hoping so, if only for the sake of competition.

Windowsphone 7. Windows Mobile 6.5. Kin. Now, add Windows Embedded Compact and Windows Embedded Handheld – and what do you have?

Don’t ask me, but here is what Microsoft says:

There are two distinct product groups focused on mobility at Microsoft: one for the enterprise handheld devices industry (WEB), and one committed to the mobile phone needs of customers for all types of end users (MCB).

Here’s the official chart:

According to WMExperts, Steve Ballmer had this to say, “In the next six months we will release a new embedded OS called Windows Embedded Handheld, based on Windows Mobile 6.5 technologies … [and] in the second half of 2011, we will release a version of Windows Embedded Handheld based on Windows Phone 7 technology”

So, we know that WM is a Mobile OS for enterprise devices that is based on Windows Mobile 6.5. Okay. So far, so good.

Now, Motorola already has a device on the way for this platform, the ES400 pictured below.

Don’t ask me questions yet, as I am still quite trying to figure out everything about Microsoft’s mobile strategy. In the meantime, perhaps the guys at GSMArena and WMExperts can help you make sense of it. Oh, and here is Microsoft’s own official announcement of their plans for Enterprise Handheld Devices.

Of recent, Nokia and Microsoft have been cuddly-cuddly. Last year the two firms announced their alliance which was to see them collaborating on the design, development and marketing of productivity solutions for mobile professionals.

Well, take a look at this chart picked from a recently leaked presentation on Nokia’s software and services plans, the company mentions Windows OS along with the Series 40, Symbian and Maemo.

This is unconfirmed yet, but if in fact we will be seeing a Nokia-made Windowsphone, it will be the best thing that has happened to the Windowsphone OS and its descendants in years!

Read the full news item: Who saw that coming: Nokia working on a Windows phone?

While going through Tech stuffs as usual today, I came upon a very interesting news article and I felt it would be good and timely to share it with my pals in MobilityNigeria.

Apple Inc. sped ahead of Microsoft Corp as the world’s largest tech company as measured by market value on Wednesday, 26th of May 2010. Apple Inc., the maker of the iphone and ipad has overcome a major milestone. It is interesting to note that they almost went out of Business in the 1990s. They struggled for many years to get their products into the mainstream and it was only a $150 million investment from the much larger Microsoft in 1997 that kept them afloat.

According to Reuters, Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer was not disturbed a day after rival Apple Inc exceeded his firm as the world’s largest tech company by market value. He retorted that his goal was to develop a good product line and earn more profits. “My focus is on … what we should be doing to our product line, where do we go, how do we make products more innovative,” he said in response to a question on Apple racing past it in market value in New Delhi, India today, 27th May.

“It’s a long game, we have good competitors … we too are a very good competitor,” Ballmer said. “We are executing very well and that is going to lead to great products and great success.”

Analysts believe Microsoft is betting on an updated version of its Microsoft Office software it launched earlier this month along with a completely new Mobile software Operating System for smart phones called Windows Phone 7, which is scheduled to enter the market in a new range of handsets by the holiday shopping season.

“I am optimistic,” Ballmer said.

By Nasdaq ratings, Apple’s shares rose 1 percent on Wednesday, elevating its market value up to $225.1 billion and ahead of Microsoft’s $222.7 billion, as noted by Reuters data. Apple shares went up 1 percent above $247 in late afternoon trading. Microsoft shares were down 2.2 percent to $25.50.

Shares of Apple are now worth more than 10 times what they were 10 years ago, as it has profited from revolutionizing consumer electronics with its exquisite, broad appeal, easy to use devices with superb interface in products exemplified by the iphone. Other products of stellar quality include the iPod, iPhone and MacBook laptops. Not to mention the top selling ipad which sold a million units in the US alone less than a month after its release. The ipad is widely believed to repeat the same feat in Europe after its launch there on Friday, 28th of May.

Microsoft, the former biggest Tech Company is of repute to have its operating system (Windows) running on more than 90 percent of the world’s PCs. Regrettably, they have not been able to match their impeccable growth rates of the 90s.

Now the Cupertino, California-based Apple is the second-largest company on the S&P 500 index by market value, second only to Exxon Mobil Corp., the Energy Giant.

Effective today, Office Mobile 2010 will be available for free via Windows® Phone Marketplace for all Windows Mobile 6.5 phones with a previous version of Office Mobile. People using Office Mobile 2010 can perform lightweight editing of Office documents and take notes on the go. With Office Mobile, people can work with Office documents stored on their phone, attached to an e-mail, and can browse, edit, and update documents stored on a Microsoft SharePoint 2010 site.

If you have a Windows Mobile 6.5 device with Office Mobile already running, simply launch Windows MarketPlace on your mobile device to download the new release.

Source

Matthew Miller is one of the most objective writers around in the world of mobiles. He is one of the few people who understands the mobile space and is not bitten by fanboyism for any platform.  In other words, he is like me. He is kindred spirit. When I need to get away from all the hype and noise, I read Matthew Miller’s blog, Smartphones and Cellphones.

Mr. Miller has owned and used devices from vitually every platform and clearly understands their strengths and weaknesses. One of his owned devices is the new HTC HD2, a Windows Phone. You know, the one with a monster 4.3 inch display and monster specs. But his expertience with this flagship Windows Phone device has resulted in his giving up on Windows Phone. The user experience simply has him frustrated.

Matthew writes:

I have spent the last 10 days or so in near constant frustration every time I tried using the HD2 and I am just tired of the lock screen freezes, scattered operating system menus and pieces, inconsistent media experiences, limited 3rd party application availability, and more.

While Matthew is only one person, it is a sad day for Windows Phone when someone as level-headed as he is gives up on their platform. It speaks volumes.

Of recent, I was shopping for a smartphone for long-term use. By long-term, I mean at least 365 days. My options included three Windows Phones – Sony Ericsson X2, Samsung B7610, and an HTC Touch Pro2. Honestly, I couldn’t get over the vanilla interface of the Windows Phone OS, yet every available interface modification by individual manufacturers presented issues that I found difficult to overlook.

Either the modifications introduced inconsistencies in the user interface (one of the reasons I loathe using Symbian S60 5th Edition at the moment), or they consumed resources that hampered usability in some way e.g. the B7610 – having two media players, two calendars, two contacts apps, et al. For every stale-looking app in Windows Phone, Samsung created a pleasant-looking alternative co-existing with the vanilla version on the device. How intuitive is that?

I eventually chose something apart from Windows Phone.

Like several others, Matthew has walked. Too many people have walked away from Windows Phone over the last few years, such that its marketshare has diminished to critically low levels. Windows Phone is an endangered species. Can Windows Phone 7 reverse the trend?