Yesterday Trends of U.S.A. News Network: Nokia

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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

One formality down: Nokia shareholders overwhelmingly approve Microsoft sale

Elop probably isn't too broken up about it

Today Nokia shareholders approved the sale of the company's devices and services division to Microsoft, with the majority of them already giving the go-ahead before a formal and final vote.

Reuters reported Nokia shareholders holding more than 99% of Nokia voting rights voted in favor of the previously announced sale to Microsoft.

The Microsoft buyout, which also includes a €5.44 billion (about $7.37b, £4.57b, AU$7.82b) payment for licensing Nokia patents, is expected to infuse the onetime Finnish mobile giant with nearly €8 billion (about $10.84b, £6.72b, AU$11.5b) when it closes in early 2014.

Though it's jettisoning its loss-making mobile business, Nokia will still operate its telecom equipment business, Nokia Services and Networks, as well as its nat-sav software unit. It will still own a number of patents.

While many outsiders assume Microsoft is picking Nokia's cupboards clean of all the best stuff, a new report claims that may not be entirely true.

According to Unwired View, the previously Lumia exclusive Nokia Music may not be packing its bags for Redmond, instead staying behind with the company's map software for a multi-platform expansion.

Nokia Music Spelled out for us (credit: CTech)

Screenshots dug up by Chinese website CTech seem to indicate that Nokia Music could wind up on Windows, OS X, iOS and Android courtesy of an HTML5 app that will also work on all leading web browsers.

Nokia already attempted the same feat a year ago with its free Here Maps app for iOS, but there's no word on exactly when the HTML5-powered version of Music might actually make its debut.

Will you flip for Lenovo's Yoga Tablet 10? Find out in our full review!

Nokia Lumia 1520 arrives in France, won't be swimming across the Channel yet

French fancy for the Lumia 1520

Perhaps the most impressive-looking Windows Phone handset yet, the Nokia Lumia 1520 has arrived in France, but there's still no news on when Brits can get their hands on the 6-inch beast.

The quad-core handset was announced on October 22, with a release tipped for November, and now the roll-out has started on the continent.

On its official Nokia Conversation's blog the company said sales will also begin in the United States, Hong Kong, Russia and Italy later this week, but poor old Blighty has been left out of the equation as of right now.

Nokia said pricing and availability in more markets will be announced soon and encouraged expectant smartphone users to stay tuned for more details.

The Lumia 1520, the company's last major release before it flops into the lap of its new masters in Redmond, brings a full HD display and a quad-core processor - both firsts for Nokia and Windows Phone.

It's also got a 20-megapixel camera, 2GB RAM, a 3400mAh battery, a microSD card slot and is the first Nokia handset to be nano-SIM compatible.

It'll be available on three continents within a week, but for Brits the wait for the Lumia 1520 will continue for a little while longer.

One formality down: Nokia shareholders overwhelmingly approve Microsoft sale

Elop probably isn't too broken up about it

Today Nokia shareholders approved the sale of the company's devices and services division to Microsoft, with the majority of them already giving the go-ahead before a formal and final vote.

Reuters reported Nokia shareholders holding more than 99% of Nokia voting rights voted in favor of the previously announced sale to Microsoft.

While many outsiders assume Microsoft is picking Nokia's cupboards clean of all the best stuff, a new report claims that may not be entirely true.

According to Unwired View, the previously Lumia exclusive Nokia Music may not be packing its bags for Redmond, instead staying behind with the company's map software for a multi-platform expansion.

Nokia Music Spelled out for us (credit: CTech)

Screenshots dug up by Chinese website CTech seem to indicate that Nokia Music could wind up on Windows, OS X, iOS and Android courtesy of an HTML5 app that will also work on all leading web browsers.

Nokia already attempted the same feat a year ago with its free Here Maps app for iOS, but there's no word on exactly when the HTML5-powered version of Music might actually make its debut.

Will you flip for Lenovo's Yoga Tablet 10? Find out in our full review!

Friday, September 20, 2013

Nokia wants in on in-dash navigation with Here Auto

Nokia is working on a cloud-based in-car navigation system with smartphone connectivity called Here Auto.

Last November, Nokia introduced a cloud-based mapping service called Here for smartphones. Now the company wants to integrate Here Auto into your car's navigation system, and it has some features that could make it a legitimate alternative to other navigation options.

According to Nokia's blog, the service consists of a navigation program that can be embedded into a car's navigation system, the smartphone companion app and a cloud service. Here Auto is best used with the smartphone companion app - Nokia designed it with smartphone connectivity in mind. The service features a trip planner accessed via the companion app or the website; voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation in 95 countries; traffic rerouting; fuel price listings; street-level images; parking availability and indoor maps when approaching a destination.

Perhaps the slickest feature of the system is that it can give users voice-guided directions whether there's mobile coverage or not, but the system needs it to give real-time map updates such as traffic and weather.

Nokia is teaming with Continental, a parts supplier that works with Google and IBM, to shop around for automakers that want to integrate it into their vehicles' navigation systems. Nokia says Here Auto already is integrated into Continental's next-generation Open Infotainment Platform. For right now, however, the companion app is only offered on Android and Windows Phone.

View the original article here