Mobile makers shake up music biz

Nokia and Sony Ericsson threaten cellular carriers with their new music plans.

Mobile operators are losing their grip on the mobile-music business. The latest threats: a planned free service from handset vendor Nokia and a new music-downloading service from rival Sony Ericsson that will launch next spring.

Sony Ericsson plans to offer more than one million full-track songs that users can download straight to their phones or PCs with a service called PlayNow. It's a gutsy move, because PlayNow undermines Sony Ericsson's best customers, mobile carriers like Orange and Vodafone that buy hundreds of millions of phones.

"This is a larger step than what we've taken before."

Sony Ericsson, the No. 4 handset maker, has dabbled in services since 2004, offering games, ringtones, and a few songs from sister record label Sony BMG (SNE). But as Sony Ericsson head of content development Martin Blomkvist says, "This is a larger step than what we've taken before."

Sony Ericsson and Nokia are blowing caution to the wind - and a raspberry at carriers - because they have little choice. Apple invaded their turf by bringing the popular iPhone to Europe in November, along with a business model that sucks music users away from carriers and onto Apple's iTunes service. If the handset makers want to compete against the iPhone, it would help if they had their own music services. That's especially true considering that most mobile music in Europe and the U.S. lands on phones via sideloading (transferring tunes from PCs to handsets).

"What consumers are being offered today... is boring, banal and basic."

Universal Music has already agreed to make its catalog available to Nokia for an undisclosed fee, and other record labels, frustrated with carriers' mobile-music downloading sites, are likely to follow. "The sad truth is that most of what consumers are being offered today on the mobile platform is boring, banal, and basic," Warner Music boss Edgar Bronfman said at a conference in Macau in November. He noted that fewer than 10% of mobile-phone customers use phones to buy music, and fewer than 1% use them to purchase anything other than ringtones.

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Nokia touts green mobile phone

Handsets comprising plant-based plastics, 100 per cent recycled steel and a wearable strap made from solar cells could be the way forward for environmentally concerned mobile phone users.

The 'Eco Sensor Concept', dreamt up by researchers at mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, consists of two parts. A wearable sensor unit made up of solar cells analyses local environment, health, and weather conditions and is worn on a wrist or neck strap. Near field communication technology (NFC) then relays information from the sensor to a dedicated NFC-compatible mobile phone.

Users can choose which energy-saving sensors they want inside the sensing device, customizing the handset according to their personal tastes. According to Nokia researchers, fitness enthusiasts could opt for a “personal trainee” handset, offering users an on board heart-rate monitor and motion detector (for measuring walking pace).

Nokia is hoping its 'Eco Sensor Concept' will help “stimulate an ongoing discussion and idea sharing – both within the mobile industry and with consumers.”

Source:http://www.vnunet.com

iPhone effect: Nokia now looking for revenue sharing deals

In a turn of events predicted by industry experts, it seems that Apple's iPhone has had just the kind of significant effect on the mobile phone market that was expected.

It has been revealed that Nokia is looking to emulate the iPhone-style business model where handset manufacturers get a "kick back" share of revenue from the mobile phone operators who offer their handsets and services.

In what will send murmurs of discomfort through the operator side of the business, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo stated in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung:

"As far as mobile phones are concerned we are sticking with our old business model - that is, we get paid for our devices. But for providing new services we are seriously considering a shared turnover model".

The iPhone changed the way handset manufacturers and mobile phone operators do deals, as it saw Apple get given an uncomfirmed percentage of revenue from each iPhone customers signed up to first AT&T, then T-Mobile and O2 in the UK.

This fear of handset manufacturers beginning to demand these kind of business terms was said to be the real reason Vodafone took T-Mobile to court in Germany over the exclusive deal for the iPhone, something that the German courts over-ruled within two weeks.

Source:http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk

Nokia N95 in Red: phones to match your clothes

We live in a world now where fashionable clothes and gadgets go hand in hand; I even have over 10 pairs of shoes for different outfits.

For those of you that have a lot of clothes in Red or want a red phone to complement your clothing, then here is the Nokia N95 in Red.
Black and silver phones look good but they are also common and can become boring, so the red Nokia N95 aims to get your juices flowing.

Nokia's Nseries powerhouses, the Nokia N95 8Gb and N81

Let's take a look at 2 powerhouse Nseries phones, the Nokia N95 8Gb and the Nokia N81, both of which come with 8Gb of memory built in. Let's take a look at 2 powerhouse Nseries phones, the Nokia N95 8Gb and the Nokia N81, both of which come with 8Gb of memory built in.
The New kid on the block is the Nokia N95 8GB. The Nokia N95 8GB measures 99 x 53 x 21 mm and weighs 129 grams. Equipped with a 2.8 inch 16 million colour TFT screen, the device displays amazing screen resolution. With 240 x 320 pixels, the phone turns into a complete eye-catcher. The two-way sliding opening mechanism makes the device even more stunning. On imaging ground, the Nokia N95 8GB boasts of an integrated 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss Optics Tessar lens. Camera result is brilliant - even videos are so bright, so clear. Heavily cladded with 02 phones features like autofocus and flash, the camera delivers brilliant results under any light condition. The Nokia N95 8GB houses a high performance music player which supports formats like MP3/AAC/AAC+ /eAAC+/WMA. Stereo FM radio with superb sound clarity is another cool feature in the phone. With built-in GPS Navigation, the Nokia N95 8GB turns into your guide throughout your journey.
The Nokia N81 is equipped with a 2 megapixel camera. Its superior camera module is well complimented with premium tools for unparalleled mobile imaging experience. From lens crafted by world renowned Carl Zeiss optics to functions like zoom and LED flashlight – the Nokia N80 represents the very best of digital photography in a mobile phone. What is really impressive, though, is the memory of the device: 8Gb! Apart from 3G network, the Nokia N81 supports all four GSM mobile networks to provide impeccable voice coverage in almost all corners of the world. In absence of 3G, one can use its GPRS and EDGE technology for fast data connectivity. Internet access through WiFi hotspots is possible too. Local form of data connectivity tools on the N81 include Bluetooth v1.2, Infra red and USB v2.0

Source:http://www.freepressreleases.co.uk

Nokia Internet Radio officially announced

Guess many of the Nokia smartphone owners already know about Nokia Internet Radio application/service. Well, it’s now officially announced and free to download from Nokia’s website, with new Nokia phones to come with the application already pre-installed on the device.

Nokia Internet Radio gives users access to hundreds of Internet radio stations to choose from, and an easy way to “find your tune” thanks to the station directory. Browsing can be done based on station name, genre, country or language; and once you find the station you like, you can add it to your favorites. In addition, Nokia is saying the audio quality is enhanced by selecting appropriate streaming servers that match the speed of the current network connection.

NOTE: Apparently, not all devices are supported initially. According to the Finish giant, current version will work on N82, N91, N95 and N95 8GB models, with other phones to also get supported in the near future.
source:http://www.intomobile.com

Nokia predicts 10% growth in mobile phone market

Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone producer, predicted that the mobile phone market would grow by 10 percent next year to more than 1.2 billion units.

Nokia said Tuesday that it was now targeting a one to two-year group operating margin (the proportion of revenue after production costs are subtracted) of 16-17 percent, up from its previous target of 15 percent.

It also predicted that the worldwide market for internet services would reach 100 billion euros (145 billion U.S. dollars) by 2010, and announced the acquisition of Avvenu, a U.S.-based company that specializes in online services and access to PCs and handsets.

In a note timed to coincide with an investors' meeting in Amsterdam, Nokia said it expected industry handset unit sales to grow by around 10 percent in 2008 from the anticipated 1.1 billion units this year.

Overall sales next year are expected to increase more than 15 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, China, the Middle East and Africa and less than 10 percent in North America and Europe, Nokia said.

Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com