naijaXclusive: nokia

Xclusive: Nokia Sells Phone Business To Microsoft For $7.2billion

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Left back in the smartphone race by the likes of Samsung & Apple,
 Nokia seems to be nearing a total collapse as they have sold their 
major handset business to software giants Microsoft for $7.2billion.<br />
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/03/us-microsoft-nokia-idUSBRE98202V20130903">Reuters</a>
 reports that Nokia, which will continue as a maker of networking 
equipment and holder of patents, was once the world’s dominant handset 
manufacturer but was long since overtaken by Apple and Samsung in the 
highly competitive market for more powerful smartphones.</div>
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Nokia’s
 Canadian boss Stephen Elop, who ran Microsoft’s business software 
division before jumping to Nokia in 2010, will now return to the U.S. 
firm as head of its mobile devices business.</div>
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<br /></div>
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He
 is being discussed as a possible replacement for Microsoft’s retiring 
CEO Steve Ballmer, who is trying to remake the U.S. firm into a gadget 
and services company like Apple before he departs, after disastrous 
attempts so far to compete in mobile devices.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In
 three years under Elop, Nokia saw its market share collapse and its 
share price shrivel as investors bet heavily that his strategy would 
fail.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In 2011, after writing a memo 
that said Nokia was falling behind and lacked the in-house technology to
 catch up, Elop made the controversial decision to use his former firm 
Microsoft’s Windows Phone for smartphones, rather than Nokia’s own 
software or Google’s ubiquitous Android operating system.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Nokia,
 which had a 40 percent share of the handset market in 2007, now has a 
mere 15 percent market share, with an even smaller 3 percent share in 
smartphones.</div>
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The sale of the handset 
business is not the first dramatic turn in the 148-year history of a 
company which has sold everything from television sets to rubber boots. 
But it was felt as a hard blow in its native Finland, even among 
hard-nosed investors who saw the sale as a final chance to salvage 
value.</div>
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<br /></div>
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“I have mixed feelings, because
 I’m a Finn. As a Finnish person, I cannot like this deal. It ends one 
chapter in this Nokia story,” said Juha Varis, Danske Capital’s senior 
portfolio manager whose fund owns Nokia shares. “On the other hand, it 
was maybe the last opportunity to sell it.”</div>
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Varis
 was one of many investors critical of Elop’s decision to bet Nokia’s 
future in smartphones on Microsoft’s Windows phone software, which was 
praised by tech reviewers but never caught on with consumers.</div>
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<br /></div>
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“So this is the outcome: the whole business for 5 billion euros. That’s peanuts compared to its history,” he said.</div>
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Finns
 lamented the decline of their former champion. Alexander Stubb, 
Finland’s minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, said on his 
Twitter account: “For a lot of us Finns, including myself, Nokia phones 
are part of what we grew up with. Many first reactions to the deal will 
be emotional.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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It is also a pivotal 
moment for Microsoft, which still has huge revenues from its Windows 
computer operating system, Office suite of business software and the 
X-Box game console, but never managed to set up a profitable mobile 
device business.</div>
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Microsoft’s own mobile gadget, the Surface tablet, has sold tepidly since it was launched last year.</div>
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<br /></div>
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“It’s
 a bold step into the future — a win-win for employees, shareholders and
 consumers of both companies,” Ballmer said in a statement. “Bringing 
these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft’s share and profits
 in phones and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft 
and our partners across our entire family of devices and services.”</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
The
 move leaves the Finnish company with Nokia Solutions and Networks, 
which competes with the likes of Ericson and Huawei in telecoms 
equipment, as well as a navigation business and a broad portfolio of 
patents, which will be licensed to Microsoft.</div>
<br />

Xclusive: Nokia Sells Phone Business To Microsoft For $7.2billion

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Xclusive: Uti Nwachukwu & Vimbai Shoot Commercial Ads For Nokia & DSTV In South Africa

Xclusive: Uti Nwachukwu & Vimbai Shoot Commercial Ads For Nokia & DSTV In South Africa

Uti is so happy. He tweeted the pic above and said Advertising for NOKIA LUMNIA & @DStv in South Africa! With @Miss_Vimbai and Lawrenc...

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Xclusive: NOKIA UNVEILS NEW SMARTPHONE WITH 41-MEGAPIXEL CAMERA

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Nokia on Thursday introduced a new smartphone, the Lumia 1020, with a 
powerful 41-megapixel camera in its latest bid to catch up with rivals 
Samsung Electronics Co<br />
Ltd and Apple Inc . Tech bloggers responded enthusiastically, saying the
 camera quality was the highest in the market. But analysts questioned 
whether it was enough to help Nokia, suffering a fall in cash reserves 
after years of poor sales, survive. “The hardware’s a beauty on this 
thing,” said tech website Engadget after CEO Stephen Elop demonstrated 
features including “floating lens” technology that adjusts for camera 
shake and six lenses that help produce sharper<br />
images.<br />
The Finnish mobile phone maker is pinning its hopes for a comeback in 
smartphones on Microsoft Corp’s Windows Phone – an operating system that
 is struggling to compete<br />
with Google’s popular Android system. While regular mobile phones still 
account for the bulk of its shipments, smartphones are viewed as crucial
 for its long-term survival because of their higher margins and 
increasing demand for web access from mobile phones.<br />
Jo Harlow, Nokia’s executive vice president in charge of smart devices, 
said the growing popularity of photo and video sharing meant more 
consumers will want better cameras.<br />
“Taking pictures is in the top three things people do with a smartphone.
 It’s a relevant feature to be focused on,” she told Reuters. “To stand 
out you have to differentiate.”<br />
The new Lumia’s 41-megapixel count far exceeds those of the iPhone 5 and
 Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, at 8 and 16 megapixels respectively. It is also
 higher than some compact cameras, although higher megapixels do not 
necessarily mean better photos as factors such as lens quality also 
affect the end result.<br />
“The imaging capabilities here are extraordinary,” said Current Analysis
 analyst Avi Greengart. But he added: “It’s still a Windows Phone … if 
somebody is looking for applications they’re still going to look at<br />
iPhone.”<br />
The new Lumia, which use Windows software, will be sold through U.S. 
carrier AT&T Inc starting July 26 for $299.99 with a two-year 
contract, and will be available later in other markets including China, 
Nokia said. Telefonica SA, a carrier partner in European and Latin 
American markets, will get a version of the device, Nokia said without 
giving any details.<br />
Earlier Lumia models also won positive reviews from critics and 
technology blogs but have failed to halt a shift to Android phones. 
Android and Apple’s iOS together account for over 90 percent of 
smartphone sales, according to research firm IDC.<br />
One major handicap has been a lack of apps. Windows Phone has only 
160,000 apps, while rivals offer about five times as many because 
developers prefer to make them for the higher-volume operating systems.<br />
“Despite the quality of the device, I have some serious doubts about 
whether it will change Nokia’s fortunes, and it risks becoming a niche 
product,” said IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo.<br />
He and other analysts have also said Nokia needs to step up advertising 
and promotion of its phones. Many have said telecom carrier partners, 
particularly in the United States, have failed to promote Nokia to their
 customers.<br />
Elop said Nokia was pooling resources with AT&T and Microsoft to 
market the Lumia 1020, positive news for investors who have been worried
 about the company’s lack of funds. Nokia said last week that its net 
cash position at the end of the second quarter was between 3.7 billion 
euros and 4.2 billion euros ($4.7 billion and $5.4 billion), meaning it 
burned through as much as 800 million euros in the quarter.<br />
“This is the first real glimmer of hope for Nokia’s resurgence and the 
viability of the Windows ecosystem in smartphones – provided Nokia, 
Microsoft, and their operator partners can convince consumers that this<br />
experience is indeed a leap forward,” said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin. “That will be the real hard work.”

Xclusive: NOKIA UNVEILS NEW SMARTPHONE WITH 41-MEGAPIXEL CAMERA

Nokia on Thursday introduced a new smartphone, the Lumia 1020, with a powerful 41-megapixel camera in its latest bid to catch up with riv...

2:52 am

Xclusive: Rapper M.I Announces #ChairmanGiveAway Marathon + Premieres Chairman Video

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In the run-up to the release of his come-back hit, ‘Chairman’, M.I 
Abaga will be giving away over millions naira worth of gifts to his 
loyal fans via social media. This is to appreciate the love and loyalty 
from his fans across Twitter, Facebook and Google+. The 
#chairmangiveaway hits off on the 6th of May and will end on the 14th of
 May.<br />

In total over 5 million naira worth of gifts would be given away by 
the #Chairman including smartphones, airtime, luxury smartphones and 
some of MI’s luxe memorabilia.<br />
<br />
The #ChairmanGiveaway is proudly supported by NOKIA, Jumia.com, and 360Nobs.<br />

Fans can access the giveaways by following @Mi_Abaga on Twitter, 
Facebook.com/MiAbaga001 and GPlusid.com/MI, the hashtag 
#ChairmanGiveaway applies.<br />

Xclusive: Rapper M.I Announces #ChairmanGiveAway Marathon + Premieres Chairman Video

In the run-up to the release of his come-back hit, ‘Chairman’, M.I Abaga will be giving away over millions naira worth of gifts to his l...

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