Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) added three touchscreen handsets to its Asha line of phones, as it revamps its lower- priced handsets to meet demand for smartphone features.
The Asha 305, shipping this month, is priced at 63 euros ($79), and will be the company’s cheapest full-length touchscreen phone, Juha-Pekka Sipponen, vice president and head of portfolio and product management, said in a telephone interview. The Asha 306 model, priced at 68 euros, and the 92- euro Asha 311, featuring a faster touchscreen and a 1-gigahertz processor, will be added in July, he said.
Nokia is trying to reinvigorate its low-end phone business where shipments fell 16 percent in the first quarter as customers upgraded to cheap smartphones running Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android or deferred replacing their handsets. Espoo, Finland- based Nokia shifted last year to Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Windows Phone as its main smartphone platform. Its cheapest Windows Phone- based model, the Lumia 610, is priced at 189 euros.
“The main reason Nokia has been struggling in feature phones lately is that it lacked touch products,” said Sami Sarkamies, a Helsinki-based analyst at Nordea Bank. “This announcement won’t help much in the second quarter but I think there will be a notable impact in the third quarter.”
Nokia advanced 3.4 percent to 2.21 euros as of 12:32 p.m. in Helsinki trading.
Brand Building
Nokia sold 18 million dual-SIM devices in the third quarter of 2011 after adding the feature which lets users swap easily between operators to save money. It could see a similar bounce from the new Ashas and ship “tens of millions” of them in the second half, Sarkamies said.
Nokia is trying to build the value of the Asha brand and blur the difference between smartphones and midrange phones, Sipponen said. The handsets run Nokia’s Series 40 operating system, introduced in 1999, with the Asha touch user interface on top of it.
The new Asha touchscreens will give customers a better experience with existing services such as map databases and mobile applications, Sipponen said. Rival Samsung Electronics Co., which passed Nokia this year as the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, sells touchscreen feature phones under the names Star and Champ.
‘Blurred Market’
“This blurred market will continue to exist,” Sipponen said. “There is quite a lot of runway ahead -- 3.2 billion people still don’t have a mobile phone.”
Nokia is including 40 free games from Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) with the new phones, as well as Rovio Entertainment Oy’s Angry Birds on the higher-priced Asha 311.
“There’s still a gap in Nokia’s portfolio at the moment between its most affordable smartphones and the top of the Asha range,” said Tim Shepherd, an analyst with Canalys in Reading, U.K. “Nokia has a very good opportunity here if the marketing is pitched correctly and focuses on the experience offered.”
Previous Asha handsets had phone keypads or Qwerty keyboards, in some cases combined with touchscreens in models Nokia calls “Touch and Type.”
The dual-SIM Asha 305 and single-SIM Asha 306 will use 3- inch resistive touchscreens, while the dual-SIM Asha 311 will have a capacitive touchscreen, the faster type used on most smartphones, Sipponen said.
The decline in shipments of Nokia low-end phones in the first quarter came amid a slide in worldwide low-end phone sales to end customers in the period, according to Gartner Inc. data.
Nokia Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop has said the company will drive prices of Windows Phones down as well as continuing to revamp products aimed at lower-income users in emerging markets. The new devices are part of Nokia’s plan to connect the “next billion” users to the Internet, Executive Vice President Mary McDowell said in a statement today announcing the new products.
The list prices of Nokia phones don’t include taxes and subsidies.
To contact the reporter on this story: Diana ben-Aaron in Helsinki at dbenaaron1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net
CRICKET WIRELESS TO PROVIDE IPHONE - Zacks.com
Jun 05, 2012 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Cricket Communications, Inc., a provider of value-driven wireless services and a subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc., announced that it will be a pre-paid carrier offering iPhone to its customers.
According to a release, beginning on Friday, June 22, Cricket will offer iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 with its $55 per-month, all-inclusive unlimited talk, text and data plan.
iPhone 4S features include Apple's dual-core A5 chip for performance and graphics; an all-new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps get things done just by asking. iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5.1and iCloud, a set of free cloud services that work with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.
"Our customers want the best products available and we are excited to bring iPhone to our pre-paid consumers with an industry leading $55 per-month service plan," said Doug Hutcheson, president and CEO, Leap Wireless International, Inc. "Launching iPhone is a major milestone for us and we are proud to offer iPhone customers attractive nationwide coverage, a robust 3G data network and a value-packed, no-contract plan."
More Information:
mycricket.com/iphone
((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))
Copyright Close-Up Media, Inc. 2012. All Rights reserved
Insiders say Apple upgrading next-gen iPhone display to 4" with 16:9 ratio - Apple Insider
By Josh Ong
Published: 02:30 AM EST (11:30 PM PST)Apple is likely to increase the size of the display on its next iPhone to 4.08 inches, with a resolution of 1,136 x 640 pixels and a ratio of 16:9, according to one analyst with a strong track record.
KGI analyst Mingchi Kuo, known for having sources deep within Apple's supply chain, expects Apple to release a taller iPhone later this year that will switch from a 3.5-inch 4:3 display to a 4-inch 16:9 screen, according to a research note obtained by AppleInsider.
"We expect iPhone 5 to feature a 4.08-inch in-cell IPS panel screen with a display resolution of 1,136 x 640 and 500-nit brightness," Kuo wrote.
The analyst noted that the above specs would represent a valid compromise of Apple's values of single-handed operability, backwards compatibility with iPhone apps, battery life and an improved user experience derived from having a larger screen.
He speculated that Apple has ruled out displays above 4.3 inches because the resulting devices would be difficult to operate with one hand. His research also suggests that the there is an inflection point at 4.3-inches where larger screen sizes require "visibly larger" battery capacity.
Citing an earlier report where he discussed Apple's rumored plans to make the next iPhone thinner, Kuo said Apple will likely keep the battery capacity of the sixth-generation iPhone at around 1,400mAh, similar to the current-generation's capacity.
Lengthening the screen without making it wider would serve more than just an ergonomic purpose. Kuo believes the unchanged width would save on app redevelopment costs because legacy apps could simply be letterboxed. The 16:9 resolution would provide more viewing space while typing in portrait mode and would more naturally display films in landscape mode. The analyst also claimed that a longer iPhone would bring the speaker close to users' ears and the receiver closer to their mouths.
Kuo's analysis falls in line with several other similar reports that have suggested Apple may increase the height of the iPhone display without increasing the width.
The analyst estimated that the larger screen will help spur sales of the new iPhone when it arrives. He expects 65-70 million next-generation iPhone units to be sold in 2012.
Apple's next iPhone is widely expected to arrive this fall, though there is some disagreement about whether it will come in September or October. Scattered reports have suggested that Apple's next handset could make the leap to LTE, while others believe the device will sport a new design with an aluminum back.
Nokia unveils trio of touchscreen feature phones - Computerworld
IDG News Service - Nokia has launched three new advanced feature phones with touchscreens offering a "smartphone-like" experience, the company said on Wednesday.
Nokia is trying to make the low end of its portfolio more competitive: During the first three months of 2012 it suffered not just because slow sales of its Windows and Symbian-based smartphones, but also because its feature phone portfolio hadn't kept up with the competition's.
The company needs to do a better job with the feature-phone business, CEO Stephen Elop said during a conference call announcing the first quarter results, and vowed to launch full touch products.
Elop has kept that promise, adding the Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311 to Nokia's portfolio. All are based on the S40 platform.
The Asha 305 and Asha 306 both have a 3-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera and GPRS connectivity.
In addition, the Asha 305 has Nokia's Easy Swap Dual SIM technology, which allows SIM cards to be swapped without opening up or turning the phone off, according to Nokia.
The Asha 306 also has Wi-Fi, which at US$93 before local taxes or operator subsidies is Nokia's cheapest WLAN phone to date, it said.
However, the Asha 305 is the cheapest of the three new phones at $85 before local taxes or operator subsidies.
The Asha 311 is the most advanced of the three. The HSPA phone is powered by a 1GHz processor and has a 3-inch display, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a micro-SD card slot. The phone will cost $121 before local taxes or operator subsidies.
On the software side, all future owners of the three phones will receive 40 games from Electronic Arts to download for free, excluding the cost of the data connection, according to Nokia. The games range across action, arcade and sports, and include titles such as Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed: The Run and FIFA 12, Nokia said.
Users can also browse the Web and choose between a number of options for email and chat.
The Asha 305 will be available in the second quarter, while the Asha 306 and Asha 311 are arriving in the third quarter.
Nokia has to compete with a growing number of cheap Android-based smartphones.
For example, Vodafone recently launched the Smart II, an Android phone with a 832MHz processor, a 3.2-inch screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a micro-SD card slot. It can access the Internet using Wi-Fi and HSPA, and track the user's position with A-GPS. The phone runs Android 2.3 and will first go on sale in the U.K., costing APS70 (US$108) with a pay-as-you-go subscription.
Nokia Seeks to Build on AT&T Deal in North America Comeback Plan - Bloomberg
Nokia Oyj (NOK1V), attempting a turnaround in North America after losing most of its smartphone market share, plans to expand on its initial deals with carriers AT&T Inc. (T) and T-Mobile USA Inc., the company’s regional executive said.
Nokia, which decided to abandon its Symbian software last year in favor of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Windows Phone operating system, is selling its new Lumia lineup in the U.S. through AT&T and T-Mobile. “But that’s just a start,” Chris Weber, president of Nokia’s North America unit, said in an interview.
“We’re back in the U.S., we’re back in Canada -- it’s exciting, but there’s more work to do,” he said, without elaborating on what is planned. “We’ve had a great start with T-Mobile and AT&T.”
Nokia is counting on Windows phones to rebuild its cachet in the region, where it’s lost ground to Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and devices running Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android. The company’s old operating system, Symbian, had fallen from 26 percent a year ago to just 6.8 percent last quarter, according to IDC. To promote the Windows-based comeback, Nokia and Microsoft have ramped up marketing, and the Lumia 900 is selling for $99.99 on AT&T’s network -- half the cost of the iPhone 4S.
North America was the only region where Espoo, Finland- based Nokia saw handset shipments grow sequentially in the first quarter, helped by the release of the Lumia 710 on T-Mobile in January. Still, the 600,000 units shipped marked a decline from the previous year. Sales of the Lumia 900 on AT&T started in April, after the quarter ended.
‘Unique Proposition’
The key to getting more Lumia phones into consumers’ hands is giving each carrier a “unique proposition,” so they can show how the devices stand out from the iPhone or Android models, Weber said. While only AT&T and T-Mobile offer the Lumia phones now, Verizon Wireless has said it’s preparing to add a new Nokia model to its lineup.
Most AT&T buyers opted for the iPhone last quarter, with the Apple device making up 78 percent of its smartphone sales. At Verizon, which added the iPhone to its network more recently, the product accounted for 51 percent of smartphone sales. That company relies more on models running Android.
Still, Windows Phone shipments are projected to swell in the next four years, giving a boost to Nokia. IDC predicts that the operating system will overtake Apple’s iOS as the No. 2 smartphone software by 2016.
Samsung, Apple
In the short term, the Lumia phones may struggle to compete with new Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple releases this year.
“It looks like they are ramping up the volumes quite well, but the question is how they are going to address the Samsung Galaxy III launch and the next iPhone launch,” said Mikko Ervasti, an analyst with Evli Bank in Helsinki. “They need to keep the Lumia 900 selling well and have new products in the pipeline.”
In Canada, the homeland of Nokia Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop, Nokia sells the Lumia 710 and Lumia 900 with Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI/B) and the Lumia 800 with Telus Corp. (T)
Global smartphone shipments will grow 39 percent this year, with 5.2 percent of models running Microsoft software, IDC said yesterday in a report. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based research firm predicts that Windows Phone will account for 19.2 percent of smartphone shipments in 2016.
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry, also scrapped its old operating system and is banking on a new platform to revive slumping sales. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said last week that it has hired bankers to help it find a partner or license its operating system. RIM expects to report its first quarterly operating loss since 2004.
Ecosystem Advantage?
The difference between RIM and Nokia is that RIM doesn’t have a partner the size of Microsoft to build an ecosystem that can compete with Apple and Google, Weber said. In addition to creating the operating system and encouraging software developers to use it, the company prods phone retailers and other partners to offer incentives and in-store promotions.
“There are only a few companies in the world who can build an ecosystem that scales to what consumers demand,” Weber said. “Right now my view is that it’s Apple, Google and Microsoft because it takes deep pockets, lots of engineering talent, and the scale and scope globally to build that ecosystem.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Hugo Miller in Toronto at hugomiller@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net
Nokia expands Asha smartphone range - Mobile Entertainment
Continues focus on the low end market with a new Symbian-powered touchscreen trio.
Just three weeks ago, Nokia revealed a new social feature phone range with a special focus on 'urban youngsters'.
Now, the Finnish OEM has unveiled the Asha Touch series - building on the existing Asha range – comprising the 305, the 306, and the 311, all of which feature Nokia's data compression browser.
The 311 is the most powerful model, with 1GHz speeds and HSPA access, the 305 is dual-SIM device, while the single-SIM 306 is the 'most affordable wi-fi handset to date'.
Mary T. McDowell, executive VP for mobile phones, Nokia, said: "These phones deliver on what young, urban people value most -- a great-looking device; and an intuitive and affordable experience for connecting to the internet, to their friends, and to a world of entertainment, web apps and content."
The 305 has a €63 RRP and a Q2 release, while the 306 and 311 have respective €68 and €92 price tags and both are set for a Q3 launch.
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Nokia added that 42 per cent of downloaded Nokia Store content was via Asha and other Java-based devices between January and April, suggesting there is still an appetite for its low end designs.
3G to cover 85pc of world by 2017, Ericsson forecasts - zdnet.co.uk
Have an excellent trip, Jamie. I hope you will be able to blog a little during that time. On a whim, I moved up one of my plans, and installed...
11 hours ago by Thomas Gellhaus via Facebook on Fedora 17 on Samsung NetbooksPrepaid iPhone: Sprint’s Virgin Mobile To Offer iPhone 4/4S - mobilenapps.com
- Sprint’s Virgin Mobile To Offer iPhone 4/4S(Photo: Mobile & Apps)
Cricket Wireless is going to become first prepaid carrier to offer Apple iPhone on June 22. However, Cricket is not alone to make the move. The latest reports hitting blogosphere suggest that Sprint-owned Virgin Mobile is all set to become the second prepaid network provider to carry Apple iPhone in U.S.
Citing people familiar with Sprint's plans, Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the carrier is planning to offer Apple iPhone on its prepaid Virgin Mobile and the official announcement can come anytime soon, while the smartphone could go up for sales as soon as July 1. Reportedly, Sprint has agreed with Apple to buy $15.5 billion worth of iGadgets during next four years. Possibly, Sprint is betting on its prepaid subsidiary Virgin Mobile USA to complete the commitment. Reportedly, Sprint has emerged as third largest U.S. carrier after Verizon and AT&T.
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Last week, Leap Wireless' Cricket announced to sell iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on prepaid terms starting June 22. Cricket will sell the 16GB model of iPhone 4S for $499 and 8GB model of iPhone 4 for $399. The carrier's without-contract plan costs $55 per month, offering unlimited calling, text and data. Despite being labeled as "unlimited data", the data is not truly unlimited as data caps are applied. The Internet speeds will slow down after user consumes 2.3GB of data within a single month.
In case of Virgin Mobile, there are no words on pricing of iPhone or pay-as-you-go plan.
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