Techno News: Nokia Disappoints Investors With Forecast
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) — Shares in Nokia, the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, plunged more than 13.5 percent on Thursday after the company downgraded its forecast for the global handset market and posted lower-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
Nokia reported a net profit of $1.9 billion in the first three months of the year, 25 percent more than the $1.6 billion of the period in 2007 but below analysts’ forecasts.
Revenue grew 28 percent, to $20 billion, from $15.6 billion a year earlier, with strong growth of handset sales in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The markets were expecting a better result, and Nokia stock closed down $4.74, or 14 percent, to $28.95 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company, based in Espoo, Finland, said its market share slipped to 39 percent in the first quarter this year, from 40 percent in the October-to-December quarter. But it sold 115 million mobile devices in the first quarter, up 27 percent from a year earlier, and its market share was three points higher than in the first quarter a year ago.
Nokia’s strongest growth in mobile phone sales was in the Asia-Pacific region, which for the first time overtook Europe as the company’s biggest market. It sold 34 million units in the region, accounting for more than a third of the company’s mobile phone sales.
But selling cheaper handsets in emerging markets continued to push down the closely watched average selling price of Nokia’s mobile devices. It fell to $125 in the period, from $132 in the previous quarter and $141 in the first quarter last year.
reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/business/18nokia.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Cubans Now Enjoy Cell Phone
If Filipinos are excited for the next release of the latest Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, and other top mobile phone companies, just imagine how ordinary Cubans feel now that they're already allowed to own the gadget most popular in the Philippines. Yes, it's just the first time for most Cubans to own a cellphone since the government restricted its use only for top government officials and foreigners. Not only cellphone, Cubans can now enjoy their new DVD players, computers, and even tourist hotel accommodation which were previously only available for foreigners.A Thought on Generic Chinese Phones
Last week, my elder brother bought himself one of these generic phones. I am curious myself about how it works and why it so relatively cheap compared to branded mobile phones. Well, let me start on its features. The mobile phone isn't that bad at all with its touch screen feature and MP3 playback capabilities. It also comes with the basic connectivity of Bluetooth and USB, and a CMOS camera, though I'm not sure how many megapixels. I think P5,500 isn't too bad for a price compared to P20,000-25,000 of other brands with practically similar features. Oh, I almost forgot, it has an embedded analog TV and FM, and dual SIM feature. I think the analog TV and dual SIM capabilities separate it from other products available.
Although I'm still not sure on its durability and resistance to common misuse, I think that these generic phones could can be a good substitute for those who don't have much budget. They can still enjoy up-to-date technology without overspending their money. Remember that prices are greatly influenced by production and advertisement costs.
Top Semiconductor Company Uses Linux for Its Mobile Phone
I have been reading on some news on consumer electronics and I come across to an interesting article which I would like you all to read. Here are the details:
" A 3G Linux phone for sub $US100
NXP Semiconductors and Purple Labs have introduced a reference design for 3G Linux phone offering video telephony, music playback, high-speed Internet browsing and video streaming that they say will cost operators less than $US100.
They claim that their Purple Magic phone, which will debut at the global mobile congress in Barcelona later this month, will serve as a reference design for phone manufacturers creating entry-level 3G handsets, including those targeting mobile markets such as Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
"NXP believes in Linux as the basis for the next generation of mobile handset innovation," said Dan Rabinovitsj, senior vice president and general manager, cellular business, NXP Semiconductors. "We've been working closely with Purple Labs to develop Linux-based mobile terminals that meet the cost and performance requirements of the mass market. Our joint achievement is to bring the advantages of an Open OS environment to the mass market based on industry leading silicon and software."
NXP is in the top 10 semiconductor companies. It was founded by Philips more than 50 years ago and today has 37,000 employees in more than 20 countries sales of around Eur 5 billion. Purple Labs is a venture capital backed US company founded in 2001 specializing in Linux based mobile products."
source: http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16436/127/
Wow, I'm sure that mobile phone will be better than those already out there, plus the stability of the Operating System used. It just shows the simple fact that Linux isn't just a system for the Linux enthusiasts, after all, it was made primarily for end users like us.
Do We NEED the Apple iPhone?
As advertised by its manufacturer, Apple Incorporated, iPhone boasts of four major features: Revolutionary Phone, Widescreen iPod, Breakthrough Internet Device, and High Technology. Let's now go through it one by one.
Revolutionary Phone
"iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone that allows you to make a call by simply tapping a name or number in your address book, a favorites list, or a call log. It also automatically syncs all your contacts from a PC, Mac, or Internet service. And it lets you select and listen to voicemail messages in whatever order you want — just like email."
This feature is very attractive to users who just use the iPhone as any other mobile phones out in the market (they are those just wanted the iPhone to increase their school popularity.) But for us Laytechs, this feature doesn't even compensate for its very expensive price.
Widescreen iPod
This sounds like your home theater is now a mobile phone. My question now is,"What are the video format currently supported by iPhone"? Take in mind that most Apple gadgets, including their desktops, have exclusive software which are all created by none other than Apple Inc. as well. If you're not too particular to videos, then why do you need a large screen display for your songs anyway?
Breakthrough Internet Device, and High Technology
"iPhone features a rich HTML email client and Safari — the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device — which automatically syncs bookmarks from your PC or Mac. Safari also includes built-in Google and Yahoo! search. iPhone is fully multi-tasking, so you can read a web page while downloading your email in the background over Wi-Fi or EDGE..."
"...iPhone introduces the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse, the most advanced software ever engineered, and true state-of-the-art technology that will change the way you think about a mobile device. With over 300 patents, iPhone is years ahead of any other phone available today."
If there are things that I envy iPhone, here they are. The last two, but certainly the most praised among the general features, the iPhone combines advanced internet browsing technology and rock solid durability in one. As i see it, no other mobile phone I know comes close to the browsing power of iPhone (Apple gadgets are famous of their fancy GUI.) And contrary to popular trends of high-end gadgets, iPhone features protective technology that helps the gadget last long (as compared to most gadgets now that are very delicate and sensitive to physical contacts.) These general features really pay off its expensiveness.
There you have it. These are only my opinion. It's up to you to decide.