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All posts tagged "oem"


Friday, February 11, 2011

Nokia and Microsoft Announce Plans for a Broad Strategic Partnership to Build a New Global Mobile Ecosystem

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 08:03 AM

More analysis of what this means will come later, but for now, here's the official press release.

LONDON - Feb. 11, 2011 - Nokia and Microsoft today announced plans to form a broad strategic partnership that would use their complementary strengths and expertise to create a new global mobile ecosystem.

Nokia and Microsoft intend to jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity. As each company would focus on its core competencies, the partnership would create the opportunity for rapid time to market execution. Additionally, Nokia and Microsoft plan to work together to integrate key assets and create completely new service offerings, while extending established products and services to new markets.

Read more...


Thursday, February 10, 2011

Will Nokia Announce a Windows Phone 7 Partnership Tomorrow?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 07:50 PM

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011...windows-phone/#

"Microsoft and Nokia are close to cementing a partnership to produce mobile phones together, according to multiple reports. It's like that celebrity couple you never expected to hook up, but who somehow did. Even a former Nokia employee was betting against the prospect of the phone maker working with Microsoft, which would involve shipping Nokia hardware with Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 operating system."

Will Nokia drop a bomb on the mobile world tomorrow and announce that they'll be partnering with Microsoft on a Windows Phone 7 device? My Magic 8 Ball says "It's looking good." Nokia is in a tough spot, having made little to no ground with home-grown MeeGo, and in a year lost over 10% world-wide market share. Nokia makes excellent hardware, but I've personally found their software to be utterly lacking, and their attempts at building an ecosystem have been mixed at best.

I could see Nokia pulling a Palm - build a Windows Phone 7 line for a generation or two, then when their own software is ready, they ditch Microsoft. Of course, we saw how that worked out for Palm...yet Nokia is bigger and has a lot more money. We'll see what happens tomorrow - but I for one would welcome the excellent hardware designs of Nokia into the Windows Phone family.


Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Windows Update for Windows Phone: This is What You've Been Waiting For

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 04:53 PM

It's a story I need not go into too many details about: anyone who's owned a PDA or phone running Windows Mobile, from the first Pocket PC to the latest Windows Phone 6.5, knows the horrors of device ROM updates. Whether it's a new ROM image designed to fix bugs and enhance performance, or a whole new OS, as buyers of these devices we've always been at the mercy of the device manufacturer and/or the wireless carriers. Who amongst us hasn't raised a fist in anger at being denied a vital software update that would fix a problem with our device? This is how the entire underground ROM scene was born - out of frustration and desperation.

Or, if you were "lucky" enough to have an update offered for your phone, you'd have the pleasure of re-installing and re-configuring everything on your phone; often a process that would take hours. Microsoft's broken model, combined with OEM/carrier refusal to offer updates likely drove more customers away from buying a second Windows Phone than any other factor. We could only look on with envy as our iPhone-using kin happily docked their phones, got an update, and were using it minutes later.

Well, envy begone! Windows Phone 7 solves this pain point once and for all - witness my interview with Andrew Brown, Program Manager for Windows Phone Update, and be amazed...

WPT: Let's start with the best news I've heard about Windows phone 7: how will device updates work now? What will the update mechanism be?

Brown: Like many other things in Windows Phone 7, we're taking a different approach to updates than we have in the past with Windows Mobile. To start with, we're going to leverage the world-class infrastructure we already have with Microsoft Update today and use that to deliver updates directly to Windows Phone 7 phones - no more worries about figuring out where to go to download an update. We're also making it much easier on our partners (OEMs and Mobile Operators) by establishing a single, consistent update process that they can take advantage of, meaning they don't have to be responsible for their own individual update creation and delivery like they've had to do in the past. So it's really a win for everyone.

We've also built in a notification that pops up right on the phone that tells you when an update is available. When you see that, you connect your phone via USB cable to a computer running the Zune client software. At that point it's literally just one click and the update is downloaded and transferred to the phone, a restore point is created, and the update is installed, all done automatically. Read more...


Friday, July 30, 2010

Microsoft Mum on Official Windows Phone 7 Partners

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 03:16 PM

http://news.techworld.com/mobile-wi...rtners/?olo=rss

"After divulging a list of five Windows Phone 7 in recent weeks, Microsoft late yesterday moved to clarify those statements. "Microsoft has not made an official announcement on device partners for Windows Phone 7 at general availability," a Microsoft spokeswoman said late yesterday."

After the news broke about HP no longer being a Windows Phone 7 partner, there was a scramble to confirm exactly who was still going to be making Windows Phone 7 devices, and the list seemed to have been firmed up. The question I raised there was what happened to Sony Ericsson - that same day (July 22nd) I emailed a contact at Microsoft PR, and one at Sony Ericcson, asking them exactly that question. As of today, Microsoft PR has ignored my request for comment, and Sony Ericcson's response was, and I quote, "Dear Jason. Have you tried: Log on to The Sony Ericsson Product Blog for more information." Sort of baffling, no?

Anyway, it seems like Microsoft is being coy about this in case they lose another partner before launch - HP's defection certainly didn't help matters.


Saturday, July 24, 2010

It's Official: HP Not Making Windows Phone 7 Devices

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 01:00 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/24/...-webos-instead/

"No big surprise here, but HP Personal Systems Group VP Todd Bradley just flat-out confirmed to CNBC that HP will not be making any Windows Phone 7 devices, preferring instead to focus on the newly-acquired webOS for its line of smartphones."

I think we all saw this coming the moment HP bought Palm, but now we know for sure. Let's be honest though: will it matter? HP has struggled to be relevant in the smartphone industry for years - their PDA devices were impressive, but they never made a successful transition to hybrid PDA/phones. I don't think this is a significant loss for Microsoft in the Windows Phone space. What do you think?


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