Nokia

Nokia Lays Off 330 Research and Development Staff

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 10:23am.
Espoo, Finland - Cell phone maker Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced on Friday that it will lay off up to 330 employees from its research and development operations, representing about 2% of its global research and development staff of 17,000.
tags: Mobile | Nokia | Layoffs |

Nokia Inks Promotional Deal With Universal Music, Rihanna

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 1:26pm.
Los Angeles - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) on Thursday announced a promotional partnership with Island Def Jam Music Group and Universal Music Group International, which will exclusively premiere tracks from Rihanna's forthcoming album with Nokia. The deal includes an exclusive, live streamed concert on Nokia websites. Additionally, Comes With Music customers will receive a version of the album with a bonus track and other additional content, while the Ovi Store will offer a Rihanna application with exclusive content.

Nokia to Shutter N-Gage Mobile Games Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 30, 2009 - 7:23am.
Helsinki - After failing to gain market traction, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) plans to shutter its N-Gage mobile gaming service next year, Reuters reported.
tags: Games | Mobile | Nokia | N-Gage | Ovi Store |

Lawsuit Claims Apple iPhone Infringes Nokia Patents

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 22, 2009 - 8:34am.
Espoo, Finland - Cell phone maker Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has filed a patent infringement against Apple (NASD: AAPL), claiming that the iPhone uses technology covered by ten Nokia patents without permissions. Filed in federal court in Delaware, the lawsuit alleges that Apple is infringing Nokia patents related to GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN standards, and technology such as wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption.
tags: Mobile | Law | Lawsuits | Apple | Patents | Nokia | iPhone |

Online Music Industry to Develop EU-Wide Licensing Scheme

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2009 - 9:22am.
Brussels - The EU's Competition Commissioner, Neelie Kroes, on Wednesday announced a partnership between European royalty collection societies, major labels and online music retailers including Apple (NASD: AAPL) and Amazon (NASD: AMZN), to develop an EU-wide licensing scheme for music. Currently, rights for music and other copyrighted works must be negotiated separately for each individual country, with that particular country's collection society.

Nokia's Comes With Music Subscriber Base: 107,277

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 16, 2009 - 9:51am.
London - Nokia's (NYSE: NOK) Comes With Music platform, where users pay extra for music-focused handsets that come with an unlimited download service, counted just 107,277 users in nine countries in July, some nine months after launch, according to Nokia figures published by Music Ally. In the U.K., where the service has been available since October 2008, the service counts 32,728 users. PaidContent notes that the service "has been hampered by DRM and complex PC operation and confusing PC-mobile sync."

Nokia Acquires Travel-focused Social Network Dopplr

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 28, 2009 - 7:35am.
Espoo, Finland - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced on Monday that it has acquired Dopplr, a provider of travel-focused social media services.

Nokia Acquires Private Social Network Firm Plum Ventures

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 11, 2009 - 6:29am.
Espoo, Finland - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced on Friday that it has acquired certain assets of Plum Ventures, the developer of a cloud-based social media sharing and messaging service for private groups.

Nokia Delays Launch of U.S. Digital Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 1, 2009 - 8:09am.
London - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has delayed the launch of its U.S. digital music service, which it had previously said would launch by the end of the year, into sometime in 2010, Forbes reported.

Report: GPS Smartphone Shipments Climb 34% to 77 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 29, 2009 - 9:24am.
Boston - Worldwide shipments of smartphones equipped with GPS will grow 34% this year, from 57 million in 2008 to 77 million in 2009, according to a report from market research firm Strategy Analytics.

Nokia Launches Ovi Applications Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 26, 2009 - 11:44am.
Espoo, Finland - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) on Tuesday announced the launch of its Ovi Store, which will distribute and sell applications for over 50 supported Nokia devices.
tags: Mobile | Nokia | Ovi Store |

Nokia Teams With Orange for Comes With Music in U.K.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 13, 2009 - 11:09am.
London - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has partnered with U.K. mobile operator Orange to launch its Comes With Music service on the Nokia 5800 handset. At launch, the unlimited download service will offer access to over 6 million tracks from the Nokia Music store, starting at under 25 GBP ($38) per month.

"Heroes" Creator Tim Kring Making Content for Nokia Ovi Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2009 - 1:11pm.
Espoo, Finland - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with "Heroes" TV show creator Tim Kring to develop original content for its Ovi Store, which from May will sell applications and content for Nokia mobile devices. Kring is currently working on "TEVA"; "the multiplatform narrative will be an immersive experience with elements of individual action and group participation," according to Nokia. The first phase of the project is set to launch this summer.

Nokia Takes Minority Stake in Mobile Payments Firm Obopay

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 25, 2009 - 8:22am.
Redwood City, Calif. - Obopay, a provider of mobile payments technology, announced on Wednesday that Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has taken a minority stake in the company.

Nokia to Lay Off 1,700 Employees

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2009 - 10:29am.
Espoo, Finland - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced on Tuesday that it will cut 1,700 jobs worldwide in the coming months, in a bid to "increase cost-efficiency and adapt to the market situation."

Report: Nokia Comes With Music Looking to Dump DRM

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 2, 2009 - 2:04pm.
Singapore - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is negotiating to remove digital rights management (DRM) from its Comes With Music unlimited mobile music download service, allowing users to freely move songs between devices, Channel News Asia reported. "We have dialogues going with all of our partners and Digital Rights Management-free (DRM-free) is also on the roadmap for the future integration of 'Comes With Music'," Adam Mirabella, director of global digital music retail for Nokia told Channel News Asia.

Nokia to Launch Comes With Music in Australia Next Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 25, 2009 - 1:14pm.
Sydney, Australia - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) said on Wednesday that it plans to launch its Comes With Music unlimited mobile download service in Australia on March 20. The Australian Nokia Music Store counts over 4 million tracks from local and international artists. The service, bundled with a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic handset, will cost about $633 with a 12-month subscription, and $718 with an 18-month subscription.

Nokia Seeks 1,000 Voluntary Resignations to Cut Costs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 24, 2009 - 12:13pm.
Espoo, Finland - Cell phone maker Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced on Tuesday that it will seek 1,000 employees to take voluntary resignations as part of a plan to further cut costs in the current economic downturn.

Nokia to Integrate Skype Internet Phone Service Onto Mobiles

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 17, 2009 - 1:48pm.
Barcelona - Skype, the Internet phone service owned by eBay (NASD: EBAY), on Tuesday announced a deal with Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to bundle its service on a range of Nokia mobile phones. Set to first become available on the Nokia N97 in the third quarter, the service will let mobile callers use 3G and WLAN to make and receive free Skype-to-Skype voice calls, as well as low-cost Skype calls to landlines and mobile devices.

tags: Mobile | eBay | Skype | Nokia |

Nokia Adds INgrooves Tracks to Comes With Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 17, 2009 - 1:44pm.
San Francisco - INgrooves, a digital distributor of independent music, said on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with Nokia (NYSE: NOK), to include its catalog of largely electronic music in the mobile company's Comes With Music unlimited download service. Consumers can download an unlimited number of tracks during their first year as Comes With Music subscribers, and keep those tracks forever; after the first year, the service adds a monthly subscription fee.