Nokia unveils C2-00, X1-01 dual SIM phones

Both mobile handsets offer Nokia's unique Easy Swap function for smarter multiple SIM management, largest in category expandable memory capabilities (32GB for Nokia C2-00) and enhanced music capabilities.

Nokia has launched the C2-00 and X1-01 dual SIM phones for the Indian market.

Unveiling the new phones, Vipul Sabharwal, director sales, Nokia India, said, "We are very proud to present Nokia C2-00 and Nokia X1-01 that meet stringent quality standards and have set new benchmarks in the mobile internet and music space in the entry level dual SIM category."

Both devices come with Nokia's innovative services including Nokia Life Tools which provide consumers with a wide range of information covering healthcare, agriculture, education and entertainment.

Free cross-platform messengers for smartphones

Sending text messages, sharing multimedia and staying connected with friends who use a different operating system from your own is easily done with the apps we've picked.

Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphones have become quite popular in India in recent months. While the dispute between RIM and the Government of India persists, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) has become a popular application that keeps the majority of BlackBerry owners busy, texting their contacts, friends and relatives.

The primary reason for BBM's popularity is that it is integrated with the BlackBerry operating system and is a light-weight app that is economical in its consumption of resources. Users can send and receive text, photos, audio and video, and can receive real-time delivery confirmations. BBM's chief purpose is that it enables people to converse with their contacts live at minimal cost.

Huawei eyes Windows Phone 7 smartphones

Huawei would be the eighth original equipment manufacturer to join the WP7 league, besides HTC, LG, Nokia, Samsung, Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE.

In yet another boost for Windows Phone 7, Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has expressed its interest in the operating system.

"We are in discussions with Microsoft and will probably bring a Windows Phone to market next year," chief strategy and marketing officer of Huawei, Victor Xu was quoted as saying by a UK website.

Nokia to frequently refresh Windows Phone portfolio

Unlike other companies which treat Windows Phone 7 as the secondary operating system, Nokia is betting big on it. That's why it needs to keep its product portfolio fresh to keep the enthusiasm alive in the market.

Nokia, which may come out with its first Windows Phone probably in September or October this year, is likely to launch newer models on the same platform every few months after that.

"We should be launching new devices in a rhythm that might be every couple of months, every three months, something like that," said Jo Harlow, Nokia's executive vice president of smart devices, to PCMag.

Indians mostly look for Nokia phones online: Survey

35 per cent of users searched for Nokia followed by 30 per cent for Samsung and 29 per cent for BlackBerry. Micromax came in a close 4th at 22 per cent.

Nokia is the most sought after mobile phone in India, according to the findings of a research conducted by ViziSense on the 'interest in mobile phones online'.

The study, which cited data for the January-April 2011 period of all the users who searched for mobile handsets on ecommerce sites, said that 35 per cent of users searched for Nokia followed by 30 per cent for Samsung and 29 per cent for BlackBerry. Micromax came in a close 4th at 22 per cent.

Nokia to support Symbian till 2016

The users who are more concerned about third party apps will face some difficulties since app developers would be more interested in developing apps for those platforms which have longer term potential.

Finnish handset maker, Nokia will support Symbian based devices till 2016, two years more than its previous deadline.

Chief executive officer of Nokia, Stephen Elop said in an official blog, "Even as we go through a transition towards our primary smartphone platform, Windows Phone, you will see that continued investment, software updates to Symbian devices are expected until at least 2016." 

New version of MeeGo OS unveiled

Another version of MeeGo, called the 1.2 developer edition, announced particularly for Nokia N900 devices. It is expected to aid in development of better apps for the upcoming N9 smartphone from Nokia.

A new version of the MeeGo operating system, which was ditched by Nokia in favour of Windows Phone 7, has been released. The new version 1.2, which was launched during the MeeGo conference in San Francisco (May 23-25), is available for Nokia N900 devices and provides advanced functionality to the users or developers to get creative. 

Just few days ago, Nokia has accidentally revealed its new smartphone based on the operating system. 

Nokia announces two dual SIM phones

Nokia has launched two dual SIM phones, Nokia X1-01 and Nokia C2-00. Both the phones remember the settings for up to five different SIM cards. C2-00 also offer hot swap for SIM card.

Nokia has launched two dual SIM phones, Nokia X1-01 and Nokia C2-00. Both the phones remember the settings for up to five different SIM cards.

The phones offer dual SIM and dual-standby, means you can always receive notification of calls and messages on each account -- rather than having to switch your SIM cards on and off.

Invent with Nokia

See your idea turn in to a patent and all the expenses related to that will be paid by Nokia, promises the handset maker to its audience across the world.

Nokia, in order to unite the minds of its 1.4 billion users across the globe, has announced the launch of its unique initiative called "Invent With Nokia". 

Under this initiative, users and thinkers are required to submit their invention to Nokia. If selected, Nokia will award a really handsome sum to the person whose invention or design is chosen for the patent.

Nokia's next MeeGo device N9 revealed

A teaser video on Youtube revealed the nitty-gritty of Nokia's next MeeGo based device, to be named as N9, which will be the successor of Nokia's N900.

Nokia could soon come out with yet another MeeGo device and it may be named as N9.

A purported video of the device was uploaded on the Youtube. However, the video was removed immediately by Nokia claiming copyright issues.

Notably, the Finnish handset maker had, during the Nokia 2011 Developer Forum earlier this year, announced that it would come out with another MeeGo based device soon.

Nokia Windows phones to feature new processor

The upcoming and highly anticipated Windows Phone devices from Nokia will feature processor sourced from ST Ericsson.

The new league of Windows Phone based smartphones from Nokia will be feature the all new Novathor U8500 processor from ST Ericsson, according to the chief executive officer of STMicroelectronics Carlo Bozotti, who shared this information with Forbes.

St Ericsson is a joint venture between Geneva based STMicroelectronics and Swedish mobile equipment manufacturer.

Nokia to launch X7 next month in India

The phone features the latest version of Symbian, called Anna, a 4 inch Amoled display, and a stylish new look.

Nokia is preparing to launch its new smartphone X7 in the Indian market. The device will feature the latest version of Symbian operating system, called Anna.

"We are planning to launch X7 in this quarter in India," a Nokia spokesperson told 'The Mobile Indian' without divulging the exact date of launch.

Nokia has positioned the X7 as an entertainment smartphone, and has given it a four inch Amoled screen that displays 16 million colours and 640 x 360 pixel resolution, as well as high quality sound output.

CNN launches app for Nokia smartphones

The CNN App includes user-generated content upload functionality through iReport, showcases important global news through text, video and photos; and also enables users to watch live breaking news video.

CNN has launched an international news application for Nokia E7 smartphones, available on the Ovi Store. 

The CNN App for Nokia also will be available for free in the coming weeks for the Nokia N8, Nokia C7 and Nokia C6-01, with wider availability to be announced later.

Nokia to introduce 'Search' feature on phones

CHENNAI: Finnish handset maker Nokia plans to introduce a new feature on its mobile phones, 'Search', which will enable users to identify a particular locality at the click of a button. 

The new feature helps customers to identify a place or a shopping mall or a food joint from their mobile phones, Nokia India Director - Operator Channel V Ramnath said. 

"We are planning to introduce the 'Search' option that gives out details about a particular locality or anything you want to know. For example, if you want to know a food joint in Nungambakkam (in Chennai), it will give out the details of food joints present nearby," he told reporters here. 

Flight Control now available on OVI store

World's favourite game Flight Control makes its way to Nokia's OVI store and gets an initial bonus for the buyers as well.

Flight Control, a popular video game developed by Japanese manufacturer Namco, has finally made it to the Nokia's OVI store. 

Unlike the Angry Birds, the Flight Control has always been on the little subtler side but has been a major hit in comparison with other games.

This game requires the user to play the role of a flight or airport controller whose only job is to keep the skies clear. He also has to take care of the planes that come from all around the world and ensure their safe landing. 

Nimbuzz upgraded to 3.01 for Symbian devices

Nokia Symbian devices get the latest installment of the Nimbuzz messenger with enhanced VOIP call quality and more space to chat.

Nimbuzz, a cross platform instant messaging client for Symbian Series 60 ^3 devices, has been updated to version 3.01 from the current 3.0. The new version of the application, which brings a couple of new features and changes, will continue to be available for S40 devices. 

The new Nimbuzz 3.01 brings the much needed call quality indicator, which will tell the caller about the call quality available basing upon the network load. With direct peer to peer connectivity, users will get improved call quality as compared to the earlier version. 

A new 'messenger' feature in the updated app makes better use of the available space, giving users the option to chat in full screen mode. The users can now also choose the chat background, their avatar and the chat text colours according to their need.

Nokia, Vodafone join hands to provide Life Tools services

Available for Rs 30 per month, Nokia Life Tools offers agriculture, education, healthcare and entertainment content to plug information gaps in rural and semi-urban markets.

Nokia and Vodafone has joined hands to launch Nokia Life Tools services targeted at providing Indian consumers with access to relevant content on agriculture, education, healthcare and entertainment. 

The Nokia Life Tools is customised for Vodafone to deliver Vodafone's entertainment services along with Life Tools suite of services. 

Speaking on the announcement, V Ramnath, director, operator channel, Nokia India, said, "Filling in the information gaps with Nokia Life Tools, we strive to contribute towards empowering people in the emerging markets with the right tools to help them make informed decisions in their daily lives." 

The agriculture services include personalised agri related information, weather updates, crop advisory and market prices of their produce. 

Linked In application for Symbian phones

After Android, Linked In application makes its way for phones based on Symbian operating system.

Linked In, a popular business and professional social networking website, has announced its application for smartphones based on Nokia's Symbian platform. 

The application is a compact version of the Linked In online account, which allows users to send and receive messages from their connections, add new ones, respond to invitations, browse profiles, view and compose status updates. 

The application also has a "Call Out" button on the top right hand side of the screen, which might confuse some users as there is no description available for that. But, that key allows the users to update their status messages which are automatically syndicated with their Twitter account, if that is linked to the Linked In account. 

As of now the application only has one version and is available only for Symbian S60 ^3 devices. The application is optimised for touchscreen S60 based phones only but we can expect Nokia to release other versions of this application for its s40 phones as well soon. 

No Windows Phones soon: Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson is looking to triple its market share in USA with Android phones, particularly those that run PlayStation. The new Xperia series is likely to lead growth for the company.

Sony Ericsson, which had dumped the Symbian platform, is not likely to come out with a Windows phone anytime soon, according to the company's chief technology officer Jan Uddenfeldt.

However, Uddenfeldt's words can also be interpreted to mean that Sony Ericsson's doors are still open for Windows Phone 7, though the company will start making products only if the platform picks up pace.

Sony Ericsson is looking to triple its smartphone market share in the USA, which currently stands at 5 per cent.

After Symbian, it was widely speculated that the company would go for Windows Phone 7. However, it went for Google's Android operating system and has seen reasonable success with the decision.

Ovi Store becomes Nokia Services

With the ongoing rebranding exercise, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2012, it is highly unlikely that Nokia will be interested in launching Windows based smartphones.

Nokia's Ovi Store will be re-branded as Nokia Services starting in July and August. The Finnish handset maker, however, promises that there will be no change in its store services.

"We have made the decision to change our service branding from Ovi to Nokia. By centralising our services under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia and unify our brand architecture — while continuing to deliver compelling opportunities and experiences for partners and consumers alike," said Nokia in an official communiqué.