Google, Motorola enters the fray with Maxx, Ultra, Mini Droids

While the new iPhones frenzy was going on over the past few weeks, they were not the only games in town. At least three of my pockets had one of the Motorola Droids trio that certainly deserve some attention.

Verizon Wireless sent a box full of Droids just as the the iPhone mania was heating up and I have been exploring and enjoying these Google and Motorola-branded devices so much that I haven't had a hankering for the new iPhone 5S.

My FedEx box contained the Motorola Droid Maxx, Droid Ultra and Droid Mini. Let's just say I was surrounded by droids, which represent the newest creation from Google and Motorola since they agreed to join forces in August 2011 after Google put $12.5 million on the table.

I think we all knew that something big would come out of this partnership, with Google's Android empire and Motorola's reputation for quality hardware.

The Droid Maxx is certainly the flagship out of this trio and it has the features to prove it. Right off the bat, the most impressive attribute is the whopping 3500 mAh battery, which Motorola lays claims to 48 hours of mixed use. I can only think only of a few other smartphones that could come close to the Maxx's battery specifications, with one being the LG Optimus G Pro, with a battery rated at 3140 mAh.

The Maxx also didn't skimp on memory, with 32 gigabytes of storage space, compared with 16 GB for its siblings, the Ultra and Mini.

Aside from the usual collection of Android apps and more available in the Google Play store, one of my favorite features of the Maxx is the VZ Navigator global positioning app. I played lost coming from the office and the Maxx didn't miss a turn in getting me home before sundown. I especially like the conversational tone of the directions, such as "Get ready to turn right at the next traffic light." Or "drive about seven miles, then get ready to take Exit 7B, on the right. The GPS turn-by-turn directions on the Maxx are as simple as a doughnut.

The five-inch AMOLED display of the Maxx is a perfect fit in my ash tray in landscape orientation while in GPS mode. The audio is loud and clear. With a windshield mount or the official Navigation Dock from Motorola, the Maxx really could function as your main GPS unit, as the maps and directions are quite good.

Another area where the Maxx stands out among the competition is the Qi wireless charging module that doesn't require a USB cable connection to your computer or wall outlet. The feature, backed by the Wireless Power Consortium, also supports the Hydro Elite, and Droid Mini. You can take your pick of wireless charging accessories for the Maxx, such as a Nokia JBL Power Up Speaker, Nokia Fatboy Charging Pillow and a LG Wireless Charging Pad.

Motorola is making good use Kevlar, with the back of the Maxx sporting a textured appearance with a soft-touch feel. You also find a thin layer of Kevlar under a glossy plastic covering on the Ultra and Mini Droid devices. I like the Maxx's use of the Kevlar the best.

The Droid Ultra is almost identical to the Maxx, except for 16 GB of storage versus 32 GB in the larger sibling and a 2130 mAh battery, compared with the Maxx's 3150 battery. The Ultra is also slightly thinner, due to the larger battery in the Maxx.

The deciding factor might be in the cost, as the Ultra is $100 cheaper than the Maxx's $299 sticker price. For less money, you get the same five-inch display, a 1.7 GHz Dual-Core processor and a 10 MP rear camera. The size of the Maxx and Ultra is similar to the LG Optimus G Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S4.

That's not a bad deal, if you don't mind the glossy, plastic back on the Ultra that has a tendency to show fingerprints more than the Maxx textured back.

As for the Droid Mini, it's a handy device that might feel more comfortable in your hands, because of the more traditional size that is similar to the such as the iPhone 5 devices and the slightly-larger Nokia Lumia 1020 and HTC One.

For even less money than the Ultra, the Mini rings up at $99 and you'll get a smaller 2000 mAh battery than the Maxx and Ultra, but the same Dual-Core processor and camera megapixels as the big guys. Although the Mini is the smallest of the bunch, it's also the thickest by two to eight millimeters.

The bottom line is that the Google and Motorola union have produced a trio of devices running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean that are certainly contenders in the smartphone arena. For Android fans, you'll be quite familiar with the features, the apps available and the overall form factor.

Once you throw in wireless charging, touch control, impressive batteries and Kevlar, I don't think you can go wrong with either device. If you're shopping for a larger size and impressive battery life, the Maxx is what you'll want to bring home. For budget conscious shoppers, the Mini at $99 will be appealing with good specs and lots of Androids goodies.

So, just look in your wallet, count your money, and pick one of the three.

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Apple showcases colorful 5S, 5C iPhones; rolls out iOS 7 update

As expected, the 5S and the 5C iPhones were unveiled on Tuesday, Sept. 10 with a splash of colors.

In the past, a new iPhone announcement was always a magical moment, thanks to all the hype created Apple Inc., the media and Apple fans all around the world. The magic continues with these two devices.

The initial excitement surrounding iPhone announcements started on Jan. 9, 2007, at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, when the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs pulled an iPhone 2G out his pocket. The hoopla surrounding Apple smartphones announcement has been gaining traction every since and there seems to be no end in sight. The true Apple fans can probably name them all, starting with the 2G in 2007, the 3G in 2008, followed by the 3GS in 2009 and the 4G in 2010. We're not done. Then we had the 4S in 2011 and the evolutionary, if not revolutionary, iPhone 5 just a year ago.

Now we have the iPhone 5S, a souped-up doozy of a device with fingerprint reader technology and a 64-bit A7 processor with a 8 megapixel camera has set yet another standard for processing power in mobile devices. Gamers will rejoice, especially if the A7 chip finds its was into future iPads. The 5S will be available in new colors – gold, silver and "space gray" – to go with all that processing power.

The 5C, a colorful cheaper device for emerging markets, will be a fashion statement, with five color cases to choose from. Depending on what mood you're in, you can choose from green, blue, yellow, pink and white. It'll have a 4-inch Retina display and Apple's A6 chip.

The fingerprint sensor technology, which Apple is calling "Touch ID," sounds like a winner, because I, for one, have too many passwords to remember anyway. That feature alone would be worth an upgrade from an older iPhone if I had to do was press the home button to wake the phone and get busy.

I find it surprising that there was no mention of the new iPhones having the Near Field Communication technology, now commonly known as NFC. Apple has stayed away from this short-range wireless communication technology, while other manufacturers, such as Samsung, Nokia, HTC and BlackBerry have been incorporating this feature into their devices since early 2012. Now that NFC Tags and mobile payments are becoming more popular, I can't see Apple staying on the sidelines much longer.

As Apple moves past traditional white and black devices, the gold color for the 5S, the flagship device, attracted the most attention, but I'm not likely to rush into the store for a color change. My black iPhone 5 is serving me well. But iOS 7 will be available for download Sept. 18 and I'll be first in line for the update.

We can kick this news of the latest iPhones around for hours and never get tired, so let's talk pricing. The iPhone 5S is $199 under contract for the 16GB, $299 for the 32GB and $399 for the 64GB, while the 5C starts at $99 for the 16 gigabyte model and tops out at $199 for the 32GB model. Both iPhones will be available Sept. 20, so it will be time to start lining up soon.

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Nokia Lumia 822 showcases Windows Phone 8 from Microsoft

I've had another experience where a particular smartphone was just a joy to carry around. This time, it was the Nokia Lumia 822 from Verizon Wireless.

Maybe it was the live tiles of Windows Phone 8 or the seamless integration with everything Microsoft, such as Windows Live and all the features surrounding it. Whatever it was, I took a likening to the Lumia 822 and now I must say "well done" to Nokia and Microsoft.

Nokia has been around for the long term and most of us remember them as always having quality hardware. Although the Finnish crew have been making mobile phones since the early 1990s and used to be the King of cell phones, the smartphone craze from Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform caused Nokia to fall by the wayside.

Microsoft has been around since 1975 and needed something significant and exciting in the mobile communications arena.

So these two giants teamed up in 2011 to create market-leading mobile products. Before the year was out, the Lumia 710 was announced as being the first Windows phone from Nokia in the United States, but it was running Windows Phone 7. About a year later in September, the Lumia line of devices was announced for Windows Phone 8.

The Lumia 822 is the upgraded version of the 820, which was announced in September along with the flagship Lumia 920. Now I'm pretty familiar with Android devices and I carry the iPhone 5, but the live tiles on the WP8 devices, such as the Lumia 822, are pretty ingenious.

You can make your start screen as personal as you like, with your favorite things just a touch away. That's why so many WP8 fans are having so much fun with their devices. The live tiles work very well giving the very latest updates and information. Live tiles are a winner. Simple as that.

The other feature I found really enjoyable on the Lumia 822 is the integration between the phone and your Windows Live account. Every photo taken with the 8 megapixel camera goes to Windows Live without a hitch. Your email account is just a tap away, along with any calendar appointments.

Then you have the People tile that pulls in all you social networks into one list. This became my favorite morning pastime with a cup of coffee — just seeing what's going on in Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn — all in one stream.

When you compare my iPhone with it's 4-inch display to the Lumia 822's 4.3-inch display, I found typing and texting to be much easier. Having the extra space around the characters makes a difference and the suggested words feature on the Lumia speeds things along by saving keystrokes.

The Lumia is a little heavier at 4.99 ounces compared with my guy at 3.65 ounces, but the extra weight didn't bother me all, mainly due to the rounded corners and quality feel of the Nokia hardware. It simply feels good in your hand.

The 1.25 gigahertz processor of the Lumia 822 falls right in line with some of the other WP8 devices, such at its sibling, the Lumia 920, and the HTC 8X. But the latter devices trump the Lumia 822 with better screen resolution and the 920 has a higher-rated camera at 8.7 megapixels. During a surprise snowfall in my town, I had fun with the Carl Zeiss lens on the Lumia 822's 8 MP camera. Nice pictures is what I can say.

As for apps, the Lumia 822 comes with ESPN, My Verizon Mobile, NFL Mobile, The Weather Channel, Nokia City Lens and a few others. Then you can shop among the 120,000 or so in the Windows 8 store. That's nowhere near the 600,000 to 700,000 apps found in the Google Play and Apple stores, but I found a few of my favorites that worked well on the Lumia 822.

The Nokia Wireless Charging Pad allows you to put your phone down on a plate to charge the battery.

The Lumia 822 can be made even better with accessories, such as a Nokia Wireless Charging Cover or Charging Pad and a JBL Wireless Speaker.

You would think you might need a couple of hundred bucks to snag a Lumia 822, especially after considering all the features I've mentioned, but it's a bargain at $49.99 with a contract.

For the past of couple of years, the smartphone arena has been ruled by the iPhone and Android, while other platforms revamped their offerings. Things are changing now.

At this point, the Lumia 822 could be the deal of the year, as we wait on Samsung's next move with the Galaxy line of devices and the upcoming new BlackBerry 10 smartphones that will be announced on Jan. 30. Let's also not forget that Google made a $12.5 billion play for Motorola about a year ago and we're yet to see what they're up to for a new smartphone from the twosome.

The Windows Phone 8 devices are off to a good start while things are calm and the Lumia 822 is one good example of what's available.

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Nokia 206 brings new technology, design to classic feature phone

The feature phone is not dead. Nokia is bringing new life to these guys from "back in the day" with their announcement of the Nokia 206 today. So long live the alphanumeric keyboard.

This classic design has a 2.4-inch display and comes in single and dual-SIM versions. The camera is nothing to brag about at 1.3 megapixels and it also has video capture. But the camera is optimized for sharing pictures - let's say on Facebook - at around 700KB. The downsizing is done automatically.

But here is something to brag about. Nokia is claiming 20 hours of talk time in battery life for the single-SIM version, with a 47-day standby mode. That's over month without recharging. The dual-SIM model has a lower 25-day standby time.

As for memory, there is 10 megabytes of user memory, along with a slot that accept a 32-gigabyte SD card.

Nokia did manage to incorporate some nifty technology into the feature phone platform. Their "Slam" technology allows the sharing of items over Bluetooth, but you don't have to pair the phones. Their "Xpress Browser" allows Web browsing using cloud-based servers, which helps to limit excessive data charges and saves the user money.

When the Nokia 206 is available before the end of the year, there will be a choice of five colors - white, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. It'll cost around $62 without carrier subsidies and will be offered in markets outside the United States.

The one thing I can say about the newest feature phone from Nokia is that it's very snazzy.

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Shopping with the iPhone 5 Passbook app a pleasant experience

Update: Apple Inc. is releasing guidelines to developers for an "Add to Passbook" badge that can be incorporated into their apps and websites for devices running iOS 6.

After a few days with the iPhone 5, I figured it was time to go shopping with the Passbook app as my guide. This mysterious app included with iOS 6 will organize gift cards, coupons, passes, tickets and more, with the idea of making your wallet a lot thinner and lighter.

But it requires a few advance maneuvers before you head out to the store or look for your boarding passes. It's not as automatic as you would think.

The first thing the Passbook app will want to do is connect to the App Store through iTunes and this where things can come to a standstill a hurry, as there are numerous reports from iPhone 5 users about connection difficulties. You might see the dreaded "can't connect to iTunes" message.

I experienced the same problem with the Passbook app and iTunes, until I discovered some steps to change the time and date settings temporarily. That worked for me and I hope it works for any other iPhone 5 users having iTunes connection problems.

Once in the App Store, you'll find a rather short list of stores and other companies that are currently Passbook compatible. For my part of the country, Target and Walgreens were my choices, so I downloaded those.

But here is where using Passbook can get confusing, as the digital store cards are not automatically loaded into Passbook. In my case, I had to first sign up for the loyalty card using the store app and then you should see a "Add to Passbook" button in the app. Clear as mud, right?

Think of it this way - the Passbook app is where you'll store the loyalty cards; the store app is where you'll send the card to Passbook.

I managed to get both Target and Walgreens cards into Passbook, where you can shuffle between them on the iPhone 5 display. As more cards are add, your thumb will get a workout shuffling for the right card.

I'm ready to go shopping, so let's jump back to the store app, or my case, the Walgreens app. I was able to see the coupons and weekly ads right on my phone. I zeroed in on a few items and added them to the built-in shopping list in the Walgreens app. Each coupon in the app has their own barcode that can be scanned by the cashier.

As I got near Walgreen's front door, the iPhone 5 determined my location and displayed a "swipe to access Walgreen card" as I entered the store. An audible alert would have been even better, but just having the visual notification was pretty slick. According to Apple Inc., if I was going to the airport, my boarding passes would pop up as I entered the terminal.

I wandered up and down the aisles in true guy fashion, looking for items on the shopping list. At this point in my shopping excursion, none of my grocery items chosen are loaded into Passbook. The selection of items and the shopping list is still within the store app.

When I made it to the cashier, this where I reached for the iPhone 5 instead of my wallet or key chain for a store card. I open up the Walgreens card in Passbook and handed it to the cashier for scanning. She was just as thrilled as I was that it worked and called it a "cool thing."

Now this where the Near Field Communication, or NFC, technology would have been handy, as I could have just paid for items by tapping my iPhone against a special terminal at checkout. But Apple has put NFC on the backburner for now; maybe it'll appear in the iPhone 6. So I pulled out my wallet for some cash.

In the meantime, NFC will be found on several iPhone competitors, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III and Victory and the upcoming Nokia Lumia 920, Motorola RAZR i and the HTC 8X. But the stores will also have to come onboard with the necessary terminals to handle NFC payments.

Although the number of participating retailers for Passbook is limited, it does work and I can't wait for my favorite grocer to join the list, so I don't have to give my phone number over and over and over. Having the store card in Passbook will be much easier and I won't lose it.

That wasn't a bad experience at all, so I say bring on more store cards for the Passbook app.

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Hello iPhone 5 with the Lightning Connector; goodbye 30-pin connector

The iPhone 5 has started out with a bang, as pre-orders were sold out in around 60 minutes on Friday. So now, we can probably expect lines of fans when the retails stores open their doors on Sept. 21.

AT&T announced a sales record for the iPhone 5 over the first weekend of pre-orders, making it their fastest-selling iPhone ever. Some of the hype so far has been all about the revolutionary - for Apple at least - 4-inch display.

I say for Apple only, because the iPhone 5 joins several other smartphones with 4-inch displays that have been on the shelves for a while. These include the Samsung Galaxy S, which arrived in mid 2010 and the Motorola Atrix, which made its debut in January 2011. And let's not forget the Google Nexus S 4G1 that came along in April 2011, or the Nokia 808 PureView in February.

But perhaps the biggest area of discussion about the iPhone 5 has centered around the redesigned dock connector. The 30-pin connector is history, replaced by a smaller Lightning 8-pin digital connector. Now the worry is about all the 30-pin accessories and how to transitioned to the new guy. First a little history.

The 30-pin dock connector first appeared on the third generation iPod in April 2003. Up to that point, the iPod models had been using a firewire port to update the songs or charge the battery. The 30-pin connector allowed USB to be used instead of firewire.

Although the 30-pin connector had a nine-year run, the end has come and Apple is going digital with the Lightning connector. Some say it's because the iPhone 5 is thinner and the designers needed the space in the area where the speakers and the EarPods port are located. At any rate, it's done and we've got to deal with it.

Apple was quick to say a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter is available for all our clock radios and other accessories that also serve as iPhone docks and charging stations. I must say, these accessories have been pretty handy over the past several years, especially when you lose that white 30-pin cable for the umpteenth time.

There was some confusion in the beginning about whether Apple would throw in the 30-pin Adapter when you buy the iPhone 5. The very latest is that it'll cost you $29. Of if you want a Lightning to 30-pin cable, count out $39. I also hate to break the news to you, but Apple says by way of an asterisk, that some 30-pin accessories are not supported. So that dependable iPhone accessory that you fancy may or may not work with the iPhone 5.

What Apple will give you with the iPhone 5 to make connections is a Lightning connector to USB cable and USB Power Adapter. Now you might say "hmm" to the latter, because that's the one item you can salvage from your old 30-pin cable setup. Since one end of the new Lightning cable is USB, you should be set to go with an extra power adapter. Do don't throw that part out with the 30-pin cable.

About all we can say about the 30-pin-cable saga is "oh well" and move on. I'm sure the Apple engineers had a good reason to make change. Maybe the iPad Mini, if it makes an appearance in month or so, will use the same Lightning connector.

By the time the iPhone 6, or whatever, comes along, we will have forgotten about it all anyway.

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The new iPhone arrives today facing tough challengers

Today is the big day for Apple Inc. to show the world the next iPhone, which might be called the iPhone 5.

This device will be the sixth generation of the iPhone since Jan. 9, 2007, when Apple unveiled the original iPhone to revolutionize the mobile landscape.

When the original iPhone arrived, most the mobile handset manufacturers, such as Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, HTC, RIM's BlackBerry and other were using QWERTY or alphanumeric keypads, along with small displays and navigational buttons.

There has been some early attempts at touchscreen technology by Nokia, IBM with the Simon Personal Communicator, Ericsson, HP, Palm and a few others.

But the first-generation iPhone got everything right and brought in a new era of touchscreen displays, icons, digital keypads and something called apps in 2008.

Now today's smartphones are just as smart and innovative as the iPhone and it's going to be tough for Apple to stay ahead of the pack and continue to hit home runs. There are touchscreens galore, apps, voice commands and music stores. The emerging Near Field Communication, or NFC technology, is already included on several recent mobile devices and should be a must-have for the new iPhone.

When the Android platform arrived, Apple's job became tougher and the Windows Phone 8 operating system is getting ready for their shot at iOS. The latest Nokia Lumia and Samsung Ativ announcements using WP8 are not to be taken lightly.

We should know today if Apple still has it what takes to set themselves apart from the competition with the latest iPhone.

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Nokia Lumia 920, 820 joins Microsoft Windows Phone 8 camp

Nokia and Microsoft launched new Windows 8 smartphones today at a press event in New York. We can say hello to the Lumia 920 and 820 devices.

The two longtime technology powerhouses, who have been in a partnership since February 2011, vowed to use their "complementary strengths and expertise create market-leading mobile products."

The new Lumia 920 smartphone is chock full of new features, such as PureMotion HD+, wireless charging and Nokia's PureView camera technology, first seen on the PureView 41 megapixel phone announced earlier this year. The 920 will have a 8 megapixel camera.

This new device, shown in a new yellow color that Nokia says won' scratch off, is powered by a sizable 2000mAh battery and a Qualcomm 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor. It'll also be available in red and gray.

Nokia is bring their notable mapping technology to the Lumia 920 that'll include daily commute drive times, routes and walking directions, indoor maps and Augmented Reality using the City Lens app while exploring your surrounding.

The live tiles in the Windows Phone 8 can be customized to show difference sizes for apps and other information that updates automatically. A new feature is the ability to capture screenshots and share them like regular photos and videos. A pinch and zoom feature is now available.

Probably the most unique feature for the Lumia 920 is the wireless charging and the accessories that support it. A "Fatboy" charging pillow, plates and stands will keep the 920 charged and ready to go. For music lovers, JBL Power Up wireless speakers headphones with Near Field Communication, or NFC, will require just a tap to transfer audio from the phone to speaker.

Nokia also announced that Nokia Music in the United States.

The Nokia Lumia 820 has many of the same features as it's more power sibling, such as NFC, City Lens and Carl Zeiss optics. The 820 is powered by a smaller, 1650mAh battery.

Nokia is banking on Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system to regain the prominence they once held in the mobile phones industry. While a few devices still use Nokia's longtime Symbian operating system, these new devices are hoping Microsoft's unique tiles display will gain traction among consumers who are also being bombarded with Android and iOS smartphone choices.

Samsung also is on-board with Windows Phone 8, as they announced their new Ativ devices last week. But some say they were only prototypes and the real devices are coming soon.

The Lumia 920 and 820 are the latest devices to get behind Microsoft's new mobile platform.

Now it's up to the consumers to give the new OS and the new phones a thumbs up.

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Why now?

    After last week's announcements from Microsoft the only thing that obsesses me is Why now? While both Surface and Windows Phone 8 products look great both announcements   seemed a little bit rushed.
    Lets start with the Surface presentation. The product is UBER COOL, but there are still a lot of things that are not cleared: how much will it cost, when exactly will be available to the public. My feeling was, and I might be right, that Google will announce its own low cost tablet and, at least this time Microsoft didn't want to be the last one to announce the new tablet. If the prices for the Google tablet are really 249USD and 199USD both Microsoft and Apple will be their salea affected by the low cost tablet from Google.
     What really impressed me was the Windows Phone Summit announce of Windows Phone 8. Again Windows Phone 8 will be a really cool product but, from what was shown, it is far from rtm. What I don't understand is the strategy that Microsoft adopted? They presented a cool new product still far from the release, the developers didn't get the new SDK, they've showed only the new start screen and what the main features that the new product will have and the MOST important said that there is no upgrade path to Windows Phone 8 for any of the current devices. Without giving a new toy to developers (that is the new SDK) the announcement did a lot of damage to the actual Windows Phone platform. On short term (till Windows Phone 8 devices will be out in the wild) the sells of Windows Phone will once again slow (nobody wants an old phone), with the sells of the phone the sales in the marketplace will slow so if you are a developer this is how you will be affected.  But the really BIG DAMAGE was done to Nokia. Here are some stock exchange considerations from today :


DJ MARKET TALK: Nomura Cuts Nokia Target Price
25/06/2012 12:36 MF-DJ
1036 GMT [Dow Jones] Nomura cuts its target price for Nokia (NOK1V.MI) (NOKA.AS) (NOK1V.HE) (NOA3.FRA) to EUR2 from EUR3.20, pointing to Microsoft's (MSFT.O) (MSF.FRA) new Windows Phone 8 product, to which none of Nokia's current phones will be able to be upgraded. "Now that Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Phone 7 devices cannot be upgraded to Windows Phone 8, we expect retailers and Nokia to run down inventory levels of the current Lumia range," says Nomura. It expects this to result in a sequential decline in the sales volumes Nokia reports for 3Q. Nomura rates the stock at neutral. Shares down 7% at EUR1.80.(michele.maatouk@dowjones.com)

DJ MARKET TALK: Nokia Shrs Lower After Slew Of Bad News -SocGen
25/06/2012 15:25 MF-DJ
1325 GMT [Dow Jones] Nokia (NOK1V.MI) (NOKA.AS) (NOK1V.HE) (NOA3.FRA) stock is 7.9% lower at EUR1.78, amid the slew of bad news last week, says Societe Generale analyst Andy Perkins. The latest Microsoft (MSFT.O) (MSF.FRA) Windows smartphone operating system won't work on Nokia's current Lumia devices, he notes. "In addition, Microsoft last week unveiled its own Surface tablet device, and it also seems as if Microsoft is considering [whether] to manufacture its own smartphones," Perkins says. "If Microsoft is starting to manufacture its own hardware, it is less likely to end up buying Nokia." Perkins' recommendation on Nokia stock is sell with a EUR1.60 target. (sven.grundberg@dowjones.com)

Today Nokia's stock values is doing again -8% with a one year "performance" of -54%. Why did Microsoft sneaked peaked Windows Phone 8 now when it is far form the release? Do they want to buy Nokia so they have to get the lowest price possible? If not they just want to kill Nokia after they have invested everything in the Windows Phone platform? If Microsoft don't want to buy Nokia then why all the Windows Phone 8 devices have Nokia maps and navigation software? In this moment Microsoft can't let anyone buy Nokia as it could affect their plans for Windows Phone 8. So again WHY NOW? No SDK, no timing for the new devices, no new details for the UI enhancements. A lot of damage with no immediate benefit (developers, Nokia, Microsoft). I can only hope there is a good strategy behind this announcement that I cannot see.

It cannot be the multi-core architecture:

This is from Wikipedia under Windows CE 7: 

7.0

Released in March 2011. Multi-core CPU support (SMP) Wi-Fi Positioning System Bluetooth 3.0 + HS DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) DRM technology Media Transfer Protocol Windows Phone 7 IE with Flash 10.1 support NDIS 6.1 support UX C++ XAML API using technologies like Windows Presentation Foundation and Silverlight for attractive and functional user interfaces Advanced touch and gesture input Kernel support for 3 GB physical RAM and supports ARMv7 assembly[25]

It cannot be also that the Windows 8 ARM kernel is more stable as it is the first ARM Windows Kernel that Microsoft creates so it still has to show its stability. On the other hand the CE Kernel, even if it is not one of the best, is very stable. The actual windows phone device are pretty good with a lot of applications missing because of some missing features in the SDK and unimpressive market shares.

On long term Microsoft can only benefit from maintaining a single kernel but on short term: Ooooops you did it again! Not the same as the last one (6.5 to 7.x) as there will be 100,000 aps in the marketplace but still some damage is done. Why do the DAMAGE if the backup is not ready yet? They should have waited to have the SDK ready, devices almost ready to sell, the enhanced UI ready and AMAZE everyone. As a developer and geek I am super excited about the new features and cannot wait to develop for WP8. As a small company owner that is investing everything in Windows Phone I don't agree with what Microsoft did and I have more doubts than ever before that Windows Phone will do a fast come back in the smartphone market (I hope that I am wrong and that both Nokia and Microsoft have some killer features ready).

So Why didn't they wait a little bit more at least for the Windows Phone?

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Lumia 900 could bring more attention to Windows Phone 7

The Nokia Lumia 900 has been available from AT&T since April 8 for around $100 under contract. ​

It joins the Lumia 710 from T-Mobile, which arrived in early January, as the first crop of smartphones in the Unites States running Windows Phone 7, which is a partnership between Microsoft and Nokia. The Finland-based Nokia , who in 1987 introduced its first handheld mobile phone, used to be the darling of the mobile phone market. But it has been challenged in recent years by Apple's iPhones and Google's Android devices. Nokia is now moving away from its Symbian operating system in favor of the Windows Phone OS.

It's too early to tell whether Nokia will be successful with the new smartphones, but quarterly results that were released on April 19 indicate a challenging road ahead.

They reported quarterly losses in sales of $4 billion and an operating loss of $1.7 billion. The handset sales were down 29 percent.

The Lumia 900 has only been in the market for a couple of weeks and time will tell if the Windows Phone platform, which uses live tiles instead of application icons, will gain traction with consumers.

During a recent review of the Lumia 710, I found the unique Windows Phone OS to be easy to use, with good synergy for managing social networks, email, appointments and contacts.

The Lumia 900, which is a larger device with a 4.3-inch display and twice the memory of the 710's 8 gigabyte, is poised to attract more attention across the summer. The 900 also has a 16 megapixel camera, with might address some of the quality issues I experienced with the 700's 8MP camera.

These Windows Phone devices might help Nokia to remain the world's top handset manufacturer and regain prominence in the smartphone arena.

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