Apple has iTunes, Google will offer Google Music soon and all Android-powered smartphones will use this music service directly from Android Market. And now, Nokia has announced its native service, Nokia Music.

Nokia Music is a radio-based Mix Radio service offering the users a choice of hundred channels. By the way, the channels vary by genre. Unlike other similar services, Nokia’s music service doesn’t require registration or any payment for listening to music. Moreover, each channel offers 50 tracks, but they are refreshed every week. It also has a special channel where you can meet all the new releases.

Nokia’s consumers can even listen to music when out of coverage — the app will cache 200 songs on your device or 4 channels providing two hours of non-stop playback. Nokia Music has a special app, live gigs allowing users to see when their favorite band is playing. Besides, they will learn all the necessary information on where they can purchase tickets from.

This is just one of the many features that make Nokia superior over Apple and Google. We’ll see how this will affect Nokia’s sales numbers.

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While other manufacturers refuse NFC technology, Nokia strongly sticks to it. Apple refused it choosing Bluetooth 4.0 and so far I haven’t found any Android device with the NFC functionality (if I am being mistaken, please correct me). Anyway, NFC term has been circulating in the web for a while, which means the ignorance towards it is conditioned by factors other than its popularity. Well, NFC is not intended only for paying via the phone, but also for playing. Some of the games developed by the Nokia Research Center are Nokia World Flags, Nokia Shakespeare Shuffle and Nokia Nursery Rhyme Shuffle.

The above mentioned corporation has mission to explore technology frontiers and solve scientific challenges today, so that tomorrow Nokia delivers irresistible personal experiences. As you see the Nokia Research Center doesn’t sit tight and does its best to help Nokia promote its Symbian Belle devices. I guess you understand which smartphones I am speaking about; NFC-enabled phones including the Nokia C7 Astound, C7-00, 600, 603, 700 and 701.

Well, you can watch the video below and find out a fourth concept (not available) where you tap different parts of a stuffed animal with an NFC phone to launch different games.

At the end, I have to note Nokia is not the first launching games that can be played with NFC-enabled devices. Let’s not forget Rovio, which launched an NFC-enabled version of Angry Birds called Angry Birds Magic. However, Nokia is a most popular brand and both NFC and games like that can become even more popular due to Nokia’s position in the mobile market.

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Though Nokia’s financial results are not satisfying, the company doesn’t lose in all areas. I’m talking about the war between Apple and Nokia, where the Finnish manufacturer won the lawsuit. That time no official fee size was mentioned, but now we know that Nokia will get $615 million (430 million euro).

We don’t know whether the whole sum will be paid by Apple or there are other companies to compensate Nokia, but it’s a fact that the company’s budget will be enhanced with such a sum.

I personally don’t think that sum is enough, because Nokia has almost 10,000 key wireless patents referring to user interface and core features like multitasking, data syncing and positioning, which could help the company to restore its authority. But Apple will get away paying just $615 million.

I hope Nokia will be more careful and won’t let other companies snatch its success, because Apple’s case can become an example for those manufacturers who want to succeed by using other companies’ developments.

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Nokia and Apple conflict continues for two years, and yesterday this battle ended peacefully. Apple agreed to pay a one-time fee plus on-going royalties. Though all the details are confidential, some analysts make assumptions about how much Apple has to forked out.

Deutsche Bank analyst Kai Korschelt said Nokia will get €420 million ($608 million) from Apple. This number has formed of a 1 percent royalty rate on all the iPhones sold until the first quarter of 2011. As we know the words come to 110 million units with an average price of $550. The payment will be transferred in four phases — €95 million ($137.6 million) per quarter. After this transfer Nokia will have no claims against Apple, and the ongoing licensing will be covered.

Generally, this story is not unique in its type as in different times different manufacturers had to pay some money for violating intellectual properties of other companies. In this list Nokia is included, too. Below are some of those deals:

As you see this is a very acceptable practice in the tech world. Although this can’t solve any real problem in a long-term period, but it somehow compensates Nokia’s €43 billion investment in research and development of handheld device and mobile communications technologies. This explains Nokia’s dominance in world and strong patent positions.

As a conclusion:

“We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees,” said Stephen Elop, president and chief executive officer of Nokia. “This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”

All’s well that ends well.

Every day we’re hearing new rumors about Nokia. Some speak about the company’s new deals, others introduce the Finnish company not in bright shades… And now Eldar Murtazin says Microsoft is going to buy Nokia for $19 billion.

At the first sight it can seem unbelievable, as Nokia has come a long way and wouldn’t lay down arms so soon. On the other hand, Nokia’s collapse is lasting for several years, and, according to analysts, its cooperation with Microsoft is the last chance to save its authority in the mobile world. In the frames of this cooperation Nokia will provide some software support to the Redmond-based giant, and we’ll see new Nokia devices running Microsoft’s operating system. Well, everything seems so easy, but…

If their cooperation doesn’t succeed, the only one to suffer will be Nokia, as Microsoft provides its mobile platform to several companies, namely to HTC, Samsung, Dell and LG, so Nokia’s failure doesn’t change anything. So this means the trump is in Microsoft’s hand, and it can use it to get what it wants… if Microsoft has such goals, of course.

Perhaps you think this can’t happen, since Microsoft is known for its cruel strategy — destroy everything in its path; if Microsoft has such an objective, we would have heard about it earlier. But I think the treasure is buried deeper…

First Apple and Microsoft were PC OS companies, and, admit it or not, they have been enemies all the time. Then Apple guessed the moment and shifted to mobile software, which provided its success in this market. Now it offers three very popular devices — the iPhone, the iPad and the iPod, but the smartphone market is growing and now Apple is more dedicated to it. It’s not accidental as during the last year there were sold more smartphones than PCs, which shows the potential of this market. Well, everything is clear with Apple’s history, and now I guess you wonder what does it have to do with Microsoft and Nokia. Don’t you think Microsoft is going to repeat the same moves? I think it’s quite possible, because it is an accepted practice when software makers acquire hardware manufacturers to spread their products.

Moreover, I think Nokia knew this could happen sometime, and was actively developing its own platform, Symbian, but unfortunately it was classified as a “burning platform.” I usually do not believe such rumors, but this time Murtazin’s information can be true…

Excited with BGR

Finally Nokia is getting some news from ITC. The United States International Trade Commission finally decided to re-investigate the patent infringement claims that were filed by Nokia against Apple. The case includes two patents. The whole story started last year, but the situation is not solved yet.

The patents that go under the numbers of 6,895,256 and 6,834,181 deal with the following issues: Speech and data transmission, device positioning, and antenna configurations, that is “multi-tasking operating systems, data synchronization, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories.”

Making claims against each other became quiet a popular practice among the mobile manufacturers last year. Paul Melin, Nokia’s VP of the intellectual property, claims:

“Our latest ITC filing means we now have 46 Nokia patents in suit against Apple, many filed more than 10 years before Apple made its first iPhone.”

The list of the patent files against Apple does not end up in the borders of the United States. There are a lot of cases in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. Florian Mueller, an independent analyst of the patent claims, states:

“There is a significant degree of frustration shining through Nokia’s announcement … but more than anything else, Nokia is sending out a strong and unambiguous message that at the end of this epic battle Apple is going to have to send royalty checks to Finland.”

Via

Nowadays every blogger thinks it is his duty to talk about Nokia’s failure, but not all of them can provide weighted judgments about this. The Finnish company is the biggest mobile manufacturer in the world, and on some markets it still dominates (for example, on the mobile phone market), while on some other markets it’s losing its positions, being busy with “connecting people” instead of concentrating on the market needs.

Nokia’s humanitarian activity is welcomed by everyone undoubtedly, but it reflects badly on the company’s financial indexes. So Nokia needs to discover new markets where the other manufacturers either haven’t reached yet or don’t even want to reach. It will be logical for Nokia to observe which countries or regions have the biggest population and to try to win their hearts, thereby increasing the total sales rate and getting more profit.

According to IDC, Nokia’s market share dropped in Q1 2011 from 34.7 percent to 29.2 percent compared to the same period in 2010. This was the first time when the company’s results fell below 30 percent during the last 10 years. Another indicator shows even worse results — the company’s pre-tax profit dropped from €411 million to €403 million. Taking into account this and other data, Nokia announced it was going to cut 4000 jobs (mainly in Denmark, Finland and the UK).

So what do you think, what regions Nokia is going to focus on – India, the U.S., Russia? No, China can be the Noah’s Ark for Nokia. According to the reports from March, 2011, there are over 250 million people in China using Nokia devices, which is the 29.6 percent of China’s mobile phone market.  Moreover, according to Morgan Stanley’s latest AlphaWise survey of China’s handset market, about 87 percent of mobile phone users in China want to get a 3G handset as their next phone. 30 percent of them wish to have an iPhone, 25 percent want a Nokia device, 7 percent want an HTC handset, 5 percent want a Samsung, 4 percent want a Motorola device and 3 percent are thinking about a Blackberry.

It was expected that the iPhone would be the dream of many Chinese users, and it is nice that Nokia is on the second position. Here Nokia is in a beneficial position as in 2008 Apple ignored the Chinese market, and Google is neutral and does not interfere in their affairs. So the Chinese 889 million market is quite an attractive deal for Nokia, especially if we take into account the fact that the Chinese economy is growing very quickly.

Plus, Nokia’s Ovi Store is the most popular mobile app service in the country, and, according to Chinese analyst house iResearch, 65.2 percent of Chinese mobile users “regularly” access the store.

I guess there is nothing to add, as the numbers talk for themselves. Seems like China can show Nokia a way out if this difficult situation.

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During the conversation with New York Times reporters the head of Nokia Research Center, Henry Tirri shared his thoughts on the development of hardware features in portable devices. In particular, he drew attention to the topic of developing their own chip, which is not surprising. That’s what Apple did – it has created its own SoC-System A4, which they applied to iPhone and iPad 4.Let it not as unique as it is trying to be presented in Cupertino, but due to hardware and software optimization of new gadgets Apple demonstrated outstanding autonomy and excellent performance.

Nevertheless, Tirry is not happy with the practice of creating specialized processors for their own products. According to him – it is too risky and easier to use ready-made solutions, even at the expense of some functionality of the finished product. The risk in this case is that at the slightest mistake can lose a lot of money for one cycle needed to create the chip. It takes a very accurately determination of the functionality of future devices, choosing the right trend. But the thing is that the company has already given it to begin to develop the processor. Error in the predictions can cost all the money that will be invested in creating the chip.

The words of Tirri could’ve not been taken seriously, if not his vast experience in the IT-industry. For 40 years he worked in the field of computer science and is a well known figure not only in Nokia, but also in the “Silicon Valley”. According to the scientist, instead of chips, the Finnish company will focus on the materials used in the production of terminals. For example, in research centers employees are working on advanced materials capable of changing its color, easy to resist liquids and dirt, literally growing keyboard and other interface elements on the touch screen. By the way, it resembles the concept of Nokia Morph.

Apple in updated page devoted to the so-called “problem with the antenna” has introduced another video. At this time, the company of Steve Jobs pointed to problems with signal reception at Symbian-smartphone Nokia N97 mini. Within minutes of testing the device had lost five of seven divisions.

As previously noted by the representatives of Nokia, the Finnish company is a pioneer in all that concerns the telephone antennas. “We give priority to efficiency of the antenna, if its implementation is in conflict with the design” – said the company.

Recall the debate surrounding the problem with signal reception in certain conditions erupted shortly after the iPhone 4. Last Friday, Steve Jobs said that the problem is typical for the entire industry phones in general. As an example, he called the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris and the Samsung Omnia II.

After rather humorous announcement according to about how to hold Nokia devices, now the company released a special announcement about how hard Nokia is trying to get everything through. It talks about the facts that company has been developing the antenna service for a few decades.

And then come the claims about the research programs held by the company. The research has to do with the human behavior toward the devices and more precisely the way they hold it.

But the most attention was paid to the last sentence : ” … we may not have any drool-worthy UI around here, but they, at least our phones can actually make calls”.

This means that the company is getting serious about the competition.