Information has been appearing in dribs and drabs about Nokia’s last Symbian smartphone, the Nokia 803, but a trusted source of ours has come through with some details that vary a bit from earlier reports. For starters, the Nokia 803 will run Symbian Belle and serve it up on a 4-inch AMOLED display instead of the smaller 3.5-inch screen that had been reported. An HDMI-out port, microSIM support and NFC are all a go as well. We have also been told that the Nokia 803 will feature one of the largest camera sensors — if not the largest camera sensor — ever seen on a mobile phone. The Nokia 803 is currently expected to be released in the May timeframe.

Smartphone shipments overtook client PC shipments for the first time in 2011, according to new data from market research firm Canalys. Vendors shipped a total of 158.5 million smartphones in the fourth quarter, representing a 57% increase compared to the 101.2 million units shipped in the same quarter a year earlier. Shipments for the full year of 2011 rose 63% to 487.7 million units, up from 299.7 million shipped in 2010. The PC market only grew 15% to 414.6 million units in 2011, which included an astonishing 274% increase in tablet shipments — tablets accounted for 15% of all PC shipments last year according to Canalys. The firm expects growth in the smartphone market to slow in 2012, with vendors putting more focus on profitability. Canalys’s press release follows below.

Smart phones overtake client PCs in 2011

•       Vendors shipped 488 million smart phones in 2011, compared to 415 million client PCs
•       Apple was the leading smart phone vendor in 2011, following record Q4 shipments

Palo Alto, Shanghai, Singapore and Reading – 3 February 2012

Canalys today released its full, detailed Q4 2011 country-level smart phone shipment estimates to clients, so completing the picture for the year. One notable result was that total annual global shipments of smart phones exceeded those of client PCs (including pads) for the first time.

Vendors shipped 158.5 million smart phones in Q4 2011, up 57% on the 101.2 million units shipped in Q4 2010. This bumper quarter took total global shipments for the whole of 2011 to 488.0 million units, up 63% on the 299.7 million smart phones shipped throughout 2010. By comparison, the global client PC market grew 15% in 2011 to 414.6 million units, with 274% growth in pad shipments. Pads accounted for 15% of all client PC shipments in 2011.

“In 2011 we saw a fall in demand for netbooks, and slowing demand for notebooks and desktops as a direct result of rising interest in pads,” said Chris Jones, Canalys VP and Principal Analyst. “But pads have had negligible impact on smart phone volumes and markets across the globe have seen persistent and substantial growth through 2011. Smart phone shipments overtaking those of client PCs should be seen as a significant milestone. In the space of a few years, smart phones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition. The greater availability of smart phones at lower price points has helped tremendously, but there has been a driving trend of increasing consumer appetite for Internet browsing, content consumption and engaging with apps and services on mobile devices.”

However, Canalys expects to see smart phone market growth slow in 2012 as vendors exercise greater cost control and discipline, and put more focus on profitability. Notably, even vendors who have focused on conquering the low-end of the market with aggressive pricing, such as Huawei, ZTE and LG, are now placing greater attention on the higher tiers. Flagship models aimed at raising selling prices and improving margins will feature more heavily this year.

Apple’s impressive end to the year resulted in it becoming the leading smart phone and client PC vendor in Q4 2011, with shipments of 37.0 million iPhones, 15.4 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs. It also smashed the record for the most smart phones shipped globally by any single vendor in one quarter, beating Nokia’s previous record of 28.3 million shipped in Q4 2010. Moreover, Apple’s performance meant that it displaced Nokia, for the first time, as the leading smart phone vendor by annual shipments. Apple shipped 93.1 million iPhones in 2011, representing growth of 96% over 2010. The iPhone 4S benefitted from pent-up demand resulting from the launch coming in October rather than June, but Apple’s overall volume was also buoyed by continued shipments of the now more aggressively priced iPhone 4 and 3GS models.

Samsung also finished 2011 with a flourish. It shipped 35.3 million smart phones in Q4 2011 under its own brand, bringing its total to 91.9 million for the year, compared to just 24.9 million in 2010. This excludes shipments of rebranded products, such as the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus, which Canalys counts under the Google brand. Samsung continued to spend big on marketing activities, and its strong product portfolio – particularly the Android-based Galaxy S II – performed well.

Despite a disappointing set of financial results, Nokia’s smart phone performance in the fourth quarter gave cause for optimism. It shipped 19.6 million smart phones, down 31% from the record high of a year earlier, but up 17% on Q3 2011. The total was helped by 1.2 million and 0.6 million shipments of its Windows Phone and MeeGo-based products respectively, as well as improved Symbian Belle volumes from competitively priced devices such as the Nokia 500, 700 and 701. Its total smart phone shipments for the year came in at 77.3 million globally.

“Its first Windows Phone products, the Lumia 800 and 710, along with the recently announced Lumia 900 through AT&T in the US, have improved the outlook for Nokia,” said Canalys Senior Analyst, Tim Shepherd. “They are well-designed, competitive devices that demonstrate innovation is still alive within Nokia. But the battle is not over and it has huge challenges ahead. Nokia must continue to build out its Lumia portfolio with devices tailored to address all price points and all the markets in which it aims to compete. It must hasten its transition from Symbian to Windows Phone around the world and, with Microsoft, promote and generate excitement for the platform and new products. And it must succeed in attracting more developers to build high quality, locally relevant apps.”

RIM’s demise in 2011 has been over played by some, with the company ending the year as the fourth largest smart phone vendor and delivering annual unit growth of 5%. “There is no denying that RIM has had a tough year,” said Canalys Principal Analyst, Pete Cunningham. “But when you consider that it is transitioning to a new platform it has done well to increase volume while remaining profitable; the latter point being something that many other vendors struggle with. The appointment of Thorsten Heins as CEO will bring new energy to the company while ensuring that it does not radically deviate from its overall strategy in this transitional year. However, 2012 will become even more competitive and RIM needs BlackBerry 10 devices out there to ensure it retains its status as a major player.”

At a platform level, Android accounted for 52% of global smart phones shipments in Q4 2011, with iOS representing 23% and Symbian 12%. Android was also the leading smart phone platform by volume for the whole year, accounting for 49% of all devices shipped in 2011 and ahead of iOS with 19% share and Symbian with 16%. Collectively, Android smart phone shipments grew 149% year on year in Q4 2011 to 81.9 million units, resulting in a total of 237.8 million for the full year, up 244% on 2010. Samsung’s success and focus on Android have contributed substantially to the growth of the platform, but other vendors, such as Sony Ericsson, Huawei, Motorola, LG and particularly HTC, have also seen significant growth in their Android volumes over the course of 2011.

ComScore released its most recent U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share report for the three-month period ending in December, 2011. The research firm found that Samsung remained the top mobile phone vendor in the fourth quarter with a 25.3% market share — the same share as it held in the third quarter. LG’s market share dropped 0.6 percentage points to a 20% share for second place followed by Motorola, which fell 0.5 percentage points to 13.3%. Apple had the fourth largest share with a 12.4% market share, up 2.2 percentage points, and RIM fell 0.4 points to a 6.7% share. Read on for more.

Android remains the most used smartphone operating system in the United States with a 47.3% share of the market, up 2.5 percentage points from the last report. Android is followed by iOS, which grew 2.2 points to a 29.6% share, BlackBerry OS, which fell 2.9 points to a 16% share, Microsoft’s mobile Windows platform (4.7%, down 0.9 percentage points) and Symbian (1.4%, down 0.4 percentage points). ComScore did not distinguish whether or not Microsoft’s share represented Windows Phone, Windows Mobile or both.

ComScore said that 97.9 million U.S. residents owned a smartphone during the three months ended December 2011, which represents 40% of all mobile subscribers. The firm also said 234 million Americans aged 13 and older own a mobile device. The company’s full press release follows below.

comScore Reports December 2011 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

Smartphone Penetration Climbs Over 40 Percent during December Holiday Shopping Season

RESTON, VA, February 2, 2012 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending December 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.3 percent market share. Google Android strengthened its lead in the smartphone market to reach 47.3 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

For the three-month average period ending in December, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.3 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG with 20 percent share and Motorola with 13.3 percent share. Apple continued to gain ground in the OEM market with 12.4 percent share of total mobile subscribers (up 2.2 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 6.7 percent share.

Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Sep. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Sep-11	Dec-11	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Samsung	25.3%	25.3%	0.0
LG	20.6%	20.0%	-0.6
Motorola	13.8%	13.3%	-0.5
Apple	10.2%	12.4%	2.2
RIM	7.1%	6.7%	-0.4

Smartphone Platform Market Share

97.9 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in December, representing 40 percent of all mobile subscribers. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 47.3 percent market share, up 2.5 percentage points from September. Apple maintained its #2 position, growing 2.2 percentage points to 29.6 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 16 percent share, followed by Microsoft (4.7 percent) and Symbian (1.4 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Sep. 2011 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
	Sep-11	Dec-11	Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Google	44.8%	47.3%	2.5
Apple	27.4%	29.6%	2.2
RIM	18.9%	16.0%	-2.9
Microsoft	5.6%	4.7%	-0.9
Symbian	1.8%	1.4%	-0.4

Mobile Content Usage

In December, 74.3 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 3.2 percentage points. Downloaded applications were used by 47.6 percent of subscribers (up 5.1 percentage points), while browsers were used by 47.5 percent (up 4.6 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 3.8 percentage points to 35.3 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 31.4 percent of the mobile audience (up 2.6 percentage points), while 23.8 percent listened to music on their phones (up 2.9 percentage points).

Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Sep. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Sep-11	Dec-11	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Sent text message to another phone	71.1%	74.3%	3.2
Used downloaded apps	42.5%	47.6%	5.1
Used browser	42.9%	47.5%	4.6
Accessed social networking site or blog	31.5%	35.3%	3.8
Played Games	28.8%	31.4%	2.6
Listened to music on mobile phone	20.9%	23.8%	2.9

Enterprise mobile vendor Good Technology published a new study on Thursday revealing iOS’s massive market share in the corporate world. The iPad accounted for 96% of all tablets in the fourth quarter according to the firm, while the iPhone accounted for 53% of all smartphones activated by more than 2,000 companies using Good’s services in the fourth quarter. Good provides push messaging, device management and security products for corporate mobile users, competing against RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server. The company supports Windows Mobile, Symbian, iOS and Android. Apple’s iOS platform rose from 65% to 71% of Good’s business in the fourth quarter, and the iPhone 4S led the way, accounting for 31% of all smartphone models. The top Android device was Samsung’s Galaxy S II, and both Windows Phone and Symbian were pushed out of the top-10 last quarter. Half of Fortune 100 companies use Good’s services, with just over a third of all mobile device activations made by the financial services industry. Good’s full press release follows below.

Usage of Apple’s iOS platform and Google’s Android operating system both declined between November and December as BlackBerry and Symbian both showed gains. Despite huge activations over the holidays, new data released by analytics firm Net Applications shows that Internet usage of iOS on Apple’s iPhone and iPad displayed the sharpest decline in December, dropping to 52.10% from 54.04% in November. Google’s Android platform on smartphones and tablets dipped less than half a point to 16.29% in December but it stayed in the No.3 spot as Java ME gained more ground, climbing to a 21.27% share last month. Also showing usage gains in December were RIM’s BlackBerry platform, up to 3.51% from 3.18% in November, and Symbian, which climbed to 5.76% from 5.27% a month earlier. A chart outlining Net Applications’s data follows below.

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Usage of Android-based devices has exploded in Nordic countries over the past few months and is set to push Symbian into the No. 3 spot among mobile platforms in the region. Apple’s iPhone managed to knock Symbian out of the top spot some time ago, and according to data from mobile analytics firm CEM4Mobile Solutions, Android usage has grown 6.2% in the region since May while Symbian usage slid 1.7%. Based on the firm’s monitoring of usage in the region, iOS held a 33% share in September while Symbian sat at 29% and Android followed closely behind with 28%. In August, Android briefly surpassed Symbian before usage of the latter gained two points last month. CEM4Mobile Solutions says Android usage across the Nordic region will overtake Symbian in October, and iOS will be the next to fall by the end of December despite the launch of Apple’s next-generation iPhone 4S in multiple Nordic countries later this month. The firm’s full press release follows below.

CEM4Mobile: Android on Track to Take the Pole Position

ESPOO, Finland, October 24, 2011/PRNewswire/ –

New Research and a Forecast: iOS Leading, Android and Symbian Head to Head

Over the past several years Finland’s and the world’s leading supplier of Mobile Analytics and Customer Experience Management (CEM) for mobile content and value-added services, CEM4Mobile Solutions, has been monitoring the different trends in the mobile market. The past year has shown extremely strong growth for the market share of Android OS based devices when analyzed from usage of mobile services. Prior to the forthcoming significant product launches from Nokia, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, Google and others, it was time to revisit and update our research on mobile platform market shares.

The previous research was carried out earlier this year. The research included data from week 4 / 2010 to week 5 / 2011 by using a sample based on 97 million mobile transaction page loads from Nordic mobile services. The research analyzed actual mobile traffic collected by CEM4Mobile analytics. The survey was done and published because reliable market data is essential for companies developing and distributing mobile services. Further to this, the insight shed light on how different mobile platforms encourage people to use mobile services.

Back in February, we predicted that Android will become the market leader in the Nordic countries. We also forecasted Android to overtake Symbian in August 2011, and it did for couple of weeks, but Nokia has managed to resist the decline in its market shares with new handset releases and improved versions of Symbian. Nevertheless, iOS has managed to obtain the lead position particularly due to the platform’s high popularity in Denmark and Sweden leaving Android and Symbian at even market shares in September. However, all operating systems are in the same ballpark having 28-33% of the market share.

Through all of the competition, Android has shown in the last five months a strong average market share change increase of 6.16% per month. This combined with Apple iOS’s slight drop of -1.46% and Symbian’s drop of -1.70% per month suggest that it won’t be too long before Android climbs to the top position.

The changes in operating system market shares

This update was based on 21 million transaction sample of mobile browsing services page loads from May to September 2011 from Nordic countries. The research revealed that the operating system market shares have evolved during the last months as follows:

   Platform       May   June  July  August September  Avg. % Change

   Apple iOS      35 %  35 %  32 %   34 %    33 %       -1.46 %
   Symbian OS     31 %  30 %  29 %   27 %    29 %       -1.70 %
   Android        22 %  24 %  26 %   28 %    28 %        6.16 %
   Nokia OS        5 %   5 %   5 %    5 %     5 %       -0.77 %
   SonyEricsson    3 %   3 %   3 %    3 %     2 %       -5.47 %
   Samsung OS      2 %   1 %   2 %    1 %     1 %       -2.49 %

Table 1. Mobile Operating System Market Shares from Scandinavian Mobile Browsing Services (Source: CEM4Moible Solutions Ltd. 2011)

The results are showing all platforms are continuing to lose market share to Android which is showing steady strong growth on mobile services. Despite the trend, Apple iOS still had a 4% lead on the other platforms as of September. The graph attached and the article in our blog at http://www.cem4mobile.com/blog/ depicts the same values visually over the 5 month period.

“It remains to be seen how much the unfortunate recent loss of Apple’s founder Steve Jobs will impact Apple’s performance, how much the recent patent disputes will slow down the adoption of Android and at which point Nokia’s and Microsoft’s effort on Windows Phone 7 start impacting the trends”, comments Janne Aalto, the CEO of CEM4Mobile Solutions Ltd.

Forecast: Android to overtake Symbian in October and Apple iOS in December 2011

A forecast was made based on the trend in page loads over the past 5 months from May to August 2011. The average percentage changes for this period were as follows:

    Operating system    Change
    Android OS           +6.16%
    Symbian OS           -1.70%
    Apple iOS            -1.46%
    Nokia OS             -0.77%
    SonyEricsson OS      -5.47%
    Samsung OS           -2.49%

If this trend continues unchanged, Android looks set to overtake Symbian again in October 2011 and Apple iOS by the end of December 2011. Without any major movements in the OS market, Android will continue to grow towards our forecast of nearly 38% of the market by the end of Q1 / 2012.

Nokia took the wraps off of the Nokia 603 on Thursday, a Symbian Belle-powered smartphone that will target first-time smartphone users. The 603 is equipped with a 3.5-inch ClearBlack display, a 1GHz processor, GPS, Wi-Fi and a 5-megapizel camera. It also comes with a near-field communications (NFC) chip for syncing with accessories or tapping another user’s phone to share contacts, photos or movies. The 603 is expected to launch during the fourth quarter of this year for €200 before taxes and su. It will be available in black and white and can be purchased with a variety of colorful battery covers. Read on for the full press release from Nokia.

Latest Nokia Symbian Belle smartphone and new Nokia Luna Bluetooth Headset bring NFC to mass market

Istanbul, Turkey and Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced the Nokia 603, a colourful, affordable, no compromise smartphone preloaded with the latest apps and featuring single-tap pairing, sharing and tag reading with NFC. Alongside the Nokia 603, the daringly-designed Nokia Luna Bluetooth Headset completes the NFC-enabled easy pairing experience in an affordable package.

The Nokia 603 is designed to appeal to first time smartphone users and those upgrading from older products, particularly existing users of Nokia smartphones who will welcome a device that offers all the latest technology and features in a package that is still uniquely Nokia.

This latest smartphone exemplifies Nokia’s belief that affordability should not compromise the quality of the experience. The Nokia 603 offers a seamless, compact design that makes the most of the durable 3.5 inch ClearBlack, scratch-resistant display, optimized for use in sunlight. Exceeding expectations for its EUR 200 price-tag*, the Nokia 603 comes preloaded with Maps, the latest social networking games and apps, and the ability to capture, edit and share photographs, all with great graphics performance thanks to the fast graphics processor in the device. The Nokia 603 also makes NFC innovation accessible to more people with the ability to share content, pair with accessories like the Nokia Luna Bluetooth Headset, and unlock new experiences, such as unseen levelson Angry Birds.

“The Nokia 603 continues the renewal of our smartphone range with products that are uniquely matched to the needs of people around the world,” said Tuula Rytila, Senior Vice President, Nokia. “Whatever the price-point, our aim is to ensure all Nokia smartphones are crafted for use, have Nokia’s trusted quality, are better connected, and contain unexpected surprises like the ability to tap to pair and share with NFC.”

Featuring the latest Symbian Belle software, the Nokia 603 also benefits from up to six customizable homescreens and dynamic live widgets for improved personalization and prioritization of your favourite content.

The Nokia 603 is available in black and white with a choice of back covers in six different colors: black, white, fuchsia, green, yellow and blue. The Nokia Luna Bluetooth Headset is available in black, white, fuchsia, green and cyan. Both products are expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Nokia’s situation may not be quite as “dire” as initially anticipated according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue. Despite Nokia’s rough second-quarter earnings, which were called “clearly disappointing” by Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, Sue sees Nokia in a better position than most. In a note to investors on Friday, the analyst reiterated his Outperform rating on Nokia stock and set a price target of $9. Sue increased his third-quarter unit shipment estimate to 100 million devices from his earlier estimate of 89 million, noting that sales of Nokia’s Symbian devices will likely not drop off as rapidly as had been expected. ”Nokia may be seeing better trends for its dual-SIM devices and less of a decline in its traditional Symbian devices than originally expected,” Sue wrote. “Feedback on Nokia’s new Windows device may be encouraging and we expect Nokia to launch on schedule before the holiday season.” The analyst expects Nokia to announce its first Windows Phone handset, which he says will be based on the N9, at its annual Nokia World show in late October.

Nokia announced three new Symbian Belle-powered phones on Wednesday: the Nokia 700, Nokia 701 and Nokia 600. The Nokia 700 is the smallest of the bunch and includes a 1GHz processor, a 3.2-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display, 2GB of storage, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording HD video and support for near-field communications (NFC). The 701 mimics the C7′s industrial design and has the “brightest ever” mobile display, a 1GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera capable of shooting HD video, a 2-megapixel forward-facing camera for video chats and 8GB of internal storage. The Nokia 600 has a music focus and sports an FM antenna, a loud speaker, a 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera capable of HD video capture, 2GB of internal storage and support for NFC-initiated pairing with Bluetooth accessories. Nokia says the 600 should offer about 60 hours of music playback on a single charge. Nokia vice president Ilari Nurmi confirmed these will “not be the last Symbian” devices the company launches. Read on for the full press release.

Nokia 700, Nokia 701 and Nokia 600 smartphones introduce latest Symbian software update while new NFC-enabled stereo Bluetooth headset takes advantage of NFC pairing and sharing functionality

Espoo, Finland and Hong Kong – Nokia today announced the launch of three feature-packed, mass market smartphones, bringing the latest smartphone functionality at attractive price points and including market-leading innovation with Symbian Belle. The Nokia 700, Nokia 701 and Nokia 600 extend the range of available designs, features and functionality in the Nokia Symbian smartphone range.  Symbian Belle powers all three, with single-tap NFC technology sharing and pairing, the most personal user interface so far and a more powerful mobile Web browsing experience. As well as allowing content to be shared between devices, NFC capabilities allow any of the three new smartphones to pair with NFC-enabled mobile accessories such as speakers or Bluetooth headphones and headsets. To extend the range of available NFC-enabled accessories, Nokia is also announcing the launch of the Nokia Essence Bluetooth Stereo Headset, which can be paired with any NFC-enabled smartphone simply by tapping the two devices together.

Symbian Belle range
While all three smartphones contain recognizable Nokia features, they each represent a very distinct set of priorities to allow users to choose what matters most in a smartphone. The most compact touch screen monoblock smartphone in the world (Nokia 700); a sleek and stylish smartphone with the world’s brightest mobile display for indoor or outdoor use (Nokia 701), and Nokia’s loudest entertainment smartphone (Nokia 600) all bring firsts to the Nokia product portfolio.

“After bringing exciting new features to the Symbian user experience only two months ago with Symbian Anna, we are now driving the platform even further with our most competitive Symbian user experience ever,” said Ilari Nurmi, Vice President at Nokia. “Symbian Belle and the three new handsets we are launching today show our commitment to continue delivering Symbian products that allow people to choose what is most important to them in terms of user experience, design, functionality and price.  These will not be last products or updates we will deliver on Symbian.”

“With the announcement today Nokia has made it clear that Symbian will continue to play an important role in its product portfolio along side Windows Phone 7″ said Nick McQuire IDC. “There is a sense of urgency in the way improvements and innovation are being delivered to the platform that demonstrates how committed Nokia is to make Symbian products a competitive smartphone choice.”

Nokia 700: Nokia’s smallest smartphone
At only 50 cubic centimetres, weighing 96gm and at 110 x 50.7 x 9.7 mm, the Nokia 700 not only becomes Nokia’s most compact smartphone in the Symbian range, it is the most compact touch monoblock smartphone in the world. What it lacks in size it makes up for in functionality,  with single-tap NFC sharing and pairing capabilities, a 1Ghz processor, 3.2 inch AMOLED screen ClearBlack display, 2GB of internal memory (with the option of using a 32GB microSD card for a total of 34GB), HD video capture and 5MP full focus camera with LED flash. The Nokia 700 is also Nokia’s most eco-friendly smartphone. With a long battery life, extensive use of eco-friendly materials and features to minimize battery consumption, it is the perfect smartphone for any environmentally-conscious smartphone user.

Nokia 701: Nokia’s brightest smartphone
The Nokia 701 is a sleek, slim smartphone incorporating the world’s brightest ever mobile phone display, based on a 3.5 inch ClearBlack display that makes it perfect for indoor and outdoor use.  It also has active noise cancellation for the clearest sound quality and, like the other new smartphones, provides single-tap NFC pairing and sharing capabilities, allowing content to be shared and sound to be streamed wirelessly to headphones and NFC-enabled speakers.

Based on the popular Nokia C7 design, the Nokia 701 smartphone also has a 1GHz processor, 8MP full focus camera with dual LED flash and 2 X digital zoom, 2nd front-facing camera and HD video capture. It comes with 8GB internal memory and the possibility to increase to 40GB by installing a 32GB microSD card.

Nokia 600: Nokia’s loudest smartphone
The Nokia 600 smartphone delivers a big sound and a big personality in a small package and is Nokia’s loudest at 106 Phons. With built-in FM radio antenna for listening to radio without headphones and FM transmitter that makes it possible to broadcast music from your phone to any FM radio, the Nokia 600 is a music-lover’s dream.  With 60 hours of music playback time, an incredibly powerful internal loudspeaker and the ability to also stream music wirelessly to NFC-enabled accessories, it is the perfect smartphone to get the party started.

Available at a lower price point than the Nokia 700 and Nokia 701, the Nokia 600 still comes with a 1 GHz processor; 5MP full focus camera with LED flash and HD video capture, and 2GB of internal memory with ability to increase to 34GB using a 32GB microSD card.

Symbian Belle

Symbian Belle is the latest in a series of planned software updates to the Symbian platform, which started with Symbian Anna and will continue into 2012. Symbian Belle increases the number of home screens from three to six providing more room to display applications and services. Live widgets, now come in five different sizes, making the home screens come alive and giving users more flexibility to personalize the user experience. It also includes a pull down menu and taskbar to access notifications from any of the home screens and further enhancements to the Web browsing experience. All in all, Symbian Belle provides Nokia’s most competitive, seamless and intuitive Symbian experience so far.

One of Symbian Belle’s most exciting features is the single-tap NFC sharing and pairing capability. This allows contacts, videos and images to be shared with other NFC-enabled devices and smartphones, as well as pairing with NFC-enabled mobile accessories such as speakers and headsets. Gaming fans also benefit from the NFC capabilities of the new handsets with the ability to unlock additional levels in Angry Birds or find a hidden blade in Fruit Ninja just by touching two NFC-enabled devices together. On the Nokia 701 smartphone, which comes preloaded with Asphalt 5, two friends can even pair to compete on the same racetrack.

Nokia Essence Bluetooth Stereo Headset
The new Nokia Essence Bluetooth Stereo Headset uses special active noise cancellation technology to eliminate an unprecedented 99.8% of background noise – delivering pure, high-fidelity sound no matter how noisy the surroundings for people who don’t want to sacrifice audio quality when going wireless.  Using NFC technology, the Bluetooth headset can be paired with any NFC-enabled smartphone simply by tapping the two devices together.

Android may be an open source operating system, but it’s not as open as other platforms according to a new research report from VisionMobile. The research firm compared Android, Eclipse, Firefox, the Linux kernel, MeeGo, Qt and Symbian and found that, of those open source environments, Android was the least “open.” According to the report’s “open governance index,” which scored each environment on how open it is, Android scored a 23%. It was far below the others; Eclipse scored the best with an 84% open governance index and no other platform scored less than a 58%, ArsTechnica said. Google’s Android compatibility chief Dan Morrill likely swayed the opinion on Android a bit when he said Google was using compatibility “as a club to make [phone maker's] do things we want,” and the report cites that quote specifically. However, VisionMobile also backs up its findings with a statement that can be read in full after the break.

Visibility to the roadmap is limited, as there is no Android roadmap publicly available. In fact, development of the Android private branch and the roadmap is controlled by Google, with little input from external parties or the Open Handset Alliance members,” the report says. “When launched, the Open Handset Alliance served the purpose of a public industry endorsement for Android. Today, however, the OHA serves little purpose besides a stamp of approval for OHA members; there is no formal legal entity, no communication processes for members nor frequent member meetings.

[Via Gizmodo]

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While the Daytona 500 kicks off a race to the top each year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Nokia 500 is a race to the bottom. Nokia on Monday announced a new Symbian-powered smartphone that will aggressively attack emerging markets and smartphone users on a budget. The €150 ($217) Nokia 500 costs about what most popular smartphones do after subsidies, and it features specs we’re not used to seeing on entry-level devices. Highlights include a 1GHz processor, a 3.2-inch 640 x 360-pixel touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera, 2GB of storage and HSPA data. It also weighs just 93 grams, making it the lightest Symbian smartphone to date. As attractive as this handset could be in the low-end market, it begs the question: how long will it be until Nokia can attack young demographics and emerging markets this aggressively with entry-level smartphones powered by Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS? Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has said on numerous occasions that Nokia will be able to push affordable Windows Phones out to market very quickly, but €150 before subsidies is not an easy price point to hit. Nokia did not specify a launch date for the Nokia 500, saying only that it will be available before the end of the year. A pair of videos showcasing the new Nokia 500 follow below.

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BGR reported last week that Apple had passed Nokia in the second quarter of 2011 to become the world’s top smartphone vendor by volume. The Cupertino-based company had already been No. 1 in the world by profits for quite some time. On Friday, market analysis firm Strategy Analytics released its second-quarter smartphone shipment figures and reaffirmed Apple’s new position atop the market. Apple shipped 20.3 million smartphones last quarter, up more than 140% from the 8.4 million iPhones it shipped in the same quarter last year. The only company to show more impressive gains: Samsung. The South Korea-based vendor slid into the No. 2 spot by growing a remarkable 520% year-over-year to ship 19.2 million smartphones last quarter. Falling to No. 3 on the global market share list is Nokia, which shipped 16.7 smartphones in the second quarter of 2011, down from 23.8 million devices in the same quarter last year. Strategy Analytics reports global market share distribution in the June quarter at 18.5% for Apple, 17.5% for Samsung, 15.2% for Nokia and 48.9% for other manufacturers. The firm’s full press release follows below.

Strategy Analytics: Apple Becomes World’s Number One Smartphone Vendor in Q2 2011

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew an impressive 76 percent annually to reach a record 110 million units in the second quarter of 2011. Both Apple and Samsung overtook long-time volume leader Nokia for the top two spots in our rankings.

Alex Spektor, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global smartphone shipments grew a healthy 76 percent annually to reach a record 110 million units in Q2 2011. We had previously reported on Apple becoming the largest smartphone vendor in terms of revenue and profits. Now, just four years after the release of the original iPhone, Apple has become the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume with 18 percent market share. Apple’s growth remained strong as it expanded distribution worldwide, particularly in China and Asia.”

Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Samsung overtook Nokia to become the world’s second largest smartphone vendor in Q2 2011. Samsung’s shipments grew a huge 520 percent annually, for 17 percent global smartphone market share. Samsung’s Galaxy portfolio has proven popular, especially the high-tier S2 Android model.”

Tom Kang, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Having become the first ever vendor to ship 100 million smartphones in a single year during 2010, long-time leader Nokia has slipped two places in our rankings in Q2 2011. The vendor’s 15 percent global smartphone market share is less than half of what it was just one year earlier, as the industry awaits Nokia’s pending transition to Windows Phone 7.”

Exhibit 1: Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments and Market Share in Q2 2011
Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units)	Q2 ’10		Q2 ’11
Apple	8.4		20.3
Samsung	3.1		19.2
Nokia	23.8		16.7
Others	27.1		53.8
Total	62.4		110.0
Global Smartphone Vendor Marketshare %	Q2 ’10		Q2 ’11
Apple	13.5	%	18.5	%
Samsung	5.0	%	17.5	%
Nokia	38.1	%	15.2	%
Others	43.4	%	48.9	%
Total	100.0	%	100.0	%
Growth Year-over-Year %	50.4	%	76.3	%

The full report, Apple Becomes World’s No.1 Smartphone Vendor in Q2 2011, is published by the Strategy Analytics Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, details of which can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/2cpmn32.

Android continued on its warpath this past quarter, once again showing gains as it retained its position as top smartphone platform in the United States. Nielsen on Thursday issued its second-quarter smartphone market share data for the U.S., and Android finds itself atop the list again with 39% of the market. IOS remains in the No. 2 spot with 28% and RIM slid to 20% in the second quarter. Windows Mobile and Windows Phone combined to take 9% of the market, while webOS and Palm OS combined to account for just 2% of the market. Nokia’s Symbian OS also held a 2% share in the June quarter. On the list of top vendors last quarter, Apple held its lead by a wide margin with 28% of the total U.S. market. HTC devices accounted for 14% of Android market and 6% of the Windows Phone/Windows Mobile market, making it the nation’s top vendor in both categories and No. 2 overall. Samsung owned 8% of the Android market and 2% of the Windows Phone/Windows Mobile market in the U.S. last quarter, while Motorola topped Samsung’s Android share with 11% to slide into the No. 2 spot among Android device manufacturers.

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Nokia recently announced that its Ovi Store has served a record 7.62 million downloads in a single day. The figure is a large jump from the 3 million daily downloads Nokia said the Ovi Store was serving in October of last year. The phone maker attributed its app store’s popularity to the decision to remove a registration and login requirement from the shop. In addition, Nokia said downloads more than tripled in India, the top country in terms of overall download volume. To put the Ovi Store figures in perspective, earlier this month Apple announced that its iTunes App Store had served a total 15 billion downloads. By Business Insider’s math, that’s about of 13 million downloads per day.

[Via Business Insider]

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Continued strong sales of Apple’s blockbuster smartphone have propelled the Cupertino-based company into the No. 1 spot globally. As noted by the Financial Times, Apple shipped 20.34 million iPhone handsets last quarter, up from 18.7 million units in the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile Nokia’s smartphone shipments dropped from 24.2 million units in the first quarter to just 16.7 million smartphones in the June quarter — 3.64 million fewer smartphones than Apple. With just two smartphone models currently available for sale, Apple had already been the world’s top smartphone vendor by revenue and profits. The June quarter marks the first time the company has managed to out-sell Nokia by volume, however.

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