Mobile News

The Nokia-Microsoft partnership: A new dawn or a damp squib?

On February 11, 2011, Nokia announced a ‘broad Strategic partnership’ with Microsoft. Also, recently Nokia announced two new handsets, N9 and N950 on the MeeGo platform. Nokia is basically phasing out its Symbian OS and even the MeeGo platform won’t be extensively used as its focus is ‘longer term market exploration.’ Infact, Alberto Torres who has led the development of MeeGo, is leaving Nokia. So what does all this mean for Nokia, a company which still has 30% market share in the global handset market and still has over 50% share in India.

To realize why Nokia , as their chief executive Stephen Elop recently put it, is “standing on a burning platform”, one only needs to go back 5 years. In 2006, Nokia was the undisputed market leader across all segments, no one had any idea what an iphone was and almost all major companies used the Symbian platform. Every second person seemed to own a Nokia 6600 or a Nokia 7610. Nokia N series was a huge success , with models like N91, N93 and N73 being major hits.
Then in 2007, iphone came in and shortly afterwards the Open Handset Alliance announced the development of Android smartphones. In hindsight, the iphone launch was probably the time the slide started. Though the iphone has never really been a leader in Market share what it did was that it introduced a revolution on two fronts – touch phones and application development for mobile sets. Before iPhone, a handset was basically a telephone on which one could take a picture or play a game. After the iPhone, it was like a minicomputer. RIM’s blackberry range took over the business phone market around this time too.
Suddenly, Nokia had real competiton for the first time in a decade. It did try to compete, introducing a whole range of touch phones starting with the Nokia 5800. It launched its own app store and Nokia 5800 was a reasonable success. However, the N-series was losing its charm. Then in early 2010, Android phones started to flood the market. Symbian was also losing out. Motorola, LG and Sony Ericsson withdrew from the Symbian platform in 2009. Samsung withdrew in 2010. Though Nokia did launch a new handset based on Symbian 3, N8 in early 2011, Symbian’s time was up.
In this situation, the Nokia-Microsoft assumes major significance. Elop recently said the partnership meant the mobile market was now a “three horse race”, with Nokia-Microsoft competing strongly with Apple, and Google’s Android platform. RIM is slowly but surely losing out, struggling to provide the same features as the Android based smartphones. Nokia still has the largest market share over all mobile handset categories and Microsoft has been itching to get into the lucrative mobile market. It is the third front in its battle with Google, the others being cloud and OS. Even Apple seems to be aiming at getting a bigger share, and is planning to launch a range of lower price handsets soon.
Only time will tell if this alliance will be successful. The first range of Windows based Nokia devices will come out in October this year and Google also comes out with Android 4.0(Ice Cream Sandwich) around the same time. So the next few months promise exciting times for the mobile handset market. Who knows, we might have another revolution on our hands over the next 5 years.



Looking for New Ear Phones?

Well, this is the first time that I have ever stayed in a hostel and when I came here, I understood that one of the most important things for anybody staying in a hostel would be owning a decent pair of earphones/headphones/IEM’s (In-ear monitors). As I have seen, the general trend here is to go to Campus store/Manipal Store/Music House and buy any one of the offerings that they keep, without any regard about the quality of sound they produce, their durability or whether they could actually harm your ears.

So keeping a modest budget of Rs. 700 in mind, I would suggest a few decent options which one should invest into so that their money goes into something which would at least last them a semester.
Without further ado, here they are…

JVC Marshmallow – HA-FX34

The very first pair of IEMs that come to my mind are the JVC Marshmallows, though they are officially available in India in retail packaging, but let me talk about the OEM packing ships with only 2 types of tips. There are many sellers who have imported them and provide them with a 3 month replacement warranty(considering there is no mechanical damage).  . You can ebay them and anything below Rs. 650 would be a fair price. I haven’t personally tested them but from what I read and hear about them, they are perfect for long hours of usage, are durable and a modders delight. They come in a variety of colours be it Pink(Do I see a smile on the faces of our lady readers?), Black or White.
Warning : The retail package is expensive and is not worth it. If you plan to spend that much you are better off buying something better.
SoundMagic PL-11

Next up would be the SoundMagic PL-11. These are officially imported into India they come with a complete retail package, 1 year of warranty. You might not have heard about this brand but they are pretty big these days in terms of their products and our specific about their quality control. The bass on these ones are said to be slightly boomier, the price would not differ much from the JVC’s. You can look them up on ebay too. Since, they are shipped with a retail box they carry a few goodies like a carry case along with the standard tips SML(Small, Medium and Large). I recently saw them here in Manipal for Rs. 975.
Creative EP630

Another trusted pair of IEM’s have been the Creative EP630. They have been in a market for quite some time and are rumoured to be made by the same OEM as that of the Sennheiser CX300(Manipal price for the CX300 is above 2.5k) which approximately cost double. These also come along with a carry case and their standard tips. You have 2 choices in terms of colour White or Black. Being, Creative you do get the edge of an Indian brand and can claim warranty anywhere in India if there is a Creative service centre, instead of having to send them back to your seller.
Well that’s that, the choice is yours unless you are in an absolute hurry to buy something you should choose one of these. The choices in the Manipal shops are limited a few Phillips and Sennheisers, so take your pick. Atleast, Google the product you are buying for its reviews. The reviews to the products I have mentioned can easily be found on the web.
Also, be wary of fakes. Buy from those shops where you trust the dealer. If you are buying online over ebay choose Power Sellers and those with a good feedback.
I have recently seen an influx of SkullCandy earphones here, but I am yet to test any of them properly. Though a reputed brand you might want to search around a bit for the correct price and the quality it offers.

Girls Pre-Order your Micromax Bling2 Android and take home a Complementary Satya Paul Clutch!

On the occasion of Mother’s Day, Micromax announced the launch of it’s latest Android phone targeted at women. Micromax has started prebooking of Bling2, which is 3G and GPS enabled, has features like Swarovski keys, 3 megapixel camera, and 32GB external memory. Bling 2 features Android 2.2, 2.8 inch display, 3MP camera, 32GB microSD card support and WiFi along with the usual GPS, Bluetooth and 3.5 mm headset jack.

All you have to do is visit any of the following shops at Udupi/Mangalore – Just pay Rs. 500 to pre-book and also get a complimentary SATYA PAUL clutch.

At Mangalore:
1. Inland Avevue, Shop No, G2, M.G.Road, Mangalore – 575003, Mangalore – 575003.
2. UG-22/A, GROUND FLOOR,CITY CENTRE MALL, K.S.ROAD, Mangalore – 575003.
At Udupi:
1. DOOR NO: 9-4-52. , UDUPI MUNICIPALITY, UDUPI -, Udupi – 600000.
We are not sure of the Udupi address, which looks very dubious. So for now, we suggest the City Centre Mall in Mangalore.

Random posts you may like -