Nokia to be Reborn with Windows Phone

Nokia have shown faith in the future of Windows Phone and launched two new smartphones based on Microsoft's new operating system.

The Lumia 800 and the Lumia 710 mark the beginning of Nokia's fight back against Apple's iPhone and rivals using Google's Android software.  Until recently, Nokia, were the world's largest maker of smartphones.  All future Nokia smartphones will be built on the Windows Phone 7.5 operating system, otherwise known as Mango. 

New boss, Stephen Elop, believes that the launch of the new range, that includes four new basic phones, will mark the "rebirth" of Nokia.

In an unusual move for the company, it will start shipping the Lumia 800 range almost immediately and hit the shops in France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain and the Netherlands in November.

HTC Dealt Disappointment in their battle with Apple

HTC has faced a major blow in their ongoing legal battle with Apple over patents. 

HTC had asked the court to ban imports of several Apple products in to the US citing patent infringements.  However, The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that Apple did not violate patents as claimed by HTC in a complaint lodged last year.

This is a further knock to HTC, whose shares fell 6% after the ruling.  Over the summer the Taiwanese phone maker was also found to have infringed two iPhone patents in a case brought by Apple at the ITC.  Despite the result, HTC are sticking to their guns.

"This is only one step of many in these legal proceedings. We are confident we have a strong case for the ITC appeals process and are fully prepared to protect our intellectual property," said Grace Lei, HTC's general counsel.

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Are Apple Tracking You?

Security researchers have claimed that they have found a hidden file on Apple devices that secretly records their owners' movements.  According to the report filed, data has been stored for years in some instances.  

In a website posting, the company responded to these claims, saying that they had never tracked user location and had no plans to do so in future.  In an online question and answer document, Apple went on to say:

"The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it's maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location, some of which may be located more than one hundred miles away from your iPhone, to help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested."

Apple has now released a software update that cuts the amount of stored data to just a week, claiming that the issue of long term storage was just a bug.  The update is available through the iTunes store.  To prevent the collection of any data completely, users must disable the location services setting on their iPhone or iPad.

Another reason to read the small print!  Permission for the tracking is given by users, it’s tucked away nicely in the terms and conditions for the iTunes store.

A British Summer Time iPhone Glitch

Apple iPhone users were faced with yet another glitch this morning after the clocks ‘sprung’ forward over the weekend. 

The problem does not appear to have affected everyone with an iPhone, but some owners complained of being late for work on Monday Morning after an apple software glitch caused their alarms to malfunction.

According to user reports, the glitch has affected non-recurring alarms set within the iPhone's calendar application, rather than its dedicated alarm clock.  The affect found their wake-up alert coming one hour late, one hour early or not at all.

Apple has yet to comment on what caused it, but similar problems have previously hit iPhones in the US. 

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Is Nokia in Crisis? According to the boss, they are.

Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, has sent a blunt but honest memo to his staff suggesting that the once mobile market leader is now in crisis.

In particular, he feels that the firm was caught off guard by the success of Google's Android operating system and Apple's iPhone.  Despite the first iPhone being shipped back in 2007, he states that Nokia “still don't have a product that is close to their [Apple’s] experience”.

As a result he describes the company as standing on a "burning platform" surrounded by innovative competitors who are grabbing its market share. Although Nokia leads the global smartphone market in terms of handset sales, its overall share has been gradually declining.  According to research firm IDC, Nokia’s shares fell 10% between 2009 and 2010.

Mr Elop's leaked memo also suggests that Nokia is also being squeezed at the lower, non-smartphone end of the market by Chinese manufacturers because they are produced quickly and cheaply.  

Discounts on your Mobile Thanks to Facebook

Businesses are now able to utilise the dedicated Facebook app, ‘places’ to provide a virtual coupon facility to customers.

Customers that use the application on their iPhone’s or handset’s that run the Google's Android system can update their whereabouts whenever they visit a variety of shops, restaurants and other venues.  The process is called a “check-in”.

Now users who visit participating shops can log in from their mobile phones to receive rewards from their favourite high street businesses such as Starbucks and Debenhams who are already onboard.

With deals, users will not just be able to tell other people their location, but can also take advantage of any special offers that the retailer has.  In addition, participating retailers will be able to use Facebook to offer "golden ticket" rewards or give bonuses to users who bring other friends along with them.

The service is intended to capitalise on Facebook's popularity, particularly on phones. The service is free to retailers and shoppers alike, and Facebook will not take a slice of any income generated by the deals.

Another Alarming Glitch for the iPhone

Getting back to work after Christmas and New Year is hard enough (speaking from personal experience) however, Apple iPhone users have had more to complain about than the rest of us.

A software glitch affected single alarm settings on the iPhone 4 and earlier models for two days after New Year.  This left many users to oversleep, thus arriving late for work, or missing planes and trains.  Of course, many were able to the then use their mobile technology to blog and tweet their complaints on a social network of choice.

A similar problem hit the iPhone alarm when the clocks went back in November, again causing many users to be late for work or for transport arrangements.  Whilst the glitch has now been solved, commentators remain unimpressed that lessons weren’t learnt from November’s issues.

Apple is far from perfect

"We're not perfect", said Apple boss Steve Jobs, at a press conference called to tackle the ongoing speculation about the iPhone 4's antenna problem. He went on to claim that reception problems were endemic throughout the smartphone industry.



To dumb the noise of complaints that they have had to date Apple is offering a free case to every complaining owner of its iPhone 4.


You will be able to get your free case via the Apple website between 22 July and the 30th September. Mr Jobs said Apple could not make enough for all owners of the phone, afterall three million customers equals approximately £118m, but would source a supply and offer a range of cases.


It seems that they had to do something, so owners will be pleased to hear that Mr Jobs also extended an offer to iPhone 4 users to give them a full refund within 30 days if they were still unhappy with the handset's performance.