Google to Buy Motorola Mobility Subject to Shareholders

Google is taking a high-stakes gamble in the global smartphone war by making a move to buy Motorola Mobility.  The internet giant’s have announced a deal worth $12.5bn (£7.7bn).

A joint statement said the boards of both companies had unanimously approved the deal, which should be completed by the end of this year, or early in 2012.

Earlier this year, Motorola split into two separate companies.  The Mobility side of the business is responsible for developing and manufacturing mobile phones, whilst Motorola Solutions covers wider technologies for corporate customers and governments.

Shares in Motorola Mobility jumped 56% by the close of trading in New York on Monday, to $38.13, still below the offer price of $40 per share. Shares in Google fell 1.8%.  Interestingly, shares in Nokia have risen as well, reinforcing speculation that they too are a bidding target, with Microsoft the potential bidder.

Whether you're planning to use your phone mainly for calls or need access to emails and the internet, we've got the device that's right for you

Nokia Online to Close

Nokia continue to slimline their services, with online stores across Europe closing their virtual doors. 

France, Spain and the Netherlands were the first to go, and rumour has it that the UK store will be next.  Whilst there is no official confirmation as yet, a Nokia affiliate received a notification that suggested Nokia UK, the online store will be closing at the end of June.  Which certainly sounds conceivable as it is not the first store to close. Regional Nokia sites will continue to provide support for Nokia owners.

Tough Month for Nokia

Rich Green, the chief technology officer at Nokia has taken a leave of absence from the Mobile Giants.  

In the official statement from the company Mr. Green has left due to a “personal matter” and not given a date for his return.  However, a Finnish newspaper quoted sources inside Nokia saying he had left because of differences over strategy and would not return.

Mr. Green was the proponent for the recently sidelined MeeGo mobile operating system.  The decision to adopt Microsoft's Windows Phone software for its smartphones was made by Nokia’s boss Stephen Elop earlier this year.  

It has been a tough month for Nokia, in which it announced that sales of its phones during the second quarter of the year would be substantially below previous forecasts.  Mr. Green’s departure is said to have "no impact on our product strategy or our expected product launch timelines" according to Nokia’s official statement.

Nokia to Cut 7,000 Worldwide

From 2012, Nokia’s refocus on the smartphone market will result in 7,000 jobs being cut worldwide. 

4,000 jobs will be cut completely, including 700 from across the UK, whereas 3,000 staff will find themselves reshuffled into outsourcing and consultancy group Accenture.  From next year, Accenture will take over Nokia's Symbian software product, so that the mobile giants can concentrate on their relationship with Microsoft.

Nokia has been slow to respond to the smartphone threat from competitors such as Apple's iPhone and phones using Google's Android system, and has long been a key investor concern.

The firm is hoping that their recent deal with Microsoft to jointly develop smartphone technology, and their impending shake-up will increase their capacity for smartphone development.

Mobile World Congress Kicks Off

So it’s not everybody’s idea of fun, but there is great anticipation as the Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona, and rightly so, as a host of firms will be launching new products.

Show stoppers include Sony Ericsson’s, Xperia Play, with its smartphone-cum-gaming device, Samsung’s new tablet, the Galaxy 10, which as the name suggests features a bigger 10.1 inch (26cm) screen.  Meanwhile LG has unveiled the first mobile phone with 3D capability.

Microsoft and Nokia Join Forces

Following earlier concerns this week that Nokia were in trouble following a leaked memo from Stephen Elop, Chief Executive of the mobile company, Nokia staff are now facing a new challenge.

Nokia has joined forces with Microsoft in an attempt to regain lost ground on market leaders iPhone and other Android-operated devices.  The deal means that Nokia’s existing operating systems will be replaced with the Windows Phone 7 operating system for its smartphones, the company has said.

Windows Phone 7, whilst receiving much critical acclaim, has remained quite a small market player to date.  It has been rumored that Mr. Elop opted to use Windows over the Google Android Operating System because he feels more comfortable with the company as that is where he worked before his move to Nokia. 

The move does mean that Nokia employees across the world will be facing inevitable job losses.  As with all coalitions, the future is unknown, but this collaboration has the potential to shape the future of the industry.  

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.  

Goodbye Credit Card, Hello Mobile Wallet

More than forty years since we were introduced to the credit card, a new revolution in shopping is bubbling under the surface.  As early as this summer, we could be paying with a simple wave of a phone.

The technology will allow consumers to make purchases by waving their mobile phone over a till scanner. Barclaycard and the UK’s biggest mobile phone network, which includes Orange and T-Mobile have signed a partnership to bring the system to 40,000 tills.  Mobile phone networks and banks are in talks with the manufacturers including Apple, BlackBerry and Nokia about incorporating the technology into their devices. 

The system uses a tiny chip and antenna built into the phone, which links the handset to the owner and their credit card or bank account.  The antenna sends a radio signal to a till scanner which recognises the handset, authorises the payment and then deducts the money from the owner’s account.  Customers will be able to increase their security with an optional PIN.  Initially there will be a £15 cap on transactions but the banking industry expects this to rise. 

Are you comfortable with another move towards the mobile being a must-have tool in modern life?  Handsets have already gone beyond calls and texts with video, music and internet access, but are you ready for a virtual wallet?

2011 Promises the introduction of Common Charger

2011 looks to be the year that the Common Charger will be introduced to the mobile phone market as technical specifications for chargers drawn up by the European Commission have won the backing of 14 phone firms.

The EU said many Europeans resented the inconvenience incompatible chargers caused and wanted to be able to use chargers for different smartphones.  The response is a design based around micro-USB technology and excitingly, could see the end of proprietary power ports on handsets.

Nokia, Research In Motion, Apple and Samsung are amongst the companies have pledged to make chargers to the common standard, and they are expected to be available early this year.

Currently, the specifications only cover chargers for smartphones because, these are likely to be the most widely used type of phone in Europe within the next two years according to the Commission.  

The Top 5 Mobile Manufacturers

During October, according to industry analysts IDC, the mobile phone market grew 14.6%. Inevitably, smartphones are playing an ever-increasing role in the rise of the mobile market, infact, their estimated market share is expected to grow by over 50% by the end of the year.



There are now two smartphone-only companies in the top 5 phone manufacturers list, as Apple joins RIM with the highest growth rates in the last year. Despite a little trouble following its launch, the iPhone 4 phones have been flying off the shelves, allowing Apple to outsell both BlackBerry and Sony Ericsson phones. Samsung, which is holding the second place, has shipped more phones than ever before in its history. This is in no small part due to the Galaxy S phones and also the Samsung Wave.


LG is holding the third place despite falling shipment numbers and declining profits. They are undergoing a CEO change this quarter. However, in a change of fortune, Sony Ericsson, which has been in the Top 5 for quite a while, dropped off the list. Still on top is the highly experienced Nokia, with their smartphone shipments rising by over 60%.

Nokia loses 2 executives in a week!

Anssi Vanjoki only started with Nokia in July 2010, but only two months later he has already handed in his notice. That is the second high-profile executive to quit the Mobile phone giant in the space of a week.

Last Friday Microsoft’s Stephen Elop was appointed as the firms new chief executive. He is the first non-Finn to head Nokia.


On his first day in the job Mr. Vanjoki seemed determined to lead Nokia’s fightback against the companies biggest smartphone competitors. Despite being the world's biggest smartphone seller, Nokia has been losing the publicity battle with Google's Android operating system and Apple's iPhone.


He will now serve his six months notice. The announcements come ahead of Nokia World, the firm's annual conference, which begins on the 14 September in London.